Chapter 223: Leaving Without Notice (33)

On the moving Black Stone car, only Luosen and Qi Ge Rui La Na were left.

After a brief silence, Qi Ge Rui La Na's mental whisper sounded.

"Duke, you are too dazzling, dazzling enough that the Navaat Republic has lost its composure."

The Navaat Republic is a mortal superpower that should be as calm and unhurried as the sun, but when Luosen arrived he uncovered a hidden demon that had plagued the Republic for a long time and killed it outright! That was a powerful demon from Legend 6.

Thus, this incident caused a massive shock to the Navaat Republic's political arena.

Qi Ge Rui La Na may only have 8‑ring power, but her insight is extraordinary.

She has already detected changes through many inconspicuous details.

She whispered softly.

"Perhaps in the fight against demons, the united people of Navaat are pioneers among mortals. Yet Navaat is not perfect; although its interior no longer has nobles, it is still divided into many factions."

"Here too there are tangled interests; whether a Guardian Mage can become a candidate for Legendary Mage requires not only exceptional ability but also sufficient background."

Luosen remained expressionless—after all, there was still a driver—and answered with a high‑ring mental whisper: "I know; precisely because of that, I brought out the Alchemical Handbook."

"Thus, at least until the handbook is verified, the faction that Na Ya belongs to will do its best to shield us from interference by other factions."

He is also a Grand Lord, so how could he naively think a nation of mortals would be flawless? Even if everyone is noble and shares a common goal, there are many paths to that goal! Under the overarching premise of fighting demons, opinions will differ on how to treat powerful outsiders from other planes.

And any nation's leader bases decisions not on personal morality but on weighing pros and cons.

As long as the benefit exceeds the cost, the matter can be done.

Luosen knows this well.

Qi Ge Rui La Na hadn't expected Luosen to think that way, paused, and asked: "Then how long do you think they'll need to reproduce your results?"

"I estimate at least a month, and during that month they will surely devise ways to keep us. For example, the book might not be copied properly, or they might invite us to some important events."

"After the reproduction, will they let us go?"

Luosen whispered: "Na Ya will certainly do so, but the others are uncertain."

"It is highly likely it won't endanger my personal safety, because that would conflict with Navaat's shared interest in fighting demons."

"But they will probably devise various schemes to persuade me to stay in Navaat and become a legendary warrior of Navaat."

That is, making Luosen a senior enforcer.

Qi Ge Rui La Na, reaching a similar conclusion, felt anxious: "Then will you stay?"

Luosen smiled faintly: "Of course not."

He, a perfectly fine Grand Lord, why downgrade himself to a mere enforcer? Soon, the Black Stone car returned to Na Ya's tranquil manor.

In the room, Qi Ge Rui La Na asked: "What now?"

"Obviously, we go back immediately."

"Now? Aren't we supposed to wait for the books to be transcribed?"

If the books aren't transcribed and taken back, this trip would be in vain, and the precious Alchemical Handbook would be given away for free.

Luosen smiled faintly: "Don't worry, my mind works great; I can memorize it after one read, fully retained."

Qi Ge Rui La Na flinched: "So you've memorized many volumes?"

"Not many, about eight."

If all the knowledge in those eight books had to be explored by Luosen himself, who knows how much manpower and resources it would consume, and many parts might even be irreproducible.

So he would profit enormously.

Within the capital of Nai De Lin, phase transfer is strictly prohibited, but Na Ya's manor lies in the suburbs; a short distance farther out, transfer becomes possible.

Today marks Luosen's seventh day in this world, nearly reaching the eight‑day safe transfer window.

Performing phase transfer at this moment does place some stress on the soul, but not much; as long as it isn't done frequently, no lasting side effects will remain.

Qi Ge Rui La Na still couldn't understand: "But we have no Soul Gem, nor a prepared teleportation formation—how do we return?"

Luosen smiled faintly: "Don't worry, I'm prepared; just follow me."

So, shortly after returning to the manor, Luosen left a farewell letter for Mage Na Ya, then left the Crystal Flood Staff and some legendary secret techniques as an apologetic parting gift, and after that he took Qi Ge Rui La Na's hand, used legendary magic to power a radiant Invisibility Spell and a Silent Crystal Wall Technique, and slipped out the back door of the manor.

Running outward, after about a dozen kilometers they left Nai De Lin's phase interference zone and arrived in an ordinary small town on the outskirts of the capital.

Upon reaching the town, Luosen led Qi Ge Rui La Na into an ordinary residence and descended into its basement.

In the basement there was a massive phase transfer formation, and all the Soul Gems were fully prepared.

Qi Ge Rui La Na, looking bewildered, asked: "Did you set this up? Have you been planning to run all along?"

Luosen smiled faintly: "Not exactly. Just prepared on both hands."

The formation certainly wasn't made by him; he's been watched the whole time, never had a chance to create it.

It was prepared by Mediana.

"Alright, time's short; let's withdraw now."

At the same time, in the Nai De Lin realm, the Guardian Sanctum.

The incumbent Grand Guardian Archmage Sa Si Ma Er was engaged in a rather intense secret conversation with Mage Na Ya.

"Undoubtedly, Mage Luosen is a wizard of supreme talent; not only does he achieve astonishing results in spellcraft, but he also possesses an unparalleled combat aptitude!"

"Since his ascension to legend, he has consecutively slain two demons; such a record is worthy of being emblazoned in the Republic's annals!"

"And such a supreme talent must be kept in Navaat by any means!"

The speaker was Sa Si Ma Er.

He appeared not yet thirty, with silver‑gray hair and eyes, a prodigy wizard brimming with energy and extraordinary talent.

