Above the mage!

Chapter 522: Report to Parents

For any country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is an indispensable core institution within its sovereign system.
It serves as an "external extension" of national sovereignty, an "external barrier" for interests, and a "vehicle" for realizing international discourse power.

Perhaps the concept of a "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" does not exist in this world.

However, there are certainly positions and institutions that perform diplomatic functions, such as secretaries and permanent representatives.

It can be said with certainty that any power with independent sovereignty needs a dedicated agency to handle foreign relations and safeguard its own sovereignty, security and development interests.

Because the fundamental reality is that "nations do not exist in isolation".

A country without a "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" is like a person "without a mouth and ears".

Therefore, establishing a Ministry of Foreign Affairs is an inevitable choice for any sovereign state to safeguard its existence and achieve development.

Phoenix is ​​currently a developing and weak northern tribal city, but it possesses abundant resources.

What it needs to do now is to keep a low profile, focus on development, and try to avoid attracting outside attention.

The principle that possessing a treasure is a crime is universal.

In this situation, Phoenix would avoid other countries like the plague, let alone engage in "diplomacy".

But this is only a temporary measure; Phoenix cannot remain "closed off" forever.

One day, Phoenix will grow stronger, the North will be unified, and it will need to declare its existence to the outside world, establish connections with other powers, and perhaps even establish a nation.

At that time, the "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" would inevitably need to be established, and its position would be of paramount importance.

Staying to serve as an ambassador for the office, in the end, is a case of hardship followed by reward.

"Think it over carefully and tell me your answer before I leave Black Sails City. If you don't want to stay, then come with me. The position of deputy director of the Public Security Bureau will still be reserved for you," Gao De added, seeing the inner turmoil in Lan Wen's heart.

After having a preliminary discussion with Lan Wen about the personnel arrangements and future prospects of the office, Gao De stayed in Black Sail City for another five days.

The reason they weren't in a hurry to return was mainly to wait for Sarah's help in acquiring the remaining magical materials.

For him, being able to gather almost all the raw materials for concocting spell potions in a resource-rich place like Black Sails City in one go was an extremely rare opportunity, and he was patient enough to wait a few more days.

The abundance of resources in Black Sails City did not disappoint Gaode Maps.

Over the course of five days, Sarah had a steady stream of magical materials delivered to her.

After a final check, Gao De found that 90% of the materials on his list had arrived.

Once he has gathered all the ingredients for a magic potion, Gao De will immediately stew them all together in one pot to make the corresponding magic potion, and then gulp it down.

By the last day, Gao De had consumed nearly twenty bottles of spell potions, including several common second-circle spells such as [Tranquility], [Bear's Resilience], and [Earthbind].

Finally, after letting out a satisfied burp, he prepared to embark on his journey home.

Before leaving, Gao De first found Lan Wen to confirm the other party's intentions.

"My King, I am willing to stay." After five days of consideration, Lanwen made his final decision, his tone filled with unwavering determination.

As Gaode said, he is the most suitable candidate to be the head of the office at present.

Whether it's his work experience in the Sheriff's Department, his rich experience as a tribal elder over the years, or his familiarity with Black Sails City, no one in Phoenix could be more suitable than him.

Moreover, being the head of an office in a place like Black Sails City could be quite dangerous if one's mage level is insufficient.

Even with the protection of the Gold Hunters and Sarah, a fourth-ring mage would be the minimum requirement.

Both Gao De and Lan Wen knew perfectly well that among Phoenix's current fourth-circle mages, he was the "least important" one, able to leave the North and serve as the head of the office here.

Gao De can be democratic and allowed to freely choose whether to stay or leave.

But he couldn't be ignorant; he had to consider the actual situation in Phoenix.

Ultimately, this path was indeed the most suitable one for him.

Staying in the North as deputy sheriff means competing with Catherine for the sheriff's position.

Catherine is capable and young; her only disadvantage is her background.

But given enough time, this disadvantage will disappear; he actually doesn't have much confidence that he can win against her.

Since that's the case, why not take a step back and, as Gao De said, the importance and status of the "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" are in no way inferior to that of the "Public Security Bureau"?

Looking at Lan Wen's determined eyes, Gao De was very satisfied: "Then, you should start preparing for the initial setup of the office. I will have Sunafa send someone to assist you as soon as possible to supplement the manpower."

Also, if you need anything here, you can ask Sarah. We're allies now, and she should be willing to help unless it's a particularly unreasonable request.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Lanwen replied respectfully.

