'No good, I can't haggle with him. That guy probably doesn't plan on handing John's corpse over to me, so he asked for a high price. If we don't accept, he will justifiably hang John's corpse at the entrance of Neverwinter City.
'He will use the reputation of the Gilded Rose to deter those restless bandits, or to deter others.
'Right, that's it, he definitely doesn't want to give us the corpse, but we absolutely can't let him take the corpse away.'
As these thoughts rapidly flashed through his mind, Pass made a decision with an awkward expression and a hint of negotiation in his tone.
"H.e. Mafa Merlin, there are too many materials. I don't have the authority to make a decision, and I can't mobilize the inventory. After all, you know that these materials are a bit too much.
"Please wait a bit, I'll report to the Family and we'll quickly make a decision. It won't take too long."
Pass sent the list of conditions back to the Rodney Family through a magic beacon, and it took less than five minutes for the magic beacon to receive a reply. It was in the name of the Rodney Family's Elder Council. There were only two words.
'Give it to him.'
Pass sighed in relief when he saw those two words. His main objective was to retrieve John's corpse, nothing else was too important.
"H.e. Mafa Merlin, the Family has already agreed to your conditions, but there are too many materials and it will take some time to deliver them. Please wait for an hour."
Lin Yun nodded and calmly waited.
After an hour, a Spatial Door slowly opened in the sky and a 2nd Rank Heaven powerhouse walked out and handed five spatial rings to Pass.
Pass handed the spatial rings to Lin Yun.
"H.e. Mafa Merlin, you can check the materials and complete the transaction."
Lin Yun bluntly opened the spatial rings and checked the materials inside. He then inwardly sneered and remained silent.
After getting all the materials, Lin Yun handed John's corpse to Pass.
"Sir Pass, if there are bandits like the Death Sickle in the future, you can let me know and I can help your Rodney Family deal with them."
After saying that, Lin Yun flew up and disappeared.
Lin Yun didn't fly far and directly entered his Demiplane. He then flew above the Mana Lake and crushed the five spatial rings in his hand.
After the spatial rings exploded, the materials inside fell towards the Mana Lake like rain.
Lin Yun then mobilized the pure mana within the Mana Lake to condense Mana Water and transform it into a huge Water Dragon that wrapped all the materials within. The pure mana cleansed all the materials, and not only did it make the quality of the materials better, it also had another important effect: it washed away all the imprints that might have been left within.
As long as it was within the scope of normal Laws, all marks and imprints would be washed away by the pure Mana Water.
Lin Yun didn't believe that these materials had any imprints left behind by powerhouses that ignited their Godfire. If the Rodney Family had such a powerhouse, why would they need to waste words with the Gilded Rose? They would be able to crush Lin Yun with a finger from a few thousand kilometers away. Moreover, no one would dare to say that there was anything wrong with this.
It was clear that the Rodney Family didn't have any good intentions in agreeing so readily. They might have been waiting for Lin Yun to fly away with the materials before immediately sending people to surround and kill Lin Yun.
Lin Yun was the true ruler of the Gilded Rose. If Lin Yun died, the Gilded Rose would collapse at the first blow from the Rodney Family. It wouldn't be difficult for them to annex the Gilded Rose.
Unfortunately, Lin Yun had already expected that the Rodney Family would agree so readily. They definitely had other plans.
The first thing he did after getting the materials was to wash them. Unless it was the imprint left behind by a powerhouse that could change Laws like Agalon, there was no imprint that couldn't be washed away by Mana Lake.
After washing them, Lin Yun put all the materials back together with a smile on his face.
The total value of the materials and alchemy items that the Gilded Rose had lost couldn't compare to the value of these materials. Moreover, the value of these materials was twice as high as what the Gilded Rose's caravan had lost.
After these materials were turned into alchemy items, the benefits would be a few dozen times higher.
Moreover, that corpse was originally used to extort the Rodney Family. Lin Yun's price just happened to be the limit of the Rodney Family. After weighing the pros and cons, they would definitely give, but they wouldn't be very happy about it.
In any case, the conflict with the Rodney Family definitely wouldn't end like this. There would definitely be more to come. They would hang the corpse at the entrance of Neverwinter City as a public display. The Rodney Family would lose face and would continue opposing the Gilded Rose.
They were in a hurry to retrieve the corpse, but they would still end up opposing the Gilded Rose. Since the result wouldn't change, they might as well take advantage of the opportunity to extort the Rodney Family to make up for the Gilded Rose's losses.
After washing the materials and putting them in a new Spatial Ring, Lin Yun left the Demiplane and opened a Spatial Door to return to Neverwinter City.
As for the Rodney Family's Elders, they were thoroughly enraged. Less than a minute after Lin Yun left Pass' line of sight, the tracking array was activated, but they discovered that the tracking array had lost effect and the marker had completely disappeared.
The marker of the Spatial Ring itself and the marker of the materials completely lost reaction, as if those markers had been erased in an instant.
