Chapter 487: Diary
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
There was not a single shred of embarra.s.sment on Hutton’s face as he launched his righteous spiel. This fella had been in contact with Lin Li for a while, and he spoke whatever came to his mind, completely forgetting that the Malfa Family and the Syer Bandits were in cahoots not too long ago…
In order to prevent the leftover Syer Bandits in the hideout from escaping after they received the news of the battle’s outcome, the force of the two factions had a short break before they gathered together and set forth for the hideout of the Syer Bandits. During the journey, not a single other person was seen. It did not take long before they reached the entrance of the gorge where the Syer Bandits’ hideout was located. A few lines of defense at the front seemed not to have been used again after Gerian brought men to destroy them.
The front gates of the Syer Bandits’s base were tightly shut. The gates that were made of wood only had two old bandits dozing off on top. Without Lin Li’s command, a spell blew open the gates and shocked the two old bandits till they almost fell off the gates. When they saw the mages charging over, they immediately panicked and started screaming and sounding the gongs.
However, almost all of the bandits on this mountain had already been defeated. Even if the two old bandits were to break apart the gongs, only a spa.r.s.e group of 10-20 weak, old, and frail bandits would come out. Only a few remained standing with a single spell shot over.
They thought that attacking the Syer Bandits’ hideout would be easy, but they did not think that it would be this easy. A single spell blasted the gates apart, and another struck the bandits down. This was all it took to take down the hideout. These bandits left as guards did not have any value, and thus Lin Li did not let his underlings take prisoners. After that, the members of the two factions started to clear out the estate until not a single bandit was left.
In the storage of the Syer Bandits, other than rations, there were weapons and armor of inferior quality. With a single look, it was clear that they were equipment given to the average bandit. However, everyone had the habit of hiding valuables. As the boss of the Syer Bandits, how could Vanskore not have a treasure vault of his own?
“Search carefully, do not leave out a single corner!”
The Syer Bandits had been rampant in the Breezy Plains for several years. The savings of this bandit, Vanskore, should not be too shabby.
Indeed, within a short period, somebody came to Lin Li and Hutton and said that a tunnel was found. Lin Li generously invited Hutton to take a look together. He even said that the Malfa Family were guests and they should pick their spoils of war first. It made Hutton so touched that he was speechless.
Actually, Hutton’s objective this time was to build up a good relationship with this young Legendary-mage. As for any material benefits, they were originally not within the scope of his consideration. It could be said that even if Lin Li were to send them off now, Hutton would not have a single grudge.
Furthermore, from Hutton’s point of view, the four Alchemy Colossuses and the 10 level-18 Archmages were defeated by President Felic single-handedly. Even if President Felic did not give him any benefits, it would be normal. To receive rewards based on the contribution was something very normal. But, President Felic did not intend on not sharing. He even allowed Hutton to go in together and let him choose the spoils of war.
Hutton declined, but seeing Lin Li’s determined att.i.tude, he could only accept with grat.i.tude.
They walked in the tunnel in a single file and arrived in an underground warehouse. The surface area of the warehouse was large. It was not much smaller than the public warehouses outside. After exiting the tunnel, the first thing that came into view were large amounts of metal ingots arranged neatly. Naturally, those that were kept here were not normal metal, but something like shadowforged siderite, winter iron, and flaming red copper.
Although these materials did not amount to much in the eyes of Lin Li, the expression on Hutton’s face was more interesting. It was not like Hutton had not seen these things, but, after all, the value was still there. This large amount of wealth was enough to stuff the mouths of those old men…
However, this was just a small portion of the goods in the warehouse. Behind the magical metals, there was another pile of valuable lumber used for making magic staffs. Hutton was almost dazzled by what he saw—there were Rainbow Sycamore, Sunset Wood, Crystal Wood, etc. Each and every one were polished semi-completed products.
Afterward, there were several specimens of flora. They were all herbs that had been semi-processed crudely. These attracted Lin Li’s attention. His recent source of income was the potion industry; as it happened, getting these herbs would be able to save him a lot of trouble.
