Chapter 421

The Wind Knot vanished, and the howling gale ceased to exist.

However, the capsized warships could no longer be saved.

There were nearly fifty warships at the start, but now, only twenty-seven remained unscathed; nearly half of the warships had been destroyed in the previous great battle.

These sunken ships were all warships; regardless of the labor, materials, or scale, they could not be compared to ordinary cargo ships, and their construction costs were incomparably expensive.

Losing over twenty of them at once was a financial loss that was difficult for even Auckland City to bear.

That was only secondary.

Compared to the financial loss, the sacrificed magic users were what truly hurt Auckland City's vitality.

Although the wind elemental creatures did not have much of a desire to kill the magic users and did not pursue them when the ships capsized, the casualty rate of the magic users remained extremely high in such a large-scale battle.

It is currently impossible to calculate the exact number, but a rough estimate suggests the casualty rate is likely between one-quarter and one-third.

Although the effectiveness of the Magic User Assembly Call is a mandatory and uncompensated summons, once the mission ends, the authorities must inevitably provide corresponding pensions and compensation for the casualties.

Even necessary commendations cannot be omitted, otherwise, the official reputation would be ruined in the future.

However, these are matters for after returning to Auckland City.

The magic users on the surviving warships quickly took action, first fishing the magic users who had fallen into the water onto the ships.

This meant that the carrying capacity of each ship exceeded its theoretical limit by more than half, and the warships suddenly became crowded.

However, it is less than two hundred kilometers from here to Auckland City, so being a little crowded for half a day is nothing.

After "fishing" out the fallen magic users, the official magic users jumped back into the water to search for expensive components from the sunken warships, such as alchemical propulsion machines and the like.

Gao De took Tuanzi back into his capybara bag, drifted with the current, and boarded a nearby warship with the crowd.

The salty seawater dripped down the corners of his clothes.

Gao De hurriedly cast 【Dance of the Wind】 to quickly dry his clothes; otherwise, it would be truly uncomfortable to have them sticking to his body while wet.

He never expected that just as his undergarments had dried, a high-circle magic user from the *Thorn Crown* came looking for him.

So much so that even the wind elemental creatures with strong control over airflow were affected, beginning to sway.

"Are you Magic User Gao De?" Guided by the magic users on the ship, he came before Gao De and asked in a low voice.

Gao De was puzzled, but he still nodded.

"Please come with me; someone has summoned you." After confirming Gao De's identity, the high-circle magic user said very politely.

Since the other party was so polite, Gao De could not find a reason to refuse the summons, so he could only nod again.

The high-circle magic user then extended his right hand and gently patted Gao De on the shoulder.

Rich magic power overflowed from his palm, instantly enveloping Gao De's entire body.

A feeling of lightness arose spontaneously, as if his whole person had turned into a feather, even with the illusion that breathing brought bubbles rising.

【Flight】.

"Follow me."

Subsequently, the high-circle magic user hovered into the air, his robes flapping in the wind, and flew toward the *Thorn Crown* not far away.

His body leaned slightly forward, his legs were pressed together, and his posture was elegant and fluid.

Gao De tried to relax his body and float upward, and he actually flew.

But the sudden sensation of weightlessness still made him somewhat unaccustomed; his body uncontrollably flipped backward, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Gao De hurriedly took a deep breath, concentrated his spirit, and felt the magic power flowing on the surface of his body.

Then, following this magic power to control the movement of his body, while imitating the posture of the high-circle magic user, he leaned his body slightly forward and soon pulled his backward-tilting body back.

The swaying deck below quickly became smaller, and the sound of whistling wind rang in his ears.

Gao De caught up with the high-circle magic user waiting for him in front, his tense body quickly relaxed, replaced by excitement.

The novelty brought by flight made his heart beat faster, and looking down at the vast ocean and warships below gave him an even more peculiar feeling.

Upon reaching the airspace above the *Thorn Crown*, the high-circle magic user pressed his arms tightly against the sides of his body and dived down at an extremely fast speed, his body drawing a straight trajectory in the air.

When he was still a few meters away from the deck, he spread his arms, adjusted his body posture, and his descent speed slowed down sharply, finally landing steadily on the deck.

Gao De imitated his posture and movements and dived down.

The scenery in front of him moved upward and enlarged rapidly, the intense acceleration brought a greater sense of stimulation, and finally, he also landed on the deck just like the high-circle magic user.

However, because it was his first time flying, he was not as relaxed and free, and his grasp of the speed when landing was a bit off, bringing a certain impact that caused his knees to bend slightly.

Ignoring his slightly numb legs, Gao De was still immersed in excitement.

