Iya Continent: Card God

Rewind to before the head of the Leer family set off...

Herland's residence.

“Jim Magee retaliated by attacking us. But his henchmen were still ordinary bandits and thieves. Logically, after the last failure, he should have hired the leader of the Wild Wolf Bandit Gang to step in, but he didn’t?” Linta analyzed seriously.

"Why? Because the bandit leader, Wild Wolf King, has more important things to do. He can only hire other thieves with connections. Last time, it was probably for the same reason. So what other reason could Wild Wolf King have for not showing up? Presumably, it's for his scheme against the head of the Leer family."

When Linta said that, Jenny Herland was the first to agree, after all, it was detrimental to her father, and regardless of whether it was true or not, she was worried and serious.

“Father, it must be so. Dorn is a wicked and evil man,” Jenny said solemnly.

The head of the Leer family nodded slightly. "This also explains why he directly provoked me. It's as if he's implying that he's going to take the initiative to attack the mine, and I have to deal with it with all my might. If I lead the family's elite forces out, I will be ambushed and severely damaged by the other side. Perhaps this battle will be the annihilation of my Herlan family."

"Is it really that bad? Aren't your two families evenly matched?" Jin Gong asked curiously.

The patriarch of the Lehr family said solemnly, "Dorn is a treacherous and cunning man. He may already have a plan to completely destroy our family."

Linta was slightly puzzled. "What can we do? The two sides are roughly equal in strength. Although the other side has the Wild Wolf Bandit Gang, the Nale family head and you can only flee at most."

What method could allow one side to exert strength beyond what it should have? Linta was puzzled. He had only been on the continent of Iya for a short time and knew very little about many things.

"Mage, magic potion," Shia said indifferently.

"Huh? What is this?" Linta asked, somewhat puzzled.

The head of the Leer family widened his eyes and said in a daze, "Then that makes sense."

Next, a small glass bottle was taken out. The bottle was large and round at the bottom, and cylindrical at the top. Inside the bottle, an orange-red liquid was flowing, and a flame seemed to be enveloping the center of the liquid.

"This is a high-quality magic potion. It contains the skill of a high-level silver fire mage. However, it can only be used once," the head of the Leer family explained.

Linta's eyes lit up as she looked at the magic potion.

I learned a little more about the amazing existence of the continent of Iya.

There really are items that can store skills.

Knight Gob frowned and said, "Could Dorn have managed to buy some high-quality magic potions?"

Jenny said, "Very likely. Over the years, Dorn has frequently traveled to Sandel, the most prosperous city in the county, where trade is constant. High-quality magic potions are often available there. Although it is difficult for our family to purchase them, we cannot rule out special circumstances."

Linta stroked his chin, lost in thought.

In my thoughts, I consider what will happen next.

The other party intended to use this magic potion to severely damage the Herlan family, and then cooperate with the Wild Wolf Bandits to finish them off.

"Patriarch Leer, is this skill, comparable to a gold-level expert's potion, guaranteed to kill you?" Linta asked, looking directly at him.

The head of the Leer family looked grave and said after a moment's thought, "Not necessarily. If we had taken precautions, we could have avoided most of the damage. After all, this magic potion wasn't cast on me by a real Gold-level expert. Its casting speed and other aspects are somewhat inferior to those of a real person. However, it's a different story for the rest of the family."

"I see..." Linta nodded slightly.

“Patriarch Leer, I have a plan. Would you like to consider it?” Linta’s eyes were sincere and without any malice.

Leer Herlan solemnly met Linta's gaze and said in a stern voice, "Lord Linta, please speak."

Lin Ta said, "Now that we roughly know their purpose, why don't we turn the tables on them?"

"Pretend to fall into their ambush, then escape to the mine. In the mine, we'll set up an ambush and defeat them! Since the mine is operating, there should be explosives, so we'll lure them into a pit where explosives are buried, and then detonate them!"

Kim Gong laughed and said, "Great idea! Hahaha!"

