Theus was shocked when he heard this and asked: "Is there really a dragon that has successfully evolved? In what direction is the transformation? What is the strength of the soul?"
"According to rumors, it is a metal transformation, and the soul strength reaches at least level 23." The middle-aged mage scratched his hairline, which had receded significantly.
Theus frowned and said: "A metal dragon with level 23 soul strength still appears in the empire? Aren't you afraid that the great mages in the Magic Council will form a group to slay the dragon to draw blood, remove the scales and bones? Even if it is given a hundred thousand lizardmen,
It won’t accomplish anything big.”
"It is enough to complete the evolution within the empire without being discovered!" The middle-aged mage said: "There are so many prophecies and detections that cannot be detected in advance, then there must be advanced spellcasters interfering with the prophecies.
.”
Theus immediately thought of a bad reason: "The political struggle among the big figures in the parliament? Is there an archmage who has formed an alliance with the dragons? These big lizards will be so arrogant once they successfully evolve that they will really obey a certain archmage."
?"
The middle-aged mage smiled sinisterly and said: "Maybe it's the help of some big shot. Maybe it's not an alliance, but a soul contract. In this case, there will definitely be a commotion in the parliament for a while."
Theus only felt annoyed: "Just don't affect those of us working below."
The young mage said: "Anyway, I plan to settle down in the New World. I think the New World is good. It is sunny in many places. It is not like the city of Londinium, which is cloudy and rainy all day long."
The middle-aged mage shook his head in an imperceptible manner: "The New World is also in chaos. Too many resources have been consumed by the natives. The snakemen and frogmen in the swamp rainforest in the south are doing all kinds of tricks. There are also some colonial settlements that don't want to pay taxes to the empire.
They even colluded with the indigenous people to fight guerrillas everywhere, and they have been wiped out several times but they haven't been able to clear it all away. Alas, let's see if we can sign an armistice treaty with the indigenous alliance in the spring, I guess we won't even have any rest."
The young mage was still full of enthusiasm, beating his knees and said: "It's because those governors and officials are not serious about their work, and they don't know how much of the empire's tax revenue has been withheld by them? The rebellious settlements and towns directly sent mages to kill them in the air.
After being razed to the ground, I wonder who would dare to cause trouble? If the aristocratic fiefdom system was still the same as before, and the lords and subjects were harmonious, there would not be so many people making trouble!"
"Do you think things are so easy?" The middle-aged mage is also well-informed: "The empire occupied land in the Old Continent, and even concentrated its efforts to eliminate the Green Ring, just to expand the scale of grazing and maintain the empire's cashmere textile industry.
.As a result, the empire's local food is not enough to eat, so it can only grow food in the New World and continuously transport it to the mainland.
But here in the New World, wars are fought almost every day. The front line consumes a lot of money. They have to grow food, mine, and fight against the indigenous people and rebellions. Where is the need for manpower? Coupled with layers of exploitation, many pioneers who voluntarily came to colonize in the early years,
He was forced to keep the blame at home, which is exactly what happened in my female apprentice's family."
Theus smiled and joked after hearing this: "Your female apprentice has very average talent. It is probably because of her good ventriloquism that you kept her by your side, right?" Then there was an unspoken laughter between the men.
echoed in the carriage.
After the middle-aged mage finished laughing, he continued: "Well, actually sometimes I also think that after we finally become mage and explore the mysteries of magic, why are we not on duty here or participating in wars all day long? The older I get, the more I miss myself.
During those days when I was an apprentice. At that time, in the academy, although I faced some bad old men and each had a bad temper, it didn’t need to be like this at all. I made a lot of money, but I didn’t have the time or leisure to enjoy it.
.
What I hope most is to build my own mage tower in a remote place, as mentioned in the previous book, and then raise three or five lovers, close the door, study arcana during the day, and sleep with me at night.
Then give birth to a bunch of fat and white children..."
"It would be best to be promoted to a legendary mage, or even achieve eternal immortality, right?" Theus added.
The middle-aged mage waved his hand and said: "I haven't had such a dream for a long time. I am satisfied that my arcane magic can reach the current middle level. Going further, it is easy to say. Which high-level mage is not made of gold and silver? Moreover?
All kinds of overt and covert fights are so deadly, maybe even the person next to you is sent by your enemy to assassinate you."
The young mage said seriously: "I must become a high mage. Only in this way can I restore the honor of my family. I am not willing to be stepped on by others!"
