Badge in Azure

Saleen continued to research Hogina’s schematics. There was a block of buildings making up a palace more than 30 miles away from the spot where Saleen stationed his Magical Element Tower on the Golden Plains. If Saleen had taken to the air and scanned the place with his Elemental Eye, he would have found the group of buildings to resemble Lex’s palace in Daliang City.

More magical materials were used in building the structure. Even the wood used in their construction was synthesized using magic, making them somewhat more expensive than natural wood. That type of magical wood sported higher defensive capacities as well as being immune to fire and water damages, bugs, and even earthquakes.

The buildings, all of which looked old and tall, sat quietly in the evening sun. There were no magic towers, tall forts, or defensive walls to be found. Every single building was a formidable fortress on its own though.

The core of the Grukos laid within that group of buildings, yet the place was hardly eye-catching when compared to other residential buildings of the royalty of other nations.

There was a huge hall made of jade within the group. Tens of people sat on the floor with a single desk in front of every one of them. Fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as exquisite wine, were placed on top of every table.

Every single individual in the crowd were grade-9 professionals, and food was no longer a vital component to maintain their wellbeing.

Every single individual sat right across another person, with the crowd being divided into two rows. The seat which supposedly belonged to the master of the place, situated in the middle of the hall, was empty, with only a cushion placed there.

At the east side of the hall sat a smiling elder, addressing the rest of the crowd. “Everyone, Shodikas has been defeated. Saleen doesn’t seem to be one with a good temper.”

The female mage sitting across added in a loud and clear voice, “How many could actually keep their temper in check when their practice of magic has reached such levels? The power of Saleen’s soul must be powerful given the fact he was able to detect right there and then that we were testing him.”

“Didn’t I tell you people not to go test him? If he gets angry about it and refuses to hand over the mark of the Six-Winged Flying Snake, I don’t see any other option but to go steal it from him.”

“And why shouldn’t we?”

“Shut up! Do you take us to be robbers?”

“Alright, point taken.”

The hall, which had originally been rather quiet, burst into loud chatter in mere moments.

“Settle down, people. Our clan leader never agreed to anything like that, and it is best that we refrain from speaking about it from here on out. Furthermore, do you think we can just take it from him if we so wish? Regardless of whether Saleen is actually able to just destroy the item, making such a move against him would be tantamount to getting on Lex’s bad side. Saleen is still a relative of the Grukos clan regardless of what anyone thinks about him. So, think about it, have you people lost your damn minds? Suggesting that we rob one of our own?”

“But the mark is something important. Will Lord Chief really want to make a trade? It’s going to cost us a fortune!”

“You know nothing, a**hole!” A seemingly mild-mannered middle-aged mage howled at the side.

“Hey, language!”

“This matter can only be decided by the Lord Chief himself. We knew from our previous test that Saleen is not one that responded well to force, and that meant that we needed to talk to him. As for the cost, if we can retrieve the mark, the Grukos will no longer have to fear the Holy See, or that wretched Alchemy City.”

“Those ingrates in Alchemy City. A thousand years ago…”

“Shut it. Don’t bother talking about what happened 1,000 years ago. It is a rare thing for a relationship of any kind to last more than 100 years. For the past millennium, Alchemy City has been watching over Holy Rock City, and that itself is already a service to us. Just think about how many emperors have actually failed at their jobs throughout that time.” The mage who seemed to be in charge raised his glass and chanted his toast in the midst of the messy chatter.

“Hmph…” A cold voice was heard outside the hall. A silhouette was seen walking in under the sunset. The young figure was seen wearing a tall crown, he had long eyebrows and he carried an ancient sword on his side.

“Dikas!” An imposing voice was heard behind the youngster. The cold look on his face vanished as he stepped aside and made way. A tall female mage walked into the hall from behind him.

“Lord Chief!”

“Chief!”

Everyone who had been drinking all stood up and bowed.

The head of the Grukos family, the one who controlled all of the Golden Plains, was a female mage in her thirties. She wore a common white magic robe, but the robe was a very old one. Traces of magic repairs could even be seen on it.

“Teacher…” The swordsman called Dikas, bowed to the female mage.

“So, if I hadn’t returned two days earlier, I take it you all would have continued messing around, wouldn’t you?” While the words that came out of her mouth were clearly ones meant to chastise a person, it sounded rather unusual when she uttered them. The words seemed to sound like a sigh, yet at the same time, they were words meant to berate a friend.

No one dared to retaliate. The female mage walked to her seat with Dikas in tow, staying by her side.

“Lord Chief, how has the negotiation with Alchemy City been going?” The elder who had seemed to be in charge previously asked carefully, after seeing their chief not opening her mouth after taking her seat. He knew well that while the current chief looked peaceful and amicable, she was actually very capable of brutal means, unmatched by any of her predecessors.

“The negotiation didn’t end well. I came back as soon as I was done killing about 100 of them. If only the mark of the Six-Winged Flying Snake was in my hands…” The female mage did not continue. She saw the desk before her to be empty and turned to look at Dikas.

Dikas rummaged in his spatial equipment in a hurry to find a tea set. He began making tea for his teacher. He was no mage, yet was capable of using spatial equipment, which was a rare feat indeed.

