Chapter 116: Internal Strife
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
[Congratulations, Master, for successfully fusing three Great Sin Masks. You have obtained a gold-tier Great Sin Mask.]
The system notification sounded in Watson’s ears, and he saw that the mask’s attributes had changed.
[Gold-tier special item: Great Sin Mask (incomplete)]
[Effects: able to resist attacks from gold-tier elites. Side effect: the user’s emotions will become very volatile after wearing it.]
[Additional effects: devour, delicious touch, rage, giant transformation, advanced charm (possess the ability to confuse the mind and control others), affinity (greatly increase one’s charm when facing a member of the opposite sex)]
[Additional skills: the evil god’s protection, death ray (emit a dark-elemental combat aura from the mask that can cause one’s lifeforce to dissipate, comparable to a gold-tier warrior’s full-strength attack)]
“Just as I expected of a mask left behind by the evil god. The effect of gold-tier equipment is already comparable to a peak gold-tier warrior! If I can fuse more masks, I imagine that the power will be even stronger!”
Watson was already looking forward to the ability of the fused mask.
At the same time, the five members of the Demoness Bandit Gang were shocked.
“Did you see that?” Greed, who was in charge of buffing her teammates, asked softly.
“I think I saw it.”
The second person who spoke was Wrath. She rubbed her beautiful eyes.
“He fused the Great Sin Masks? Well, it might not be true fusion. Maybe he just put the mask together forcibly. It’s not like we haven’t done that before.”
The young woman, who wore the white fox mask, snorted in dissatisfaction.
Behind her, Sloth, who was floating in the air, did not speak. Instead, she only listened to her teammates’ discussions, but the aura on her body was different from before that.
The Demoness Church’s mission had always been to put the Great Sin Masks together to restore its glory—whoever could put it together would be the church’s successor.
“Do you still want to fight?”
When the mask changed, Watson’s mentality also changed significantly. Sometimes he felt hungry, sometimes he felt outraged, and sometimes he was worried if he was not handsome enough…
The violent fluctuations of emotions disturbed his mind. He knew that those were the side effects of the Great Sin Masks. Nevertheless, Watson resisted them; he hooked his finger at the people in front of him.
The horn on the three-in-one mask he wore on his face began to flicker with black light. Its only turbid eye turned, and the hair on those who saw that stood on end.
“Why do I feel like that person has succeeded in fusing Great Sin Masks?”
The blonde-haired woman said greedily and suspiciously as the mask on her face flashed with light. “I feel as if his mask has a kind of gravity that’s attracting the Greed Mask on my face to break away! I can also feel the same aura as the Primordial Demoness from his mask.”
“Whether or not the fusion is successful, we’ll know once we try it.” Lady Sloth spoke right before she charged straight at Watson and spread her invisible arms behind her.
The arms pierced through the air before they wrapped around Watson’s body; it contracted tightly. The arms also grabbed Watson’s throat in an attempt to break his neck.
The invisible arm had at least a few thousand catties of strength. It could even break a steel plate effortlessly.
The Sloth Mask could turn an attack into an invisible one; it would make it impossible for others to detect it.
A human’s deepest fear would always originate from the unknown. Therefore, even though the sloth was only a silver-tier elite, her overall ability was not much weaker than a gold-tier warrior. She was also the second strongest member of the Demoness Bandit Gang; she was behind Pride, who was not there that day.
“Is that all you have?”
The power on his body felt like 10,000 catties, but Watson did not feel any pain. That was because the one-horned mask on his face ate all the power that attacked him.
All he had in his heart was endless anger. He was mad at himself, but he was also angry at Lady Sloth’s weakness.
“Since you are so weak, don’t blame me for being harsh! Activate the mask skill—Death Ray.”
The turbid eye on the mask suddenly burst with colorful light. The beam was as thick as an arm; it hit the invisible arm that was wrapped around his body. The invisible arm then turned colorful and became visible to the naked eye. Then, it withered gradually along with the mask on Sloth’s face.
The mask cracked open from the middle; it revealed a pair of pure white pupils; the eyelashes were also white. They looked confused.
“I did not expect the mask to shatter. It’s alright, fuse it for me.”
