The mage arrives

"My lord, are you asking for my opinion?" Viniya was a little surprised.

As the victor, Gordon has the right to dispose of all the captives of the Saloan Alliance.He can kill them all.They can also be driven as slaves.Prisoners of war were one of the legitimate sources of slaves in Freton's law.

If the prisoner of war is a citizen of the empire and can pay the ransom for himself, he can be free, otherwise, he can only be at the disposal of the victor.

And those natives obviously have neither the money to redeem themselves, nor the status of imperial citizens.

Gordon explained to the surprised Vinia: "Emotionally speaking, I don't want to be a cruel and harsh slave leader. But rationally, there is a shortage of people in my territory. Although slaves are cheap and easy to use , but it is obviously not as great as the long-term contribution of the free people to the territory. So I think that if all these captives can be subdued, let them give up their belief in evil gods and the tradition of killing warlike tribes, and become the leaders of a stable life, Of course it's the best."

Vinia seemed to have confidence in Gordon, and she was almost immediately swayed by the other's ideas.

As a druid, she naturally doesn't like large-scale killing and enslavement.It would be great if the issue of those captives could be resolved in a peaceful manner.

"My lord, your kindness is admirable." Vinya said, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Gordon said: "I want to entrust you with the task of arranging these captives and changing their beliefs."

"This..." Vinya couldn't believe what she heard.

That was close to [-] captives.With such a large number of people, this young lord is actually willing to let him handle it with full authority?

Gordon further explained: "I learned before that before you became the patriarch of the Aikan people, they didn't have real beliefs. What they believed in were some primitive totems. But after you became the patriarch of Aikan, after a short period of time In just a few years, all the tribes have believed in the God of Nature, Silvanus. So I believe that you have both experience and the ability to free those people from the belief in evil gods."

"I... I'll try my best." If Vinya was a natural druid who hardly asked about common matters, she would definitely not answer Gordon's request.However, she is a Druid of the integration sect, or the secular sect, so she is also very enthusiastic about spreading the belief in the God of Nature.

Gordon patted the female druid on the shoulder and encouraged him: "Don't worry. I will give you all my support. I will send fifty elite Redstone guards and two hundred Freeman private troops to help you stabilize the situation. Prevent those captives from dissenting. In addition, although you Aikan people are not short of food, if there is a shortage of other materials, I will try my best to supply them."

"My lord..." The female druid was excited.The voice was a little choked up.

Gordon's actions are equivalent to sending her a total of thirty thousand believers of the God of Nature, which can be said to be a generous gift that cannot be added.

"I look forward to your performance." Gordon said.

But in his heart, while admiring Vinya's beautiful face, he sighed that this matriarch was a little too innocent.

Gordon delivered nearly thirty thousand captives to Vinia.Put her in charge of rehabilitating them and provide carte blanche.On the surface, as long as the female druid completes this task, she can gain [-] followers of the God of Nature.As the actual spokesperson for Sivanus on the Haven Peninsula, her rights will also increase accordingly.

But are things really so idealistic?

What are the identities of these [-] captives?They are ignorant and warlike aborigines who believe in Zehir and other evil gods.Let them convert their beliefs and become good people.It's not that simple.Moreover, even if Viniya has a broad mind and is willing to try her best to convert these people, other Aican people may not be able to figure it out.

In the previous conflicts, the Salo people and other tribes burned, killed and looted the settlements of the Aikan people many times, causing heavy losses to the Aikan people.If it weren't for the feeling that the situation was precarious.At a critical moment for the survival of the tribe, Vinia would not come to Gordon for help, exchanging loyalty for protection.

Facing these enemies, the Aikan people can really accept them generously.Even for a long period of time, take out the food you have grown so hard to help them?

Gordon could already predict that a great controversy would break out among the Aikan people about this matter.With her own support, Viniya will definitely be able to continue to transform Anton into a prisoner.But among the Aikan tribe, she will also lose a lot of prestige and supporters because of this incident, and then gain a large group of opposition.

Although it seems a bit unkind to calculate the female druid like this, Gordon is very clear that after the Aikan people are included under his command, he cannot let such a large tribe unite under a matriarch with excellent prestige and ability subordinate.In the eyes of the Aikan people, there is only the matriarch without him as the lord. Gordon will never allow this kind of thing.

"It's better to compensate Vinia in other ways in the future. For example, let the family crest of the Sterling family be included in the imperial aristocratic genealogy, so that this family that has disappeared can be resurrected in her hands." Gordon thought to himself.

After finalizing the issue of how to deal with the captives, the group prepared to leave.

Alva, who lost his arrogance due to today's setback, just kept his head silent.The mage Lufa from the Austrian Federation comforted Alva like a bosom brother.

