Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 157 You've Been Conscripted
While Rick faced the harsh reality, Morty's situation wasn't much better.

As a shaman, he was much smarter than his impulsive and reckless cousin. When he saw a stone golem blocking his way, he didn't rush straight at it.

While Rick and the stone golem were locked in a passionate clash, he made a U-turn and charged straight at the mage behind them.

Based on Morty's limited understanding of spellcasters and some hearsay, this group possesses immense and unpredictable mysterious power, but also inevitably has irreparable flaws and weaknesses in close combat.

Once the other party is dealt with, everything will be over, right?

Although he had never heard the proverb "to catch the thief, first catch the king," Morty could still think of a similar principle.

However, it is ridiculous to view mages with such stereotypical prejudices and labels, especially when dealing with an outlier like Zhang Yuan.

The ogre shaman, who had pounced on the mage, expected to see the other party panic, but instead, the wretched mage just smiled at him.

He's crazy?
"Imperio!"

"PONG!"

Morty only managed to hear the last syllable before a flash of white light appeared before his eyes, followed by a tremendous force that suddenly struck him. His body, which had been leaning forward in a charging posture, had no chance to resist and was knocked backward by the force.

Bang! Morty landed hard on his back.

The thick-skinned half-ogres weren't badly hurt, but they were a bit dazed. As soon as they struggled to their feet, they watched in disbelief as a gray-green ray shot straight into their chest from the mage's hand.

Terrified, Morty assumed his opponent had used some vicious trick again and frantically patted his chest, only to find to his surprise that he was unharmed, except for feeling a little weak and exhausted, perhaps from being frightened.

Looking up, I found that the monk was standing right in front of me. Are you trying to get yourself killed?
Overjoyed, Morty reached out to grab this unexpected gift, but little did he know that his opponent was even more ruthless, delivering a blinding blow that sent Morty flying with stars.

Morty, feeling his eyes were swollen, yelled and covered his eyes with one hand while reaching for the spiked club that had fallen to the ground with the other.

Before he could even bend down, a powerful kick flew over, forcing the enormous ogre to use the legendary "Wild Goose Descending on the Sand" technique.

Enraged, Morty ignored the pain in his eyes and the loss of his weapon. He lunged forward, swinging his fists and unleashing a smooth attack. His attack was blocked, and he was kicked to the ground again, conceding defeat.

Morty never imagined that he would lose in hand-to-hand combat to such a small person, especially a mage!

But for some reason, I felt extremely tired, as if my usual strength had vanished into thin air, and I was completely at a disadvantage when I fought that mage.

Wait, a mage?
Remembering the ray of light from earlier, Morty immediately realized what was happening and was about to stand up and reason with the other party. A real man settles things with his fists. What kind of man uses magic? Does he have any sense of martial ethics?

But the other party was faster than him. Zhang Yuan stepped forward and stomped on Morty's stomach. The ogre shaman, who was struggling to get up, was like a turtle that had been flipped over, unable to get up no matter what.

Zheng~
The longsword was drawn and pressed against Morty's throat, instantly freezing his writhing body as if a pause button had been pressed.

Zhang Yuan smiled and gestured towards the small direction. Following that direction, the scene that greeted Morty sent chills down his spine.

His brother was already held firmly in the hands of the tall stone golem, and no matter how much he struggled, it was in vain. He himself was being held by the man with a sword pointed at his throat, and he had no power to resist.

Two words: despair.

Morty simply lay down on the ground, ceasing his futile resistance, though his violently heaving chest betrayed the turmoil within him. "What? You're not fighting anymore? Didn't you just say you were going to beat me to a pulp?"

Although he couldn't see that hateful face, the other person's equally hateful mockery came clearly. Morty couldn't retaliate, so he could only reply in a shrill voice:

"Rick and Morty are no match for a mage. You are indeed very strong, but do you dare to spare us?"

He said the most cowardly thing in a defiant tone.

"Did I say I was going to kill you? Didn't you rush at me before I even finished speaking?"

Morty then raised his head, his large, dead-fish-like eyes staring blankly at the other person. His lips moved slightly, but in the end, he said nothing and slumped back down.

A moment later, the leisurely voice of a certain monk rang out:
"However, I can't pretend I didn't see you kidnapping the tree spirit. I'm releasing the tree spirit. You don't have any objections, do you?"

We've worked so hard for so long, and you just let us go with a single sentence? Morty, feeling like he'd gotten nothing in return, wanted to offer some constructive suggestions, but when he looked up at the other person's seemingly magnanimous yet actually threatening demeanor, he decided to speak from the bottom of his heart:
"You won, the tree spirit is yours now, can we leave?"

Zhang Yuan nodded, withdrew his foot from Morty's stomach, and then spoke:
"You've returned empty-handed this time; I'm afraid things won't be easy for you from now on."

How dare you bring that up? I really thank you!
The thoughtful greeting from the culprit left Morty feeling short of breath and suffocated, but he dared not retaliate, which made him very angry.

"It's no big deal. Rick and Morty are both excellent hunters; they won't starve."

That's terrible? He's reduced to hunting for a living? Zhang Yuan was somewhat surprised.

Don't you have any savings at all?

"We've all switched to other food, there's nothing left over."

After some conversation, I learned that although the two brothers were quite capable, they always suffered setbacks because of their background. In addition, they were not very bright and were often ripped off by unscrupulous merchants and employers.

For example, it's common to encounter situations where the price of spoils is negotiated down, or where commissions are barely enough to cover food expenses.

The two brothers toiled away for years just to make a living, barely surviving.

"Then what's going on between you and Ramasis? How could you be in such a sorry state with a mage as your backer?" Zhang Yuan recalled what the other party had said earlier.

“Master Ramasis sometimes needs experimental materials, so he will post a task to purchase them. We have only taken on a few of these tasks, and they were all handled by his apprentices.”

Tsk~ Seeing how miserable these two brothers' lives were, Zhang the Philanthropist couldn't help but feel sorry for them.

"Since you're living in such dire straits, why don't you join a mercenary group? At least you won't have to worry about food and drink."

"I've joined before, but I never want to join again. They all bully Rick and Morty."

“Is that so? Now you have two choices.” Someone gestured with their fingers. “One is to serve a true mage, the disciple of Archmage Tyrantir, or to continue your vagrant lifestyle.”

Thank you to LazySheep and Nirvana Phoenix for your monthly ticket support, and thank you to loyal reader Angel for your generous donation. Thank you everyone! I also wish all my dear readers a Happy Chinese New Year and a prosperous Year of the Ox!
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(End of this chapter)