Black Hearted Mage

The demons established their own kingdom and, relying on the knowledge left by the plunderers, attempted to build a plane portal again. Fortunately, however, the demons did not have the talent to comprehend the arcane, nor did they have the talent to cast elemental spells.

Tall and muscular, the demons far surpass the barbarians in strength, rivaling the might of highland ogres. Over 99% of the orcs are warriors, with the remainder being curse mages. They are a boiling-blood race, profoundly afraid of the cold.

This new race of half-human, half-beast creatures called themselves the Demons. They had short horns on their heads, their upper bodies were similar to those of humans, and their lower bodies had legs with reverse joints and two large black hooves.

For nearly ten thousand years, the Dark Elves and the Demons engaged in numerous fierce wars. Although the Elves were victorious in every battle, the Demons' rapid reproduction allowed them to rise again and attack within a few centuries. In contrast, the Dark Elves' slow reproduction and relatively small population forced them to adopt a passive defensive strategy against the Orcs' attacks.

The dark elves thought of the primitive humans, who were numerous and reproduced rapidly. If they could win their support, they might be able to compete with the demons. So, the dark elves began to teach the humans knowledge and magic, helping them build their own country.

However, these ungrateful human magicians betrayed their teacher and built an evil underground magic castle at the edge of the endless forest, specifically to harm the dark elves.

As the Dark Elves' mighty warriors clashed fiercely with the demonic horde, these despicable human magicians took advantage of the situation by sneaking into the Endless Forest and kidnapping many elderly and frail Dark Elves. They imprisoned these pitiful elves in an underground magic castle and subjected them to brutal experiments. They used every possible means to force the elves to reveal profound magical secrets, even draining their blood and dissecting their bodies in an attempt to unlock the secrets of their long lives.

The disappearances of the elderly and weak among the Dark Elves eventually caught the attention of the Elven Elders. Enraged, the elves launched a campaign of revenge, destroying the underground magic fort with a thunderbolt. The battle was so fierce that even the Elven High Priest was seriously injured.

However, those human magicians who had been taught by the dark elves now used the magic they had learned to fight against the magic weapons created by the dark elves, and started a life-and-death battle with them.

The Dark Elves finally realized their mistakes, but instead of adopting a gentle approach, they opted for an extreme measure: regardless of whether or not any Human mages had participated in the persecution of the Elves, they would be purged one by one. This action could be understood as revenge against the ungrateful, and also as an outlet for the Dark Elves' inner anger.

However, fate always seems to play tricks on them. Centuries later, the nobles and magicians of the First Roland Empire once again joined forces, once again reaching out to the Dark Elves. This time, the Dark Elves could no longer tolerate this, and their anger was once again ignited. The enraged Dark Elves once again raised their butcher knives, casting their sights of vengeance upon the magicians of Roland Continent. In just a few years, the entire Roland Continent's magicians were nearly wiped out.

To completely overthrow the corrupt Roland First Empire, the Dark Elves chose to support certain human forces. With the Dark Elves' support, these human forces successfully overthrew the Roland First Empire and established a new nation—the Roman First Empire. In exchange, the Dark Elves demanded that the Roman Empire burn all historical records related to the Roland Empire to erase the people's memory of the past.

In the early days of the First Roman Empire, privately possessing historical texts from the Roland Empire became a serious crime. Even nobles could not escape punishment if caught hoarding historical texts. Over the next hundred years, nearly all books pertaining to the Roland Empire were burned. This period of history was gradually forgotten, leaving only vague legends and speculation.

Since then, the Dark Elves have gradually vanished from the eastern reaches of Roland Continent. They retreated deep into the Endless Forest, establishing a restricted zone. Anyone who trespassed would be mercilessly killed without warning. This restricted zone became the Dark Elves' last refuge, their final line of defense to protect themselves and their secrets.

When the demons invaded, they left behind some unforeseen consequences, which led to Roland's plane being discovered by the abyss demons.

Time passed quickly. Over ten thousand years later, the lava demons of the Abyssal Plane invaded Roland Continent. This invasion was only a small one. Despite their small size, these invaders were immensely powerful. One demon stood tens of meters tall, its body drenched in lava, its imposing presence terrifying. However, at this crucial moment, a mysterious and powerful being suddenly struck, slaying the demon instantly. In this fierce battle, Raven Rhodes slew over a hundred of these smaller lava demons.

Over ten thousand years passed, and the demons of the Abyss invaded Roland Continent once again. This time, their force was even stronger. A lava demon overlord led over ten thousand lava demons, and they marched towards Roland Continent in a mighty force. These demons were far superior to the elves, and they showed no mercy to the human race, slaughtering countless human magicians along the way and nearly wiping them out.

At this time, Riven returned from a distant world, bringing with him several helpers. The Lava Lord, seemingly fearing Riven, immediately burrowed deep into the rock formations. Using its ability to control magma, it triggered an earthquake across half of Roland Continent. While it ultimately succeeded in killing the Demon Lord, the landscape of a small portion of Roland Continent was altered.

The massive meteorite that had brought the demons down also crashed down, forming a crater hundreds of miles across. Today, this area has become the seat of the Kingdom of Thornflowers. All the demon corpses were buried deep beneath the crater, and the energy within them was transformed into various elements for use in the magic tower, Frostcrown.

To preserve the legacy of magic for the human race, Evans Rhodes decided to establish a magic academy, but this was doomed to be a mistake. After the humans learned magic, their greed gradually became apparent. They began to covet the more advanced knowledge of spells, alchemy, and magic circles. They reached out to Evans' family, the basement of the magic castle, and even the magic tower.

Evans obeyed his father's instructions and abandoned Rhodes Castle, taking his family away from the place that had disappointed him. Hundreds of magicians from the Ludwig School of Magic rushed into Rhodes Castle, frantically searching for all the things they had long coveted.

