Black Hearted Mage

More than a dozen horses and a carriage full of goods set off in the morning dew and rising sun.

Geralt, wearing old leather armor, drove the carriage, and Kaisas lay on the cargo behind the carriage. The carriage was loaded with a low-grade herb - fly repellent, which had a pungent and pungent smell. The smoke produced after it was burned was highly irritating.

The Sword and Rose mercenary team had only three storage rings, one of which was filled with fly repellent, and each horse carried a large bundle. Although the monsters in the mines had degenerated eyes, their sense of smell and hearing were extremely sensitive, and fly repellent was used to counteract the monsters' sense of smell.

Geralt has already told us some things about the mine. The magic crystal mine in Count Ronald's fiefdom is a medium-sized mine. The output of high-level magic crystals is not much, but the output of medium and low-level magic crystals is very high.

Based on his memories, Caesars concluded that the location of the magic crystal mine should be the former Barony of Ludwig. This was because the mine had only been mined for fifty or sixty years, when his great-grandfather and his grandfather left the Violet Alliance, and it was at that time that the magic crystal mine was discovered.

Caesar saw a conspiracy, a grand conspiracy carefully set up by the previous generation of Count Leonard and the people of the Mage Alliance.

"Geralt, how come Count Ronald has two fiefs?"

"Of course, it was snatched from other minor nobles through extremely dishonorable means!"

The two fiefs of Count Leonard were not together, which easily made Caesars think that the fief in the southeast of the Violet Alliance originally belonged to the Ludwig family.

"The noble alliance of the Violet Alliance just stood by and allowed the Earl to annex the territories of other minor nobles?"

"Kaesus, the Noble Alliance certainly benefited, and the Mage Alliance was also involved. It was the Mage Alliance that originally discovered the magic crystal. When Count Leonard learned of this, he bribed several mages who knew about it. Then, of course, they tried every possible way to seize the fiefdom. The Mage Alliance also made great efforts to suppress the dissatisfaction of the Noble Alliance and ensure that such a thing would not happen again!"

Caesar suppressed his anger and thought about how to take revenge on Count Leonard. He lay on the cargo at the back of the carriage, closed his eyes, and thought slowly.

Count Leonard is not alone; he has an entire family, backed by the Noble Alliance and the Mage Alliance. He is a man who knows how to scheme, and dealing with him requires a more perfect scheme.

At this moment, many methods of revenge emerged in Caesar's mind, all of which were extremely cruel and brutal, and even shocked himself. Caesar didn't know that at that moment, something hidden in the deepest part of his blood had quietly begun to awaken.

The mercenary team continued on their journey, and before dusk, they finally reached their destination—a mine at the foot of a low mountain. The entrance to the mine had a magic steel gate and a large wooden house, guarded by a dozen guards in leather armor.

"Why did you guys just arrive now? I've been waiting here all day!"

A thin, short man with a face devoid of flesh emerged from the cabin. He was dressed in a butler's robe and bald, but with long hair and a goatee. It was a typical Mediterranean hairstyle, and Caesars couldn't help but laugh at his appearance.

"Butler Luo Luo, we are only responsible for exploring the mines. As long as we complete the mercenary mission within a month, don't bother me with other things. Set up camp, rest, and enter the mines tomorrow!"

Clarice simply ignored Rollo. He was just the third steward of the Earl's Mansion. The mercenary team was taking on mercenary missions, so there was no need to waste time talking to the steward of the Leonard family.

"You lowly mercenaries are so unreasonable! I am the steward of the Earl's Mansion!"

"He's the third steward, the least powerful steward, guarding the magic crystal mine for Earl Leonard!"

Clarisse's words left Rollo feeling embarrassed and angry, as they directly exposed his lowly position in the Earl's mansion, even lower than that of a common maid. The Countess's dislike for him further fueled his feelings of inferiority and helplessness. Rollo's appearance was so unattractive that the Countess believed his continued presence would only bring shame upon the Earl's mansion.

