Black Hearted Mage

The nobles' faces were filled with brilliant smiles, their eyes gleaming with flattery and fawning. They presented Joanna with their carefully prepared gifts, all of which were priceless treasures. Among them were dazzling jewel brooches, magical gems emitting mysterious powers, and some bizarre items that even Caesars couldn't name.

However, Joanna refused without hesitation: "You'd better take back the gifts. I can't accept these things!" There was a hint of determination and displeasure in her voice, as if she was very annoyed by the behavior of these nobles.

Joanna glanced at the nobles, her eyes filled with deep disgust. Whenever she returned to Fire Maple City, these nobles would swarm around her like a swarm of buzzing flies, preventing her from enjoying a moment of peace and tranquility.

Faced with Joanna's refusal, the nobles looked at each other with confusion and bewilderment. One of them asked cautiously, "Miss Joanna, why is this? We have such good intentions!"

As these nobles gazed at Joanna, their impressive figure was scanned with aggressive gazes. Their fiery, greedy eyes couldn't conceal the lust deep within their hearts. Perhaps they, too, harbored admiration for her, but their actions were driven more by self-interest.

"Please call me Madam from now on! Look, my son has grown up so much. So, please don't give me any more gifts, and please don't bother me anymore!"

"What? He's your son!"

Joanna's words struck the nobles like a bolt from the blue, leaving them struggling to accept the answer. When several nobles turned their gazes towards Caesars, their eyes revealed deep, undisguised hatred.

Joanna was keenly aware of those malicious glances, but she hadn't anticipated the nobles' reaction. She had hoped to use Caesars to dissuade them, but the situation had become more complicated. These nobles seemed to view Caesars as an enemy, a stumbling block to their pursuit of their own interests.

After just over ten minutes, these nobles left in a hurry. Some looked depressed, some were in a trance, and some were full of resentment.

Joanna knew that the nobles who had just left were only a fraction of her many suitors. As time passed, news of her son would spread rapidly throughout Fire Maple City, and the number of those hostile to Caesars would surely increase. She was well aware of the nobles' code of conduct, and some would undoubtedly do whatever it took to eliminate this "roadblock."

"Kaissa, one of them wants to kill you!"

"Ma'am, I've noticed that several nobles are looking at me with ill intentions!"

Kaisas was also helpless. On one side was the great magician, and on the other side was the noble of Fire Maple City, while he was just a magic apprentice with no strength.

"Don't worry too much. Just stay in the mansion. They'll find out the truth over time. No one should come to disturb you today. I'll teach you a low-level spell with no attributes - the magic ball!"

Joanna didn't rush to teach the spell, but first explored Kaisas's magic sea. She needed to know how much magic power Kaisas currently possessed and whether it was enough to cast a low-level spell.

"Ma'am, could you please hold your hands still? I'm ticklish!"

Joanna placed her palm gently on Caesar's belly, with no clothing between them. She concentrated her mind, trying to accurately estimate the magic power in his body.

"Don't move, just be patient. I don't have any special magic equipment here, so I can only detect your magic condition in this way." Joanna said softly.

Caesars felt a little uncomfortable, but nodded: "Yes, ma'am, please finish it as soon as possible."

Joanna focused her magic tentacles into Caesar's body, searching for the location of the magic sea. After some effort, she finally found the location of the magic sea.

Although Caesar's magic sea was small, it was incredibly resilient. This resiliency effectively reduced the loss of mana within it. However, Joanna discovered that this magic sea's resiliency even surpassed that of a high-level magician, leaving her perplexed.

For a magician, the toughness of the magic sea is crucial. Normally, the magic sea strength of a magic apprentice should be much lower than that of a magician. But now, Caesar's situation is completely the opposite, which makes Joanna fall into deep thought.

Under normal circumstances, only the magic sea of ​​Warcraft is so tough, and their strength is often far greater than that of human magicians.

"Your magic power is enough to cast two magic balls. I will teach you how magic balls work now. However, there is one thing I must tell you: you can only cast one magic ball. You must save the rest of your magic power!"

"Ma'am, why is that?"

Caesars asked in some confusion, he clearly possessed the power of two magic balls, why did the great magician only allow him to cast one.

