Black Hearted Mage

Late at night, Caesars was awakened by the sound of a massive explosion of magic. He rubbed his eyes and looked into the distance. He saw flames rising from the cemetery, the radiance of various spells blazing. It looked like another fierce melee. However, he had no interest in watching the fight today, because it was not a true fight, but a one-sided massacre by a group of magicians.

Although the Roaring Legion of the Saint Laurent Empire was extremely brave, they were unable to withstand the burning of the magic flames in the face of the powerful spells of the magicians, especially the high-temperature flames released by the great magicians, which put them in a desperate situation.

Kaisas lay quietly in the tent, listening to the loud cracks of spells exploding. In less than half an hour, the battle in the distance was over. He felt curious, so he slowly walked out of the tent and looked towards the south.

In the distance, five or six camps were blazing with flames and billowing with smoke. Clearly, they had been subjected to a devastating magical attack. Under such circumstances, few would have survived. Furthermore, some camps were completely deserted, apparently because the hasty escape had left them with only their tents, not even the wooden fences.

Caesars hid among the rocks, observing the two large camps from afar. He noticed that, aside from the corpses scattered across the ground, almost everything else had been reduced to ash by the blazing magical flames. He secretly rejoiced, thinking this was the perfect opportunity to loot the treasures hidden among the corpses. However, he didn't dare act rashly.

At this moment, he looked up at the huge screen. The number displayed on it was surprisingly much lower than yesterday, plummeting from over 3,000 to just over 500. This meant that five-sixths of the participants who had successfully completed the first condition yesterday had died in just a short period of time. This harsh reality made him gasp.

"The wisdom of our ancestor is truly unfathomable!" Caesars sighed in his heart.

If the current situation continues, after the third condition is announced tomorrow, I'm afraid few people will survive.

Kaisas vaguely felt that the treasures in this cemetery might just be a tempting trap. As for the ancestor's intention in doing this, he could not yet understand the deeper meaning.

At the same time, in the palace of the Saint Laurent Empire, the elderly emperor woke up from his sweet dream. He was extremely depressed when he learned that his long-cherished wish had turned into nothing.

"How did the people of Hellscream's Legion die?"

"Your Majesty, the second condition for obtaining the treasure is to kill anyone from the hostile forces. Our Saint Laurent Empire, the Roland Empire, the Violet Alliance, and the vast majority of those vying for the treasure are hostile forces. Hellscream's thousands of men were attacked by the combined might of the three great magical forces. Despite a desperate battle, they were ultimately surrounded and killed, and only two managed to escape!"

When the old emperor learned the specific cause of death for the Roaring Legion, he felt as if his heart were being squeezed tightly by an invisible hand, the pain unbearable. This elite legion, controlled by the royal family, had only a mere 50,000 men, yet thousands had perished in the Roland Empire.

"How many people were killed there yesterday?" The old emperor's voice was low and hoarse, with unconcealable grief.

"Your Majesty, it is estimated that in just half an hour, more than 20,000 people were killed. The death toll even exceeds the casualties in the war!" The respondent's tone was equally heavy, as if every word carried endless sorrow.

The old emperor closed his eyes, his mind replaying the brutal, bloody scene of the fight for the treasure. In just half an hour, so many lives had been lost. Even if the entire Hellscream Legion were dispatched, they would likely face disaster, with no chance of survival.

Meanwhile, in the southern part of the Roland Empire, two earls were seething with rage, their emotions nearly exploding. Last night, the Golden Viper Mercenary Group had suffered heavy losses. Even more unacceptable was the fact that they had been attacked by a magic guild, led by none other than Cairns.

"Why did the people from the Magic Guild attack us?" asked an earl.

Although the Golden Viper Mercenary Group has a bad reputation, they have cooperation with the Magic Guild. The two great magicians of the Magic Guild have been secretly supporting the Golden Viper Mercenary Group.

"It was our people who attacked the Magic Guild first. The second condition for obtaining the treasure is to kill anyone from the hostile forces. Otherwise, this condition cannot be met!"

