Broken Axe Pub
Leylin rushed the carriage forward, wandering aimlessly around the streets.
He thought about Ivy and how she looked like a little puppy that was being abandoned. Even now, the sight felt a little bit laughable.
Magi always advocated voluntary transactions.
The way Leylin saw it was that while Ivy provided him with blood, he brought Ivy on the journey to this place. He even demonstrated his might to find her a place to sleep for the near future. This should have been enough to pay her back for her contribution.
In regards to bringing her along on the journey, Leylin felt that he didn’t have the spare time to take care of such a cumbersome being.
Not to mention, if there was no suitable Warlock meditation method for her, Ivy would never be able to become a level 1 acolyte.
Warlock meditation methods were straining on blood vessels. Just like Leylin’s Kemoyin’s Pupil meditation technique, it was limited to only Warlocks who came from the bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent or its subspecies.
Other Warlocks and Magi would not be able to practice this technique even if they had the Kemoyin’s Pupil technique. It could only serve as a reference for them.
While thinking, Leylin rushed the carriage and arrived at the heart of the town.
As he went deeper into town, Leylin saw that the average strength of passersby were greater. At the heart of the town, he saw a few level 2 acolytes and even a few other official Magi.
All of the official Magi here wore cloaks and mantles, and their faces were covered by a face flannel— almost as if they did not want anyone to recognise them.
In general, Magi who’d risk passing through the Grand Canyon Margaret rather than riding the airship were usually individuals who had been classified as criminal scum who were on the run.
Some of them had offended local forces and had been forced to flee. Others simply had to flee to save their lives because someone hankered after something they possessed.
As a result, abruptly using detection spells here was often the cause of a huge battle.
Leylin looked at the crystal watch that he was wearing, whose hands were showing five past noon.
The sky slowly darkened, and the pedestrians present on the road lessened.
Approaching the centremost pub, Leylin knocked on the somewhat rotten door.
*Dong Dong!* A dull noise reverberated throughout the somewhat empty street, even drawing the caws from a couple ravens.
“Who are you?” The wooden door quickly opened, and a long-haired man with sparse wispy hair appeared, sizing Leylin up.
“I wish to pass through the Great Canyon Margaret and I hear that I will be able to find a means of transportation nearby...”
Leylin used a shroud to cover his face. The voice that emanated from within sounded somewhat gruff.
“Great Canyon Margaret? Are you a Magus Lord?”
The old geezer patted his head, and immediately opened the wooden door, “Greetings, Sir! What you say is correct; the Broken Axe Pub is the only place where you can find the Seated Lupin Wolf...”
This old man was just an acolyte, but it was obvious that he had seen the world, and that he knew both how to read a situation and how to protect himself.
Leylin nodded his head and walked into the Broken Axe Pub.
He had already enquired before coming; the Great Canyon Margaret was always surrounded with terrifying sandstorms and it required several months to traverse it.
Also, there were a lot of hidden dangers in areas of the canyon. Being filled with dangerous swamps full of poisonous insects and the like, even horses could not be used in there.
Even Magi had lost their lives in some of the most dangerous spots!
Hence, forming a group and riding the Seated Lupin Wolf was the only way to get across the Great Canyon Margaret.
This particular pub was extremely quiet, up to the point of it being somewhat eerie.
Under the dim lighting, long chairs were placed along some partitioned rooms and sofas in the surroundings.
The little cubicle had three walls. Only the side facing the bar was wide open, as if the cubicle was a recess into the wall.
In the hall, several magicians sat in groups, drinking different coloured alcoholic drinks from time to time.
Leylin sniffed the aroma, and made out that the alcoholic content was extremely low, only meant to taste good, and not to induce drunkenness.
The magicians in the lobby were mostly level 3 acolytes. There were also several official Magi.
Leylin came in front of a horseshoe-shaped counter, sat down, and watched a bartender in a black western-looking suit.
“Sir! Do you want an ‘Ice Mountain Beauty’? Many magicians love this drink!” The bartender smiled and asked.
“I’ll have a cup! How much is it?” Under the dim lighting, Leylin’s tone sounded lazy.
“3 magic crystals!”
It was a very steep price that normal acolytes would definitely not be able to afford. Moreover, only the currency of magicians was accepted.
Leylin nodded his head nonchalantly, tossing a middle grade magic crystal to the bartender. “I’ll just have one cup! Furthermore, I wish to employ a Seated Lupin Wolf. Give me the information I require, and the remainder will be yours!”
Without a word, the bartender accepted the magic crystal. His hands moved swiftly, shaking the silver mixer on his hand, and drawing a few shiny arcs in the air.
“Sir, are you preparing to travel across the Great Canyon Margaret? Although the sandstorms have stopped, there have been rumours of a pack of Kary Vultures having seized the route leading towards the single necessary replenishing point. How about forming a group before setting off?”
The bartender shook the mixer in his hands as he explained to Leylin.
“Kary Vultures?”