This feeling of going into the sky by riding a vehicle is completely different from "naked flying" into the sky by oneself; it makes one's adrenaline soar, and the experience can be described as incomparably good—he was hooked after just one experience.

It is a pity that 【Flight】 is a third-circle spell.

And he is currently only a first-circle magic user; there is still a long way to go before he can fly by his own ability.

After landing on the deck of the *Thorn Crown*, Gao De had not yet carefully examined the layout of this Auckland behemoth warship when the high-circle magic user who led the way was already leading Gao De inside.

Passing through the middle deck lingering with the scent of artillery fire, they went all the way down along the spiraling staircase.

After turning through several arched cabin doors, the deck under his feet turned into polished black walnut wood, and a mixed scent of ink and beeswax drifted in the air.

Finally, the two stopped in front of an oak door.

The leading magic user raised his hand to touch the door knocker on the door.

"Come in."

A voice that Gao De felt slightly familiar with immediately came from inside.

Before he could think carefully, the leading magic user helped him push open the door and then made a gesture of invitation.

Gao De subconsciously stepped inside; the leading magic user did not follow him in, but instead closed the door again.

The space inside the room was very large; in the very center was an oval oak conference table, with a movable sand table embedded in the center of the table.

Above the sand table was blue light mist, and miniature warship light shadows swayed in the light mist.

Gao De glanced at it and arrived at the number 27, which exactly matched the number of warships currently surviving in the fleet.

There were two people sitting in the seats in front of the conference table.

Gao De was very familiar with both of them.

They were none other than Count Roland, who issued the Magic User Assembly Call, and Theodore, the Chief Magic User of Auckland.

"That cyan spirit that entered the Wind Knot, is it your phantom spirit?" Count Roland, who had long lived in a high position and had an extraordinary bearing, had an incomparably kind expression at this moment. After seeing Gao De come in, he spoke in an extremely gentle voice.

Gao De, who had just been welcomed onto the *Thorn Crown*, discovered that the two people who summoned him were actually the two people with the highest status in Auckland City; he was still a bit confused and couldn't figure out the situation, so he could only nod.

The excuse of the phantom spirit was something he said himself, and he could not deny it.

Although he was a bit confused about the intentions of the two, they wouldn't burn bridges after crossing the river, right?

Seeing Gao De nod, Count Roland and Magic User Theodore looked at each other, and then nodded with extreme tacit understanding.

"The fact that this Wind Knot disaster could be resolved without any danger is truly thanks to your phantom spirit." Subsequently, Count Roland continued to speak.

This sentence did not have the slightest component of polite formality.

If it weren't for the appearance of the Storm Soul, the final winner would inevitably have been the Wind Dragon.

Thinking of this, Count Roland still felt a lingering fear.

Facing Count Roland's solemn posture, Gao De didn't know how to respond for a moment.

Could it be that I am really the protagonist? Even at the first moment, this distracting thought floated through his mind inopportunely.

Not only others, but he himself did not expect that whether the final victory of this level of war was won or not was not only related to him, a first-circle magic user, but also related in a heavy-duty way.

When Gao De was silent, a look of "as expected" appeared in Count Roland's eyes. He paused and said softly: "Magic User Gao De, Theodore and I both know that you must be feeling bad inside right now..."

Gao De actually still hadn't reacted: The battle was won, what could I possibly feel bad about?

"A phantom spirit is definitely incomparably important to a magic user, but now it has been annihilated in the energy torrent along with that wind elemental dragon; the blow to you must be very great..."

Here, Count Roland had already continued to say to himself: "But don't worry, your phantom spirit sacrificed itself for Auckland City; we will all remember this point."

"You are the greatest contributor to Auckland's ability to safely survive the Wind Knot disaster this time; we will absolutely not let a hero bleed and cry, making you feel cold-hearted."

"We will give you the greatest compensation and gratitude... After preliminary discussions between Theodore and me, we are prepared to grant you the title of Honorary Magic User of Auckland after returning to Auckland; by virtue of this title, you will enjoy the most honorable treatment in the Auckland region."

"In addition, Theodore and I will jointly report your contribution in this mission to the Sea Sentinels in full, to apply for as much military merit as possible for you in the Sea Sentinels..."

Now Gao De finally understood completely.

It turned out that Count Roland and Magic User Theodore mistakenly thought that the Storm Soul had sacrificed itself in the energy torrent that erupted at the end.

It's not Gao De's fault for reacting slowly.

If the Storm Soul were really a phantom spirit, it would definitely be ten deaths and no life in the energy torrent.

The problem is, the Storm Soul is not a phantom spirit, but just a Wild Soul summoned by 【Wild Agility+】.

But this matter is only known to Gao De himself.

