Chapter 200: Sun King's Ruins
"Huh?"
As soon as Leon spoke, the entire banquet hall fell silent. Over a dozen Title Archmages—including Joey and Heron—were stunned, each suspecting they’d misheard. How could it be 'sorry'? It made no sense. This was an entire plane, a chance to ascend in one leap...
Right, right, he must have been too nervous and misspoke...
"Sorry, Archmage Heron, three years is just too long..." As if hearing everyone’s thoughts, Leon calmly repeated himself.
This time, everyone heard him loud and clear...
Then, the entire banquet hall erupted once again.
He refused! He actually refused!
Heron offered an entire plane, yet the young Archmage turned him down!
This... this... is he out of his mind?!
Who in their right mind would refuse such a deal? An entire plane handed to you, and you simply push it away, saying three years is too long...
Conquering a plane usually takes at least a decade. Take Cloudspire Tower for example—the Pale Plane they discovered two centuries ago still isn’t fully conquered. For Heron to promise to clear one in three years shows absolute confidence in Black Tower’s strength. And yet, Leon complains three years is too long?
For a moment, several Title Archmages began to suspect that this young Archmage had no idea what a plane actually meant.
Otherwise, why would anyone refuse outright?
"Archmage Merlin, may I ask why?" Heron, ever the gentleman—no wonder Joey calls him a dead ghoul—didn’t get angry at Leon’s refusal. Instead, he smiled politely and asked.
"It’s a bit complicated..." Leon replied with an awkward smile.
Honestly, it really wasn’t easy to explain.
He couldn’t exactly tell Heron that he had far too many plane coordinates already—he barely had time to deal with them all, let alone worry about some unknown plane.
That kind of reason really couldn’t be used...
Otherwise, forget Heron blowing his top—even the other Title Archmages would probably spit at him. In an age when plane coordinates are worth their weight in gold, giving such a shameless excuse would be blatant showing off. He’d deserve to drown in their spit.
The problem is, it’s actually true...
I don’t even need to mention all the plane coordinates I got in the apocalypse. Just the ones I’ve collected since returning to this era—there are already several...
First, there’s the Bone Plane...
Right now, Leon hasn’t fully conquered the Bone Plane, but with the Death Tome in hand, he can open planar paths whenever he wants. William Merlin and Farrow have already led their people to occupy the Black Wasteland. With patience, total conquest is only a matter of time.
This is Leon’s foundation—no need to say more. All his power and resources will go to the Bone Plane first.
Then, deep within Whitebone Pinnacle, there’s the Demon Realm next to the Bone Plane. The two planes have already started to overlap. Even without outside interference, a planar path will open sooner or later. Leon’s job now is to gather strength and, when the time comes, launch an assault on the Demon Realm. He figures its riches won’t be much less than the Bone Plane’s...
Also, Leon has already negotiated with Oswald to borrow the Duskfire—that’s the key to opening the Sunset Plane.
But that’ll have to wait. Leon doesn’t have the strength to enter the Sunset Plane yet. At the very least, he’ll need to reach Level 5 Archmage before he can survive there.
And let’s not forget the subrealm Rudolph left behind.
Just look at all this...
Just counting casually, Leon already has three and a half planes waiting to be conquered and managed—not to mention all those plane coordinates he memorized in that desolate, decaying library.
Honestly, Leon only regrets not having three heads and six arms—there’s simply no way to handle all these planes at once.
As for the plane Heron mentioned, Leon could only say sorry—there’s just no room for it. Maybe he should get in line and make a reservation?
Besides, Leon had long since decided what he really wanted from the Black Tower...
Compared to this unknown plane, that’s what he truly has his sights set on...
"Lord Heron, I heard that a few months ago the Black Tower discovered a Third Dynasty ruin on the East Coast?"
"Oh?" Heron, visibly disappointed, frowned at this. "How did Archmage Merlin know about that?"
"Heh, just heard it in passing while chatting with someone."
