Throne of the North.

Chapter 667 Northern Power (Part 5)

Mage Lyman returned to the Zero Crossing City Mage Association, and he was surprised by yet another unfamiliar change in Zero Crossing City during his absence.

"Why are there so many people?"

The legendary mage instinctively sensed the huge increase in the city's population, and the mage apprentice's answer surprised him even more.

"Your Excellency, recently several hundred nobles have appeared in Zero Crossing City. They come from three kingdoms in the east."

"Nobles from the kingdom have appeared in Zero Crossing City?"

Although the mage Lyman didn't quite understand the rules and regulations of the nobility, he knew that entering someone else's territory was a huge taboo.

"Yes, the nobles who arrived recently are from the Kingdom of Andara. The nobles from the Kingdom of Coran and the Kingdom of Sera have been here for a few days now."

"How dare they enter the Empire's territory?"

Master Lyman was puzzled; what exactly had happened here?

"I heard... that it was Lord Ryan who invited them."

Ryan?

Master Lyman raised his head and looked north. What was going on? Hadn't he just invited him to the Kingdom of Coran to cause some kind of disaster? Why would the nobles of Coran accept his invitation?
Lyman couldn't understand it. He felt that he was far less intelligent than these nobles. In comparison, the mages' meditation seemed so easy and enjoyable.

"I have to go to the tundra."

Master Lyman said that he had to ask Ryan for his payment.

"Your Excellency, Baron Ryan has already sent someone to say that he will arrive in Zero Crossing City in a few days, so you won't have to make another trip."

Before Master Lyman could even process what the apprentice had said, the apprentice spoke again.

"Furthermore, during your period of seclusion and meditation, Baron Ryan sent someone to discuss a long-term cooperation with our Mage Association, inviting us to inscribe magic arrays at the fortress in the north of the Frozen Territory and within the Frozen Territory every year for a fee of 20,000 gold coins."

"Twenty thousand a year is not enough."

"Islam said, frowning."

"Baron Ryan said it was to assist the alchemists of the Frozen Territory in inscribing magic runes. The things those alchemists create are very unstable, and magic is used to forcibly stabilize alchemical creations. Only the most basic magic runes are needed."

Twenty thousand gold coins is no small sum. The mages of the Mage Guild, who had not earned anything while Mage Lyman was away, were already tempted. Now, they naturally hoped that Mage Lyman could make a decision that met their needs.

After thinking about it, Master Lyman did not refuse. In any case, he would still get a share of the profits even if he didn't have to lift a finger.

The empire only provides this legendary magician with three to five thousand gold coins a year, which is far from enough.

In the dead of night, during his meditation, Master Lyman belatedly realized what had happened.

"Why does it feel like this land in front of the Northern Border is already completely under Ryan's control?"

Mage Lyman was horrified. He didn't know about other places, but he knew about the Kingdom of Coran. He had personally gone there and caused a terrible disaster. Then, Ryan's follower, that woman from Bogeld, also caused a lot of killings in that land. In the end, the nobles of the Kingdom of Coran came to Zero Crossing City with smiles on their faces and accepted Ryan's invitation.
It seems illogical no matter how you look at it, but that's exactly what happened.

How exactly did he do it?
Such thoughts echoed in the mage's mind, which greatly reduced his meditation efficiency. Fortunately, Ryan arrived in Zero Crossing City from Rhinoceros Horn Mountain the next day.

“Lord Lyman, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

The first thing Ryan did upon arriving in Zero Crossing City was to go to the Mage Association. Now, Ryan's influence in this land extends to the military and politics of all nobles, the beliefs and lives of commoners and slaves. The only thing left is the supernatural; Ryan does not yet have complete authority.

The Mage Guild was founded by Grand Duke Rodrigo, but in the Northern Lands, Ryan does not want the Mage Guild to act against his will.

"Lord Ryan, I've heard that you've also become a legend."

The moment Lyman saw Ryan, he was filled with awe at Ryan's youth and a connection to his legendary status. How could such a young nobleman become a legend? Was it truly divine favor?

