"You will agree sooner or later …" Fran sneered and didn't say anything else. He only leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.
"Haha …" Lys awkwardly chuckled, but he didn't immediately leave the fireplace. First, it was because Fran's status was different. He was Artisan Nolan's disciple, so he should be respected wherever he went.
Moreover, Lys wasn't very confident …
Indeed, Merlin had displayed astonishing alchemy skills that even the Master Alchemist Lys was in awe of.
But Merlin was really too young. He was only in his twenties. Even if he had started studying alchemy at birth, it would only have been twenty years. No matter how talented Merlin was, it was inevitable that he would be lacking in experience.
Cracking an array relied on experience the most.
It was because of this worry that Lys' attitude was wavering. On one hand, he was angry at Fran's greed, but on the other hand, he had no choice but to feign civility.
After all, no one could guarantee that Merlin would be able to crack all the arrays. If he offended Fran and Merlin ran into trouble in the Vaughn Treasury, wouldn't the joint exploration be ruined?
Thus, the only thing Lys could do now was appease both sides without offending them.
"Oh right, Fran …" After hesitating for a bit, Lys couldn't help advising, "I know about the grudges between you and the Merlin Family, but I hope that you can look at the bigger picture and not come into conflict with Merlin before the end of the joint exploration …"
"Come into conflict?" Fran, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened his eyes. After staring at Lys for a long time, he suddenly smiled. "No, no, there naturally wouldn't be any conflict …"
"No, Fran, you don't understand. Merlin is different from ordinary Great Mages …" Lys was somewhat anxious. Fran clearly didn't listen to him.
At this time, Lys really wanted to tell Fran that, of course, there wouldn't be any conflict. That was something that Star Sage Joy had personally judged, someone with power comparable to a 9th Rank High Mage. If a 5th Rank High Mage like him clashed with him, there wouldn't be any conflict. What conflict could there be between a rock and an egg?
Unfortunately, Fran had no intention of listening to his advice. After saying that, he leaned back in his chair and slowly closed his eyes. He waved at Lys and said, "Alright, Lys, I'm a little tired. I want to rest for a while. Wake me up when it's time to leave …"
"…"
…
By nightfall, the leaders of all the major forces of Thousand Sails City had finally arrived. Currently, the nine most powerful forces of Thousand Sails City were gathered in this reception room. This was the strongest force that Thousand Sails City could bring out. When they gathered together, they could even rival a huge force like the Merlin Family.
This time, the nine major forces had truly turned out in full force.
Two of the Sage Tower's three big shots had come, as well as seven Great Mages. They had also promised to provide a team of fifty mages. The Silver Moon Mercenaries were even fiercer. They had three Expert Swordsmen and one High Mage, as well as six Great Swordsmen and two Great Mages, as well as the entire elite team from Edge Rift.
The Alchemist Guild had a luxurious combination of a Master Alchemist and three Great Alchemists. If Fran, who came from the Mercury Tower, was added, their lineup would be even more dazzling than the Sage Tower's.
The other forces, such as the Viper Nest, the Black Horn Auction House, the Crystal chamber of commerce, and the Monchi Family, all came with their elites.
As for the Gilded Rose …
Two people came, one was Lin Yun, and the other was William Merlin.
But no one dared to say that the Gilded Rose's lineup was shabby.
The current Gilded Rose's status in Thousand Sails City was too special.
Before, when the Gilded Rose had yet to develop, many forces were looking forward to the Gilded Rose's collapse, because that would mean the emergence of a huge alchemy market, and anyone could get a share of the profits.
But who dared to think like that now?
If the Gilded Rose went bankrupt, the equipment standards of all the major forces would drop by a level. Let alone the others, if the Silver Moon Mercenaries didn't have the alchemy items provided by the Gilded Rose, the casualties of this expedition to Edge Rift would have at least doubled!
Even the Monchi Family, who had always been hostile to them, could only behave with their tails between their legs. From time to time, they would shyly extend their hands to the Gilded Rose to ask for some technical support.
Nothing could be done about it, the best alchemy techniques of Thousand Sails City were now in the hands of the Gilded Rose. If the Monchi Family didn't want the Twin Moons Splendor to go bankrupt, they could only extend their hands in humiliation. Although they would usually be cheated by the old butler, it was still better than going bankrupt, right?
