Black Hearted Mage

In the hot summer, the night is as dark as ink, as if a thick black cloth covers the earth.

On the top floor of the Stonewall Fort, Caesars sat quietly, lost in meditation. A gentle breeze caressed his face like a soft hand, bringing an indescribable sense of comfort. This breeze seemed to possess a magical power, bringing peace of mind and a sense of well-being.

And in the Emerald River, southwest of Stonebreak, a dark secret lay beneath its surface. Figures clad in black emerged from the water like ghosts. They swam swiftly toward the shore, clinging to the bank as if blending into the darkness.

After the patrol on the riverbank gradually moved away, the men in black nimbly climbed the nearly ten-meter-high riverbank. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared into the distant woods.

In the sparse woods, more than twenty men in black stripped off their damp black clothes and unpacked dry clothing and their weapons. Just as they were about to change into clean clothes, something unexpected happened! Spherical, unidentified objects were thrown from outside the woods into the crowd. Instantly, a pungent smoke filled the air, quickly filling the entire area.

Just as the defenseless Saint Laurents were about to react, they found their muscles stiffened, unable to even make a single complete movement. The smoke grew thicker, the pungent odor suffocating them. One by one, the Saint Laurents fell to the ground, and the sparse woodland quickly returned to calm.

The next morning, sunlight shimmered across the emerald river, creating a shimmering surface. After a thorough search, a soldier in the legion, a skilled swimmer, finally located the Saint Laurents' smuggling route beneath the river. It was a large iron chain, about the thickness of a calf, securely fastened to the west of Gravel Fort. It was less than a mile from the fort and only six or seven meters from the high riverbank.

This carefully planned smuggling route had been uncovered, and Carlos, the leader of the investigation, was thrilled. With a wave of his hand, Duke Solomon dispatched over 2,000 soldiers. Using thick animal hide ropes tied to iron chains, they uprooted the creature.

This large iron chain, mixed with a small amount of magic steel, was approximately seven or eight hundred meters long and cost no less than two hundred thousand gold coins. Duke Solomon had awarded the chain to the soldiers, allowing them to do with it as they pleased.

"Caesars, how did you discover these Saint Laurents?" the masked spy chief asked with some confusion.

"I have placed a lot of magic beacons on the river bank. As long as there is a slight fluctuation in dark magic, I will know immediately!" Caesar looked at the other party and answered.

"I understand. Among those assassins yesterday, there were three magical assassins, and they were all dark-type!"

The spy chief was incredibly clever. With just a hint from Caesars, he could predict the overall situation. Without this ability, Carlos wouldn't have been the spy chief of the Roland Empire, nor would he have been part of the empire's power triangle.

"Master Carlos, I want to inquire about something!"

"Just say it if you want to. We are old friends!"

"Hawkeye should have spies around Bitterwater Farm. I just want to ask if the monsters hiding in the mines have come out?"

"The defenses around Bitter Water Farm aren't very tight. The entrance to the underground is inside a house. It's hard to get close to, and there are constant patrols day and night. I haven't seen any monsters come out, but every few days they send in large amounts of meat. It's all livestock offal. Just hearing about it makes me sick!"

Caesars nodded slightly. Bitterwater Farm wasn't a place he could go right now, and it wasn't the right time to challenge the Church of Saint Laurent. The ghouls and aberrations were a significant threat, but fortunately, they were in the Saint Laurent Empire. If he wanted to overthrow the Church of Saint Laurent, he might need their help.

"Lord Carlos, is there a carriage going to Fire Maple City?"

"Now that the big iron chain has been found, we don't need to stay in Gravel Castle anymore and can return to Fire Maple City today. By the way, Solomon, go and tell your people to search the Emerald River thoroughly to make sure there are no more iron chains at the bottom of the river!" Carlos said a few words after thinking for a while.

"Then let's go down together!"

After dealing with the hidden dangers of Gravel Castle, Duke Solomon felt relieved. He was an old nobleman who was used to enjoying life. Gravel Castle was a fortress on the border, not a place for enjoying life.

