Chapter 42: A pot of water about to boil

Approximately one hour later, fifteen Kao mages were all captured alive.

In the judgment hall of Maple Leaf Castle, the Kao mages led by Master Luwakaduo knelt listlessly in the middle of the hall.

Each of them suffered considerable soul trauma, stripped to only their undergarments, with their necks and wrists firmly fastened to a shackle-like anti-magic board, and were forced to ingest imprisoning potion.

At this point, the Kao mages were worse than ordinary people.

On both sides of the judgment hall stood a row of fully armed high-level warriors.

They stared intently at these Kao mages, and would rush forward to slay them at the slightest movement.

At the head of the hall, the Count sat behind a specially made anti-magic judgment table, with guard knights standing to his front and many mages seated on either side.

Among them was the Mage Guild Vice President, Master Aoerdelin Nuode.

He remained silent, saying nothing, his eyes fixed on the Kao mages kneeling on the ground, unknown what he was thinking.

Princess Selena naturally also received a seat, while Luosen, as the princess's husband and aide, obtained an inconspicuous spectator spot.

The Count looked at the Kao swindlers kneeling in the hall, his mood extremely complex.

He felt both anger and disappointment.

The anger was naturally because these fellows dared to toy with him, while the disappointment was that the supposedly good solution to salvage the dire finances instantly turned to nothing.

He also felt a lingering fear.

Because if this group of swindlers succeeded, he would lose at least three hundred thousand Ogre, making his future days difficult.

Amidst myriad thoughts, the Count gazed at the leading Master Luwakaduo and said coldly, "Master, you are also a respectable person; why engage in such disgraceful, dishonorable scheming?"

At this moment, Luwakaduo bore no trace of his former arrogance.

His eyes were dull and lifeless, his white hair disheveled in tufts, like a soaked dog just crawled out of water.

"Count, I need money to maintain a respectable livelihood."

"Although my family left me some estates, I am not skilled at managing them; for years I have been running a deficit, consequently falling into great debt."

"Creditors press me daily; I truly have no choice but to swallow my pride and take the risky path of fraud."

The Count was baffled: "As an Arcane Master, how can you lack money?"

On Weilan Island, once a mage breaks through the Four-ring to become an Arcane Master, lords from all over vie to offer olive branches, hiring them as Arcane Master consultants with generous compensation.

Kao is a major magical power and strong nation in the Natural Alliance; how could its Arcane Masters lack money?

The Count found this utterly unbelievable, even suspecting the other party of lying.

Just as he wondered, Luosen's Spiritual Whisper echoed in his mind: "Uncle, this should be true."

Before the Count could ask, Luosen began to explain in detail.

"The Kao Kingdom is indeed a magical power, but its population is five times that of our Weilan, with over three million full mages and more than two hundred Arcane Masters—five times our number."

"But the Kao Kingdom's territory is not vast, only about three times that of our Weilan. Hence, competition among mages has grown increasingly fierce, reaching in recent years an almost unimaginable level."

"A mage who merely touches the Fourth Magic Ring but lacks matching spellcraft and erudition, especially without original arcane achievements, finds it hard to earn a substantial income."

"Master Luwakaduo has never produced any noteworthy pioneering work, making him an undervalued Arcane Master."

The Count sucked in a breath.

These are recent developments; though he occasionally hears odd rumors, they fall far short of the detailed specifics Luosen knows.

As he listened, he first felt astonishment, then quickly dread.

A thought arose in his mind: "With so many mages, if we formed a mage legion, wouldn't it be able to sweep the world?"

As soon as that thought surfaced, the Count lost interest in wrangling with the swindlers, waving his hand: "By Shire County law, send all these swindlers to the gallows!"

He had originally considered letting the swindlers' families pay ransom, but since the swindlers have no money, he couldn't be bothered.

Anyway, his Shire County is over a thousand kilometers from the Kao Kingdom; even if the Kao people object, they can only shout empty protests.

Upon the order, each Kao mage's face turned ashen.

Being in a foreign land yet scheming to extort vast wealth from the local lord, dying would be in vain.

Luwakaduo immediately turned his head, directing his gaze toward Master Nuode nearby.

Upon being looked at by him, Master Nuode's eye twitched slightly, and he finally spoke: "Count, I have a differing opinion."

"Speak, I'm listening," the Count said in a calm voice, revealing no emotion.

The white-haired Mage Guild Vice President spoke softly: "Count, although these Kao mages are sinister and crafty, they indeed possess decent magical power and arcane cultivation."

"Surely many of them are Kao-exclusive spells."

"It would be a waste to simply hang them; better to have them write down the arcane knowledge they master to offset their crimes."

The Count actually didn't care whether these swindler mages lived or died; he now cared most about money, and he knew arcane knowledge could be turned into profit.

For instance, selling the Kao mages" new spells to the Shire County Mage Guild would surely fetch a high price from those folks.

Perhaps a single new spell could bring him several thousand Ogre in income.

Thus, Master Nuode"s words immediately moved him.

"The Master"s suggestion is excellent; let's do as you say."

