novelStill Mentioning It?
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Leddings was actually disappointed. Ever since Lin Li had left, he could have just acted like nothing had happened. Unfortunately, he had believed his student Gerosso's words. For the sake of getting acquainted with Deputy Chairman Rosen, he went around trying to contact a few friends, and roped them in to join the boycott against Lin Li.
Great. No matter how authoritative Deputy Chairman Rosen was, he definitely wasn't more powerful than the arbitrators. Leddings was filled with regret, and he was only wishing for the meeting to end quickly so that he could teach his troublemaking student a lesson.
Of course, Leddings still didn't know that the genius student of his was still passing off as a statue on the pathway in front of the library for the viewing pleasure of visitors.
Lin Li walked to his seat in the corner, and was about to sit down, but then he stopped and looked up. He then said to everyone, "By the way, Arbitrator Apophis said that anyone who's interested in the Tera Mine can go speak to him."
He then looked at Rosen and the others before sitting down again, waiting for the meeting to continue with a calm expression.
As soon as Lin Li said those words, all the councilors who were going all out to push for the proposal, including Rosen, instantly felt their bodies turning numb. They broke out in a cold sweat, and if it weren't for the fact that they were seated on chairs, they would have fainted.
Apophis was obviously defending Lin Li. It was no longer an issue about the Tera Mine. Anyone who was not a fool would be able to tell that he meant that anyone who dared to go against Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk would first have to seek Apophis' permission.
When Rosen was seated, he felt extremely dizzy. Not only did they fail to reap any benefits from the proposal, they even suffered a huge blow. He could imagine that more than half of the councilors who'd initially stood on his side would definitely stop supporting him after this matter, and that was a slightly more optimistic prediction.
"Deputy Chairman Rosen, now that Councilor Felic is back, are you going to continue with the voting for the proposal?" Although Andoine wasn't sure what the three arbitrators had discussed with Lin Li, it didn't prevent him from rubbing another pinch of salt into Rosen's wounds.
Upon hearing him mention the proposal, Rosen and the councilors on his side almost shivered at the same time. To them, the proposal was no longer something that could bring them massive benefits. Instead, it was something that would bring them infinite fear.
What a joke. Why would we mention the Tera Mine again? It'd be no different from courting death! Although Rosen's heart was filled with resentment, he did not show it at all. He said in a shaky voice, "Chairman Andoine has spoken. Clearly, Councilor Felic and Arbitrator Apophis have already come up with a plan to deal with the issue of the Tera Mine. We won't bother with it uselessly here anymore."
It was definitely not a good feeling to have to take back one's words and withdraw one's plan after making a huge fuss out of it. However, Rosen didn't have any other choice. Besides, it was obvious that the other councilors wouldn't be willing to die with him even if he insisted on proceeding to the voting process to reach an outcome.
"Alright then, let's discuss the following proposal, " said Andoine. He was, after all, unlike Rosen. Although he was not benevolent, and was not giving in, either, he could not be bothered to provoke the disoriented and dejected Rosen any further.
Although he said that they were going to discuss a new proposal, no one in the room was enthusiastic. In fact, they even vaguely felt oppressed. Rosen and the other councilors on his side were not the only ones. Andoine's supporters, as well as some councilors who were in neutral positions, were the same. They had yet to fully recover from the shock they had just experienced.
Everyone in the conference hall was thinking about the matter regarding Lin Li and the arbitrator. No one was in the mood to discuss meaningless proposals, though the proposals were at least related to the rise and fall of a nation in the eyes of ordinary people.
In particular, the councilors who'd supported the proposal just now were extremely anxious. Everyone was thinking about how they could salvage the situation and improve their image in Lin Li's eyes. They couldn't blatantly suck up to him. They at least couldn't be remembered by Lin Li.
Still, Lin Li was just a newly promoted councilor, and hadn't come up with any proposals that they could support. Hence, it would be difficult for them to cozy up to him even if they wanted to.
However, the councilors soon thought of another solution. Although most of them didn't know what relationship Lin Li and Andoine had, they could tell from the matter of Rosen's proposal that Andoine was clearly on Lin Li's side.
Hence, there was a phenomenon in the conference hall where any proposal supported by the people on Andoine's side would immediately be supported by the majority, including the ones on Rosen's side. On the other hand, if those on Andoine's side opposed the proposal, it would also be immediately opposed by the majority. That allowed the meeting to proceed quickly. Basically, there wasn't much of a discussion before a proposal was quickly passed or rejected.
