Black Hearted Mage

A few days later, Caesar was ready to set off. He first visited the beautiful Countess, Cassia.

This woman's methods were extremely cruel. In just a few years, anyone who stood in her way was secretly executed. Only one person remained in the entire Ronald family: Count Ronald, who suffered from amnesia and was paralyzed.

"Madam Kaschi, these are all the photos of the Golden Viper found in the underground caves of the Icecrown Mountains. They are part of the deal between me and Duke Solomon. I'm giving the photo stones to you!"

In the Earl's luxurious living room, Kasiki sat on a sofa beside the coffee table, two guards standing behind her. Caesars placed the photo stone on the coffee table, and Kasiki reached out her fair, delicate hand and quietly took it away.

"My grandfather has urged me several times, but Mr. Caesars has never appeared and has been in seclusion for seven years!"

There was a hint of cunning in Kasqi's tone. She was blaming Caesar for not giving her the photo stone seven years ago.

"Madam Kashiqi, I'm aiming to become a Grand Mage, so I haven't considered anything else. Tell Duke Solomon that I have golden ginseng. If you want it, prepare high-level magic crystals!"

Caesar's tone also changed. He was now a great magician with a higher status than the earl and was on par with the duke.

"What's the price of golden ginseng?" Kasiqi asked anxiously.

"Twenty thousand high-level magic crystals!"

As soon as Caesars quoted the price, Lady Kaschi, who was wearing a long dress, was already rummaging through her storage ring. She even ignored the fact that the other party was a great magician.

Two wooden boxes were placed on the floor tiles in the living room. Caesars opened the box and took a look. Inside were neatly stacked high-level magic crystals. He put them into his space ring without hesitation.

"Madam Kasqi, I want to inquire about what happened in the southern part of the Roland Empire. Has a war broken out after the stone mine was sealed?" Caesar asked.

"No war broke out. There was a brief clash when we were blocking Earl Soren's mine. After all, the mine entrance was too small, and the number of people on both sides fighting was less than a hundred, and Earl Soren did not show up. Now the Saint Laurent Empire has strict defenses on the border, with five or six legions guarding it tightly. It's not easy for stalkers to get through!"

After hearing Kaschi's explanation, Caesars nodded slightly. He wasn't ready to confront the Church of Saint Laurent yet. He was only a junior Grand Mage, and his strength was still insufficient. Now he faced a bigger problem: his training resources were almost exhausted, and his food reserves were running low.

Having received reliable information, Caesars didn't stay in the Earl's mansion for long. Cassia was a very cunning woman. Her annual offer of 10,000 gold coins to the two Ludwigs was simply an attempt to win him over. Caesars now even suspected that the two women in the castle might have been arranged by Cassia.

"Old Solomon is really willing to spend money!"

After leaving the Earl's Mansion, Caesars muttered to himself, "Now he urgently needs training resources. He plans to go to the Mage Alliance, not to receive the Grand Mage's Badge, but to buy 500 high-level magic crystals at a low price."

The Mage Alliance is not far away, and it only takes more than ten minutes to walk there.

In Violet City, a massive building with towering towers was the seat of the Mage Alliance. Caesars had been here when he first arrived in the Violet Alliance. Walking through the spacious and bright hall, Caesars first glanced at the taskbar on the side.

I haven't been to the Mage Alliance for a few years, and many of the quests here are still from the past. They are all quests that mages can't complete, and they are quests related to the Endless Forest.

A quest below caught his attention. Someone was offering a high price for fire magic gems over five inches in diameter, and they needed three of them, but the price wasn't listed. Caesars wrote down the quest number and walked to the reception desk in the lobby.

"I want to buy 500 magic crystals!"

Kaisas took out the badge of the Mage Alliance and placed it on the reception counter. A low-level magician in his twenties, about Kaisas's age, took the badge, glanced at it, and then took out a thin record book and flipped through it.

