End of the Magic Era

Butler had an understanding expression after hearing Dubois.

“I see… That Demiplane should be in a state of rapid collapse. No wonder you care about the Thunderwind Fort that much. It’s a pity that the Demiplane is of no use to me. If you want me to act, you should have brought some benefits, right? Or did you plan on asking me to help you get that Demiplane back for nothing?”

Dubois rapidly ground his teeth before finally taking out a crystal ball emitting a gentle white light.

“This Radiant Imprint should be enough. Haven’t you been eyeing it for a very long time?

Butler smiled as he put away the crystal ball, his face filled with hardly covered pride.

That Radiant Imprint was a supporting tool that could help a mage gain insight into the Light Law. It contained a wisp of Light Law remnant. If the Radiant Imprint was merged into a Demiplane, it could add that wisp of Light Law into the Demiplane, allowing its owner to understand that wisp of Law sooner or later.

After gaining the initial insight, the owner would keep getting more insights over time.

That benefit was no less important than the Wind Blade Demiplane was to Dubois.

More importantly, the Radiant Imprint was something taken away by Dubois when both of them accidentally discovered a ruin while fighting. Butler had been eyeing it, but Dubois refused to trade with Butler.

Now, Butler didn’t even need to pay a price to get it, putting him in an extremely good mood.

“Alright, I’ll reluctantly help you since you are giving me the Radiant Imprint.”

Dubois swallowed his anger, his lungs almost bursting with rage, but he endured and didn’t argue with Butler.

‘Hmpf, that damned Butler! That Demiplane wasn’t left behind by any random Heaven Rank, it was left behind by a top-notch Heaven Mage! If I could fuse with a part of the Demiplane’s Origin Power, the benefits I would get would surpass ten Radiant Imprints!’

Dubois slowly exhaled, silently soothing himself. Everything would be worth it as long as he could retrieve that Demiplane. The blow to his reputation wouldn’t matter.

Butler looked at Dubois’ dark face and casually opened a Spatial Door between them. Butler entered the silver-colored door and was followed by Dubois.

…

On the other side, in the sky above the Thunderwind Fort, a silver whirlpool suddenly appeared before rapidly forming a silver door from which Butler and Dubois came out.

In an instant, all the defenses of the Thunderwind Fort were activated. The three Mana Crystal Cannons re-adjusted their barrels and aimed at the two men hovering in the sky.

“Merlin, I am Butler. I came as a mediator, there is no need to worry.”

Lin Yun, who had been busy processing materials, came out of a building and glanced at the two men before waving at the puppets.

Since Butler came, that stalemate couldn’t continue. He still had to show some respect to Butler, after all. If not for his last appearance, Lin Yun might have really ended up dying because of Dubois.

“Sir Butler, welcome! I’m really sorry about the mess…”

Lin Yun smiled and greeted Butler in a very enthusiastic manner, acting as if he was welcoming a guest to his own territory while completely ignoring Dubois.

Dubois’ expression darkened even more, but he silently followed after Butler.

Lin Yun welcomed Butler into a room. Puppets brought two chairs and two cups of first-rate black tea.

After Lin Yun casually sat down, Butler also sat down across from him and sipped on the tea before exclaiming, “Eh, this is the best tea of the western part of the Kingdom, Snow Black Tea! Being able to drink it in the Raging Flame Plane is quite nice.”

Dubois looked embarrassed as the puppets apparently forgot him and didn’t give him a chair or any tea. Dubois restrained himself and grabbed a chair with his mana before casually sitting on the side of the table, glaring at Lin Yun without saying a word.

“Ah, Merlin, I really didn’t want to come this time, I didn’t want to meddle in this matter. But you know our current circumstances. The Raging Flame Beastmen’s resistance is getting stronger and stronger, and even Heaven Rank powerhouses have started appearing. Even so, as long as there are no surprises, they would still be defeated by the pincer attack of our Kingdom and the Odin Kingdom. It’s just a matter of time.

“But our bet with the Odin Kingdom is still underway. Our Andlusa Kingdom is lagging behind, and as time passes, our chances of overtaking them keep reducing. If we lose, everything in the Raging Flame Plane will no longer belong to us.

“Thus, regardless of who made a mistake or who is in the wrong, the stalemate between you and Dubois can’t continue.

