Chapter 697: Asserting Dominance

Those who had ill intentions were obviously those who used various means to jar the interests of the Tower of Dusk during these six months. They were initially rather skeptical about the news of the return of the President of the Tower of Dusk, but when they saw the big shots visiting the Tower of Dusk, they began to panic.

At the beginning, they had the audacity to harm the businesses of the Tower of Dusk because they knew that the Dark Blade was determined to destroy the Tower of Dusk. Regardless of how well the Tower of Dusk developed, they would never be able to compare to the Dark Blade which had hundreds of years of solid foundation. Hence, it would be no surprise for the Tower of Dusk to be defeated.

However, an unexpected twist still happened in the end. The Tower of Dusk was still standing strong in Doland, but there was no longer any news about the Dark Blade. They could not believe the exaggerated rumor, but no matter whether they believed it or not, the Tower of Dusk was still present, and the power they could exert now that the Dark Blade was gone was extremely impressive.

Finally, some forces could no longer hold back, and headed to the Tower of Dusk with their gifts in hopes of getting the forgiveness of the Tower of Dusk. However, there were some forces that were still observing and waiting. No one knew to what extent the power of the Tower of Dusk would be damaged after the battle. They thought that it might not be as terrifying as they imagined.

However, Lin Like didn’t have time to let those forces continue observing. After obtaining the figures that Beckley presented from his calculations, Lin Li immediately summoned the mages who did not participate in the special training. Although the strength of those mages were slightly inferior, it would be difficult for a force to battle another powerful force without a Legendary powerhouse to take charge.

Lin Li did not say anything to encourage them, yet the mages all looked incredibly excited, not only because they finally got to vent their anger, but more importantly because they would be able to make contributions as they now had tasks to do. More contributions meant better treatment, and they might even get to receive the personal guidance of their President like their peers who’d got selected.

However, the expressions on the faces of the mages somehow turned peculiar because they reckoned that none of the forces would be able to afford the compensation Lin Li demanded. In that case, how were they supposed to complete the task?

“President, this tenfold compensation may be thrilling, but I’m afraid none of them can afford it!” exclaimed Horsin, a level-15 Archmage who was trying to be brave.

The other mages also focused their gazes on Lin Li, clearly sharing the same thoughts as Horsin. A tenfold compensation was not a small sum. The businesses of the Tower of Dusk were not inexhaustible like a gold mine, and the delay in business for just a single day would result in a massive loss. After half a year, the losses incurred by even an unassuming shop would not be affordable by ordinary forces, what more 10 times that sum.

The loss incurred by the Tower of Dusk that was caused by a force and the benefits that they gained from the Tower of Dusk were two completely different concepts. A small shop of the Tower of Dusk was robbed of a batch of potions which caused them to be unable to continue operations for half a year. In this case, the benefits that the force obtained was just a batch of potions, but the losses incurred by the Tower of Dusk was the store’s operating income for half a year. The two were worlds apart.

Upon hearing Horsin’s question, Lin Li did not flare up, and instead smiled ambiguously and said, “I want them to be unable to afford the compensation.”

“You want them to be unable to afford the compensation?” The mages were filled with bewilderment as they were all dumbfounded.

“Yes, if they can’t afford it, we’ll make them use everything they have to pay off the debt.” This time, Lin Li didn’t just want to recover the losses in the past six months. Although the Tower of Dusk had been established for less than two years, given their current capability, it was time for them to assert dominance and show their prowess. Lin Li wanted to take this chance to assert dominance so that the forces of all sizes in the Breezy Plains would not dare to undermine the Tower of Dusk in the future.

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He wanted to make them use everything they had to pay off debts! The mage Horsin and his peers suddenly had an epiphany. They realized that their President did not want just a compensation, but also an excuse to stand in power and make those forces surrender. At the thought of this, the mages did not seem worried at all, and instead clenched their fists, all ready to fight.

In the Breezy Plains, the Tower of Dusk was still considered an external force, after all, and two years was not enough for the Tower of Dusk to be integrated into the local forces. If they were to wage a war without reason, they would probably anger the other forces and create enemies all over the Breezy Plains. When that happened, their business would probably be unable to continue operations even if they had massive combat power. That would greatly hinder the Tower of Dusk’s development. However, there was now a reason for him to get back at them, and that was compensation. Even if he were to get physical, there was nothing they could do, because they were the ones who’d been greedy in the first place.

