Knight and Wand

Chapter 325 Long time no see
The two men came to the side door of Sea Cliff Fortress. The defenders of the Falcon family saw the shining light from the top of Corvis's wand and did not dare to stop this big man from returning to the city.

Leon entered the Falcon family castle openly. He looked around. The loud noise of the magic battle on the beach just now alarmed many Kantadar defenders, but Corvis just casually used the excuse of experimenting with magic to confuse them.

It seems that the Atias Empire in this world still has a huge influence on the territory of Kantadar.

Passing through the embassy courtyard guarded by the black-armored guards, Leon casually asked Corvis, who had put away his wand, "I'm curious about the differences between the two worlds. For example, in this world, when Kantadar launched the 'Eastern Expedition' six years ago, did the Atias Empire participate in it?"

"What Eastern Expedition?" Corvis turned his head and thought for a moment before he understood what Leon was referring to: "Are you talking about the foreign war that this Western Continent Kingdom waged a few years ago?"

Leon nodded.

Corvis answered nonchalantly, "That depends on how you define 'participation'. The Empire did sell a batch of large siege weapons that the Kantardars desperately needed, and has maintained a stable maritime trade with them, with both sides getting what they need. If you must say, it can be considered as participating in the conflict in the Western Continent."

Lion then asked, "Didn't the Empire send mages like you to assist the Kantardars in their attack on the Serrian Kingdom?"

Corvis raised his eyebrows after hearing this: "Why? In your world, is Atias so deeply involved?"

Leon nodded calmly, "There were at least six or seven mages like you, as well as quite a few regular mages and apprentices, who formed a mage group and participated in the bloody battle between Kantardar and Serian."

Corvis was very surprised when he heard this.

"The Western Continent is thousands of miles away from the Empire. How much significance can the war here have for the Empire? The Emperor sent six or seven Master Mages to leave their homeland and go to the Western Continent to participate in the war? Is it possible that in your time and space, the Empire has many Master Mages?"

Leon was speechless after hearing this.

According to what our own "Akao" said, there are certainly not that many mages of the throne. Even if you count the fake ones like Pilieno, it is said that there are no more than twenty mages of the throne in the entire empire.

Now it seems that without the temptation and promises of the demons from the spiritual world, the Atias wizards in this world do not seem to be interested in the city of Rolandar.

However, when Vilania Leon looked at the black robe with gold patterns on Corvis again, he felt something inexplicably awkward no matter how he looked at it.

As he was about to step into the brightly lit Imperial Embassy, ​​Leon couldn't help but ask, "Excuse me, has your homeland, Verania, also been conquered by the Atias people in this time and space? Or has it been merged into the Empire?"

Corvis paused slightly and turned to look at the other party.

After chatting for so long, he was no longer surprised why the other party knew so much about his past.

"My homeland was naturally conquered by the empire through war. Don't you understand why I chose to become a member of Atias?" Corvis said, continuing to walk forward and entering the reception room.

Leon just said: “It seems that you have been through a lot.”

".It's a lot indeed."

Corvis walked to the table, and the chair was silently pulled away by magic. He shook his robe and sat down gracefully. He drew a sound-blocking spell in the air with his fingers, covering the entire room, and then looked at Leon.

"It's all just a thing of the past. To put it simply, I was fortunate enough to gain the trust of Pilieno's political enemy, a wizard from another faction, and conspired with him to assassinate Pilieno and his disciples.

Originally, I had prepared myself to be a victim of the internal struggles of the empire, but luckily, a big shot saw my identity and magical talent and thought I had some value, so he let me stay as a symbol of stability in the Vilania region. So I got the opportunity to study at the Imperial Academy, and after more than ten years of hard work, I have finally reached where I am today. "

Listening to Corvis casually talking about the probably extremely dangerous experience more than a decade ago, Leon also pulled out a chair and sat down, and couldn't help asking: "Since you were awarded the 'title of nobility', you must be a powerful figure in the Atias Empire now. Have you ever thought about restoring the country?"

Corvis leaned back in his chair and flicked his fingers slightly. The exquisite tea set flew over and filled a cup in mid-air.

"I did think about it during the first three years after I regained my freedom. At that time, the Vilanian Restorationists, who were composed of the remnants of the former lords, even approached me privately.

But the Empire has occupied Villania for more than ten years, and the lives of millions of mountain people have become more than ten times better. The Empire's taxes are higher than those of Villania in the past, but people's lives are getting better and better. How can I restore the country with just me and a few remnants of the old times? What's the point of restoration?