As they ventured deeper, the completed magical weapons, armor, magic robes, and magic staffs all had a rather powerful magical wave. Who knew how many merchants Vanskore had robbed that he actually had so many good items? When compared to those items to the front, the wooden crates filled with gold coins stacked up in the corner did not have as much allure to the audience.
“Check all items in detail” Lin Li said to Gavin, then he turned his head, and asked, “Mage Hutton, ask your men to check as well.”
“No, no, no, there’s no need. I trust President Felic.” Hutton promptly waved his hand while speaking. If he were to take the kind words of others seriously, then he would be an idiot.
Lin Li smiled while saying, “Don’t misunderstand, Mage Hutton. There’s so many items here. We can’t finish checking if it’s just the people from the Tower of Dusk. It’s better if we do it together.”
Hutton saw that Lin Li’s expression was sincere, so he calmed his perturbed feelings and nodded as he said, “Ok then…”
The members of the two factions checked everything together and quickly finished checking the little vault of Vanskore. They took the inventory list above and pa.s.sed it to Lin Li and Hutton, who were conversing. Since the items had been checked, then the next step would be the decision how to split them.
How much would they receive? It wasn’t just Hutton. The other members of the Malfa Family were anxious as well at this point. After all, the facts were in front of them. The Alchemy Colossuses and the Archmages were dealt with by the President of the Tower of Dusk. Some people from their side did die, but contribution was not based on the number of casualties.
Lin Li looked through the list once, and gently placed it on the table before saying, “Mage Hutton, since the items have been checked, let’s discuss the issue of distribution in order to conclude the matters early.”
“I dare not. I will leave the distribution to you, President Felic.” Hutton lowered his att.i.tude extremely. After all, the other party was a Legendary-mage. There was nothing shameful about it.
Lin Li’s finger knocked on the table gently, and he thought over it while looking at the list. He said, “Since Mage Hutton said so, then I’ll take charge of the distribution. If Mage Hutton has any suggestions, please say it.”
After speaking, he looked through the list while going through the distribution method.
First, it was magical metals. Lin Li did not have a lack of these items, and currently, he did not have any plans to earn money with blacksmithing. Hence, these were split evenly. It was the same for the magical lumber. After that, it was those herbs. These things were not useful to the Malfa Family, so Lin Li simply took them all.
To reimburse Hutton, most of the completed magical equipment was given to the Malfa Family. After all, there was nothing of the highest quality. The best could not be compared to the Sunset Set that the mages of the Tower of Dusk wore. As for the armor and swords, of what use would they be to the Guild of Magic. Lin Li only saved one set for Sword Master, and the rest was given to the Malfa Family.
While listening to the distribution that Lin Li was drawing up, Hutton was constantly screaming in his heart. It’s fake, right? I must be dreaming, it can’t be real!
Forget about Hutton, the others from the Malfa Family that were qualified enough to enter did not dare to believe what they heard at this point. They looked at each other with eyes wide open, and the shock they felt was hard to miss on their faces. This young President is joking with us, right? Or does he really not know the value of those things?
Hutton grew more cautious as he continued watching. This, this, this… this is too fake, right? Who is this person in front of me? He’s a miser that would pluck out a few feathers when a sparrow flew past him, so how could he be so generous, and how could he be willing to talk about brotherhood with me? F*ck, this fella shouldn’t be planning on trying to silence us by killing us, right…?
“No, no, President Felic. This distribution would be too unfair for the Tower of Dusk. Although we, the Malfa Family, are not wealthy, we do not do things such as taking advantage of our allies. Do you want to change the distribution method?”
G.o.d, what had happened to this world? Why was everyone so modest now? Most of the people present had seen profit sharing before, from the members of small adventurer groups to the big factions like the Malfa Family. Be it on a personal scale or an organization’s scale, which of them were not flushed with agitation when it came to the discussion of profit sharing? Yet currently, one was giving the other party more, and the other was declining. No wonder everyone felt it was unbelievable.
After all, they were not Hutton…
How could they understand Hutton’s current feelings? F*ck. No matter how good these items were, they had to be brought back with their lives. A miser had suddenly become so generous; wouldn’t you feel a chill down your spine?