"The remaining magic power must be saved to save lives. This is an unwritten rule among us magicians. When the magic power is exhausted, the magician will become extremely weak. This is the most dangerous moment. We must never let this happen. Otherwise, a low-level warrior may kill a great magician!"

Kaisas was a little surprised, but he had heard Rad say that two to three percent of the magic power must be left in the magic sea so that when attacked, the enemy would have the ability to resist and escape.

"Great Magician, I understand!"

The magic principle of the magic ball was actually not complicated, and the attack power it generated was relatively weak, barely enough to cause damage to some low-level classes. However, it was sufficient for beginners. After just half an hour of effort, Kaisas finally successfully cast a magic ball the size of a walnut.

Looking at the magic ball in his hand, which was gleaming with a faint light, Kaisas felt extremely excited and proud. He widened his eyes, which were full of anticipation and curiosity.

"Very good, very good. You did a great job! Next, I will teach you the art of illumination. Although this spell is not offensive, it is very practical in dark environments!" Joanna encouraged with a smile.

Kaisas nodded eagerly, she was eager to learn more magical knowledge and skills.

Just as Caesars was excitedly preparing to learn a new spell, the old butler suddenly came over from behind the living room.

"Miss, it's lunchtime. Also, the master has ordered that a family banquet will be held tonight, and all members of the Cavill family must attend!" said the old butler respectfully.

Hearing this, a hint of displeasure appeared on Joanna's face. She knew that this meant she would have to check the magical talents of the younger generation again.

"Do you want me to check those guys' magical talents again?" Joanna asked impatiently.

"Miss, you are wise!" The old butler replied with a slight bow.

"Okay, Caesars, let's go have lunch first, and then I'll continue teaching you magic in the afternoon."

Joanna didn't show much dissatisfaction, because it wasn't the first time to check the magic talent of the younger generation. She understood Joey's idea, that he hoped to make the Cavill family stronger in this way.

Today's lunch was obviously richer than yesterday's. Baron Cavill had put a lot of thought into getting Joanna to contribute.

Caesars was looking forward to tonight's dinner; he had never attended a banquet before. In the Blackstone Tavern, bards often boasted about banquets hosted by nobles, which would have at least twenty or thirty delicious dishes and three or five desserts.

In the afternoon, Caesars continued to meditate, replenishing his magic power for the Demon Sea. The maids and servants of the Cavill family were busy preparing for the banquet.

In the distant void, on the abyss plane billions of miles away, a black castle sits on a desolate and broken land. This castle is called Dark Castle and is the residence of the Abyss Lord Raven Rhodes.

At this time, in the depths of the castle, Raven Rhodes was sitting on a huge black throne with his eyes closed. Rich shadow energy surrounded his body, which continued to flow into his body and was absorbed and refined by him.

Suddenly, Raven opened his eyes, his eyes flashed with a deep light, he waved his hand, and a black stone appeared in his hand. This stone was his magic communication stone.

"Who is it?" Raven Rhodes's low voice sounded.

"Hey, man, I have something urgent to talk to you about. It's a big deal!" An anxious voice came from the magic communication stone.

"It's you, Jerry. What's the hurry?" Raven Rhodes asked with a frown. The fat guy should be asleep and shouldn't wake up.

"Hey, man, you have descendants on the Roland Continent!" The fat man's voice was filled with excitement.

"Jerry, don't talk nonsense. How could I leave my descendants on the Roland Continent? Did you see it wrong? Or are they the descendants of Evans?" Raven Rhodes said doubtfully.

"There's no mistake. I checked it with the bloodline array, and it's really your descendant. A wisp of my soul is guarding Rhodes Castle. One day a little baby came..." Jerry told Raven Rhodes what had happened in detail.

"Dude, don't tell anyone about this!" After a long time, Raven Rhodes's face turned serious.

"Don't worry, buddy, I won't tell anyone." The fat man promised.

Raven hurried out of the castle. Although what the fat man said was a bit outrageous, the bloodline detection array should be correct. This guy would rather sacrifice a trace of his soul than not be anxious to wake up his true body and report this to him.

"Hey man, can you get him?"