After I gained power, I killed those enemies who attacked the palace and killed my relatives, and I no longer had any thoughts of restoration. Since the East Continent is destined to be unified, how can a few unwilling remnants go against this trend? "

The process of completely letting go and giving up restoration naturally involves more complicated factors, but the young man was not interested in discussing them at the moment. He just sighed:

"Do you know how the rebels were finally destroyed? Only six years after the fall of Villania, the upper echelons of the empire did not intervene, and the mountain people drove the restorationists out of Villania on their own. The good life has been too long. Who would miss the past when they worked as dogs for the lords and could not even get enough food?"

Leon was very surprised at Atias' ability to govern the conquered areas, and could not help but recall what Akau had said about the living conditions of the people after Vilania was conquered.

If the situation in both empires is similar, then Vilania, no matter in which time and space, is probably destined to become the dust of history.

"Is the rule of the Atias Empire really so fair and wise?"

Corvis put down the tea in his hand, shook his head and said, "It may not be fair. The empire has a strict hierarchy, and the mages have never regarded the 'untouchables' without magical talent as their own kind.
They are not necessarily wise. In my opinion, some of the mage governors in some provinces can even be described as cruel and brutal.

But the empire's administrative and magical means of governing the land are direct and effective enough.

What's more, the upper echelons of Atias regard hundreds of millions of lives as private property, and the ministers and generals of the non-mages are just individuals with slightly higher value among the private property. The power and wealth they can possess are strictly limited.

To some extent, you said it was fair. For the people under the rule of the Empire, compared to the Kingdom Era, most people in the Empire may indeed feel that it is fairer. "

Leon nodded thoughtfully.

Compared with the number of upper-level mages in the empire with hundreds of millions of people, most ordinary people in the Atias Empire would be lucky to see a mage apprentice in their lifetime. In this way, even if the mages no longer regard ordinary people as their own kind, the people will have no chance to come into contact with these arrogant "celestial dragons".

The imperial bureaucrats at the lower and middle levels of the ruling class not only have their power strictly restricted by the mages, but their personal abilities are also limited by the lower limits required by the mage rulers.

It seems that in the Atias Empire, it is extremely difficult for mortals in the bureaucratic system to deceive their superiors and engage in corruption, compared to in ordinary countries.

After all, various kinds of mind reading, suggestion, hallucination magic, and truth-telling drugs are not uncommon means for spellcasters. Unless the bureaucrats who cannot control magic have a willpower far superior to that of ordinary people, the thoughts hidden in their heads cannot be hidden from the wizard rulers.

Especially if Master Atias is not in the mood to play the game of thrones with mortals, and really starts to use mind-reading and soul-searching methods, he will not care whether he will hurt the soul and body of the person being interrogated.

This has achieved a balance towards "good governance" in a strange way.

"The situation sounds so good, but judging from your indifferent attitude, you don't seem to agree with it?" Based on his understanding of Corvis's character, Leon looked at the other party's eyes and expression, which seemed incompatible with the positive content of his words.

Corvis narrowed his golden eyes slightly, somewhat surprised by the other party's sharpness.

Standing in different positions, the scenes seen are bound to be different, especially for a spellcaster like him who has not completely separated himself from the human race.

Compared to the secular nobles, the cruelty and terror of Master Atias is actually even greater in another way. The horror of the dark side of the empire is far beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

If he had not been unable to fit in with the inhuman coldness and cruelty, how could he have been squeezed out of the core of the empire's power and sent to the Western Continent as a semi-exile to serve in an idle position? However, being away from the imperial wizard class, he was happy to not see it and not be bothered by it in the past few years.

"I have answered enough. Now, it's time to see your sincerity." Corvis did not continue the topic, but went straight to the point he wanted to achieve.

To change the status quo, one must climb up, and in the Atias Empire, to gain a higher status and authority, nothing is more valuable than discovering a new and powerful set of spells and magic theories, which is even a greater contribution than conquering a kingdom.

Seeing this, Leon had to stop asking a series of questions that he had not yet finished.

"I haven't actually learned the 'Body of the Venerable', but I have learned the true original Gulorelit protective magic that the Body of the Venerable was derived from, called 'Quenching Technique'. It is more difficult and complicated than the Body of the Venerable, and of course, more powerful."

When Leon spoke, he was cautious. He actually knew the principle of the Venerable Body's spells. He remembered that it was his own Corvis who reversed it through the magic book in the magician tower.?

But at this moment he did not want to directly teach the other party the easier-to-learn Body of the Venerable.

Unlike the former which merely covers the effect of the ritual on the body surface, the Tempering Technique requires the caster to spend many years gradually adjusting the metabolic growth of various parts of the body, permanently integrating the magic system of this spell into the physical body, until the last step, completely unifying the rituals in the various parts of the body that have been tempered and embedded.

After completion, it will not only not affect the sense of touch and senses, but also will not interfere with the normal functioning of internal organs, and there will be no weak points or blind spots.

