Mage Legend
Chapter 127 - 42 Episodes Conference (Part 1)_2

Lynch entered the Dark Elf’s residence, led forward by a family warrior. Hovering, he pondered, "Which families could truly form an alliance? Can they really balance their respective interests and band together for such a formidable battle?"

As he calculated various possibilities, the Dark Elf warrior brought him to the audience hall. He pushed the door open and found more than twenty people already present inside.

Sitting on the wide throne at the top was Matron Batana. She leaned against a soft cushion, comfortably squinting her eyes, resting her chin on one hand, seemingly meditating with closed eyes.

Standing on the stairs were eight female priests of the Dark Elves. Closest to the Matron was Zarra, whom Lynch had met before. She gazed at the mage who had just walked through the door with her inherent contempt, but the corners of her mouth slightly curved, carrying a hint of teasing. Her body always conveyed the message: "Lowly beings, it’s your greatest honor to bring me enjoyment and satisfaction."

Zilvra stood at the fifth position. Today, she wasn’t dressed in a warrior’s attire but, like her "sisters," wore a priest’s robe. The only difference was that her robe didn’t bear the emblem of the Spider Goddess, but rather a pair of black crescent blades.

Lynch hadn’t seen the other family members of the Dark Elves before, but just from the seven priests—though Zilvra wore a priest’s robe, she wasn’t a true user of Divine Power—Lynch could gauge this family’s strength. The priests beside the Matron usually were family members with high achievements in Divine Arts, not just followers of the Spider Goddess. They were exemplary Drow priestesses, bearing the goddess’s favor, powerful strength, and brutal character. They were at the pinnacle of Dark Elf society. In a family, aside from the Matron, having two to three such priestesses would suffice to establish a foothold in Ratris City. And now there were seven high-ranking priestesses—Lynch couldn’t believe this was the family’s full strength; there must be hidden "cards"—enough to easily sweep away any family ranked below the top five.

And now they were all gathered here, preparing for some sort of meeting, indicating that something significant was about to happen.

Besides these Dark Elf female priests, two rows of lower-status individuals stood on the ground below the steps. Mostly male Dark Elves, they all eyed Lynch with suspicion and provocation, watching this sudden "family advisor." The coldest stares came from the two Dark Elves dressed in mage robes.

"Two mages?" Lynch couldn’t help but once again marvel at this family’s strength. In many surface nations, even the highest rulers might not have a mage at their disposal, yet this small underground city had three mages serving them in a single Dark Elf family.

Lynch surveyed everyone in the hall with his Eye of Insight, only to discover a Dark Elf mage using his robe sleeve to cover his hand, continuously gesturing with spells. His lips remained still, seemingly just waiting for the meeting to start, but through the "Silent Spell" technique, he aimed to impress Lynch, the newcomer.

If he hadn’t seen the gestures, Lynch might not have been prepared. But now the situation was different. Lynch quickly began preparations to counter this magic, employing both Silent Spell and Fixed Spell techniques, ignoring all verbal and gestural components of a spell.

Two streams of magical energy silently met within the robe sleeve of the Dark Elf mage. As usual, the products of two magical systems never coordinated; they began to oscillate, trying to suppress each other.

The Dark Elf mage didn’t realize what was happening, only that his spell was suppressed and energy was chaotically rushing within his sleeve.

Initially, the energies were evenly matched, neither able to overcome the other, which would ultimately result in both disappearing. However, the use of Magic Origin provided an absolute advantage. Lynch could continuously supply this primal energy to bolster his spell—like how he could restore Magic Power to his Magic Wand with it. Thus, his spell instantly overwhelmed the Dark Elf’s spell, and in this scenario, the explosive Magic Power shredded the Drow mage’s sleeve. Without a sound or any light, his sleeve instantly turned into shredded strips, scattering with a mist of blood in the air.

Everyone turned their gaze upon the disgraced mage. Now, one of his arms was bared, covered in numerous scratches, with blood slowly trickling down the burnt wounds, yet the stubborn guy remained silent despite the intense pain. He merely cast a fierce, resentful stare at Lynch.

Zilvra struggled to hold back her laughter. She noticed Lynch looking at her and signaled with her eyes, indicating where he should stand.

With a look of indifference, clearly unrelated to him, Lynch stood in the place Zilvra indicated, right between all the Dark Elf priestesses and other family members.

Standing opposite him was the martial monk who had once wounded him!

"It seems you’ve recovered well, Martial Monk," Lynch’s voice suddenly echoed in the previously silent room. Except for the Matron, all the Dark Elves turned to him, scrutinizing this audacious individual.

"A male, daring to speak so wilfully in front of the Matron!"

"Call me Regula, Mage!"

"Do you think the matter between us is settled, Monk?" While keeping his gaze fixed on the monk, Lynch used the Eye of Insight to observe the Matron’s movements and the expressions of various Dark Elf priestesses.

Batana remained meditative, as if she hadn’t sensed a thing. Zilvra licked her lips excitedly, her eyes filled with anticipation for the fight to begin. Zarra, meanwhile, wore a mocking smile, as though ridiculing the mage’s overconfidence.

"It’s time you learned to respect a mage." After Lynch uttered these words, an ice ring emanated from him, radiating endless cold. Water droplets, frozen by the sudden drop in temperature, formed a mist that enveloped the mage’s figure.

With the help of the Eye of Insight, Lynch could easily spot the monk, whereas, for the monk to find the mage in the icy mist, it would take some effort.

But just as the battle was on the verge of eruption, Matron Batana opened her eyes.

"Stop it now. I have something important to say."

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Thus, the IOU is void:

Today, May 2nd, Tuesday, caught a cold and have a splitting headache, really not in the mood to write. So, here’s a blank note...

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