The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 116

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Our Neighborhood’s Strongest (116)
Noxscasarsis didn’t accompany them; instead, he used Spatial Teleportation to transport Jang Gain and Aleingde Mir near the Magic Tower.
“Wow! Our estate is only in early spring, but this place is full summer.”
The two men who had been teleported exchanged glances at the oppressive heat from the sun and the humidity rising from the swampland.
“The Tower Master dislikes winter, so he built the Magic Tower here. No matter how cold it gets elsewhere, snow never falls in this place.”
“It’s similar to the Southern Region in Zhongyuan.”
“The Southern Region?”
“There’s a place I know that resembles this one. But is that the Magic Tower over there?”
When Jang Gain pointed toward a dense forest where trees dozens of meters tall grew thickly, Aleingde Mir opened his eyes wide in surprise.
“Yes, the Magic Tower is located there, but… can you see the tower?”
“Is it hidden by Illusion Magic? There’s a 13-story tower, but I can’t see it with my eyes.”
“You can’t see it with your eyes—how do you know there’s a 13-story tower?”
“The wind is parting around that area. I’ve been merging with wind elementals frequently lately, so I’ve developed the ability to sense many things through the wind.”
“Ah! The wind. Of course—since you hold a Contract with High-Tier Wind Spirit, you can see through the spirit’s perception as well.”
“I’m not borrowing the spirit’s sight, but in any case, I can feel the tower through the wind blowing over there.”
Since the two of them had ridden a Chimera Wyvern, they arrived at the edge of the densely wooded forest quickly.
“My lord, we must walk from here on.”
“The path is hidden by Illusion Magic too. The rock between those two trees is the actual path, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Illusion Magic has no effect on you, my lord.”
“Ha, it seems I’ve somehow become resistant to it.”
As they passed through the thick forest, a gray tower that had been invisible until now suddenly came into view.
“I told Luksicana I was coming, so let’s go to the Magic Tower first and meet with her.”
“Wait a moment. That Magic Tower feels ominous somehow. Wouldn’t it be better to call her out and meet somewhere outside?”
Jang Gain stopped walking, feeling as though he were entering the tiger’s den.
He was confident he could escape alive no matter what, but he couldn’t guarantee Aleingde Mir’s safety.
“My lord, I was once a mage who served in that Magic Tower, so I can use Seven-Star Magic within it. Please don’t worry too much.”
“That was in the past. I’m uncertain whether you can still do so now.”
“Don’t worry. Besides, there are many in the tower with whom I have history.”
“Ah, I see. Then let’s go in. I was being overly cautious.”
Jang Gain steeled himself to overcome the sense of dread the tower emanated and resumed walking.
Four mages in robes stood guard at the tower entrance, but when Aleingde Mir revealed his identity, they let him pass without hesitation.
Beyond the door, a spacious lobby of about a hundred square meters opened before them, with tables and chairs scattered throughout, and about twenty people could be seen drinking tea or conversing.
“Luksicana!”
After scanning the twenty or so people, Aleingde Mir spotted Luksicana and strode toward her.
“Oh! Aleingde Mir. Didn’t you say you were departing today? How are you here already?”
“A dragon teleported me here in one go, so I arrived immediately.”
“A dragon performed Spatial Teleportation for you?”
“Yes. But you really haven’t seen my disciple Laila?”
“I haven’t seen her. I even asked the apprentices guarding the entrance several times just in case, but no one had seen your disciple.”
“Really? Where could she have gone? Well, I can find Laila later. You know why I came all the way here, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. Come on, I have Mandragora for you in the safe of my research chamber.”
When Luksicana stood up, Aleingde Mir followed her, and Jang Gain followed behind him.
“Who is the person following behind?”
“Ah, this is Marquis Gain, whom I serve. Say hello.”
“Ho! So you’re the famous Marquis Gain. It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Luksicana, a mage.”
When Luksicana stopped walking and bowed, Jang Gain also stopped and returned the gesture respectfully.
“I am Jang Gain Chang, Marquis of the Smed Kingdom. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“I’ve heard of your deeds through various channels, Marquis Gain. Recently, you worked with dragons to close a Gate connected to the Demon Realm at the Quardo Coast.”
“Ah, yes. How did you hear about me?”
“I’ve heard rumors that you’ve transcended Swordmaster to reach Grand Master, and there’s also speculation that a dragon is amusing itself in human form. In any case, I’ve wanted to meet you, and I’m honored that we’ve met this way.”
“Ah, yes. I’m also honored.”
“But are you intending to come to my research chamber with Aleingde right now?”
“Yes. Since I came with Aleingde, I intended to stay with him.”
“I apologize, but my research chamber is not a place just anyone can enter. Aleingde can certainly come—we’ve been close for a long time and he’s a fellow mage—but since this is the first time I’m meeting you, Marquis Gain, would you mind waiting here for a moment?”
Jang Gain found nothing to fault in Luksicana’s words, so he reluctantly nodded his head.
“Understood. I’ll wait here.”
At that, Aleingde Mir also stopped following her.
“I’ll stay here with Marquis Gain, so go get the Mandragora.”
“What? After coming to the Magic Tower after so long, you won’t even see my research chamber?”
“There’s no point in seeing your research chamber. Besides, since it’s a woman’s research chamber, it wouldn’t be proper for me, a man, to enter and look around.”
“You’re talking nonsense. Look at me—I’m old, my back’s bent with age. It’s no trouble at all. Come along.”
“I’ll wait here with the Marquis, so just go fetch the Mandragora and come back.”
“Are you upset because I told the Marquis to wait here?”
