Chapter 43: The Injured Mage Guild

For a moment, Count Robert was greatly shocked.

But he is ultimately not an ordinary person.

He himself is a High-Level Warrior and also a great lord who governs a county with over a million subjects; his moment of mental lapse lasted less than a minute.

He admits that Luosen, the young man, is a person of extraordinary insight, but that does not mean he is all‑knowing and all‑powerful.

Such a grand narrative concerning the future direction of world affairs is something even the gods dare not conclude lightly.

So, when the Count regained his composure, he immediately asked.

"On what basis do you say that?"

Rosen Ziran was already prepared.

"Based on two pieces of information!"

He raised two fingers, pressing down the first.

"First, the number of official mages in the Alliance nations."

"From what I know, among the three great kingdoms, Aaron has the most with 3.3 million, Kao is next with 3.0 million, and Levinde about 2.8 million."

"Among the six great duchies, Weilan has the fewest with only 500,000, while each of the five major duchies on the continent exceeds 800,000."

What is the most persuasive thing in the world? If the first is truth, the second must be detailed numbers.

Therefore, when Luosen listed the facts with detailed data, Count Robert subconsciously believed him.

"So what of it?"

Luosen pressed down the second finger.

"Second, the pass rate for official mages."

"In Weilan's Dawn City, it is twenty to one."

"That is, out of twenty children learning magic, only one becomes an official mage."

"Among the other nineteen, fifteen abandon the path due to lack of talent, while four, because of birth, wealth, luck, and so on, remain unable to graduate for a long time."

"They become what are called 'unofficial mages', or 'white‑haired apprentices', 'black mages', 'wandering mages', and so on."

"That ratio in Dawn City is actually relatively high; in Weilan's twenty‑five counties it is much lower. Uncle, your Shire County's pass rate should be 25 to 1, right?"

Count Robert indeed knew that, and he nodded thoughtfully: "It's roughly that figure."

Luosen continued: "On the White Continent, the pass rate is about the same as in Dawn City."

"Whether among the Alliance nations or the Radiant Empire, it's about the same figure."

"Thus, in Kaowangguo, there are 3 million official mages, plus 12 million unofficial mages, and 45 million ordinary people with basic magical knowledge, already accounting for one‑third of the kingdom's total population."

"Fifty years ago, that proportion was only one‑tenth."

At this point, Luosen let out a sigh in his heart.

He had personally investigated the White Continent and deeply felt the sharp internal contradictions of its nations, as well as the surging energy hidden behind those conflicts.

The torrent of changing eras is about to erupt; the world is entering chaotic times, and every mortal's fate has fallen into unknown chaos.

Luosen also does not know where his future will lead.

Retracting his slightly scattered thoughts, he stared at Count Robert and, in a low voice, continued the previous topic.

"Uncle, this means that a brand‑new group has already emerged among the nations."

"This group possesses knowledge and power, and its numbers are enormous, yet it has not attained status and wealth commensurate with its knowledge and strength."

"That is clearly unreasonable, right?"

Count Robert tried to deny Luosen's claim, but he opened his mouth several times without being able to speak.

Because he knew in his heart that the matter was indeed unreasonable.

As a lord, he is still competent.

He is well aware that mages truly possess the wisdom and power to change the world; if the situation is as Luosen described, they could indeed become the source of world turmoil.

"Luosen, how did you know these numbers?"

The Count had just been deceived once, so his vigilance was high, and subconsciously he thought Luosen might also be lying.

Even if not, he surely exaggerated some details.

Luosen smiled, lifted his hand and tapped the windowsill lightly a few times; instantly, two kinds of light spheres of varying colors and sizes appeared on the sill.

"Uncle, look, there are large red balls and small blue balls, quite numerous; at a glance, there must be several thousand, right?"

"Hmm."

"Then we now have two ways to know their exact count."

"One is to count them one by one, right?"

"Exactly."

"The other is to scatter them randomly, mix them evenly, then divide them into ten or twenty equal parts. Count one part clearly, then multiply by ten; that should approximate the total number of large and small balls, right?"

