Black Hearted Mage

Caesar did not choose to ask the Duke for help. After all, with his current low strength, even if he knew who was the mastermind behind the scenes, he would still be powerless.

With enough magic crystals as support, Kaisas' strength began to gradually improve. When the cold winter came, he successfully broke through to the intermediate stage of low-level magician.

In the early morning hours, Caesars stood quietly by the window, gazing at the snowflakes drifting down outside, a wave of regret welling up in his heart. Meanwhile, Avril, studying at the Imperial Capital Magic Academy, was enjoying a long-awaited holiday thanks to the first snowfall of winter.

The severe cold in Huofeng City is no less severe than that in the north. Heavy snow will continue to fall for more than a month, and the entire winter will last for more than three months.

Caesars walked slowly into the living room. Although the charcoal fire in the fireplace had gone out, the room was still warm and pleasant.

"Maid, why did you get up so early today?" Caesar asked in surprise.

Cecilia, the head maid of the Cavill family, didn't usually have to get up so early. But today, she was standing by the living room window, seemingly waiting for something.

"The young lady will be back today, I will wait for her here!" The head maid had a smile on her face and looked out the window while speaking.

"Ms. Joanna is coming back. Is Old Joey running out of potion?"

"Ok!"

"I have to go deliver some snacks. If the snow on the ground freezes solid tomorrow, I probably won't be able to finish delivering them in the morning!"

"The snack shop has an agreement with the nobles. If the snow on the ground is more than half a foot thick, there will be no need to deliver snacks. If Fire Maple City doesn't clear the snow, you won't have to go out tomorrow!"

After hearing Cecilia's explanation, Caesars couldn't help but feel a little excited. At this moment, the coachman's carriage stopped steadily at the gate of the house, and the pastry shop manager was already ready. Everything seemed to be in perfect order.

Caesars quickly opened the thick wooden door and walked resolutely toward the carriage parked in the snow. Having made deliveries over the past few days, he knew the roads throughout the inner city by heart. He also inquired about the location of the residence of the earl who nominally controlled the Golden Viper Mercenary Group.

This earl, who was wealthy and powerful, had never ordered any snacks from the Cavill family. His residence was also a majestic castle, magnificent and extremely well-defended.

Shortly after entering the inner city, the Cavill family carriage carrying Caesars was intercepted by four or five masked, heavily clad, mysterious individuals. These individuals wore uniform black leather armor, devoid of any visible insignia, yet clutched razor-sharp swords. Without a word, they approached and roughly dragged the driver from the carriage.

"Quick, get the people and the carriage out of the city!"

A hurried voice rang out, and a group of figures wearing leather armor and black scarves emerged from all directions, wielding sharp blades, and quickly surrounded a carriage. Their eyes revealed greed and ferocity, and their goal was clear: to rob the carriage and kidnap its passengers.

Following an order, a man holding a sharp knife suddenly opened the door of the carriage, and the rest of the people rushed forward.

However, at this moment, a dazzling light suddenly erupted from within the carriage. It was a shimmering magical brilliance, accompanied by a terrifyingly powerful gust of wind, rushing out of the carriage like a torrent.

The figure who was about to climb onto the carriage was directly blown away by the powerful shockwave and fell heavily to the ground. His body slid over twenty meters on the ground before finally coming to a stop on the side of the road. His life or death was unknown.

Caesars, a magic shield on his head and a pitch-black staff in hand, slowly emerged from the carriage. His steps were steady and powerful, each one seeming to tread on the enemy's heartstrings. As he landed, a circular shockwave radiated from him, pushing those around him back more than a dozen steps.

The sudden turn of events caught the robbers off guard. They had initially assumed it was just a common robbery, but they hadn't expected to encounter such a powerful magician. Before they could react, Caesars had already launched his attack. Brilliant, colorful magical rays of light shot out from his staff, exploding like fireworks.

