Hearing Jenny's words, Mark seemed to be a little stunned for a moment, as if he could not figure out the situation in front of him. It could also be that the heavily armed Cecil soldiers made this somewhat cowardly young man so nervous that he forgot what to say for a moment. But Jenny was not angry because of this. Instead, she very patiently repeated, "Go and tell my teacher that I'm back."
This time, Mark finally reacted. "Ah, ah, okay … But …"
He suddenly hesitated, and after a few words, he said, "But my teacher is not in a very good state now …"
"Just take me to see him."
"Okay … Jenny."
Mark looked up at the soldiers behind Jenny with some fear, and then stepped aside, leaving the door to the interior of the magic tower open.
Jenny stepped inside, and the guards followed closely behind. The uniform sound of metal clanging against metal made the young man standing at the door shrink his neck. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he swallowed his words.
Inside the magic tower, the classical and solemn furnishings were just like in his memory. A fireplace created by a long-lasting illusion was burning fiercely in the hall on the first floor, but the flames were pale white, reminiscent of ice and snow. A refreshing breeze created by a thermostatic enchantment was swirling in the hall, dispelling the heat of the season. A shelf made of black-grained wood stood quietly by the wall, and two servants were cleaning the dust on the shelf.
An astral telescope was placed in the middle of the hall. Under the power of magic, this light and expensive instrument was operating automatically, simulating the projection of many stars in a small area that could not be seen during the day.
An arc-shaped staircase was on the opposite side of the hall, extending upwards along the wall, and at the same time, there was a half-moon platform with railings floating on the inside of the staircase, moving back and forth under the power of magic.
"… Teacher finally finished the floating platform device?" Jenny turned her head slightly and asked Mark who had followed her in.
"Yes." Mark seemed to have finally gotten used to it, and his speech was smooth. "I finished it last year, and used a lot of precious materials."
Jenny nodded but didn't say anything else.
She only remembered that Rebecca should still be leading her research team to reconstruct the anti-gravity spell based on elven technology. That expensive and intricate spell was realized with a steel plate, a few kilograms of cheap red copper and artificial magic crystals, and it could operate independently with a small-scale energy supply. Last time, Rebecca mentioned in the Mana Net communication that she had accidentally embedded the test object in the ceiling, but they had succeeded in making the device fly.
Although it didn't seem to be flying very steadily …
She shook her head and ignored the automatic elevator. Instead, she followed her memory and walked towards the familiar stairs.
Many of the same familiar faces bowed their heads respectfully as she passed by.
These people didn't necessarily know Jenny's current identity, and they might not even recognize this servant apprentice who was casually thrown out to handle the tasks of the royal family, but they at least recognized the soldiers of the Cecil Army and their equipment. Those with a little judgment could see that a person who was closely protected by a whole team of soldiers and could freely enter and leave this area must be an important person of the empire.
Mark followed beside Jenny. After they reached the third floor of the mage tower, the young man whispered, "Teacher is at the magic hub …"
"Yes." Jenny nodded slightly and walked towards the secret room where the magic hub was located.
In front of the familiar black wooden door, she hesitated for a few seconds, but in the end, she still pushed the door open.
In the spacious secret room, the faint light of magic rippled between the walls, condensing into a solid texture like water, and poured into the sunken magic pool in the center of the room. A faint magic circle covered the entire floor of the room. Dense and neatly arranged runes extended from the edge of the magic circle, from the wall to the ceiling. In the center of the room, at the focal point of the magic circle, a withered body was leaning against the edge of the magic pool. Half of the body was immersed in the pool, and the other half was crawling on the ground.
It was almost a dried corpse, as if a thin layer of flesh covered a skeleton. A patch of white hair was disheveled, and the face exposed under the hair was completely unfamiliar to Jenny. Only the pair of eyes that were raised were somewhat familiar.
Jenny slowly walked towards the shriveled body.
Humans were really complicated creatures.
Knight, who guarded the city wall, also squeezed the serfs.
The counts and viscounts, who fought to the death, also took the last bit of food and land from the farmers.
