Chapter 298 Unexpected Circumstances

The preciousness of elemental crystals lies in their ability to quickly replenish a mage's spellcasting. According to records, this rapid replenishment is about twice as fast as using the highest level Meditation Method. However, when replenishing with such crystals, one can no longer use meditation to recover. Moreover, the production of these elemental crystals is extremely low. According to Mage Yisier, an elemental pool produces only one such crystal in half a year.

Even that single crystal only restores an average amount of mental energy and mana for a sixth-tier mage. However, elemental crystals condensed from medium-sized and large elemental pools have much better effects.

That night, the three mages stayed in the pool, resting before indulging in a bout of wild intimacy until Lan Wei'er knocked on Shaoke's door, seeking Mage Roman to explain spell knowledge, which ended the session.

After the two female mages left, Shaoke tidied up slightly, then left the mage tower and went to the manor outside. There, he could enjoy the long-lost blue sky in peace. Over the following days, the female mages became busy again, and Shaoke temporarily joined the task of researching that formation. But this period did not last long, because upon learning of Shaoke's advancement, the Death Mage Corps quickly prepared ample spellbooks and other medicines for him. However, this time the auxiliary drugs were still seventh-tier, and he was not qualified for eighth-tier drugs.

The arrival of a large number of spellbooks kept Shaoke busy once more, as he needed to transcribe the knowledge of seventh-level spells. Since time was not extremely tight, Shaoke would learn a spell fully before copying it into his spellbook. It is worth noting that when embedding spells into the formation, he encountered difficulties. The arcane fire burning on the heptagram repeatedly disrupted the construction of embedded formations, greatly delaying his progress. Thus, by the time Shaoke finished this round of spell transcription, three years had passed.

During this period, Shaoke not only mastered all the advanced spells he had but also learned two sixth-tier spiritual attack spells. However, around this time, Mage Yisier was reassigned by the Blizzard Legion and left the Fallen Imperial City with some sixth-tier mages, returning to the Blue Feather Empire's capital.

One day, while Shaoke was enjoying a massage from a maid in the pavilion, the eighth-tier blue-robed female mage, who had not contacted him for a long time, suddenly contacted him through the small blue scepter, asking him to come to the gathering place of the major powers in the Blue Feather Empire for a discussion, as there were matters requiring his participation.

Shaoke did not go there immediately. Instead, he sought out the relatively relaxed White-robed Cleric to inquire about the situation. Facing Shaoke's inquiry, the White-robed Cleric organized her words a bit and said, "I don't know what's happening lately. Many professionals from various empires have gathered in the Fallen Imperial City, among which a delegation from the superpower, the Maple Leaf Empire, has arrived here." With that, the White-robed Cleric added with some concern, "It is said that Maple Leaf Empire is on good terms with Blue Feather Empire, but I don't know the specifics."

The news Shaoke got from the White-robed Cleric left him speechless for a long time. He couldn't understand why professionals from a super empire would come to such a remote area, and he couldn't figure out the reason. Seeing Shaoke's distress, the White-robed Cleric could only comfort him softly and advised him to ask the eighth-tier professionals, believing that this meeting was precisely to discuss this matter.

After giving some instructions to the White-robed Cleric, Shaoke took a carriage to the destination. Due to the maintenance of order and traffic by low-level professionals in the Blue Feather Empire's controlled area, Shaoke arrived in just one magic hour.

The gathering place for the major powers was not large—just a small manor on a rather secluded street. The gatekeeper mage verified Shaoke's identity before letting him in. Few people were inside the manor; only a few scattered servants were busy at work. Upon seeing Shaoke's arrival, they greeted him with gestures and then continued their tasks. The mage went straight to the building where previous meetings were held.

Inside the building was only a large long table. Over a dozen eighth-tier professionals from Blue Feather Empire sat quietly there, while leaders of the various major powers, including Shaoke, sat on high-backed chairs a bit further back. After checking the seating, Shaoke found he was the last to arrive.