The middle-aged mage saw this and remained silent. However, among the mage in this carriage, who has not been stepped on? Even the young mage who was praised as a genius by his peers did not understand his own destiny until he really left the academy.
In fact, the ability is not that dazzling. It is still used as a tool by people with higher status and stronger strength to use it at will.
Of course, they also naturally use people with lower status and weaker strength at will.
"Your Excellency Theus, Woodpile Town has arrived."
The three carriages stopped slowly, and a respectful voice came from the communication crystal in the carriage. It came from the mysterious knights in the first carriage. They were responsible for outpost security and were also the mage's right-hand assistants.
The profession of Arcane Knight originally came from the "Eye of Mystery" academy. Since the Great Londinium Empire expanded very rapidly in the Old Continent in its early days, due to the needs of the war, the mages trained by the academy system alone were simply not enough to cope with the fierce battles on the front line.
battle.
Therefore, the plan to train related magic combat personnel from the children of the army and nobles was quickly promoted, and due to the vigorous promotion of the Mystical Eye, this profession that has undergone a certain degree of arcane training and martial arts training was called the Mystic Knight.
In the early years, secret knights did have noble titles and were real knight masters. Of course, with the development of the times, secret knights began to spread gradually, and various mage organizations also tried to train this kind of profession that has both toughness and spellcasting ability.
, any martial arts adventurer who can use "Bear's Tenacity" can dare to say that he is a secret knight.
This has led to the fact that the spellcasting ability of most arcane knights today is only equivalent to that of a severely partial low-level mage. It is simply that a properly trained arcane knight also has the ability to use magic devices such as scrolls and wands.
However, in this way, as long as all kinds of magic items and devices are rationed in place, the combat capabilities that the Mystery Knights can exert exceed those of the low-level mages of the academy. Moreover, there are many Mystery Knights, and they are basically soldiers and officers, and they are more able to obey the empire.
The command.
After years of fighting, the empire has roughly figured out a set of combat strategies. Especially when it comes to going deep into areas where the empire's control capabilities have not been reached, and facing complex and unpredictable situations, it is usually necessary to send three medium mages and ten to twenty mystery knights.
, supplemented by sufficient magic items, characterized by high mobility, high concealment, and high communication capabilities, it can hit the enemy's vital points, cause powerful damage in a short period of time, and finally retreat in time.
Of course, in such a combat team, the status of the mage is still the most fundamental and important. Theus is the captain of such an arcane guard, and he requires the Arcana Knights to call him "Your Excellency."
"Only in this way can these mud-legged people who are lucky enough to be exposed to arcane magic maintain awe of our mages!" Theus gritted his teeth secretly. There are so many people learning arcane magic these days, which has almost devalued the status of mages.
Stepping out of the carriage, even with the "endurance environment" that protects these Masters from the cold, and the whole body seems to be under the warm spring sun, what you can see is a scene of ice and snow, the ground is muddy and dirty, and the air is filled with the remains of burned wood and straw.
The smell, everything is so rural, backward and ignorant.
"Alas, there won't be beauties in a place like this." Titus has figured out some rules over the years. Beautiful women can only be raised with less labor and more money. In remote market towns that are poor and cold, there are probably
These are women who look similar to female apes, right?
Sixteen mysterious knights lined up to the side and inspected magic props, armor and weapons in accordance with regulations. Of course, they only inspected their own items, and they were not allowed to touch any of the mage's items without permission.
"It's so stupid. We are lining up one by one. Several of them look older than me. They can probably have grandchildren in the countryside, right?" Theus said in his heart: "Hey, do you want to have a child? But?
I guess I don’t have time to take care of them. If I want them to become mages too...hiss——"
Theus took a breath. Every time he thought about his achievements as a mid-level mage, behind him were the Imperial Golden Sun Coins sliding through his fingers like running water. It really made people shudder.
I saw only sixteen mysterious knights. The armor they wore was mainly made of leather soaked in special alchemical potions. The vital parts were stuffed with steel plates and lined with chainmail. The armor on the squad leader also had a first-level enchantment effect.
.
On the armor belt hanging diagonally outside the armor, according to the division of responsibilities, there are fist-sized alchemical grenades, colorful thin bottles of potions, and scrolls sealed in wooden tubes.
The weapons of the Secret Knights are not completely uniform. Some hold shields with maces or flails, some have tall arms and long shoulders to withstand heavy swords, and even one carries a heavy crossbow with strong spell fluctuations on the crossbow.
, is the Empire's "Type Five Arcane Crossbow" that has been personally modified. Combined with elemental arrows, it is completely a mobile turret.
