Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 63 The Lively Garrison (Bonus Chapter)
The two men who had just left the Flame Fist Gate found Andrei squatting in a tent, bored out of his mind because there was no business.

"You went to Flame Fist's armory? Didn't you tell me beforehand? If I, the prophet, had been there, none of the best equipment there would have escaped."

Upon hearing what had just happened, Andrei jumped three feet high.

Zhang Yuan quickly reassured the other party: "Calm down. We were indeed a bit hasty at the time. We took the child directly to see the Grand Duke. We couldn't possibly keep the Grand Duke waiting and then come back to you, could we?"

"We received a thousand gold coins as a reward this time, and you got a share of it. You can take an extra share as compensation."

Hearing this, Andrei felt a little embarrassed: "I only performed a magical ritual. You brought the person back through battle, so let's not talk about compensation anymore. That's what you deserve."

After some polite concessions and negotiations, the distribution results were as follows: Andrei received 500 gold coins for his contribution to the divination and for the compensation that the other two insisted on giving him. Zhang Yuan received the bulk of the equipment, which should have been only 200, but because Nancy relinquished ownership, he also received 500.

"Chanem, give me this hundred gold coins."

"Hey, didn't you say you gave up?"

"Yes, this hundred is for your food and living expenses during your apprenticeship."

"??? I'm doing just fine at the Flame Fist base, why would I need living expenses?" Zhang Yuan asked, puzzled.

“Who said this is for you? This is compensation for me for not being able to continue my laundry work because I had to teach you.”

"??? Are you kidding me? What kind of clothes do you wash every day? Why is there so much compensation for damages?" Zhang Yuan was increasingly puzzled.

"How about golden bubble pants? Are you satisfied with this answer?"

Zhang Yuan suddenly realized that this female hooligan was trying to extort money from him, and nothing he said would make a difference.

"We can't afford to offend them," they said. After handing a gold voucher to Nancy and agreeing to meet her at the Flame Fist base the next morning, the three of them took their leave.

When Zhang Yuan arrived at the Flame Fist Squad's base, carrying four gold foils and feeling as if his bones had become several pounds lighter, he was shocked as soon as he pushed open the door.

Just then, Ska led a group of teammates rushing over from the training field. Before Zhang Yuan could say anything, Ska grabbed him and tossed him into the air.

The person who had been sending others flying was now finally getting to fly himself. Amidst the cheers of his teammates, he felt dizzy and disoriented. This was probably retribution for constantly ordering his lackeys to throw others around.

After Zhang Yuan landed, it took him a while to come to his senses. Ska came over and patted him on the shoulder:

"Good job, lad! I didn't really have high hopes, but I didn't expect you to actually find that child and bring him back."

Zhang Yuan patted his newly acquired robe with a pained expression. The protective ability of this robe was similar to that of the most ordinary leather armor, but the price was worlds apart.

While providing a certain degree of protection, the lightweight and soft robe does not hinder the caster's movements at all, meaning it does not reduce the success rate of spellcasting. Moreover, it is a permanent item with its own daily regeneration of spell slots.

In a time when legendary items like chainmail armor for swordsmen and mithril inner armor are far too distant for us to even dream of, a combat robe like this is more practical than anything else.

"This time, we really owe a lot to Andre's prophetic abilities and the clues provided by Ms. Nancy. Of course, I also contributed a lot in that battle."

Then, someone recounted in detail what happened during the search for Garrick, especially the battle with Hickel. He was particularly animated when he talked about how Hickel injured Nancy with the Frost Staff and was about to cast a fear spell. He was especially excited when he talked about his quick thinking and decision to control the enemy's guards and launch a counterattack.

Of course, he didn't mention a word about how he was later afflicted by a fear spell and then ran naked in the street like a Spartan.

However, since he didn't say it, someone else spoke for him.

"Hey, I just heard a rumor yesterday that there was some pervert in Belgost who was running around in the streets naked with only a cloak on. Could it be?" That was Lawrence's voice, that old lecher.

