Chapter 1085: Who Else?
Although Lin Li didn’t care what tricks Rosen and the others were going to play, Andoine’s att.i.tude still made him feel quite touched. Andoine might not be a qualified teacher, as he didn’t teach Lin Li much magical knowledge. He had at most introduced Lin Li to magic. In terms of teaching magic knowledge alone, Geresco was more like Lin Li’s teacher as he brought Lin Li to where he was now with the Book of Eternity. However, in Lin Li’s heart, his only teacher was Andoine.
Nonetheless, Lin Li was not so corny as to wipe his tears. Instead, he simply smiled at Andoine confidently, and then followed Rosen and the others towards the meeting hall of the Eternal Tower. Watching Lin Li, Rosen, and the others walk through the doors of the high tower, Andoine stomped his feet furiously, and followed closely with Aldwin and a few other councilors.
“Okay, Deputy Chairman Rosen, say what you have to say,” Lin Li said, facing Rosen while seated on a chair in the middle of the meeting hall, and surrounded by the threatening gazes of the councilors who stood on Rosen’s side. If it had been an ordinary person, they would probably have been scared out of their wits and peed their pants. However, it was nothing to Lin Li, who had seen all major events. He had even faced the dragon corpse of the Dragon of Destruction without any psychological stress.
Taking this opportunity, Lin Li also spread out his mental strength to sense the situation in the tower. However, he indeed didn’t detect any mana fluctuations of the three arbitrators. He didn’t know where the three arbitrators had actually gone. He did not want the three arbitrators to give him an out, but when he thought of the absence of the three arbitrators, he realized that he didn’t know anyone he could go to to seek advice for the design of the Sky Garden.
Seeing Lin Li’s unconcerned and nonchalant att.i.tude, Rosen couldn’t help but be infuriated. However, he suppressed his anger because he didn’t want to lose his temper in front of everyone. He said in a deep voice, “Councilor Felic, let me ask you, have you ever met President Canuman of the Geresco Guild of Magic after you returned to the world of Anril from the Endless Void?”
“Who?” Canuman’s name didn’t ring a bell; hence, Lin Li couldn’t help but ask that question.
“It seems that Councilor Felic has poor memory. I will give you a reminder then. Back when you attended the council’s meeting for the first time, you and President Canuman had gotten into a conflict. You should remember it now, right?”Rosen reminded, gritting his teeth and trying his best not to lose his patience.
“Oh, it’s that person. I really wouldn’t have remembered if you hadn’t mentioned it. Okay, go ahead and ask.” Hearing Rosen’s reminder, Lin Li immediately looked like he had come to a sudden realization. He then continued acting nonchalantly like he was talking about a stranger.
Of course, Canuman was really considered a stranger to Lin Li. Back when Lin Li attended the meeting, there were really too many people who appeared because of the Tera Mine. How could he have remembered every single one of them? Even if the Sanctuary powerhouses had superb memory, who would bother remembering all their names and features?
Seeing Lin Li’s nonchalance, the councilors who were near Rosen could even hear the latter gritting his teeth. Rosen took a deep breath and said with a stern expression, “Councilor Felic, please answer our question. Did you meet President Canuman after returning to Anril?”
After saying, the entire conference hall became silent, while Andoine, Aldwin, and the others who entered became even more nervous. At this moment, everyone was waiting for Lin Li’s answer. However, some were eager and full of antic.i.p.ation, while others seemed worried.
However, Lin Li frowned and seemed to have brainstormed for a long time before saying, “I’m sorry, Deputy Chairman Rosen, how are you so sure that I must have met that person?”
“Hmph, I’ll give you another warning then.” This time, Rosen looked even more relaxed as if he had already clinched victory. He sneeringly said, “According to our investigation about the Geresco Guild of Magic, Canuman had once led a group of mages from the Guild of Magic to the Tower of Dusk for an exchange, but he hasn’t returned since then. You should remember it now, Councilor Felic.”
“Rosen, you’re lying. Canuman brought his men to the Tower of Dusk for the sake of taking advantage and attacking the Tower of Dusk. If I had rushed there in time, I would have beheaded that b.a.s.t.a.r.d,” said Andoine who got agitated before Lin Li even answered.
Andoine couldn’t help but be excited. He was already guilty enough about the fact that he couldn’t rush to help in time when his student’s Guild of Magic got attacked. Now, Rosen and the others were still making a big deal out of it by fabricating lies. That was simply too shameless and despicable.
As a party who was involved, Lin Li did not get agitated like Andoine did. Instead, he came to a sudden realization again. “So that’s what you were referring to. I’m sorry, but I don’t have a habit of asking for the name of a dead person. I should have long pulled his soul out and asked him what his name was. My bad.”
“You butcher! My father only went to the Tower of Dusk for an exchange in hopes of easing the relations.h.i.+p between the two Guilds of Magic, yet you were so vicious towards him,” said a young mage who seemed to have been drained by alcohol and l.u.s.t. Bawling continuously, he barged in from outside the conference hall, and he began scolding Lin Li as soon as he entered.
“Councilor Felic, what else do you have to say? As a member of the Supreme Council, killing a fellow member will never be allowed, regardless of the reason.” While getting someone to comfort Canuman’s son, Rosen continued to speak to Lin Li solemnly.
“What a joke, Canuman led his people to attack the Tower of Dusk. Why aren’t they allowed to retaliate!? Besides, Canuman’s actions per se have already violated the rules of the Supreme Council. Who gave him the authority to attack the Tower of Dusk? He brought his death upon himself,” Aldwin retorted, slapping his hand on the table and standing up.
However, due to the fact that Rosen had made preparations beforehand, most of the councilors were on his side and compliant towards him. Although Andoine and Aldwin also had supporters, he didn’t come prepared; hence, only three or five of their supporters were present, leaving them far inferior to Rosen.