With the person in charge of the office selected, Gao De felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders.

Although there are still many things he misses about the Blue Flame Islands.

For example, the blue flame crystal veins on those affiliated islands are exposed "gold mines," which he can mine without restraint if he wants.

However, there's no rush; we can take it one step at a time, and it's not worth wasting time on them yet.

His biggest concern right now is returning to the North to see how Yugathira has changed, and the military mage tournament that will be held in a little over a year.

This is what's currently in the top priority.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Gao De packed his luggage and arrived at Blood Sail Wharf.

Sarah specially sent a fast boat to take him back. The boat was painted with the logo of the Gold Coin Hunters, and the crew members were all carefully selected and experienced.

In addition, she sent Baozai to personally escort her, fearing that other forces in Black Sail City would not dare to attack her and would instead choose to hijack the ship and attack Gao De.

Gaode did not refuse; the principle of "better safe than sorry" is always true.

The speedboat sped across the azure waves of the Blue Flame Sea, the sea breeze brushing against Gao De's cheeks, carrying a salty, damp scent.

He stood at the bow of the ship, gazing at the gradually blurring outline of the city of black sails in the distance, his heart filled with joy.

Although this trip to the Blue Flame Islands was full of twists and turns, the results far exceeded expectations.

Not only did they achieve their initial goal of finding the Azus Feather Whistle saplings, but they also established an alliance with Sarah, opening up trade and diplomatic channels for the North.

In addition, there are other real gains, including the [Misfortune], [Spell Bottle], [Drunkard's Amulet], a series of treasures purchased at the auction, and the 38 bounty that has not yet been credited to my account.

Sure enough, if you want to get rich, you have to run more "dungeons" to farm gold.

Gao De sighed inwardly.

The return journey was smooth and without any unexpected events. With the help of the currents in the Drake Passage, the speedboat quickly broke out of the Blue Flame Sea and headed towards the Sword Sea.

However, upon reaching the border of the waters under the jurisdiction of the Golden Flower Dynasty, the fast ship from the City of Black Sails had to lower its sails and stop on the calm sea.

The awkward situation was that the ships from Black Sails City were clearly not legal vessels. They lacked customs clearance permits, nationality certificates, logbooks, and cargo manifests. Such unregistered vessels would certainly not be allowed into the waters under the jurisdiction of the Plantagenet Dynasty and would not withstand any inspection.

If you encounter patrolling mages or warships, being driven out of the domain is considered good; if you're unlucky, you might run into a hot-tempered one who could just open fire.

After all, the ship Sarah sent was originally a pirate ship. Although it had been simply renovated and modified, it still retained some traces of pirate ships.

"Thank you for seeing me off." Gao De declined Bao Zai's offer to see him off the whole way.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, he jumped off the boat decisively, like a nimble fish, leaving only a faint ripple in the water before disappearing into the vast sea, leaving Baozai dumbfounded on the deck.

Sword Bay is a huge bay. According to continental rules, a bay, which is a sea area with its territorial sea baseline pointing towards the land, is completely equivalent to land territory and has a much more special status than territorial sea.

Therefore, the distance from here to Port Dorn is not the usual 24-kilometer territorial sea baseline, but rather nearly 100 kilometers, several times longer.

Baozai offered to escort him across such a long distance because he was worried that Gaode's magic power wouldn't be enough to support him using the [Flying Technique] to get ashore.

Who would have thought that Gaode Maps never planned to fly there, but rather to swim there?

Flying over consumes magic power, while swimming over consumes physical strength; the difficulty is incomparable.

If it weren't for the thoughtful impression Gao De left on him on the Blue Flame Islands, Bao Zai would have even thought Gao De had lost his mind.

Gaode is definitely not crazy.

The combination of his "Water-bound Body" and "Empty-breath Body" makes him almost indistinguishable from a fish in the sea.

The former allows his body to resonate with the seawater in a wonderful way, as if he can become one with the water flow;
The latter allows him to maintain normal physiological functions by absorbing oxygen from seawater through his skin, without needing to breathe air.

With the addition of magic, swimming is indeed easier and less strenuous than flying.

Because in the depths of the ocean, there are all kinds of ocean currents.

With its keen sense of water flow, Gaode Maps can travel by relying on the propulsion of ocean currents when it is not pursuing high-speed travel.

It's like riding in a car; you only need to swing your limbs occasionally to maintain a steady speed, without having to expend too much of your own strength.

