Chapter 167: Arrests and Meetings

Aiboke took out a piece of parchment and handed it to Lord Saville, explaining at the same time, "This is the list of accomplices I discovered related to the death of Feierbosi; there are quite a few rats in the territory!"

"Just these?" Aipusi glanced over it; it didn't differ much from what he already knew.

"No, these are just the ones hidden near the surface; there are still some that haven't been exposed!" As he spoke, Aiboke pointed to the last name on the list and asked, "Seeing this name, what do you think of?"

"Hawei?" Aipusi couldn't recall who this person was for a moment, but it was clear he knew such a person existed. "Who is Hawei?"

"He is a manager at the Golden Lark Chamber of Commerce's branch in the territory. This is just a small character, but the problem is the Golden Lark Chamber of Commerce. I discovered a batch of grain in their warehouse, and some of it has even already been sent to Kangnifeila."

"What?!"

Lord Aipusi was extremely shocked; he hadn't received this news before. "Did you check it yourself?"

"Yes, I checked it myself." Aiboke also knew the gravity of the situation. The Golden Lark Chamber of Commerce was naturally not worth mentioning, but to snatch food from Saville so blatantly could not be that simple.

"Hmph!"

An unnamed fire ignited in Lord Aipusi's heart. Although he knew that the Feierbosi affair likely had nothing to do with the Golden Lark Chamber of Commerce, if they were jumping out so impatiently, did they really think he would turn a blind eye?

The foundation of Savile Territory's prosperity was its positioning—a grain supply point and material transit hub for the frontier trade city of Kangnifeila.

Stripped of these, Savile Territory would just be an ordinary territory. Anyone who dared to reach out in the grain trade had to be prepared to have their hand chopped off.

Furthermore, wanting to bypass the territory to provide grain to Kangnifeila was extremely uneconomical from the perspective of a merchant seeking profit, but they still did it. That meant there must be greater interests driving them, or someone was threatening them!

Aipusi thought about Angli Territory, which stood behind the Golden Lark Chamber of Commerce. After several generations of inheritance, the current lord was an Archmage. It seemed powerful, but in reality, it was not even as good as Savile Territory.

It was only because in the core area of the Empire, spellcasters preferred to live in the territories of Great Arcanists, or in Seventon; opportunities elsewhere were too few and the appeal was insufficient, so the development of the territory was quite limited.

Therefore, various chambers of commerce appeared; if there were no chambers of commerce to make money, the lords would run away.

Aipusi did not believe such an Angli Territory could pose a threat to his territory; even if it were an Archmage, they would not be his opponent upon coming to Savile Territory.

"Aiboke, you take people to seize the grain first. If anyone dares to resist, arrest them all and wait for me to return to deal with it."

Regarding the core interests of the territory, Lord Aipusi did not have the slightest hesitation. Compared to the possible threat from the Princess, the Golden Lark Chamber of Commerce was truly not worth mentioning.

If it weren't for the possibility of involving a mastermind behind the scenes, Aiboke wouldn't even have brought it up to him at this time. Thinking this, Aipusi immediately cast a spell to sign a formal order on a piece of parchment, left his personal mark, and handed it to Aiboke.

"One more thing, before I return, do not let a single person from the Golden Lark Chamber of Commerce leave the East District."

"Yes." Aiboke took the document, nodded solemnly, and added, "Sain asked me to tell you that the supplies needed to open up the Green Pearl Forest have been prepared."

"Mm, thank him for his hard work. If there's nothing else, I'm leaving; the Arcane Union has already reminded me twice!"

"Alright, take care."

Everything in the territory was now tied to Aipusi alone. If anything happened to him, Aiboke dared not imagine what kind of chaos the territory would fall into.

"I know. This time, besides going to see Lord Olong, I also plan to go to that adult's territory. It's an Arcane Competition, after all; if no one comes, wouldn't that be very awkward?"

*Cough*—

Aiboke was a bit embarrassed. He was only a newly promoted Arcanist; holding an Arcane Competition in his name was truly a difficult thing to say out loud.

It was only for the sake of the territory that he had to agree to Aipusi's proposal. Fortunately, there is nothing new under the sun; even ordinary people could hold an Arcane Competition, and at most, they would just be mocked.

After sending off Lord Aipusi, Aiboke immediately teleported to the Military Camp to notify Keyaan, and the two of them personally led a team to deal with the Golden Lark Chamber of Commerce.

On the other side, having just walked out of the portal at the Arcane Union Headquarters, Lord Aipusi hadn't even taken two steps before he was stopped by a young Mage.

"Mage Aipusi, the mentor has been waiting for a long time. Please come with me."

As he spoke, this young Mage led Aipusi away from the Teleportation Room. After several turns, Aipusi finally saw the target of his trip—Archmage Olong.

"Lord Saville, we finally meet!"

Contrary to Aipusi's expectations, this Archmage not only did not blame him for the death of Feierbosi, but his expression was kind, even overly enthusiastic.

Could it be that he was that indispensable to the Princess?

Such a thought flashed through Aipusi's mind, but it was immediately dismissed. "Lord Olong, you invited me last time, and I only had time recently. I am very sorry."

"Is that so?" An Ioun Stone hovering above Archmage Olong's head emitted a crisp hum and suddenly changed its trajectory; the Archmage had a half-smile on his face.

"It's good that you've come. I have waited for this day for a long time."

Although the Archmage's attitude was friendly, the gap between an Archmage and an ordinary Mage made Aipusi very cautious. He dared not respond casually and could only follow the topic, asking, "Lord Olong, you mentioned the glory of the ancestors last time; I wonder what that meant?"

Archmage Olong did not answer this question directly, but instead changed the subject. "Aipusi, what do you think of the Empire?"

What did he think of the Empire? Aipusi's heart was full of questions; this question shouldn't be asked of him at all, as he was just a small lord. However, since it was the Archmage's question, he had to answer. "The Empire is growing stronger day by day!"

"Hehe, then do you know how long it has been since the Empire opened up new territories?"

"This—" Aipusi knew, but he couldn't say it.

"It has been nearly a hundred years!" Archmage Olong said it for him. "The last pioneer territory was Savile Territory. Do you still think the Empire is growing stronger day by day?"

Following that, the Archmage continued, "Seventy years ago, a Nether Scroll was stolen, but to this day, even though we know where it is, we cannot take it back. You say it's growing stronger day by day; how much longer will that take?"

Aipusi fell silent. The theft of the Nether Scroll was the deepest pain of the Netherese.

Seventy years ago, any Netherese, even just a farmer, could come to the Arcane Union in Seventon to read the Nether Scrolls. But ever since one of the sets was stolen, the conditions for reading the Nether Scrolls were no longer so simple.

First, it required the reader's Spellcasting Level to be at least level 10; second, it required a recommendation from a Great Arcanist or multiple Archmages; otherwise, one would have to wait until they became an Archmage themselves to read them.

Aipusi had never read a Nether Scroll. If he had been able to read a Nether Scroll in advance, perhaps he could have successfully advanced to an Arcanist.