Volume 1: Stranger in a Strange Land Chapter 34: The Scorched Sage
Dim light, turbid air, and a quiet environment where the only sound you can hear is your own footsteps.
Whenever he came to the mine, Vincent would always think of things that happened long ago.
"Look at them, Vincent, take a good look at them.
At that time, Simon Walder, who had not yet become the Duke of Thorns, stood on a high place, pointing at the miners working below and said to himself, who was still an expert wizard.
"They work for more than ten hours every day in the dark mines with almost no safety measures. What can they get in return for such hard work? Just enough wages to make a living, or pain all over the body?"
Simon's eyes seemed to be burning with fire.
"Because of the air in the mine, most miners who have worked here for more than 20 years will suffer from silver lung disease due to inhaling too much source silver dust. It is said that every time they breathe, their chest will feel as painful as if there is fire burning. But guess what they call this?"
There was no trace of smile on Simon's face.
"Inheritance, because after they die, their families can sell the lungs to alchemists on the black market at a high price, and they can extract crystallized source silver from them. Even so, the Thieves Guild that controls the black market will take a hefty cut from it. What's their motto? Thieves have their own code of conduct?"
After saying this, Simon Wald covered his face and laughed wildly.
"What do you want me to do by telling me this?"
Vincent waited until Simon was out of breath and started coughing violently before he slowly opened his mouth and asked.
"help me."
Simon suddenly calmed down, he stretched out his hand to Vincent and said.
"Help me take the position of the next Duke of Thorns, help me take back the silver industry from the Empire, and help me free Blackwater Province from the shackles of the Royal Family, the Star Council, and the Church forever."
Even to this day, he has never regretted his decision that day.
Curse the potential successor to the Duke's position, break into the holy tomb where the ancestors rest in search of power, expel the empire's envoys, and duel with the battle wizard of the platinum ring...
Even though he violated the laws of the stars and would never be able to advance to the legendary realm in his lifetime, and even though his wife was assassinated by conservatives because of his overly harsh methods, he never regretted it in the slightest.
“All of this is a necessary sacrifice.”
The man who sat on the throne of thorns and became increasingly cruel said so to him.
He took back the silver industry, but he exploited the miners more desperately than the Empire. He expelled the Thieves Guild, but created an even more brutal underground black market.
In order to achieve his ideal, he almost ran all the way in the direction completely opposite to his original ideal.
In order to fight against the behemoth of the empire, he must firmly grasp power in his own hands and squeeze out the last bit of strength from the Blackwater Province.
But compared to the empire's eight hundred years of accumulation, that power is still not enough...
Vincent understood, he understood everything.
But even he has begun to doubt whether the price to pay for that ideal is too heavy.
Holy Sepulchre...
If the Duke really wants to master the power of the Holy Sepulchre and really awaken the hundreds of millions of corpses buried in the cemetery for thousands of years to serve as his own army... then would ruling a country full of the dead really be an ideal country?
More importantly, how can he ensure that he can truly control that power?
The Tide of the Undead in the Corrupted Moon a thousand years ago was a failed attempt by the King of Blackwater at that time. The final result was a natural disaster that was enough to destroy the entire Blackwater Kingdom.
If it weren't for the Endwatch in its heyday, if it weren't for the hero William Kane who killed the out-of-control Blackwater King at the last moment, I'm afraid that even now, the entire Blackwater Province would be a dead and silent kingdom of the dead.
Vincent turned the last corner while thinking, and the view in front of him suddenly became clear.
It was a hall that was much wider than the previous narrow mine. There was a hill of skulls in the middle of the hall. On the rock walls around the hall, there was a pattern of dragons and snakes devouring each other, emitting a faint silver light.
But his attention was completely attracted by the man with gray hair and silver eyes in front of the Skull Temple.
"Hello."
The man was wearing a miner's uniform and holding a magic medium made of purple cedar wood. A thin young boy stood next to him.
Seeing him come in, the man said to him politely.
Vincent couldn't see through the level of the person in front of him.
But as a magic caster whose mental power has been honed to the legendary threshold, he was unable to see through the opponent's level, which was enough to illustrate the opponent's level.
The peak level of a master? Or maybe a legend?
But as a heretic wizard, he cannot obtain magic from the laws of the stars. Where can he get enough magical fuel to maintain his level?
As his thoughts raced, Vincent asked directly.
"Were you the one who killed the overseer and took away the other half of the miners?"
"Yes."
He simply nodded in response, his face showing no wavering emotion.
"But you didn't choose to leave together. Can I regard this as a provocation to the entire Thorn City?"
Vincent asked.
"Then you set up a shrine for Moon Realm worship here. Can I regard this as a provocation to the entire Vic Continent?"
The other party knows about the Moon Realm, so his magic fuel comes from the contract with the Moon Realm?
Based on the information revealed in the other party's words, Vincent adjusted his response strategy in his mind.
"The Three Moon Goddesses have always been the faith of the Blackwater Swamp, older than the Seven Holy Spirits."
He replied.
"So those miners willingly let the Soul-Eating Spider Demon parasitize their bodies?"
As the man spoke, he pointed the yew wood staff in his hand at the corpse of the Web Weaver in the corner.
Only then did Vincent notice the dead body of the Web Weaver nearby.
Corpse?
Why does the Moon Spirit leave behind a corpse after death?
Something incomprehensible happened.
"Why does it ..."
"Left a body behind?"
The man said expressionlessly.
"That's because it's dead, of course."
"That's impossible."
Vincent blurted out.
The Moon Realm monsters are essentially a thought incarnated, a concept or some other metaphysical thing. They cannot be killed by magic or swords alone.
"But as you can see, it has already happened. Putting that aside, you are better than the people I have met before, and even among the people I know, you are considered third-rate. I guess you have some status in this city, right?"
"My name is Vincent, so you understand."
"who? "
Vincent was silent .
Didn't the other party even know who he was? Then how did he turn the Silver Stream Mine upside down by himself?
Vincent is not a person who cares about his reputation. Whether it is "The First Person Under the Legend" or "The Scorched Sage", these titles that are very hateful when heard are all given by other busybodies.
But he is not averse to those titles.
Many times, a resounding title is much easier than having to teach those short-sighted guys a lesson yourself over and over again.
But the person in front of me...
"Vincent von Bergmann, chief court mage to Duke Simon."
He added.
This time, there was finally a change on the other person's face that could be called an expression.
"This last name... Who is Liliana to you?"