After the mask on Sloth’s face shattered, it turned into two rays of white light before they headed toward Watson’s face at the fastest speed.
The three-in-one mask on his face immediately turned into a four-in-one mask, and the unicorn-shaped pattern began to change.
The turbid one-eyed pupil split into two; they looked quite similar to a human’s. Its ugly appearance also became gentle gradually. It was quite similar to the Primordial Demoness statue carved on the five mountains that Watson had seen previously.
The other leaders of the Demoness Bandit Gang opened their mouths wide.
They confirmed that Watson had fused the Great Sin Mask. Furthermore, Lady Sloth was the strongest among them. If she could not defeat Watson, then none of them were his match, even if they combined their power.
They thought that after Watson had cast a platinum-tier spell, his strength would be much weaker than before, and they would be able to defeat him easily. However, they did not expect him to remain strong.
“Who’s next?”
Watson looked at the remaining Lady Greed and the other woman in black who wore a bamboo hat and did not have a noticeable appearance.
The women took a step backward, and that included Lady Greed. The woman, dressed like a black fog, paused for a few seconds before she slowly walked toward Watson’s direction. A pair of jet-black combat aura wings flapped behind her as they off a storm filled with pressure in the air.
Envy!
It was Envy, who had taken action!
“I did not expect Envy to be so brave. She still dares to make a move.” The young woman was lustful and emotional.
“Oh, right, I almost forgot that we still have Envy. Her mask can pull her opponent’s strength to match ours. No matter how powerful he is, he would be no match for us once Envy activates her power.” Then, she continued to growl, “If he can still win under such circumstances, then we’ll destroy the Envy’s mask. No one will be able to get it.”
Even if they could not beat Watson, could they not defeat Lady Envy, who was at the same tier as them.
It seemed like Watson wanted their masks, and if he had a need, they were not afraid.
The higher-ups of the Demoness Bandit Gang seemed to have found a way to solve their predicament, which aroused their confidence. However, they were surprised when Envy walked up to Watson but did not attack him. Instead, she lifted her cloak and revealed a fiery red-haired head and a crescent-shaped distorted human mask.
Then, Envy took the mask off her face and handed it to Watson respectfully with both hands.
Envy had the same fiery red pupils under the mask, but the pupils were vertical. Scales had grown on both sides of her cheeks. That was the characteristic of a subhuman called the flame elf.
“You are Watson, right? Master Watson, please accept my mask.”
Watson was dumbfounded when he saw Envy’s sincerity. He stood rooted to the ground, and the other leaders of the Demoness Bandit Gang were also speechless.
Chapter 117: Six-in-one Mask
“Envy, what are you doing? Why did you give the mask to this person? Are you crazy?” Envy’s companions behind her shouted. However, Envy turned a deaf ear. She just turned her head to look at everyone with a hint of disdain in her eyes.
“I’m not crazy; you guys are the ones who are crazy! Don’t forget; the Demoness Bandit Gang used to be a church before they became a bandit gang. But now I see that you guys have fallen from devout believers to real bandits!”
The women gasped as Envy continued to say, “No matter what you think, I only have one goal—to reassemble the masks and listen to the teachings of the Primordial Demoness again! And this person can fuse masks, which means that he is the one chosen by the Demoness.”
She turned around again; Envy lowered her head.
“Young Master Watson, I’m Envy. I’m willing to be your most loyal servant and help you get the remaining masks.”
“What is this?”
Watson was stunned; the enemy had experienced internal strife and then a betrayal.
He thought he would obtain the remaining mask through his continuous fusion of magic to intimidate the enemy. However, he had not expected that the other party would take the initiative to place the mask in front of him and even wanted to be his subordinate.
Did they want to trick him? Perhaps they wanted to take advantage of his carelessness to stab him?
Allen and the others, who were not far away, and the manor owners were also dumbfounded.
What had happened?
“The leader of the Demoness Bandit Gang is defecting to the enemy. Did they discover Watson’s identity as the border count’s illegitimate child, just like I did?”
Sven stared at the scene with his eyes wide open. He could not help but think that. However, he felt that something was not right.
That should not be the case. The Demoness Bandit Gang’s predecessor was a large organization. Furthermore, he saw the Demoness Bandit Gang summon a platinum-tier Primordial Demoness projection. They should not be afraid of the border count, who was also a platinum-tier mage.
