Chapter 550: The Moonstone and the Realm's Elite (1)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Link tapped on the envelope that he had received from Gildern. A mild current of Dragon Power flowed out from his hand, undoing the seal on the envelope. He then took out the letter contained inside it.
He recognized Kanorse's handwriting on the letter. There were three pages in total, detailing what had happened in Orida Fortress since Link left. Kanorse had even used red ink to mark out anything he thought merited Link's attention.
There were two important things that Kanorse had emphasized with red ink.
The first important matter was that there was a slight change in the equipment used by the scouts of the enemy in the Black Forest. Low-ranking soldiers were still using standard equipment forged by the Dark Elves themselves, but higher-ranking officers with higher combat power had been seen armed with dwarven gear. There were also a few accounts of some of them using magical weapons made by the Yabba people, which included high-precision magical rifles. With such weapons at their disposal, they were even able to kill a high-ranking Level-7 general.
Kanorse figured that the dwarves of the Hengduan Mountain Range were supplying weapons to the Army of Destruction. Kanorse had written quite plainly on the subject of the magical machinery. He hoped that Link would conduct an investigation on the Yabba people currently residing in Ferde in order to make sure that they were not collaborating with Ferde's enemy.
Link frowned upon reading this. The fact that the enemy had been seen using Yabba weapons troubled him deeply.
It was common knowledge that the Yabba people were currently living in Ferde. The whole continent was aware of this. What was also common knowledge was the fact that Ferde specialized in trade and commerce. The country had been dealing in the trade of clay and gyromagnetic iron. Only recently did it begin exporting magical equipment. Ferde's wares could be found virtually everywhere.
Anyone would easily put two and two together and come to the conclusion that Ferde might be encouraging the Yabba people to sell their magical equipment to the Army of Destruction just to earn a quick buck.
Despite what he had written, Link could clearly sense Kanorse's distrust towards the Yabba people. This raised a few red flags for Link.
Perhaps this was the Agatha Nagas' way of sowing discord among us, thought Link.
The second matter was just as important. A tribe of the Beastmen had left the Golden Plains, traversed the Hengduan Mountain Range and finally entered the Black Forest. Evidently, this meant that they had formed an alliance with the Army of Destruction.
According to the information that Kanorse had received, there was a brutal civil war among the Beastmen in the Golden Plains. A warlord called Avatar was able to finally unify the whole tribe and proclaimed himself the one and true king of the Beastmen. But not everyone agreed to his rule.
Storm Warlord Parmese led his tribe on an exodus all the way up north in order to join the Army of Destruction. There were at least 500,000 people in his tribe, which was a tenth of the total Beastmen population. In Parmese's tribe, there were more than 50,000 able-bodied Warriors.
The Beastmen were known for their raw strength and fearlessness. With standard military equipment and organization, they were basically a killing machine on the battlefield.
The fact that a Beastman Warlord had joined the ranks of the Army of Darkness was most worrying.
After reading the letter, Link was deep in thought. A few minutes later, Mana flowed out from his hand and ripped the letter to shreds. He then turned to Gildern, who had been standing in a corner all this time, and asked, "What are your thoughts on the Yabba people?"
Gildern pondered for a moment and then said, "Not a bad bunch. They've been hard at work making a home for themselves on Blue Stone Isle. They're also a friendly lot. Never needed to worry about being scammed while doing business with them. They would always lay out all the numbers of a business deal in black and white, telling you what they hope to earn from it, which is usually between five percent to 20 percent. Quite reasonable, if you ask me. They're also model citizens of Ferde. No Yabba individual has ever been involved in an incident in Ferde. All in all, they're never the trouble-making kind."
It was clear that the Yabba people abide by the laws of Ferde to the letter. What this also meant was that they were careful enough not to be on the humans' bad books.
How could the Yabba people be selling weapons to the Army of Destruction with that mindset at such a critical time? One should bear in mind that there were only ten thousand Yabba people as of now. One misstep could spell the end of their entire race.
