Chapter 320
Chapter 320: Floral Death Creature (Part 2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Saleen and Aini’s alchemy had won over all the mages within the temple. There was nothing more to be said of Saleen’s Water Flame Alchemy spell, as this was one of the hardest alchemy skills to train. Aini’s spirit alchemy was something unheard of. For a single person to control a floral death creature and complete thousands of complex movements, Aini’s focus must have been as strong as that of a grade-6 mage, or perhaps even a sorcerer.
It was impossible to process fifty thousand arrowheads at once, and after processing twelve thousand arrowheads each, they had to stop. Saleen’s magic chords were wiped clean while Aini’s death flames were on the verge of collapsing. The floral death creature within had shrunk to less than a meter tall.
“Aini, your death creature… is very special.” Saleen looked at the death creature restoring itself within the death flames. He had activated his icy sight but could not find any weak points on this plant.
“Aren’t yours special too?” Aini laughed, not sharing with Saleen the history of his floral death creature. He had read about the three kings in Saleen’s letter, and it had swayed him. In addition to helping Saleen this time, he had another motive for coming. If Saleen wanted to dominate the three kings, he intended to get one under his control too.
As a death mage, if he could summon a creature with the capabilities of a death king, Aini’s status within his family would immediately reach its peak. He would be inducted within the nuclear planning circle, and he could even be made the heir to the knighthoods.
“Has the family agreed to let you manage this city?” Saleen asked the important question. The four business families would eventually enter, forming a competitive environment. Regarding Aini, Saleen would definitely look out for him first. However, this could not clash with the benefits meant for Sregl Island.
“Of course. I am a grade-5 mage now, which is rare within the family.” Aini laughed. In the history of the Myers Mainland, a grade-5 mage his age had been incredibly rare. If he had not received the curse from the holy master of the Holy See, he would have accomplished even more.
“Those three fellows aren’t easy to deal with. I want two, and you can have one. How’s that?”
“Good.” Aini was not greedy either. He already had a unique floral death creature, and its supporting abilities were much better than those of a normal death creature. Now, he only needed to summon a death creature which could help him in combat, and he would be satisfied. He would spend more time summoning once he became a sorcerer in the future. Then, he would be able to call upon a large number of death creatures and he would not care if he had one less king-grade death creature.
Commanding death creatures required focus too. The higher grade the death creature, the more focus the mage would need to use. Aini was not Walnut, and he knew what was most suitable for him. It was not that Aini was not greedy, but for people in a big family, the first thing one learned was to choose wisely.
With his relationship with Saleen, he would gain endless riches in this city in the future. That was what Aini had his eyes on.
Saleen was a true mage and a person from Sikeqinya. He had explained things to Aini clearly in the letter, and Aini liked such interactions. They came about easier and were happier than some of the conversations he had with the people in his family.
“What do I need to give you to know the secrets behind your contract magic?”
“Take it as me returning a favor,” Aini replied generously. Seeing Saleen squint, he added, “I still owe my life to you, but I won’t pay you back that way in case you become wary of me.”
Saleen laughed. Aini’s reply was the reply of a true mage.
“I’m glad I met you from the beginning.”
“Me too. The situation on the mainland is chaotic. Even though it hasn’t broken out, once it does, the corrupt people within the family and those who do not know how to change will exterminate themselves. With you helping me, I am more confident about the future. Even though it’s a little too early for such thoughts, if I end up managing the Clyde family, they will forever be friends of the Metatrin.”
Aini solemnly mentioned Saleen’s surname. For a mage, this was almost as good as an oath.
“Get your parents to come over too. Holy Rock City isn’t a good place to be. I had a premonition that with this chaos on the mainland, Holy Rock City will undergo major changes.”
“Premonition?” Aini furrowed his brows. For a mage to mention premonitions was ridiculous. However, if Saleen was saying such to him, he must have thought long and hard about it and was not casually mentioning it.
“Have them come. I have benefits for you.” Saleen and Aini rested, the two of them not using any special means to restore their energy and waiting for their magic chords and death flames to restore naturally.
“What benefits?”
“Irene from the Williams family, do you know her?”
“I do. I beat her up before when we were young.” Aini’s reply left Saleen speechless.
“She is pretty gifted but it’s a pity she isn’t a mage. The Williams family are richer than us but they do not have any decent mages. Otherwise, they would have stood out among the four houses by now.”