“Well, not entirely. The Marquis I serve has come all this way with me, and it felt wrong to leave him standing alone out here.”
“Goodness! Alright, you haven’t changed a bit. I’ll invite the Marquis too. Marquis, why don’t you come with me? I’ll prepare tea in my laboratory.”
“No, thank you. I’ll wait here. Please just bring the Mandragora for Aleingde.”
As Jang Gain continued to refuse, Luksicana’s smile stiffened slightly.
She paused for a moment, then pressed on with a forced grin.
“Well, the Tower Master’s laboratory is directly above mine, and since he’s here anyway, you ought to pay your respects while you’re at it.”
Jang Gain could see through her obvious scheme easily enough, but remembering that his purpose in coming here was to test his strength against the Tower’s mages, he nodded as if yielding to her pressure.
“Ah, if the Tower Master is here, I should pay my respects.”
“Then let’s go.”
As Luksicana led the way, Aleingde Mir watched Jang Gain with anxious eyes.
Jang Gain chuckled and shrugged, then followed her. Aleingde Mir had no choice but to trail behind as well.
After climbing the stairs for some time, they reached the 12th Floor, where a door decorated with skulls came into view.
“This is my laboratory. Come inside.”
“Shouldn’t we go up to the 13th Floor first to greet the Tower Master?”
“How long could it take to retrieve the Mandragora from the vault? It’ll be quick—come in.”
Luksicana opened the door and stepped inside. Jang Gain entered first, followed by Aleingde Mir.
Click.
The moment both of them were inside and she closed the door behind them, their bodies suddenly grew heavy—gravity itself seemed to have increased fivefold.
“Ugh! Luksicana, what did you just do?”
“Hehehehe, whether you’re old or young, why are you both so suspicious? I went to all that trouble spinning my story.”
Her voice turned sharp and cold in an instant, and her eyes and presence shifted with it.
“Luksicana, surely you’re not refusing to give me the Mandragora because of this?”
“I already consumed the Mandragora long ago, so even if I wanted to give it to you, I couldn’t. Not that I ever intended to in the first place.”
“What? Then why did you lie and say you’d give it to me?”
“You’d naturally come to see me and Maraing as enemies because of General Kaioroxu. I thought it better to strike first and eliminate the threat before you could attack me—wouldn’t that be wiser?”
“My grudge is with General Kaioroxu, not with you. True, your student Maraing’s conduct was inappropriate, but I never intended to kill him over it.”
“You only say that now because you’ve fallen into my trap and face death. When I apologized before, you were lukewarm about it, but the moment I mentioned giving you the Mandragora, you said you’d forgive me. What does that tell you? It means you’d accept nothing less than a treasure like the Mandragora for forgiveness.”
“I do covet the Mandragora, but if you had sincerely apologized and punished Maraing, I would have forgiven you.”
“What nonsense. I know your black heart all too well. Still, out of old sentiment, I’ll grant you time to leave a final testament before you die. Speak your last words.”
“Did you lure and kill my student Laila Prang the same way?”
“I did lure her in the same manner, but I haven’t killed her yet.”
“What? You haven’t killed her? Then where is she?”
“She hasn’t been killed, but she is dying. To be precise, I planted a Mandragora seed and needed fertilizer, so I buried your student alive beside it.”
“You—you cruel fiend! Is this something a person would do?”
Aleingde Mir drew the Chimera Twin-Head Ogre from his subspace, but Luksicana’s expression turned dismissive.
“Are you foolish? I’ve made this place an Anti-Magic Zone and amplified gravity fivefold. If you summon such a heavy creature, what exactly did you hope to accomplish?”
Crash—thud—thud……
True to her words, the Twin-Head Ogre stumbled forward just one step after emerging from the subspace, then wavered and collapsed to the ground.
“No matter what, I will kill you.”
Aleingde Mir leveled his Magic Staff at her, and sparks erupted from the jeweled portion.
Crackle-crackle—sizzle-sizzle……
But those sparks quickly diminished and fizzled out entirely.
“Hehehehe, foolish old man! Didn’t I just say this is an Anti-Magic Zone? Of course, as the master of this zone, I can still cast magic.”
Luksicana raised her Magic Staff and struck the ground while chanting. With a sickening crack, Aleingde Mir’s knees bent backward.
Aleingde Mir screamed in agony and fell to the ground, while a cruel smile spread across her face.
“This is a Curse Magic I’ve recently developed. What do you think? It reverses every joint in the body—whether monster or human. But then, why can you stand there so perfectly unaffected?”
As she spoke, she noticed Jang Gain standing beside Aleingde Mir with an unmoved expression, and her head tilted in confusion.
“Noxscasarsis mentioned that mages of the Magic Tower can wield magic one tier above their own level. Surely this crude curse isn’t the full extent of grandmother’s magic, is it?”
“Hmm, I suppose it’s possible that a Dragon gave you an Anti-Magic Treasure. But now that you’ve stepped into my domain, there’s nowhere for you to escape. I’ll show you a very special Curse Magic that I’ve spent long years perfecting—one that even Anti-Magic Treasures cannot stop. From this moment on, you will only be able to draw breath; you will never be able to exhale. Aedbeullun!”
Jang Gain had actually been deliberately refraining from attacking, choosing instead to observe how she fought.
But seeing Aleingde Mir, for all his bluster, unable to mount a real defense and having his joints twisted backward, he decided it was time to act. He drew a spear from his subspace.
“In the Main Sect, we’ve dealt with curses from sorcerers so many times they’ve become tedious. They all crumble before overwhelming force. What, this—what is this……?”
As the breath Jang Gain had drawn in refused to leave his body and he could no longer speak, his eyes widened in shock.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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