Cthulhu Gonfalon

Tello Hailaer immediately called for a meeting with the higher-ups the moment he returned to Mill City and began to broach the topic on changing allegiance, but things were just as he had expected. This idea met the objections of the masses, and there was almost no one who supported it.

"We don't have many followers of the God of Knowledge in Mill City and even fewer followers of the Void Mask. Why should we change over to their side?" most would say. This was the most common attitude observed.

"Of course, there isn't a problem with changing camps. But how much can we benefit from the Republic of Northwest? Are the benefits going to be worth us taking this risk?" said those selfish high-ups who had no moral integrity to speak of. Only they were able to make such comments.

"We aren't pushovers or dispensable like Golden Tower City, nor are we like Grey Tower City who has long lingered on the border of half-independent. As a city with Legendary Masters in command, we can be said to be one of the pillars supporting this "Mifata Federation" building. How can we possibly detach ourselves from the Federation? Simply ridiculous!" said Hailaer's junior. Out of all the disciples of Master Mill who were still alive, this was the second oldest one. He had always been upright and peace-loving. At this moment, as he opened his mouth to speak, his tone was solemn and forceful.

Another junior saw how tensed the situation was and hurried to mediate between the two other disciples, "Older Senior was only bringing this up as a suggestion… but in my opinion, this matter is indeed not quite appropriate. Let's not talk about feelings, given how important our Mill City is, the Federation will never permit our secession from it."

"True! By that time, if a group of Legendary Masters were to come over, what are we supposed to do?" said an old judge, whose beard and hair had all turned white, in a quivering voice. "I'm old. I just want to lead a peaceful and stable life. City Lord, please don't make life difficult for us."

The moment his words left his mouth, all the higher-ups were suddenly nodding their heads.

The mindset that priority must always be in the order of seniority was a common failing where all living creatures with wisdom were concerned. There was no exception. Being able to make it up to the senior management level of Mill City, most of these members would have been of a certain age group. At this moment, what this elder said struck the right notes to aptly allude to what everyone truly felt.

The situation was pretty good in Mill City now. Everyone was leading stable lives, so why would they want to take the risk and pursue even better lives?

Regardless of what benefits the Republic of Northwest could offer, it was not worth putting everyone at risk.

Hailaer did not get angry. On the contrary, he laughed.

Such a reaction had long been within his expectation. The reason why he broached the topic and suggested that Mill City should change allegiance over to the Mifata Federation—naturally, he had an ulterior motive.

"Of course, I have my reasons for bringing up this suggestion," he finally opened his mouth to speak up when the chaotic objections gradually mellowed down. "We've been friends for so many years, I don't wish to beat about the bush with you all. I'll tell you all the most direct reason first: I've received a kind gift from His Majesty, the Void Mask, and I've broken free from the mortal world and stepped into the Legendary Realm."

His words were like pouring a ladleful of water into a boiling oil cauldron; they threw the entire meeting room into an uproar.

When they had seen him return with restored youth, no one had thought much of it. After all, Tello Hailaer was known as the "Statue Mage," where he would usually seal his true body and attach his soul into a statue as he moved about. Although the statue he used this time was different from his past style, there was nothing surprising.

In this world, there were many mages who would use statues that looked exactly like their true selves, not to mention that the one Hailaer was using now did not resemble him at all. Considering the fact that he was almost 300 years old, those mortals who had seen his looks when he was in his thirties would most probably have died a long time ago.

There were also some people who could vaguely guess what was going on. After all, the Church of the Void Mask had an extremely famous specialty product—a life-prolonging potion. This potion could at most extend one's lifespan by 10 years, and thereafter, no matter how much more one drank, the total number of years added on would not exceed 15 years. But since His Majesty was able to consent to the sales of this potion, then he must have a more brilliant method of extending life.

If he had not gained any benefits from extending his life, given Tello Hailaer's character, would it be possible for him to suggest that they should change over to the side of the Void Mask and pledge allegiance to the Republic of Northwest?

However, even the most imaginative person would not have expected Mage Hailaer to have restored his youth and even step into the Legendary Realm!

Of course, this was because Hailaer had kept his power pressure under restraint. He was not a person of an unorthodox background. He had been receiving guidance from a Legendary Master for many years and had a good friendship with another. He himself had once been someone who had reached the legendary threshold. He knew a lot about the Legendary Realm. Although he was a little out of control initially, he quickly mastered his current power.