“I hope you can listen to me and keep the grudges aside until the Raging Flame Plane’s matter is over. Let’s negotiate, okay?”

Butler was patient and methodical. His words were polite and seemed to be favoring no one, only caring about the general situation.

Lin Yun knew that he couldn’t keep occupying the Thunderwind Fort and that he would eventually have to relent. Since Butler spoke, he had to show a minimum amount of respect.

“Sir Butler, it’s not that I don’t want to be considerate, but Sir Dubois attacked my fort out of nowhere and destroyed my laboratory. My losses are huge! How could I let go so easily?

“My Artisan subordinate died at Dubois’ hands, and our most advanced laboratory was inexplicably destroyed. More than half of the alchemists that dedicated their lives to the pursuit of alchemy died, and their souls are waiting for me to get an account!

“If Dubois doesn’t apologize and compensate me properly, the deadlock will continue, no matter what!” Lin Yun loudly yelled while pointing at Dubois and looking enraged.

Dubois suddenly erupted in anger, no longer able to bear with it. The chair he sat on shattered and lightning surged as he stood up and stared at Lin Yun.

“Mafa Merlin, don’t be too excessive! I told you, hurry up and get the f*ck out of the Thunderwind Fort! The retaliation from the Black Tower’s Holy Land will be dyed in blood. Not just you, the Family behind you will also suffer the reprisal of the Holy Land!

“You damned scoundrel, you didn’t lose a single of your subordinates while I lost two 9th Rank Archmages! You damned b*stard, you greedy leech! What do you want!?

“I’m offering negotiations for the sake of the bigger picture! Otherwise, you would have already died, and your subordinates and the Family behind you would have already been buried alongside your corpse!”

Dubois was filled with anger, and Lin Yun’s casual blackmail made him unable to endure any further.

Lin Yun sneered and slammed the table. A layer of lava appeared on his finger and quickly coiled around his arm. Black smoke appeared where the table had been burnt by lava, soon followed by flames.

“Dubois, if you want to fight, then come! You think I’m afraid of you? You want to retaliate? Then go ahead, retaliate now!”

Lin Yun used Lava Incarnation, his body transforming into an eight-meter-tall Lava Giant, setting the room on fire.

On the side, Butler couldn’t help resting his head against his palm.

‘That fool… even Mafa Merlin is that angry. I’m afraid his losses weren’t small this time… Damn, an Artisan? Several dozen outstanding alchemists? That idiot actually killed that many people?

‘If I had known, I wouldn’t have gotten involved, I would have let Mafa Merlin vent… Yet that fool actually dares to use death threats? Has Dubois become a complete idiot?’

“Dubois! Are you done causing trouble?” Butler shouted in a heavy voice.

Lightning flashed in Dubois’ eyes as he was fuming.

“Butler, don’t tell me you don’t see what that guy is doing? He is trying to extort me under false pretenses! Damnit, a temporary base with a few puppets, how could you dare try to blackmail me for that? F*ck!”

Butler looked quite annoyed as he asked, “Dubois, did you forget something? Are you trying to fight Mafa Merlin here?”

Those few words were enough to quell Dubois’ anger for now, and he once again grabbed a chair and sat down.

Butler casually waved his hand, and the flames on the furniture and the room were extinguished. Lin Yun also scattered his Lava Incarnation and sneered again.

“A temporary base? Damn, my alchemist team and I were in that temporary base! There were over thirty prototypes surpassing this era on the verge of being completed, and over two hundred precious samples!

“The most valuable one was that destroyed puppet! That was the greatest masterpiece, the only experiment that succeeded. As long as we researched it, our offensive on the Raging Flame Beastmen would have been greatly strengthened, and the speed at which we gained points would have doubled! Now, the sample has been lost and everything has been destroyed.

“The alchemists that discovered those precious samples also died in that testing base. How could these losses not be considered devastating?

“If not for some greedy moron, how could this happen? We could have been attacking the Raging Flame Beastmen’s capital city already!”

Dubois’ eyes burned with rage as Lin Yun hurled accusations at him, and he once again became unable to restrain himself.

“Dubois!” Butler yelled with a frown, effectively forcing Dubois to suffer in silence and allowing Lin Yun to speak as he wished.

Butler was very dissatisfied. Even if Lin Yun was exaggerating, it shouldn’t be far from the truth. It would certainly be enough to explain Dubois’ greed.