Duke Solomon and the spy chief walked in front, followed by Caesars and Old Gad. When they arrived at the hall beneath the Stonewall Fort, dozens of people were already waiting. Most were armored generals, Duke Solomon's men. A dozen or so figures in leather armor were Carlos's men. Four or five middle-aged men in magical robes were from the Royal Mage Corps and were Old Gad's students.

Caesars had no interest in hearing their flattery and walked alone outside the Stone Fort. The likelihood of war breaking out here was relatively low. Separated by the swift-flowing Emerald River, naval warfare was extremely dangerous, especially since a narrow gorge lay just downstream. Any sturdy warship would be destroyed there, with the crew dead.

More than a dozen luxurious carriages and thousands of guards leading war horses lined up neatly in front of the Stonewall Fort. Among them was one whom Caesar recognized: the commander of the Duke's Palace guards—Delon.

The other person was wearing a dark red composite leather armor and a leather helmet. If Caesar had not been close enough, it would have been difficult for him to recognize him.

"Commander Deron, why don't you wear magic steel armor?" asked Caesar.

"Lord Caesars, we are going to ride back to Fire Maple City. The magic steel armor is too heavy, and the horses can't withstand running for a long time, so we will all change into leather armor!"

Rad was a little cautious when he spoke, and no longer as casual as before.

"The Duke didn't bring his heir with him?"

The Second Legion is under the control of Duke Solomon. According to convention, the heir should be brought along on such an important tour.

"No, the Duke doesn't want to bring them out. Everyone knows the reasons!" Delon glanced at the hall of the Gravel Castle and then said in a low voice.

Duke Solomon's heirs were each more idle than the last, spending their days doing nothing. They didn't need to resort to the same ruthless tactics and bloodshed that plagued other families in their quest for the precious inheritance. The second-generation heirs were even more useless, having been completely wasted. With no other choice, the old duke now placed all his hopes on the third-generation heir, meticulously training him with all his might.

"Speaking of which, these heirs of the old duke are pretty good. At least they never use their power to bully others. And they are very generous when spending money. I once did business with them and sold them several dead leaf snakes!" Caesar couldn't help but feel deeply moved when he recalled his experience of dealing with these heirs.

At this time, Delon, standing by, lowered his voice and quietly explained to Caesar, "Actually, they weren't completely without fighting spirit before, but the Duke wouldn't allow it. After all, the old emperor's successor hasn't been finalized yet. If an heir to power appeared in the Duke's house too early, it would be a big problem! If the newly enthroned emperor is young and strong, and our new Duke is over fifty, or even in his fifties or sixties, then the so-called iron triangle of power will not be able to function properly. The Duke calls this maintaining a delicate 'game balance'!"

After hearing Delon's words, Caesars suddenly understood the reason. It turned out that the friendship between nobles was so unpredictable, especially when it came to the complex game of power. Imperial Eagle Eye was unlikely to have a successor either. Only after the dust settled on the heir to the throne would all be clear.

Caesars looked at the neatly parked carriages and walked over to the second one, which bore the emblem of the Solomon family. Under Delon's gaze, Caesars climbed aboard and stepped into the comfortable interior. The sound of a cork being uncorked filled a bottle of wine, and Delon licked his lips enviously. The wine cabinets in the carriages were filled with bottles of wine over a century old.

In the carriage, Kaisas not only drank the century-old wine, but he also took a few bottles and put them into his space ring. He went to the ogre tribe and almost ate all the food he had stored, and there were only a few barrels of wine left.

After about half a minute, the three Fire Maple City bosses finally boarded the carriage, and the large group slowly began to set off. Duke Solomon's carriage was luxurious and spacious, pulled by eight sturdy black horses.

"Caesars, if you wanted wine, take it all. What's the point of leaving half a bottle?"

After Duke Solomon got into the carriage, he found that there was only half a bottle of wine left in the exquisite wine cabinet.

