The further north the diplomatic mission traveled, the colder the weather became. Snow began to fall more frequently, even obscuring most of their vision. If not for the cold-resistant trees planted on both sides of the road, perhaps even the most elite scouts would get lost along the way.
"So, you don't know what kinds of spells there are and what's special about them?"
Thales tightened the cloak he put on a day ago and covered his head and face tightly as he asked Ramon.
This was the second time they set up camp and rested. The location was at the junction of Prestige Orchid Region and Reformation Tower in Eckstedt.
After passing through Rayman Pass, they walked through a short hilly journey. After crossing the territory of the Archduke of Reformation Tower, they followed the direction of the hills and began to turn northwest.
Soon, it would enter the territory of the Grand Duke of Prestige Orchid.
Once they crossed Prestige Orchid Region, Nuven the Seventh's territory, Dragon Clouds City, would be right in front of them.
"I should say that I don't know the whole picture of magic." Ramon shook his head.
"It is said that there are all sorts of strange schools and types of magic. There will always be eccentric geniuses who will dig out new schools and research areas based on existing knowledge." Ramon sat by the fire and explained to Thales, who was beside him. "But other than those unusual creatures who are independent, most of the wizards have their own clear affiliations."
"Belonging?" Thales' eyes lit up. "You mean …"
"In ancient times, it was the gathering place of wizards and the magic organization they belonged to." Ramon's eyes sparkled.
"The Three Major Magic Towers."
Magic Tower?
Thales turned his head abruptly. The bits and pieces of information he obtained when he investigated the origins of Mystics in Mindis Hall surged into his mind again.
"I've heard about this before." Thales' eyes lit up. "So, the ancient wizards gathered in the three Magic Towers to conduct research?"
"The Three Great Magic Towers are not just three towers, nor are they just three locations." Ramon muttered, "Wizards are not weirdos who stay in their towers. It is said that the Three Great Magic Towers represent the three attitudes and values of a wizard."
"What attitude?" Thales asked curiously. "You mean the attitude wizards have when they face knowledge?"
Ramon shook his head. "I do not know. It is very difficult to find information about the mages in the past."
Thales sighed. "Alright."
"What are the Three Great Magic Towers? Don't tell me you don't even know this? "
Ramon nodded and smiled. "I know that."
He looked around furtively and saw Aida dozing off by the fire. Putray and Kentvida were arguing about something in the distance. Wya tried his best to communicate with Ralf but failed in the end. Tolja had led the scouts to scout the road ahead and had yet to return. The Eckstedt soldiers around them seemed to have gotten used to them.
When he saw that the distance between them and their attention was still far away, Ramon cautiously approached Thales. He extended his finger towards the snow-covered ground in a field of vision that only the two of them could see.
"First, the Ascetic Tower.
Ramon gently drew a square on the ground that was turned 45 degrees, with one corner facing downwards. He then connected the diagonal lines of the square and drew a cross inside. "According to the information I've read, they are the most ancient group of mages. Even before the Holiness Exorcism Campaign, the Ascetic Tower had appeared … But they are also the most mysterious. I don't know what they are doing. I didn't manage to find out much about them."
Thales frowned.
"Next, the Alchemy Tower."
Ramon drew a circle. Then, he drew two triangles on the left and right sides of the circle. Each of them had a corner pointing outwards. The side of the circle where the triangles were near was an arc, matching the arc of the circle. Ramon then drew a small circle at the center of the circle. Thales recognized that the pattern looked like an eye.
Ramon continued, "As the name suggests, it is said that the Alchemy Tower is an important aid for humans to defeat the orcs. Their creations are all prepared for war or practical use. Some of their products have been passed down to this day and are still usable. They are rare items that only a few people possess.
"Finally, the Soul Tower."
Ramon then drew two's' shapes. The upper and lower semicircles of the two's' overlapped. The pattern was especially strange and its meaning was unknown.
"There are all kinds of strange information about them. One moment, they are said to be the protectors of the secular world. The next moment, they are said to have an agreement with the Empire. Or, they are said to be on bad terms with the other two Magic Towers. There are even some who say that their existence has brought a lot of chaos to the world, and that they are practically the source of all evil … I am also unable to understand the things that they are researching … Obviously, they are different from the other two Magic Towers."
Ramon looked at Thales. The latter nodded to show that he remembered it. The doctor quickly extended his hand and nervously wiped off the three patterns, leaving nothing behind.
