Chapter 232: Apology
"I'd love to let it go, but the problem is, Lord Sylas West won't allow it..." Leon said, his smile fading as he pointed toward the distant Salomon. "Do you see him, Lord Caron? That's Archmage Salomon, one of the most respected elders in Seaview City. He's looked out for me more than once, all just to stop this wager. In the end, Lord Sylas burned his arm."
"This..." Caron knew immediately he had underestimated the seriousness of the situation. At first, he'd thought Sylas West had merely said something offensive and provoked the young Grandmaster. He hadn't expected Sylas to actually make a move—and at Salomon, Star Sage Joey's own disciple, no less...
Now things had really gotten out of hand...
Thinking about it, Caron felt a headache coming on. He knew a bit about the relationship between Leon Merlin and Salomon. In fact, Leon had joined the Vanrison's Formulas research precisely because of Salomon's recommendation. Sylas West, of all people, had to pick Salomon as his target.
Forget Star Sage Joey...
Even Leon Merlin won't let you off now.
What now?
"Leon, I'll personally apologize to Star Sage Joey. Could you do me a favor and let this go?"
"Lord Caron, it's a bit late for that..." But this time, Leon simply shook his head, unfurling the parchment scroll again. He dipped his quill into the Melted Snow ink, ready to write once more...
"Wait, wait, Leon, let's talk about this. Don't—don't do that..." Caron was startled, realizing this was no joke. If the Lightless Domain was cracked, Sylas West might lose both arms.
If it were anyone else, Caron might still gamble, betting they couldn't break the Lightless Domain.
But this young Grandmaster in front of him—Caron really didn't dare to take that bet...
Caron had seen it himself: this young Grandmaster cracked more than a dozen Vanrison Formula Core Spell Models in a single night. His near-monstrous calculation ability stunned the entire research team. The Lightless Domain might be close to True Spirit level, but it's still fundamentally a matter of calculation. Against such terrifying computational power, it wouldn't stand a chance...
And Sylas West, that idiot...
He even gave Leon a whole day. What a joke—give him a day and he'll crack a dozen Vanrison Formula Core Spell Models, let alone your Lightless Domain. You think you're Oswald or Master Nolan?
"Leon, please, do me a favor. Sylas is the youngest of Master Nolan's disciples, and I've always treated him like a real brother. If you were in my shoes, you wouldn't want to see your own brother lose both arms, would you? I'm begging you, let it go—don't stoop to his level..."
"Sigh..." Seeing Caron's anxious face, Leon couldn't help but sigh. This most outstanding disciple of Mercury Tower was, just as the rumors said, deeply protective of Master Nolan's students.
And then there's Master Nolan...
Back at the Order of the Arcane Hand Gathering, Nolan had done him a huge favor—an expensive one at that. If Nolan hadn't intervened, the third set of Meditation Codexes would have been sold for less than fifty Soul Mana Crystals.
It was only because Nolan stepped in that the price was driven up to sixty Soul Mana Crystals. By that calculation, this favor was worth at least ten Soul Mana Crystals—enough to buy the entire Gilded Rose.
Seeing Leon's expression soften a little, Caron hurried to press his case: "Leon, how about this—I'll have Sylas apologize to Salomon, a proper apology. And when we get back, I'll report this to Master Nolan and make sure Sylas gets a real lesson. Please, do me this favor, and let's just let it go..."
"Let him apologize." Caron had gone this far, and Leon couldn't insist anymore. After a moment's thought, he rolled up the parchment and handed it back to Caron.
"Good, absolutely, absolutely..." Caron finally breathed a sigh of relief as he took the parchment, striding quickly over to Sylas West.
"Sylas, the matter between you and Leon ends here. No one is to bring it up again. Now, go apologize to Archmage Salomon. Honestly, Salomon is Star Sage Joey's disciple. You laid hands on him—aren't you afraid Master Nolan will skin you alive?" Even though things were settled, Caron couldn't help but scold Sylas again.
Sylas West wasn't surprised at all...
