Chapter 396 The Mage’s Disappointment

Chapter 396: The Mage's Disappointment

People held each other and sat casually on the ground. Before long, they came again and called the mages to dine, though no one knew how much time had passed since last time. By then, it was already time for the evening meal.

That day, while the mage was diligently deciphering some other books, the Blue-robed Female Mage sent him a message: the construction of their new stronghold was about to begin, and all professionals above the Eighth-rank had to participate. At Shaoke's request, neither Mage Roman nor the White-robed Cleric went along. They stayed behind to work with other Alchemists on developing magical items and to teach the young children essential knowledge. Of course, at Shaoke's insistence, the mage stronghold also sought out some physicians, who gave the young children detailed lessons on physiological knowledge and explained its importance.

Although the three of them—Mage Roman, the White-robed Cleric, and the Blue-robed Female Mage—were reluctant for Shaoke to leave, under his reassurance, they finally allowed him to participate in the construction work there. Lan Wei'er and Anling also joined in. Of course, some necessary Eighth-rank Practitioners remained at the Blue Feather Empire Wanderers Alliance stronghold to prevent external mercenaries from causing trouble. However, ever since the empire was established, Eighth-rank and higher professionals had ferociously slaughtered numerous mercenary bands that ran amok and violated professional ethics within the empire, as well as merchants who hoarded goods and inflated prices, greatly improving the public order in the Barbarian Empire. Thus, these Eighth-rank Practitioners merely served as a preventive measure.

In the designated area, more than a dozen enormous teleportation arrays, supported by stone slabs, hovered in the air. Shaoke and the others used these arrays to travel there. By now, tens of thousands of professionals at the Eighth-rank and above had gathered. Unfortunately, the highest among them were only Ninth-rank beings; those at the Tenth-rank and above had either gone elsewhere or remained hidden in their strongholds due to rules set by higher existences, not daring to leave freely. Of course, if special circumstances arose, those above the Tenth-rank would still intervene.

Mountainous piles of magical materials lay scattered on the ground. Mages had already gathered to begin sketching out the spell formations. These formations were used for basic construction, causing flat land to rise into peaks. Warriors and other professionals, following the suggestions of planners, began hunting magical beasts or searching for basic materials in mountain ranges within other empires.

After receiving blueprints and tasks from the planners—scholars and architectural technicians—Shaoke and the others set to work. Though they were now Eighth-rank or even Ninth-rank Professionals, under these circumstances, they still had to heed the advice of architects and scholars whose power was inferior to theirs.

Because this stronghold was vast in its design, the engraving of spell formations consumed a great deal of time. A warrior followed the blueprint, using his weapon to split the earth, then swiftly carved a man-deep trench along the lines. The mages then used Spells to stabilize the trench briefly, and others began inscribing magic script and drawing spell formations within the stabilized lines.

Simply drawing the basic patterns of the spell formation took nearly half a year. Although there were many mages, the area of the formation was enormous—dozens of times larger than the empire's previous stronghold. Naturally, the resulting stronghold would also be dozens of times larger.

After this work, professionals other than mages all went out to other empires to gather magical materials and capture magical beasts. Shaoke and the other mages then added various magical materials into the magic script and patterns in the deep trench. This work continued for a full year before it was finally completed. After that, all the Spellcasters took up positions at certain angles in the air, and at a signal, they chanted spells in unison.

As the chant progressed, countless magic scripts condensed from the sky. These magic scripts fell into the man-deep trench and merged with the already inscribed magic scripts and formations. This process lasted a full magic hour before everyone stopped Spellcasting. The man-deep trench now appeared much harder than before, emitting powerful magical energy.

In spare moments, whenever Shaoke used mental detection to survey heaven and earth, he found that the number of captured residual images of ancient spellcasters had increased significantly. He recorded these images meticulously. Other Spellcasters also engaged in this contemplative behavior after their trivial tasks were finished. After recording the detected images, they handed them over to specialized personnel, who would organize them into books for future generations. Of course, this was a long-term task, but everyone believed that over time, every alliance and every family would grow stronger.

