Chapter 326: Straightforward Warlord
Advent of the Archmage
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Theron and Olisa flew in the sky, getting further and further away from Linkâs group. They didnât seem to be planning on coming down to fight with Link.
The dragons flew high up and escaped quickly. If they didnât want to fight, Linkâs group couldnât do anything about it. They could only speed up and hurry over to the lake in the east.
After a while, Link suddenly stopped. He ran to the roadside and dug up a clump of green herbal medicine. As he dug, he explained, "This is the Cattleya orchid. Itâs the ingredient for antidotes. There are many here so come over and help."
With that, Masos, Felina, and Nana all came down from their war wolves and started digging up the herbs.
Three minutes later, Link had around ten pounds in his hands. "Okay, thatâs enough," he said. "Letâs keep going."
They ran for around 20 miles, and a boundless lake appeared before them. It was the Crystal Blue Lake, the biggest lake in the Golden Plains. It was more than 40 miles wide and never dried. The Beastmen called it the sacred lake.
Felina had sharp eyes and pointed at the shoal. "Look, theyâre over there!"
Everyone looked over and saw more than 100 Beastmen scattered in the shallow water. They had taken off their hide armor, revealing their burnt red bodies. Though they were lying in the water, it couldnât relieve them of their pain. They still tossed and turned, crying out pitifully.
Some of the Beastmen had already stopped breathing, turning into corpses. They floated in the water, tossed about by the waves.
No one cared about them; they were all tormented.
After seeing these people, a message appeared in Linkâs vision.
Mission accomplished: Defeat?
Player Link +100 Omni Points
Begin next mission: Suspicious Beastmen
Mission details: Gain the trust of the Beastmen and receive help from them.
Mission reward: 100 Omni Points
Link immediately accepted it.
On the other side, Masos sighed when he saw this. "This really is a horrible dragon catastrophe."
Felina opened her mouth to speak but then stopped. Her fellow dragons had done this, and she couldnât refute it. She just felt extremely shameful. She involuntarily clenched her fists.
Link had jumped down from the war wolf and was walking towards the Beastmen. Hearing Masos, he said, "Masos, watch your words. Isendilan did this, but he can only represent himself. He canât represent the entire dragon race, just like how there are horrible humans too."
Masos flinched. He glanced at the quiet Felina and realized that heâd said something wrong. Running to Link, he pointed at a Beastman sitting quietly on a rock beside the lake. "Master, thatâs the Sky Shattering Warlord Holun."
Link saw him as well. This guy was abnormally big, at around seven feet tall. His muscles bulged, filled with powerful tension. The hide armor on him was a bit damaged, and his dusty brown hair was kind of burnt yellow. There were some burn marks on his skin as well, but he wasnât in bad condition.
He sat on the rock without moving, gazing listlessly at his struggling brethren. It was as if he couldnât hear the pained cries from the lake. Or rather, he heard them, but he couldnât do anything. Heâd already done everything he could do.
Footsteps sounded. Holun looked over with his red eyes and saw four people who looked like humans walking toward him...No, there were three humans and one Red Dragon... Ah, it was a Red Dragon!
Why was the damn four-legged lizard here?!
Holun felt something explode inside him. He jumped up from the rock and prepared to fight but realized he had no weapons. He instantly turned around and bent down to pick up the boulder.
He applied force, but the rock didnât bulge. It was much bigger than heâd expected and the part he could see was just the tip of the iceberg.
Holun roared in anger. Was a rock going against him too?
"Move!" he yelled. The Titan Battle Aura was activated.
There were countless cracks. Holun had shattered the rock with his bare hands. Hoisting up the boulder, he used all his might and hurled it at Felina.
"Die, dragon!"
The two-ton rock whistled through the air. It was two feet wide and cut the air with shocking power.
Felina was shocked. She knew she couldnât catch it, so she quickly jumped aside.
Boom! The rock crashed into the riverbank mud and sank in. Mud splashed in all directions while there was a shockwave visible to the naked eye.
Felina had just dodged and hadnât even steadied herself before she was slammed by the tidal wave of mud. She was practically swept off her feet, and her legs were already sore and numb. She almost collapsed.
At this time, Holun had already broken off another giant piece of rock. He held it high up and hurled it at Felina.
Seeing that Felina would get stoned to death, Masos hurried over and yelled, "Holun, stop! Sheâs our friend. Sheâs here to help."
"Masos? Did you leave the White Cloud City to die here?" But Holun still listened to him and tossed the rock aside. He glared at Felina. "Help? Others can come help but not a dragon. I want to kill them all!"
Felina paled. Rather than becoming angry, she felt guilty. She wanted to apologize, but Link stopped her. "Heâs lost his temper," he murmured. "Your words might make things worse. Let me talk to him."
"Okay." Felina nodded lightly.
Masos had already explained to Holun why Linkâs group had come. At the end, he said, "Iâm really telling you to the truth, Holun. Theyâre here to help."
