Chapter 56: The Grand Plan

The night was already deep.

The lights of the Silence Island Hotel were still brilliantly lit.

Huey sat leisurely in the room. Beside him was Lilith, who was cradling little Xu and pinching his cute little cheeks. Not far away, Hodding was pouring himself a drink by the wine cabinet. A bit further off was Bryan Buckler, who was restless and pacing back and forth like a caged male lion.

"Bryan, calm down," Huey said with a smile. He was holding a crystal ball, but so far, no image had been reflected on its surface.

Buckler roared, "He should have contacted us the moment you handed him the ring. But a full day has passed, and this guy is still in silence."

"Perhaps he is still studying how to use that ring," Hodding chuckled.

"That's impossible. Before leaving, I removed all the locking mechanisms on it; anyone can use it freely. Maybe he has other reasons to delay. Don't worry, Bryan. I believe no one is more eager to escape from inside than he is; there's no way he would just shake us off like that," Huey remained calm.

Though in truth, he was also feeling somewhat anxious himself, as the de facto leader of this group, he had to maintain his composure better than anyone else.

Time slipped away second by second in the waiting.

The midnight bell had already chimed.

Just as everyone was about to give up hope, energy fluctuations suddenly appeared on the crystal ball.

A faint layer of smoke surfaced on the crystal ball's plane, combining into a vague image. A bloodshot eyeball appeared first, revealing a look of curiosity on the screen, evidently appreciating and observing something.

"Welcome, Mr. Crispin Boland, we have been waiting for a long time." A pleasant smile appeared on Huey's face.

The communication was finally established after a whole day of bitter waiting.

The image in the crystal ball had completely manifested, and Crispin Boland's horrifying, skinless face caused a chill to run through everyone's hearts.

What kind of excruciating torture must that have been, and what kind of person could possibly endure it?

Crispin Boland finally spoke, and his very first words were shockingly alarming: "Spark Prison has a magical detection system specifically designed to monitor abnormal fluctuations of magical energy inside the prison. The magical element fluctuations caused by short-distance communication might not be an issue, but as the distance increases and the magnitude of the magical fluctuations grows, Spark Prison can easily detect the anomaly. I suppose you didn't know about this."

His flat, deep tone expounded an astonishing fact—the defensive facilities of Spark Prison were far more formidable than anyone had imagined.

Huey and Igor were shocked at the same time, exchanging a glance.

During the day, they had used reconnaissance bees to search the prison's internal defense facilities, which was actually taking an immense risk. If the magic detection system hadn't allowed a certain degree of magical element fluctuations to prevent false alarms, Huey likely would have been discovered on the spot.

"Then why can we communicate now?" Huey asked in a deep voice.

"The magic detection system is part of alchemy; to be precise, it is a magic array. You should understand that as long as it is alchemy, there will inevitably be consumption. Therefore, Spark Prison cannot possibly keep this array running without interruption."

"So that's how it is. Then we are truly lucky this time."

"To be honest, indeed. If you didn't possess a spatial ring that the prison guards could never imagine, then today's actions would have been a completely meaningless gamble."

Crispin Boland's words caught Huey quite by surprise.

He found it hard to imagine how someone in a dark cage could maintain such a clear and sober mind.

Yet his hoarse voice, along with the deliberate suppression, still made Huey sense that once the anger within this man was ignited, it would be extraordinarily terrifying. The only reason he could restrain himself now was mostly because he was currently in prison and had to speak with caution.

It was also because he was facing a group of strangers. When facing rescue by strangers, alongside the wild joy before freedom, there was also a sense of caution and wariness toward unknown dangers. This did not change based on what the other party intended to do.

To resolve this innate wariness was actually very simple: tell the truth.

Huey decided not to waste any more time.

"We are here to save you, Mr. Boland."

"Why save me?" Crispin Boland was not surprised by the answer; what puzzled him was the reason behind it. For the other party to pull out a spatial ring and a crystal ball capable of long-distance communication as capital for a rescue—such a massive stroke, Boland had never heard of before.

"Lord Abraham Mallet, I suppose you must be very familiar with him?"

As soon as Huey uttered this name, Boland's entire body began to tremble.

The reason he had been able to survive until now, struggling against death, could be said to be entirely because of this person's existence. He had never given up his dream of tearing that bastard into a thousand pieces.

For this, he endured all hardships, struggling to survive through torment while seeking every possible chance to escape.

