Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 594 - 410: Unspoken Past (3)

Chapter 594: Chapter 410: Unspoken Past (3)

"Why not, since Lord Malin has extended goodwill through the sacred Acorn, we magicians should not turn a blind eye." Lord Strength smiled as he first expressed goodwill and routinely took the Acorn: "Though I have no need for this thing, there are younger members in my family who do need it. There’s a younger relative I am quite fond of who, lacking the talents to become a mage, still wished to help his family and chose the same path as I did... I should lend him a hand, just as Lord Malin would do. Once the Acorn suppresses his condition, I’ll send him over through my channels. By then, Lord Malin, you’ll certainly know my true identity, but no need to be concerned; after all, I already know yours. This is a very fair trade, and I even stand to gain something from it."

"Lord Strength, don’t worry about it too much; I still have many more. You should have heard my story and know how many druids and shamans are serving me." Malin grinned while teasing Bippo. Although Carterburg might not be able to become a fortress, in terms of defensive strength, with the presence of the Divine Master, great druids, and four World Tree Saplings, Malin’s Carterburg had already become a fortress in a practical sense.

"Yes, I’ve heard. Many refugees from the Eastern Kingdom have obtained jobs at your place. They work the land for you, and although it might sound no different from their former lives, I’ve heard that now they can eat meat three times a week. If they work hard, they might even get a few cans of food. Compared to their time in the Eastern Kingdom, living at your place is like being in the Heavenly Kingdom," said Lord Chariot, who spoke fluent and accent-free Common. But with this, he had essentially admitted his identity as someone from the Eastern Kingdom.

Malin watched with a smile as he put away the fruit: "Believe me, I will be fairer and more just than the previous Lord Atef, here and elsewhere."

At this moment, Misha raised her hand.

"It seems Miss Misha has something to say. Go ahead, let’s hear it," Malin said, sitting in his chair and looking at the lady.

"This is very sensitive intelligence; I would like to open a direct communication link." The lady hesitated as she glanced at her wizard friends.

"Dorothy, please open a direct communication with Miss Misha."

"As you wish, my lord."

Once the direct communication link, which only the two of them could hear, was established, Malin could see the lady’s complexion brighten significantly: "Lord Malin, I am willing to expose an organization trafficking orc children. If I do this, can you arrange for my warrant in The Great Forest Land to be cleared?"

"That, I can refer you to the Divine Masters, so they can determine how much merit your information holds."

"I know. I can even point out that Lord Sigma is involved with that organization. I saw him during a transaction; he has relations with the organization’s leader."

"Very well... In that case, I’ll call over a Divine Master I know right away." After he finished speaking, Malin sent a coordinate to the Divine Master Ollie, and in a short while, the petite and adorable-looking Divine Master emerged through the portal—in the form of consciousness.

Malin arranged for the two of them to meet privately, then turned to the remaining few: "Do you have anything else you wish to acquire from me? I believe in equivalent exchange."

Malin felt that with his reputation, he should be able to make those magicians believe him—he had slaughtered forty thousand Black Orcs, and even given away the sacred Acorns; what was there not to trust?

Miss Lover was the first to raise her hand: "Lord Malin, I’d like to acquire the heart of a Stoneheart Sparrow. I’ve heard it’s a special product of the Sigma Union. Could you provide me with two? I can pay, or I can settle it with a corresponding difficulty of work."

"No problem," Malin nodded. "I’ll notify you at the next gathering." With Dorothy whispering knowledge of gatherings in his ear, Malin’s response left Miss Lover quite satisfied: "Then I’m counting on you. And thank you for your fruit."

"The first one is a gift. If you want more in the future, you’ll need to exchange it for work or equivalent information. Tell your friends that everyone joining the gathering for the first time can get one for free." Having said that, Malin looked at Sigma: "Sigma, is there something you would like to know?"

"Hmm... I’ll reserve judgment, as you know, this is our first encounter." The young man smiled somewhat frivolously as he put away the fruit.

Malin didn’t mind—the fruits were meant to be given away, after all. However, those who had consumed the fruits would cause Malin to sense their presence when nearing him. So, if he detected such presences in unfamiliar areas in the future, it would confirm that the individual or their kin were magicians.

"Lord Malin, thank you for the fruit. I’ve heard that the ancient trees on Eternal Night Island are blossoming again with your help. If you need information in the future, I’ll exchange it at cost. This is the only thing I, as a wizard, can do for Eternal Night Island," Lord Tower said with sincerity in his voice.