Instead of returning directly to Mill City from Void City via a teleportation spell, he had first arrived at the Highest Tower, where he put together a group of bodyguards and found himself a ride home in a luxurious carriage. Then unhurriedly, he made his way back. The entire journey took about ten days, which was more than enough for him to completely grasp control over his power.

Now, so long as he was willing to, he could conceal his power anytime. Even if he were to become someone who was completely powerless, it would also be a piece of cake. So if not for the fact that he was the one explaining himself, no one would have expected him to have actually become a Legendary Master.

The most intense reaction came from a few of Hailaer's juniors. There was one junior in particular who was relatively young; he could not even hold himself back as he stood up and exclaimed in alarm, "Impossible!"

It was no wonder he reacted so strongly. Among all of Master Mill's disciples, except for Tu Ya'an who was alienated by the rest because of his study on the Dead Soul Spell, he was already at the top of the ranks in terms of ability. Currently, he was already at the advanced legendary peak. If it was not for the pursuit of reliability, where he had hoped for a one-time success, he would have a shot at shaking the Legendary Realm.

However, being able to impact the Legendary Realm did not necessarily mean he could enter the Legendary Realm. Many years back, his oldest senior, Hailaer, had also once reached the advanced legendary peak, and impacted the Legendary Realm, but the result was a typical failure. Not only did he fail to succeed, he even sustained serious injuries. After recuperating for close to ten years and eating many kinds of precious medicines, had he managed to recover his vitality.

Since then, Mage Hailaer had tried to impact the Legendary Realm again, twice at that, but still, both times he ended up in failure.

If not for the three failures he underwent, then regardless of how long he continued to live, his strength would not have weakened to such a degree.

Currently, this junior had yet to try impacting the Legendary Realm, not even once. It was the time where he had the greatest momentum and was brimming with confidence. In fact, he had already given this much thought. If he were to wait a while longer, when his oldest senior's health could no longer hold out, he would rely on his powerful strength to pull some strings. Then he should be able to become city lord. By that time, he would use his courage and shock the Legendary Realm. There, he could rejoice over the double victory that he obtained!

However, with Hailaer entering the Legendary Realm, his plan naturally fell through and ended up in smoke.

Tello Hailaer was about 300 years old this year. To mortals, this age had practically reached an ultimate limit. No matter how he tried to prolong his life, death would still be something that would happen within the coming three to five years. But as a Legendary Master, a mere 300 years old was considered young. It might be possibly because he had lost too much previously, if not, he would likely appear to be in his early twenties now.

In other words, he had at least another 300 to 400 years to live. If he continued to put in the effort to prolong his life, another 1000 years might not even be a problem. Within the Mifata Federation, there was a Legendary Master who had lived for 4000 to 5000 years. And it was said that in a particularly small world, there was a senior Legendary Master who had lived up to 10,000 years old by hiding himself away in a deep slumber to delay his aging process.

But no matter what, it was impossible for this junior here to live for another 300 to 400 years.

That was to say, unless he entered the Legendary Realm, he would most probably be unable to wait until his oldest senior reached the age of retirement.

This made Hailaer's junior very resentful. It was not a must for him to become city lord, but this had made him lose his confidence. His original plan that had been perfect was foiled, and this had impaired his mental state. If he did not do anything to mend it, shaking up the Legendary Realm was bound to fail, and there would be no possibility of success.

This was the thing that truly made him so annoyed and angry.

But no matter how angry he was, he did not dare flare up at his oldest senior who had already entered the Legendary Realm. Without speaking about seniority, with their strengths at that moment, just Tello Hailaer alone was more than enough to crush him.

A Legendary Master who was able to conceal their power at the legendary level so well, without showing the slightest bit at all, was definitely not someone that anyone below the legendary level could challenge.

So he got to his feet and shouted in a fit of anger, then said nothing more as he sat down sullenly.

Seeing the situation, Tello Hailaer had no expression on his face, but in his heart, he was secretly smiling.

In recent years, whether it was right in his face or behind his back, this junior of his had mentioned topics related to "death" and "retirement" on more than one occasion. It was obvious that he had long since accumulated a deep resentment. Before now, Tello Hailaer's strength was not as high; he was facing imminent death and thus was at his wits' end. Now, his strength was greatly enhanced, and he had a long life ahead of him. The roles of the strong and the weak had been reversed, so of course, he had to remedy this grievance!

Of course, he would only go up to this extent. After all, they were all fellow brothers and had yet to shed all pretenses of cordiality. More importantly, their teacher was still around.