"I came to Zero Crossing City ahead of schedule because I heard that Mage Lyman had returned. Today I came to the Mage Association specifically to give Mage Lyman the reward you received in the Kingdom of Coran."

"Do you need to come in person to receive these rewards?"

"Master Lyman asked."

"Perhaps it is necessary."

Ryan smiled mysteriously and said:

"There is also a chief mage in the Frozen Territory. Archmage McKen followed me to the North when I was still very weak. Mage Lyman should be familiar with his name. After he left the magic academy, the vacant tower became a place for others to compete for."

"The Archmage McCann once told me a story about the civilization of magicians. Every magician was powerful, and many magicians were able to challenge the gods. However, every magician longed to improve in their weakest area, that is, the physical body."

"Many mages have tried to make their physical bodies as powerful as knights, so that mages would become the perfect transcendent system, possessing absolute dominance over other transcendent paths, and in the transcendent world, mages would become kings."

"However, no magician has ever succeeded in such a magical experiment."

Mage Lyman nodded, then looked at Ryan, his breathing becoming somewhat rapid.

"You can do it?"

"I can not."

Ryan shook his head.

"I can't...do it completely."

"I can give you the physique of a knight, but whether it's the physique of an apprentice knight or a legendary knight, there's a difference, isn't there?"

Ryan became serious and looked at Mage Lyman. As a legend of the extraordinary path of magic, he could be said to be one of the people closest to the truth. Ryan had no idea whether Mage Lyman would have doubts or speculations about spiritual blessings or have other thoughts.

So, today, Mage Lyman might die here...

“Lord Lyman, thank you very much for your help in the Kingdom of Coran. I have prepared two rewards for this matter.”

"One is money. I think tens of thousands of gold coins is definitely not a small amount. It will be distributed by Ryan's Vault. As for the follow-up, it depends on our future cooperation."

"The second one is what I just mentioned. I can give you the physique of a trainee knight right now. As for whether you can get the physique of a legendary knight later, that depends on luck."

"However, I can tell you one thing: within my territory, a former Saint-level mage has become a Saint-level alchemist, and he is about to become a Sky Knight."

"Two rewards, which one does Mage Lyman want?"

"I want the physique of a knight!"

Without any hesitation, Master Lyman made his decision.

The reason is simple: he agreed to the deal with Ryan for the hefty reward, which he would use for what? To remove the divine essence of dawn from his body. But if he possessed the physique of a knight, he could more boldly perform magic on his body and even his soul without worrying about damaging his flesh and blood.

The stronger his physique, the greater the consequences he could withstand, and the more confident he would be in cleansing the divine essence of dawn within him.

Having received the money was all for this one thing, so isn't it more direct to get it done in one step?

Master Lyman was worried about whether Ryan could actually do it...

It's just ten points of spiritual balance, what's so difficult about that?

With a flick of his finger, Ryan unleashed his terrifying power, his finger instantly landing on Lyman's forehead. In that instant, he shattered all of Lyman's passive magical defenses.

"The power of a legendary knight..."

Mage Lyman's breath hitched, and then he felt his blood and qi surging and boiling within him, like a raging tide. A power that Mage Lyman could not feel at all merged with his blood and qi. The legendary soul felt it all too clearly. It was a power he did not recognize. It did not have the strength and rage of the divine origin. It was filled with sacred grandeur, like a vast ocean, no, an endless starry sky, containing all-encompassing benevolence and nobility.

The mage Lyman didn't know how to describe it. As a legend, he couldn't put it into words. He could only use his own legendary magical origins to depict the magnificence he felt in that instant.

Dark green magic swirled around the mage Lyman's body. Within the murky magic, tiny specks of starlight flickered, the mycelium of the ghost tree growing, reveling, and greedily devouring all the spirituality within him.

Standing opposite him, Ryan looked surprised, and then bestowed another spiritual blessing.

