Black Hearted Mage

Now, the entire Violet City's attention was focused on the precious Fire Crystal Mine, which finally gave the formerly troubled Viscount Bruce a sigh of relief. After all, this way, he could at least save some face.

At this moment, Caesars was visiting the Bano family, and Viscount Bruce's residence happened to be adjacent to Baron Bano's, separated only by a towering wall. Furthermore, Earl Ronald's residence was not far from the Bano family either, just across a wide street, but not directly opposite.

In the backyard of the Baron's mansion, Caesars found several targets, including two archery targets and a magic steel doll, which was obviously a target for practicing spells. When he stood by the tall wall, an idea suddenly came to his mind.

"Little Nivea, do you know what is on the other side of this wall?" Caesars asked curiously.

"Across the street is Viscount Bruce's stable," Little Nivea replied. "His horses always bark incessantly in the middle of the night, keeping people awake. Also, next to the stable is the kennels. The hounds inside bark non-stop, day or night!"

"Noise is not good, it can easily interrupt your meditation!"

Caesars looked at the tall walls and heard the barking of hounds, and he already had a good idea.

"Yes, I am often interrupted when I meditate at night!" The little girl waved her little fist and said indignantly.

Caesars came to the foot of the wall and observed it from his position close to the ground. The wall was built with large, smoothly cut stones, and the gaps were so small that even a blade could not be inserted, but this little problem did not bother him.

"Little Nivi, please stand back a little while I make a small hole in the wall!"

The little girl grabbed the hem of her skirt, took a dozen steps back lightly and quickly, then stopped not far away, looking ahead with curiosity.

Caesar's Corrosion spell, combined with the staff in his hand and the gleaming magic emblem on his chest, gathered and released corrosive energy, landing precisely on the stone wall. This location was only about a foot above the ground, corroding it at a slanting downward angle.

Caesars diligently controlled the spell's radius, keeping it small to avoid causing excessive damage to the wall. However, despite his caution, the corrosion spell wasn't effective enough. After a full spell, only a small dent had been etched into the stone wall.

Upon closer inspection, Caesars discovered that the stone used to construct the wall was a highly corrosion-resistant, off-white quartzite. This rock's characteristics made it difficult for the corrosion technique to be effective. Faced with this situation, Caesars realized he had to find another solution.

Because the wall was a staggering three feet thick, Caesars was currently unable to effectively compress the Death Coil. If he forced it, it would only leave a hole larger than his head in the stone wall, which was clearly not the result he wanted. Therefore, he decided to find another way to overcome this problem.

A drop of undead rot dripped into the pit in the stone wall, and gray-green smoke began to rise rapidly. The undead rot was too corrosive, and it was difficult to control its direction. The moment the magic tentacles touched it, they were corroded. This required the constant use of the magic tentacles to control the flow of the undead rot.

After six drops of super-strong acid eroded the wall, a hole, roughly the thickness of a wrist, was finally pierced through the three-foot-thick wall. Caesars quickly brought out clean water and carefully rinsed the interior of the stone cave, ensuring that the remaining undead decay was completely removed to prevent the hole from expanding further.

"Mr. Caesars, what's the point of drilling a hole in the wall?"

The little girl in the gorgeous long dress looked puzzled as she observed the holes in the stone wall curiously.

"I plan to use this hole to quietly eliminate Viscount Bruce's hounds and horses!"

Caesars showed an excited smile, he already had a complete plan in his mind.

"But this hole is not straight. It is obviously tilted towards the ground, and we can't see the horses and hunting dogs at all!" The little girl frowned and asked in confusion.

"Hehe, we can't use magic. We must act quietly at night and not let anyone notice us." Caesars explained mysteriously, while moving the magic steel doll to completely cover the hole.

At this moment, Rad also entered the back garden of the Bano family. The old man was wearing a light-colored aristocratic robe, with his hair combed sleekly, and he looked like a senior aristocrat.

"Rad, why aren't you wearing your magic robes?"