Since the battle was over, would they get some praise?
The group of manor owners thought about that. The primary purpose of their presence was to supplement Watson’s goal and to showcase his strength. They felt that they had fulfilled their responsibilities and got closer to him at the same time.
“Young Master Watson is too strong. He has conquered the most powerful bandit gang at the border in such a short period,” a manor owner said.
Not far away from him, another manor owner said, “Well said. I’ll add one more point! This is really an easy battle. It would be even better if my arm weren’t broken.”
Half of their praises were exaggerated, and the other half came from the bottom of their hearts.
A small number of them had died, while most of them were only slightly injured. That was the cost they had to pay to wipe out the bandit gangs at the border. It was an impressive battle record.
Allen was the proudest among those people. He stood in front of the crowd with his hands on his hips; he looked very pleased with himself.
“See, what did I say? I told you that my young master could deal with these people easily. If I went with him, I would only cause trouble! As you can see, they didn’t even need to make a move. They were conquered by Young Master’s domineering aura. My admiration for the young master gets deeper every day.”
Allen heaved a sigh of relief discreetly. He had felt very nervous when Watson fought against the five leaders of the Demoness Bandit Gang by himself. He had made up his mind to rush forward to help Watson if something were to go wrong. Fortunately, Watson managed to escape the danger by himself too.
The people around him, including Sven, acted as if they did not hear him.
Meanwhile, at Watson’s location.
Envy turned around to face her companions after she revealed her actual appearance. Her body was covered with black flames, and her fiery red eyes were cold.
“The god’s chosen one has been found. I hope that all of you will hand your mask to him and submit to Master Watson obediently! Otherwise, all of you are enemies of the Primordial Demoness. You are traitors. Greed, I’m talking about you!”
Greed’s mask flickered non-stop as it showed the excitement in her heart when she was singled out.
She was unwilling to give up the mask on her face.
It was just as Envy had said; they had already fallen from devout believers to filthy thieves. The change was due to the power brought by the Great Sin Mask.
However, one had to pay the price to obtain any power. The mask gave them strength, but at the same time, it also affected their hearts and controlled their emotions.
“How can you be so greedy? Are you not willing to hand over the mask? Does this mean that rather than getting the masks fused, you want to keep it for yourself?”
The black flames on Envy’s body became denser.
Greed rubbed her fingers, and a few golden coins appeared on her fingertips. However, the runes carved on the coins were not quite the same as those from that time. Instead, they looked like they were ancient coins.
She held the coins and thought for a while before finally putting them down. Then, finally, she placed her hand on her face with great difficulty and used great strength to tear off the mask to reveal the face of an ordinary woman with sparse eyebrows and pale skin.
Her name was Greed. She sought out all the precious things in the world. Nothing fascinated her more than shiny gold treasures. However, no matter how precious the treasures, they were not as valuable as her life.
“Envy, you are too stubborn! Alright, you win. I choose to hand over the mask and submit myself to Master Watson.”
In the end, she joined the Demoness Bandit Gang and became one of the higher-ups. However, she had wanted to climb up the ranks for benefits.
Envy was different from her. They said that she was once a believer of the Demoness Church before its dissolution. At that time, the Demoness Bandit Gang had not been established yet.
“Very well, you have made a wise choice!”
The flame elf named Envy walked up to Greed and took the mask from her hand. Then, she handed it to Watson respectfully.
“Master Watson, you have collected six masks; only Pride’s mask is left. After that, you can fuse them to complete the platinum-tier equipment—the Great Sin Mask. Pride is currently at the Mage Guild in Monte Town. Don’t worry, it will take three days, but I will find her and help you obtain the last mask.”
“Three days is too long. How about one day?” Watson asked casually. He wanted to know if Envy really wanted to help him or if she was setting a trap to harm him.
“Yes, Master Watson, I will try my best!” Envy gritted her teeth. She was in a difficult position, but she still responded forcefully.
“Your companion wants to submit to me. What do you think? Do you want to join us?” Watson held two masks in his hands and looked around him.
The women hesitated for a long time. Then, finally, Greed sighed and knelt, followed by Wrath. They knelt unwillingly.