Malin affirmed his words: "I remember your goodwill. Oh, and one more thing. Perhaps the higher-ups on Eternal Night Island should know, and since you are a high-tier being, you should too. So, I’ll just tell you for free. You can pass on this information to them, just say you learned it from me. I believe they will investigate."

Once the direct communication link was accepted by Lord Tower, Malin shared the situation about Eternal Night Island that Jason had told him. When he mentioned that nearly half of the newborns were colorblind and a quarter had congenital heart defects, with even worse conditions among the High Elves, Lord Tower could no longer maintain his reserved expression: "Yes, my lord, you are correct."

"My advice for you is to open up Eternal Night Island, embrace bloodlines from all races. This might mean the pure elves could disappear into the annals of history, but if you remain closed off like this, new genetic diseases may arise. If a serious genetic disease does come about, would you abandon those children or keep performing surgeries generation after generation, until one day every newborn is sick and the elves are no more? Unless you acquire gene therapy and fundamentally change everything. But can you, who cherish nature, accept such artificial changes?"

Malin’s words left the high tower official at a loss for words, and with a sad nod, he seemed to acknowledge the elves’ inability to accept artificial intervention, "I will inform Eternal Night Island through my channels, but since you understand us so well, you should also realize that our elven stubbornness is infamous."

"Of course, I’ll also discuss your situation with the ambassadors—we are all civilized races, and I hope that one day you won’t be reduced to living like the Rat-men. You should know that the Rat-men are now reviving under the care of Nameless, with new followers of Nameless among them who pursue careers in Spiritual Energy."

The high tower official immediately perked up, nodding vigorously—being compared to Rat-men is one of the most venomous insults among races in this world.

After his conversation with the high tower official, Malin turned to Samlay, "Mr. Samlay, do you have any commissions or intelligence to trade?"

"Certainly, Lord Malin, I’ve heard of your bravery. You led the young soldiers of Sydney to crush the Black Orc war tide. I would like to purchase several Black Orc heads from you, my child needs them as a sacrifice." His words almost confirmed his identity as a Farolian—the only people in the Western Human World to use Black Orc heads as sacrificial offerings are the Farolians.

"First of all, those soldiers were true warriors. And secondly, no problem." Malin casually pulled a small door from which more than a dozen Black Orc heads rolled out—he had about one thousand Black Orc heads in total, ten of which belonged to Magicians, a mutual decision made by the military leaders of the various nations of Sydney and Master Ataf.

Malin had to open a space to store these heads.

"Can I buy all of these?" Mr. Samlay seemed quite pleased with the number.

So Malin nodded, and the two agreed on a price of 120 Mowish per Black Orc head, for a total of 1440 Mowish for 12 heads. Mr. Samlay offered a six-ring Spirits material as an alternative— he didn’t have 1440 standard Mowish coins, but his alternative was valued at 1800 Mowish on the market. Minus the premium, Malin found the deal acceptable.

Furthermore, the high tower official bought the material, paying with an Arcane Flame Crystal, which Malin thought Faye could use, so he agreed to the trade request.

After completing these transactions, Malin looked towards the witch who had noticed him from the beginning.

Her name was Teresa, if he remembered correctly.

"Mrs. Teresa, is there something you wish to trade?" Malin asked.

"Honorable Lord Malin, can... can you resurrect my husband?" Mrs. Teresa asked.

Malin could hear the disdainful snort of Chariot, and he noticed several Wizards watching warily.

"Mrs. Teresa should know that in this world, the souls of the deceased usually return to the River of Mana, where they cleanse themselves of a lifetime’s vanity before they have the chance to be reborn. How long has your husband been dead?"

"...Ten years," Teresa replied.

"Madam, forgive my frankness, but your husband is dead. His soul has left you. I personally think you should accept reality," said Power in a tone meant to comfort.

Malin also nodded—if there had been a breath of life left, he might have been able to save her husband’s life with a potion, but it had been ten years, and he did not believe he had such capabilities.

"I... I have preserved his soul," Mrs. Teresa said, lifting her head to look at Malin, uttering the words that Wizards feared the most in the simplest of terms.

"Dark Wizard!" Miss Lover’s voice was pitch-altered.

"I never knew that Dark Wizards could infiltrate a gathering!" Chariot frowned, "Lord Malin, this is a Dark Wizard, a being even we Wizards fear."

Malin raised his left hand to quiet the murmuring among the Wizards, then looked back at Mrs. Teresa.

He had an idea that might just be a good one.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.