"I don't want to attract too much attention. Magicians are too conspicuous in Violet City. You killed all of Viscount Bruce's men, and you're selling his weapons and equipment in the square?"

Rad sat on a chair in the garden, picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of black tea, looking at Caesar with some surprise.

"He sent people to kill me, so of course I'm going to kill them all!"

"You killed high-level professionals, Kaisas, how do you explain this?"

"Rad, I'm an intermediate magician. Are you satisfied with this explanation?"

Rad's hand, holding the hot tea, trembled, and the scalding tea spilled onto his chest. He found it difficult to accept that Caesars was a mid-level magician.

"Kasas, are you still human? A few years ago, you were just a tiny baby, but now you have become an intermediate magician!" Rad looked helpless. Kasas was promoted too fast.

"You old man, you know my physique is special. My magic sea is small, but very tough, and the magic power I absorb is difficult to escape. The magic power you gain through meditation can escape 20% to 30% in one night."

"Hearing you say that, I feel much better. Kaisas, Mo Hai Xiao is your fatal weakness!"

Rad was as talkative as ever. He only considered Caesars a friend, and he spoke without restraint. Caesars shrugged helplessly. The other party was just talking nonsense, with no ill intentions.

"I'm already violently expanding the magic sea. Meditation can't achieve this effect. I can only absorb the magic power from the magic crystals, but it consumes a lot of magic crystals!"

"Kaisas, if you need gold coins, just tell me. I still have 30,000 to 50,000 gold coins!"

"Rad, I have no shortage of gold coins. Don't you forget why Viscount Bruce wants to kill me?"

"Bruce has set his sights on your wealth and wants to kill you for it. Caesars, why don't you seek help from the Mage Alliance and ask Viscount Bruce to compensate you?"

Rad suddenly remembered the rumor that Caesars earned hundreds of thousands of gold coins in a single day selling things at a stall, which made the greedy Viscount Bruce think of a shortcut to wealth. Rad didn't ask what Caesars sold at the stall, but he was a little confused about Caesars's decision.

"If you go to the Mage Alliance, you'll owe them a favor, and they'll take 10% of the gold coins, and Viscount Bruce hasn't learned his lesson. I want to do something meaningful, something that will frighten him, keep him awake, and even give him nightmares when he does fall asleep!"

"Kaisas, it's a good idea, but how are you going to do it? Killing is forbidden in Violet City, and the Viscount's Mansion is heavily guarded!"

"Rad, I have good help!"

Just as Rad was puzzled, Caesars patted the animal skin bag hanging on his waist, and a dark triangular head poked out. It turned its head and spit out its dark snake tongue. It still remembered Rad's smell.

"Golden-eyed Black Demonic Viper, I forgot about it. Kaisas, what are you going to do?"

Rad was not particularly afraid of the black snake. On the contrary, he was even a little excited when he saw it and asked Caesars about ways to take revenge.

"My plan is to..."

Caesars began to describe his plan, and Rad grew increasingly excited, even trembling with excitement. It turned out that this old man had such a playful spirit. Even little Nivea was captivated by their conversation, her eyes widening in surprise, and she became even more curious about the black snake.

Meanwhile, a grand banquet was being held at Count Leonard's mansion to celebrate the discovery of a fire crystal vein. Although formal exploration of the mine's depths had yet to be conducted, the mercenary team absolutely dared not deceive Count Leonard, as the Mage Alliance would be the primary beneficiary of the mine. Deceiving Count Leonard would be tantamount to deceiving the entire Mage Alliance.

"Master Joseph, I heard that the magician Kaisas is cruel and ruthless. Will he attack Bruce?"

Count Leonard also invited the great magician Joyce, but he excused himself and did not come. Only two senior magicians came. He asked Joseph about it. He did not want his daughter to become a widow. After all, Bruce obeyed him.

"No, killing is forbidden in Violet City. Even those in the Northern Tower cannot violate this rule. Otherwise, the laws of the Violet Alliance will be invalidated."

"Master Joseph, I feel relieved with your words!"