Leylin’s brows furrowed. This was one of the mystical creatures in the Magus World. In its mature stages, a Kary Vulture was comparable to a level 3 acolyte. As for the King Kary Vulture, it had an existence equivalent to a rank 1 Magus.
If there really was such a group of Kary Vultures occupying the single route towards the canyon leading to the supply point, a traveller’s plan to cross the canyon would be compromised.
“All of these things that you have said were told to you by someone else, no?”
Leylin did not answer and stared at the bartender, before suddenly speaking up.
“Yes! Several official Magi have already formed small groups, and they’re lacking a few members. Hence, they had to stay in this area, and entrusted me to find a suitable member for them...”
The bartender smiled as he placed a drink with large amounts of ice on top and alcohol below to Leylin. It looked like a mountain of ice.
“Your ‘Ice Mountain Beauty’, Sir!”
Leylin raised the glass. There was a layer of thin frost around it, and even the alcohol inside had somewhat frozen over.
The refreshing cocktail entered his mouth, and the chill even spread from his throat to his four limbs.
The ice cold feeling subsided, and a fiery sensation followed. At first, it was extremely faint, but the heat grew stronger and stronger, even overcoming the previous iciness.
This feeling of freezing and burning was extremely strange, indeed worthy of its price of 3 magic crystals.
“Good wine! It has been a while since I’ve had such good liquor!”
Leylin slightly closed his eyes for a moment, exhaled a breath of contentedness, and said to the bartender.
“It is an honour to have satisfied my customer!” The bartender bowed slightly.
“Very well!” Leylin gulped down another mouthful of the ‘Ice Mountain Beauty’ before saying, “I wish to meet with the group before considering joining them or not!”
“Of course. In fact, the group was formed by solo travellers, so they have been staying here...”
The bartender smiled and nodded his head...
Half a month later, many acolytes respectfully and sincerely sent off six figures riding big black wolves out of Angler Town.
The Seated Lupin Wolves were matte black in colour, with a patch of red fur on the crowns of their heads. There were also two golden yellow rings on their forelimbs, which were securely linked to their necks.
Each wolf was over 5 metres tall and 2 metres wide. Their appearances looked extremely vicious, and every step they took spanned the distance of several metres, so their movements were extremely quick.
Moreover, the Seated Lupin Wolf’s back had two hump-like bulges, which were suitable for travellers to rest.
These Seated Lupin Wolves were provided by the Broken Axe Pub at the rate of five hundred magic crystals per wolf. After reaching the destination, the travellers would release them, and they would run back to where they came from.
At this moment, Leylin was seated comfortably on the back of a wolf. He rose and fell on the strong and healthy back with his eyes half closed, seizing the opportunity to rest.
Even though he was travelling on the Seated Lupin Wolf, traversing the Grand Canyon Margaret would require at least two months. The route also had a lot of dangers, so it was necessary that he conserve his energy and physical strength.
With the introduction of the bartender, he had several meetings with the small group before deciding to join them.
It would be very difficult for a lone magician to face the vile environment of the Great Canyon Margaret, and even break the watch of those Kary Vultures.
Moreover, Leylin confirmed that the other party members were in the same situation as him, forming a party at the very last minute, so he was not afraid of them colluding against him.
Even with Leylin’s entry, the group members felt that their safety was not guaranteed.
After having waited for an additional half a month, it was only the previous day that another official Magus had joined them, and the group had decided to set off.
During that half a month, Leylin had been dwelling within the pub while keeping a low profile. It could have been that the Yale family and the Lilytell family had ran out of leads, so they had not decided to search here, enabling Leylin to avoid a huge battle.
Thinking about this, Leylin took a look at the members of his group.
Due to fact that the group was only a temporary one, in addition to the wariness of the magicians, more than half of the group members’ faces had been concealed. Only an old, white-haired geezer and a voluptuous female magician did not conceal their countenances.
Other magicians were the same as Leylin, with half of their faces wrapped, and appearing cold and detached.
All of these magicians emitted the energy waves of a rank 1 Magus. The Great Canyon Margaret was too dangerous for any acolytes, so apart from any special circumstances, acolytes seldom chose this route.
The roasting sun shone with a comfortable warmth onto his body, causing Leylin to crave a good sleep.
As the surroundings turned dark green, the short shrubs bowed down to the Seated Lupin Wolf as they passed. This caused Leylin to think that he had arrived at the grasslands of Chernobyl Islands.
The Great Canyon Margaret was extremely vast, spanning across several kingdoms.
Moreover, rumours had it that originally, there was no great canyon and that in fact, it had been formed by two unknown, high ranked Magi fighting.
Looking down from the sky, the Great Canyon Margaret seemed like a wound created on the body of the south coast.
However, Leylin still expressed his skepticism towards such a myth. Breaking apart half a continent should have required at least a rank 7 or 8 Magus. In the recorded history of the south coast, there had been no mentions of Magi of such ranking having ever appeared.
Even if they had come from another continent, why would they have specifically chosen this place for their battle?