If Master Mill was no longer around, would it be possible for this junior brother to allow an old guy who was only left with advanced-level power to be city lord? Regardless of life or death, would he even think of backing off?

Similarly, if not for the fact that Master Mill was still around, Hailaer would not take such great pains to play this game and provoke his junior right at the beginning of the meeting earlier on. And then, when the other party could no longer hold it in and make his move, Hailaer would use his true strength to crush the other party directly. Even if he could not kill the other party, he would inflict some serious injuries, the kind that would require the injured person to lie in bed for a good half a month.

As for Mill City, to the many disciples, Master Mill was the anchor of stability for them; he was their mainstay. Whether it was Tu Ya'an, who had previously entered the Legendary Realm with his own efforts, or Hailaer, who had now entered the Legendary Realm relying on the help given by the Void Mask, all of them garnered respect.

In their impression, this teacher was the embodiment of wisdom and power. Even when compared with His Majesty, Lamperus, who founded the Country of Mages, he was nowhere near inferior. None of them would choose to be an enemy of their teacher unless it was their last resort.

After playing a little trick to deal with his junior, Hailaer finally stopped concealing his strength and unleashed his Legendary Master's aura.

There were jade-green light rays all around him like a blooming flower. The vigorous force of nature was flowing from his body like clear spring water that brushed past everyone. For a moment, everyone felt as though their bodies had been flushed inside out, and even their bones felt a little lighter, especially those who were getting on in age. They felt much more comfortable, as though they had become ten years younger.

Compared to the people, the tables and chairs in the meeting room felt this effect even more clearly. The tables and chairs in the room were all made of wood. Of course, they had long been chopped down, dried up and had totally lost their vitality. But under the influence of Hailaer's power, these wooden pieces that were already sun-dried, and even treated by preservatives, once again glowed with vitality. The chairs could be seen sprouting branches and leaves, and they were even connecting themselves to that large table. The large table, naturally, was also growing branches and leaves, and it was also creating many aerial roots that deeply inserted themselves into the wall next to the tables. Slowly, they were becoming one with this big room that was used to convene the meeting.

Lastly, in the middle of the large table, a green vine twisted and turned to reveal a huge flower bud that was slowly blooming into a beautiful and bright flower.

Seeing this scene unfold, there was no longer anyone who had doubts about Hailaer's power.

A person capable of something like this, if he said he was no Legendary Master, would anyone believe him?

The higher-ups of Mill City were all very knowledgeable and experienced, and they had all seen Legendary Masters before. Just his stance itself, Tello Hailaer was not the least bit inferior to the other Legendary Master that everyone knew, Tu Ya'an. And the things that he just did were things that anyone below the legendary level was incapable of.

"Strange… Senior, have you changed your specialty? After a while, the second senior, whose seniority was second only to Hailaer, asked out of curiosity. "I remember you never used to follow this course; why have you changed…? Is this 'nature' or 'botanic?' It can't be these two, right?"

"My brother, you are indeed an expert. Nothing can be hidden from you!" Hailaer smiled and nodded as he replied. "With the help of His Majesty, the Void Mask, I finally understood that the original path I chose was not really corresponding to my inner being. What I wanted, in fact, was a stable, long-lasting life like the ancient Divine Tree mentioned in the legends."

The second disciple nodded vigorously and said, "You are right! This path does, indeed, suit you well. No wonder you failed three times previously. So the path that truly suits you is not anything else but this, 'botanic!'"

"That's why I'm saying, that if we change sides to be under the command of the Void Mask, you all will also have the chance to ask His Majesty to do something to help you all find the path that truly suits you all," Hailaer said as his eyes swept across all his juniors. When he finished scanning through, "If even I can succeed, don't you all want to take this final step and become a Legendary Master, just like me?"

This being said, not only his juniors, nut every advanced Master present fell into silence.

Who would not want to advance a step further, to become legendary?

Who would not want to break through limits and live up to hundreds and thousands of years old?

Now, hope was right before their eyes!

Amidst the silence, Tello Hailaer laughed.

"In fact, there's no need for us to rush into changing sides," he said. "We can first reveal a slight inclination towards the other side, such as inviting the Church of the Void Mask over to preach their teachings… We must tread the road step by step, just like how we eat our food, one mouthful at a time. We have plenty of time. Why should we worry?"

This was his true purpose. He had said so much previously, just to set a goal that was too difficult to achieve, to create a false impression in everyone and then, to weaken the feelings of objection they felt in their hearts.

Just like a business deal, when one quoted an exorbitant price, the purpose was simply just to make a counteroffer on the spot.