Chapter 600: Shameless Beyond Belief
Cyrus Watson had wanted to seize control of the fight, but the moment Leon's warning echoed in his mind, he faltered instantly. The spell on his lips died mid-incantation, leaving him standing there, awkward and exposed.
If Leon was right, then if he kept recklessly casting spells, all he'd accomplish was draining his own life force even faster...
A thunderous boom!
With a thunderous roar, Reina transformed into a Frost Dragon with breathtaking speed, her massive wings unfurling as she smashed dozens of Venomscale Lizards into bloody pulp. At the same instant, a beam of icy light blasted from her jaws, scything through the horde. Agonized screams echoed through the canyon...
Utterly terrifying...
Then, above Leon's head, the Arcane Wheel ascended, radiating a moonlit brilliance. As mana surged, spells poured forth as though magic were free, instantly drowning the Venomscale Lizards in arcane fury.
On the other side, Hubert, wielding Slaughter with domineering strength, charged into the center of the Venomscale Lizards. Each swing of his heavy warhammer smashed lizard after lizard, the raw power of Slaughter making the carnage all the more striking.
In less than five minutes, after relentless bombardment and slaughter, the screams faded and then vanished altogether. The Watson Family didn't even need to lift a finger—Leon, Reina, and the others had already wiped out over a hundred Venomscale Lizards.
"Lord Cyrus, good thing you backed off quickly this time. If the poison had reached your heart, even I couldn't have saved you..." Leon strolled over to Cyrus Watson, having already caught his little attempt earlier. Clearly, even this esteemed titled archmage was itching for action.
"Nonsense! I wasn't poisoned at all!" Cyrus Watson's forehead twitched with rage. This bastard was getting out of hand, mocking him again and again, treating an eighth-level titled archmage like a joke. Damn it, this time he had to teach Leon a lesson, or the kid would really think he could act wild just because he gave one warning...
"Leon Merlin, you..." Cyrus's face darkened, his grip tightening on his staff. But as he spat out the words, he suddenly froze...
Wait a minute...
If he heard right, Leon just said, "If the poison reaches your heart, I can't save you..." Annoying as that was, if you flipped the logic, didn't that mean that as long as the poison hadn't reached his heart, Leon could actually cure him?
Cyrus's expression froze, his grip loosening on the staff. He hesitated for a long moment, then finally managed a sheepish smile: "Uh... Magus Merlin, did you mean... do you mean... you actually have a way to cure the poison?"
"Of course I can cure you. But, Lord Watson, you keep insisting you're not poisoned. If you're not poisoned, how am I supposed to cure you?"
... Cyrus Watson's face turned from blue to pale in an instant. He wanted to slap himself—damn it, after all that, he'd just dug his own grave.
"Wonderful, wonderful... Magus Merlin, since you have a way to cure the poison, could you..." Even as an eighth-level titled archmage, Cyrus wasn't shameless enough to beg like an orc. He fidgeted for ages before finally muttering, barely louder than a mosquito, "Could you cure me?"
"Of course," Leon replied seriously. "But I'll need a lot of magical materials."
"Magical materials?"
At first, hearing Leon claim he could cure him, Cyrus Watson felt a twinge of anxiety, half-expecting some impossible demand. But when Leon said all he needed was magical materials, Cyrus visibly relaxed.
"The Watson Family has operated in Auckland for a thousand years—there's no magical material we can't provide! This trip alone, my spatial ring is packed with supplies. Go ahead, what do you need?"
"Excellent! Let me list them out." Leon chuckled, then began pulling materials from his spatial ring, drafting an impressively long list of requirements.
"Let me see." As soon as Leon finished, Reid Watson was the quickest to react, snatching the list from Leon's hand and scrutinizing every item.
After seeing seven or eight rare magical materials listed, Reid let out a sigh of relief. They were valuable, sure, but for him, they were hardly a challenge.
"No problem, Magus Merlin. These materials—not just Lord Cyrus, even I have them in my spatial ring. As long as you can cure Lord Cyrus, I'll give you all of these, and even more as a reward."
By now, both Reid Watson and Anthus had caught on to Cyrus's predicament—he'd been poisoned by fire. This was a prime opportunity to win favor, so Reid was acting more generous than ever...
"Hold on, that's not all." Leon interjected smoothly, giving Reid a heads-up before flipping the list over. "Check the back."
"There's more?" Reid Watson frowned, but glanced at the back anyway. His expression changed almost instantly—he was downright stunned by what he saw on Leon's list.
The back of the list was crammed with seventy or eighty magical materials, each one rare and precious. And it wasn't just alchemy ingredients—these covered nearly every field of arcane craft, far beyond simple potion-making.
Just look at this list: Ruhlmann Mithril, Abyssal Heart Gem—what the hell is this? Ruhlmann Mithril is for forging weapons, Abyssal Heart Gems are for embedding in spell formations, neither has anything to do with alchemy. And this one, Demonclaw—it's siege equipment material! What, are you planning to blow open a city gate with your potion?
This is just shameless...
"Magus Merlin, this list... isn't this a bit... excessive?" Reid Watson struggled to keep his temper in check, but after reading through the list, he was utterly exasperated.
This is highway robbery, isn't it?
"You wouldn't understand the realm of the Creator..." Leon's reply left Reid speechless. "If I listed it, I need it. If not, you can let Cyrus Watson die—I warned you, and there's not much time left before the half hour is up..."
"You're just looting us while we're down!" Reid Watson's face twisted with emotion as he roared at Leon. "The Watson Family will never give in!"
Leon just smirked, utterly indifferent.
"Give it to him." Cyrus Watson's words quickly shut down Reid's outrage.
Reid Watson stared at Cyrus in disbelief. "Lord Cyrus, Leon Merlin is blatantly robbing us while he can!"
"If you don't give him the materials, are you going to treat me yourself?" Cyrus Watson nearly wanted to jab a finger in Reid's face. What matters more—my life or those magical materials?
Cyrus felt like his lungs might burst from sheer exasperation at his idiot teammate. They're at death's door and he's still fussing over materials...
Reid Watson hesitated, glaring at Leon but saying nothing more. His silence was as good as surrender.
"Some of the materials are in my spatial ring. As for the rest, Anthus, Reid—help me gather them."
Cyrus Watson was just as reluctant. It felt like being mugged in broad daylight, yet still having to hand over the goods. But there was no choice; he'd been backed into a corner.
Anthus and Reid Watson moved sluggishly, opening their spatial rings with clear reluctance. With Cyrus having spoken, they didn't have the guts to refuse...
Soon, the three of them piled up a mountain of magical materials, shimmering in every imaginable color. Even Hubert couldn't help but swallow at the sight.
Only Reina managed to keep her composure...
"Magus Merlin, this is everything we could gather. We're still missing a few items."
After the three spent ages gathering materials, most of the items on the list were finally accounted for. Still, a few were so rare that even an eighth-level titled archmage like Cyrus Watson wouldn't carry them around.
"Lord Cyrus, honestly, those last few items aren't strictly necessary. I noticed some Crimsonfire Adamant and Serton Gems in Reid Watson's spatial ring, plus a chunk of Fallen Magic Iron. If you don't mind, those could substitute..."
"Leon Merlin, you've gone too far!"
Before Cyrus or Anthus could protest, Reid Watson exploded.
This was outright shameless robbery...
Who ever heard of 'substituting' magical materials, especially ones as wildly different as these? Metals and gems—alchemy isn't magic tricks, you can't just toss them together and call it a potion!
Seriously, this is shameless even for a substitution!