The last to do that was Sloth. They closed their pure white eyes and lowered their heads helplessly.
Envy had betrayed them, and she knew them well. That put them at a disadvantage if they were to fight against Watson.
If they did not surrender, they would die. On the other hand, if they yielded, then they still had a chance to live, so it was not a difficult decision.
Furthermore, they were very curious about Watson’s fusion method. They had tried everything, but it had been useless. They would not act rashly before Watson restored the Great Sin Mask.
When everyone submitted to him, Watson had already begun to fuse with the remaining two masks.
“System, activate fusion.”
As soon as he said that, the two masks in his hands turned into rays of white light and fused with the mask on his face. The shape of the mask had changed from a ferocious beast to a gentle outline. That change was even more obvious.
At that moment, the appearance of the mask was almost impossible to see. It was like skin as thin as a cicada’s wings; it fitted Watson’s face perfectly.
It was a woman’s face, so beautiful that it was suffocating.
At the same time, turbid and illusory eyeballs appeared on Watson’s body. They opened and closed; it made everyone felt as if they would be petrified. It was the same as the eyes of the Primordial Demoness. Then, the attributes of the six-in-one mask appeared in front of him.
Chapter 118: Heaven-defying Skill
[Gold-tier special item: Great Sin Mask (with minor flaw)]
[Effect: resists attacks from platinum-tier elites. Side effects include that the user’s emotions will become very volatile after wearing the mask, and the user will have a feminine appearance.]
[Additional effects: devour, taste, touch, anger, giant, advanced charm, affinity, money enhancement (from the mask of greed—use gold coins to increase the strength of yourself and your teammates; the more gold coins you use, the greater the increase), good luck, forced equality (from the mask of jealousy—after using it, the opponent’s strength can be equal to your own, but it is ineffective against those whose strength is too much higher or lower than your own), Shadow Doppelganger, invisible hand (making attacks undetectable), and energy storage.]
[Additional Skills: Evil god’s protection, death ray haunt, perfect mimicry (can transform into another person or even an animal), emotional resonance (can affect the emotions of people nearby—the stronger the opponent’s willpower, the weaker the effect), the Primordial Demoness Summon (can summon the projection of a platinum-tier Primordial Demoness and use its power)]
As he looked at the attributes in front of him, Watson stretched his hand outward and touched the mask on his face subconsciously. It had already become one with his face; it was like touching his skin.
‘There are so many skills. I’ll try the defensive power of this mask first.’
Watson opened his arms and began to chant the gold-tier magic Humanoid Auto Mine Giant spell.
Soon, a hundred water elemental giants that were more than ten meters tall appeared beside him; each one had a terrifying aura.
The sudden appearance of the spell surprised the Demoness Bandit Gang leaders, who had taken off their masks. They did not expect that after such an intense battle, Watson still had so much power. If they had not chosen to surrender, they might have become corpses.
The women looked conflicted. At the same time, they were a little puzzled. Why did Watson use such a powerful spell after the battle was over? Was he trying to silence them?
Just as they were puzzled, Watson had already controlled more than a hundred water elemental giants that were floating in the air as they charged straight at them. Watson’s ten-year-old body was like a toothpick in front of the water giants; the water giants’ toe was larger than him.
The uneven height gave people a strange and distorted feeling.
“Humanoid Auto Mine Giant, explode.”
Then, Watson gave an order, and all the mine giants around him exploded; it had triggered a chain reaction. The explosion range of one mine giant was dozens of meters, and the range of a hundred mine giants was hundreds of meters. The explosions overlapped each other; the dense water vapor spread out in a ring shape and formed a vast mushroom cloud in the sky.
“Is he crazy? He controlled the magic to attack himself!”
The Demoness Bandit Gang leaders were sent flying backward by the violent magic waves. The combat aura wings on their bodies were torn into pieces due to the strong wind; bloody marks appeared on their bodies.
Allen, the rest of the men, and the magical beasts were also blown away from the explosion. Fortunately, they had stayed away when Watson released the platinum-tier spell, so they were not seriously injured.
“Allen, Watson is attacking himself. Is this also within your expectations?” Sven asked with a strange expression. He had finally managed to control his two-winged liger with incredible difficulty.