"Okay, I'll prepare it right away. The price is still the same!"

The female magician said this and then walked to the lounge behind the counter. Caesars had long forgotten the specific price of the magic crystal, but he still remembered the approximate price.

Soon the magician emerged, carrying a heavy tray filled with neatly stacked magic crystals. After a brief negotiation, Caesars paid the gold coins and collected the magic crystals.

"Task No. 173, what is the purchase price for fire magic gems larger than five inches?" Kaisas asked.

"Please wait a moment, let me check the mission record!"

The magician took out a large and thick notebook and quickly flipped to the page of task number 173.

"There's no price listed, but we posted this mission. Please wait a moment, I'll contact Master Joyce right away!"

The receptionist quickly pulled out a faintly glowing communication stone from his pocket. Caesars instantly understood that the Mage Alliance was looking to purchase a magic gem. It was a magical gem over five inches long. Such a large gem would definitely not be used on a staff. It was too large and too heavy to be used on a staff.

Caesars didn't want to reveal his true strength, so he quickly restrained the fluctuations of his own magic power, controlled it just right, and tried to maintain it at the level of a high-level magician.

A few minutes later, there was a slight sound of footsteps, and then Joyce and an elderly, kind-looking magician slowly approached. When they arrived in front of Caesars, they smiled and invited him into the reception room to discuss.

Kaisas couldn't help but be surprised by the sudden appearance of this great wizard. After all, there had been rumors circulating about the number of great wizards in the Mage Alliance, with rumors circling back to a mere 20,000. Furthermore, just a few years earlier, the great wizard Bordeaux had suffered a terrible disaster—hit by the violent breath of a ground dragon, severely injuring many of the wizards present, including the now crippled Bordeaux.

Full of doubts, Caesars couldn't help but ask, "President Joyce, who is this great magician?"

Hearing Caesar's question, Joyce's lips curled up slightly, and he replied softly, "Caesar, this is Master Jason from our Mage Alliance. He rarely shows up, but he's tinkering with magic instruments in the Alchemy Tower. The large magic gem is what he wants to buy!"

"It's the great alchemist!" Caesar said in surprise.

"I'm not very professional in potion alchemy, I mainly explore magical instruments. I have been improving the magic crystal cannon in recent years and plan to use it in mining!" said Old Jason.

Caesars nodded. He was well aware of the difficulties of mining. Regardless of whether the other party's words were true or false, he was only here to sell magic gems. He took out a few fire magic gems, and Old Jason was stunned.

"I want all these magic gems. How about 50,000 gold coins each?"

"Master Jason, I don't want gold coins, I just want high-level magic crystals, dark magic crystals are also fine!"

The price of 50,000 gold coins is not high, but Caesars has a lot of magic gems, so it is not bad to be able to sell three pieces at a time.

"Old Jason, do you have so many magic crystals?" President Joyce asked.

"Joyce, lend me some first. I'll return it to you when I come back from the Redstone Kingdom!" Old Jason said calmly.

Joyce didn't say much, just nodded at the other party, and then took out a box of magic crystals. Caesars also took it without hesitation, as he was very short of training resources.

"Caesar, you are a dark magician. Are you interested in helping us get something from a certain place?" Joyce suddenly spoke when Caesar was about to leave.

"President Joyce, where are we going to get it? What are we going to get?"

Caesar was very confused. There were two great magicians here, but they wanted him to help get something.

"In the east of Gravel Castle, there is an abandoned magic crystal mine. It used to produce dark magic crystals, and after the mine was abandoned, a dark spider appeared. This spider was raised freely. We are not going to hunt it, but we want you to catch a few servant spiders and get some empty spider eggs!" Joyce explained.

"Two great magicians, you can catch spiders on your own, and the magicians from the Mage Alliance can also go. Why do you have to ask me for help?"

Caesar looked at the two of them with confusion. The servant spiders were about the size of a fist. They would not eat after leaving the dark spider and would die in a few days.

