Chapter Forty-Seven: Mallet

In the valley laboratory, Huey was completely engrossed in the production of his alchemical creations. His hands fluttered like butterflies, weaving fluidly among various materials with effortless grace.

Three days had passed since that fierce night of battle. Over these three days, Royo City had remained calm and peaceful, showing no signs of anything unusual.

The Dadaniel family was rising in Royo City like a comet, rapidly drawing the attention of many prominent houses.

Prompted by interested parties, the newly produced alchemical items quickly caught the eye of a vast number of people, resulting in a flood of bulk orders.

Numerous merchants were willing to trade goods for goods, exchanging raw materials for finished products, which kept Huey extraordinarily busy.

"Xu, dragon-tail grass."

The delicate and adorable little boy casually dropped liquid from the vial in his hand into the test tube Huey was holding. Huey shook it rapidly while saying, "Remember, dragon-tail grass cannot be exposed to the air for too long. You must be quick and precise when using it. The reason many alchemists fail so often when crafting items requiring dragon-tail grass is simply because they struggle to achieve this. I am increasingly realizing that the cultivation of battle qi and magic has a profound impact on alchemy. The former makes my hands steadier, while the latter can enhance my efficiency at critical moments."

As he spoke, Huey suddenly flung the solvent from the test tube, pointing a single finger at the splashing liquid. The droplets inexplicably paused in mid-air for a split second before obeying Huey's command. A large mass of water mist rose, enveloped the blended solution, and slowly lowered it into a large cauldron.

"Hong!" Huey called out again.

The blazing firebird exhaled a stream of fire elemental energy directly beneath the cauldron. Raging flames burned, and the heated solvent rapidly began to vaporize.

Huey casually tossed some materials into the cauldron, stirring them rapidly until they became viscous, at which point he stopped the processing and carefully extracted the mixture.

By this time, the contents of the cauldron had transformed into a thick, ointment-like substance.

Carefully removing the ointment, Huey nodded in satisfaction.

Having absorbed Boger's water-type magical abilities, Huey's proficiency in controlling water had grown immensely. Spells of the same element granted a certain degree of innate control over media of that same element without requiring incantations. Huey thus discovered that among all magic, water-type spells offered the greatest utility to alchemy, especially in potion-making. His precise control over water allowed him to bypass numerous alchemical steps, further boosting his efficiency.

At that moment, looking at the large bottle of ointment he had so swiftly crafted, he asked the boy beside him, "Did you learn that?"

Xu nodded.

Teaching a demonic dragon the art of alchemy was perhaps an idea so wildly imaginative that only Huey could conceive of it. Yet for Xu, devoid of any intellectual deficiency, learning alchemical production was by no means impossible. Huey needed assistants; magical puppets could only perform simple chores, but Huey needed someone he could trust to share a heavier workload. For now, no one was more suitable than Xu.

"Try making some yourself. Start with small amounts, and don't be afraid to fail."

"Alright, Father," the little fellow replied in a childish, squeaky voice.

Huey stood up from his hovering chair, yielding his seat to Xu. Watching the little one's somewhat clumsy yet cautious and earnest efforts to get everything right, he felt as though he were looking at an elementary school student diligently attending class and doing homework.

It felt almost like returning to his childhood. As Huey gazed at the little boy, his eyes were filled with tenderness.

Perhaps only at moments like this was Huey's inner self truly at peace.

Unfortunately, that peace was soon shattered.

The crystal ball in his breast pocket emitted a faint vibration.

It was Lilith.

"What is it, Lilith?"

"Bailey has arrived."

"I'm heading back right now." Huey quickly stowed away the crystal ball.

In the small parlor of the luxury suite on the top floor of Silence Island, Huey sat in the center, flanked by Bryan Buckler on his left and Hodding on his right. Standing behind Buckler was Lilith.

This seating arrangement already made it clear that Huey had become the core figure steering the entire operation. Even the unruly Buckler held deep respect for Huey's intelligence and capability.

