Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords.

Chapter 430 A Dragon's Den and a Tiger's Lair?

“I’ve gained a lot of weight recently, so I need to eat less.” Zart and Worebel, two burly men, sat together, cut bread with a knife, spread honey on it, and then added a fifth piece of beef after thinking for a moment.

“Then I’ll eat less too.” Worebel went even further, with a large beef leg in front of him, and he ate most of it in one bite.

boom!
Suddenly the door was kicked open, and two burly men with fierce expressions appeared. They were about to curse, but when they turned around and saw what was happening, they changed their minds:

"Is the boss's meeting over?"

"What's the point of talking about?"

"Wilts has been occupied by demons. The situation is unclear. The fate of a million residents and Tokai's hundreds of thousands of troops is unknown." Li Wei said succinctly, "I'm going to go in and scout it out."

"You idiot, you have honey and you're not giving me some?" The lord plopped down next to Zart, took the plate, and started chewing heartily.

He'd been in meetings all morning, and he was so tired of drinking tea he almost threw up.

Zart opened his mouth, but ultimately succumbed to the power of rank and went to get himself a substantial portion.

“Demons?!” Leah’s expression hardened, clearly recalling that demons had once appeared in the Southern Territory.

Li Wei tilted his head back and swallowed the mouthful of food, then downed most of a glass of wheat beer, and let out a satisfied burp.

Heather stopped eating her apple and, unusually, showed a serious expression: "These guys are not easy to deal with, darling. Do you need me to come with you?"
“No, you stay.” Li Wei shook his head. “The situation inside is too complicated.”

"When, boss? I'll go and gather the men right away." Zha Manzi looked up and said somewhat vaguely.

“It’s not just Heather. Everyone else will stay here this time. It’s just me, Sersney, and Swain going in.” Levi looked around, his gaze lingering on Sersney and Swain’s faces for a few more moments.

If he weren't around, probably no one could control these two. If Ifra were still there, Li Wei wouldn't be too worried, because the beautiful snake chief's petrification was indeed very sharp. Even Sesni would be petrified if she wasn't fully prepared.

It's a pity that the other party has returned to their hometown. We don't know if the demon is only found in Wirtz. If it has already spread within the Persian Gulf Empire, then this beautiful snake's journey will probably not be peaceful.

"Sir, please give your orders!" Swain immediately straightened his back, his obsequiousness clearly visible on his face.

He knew this mission would be difficult, but facing an unknown demon was better than facing the dragon knight who could shatter his "metal solidification" with a single punch.

Sersne raised her eyelids, her deep black pupils flashing with a dangerous light: "Oh? Finally, something fun worth my attention? Those disgusting bugs must taste pretty good when burned. But let me make this clear first, I won't be stupid enough to fight them head-on if I run into a tough opponent."

Now Sersney has realized one thing: since she can't get rid of Levi's control, she might as well find some fun in it that makes her happy.

Crushing and killing countless lives effectively allowed her to vent her nameless rage.

"Boss, let's all eat together!" Zart stopped eating and grinned.

"Going in will definitely lead to a fight, and I'm afraid these stupid demons will take advantage of our small numbers." Vorebel, having spent too much time with the barbarians, had also developed a vulgar tongue.

“My lord, I didn’t see any demons in the Southern Territory last time, so I certainly can’t be absent this time.” Skye’s resolute face was utterly calm.

"Damn, it's not like we're facing life and death." The lord laughed and cursed, but it would be a lie to say he wasn't moved.

“The main problem is that it’s not suitable for a large number of people to go in right now. We haven’t figured out the situation yet, and we also need to leave people here to guard the place.” As Li Wei spoke, he finally waved his hand and said, “Forget it, ten people and a regimental commander will come with me. Everyone else will stay here. I’ll be back soon.”

Before long, a group of Pier bear-men walked in, their faces bruised and swollen, followed by a group of arrogant green-skinned barbarians.

"What happened?" The lord knew perfectly well what was going on, but he still had to ask with concern.

"I wasn't paying attention while walking and bumped into a tree. It's nothing, I'll be fine in a bit," Vorebel said nonchalantly, wiping away the blood from his nose.