Those who donated all their belongings to support the frontline, sent all their children to the city wall, and died at the shield nodes.
They were also the masters of the land, the masters of the serfs, the masters of the wealth, and … the masters of the servant apprentices.
William? Borken, a member of the Wang Family's mage legion, was responsible for guarding the shield nodes of the western wall. On the fifth day of the siege, he chased all the low-level mages out of the node hall and tied himself to the node crystal.
Now, he was dying.
Jenny stopped beside the body, slowly bent down, squatted down, and sat on the ground. The ground in this mage tower had been her chair and bed for many years in her life.
The withered head sensed the presence, and he moved slightly. In a tremor, he slowly opened his eyes and said in a hoarse and low voice, "Ah … Jenny … You are here …"
Jenny looked at him quietly. "Teacher, long time no see."
The hoarse voice sounded again, calmer than Jenny expected. "Yes, long time no see … What are you doing now?"
"Chief Runemaster of the Empire."
"… Ah, that sounds good."
"You are dying," Jenny looked into her teacher's eyes and said slowly and clearly, "You are dying."
The withered body moved on the ground, raised his head slightly, and then quickly lowered it. "It seems so … So, are you here to enjoy this scene?"
Jenny shook her head slightly and said word by word, "What broke through the Crystal Cluster Army's defense line was magical equipment. They were built on the basis of the Ravenketh Constant and runic logic."
She had rehearsed this sentence countless times in her heart to ensure that she would not say a single word wrong. Similar words had been brewing in her heart since a year ago. However, when she really had the chance to say these words, she found that she did not feel the slightest bit of joy, only emptiness.
The old mage, whose life force was almost exhausted, was silent for a few seconds before he responded in a low voice, "I know. When I saw the 'Magic Net', I guessed it."
"I am not here today to see you die." Jenny stared at the old mage and said in a low voice, "You owe us an apology — mine and Mr. Ravenketh's."
The room fell into silence. After a minute of silence, the old mage's hoarse voice sounded, "It seems that I was wrong …"
He suddenly coughed violently. After half a minute of coughing, more life force left his body, and his voice became even more hoarse and low. "… But I will not apologize."
Jenny looked at the man who was approaching death with every passing second. Her lips squirmed twice. "You …"
"An Extraordinaire … cannot apologize to a slave …" the voice said intermittently. "This is … a principle …"
The surprise in Jenny's eyes gradually receded. She once again examined her mentor, and then the room once again fell into a long silence.
A few minutes later, the chief runemaster of the empire sighed softly, as if she had put down a heavy burden in her heart. She used her hand to support herself on the ground and slowly stood up.
The ground here was still as cold as she remembered.
She lowered her head and looked at William Bork. Borken said, "Got it."
Then she turned around and seemed to be ready to leave.
"Are you not going to do it?" The hoarse and low voice came from behind. "This is not difficult for you today."
Jenny did not turn back. "You are already dying."
"But maybe you will feel better this way."
Jenny took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "This is my principle."
"… Oh, that sounds good."
"Farewell, mentor. Thank you for the two bags of wheat."
Jenny walked out of the secret room, and the soldier who acted as her bodyguard immediately came up to her. "Master?"
"Let's go and report to the Silver Fort. Also, in William Bork's place, William Bork's place. After Bork's death, this mage tower will be taken over by the state. "
"Yes!"
The soldiers quickly responded to the order. Jenny glanced at Mark, who was nervous and confused, and several apprentices and assistants behind him, who were also nervous and confused.
After understanding the situation with the soldiers, they finally completely understood the situation. Some of them were now almost waiting for Jenny to speak with the mentality of waiting for judgment.
"After that, report to the government office. The era of the classical mages is over. Whether you can survive in the new era depends on your own ability."
Jenny just left these words and turned around to leave the place with the soldiers.
In the secret room where the magic hub was located, the dense flow of magic gradually dimmed and became calm.
In the gradually dissipating glow, the shriveled body soaked in the pool trembled slightly and began to crack inch by inch, turning into debris.
