End of the Magic Era

“Why did you fall silent? A small Bojinsen Family dared to disobey the command of our Rodney Family and stopped supplying us? They are truly courting death.

“Get rid of them, make that family disappear from Noscent. Toursse, none of them shall remain by the next sunrise!”

Wilder roared angrily, but all the Elders remained silent. Even the infamous Necromancer Toursse lowered his head and remained silent, not following Wilder’s command.

After a few seconds, the Great Elder bitterly smiled and started explaining, “Patriarch, we can’t do anything to the Bojinsen Family. They control over 95% of the Platinum Rock supplies in the Odin Kingdom, and they are the only ones able to get such a large amount of Platinum Rock.

“What happened already annoyed the other forces. Five forces with power similar to our family already warned us in the past few days. Destroying the Bojisen family means destroying the businesses of over thirty families…”

The Great Elder stopped after saying those words. Wilder gritted his teeth before taking a deep breath. Half of his body had involuntarily turned to steel, and it took a few seconds to return to normal as Wilder calmed down.

The Rodney Family was domineering and offended quite a number of people over the years, but it was just competition. However, if they destroyed the long-term businesses of over thirty forces, these forces would definitely not hesitate to work together to erase the Rodney Family from the Odin Kingdom.

Wilder remained silent for a few minutes before slowly opening his mouth.

“Then how should we deal with the Gilded Rose now? Share your ideas. The Gilded Rose is expanding extremely fiercely, and the profits of our Rodney Family’s medicine market have already shrunk by 10%. A lot of businesses have also reduced the amount of supplies they’re buying.“If this continues, we will no longer hold the largest share of the potion market in the northern part of the Odin Kingdom.”

The Elders immediately started giving their opinions and kept raising plans to attack the Gilded Rose. Unfortunately, not a single one satisfied Wilder.

Ten minutes later, the 2nd Elder suggested something.

“The Gilded Rose recently launched a new antidote, and it’s now their most praised potion. Why don’t we target it?

“The Gilded Rose’s reputation will plummet if we target that antidote. They aren’t an old established force of the Odin Kingdom, so they won’t be able to make a comeback if their reputation suffers once.

“And there are a lot of things that can be done about antidotes…”

The meeting room suddenly became quiet after the 2nd Elder’s words, and everyone smiled.

The Great Elder laughed grimly. “If something goes wrong with an antidote, it could result in death. Let’s see how the Gilded Rose deals with a dead person.”

After three days, the entrance of the Gilded Rose suddenly became noisy. A Sword Saint with a swollen face covered in pustules stood angrily at the entrance of the Gilded Rose, pointing at the pitch-black corpse lying on the ground next to him.

“Look! This is the Gilded Rose’s Golden Crown Potion that is supposedly able to cure over eight hundred kinds of potent poisons and all kinds of weak poisons!

“Because of that damned potion, my friend… The brother I grew up with… died!

“We were only poisoned by a level 30 Black Ring Snake, and taking an ordinary antidote should have been enough… But he unexpectedly died after taking the Gilded Rose’s antidote!

“Look at me! I was fortunate enough to not die after taking the antidote, but look at my ghastly appearance! My strength also dropped by three ranks, and my Aura keeps decreasing.

“This isn’t an antidote! It’s a poison!”

After saying that, the Sword Saint threw the potion bottle he was holding onto the ground, splattering what was left of it.

At that time, the shopping customers came out of the store, not daring to buy any more potions… especially those who came to buy the Golden Crown Potion. They hesitated for a bit before putting the Golden Crown Potions back on their shelves. The Gilded Rose’s reputation had been really good, but something bad just happened, and it happened to their newly released potion.

This was trouble. All potions went through countless years of testing on the market, but it wasn’t strange for problems to appear in some potions every year.

Pabiete came out when that man appeared, but he couldn’t deal with this matter since the other side claimed that there was a problem with one of the Gilded Rose’s potions.

As soon as Faleau appeared after getting the news, eight mages wearing robes of inner mages of the Starry Sky College appeared.

“Sir Faleau, we are the Starry Sky College’s medicine supervision team.

“We received a report that the Gilded Rose’s newly released antidote sent a man to his death and have thus been investigating. The victim was indeed poisoned by a Black Ring Snake, but that venom isn’t deadly to a 5th Rank Sword Saint.

“We have also confirmed that he had taken the new antidote from the Gilded Rose. Please cooperate with our investigation.”

Faleau felt a headache surging when he saw that group of people suddenly appearing and saying that they had already investigated.

‘This is a conspiracy targeting the Gilded Rose!

‘Damnit, the Gilded Rose will be affected regardless of the outcome, all because of the appearance of the medicine supervision team.