Of course, Lin Li did not mean to wipe out those forces one by one. He still left a path of survival for those who might not be able to pay the debt, which was to sign a contract and become a subsidiary force of the Tower of Dusk until the debt was paid off. If they chose not to do so, they would either have to pay the debt or disappear from the Breezy Plains. Lin Li was tyrannical, but no one could criticize him, because they had to compensate his faction.

As soon as Lin Li gave his orders, the mages of the Tower of Dusk began to attack the forces on the namelist like hungry wolves. Nearly 100 mages whose strength ranged from level-10 to level-15, as well as the 20 Shadow Assassins of Alchemy Puppets, appeared in front of them, making it hard for them to retaliate.

“What? 10 times the compensation!? We, the Silver Star mercenary corps, were indeed wrong, but we only got 60 potions. Even if its tenfold, it should not be this amount,” the head of the Silver Star Mercenary corps, Rekba, a middle-aged soldier of level-16, protested angrily at Horsin and the rest.

Although the Silver Star Mercenary Corps did not have a high rank in the Breezy Plains, they were rather famous in the northwest of the Dark Blade’s territory. Back then, when they saw that the Tower of Dusk could not escape the fate of being destroyed by the Dark Blade, he couldn’t help but let his greed get the better of him, and thus decided to rob the pharmacy in Dorma Town. After hearing the news of the return of the President of the Tower of Dusk, Rekba began to contemplate if he should visit Lin Li to apologize or hope that the latter did not have the time to bother about him.

However, Rekba did not expect to face the mages of the Tower of Dusk before he even made up his mind. Rekba initially felt a little guilty. After all, he was a mercenary, and not a bandit. However, when he heard the amount of compensation proposed by the mage of the Tower of Dusk, the guilt within him disappeared instantly.

What a joke, those 60 potions cost as much as all my savings, yet they multiplied it by 10. If it’s based on the price of those 60 potions, the compensation price is actually more than 100 times more. Damn it, if I had so much money, why would I still be cooped up in such a tiny place!? Rekba was on the verge of turning hysterical. He wanted to fall out with Lin Li, but after seeing the dozens of mages on the Tower of Dusk’s side, he felt that his 300-odd mercenaries were useless.

Horsin glanced coldly at Rekba and his so-called elites before expressionlessly saying, “Because of your malicious attack, our shop was suspended for half a year. According to the average income of normal business, the loss incurred within these six months is as high as 1,000,000 gold coins, and 10 times the compensation would be 10,000,000 gold coins.”

“What? 10,000,000 gold coins? Why don’t you go rob the bank!?” Everyone in the Silver Star Mercenary Corps pulled out their weapons angrily. 10,000,000 gold coins! If the mercenary regiment had so much money, its strength would be double of what it was now.

However, at this moment, overwhelming magic flew out from behind him, suddenly striking the 300-odd mercenaries’ backs. In the blink of an eye, everyone lost their balance, and they finally remembered that there were dozens of mages in the Tower of Dusk who could destroy them easily.

Horsin stepped forward, looking down at the captain of the Silver Star Mercenary Corps, Rekba. He flicked his wrist and unfolded a scroll on which a contract was printed, after which he calmly said, “You either pay the compensation in full or become a subsidiary force of the Tower of Dusk. Otherwise, you shall die!”

In fact, weak forces were often attached to the stronger forces, which was not too strange or shameful of a thing. However, many of these relations were just verbal agreements, and everyone acted accordingly, each performing their respective roles. However, a real contract would be like signing a deed of sale where the entire force became a slave to the other party.

No one wanted to be enslaved to others, but given the current situation, they didn’t have another choice. Rekba raised his head reluctantly, looking behind at Horsin to see that the magic staffs of the mages were still accumulating mana. Without a doubt, Rekba and his mercenaries would definitely face dire consequences if his answer was unsatisfactory.

“I, I agree…” Rekba grabbed the contract with shaky hands, and was no longer in the mood to look carefully at the content, for he had to sign it anyway, regardless of how harsh the conditions were.

A paper contract, although not as binding as the Soul Contract, would make the Silver Star Mercenary Corps become a part of the Tower of Dusk as long as Rekba signed it. Regardless of what the Tower of Dusk did to the Silver Star Mercenary Corps, the other forces would have no right to intervene.