End of the Magic Era

Especially at the peak of the mountain, where Arch-Battlemages below the 5th Rank wouldn’t last a day before being torn apart by the lightning. A 4th Rank Arch-Battlemage could even die in ten minutes.

Even the rest of the mountain was terribly dangerous, as thick lightning bolts could strike anywhere. Many people would die every year extracting Lightning Ore.

‘Half a year… This…’

Kempes’ face was filled with despair as he looked at his teacher.

Daryl fiercely glared at Kempes. How could he disobey Prophet Deloy’s command at such a time? If someone brought this matter to the King’s attention, the penalty would be even heavier.

“Kempes, did you not hear the words of Prophet Deloy? Or are you thinking that the penalty is insufficient?”

Kempes scrunched his face bitterly and promptly lowered his head.

“I, Kempes, accept my punishment…”

Deloy nodded and continued to look at Daryl.

“Daryl, you return first and guard the camp. You aren’t allowed to move as you wish without orders, and furthermore, you shall take the men Kempes had with him to mine in the Thunderbolt Mountain. They all have to dig for a year, and they won’t be allowed to leave unless they’ve excavated five thousand kilograms of ore.” Deloy’s voice was imposing, and no one could retort.

Although this Gaugass Prophet didn’t usually manage anything and rarely gave orders, no one dared to go against his words, because they would have to endure the King’s wrath if they didn’t obey. If it came to that, it wouldn’t be just a little punishment… They might even be exiled.

Daryl led everyone to depart, and only Deloy remained behind.

He took out a box and gave it to the clearly injured Xiuban.

“This is a kind of lightning herb from the Gaugass Highland. It is a Bee Cry Herb that has undergone rebirth from lightning, and it contains a huge amount of vitality. There are three of them in the box. You only need to crush one and apply it over your wounds, and you’ll recover within three days without any lingering aftereffects.”

Xiuban took the box while smiling and held it in his embrace like a cherished treasure, making Enderfa sneer at him. Even Reina rolled her eyes.

Lin Yun remained silent. He hadn’t expected Deloy to do this kind of thing.

“Sir, I’m really sorry about today’s matters, please forgive us. I’ll visit you another day to make proper apologies.”

How could Lin Yun get angry with Deloy’s attitude and posture? He had seen him punish those people, and from Kempes’ look, he could understand how dangerous and painful that punishment had been, let alone the sentences given to the other Gaugass Battlemages.

Deloy gently bowed with a graceful posture and the air of a wise person, totally unlike those barbaric Gaugass Battlemages.

After Deloy left, Xiuban held his box and turned to Lin Yun while daftly asking, “Sir Merlin, what that old guy gave to me, you wouldn’t plan on taking it, right?”

Lin Yun ruthlessly glared at Xiuban and couldn’t help kicking him, but with Lin Yun’s physical power, this was no different from tickling him.

Seeing Xiuban not even sway from the kick, Lin Yun summoned Syudos and had him whip Xiuban before starting to walk while the screams rang out behind him.

“Sir Merlin, take it if you want, Xiuban doesn’t want it! It’s all for you…”

Hearing these words, Enderfa chuckled in amusement. “That fool hasn’t changed…”

Lin Yun shouted, “Syudos, whip him for three hours! Not one second less!”

The faithful Syudos naturally carried out Lin Yun’s order. He bound Xiuban’s feet with flames and hung him up behind Lin Yun before using a flaming whip to lash at his body.

Lin Yun let out a long sigh and left the Poison Mist Valley. After the baffling event following the fight with the Gaugass Battlemages, Lin Yun was no longer angered. But the foolish Xiuban… Did even his brain turn into muscle after training his muscles for so long?

Lin Yun went back first, leaving Reina and Enderfa, who were watching Xiuban being thrashed in the air, behind.

Enderfa was smirking as he watched Xiuban and laughed at him. “That fool isn’t completely stupid. There is not a single trace of Syudos’ whips on his body, yet he is shouting so miserably. He definitely knows that if he dares to resist, he will definitely be beaten up miserably by Merlin himself…”

Syudos suddenly froze, and then his whipping speed almost doubled. It didn’t take long before Xiuban’s skin reddened.

Moreover, his miserable shouts became more and more mournful. Reina could no longer bear hearing it and left with her usual cold expression.

‘With that idiot’s strong body, it would at most hurt a bit. He won’t suffer any injuries, so why is he shouting so desperately…’

Enderfa shot a glance at the box Xiuban was firmly holding in his embrace and mumbled something like “Idiot beyond redemption” before following Reina.