"Kaesas, that abandoned magic crystal mine is within the defense range of Gravel Castle. Gravel Castle is now heavily guarded, and the people from the Violet Alliance can't get in at all!" Joyce said.

"I see! President Joyce, the servant spider will die in a few days. There's no way to bring it back alive."

Caesars then remembered the location of Gravel Fort, which was located in the southeast of Roland Continent, bordering the Saint Roland Empire. Gravel Fort was originally called Giant Stone Fort, but it was once destroyed by the Saint Roland Empire and later renamed Gravel Fort.

"You don't need to bring live servant spiders, as long as their corpses are intact. Kaisas, you can catch more servant spiders. Paralysis poison is very popular now!"

"President Joyce, based on what you said, I'm not sure if I can even enter the mine. The abandoned mine is too close to the Gravel Fort, and there are quite a few Hawkeye assassins in the Roland Empire, and they also need paralyzing poison. Maybe that dark spider was released by the spy chief, Carlos!"

“This is really possible!”

Not only did Joyce believe Caesar's deduction, but even Old Jason nodded frequently. They only considered the location of the mine, but ignored the Roland Empire's spy chief, a man who could almost see everything.

Caesar stood up, bowed slightly to the two great magicians, then walked out of the reception room and into the spacious hall of the Mage Alliance.

Others might have been wary of their leader, but Caesars wasn't too worried. He would definitely check out the abandoned magic crystal mine. He walked along the wide street to the nearby Thorn Flower Trading Company.

Phyllis and Orcus were nowhere to be seen, and Caesars was unfamiliar with the other elves. However, he had successfully obtained the elemental crystals. The female manager of the trading company was Rodman's mother, so having someone familiar made things easier.

After returning to his small stone house, Caesars packed up his things. The two thick golden-eyed black snakes would continue to stay here.

In the Roland Empire's Fire Maple City, in a tall tower behind the Imperial Palace, the Royal Mage Corps' headquarters, four or five elderly men in ornate robes sat before a magical device, observing a not-so-clear magical image.

"The light is too dim, I can't see anything clearly, please increase the brightness!" An old man in a black and gold robe shouted with full energy.

"Your Majesty, please wait a moment. The image has not been fully received yet!" Quinn explained.

"Your Majesty, don't be impatient. It will take a while for the image to be transmitted. Have some tea first!" Duke Solomon said.

In a small conference room, several elderly men anxiously stared at a blurry image from a cave. They were all either wealthy or noble: the Emperor of the Roland Empire, the powerful Duke Solomon, the spy chief who controlled Hawkeye and Black Prison, and the mysterious old Quinn.

"Finally received, but still have to wait a little longer while I debug the magic projection device!"

Old Quinn chattered excitedly as he deftly fiddled with the exquisite projection device. Seeing this, the other three elderly men nearby couldn't help but show off their irrepressible excitement. Soon, the Golden Viper they had longed for would appear before their eyes!

To ensure an immersive viewing experience, allowing viewers to truly feel the thrill of the adventure and witness the most realistic Golden Viper, Old Quinn unhesitatingly switched off all the magic lights in the meeting room. With the lights extinguished, the room plunged into darkness. Then, a bright, soft light emanated from the projection device, illuminating the wall before them.

Old Quinn expertly manipulated the controls, adjusting the magical image to its true-to-life proportions and setting the image quality to maximum clarity. At this moment, something unexpected happened—Kaesus's staff suddenly appeared on screen without warning, a hand tightly gripping a photo stone, pressing it swiftly and accurately.

When Old Quinn got a good look at the staff, he couldn't help but shudder, exclaiming inwardly, "Oh my god! This is a staff made of pure metal!" Just by looking, he could tell it must weigh at least several dozen kilograms. Just how much strength was needed to control such a heavy staff? Thinking of this, Old Quinn watched the scene in the photo with great excitement.