In fact, the moment Caron showed up, Sylas knew the wager was as good as over. Caron was always like this—too honest, too gentle. In negotiations for Mercury Tower, he'd suffered so many small losses because of it, costing the Tower no small amount.
Just like this time...
Leon Merlin must have played on Caron's nature somehow—who knows what clever words he used to get Caron to step in and end the wager. Caron, honestly, believes whatever people say. Leon Merlin even dared to disparage Mercury Tower's alchemy standards, and Caron still helped him...
But whatever, if Caron said to end the wager, then so be it. Just a young Grandmaster—letting him keep his arms isn't the end of the world. Hopefully, he'll learn something from this and keep his mouth shut in the future.
Thinking this over, Sylas West nodded and took the rolled-up parchment. But before heading over to apologize to Salomon, he shot Leon a contemptuous look. "Leon Merlin, I guess you're not all that confident in your alchemy after all. We'll let it go this time, but I hope you've learned something—keep that mouth of yours in check."
This chapter isn't over yet ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!
Smack!
Sylas hadn't even finished his sentence when Caron slapped him across the face.
The sharp sound echoed through the camp, and everything seemed to fall silent.
"Caron?" Sylas clutched his now-swollen cheek, looking at Caron with eyes full of bewilderment.
Sylas was completely stunned by the slap...
The so-called Flame Demon, a Title Archmage, never imagined Caron would actually hit him. Ever since Sylas joined Master Nolan, it was Caron who looked after everyone, treating Sylas like a younger brother.
Caron was famous for his good temper in Auckland, always the nice guy. Among Master Nolan's disciples, he never said a harsh word to anyone.
Sylas remembered clearly: back when he was just an Archmage, he made a disastrous decision in the Senjin Plane, losing thousands of alchemical golems and almost costing Mercury Tower the entire plane. Even then, Caron just smiled and said it was nothing, never bringing it up again.
Fortunately, the Senjin Plane was saved in the end.
But it wasn't until three years later that Sylas learned the truth: the only reason the Senjin Plane was saved was because that night, Caron had secretly gone underground and assassinated three key leaders of the subterranean elves, defusing the crisis for the time being. Caron paid for it with three years of serious injury, only revealing the truth to Master Nolan after he had recovered.
Back then, when Sylas apologized to Caron, Caron just smiled and shook his head, saying it was nothing...
But now, after that slap, Caron's face was pale with anger. "Sylas, are you trying to drive me mad?"
"I... I..." Sylas had never seen Caron so angry before. For a moment, he was at a complete loss, unable to get out a single coherent sentence.
"Go apologize to Archmage Salomon immediately!" Caron was so angry he nearly had a heart attack. Sylas, how could you be so clueless? I went to all this trouble to save your arms, and you still want to provoke people, still want to tell them to watch their mouths? Maybe start by watching your own!
Thankfully, after that slap, Sylas finally settled down...
Under Caron's supervision, he obediently apologized to Salomon...
And to be fair, his attitude was genuinely sincere.
"Archmage Salomon, I'm sorry. Please forgive me." Sylas bowed deeply, then pulled out two bottles of Spring Rain Elixir from his pocket—each one crafted to heal burns, and each worth over a hundred thousand gold coins.
Just when everyone thought the apology was over, Sylas suddenly muttered an incantation and cast a Fireburst spell—right onto his own hand...
With a sickening crack, Sylas's arm broke on the spot. His face went deathly pale as cold sweat poured down his forehead...
Everyone was utterly stunned by the scene.
Gritting his teeth through the pain, Sylas let the flames of Fireburst burn his broken arm for a full minute. Even Salomon couldn't bear to watch, urging him to stop. Only then did Sylas extinguish the flames.
With that, the farce finally came to an end.
That night, Caron stayed in the camp. He shared a tent with Sylas, and neither spoke a word. The strange silence lasted until nearly midnight, when Caron finally broke it with a sigh.
"Sylas, do you think I was too harsh?"
************
Just got back from the hospital—same old problem, gastritis.
Owe two chapters from the past two days. Will try to make up for it this month.