‘The Starry Sky College’s supervision teams have absolute authority over their fields. No one would doubt their words. The Golden Crown Potion is poisonous? What a joke! Let alone a Level 30 Black Ring Snake’s venom, even a Level 40 Black Ring Snake wouldn’t be able to poison and kill a Sword Saint possessing a Golden Crown Potion.’

“Inform Sir Merlin.”

Faleau knew that this wasn’t a matter he could handle. From his point of view, that corpse did die because of that Black Ring Snake Venom; there was no doubt in his mind. But even if he had no special resistance against that venom, as a Sword Saint, he shouldn’t have died, given his natural resistances and physique.

The members of the Starry Sky College’s medicine supervision team had indifferent expressions as they looked at Faleau.

“Sir Faleau, we will secure all your Golden Crown Potions, please cooperate with us.”

The members of the medicine supervision team were also humans. The Starry Sky College had greatly supported the Gilded Rose in their endeavor to open a shop in Neverwinter City. There had even been an indistinct rumor that Dean Gandaph personally showed an interest in the Gilded Rose’s matters.

The authority of the medicine supervision team couldn’t be said to be high, but it couldn’t be considered low either. They could only impartially enforce the laws. A scandal would tarnish the prestige of the Starry Sky College, and the punishment that would await them wasn’t something they were willing to face.

But the members of the medicine supervision team didn’t dare to act too unbridled in front of the Gilded Rose. They would have never come if the outcome of the investigation hadn’t matched the report.

Faleau nodded and let the members of the medicine supervision team enter the Gilded Rose to secure all the Golden Crown Potions.

Faleau watched as the members of the medicine supervision team were getting ready to leave with the Golden Crown Potions. At that time, the troublemaking Sword Saint took the corpse and was preparing to leave along with the medicine supervision team.

Faleau suddenly became worried when he saw this.

‘Sh*t, that b*stard was crying and shouting a moment ago, yet he doesn’t care about compensation and intends to leave with the medicine supervision team!?

‘It’ll be too late if I let that b*stard leave today, they’ll have too much time to refine that plot! Even if the medicine supervision team doesn’t show any favoritism, the investigation will definitely result in the Golden Crown Potion being the problem.’

The swollen eyes of the pustule-covered man squeezed into slits, and he smiled as he noticed Faleau’s worried expression.

‘Fools, this is really too easy. No one can recognize me today, and no one will be able to find me after today. And if they do, all they will find is a corpse. I made sure to let everyone know that I had a grudge with the Gilded Rose before disappearing, so everyone should understand.

‘My mission will be completed as long as I leave this place, and the resources the family will give me will be enough to reach the peak of the Sword Saint realm. There will even be a Heaven Sword Saint instructing me. Haha, how could I be so lucky?’

There weren’t many people buying things inside the Gilded Rose, especially in the potion area, where not a single soul could be seen. There were even some people asking for refunds.

Even the Gilded Rose’s magic tools, puppets, and arrays’ displays were abandoned as everyone went to the entrance to watch what was happening.

As the medicine supervision team and the Sword Saint carrying the corpse were about to leave, Lin Yun appeared.

“Just investigate here and let everyone watch. I’m sure there are a lot of alchemists here, just show the facts in front of everyone.”

As Lin Yun appeared, Faleau just stood behind him. The medicine supervision team hesitated, but Lin Yun continued before they could say anything.

“Now matter how high the level of a Black Ring Snake is, its poison won’t make someone’s face swell, let alone create pustules.

“The poison of a Black Ring Snake will freeze one’s blood, and even if there were other side-effects, there wouldn’t be swelling and pustules.

“I’m sure a lot of people here should be aware of that.”

Lin Yun’s words stopped the medicine supervision team members in their stride. They had been doubtful before, but the testing confirmed that it was the poison of a Black Ring Snake, and one of a Level 30 Black Ring Snake.

Anyone able to buy a Golden Crown Potion, or anyone with sufficient financial power to buy this kind of antidote was either a powerful, rich, or formidable alchemist.

The Gilded Rose’s potions were of good quality with outstanding properties, yet their prices were on the lower side. Anyone with a brain would know that it meant that the Gilded Rose would spend a lot less money on quality control.

And thus, when the Gilded Rose released a new potion with such wonderful effects, these people couldn’t afford to not buy some for research. After all, everyone had their own thoughts. As the Holy Land of alchemists, many members of the Starry Sky College had bought the Golden Crown Potions for research. It would be enough for them to profit as long as they researched it, even if their research wasn’t perfect.

As members of the medicine supervision team, they naturally knew the results of the research of the Golden Crown Potion. Its effects were very good and it contained some new ingredients which had very good absorption ability.