This ancient magic is certainly more powerful, but it cannot be completed in a short time. In the past two years, I have just begun to strengthen my eyes and chest, and it is still a long way from completion.

Now, handing over the "Restoration Technique" to the other party in exchange for help is of sufficient value. It will not break the current power gap between the two, but can also retain the key to the last step of the spell to prevent the "Imperial Mage Corvis" in front of him from changing his mind halfway.

Although Leon wants to trust his friend from another time and space from the bottom of his heart, he must also take into account the differences in their life experiences and growth.

Corvis did not raise any objection. No matter which one it was, this protective spell that could protect oneself from all angles without twisting the body was a treasure that countless wizards in the empire would flock to.

The premise is that what the other party says is true.

His fingertips tapped on the table, and the soundproof barrier disappeared instantly. Corvis loudly called out to the disciples outside the door to bring the scroll for recording.

After a while, the door opened and a young woman wearing a robe decorated with alchemical runes walked in with a pen, ink and paper.

When Corvis saw the person coming, his expression relaxed a lot: "You were woken up too. It's okay, go back and rest."

"You suddenly jumped out of the bed. I was just a little worried." The girl stuck out her tongue and put down the paper and pen that were handed to her.

Leon was a little surprised when he saw the girl who was so intimate with Corvis.

"Ms. Milena?" Although she looked a few years older, her face was still easy to recognize. Wasn't she the young medical officer from Avalon?

Mirana glanced over, sized up the strange guest, and asked in confusion, "Sir, do you know me?"

Leon nodded hesitantly.

He originally thought that Piriano had been dead for more than ten years and had never been to the Western Continent. He was afraid that he would never see those poor women who were given to Piriano as gifts by the Fercon family.

Looking at Leon's reaction, Corvis couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and raised his hand to signal Milena to go back first.

Leon took the paper and pen handed to him by Corvis, raised his hand to dip it in ink, and wrote down the principles and learning methods of the Tempering Technique. At the same time, he couldn't help gossiping: "Akao, you and Milena are...?"

"She is my wife." Corvis watched Leon's fluent pen tip write a series of complex terms and runes, his expression gradually became serious, but he did not correct the other party's close friend address.

"So you two have this kind of marriage." Leon didn't ask more about the other party's personal affairs. He put his eyes back on the paper and sighed: "I'll remember it. When I go back, I will definitely find a chance to match you two up."

Hearing this strange statement, Corvis' handsome face couldn't help but frown slightly.

He could hear that his other self in the other world did not seem to be a partner with Milena.

It was a strange and unsettling feeling.

"By the way, since even Milena is here with you," Leon suddenly stopped writing and looked at Corvis: "What about Elena, Martha, Veresa, Sally, Raya, and Treya? Have you met them?"

Corvis had to move his focused eyes away from the paper.

"Ms. Veresa is now my staff and advisor. As for the others..."

After thinking about it, he felt that it was not something worth hiding, so he answered truthfully: "The other five ladies and girls were taken away from me in the middle of the night by a weird poet who was rumored to have stolen the bride, Miss Margarina, on the night of the wedding of the young master of the Falcon family six years ago."

"Gauliad?" Leon asked for confirmation.

"That should be the name. It's written on the local wanted poster." Corvis thought of the mysterious and strange poet and nodded: "Has this happened in your world too?"

Seeing that Goliad in the parallel world was also so skilled in his business, Leon was completely relieved about his relatives and friends.

Turning back to writing, Leon couldn't help but tease, "You knew he stole the bride of the Fercon family, but you still dared to let that guy take her away?"

Corvis said helplessly, "I used the wrong words. I didn't pick him up, I just took him away. He could appear in my heavily guarded workshop to talk to me without a sound, and disappear without a trace when he left. How could I have any objection?

Besides, I only found out they were missing during the day. Fortunately, I received a letter from Elena and others from afar to report that they were safe. Goliad is such a mysterious and weird guy."

"He is indeed mysterious, but you don't have to worry about his character. In my place, he is a 'Ranger' who appears to be infamous but is actually willing to help others. It seems that he has not changed even in the new world."

Leon smiled at Corvis and said, "At least he said hello to you in person before he took them away."

Corvis frowned and shook his head: "I don't think that his random words that night were a greeting to me. I still don't understand what he meant by what he said to me."

"Oh? What did he say?"

Leon asked casually, changed a piece of paper, and concentrated on drawing the partial magic patterns and seals of the Tempering Technique with perfect strokes.

"He said, 'Long time no see, Master Pandora?'"

The pen tip suddenly stopped.

A chill ran down Leon's spine and onto his scalp.

(End of this chapter)