When all the debris fell into the pool, a hoarse and distorted voice sounded in the empty room. "I'm … very sorry …"
In the Silver Fort, Gwen met Jenny who had come from the south in the study.
"I thought you would choose revenge." He was quite surprised after hearing the soldier's report. At this moment, he said to Jenny in surprise, "Or at least … vent."
"I've thought about it before, but I realized that I'm not that kind of person." Jenny smiled and shook her head. "For Mr. Ravenkeyes, these are meaningless. Only the roaring arcanotech machines and the formulas and numbers printed in the textbooks are the best memorials for the deceased."
Gwen looked at Jenny seriously. He saw only calmness on the face of the white-haired girl with a scar on her cheek. Obviously, some kind of haze had disappeared from her.
"Since this is your choice, then it's good. William Borken was a lucky man. He died in the old era, much luckier than many of the diehard nobles who survived the siege. "He shook his head." Let's not talk about this. Sit down. We have a lot of things to do in this city. I have to explain to you. "
Jenny sat down on the high-back chair next to the desk with a smile on her face. "I'm ready. Before I came, Rebecca told me to bring back as many books about classic spell models as possible."
Gawain thought for a moment and recalled the spectacular scene he saw when he walked into the Royal Family's library and the Mage Association's library. He smiled and spread his hands. "Then you will definitely get what you want. This place is a treasure trove."
...
The White Silver Castle was indeed a treasure house. In a sense, the accumulation of the Moen Royal Family over hundreds of years had piled up unimaginable treasures in this castle. Any of the storerooms in the castle was enough to dazzle a half-elf from the Southern Territory.
However, Amber resisted the temptation of the jewels with her strong willpower (of course, Gawain's deterrence also helped her resist the temptation). Now, all her attention was immersed in the Moen Royal Family's mountainous, heavy, and numerous palace library.
In a room deep in the White Silver Castle, Amber was rummaging through a large pile of books and scrolls. Several members of the Military Intelligence Bureau and several palace scholars were busy with her.
"This is the internal library of the Moen Royal Family, which includes the secret files of the royal family and the private collections of the past kings." A white-haired palace scholar followed Amber and said, "If you can't find what you're looking for outside, it's likely to be here. But if you can't find it here... then it probably doesn't exist..."
"That only proves that the collection in this crappy place isn't complete." Hu Po looked up at the old scholar and waved his hand impatiently. "You're already so old, don't bother with me. Find a place to rest. If a great scholar like you suddenly passes out, someone is going to smack me against the wall..."
The Scholar helplessly retreated to the side while Hu Po continued to rummage through the bookshelves. However, less than half a minute later, she suddenly stopped and turned her head to stare at the empty space between the bookshelves. She raised her leg and was about to send a flying kick — —
Before she kicked, a figure quickly emerged from the air and hurriedly dodged to the side.
"If you had dodged a little later, I would have kicked you out." Amber glanced at Raven and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to report the situation." Raven stood at a safe distance and reported to his new boss in front of him. "The list of all the Royal Shadow Guards has been sorted out, including everyone's field of expertise and service experience."
"Good. Send it to my office. I'll study it when I get back. The Military Intelligence Bureau and the Steel Rangers are short of manpower. As long as you train well, you'll all come in handy."
Raven breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his head. "I'm at your command."
Then he looked around at the busy scene and could not help but ask, "You haven't found what you're looking for?"
"Of course. Why else would I be here?" Amber rolled her eyes. "There are so many of them. God knows how long it'll take me to find them..."
Raven thought for a moment and asked, "What are you looking for?"
"An unrecorded surname, a nobleman that no one knows... probably a noble," Amber said casually. "His name is Surrey Randolph. Randolph, a Transcendent, but there is no information about this surname. "
As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly stopped and rubbed her chin. She stared at Raven and asked, "You haven't heard of it, have you? Isn't that what the stories say? Dramatic and whatnot... "
"I'm sorry, I've never heard of this name or surname..." Raven shook his head. But before Amber rolled her eyes, he continued, "But if the person you're looking for is a 'Secret Knight'... then maybe there's a clue in the secret files of the Royal Shadow Guards."
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