Badge in Azure

Chapter 1277: Bug Angel (Part 2)

“Grand Duke, you should be sad. Me coming here all the way means that your place is no longer safe.”

“Why is that, Saleen? We had a deal, didn’t we?” Grand Duke Iron Blood played dumb. Saleen stopped just about everything else in Metatrin City and dedicated all of his efforts to crafting the Bug Angel Armor. There was no way the Grand Duke did not know.

When they became allies, Saleen silently approved of the presence of the Grand Duke’s spies at Metatrin City. Everything was fine as long as the spies stayed away from the temple.

“We need a quiet place to talk. Grand Duke, we’re in deep trouble, and I’m not sure I can handle it.”

The Grand Duke looked at Nailisi, who was standing beside Saleen and hesitated for a bit, but he chose to tell his mages, “I’ll head to the Dragon Palace. Tell Imposa His Highness Saleen is here.”

Saleen smiled and was reminded that he was no longer what he once was. He had needed Nailisi’s protection in the past, and she had been the most formidable fighting force he had at his disposal.

However, since the Thunder Dragon Blaster had been upgraded, his combat capacity was not any lower than Nailisi. The Grand Duke was on guard, fearing that Saleen would turn on him.

However, it was obvious that the Grand Duke had skills or equipment that he held in very high regard, as he would not get close to Saleen and Nailisi. He knew Saleen well enough he knew that the mage was capable of fighting hand-to-hand, and Nailisi was even more adept than her master.

The Dragon Palace was magnificent. It was called the Dragon Palace because almost all of the defenses installed were built using materials sourced from dragons. Saleen was envious of the prosperity and abundance displayed on Dragon Island.

Even dragon spit was very good magic material. One could imagine how rich an island capable of raising dragons was. Saleen and the Grand Duke had traded many times. There was already a dragon in Nature City.

The reason Saleen did not put the dragon in Metatrin City was because he needed something to mesmerize people in Nature City.

Even though Saleen had purchased abundant dragon materials, his eyes sparkled at the installations in Dragon Palace. Nailisi was getting ready to rob the palace. However, if they actually robbed it, there was no certainty that they would be able to run away with their loot.

Imposa arrived quickly, saw Saleen, and nodded as a greeting. They were not that fond of each other. They had been at each other’s throats before, and becoming friends after all that proved to be a tall order.

Furthermore, Saleen had no intention of becoming friends with Imposa, even though the latter had entrusted his only student to Saleen.

Saleen cut the chatter and took out a piece of memory crystal, projecting the illusions within using magic.

“Abominations?” Imposa did not get excited when he saw the creatures, but he was not calm either. He was calculating their combat capacity.

“Indeed. The portal between the abomination plane and Myers Mainland will be opened some time after December. I’m here to ask if you intend to get involved.”

“How did you learn of this, Saleen?” Grand Duke Iron Blood might have been a warrior, but he was able to tell that they were not recordings, but illusions created using magic instead.

Saleen did not bring such things to deceive the Grand Duke. It was just that he had not been able to observe them in the field.

The abominations had crimson magic patterns etched all over their green skin. They had curved horns and wore kilts around their waists. Some were naked. The only common thing between them was that every single abomination was above level seven. It seemed rather unlikely.

“Grand Duke, I assume that you know someone by the name of Fycro?”

“I do indeed. A very tough guy to deal with.”

“He ordered one million and two hundred thousand sets of armor from me, specifically for taking them on.” Saleen took out a set of Bug Angel Armor crafted from the shell of red krill.

Imposa looked at the Bug Angel Armor before exclaiming in surprise, “Fycro ordered that many of these!?”

“I’ve already delivered five hundred thousand suits to him,” Saleen answered.

The expression of both Grand Duke Iron Blood and Imposa became grim. The Grand Duke looked at Imposa, who asked, “this is the quality of the armor that you delivered to Fycro?”

There was a reason why Imposa asked. He was a grandmaster in terms of alchemy. His proficiency at the art of alchemy had surpassed what his level would suggest.

The unique properties of the Bug Angel Armor, coupled with being crafted using magic beast shell, enabled the armor’s defensive capacity to reach the top of the line.

The defense of level four magic beasts was not very formidable, but when they were processed by mages, defenses of such materials would surpass the level seen magic beasts seen in nature.

“I’m rather short on metal, so I’d say about half of them were made like this.”

Saleen’s words made the Grand Duke and Imposa frustrated. Dragon Island was rich in resources but they lacked trade, which prevented them from trading the dragon materials for other materials. That was why the Grand Duke traded with Saleen.

The mage had huge amounts of low level materials that he needed.

