Chapter 374: The Aphasic Mage — Grimos Raven

Clever Mouth stepped into the pitch-black passage, the White Dragon Lord close behind. After descending the sloped stairs for about twenty meters, a deep, horizontal tunnel appeared before the White Dragon Lord. It was so narrow that two people walking shoulder-to-shoulder would feel cramped, and it lacked any sort of lighting.

"Light!"

A soft orb flared to life at Clever Mouth's fingertips, illuminating the path ahead.

"Alright, once we're out of this tunnel, we'll be in the Black Core Zone."

Because the Shapeshifter's Cloak concealed his aura, the Master-tier Clever Mouth failed to realize the White Dragon Lord's true strength. He simply assumed his client was Mage Miphen's junior, a subordinate, or someone with similar connections.

"Remember, don't cause any trouble. Otherwise, not even the Lady of Mystery will be able to save you."

Though the White Dragon Lord mentally dismissed Clever Mouth's warning, he had no intention of deliberately violating the black market's taboos.

The rest of the walk passed in silence. The White Dragon Lord followed his guide all the way to the end of the passage, where Clever Mouth knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"Old Parker, it's me, Clever Mouth."

The door cracked open a sliver. A murky eye peered through the gap, scanning the passage. Upon seeing Vlakid's grinning face, the eye's owner relaxed his guard and thrust a withered hand through the crack.

"The usual rules."

"Hehehe, I prepared it ages ago. Guaranteed to satisfy~"

With his back to the White Dragon Lord, Clever Mouth pulled a small black pouch from his chest and placed it into the withered palm.

The hand took the pouch and withdrew. A short while later, the partially open door swung wide, revealing a bare-chested elderly man to the White Dragon Lord.

Perhaps whatever Clever Mouth had provided pleased him, for an ugly smile stretched across the old man's wrinkled face. The White Dragon Lord merely glanced at him but felt a twinge of inward surprise—this old man who looked like he had one foot in the grave was actually a legendary powerhouse.

The old man jerked his chin toward the White Dragon Lord standing behind Clever Mouth.

"Did you explain the rules clearly?"

"Old Parker, don't you trust me by now?"

Clever Mouth put on an exaggerated expression of hurt.

"I'm just confirming. Since you've explained them, come in."

The old man stepped aside to clear the passage. The White Dragon Lord followed Clever Mouth inside. The room housed three rows of display shelves cluttered with all sorts of bizarre items: antique books, yellowed Parchment, vile biological tissue suspended in clear containers, shattered weaponry...

Noticing the White Dragon Lord scanning the merchandise, Clever Mouth explained, "This is Old Parker's antique shop. Do you need to look at the goods first, customer?"

The White Dragon Lord swept his gaze around the room before looking away.

"Take me to the place for intelligence first."

Saying no more, Clever Mouth led the White Dragon Lord out the shop's front door and onto the streets of the Black Core Zone. There were only a sparse handful of pedestrians on the black market's roads right now, yet the White Dragon Lord noticed that not a single one of them was below the Master-tier in strength.

After taking a few turns along the path, Clever Mouth brought the White Dragon Lord to a shop specializing in intelligence. Inside, the space was divided into several small, isolated rooms. Some of the doors were closed, while others stood slightly ajar.

Clever Mouth pointed to a partially open door.

"I'll wait for you outside."

The White Dragon Lord pushed the door open and stepped inside. The room was tiny, containing only a single chair and a desk secured to the wall. An oil lamp rested on the desk, its flame illuminating a small window in front just large enough to pass a hand through.

Through the window, the White Dragon Lord saw a pair of hands with interlocked fingers, clad in leather gloves.

"Customer, what are you looking to find out?"

A raspy voice, disguised by magic, rang out. The White Dragon Lord sat down in the chair.

"Information on a titan nicknamed the King of the Red Lotus, as well as the plane he resides in. This titan is very likely a High-Tier Legendary Rank powerhouse."

"One moment."

The White Dragon Lord waited in his seat. He had noticed outside that the walls between the rooms were not thick, yet after coming inside, he couldn't hear a single sound from the hallway or the adjacent rooms. Clearly, sound-isolating magic arrays were carved into the walls.

He didn't have to wait long. The raspy voice spoke again, and a payment terminal slid out from the wall.

"The intelligence costs eight hundred and thirty thousand Divine Power Gold Coins."

The White Dragon Lord simply took out an anonymous Temple of Wealth Card and transferred the eight hundred and thirty thousand Divine Power Gold Coins. The terminal was promptly retracted.

A short while later, a small box was pushed through the window.

The White Dragon Lord opened the box, revealing a transparent crystal resting inside.