The man behind him had a bright smile on his face and even thoughtfully handed him a handkerchief: "How could you be so careless, Wo Shuai? Quickly wipe it off."

The usually barbaric Zart suddenly became unusually amiable, so amiable that the shaman next to him grimaced, which the barbarian noticed and immediately glared at.

"Just be more careful in the future." The lord waved his hand.

So around noon, the teams from their various posts met at a meadow about five miles from Wirtz.

Under the azure sky, apart from a huge, dense, pitch-black mass in the distance, there was only an endless wilderness.

That's where Wirtz is located, but at this moment it's like a blob of ink, so black it can't be dissolved, on rice paper.

The group that went to Wirtz this time mainly consisted of Ansuna of Talsey and Lord Farn of Debe.

Each of them was followed by a dozen or so highly skilled demon swordsmen and battle knights.

Ansuna changed into a strapless, slit dress, revealing her two long, straight legs. Combined with the beauty mark on her face, she was like a bear seeing honey to the lord, a feast for his eyes.

The lord dared not ask whether wearing less clothing meant less obstruction to the flow of magic.

As a purebred melee fighter, magic was a complete blind spot in his knowledge.

However, there was at least one thing he was clear about: these mages could fly around without any problem moving around, no matter what they wore.

The lord is looking at Ansuna, and the beautiful mage is looking at Livi.

His imposing figure was clad in a set of holy light plate armor with exquisite patterns, a fine mithril longsword hung at his waist, and a cloak fluttered in the wind behind him.

This extremely flamboyant outfit, combined with the dragon knight's sculpted physique and his face that outshone even the elves, made him breathtakingly handsome. So handsome that even the red-clad mage Ansuna from Tylersey couldn't help but feel her heart race.

Ansuona tried to suppress her pounding heart, but she couldn't look away from the heavy box she was carrying.

“Your Excellency Levi, these are some of Taylor’s inventory and magic scrolls hastily made by the mages.”

She opened the box, inside which were neatly stacked several dozen scrolls emitting different elemental fluctuations, ranging from blazing firestorms to indestructible ice shields, from group healing spells to short-range group teleportation spells—a wide variety of high-quality scrolls.

"And these are 'Blessing of Light' and 'Dispel Evil' scrolls, specifically designed to target the weaknesses of demons. While their power may not match your Holy Light, they are usable even by ordinary people." "Thanks." The lord accepted them without hesitation. "How do I use these?"

It's embarrassing to admit, but although he is now a powerful ruler and the new Duke of Debe.

However, Lord, you have never actually come into contact with such high-end items as magic scrolls.

It was like a caveman encountering a lighter—utterly bewildered.

“Each scroll only needs to be fully opened to cast spells in the direction it is open,” Ansuna explained.

The lord nodded.

The representative of the Debei province, Master Faen, with his white hair and beard and holding an ancient staff, also approached. His eyes were calm and serene, carrying the wisdom accumulated over the years.
"Lord Li Wei, I'll have to trouble you this time."

"It's not entirely up to me. The only thing I can do is to leave any enemies you encounter that you can't handle to me," the lord said humbly.

Li Wei discovered that any old master with profound cultivation always carried an aura of calm and serene tranquility, and talking to them would make one unconsciously calm down.

"Does Master Farn know of that mage, Jain Schmidt?" the lord asked, remembering something.

Sophia's adoptive mother sent her to the Debe Palace to inquire about the bronze dragon, but she ended up encountering the malevolent court wizard in red robes that night.

Faen is also a red-robed mage, so the two should know each other.

“Although I am also a court mage hired by His Majesty, I am actually not familiar with this Mage Jain. At our current level, we spend almost every day meditating and researching magic in our secluded chambers, and we almost never run into each other.” Farn shook his head. The old man was somewhat curious as to why Li Wei was asking this: “I wonder why Your Excellency Li Wei is asking this?”

“I met him once before, so I just asked him a question on a whim. Master Faen, please don’t mind.” Li Wei waved his hand.