Venia lowered her head and pondered how to start dealing with the captives.Gordon, on the other hand, ordered Chuck to obey Vinya, and then he greeted him, and disappeared quietly into the swamp alone.

He continued to move deeper into the swamp according to the marks recorded on the map.

To be precise, although Gordon is just a "person", he is not alone.He also has an ice goblin queen by his side.Because Ania is a fine creature, she is very sensitive to energy changes in the environment.With her help, it would be easier to find the magic spring in the depths of the swamp.

As it got deeper and deeper into the Great Swamp, the surrounding environment also began to undergo many changes.Gordon noticed that there were many variations in both plants and animals.This must have something to do with the aggressive energy in the White River.In addition, the source energy emanating from the magic spring has become more and more intense, even reaching the point where it can affect the brain, thereby interfering with human judgment and observation.

Fortunately, as an excellent mage, Gordon's mental power can easily resist the interference of these chaotic energies.

Coupled with the help of the truth and the warning eye.He reached his final destination without even taking a detour.

"Such a sight is really miraculous!" The Ice Fairy Queen, who was flying beside Gordon, couldn't help admiring.

A pure blue deep spring appeared in front of Gordon and Ania. The calm water surface was filled with light mist, and under the blue light, it showed a dreamy beauty.

around this spring.All plants are affected by this energy, and they also present a pure blue color, giving people an illusion, as if they have come to another world.

"This magic fountain should be of water attribute," Gordon said.

There are also many types of magic springs, which contain energy of different attributes.Actually for Gordon.The most ideal magic spring should be one that releases pure, original source energy without any attributes.Now this kind of magic spring of water attribute, if you want to use it in other ways, you have to go through a very complicated conversion process.

In addition, the magic fountain is actually some kind of space crack that connects with the main material world from other planes, so the spring water in front of Gordon's eyes.It is not the body of the magic fountain.It is only because the crack that leaked energy is located at the bottom of the spring that this strange scene appears.

To drain all the spring water, the magic spring will show its true body.And judging from the surrounding environment, Gordon has to undergo a major renovation before he can start building the mage tower here.

In the depths of such a remote swamp, it is not easy to build a mage tower with a huge project.Even if there is an architect's staff, it can only allow Gordon to manipulate ordinary dirt and stones.And when building the mage tower.Many special building materials full of magic are also required.

But even with so many troubles, being able to find a spring of magic power is still a great thing for a mage.

Just when Gordon was thinking about how to use this fountain of magic power, Ania suddenly leaned into his ear.The breath that the petite Her Majesty the Queen exhaled from her mouth was cool and leisurely, making people very comfortable.

"Master, there seems to be something nearby," she said.

"What. Is it dangerous?" Gordon immediately became vigilant and took out Neisser's staff.A large energy body like the Magic Spring can easily attract some powerful beings.Even if a legendary creature appeared in a while, he wouldn't be surprised.

"No. It's just a very weak energy, but I find it very annoying." Ania shook her head, then raised her little hand, and pointed towards the dense forest in front of her left.

"Then go and have a look." Gordon activated the flying technique on the eagle feather boots, and flew over with Ania.

In the depths of the swamp full of mud traps, Gordon seldom walks, and spends most of his time using spells to travel.Every day, he had to use up the two flying spells and three levitating spells in the eagle feather boots, and even spent mana to use additional flying spells.

Although it is a bit extravagant, it is more convenient and safe.

Arriving at the destination that Ania said, Gordon was shocked.

He saw a man-made building.

This is a square stone house covering an area of ​​about [-] square meters. Judging from its height and the size of the doors and windows, it should be built by medium-sized humanoid creatures such as humans or elves.

The outer wall of the stone house has long been covered with swamp vines and moss, so old that it can't be seen at all.Moreover, the windows have been completely closed by stones, and the door has been tightly locked.

Gordon opened the eyes of truth and warning, and carefully checked around the stone house. He found no problems, and took Ania, and pushed the door open.

Who knew that the moment he touched it with the magician's hand, the energy of the force field caused the pitch-black door to collapse, turning into countless debris.This metal gate has experienced the joint corrosion of the swamp moisture and the years, and today it finally ended its long life under the action of external force.

"According to the degree of decay of this gate, this stone house may have a history of two to three thousand years." Gordon speculated.

Ania, who had been living in the water elemental world before, obviously couldn't understand the human concept of time. She just blinked her big ice-blue eyes, and then looked at Gordon curiously.

"...Forget it, let's go in." Gordon felt that it would be too troublesome for fey creatures to understand the human concept of time, so he just waved his hand, and then walked into the stone house.

Different from the simple appearance, the interior of the stone house is quite exquisite.There are even imprints of various magic circles and runes on the walls and ground.It's just that they are all invalid because of the age.

