Chapter 280: The Great Thief

Like the troops and adventurers, leaders like the white-robed Cardinal Bishop, the Warrior in the golden cloak, and the Orc Leader were also surprised.

They thought at first that Yang Ling would want a Magical Contract to be signed, to get a Divine Weapon or two at most. They did not expect Yang Ling to make such a big demand, claiming the Valenia Volcanic Valley and the Underground City as within the realm of the Magical Beasts, and that the mineral resources and treasures within all belonged to him.

Out of all the people present, only Elder Klive, who had dealt with Yang Ling numerous times before, smiled and stayed silent. He understood Yang Ling’s intention of using this situation to attain another goal. To Yang Ling, the Lord, getting one or two Divine Weapons was secondary. His primary goal was to get the various powerful factions to acknowledge the boundaries of the Magical Beast Realm in order to gain control of the rich resources near and under the volcanic valley.

“His Lordship, I wonder if you have evidence proving that the volcanic valley is under your jurisdiction?”

Raising his sharp Galaxy Sword, the Warrior wearing the golden cloak from the Bellimore family looked coldly at Yang Ling while speaking. As the only Sage-Level Warrior present, there was no doubt about how powerful he was. In the battle with the Dark Dragon King, he was clawed up, causing his right leg to be badly mangled. However, after applying a divine red ointment, he quickly regained his full strength.

“Many people know that I’m a Summoner, but have not noticed the Magical Beasts Guard patrolling the forest.” Looking at the people around him listening intently, Yang Ling continued, “In the Tailun Continent, wherever there are the Lord’s Guards patrolling, it naturally means that the area is within his realm.”

As Yang Ling was talking, he gathered the Horned Bee Beasts which were acting as lookouts in the area and commanded them to fly up and down in front of everyone. To increase his persuasiveness, he summoned a group of Vampire Bats and commanded them to split into teams and get in action, as if they were patrolling.

“Magical Beasts Guard?”

Looking at the Yang Ling’s ease of control over the Horned Bee Beasts, the troops and adventurers were caught by surprise yet again. At that moment, everyone silently observed what the leaders like the white-robed Cardinal Bishop and the Warrior in the golden cloak would do to deal with this situation.

Yang Ling’s explanation might have seemed reasonable on the surface, but with a little probing, one would find that it did not make sense. The Terras Forest was full of low-level Magical Beasts such as the Bee Beasts and Bats. Who knew which ones were the wild Magical Beasts and which ones were the so-called Magical Beasts Guards of Yang Ling? If they were to act according to Yang Ling’s reasoning, that would mean the whole of Terras Forest fell under Yang Ling’s jurisdiction!

“His Lordship, it was an accident that we barged into your territory!” Elder Klive looked at Yang Ling standing a short distance away and smiled, deciding to go with the flow and do Yang Ling a favor. “We’re not interested in the mineral resources of the Underground City. If you send the Fire Element Magical Tutor to assist in opening the castle gates, you will definitely be entitled to a few Divine Weapons!”

“They had no interest in the mineral resources of the Underground City?”

Seeing the long meaningful look that Elder Klive gave him, and the smiling face of Yang Ling, the white-robed Cardinal Bishop suddenly figured out Yang Ling’s intentions.

No matter how powerful Yang Ling was, as Lord, he could not be foolish and to go up against multiple factions at the same time. He declared the treasures and mineral resources in the Underground City as his, only because he wanted to take this opportunity to stake his claim on the volcanic valley and Underground City, and declare them as part of the Magical Beasts Realm. This would get the various powerful factions to recognize his scope of influence and let him gain access to the rich resources of the Underground City.

“His Lordship, the Magical Beasts Realm has not been long established. Have you registered the area of your territory with the Church?” After understanding Yang Ling’s true intentions, the white-robed Cardinal Bishop smiled, then continued, “If you haven’t done so, I can make a personal recommendation to His Lordship, the Pope, and ask him to personally confer upon you the title of the Lord of the Magical Beasts Realm.”

“Get His Lordship, the Pope, to personally confer a title upon him?”

Hearing what the White-robed Cardinal Bishop said set off a commotion among the people present. In the Tailun Continent, there were Lordships conferred by the King, lesser Lordships conferred by the more powerful Lords, and Lords like Yang Ling who were elected by the people. However, none were as grand and formal as being conferred a title by the Pope himself.

For the Pope to confer a title personally meant that the Church recognized the scope of influence of the Magical Beasts Realm. If anyone were to protest, they would be making an enemy of the powerful Church. Even if it were the Banto Empire or Rossi Empire, to attack the Magical Beasts Realm meant possibly facing retaliation by the Church!

…

Following the Church’s and Dark Association’s example, the various factions all expressed similar sentiments, clearly expressing that they were not interested in the resources in the Underground City, and acknowledging the Magical Beasts Realm’s scope of influence. At the same time, they also clearly acknowledged the power of the Lord of the Magical Beasts and his right to a share of the Divine Weapons in the Underground City like they had with Wolf Troop Team.