Speaking of the new Countess, her background was anything but simple. She was the illegitimate daughter of a prominent noble in the Roland Empire, possessing a discerning eye and unique aesthetic. Furthermore, she was no pushover. When she married into the Earl's mansion, she brought with her a thirty-man guard as a dowry. This guard obeyed only the Countess's orders; not even Count Leonard could command them.

At this moment, the mercenary team members dismounted and set up tents not far from the mine entrance. Caesars stretched himself and sat up from the carriage. He had just carefully explored the surrounding magical elements and found this to be a very suitable place for meditation.

"You lowly mercenaries!"

Seeing that all the mercenaries ignored him, Luo Luo shouted in anger.

"How dare you call me vile? You're challenging the dignity of a magician, you lowly and despicable bastard!"

A faint magical light flashed from the staff held by Caesars. The curse of words and weakness combined to cause the Earl's steward to convulse and fall to the ground. His mouth opened, but no sound of plea for mercy emanated.

The guards at the Earl's Palace were startled; they hadn't expected a magician to be among the mercenaries. Rollo was now terrified, looking at the magician in the carriage with trepidation.

"Get this damn bastard out of here! If he dares to challenge my power again, I'll turn you all into mummies!"

Caesars got off the carriage and walked towards the entrance of the mine.

Faced with a powerful magician, the guards of the Earl's Mansion quickly carried Rollo into the wooden house. They did not want to be implicated, and were even more afraid of being turned into mummies.

"Kaesus, how did you make that skinny monkey become mute?" Geralt asked in shock.

"They're just two small spells. They won't kill you, but will only make you weak for a few minutes. I'm going to set up my tent next to the mine. You don't have to keep watch for me at night. I have good helpers who can do that!"

"Magic circle, you must be using a magic circle to keep watch!"

"No, I use the golden-eyed black demon snake to keep watch!"

Caesars took out the hard leather folding tent that Phyllis had prepared for him. It was twice as big as the original tent, providing protection from ordinary arrows and providing greater comfort.

"Kaisas, your tent is a hard leather tent with the logo of the Thorn Flower Trading Company, and it costs over two thousand gold coins!

"Ten thousand gold coins. I had it custom-made at the Thorn Flower Trading Company. This is a hardened leather tent with the highest defense. It has a double layer of hardened leather, which can protect against magic steel arrows. The outside is made of northern giant rhino leather, and the inside is made of fire lizard leather."

Kaesas's tent was both cold-proof and warm, a standard tent for elven rangers. To conceal her identity, Phyllis had printed the Thornflower Company's logo on it.

"Kaisas, you're really willing to spend gold coins. I'm going to go over and help, otherwise I'll get scolded again!"

Geralt pulled the carriage over and stopped beside the mercenary team's tent, talking to the other mercenaries about Caesar's tent. The old mercenary talked with spit flying, but still couldn't escape Clarisse's scolding.

"Man, there will definitely be bad guys coming tonight, you must inform me in time!" Caesars whispered to the little golden-eyed black snake.

The little golden-eyed black snake was taken out, and Caesars gave it a magic rat. The little golden-eyed black snake immediately became excited and began to enjoy the meal.

As he left Violet City, many people watched him, their eyes gleaming with greed. Caesars felt that this night would be a restless one. Many knew the mercenary team's mission, and some were waiting for nightfall. They might seize the opportunity to attack him and rob him of all his belongings.

"Some people are bolder in the dark than in the day!"

Caesars repeated a line from the magic book, a description his ancestors had given of greedy humans. He resonated deeply with the words, having experienced something similar himself. Night often brings fear, but it also makes people more reckless. For those with ill intentions, night becomes the perfect time to commit crimes.

The mercenary team didn't provide Kaisas with any food, so he could only eat some cheese and dried meat. After the golden-eyed black demon snake followed him, it seemed to have developed a preference for dairy products, and Kaisas would also prepare a small piece for it.

Kaisas came here to explore the mine for two reasons. The first was pure curiosity, wanting to see the magical beasts of the underground world. The second was for the little black magic snake, which grew too slowly and needed to be fed with magic cores of dark monsters.