Soon, no one was left in the surroundings and Xiuban said with a grimacing face, “Sir Syudos, that old man said there were three lightning herbs inside… How about I give you one and you put me down? We could return in three hours and Sir Merlin wouldn’t know anything…”

“Slam, slam, slam…”

What answered Xiuban’s question was even fiercer whipping, making Xiuban scream, “Damn! Xiuban, Lord Xiuban will… Aaah! Kill you… Aaah! Wait until Lord Xiuban reaches the Heaven Rank! The first thing I’ll do will be to challenge you to a duel… Aaah! No, I’ll beat you to death… Aaah!”

The situation was still the same when Lin Yun returned to the Storm Fort. Those guys were still discussing without coming to a conclusion, and the general attack had yet to start. There were even some fools quarreling about the post-war loot distribution.

In the end, Lin Yun suddenly had a guest late in the night.

Seeing Deloy’s deferential attitude, Lin Yun had a headache.

“Sir Mafa, these are the Gaugass Clan’s apology gifts, I hope you won’t refuse them. I brought everything to make amends for what happened.

“If not for the misunderstanding between Okland’s mages and our Gaugass Battlemages, I would definitely have come to visit during the day to apologize. Although we, Gaugass, will also participate in the general attack on the Raging Flame Plane, this is a very complicated situation, I hope you understand. In order to not cause you trouble, I could only come at such a time.”

Looking at the small pile of boxes, Lin Yun felt somewhat powerless.

Deloy had a deferential and respectful attitude, and he was very good at analyzing others. He had brought gifts for everyone here.

Hearing that he had gifts, Xiuban was like a starving beast in front of prey. He was the first to rush out and take several kinds of gifts before leaving with a smile.

Reina had several kinds of gifts that perfectly suited her. There was ice from a snowy peak that had endured sunlight for ten millennia without melting. When using it as a supporting material while casting, it could increase the spell power by thirty percent. There were also some small, mindful gifts that Reina put away after receiving them.

For the alchemy puppet, there was some liquid medicine that would increase its resistance to wear and an ice oil that would keep the parts at a low temperature even under fire. This was enough to double the puppet’s fighting power.

Enderfa was holding a tobacco pipe and smoked with a relaxed face. It was a special type of tobacco that could be used by a Magic Tool Incarnation to raise their density level and slightly increase their wisdom.

Anything that could affect Magic Tool Incarnations was certainly an extremely valuable treasure.

Lin Yun himself got most of the gifts. Deloy apparently had heard that Lin Yun was a formidable Artisan and gifted him all kinds of precious materials, rare ores, rare medicinal ingredients, and three first-rate head-sized pieces of Lightning Ore, which was something they never traded away.

“Sir Mafa, I really want to know what else you have seen in the ruins where you obtained the King’s Chapter. Where were those ruins? Please rest assured, every word you say will remain secret, and I definitely won’t tell others, Sir Wagrein is my witness!”

Lin Yun sighed. He originally was a bit hesitant and wouldn’t speak of the ruins, but after seeing Deloy’s respectful attitude and his diligence with the gifts, not saying anything at all would be unreasonable.

“Alright, it’s fine if I tell you some of it. It might be a place the Gaugass King had once stayed at. There were some inheritances left behind by the Gaugass King and some books, but those aren’t anything precious.

“There were also some magic beasts that the Gaugass King had experimented on, and you have seen the Element Chapter…”

Lin Yun told Deloy all the things he could say. He didn’t speak of the matter between the Gaugass King and His Highness Zhantiu… He couldn’t. He only added at the end, “In fact, I only got the Element Chapter and a Meditation Law Set from within. I can’t give you the Element Chapter, but regarding the Element Tide, giving it to you if you want it is fine…”

Deloy was excited, his aged face shining. After hearing Lin Yun’s words, he bowed deeply.

“Thank you, you have my deepest gratitude for telling me this. As for the things you obtained there… You were chosen by his Majesty Jason Wagrein, it has nothing to do with us. We absolutely wouldn’t dare to demand anything from you.”

Lin Yun really didn’t know what to say. That guy was truly too considerate, his words were flawless.

Seeing Deloy hesitating, apparently wanting to ask something, Lin Yun casually prompted, “Sir Deloy, is there something you want to say?”

Deloy looked embarrassed and dawdled for a few seconds before speaking.