Bailey stood opposite them. Huey first gave him a deep, lingering look before slowly speaking: "I told you before, do not come to see me unless it's something important. Use the method I taught you to contact us if there's news. Why did you rush over like this this time?"

His tone was not heavy, yet it was imbued with an inexplicable sense of power, making Bailey somewhat nervous.

Ever since he had encountered Huey again and been defeated by him, Bailey harbored an instinctive fear of the youth. The young man before him grew in strength at a terrifying pace. Beyond that, what mattered most was that he possessed eyes capable of seeing straight through a person's soul, coupled with a cunning intellect that left you guessing his next move. Every single move he made likely carried a profound purpose, yet you would never know his true intentions until he revealed his hand.

Bailey was almost certain that the moment he entertained even the slightest thought of betraying Huey, Huey would instantly perceive it.

This youth was essentially a human lie detector, possessing a natural immunity to all conspiracies while simultaneously being the finest schemer himself.

Trembling slightly, Bailey replied, "There are a few matters of great importance. I had to come and tell you in person."

"Go ahead."

"First, someone filed a report with the City Lord's Mansion claiming that Huey Gleer was spotted in the northern civilian district, maintaining close contact with a woman named Nancy."

"Mm." Huey maintained a poker face. "And then?"

Observing Huey's calm expression, Bailey felt a slight pang of disappointment, realizing that this report might not hold much value after all.

Gritting his teeth, Bailey continued, "The City Lord's Mansion forwarded the intel to the Department of Law and Politics. I happened to be the one who intercepted the report."

"It seems the City Lord's Mansion doesn't take this seriously?"

"Ever since your appearance in Royo City, both the City Lord's Mansion and the Department of Law and Politics have received countless tip-offs regarding sightings of Huey Gleer daily. However, the vast majority are forged or false information. The City Lord's Mansion lacks case-tracking and dossier-analysis capabilities. Most informants have a very clear motive: they simply hope to scam a reward. Therefore, despite the informant's claims that they saw you with their own eyes, they were chased away without even getting to see the City Lord. Out of caution regarding you, however, any news concerning you is logged immediately and forwarded to the Department of Law and Politics for verification."

This answer left Huey somewhat astonished. "So you mean they still need some time to confirm the accuracy of the intelligence?"

"Yes."

"Damn it," Huey muttered. "That means by the time they actually confirm the news is reliable and prepare to take action, it will take at least..."

"Three to five days," Bailey quickly chimed in.

"Ha," Huey couldn't help letting out a strange cry. "This is simply laughable. I hand the information over to you people, yet your folks still need to wait several days just to verify it? When did the efficiency of the Department of Law and Politics become so sluggish?"

Bailey smiled bitterly. "Then this news is indeed true, after all."

A wanted criminal complaining about the inefficiency of police work—perhaps such a thing could only happen to someone like Huey Gleer.

"Of course." Huey shrugged. "I delivered the news through the mouth of a man I happen to dislike. But Bailey, how did you manage to connect this news to me?"

"The informant claimed to have seen you in the Vilias mountain region, accompanied by a large group of bandits you had defeated. Only I know that you allied with the Acacia Town forces, so the moment I saw that detail, I knew it couldn't be nonsense."

"Very good." Huey exchanged glances with those around him. Buckler asked, "Is there any need to remind them to pay attention to the accuracy of this intel?"

Huey replied, "Let's hear the other matters first before making a decision."

Thus, Bailey continued, "Last night, a batch of reinforcements arrived from the Lance Empire."

Huey immediately perged up. "Newly dispatched people to hunt me down? How could they possibly arrive so fast?"

"Yes, though they weren't newly requested forces, but rather the routine subsequent reinforcements. However, I must say your luck is quite terrible this time. Among this incoming wave of new reinforcements is a Level 7 Mage."

A Level 7 Mage? How could that be? Even on the scale of a national war, Level 7 Mages were rarely mobilized.

