Chapter 168: Willing and Eager

"Then, is that the meaning of Lord Olong—" Aipusi asked cautiously.

"It is not my meaning, but Her Highness the Princess's meaning." Mentioning the Princess, Archmage Olong's face was full of adoration, "She wants the Empire to regain its spirit of enterprise, to pioneer the wilderness, and to multiply and grow strong."

"..."

Aipusi understood as soon as he heard it, but what did such a thing have to do with him? Could it be that his pioneering of the Green Pearl Forest could drive others to pioneer as well?

How could that be possible!

Pioneering the Green Pearl Forest was not starting from zero, but rather having the foundation of the Savile Territory already, just pioneering a bit further south.

And what about the others?

Without needing to ask, Aipusi also knew that the pioneering Archmage Olong spoke of must be going to the wilderness to start from zero; the land in the core area of the Empire had almost all been carved up and exhausted.

To become a new lord here, unless one became a Great Arcanist, the Seven Cities Council and the Arcane Union might coordinate a portion of land, but because of this, the new lord would also have to pay a not-insignificant price.

And pioneering the wilderness was too cumbersome, and even very dangerous; it was not as if no Great Arcanist had died in pioneering in history. Therefore, most people's choice was to join a mature territory, or join the Arcane Union directly.

The fact that there had been no new pioneer territories in nearly a hundred years also proved this point.

Even if Her Highness the Princess possessed noble prestige and was herself a Great Arcanist, if others were unwilling, could she force them?

It could be said that now, those with the desire to pioneer were almost only the few pioneer territories far from the core area of the Empire, including the Savile Territory.

Perhaps only when the core area of the Empire was completely saturated would a new wave of pioneering appear, Aipusi thought irresponsibly.

He did not want to get involved between a group of Great Arcanists, but now he simply could not refuse, "What does Her Highness the Princess want me to do?"

"Someone has taken a fancy to your territory!" Archmage Olong suddenly said this.

Aipusi was shocked instantly, but he also reacted quickly; what Archmage Olong said should not be the Princess, but rather the mastermind behind the recent series of events in the territory.

Since the pioneering of the Savile Territory, there had been no such thing in nearly a hundred years; he had not thought in this direction before, but now that he thought about it, it was indeed so.

The Savile Territory was already comparable to most territories in the core area of the Empire, and even more prosperous.

And the difficulty of pioneering south of the Savile Territory was not great; the most troublesome Orc tribes had already been crushed, and the subsequent pioneering was just a matter of time.

Once the area from the Green Pearl Forest to Lang Mountain was pioneered, plus the relationship with Konnifila City, the territory would be even stronger, which was an interest that even a Great Arcanist could not ignore.

Thinking of this, Aipusi broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly asked: "What does Her Highness the Princess want me to do?"

This time, Aipusi's attitude had not the slightest resistance; he was willing and eager to do something for the Princess!

A trace of satisfaction flashed in Archmage Olong's eyes; he was worthy of being the descendant of Great Arcanist Savile, "Her Highness the Princess will not require you to do anything; on the contrary, she will even provide help for your subsequent pioneering."

Although he knew that doing absolutely nothing was impossible, Aipusi was now determined to cling to the Princess's thigh, so how could he have any objections!

Having no requirements instead made Aipusi uneasy, "Lord Olong, no matter what Her Highness the Princess needs me to do, Aipusi is at her command at any time."

"Good. I suddenly remembered, Her Highness the Princess does indeed have one thing she wants you to do."

"Please speak!"

Archmage Olong smiled, "Lord of Savile, no need to be so formal; Her Highness the Princess just wants you to accept a title at an appropriate time; other than that, she does not need you to do anything."

"A title? What title?" Aipusi asked suspiciously.

"You ask me what title, I don't know either, but there will be news soon." After finishing, Archmage Olong added another sentence, "Rest assured, it is not a bad thing; at that time, many people will accept this title."

Saying this, Aipusi was even more suspicious, but facing an Archmage, he did not dare to ask repeatedly, only nodding in agreement.

If it was just like this, then he had not only not been punished for coming this time, but had instead received benefits; Aipusi felt that all of this was very dreamlike.

After discussing the details of the pioneering with Archmage Olong for a while, before leaving, Aipusi notified Aiboke to let him release the news that the territory was about to hold an Arcane Competition.

Although he had the help of Her Highness the Princess, Aipusi did not intend to change the original plan; he would just take the opportunity of the celebration and the Arcane Competition to announce the relationship between the territory and the Princess.

When leaving, Aipusi used the Portal of the Arcane Union to head to the territory of his grandfather's teacher—the Great Arcanist Iolum.

At the same time, in the Old City District of Seventon, beneath Giles Tower, inside the palace not far away.

Princess Xiya and a white-haired old man sat opposite each other, with a spell Projection separating them; the meeting between Archmage Olong and Lord Aipusi earlier was displayed within it.

"Teacher, I am a bit uneasy."

Princess Xiya waved her hand to cancel the Projection in front of her; the last thing that appeared before the Projection disappeared was the image of Archmage Olong respectfully bowing in the direction of her gaze.

"Xiya, you have already done very well; at your age, I was still a fuzzy-headed boy!" The old man said with a chuckle.

"But, I took away the Totem Pole, and I also brought trouble to the Savile Territory; when Great Arcanist Savile returns, will he—"

"No need to worry, Savile is not a petty person; if there really is an accident, I will have that old friend of mine persuade him. Besides, now even Gustav has agreed; this matter is no longer something one or two people can stop."

The old man put away his smile, his expression complex; he looked at this most talented student in front of him, feeling both worried and proud, as well as expectant.

Ascension to Godhood—this was something all Great Arcanists dared to think about but not necessarily dared to do, nor necessarily had the strength to do, but Xiya had done it.

"Teacher, when Savile returns, I will apologize to him, but—no one can stop me." Xiya's tone was firm, her will climbing to the extreme, and wisps of dark blue Arcane Energy radiance even radiated from her pupils.

Watching this scene, the white-haired old man once again sighed at Xiya's outstanding Arcane talent.

On the other side, Xia Duo had received the investment from Lady Patti, and his mood was quite good, though he could be even better.

According to the contract, every time his Spellcasting Level increased by Level 1, his monthly salary would increase by one level, which was 100 Gold Coins; by then, he would have 200 Gold Coins every month.

He was now impatient to go to the Mage Guild to certify his level.

Although Xia Duo now only knew one 1st Circle Spell, the 【Water Control】 from his bloodline could also be certified, but reaching Level 2 was his current limit.

To pass the Level 3 certification, one must master any 2nd Circle Spell; before that, even if one mastered thousands upon thousands of 1st Circle Spells, it would not count.

Regarding this, Xia Duo still felt some regret, because with the bloodline ability 【Water Control】, he could concoct thousands upon thousands of magics related to water at any time, depending only on his imagination.

To use a saying from Earth, this was called "ten thousand changes, but the origin remains the same."

However, these magics, which were much the same, had little value except for a few typical ones.