It was a Memory Crystal used for storing information.

The White Dragon Lord extended a strand of spiritual energy into the Memory Crystal, and the information stored within projected into his mind.

The volume of information was quite large. He closed his eyes, flipping through the sudden influx of knowledge.

"Lord of Red Lotus: Magma titan Madahak. One of the three great sovereigns of the Sincaro Titan World. Excels in using fire magic, cultivates both magic and physical combat, possesses High-Tier Legendary Rank strength. Has a record of slaying two powerhouses of the same tier, and multiple records of participating in planar plundering..."

"First recorded combat: Dawn Era, Year 34,222. The magma titan, Madahak, Lord of the Red Lotus, killed the death herald Tagaduo in the Star Realm. During this battle, Madahak used the legendary magic: Magma Burst and Forbidden Fire..."

"Second recorded combat: Dawn Era, Year 38,124. During the plundering of the Kasomos Plane, the magma titan, Madahak, Lord of the Red Lotus, allied with the frost titan Prudhomme the Ice-Bound to kill their competitor—the green dragon Modona, Mother of Venom. During this battle, Madahak used the legendary magic: Star-Incinerating Burst..."

"Prudhomme the Ice-Bound?"

The White Dragon Lord felt as though he had heard this titan's name somewhere before, but he couldn't quite recall it.

Without dwelling on it, the White Dragon Lord continued reviewing the planar intelligence.

"Sincaro Titan World: A Medium Material Plane ruled by titans. This plane is governed by three High-Tier Legendary Rank titans: the thunder titan Sindona, Mother of Lightning, the magma titan Madahak, Lord of the Red Lotus, and the frost titan Prudhomme the Ice-Bound."

"Among the three great titans, the frost titan Prudhomme the Ice-Bound disappeared while participating in the plundering of the Luoduoluo Plane in the Dawn Era, Year 40,293. Suspected to have fallen."

The White Dragon Lord remembered the frost titan who had contributed Sadolina's Bracelet (Pseudo). Even now, the spoils looted from that frost titan were still on display in the White Tower's collection room.

"Enemies are truly bound to meet on a narrow path."

During the battle where he eradicated that frost titan, the White Dragon Lord had leveraged the Floating Tower's stealth capabilities and hadn't spared a single enemy. It was completely normal that the black market lacked any relevant intelligence.

This also proved that the black market's intelligence wasn't flawlessly accurate. The White Dragon Lord continued reading the information on the Sincaro Titan World.

"Thunder titan Sindona, Mother of Lightning: True strength unknown. Her last recorded combat was ten thousand years ago when she clashed with the red dragon Kaladir, the World-Burning Flame, in the Star Realm. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. Specific battle details are unknown."

"Sincaro Titan World planar coordinates: (783146, 55885, 2699238)."

Having seen the most important and valuable piece of intelligence, the White Dragon Lord opened his eyes.

Those eight hundred thousand Divine Power Gold Coins had not been spent in vain!

"Does the customer require any further intelligence?" (If not, you can get the hell out.)

Seized by a sudden whim, the White Dragon Lord decided to check his own records in the Star Realm's black market.

"Nordhill Plane, the white dragon King of the Afiaiv Kingdom—Amos Aldrich. I want his information as well."

"Please wait a moment."

Before long, the Star Realm black market's appraisal for the White Dragon Lord's information came back.

"The information is valued at five hundred and forty thousand Divine Power Gold Coins."

The White Dragon Lord grew solemn. The combined intelligence for the Lord of Red Lotus and the entirety of the Sincaro Titan World had only cost eight hundred and thirty thousand Divine Power Gold Coins, yet the information for him alone—a single dragon—was worth five hundred and forty thousand.

This meant the Star Realm's black market evaluated him extremely highly. Put another way, the black market possessed a very comprehensive grasp of his information.

The White Dragon Lord paid the fee, and the information was quickly delivered to him, once again stored within a Memory Crystal.

"White dragon Amos Aldrich: This white dragon, who suddenly rose to prominence in recent years, carries many halos. The most striking among them are: King of the heterogeneous Afiaiv Kingdom, member of the Nordhill Guardian Council, Guardian of Blackrock Fortress on the Blood War Battlefield, Destroyer of Ten Thousand Blades Fortress, Creator of the Frozen Land... He possesses multiple records of defeating powerhouses of the same tier."

"Most recent combat record: Dawn Era, Year 40,345. On the Blood War Battlefield, the white dragon and his companions joined forces to completely suppress an equal number of demon lords. In this battle, the dragon displayed astonishing combat instincts, simultaneously suppressing two of the Blade Sovereign's personal guards—Eight-Armed Snake Demons..."