Every time they finished processing magical materials and beast blood, the mages would float in the air and chant the same spell again. This continued for another year before the work temporarily paused. By then, the man-deep trench had crystallized into a gem-like substance, very pleasing to the eye. If one stared at the massive formation from the air for too long, even Shaoke, with his powerful mental strength, would feel dizzy. Such a powerful formation was created by linking hundreds of thousands of identical minor formations based on drawing techniques.

One day, while teaching his two daughters some spell knowledge inside the tent and sharing his insights from drawing the formation, the Blue-robed Female Mage and the only female warrior in the alliance entered his room. "Mage Xueye, something happened to Mage Meigan," Mage Roman said quickly. "Some time ago, they went to a forest in the Yisage Empire to capture high-level magical beasts but clashed with a family there. That family is very powerful. They wounded Mage Meigan and killed seven or eight Eighth-rank Spellcasters from our alliance." She added, "I don't think we can let this slide. We must make that family give us sufficient compensation, and the Yisage Empire must pay a price as well."

"Therefore, all alliances agree that we need to prepare enough Ninth-rank beings and then go to the Yisage Empire," the female warrior with the horn continued, taking over from the Blue-robed Female Mage. Obviously, war was beginning again. Shaoke did not immediately agree but instead thought for a moment and asked in return.

"Is it because the magical materials for building the stronghold are insufficient, so you all decided to engage in plunder?" he said, staring intently at the Blue-robed Female Mage. He did not want her to deceive him on this matter.

The Blue-robed Female Mage nodded. "Yes. Although we started preparations early for this stronghold, after consuming all the magical materials from the alliances, we have only completed one-tenth of it. To smoothly establish the stronghold, we either have Ninth-rank beings like us gather materials or find a reason to go to war and seize them. We have no other choice."

"The Yisage Empire is too far away from us. If we mobilize large-scale troops, would other empires allow us to pass? And if we Ninth-rank beings pass through, would they allow it?" Shaoke asked as he stood up, gesturing for the Blue-robed Female Mage to step outside with him.

But he stopped Lan Wei'er and Anling from following, telling them to stay inside and continue recording his knowledge.

"That's not the point. The problem is that we Ninth-rank beings all have an obligation to participate in this war," the female warrior added. "If all goes well, the magical materials we obtain there will be distributed with an extra share allocated to us." With that, she glanced at the Blue-robed Female Mage and continued, "We will begin in three days. I'm just here to tell you in advance." With that, the female warrior left first.

Shaoke stood quietly outside the tent. The weather here was not as cold as in the Blue Feather Empire; it was quite warm. But at that moment, the mage tightly clutched his cloak, as if afraid that the warm breeze might harm him. The Blue-robed Female Mage sighed, then hugged Shaoke tightly and kissed his forehead. Without saying a word, she left.

"Father?" Perhaps sensing Shaoke's low mood, Anling came out of the tent, removed his hat, and smoothed his disheveled long hair. "This hat doesn't look good on you. Let me and my sister trim your hair—it's almost dragging on the ground." She led him back into the tent without asking why he had been in a bad mood.

The two daughters did not cut it short but carefully trimmed it so it looked smoother. Shaoke sat quietly, thinking about what had just happened. He realized that everything he had hoped for had not come true, nor had what the Blue-robed Female Mage wanted. Perhaps many wanderers like him had similar unfulfilled desires. With that thought, he looked at his two daughters, told them he was going out, kissed and blessed them, then left the tent, floating into the air and slowly flying away. Lan Wei'er wanted to follow, but Anling stopped her.

"Father doesn't want us to follow. Let's stay here and focus on our studies. We need to become Ninth-rank Mages as soon as possible so that we can help him," Anling said, then sat back in her place, continuing to record and understand the knowledge Shaoke had explained.