The two earls remembered their orders to get the treasure at all costs, but they were deeply puzzled by the strange conditions.

The Golden Viper Mercenary Group had great ambitions, and the two earls also wanted to emulate the Saint Roland Empire and establish their own kingdom. They had always regarded the Roland Empire and the Magic Guild as enemies, which was why the mercenary group attacked the Magic Guild.

In the early morning, Caesars hid in an extremely secluded place. The people around the cemetery were either dead or escaped. Now only people from a few major magical forces were left around the cemetery.

The three dukes of the Roland Empire arrived at the Duchess's graveyard. They were all nobles who had fought on the battlefield and experienced the trials of blood and fire. However, when they smelled the stench of burnt corpses and saw the numerous huddled, burned bodies, they felt a sense of fear.

"These damn magicians, their killing methods are too horrible!" Duke Joyce couldn't help but curse.

"Early in the morning, my steward came with his subjects, but he vomited and is now unable to stand up. I'm in big trouble this time!"

Duke Barton was on horseback, and now he was in no mood to watch. If he followed the conditions on the stone tablet, he would not be able to obtain the Life Gem at all. Even if he met all the conditions, the magicians here would not let him take it.

"The Life Gem, the Soul Gem, and the Arcane Gem. These three gems are not from the Roland Continent!"

In front of the monolith stood four figures, the four great magicians of the Northland Tower. Old Roman, possessing his ancestors' magical notebooks, knew more.

"Old Roman, do you know who these statues are?"

Joanna is the youngest of the four. She focuses on magic and does not know much about the history of the Roland Empire.

"The statue in the middle, leaning on a staff, is the teacher of the Duchess, Vivian Barton. Evans' father, the Grand Mage, Raven. There was a rumor on the Roland Continent that the Duchess had very poor talent in her childhood and could barely sense the existence of magic!"

"Old Roman, you're not making this up, are you? How could the greatest magic warrior be unable to sense the existence of magic?"

The Great Alchemist immediately refuted Old Roman's words. He didn't believe a single word. How could someone who couldn't sense magic become a magic warrior?

"It's a magic array! The Duchess has lived in an environment rich in magic since she was a child. The magic array changed her physique and created a magical talent in her. I don't quite believe it, but I'm definitely not making it up. This is the rumor that's been circulating before!"

"The second statue is of the Duchess's mother—Chris, a Paladin-level Swift Warrior. When Raven Ludwig was young, he followed her on adventures across the Roland Continent. There should be a record of her in the Duke's family tree!"

Old Roman pointed at a statue over four meters tall and began to explain. "The third statue in the middle, the tall and majestic ogre, is Jerry, the most powerful shaman. There's also a statue of him in the ogre tribe, but it's been eroded by time and is no longer visible. Of the remaining statues, one is of Lord Evans, but I'm not sure about the others!"

"Who is stronger among Old Roman, Raven, and Evans father and son?" Joanna suddenly asked.

"Of course, Riven is stronger. There are very few records of him on Roland Continent because he left this world long ago. During the second demon invasion, he returned to Roland Continent and killed all the demons. However, there is no record of this incident. He didn't want anyone to remember him!"

"Old Roman, do you mean he is still alive?" Joanna continued to ask.

"He should still be alive. He built the Duchess's cemetery, and these magical gems should also be left by him. I just don't know why the magic circle here would be activated after seven thousand years?"

"Can you break open the cemetery here?"

"Don't even think about it. Someone has tried this before. Anyone who crosses the cemetery's boundary will be completely destroyed. The magic gems here are not easy to obtain. Tonight, there will be a third condition, and it will definitely be difficult for you to accept!"

After hearing this, everyone fell silent, with expressions of despair and helplessness on their faces. They began to realize that obtaining the treasure might be more difficult than they imagined, and might even cost their lives.