Shaoke first bowed to the eighth-tier professionals, then nodded to the others before taking his seat and remaining silent. Knowing Shaoke's temperament, the others were not displeased by his behavior. Shortly after Shaoke's arrival, the meeting officially began.

Seated at the center was a middle-aged man, larger than any warrior Shaoke had seen. The man coldly swept his gaze over Shaoke and the others, then took a stack of papers covered with writing from his pouch and began reading aloud.

The names of various empires were listed by the man, along with detailed accounts of how many people each empire had dispatched to the Fallen Imperial City. Finally, he put away the papers and said to everyone, "High-level professionals from fifty-one empires have arrived here." He then glanced again at Shaoke and the others and added, "There is also news that some mercenaries have learned of a massive treasure here. According to their information, whoever controls the Fallen Imperial City will obtain all the treasure." Having said this, the middle-aged man turned his gaze to a white-haired old man beside him. The old man, dressed as a mage and seemingly poorly maintained, had many wrinkles on his face.

The Elder Mage, catching the cue, gently rotated his staff and said, "Yesterday, varying degrees of fighting broke out within our controlled areas. Although the combatants were all mercenaries, this has caused great inconvenience to our control. Some merchants reported that their goods were completely destroyed due to the conflicts. Moreover, some innocent civilians died in those clashes." The Elder Mage then stopped speaking. Shaoke, upon hearing this, didn't take it to heart, as he didn't think the purpose of convening them was to increase personnel for maintaining order.

Clearly, not only Shaoke thought so, but others also held the same view. Therefore, after the Elder Mage finished, no one spoke up. The room fell into silence until the eighth-tier blue-robed female mage tapped the thick tabletop lightly with her staff, drawing everyone's attention.

"The main purpose of summoning you here is simple: hunt down or drive away all mercenary groups that have entered our controlled area," said the eighth-tier female mage. She hesitated a moment before adding, "However, I hope that when you do this, you will find sufficient justification." She then elaborated on some specific changes in the Fallen Imperial City and finally mentioned the delegations from other empires.

"Do not provoke them. They are not here to seize the underground city but for other purposes." Having said that, the eighth-tier female mage glanced at everyone and added, "If conflicts arise between us and them, I think you should know what to do." She then stopped speaking and fixed her gaze on the staff in her hand. "Some things are beyond our reach. I believe you have all heard some rumors. But I hope you do not get involved. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, I think there will be people very willing to take over your controlled areas."

The eighth-tier female mage then said nothing more. Beside her, a female practitioner dressed as an archer stood up and said, "As for the people from these empires below, I hope you all try as much as possible to avoid conflict with them, because these empires have friendly relations with us." The archer quickly listed several empire names. Shaoke noticed that most of these were medium-sized or even large countries, including the superpower Maple Leaf Empire.

Afterward, the group conversed at length, and finally, the high-level professionals let Shaoke and the others leave. Since it was already noon, the manor did not provide meals.

After a brief chat with the other faction leaders, Shaoke took a carriage alone back to his manor. On hearing the news, the cleric and Mage Roman set aside their work and came to find Shaoke, waiting for his account of the meeting. After finishing a meal with the three women, Shaoke briefly explained the mission assigned by the high-level beings. Finally, he turned his gaze to the White-robed Cleric and said, feeling that the cleric wasn't as good as Mage Yisier at handling things for him, which ruined his mood.

"I want to know why we didn't catch wind of the news from the capital in time," Shaoke said, silently turning his staff in his hands, staring intently at the uneasy cleric. Since Mage Yisier had left, Shaoke had temporarily put the cleric in charge of the organization's intelligence system, but her work had disappointed him.

Faced with Shaoke's reproach, the White-robed Cleric could only offer a quiet apology, as she was not adept at such matters. Moreover, due to the lack of a Ruler before, Shaoke had appointed her to the role. Therefore, Shaoke was reluctant to blame her too harshly. Recognizing his own fault in this, he apologized for his earlier reproach, noting that she wasn't his subordinate, so this scolding wouldn't cause issues.