"Hmm, that doesn't seem quite right."

The Count knew this was a mathematical logic trick; he had learned it when young but hadn't used it for a long time, and vaguely felt it was something like that.

Luosen said, "I estimated it using that method; it can't be precise, but it won't be off by much to affect the correctness of the conclusion."

He raised his hand and smacked the light spheres on the sill, then continued, "Uncle, the facts actually reflect my view."

"Aluwaduo, esteemed as an Arcane Master, had to abandon dignity and engage in such shameless deceit. There must be countless mid‑ and low‑level mages, wandering mages, living extremely hard lives."

"If a foolish farmer, he would naturally endure in silence, but if a knowledgeable mage, he would certainly devise ways to improve his life."

"If normal avenues cannot improve things, then they resort to fraud, robbery, murder, until a great mage leader emerges to lead them in rebuilding world order!"

Count Robert felt his palms grow cold and his legs weaken; subconsciously he placed his hand on the desk to keep his balance.

"Luosen, you are also a Baron and a lord; what would you do?"

Luosen smiled, "Uncle, Weilan is not yet crowded, so there is no need to worry for now."

The ones who should be worried are the kings and dukes on the continent, because they bear the greatest pressure and will certainly be the first to see change.

It's like a pot of boiling water—where the fire is strongest, bubbles appear first.

Ah~~~

Count Robert let out a long breath, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and relaxed considerably.

Mmm~ This is truly good news.

But Luosen's tone shifted abruptly.

But the world is a whole; boiling will spread throughout the whole pot, so we must also prepare early to calmly face the world's changes.

Count Robert nodded repeatedly: "Your words make sense; what do you think I should do now?"

At this point, he subconsciously regarded Luosen as his strategist. First, because Luosen helped him see through the scam and displayed extraordinary insight; second, because based on his own everyday observations, he had reached a conclusion similar to Luosen's.

Of course, his conclusion was vague and uncertain, merely giving him a sense of crisis, but he didn't know how to resolve it.

But Luosen explained the issue thoroughly, making him feel completely convinced.

This was exactly the effect Luosen hoped to achieve, and he indeed intended to advise the count so that the Mage Guild wouldn't completely sideline him.

He said earnestly: "Uncle, in Shire County, out of every six accomplished mages, five are unofficial mages."

"If you can find a respectable path for these five people, they will surely respect, support, and even protect you."

Luosen had no worry that his advice would make Shire County a future rival of his.

Because the count is destined to be only a reformist, and in a grand era, reformists cannot go far.

The count naturally didn't know this; he thought Luosen was genuinely considering him, and his proposal was indeed a good remedy.

It's just a bit difficult to carry out.

After pondering for a long time, he said: "This could actually be done, but it needs a lot of money, and I'm short on funds right now."

Luosen had been waiting for those words.

He smiled: "Uncle, I actually have a sure‑profit venture; would you like to hear about it?"

Upon hearing this, the count raised his eyebrows and chuckled: "I knew you were scheming against me, you little brat."

"Go ahead and tell me."

Luosen turned serious: "Uncle, the situation is as follows."

"The main reason my father was killed by the Forest Spirit this time is that he discovered a black iron deposit deep in the mountains."

"In his letter, my father said that this black iron ore is spread over the surface of an area of more than one square li, with high iron content—one ton of ore can yield as much as 500 kilograms of iron."

Count Robert's eyes lit up: "A fifty percent iron yield—this ore is of excellent quality!"

Luosen nodded: "Indeed very good, but there are currently two difficulties."

"First, the location is vague. Because time was tight, my father hadn't finished precise surveying before the Forest Spirit killed him, so we only know a rough location."

"Second, the threat of the Forest Spirit. They hide in the forests, never engage in direct combat, and are very troublesome."

"With the strength of White Sturgeon Island, we can barely defend ourselves; it's hard to seize this iron ore."

