Chapter 328: The Magic Prohibition Decree and the Alchemical Society

The town plaza was strewn with corpses; the entire elite knight order had been wiped out.

The surviving soldiers hid in the distance, watching with trepidation. None of them dared to make a move, for fear of provoking this group of powerhouse experts who fought like gods of slaughter.

Seeing these mysterious figures in Gold Masks end the battle and walk slowly toward them, Alvin and several mages from the Alchemical Society discussed in low voices, unable to guess the other party's intentions.

At this moment, one of the men behind a Gold Mask suddenly spoke, his tone unexpectedly friendly:

"Don't be nervous. We are here to help you."

"Thank you! Thank you, esteemed mages, for your rescue!" Alvin first thanked them sincerely, then asked tentatively, "May I ask... who sent you? Could it be other colleagues from the Society who hired such experts with a heavy sum?"

The Alchemical Society? Ansu thought for a moment when he heard the name.

He had heard of this organization. It was a relatively loose academic magic group active in the Eastern and Southern regions.

Ansu shook his head and spoke truthfully, "We were not sent by anyone. We were just passing by and decided to lend a hand."

"Just passing by..." Alvin and his companions looked at each other, their faces full of suspicion.

He suppressed his doubts and thanked them again with a solemn expression. "Regardless, we thank you for your help. We plan to leave this place immediately. May I ask where you intend to go next?"

Ansu looked around and offered a suggestion. "This place isn't far from the great southern city of Vilanti. Since we've caused such a stir, reinforcements from the Empire and the Church will arrive soon. If you have a hidden and safe place to stay, why not take us along?"

After he finished speaking, the members of the Alchemical Society all showed hesitation.

Ansu saw their concerns and asked with a smile, "What? Are we not welcome?"

A masked female mage leaned close to Alvin's ear, trying to keep her voice down. "Alvin, is it really safe to let them follow? We've only just met, and you want to tell them about our secret hideout... What if they have other motives?"

"But what else can we do?" Alvin sighed helplessly and replied in a low voice. "You saw it too. They wiped out an entire elite knight order with just three people."

He thought to himself that experts of this level could kill him as easily as flipping a hand. Since they were willing to talk calmly now, at least they didn't seem to have any immediate ill intent.

Thus, Alvin nodded with a smile.

"Very well. Please follow us."

...

Ansu and his group followed Alvin through several dim alleys, eventually finding the entrance to an abandoned old mine in a remote corner.

The wooden support structures had rotted and turned black, and the air was thick with the smell of ore dust.

"We go through here; we'll be outside the town soon," Alvin explained as he pushed open a half-collapsed gate. "This mine has been abandoned for a long time, and no one usually comes here. Once we hide in the villages outside Nitre Town, colleagues from the Alchemical Society will meet us."

The group filed into the underground mine, the narrow tunnel extending forward into the darkness.

After walking for about ten minutes, with only the sound of their own footsteps echoing and no sign of pursuers, everyone finally breathed a small sigh of relief.

During the journey, Ansu used small talk to get a general sense of the Alchemical Society's situation.

The Alchemical Society was originally just a loose academic group where mages, alchemists, and magitech scholars from various places exchanged knowledge, traded materials, and held regular salon gatherings.

However, with the implementation of the Magic Prohibition Decree, towns fell one after another, and countless colleagues met tragic ends. To survive, they had no choice but to huddle together for warmth, warning each other and joining forces to rescue suffering companions.

"According to the Magic Prohibition Decree, there is a reward for reporting black mages. After a black mage is executed, all their property is confiscated by the local authorities," Alvin said as he walked at the front of the group, his voice echoing heavily in the narrow tunnel. "This decree... is truly too vicious."

As soon as he finished, a young mage beside him clenched his fists. "Who is a black mage has always been up to them! Anyone except the nobility can be convicted at will!"

"Indeed." The Altina-crow perched on Vera's shoulder nodded slightly, her gaze turning toward Ansu. "I observed from high altitude earlier. Many of the prisoners in the cages around the plaza who were about to be executed had no trace of magic at all. They were just ordinary people."

Once Alvin started the topic, various indignant voices couldn't be stopped.

Another mage spoke excitedly, "They even pin the source of the mana plague and various other epidemics on us, saying it's our doing. How is that possible! We can't even protect ourselves; where would we get the ability to spread a plague?"