To survive in harsh environments, people needed a driving force to persist and the hope of life. And this hatred toward Mallet was precisely the most important reason he was able to live until now.

"What do you want?" Boland's voice was steadfast and low.

"We are a group of criminals wanted by the Empire, planning to do something big in Royu City. But we didn't want a high-level mage to join this plan. To this end, I once took a huge risk to take down a sixth-rank great mage. But unluckily for us, a seventh-rank mage appeared."

"Mallet?"

"Yes. We need someone to lure him away."

"So you came looking for me?"

"No choice. The method I used before doesn't work on Mallet. I won't have another chance to face Mallet one-on-one, and even if it's one-on-one, I might not win against him. Using you to lure him away is the best method. The only question is whether you are willing to help us."

Crispin Boland replied without hesitation, "If you had ever lived in a black dungeon, you would know that to a prisoner in a black dungeon, even a single second of sunlight is worth pursuing with one's life."

A satisfied smile appeared on Huey's face: "Very well, after all, you haven't wasted the priceless materials I spent to forge a spatial ring for you."

"The problem is I have no legs; how far can I run? Perhaps the moment I crawl out of the prison, I'll already be caught by the people in Spark Prison, without Mallet even needing to make a move."

"You don't need to worry about that problem. If you can accomplish what I instruct you to do, then I guarantee you that you will be able to walk freely on this land in the future."

An incomparable shock appeared in Crispin Boland's eyes: "What did you say?"

Bryan Buckler stepped forward quickly and said, "Mr. Boland, since you've already seen the spatial ring and the long-distance communication crystal, I think you can also guess that among our group, there must be a high-level alchemy master. He possesses alchemy that surpasses this era, and his abilities are beyond your imagination."

"You are..."

"Bryan Buckler, leader of the Wild Wolf Band of Locust Town. Since you were locked up ten years ago, it's entirely possible you've heard this name." Bryan replied with full bravado.

In terms of sheer strength, there were many in the Lance Empire stronger than Bryan, but in terms of criminal notoriety, very few surpassed him.

Crispin Boland grew excited: "So it's you, then who is that alchemy master?"

"You are speaking with him right now," Huey smiled.

"It's you?" Boland let out an incredulous gasp.

"My name is Huey Igor, very glad to meet you."

Crispin Boland shook his head slightly: "I haven't heard that name."

"When you were locked up, I was only six years old," Huey replied.

Hearing this, Boland was stunned for a long time.

A sixteen-year-old youth had actually crafted the spatial ring and long-distance communication crystal that the Empire had always dreamed of; this youth must be a genius. Perhaps it was precisely this genius that made him the target of the Empire's pursuit.

Even without knowing about Purgatory Island, Crispin Boland quickly realized that the technology Huey possessed was perhaps the very source of his current plight.

"I suppose you must be quite famous outside," Boland said in a hoarse voice.

Bryan Buckler added at the right moment: "Already surpassed me."

Boland: "Very well then, tell me how you plan to restore my walking ability?"

Huey quickly cut in: "Puppets are a specialty of alchemy masters. If an alchemy master can create walking and killing puppets without thoughts, then making a few prosthetic limbs for you is even less of a difficult task. The power of magic is infinitely wondrous; believe me, Mr. Boland, as long as you can follow our plan, not only will you regain your freedom, but I can even make you far more powerful."

Boland drew a sharp breath.

During the period of his imprisonment, every day he thought about how to escape this bloody place full of sins, and how to kill Abraham Mallet. But even in his deepest and most distant dreams, he had never imagined that one day he could walk freely on this land again.

To him, as long as he could kill Abraham Mallet, he would have no regrets even if he died the very next second.

And today, a young alchemy master told him that was not a difficult task.

He could even make himself stronger.

The feeling of happiness came so swiftly that it left this ultimate tough guy somewhat dizzy for a moment.

He stood in a daze for a long time before asking in a low voice, "Your plan is..."

"The Great Rescue Operation. I want you to help us release all the criminals imprisoned in Spark Prison. I mean all of them, not just saving yourself." Huey casually stated the plan that would later shock the entire world.

For Huey, either you don't do it, or you do it thoroughly; this was his consistent guideline.

To spend so much effort and cost to rescue Crispin Boland—the input and output were far too disproportionate. Since the input could not be reduced, the output must be expanded. And for Huey, rescuing all the inmates of Spark Prison indeed carried an extraordinary significance.