The magicians searched frantically, but their actions nearly destroyed the castle. At this moment, a self-destruct array was triggered, and nearly three hundred magicians were instantly buried in the ruins.

Caesars finally closed the ancient book in his hands and took a deep breath. He had felt incredibly suffocated while flipping through the book. But when he read the description of the over 300 magicians buried in the ruins, his tension eased slightly.

At this time, Caesar finally understood that he was also a descendant of elves, and the statue in the hall on the bottom floor of the magic tower was his ancestor - Raven Rhodes.

A pang of hunger washed over him, and Caesars couldn't help but touch his rumbling stomach. He glanced out the window at the darkening sky, then gently placed the tattered ancient book on the desk. Then, he hurried out of the magic tower and stepped into the sunset, which was illuminated by the setting sun like a brilliant flame. He remembered leaving early in the morning, but he didn't expect it to be dusk now.

In a spacious courtyard not far from the Magic Tower, Ludwig and his son were enjoying a sumptuous dinner. Before each of them lay half a golden, fragrant roasted magic rabbit, while they also savored the dark rum Caesars had given them.

"Where's my share of the devil rabbit meat?"

Caesar's gaze fell on the bitten magic rabbit in front of Ludwig and his son. His stomach immediately began to rumble in protest, and the hunger became more and more unbearable.

"You didn't come back at noon, and we thought you wouldn't even come back for dinner, so we didn't prepare any food for you!" Old Ludwig explained.

Old Ludwig lifted his glass and took a long swig of rum. Then he grabbed half a golden, crispy roasted magic rabbit and took two fierce bites. As he chewed the delicious rabbit meat, he wiped the grease from the corners of his mouth and looked at Caesar with a smile. The rum the nobleman drank was truly strong, rich and sweet, and it warmed his entire body.

"You guys are so unreasonable! If I don't come back, can't you leave a portion for me? I was planning to save it for a midnight snack!"

Kaisas shook his head helplessly, took out a piece of bread from his storage ring, and took a big bite. He stared at the golden and tempting magic rabbit meat, his heart filled with resentment.

Little Ludwig said quickly: "We need to buy some grains and fodder. What we brought is only enough to feed them for four or five days." After that, he raised his glass and drank the rum in it. Then, like his father, he casually wiped his oil-stained mouth with his hand.

"I will ask about the price tomorrow. If I find something suitable, I will buy more. By the way, don't go to the forest ahead. The archers there don't know you. If they mistake you for bad guys, it may be terrible. You might be shot into a hedgehog!" Caesar looked at Ludwig and his son, and said with a suppressed laugh.

"Ah, you can't?"

Little Ludwig was a little surprised. He was fine when he came here, but now he can't enter the forest.

"Someone told me this morning that you were drooling while sleeping under the eaves, and the saliva was even forming strings!"

Ludwig and his son blushed for a moment, and then the older one spoke up, "The sofa is too soft, the bed is too soft. I couldn't sleep all night. I can't get used to this aristocratic life for just one or two days!"

"Me too, but the nobles' wine is delicious. It's much better than the bitter rye. It doesn't have that urine smell!"

Little Ludwig poured himself another full glass of wine and looked at Caesar with a smile. This little guy had grown up to be able to get the aged wine from the nobles' cellar.

"Drink less, this is strong liquor. I only got two barrels, so drink it sparingly!"

Kaisas was very helpless. Because of the aftereffects of the snake venom, they both needed alcohol anesthesia to feel comfortable. Over the years, they had already become half-alcoholics.

Late at night, Caesars lay in bed, recalling the history recorded in books. The history of the elves was tragic. They taught humans the use of knowledge and magic, but ultimately, they were repeatedly retaliated against. This also explains why those who entered the Western Continent rarely emerged alive.

Kaisas's ancestor, Raven Rhodes, was a descendant of elves, but he lost his father at a young age. The reason for this was the greed of the Church, which wanted to capture the inhabitants of Frosthold and force them to reveal their ice magic and the secrets of Frosthold. With no other options, Raven's father led dozens of the Church's paladins into Stormheim after the tide receded, choosing to perish with them.

Kaisas felt a little regretful that he had not been able to take a closer look at the statue of his ancestors today. He planned to take a closer look tomorrow. Feeling regretful, Kaisas fell asleep, and in his dream he saw the blood and tears history of the elves.

Far away in the central and eastern part of the Roland Continent, within the territory of the Saint Roland Empire, the Saint Roland Church has been recruiting warrior apprentices in recent months.

According to the normal procedures of the Saint Laurent Church, one begins as a warrior apprentice, progresses to trainee warrior, warrior, knight, and finally to paladin. If one is sufficiently talented and lucky, one can eventually be promoted to Grand Knight Commander of the Paladins. If one has sufficient connections within the Saint Laurent Church and becomes a Knight of Judgment, one becomes eligible to become the Lord of the Judgment Hall and, in turn, the Pope.

This time the church is recruiting warrior apprentices, which is a little different from usual. Apprentices don't need to be very tall or too strong. Those with only muscles will be kicked out.

The Saint Laurent Church holds an almighty position in the Saint Laurent Empire. No one cares about its abnormal behavior, but it is still acceptable to discuss it in private.

The abnormal behavior of the Church of Saint Laurent, coupled with the large number of warrior apprentices it recruited, has attracted the attention of several surrounding countries.

In the meeting hall of the Roland Empire's imperial palace, nobles, scholars, ministers, and secretaries had already arrived. The elderly Emperor, Roland VI, clad in a regal black and gold robe and a jewel-studded crown, was supported by two maids as he sat on a golden chair. After the maids left, a eunuch holding a golden scepter stood beside the golden chair.