Chapter 173: Hurricane Staff

Lei En examined the three pieces of equipment separately for a moment.

He moved so many books in the Silver Star Grand Library, and while at Longshande, whenever he had free time he flipped through books to self‑study rune knowledge, consulted Viola, and acquired basic appraisal ability.

First is the staff, whose core material is the heartwood of singing‑wind wood, overall a pale cyan, the tip a vortex‑shaped fork, its surface engraved with silver runes, very light, and as soon as it's held one can feel the surrounding wind element.

A line of tiny characters runs along the shaft, reading: Hurricane Staff.

Lei En appraised the Hurricane Staff's function; it carries a five‑ring "Hurricane Technique," a large‑area damaging spell that can be cast three times per day.

A caster wielding the Hurricane Staff gains affinity with the wind element, amplifying the power of wind spells.

Finally, the staff grants casting acceleration, unrestricted by type; all spells below six rings receive a 10% speed boost!

The stacking of three enchantments makes the Hurricane Staff a premium staff.

"What a fine staff!"

"No wonder Maitir's casting speed is so fast."

Lei En exclaimed in admiration; it truly lives up to being a legendary Wizard's weapon—among premium enchanted gear, the Hurricane Staff is top‑tier, and with further refinement it even has a chance to become an epic weapon.

Of course, that probability is low.

Even so, the Hurricane Staff is a caster's dream, especially for wind‑element users, practically tailor‑made.

Setting the Hurricane Staff aside, Lei En picked up a ring set with a purple gem.

He recognized it as a Soul Diamond.

A Soul Diamond is a special gemstone; after alchemical modification it can store soul energy, being fashioned into a Soul‑storing Ring.

This ring is undoubtedly a Soul‑storing Ring.

Lei En tested it and found the ring's capacity enormous—his current soul power cannot fill it; after some calculation, it should store about one‑third of a tenth‑level legendary Wizard's soul energy.

That's an astonishing capacity; wearing it effectively raises his baseline soul power substantially, greatly extending a caster's combat endurance.

Lei En decided to keep it for himself and immediately slipped it onto his finger.

The final ring is the one he most anticipated.

The silver band looks rather ordinary, like a mithril‑forged metal loop, almost weightless; on the inner side a continuous circle of purple runes glows faintly.

Lei En examined it carefully for a while and roughly discerned the runic principles.

Clearly, it is a ring that includes a dimensional space.

Dimensional space is a six‑ring Arcane; when stabilized on a carrier, it creates an independent dimensional space for storing items.

Stabilization spells are an extremely advanced technique; the higher the ring count, the greater the difficulty.

A six‑ring Arcane can only be stabilized by an alchemical Master, with extremely demanding material requirements; any dimensional ring is worth far beyond premium gear, comparable to epic equipment.

Lei En put on the dimensional ring, focused his mind, and an irregular strange space instantly materialized in his thoughts.

The space is five feet square, roughly just over three cubic meters.

It contains quite a few items.

Lei En inventoryed them: books, magical potions, scrolls, alchemical materials, several Law Seals, and some food and daily supplies.

These are Maitir's personal belongings.

Among them he also found a small pile of Gold Shields, over two thousand in number, and a stack of gold notes, each worth one hundred gold, totaling several hundred.

"Whoa, I'm rich!"

Lei En was greatly delighted; a legendary Wizard's fortune truly is different—just the cash exceeds ten thousand gold.

The most valuable thing is still the ring itself.

Such dimensional rings have always been priceless and unsellable; even the smallest‑space version can fetch forty‑to‑fifty thousand Gold Shields.

However, Lei En never considered selling it.

He had long envied Viola's necklace, which is very convenient to use.

Now he finally has one himself.

Lei En happily wore the ring, tried placing various items into it in his study, then taking them out, clearing some of Maitir's belongings, arranging the space, and finally stored Lambo's Spear inside.

Lambo's Spear weighs over two hundred pounds, yet occupies very little space; fitting five or six of them is no problem.

After amusing himself for a moment, footsteps sounded outside the door.

"Sir." Wind Elf Fabian knocked and entered, carrying a platter of sumptuous food, set it on the table, and respectfully said, "This is a dinner the chef prepared especially for you, please enjoy."

"Hmm, you're thoughtful."

Lei En smiled and nodded, quietly opened his Soul Eye to observe Fabian's soul, confirming he harbored no ill intent and the food was safe.

He swiftly devoured the dinner, and Fabian stood by, serving.

The wind elf has mastered the art of serving superiors, gauging his distance perfectly—neither too intimate to disrupt the meal nor so distant that Lei En feels he's merely putting on a show; everything is just right.