Besides, even if they were to discuss that matter during a large-scale conference, most of the councilors would definitely support Rosen. After all, although Rosen was still the deputy chairman, he was also a Sanctuary powerhouse now, and everyone thought that it was possible for him to become the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. If they didn’t suck up to him now, they might not have a chance to do so in the future.
“Deputy Chairman Rosen, do you mean that when we encounter an attack by a Guild of Magic, we shouldn’t retaliate, and ought to leave our doors open for the enemy?” Lin Li said with some amus.e.m.e.nt, reminded of a similar nonsensical law that existed in the world that he came from.
“It’s their fault that they attacked you, and the Supreme Council would naturally deal with them. Just like them, you people are just a Guild of Magic under the Supreme Council, so you don’t have any power to sanction others, let alone kill them.” As a loyal follower of Rosen, Hubert who was at the side, immediately chimed in. He seemed like a lawyer in the world that Lin Li came from.
“If you do not deny this fact, I’ll be sanctioning you for your actions and denounce you as a member of the Supreme Council on behalf of the Supreme Council. I will also strip you of your position as president of the Breezy Plains Guild of Magic.” Rosen was not so silly as to make Lin Li pay the price with his life. Regardless of whether or not a Sanctuary powerhouse would have to die for killing an insignificant small fry, no one would be able to execute a death sentence.
Of course, this punishment was also severe enough. The Breezy Plains Guild of Magic was the Tower of Dusk. By stripping Lin Li of his duties as president, Rosen was actually trying to make Lin Li hand over the Tower of Dusk. Although Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse, it naturally wouldn’t make sense for him to occupy the position of the president of the Guild of Magic if he wasn’t a member of the Supreme Council.
“Is that so? Can you represent the Supreme Council now?”
At this very moment, a voice sounded from outside the conference hall, and a thin old man who had a goatee on his chin swaggered in immediately afterwards. The people in the conference hall stood up one after another as soon as they saw the old man who walked into the conference hall. As one, they respectfully greeted, “Arbitrator Apophis!”
“Lord, why have you returned!?” As soon as he saw Apophis enter, Rosen felt his vision turning dark, and he knew deep down that his plan was about to fall through.
“I heard that someone could represent the Supreme Council, so I thought that Geresco had returned. Hence, I came in to take a look. Why? Were you guys discussing something?” Unlike the other two arbitrators, Apophis was much less serious. To put it nicely, he was easygoing. To put it bluntly, he was acting very immature for his age.
However, everyone in the Supreme Council knew that Apophis was the least approachable among the three arbitrators. If they made any mistake, they could just admit to it sincerely, and they would be forgiven by the two arbitrators Megard and Chris more often than not. However, if they offended Apophis, they would be taught a hard lesson. Even if they bawled and kowtowed, they would still be punished severely.
More importantly, the councilors present knew that Apophis was Andoine’s teacher, and was also very close to Lin Li, the president of the Tower of Dusk. If he knew what he and others were doing, no one present would be able to escape his wrath, regardless of their status.
Apophis’ words made Rosen look a little embarra.s.sed, but at the thought of the fact that he was a Sanctuary powerhouse now, he immediately felt confident. One of the two Sanctuary powerhouses was an elder of the Supreme Council, and the other was a sinner who had committed a grave mistake. Even Apophis should make the right choice.
Thinking of this, Rosen mustered up the courage and walked towards Apophis. “Arbitrator, we’re now dealing with a serious violation of the rules of the Supreme Council. Felic, the president of Breezy Plains Guild of Magic, has killed Canuman the president of the Geresco Guild of Magic, but I’m afraid that such a matter will have a great impact on the reputation of the Supreme Council if he’s spared from punishment.”
“Oh? Is that so? This is indeed a very serious problem. Do you know what the exact reason is?” Apophis did not flare up, and instead asked Rosen that question with a smile.
Seeing Apophis’ appearance, Rosen was more or less a little gleeful as it seemed that he had bet right. Hence, he hurriedly looked like he was grief-stricken, and solemnly said, “According to Canuman’s son, President Canuman led a team of mages to the Tower of Dusk to exchange and learn in a bid to ease the tension caused by the previous conflict. However, President Felic said that President Canuman had led others to launch an attack on the Tower of Dusk. However, President Canuman has already died, and there’s no way to prove this claim.”
In other words, Rosen meant that there were at least some witnesses to prove that Canuman had gone there for an exchange, but the Tower of Dusk had no evidence to support their claim. Hence, it was self-evident whom they should believe.
“Canuman’s son?” Apophis muttered. However, he did not look at the person at all. He simply waved his hand.
Rosen was also trying to introduce Canuman’s son to Apophis and repeat what he said so that he could increase his credibility. However, to his surprise, he saw Canuman’s son, who had already collapsed onto the ground in anger, as soon as he turned around.
Thinking of Apophis’s actions just now, Rosen was so astonished that he broke out in a cold sweat. The arbitrator had indeed acted beyond expectations as he actually wanted to kill someone in front of everyone else. Canuman’s son was incompetent and had a worthless life, but Apophis’s att.i.tude showed that he clearly wanted to support Felic.
“Who else now?” Apophis asked, glancing at the people. Anyone who made eye contact with him subconsciously lowered their head.
“Lord Arbitrator, even if Canuman’s son was lying, and Canuman really went to attack the Tower of Dusk, Canuman was the president of a guild, after all. The Supreme Council should decide how to punish him. Councilor Felic has killed Canuman presumptuously, and that’s clearly a violation of the rules.” Although Rosen did not retreat, his att.i.tude had obviously changed, and he was no longer as firm as before.