Before he left the Shabby Bandit Gang, he had put on the silver-tier armor that Watson had given him. Otherwise, he would have been even more embarrassed.
“Well—” Allen’s expression was a little awkward. How could he have thought that Watson would attack himself? Compared to his confusion, he was even more worried. The young master did not release an ordinary spell, but he was not injured.
The explosion had ended as he pondered that. A huge hole appeared in the clouds in the sky. Watson looked beautiful as he stood there. His short brown hair fluttered in the wind, and the clothes on his body did not have the slightest crease.
‘Very good. I am not disappointed with the fusion ability after the great effort I put in to search for the Great Sin Mask. Even gold-tier magic could not break through it.’
The corners of Watson’s mouth curled into a strange arch.
‘Other than the increase in defense, the Great Sin Mask has also gained many magical skills. They are also very helpful to me.’
After careful calculation, he discovered that the Great Sin Mask had twelve skills. Each broken mask had two primary and secondary skills—for example, the Envy Mask’s primary skill was forced equality, and its secondary skill was the shadow clone. As a result, it could summon a shadow that had half of its strength as a fighter. The disadvantage was that it could not be too far away from the main body and could not exist for a long time.
Obviously, one had to gain those skills, so Sloth did not use any when fighting with him.
Another example was luck and energy storage, which were the secondary skills of the Greed and Sloth masks, respectively. Luck could increase one’s luck—one could go out and find some money or let their opponent be crushed to death by a passing meteorite during a battle. Those were the effects of luck—Watson felt that he could apply that to the system fusion in the future.
Energy storage was an even stronger skill. It could accumulate energy that he did not use, and when he needed it, it would explode simultaneously to display a power several times or even ten times the usual count. First, however, he had to fall asleep to store energy.
Watson looked at Sloth, whose body was stained with blood as she was sent flying backward. He sighed discreetly. ‘These women are not weak, especially with the enhancement of the Great Sin Mask. A silver-tier warrior has the strength equivalent to a gold-tier elite! If it weren’t for the Envy’s betrayal that led to their internal strife, I would only be able to defeat them if I used up all the energy in the chaotic-elemental magic source in a real battle.’
That battle was the most difficult one that Watson had ever experienced since he transmigrated to that world. Even the fight with the allied manor owners was not that difficult.
‘Fortunately, everything is settled now.’
Watson touched his face. His beautiful face immediately changed back to his original appearance. That was the additional skill—perfect mimicry—after the mask fused. He could not only change his face, but he could also adjust his height.
After the Great Sin Mask had fused six times, there were three additional abilities. They were Perfect Mimicry, Emotion Resonance, and Primordial Demoness Summoning.
According to Watson’s judgment, every shattered Great Sin Mask carried a primary gold-tier and secondary silver-tier techniques. Furthermore, the fused additional techniques were more powerful and practical than those.
“With this mask, I can protect myself no matter what dangers I encounter at the border in the future.”
Even if he were to face the legendary platinum-tier archmage border count, he could still escape even if he could not defeat him. That was only the effect of the fused six masks; that is if he could gather all the Great Sin Masks. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.
At that moment, Allen brought a group of manor owners to control the magical beasts. Then, he went to Watson with a flattering smile on his face. “Young Master Watson, I did not expect you to look so handsome when you cast your magic. I would like to ask, how can I become as outstanding as you?”
The people who came with him resisted the urge to vomit.
Watson also had a strange look on his face. He knew that Allen was an arrogant man, and there was no good way to stop him. However, he could use one of the Great Sin Mask’s to remedy that situation.
He used Emotional Resonance on Allen.
Chapter 119: Pride And The Mage Guild
“Young Master Watson, I can’t take my eyes off your handsome face! If you were a girl, I would have fallen in love with you. But, if you were a mature man, I think I would have become your most loyal servant…”
Allen gestured with his hands on his chest and was about to say more about Watson’s strengths.
Suddenly, he felt a wave of panic. He had completely forgotten what he was about to say. His expression became stiff as a wave of fatigue accompanied by drowsiness assaulted him. He wanted to close his eyes.
What had happened?