Even so, his speed surpasses that of most fish.

So, in less than half a day, Gao De had successfully returned to Dorn Port.

The reeds swayed in the wind, and the long cries of herons drifted from afar as they stretched their necks, leisurely searching for fish and shrimp.

This is the Great Swamp of Dorne.

Because this world is much larger than the world Gaode lived in before, this vast swamp is also much more expansive than the traditional impression of the word "vast swamp"—looking into the distance, the water surface and the horizon merge into one, making it impossible to distinguish where the water ends and the sky begins.

If you put an outsider here, people would probably believe it if you said it was the sea area.

Gao De stood where he had put the dumpling down and, following the agreed-upon signal, used the [Gathering Call] spell to send out two short and one long signal.

The sound waves, amplified by the magic, spread outwards for several kilometers, startling flocks of gulls and egrets in the reed marshes.

In reality, the signal travels much farther than it appears, because it simultaneously vibrates the water, creating a water wave signal similar to an acoustic signal.

This signal travels farther and is more concealed underwater than sound waves, which is exactly the communication method he and Tuanzi agreed upon.

Tuanzi is extremely sensitive to water ripples; it can sense them very quickly if they are nearby.

Gaode waited patiently.

Not long after, an unusual ripple suddenly appeared on the surface of the water in the distance.

It wasn't just gentle ripples caused by the wind; something was moving rapidly underwater.

Immediately afterwards, a round, gray figure suddenly emerged from the water.

Its bright black eyes darted around, and as soon as it spotted Gaode on the shore, it let out a cheerful "cheep cheep cheep" sound, its voice soft and sweet, just like a spoiled little animal.

It's a dumpling!

It excitedly shook the water droplets off its head and suddenly began its "animal performance," joyfully somersaulting in the water.

Gao De was extremely pleased to see this.

It had been almost three months since he had let Tuanzi roam freely. He was worried that Tuanzi would become wild after such a long time apart, but he didn't expect that Tuanzi would still be so affectionate and enthusiastic towards him.

It's no wonder he's been feeding and drinking so well.

During this trip to the Blue Flame Islands, he managed to gather nearly twenty different kinds of magical potions.

Gaode's current idea is to go into seclusion for a while and first complete the construction of the corresponding spell models.

In addition, it's a good opportunity to use the "Bone and Blood Thorn Elixir" to train properly, quickly increase your mage level, and at the same time boost your "poison resistance".

Since he's going to be in seclusion anyway, he'll definitely prioritize the northern border as his location.

Firstly, it facilitates guidance on the construction and development of Phoenix. Although Sunefa is highly capable, some details still require his rich experience to oversee.

Secondly, the abundant ice elemental energy in the North significantly promotes the cultivation of the "True Ice Secret Manual".

Third, the spiritual lands in the North are free. In the Golden Flower Dynasty, if you want to cultivate in an environment rich in magic, you need to pay to rent a cultivation room.

Although Gaode isn't short of money right now, his inherent virtue of thrift still makes him more inclined to return to the North to enjoy the free, high-quality spiritual land.

However, there are many things to do when I return to the North this time, and I expect to stay for at least two months.

In addition, Gaode had already been in seclusion for more than three months in preparation for his trip to the Blue Flame Islands.

Although sea sentries are not responsible for being on duty, it is never good to "disappear" for too long.

Moreover, his six-month work slump is somewhat inconsistent with his "persona".

So, after some thought, Gaode decided to take on a simple mission from the Sea Sentinels first, to make his presence known, before returning to the North.

Because the mage's level has increased to the second ring, the number of quests available has suddenly increased.

In addition, he had a bit of luck. Gao De casually glanced at the Sea Abyss White Tower mission hall and actually found a mission that he could take on, so he accepted it without hesitation.

When going on a mission, of course you have to bring Tuanzi along.

Although Tuanzi is currently only a Tier 1 water beast and cannot provide much help in combat, its abilities in the water can still play a significant role in tracking and finding objects.

While thinking, Gao De placed his palm on the wet head of the seemingly overly excited Tuanzi and cast [Beast Link+] to communicate with it and discuss the specific details of the mission.

Unexpectedly, as soon as [Beast Link+] was established, a series of urgent, aggrieved, and angry thoughts came from Tuanzi and flooded into his mind.

Gao De listened intently to Tuanzi's accusations, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

So the little guy was so excited just now not because he was thinking about me, but because he was being bullied here and was "telling on his parents"!

(End of this chapter)