Knight Gobu's brow furrowed, his expression full of worry. "It's easy to say, but how exactly do we do it? If even one detail goes wrong, the enemy will surely become suspicious. Besides, what if we fail to escape to the mine after being attacked?"

Jenny shook her head and said, "Let's forget about being attacked. We might as well lure them into the mine."

Linta frowned and said softly, "If we lure them in directly, they'll probably be on high alert and ready to ambush us. That will make the subsequent arrangements even more complicated."

“That’s right. Given Dorn Magee’s personality, he wouldn’t believe we weren’t attacked and injured,” the head of the Leer family affirmed. He then added, “However, if the attack succeeds, many members of my family will inevitably be sacrificed. I cannot accept that. I would rather die in battle.”

Gob said, "I am willing to sacrifice myself, my lord!"

“I will not let you sacrifice yourself!” Leer said solemnly.

Linta said, "Wait until I finish speaking. It doesn't necessarily have to be a sacrifice. We can pretend to sacrifice ourselves."

"What do you mean? How do I do it?" Jenny asked back.

Linta said, "We can travel at night and wait for the enemy to attack. We can pretend that many of our companions have been killed to mislead them. In reality, they were not in the group at all."

"As for... how to fool them?" Linta's gaze fell on the magical potion with flames.

"How powerful is the skill this potion can unleash?"

Leer suddenly laughed and said, "That's enough to burn more than a dozen people. Moreover, the enemy's use of high-quality magic potions might be able to provide cover. As for living people, we can use 'dolls' instead. Under the cover of night, I'll use a faint guiding light, so the enemy can only see one or two people holding the light in front of them, but they won't be able to see what's behind them."

"Finally... I'll dodge most of the magic potion damage and escape to the mine!"

“I will go with you!” Knight Gobu knelt on one knee, his head bowed resolutely.

“Alright then, Gob will come with me,” Leer said, no longer trying to stop him.

Jenny retorted firmly, "I will lead the family's elite forces to provide support from the rear! If I hear bombs exploding in the mine, I will provide support; if not, I will leave! Father, is that acceptable?"

Lehr pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Linta concluded, "Then, we'll head to the mine ahead of time and plant the bombs. When the time comes, you, Patriarch Leer, can lure them in. Don't worry, I'll get you out!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Black smoke billowed up under the dim light of the rock wall, and below, the underground mineral vein was a jumble of boulders piled up.

"Did the cave collapse?" Shia asked.

Linta laughed and said, "Even if it doesn't collapse, it's hard to survive. There are explosives buried almost every few steps inside! Even a silver-level expert would have difficulty resisting with magic."

As the head of the Leer family gradually regained his breath, he said, "Thank you. My family's survival this time is all thanks to you all."

Linta smiled faintly and said, "It's alright, they deserved it. I was about to leave anyway. But that Jim Maggie came looking for trouble. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come back."

The head of the Leer family sighed and smiled, quite moved.

Linta added, "The two great silver empires are finished. Let's go back and end the fighting."

The head of the Leer family nodded.

Although he was severely injured by the lightning strike, the bomb, and the battle against the Wolf King and Dorn, none of that mattered now. No further fighting was needed. A single sentence was enough to shatter the enemy's morale and secure victory.

Linta helped the head of the Leer family and turned back.

However, Shia did not turn her head; her eyes remained fixed on the dark, billowing smoke below.

"Shia, what's wrong?" Linta asked.

Shia didn't answer, as if she was listening to something.

"It's not... over yet!"

"Bang!" "Sizzle!"

"Aha!"

A figure leaped out from the black smoke, with disheveled hair, torn clothes, and a face blackened by soot.

Even more horrifying, he was holding a mangled corpse, its face unrecognizable and its flesh torn to shreds, with a claw weapon attached to its right arm.

Linta and the other two were shocked – they were not dead!

Dorn Magee is still alive!

The mine tunnel didn't collapse! He used the magical body of the wolf king as a shield, blocking most of the explosion damage!