"That’s right. Three months ago, the Black Tower did find a Third Dynasty ruin on the East Coast. I just finished dismantling all the traps a few days ago. Now, three Grandmasters from the Black Tower are working on the Alchemical Array there. In about a month, the formal excavation will begin..." Heron paused and gave Leon a curious look. "What, Archmage Merlin, you know something about this ruin?"
"I know a little. If I’m not mistaken, this ruin should be from the mid-Third Dynasty, left behind by the Sun King himself."
"Heh..." Heron knew that anyone who could mention the Sun King wasn’t just 'somewhat informed.' The true origin of this ruin had only been revealed within the Black Tower last month. For Leon to name it so casually, there were only two possibilities: he’d been watching the ruin for some time, or he had informants inside the Black Tower.
If it were anyone else, Heron would’ve already lost his temper. Whether Leon had been watching the ruin or planted informants, both were serious provocations to the Black Tower.
But faced with this young Archmage, Heron just smiled and said nothing...
In fact, instead of getting angry, Heron was genuinely pleased.
The Gathering of the Hand of Magic had gone on until now, but this was the first time Heron felt he had the upper hand...
It was like someone bringing you a pillow just when you want to sleep...
You could say this was exactly what Heron wanted to see...
Since you’re interested in the Sun King’s Ruins, we can have a proper negotiation.
Sure enough, Heron soon saw a flicker of greed in the young Archmage’s eyes. "I never expected the Black Tower to actually find the legendary Sun King’s Ruins..."
"Heh, it seems Archmage Merlin is interested in the Sun King’s Ruins as well. How about this—when the official excavation begins, you can come by and take a look. It’s not far from Seaview City, and I’ll be happy to host you."
"Let’s be direct, Lord Heron. I can see you’re very sincere about the Meditation Codex. Coincidentally, I’m very interested in the Sun King’s Ruins. I think we can make a deal."
Here it comes...
Heron chuckled inwardly, but his face showed nothing. "It’s possible, but may I ask, Archmage Merlin, which relic of the Sun King are you after?"
A flash of greed crossed the young Archmage’s eyes again. "What I want is the entire Sun King’s Ruins..."
"Uh..." Heron looked genuinely troubled.
The other Title Archmages couldn’t help but gasp. The entire Sun King’s Ruins—wasn’t that a bit much?
"Of course, I know that sounds a bit excessive. How about this, Lord Heron—I have two more Meditation Codexes. You can pick whichever one you want."
"Well..." Heron hesitated for nearly three minutes before finally nodding, albeit reluctantly. "Alright..."
Truthfully, Heron was laughing inside by now...
Others might not know the real situation with the Sun King’s Ruins, but how could Heron not know?
Over the past three months, the Black Tower dismantled traps and excavated the ruin at the same time. The most precious resources, deepest knowledge, and strongest equipment have all been sent back to the Black Tower...
But for secrecy, the Black Tower never announced this. Even within the Tower, only a handful of high-ranking mages know the truth.
Now the Sun King’s Ruins look untouched, but in reality, the most valuable relics were taken away long ago. The famous Sun King’s Ruins are basically an empty shell.
Heron never imagined that such an empty shell could be traded for a Meditation Codex with eight formulas. No matter how he looked at it, it was a bargain.
"Well then, here’s to a successful partnership." Leon grinned and shook Heron’s hand.
At that moment, Heron had no idea Leon was also laughing inside...
Heron thought Leon didn’t know the Sun King’s Ruins had already been emptied...
In fact, Leon had already seen the Black Tower’s excavation back in that desolate, decaying library.
It was a textbook case of excavation.
A cautionary tale, though...
Back in that wild grave-robbing era, every alchemist would earnestly warn their apprentices: "If you don’t study hard now, you’ll end up just like those idiots from the Black Tower—picking up sesame seeds and dropping a watermelon, and feeling smug about it for a thousand years..."
That’s right—this is the whole story of the Black Tower and the Sun King’s Ruins...