It could be said that although the Gilded Rose was only an alchemy shop, it was already one of the peak forces of Thousand Sails City.
Moreover, it was still growing stronger and stronger.
In the past, many people might have thought that the Gilded Rose was weak and excluded them from being a peak force of Thousand Sails City.
But recently, the Gilded Rose's only weakness seemed to have been remedied.
Many people had already discovered that Great Mages had started appearing in the mercenary groups of the Gilded Rose, and it wasn't just one or two, but several dozen!
When this result came out, many of the leaders felt their scalps go numb. Even the Sage Tower couldn't compare to this number.
And with the rumors about Lin Yun's frightening strength, no one in Thousand Sails City dared to provoke the Gilded Rose.
It could be said that the Gilded Rose had truly become a powerful force.
"Cousin, bring a few more Great Mages with you when you set off …" In the end, Lin Yun was a bit embarrassed and whispered to William Merlin.
"Okay."
After the nine major forces understood the situation, they held a meeting that lasted for an entire night.
A joint exploration of this scale wasn't a joke. The nine major forces of Thousand Sails City had come out in full force, along with the Mercury Tower's Fran. There were too many things that needed to be settled before they set off.
For example, the arrangement of tasks, the distribution of benefits, the division of responsibilities … It could even be as detailed as who would act as a scout, who would keep watch at night, and who would act as the main fighting force under certain circumstances. These all needed to be settled before they set off. Otherwise, once they reached the Vaughn Treasury, these things would sooner or later turn into a bomb that would send the entire joint exploration team to the afterlife.
Once benefits were involved, there was no need to talk about feelings.
Even two forces with a good relationship would argue for a long time over whether to send one more person or one less person. Soon, the meeting turned into endless quarrels.
Fortunately, this had nothing to do with the Gilded Rose.
The Gilded Rose's mission and benefits had already been agreed upon long ago. Thus, Lin Yun and William Merlin slept soundly in the meeting hall, not caring about the other eight major forces' quarrels.
Lin Yun slept all the way until the next day.
"Eh? Are you done quarreling?" Lin Yun got up from the bench in the corner and saw the exhausted leaders of the major forces. They were all pale and had chapped lips. They looked haggard.
Nothing could be done about it, they hadn't slept all night and had spent all their time quarreling. How could they not be haggard?
"Yes, we're done quarreling." The one who spoke was Solomon. Although the old man was also haggard, his voice was filled with joy. He had probably obtained a rather gratifying harvest from last night's quarrel.
"Looks like the harvest wasn't small?"
"I'll slowly tell you on the way …"
"Ah?"
Lin Yun froze for a moment before discovering that the leaders of the major forces had already left the meeting hall.
When he came out with Solomon, Lin Yun asked about it and learned that the meeting last night had already been discussed. Everyone would set off at noon today and try to reach Edge Rift before nightfall. That way, they would be able to borrow the Silver Moon Mercenaries' camp there.
After three hours of preparation, a dozen carriages carried everyone out of Thousand Sails City, raising a cloud of dust as they drove towards Edge Rift.
Lin Yun was in the same carriage as William Merlin. After getting on the carriage, Lin Yun first asked William Merlin a few questions. After determining his current level, Lin Yun didn't say anything and threw a Meditation Art to him. He then closed his eyes and continued with his unfinished work.
Lin Yun already couldn't remember how many times he had tried.
Failure, failure, endless failure. But Lin Yun didn't give up. He mobilized all the runes again and again, trying to simulate the characters of the Book of Death. Then, he faced failure again and again.
Although the journey was boring, it was nothing compared to this kind of desperate failure.
Lin Yun was completely immersed in this simulation and didn't even notice that the sky outside the carriage was gradually darkening.
After who knew how many failures, Lin Yun finally saw an opportunity to succeed. A strange distortion suddenly appeared among the tens of thousands of runes. A character that was 70-80% similar to Infinity was about to condense.
Lin Yun rejoiced and hurriedly focused on manipulating the runes.
But at this time, a loud sound echoed above his head.
There was a rumbling sound, and the whole world seemed to tremble … …
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