“Then, why not do it this way?” Lin Li thought for a bit before he said, “Aren’t there four Alchemy Colossuses left? If you, the Malfa Family, do not have a high-level Alchemist, or you are unable to employ the help of a high-level Alchemist, then I will just keep the four Alchemy Colossuses. Then, this equipment would be the compensation for the Malfa Family.”
“Of course, of course…” How could Hutton still refuse? Although he was envious of the Alchemy Colossuses, high-leveled Alchemists were the national treasure of the Kingdom of Rotterdam. Although the Malfa Family was considered one of the top two families in the Breezy Plains, it was basically impossible for them to hire one. Furthermore, the other party mentioning that he wanted the corpses of those Alchemy Colossuses more or less made Hutton no longer so worried. Why would Hutton be reluctant…?
Lin Li nodded his head, and then split the gold coins and the magical crystals equally. The home of Vanskore had basically been redistributed completely.
The Malfa Family was in a daze for a long while before they realized how much they had earned. Everyone had a dreamy feeling, and they shouted in their hearts, President Felic is a good man!
On the other hand, the members of the Tower of Dusk were not looking too good. They all looked at the members of the Malfa Family with unkind gazes, and inwardly grumbled, What gives them the right? What did they contribute that allows them to have half of the spoils of war?!
“President…” Gavin spoke to Lin Li while standing up anxiously.
Lin Li raised his hand and stopped Gavin from speaking. “Enough. Stop talking, just distribute it all according to what I said.”
Gavin did not have anything else to add upon hearing the President saying so. He could only bring men to distribute the items unwillingly.
While distributing the items, the Malfa Family members felt their faces burning. When they fought for benefits with the other factions previously, they did not feel embarra.s.sed when picking up the items after they managed to get more. However, now the other party took the initiative to give out more benefits, and they did not fight for it, why was it that they were so embarra.s.sed to take them?
Although they did not feel happy, the members of the Tower of Dusk still carried out the orders of the President strictly. They were not friendly towards the members of the Malfa Family, but they did not exploit them during the distribution of the items.
The items were distributed quickly, and the matters at hand had been completed. The Syer Bandits, a cancer that had been wreaking havoc in the Breezy Plains for many years, had finally been completely wiped out today. Hutton was outside, commanding his men to move the spoils of war. There were only Lin Li and Gerian remaining in the hall of the hideout.
“Let me say this: this is definitely out of character for you. Why did you throw the items that you just received?” Gerian asked Lin Li with an expression as though he was seeing a stranger.
“What else could it be about? It’s to let them leave earlier. Otherwise, if there were anything good within the cave, are we supposed to split that as well?” With Lin Li’s current status, he really did not think much of those items. The items within the Throne of Darkness had not been taken out by him yet. How could Vanskore, a bandit, compare to the Lord of Darkness?
Gerian snickered while saying, “Hehe, you’re so sure that there’s something good in the cave? If there isn’t any, then I have nothing for you to cure your regret.”
“Then what of it? If there’s nothing in the cave, I have already gained enough just from obtaining those four Alchemy Colossuses.” Lin Li was a little proud for a moment. Knowledge was power. He was an Alchemy Guru. Those four Alchemy Colossus would be decorations if given to the Malfa Family. Only he could bring out their power. He then added, “Oh yes, let’s talk about what’s going on with that cave.”
“Based on my speculation, that cave has a high chance of being related to the High Elves. It might be some ruins of the High Elves,” Gerian spoke softly as though he was trying to sound mysterious.
“High Elves again! What did you infer from that it has links to the High Elves?” Lin Li did not believe it fully. The Dark Age had ended long ago, so how many more High Elves’ ruins could remain undiscovered?
“I’m not spouting nonsense, there’s proof for it all.” Gerian showed his dissatisfaction with Lin Li’s doubts, and then he said, “In my hands, there is a diary pa.s.sed down from the Dark Age. Based on the owner’s claims, he was the underling of the Highlord of the High Elves, Osric.”
Seeing that Gerian was not joking, Lin Li’s expression started becoming serious. He thought, Since Gerian has already said so, then the diary’s age should have been confirmed. Since it has been pa.s.sed down from the Dark Age, then the owner’s ident.i.ty should not be fake.