Saleen told him that he was short on metals, but used magic beast shells, which were better quality, to make the armor. That said that he had more of the shells at his disposal than metal.

“Saleen, I’ll get you the metal, and you get me the shells. How about that?”

“Grand Duke, we’re allies so I’ll definitely look out for you.” Saleen smiled. “Right now, I need hands to help me fight the abominations, if…”

“If I don’t do it, the shells would have to be delayed. Am I correct?” The Grand Duke asked.

“More or less so. I need them myself, after all.”

“Imposa, what do you think?” The Grand Duke was incapable of assessing the properties of the Bug Angel Armor accurately. He simply knew that the armor far surpassed his imagination.

“Very good stuff, and there is still room for modifications. No one would have been willing to sell these in the past. The fact that Saleen is willing to put it before us states the gravity of the situation.”

The Grand Duke thought for a bit. “I’ve already had a setup to attack Alchemy City. If I devoted my resources into this, my army would become severely lacking.”

“Army?” Saleen smiled. “This is for the Iron Blood warriors.”

“Attacking Alchemy City requires use of Iron Blood warriors.”

“Alchemy City has a large magic amplifier, even if you were armed with Iron Blood warriors, you won’t have any advantage.”

“I have ways to stall the magic amplifier. My elites will storm and destroy the nine major magic towers of the Elemental Hand. As soon as the magic towers are down, it will be as if a huge hole had been punched in the city. Even if the magic amplifier were restored, fighting in the city would still be a lot easier.” Imposa answered.

His voice was very irritating. His half-man-half-machine appearance made him look terrifying.

“The thing with abomination plane is of greater importance. Imposa, you want to destroy Alchemy City, right?”

“Indeed. Alchemy City has been turned into hell of mages!” Imposa said angrily. His resentment built up when he was still in Alchemy City.

Things had gotten even worse. The city employed terrifying methods to forcefully upgrade some young mages, looking as if they were ready for full expansion. From the standpoint of tactics, only dealing a heavy blow to the city would prevent things from spiraling out of control.

Alchemy City’s crazed antics meant that there was more to come, and Imposa had no intention of seeing them brought to reality. He wanted to destroy Alchemy City before things got that far.

“How certain are you in the success of your plan?” Saleen mellowed out.

He had scores to settle with the city for laying out an ambush for him. He wanted to destroy Alchemy City.

“20 percent. If you’re willing to provide 10,000 sets of that armor, the chances would be raised to 50.”

“20 percent?” Saleen never thought Imposa would take such risks. Mages usually only attempted things when the chances of success were over 40 percent.

“This is nothing, Saleen. Help me destroy Alchemy City, and I’ll help you kill abominations unconditionally.”

“Unconditionally?”

“Indeed. I’ll only take the dead bodies of abominations I killed. I want nothing else.”

“How about you, Grand Duke?”

“Me? Saleen, this concerns Myers Mainland itself. If the abominations get here, the mainland is finished. Do you really think that I only want to become an emperor and care for nothing else?” Grand Duke Iron Blood was rather displeased with Saleen.

He came from a family that had a long history. His family was thousands of years old. It was his duty to protect Myers Mainland and his subjects.

“My bad. Now, let’s talk about prices.” Saleen took out three sets of armor.

One set was crafted entirely of metals, one crafted using metals and magic beast shells, and the last one was a set that Saleen had modified. Other than not having ways to upgrade it using crude means, the magic patterns on the armor had been infused with defenses using dark space.

“What are the prices?” The Grand Duke left pricing to Saleen. It was a habit he acquired after becoming allies with Saleen. His prices tended to be higher than usual at times. Saleen was truly fitting as a trade partner.

“Metal armor in exchange for food. I need a lot of food, and Dragon Island has abundant stock. Even if food were used for trades, it still wouldn’t affect your plans. Hybrid armor is made for humans. They have similar properties but are more expensive to craft. Warriors above level six could wear them. I would need low level materials from the dragons in exchange for them. Armor crafted using magic beast shells exclusively, I’ll need dragon scales, Grand Duke.”

“What about this then?” Grand Duke Iron Blood pointed at the armor of the highest level and asked.

That highest level armor was crafted specifically for human warriors. If the Iron Blood warriors wore them, the effects making them difficult to command would be nullified, and their capacity at fighting autonomously would be enhanced.

Even without the fact that the Iron Blood Warriors wearing Tainted Blood Armor taken into account, the magic patterns on the Bug Angel Armor alone would be able to resist any magic attacks below level nine.

Such equipment was precisely what they needed to attack Alchemy City.

“I’m not selling the armor.” Saleen played hard-to-get.

“Not selling?” Grand Duke Iron Blood asked with a puzzled expression. “Are you telling me that you’re just going to give them to me then?”