Allen panicked. He opened his mouth and asked, “What’s wrong with me? I suddenly feel so sleepy and sad.” He cried.
The people around looked at Allen as if he was an idiot. They thought that Allen wanted to collect rewards again; they decided to ignore him. Instead, they bowed to Watson and said, “Young Master Watson, thank you so much for your help. If it were not for you, we would be in danger, so—”
They wanted to thank Watson first and then express their loyalty. At the same time, they wanted Watson to help treat the injured men. They had suffered many casualties when they attacked the Demoness Bandit Gang because of the Primordial Demoness. Many of their guards were petrified, and many manor owners had lost their limbs.
Since Watson was so powerful, he should be able to remove the petrification spell.
However, they felt a fit of inexplicable anger in their hearts, and it affected their words. “So, Young Master Watson, you have such powerful strength. Why did you not act earlier?”
“That’s right; if you had acted earlier, we would not have ended like this. You intentionally let our men die and use this as an opportunity to suppress us and take over our manor, right? You b*stard!”
The moment the words came out of their mouths, a few bright manor owners covered their mouths. Their expressions were filled with anger mixed with panic. What had happened? Those were not the words they wanted to say. They had uttered such disrespectful words; would Watson kill them?
Watson watched all of them with a calm expression. “You don’t have to worry. This matter is related to Blackmoon Castle, so I will compensate for all of your losses.”
Those people had acted like that because of the emotional resonance that he had activated. If he wanted to make those people angry, then they would be furious. If he wanted to make them sad, no one would be able to laugh.
According to his test, the range of the emotional resonance was quite extensive—at least 100 meters. The only drawback was that when he made others fall into excited emotions, he would experience a similar effect.
Fortunately, he had lived two lifetimes, and his soul strength was stronger than an average person. So he forcefully suppressed the mixed emotions in his heart and decided to take off the mask on his face when he got home to see if there was a way to remove the side effects.
“Isn’t that what you should do… I mean, thank you, Young Master Watson.” One of the manor owners changed his words forcefully and bit his tongue; it caused his face to twist in pain.
“How can you compensate for human life? Are you going to use gold coins to buy the lives of our men? How interesting! A hundred gold coins for a person. Otherwise, it would be difficult for me to believe your sincerity—”
Slap!
Before the other manor owner could finish his sentence, he raised his hand and slapped himself viciously. He sounded like he wanted to cry. “Young Master Watson, I did not mean what I said just now. I don’t know what’s wrong with me either.”
“It’s okay. I can understand your feelings.”
Watson blinked. He had a childish innocent look on his face when he canceled the emotional resonance spell discreetly.
The people around him immediately returned to their normal selves. The angry people were no longer mad, and Allen no longer cried. Instead, all of them looked at Watson with admiration.
They had spoken ill of Watson, but he had comforted them instead. What an angel!
They lived in a world where people respected those who were strong. Watson could have killed them and seized their properties. However, he did not do that. Instead, he was kind enough to eliminate all of the bandit groups. So what if they had to pay the price to bear witness to that historic feat?
“As long as you do your best to work for Blackmoon Castle, then I won’t mistreat you! Alright, if there’s nothing else, we shall head back. We’ll talk about the rest after we leave the Misty Forest.”
Phew.
After he confirmed that he was fine, Allen let out a long sigh and rubbed his cheeks. “Young Master Watson, what about the Demoness Bandit Gang?”
Watson turned his head and looked at the Demoness Bandit Gang leaders; they looked pitiful. Other than Envy, the other women stared at him with conflicted expressions on their faces.
“Bring them back with us. If anyone disobeys, then—” Watson wanted to ask him to kill them. He had snatched their masks; they would not let the matter rest. Furthermore, he did not think highly of them due to his experience with Lady Gluttony. Therefore, he was not willing to accept them into Blackmoon Castle even though they were silver-tier elites.
However, before he could finish speaking, the Demoness Bandit Gang leaders knelt in front of him. Envy was the first to do that.
“Young Master Watson, we’ll go with you.”
The women looked calm. First, it was because their lives were threatened. Then, it was because of what Watson had just done to them. Those were the two reasons they wanted to go with Watson.