This was a test from Count Leonard. The message revealed by Joseph indicated that the Mage Alliance would not protect Caesar, which also meant that the other party would not kill Bruce directly.

Leonard found the Bruces in the banquet hall and told them the good news.

"Bruce, you're too reckless this time. The other party has a very powerful background. His teacher is the great magician of the Northland Tower. You'd better pay reasonable compensation as soon as possible!"

"Why should I compensate him? It was my men who secretly decided to assassinate him. It had nothing to do with me!"

Bruce, who was nearly forty years old, wore a royal blue aristocratic robe. He did not want to pay compensation. More than a dozen of his men had died, which was already a huge loss for him.

"Stupid! This explanation might be fine to a commoner, but he's a magician. He won't accept it!"

"He's just a low-level magician!"

After Viscount Bruce finished speaking, Earl Ronald nodded subconsciously.

"Fool, Leonard, your son-in-law is as stupid as you!"

A delicate fragrance drifted over, and a beautiful woman dressed boldly stood beside Count Leonard, holding a wine glass. She was wearing a low-cut, tight-fitting long dress, revealing most of her two round, smooth breasts.

Earl Ronald didn't feel anything, but Viscount Bruce's eyes were wide open. Fortunately, the Viscountess pinched him hard.

"Caschi, why do you say that?" Leonard knew her very well. This woman would not belittle him without any basis.

"A low-level magician, could he single-handedly kill over a dozen high-level professionals? Could he easily break the magic steel gate of the mine? You two are the only ones who believe the rumors out there. How foolish! Based on my speculation, the other party probably doesn't care much about compensation. He possesses no less wealth than Viscount Bruce. I just received the latest news: Caesars lives in the Bano family, just across the wall from Viscount Bruce!"

Kasqi looked at the three of them with a faint smile, gently shaking the crystal wine glass in her hand. In her opinion, the wisdom of these three people lies in the gold coins. Without the gold coins, they are fools.

"Baron Bano dares to go against me?" Bruce said viciously.

"Viscount Bruce, Baron Bano's brother is also from the Northern Tower. Don't use your title to oppress others. Every noble wants to win over magicians, especially those from the Northern Tower. If there were ever a conflict with the Northern Tower, Leonard wouldn't be able to save his own life, let alone you!"

Kashiqi shook her head. The two country nobles before her were nouveau riche, with no family background to speak of. As Kashiqi swayed her slender waist and left, she took the fresh, elegant fragrance with her.

Bud, the butler of the Viscount's mansion, ran into the banquet hall sweating profusely. He turned his head to look for his master. When he saw Bruce, he hurried to a corner of the banquet hall.

"My Lord Viscount, all your horses have just died, and all your hunting dogs are dead too!"

"Bud, how did they die?

Viscount Bruce felt as if something were tugging at his heart, the pain unbearable. His horses were of fine breeds, each one valuable; he had spent vast sums of gold to acquire them. His heart ached even more deeply for the dozen or so hounds he had brought from distant lands at great expense. They guarded the Viscount's mansion night after night, protecting him and his family.

"I don't know what happened, and neither does the groom. They didn't have any external injuries, but they all died suddenly, and they didn't even make a sound before they died. This is really weird!" Bud, the butler of the Viscount's Mansion, answered helplessly.

"It must have been done by that damn magician! Who else but him could have killed my horse and dog so silently?" Viscount Bruce gritted his teeth in anger. He could not think of any other possibility.

"Bruce, you have to calm down. We don't have any evidence now, so we can't jump to conclusions. Even if we have evidence, what can we do? Let's ask Master Joseph to go over and take a look. Maybe he can find some clues. At least we have to know the cause of death first before we can take further action." Old Leonard comforted him. He also wanted to know the cause of the hound's death. The Earl's Mansion also raised more than a dozen jungle hounds.

"Okay, I'll go find Master Joseph right away!" Viscount Bruce turned and left.

"Wait, Bruce. The banquet is in progress and I can't leave here for the time being. You go first and tell me after you find the reason. Remember, don't act impulsively." Earl Leonard warned.