Damn it! The man's face immediately darkened. "I didn't, I didn't, don't talk nonsense."

"The whole of Belgost was in an uproar. Many people saw it with their own eyes. The clothes he took off had the Flamefist insignia, and the cloak was black."

Unable to defend himself, the person could only say something like, "Half-naked doesn't count as naked, it's about liberating one's nature," which drew bursts of laughter from everyone.

After the playful banter ended, Ska straightened his expression and said to Zhang Yuan, "Chanem, this time you not only found the Grand Duke's long-lost child, but you also found a reliable prophet."

"I received the news today and went to visit the Grand Duke. He has agreed to our plan. We plan to go to Andre, whom you recommended, tomorrow and have him locate the bandits' headquarters. In a few days, our Flame Fist will take action to eradicate this scourge."

"So fast? Doesn't this kind of military operation require preparation and planning time?" Zhang Yuan was truly astonished. Even if they had the capability to act, this was still too fast.

“It’s not that fast. This wasn’t a large-scale operation to begin with; it was an elite squad’s raid.” Ska’s tone was somewhat meaningful. “Besides, if we prepare for too long, I’m afraid some people will be better prepared than us.”

Zhang Yuan, who understood Ska's implication, didn't know what to say. No matter what organization it was, it could never be a monolithic entity, not even the Flame Fist.

The fact that Angelo colluded with Shafulok in the game shows that the Iron Throne had already started to infiltrate Flame Fist, but it's unclear what the current situation is.

It seemed that the training with Nancy would have to be postponed, Zhang Yuan thought about the special training.

Back in his dorm, Zhang Yuan felt completely relaxed. He rushed to the bathroom for a shower, then threw himself onto the bed. Even the wooden plank bed that he hadn't been used to felt incredibly comfortable now. Even the mattress with its thick quilt in the Friendly Arm wasn't as comfortable as his own bed.

What a life of toil! The person thought to themselves. Since transmigrating, they had first received training in Flame Fist, then there was that expedition that lasted for nearly a month, and then they encountered the matter of finding their son with a large sum of money, not to mention all the other things that happened in between.

Lost in thought, I drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Zhang Yuan, who wanted to sleep a little longer, was dragged out of bed by Ska.

"Get up. I know you're tired, but we need to hurry and find that Andrei you mentioned. We can't let this delay our plans."

Helpless, Zhang Yuan had no choice but to get up, wash up, and then take Ska straight to Andrei's tent.

After that, he was no longer involved. A certain prophet was flattered by a certain unscrupulous captain who kept calling him a master and was invited to the headquarters of Flame Fist with great respect.

This scene made Zhang Yuan feel a little sad. This was the treatment a real mage should enjoy. Unlike himself, who was running around like an ordinary mercenary every day.

However, he also knew in his heart that although Andrei was just performing a magical ritual in his own tent, the ultimate goal was still for him and Nancy to bring back after a fierce battle.

However, without Andre's accurate assessment, no matter how good he and Nancy were at fighting, it would be useless. Or rather, the Flame Fist organization didn't lack capable fighters and didn't care much about ordinary low-level mages. But no organization would underestimate a prophet of strategic significance like this.

As one of the initial participants in the plan, Zhang Yuan was also qualified to join the discussion, though only as an observer.

He was just a nerdy guy with no military experience. He wasn't stupid enough to give advice to an expert. He could pretend to be a military expert just by reading a couple of military history books and spouting some nonsense on a forum.

Even if he had a face as thick as a tank's armor, he would never dare to act so arrogantly.

Many thanks to all the readers for your investment and recommendations. Thank you for your companionship and support.

I would also like to thank Lazy Yinglong, Doctor Doesn't Die in Getia, and Book Friend 160826201100483 for their donations.

Let's continue with my fanfic about "My Giant Ship Girl," where I'm going to sail a huge ship.

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(End of this chapter)