Lin Yun's Natural Demiplane had been reinforced with several tens of thousands of kilograms of Eternal Dark Gold. As the Natural Demiplane leveled up, that Eternal Dark Gold had already thoroughly fused with the Demiplane. The defensive ability of the Demiplane had already reached an unfathomable level. It was completely sealed.
Even if the Natural Demiplane truly became a world in the future, no one would be able to discover the Planar Path leading to the Natural Demiplane.
Those markers were a joke.
If it wasn't for the fact that he wanted to use them, Lin Yun wouldn't have used Mana Water to wash those materials.
"Damnit, how did he discover those markers? There were at least a million kilograms of all kinds of materials, how did he discover three of them with markers?
Scoundrel, sly scoundrel, he actually let him take away all those precious materials. Great, now our family's stock of materials and our family's stores will all be affected! "
In the Rodney Family's conference room, an Elder angrily roared, while another Elder with a gloomy expression frowned as he thought of something else.
"Why do I feel that Mafa Merlin must have discovered that John was a member of our Rodney Family? Otherwise, why would that damned Mafa Merlin suddenly kill John when John was about to release his steel spell?
"He definitely wanted to capture John alive and then negotiate with our Rodney Family to ruthlessly extort us.
"John is dead, so he used the corpse to extort us."
As soon as these words came out, everyone quieted down. A few seconds later, another elder gnashed his teeth in anger.
"We can't let this continue, we can't let Mafa Merlin and his Gilded Rose keep being so arrogant.
'Since the Death Scythe is crippled, we have to think of another way. We can't let this continue. Since that Mafa Merlin was able to discover those imprints so quickly and instantly erase them, it shows that his alchemy skills have reached a terrifying level.
"It was rumored that the Gilded Rose relied on Mafa Merlin's alchemy skills at the start. Even now, the Gilded Rose's best products were personally made by Mafa Merlin.
"Those potions that Heaven Rank powerhouses could use were all made by Mafa Merlin.
"We have to find a way to get rid of Mafa Merlin, and even if we can't get rid of Mafa Merlin, we have to suppress the Gilded Rose. If this continues, our Family's business will suffer heavy losses and we might even lose our position as the largest producer of alchemy items in the northern part of the Odin Kingdom."
"We can't take responsibility for this matter, we have to report it to the ancestor. This is related to the Family's status."
The few Elders glanced at each other before following the Great Elder to the deepest part of the Rodney Family's territory. This was the Rodney Family's forbidden area. There was no living creature within a few dozen kilometers.
There were no plants inside, and the ground contained an incalculable amount of iron ore. It looked like a Puppet Plane, but there were no living creatures. The concentration of Ice Elements, Wind Elements, and Fire Elements was very low. Only the concentration of Earth Elements was frighteningly high. The gravity here was also frighteningly high.
After entering this place, the group of Heaven Rank Elders raised their shields to keep moving forward.
After walking for a few hours, they arrived at a flat, open-air iron mine. There were a large number of steel pillars in front of them, and each pillar was carved with a large number of runes and patterns. The deeper they went, the stronger the gravity.
After walking for a dozen minutes, they reached a house made of steel and the group of Elders finally stopped.
"Ancestor, we have an important matter to report …"
After the Great Elder reported everything that had happened, the door of the iron house slowly opened. An old Mage with hair and beard that looked like steel and a young man who seemed to be in his twenties walked out.
The old mage looked at these Elders and coldly snorted.
"Trash."
None of the Elders dared to say anything in response to Ancestor Rodney's curses.
After a few minutes, Ancestor Rodney opened his mouth once again.
"I'm already on the verge of a breakthrough. This is the most crucial time, I won't personally handle this matter."
Hearing Ancestor Rodney's words, the Elders immediately revealed looks of pleasant surprise and continuously congratulated him.
Ancestor Rodney waved his hand, interrupting the flattery of the Elders.
"Let Wilder handle this matter. You all know how talented Wilder is. I made him follow me since childhood and personally taught him so that he could come into contact with our Rodney Family's steel spells before reaching the Heaven Rank. He is only 35 years old and has already advanced to the Heaven Rank.
"It's time for him to leave this place. You should go back first. Once Wilder completes his final training, he will take over the Rodney Family. At that time, let Wilder deal with that Mafa Merlin."
After the few Elders left, Ancestor Rodney led Wilder to a huge array in the back.
"Wilder, your talent might allow you to walk even further than mine. Now is the time to carry out this alchemy ceremony for you. If you want to truly grasp the Rodney Family's most powerful steel spells, you have to complete this alchemy ceremony.
"Although this alchemy ceremony has the side effect of overdrafting your potential, it can buy you more time and make you stronger. Almost no mage of the same rank would be your match.
"When the time comes, you will first deal with that Mafa Merlin and the Gilded Rose. This is the most crucial step for you to truly take control of the Rodney Family. If you do well, you will be able to easily convince the people within the family.
"But let's not touch Mafa Merlin for the time being, because I discovered that Astrologer seems to be paying attention to him. If we touch him now, it might make Astrologer unhappy. Let me observe him for a while longer before doing anything."
Wilder had an arrogant expression as he sneered.