The mercenaries' dinner was quickly over, a day of travel leaving them feeling a bit exhausted. Caesars's tent was about 20 to 30 meters away, and he hadn't prepared a campfire, wanting to create a better environment for the greedy.

The little black magic snake stayed outside the tent. Caesars was absorbing the magic crystal and quietly waiting for the visitors in the middle of the night.

The low hiss of the black snake echoed, and Caesars immediately paused in meditation, taking out his customary blackthorn staff. While the staff's appearance was somewhat lackluster, with two cracks, the engraved magic patterns were intact, increasing spell attack power by 20%.

Kaisas activated his dark vision, walked out of the armored tent, and used his magic tentacles to explore the surroundings. The little black snake was no longer near the tent; it seemed to be hiding in the distance.

Several figures appeared in the distance, walking towards them cautiously. Perhaps the moonlight was a little weak today, so they needed to use the magic pointer to determine the direction.

The sound of gravel being trampled could be heard, but Caesars didn't see anyone. He immediately guessed that a stalker was approaching. He immediately activated his magic shield and magic armor, entering a defensive state.

As a faint magical light flashed by, a stealth warrior in leather armor appeared. A black object was hanging from his thigh near his hip.

The golden-eyed black snake succeeded, releasing its fangs and quickly swimming away. The stalker felt a prick of the needle on his buttocks. Although it was a little painful, he gritted his teeth and endured it, still slowly walking towards the tent.

The Curse of Weakness struck the Rogue, leaving him with only two minutes to live. Caesars took a few steps forward, but the masked man in the distance hadn't yet entered the spell's range.

The curse spells used by Caesars would not emit conspicuous magical light, make any noise, or scare away the greedy people.

Kaisas first cast a language curse on those sneaky figures, so that even if they suffered subsequent spell attacks and felt extreme pain, they would not be able to make any sound. These people were all high-level melee professionals. Although their levels were high, they lacked magical defense.

These people had strong vitality, but after being baptized by two curse spells and corruption, they could no longer escape their fate. This method of killing was not challenging at all for Kaisas, but a sudden scream from a distance aroused his vigilance.

The sound originated from the low hill where the mine was located, not far away. Caesars quickly climbed the slope in the direction of the sound. This time, the little black demon snake performed a remarkable feat. An archer in black leather armor was clutching his neck, twitching on the ground. He immediately killed the archer and stored the body in his space ring.

Being bitten on the neck by the little black snake could only mean one thing: the archer was lying in ambush here, and he was lying on the ground at the time. It was probably because the light at night was too poor, and the archer had been waiting for the opportunity to strike.

"Good job, man. Keep guarding here!"

Caesar needs to take back the spoils, and the people who come here are all well-equipped with weapons.

The mercenary team was already on the defensive. They did not leave the camp and had thrown more than a dozen torches outside the camp in the hope of finding the attackers.

"It's okay, I've killed all the attackers!"

After picking up all the bodies, Caesars shouted in the direction of the mercenary team.

Caesar returned to the edge of the tent and this time he lit a bonfire. Touching the corpses and identifying the weapons and equipment was a meticulous job.

The archers and stealth warriors were the best equipped, possessing storage rings, and were considered the fattest sheep by Caesars. The remaining dozen or so corpses also had items of their own, with half of their weapons still belonging to those he had sold yesterday.

The looted corpses were thrown outside the campfire, and Caesars took out the magic crystal to replenish his magic power.

At this time, the brave old mercenary Geralt came. He was very surprised to see the corpses on the ground.

"Kaisas, you're not very professional. There's something left on the body!"

"Those clothes aren't worth a few silver coins, Geralt. If you want them, go get them yourself!"

"All these clothes are worth at least one gold coin, which can buy fifty glasses of rye!"

The old mercenary happily stripped the clothes off the corpse. He was very skilled.

"This is Scar's body!"

Geralt, who was stripping the dead man's clothes, suddenly cried out.