After negotiating the terms, everyone quickly got to work. The five Magical Tutor level spellcasters put their right hands on the castle gates and slowly added in their magical powers. Once they had synchronized, they poured in more power. Very quickly, many mysterious drawings surfaced on the castle gates, shining with a ring of five-colored light.

Creak…

With everyone’s attention on it, the castle gates let out a groaning sound and lifted, revealing a wide, open plaza. Looking past the gate, one could see that there was an old temple opposite the plaza. From deep within the castle came a chirping sound, as if someone was hiding inside.

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After focusing on listening intently for a while, the white-robed Cardinal Bishop was the first to lead his men past the castle gates. Various factions like the Dark Association and Bellimore family followed closely. Yang Ling did not hesitate this time around and led his men to follow behind the Dark Association. Taking up the rear were the many troops and adventurers.

“Brother, what was that noise?”

“Hmph, what’s there to be afraid of? Go, go in quickly!”

…

Recalling the weird sound that was heard the moment the castle gates opened, a few troops and adventurers hesitated. However, even more of them fought to squeeze their way in. After going through so much to get to the Underground City, no one wanted to go back empty-handed. Even if they were unable to get a Divine Weapon, it would not be half-bad to witness the power of said weapons. At least it would give them bragging rights when out drinking!

The plaza was flat and neat, tiled with cooling quartzite. Stepping on the tiles produced a gong-like sound. Rare breadfruit trees full of green bread-like fruits were planted around the plaza, giving off whiffs of enticing fragrance. The temple opposite the plaza was very clean. Past the door, one would discover that there were many cotton curtains hanging inside, swaying from left to right in the gusts of cold wind.

Nothing looked out of place. However, Yang Ling felt an unprecedented sense of danger. The pagoda-shaped mark in between his brows was getting hotter, and its pulsating increased in strength.

Quiet, the surroundings were too quiet. Apart from the sounds of the people walking and breathing, there was no other sound to be heard. It was eerily quiet within the castle grounds!

Without hesitation, Yang Ling quickly summoned his Magical Beast Army and commanded gravely, “Everyone must remember that no matter what happens, do not go beyond 20 paces of where I am!”

Similar to what it was like outside, being in the castle grounds restricted his energy and the range of his senses. Twenty paces was his maximum limit. Any further, and Yang Ling would not be able to guarantee that he could instantly transport everyone into the Wizard Pagoda’s Space for safety if needed.

Yang Ling acted cautiously and stayed alert. So did the factions like the Church and the Dark Association, which each swiftly gathered their forces into tight defensive formations. However, with the lure of the Divine Weapons, they still took big strides towards the Divine Temple opposite the plaza.

Acting in a different manner from the other factions, the troops and adventurers spread out all over the plaza, looking for any treasures that may have been left on the ground. There were quite a number of fellows who were so excited that they rushed chaotically in front of the Church and into the temple. Yang Ling shook his head as he saw the scene unfold.

Considering the probability of dangers in the temple, even if the troopers were to get to the Divine Weapons first, they would not be able to get out. Without enough strength and power, being in possession of a Divine Weapon would only invite death, as both the Church or Dark Association would definitely not mind leaving behind a few wronged souls in the castle.

“Oh heavens, it’s the Snow Divine Sword, the legendary Snow Divine Sword!”

“Ice-sealing Armor, oh gods, I actually saw the legendary Ice-sealing Armor!”

…

Having just charged into the temple, a few of the troops and adventurers who knew about the Divine Weapons started to exclaim loudly. The rest followed with hurried footsteps to take a look. They were greeted with a huge spell formation in the Divine Temple. In the middle of the spell formation was a sharp sword shrouded in fog, an intricate suit of armor surrounded by a cold aura, a pair of shiny boots, a gleaming axe, and a red, snake-shaped staff…

In addition to the huge spell formation on the ground, the walls and ceiling of the Divine Temple were carved in complicated patterns, forming a series of complex drawings and giving off pulses of veiled magical energies. It seemed that this was another spell formation from ancient times.

“Haha, Divine Weapons, these are my Divine Weapons, all of these are mine!”

Just when the various factions were in separate corners of the Divine Temple and observing the mysterious spell formation, not daring to act rashly, an old man who was dressed as a soldier flung off the cloak from his head and dashed like lighting onto the spell formation as he spoke.

Without waiting for the other people to react, the old man had transported all the Divine Weapons into a Space Ring in the blink of an eye. After that, he pulled the Snow Divine Sword out, shook a teleportation scroll open with the other hand, and teleported away in a flash.

“It’s the great thief Karlowitz, oh heavens, it’s actually the great thief Karlowitz!”

“Quick, catch him, quick!”

…

Seeing the triangular-shaped eyes and goatee of the old man, the troops and adventurers who had been around the continent for many years exclaimed loudly. Karlowitz was a notorious and well-known thief, having stolen many treasures from various royal and noble families. He was the kind of rare master that the Thieves Guild had not seen in decades. But it was totally unexpected that he would have dressed up as a washed-up soldier and snuck into the group!