"How could a Level 7 Mage be deployed as reserve reinforcement?" Huey's tone was laced with extreme dissatisfaction. He had gone to great lengths to eliminate Lier Boger precisely to shatter the tight cooperation between Sky Warriors and Mages, allowing him to proceed with his subsequent plans. Yet the current turn of events caught him completely off guard, rendering his previous act of killing Lier Boger utterly meaningless.

Mages formed the backbone of a nation; to a certain extent, the more elite mages a country possessed, the stronger its overall might. Yet they also suffered from an irremediable, fatal weakness—in one-on-one combat against speed-oriented offensive opponents, it was exceedingly difficult for them to unleash their full power.

In terms of status and standing, a Level 6 Mage actually outranked a Sky Warrior, but in actual combat, without the protection of warriors, they were mere sitting ducks. By the same token, no matter how formidable a Level 7 Mage's strength was, facing Huey's bizarre and unpredictable offensive spells would prove to be a severe headache.

Naturally, if they could cower behind warriors and cast spells to their heart's content, the destructive force they could unleash would far surpass that of a hundred warriors.

What Huey cared about was not the individual strength of a Level 7 Mage, but the synergistic effect that mage could unleash when combined with others.

Precisely for this reason, he had moved heaven and earth to assassinate Lier Boger before the major battle commenced. Yet the newly arrived Level 7 Mage threatened to wash all his prior efforts down the drain.

Such was the reality of fighting against an entire empire; you never had to worry about running out of opponents. Often, even if unwelcome, wave after wave of reinforcements would arrive incessantly.

What made it infuriating was that prior to this, Buckler and his group had received zero intelligence regarding this development.

"Ah, that was purely a coincidence. His Majesty did not dispatch a Level 7 Mage, but while the second wave of reinforcements was on its way to Royo City, they happened to cross paths with the Master on the road, and so the Master traveled along with them."

"Dammit! What atrocious timing." Huey grew somewhat angry. "When are they scheduled to arrive?"

"Within the next two days. The exact time is unclear to me."

"That means we won't have time to immediately execute our next step." Huey's brows furrowed deeply. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Let's talk about the current batch of reinforcements first."

"Earth Warrior Danny Jenner, a student of Kevin Beers; Ocean Warrior Craig Kemp, a student of Garick Kingston. In addition, there is a Level 5 Water Mage, Gary Bevis, who is a student of Lier Boger. Before I came here, he was roaring in rage, vowing to kill you to avenge his teacher."

"Perhaps he's more heartbroken over his teacher's gem rings than anything else," Huey remarked playfully, fiddling with the three new gem rings on his left hand—the blood-veined gem, the aquamarine, and the ice crystal.

As for the turquoise ring, he had given it to Xu; only Xu could maximize the potency of nature magic.

"Furthermore, the City Lord of Amphrit has also transferred one Earth Warrior and two Ocean Warriors to Lord Kevin Beers. Currently, among those participating in the 'Mouse-Hunting Operation' to hunt you down, the powerhouses above Level 7 alone include two Sky Warriors, three Earth Warriors, three Ocean Warriors, and one Level 5 Mage, alongside various other high-level warriors and the injured, one-armed Cahill."

Bryan Buckler sneered, "Sounds like a formidable lineup."

Lilith let out a disdainful cold snort, while Huey wore a completely expressionless face.

Compared to the others, he cared far more about that Level 7 Mage.

Only Hodding gracefully nodded and said to Bailey, "Lord Bailey, thank you very much for the information. However, to us, enemies are always formidable. When facing powerful adversaries, fighting them head-on is never a wise choice. Launching a fatal ambush from the shadows is the best approach. So you really don't need to worry about this issue."

"Who is that Level 7 Mage?" Huey asked.

"Lord Abraham Mallet, a Level 7 Mage specializing in fire-type magic with peerless offensive might. He also dual-specializes in wind and light magic, possessing a 'Shield of Light.' If you intend to use a teleportation array to whisk him away for a solo showdown once more, it is virtually impossible."