"This matter shall be entrusted to"

After the Count"s gaze swept over the crowd, he found none satisfactory.

As he looked, his eyes fell on Luosen and lit up instantly.

"Entrust Baron Luosen with this; be sure to extract all their new knowledge for me!"

Entrusting other Shire County mages, the Count felt uneasy.

He doubted their insight and their loyalty.

Master Nuode immediately objected: "Count, Baron is merely a low-level mage; he likely lacks the capacity to interrogate Arcane Masters."

The Count snorted coldly: "I don't know if he has the ability, but you certainly lack it; otherwise you wouldn't have failed to see through these Kao mages" deceit."

Seeing Nuode still wanting to speak, he waved his hand firmly: "Enough, no more talk; I've already decided this."

Nuode frowned tightly, but the Baron's words were also correct; for a moment he could find no strong counterargument.

Luosen could clearly sense Master Nuode's anxious state of mind, and he gave a hehe laugh in his heart.

This time I really have to hit you hard.

He is short of money now; not to hit hard would be a waste of such a good opportunity.

So he immediately stood up and responded loudly: "Uncle, thank you very much for your trust; I will definitely bring out the brains of these Kao mages and examine them thoroughly!"

The Baron was very pleased with Luosen's clean and efficient attitude: "Very good!"

He picked up the gavel and tapped it lightly.

"Come here, lock these swindlers in the castle dungeon, but no beating or scolding, no mistreatment. Except for Luosen, no other mage may contact them; let these poor swindlers live on for now."

A squad of High-Level Warriors formed an elite guard that stepped forward and took the swindler mages away.

The Baron rose from his seat and gestured to Luosen and his wife: "Your Highness, Baron, let's go to the study and talk."

Princess Selena shook her head: "You two talk; I'd rather read."

If they hadn't discussed it beforehand, she felt she couldn't keep up with Luosen's train of thought, fearing she would ruin his plan.

The Baron didn't insist either: "That's fine."

He headed straight for the study, Luosen quickly followed behind him, and at the same time whispered to Selena: "Madam, I'll tell you the details tonight."

Soon, the two arrived at the Baron's study.

After closing the door, the Baron didn't even have time to sit down before saying directly: "Luosen, my nephew, I think Nuode has a problem."

"Either his ability is too poor, or he has ill intentions. Or possibly both."

This reaction is quite normal, given Nuode's previous poor performance; he was almost directly admitting he was an insider.

Luosen nodded in agreement, then jumped straight to the next step: "Uncle, now that the Kao mages are in our hands, interrogating them will reveal everything."

"The question is, how do you want to deal with Master Nuode?"

The Baron fell silent for a moment, then spoke.

"Nuode is not only an Arcane Master but also comes from an ancient noble family of Shire County, where his status and prestige are very high, making him not easy to deal with."

For example, Nuode has a younger brother who is a Four-ring great knight and holds an important post in the Shire County army.

If we deal with his older brother, his younger brother becomes unusable.

There are many such relationships, so the Baron must be cautious.

Luosen smiled: "Uncle, do you mean to let Master Nuode atone with money in a dignified way?"

The Baron's eyes lit up: "Exactly, atone with money—the more the better."

Luosen understood: "Uncle, I'll handle this; I will certainly not disappoint you."

The Baron was very pleased, and he appreciated Luosen more and more.

After a brief pause, he said: "Luosen, over these years in Dawn City you have greatly broadened your horizons; I can see you have extraordinary insight."

"Let you and I discuss the situation of the White Continent in detail."

"The more detailed, the better!"

Originally he didn't pay much attention, thinking how much could the world change? But this time, the narrow escape from being swindled rang an alarm bell for him, making him feel the world is becoming increasingly unfamiliar, even somewhat frightening.

Luosen also worried that the Baron might be swindled again, after all if he were swindled badly, out of respect for his mentor he would still have to put effort into helping.

Seeing that he had the intention to open his eyes and understand the world, naturally he would hold nothing back.

This also happened to bring out his own needs.

He slowly paced over to the unique cross-shaped round window of Weilan's northern lands, gazing at the inner courtyard garden that bore signs of withering.

His opening remark was a bombshell.

"Uncle, I think the present world is like a pot of water about to boil; it looks calm now, but the next moment it could boil over."

The Baron indeed was greatly shocked: "Boiling? How would it boil?"

Luosen turned his head, gazing at the Baron whose eyes showed terror.

The Baron was also gazing at Luosen.

He suddenly realized that this young Baron had a pair of extremely bright and clear pure black eyes.

At this moment, those black eyes reflected the golden sunlight streaming in from outside the window, revealing a captivating depth.

He had never seen such a spirit in anyone else's eyes.

At that moment, the Baron actually had an illusion, as if the young Baron before him were not a mortal but a deity governing wisdom.

Feeling shaken, he heard the other say:

"The old order collapses swiftly, everywhere there is plunder and slaughter, blood flows wantonly, and the fire of destruction burns everywhere."

"Amidst the blood and fire, a completely new world, unseen by anyone, slowly approaches."

His voice was gentle and calm, like a prophecy of fate from a sage seer.

(End of chapter)