In addition, some arcane rangers who pay more attention to protecting themselves will also buy magic items from mages in private, wearing magic rings on their hands, just to see the production process...
"Since I'm using mithril, I might as well make some patterns. Look at my ring that contains the 'Resistance Element' spell. It's also inlaid with a bright white diamond and has a curling vine pattern carved around it. It feels rich to the touch."
Theus looked at his ring with pride.
"Your Excellency Theus, the secret knights have assembled, please give the order." The team leader said with a respectful look.
"Why are you nervous? How can a small town need such an exaggerated formation?" Titus raised his hand casually and said: "You go out and call the person in the town, that... does it mean there is a sheriff? Anyway, you
Call the person in charge over here."
The squad leader nodded in agreement, then asked two secret knights to accompany him, heading towards the nearby town of Woodpile.
Theus sat beside the car in a daze, his thoughts continuing to wander. He felt that if his children also became mages, it would look good on the surface, but in order to learn arcane arts, his savings would not be enough to support a mid-level mage.
——Not to mention that if the qualifications are not enough, a lot of money may be wasted.
But if you can't be promoted to a mid-level or even high-level mage, and you are just a low-level mage or even a mage apprentice, life will be even more difficult. Or you will work as a coolie under your mentor, making magic items day and night, and earning a little enough to live on.
Salary. Either go to remote villages and towns with less competition and make a living by selling potions and wands.
If this is the case, without a strict mage group or organization, without ample opportunities for learning and further training, it is very likely that you will not be able to do even some of the most basic experiments, and your arcane attainments will not be improved in your lifetime.
"Being an adventurer or a mercenary? Stop thinking about it. Do you really think that reality is as romantic as in novels?" Theus rubbed his cheek and recalled that an adventure team bought an extremely effective dissociation card from him two years ago.
For the sake of the discounted price, the long-legged female warrior in the team relied on her skills in bed to "persuade" Theus.
If his daughter was forced to do such a thing in the future, Theus would feel disgusted just thinking about it. Adventurers and mercenaries are like this. Without an organization, they are destined to be inferior to others, and they can only sell their lives, strength, and body.
"Oh, I heard that the adventure team was finally wiped out by a group of hobgoblins, and only a seriously injured bard escaped... Actually, I quite miss that long-legged female warrior, it's so exciting~"
Lord Theus was still thinking about it when he heard the middle-aged mage suddenly say: "Why is he a magician?"
"Magic stick" is the scornful name that mages refer to members of the Holy Lord Church. Those who shout nonsense all day long about "my Lord's light shines all over the earth" and "miracles save the world" are the most incompatible with mages. Both parties openly and secretly
Competition was frequent, that is, they were both under the control of the Londinium Empire, so there were no serious conflicts.
I heard that outside the borders of the Empire of the Old World, the Church of the Holy Lord spreads mainly among human groups in non-human race countries, causing internal disputes in those non-human countries, causing chaos, and even causing border conflicts with the empire.
Theus looked at the man wearing a cashmere coat, with a serious and old-fashioned expression, and seemed to have a bit of aristocratic temperament. He really didn't know who he was showing off to in such a poor place.
"Your Excellency Theus, this is the Sheriff of Woodpile Town."
As soon as the team leader finished his introduction, the Sheriff said loudly: "I am the Sheriff of Pile Town appointed by the Great Londinium Empire, a member of the Guardian Family of the Holy Lord Church, and an armed guard of the red bronze rank! You can call me
Sir Salemi!”
"What kind of pretense is there for a bad knight?" Theus was about to scold him, but he remembered that the young mage among his teammates was also a fallen nobleman of the empire, so he had to raise his hand, take out a metal plate, and said in a working tone:
"I am the Second Legion of the New World of the Great Londinium Empire, the special commissioner of the Tower of Pentagram, and the captain of the No. 13 Ora Guards, Theus. I have received the order to come to inspect the ancient ruins. Please fully cooperate with the local empire staff. No one is allowed to do so.
mistaken."
Theus didn't even bother to look at Sir Salemi. He had three mid-level mages and sixteen secret knights. A single meeting could turn this shabby vigilante into ashes. There was no need for any verbal exchanges. Just be obedient.
Enough.
"Ancient ruins?" Sir Salemi frowned.
Theus asked: "Do you know where it is? Lead the way immediately."
Sir Salemi shook his head and said: "I don't know, I just took office not long ago. I can ask people in the town."
"Then please investigate as soon as possible, we are in a hurry." Theus said impatiently.