End of the Magic Era
chapter-141

"No need, High Mage Hogg. You are an important pillar of the Cloud Tower. If you remain in Thousand Sails City for too long, won't Sir Jouyi look for me to settle the debt?" Although Lin Yun said these words very politely, even carrying a hint of flattery, the rejection was very clear.

Honestly, if Hogg wasn't a 9th Rank High Mage, Lin Yun might have really wanted him to remain in Thousand Sails City.

Because he had already noticed that this Hogg was truly trying his best to curry favor with him. As for the reasons... Lin Yun could guess a few. It could be his shocking computing ability, or the admiration Sir Jouyi had for him.

In short, Lin Yun was convinced that as long as he said something to that effect, Hogg would remain in Thousand Sails City and become the strongest firepower of the Gilded Rose.

But unfortunately...

Hogg was already a 9th Rank High Mage, and this was too troublesome for Lin Yun...

Hogg wasn't Faleau or William. Although he could support him with his considerable power, Lin Yun couldn't feel relieved with him around.

This might sound strange.

Lin Yun could be at ease with Faleau and William, but why not with Hogg?

The reason was quite simple: Lin Yun didn't have the strength to contend with a 9th Rank High Mage at the moment.

He had too many secrets...

Whether it was the prince tomb or the Bone Plane, either of those would be enough to make an Archmage crazy with envy. If someone acted up because of that, Lin Yun would directly get rid of him, but if Hogg decided to raise hell, Lin Yun wouldn't have the ability to take care of him.

No matter how powerful he was, what use was there in a helper he didn't feel safe with?

Hogg seemed very regretful after being turned down by Lin Yun.

"Then… Then I'll go back to Cloud Tower, but Merlin, if the Watson Family still dares to come, you must tell me. Even if I cannot help you, I'll let Sir Jouyi know. I'm telling you, Merlin, Sir Jouyi admires you very much. You must use this opportunity carefully."

Before leaving rather unwillingly, Hogg gave Lin Yun some advice.

"Of course, of course," Lin Yun agreed while sending Hogg off.

After leaving the reception room, Lin Yun addressed William.

"Call all the 5th Rank Mages over."

"At once!"

This time, William had learned even more about Mafa.

In the last hour, he had seen his own Great Mage cousin beat up a 1st Rank High Mage, and had also seen a 9th Rank High Mage trying to curry favor in every way possible.

Those were High Mages, people that could decide the life and death of a Great Mage without the slightest bit of effort! But they were nothing in front of his cousin. William had been thoroughly stunned when watching all of that unfold. Only when Lin Yun called out to him did he recover and then promptly rushed to gather the fifty 5th Rank Mages.

If it had been before, William would still have had some doubts regarding the future of these fifty Mages. Now, William was thoroughly convinced that his cousin would have a way to make them advance to the Great Mage realm in a short time.

No certain grounds, no sure reasons...

But William believed it.

Faleau soon arrived with six mining puppets. William brought the fifty 5th Rank Mages. After this group was gathered, they left for Lin Yun's home.

The array was activated, and the space nearby distorted once again.

The Planar Path leading to the Bone Plane was opened by Lin Yun once more.

But Lin Yun wasn't alone this time. A full team was behind him. Two Great Mages, six mining puppets, and fifty 5th Rank Mages. Although the overall strength wasn't anything to brag about, the group still looked imposing.

Naturally, no one in the team aside from Lin Yun could bother caring about this at the moment. The change in the environment had completely terrified them. That included William, the scion of the Merlin Family, as well as Faleau from the Black Horn Auction House.

Even though the background of these two wasn't insignificant, it was still the first time they had experienced a Planar Path.

Among them, William Merlin was still a bit better. After all, a major force like the Merlin Family should have at least one plane in their hands, or else they wouldn't have enough resources to support their development. Although William didn't have the qualifications to enter the plane, he had heard some things from the elders of the family.

But Faleau had never heard anything about this before.

And there was no need to mention those remaining 5th Rank Mages. With their strength, they wouldn't even have the power to talk in the Merlin Family, let alone coming into contact with a Planar Path.