The conditions for obtaining the treasure became increasingly difficult, as if it were a large and elaborate conspiracy. In just a few days, nearly 30,000 people had died here, making everyone full of fear for the future.

"If the conditions are too harsh or too unacceptable, I will withdraw immediately!"

Joanna, the youngest, expressed her feelings without hesitation. Although the others remained silent, they all shared the same concerns. After all, facing such brutal conditions, no one wanted to die in vain.

At this moment, a low voice suddenly came from the crowd. It was the tower master Ethan who spoke: "Have you ever thought about one thing: why were so many treasures left in the cemetery? Why did these treasures only appear after so many years? According to normal thinking, these things should be left in Ludwig Castle, not in the cemetery. They are not burial objects. If they were, they should not appear outside the tomb!"

These words flashed like a bolt of lightning across the night sky, leaving everyone lost in thought. Why were these treasures in the cemetery? Was it just a coincidence? Or was there a deeper secret hidden behind it? All sorts of speculation and doubts suddenly flooded their minds, making the entire situation extremely tense.

"I almost forgot, I have a photo stone here. It's a photo of a contest between us from the Northern Tower and the Magic Academy. If I were to tell you the identity of this person, you would definitely be shocked!"

Yesterday, Joanna met someone from the Magic Academy, who gave her two photo stones, both of which could only be viewed once before becoming invalid.

"Is there no one training outside the tower?"

The tower master Ethan recalled and confirmed that no students had gone out of the tower this year.

"There is one, Kandel's personal assistant is not in the tower, and he has the magician's badge!"

"Where can I get a personal assistant?" The great alchemist was extremely confused. None of his students were worthy of his attention, let alone a personal assistant.

"Kaissa!"

"Is this kid still alive?"

"He's alive and well. He's now a low-level magician. None of the magicians of the same level in the Northland Tower can be his opponent!"

Joanna threw the photo stone to Kandel, but she didn't know that Caesar was now an intermediate magician.

"Kandel, let's go back to the tent and watch it later!"

Old Roman thought back to the little baby he'd been. Caesars's magical talent was indeed exceptional. But he had a major weakness: his magic sea, which contained his magical power, was too small, only half the size of an ordinary magician's.

"I almost forgot that he was old Roman's student. Let's not look at these gems anymore, let's look at the photos of my personal assistant!"

Kandel had little interest in other things except alchemy, so he turned without hesitation and headed towards the camp at the Northland Tower, where more than three hundred Northlanders were guarding it.

As Kandel entered the tent, he quickly retrieved his magical device and placed the image stone inside. With the infusion of magic, the magic image stone activated, and a curtain of light appeared. Within the curtain of light, a figure with brown hair, dark skin, and a small mustache appeared.

"This is not Caesars!" someone shouted in surprise.

"He changed his appearance, but his face shape and height are not much different from before!"

The Grand Alchemist looked confused, and Joanna added that she had seen Caesars in the winter.

The four great magicians sat down, intently gazing at the magic videos to pass the time. However, the next magical battle video surprised them. The dazzling super-magic techniques even shocked the great magicians.

"How can Kaisas persist in casting violent spells for so long?" Kandel asked puzzledly as he looked at Kaisas who was fighting in the distance.

The tower master smiled slightly and explained, "It's very simple. Although his magic sea is a little smaller, its toughness is similar to that of the magic source of Warcraft. Warcraft can breathe violently, so Kaisus can also cast spells violently for a long time!"

Kandel suddenly realized what was happening. He couldn't help but feel curious about Caesar's special physique, which was extremely rare among human magicians.

The Tower Master continued, "I was the one who personally tested his physique and magical talent back then. I never expected him to perform so well."

"Don't get too excited. Kaisas is no longer with the North Tower. He's now a snake breeder at the Thorn Flower Trading Company!"

Joanna's words stirred a ripple on a calm lake. They had given Kaisus to the Thornflower Trading Company a few years ago for the sake of the Life Elixir. No matter how outstanding Kaisus was now, he had nothing to do with the Northland Tower.