Many of the onlookers nodded, approving of Lin Yun’s point of view. Some people had felt that it was strange, but anyone with decent skills in the field of alchemy could see that someone was making trouble for the Gilded Rose.

As the medicine supervision team stopped their preparations to leave, that man with a swollen face and unrecognizable features started panicking.

“What is your Gilded Rose trying to pull? Do you want to kill me too? Sh*t, I knew that the Gilded Rose’s reputation was just a pretense…”

Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to finish his words as Lin Yun looked at him, making him lose control of his body due to the pressure. He couldn’t even muster his Aura.

Sensing the terrifying pressure emitted from Lin Yun’s body, the onlookers tacitly agreed to remain silent. The few Heaven Rank powerhouses even felt alarmed. Lin Yun’s control over his pressure was so good that almost nothing leaked as he completely suppressed that Sword Saint. But to them, it felt as if an Ancient God suddenly opened his eyes, as if they were dead for a fleeting moment.

Once the surroundings became quiet, Lin Yun turned his head towards the medicine supervision team.

“Do the investigation here, in front of everyone. Every single one of our products has to go through three inspection processes before being sold. For every single bottle, we can account for the origin of the materials, the alchemist who refined it, the alchemists who tested it, and the clerk who sold it.

“Thus, I believe that there will be no issues with the quality.”

Several members of the medicine supervision team remained silent. Lin Yun’s domineering attitude and confidence made a few of them unwittingly agree with him. Even the onlookers with no alchemy knowledge started believing that the Gilded Rose was being framed.

Lin Yun pointed to the corpse.

“The surface of his body is dark and there are some faint ring-shaped stripes on his skin, as if he had died from the poison of a Black Ring Snake, but there is another potent poison that exhibits those symptoms upon the death of the poisoned. But it’ll be different after three hours… I believe you should know of it.”

The expressions of a few of the members of the medicine supervision team shook as they heard Lin Yun’s words. They then looked at the corpse with shock.

“Delind’s Three-Hours Curse!” one of them suddenly shouted.

Another one immediately cast a Wind Blade to cut the corpse’s arm. Only a bit of light red blood dripped down the corpse, its color so faint that it could almost be mistaken for water.

The medicine supervision team members had ugly expressions upon seeing the watery blood. This meant that they had made a mistake and that they had been used as a weapon.

The few of them remained silent with dark expressions. There was no longer any need for an investigation… That person hadn’t died from the poison of a Black Ring Snake but another kind of potent poison. Even a Heaven Rank powerhouse would die if they didn’t take an antidote within three minutes of being poisoned by it. And three hours was the difference between Delind’s Three-Hours Curse and the Black Ring Snake Venom.

If they were poisoned by Delind’s Three-Hours Curse, they would die after three hours and no potions could help. Once they missed the three-minute window to cleanse the poison, all potions would become no different from water.

The leader of the supervision team walked to Lin Yun and did a mage salute. “Sir Merlin, our medicine supervision team made a mistake, we will give you a satisfactory explanation. Anyone who dares to fool the medicine supervision team will have to pay a disastrous price.”

He then planned on taking his people to leave this place. He came to trouble an alchemy store without concrete proof. This was a huge mistake for the supervision team, and they would all be punished.

Lin Yun shook his head, “This has nothing to do with you. Could one of you extract the Delind’s Three-Hours Curse from the corpse?”The leader nodded and immediately started extracting it. After being poisoned, the corpse’s blood would remain coagulated for three hours, but three hours later, the poison would melt the blood and follow the diluted blood through the entire body, thoroughly melting it. The poison was in the blood.

One had to be at least a Master Alchemist to extract the poison from the blood, or they would run the risk of being poisoned themselves.

Within a dozen minutes, the leader of the monitoring team extracted half a bottle of poison from the corpse. At this time, Lin Yun released the pressure on that disfigured Sword Saint.

“Hell! The Gilded Rose poisoned someone to death! You aren’t even letting others speak! You b*stard! Everyone can see through your facade!”

Unfortunately, Lin Yun forcibly controlled the Sword Saint’s body with his terrifying pressure before he could speak again.

And that bottle of poison extracted from the corpse, which looked like clear water, was directly put into his mouth.

The Sword Saint’s swollen face instantly distorted, and unconcealable fear could be seen in his eyes.

After pouring the poison in his mouth, Lin Yun released the pressure. The Sword Saint instantly knelt on the ground, his Aura surging as he kept vomiting in an attempt to spit out the poison.

“Delind’s Three-Hours Curse is something that is absorbed instantly. It seeps into your entire body once it enters your mouth, you can’t spit it out.

“You have three minutes to tell me who put you up to this. Tell me the truth… Oh, you have already wasted fifteen seconds. Now you only have 2 minutes and 33 seconds left, you’ll die a miserable death after that..”