Judging from the engraving technique of these magic circles and the words used, this should be a product of the Netherdulan magic empire era.

And what Ania said, the energy that made her feel very annoying, came from something contained in a transparent crystal box-a crimson key.

The material of the key is unknown.But Gordon could see with the naked eye that a raging flame was constantly burning on the key.

Judging from the age of the stone house, the flame on the key may have been burning for thousands of years.And for an ice goblin, this kind of flame energy is of course the most annoying.It's no wonder that Ania was able to discover the existence of this key before Gordon.

Because I don't understand what the key is for.Gordon put the crystal box containing the key into the dimensional bag, and prepared to study it carefully when he went back.

But after he and Ania left the stone house, they made new discoveries.

"Someone appeared near the Magic Spring!" Gordon whispered.

He hurriedly told Ania to go back to the ring, then used an invisibility spell on himself, and slowly dived back near the spring.

"It's actually him!"

After Gordon saw Rufa's particularly conspicuous robe of the Arcane Federation mage, he immediately recognized the mage who had only met once.

At this time, Rufa was wandering around the spring water that exudes orchid light.Holding a magical instrument with a complex structure in his hand, it seems to be detecting something.He looked excited, and the eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses radiated excitement.Gordon, who was hiding in the dark, could even hear him talking to himself.

"Great! Great! It turns out that what was recorded in that document is true. There really is a fountain of magic power hidden in the depths of this black water swamp!"

According to Rufa, it seems that he also entered the Blackwater Swamp specifically to find this magic fountain.

But Gordon wasn't surprised either.

Although he thought before.Only Grand Duke Antaello and he knew about the existence of this magic fountain.But when he discovered the stone house just now, he immediately realized that this gushing spring had been discovered by the great arcanists of Nesser as early as the time of the magic empire, and it had been recorded in the documents.

It's just that today, there are records about this magic fountain.There are very few, almost lost.

However, for those who really have channels, it is not impossible to find this place.

Although Rufa does not have Gordon's true and warning eyes.However, relying on his identity as a mage of the Arcane Federation, it is no problem to obtain a precious instrument from the organization that can detect the existence of the magic fountain.

Suddenly, Rufa, who was so excited that he couldn't restrain himself, raised his head and scanned his surroundings with vigilant eyes.Gordon almost thought he had been spotted.

But the blue-robed mage just shook his head, and said with a self-deprecating voice: "The energy flow is huge and chaotic near the magic fountain. It is impossible for ordinary mages to communicate with the magic net and cast spells. Why am I suddenly worried that someone will use the invisibility technique to come here?" What about peeking around? The extreme cautious personality is suspicious... It seems that the teacher's evaluation of me is indeed reasonable. I am too cautious..."

He paused, as if he had let go of the burden in his heart, he let out a long breath, and said to himself: "Okay, I finally found this magical fountain that is very suitable for me. It seems that I have the road to a high-level mage. , the biggest obstacle is gone. When I finish building the mage tower, my strength will definitely improve by leaps and bounds..."

"Hey, this guy seems to have forgotten one thing. This is my territory, why does he take it for granted that he can take this magic spring as his own?" Gordon thought to himself.

"However, that Gordon Freeman is a little troublesome. Although this is just a barren swamp, it is within his territory after all... Fortunately, the other party should not know that there is a precious spring of magic power here. If you can It would be best to exchange this piece of land from him with some money or magic props. But if he doesn't know his senses... Hmph! He's just a mage born in Yeluzi, and his titles and aura are just a joke I will let him understand that going against the Austrian Law Federation will definitely not end well..."

Rufa stayed by the spring for a while, as if collecting materials, and then left quietly.

Although it is a good thing for Gordon to find the magic fountain today.However, a Lufa suddenly appeared, and he was also thinking about this magic spring, so it was a bit troublesome.

Leaving aside this guy's own strength, the Arcane Federation behind him is the largest mage organization on the mainland.So Gordon must handle this matter carefully.

Fortunately, Gordon already knew the other party's plan, so he was able to make targeted preparations.

After leaving the Blackwater Swamp, Gordon first came to Qingmai Town to learn about the naturalization of captives.According to the female druid, some difficulties were encountered at the beginning, and some die-hard believers of evil gods immediately launched riots after hearing that they wanted to change their beliefs.However, under Chuck's command, all the diehards were dealt with without any risk.So far it's going pretty well.

But that was not Gordon's concern.

He has some things to ask Pensa, the old patriarch of the tribe.

On the way back from the Blackwater Swamp, Gordon suddenly remembered that there was a sign in the cultural center built by the old patriarch in Qingmai Town, which was very similar to the flame key he found in the stone house.

Perhaps, there is some connection between the two.

He felt that he was getting closer and closer to a big secret.