Chapter 826: Cold Sweat
"Lord Baroque, if you have any requests, please feel free to state them. I can make a note of it."
A hint of smugness crept onto Baroque's face—he knew the cowardly Merlin Family wouldn't dare resist.
"It's simple. The harvest from the Horn of Plenty is off limits for your Merlin Family. And those three mines near the Horn that you control? Hand them over to us at the Black Tower, as compensation."
A flash of anger flickered in Thorne's eyes, but he knew better than to openly offend this arrogant bastard. For now, he could only play along and stall for time.
"Lord Baroque, to be honest, this is too big for me to decide. Only Archmage Leon has the authority, and he's just returned. I'm not qualified to make this call."
Baroque looked a bit surprised, then waved his hand dismissively. "Where is this Leon Merlin? Have him come see me."
Thorne offered an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Lord Baroque, but Archmage Leon is in the middle of a very important alchemy experiment. He's already given strict orders not to be disturbed unless the Blazing Plane is destroyed. If all goes well, he should be out by tomorrow. Perhaps you could return then?"
Baroque's brow furrowed, and he muttered a complaint.
"Tell him to hurry up! What alchemy experiment could possibly be more important than me? I'm here in person, and he's still tinkering away?"
Thorne's expression remained unchanged as he continued to persuade.
"Lord Baroque, Archmage Leon is a formidable alchemist. I wouldn't dare approach his lab—last time I got close, I nearly died. Tomorrow, he should be finished. Lord Baroque, maybe you could wait, or come back then?"
Baroque looked thoroughly displeased, but before he could retort, Thorne quickly added another line.
"Lord Baroque, any matter you wish to discuss can only be decided by Archmage Leon. No one else in the fortress has the authority."
At that, Baroque snorted coldly, his magical power surging like a tidal wave, forcing Thorne to stagger back several steps.
"Hmph. I've changed my mind—the number of mines is now six! When this Leon Merlin shows up, tell him not a single one less! If you refuse, you'll see that the dignity of a Ninth-Rank Title Archmage is not to be challenged!"
With that, he turned and strode out of the reception hall.
Outside, no one dared provoke Baroque, allowing him to swagger out of Inferno Fortress.
Thorne wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and forced a bitter smile. Luckily, Baroque at least understood that unless it was a matter of life and death, you never barge into an alchemist's lab...
With Baroque gone, the rest was out of their hands. Since Archmage Leon had returned, it was up to him to deal with it...
The next day, in Leon's alchemy lab, the Doombringer Staff floated quietly in midair, surrounded by a ring of swirling violet liquid.
The Violet Dragon Avatar hovered atop the staff, cheering endlessly as streams of violet liquid, thin as strands of hair, flowed into its mouth and were greedily devoured.
As time passed, the swirling violet liquid around the Doombringer Staff grew sparse, and the Violet Dragon Avatar began to change dramatically.
Its once phantom-like body solidified, growing from palm-sized to nearly half a meter tall.
Its baby dragon features gradually shifted to those of a juvenile dragon—it looked much bigger, and its stubby wings had grown several times over.
With all the violet liquid absorbed, a smile appeared on Leon's face.
Finally, it's done...
Though the Doombringer Staff itself hadn't leveled up, the upgrade to the Violet Dragon Avatar was what truly mattered!
For an Essence Relic, the avatar is its most precious aspect. Some relics aren't remarkable themselves—their power lies entirely in the avatar.
It's just like Lord Shaun—almost all the artifact's power is bound to him, and every magic crystal devoured only serves to make Lord Shaun stronger.
Although the Doombringer Staff could boost spell power and casting speed, it was worlds apart from the enhancements granted by the Violet Dragon Avatar. The difference wasn’t even close.
But the hardest thing was to advance the Essence Relic’s avatar itself. This time, Leon had finally managed to obtain a rare set of materials that could strengthen the avatar—he couldn’t afford to be careless.
Even as a Creator, Leon was still painstakingly careful. From preparing the materials to crafting the final reagent, he followed every step to the letter, terrified of failure.
Because if he failed, he might never find another batch of materials like these again.
But the results were excellent—the Doombringer Staff’s power wasn’t cheap, but its enhancement was more than fifty percent. With the avatar empowered, Leon’s combat strength increased by at least half!
