Black Hearted Mage

A sturdy, short figure appeared on the streets of Stone City. She wore a worn but sturdy leather apron, giving her a rugged and uninhibited look. Following a dark red puppy, she walked toward the city's widest street.

After a while, the man and the dog stopped in front of a stall. The puppy seemed very familiar with the stall and without saying a word, it lay down on it, humming from time to time. The owner, a sturdy man, stood aside, staring intently at the items on display.

This chubby puppy is a big customer of this dried meat shop. That is why the female shopkeeper followed it here in person.

The shopkeeper looked to be in her forties or fifties. Although time had left some marks on her face, she still had the grace of her youth. She had once been a skilled Swift Warrior and had even gone on expeditions with Rodman.

When she saw the customer in front of her, she immediately asked enthusiastically, "Master Mage, how much jerky do you plan to buy this time?"

The man known as the Master Mage was Caesars. He raised his head slightly and replied, "Give me two thousand kilograms of dried meat. I also have some salamander meat that I need your help processing, about two or three hundred thousand kilograms. The bones have been removed. I wonder how long it will take you to complete the processing?"

The female shopkeeper thought for a moment and then said, "If we want to stew all this meat and make it into jerky, it will take at least half a month!"

Hearing this, Caesars thought for a moment and added, "As long as the two thousand kilograms of dried meat are stewed until tender, the rest can be cooked. Remember to add plenty of salt. This fat dog particularly likes food with a strong flavor!"

After saying that, he reached out and gently patted the puppy's head, and the puppy hummed in response.

"Master Mage, this time the processing fee is free of gold coins, and you don't need to pay gold coins for the dried meat you bought. Can you exchange it for the salamander leather from the stall?"

The female shopkeeper was a little envious of the fiery red leather and asked tentatively.

"Okay, the fire lizard leather is a little damaged, you can pick two at random!" Caesars said lightly.

The shopkeeper was quite excited. Without hesitation, she lifted her animal-skin apron and quickly squatted down. She began to carefully search through the pile of extremely hard salamander hides, her eyes fixed on each piece, searching for the treasure that would fully meet her stringent requirements.

Time ticked by, and after a long while, the shopkeeper finally stood up, contentedly clutching the two pieces of salamander hide. She then turned and left, and the puppy, who had been quietly waiting nearby, now followed her closely. You see, all the salamander meat had been stored in its storage ring, and even the two thousand pounds of dried meat they had just purchased was food for the puppy.

An hour or so later, the puppy reappeared. It came running back with a brisk pace, its stubby tail held high, looking energetic. But the most striking thing about it was its chubby belly; it had clearly gorged itself on food at the dried meat shop.

The entire afternoon passed, from noon until nightfall, yet only three or five pieces of salamander hide had been sold from the stall. The reason for this situation was understandable; after all, most of the people who came here were impoverished mercenaries, and for Caesars, his arrival was indeed unfortunate. Summer had arrived, and the mercenaries had mostly left Stonebreak City.

Furthermore, the magical material shops run by the major powers had a very specific demand for salamander leather, requiring only the leather from the salamander's belly. Because sun-dried salamander leather was incredibly hard, like iron, it was difficult to handle, so even Kaisas was too lazy to expend the effort to cut it.

The leather from the fire lizard's belly is used to make magic scrolls and is also a key material for making composite leather armor. If the belly leather is sold alone, the remaining leather will be even less valuable.

A few days later, Caesars returned to Violet City and his small stone house. The stone house to the west had probably been uninhabited for a long time, as the weeds around it were half a man's height.

Two maids from the small castle were cleaning the stone house. Caesars brought out a recliner and coffee table in front of the stone house. The little black snake was now about three meters long and almost as thick as an ankle. The puppy lazily lay beside the black snake, and the puppy even gave the black snake a piece of dried meat.

At this moment, little Ludwig, dressed in aristocratic robes, came over with two children of seven or eight years old.

"Kaissa, help them see if they have magical talent!"

"Sit down first!"

Seeing his gray-haired father, Caesars took out a sofa and asked the three of them to sit down.

"I just heard from the maid that my grandfather fell last year and died soon after?"

Kaisas Little Ludwig asked.

"Well, he fell at the castle gate. I was in the living room at the time, and he was about to go out with his cane, but the little maid couldn't support him on her own, so they both fell. People from the Thorn Flower Merchants also came to see him, and the conclusion was that he was incurable!"

"Buried in that small territory?"

"Yes, the family cemetery in that territory is still there, it's just been renovated!"

Caesars nodded slightly, indicating a certain understanding of the current situation. He knew that Old Ludwig had always longed to reclaim the territory that once belonged to his family. However, that small territory, devoid of the magic crystal veins, had already been returned to them by Kaschi as a small gift.

When he thought of Kasqi, Kaisus's mind immediately conjured up images of her beautiful face, her shrewdness, and her ruthless demeanor. He considered the damaged leather he had stripped from the fire lizards. Kasqi could contact the spy chief to purchase it, saving him the trip to Fire Maple City.

"When did Rodman leave here?" Caesars suddenly asked.

Little Ludwig replied, "Rodman now lives on our territory and carefully manages a farm for us!"

Hearing this, Caesars couldn't help but laugh, thinking to himself: Old Roman living in Violet City must not be as free and unrestrained as he is in the territory. This guy really knows how to enjoy life.

"Then let's test whether they have the talent to learn magic, so that everyone won't have to wait anxiously here!"

As he spoke, Caesars took out a few brightly colored, fragrant fruits. With a gentle wave of his hand, two fruits landed on the emerald green lawn. Then, with a smile on his face, he handed the remaining fruits to the two innocent children beside him.