"His strength is too low. He's only a magic apprentice. Not to mention the Abyss Plane, even the laws of the Demonic Plane can crush him. You should continue to sleep. Your strength is too low, otherwise you would have grown demonic horns!"

The fat man was silent, probably continuing to sleep in the basement of the castle.

Going to Roland Continent was not at all difficult; it required multiple plane transfers and consumed countless energy crystals. Furthermore, the opponent's strength was too low, not even meeting the minimum requirements to enter the Demon Realm, let alone the Abyss.

Joanna's story began to spread in Huofeng City. It was like a whirlwind, and almost everyone in Huofeng City of the Roland Empire was talking about it.

Several magicians in the Magic Guild have long coveted Joanna's beauty. Decades ago, they might have pursued her relentlessly, but things are different now. Joanna is now a great magician, and their status and power are no longer comparable. If they continue to pursue Joanna, they might face a magical "baptism."

A meeting is currently underway in the Imperial Capital's House of Nobles, with many nobles hoping to profit from the excavation of the Archmage's tomb.

"The Magic Guild and the Northland Tower only agreed to give 30% of the profits. Expecting more is impossible!"

Three elderly yet dignified men sat around a long table, surrounded by a dozen nobles. These three men were the three Grand Dukes of the Imperial Capital, and they were discussing how to divide the profits.

"We have negotiated with the Magic Guild, but the results were not ideal. They are only willing to give up 30% of the benefits, which is far from what we expected." One of the old dukes frowned and said.

"Yes, the situation this time is indeed different from the past. It is said that the tomb of the great wizard is extremely dangerous, and it is not even certain whether it can be successfully opened." Another old duke echoed.

One noble slammed the table in anger and stood up: "Humph, why are you only giving us 30% of the profits? We paid a huge price to buy that land!"

"A 30% profit is the maximum concession the two major magical powers can make," explained the old Duke of Barton. "Haven't you heard about the ruins in the Violet Alliance? All the priests and divinities sent by the Saint Laurent Empire died there. The archmage's tomb there is also fraught with danger, and the two major magical powers can't guarantee that it can be opened successfully!"

The three old dukes exchanged a glance, a glint of cunning in their eyes. They had purchased the land for a staggering 100,000 gold coins and immediately resold it to other nobles, easily recouping their investment. Now, those nobles eager to reap the benefits naturally had to shell out real money. Meanwhile, the three old dukes sat back and reaped the benefits, practically paying nothing for the majority of the profits.

"So, old Duke, when are they going to open the tomb?"

"It should take a few days to prepare. We sent people to that stone mountain, but before they even reached the hidden entrance to the tomb, four or five people were bitten by poisonous spiders. A few bottles of antidote are a small matter. There are simply too many poisonous spiders there, so we need to prepare a large amount of antidote. I heard there are high-level magical beasts and magic traps in the tomb passage. Ordinary people will never return!"

The nobles' faces all changed. They also had the idea of ​​exploring the tomb on their own. After all, happiness alone is worse than happiness with others.

They secretly thought that if they could explore the ancient tomb alone, all the treasures and secrets would belong to them. The large number of poisonous spiders and high-level monsters, as well as the hidden magic traps, also made their expressions gloomy and uncertain.

At this moment, Duke Joyce, who usually doesn't talk much, spoke up: "There is one more thing I want to remind you!" His voice was low and serious, attracting everyone's attention.

Everyone looked at Duke Joyce, and his sharp eyes swept over every noble present.

"There's a rumor going around in the capital about Joanna. Regardless of whether it's true or not, you can't provoke her before you explore the tomb. She's the main person cleaning out the poisonous spiders in the tomb. If you piss her off, you won't be able to get your gold coins back!"

Duke Joyce's warning was like a thunderbolt, making the nobles realize the seriousness of the problem. They understood that Joanna's position in this tomb exploration was crucial, and any offense to her could lead to the failure of the entire plan.

The nobles exchanged glances, a flicker of fear in their eyes. They knew full well that Duke Joyce's words weren't empty threats, but rather a genuine warning based on the reality of the situation. If they impulsively offended Joanna, they would not only lose a great deal of wealth, but also face the possibility of facing the fiery Great Magician.