Holun huffed, his nostrils flaring. Fury still burned inside him. "The two humans can help but that dragon...I donât trust her. Make her leave. If I see her again, I wonât hold back again!"
His threat was very heavy. Felina couldnât leave, but she couldnât stay either. In the past, she would definitely walk away without looking back. She wouldnât take the mistreatment.
However, the Beastman was stronger than her, and she wasnât confident in her own strength, so she lost her pride. Furthermore, a dragon had caused this. She felt that she had to make up for it.
Seeing her like this, Link sighed. She was such an innocent girl. If it were him, he would leave if the other party didnât accept his help. Then he would return after he became stronger and teach the guy a lesson!
Now, he had to stand up for Felina. He walked forward and said coldly, "Beastman, you should apologize to the lady for your crude words!"
"Apologize?!" Holunâs repressed anger flared up again. "You want me to apologize to a dragon? Those damn lizards killed countless of my brethren. They killed the grand shaman and so many of my brothers. Theyâre still in torment now, and I have to apologize to her? Human, do you want to die?!"
As he spoke, Holun looked left and right. He was looking for rocks to teach this human a lesson.
Masos hurriedly urged, "Ah, Holun, donât be angry. This girl really came to help. She saved the people of the Uda Village before. The Magician helped too."
"Masos, scram. Iâm going to teach this Magician a lesson today. Since he saved the Uda Village, I wonât kill him."
Holun picked up the rock heâd tossed down earlier. He felt its weight and looked at the Magician. He was even thinner than Beastwomen, and this rock would definitely kill him. Holun tossed it down again and chose a smaller one. Weighing it, he still felt it was too much. He decided to not use a rock. A fist would do for such a small thing.
Waving his fist, he strode over to teach Link a lesson.
Link didnât hide, retreat, or use a spell. He pointed at the Beastmen Warriors in the lake and said, "Theyâre gravely injured, but I can heal them. Would you rather waste time fighting with me and watch your brothers die one by one or..."
He trailed off. His words were effective.
The last moment, Holun was still intimidating. The next moment, he sagged like a leaking balloon. "What did you say? You can heal them?" He looked eager.
"Of course. Thatâs why I came."
Thud. Without caring about his dignity as the Sky Shattering Warlord, Holun knelt down in the mud. "Save them! Please! I apologize for what I said. Please save them now!"
The change was so dramatic that even Masos who was used to the Beastmanâs temper was dumbfounded.
Link wasnât surprised though. Beastmen were much more straightforward than humans. They didnât care about pride. As long as they didnât feel disgraced, they would do whatever they want. Kneeling down in apology was childâs play.
Link nodded reservedly. "Good, I accept it. However, Felina is my friend. You should apologize to her too."
Gritting his teeth, Holun glanced at the suffering Beastmen. After a few seconds of hesitation, he unwillingly apologized. "Sorry, I was too brash."
"Itâs alright. Indeed, I-"
Link knew that Felina was saying the wrong thing. Beastmen were straightforward and only respected the strong. If someone softened their stance, the Beastmen would think they were easy to bully and do that. Holun would definitely take advantage of Felina if she acted like this.
"Okay, Felina," he cut her off. "Iâm going to look for some antidote ingredients. Take me there."
Holun also said, "Yes, yes, the Magician is right. Woman, stop wasting time and go save them."
See, he already guessed that he could bully Felina and spoke casually. If Felina continued to soften, Holun would get all over her.
Link scoffed. "Is that your attitude?"
Holun flinched and immediately changed his attitude. He slapped himself too, producing a crisp crack. "Iâm sorry, miss. I spoke improperly again. Please donât be offended."
That sounded better, and they couldnât waste any more time, so Link said to Felina, "Letâs go. The other ingredients are all in the lake. Take me there."
"Oh, okay." Felinaâs voice was rarely this gentle, but sheâd felt warm inside from Linkâs protection.
She transformed into a dragon. When Link climbed on, she flapped her wings and flew towards the heart of the Crystal Blue Lake.
Holun didnât let out a breath until he watched them leave. "Whatâs with this Magician?" he asked Masos. "Heâs so powerful. I canât even talk properly in front of him."
He didnât know the otherâs background, but there was an invisible pressure from the manâs tone and expression. Holun couldnât act imposingly at all.
Masos smiled inwardly. He knew the reasonâLink was powerful, but he also found Holunâs Achillesâ heel at once. No matter how strong you were, youâd still surrender obediently if the other had you in their palm.
He couldnât say that though. Instead, he had to make Link sound even better.
With a face of reverence, he said, "Oh, him? Heâs probably the strongest Magician in my race. I think that heâll be comparable to Bryant in the future."
"Bryant? Alright, Iâll give it to him." Holun ran back to the lake and yelled, "Brothers, hold on! That human is the new Bryant! Heâs here to save us!"
The legendary Magician Bryant wasnât just a name to the Beastmen. To them, it was a title for the humansâa glorious title like the warlord of the Beastmen.
Hearing that the new Bryant had arrived, most of the despair in the elite Warriors disappeared. They started hoping.