The White Dragon Lord raised an eyebrow. It seemed the black market hadn't acquired the intelligence of his battle against the Blade Sovereign, otherwise, the price of his information would have been even higher.

It was perfectly normal that the black market lacked the news of his clash with the Blade Sovereign. After all, it had taken place deep in the Abyssal night, and the only ones present were the White Dragon Lord and the demons. Engru Ghostwolf certainly wouldn't stoop so low as to sell out a subordinate's intelligence.

The White Dragon Lord continued reviewing the subsequent combat records. Right now, his greatest concern was whether his use of Soul Magic had been exposed.

"Dawn Era, Year 39,295. The white dragon led his kin and an adventurer coalition to ambush the demons entrenched in the Frozen Land. He pursued a High-Tier legendary Frost Pangolin deep into the ice. In less than two minutes, the Frost Pangolin's corpse was hauled to the surface by the white dragon. During this battle, the White Dragon Lord utilized the legendary magic: Ice Animation..."

The White Dragon Lord breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the adventurers hadn't detected the battle beneath the ice. Soul Magic, after all, was cast silently and left no traces; noticing it was no easy feat.

However, the White Dragon Lord noted that his joint assault with Mage Alan on Vagro Fortress had been recorded. Because they couldn't figure out who had cast the spatial lockdown, he was flagged with a "suspected of spatial magic" tag.

The White Dragon Lord didn't mind this at all. Spatial magic served perfectly as a smokescreen to hide his Soul Magic.

With both his business and his curiosity satisfied, the White Dragon Lord turned and walked out the door. Rejoining Clever Mouth, who was waiting outside, he left the black market.

...

Ancient Raven Castle, headquarters of the Raven Council.

The Ancient Raven Castle was shaped like a giant black raven. It stood isolated on a steep cliff surrounded by verdant mountains, overlooking the peaks below just as the Raven Council's commercial empire lorded over the plane.

Today, the castle's conference room welcomed an esteemed guest: the King of the Afiaiv Kingdom, the white dragon currently dominating Nordhill's spotlight—Amos Aldrich.

The White Dragon Lord sat beside the Speaker of the Raven Council, Grimos Raven, exchanging intelligence regarding the titan plane.

Just as the White Dragon Lord had gone to the Star Realm black market to purchase information, the Raven Council had its own intelligence channels. Their findings complemented each other, presenting a truer picture of the Sincaro Titan World. They quickly reached a consensus on whether to attack.

"Lord Amos, caw, the Sincaro Titan World is not strong. Here is to a pleasant cooperation, caw-caw."

Grimos Raven's voice sounded bizarre—hoarse and laced with frantic cawing. It didn't sound like it came from a human, and in truth, it hadn't. Grimos Raven himself hadn't uttered a single word; the voice belonged to the black raven perched on his shoulder.

"Please forgive me. My class is rather special, making me unable to speak with you personally."

"It's nothing. In fact, I have a great deal of admiration for the sheer willpower required by the special aphasic mage class."

Grimos Raven's profession was precisely that: the special mage class known as the aphasic mage.

As the name implied, an aphasic mage was a spellcaster who had lost their ability to speak. Whether conversing or chanting spells, they had to rely on their familiar's mouth. Should an aphasic mage ever speak with their own body, they would lose their spellcasting abilities.

As compensation for losing their voice, aphasic mages learned a powerful skill called the Language of the Mind. This allowed them to communicate directly with the elements, earning their favor. The longer they went without speaking, the stronger this elemental favor grew, and Grimos Raven had not spoken a single word in nearly ten thousand years.

Looking at the dark elements swirling around Grimos Raven—so dense they were practically solidifying into a gaseous state—the White Dragon Lord felt a surge of inward astonishment. The helmsman of the Raven Council possessed unfathomable power, clearly on the same level as the Cat-Woman.

"Lord Amos, to prevent disagreements from breeding conflict, we must first discuss our invasion plan for the Muxinge Plane, as well as the distribution of the spoils."

The White Dragon Lord nodded.

"A fair and reasonable division of profits is the premise of our cooperation. Let us settle the distribution first."

Grimos Raven continued, "Following a collective discussion within the Raven Council, we have devised two equitable proposals."

"The first: The Raven Council and the White Castle operate jointly, contributing equal effort. Once the deed is done, the Raven Council will claim sixty-five percent of the plane's total revenue. In accordance with your condition, all titan corpses will go to the White Castle."

"The second: The Raven Council and the White Castle operate independently, dividing the Muxinge Plane's spoils based on individual combat merits, while ten percent of the plane's total revenue will go to the Raven Council as a fixed fee for providing the planar coordinates."