This also led to the cognitive difference between him and others appearing just like this.

"Sigh," Gao De "sighed," endured the "discomfort," and said righteously and firmly: "I just did what every Sea Hai Shao Bing magic user should do in that situation."

"The situation was urgent at the time, I couldn't think too much at all, I just wanted to use my meager strength to help a little bit; I believe that if it were someone else, if they had this ability, they would definitely extend a helping hand just like me."

"It is also fortunate that the specialty I awakened when I promoted to the first circle is special, allowing my phantom spirit to possess some special abilities, so that I could contribute my part in this battle."

"Although the price is high, I don't regret my decision; if it happened again, I would still do it."

Count Roland and Magic User Theodore were both stunned for a moment under Gao De's "righteousness."

They always felt that something was wrong, but they also felt that it seemed too right...

"Magic User Gao De is truly worthy of being a Sea Hai Shao Bing magic user; your faith, spirit, and moral quality truly make me incomparably admire you."

"Count Roland overpraises," Gao De said modestly, then "hesitated" for a moment, and asked: "I don't know what duties this Honorary Magic User of Auckland needs to fulfill?"

Count Roland smiled slightly, "Magic User Gao De, don't worry, Honorary Magic User is just a title, it won't have any restrictions on you."

He raised his voice slightly: "But the treatment you should enjoy is plentiful, including the voting rights for some major political decrees in Auckland, such as the port expansion plan, the implementation of urban planning, the opening proposals for mineral veins..."

"Of course, you are not required to attend the vote; if you don't have time to attend the meeting, you can entrust others to vote; if there is no entrustment, we will default to you as an abstention vote."

Gao De nodded slightly.

Looking at it as just a simple voting right, it seems unremarkable, but he understands that this power is actually not simple at all.

Because under the system of the Jin Quehua Dynasty, the voting rights for major urban political decrees are only held in the hands of a few nobles and high-circle magic users.

And these political decrees often involve huge interests.

Therefore, in order to win his vote, one can foresee the "treatment" from other nobles, including but not limited to solicitation, interest exchange, and other means.

These are all implicit and long-term benefits.

"In addition, in terms of commerce, as an Honorary Magic User, your merchant ships can be exempt from tariffs within the Auckland territory;"

"Purchasing shops can be exempt from stamp duty; our authorities will prioritize providing you with the best quality raw materials including oak, iron ore, etc.;"

"Even by virtue of the Honorary Magic User title, you can make large unsecured loans to our Auckland Gold Bank..."

"In short, although Honorary Magic User is just a title and cannot give you substantial industrial and noble rewards, in various fields of Auckland, you can rely on this title to enjoy treatment basically equivalent to local nobles."

"In addition, you don't need to fulfill too many duties and obligations, as long as you ensure that you don't do anything that insults Auckland's reputation in the capacity of an Auckland Honorary Magic User."

"The Count's great love truly makes me excited and fearful; this Honorary Magic User title is so precious, granting it to a first-circle magic user like me, will it..." Gao De had already agreed ten thousand times in his heart, but on the surface, he still frowned with slight "worry."

"Magic User Gao De, don't decline." Count Roland had already raised his hand to interrupt Gao De's hesitation, the ruby ring on his finger shining brightly, "Your contribution in this Auckland defense battle is worthy of any commendation."

"Honorary Magic User is given to you based on your contribution, regardless of your own magic user level."

Gao De lowered his head in a contemplative manner, and after a moment, he slowly raised his head, a trace of "determination" flashing in his eyes, "Since this is the case, I am willing to accept this honor."

As soon as these words came out, smiles appeared on the faces of the two dignitaries at the same time.

Next was a burst of small talk and polite formalities without much substance, and then seeing that the atmosphere was about right, Gao De consciously resigned and withdrew.

They didn't let Gao De return to the original warship, but directly arranged a single room for Gao De on the *Thorn Crown*.

Without any other twists and turns, the fleet successfully returned to Auckland Port.

The authorities still needed to count the losses and consumption, and these recruited magic users had nothing else to do, so they were disbanded on the spot.

Busy for a day, and after such high-intensity marching and fighting, everyone was exhausted and needed a good rest, even Gao De was no exception.

So even though the disaster had not ended yet, that was a matter for tomorrow; the most important thing now was to have a good sleep and recuperate.

Because the Catfish Typhoon had just ended not long ago, many hotels had suffered losses or were closed, and Gao De searched for a long time before finding an open hotel and opening a single room.

Closing the door, Gao De's first priority was not to wash up and rest, but to trigger the spell model of 【Wild Agility+】.

The magic fluctuation flashed by.

A cyan figure appeared in the room.

(End of chapter)