"There are thousands of ways to kill a person. Tricks I've already played out are usually beneath me to use a second time," Huey said coldly.

Things had reached this point; anger would solve nothing. Huey's great mind spun, calculating how he might eliminate this mage before the major battle broke out. The problem was that his time was limited. If this dragged on too long, the Empire might dispatch even more reinforcements, at which point the battlefield would remain bogged down in a protracted stalemate in Royo City.

For Buckler and the others, failing to kill Kevin Beers was something they simply could not tolerate.

Bailey continued, "Additionally, Lord Mallet himself is also a warrior. The 'Magma Hell' spell he excels at can produce large-scale, indiscriminate lava assaults. Without extraordinary strength, casting such a spell is likely to eliminate the caster first."

"Oh?" Huey looked slightly surprised. "He's a warrior as well? What rank?"

"Not entirely clear, but estimated to be no lower than Level 5."

"A formidable adversary."

"The Empire has many such powerful figures. You are driving them out of hiding one by one."

Bailey was right. The existence of Huey Gleer was forcing one high-ranking imperial figure after another out of their secluded retreats. And as he repeatedly triumphed over formidable foes, the enemies he faced would only grow more terrifying and difficult to handle.

Yet Huey cared not a whit for any of this.

"No matter how many come, we kill them all," he said coldly at that moment. "Someday, when I've killed their Domain-realm powerhouses, they will finally realize that sitting down to negotiate properly and accepting my terms is the wise choice."

Upon hearing the term "Domain-realm," Bailey couldn't help trembling.

He had never imagined that Huey would be so arrogant as to voice intentions of killing even Domain-realm powerhouses.

Bailey cried out, "You'd better pray that no Domain-realm powerhouse ever comes after you. No one has ever crossed realms to kill a Domain expert."

"Only because no one has done it before," Huey replied calmly and coldly.

Arrogant words, a frigid expression, a posture of absolute confidence—all embodied by a young boy.

Bailey stood frozen in place, gazing at Huey's ruthless visage, finally realizing why he had been led by the nose by Huey time and time again.

Regardless of everything else, Huey's current grandeur, ambition, and boundless self-assurance were simply unmatched by anything he possessed.

For a youth who didn't even place Domain experts in his eyes, provoking the authority of the Empire was indeed no longer a shocking feat.

At that moment, he let out a long sigh. "Very well then, Huey Gleer. I only hope you honor your promise to me. I will do my utmost to help you, and if you fall, please do your utmost not to betray me."

"On that matter, you can rest completely easy."

"Is there anything else you require of me?" Bailey asked cautiously. From that day onward, he dropped any casual forms of address and consistently used formal titles when speaking to Huey.

"One: I want all the intelligence dossier on this Level 7 Mage, Mr. Mallet. That shouldn't be too difficult for you, right?"

"In fact, I've already brought it."

"Two: How are things going with Chakle?"

"I've persuaded Charlie, but as for Chakle... I probed him on the matter, and I'm not very confident. I'm afraid you'll have to handle him in person."

"I'll take care of it. Give me the files first."

Huey opened the dossier Bailey had brought regarding the Level 7 Mage and meticulously examined it.

Abraham Mallet, one of the four great Tier 7 Mages of the Lance Empire.

Level 7 Fire, Level 6 Light, Level 5 Wind.

Combined with his considerable warrior capabilities, this was undoubtedly the most formidable opponent Huey had encountered since leaving Purgatory Island.

Considering the fate of Lier Boger, Huey did not believe he could find another opportunity to teleport an opponent away and fight with a numerical advantage.

"Under the current circumstances, killing this person won't be easy. But in many matters, slaughter is not the sole method," Huey muttered to himself, his gaze continually scanning the dossier, searching for an exploitable opening. Finally, his gaze landed upon a single name.

After deep thought, Huey finally made up his mind. He called out:

"Bailey."

"Do you have any further instructions?"

"When you return, find a way to suppress the matter concerning Nancy for now. Judging by the situation, our plan needs some adjustments, and the time of battle must be postponed."