The hall was silent, and magic lights lit up as the sky went dark. At the center of the hall, there was a magic array which was about a dozen yards in diameter. A large amount of magic images appeared, all of which were songs and dances created by the mages themselves. Nobles kept dancers around, yet mages did not bother doing so for their occasional entertainment; they created illusions using their own magic instead.

Doing so allowed them to further practice magic as well. Every attempt at creating complex illusions served to deepen their art at magic.

The professionals of the Grukos clan took a good look at their clan leader and found her to be unscathed. The conflict with Alchemy City did not seem to be a serious one.

The female mage said, “Enough talk with the matter. We need the mark more than anything else. Saleen is a mage himself, and he should know well not to ask for too much. He would be inviting trouble.”

The female mage stopped for a moment before continuing. “I learned from this trip that one-third of our nobles in the south were bought over by Alchemy City. All of the men that we left were based in the southwestern and southeastern regions. Even Grand Duke Pompeii sided with Alchemy City. A shame indeed. I thought he was a loyal one.”

“Lord Chief, why did you not kill him?” A grand swordmaster asked.

“There was little point in doing so. I could have easily squashed anyone of those nobles if I so wished, but are we going to go about killing all of them if they can’t stay put following orders from Holy Rock City? Armies matter little now. There were many professionals in Alchemy City, and their number of sorcerers far eclipsed ours. The value of Holy Rock City is no longer what it once was. So, do you think we should back Lex? She is now running Bitterwater Prefecture and is married to Saleen. She knows her way around things, and that is something we are incapable of.”

“Did you not mention that armies mattered little now?”

“Heh, don’t you know that it was Lex who got Saleen to crush Ironwall City? Lex is a direct descendant of the bloodline. If she can bear a child for Saleen, rallying behind her would be our best bet.” The female mage tapped on the desk with her finger as she pondered, before adding further. “Now, all we need to know is what Saleen is capable of. If he is one who can easily die, there is little value to him.”

“Teacher, would you mind if I take the task of doing so?” Dikas asked.

“You? I’m in no mood to avenge you.” The female mage shot her student down as soon as he was done asking, giving him no face. Dikas’ face became even colder after that. If it was not for his fear of his teacher, he would have probably gone to settle scores with Saleen with his sword drawn. Shodikas was a friend of his, and he had heard of Shodikas’ clash with Saleen as soon as he returned. He had been planning to get his hands on him as soon as he heard the news.

“No matter how strong Saleen is, he is still a sorcerer, and there is no way I wouldn’t be a match for him,” Dikas thought.

“I’m thinking. If the war on the mainland becomes what it once was, would it be wise for us to continue to stay on the Golden Plains?” The female mage’s words stunned everyone in the hall. The Grukos clan served only to support the line of royalty and would never participate in the game of power on the mainland. It was a tradition that had lasted for more than 1000 years.

While the Grukos had been sending people across the mainland in attempts to keep nobles under their thumb, they were only doing it for Holy Rock City, as well as to serve as a means to release unstable factors from Golden Plains. A place with too many professionals around was bound to see conflict after all.

“You are all dismissed. Return to your places and tell your disciples that I’m preparing to send men out to take on Alchemy City. By the way, tell Jalin to go look for Saleen. I want to speak with him.”

Saleen was still studying Hogina’s schematics inside the Magical Element Tower. It was something special that was created specifically for mages. From the drawings on the paper, the equipment resembled his own devil suit in some ways. The equipment was to be attached only to the torso though.

The complexity of the armament eclipsed that of Hogina’s gun. It was something like a breastplate. It was fitted with 12 independent spaces, enabling them to unleash 12 metal wheels. The metal wheels were made to circle around the mage wearing the equipment. Anyone who dared go near the mage would be attacked by the metal wheels.

A mage’s defense relied solely on magic shields traditionally, or some special magic buffs. The piece of equipment however, used defense through offense, by having the warriors who had gotten near to the mage be attacked by the wheels, or even killed outright. The metal wheels were controlled by the mental powers of the mage wearing the equipment.

From Saleen’s perspective, if a mage were to be armed with such equipment, the threat posed by assassins would be rendered nearly nonexistent. The equipment was one capable of flight too. When the 12 metal wheels were unleashed, the mage would then be able to control those wheels and take flight.

A mage’s flight relied on magic chords traditionally. Even with equipment like Wings of an Elf, it was still dangerous compared to using flying spells. The 12 metal wheels however, served primarily as offensive weapons. The only problem when flying with such a piece of equipment would be lightning. Common alchemy crossbows would be unable to penetrate the defenses afforded by the 12 metal wheels.

The practicality of the equipment was indisputable. Be it to grand mages or sorcerers, it was a piece of dream equipment. Even low-level mages would be able to fly using it.

A mage approached the Magical Element Tower while Saleen was still thinking of ways to improve the schematics and bringing the drawings into reality. The mage did not take to the air. She had chosen to walk to the peak instead. Every step of hers was capable of covering about a dozen yards of distance.

She looked unflappable while doing so. The speed vastly exceeded what was achievable by most mages’ flying abilities.