Chapter 1144
But the agents we sent, after sneaking into the demi-plane controlled by Leon Merlin—mockingly called 'Matthew Merlin' by his enemies—were immediately caught by him.
Then that conniving bastard Diras goaded me into launching a direct assault on Leon Merlin's camp, trying to snatch his arcane secrets. I was too scared of being punished if I refused, so I agreed, rounded up some people, and attacked.
Who would've guessed there were so many heavy hitters in Leon Merlin's camp? We didn't stand a chance and got nabbed almost instantly...
And right after that, we saw Lord Phelps get captured too..."
The more Stongge talked, the quieter he got and the paler his face became. He could already picture the kind of punishment waiting for him when he got back...
Phelps, jaw clenched, slapped Stongge hard across the face with his only good hand.
"Too many heavy hitters? You idiot, you nearly got us all killed—I almost died because of you!
Damn idiot, there are four true Sky Ranks in this camp, and if you count Leon Merlin, who can fight at Sky Rank, that's five Sky Ranks packed into this tiny camp!
And you still barged in to steal things—would you only be satisfied if we all got killed?
Stongge took the slap without fighting back, glared furiously at Diras, and spat curses at him.
I already knew I'd messed up, but that idiot Diras tricked me, and that's how things spiraled out of control. He kept pushing me to attack Leon Merlin's camp.
If it weren't for that bastard, I'd have already wrapped up the negotiations by now...
Smythe stared at Stongge in shock, his teeth grinding audibly.
Damn it, so after all this, we're the ones in the wrong? We're the ones who broke the alliance?
You idiot, do you have any idea how much damage it'll do to the Burning Tower if Leon Merlin makes this public?
If word gets out that we tried to steal from our allies and assaulted their camp, nobody will ever dare work with the Burning Tower again!
And that idiot Diras—he's totally screwed us this time. Those Shadow Tower rats, I swear, if I ever see one of those sewer-dwelling bastards again, I'll take them out on sight!
Cold sweat broke out across Stongge's forehead—he could already see how things would end once he got back. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit, and he scrambled to save himself.
Lord Smythe, we have to rescue that mage Byron. He managed to sneak into Leon Merlin's demi-plane and must've seen his alchemical experiments—he knows something crucial.
If we can get him back, we'll unlock the key secrets to mastering Beast God's Blood. With that, we could keep creating Sky Rank powerhouses.
Stongge wiped away his cold sweat. As long as he could get the Beast God's Blood secrets, a few setbacks wouldn't mean total failure—at least he wouldn't be sent straight to the magic mines...
Smythe's eyes lit up, and he immediately resumed negotiations.
Negotiations restarted, and Smythe promptly produced over thirty mana crystals to ransom all the Burning Tower mages.
Recently, these mages had been imprisoned together with the Shadow Tower mages. With everyone locked up together, unexpected intelligence was bound to surface. After a series of interrogations, Smythe finally confirmed Byron's value.
He sought out Archmage Leon again to negotiate the release of the Shadow Tower mages.
"Archmage Leon, I've figured out the truth and the cause behind this mess. But as allies, I can't allow any rifts to form between our factions.
So, regarding the Shadow Tower mages, Burning Tower is willing to pay mana crystals to ransom all of them—every last one!"
Leon couldn't help but laugh at that.
He'd assumed Burning Tower wouldn't care about the fate of the Shadow Tower mages, but their generosity was surprising.