"I will see to it."

"Very good." Huey tossed over a bulging money pouch. "Running a bit low on funds lately, aren't you? Go out and have some fun with your brothers, but don't be as reckless as before."

"I feel like I've found my old self back," Bailey muttered softly.

Bailey departed, but the meeting in the parlor continued.

Taking a sip of water to clear his throat, Huey said in a ringing voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, due to the sudden appearance of that Level 7 Mage, our plan is forced to undergo another change. There is never an unchanging plan in this world; I trust we were all prepared for that. So before the battle begins, there is one more thing we must do."

"What thing?" Buckler asked.

"Find someone."

"Who?" Hodding asked.

"Crispin Boland," Huey replied. "Abraham Mallet's mortal enemy. He can help us pin down that Level 7 Mage."

"Who is he, and why should he be able to pin down a Level 7 Mage?"

"A high-level warrior. He killed a nephew of Abraham Mallet because that fellow raped his fiancee. And our Master Abraham Mallet doted on that nephew dearly. Abraham Mallet spent a whole year hunting him down, which shows that this fellow is equally cunning. Furthermore, he hates Abraham Mallet to the bone."

"Where is he now?"

"Royo City, Spark Prison, serving a life sentence. I hear the reason he managed to stay alive is because he extracted something very important from Mallet's nephew. Because of that, Mallet travels to Royo City once a year specifically to see this fellow and extract what he wants. Only, it seems he hasn't succeeded so far."

"Ooh." Everyone whistled in unison. Buckler even chuckled, saying, "Sounds like a hardcore badass."

"So what do you plan to do?" Hodding asked.

"Bitch him out—rescue him out of prison. I believe that once Mallet learns the news of Crispin Boland's prison break, he won't have any interest in dealing with me. Since our bad luck was brought about by this Mr. Crispin Boland, it's only fitting that he take responsibility for resolving it."

"It's a good idea. The question is, do you know what kind of place Spark Prison is?"

"The Lance Empire's so-called most impregnable prison. So this time, we'll need our prison-break expert to step up," Huey smiled.

Everyone simultaneously turned their gazes toward Igor Ashlin. Ever since the old necromancer had arrived in Royo City, he had kept a low profile and rarely met outsiders. Yet this time, he was about to play a monumental role.

At that moment, the old necromancer spoke slowly: "To deal with a sturdy fortress, breaching it from the inside has always been the oldest and most effective method. We must count ourselves fortunate to possess the identity of the Dadaniel family, which grants me greater convenience when designing the plan. But that means we will have to invest a great deal of money and energy. Huey Gleer, do you think it's worth doing?"

Huey said meaningfully, "A fundamental rule of business is this: if you cannot lower your costs, raise your prices; if you cannot raise your prices, increase your volume. If we must pay a steep enough price to accomplish something... then we might as well maximize our returns."

These words startled everyone, and Igor Ashlin exclaimed, "Could it be that you intend to..."

"Yes," Huey replied resolutely. "If we're going to do this, let's do it big. Let's let everyone in the prison out."

"My god."

"Igor, tell me, can you do it?"

"I need the architectural blueprints and defense layouts of Spark Prison, complete with thorough, detailed defense measures."

"Spark Prison undergoes a comprehensive overhaul and reinforcement every three to five years. There must be a certain merchant firm with a long-term contract with them, specializing in helping government departments with structural maintenance. Hodding, use your resources to track down this merchant firm. Brian, get your best thieves ready to steal the items we need from that firm."

"And what about the defense layout?"

"Leave that to me."

"Very well. Other specific needs can only be determined once I get the blueprints... How do you plan to acquire their defense layout?"

"Simple. I'll just go in for a stroll."

"Getting in is easy. Getting out won't be so simple."

"Rest assured, Ashlin, I have my own way of walking in grandly and walking right back out just as grandly."

"Are you planning to have the prison invite you for a tour?"

"Precisely. That is my plan."