"I left half a bottle of wine to let His Excellency the Duke know that I also have a bottom line. I don't want the rest you drink!" Caesars looked at Solomon and said lightly.

"I haven't been on a carriage for more than ten days. I almost forgot about it!"

Duke Solomon smiled awkwardly. He hadn't ridden in a carriage since arriving at Stonebreak Castle, and he'd long forgotten about the half-empty bottle of wine. He pulled bottles of fine wine from his storage ring and filled the small wine cabinet.

"Your Excellency the Duke, would you like to buy some high-quality herbs?"

As soon as Caesars finished speaking, Duke Solomon trembled all over and a smile broke out on his old face.

"Your Excellency the Duke, don't smile so obscenely. I'm not selling golden ginseng. I'm just selling it to refine a powerful life potion, which can improve its quality by a level!"

Caesar's words were full of irresistible temptation, making Duke Solomon eager to know the answer.

"What kind of herb is it?"

"Liferoot, an herb that increases vitality and life force!"

"Kaisas, you're not kidding me, are you? Livingroot isn't a rare herb. Even though its quantity is a little less, it can still be bought in magic shops!"

Livingroot is one of the ingredients for a powerful life potion. Although it is not the main ingredient, Duke Solomon is very familiar with Livingroot.

"Your Excellency the Duke, the quality of herbs must be considered. The living-root grass you bought is only half a foot tall at most, and the roots are not thick." Caesars said.

"Aren't all livingroot grasses this big? The ones sold at the Thorn Flower Merchants are only about a foot long, probably less than a foot!"

"Both Living Root Grass and Golden Ginseng grow slowly. Although Living Root Grass isn't a primary ingredient, it's used in many potions. Cratered Mountains can't cultivate it for long, so it usually has to be harvested after ten years. My Living Root Grass is definitely rare. I'll take one out for you to see!"

As Caesars spoke, he took out a strange-looking herb, about one meter long, and looked like a black rotten tree root.

"Kaisas, is this living root grass? The color is obviously wrong!"

"Your Excellency the Duke, you won't believe anything I say now. You can cut off a piece of the root and examine it carefully!"

Caesars smiled and gracefully extended his right hand, making a standard gesture of invitation. He then pointed to the exquisitely crafted letter opener placed on the low table.

Seeing this, Duke Solomon's eyes quickly fell on the letter opener. He reached out and picked it up without hesitation. Then, he skillfully used the letter opener in his hand and gently cut off an entire black, snake-like root.

Instantly, a strong and distinctive herbal scent, like a wisp of invisible smoke, slowly emanated from the cut where the root had been cut. This scent, as if possessing life, quickly spread through the air. Duke Solomon sniffed it, his brow furrowing slightly, for he was all too familiar with this scent—undoubtedly, it was the distinct aroma of livingroot.

However, looking at the dark root in front of him, Duke Solomon couldn't help but wonder: "Why is it so black?"

Caesars, who was standing nearby, quickly explained, "Don't worry, Your Excellency. This is simply because it's covered in a layer of old bark that hasn't fallen off, and it's also stained with some damp dirt. Just gently scrape it a few times with this letter opener, and you'll be able to see the true roots inside!"

Hearing this, Duke Solomon nodded, then, holding a letter opener, he began carefully scraping the finger-thick root. As the blade rubbed against the root's surface, flakes of black skin peeled off. Gradually, a root as white as snow, with a slightly translucent texture, emerged. At the same time, a richer herbal aroma instantly filled the entire carriage, bringing a sense of peace and tranquility.

The old duke joyfully picked up the cleanly scraped liveroot. After examining it for a moment, he placed it in his mouth without hesitation, taking a small bite and slowly chewing it. The moment the liveroot was chopped, a slightly bitter juice immediately filled his mouth, and the faint bitterness spread across his tongue like ripples.

As we all know, liveroot grass can not only be eaten directly, but also has different tastes and flavors depending on the degree of drying. Fresh liveroot grass tastes only slightly bitter, but if it is dried after being dried, it will become extremely bitter and difficult to swallow.