Chapter 318 Eighth Tier’s Warning

Shaoke's carriage quickly arrived at the academy. Since the academy was semi-enclosed, aside from a few small vendors waiting outside for the school day to end to sell their goods, no one else lingered there for long. However, a large number of low-rank professionals were still gathered here, carrying out patrol duties to prevent anyone from maliciously entering the academy and harming the children inside.

A Fourth Tier Mage guarding the main gate inspected Shaoke's credentials and respectfully let him in. Shaoke then went directly to the White-robed Cleric's mage tower.

At the top floor, there were some low-rank mages and a few very young children. Because the tower was built using special methods, the magical arrays did not cause mental harm to these low-level beings.

Following the instructions of the Eighth Tier Mage, Shaoke obtained a pass token from a Fifth Tier Mage stationed on the first floor and proceeded directly to the third floor. This floor was usually where the tower's owner entertained guests, but today it served as the meeting place for Shaoke and the other Rulers.

In the vast space, some people were already waiting. Several Rulers familiar with the mage politely exchanged greetings, while others simply nodded and took their seats, closing their eyes to rest. None of the Eighth-Tier beings had arrived yet.

"Mage Xueye," a Middle-aged Mage asked, turning to Shaoke, "I wonder if we should join forces to build an even taller mage tower? I find this type of tower very suitable for mages to live in, but due to personal reasons, I cannot stay here long-term."

Shaoke recognized this mage. He was the ruler of a medium-sized mage family here and had discussed Spell knowledge with him several times, so they were relatively familiar. "I don't have much time, but I have the blueprints here. You can build one yourself." With that, Shaoke took the blueprints from his magic bag and handed them to the mage.

The Middle-aged Mage thanked Shaoke repeatedly and offered to compensate him later, knowing that Shaoke had spent a great deal of time and magic materials researching this, and had even clashed with other organizations to obtain some of the materials. This generous gesture made the mage very grateful.

Seeing this, other Rulers also wanted to obtain the blueprints but didn't know how to broach the subject. The Middle-aged Mage who had just received the blueprints frowned thoughtfully for a moment and said, "Everyone, you all know the price Mage Xueye paid to research this tower. We cannot obtain this construction method for free. I believe we must pay with sufficient magic materials or other items as a purchase price. What do you think?" He then stated the compensation he would provide.

To Shaoke, this compensation was acceptable. The mage offered to provide all the magic materials needed to build two thirteen-story mage towers and promised to assist him in certain matters in the future. Seeing this, the other Rulers quickly made similar decisions. Their payments also consisted of precious magic materials, as these were the basic currency for transactions with a powerful mage. No one offered magical books for payment, and Shaoke didn't need ordinary ones anyway.

Perhaps due to the exchange, the conversation among the thirteen Rulers present became more lively. They mostly discussed matters in their respective territories. Under the careful guidance of the only elderly scholar present, their pleasant discussion continued until the arrival of the Eighth-Tier beings.

The thirteen Rulers paid their respects to the Eighth-Tier beings and then sat waiting for them to speak. Shaoke noticed the Eighth Tier Blue-robed Female Mage. He saw that the small crown on her head had disappeared. When she noticed his gaze, she nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"Everyone," the leading elderly mage said, slowly turning his staff, his face serious, "I think this long rest has made you all bored. This time, we will begin to slowly encroach on the territories controlled by other empires. I hope you will cooperate closely as before. I do not want to see only twelve or fewer Rulers gathered here next time." With that, the Elder Mage closed his eyes and fell silent. The deep wrinkles on his face reminded Shaoke of twisted magical script.

Then, an Eighth-Tier being dressed as an Archer took a stack of papers from a wooden box. These papers detailed the methods and steps for seizing other territories. This time, they were shown to Shaoke and the others to prepare them mentally and to allow them to supplement their own views.

The papers quickly reached their hands. Each Ruler read them carefully and, after consideration, proposed modifications. These suggestions were discussed and gradually incorporated into the overall plan.

During the meeting, a Cleric arranged for young maids to serve exquisite food and wine. By nightfall, the detailed discussions temporarily ended. They would continue the next day. The possibility of this attracting the attention of other empires was not a concern for the Rulers, as such gatherings were frequent. Even if the other side were prepared, they would not know the content of this meeting—provided no Ruler leaked it. And they believed no one would dare, unless they and their family wished to cease to exist in this world.

That night, the Cleric and Mage Roman had already arranged sufficient rooms for Shaoke and the others. After a simple small banquet, everyone retired to their rooms. Just as Shaoke was about to go to Mage Roman's room, the Eighth-Tier Female Mage asked him to follow her elsewhere for a discussion.

"Stop investigating the Yisage Empire, and don't let your mages plunder their caravans anymore," the Eighth-Tier Female Mage said directly after leading Shaoke out of the tower, "If you want revenge on the Yisage Empire, wait until you advance to an Eighth Tier Mage. And make the intervals between attacks longer, or they will easily detect who is retaliating against them." The Blue-robed Female Mage said this and then fell silent, her light blue eyes fixed on Shaoke, trying to gauge his inner reaction.

Her words left Shaoke feeling helpless. Since the Yisage Empire's forces attacked his estate five or six years ago, and he couldn't find that particular group, he had ordered his mages to retaliate fiercely against Yisage Empire caravans and mercenary teams. Under his orders, all members of those caravans were killed. This caused Yisage Empire caravans to rarely come to the Fallen Capital for a time. However, large trading companies were undeterred, as Shaoke's attacks couldn't inflict significant casualties on them.

"They were just engaging in habitual plunder," Shaoke said, turning his staff and rebutting softly. "I'll have them pay attention to this issue." He looked at the Blue-robed Female Mage, hoping she would understand.

"Your mages are too low-ranked. Once you advance to Eighth Tier, you'll understand what I mean," the Eighth-Tier Female Mage said, then suddenly waved for Shaoke to leave. "The military department also hopes you will exercise some restraint. Your actions have negatively affected trade between the Yisage Empire and the Blue Feather Empire."

Shaoke gazed at the Eighth-Tier Female Mage for a moment, then bowed formally and prepared to leave. But the Blue-robed Female Mage suddenly remembered something and said, "You no longer need to research the high-level mage tower. I think our agreement is terminated."

"You've already researched it?" Shaoke asked in surprise, not expecting her to finish so quickly.

"Not me," the Blue-robed Female Mage said, seemingly in a good mood, so she was happy to answer. "The Death Mages under the Bloody Fortress researched it. It's designed to be over three hundred meters tall, with more than a hundred floors." She added, "If you ever have the chance to visit the Bloody Fortress again, I'll invite you to tour my mage tower."

Seeing that the Blue-robed Female Mage was in a good mood, Shaoke cautiously brought up some topics to converse with her. Most of these were about spell knowledge, and she gladly answered his questions.

After about a magic hour, the Blue-robed Female Mage suddenly said she needed to leave to attend to her own studies. Shaoke returned to the top floor, went to his room, and began recording the insights he had gained from her. Mage Roman and the White-robed Cleric did not disturb him, and they also restrained Lan Wei'er from bothering him.

After recording the explanations from the Blue-robed Female Mage, Shaoke saw that the female mages hadn't come, so he leaned back and read the book on Spellcasting that the Blue-robed Female Mage had given him years ago. Then he resumed studying the golden Fallen Horn.