"That's all I know. As for the rest, I know nothing about the Three Great Magic Towers' inheritance, characteristics, history, and origins … Knowledge regarding magic has been completely banned." Ramon sighed. "Also, you must never draw these three patterns in front of anyone, such as Morat … There will be trouble."
Thales raised his eyebrows. "Then, you drew them in front of me without any worries? Am I that trustworthy? "
Ramon turned his head and revealed that strange expression again.
"Trust? Heh. "Ramon chuckled softly. His big nose twitched." I think you are not interested in magic for no reason.
"The ability to deflect Mystic Guns …"
Thales' pupils trembled.
'Damn it, he still cares a lot about it.'
"I keep feeling that it is not a psionic ability." Ramon chuckled. "It should be some kind of magic, but I just don't know what it is yet.
"That's why you are so thirsty for information about magic, right?"
'Some kind of magic?
'To be precise …' Thales said in his heart, 'Your deduction is correct.'
Thales fixed his gaze on him.
"Constellation's new prince cum the next king. Not only is he interested in magic, he even possesses some sort of magical power." Ramon beamed with joy. His haggard, dignified face made Thales feel nauseous. "Just thinking about it makes me excited …"
Thales let out a long sigh and carefully pondered over the knowledge he heard from Ramon over the past few days.
"So, the Three Great Magic Towers no longer exist?" the prince said quietly.
Ramon's smile froze.
He clasped his hands together, lowered his head, and hunched his back.
The Strange Doctor wiped off a snowflake on his nose and sighed. "It is said that this is the case. Do you know about Mystics?
They are not the slightly stronger warriors that ordinary people think they are. In fact … "
Thales did three somersaults in his heart.
'Found it!'
"Hmm." On the surface, the second prince said without batting an eyelid, "As a member of the royal family, I know some things about Mystics … They are the undying calamities."
Ramon looked at Thales with a solemn gaze. "Exactly … It is said that from the governments of various countries, to the churches of the gods in heaven, and even the demons in hell, all of them fear them … They are afraid that one day, they will make a comeback and launch a second Battle of Eradication."
"If that is the case, the calamities are the main cause of the destruction of the Magic Towers?" Thales asked in a daze.
Ramon straightened his collar and his expression became extremely solemn.
"I do not know whether the calamities were the ones who destroyed the Magic Towers," Ramon said in a low voice, "But I believe that the so-called calamities, the so-called Mystics, and the Magic Towers are all products of the wizards' research."
Thales said in disbelief, "So, everything related to magic in the world, including inheritance, knowledge, and history, were all intentionally banned?"
Ramon exhaled deeply. "Yes … I guess that someone did not want to see the emergence of a new calamity."
Thales frowned deeply. "Magic brought about an unmanageable risk, so they simply shut down and banned the existence of all magic?"
"This is too stupid." Thales sighed. "Because they were afraid of the possibility of Mystics appearing and their power, they banned magic … What a short-sighted and stupid decision …"
"I agree with you on this point." Ramon clenched his fists. "It is precisely to fight against the Mystics and their harm that we need to seek possibilities from magic, isn't it?"
"Although the Three Great Magic Towers were destroyed, their ruins should still exist, right?" Thales stroked his chin. "You didn't go there to try your luck?"
"Ruins?" Ramon curled up the corner of his lips and said with an unpleasant expression, "This is the worst part … Those damned countries, they looted and destroyed almost every single bit of information related to magic, wizards, and Magic Towers. I can't even find out where the ruins of the Magic Towers are!" Ramon curled up one side of his mouth and said with an unpleasant expression on his face.
Thales frowned deeply. "Maybe I can wait until I return to the country and check the records of the royal family …"
Ramon snorted coldly. "Don't mention it, especially Constellation. Your ancestor, the great King of Renaissance, Tormond the First, personally ordered that all traces related to magic in Constellation be completely wiped out!"
Thales was stunned.
"And more than six hundred years ago, the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department was the one who carried out the ban on magic." Ramon said hatefully, "It took me a lot of effort to find some traces in Eckstedt. They called this …
"Plan to Purify the World!"
Thales stared at the snow in a daze and pulled his cloak tighter.
"How did they do it?" The prince raised his head. "If magic is really as important as you said …" Thales was stunned.
"They did it!"