Upon seeing the situation, Rosen's mood naturally worsened, and he sat gloomily in the deputy chairman's seat. He had no choice but to decline to comment on any proposal.
He had no other option. He knew that his prestige had been reduced greatly, and he could not fight with Andoine at all.
Of course, that was only temporary, and it did not mean that it was really over for Rosen. However, he felt temporarily demoralized because the councilors were still shell-shocked because of Apophis.
The meeting finally came to an end amidst the bizarre yet harmonious atmosphere.
Rosen, Hubert, and some others were the first to leave the meeting. After so many years of management, he still had a few loyal followers, and the other councilors seemed rather troubled too. They even couldn't recall the content of the proposals.
Lin Li didn't leave early, but waited until Andoine, Aldwin, and the rest appeared to go over. They then chatted while leaving the venue. Although Andoine and the rest were curious, they tacitly chose not to probe. Instead, they talked about the reactions of Rosen and the rest.
Seeing that Rosen, Lin Li, and Andoine had left, Leddings stood up with wobbling legs before dragging his heavy feet across to leave the venue. His friends were implicated in the matter because of him, and he ought to be lucky that they didn't come to settle the scores. They left without him long ago.
Along with the crowd, Leddings made his way out of the venue dejectedly. He tried to find his direction, and was about to return to his residence when he saw an Archmage rushing over.
"Councilor Leddings?" the Archmage asked.
Leddings nodded, still dumbfounded.
Although he was a little confused by Leddings' behavior, the Archmage nonetheless continued to speak after verifying his identity."Your student Gerosso has been confined outside the library all day. You..."
It was like a bolt out of the blue, which made Leddings feel giddy all of a sudden. He staggered forwards and almost fell down.
At this moment, Leddings really wanted to strangle Gerosso with his own hands. With the experience he had the day before, he reckoned that his disciple had undoubtedly provoked the greenhorn newly minted Councilor Felic. Damn it! I was just thinking about how I could salvage the situation, but that bastard Gerosso created trouble again!
"Councilor Leddings, are you alright? Your student has merely been confined and restrained. He's not harmed in any way, you don't need to be too anxious." The Archmage who reported the news thought that Leddings was being worried about his student, and thus tried to calm him.
Damn it, I'd rather that bastard just die! Leddings tried hard to calm down, and he said to the Archmage, "I'm sorry to trouble you to make a trip. Let that incompetent rascal stand there for a while."
"Huh?" The Archmage who reported the news soon reacted. By the time he did, he only saw Leddings' fading back. For some reason, he felt that it was filled with dejection and sorrow.
Gerosso was not the only one. The teachers of Gerosso's underlings had also made the same choice as Leddings after getting a clear idea of the matter. In the end, Gerosso and his underlings could only continue to stand on the road in front of the library's main entrance while others pointed at them and made remarks about them.
Three days later, the restraining force on Gerosso and the rest finally disappeared, and the statues that had been on display for three days were suddenly paralyzed after falling onto the ground like mud. Even an Archmage would definitely suffer detrimental effects after staying in the same position for three days without eating or drinking.
What on earth had happened? Why didn't Teacher rescue me!? Gerosso was first bewildered, but he was soon filled with resentment instead. Although he couldn't speak, he was hollering in his heart. Felic, I swear, I will not let you go! Soon, I'll show you the consequences of angering me!
Gerosso and the others lay on the ground for a long time, but no one paid any attention to them. Everyone knew by now that they had to have provoked a big shot. Otherwise, their teachers wouldn't have punished them that way. Hence, everyone chose to shun them in fear. No one would bother helping them.
After lying on the ground for half a day, Gerosso finally recovered from the shock. He got up and swayed unsteadily before returning to his teacher Leddings' residence. He initially thought that his teacher had to have been busy with something, or getting busy with distributing the fortune of the Tower of Dusk, and thus didn't have the time to care about him. Although that explanation was a bit far-fetched, he didn't believe that something would go wrong, since they were very confident about the matter.
However, what Gerosso didn't expect was that his teacher, Leddings, was right at his residence, and he hadn't gone anywhere at all. That situation was confusing to him, but he couldn't be bothered to think. As soon as he saw Leddings, he exclaimed with anger and grief, "Teacher, you must do me justice! That bastard Felic..."
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