At this moment, the puppy bit the fruit and pounced on another one. Seeing this, Caesars scolded him, "You idiot, don't steal the black snake's fruit. You ate a lot of it when you were in Red Stone City!"

Although the puppy was extremely greedy on weekdays, it was quite obedient to Caesar's words. It immediately stopped and lay down obediently.

"Hands out!"

Caesars spoke to the little boy, who held out his hand somewhat awkwardly. The little girl beside him snuggled up to little Ludwig, nibbling at the fruit in one hand.

"Close your eyes, don't think too much, it will be fine soon!"

A few minutes later, Caesars began to check the girl's talent and soon got the results.

"This kid's magic talent is very weak, but he can choose the magic warrior profession, which requires Rodman's teaching. The girl's talent is not bad, and she can learn meditation after she can learn to read!"

Hearing what Caesars said, little Ludwig was so excited that his body trembled slightly.

"Let's go back and tell them the good news!"

Little Ludwig hurriedly stood up, urging the two children to hurry. Caesars simply looked at them calmly. His father was just an ordinary man, and he just wanted to live out the rest of his life in peace. As for family and harmonious kinship, it was unimportant to a great magician.

Caesars lay down and enjoyed the scorching sun, which was good for strengthening his physical fitness.

At this time, two little maids who were cleaning the stone house came out, carrying a bucket of water.

"Do you know Madam Kaschi's house?" Caesars asked the little maid.

"I know it. It's the largest castle just across the avenue!"

Hearing the little maid's answer, Caesars nodded.

"You guys go back first. Someone will come soon and take this fat dog to the Countess's castle!"

"Okay, Master!"

Two maids bowed respectfully, performing a standard yet elegant ceremony. Then, they steadily lifted the buckets filled with water and slowly walked southward toward the small castle. Meanwhile, Caesars quickly retrieved a pen and paper and began writing with a frantic swiftness, his pen tip scraping against the paper.

Not long after, one of the maids who had left hurried back. She bowed slightly to Caesars, then left with the puppy. Caesars was reclining comfortably on a recliner, his brow furrowed slightly, lost in deep thought, constantly calculating how to weaken the Church of Saint Laurent.

You know, the necromancer hiding in Bitterwater Farm—Sandro—was a formidable problem. This experienced, unfathomable old man was simply too powerful, and Caesars was practically powerless in a head-on confrontation. Whenever he thought of this, Caesars couldn't help but sigh helplessly, a trace of unconcealable sadness on his face.

Fortunately, however, Caesar now possessed a considerable supply of fire crystals and a plentiful stockpile of explosive crystals. With these resources, he was fully capable of producing a large number of simple yet powerful alchemical bombs. Furthermore, Caesar also knew the formula for alchemical glue. With the purchase of some inexpensive alchemical materials, he could easily create it.

About half an hour later, the puppy returned with a grin on its face, apparently having eaten a lot of good food. Following behind was Kashiki, wearing a long skirt, who had only brought one guard with her.

"Great Magician, no matter how damaged the fire lizard leather is, the Roland Empire will buy it all. If you can't make leather armor, you can make boots and gloves!"

Kashiqi sat on the sofa and spoke very naturally.

"Madam Kasqi, the leather is not as torn as you said. Every piece of leather can be made into leather armor. It's just that the remaining parts are a little torn." Kaisas explained.

"Kaissa, I have a very secret news for you. The Delta family in the territory east of Earl Barton may all be from the Saint Laurent Empire. These things cannot be made public, and the civilians of the empire cannot know about them. The only way is to assassinate the Delta family secretly, so Salamander leather has become very popular!"

Kaisas was shocked to hear the news revealed by Kashiqi. The Delta family's location was crucial, only a day's journey from Fire Maple City. The Saint Laurent Empire could simply secretly send its legions there and launch a direct attack on Fire Maple City.

"I'm afraid assassination won't work. The people of the Delta family are similar to those of the Patton family. They all stay in their territories and rarely show up in Fire Maple City." Caesars asked with some confusion.

"That's not something I'm concerned about. I'm only responsible for the affairs of the Violet Alliance. As long as there's no riot in Violet City when the Roland Empire is unified, that's all that matters!"

After hearing Kasqi's words, Caesars understood her purpose in the Violet Alliance. They were now allies, sharing the same goal - to overthrow the Church of Saint Laurent.

"Then notify Hawkeye's people to trade with me. This time, there are quite a lot of salamander leathers, about three hundred or so!"

"More than 300?"

Kasqi exclaimed, then took out the communication stone to contact Hawkeye's people.

Less than ten minutes later, a mercenary in leather armor arrived at the back gate of the courtyard wall. His speed was a bit too fast, and Caesars was very puzzled by this.

"Are you spying on me?"

"Deputy Commander, how dare we monitor you? We are monitoring the other two earls of the Violet Alliance, who are only a few minutes away from you!" The middle-aged man dressed as a mercenary hurriedly explained.

"I'll give you the fire lizard leather, and you just give me the magic crystal!"

Kaisas took bundles of leather, each as hard as iron, from his space ring and dropped them onto the lawn with clanging sounds.

The middle-aged man squatted down, carefully counted the number of leathers, and sorted the leathers according to the damaged parts.

"Mr. Deputy Commander, there are 358 pieces of leather in total, and they're paid at 500 gold coins each. Do you have any salamander skulls?"

"And some more, that stuff sells better than leather!"

Salamander skulls are incredibly hard, almost as strong as pure magic steel. Mercenaries often use them to make small shields; they're simple to make, inexpensive, and look impressive.