“Hmm…” Farn pondered for a moment before finally saying, “Lord Levi, although I haven’t had much contact with this Mage Jain, there’s something about him that I find very strange. I sincerely suggest that you don’t have too much contact with him.”

"Thank you for your advice, Master." Li Wei nodded.

Since even this legendary mage said so, it seems that his premonition was indeed correct. Old Bitden definitely had ill intentions towards him back then, and the ultimate reason he didn't make a move was probably because he wasn't confident he could take him down.

Bernard arrived last, handing Levi an exquisite magic crystal: "This is the 'Golden Law Spirit Communication Crystal,' a magical item left over from ancient times. It can communicate through various magical barriers, and it is even said to be able to communicate across realms. It is also currently the only possible way to communicate through that strange black mist."

The lord was immediately captivated, holding it in his hand and examining it from all angles. Wisps of golden mist were scattered inside, swaying and dancing as the crystal trembled.

Unfortunately, the lord looked at it from all angles and only knew that this thing was definitely priceless, but he knew nothing about the value of the magic cube.

"Wait for me a moment, then we can set off." Li Wei left these words and turned to face the barbarians.

The magic swordsmen brought by Ansu-na were all burly men with two blades each, but compared to these orcish barbarians who averaged nearly two blades each, they were like a bunch of potatoes mixed with a few pumpkins.

"Come on, one dozen each!" The lord walked past the barbarians, busy with a large-scale wholesale sale of magic scroll packs.

Anyway, he got this thing for free, so he wouldn't feel bad about using it.

Moreover, compared to these inanimate objects, each barbarian was his heart's desire, and he would feel heartbroken if even one of them died.

The ten men following him were all veterans he had brought from the arena, and all of them had reached the Berserker rank.

The barbarians grinned and hung the scrolls around their necks like scarves, making them look like nouveau riche.

The warrior knights watched with envy, wanting magic scrolls too, for they were a second life in crucial moments.

Unfortunately, only Taylor was able to afford such a luxury with magic scrolls, giving them out by the dozen, while their own governor was stingy and only gave them a few—that's right, a group of people shared a few.

They were all secretly wondering if Bishop Ansuna of Taylor had taken a fancy to their Dragon Knight, which was why he was spending so much money.

Damn, being handsome really can put food on the table.

……

Once everything was ready, the nearly one hundred-person team set off, rapidly advancing towards the outline of the massive city shrouded in black mist a few miles away.

The closer you get to Wirtz, the thicker and colder the air seems, and the dimmer the light becomes.

The sky seemed to be covered by a huge, constantly churning black curtain, blocking out the sunlight.

Ahead, the once prosperous and magnificent city of Wirtz was now completely swallowed up by a thick, impenetrable black fog that seemed to writhe and churn like a living thing.

The fog reached hundreds of meters high, enveloping the entire city completely. From a distance, it resembled a huge, black tomb exuding an aura of death.

There were no sounds of fierce battle as I had imagined; even the roars of demons sounded distant and indistinct, as if they were separated by thick walls.

Only the black mist itself silently churned and twisted, emanating a chilling and filthy aura that made even the soul uncomfortable.

As they approached within a few hundred paces of the city wall, they could faintly hear roars and muffled thuds coming from inside, as if a thunderous giant were twisting a spire and smashing the magnificent building indiscriminately.

"This thing is even more sinister than I imagined." Li Wei frowned. He tried to probe the black mist with his spiritual power, but it was like a mud ox entering the sea, instantly swallowed up and distorted. All that came back was chaos and sharp, malicious whispers.

After advancing to Legendary status, his mental strength cultivation also instantly surpassed that of others. Although he could not pick up items with just his mental strength like mages, he could still survey his surroundings.

"Where's the entrance? Where's the city gate?" Zha Manzi scratched his head, staring at the thick black mist in front of him, its location completely indistinguishable. "Boss, how do we get in?"

“I’ve checked the map and know which direction the city gate of Wirtz is in. Follow me.” Ansuna approached the black mist, less than a palm’s width away.

Just as she was about to go in, she was stopped by the lord.

(End of this chapter)