The Demoness Bandit Gang had a complete description of the Great Sin Mask. Before it broke, the Great Sin Mask had the magical ability to affect the emotions of others. Watson had displayed that ability perfectly, and they wanted to know how he did that.
..
Monte town.
On the main road not far from the town entrance was the Mage Guild. It had a big sign, and it was exceptionally lively that day.
There were luxurious carriages with different signs parked at the entrance. Many guards stood outside those carriages, and it was quiet inside the Mage Guild. The young ladies at the counter did not even dare to breathe loudly while a high-profile meeting was held on the second floor.
The people in the meeting included the Mage Guild’s president, vice president of and four elders.
“Everyone, tell us! What do you think about Elder Folson’s death at the border?”
Audrey sat at the head of the table. Her long eyelashes drooped as they covered her beautiful black eyes that were as gorgeous as the starry sky. Her long hair almost reached her waist, but half of it was covered by the mage hat she wore.
Even though she asked the question, Audrey did not look at the six people across from her. Instead, she trimmed her light purple nails casually. She had just colored her nails, and there was a faint floral fragrance on them.
She had acted insolently, but those powerful mages did not dare to complain about it.
Lady Audrey was the Mage Guild’s president; she was a powerful gold-tier mage. However, they did not know that Audrey had another identity—she was Pride, the Demoness Bandit Gang’s leader.
Chapter 120: The Astrologer
“President, since no one else is talking, then let me begin.”
The person who spoke sat at the right side of the long table. He wore a heavy gray robe, and he looked old.
As he spoke, the old man reached out and stroked his gray-white goatee. “My suggestion is to gather all the mages in the guild immediately and head to Blackmoon Castle to eradicate that force! Killing a Mage Guild elder is a crime that we cannot tolerate. If they are not severely punished, the Mage Guild will not be able to continue to have a foothold in Monte Town.”
That elder was Leonard. He was the vice-president of the Mage Guild in Monte Town, and he was also a gold-tier Mage. He was great at fire-elemental magic. However, even though they were gold-tier mages, he was much weaker than Audrey, who had mastered dark-elemental magic. Therefore, he was very respectful toward her.
“Vice-president Leonard, that doesn’t seem appropriate. I heard that Folson died because he was bribed by a manor owner named Zangwill! All these years, Folson has been working as a bounty hunter behind our backs. We have always turned a blind eye to such things, but that doesn’t mean that what he did was right.”
The person who spoke sat next to Leonard. It was a middle-aged woman with freckles on her face, and she had messy hair. She was in a fiery-red robe. Her name was Anna, the Mage Guild’s chief elder, and just like Leonard, the vice-president, they were both fire-elemental mages. However, she was at the peak of the silver tier.
Most mages who practiced fire-elemental magic were short-tempered. In addition, both of them used almost the same materials to practice, and that resulted in frequent friction. Therefore, Anna would always say the opposite of what Leonard said. Of course, she did not think that Folson’s death was Blackmoon Castle’s fault.
Who could they blame if that person coveted another’s property? They could only blame their lack of strength.
After Anna finished speaking, Leonard looked at her with an unhappy expression. Then, their gazes met, and sparks flew.
“I agree with the vice president’s words. If you touch one of us, then it doesn’t matter if the other party has made a mistake or not. Just kill him! Otherwise, people will think that the Mage Guild is easy. It isn’t a matter of right or wrong, but a matter of dignity. What do you think, Lady Audrey?”
A magnetic voice echoed from the side; it was a young man. He had golden hair and a handsome face. At that moment, he had his hands wrapped around the back of his head. He deliberately raised his chair and shook it gently; it made people worry that he would fall.
As soon as he finished speaking, the blond young man stared intently at Audrey. His eyes were filled with undisguised love.
Audrey did not look at him, nor did she seem to be able to hear his voice. Instead, she continued to fiddle with her beautiful fingernails nonchalantly. Then, Anna turned her head in dissatisfaction. “Martin, do you mean that you’re on Leonard’s side?”
“I’m not taking anyone’s side. I’m just standing on the side of justice. So what do you think, President?”
Martin continued to focus on Audrey. When he realized that she ignored him, he curled his lips and cast his gaze at the man behind him. He did not say a word. He had messy brown hair, and his figure was as tall as a giant bear. “Mr. Hilbert, you are known as the unbreakable barrier. Do you have any objections?”