Over the past half year, the Lance Empire had been chasing Huey like flies, and that old hound Raschel was also not easy to deal with. Although Huey didn't mind playing games with the Lance Empire, he didn't like having the initiative controlled by others. He killed Abulit in Sweetleaf City, and the consequence was that a sixth-rank great mage and two Sky Knights hunted him down right behind his heels. He killed a Liev Boguer, and a seventh-rank great mage was visibly about to catch up. As everyone knew, no matter how many battles he could win, the people of the Empire were endless. Even if he killed all the existing high-level powerhouses, a new batch of powerhouses would likely emerge. With the Empire's massive population, there was never any worry about a lack of reserve reinforcements.

Even if all the imperial warriors stood out in a line for Huey to slaughter, the speed at which Huey killed them probably still wouldn't match the speed at which warriors were born.

Therefore, no matter what Huey did, building his own strength to counter the Empire was the ultimate and inevitable trend of development.

Bryan Buckler and his companions were one component of this force.

However, obviously, they belonged to the hidden faction. Their task was to infiltrate the imperial upper class, become a part of it, and thereby gather intelligence, secure funds, control officials, and manipulate the situation. But Huey also needed an overt, far more powerful force.

This force still had to be drawn from the population not tolerated by the Empire; besides mountain bandits, another target destination was extracting them from prisons.

Unlike conquering bandits, rescuing prison criminals had at least one advantage right from the start—bestowing a favor.

Although Huey didn't believe the consequence of bestowing a favor would mean all criminals would unconditionally submit to him, it could at least grant him immense fame and reputation among the crowd, laying a good foundation for later control.

For those who could be roped in and utilized, Huey would rope them in and utilize them without hesitation. For those who couldn't, it didn't matter either.

The escape of those prison criminals would likewise cause immense trouble for the Empire.

The Lance Empire would undoubtedly dispatch a massive workforce to hunt down these prisoners.

When fighting against a country, facing its bloated and cumbersome bureaucratic apparatus, tedious and redundant administrative procedures, and incompetent, corrupt subordinate officials, you never had to worry about tactical issues because you had too many loopholes to exploit. What truly made people fearful was precisely that relentless, continuous offensive power.

And Huey's approach was to deal a heavy blow to the enemy in terms of reinforcements, forcing them to experience a shortage of troops when sending people to deal with him, rather than the previous carefree situation where they could casually dispatch a large batch of masters to hunt him down aggressively.

At least, it would give them a feeling of heart-wrenching pain when they sent people to hunt him down.

Therefore, upon learning of Mallet's arrival, Huey immediately finalized the grand prison-breaking plan.

He wanted to use this opportunity to disperse the Empire's pursuing forces while organizing a capable, strong, and even more formidable army for himself—one that would make the Empire suffer from a headache.

From this point, it could be seen that although Huey possessed alchemy talent like Electra, he was not Electra after all. He would not choose to bury himself deep in the mountains like that grand alchemy master until he built a massive army of puppets before returning to fight.

Electra was a pure alchemy master, while Huey Igor was much more of a conspirator.

In the crystal ball image, Crispin Boland stared blankly at Huey, listening to him recount his origins and articulate his plan.

This was his first contact with this golden-haired youth, yet this very first contact left a deep and unforgettable impression on him.

This golden-haired youth gave him the impression of a true demon, crafting every step of the plan tightly and meticulously, possessing not only tactical ruthlessness in arrangement but also strategic vision.

He had never thought that a person could lay out such a ruthless, vicious, and long-term vision of a game, and all of this still appeared on the body of a youth.

This shocked his mind and soul.

The whips of Spark Prison could not make him yield, the various cruel tortures could not terrify him, and his mutilated limbs did not make him lose hope. Yet the moment he met this youth, Boland felt terror, fear, and a deep sense of powerlessness for the first time.

It was a feeling he had never experienced even when facing the seventh-rank great mage Abraham Mallet.

At that moment, he had a profound realization—this youth's alchemy might be powerful, but his intellect was truly the most terrifying thing.

"Huey Igor, you are like a demon king crawling out of the abyss, capable of making the entire world tremble." Facing the crystal ball, Boland spoke these words from the bottom of his heart.

"No, Mr. Boland, I don't need the world to tremble for me; I only need the monarch of this country to feel fear toward me. I am not the demon king of the abyss, but merely an envoy of vengeance," Huey replied meaningfully.