Hearing this, Link nodded. "I see. Alright, we're done here. You can leave now."
"Thank you." Gildern immediately left the Mage Tower.
Link rubbed his forehead with a finger as he pondered on what he had read. Suddenly, he had an idea. Activating a Spiritual Transmission spell, he summoned Elin, who had been idling in the Mage Tower.
Ten minutes later, Elin pranced into his room. "Lord, is something the matter?"
"Sit, please," said Link with a smile.
Elin was a bit nervous. Right now, Link was the Lord of Ferde and a Legendary master whose name was known far and wide across the continent. His every word and action determined the fate of her entire race. Though Link had spoken casually to her, Elin sat straight in one of the chairs in a corner, not daring to act casually in his presence like before.
Link proceeded to tell her everything he had read from Kanorse's letter. He then said, "Elin, bring this news to your Chancellor. Tell him not to let his guard down and keep a tight leash on the Yabba people.
Elin was taken aback. Her gemstone-like eyes widened. She then asked Link worriedly, "Lord, do you suspect that Blue Stone Isle is illegally exporting their magical weapons?"
Elin was confident that Blue Stone Isle would never do such a thing, but it did not matter what she thought. Link did not trust the Yabba people. This was the sad truth of living under someone else's roof. No matter how generous their master might seem, they were still no more than guests in his domain.
Seeing the taut smile on her face and her two hands squeezed into fists, Link sighed inwardly. He spoke gently, "I trust you, but the hearts of the common folk can be easily swayed. A thousand miles from here, the Warriors of Orida Fortress have watched their comrades be slaughtered by the same magical weapons being sold from Blue Stone Isle. Tensions are running high there right now. I just don't want to give the soldiers there any more reason to channel their discontent towards Blue Stone Isle. Do you understand?"
Elin understood what Link had meant. She sighed and nodded at him. "I'll pass on your message to the Craftsmen's Guild."
"You can go now. Tell the Chancellor on my behalf that we're still friends!"
"I will." Elin gave Link a bow. She then turned around and left the room.
After a moment of silence, Link decided that he would pay the Golden Plains a visit in the near future.
Link was on good terms with the Glorious Warlord Avatar and the Sky Shattering Warlord Holun. Since the Storm Warlord had joined forces with the Army of Destruction, Link thought he might as well help Orida Fortress receive Avatar's aid.
Link decided to make this trip to the Golden Plains by himself.
The reason was simple: things had been quite tense between him and the High Elves. With all kinds of spatial spells at his disposal, Link would be able to see things through without much fuss if he were to venture out alone without anyone else holding him down.
Still, this was a risky affair. He was still not at his full strength.
I used up all of my strength when going up against the World Impaler. I probably won't survive another encounter with Ariel, especially if she brings her friends around next time. I need to become stronger, he thought.
At this, Link took out the moonstone again.
There were many factors affecting a person's power level. Everyone's case was different, but the purity of a person's power was a common factor. Though Link's power was called Flawless Dragon Power, he had recently begun to feel the effects of the impurity of one's power.
There were two effects Link had felt. Firstly, his Dragon Power was unable to cope with the strain of his research of higher-level Legendary spells. Secondly, his Dragon Power was now increasing at a noticeably slower rate.
The winds of change were now blowing through the continent of Firuman. Masters were popping up everywhere, but still Link felt that his power had already hit a high point.
As of now, he had a maximum of 17,300 Dragon Power points and 500 Omni Points. In total, he had 17,800 points. To reach Level-12, he needed at least 25,000 Dragon Power points. At his current rate, Link estimated that he would need another two years to reach Level-12.
He could not wait that long.
In the game world, geniuses like Eliard, Ariel, Annie, Kanorse and the others had probably received the realm's blessing after reaching Legendary. The increase of their power level did not slow down one bit. For example, after reaching Legendary, Eliard was able to hit Level-19 in six years.
Link shuddered at the thought of how fast Eliard had managed to level up.
This was where this piece of moonstone would come in handy.