Ramon raised his head. His eyes were filled with hatred. "In the decades after the Battle of Eradication ended, the various countries imprisoned all the remaining wizards and plundered all the books, scrolls, records, and artifacts related to magic. They even investigated all the people who had close contact with the wizards … The most important thing was that they wiped out all traces of magic from history …"
"Of course, all those who intended to study magic and revive it would immediately become a thorn in the side of the various countries' agencies and the temples and churches once they were discovered. They would be eliminated without hesitation …
"Just to ensure that magic would never appear again!"
All of them fell silent.
For a moment, only the crackling of the flames and the mournful whistling of the cold wind could be heard.
"If the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department was in charge of the Plan to Purify the World six hundred years ago, then there might still be a lot of information left in the Secret Intelligence Department …" Thales muttered to himself.
"Haih, to dig things out from the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department without anyone knowing …" Thales sighed.
"… It's even harder than breaching Broken Dragon Fortress." Ramon stared coldly at the fire and finished Thales' sentence.
'Wait.'
Thales thought of a question, and a strange expression appeared on his face.
"Doctor," he said slowly, "Morat was not the first chief of the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department, was he?"
"Nonsense. The Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department was established more than six hundred years ago when Constellation was founded." Ramon snorted coldly and exhaled a long breath. "Morat … he was a human, not a long-lived species or an eternal being!"
Thales rolled his eyes.
'Poor emotional intelligence. How pitiful.'
"You didn't understand what I meant … I was saying," Thales said impatiently, "Who was the first chief of the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department, the person in charge of the Plan to Purify the World?"
Ramon was stunned. He immediately turned his head to look at Thales.
"This will be a clue." Thales rubbed his hands, which had turned red from the cold, and exhaled a mouthful of mist. "No matter how terrifying and mysterious the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department is, no matter how precise, efficient, and meticulous it is … as long as it's an organization, it must rely on its members, which is the behavior and psychology of humans.
"And humans are always complicated." Thales blinked. "Do you understand what I mean?"
Ramon frowned.
"Two."
"What?" Thales asked, puzzled.
Ramon looked around vigilantly again. He turned his head around and said,
"Two people, six hundred years ago." The Strange Doctor lowered his voice. "In Year 38 of the Calendar of Eradication, two people led the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department and were responsible for the specific implementation of the Plan to Purify the World …"
"Very good," Thales said quietly, "Even if six hundred years have passed, we can always find out about their past … Who are those two people?"
Ramon chuckled and uttered two names.
The first name made Thales' expression change.
"Leinster Covendier."
"The first chief of the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department." Ramon put on an expression that said "I knew it" and said with great interest, "And the first master of the Covendier Family, one of the Six Great Clans of Constellation, the first Duke of Iris Flowers."
Thales widened his eyes.
Ramon continued.
"As well as his deputy."
"Halva Karabeyan.
"One of the Thirteen Distinguished Families, the first master of the Longsword of Twin Towers, the first Count of Walla Hill, and later the 'Wise Prime Minister' of the kingdom."
Just as Thales was carefully thinking about these two names and the meaning behind them, an Eckstedtian sentinel let out a loud roar that pierced through the Northland sky, where the cold wind rustled.
"Be on guard!"
The elite Eckstedtian soldiers around him immediately drew their weapons. Countless sounds of metal being unsheathed rang simultaneously. The atmosphere was tense and somber.
Unlike the group battle formation of Constellation, these Northlanders had stern expressions, but they were not flustered. They formed groups of two with their backs against each other. They stood scattered around the perimeter of the camp, facing the cold wind and fluttering snow around them.
The light cavaliers mounted their horses together under their commanding officer's command and rushed to the perimeter. The heavy cavaliers and heavy infantrymen immediately began to put on their armor.
Aida instantly dashed to Thales' side. Wya and Ralf rushed over as well.
"Be alert," the elven protector, whose age was unknown, said in a grave tone, "How unlucky … It's another army."
'Army?'
The second prince thought of something.
Under the moonlight, Thales' sharp vision, which had been modified by that fluctuation, allowed him to quickly see the source of the threat clearly.
To the north of the camp, the figures of countless fully-armored cavaliers appeared amidst the indistinct falling snow.
Light armor, gray robes, white horses, and masks.
They were swift and silent.
They almost blended into the snow around them.
"In this kind of weather …" Putray, who rushed over from behind, frowned. "They're elites."
These cavaliers, who did not look like good people at first glance, suddenly dispersed when they were a hundred meters in front of them.
They moved towards them in a messy but orderly manner …
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