If not for Fabian's appearance, Lei En would certainly mistake him for a human who has served as a butler for many years.

Taking the glass cup Fabian handed over, Lei En took two sips of red wine, glanced at him, and said, "Fabian, what do you have to say?"

"You've seen through it, sir."

Fabian politely bowed, then drew a ledger from his chest and handed it over: "This is the castle's asset sheet; I have already tallied it, please review, sir."

"That fast?" Lei En was a bit surprised by the wind elf's efficiency.

He took the ledger and began leafing through it.

The contents are brief, only a few pages, yet list the castle's assets in great detail—population numbers, food reserves, furniture and horses, cash holdings, and so on—each entry clear, even including suggestions and budgets for later repairs and hiring.

After reading the ledger, Lei En felt very satisfied; what a talent!

A smile spread across his face, and he didn't hold back praise: "Fabian, you did very well."

"Serving Lord Count is my duty," Fabian quickly rose, his face full of humility.

In Lei En's Soul Eye, he saw the wind elf's outward humility, unwilling to claim credit, while inwardly he was quite pleased.

He is an ambitious individual, no wonder he leads the way in pledging allegiance to him.

He gave a faint smile and asked, "Given your work ability, why were you only a tax deputy officer before?"

Fa Bian's face flashed slight surprise; after a few seconds he replied, "I entered Azure Water High Castle over twenty years ago, served three successive overseers, but I am an elf, so…"

He said no more; the meaning was clear.

Lei En nodded as if enlightened.

Elves once ruled most of the Ai Lun E Si world, but that was ancient history, thousands of years ago; now the elves have retreated to the distant Western Continent, long since lost their former glory.

Now is the age of humans; to people, elves are merely another race.

Most elves are stronger than ordinary people; people envy their long lifespans and beautiful looks, and they are often seen in the Empire, lacking much mystery.

Elves' attitude toward humans has always been proud and hard to get along with.

Humans also dislike elves integrating into their world; they may cooperate, but the outward differences constantly remind people that elves are not of their own kind.

Those not of our kind must have different hearts.

Ai Lun E Si has no such saying, yet the reasoning is similar.

To put it bluntly, it's a racial barrier; not spoken openly, yet in practice there is an invisible glass ceiling.

Unless one possesses immense power, ordinary elves find it hard to rise to high positions in human realms.

Fa Bian's strength is decent, but he can only be considered a Mid-stage magic swordsman; Mo Du nobles will not regard him highly, perhaps even keep a guard against him.

Lei En closed the ledger, straightened up, and said seriously, "Fa Bian, here I judge only ability, not birth; as long as you work well, I will not treat you unfairly."

Fa Bian was instantly stunned.

Because Lei En spoke the above words in elven.

"Earl…," Fa Bian, excited, raised his right hand in a strange gesture, his face solemn, and said, "In the name of the moon god Ai Lu Na, I, Fa Bian Light Song, pledge my loyalty and strength to the Earl of Glamorgan, never to betray."

Swearing by his own faith, this is a very formal oath; although breaking it causes no real loss, in Ai Lun E Si very few people betray a faith oath.

Lei En saw Fa Bian's soul fire flickering, with no false words.

He also stood up and replied, "I accept your loyalty."

After the oath, Fa Bian was overjoyed, feeling his relationship with the Earl had become closer, treating him as one of his own.

"Alright, sit down and speak."

Lei En had early seen that Fa Bian still had something to say; it wasn't just about delivering the ledger.

Fa Bian pondered, "Lord, if you wish to control the territory, merely occupying Azure Water High Castle is useless; you need more manpower, both to protect you, to prevent enemy counter‑assassination, and to clear various forces within the territory, especially the two docks, whose garrison strength is not far behind the castle's."

Lei En nodded; he had considered this issue.

His own safety need not be worried about; as long as the Six-person Council does not intervene, with Ao Xi Li Ya protecting from the shadows, there is no problem.

The main task is still to find someone to govern the territory; a single squad of silver‑armored knights is far insufficient.

Without a private armed force as backing, how can taxes be collected within the territory?

He could request aid from the Silver Star Duke, sending a few more squads of silver‑armored knights, but that takes time, and doing so is like inviting the wolf into the house; later refusing the Silver Star Duke's interference in Glamorgan territory would be very difficult.

"What ideas do you have?" Lei En asked.

Fa Bian voiced his thought, "You may not know, within the territory there is Mo Du's largest talent market, gathering many extraordinary beings and exotic‑race masters, with numerous adventure parties and mercenary groups; as long as you have money, even legendary strongmen can be hired."

(End of chapter)