Saleen thought for a while and realized Aini was right. There were only a few low-grade mages in Irene’s hunting team. If even one of them had been a grand mage, the team would not have met with such an ill fate. A grand mage could have at least prevented the team from freezing or going hungry, ensuring that all the swordsmen could maintain their combat power.
“The Williams family have a secret sea route in the north. I’m sure the Clyde family wants to jump on this?”
Aini’s eyelids jumped. Looking outside the door, he said softly, “I have heard about this before, but the Clyde family aren’t good at building ships. Besides, the men in your hands seem decent too. Why are you giving me this benefit and not jumping on this yourself?”
“Because in the future, no matter who uses this sea route, they will need to be under my protection and I will collect taxes. Why get my men to risk their lives?” Saleen said candidly.
“I definitely do not have any problems with this. The other two houses will definitely give you benefits for an agreement. But why would the Williams family tell you this secret and still pay you?”
“Because in three years’ time, the Holy See’s fleets will appear in the regions around the sea route. I can then sink any ships in this area under the name of the Bitter Water Prefecture. The Williams family would not cooperate with the Holy See, would they?”
“Holy See!” Aini’s teeth clattered against each other. The Holy See had almost caused him to lose all hope in his life. Even with his dark character, hearing that the Holy See was about to appear here, he could not hide his savage killing intent.
“Saleen, the bastards from the Holy See will definitely come?”
“I’m sure.” Saleen thought back to what the black bishop had shouted – heretic. The Holy See was a big group and could tolerate many things, but they could not tolerate heretics. If he remained in this city, he would attract the people of the Holy See like moths to a flame. The mainland and the south would not change much in the short term, only the seas. The sea route in the north would be the fastest option for the Holy See.
“Do you have a map of the sea?”
“Yes, a lot.”
“Good. Build a teleportation array as soon as possible. I will have my parents come here, and they will take out all their savings. I will provide the money, and you can provide the sea maps. I am doing this.”
“Does your mother’s family have a loyal army?”
“Do you lack swordsmen?”
“No, Lex can give me a real army. Regarding my teacher, he has many men, but I do not wish to expose them now. The secret route of the Williams family is a long-term source of revenue, and I can split it with you. However, the city needs to be build first and the port must have enough power to protect merchant ships. Time is tight now. I wish I could go to Sikeqinya and hire some grade-9 mercenaries.”
Aini thought hard. Saleen wanted the family warriors from his mother’s side, and Aini was very clear on the difference. If Saleen had wanted people directly from the Clyde family, that would have meant that he wanted deep cooperation. Now that Saleen wanted men from his mother’s side, Aini immediately knew what that meant. Saleen was willing to split the benefits, but it did not mean that they were for the Clyde family. In Saleen’s eyes, his status was higher than that of the Clyde family.
That was, unless it was as he said. When he controlled the family in the future, Saleen would then be cooperating with the Clyde family.
Saleen’s methods could not be criticized. The city was newly founded and Saleen had not gathered together his strength yet. If he gave his benefits to the Clyde family right away, it was possible they would turn the tables on him.
“You trust me this much?” Aini looked at Saleen’s youthful face with a solemn expression.
“Perhaps the Tanggulasi Empire? Anyway, it will not be a small city,” Saleen joked. If there was a chance, Aini did not mind destroying that empire as revenge for his initial curse. In truth, Saleen was not worried that Aini would take over the city. With Sregl island backing him, the Clyde family would not be able to do so even if they gathered all their power. He did not want to hurt the friendship he had with Aini.
“Then are we still competing?”
“No, it is a tie at best.” Saleen put away his water flames and said, “I am assured of your abilities. Now, back to topic, how do we deal with the three of them?”
Saleen was determined to win over the three death kings. Letting these three horrible fellows live in his city, even with all the mages from Sregl Island here, was discomforting.
“We need to think of the perfect contract trap.” Aini started thinking deeply. He took out a set of magic notes and handed them to Saleen. Saleen opened the book and looked at the words written on the first page – unfair magic contracts. As he flipped through the pages, the contents burned into his brain, incredibly clear.
This book essentially spoke of how a person could change the main components of contract magic to make it fatal. An oversight by the Nut Mercenary in the past had allowed Aini to control all of them, and this was indicative of how terrifying such contracts were.