Within the mage Lyman's body, the mycelium of the ghost wood surged wildly. It grew, and the mycelium that was originally located in the heart began to grow into every corner of the mage's body, every piece of flesh, every drop of blood, and even the bones, where dark green bone marrow was born, which was the origin of the mycelium of the ghost wood.

At that moment, the eyes of the mage Lyman also subtly changed, turning into a deep, dark green, carrying a strong desire to corrode.

The legendary mage's flesh and blood changed. Visibly, the mage Lyman transformed into a tall monster exuding military might. He was incredibly strong, but in the next moment, the mage Lyman returned to his human form.

Not only that, the former mage Lyman, due to certain encounters on the East Coast, had part of his body that had turned into a withered tree, but now it has all been restored to normal human flesh and blood.

He was able to switch between the two forms on his own.

The Lyman mage, in the form of ghostly wood mycelium, is remarkably immortal. Even if his limbs are cut off, they can grow back rapidly, and he may come back to life unless he is burned to ashes.

The human form of the mage Lyman actually possessed a physique comparable to that of a Gold Knight. This was the limit of the first evolution of the Knight's Life Flame. Further evolution and sublimation would make him a Sky Knight.

"Is this the powerful feeling of a fully realized physical body?"

Master Lyman stared in shock at his hands, at this familiar yet unfamiliar flesh and blood body, which he hadn't seen for so many years.

As for the divine essence of dawn within him? It had long been crushed by that invisible, great power.

After a long while, the powerful mage Lyman came to his senses and looked at Ryan with a solemn expression.

Ryan also looked at the mage Lyman, whose hand, behind his back, held a purple dagger. This was Signi's weapon, which he turned silently. Even within the mental range of a legendary mage, the existence of this dagger could not be detected.

“This power is terrifying, Ryan. I don’t believe you have the favor of the gods.”

"Have you devoured a great being?"

Ryan's hand, which was behind his back, paused. The purple dagger disappeared into his sleeve, and this time it was his turn to be surprised.

"What does it mean?"

Ryan looked at the mage Lyman; this was the first time he had ever heard of such a thing.

Do you know what I look like when I look at you right now?

Master Lyman said that as magicians, they are always on the path of seeking truth. They do not understand the politics of this world, but magicians are natural scholars of the world's origin and essence.

"It's like a believer looking at the god he serves."

Master Lyman spoke truthfully, which was also the reason for his shock.

"Your power seems to have transformed me into your servant."

"But what does this have to do with devouring gods?"

Ryan inquired.

"Because only in this way can one obtain the authority of a great being."

Mage Lyman looked at Ryan.

"This is no longer divine favor, but the power of the gods themselves."

"So, you can be sure I devoured a god? Could there be some other reason?"

Master Lyman shook his head.

"I don't know, I've only ever seen gods being devoured."

Ryan was shocked. Could such a thing really happen?

"On the East Coast, if you go there you will know what the sky and sea covered by the eternal mist are like, where countless terrifying beings roam, and the souls killed by them cannot disappear, but will wander as ghosts."

"My body was corrupted by the wraiths before, but these wraiths are nothing more than the leftover scraps from the truly terrifying beings."

“I once ventured into the East China Sea and saw its outline.”

"He devoured the sleeping gods and obtained their authority."

"Just like...you."

Ryan reflected on himself and realized that devouring gods seemed to make some sense. He had indeed received spiritual blessings only after obtaining the last remnants of a god's will in another world.

To put it nicely, it means becoming the successor of a great being; to put it bluntly, it means the spiritual panel devoured the gods and gained their authority.
Am I that cruel?

Ryan shook his head, deciding not to think about the question.

"Perhaps so."

Judging from this, it's impossible for Master Lyman to become his enemy.

After paying the fee, Ryan turned and left. Outside the Mage's Guild, Brand saw him come out and tapped the hilt of his knight's longsword, making a sound that spread to the surrounding area and sent the other superhumans away.

"We've gained another friend."

Ryan said this to Brand with a smile.

(End of this chapter)