Immediately, an invisible force enveloped the robbers. They felt their bodies grow incredibly heavy, as if they were carrying a thousand-pound burden. This feeling grew stronger and stronger, and they could only watch helplessly as Caesars approached.

These were Caesar's Curse of Weakness and Curse of Fatigue. These two spells, which required no incantation and could be cast instantly, weakened the enemy. At this moment, the robbers finally realized they had faced a formidable opponent, and their hearts were filled with fear and despair. But by then, it was too late.

Hundreds of imperial city guards, clad in armor and armed with spears, rode their steeds at full speed. They were not far from the inner city gate, and the loud noise caused by the magical impact had already alerted them.

"What happened?"

The guard at the city gate asked anxiously. He recognized the Cavill family's carriage. This was the inner city of the imperial capital, and everything that happened here was no small matter.

"Our carriage was met by robbers. They were armed with swords and covered their faces. They not only tried to rob us, but they even tried to kill a magician!"

Caesars deliberately emphasized the word "killing," making the matter extremely serious. These city guards were responsible for maintaining public order in the imperial capital, but they were only responsible for arresting criminals, not for trying cases.

"Capture them immediately. If you encounter resistance, kill them on the spot! You cannot leave. You must wait for Hawkeye's men to come and investigate!"

"But I have to rush to deliver snacks to the nobles' house!"

"Your driver is safe and sound. Just let him continue. I will send soldiers to escort the carriage to its destination!"

At the command of the city guard commander, all the masked men dropped their swords and obediently waited to be tied up. The Imperial City Guard in the inner city was unusual; they wielded the power of life and death. In Fire Maple City's history, a nobleman once caused trouble in the inner city. After the city guards failed to persuade him, he was killed on the streets of the inner city.

Caesars handed the storage ring to the coachman, and the carriage slowly set off under the escort of the city guards. Just then, dozens of figures in leather armor galloped towards them from a distance. The leader was relatively thin, wearing a pitch-black mask with two crystal glasses for his eyes.

"Commander Monte, what happened here?" The thin figure dismounted and immediately asked, his tone very calm.

"Lord Carlos, these people intend to kill and rob!" Commander Monte replied.

When he heard Carlos' name, Caesars immediately looked at him. The Roland Empire's spy chief had actually come in person. The bound men were trembling with fear. They wanted to explain, but their mouths were blocked.

"Dare to kill and rob in the inner city! This is a great thing, and you can be fined a large sum of gold coins!"

When Carlos spoke, there was an indescribable joy in his voice, as if he knew exactly who these people were.

Soon, a dozen prisoner carts and a carriage arrived at the scene. The weak and defenseless robbers were mercilessly thrown into the prisoner carts. Caesars boarded Hawkeye's carriage, and the carriage began to slowly move north.

The carriage finally stopped in front of a towering wall, just half a mile away from the magnificent Imperial Palace. Next to this mansion was the Imperial Court of Justice, a solemn and awe-inspiring building that stood closely adjacent to the Imperial Palace.

Hawkeye's headquarters was unremarkable, looking like an ordinary castle surrounded by a small garden. Caesars speculated that this might have once been the residence of a prominent noble.

Upon entering the castle, the atmosphere suddenly shifted to a dark, eerie atmosphere. To the left of the hall stood a row of large wooden racks filled with torture instruments. Hundreds of thick iron rings were fixed to the walls, firmly fixed. Dark red bloodstains covered the walls and the rings, and the bloodstains on the ground were even more numerous and more pronounced, making the place resemble a slaughterhouse.

The right side of the hall seems to be a place for receiving guests. The flat floor is covered with beautiful carpets, and there are soft and comfortable sofas, flame maple tables and chairs, and coffee tables.

"This place is really nice. I can drink tea and watch the prisoners being interrogated. Master Carlos, I also want to interrogate two prisoners!"

Caesars sat on the soft sofa, facing the right side of the hall, just in time to see the torture.