He also had a square, firm, national‑character face, exuding a strong, resolute aura; more a soldier than a wizard.

Na Ya shook her head: "Regarding this, I have already spoken with Mage Luosen; he declined, and his reasons for declining are entirely justified."

"You and I both know he is the Duke‑Lord of the De Rui Tan plane, governing thirty million subjects, and he holds a guardian oath to his people."

He does not wish to break his oath, so.

Sasmaal let out a disdainful breath: "Thirty million is nothing; we Nawat have sixteen billion citizens!"

Furthermore, if this Duke returns to De Rui Tan, he will certainly not be content with his current position; he will surely launch a war to expand his power base.

The De Rui Tan plane will surely be plunged into boundless war; at that time, the number of people killed by the war will absolutely far exceed thirty million.

And the war will greatly weaken the mortal strength of the De Rui Tan plane; if the demon Bak seizes the opportunity to attack, the entire De Rui Tan plane could fall, which would literally be an apocalyptic catastrophe!

Having said that, Sasmaal lowered his voice again: "You must understand, we have extremely deep cooperation with the Radiant Empire, and the Radiant Empire's various arcane achievements are of tremendous help to us."

This Duke is an enemy of the Radiant Empire; letting him return is certainly not a good thing. Keeping him in our Nawat best serves our nation's interests!

These words are all very reasonable; setting aside personal feelings, Naya also agrees with most of them.

Except for one point.

Mage Sasmaal, but you have overlooked Mage Luosen's personal will.

You and I both know that although most mortals' personal will is not important, some mortals' personal will absolutely cannot be ignored, otherwise it will surely bring great disaster.

You and I also know that Mage Luosen possesses extraordinary personal talent; if his personal will is twisted, the backlash will be extremely violent, and the eventual damage to the republic will be no less than that caused by a terrifying great demon!

Have you considered this point?

Sasmaal immediately said: "Why would we twist his will?"

We have countless means to let him make his own choice; we can give him enormous benefits, even make him a lifetime councilor of the High Circle Council.

I simply don't believe that a lifetime councilor of our great nation of sixteen billion citizens could be inferior to his petty dukedom.

Naya frowned: "Everyone's thoughts are different, Mage Sasmaal; you cannot use your own thoughts to make decisions for others."

Mage Naya, I likewise think your ideas are likewise too subjective; if you don't try, how will you know it won't work?

Their tones grew increasingly heated, almost to the point of arguing.

Just then, the assistant mage knocked on the door, his voice urgent, clearly there was an emergency.

"Come in!" Sasmaal shouted loudly.

The assistant mage pushed the door open and entered, bringing a message: "Mage Sasmaal, Mage Naya, Mage Luosen, and Mage Railana have gone missing."

"Missing? What does that mean?"

The assistant mage immediately said: "It means no one is to be found; we've searched the entire Tranquil Manor."

Upon hearing this, the two High Circle Council members immediately sensed something.

Sasmaal immediately said: "Go at once to the Planar Observation Bureau to check the records, see if there are any phase shift fluctuations!"

The assistant mage immediately went to check.

About a quarter of an hour later, he returned: "I found it; just an hour ago, there were two fluctuations occurring in quick succession. Judging by the fluctuation intensity, it is almost identical to the intensity caused by traveling to the De Rui Tan plane."

Sasmaal let out a long breath: "He ran away!"

Naya corrected: "No, he just left without saying goodbye."

"He just ran away!" Sasmaal snorted coldly.

Naya's heart jolted upon hearing it, and she immediately realized this matter wasn't over.

She also couldn't be bothered to argue; she gave a deep bow to this somewhat overbearing colleague, turned, and left the Guardian Sanctum.

She boarded the Black Stone carriage and sped all the way back to Tranquil Manor.

After circling the manor, she suddenly sensed a very subtle magical fluctuation, a spell mark left especially for her.

Her heart stirred; following the mark, she found a well-hidden letter, a crystal guardian staff infused with legendary power, and a booklet.

Opening the letter, she saw the following written on it:

Mage Naya, please forgive our departure without farewell.

But I had to leave, otherwise I might not be able to leave at all.

First, I want to say that the Alchemy Manual is genuine and effective; I also hope Mage Spin can quickly succeed in replicating it and mass-produce legendary magic gems to help Nawat better resist demons.

After reading these three sentences, Naya felt deeply ashamed.

Mage Aelena is the mage I respect most; I am unable to attend her funeral. For this, I feel immense regret; please convey my apologies to Mage Aelena on my behalf.

I also clearly understand that this unannounced departure will surely cause you considerable trouble; I feel deeply ashamed and have made some compensation for it.

I leave the Crystal Torrent Staff to you, and I have also left some secret methods to aid in ascending to legend; I believe it can help you regain legendary power.

Furthermore, I have also left a phase shift beacon; if you, my lady, are willing, you can use the beacon to send me messages, or send a phase shift request; I very much hope to continue arcane communication with you.

Finally, thank you once again for sharing your legendary knowledge with me, and once again I offer my sincerest apologies—your loyal friend, Mage Luosen Saxen.

After reading the letter, there was still a booklet behind it, which recorded the secret method of using the staff to ascend to legend.

Naya clenched the booklet tightly; her heart felt both guilty and moved, yet also deeply worried.

Sasmaal is not one to give up lightly; he will surely find a way to force Mage Luosen to return to Nawat.

I must convey this news to him so he can prepare!

Much of what Sasmaal said was reasonable, and she agreed with it, but she absolutely did not approve of Sasmaal's overbearing conduct.

Because what Nawat needs are allies who willingly cooperate from the heart, not a bunch of coerced slaves.

Otherwise, what difference is there between them and the demons? (End of chapter)