Alvin was silent for a moment and let out a long sigh. "Sometimes, the public needs a target to vent their emotions. When fear can't find an exit, we mages become the most innocent scapegoats."

As he finished speaking, a female mage in the crowd spoke up with a sorrowful expression.

"Under the instigation of the mayor, my husband and I were framed as black mages and cultists. My husband was executed before me, and our family property was plundered..."

The group learned from her intermittent narrative that her husband was a Lord who had been titled for military merit. Although he was a low-level noble whose title could not be inherited, such a status should not have led to this under normal circumstances.

The real reason was that her husband supported the Loyalist faction in the Royal Capital. When the southern nobles rebelled, he had maintained correspondence with his northern comrades and superiors, which made him a thorn in the side of the mayor and the man behind him, Viscount Lorick.

Viscount Lorick used the Magic Prohibition Decree to make a fuss, framing the couple for conducting blasphemous black magic activities and attempting to summon evil gods and demons—and just like that, he arrested and convicted both of them.

Their family mansion, wealth, and various rare magic materials were all forcibly seized by the other party.

By the end, the female mage's eyes turned cold, and her tone became firm. "Since I have luckily survived, I will definitely settle this grudge... I want Viscount Lorick dead!"

The group fell into a brief silence, with only the sound of footsteps echoing in the tunnel.

Hearing this, Ansu had already made a judgment in his heart. The Church's original intention in issuing the Magic Prohibition Decree might not have been this, but by the time the decree reached local levels, it had completely changed its nature.

In Nitre Town, anyone who opposed the mayor and the viscount would be labeled a black mage. The so-called "Magic Prohibition Decree" had already become a tool for local nobles to eliminate dissidents.

Even Vera couldn't help but clutch Ansu's sleeve, feeling the injustice of these mages' experiences. "These bad people are so hateful! They are the real evil black mages!"

This was because similar unjust treatment had once happened to her.

The Saintess Apostasy Case had left her under house arrest, and Freya had been branded an apostate, hunted, and put on trial. After that incident, she and her brother could no longer return to Benalu City, the city where they had grown up...

Ansu gently stroked her hair and didn't say much.

...

As they discussed along the way, Ansu and the group from the Alchemical Society became more familiar with each other, and most of their previous wariness and restraint had dissipated.

The group walked along the mine for a long time before finally successfully arriving at a remote village with few residents.

As the last person climbed out of the mine, Celia turned around. Her mana suddenly condensed, and a thick stone wall rose from the ground, blocking the mine entrance.

Then, with a tremor of mana, the rock layers around the entrance collapsed, completely sealing off the entire passage.

Members of the Alchemical Society were indeed waiting there to meet them. After a few brief pleasantries, Ansu's group was arranged to stay in this quiet village for the time being along with the Society members.

The night grew deeper.

The roof of their residence offered a wide view, but the moon was obscured by layers of thick, dark clouds, barely letting a sliver of light through.

Ansu stood on the roof, having just synchronized information with Elder Barnes, who had stayed behind on the other side, using a magitech communicator.

Then, his gaze swept across the roof inadvertently.

He found Vera standing at the other end of the roof, her head tilted up, staring blankly at the cloud-filled sky.

"What are you spacing out for? Not sleeping?" Ansu walked over, his palm habitually resting on her head as he rubbed her soft blonde hair.

"It's already past midnight. There will be many things to do tomorrow."

Vera turned around and instinctively wanted to say something, but first let out a long yawn.

Seeing Ansu's helpless expression, she quickly waved her hands and said stubbornly, "Brother, I'm not sleepy... I'm really not sleepy!"

Ansu let out a helpless sigh. "Sigh... young people just love staying up late."

Vera glanced at the sky and found an excuse. "Altina is on patrol. I'll stay with her for a bit and go back to sleep in a while, really!"

Ansu looked in the direction of her gaze.

The night was as thick as ink, and there was no sign of Altina, but with careful perception, one could indeed capture a faint ripple of mana in the distance.

The Altina-crow was dutifully circling high above the fields, silently guarding against any abnormal movements from afar.

Perhaps for countless days and nights in the past, this lonely Ranger Princess had also completed high-altitude reconnaissance in this way.

"Turning into an animal is quite convenient..." Ansu couldn't help but marvel again, becoming even more curious about the natural magic of Druids.