The entire team was startled for a while after setting foot on the black wasteland, and it was chaotic for a while. But fortunately, after William sent a glance at Lin Yun, he managed to recover his calmness. He relied on the prestige he had amassed over the course of his time here to regain control over the team.

"This is the training ground I promised you." Lin Yun walked in front of the team and started talking. "What you have to do now is protect these six mining puppets so that they can work without being disturbed. It may take several months, but I can guarantee that the weakest among you will still be able to become 1st Rank Great Mages. Those that work hard might even reach as far as the 5th Rank."

With Lin Yun's words, the worried team managed to calm down. They were skeptical at first, but then all the Mages had fervent expressions on their faces.

There was an issue with these fifty Mages being sent to Thousand Sails City. It could be said that at least 80% of them would never have the opportunity to enter the Great Mage ranks. Otherwise, the Merlin Family wouldn't have been so generous as to send so many of them to Thousand Sails City.

A group of 5th Rank Mages with little hope of further advancement suddenly hearing that as long as they put in some effort, they could even become 5th Rank Great Mages...

How would they feel?

Moreover, the one who said this wasn't anyone. He was the boss of the Gilded Rose, a Great Mage who had just dealt with a High Mage!

At this time, the whole team became lively and the fifty Mages even forgot their surroundings as well as the undead lifeforms visible all around.

Lin Yun's speech was truly too dull.

There were no exciting feelings, no bewitching suggestions, no hidden meanings. The benefits and threats were all out on the open. But it gave hope to these fifty Mages.

These fifty Mages full of enthusiasm soon set up a simple camp near the Planar Path. Simple, but not crude, this was Lin Yun's special requirement, because this camp would become the first stronghold of the Mercury Mercenary Group's attempt to seize the Bone Plane in the future.

The camp consisted of a bonfire, a few tents, and a fence made of stakes and iron wire. There were also two temporary sentry posts put together in the east and west. Although the sentry posts weren't guarded, they both had Mage Eyes as well as a flame array to sound the alarm.

The Black Death Rune was floating in the center of this camp, hovering a distance from the ground. And the drifting Soul Fires within a radius of about a kilometer were already being sucked in and transformed into mana by the Black Death Rune before being stored in the newly built camp.

If someone could see the mana flowing...

At this moment, the mana was flowing in thread by thread from the Black Death Rune. The threads were like hazy mists, drifting between the two sentry posts, not dissipating, not spreading far.

This was the best way of using the Black Death Rune.

Under the effect of the matching alchemy array, the mana condensed by the Black Death Rune would reach a frightening concentration. Meditating and fighting within that area would be like drinking liquid mana.

What was the growth of a Magic Tool Incarnation in comparison?

Unfortunately, the Cloud Tower would only understand all of this a millennium later...

After the Black Death Rune started operating, the Bone Plane's first stronghold truly became lively. Faleau controlled the six alchemy puppets and started the mining of the Nether Iron Vein. William Merlin started confronting the scattered Skeleton Warriors with the fifty Mages. Every collapsed Skeleton Warrior would lead to a Soul Fire being absorbed by the Black Death Rune before being transformed into mana, and that mana would spread in the camp.

After confirming that he hadn't forgotten anything, Lin Yun left the camp.

Although Lin Yun didn't say much, he actually cared a lot about these fifty Mages. This was his first batch of subordinates. Moreover, they were subordinates that he could trust completely. Before they entered the Bone Plane, they had all signed contracts personally prepared by Lord Shawn.

Lord Shawn was very ruthless, and even Lin Yun couldn't bear to look straight at them.

The contents of these contracts weren't so great, but it could be said that Lin Yun was taking responsibility. Basically, these 5th Rank Mages had already signed their next generation, the one after that, and the third one to the Gilded Rose.

In any case, as a 5th Rank Great Mage with Undead Predator, no Skeleton Warrior dared to stop Lin Yun after he left the camp. That overbearing pressure was something they could feel when they were within a hundred meters of him, making them flee for their lives.