"Those good-for-nothings of the family actually let a country bumpkin from Andalusia ride on their heads, they really lost face for the Rodney Family.
"Ancestor, rest assured, once I leave, I'll make that Mafa Merlin kneel in front of our Rodney Family's entrance and repent. "As for the Gilded Rose, if it doesn't submit to me, I'll destroy it."
The Rodney Family's ancestor nodded.
"That's right, the people of our Rodney Family should be like this. This is only a small test. Once you complete the alchemy ceremony, that Mafa Merlin will be nothing more than an ant to you.
"Alright, enter the center of the array."
Once Wilder entered the center of the array, the Rodney Family's ancestor started the alchemy ceremony outside the array.
After the ceremony started, the array was activated and Wilder's blood penetrated the array. Then, the vitality of the earth and the aura of steel started pouring into Wilder's body. A painful howl echoed as Wilder's aura started frantically rising.
After three days, Wilder's aura had already reached the 4th Rank of the Heaven realm. His clothes had already been shredded and the right side of his body had completely turned into a silvery-white steel-like color. The right side of his face also seemed to have been assimilated by steel. The whites of his eyes had turned pure black and his pupils had turned blood-red. He looked just like a puppet. His hair had also become like Ancestor Rodney's, it looked like steel needles.
And at this time, the light of the array thoroughly dissipated. Wilder clenched his right fist, which had turned into steel. In an instant, the air within his fist was forcibly crushed, and Wilder's voice was somewhat shaky.
"I'm so powerful, Ancestor, 4th Rank of the Heaven realm!"
A satisfied smile appeared on the Rodney Family's ancestor's face.
"Not bad, I knew that with your talent, you could definitely reach the 4th Rank of the Heaven realm. Since the establishment of our Family, you are the only one to reach the 4th Rank of the Heaven realm after the alchemy ceremony. This shows that you have great potential. In the future, you will definitely surpass me. Wilder, you really didn't disappoint me.
"Familiarize yourself with your power and your skin won't look like a puppet anymore."
Three days later, Wilder appeared in the Rodney Family. His 4th Rank Heaven power immediately intimidated all the Elders, especially after Wilder revealed that half of his body was made of metal. None of the higher-ups didn't acknowledge allegiance. Even the most unruly Necromancer Toursse lowered his head.
Almost all the direct descendants of the Rodney Family were earth mages. They had a natural affinity with the earth element and it was very easy for them to research earth spells. Many members of the Family could comprehend a branch of the Earth Law and there were many Rock Mages.
But everyone knew that the strongest spells of the Rodney Family weren't earth mages or rock mages, but rather, steel mages.
And the most intuitive judgment of steel mages was how much of their body could be transformed into steel after completing the alchemy ceremony. The greater the proportion, the more powerful the released steel spell.
Like Wilder, half of his body could be transformed into steel, and it seemed that even half of his head could be transformed into steel. The Rodney Family didn't have a single person like Wilder, and with Wilder's strength at the 4th Rank of the Heaven Realm, no one dared to disobey.
Seeing all the Elders lowering their heads, a proud smile appeared at the corner of Wilder's mouth.
'In my opinion, I'd directly go and get rid of that Mafa Merlin. He's a fool who just advanced to the 3rd Rank of the Heaven realm, the gap between him and a 4th Rank Heaven realm powerhouse is a whole realm.
'Everyone knows that the gap between the 3rd Rank and the 4th Rank is even bigger than the gap between the 1st Rank and the 3rd Rank. With my current strength, getting rid of that Mafa Merlin is too easy.
'The Astrologer paying attention to Mafa Merlin is simply a joke. Even the ancestor of the Astrologer doesn't know how powerful the Astrologer was, so how could he pay attention to Mafa Merlin?
'It must be because of Mafa Merlin's alchemy skills that made the Astrologer pay attention to him. After some time, the Astrologer will completely forget about that damned Mafa Merlin.
'Since the ancestor said so, I might as well listen to him. It wouldn't be good if I made the Astrologer unhappy.
'Then let's deal with the Gilded Rose first …'
"I've decided, we'll first suppress the Gilded Rose in the alchemy market and make it impossible for the Gilded Rose to survive. Look at what you have done, you only sent people to rob the Gilded Rose's supply of materials, but what use is that? "Although the Gilded Rose's supply of materials has decreased, isn't it still there?
"If we want to do it, we have to thoroughly cut off the Gilded Rose's supply of materials, thoroughly cutting off their source of materials. "We have to make sure that they don't have the skills or materials to craft alchemy items!"
One of the elders below frowned.
"Unless we completely cut off the golden trade route, it's impossible to cut off the Gilded Rose's source of materials.
"As long as the Gilded Rose's caravans are labeled as belonging to other Families, we won't be able to attack. After all, the golden trade route is the most important trade route between the Andalusia Kingdom and the Odin Kingdom.
"It's fine if we only attacked the Gilded Rose's caravans, but if we attacked the caravans of other Families or directly cut off the golden trade route, we wouldn't be offending just one or two Families …"
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