Considering Leon’s baseline combat strength, a fifty percent increase was terrifying. If Andefa and the others found out, they’d be shocked out of their minds.
If Seth and his crew knew the truth, they’d probably wet themselves in fear.
If someone with a combat rating of ten got a fifty percent boost, it wouldn’t mean much. But Leon’s base was in the tens of thousands—a fifty percent jump was downright frightening.
At the Title Archmage stage, every increment was massive. A fifty percent increase meant you could basically kill two of your old selves!
Leon put away the Doombringer Staff, feeling pretty good about himself. Even at the peak of the Northrend world, when archmages were like gods and devils, not a single one ever managed to gather such materials to boost their avatar.
A direct upgrade of the avatar’s growth level! Even the plane conquerors would be green with envy, desperate to snatch it for themselves.
Leon stepped out of the alchemy lab, and someone immediately came up to him.
"Archmage Leon, Lord Baroque of the Black Tower sent word—he wants you to meet him at Gryphon Fortress."
Leon paused for a moment. Baroque? Who was that again? Someone from the Black Tower? Was this guy an idiot?
He waved the messenger away, then left Inferno Fortress with his fifty mages. As for Baroque? He forgot about him in an instant, not giving it a second thought.
Did this idiot think he was the head of the Merlin Family? Even the real patriarch wouldn’t dare order Leon around like that.
Meanwhile, at Gryphon Fortress...
Baroque hadn’t done a thing all day. He’d sent a messenger to Inferno Fortress in the morning, and then just waited here.
Hmph, the Merlin Family’s commander? Once you get here, I’ll make you cough up the family’s harvest from all these years. Those mines and resources are wasted on you—better hand them over to me, Baroque. Only I’m worthy of them.
Refuse? Ha, that’d be perfect. The Merlin Family can just get a new commander. To offend a Ninth-Rank Title Archmage is to pay with your life.
Baroque sat in the Gryphon Fortress reception hall, a smug grin on his face, plotting how to give Leon a real scare.
Let him get a taste of a Ninth-Rank Title Archmage’s authority early. No, too crude. A kid like that would probably wet his pants as soon as I let loose my aura.
But maybe that’s for the best. If I do that, he’ll probably agree to anything I say.
Hmm, forget it. Better to squeeze the benefits out of him, make sure he holds a grudge, and then I’ll visit the Merlin Family again in a few days—maybe even seize one of their fortresses.
The Blazing Plane’s all-out assault is about to begin. The more fortresses and power I control, the more resources I’ll get. If I play this right, the Black Tower Speaker’s seat will be mine soon. Heron will have to step down—he’s never brought in this much for the Black Tower. I’m the real master here...
Baroque lingered in the reception hall, staring longingly at the doors, waiting in silence.
Time ticked by, but Baroque didn’t care—until he suddenly realized it was already dark. He snapped awake.
That damned Leon Merlin hadn’t shown up all day!
"Bastard! Bastard! That damned fool actually made me wait here all day. How dare he? Is he mocking the dignity of the Black Tower, mocking the dignity of a Ninth-Rank Title Archmage? Damn it, I’ll make you pay!"
"Leon Merlin, damn you, Leon Merlin! Just you wait—I’ll show you what it means to insult a Ninth-Rank Title Archmage..."
"Leon Merlin, I’ll kill you. I swear I’ll kill you..."
Baroque raged in the reception hall, magic swirling like a storm, tearing the furniture to shreds with his wild power.
Baroque’s curses could be heard hundreds of meters outside the hall.
Just then, a weary-faced Wes returned from outside. As soon as he got back to Gryphon Fortress, he heard Baroque’s furious shouting—the whole reception hall was nearly wrecked. Everyone outside kept their distance; no one dared go near.
Wes heard someone cursing Leon Merlin and was instantly alarmed. He grabbed someone and asked around, quickly learning it was Baroque, the Black Tower’s new second-in-command.
Wes had left for the Blazing Plane with Leon, and at that time Baroque was busy consolidating his breakthrough to Ninth-Rank Title Archmage. He’d only shown up at Gryphon Fortress in the last couple of days; Wes hadn’t met him yet.
He’d just come back hoping to meet the new commander. It was obvious to everyone that once Heron entered the Black Tower’s sanctuary, Baroque would be the next Speaker...
But now, Wes was sweating cold, his face pale with fear...