Having said that, the count already understood: "What do you mean now? Should I send troops to help you wipe out the Forest Spirit?"

Luosen nodded: "Exactly."

The count also turned serious: "Then how should the iron ore be divided?"

Seeing the fish start to bite, Luosen immediately scattered more bait.

"If you are willing to dispatch a legion to help me secure my position as Baron of the Sea Island, I am willing to fully concede the mining rights to the iron ore."

"In other words, this iron ore would belong entirely to you, uncle."

Count Robert's eyes gleamed upon hearing this: "Luosen, my dear nephew, you're not deceiving me, are you?"

He was a little worried that this black iron ore might be false news, leading to a wasted effort.

Luosen wore a serious expression.

"Uncle, how could I dare deceive you over such a major matter?"

"Of course, launching a large army based solely on one piece of information would be too rash; after all, my source is also vague."

"My suggestion is that you first send a small scouting team with me back to White Sturgeon Island to conduct an on‑site investigation."

"You could use the pretext of 'occupying' the iron ore to perfectly circumvent the duke's ban on supporting White Sturgeon Island."

"Meanwhile, I will use my own funds to buy a batch of supplies in the Shire County market, transporting them to White Sturgeon Island under the guise of the scouting team's military provisions."

"Of course, I will later write a protest letter to the duke, but he will surely not help me; my island has only thirty thousand subjects, so even if I later regret it, I lack the power to reclaim the ore—thus you can mine it with peace of mind, uncle."

Count Robert was greatly moved, for this truly is a sure‑profit venture.

The iron ore— a rich deposit with a fifty percent iron yield— could earn hundreds of thousands of Ogre per year, posing no problem at all.

Luosen's proposal is also very sound.

Sending a vanguard team to investigate on site would cost little and completely eliminate the risk of being deceived.

However, he is genuinely short of money now.

Dispatching a military force, even if just a scouting detachment, would require considerable funds, and it would surely be inappropriate for Luosen to provide them, since he has already offered the ore.

Moreover, he knows Luosen has no money.

For a moment he felt somewhat worried.

Luosen immediately offered a pillow: "Uncle, the corresponding expenses can be fully borne by the Mage Guild."

"In this matter, Master Nord has ill intent, and the Mage Guild lacks ability; they both deserve severe punishment, don't they?"

Upon hearing this, Count Robert understood immediately and slammed the table hard.

"Exactly, we must punish them severely!"

Luosen knew that securing the borrowed troops was now largely accomplished.

He timely added: "Uncle, the islanders are fierce, and with Forest Spirit and fish‑folk causing trouble, this scouting team had best possess some combat capability."

The Earl, very familiar with the situation on White Sturgeon Island, hearing this smiled and said: "If you really help me squeeze a large sum of money out of the guild, I'll send a Flame Warband over to help you."

Luosen felt delighted inside; the Flame Warband is the most combat-effective elite warband in Shire County, and it is the Earl's trump card.

Although a warband only has a hundred men, it is sufficient to oppose a regular legion of a thousand.

Having a Flame Warband return with him to the island would be enough for him to gain a firm foothold on White Sturgeon Island.

He immediately said: "Uncle, I will go interrogate Kao's swindler right now and produce indisputable evidence."

The Earl nodded repeatedly, but also with some worry: "The Mage Guild is the most cunning; you'll be alright, right?"

He worried that Luosen lacked experience and might botch the affair.

Moreover, out of a lord's instinct, he, who had just been deceived, also did not fully trust Luosen.

Luosen instinctively wanted to say 'Leave everything to me,' but the words on his lips turned into.

"Uncle, in the arcane arts I consider myself somewhat accomplished, but interrogating prisoners is still my first time. Why don't you find me a reliable assistant?"

The Earl was very pleased with his attitude: 'Then let Asan help you.'

Bitten, causing two bleeding holes, third-degree exposure, both the protein and vaccine have been administered.

Getting the protein injection really hurts!

Fortunately it's on the forearm, no muscle damage, not a serious problem, doesn't affect typing.

(End of chapter)