Hilbert had his eyes closed. His resolute face exuded an oppressive aura. Furthermore, he did not wear a mage’s robe. Instead, he was in a set of chained armor. As a result, no one could tell if he was a mage.
Hilbert remained silent upon Martin’s question. He did not move; it was as if he was asleep.
Martin shrugged. “Didn’t you say that you wanted to discuss it? So why aren’t you talking? This conversation can’t go on like this.”
“Well, then there’s no need to continue this meeting.”
Audrey set her fingers onto the table and raised her head slightly. Her starry eyes seemed bottomless as she looked at everyone there. “From now on, all of you can shut up. I’ll speak.”
The moment she opened her mouth, the mages held their breaths. Even Hilbers, who had dozed off, opened his eyes.
Audrey’s slender fingers tapped on the table. “Three days. I’ll give you three days. I want to see heads from everyone in Blackmoon Castle! “Winter’s is coming, so I have a lot of things to do. Three days should be enough for all of you. Don’t disappoint me. Otherwise, you know what kind of punishment you’ll receive.”
“Yes, President.”
All the mages, including Martin, smiled bitterly.
Their president was a very arrogant person. She often made decisions without listening to them, and she always pretended to let them talk about it; they were already used to it.
“But—” Anna was the only one who hesitated and wanted to say something.
Crack!
Before she could speak, the chair beneath her suddenly shattered, and the broken wood splinters splattered all over her body. Cracks appeared on the ground, and it forced Anna to stand up in a sorry state. Her expression was one of pain.
Audrey pointed her finger at Anna, and a faint black glow appeared on the tip of her finger. Then, she exerted heavy pressure on Anna, which caused her body and calves to tremble non-stop.
“But what? Anna, are you doubting me? You should know that that world revolves around me. Anyone who disobeys me will die! The Mage Guild lost an elder a while ago, but I don’t mind losing another one.”
The arrogant words from Audrey’s mouth sounded so natural.
“Lady Audrey, it’s not what you think. I only wanted to say that Blackmoon Castle can wipe out Folson and the allied forces from more than ten manors. Perhaps they have some secret weapon! I even sent someone to inquire about it. They said that Blackmoon Castle’s young master, Watson, is the border count’s illegitimate son. So if we were to attack Blackmoon Castle, would we anger the border count as well?” Anna’s voice trembled; she tried her best to maintain her posture as she defended herself.
“Lady Audrey, I’m not disobeying you. I’m just worried—”
“What are you worried about? The border count? Even though we’re at the border, the Mage Guild had been established by His Majesty. So even if the border count had a grudge against His Majesty, he would not dare to oppose us so openly and shed all pretense of cordiality with His Majesty unless he wanted to rebel.”
Martin spread his hands and said with a relaxed expression, “How about that? If Anna doesn’t want to go, then I can go. I can wipe out a small force at the border by myself.”
“Anna, I hope you can finish your words before I lose my temper next time.”
Audrey retracted her fingers and deactivated the spell. She leaned against the comfortable, soft chair. “You don’t have to worry about the border count. I’ve already received the notice that the Royal City’s Lord Astrologer will come to Monte Town tonight or tomorrow. The border count can’t do anything with him around.”
The Astrologer?
The few mages looked at each other in surprise.
They had all heard of that name. Anyone who studied magic would have known that name. If the border count was the strongest mage in the kingdom, then his predecessor was the astrologer. After all, he was Lord Sylvan’s teacher.
The astrologer had not shown his face in public for more than ten years. Instead, he had been staying in the Constellation Palace that the King had built for him. He was to calculate the kingdom’s direction there.
“If the astrologer comes here, then the matter will be resolved.”
“He is a platinum-tier mage. If he wants to destroy Blackmoon Castle, then he only needs to lift a finger. He could probably do that in a day! I did not expect a big shot like him would come to such a remote place like Monte Town. Did he think we performed really well and wanted to give us some pointers? If we can get some pointers from him, we’ll definitely advance further.”
The Mage Guild’s elders and the vice-president heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, they were no longer worried about Blackmoon Castle. Instead, they looked forward to a meeting with the astrologer.