"No problem, but you can't kill them. I'm counting on them to collect gold coins!" said the masked spy chief.

"Totally. They'll probably scream really loudly when I'm interrogating them!"

Caesar smiled. He imagined the prisoners screaming in pain and begging for mercy under his spell, and then being forced to reveal all the secrets they knew. This scene made him feel very excited.

Carlos smiled and replied, "It's okay. There are a lot of people shouting at the top of their lungs here. We're used to it!"

The hands and feet of more than twenty prisoners were tied to iron rings stained with dried blood. The spy chief signaled Caesars to interrogate them first. He sat on the sofa with great interest, wanting to see what tricks this young man had.

Caesars bowed slightly to the spy chief, performing a noble salute of thanks. He then approached the two robbers tied up in the middle. One of them was the robbers' leader, who had given the orders throughout the entire process. His leather armor had been stripped off, revealing him in a bloodstained prison uniform.

"Don't be afraid, I won't hit you, let alone kill you. I just want you to experience what fear is!"

Caesars patted his pocket, and under the puzzled gaze of everyone, a dark object poked its head out. It crawled out of the pocket and coiled around Caesars' wrist.

"Go warm his neck; the fireplace here isn't very warm!"

Caesars raised his hand, and the little black snake quickly swam to the man's neck and coiled around his neck twice. It kept moving its black tongue in and out, searching for the location of the aorta in the neck.

The cold and slippery black snake tightened its body around the neck little by little so that it could stay warmer.

"The louder he yells, the warmer you'll get. Speak a warning into his ear!"

The little black snake was very obedient. It stretched its triangular head to the man's ear and made a strong warning "hissing" sound, which was unusually clear in the hall of the castle.

"What kind of snake is this?" someone next to Carlos asked.

"A juvenile golden-eyed black snake. Although small, its venom is far more potent than that of an ordinary black snake. If bitten by it, you will die within two minutes!"

The head of the imperial spy was shocked. He had just been very close to Caesar, but he still couldn't sense such a dangerous thing on Caesar.

The robber leader's mouth was stiff, and although his body was shaking with fear, he made no sound. Caesars lost his patience. He had just said that the other party would scream loudly, and he could not go back on his word.

Two eerie, deep purple balls of light swiftly flew towards the two robbers. Instantly, screams of extreme fear rang out, their heart-wrenching cries echoing throughout the castle.

A civilian from the imperial capital who was walking on the road also heard the screams coming from the Black Prison. His whole body shuddered and he quickly ran away.

"Purple-black magic light!"

Carlos was a man of considerable experience. Though an assassin, he was also well-versed in various types of magic. He had never seen, let alone heard of, the purplish-black radiance of the spell. The spell was instantaneous, swift and efficient, and the target's screams were incredibly penetrating.

The tied-up robbers were terrified to the extreme. The golden-eyed black snake, combined with extremely strange magic, made them confess one by one without even needing torture.

Caesar waved at the little black snake, and it, like a metal spring, coiled its slender body and suddenly leaped upward, its tail controlling its direction, landing steadily on Caesar's shoulder. The little black snake then slid down Caesar's arm and into his pocket.

The head of the Imperial Secret Service, Carlos the Jackal, was so shocked that his jaw almost dislocated. Fortunately, he was wearing a leather mask to hide his shock.

His mind was full of thoughts at the moment, as he recalled the records about the golden-eyed black snake.

"Lord Carlos, if there is nothing else, please get a carriage and send someone to take me back. It's freezing cold and I haven't even had breakfast yet!" Caesar already knew the mastermind of this incident, a young viscount, Joanna's suitor.

"Mr. Caesars, your golden-eyed black demon snake shouldn't have fangs, right? As far as I know, all black demon snakes cannot be tamed. They are the product of a mutation of some kind of snake around the crater ten thousand years ago after the demon invasion!"

"It has fangs. It's a young snake from the Northern Alchemy Tower. It's been following me since it hatched!"