Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 370 The Aftermath of Fear

Morik was not always by Duke Ralph's side.

Although as the Duke's personal magical advisor, in addition to planning and handling some extraordinary matters involving spellcasters for him, one of his responsibilities is to ensure the personal safety of His Excellency the Duke.

Duke Ralph himself was not an ordinary aristocratic playboy. Not only did he not have the aristocratic troubles such as mistresses and illegitimate children, he was also not keen on the romantic games of seeking flowers and asking willows. His only pleasures were war horses and falconry.

So Morik wasn't overly wary of the Duke's occasional visits to the barracks or the eagle shed.

Just as he was waiting quietly outside the eagle room, a violent and unusual magical fluctuation suddenly erupted from the top of the tower. Ordinary guards or bloodline warriors might not be able to feel it, but for a spellcaster who had just been promoted to a high level, it was like a thunderclap exploding directly above his head.

Without even calling out to his guards, Morik quickly chanted a spell and soared into the air, heading straight for the top of the tower. The high-ranking bloodline warrior who had just been chatting with him had a dark expression and rushed into the eagle room at a breakneck speed.

The two men arrived at the top of the tower almost at the same time and were immediately stunned by the scene on the platform - the Duke himself fell beside the fence at the edge of the platform, covered in blood and his life or death was unknown. Two of the three falconers fell motionless beside the scaffold with blood soaking their mouths and noses. The worst was the remaining one... It was unknown what kind of attack he had suffered, and his head and upper body were completely blown into bloody pieces. The scene was extremely tragic.

Morik and the bloodline warrior exchanged a glance. The latter immediately rushed to the Duke's side, using his body as a shield. The former quickly took out an amplifying device and cast a high-level detection spell to search for the enemy hiding in the dark and attacking.

This wasn't an ordinary assassination attempt. No alchemical weapon could cause such a violent fluctuation of magical power. There were clearly no signs of any spellcasting activity within the eagle chamber...

Unless the other party has mastered the plane flash ability that only legendary spellcasters possess!
One hundred meters...

Five hundred meters...

Aside from the two magic apprentice attendants currently at the bottom of the tower, Morik didn't sense any abnormal magical fluctuations around him.

He gripped the amplifying magic weapon tightly in his hand and increased the amount of magic power he poured into it...

One thousand meters...

Two faint strings of magic suddenly appeared a thousand meters away, but seemed to disappear as soon as Morik detected them, leaving him with only a vague direction.

"Southwest! The suspected attackers are fleeing!" Morik said in a deep voice, but he had no intention of using his flying magic to pursue them. On the one hand, he was worried about being tricked into leaving the enemy alone, and on the other hand, without the help of his companions, he had no confidence in defeating them.

"Cambeille, how is the Duke?"

"Unconscious... The defensive magic weapon he was carrying was shattered. He must have suffered more than one attack..." Cambeyer carefully turned the Duke's rather thick neck and noticed blood seeping from both of his ears. "He may have serious internal injuries. We must return to the Duke's Palace immediately and summon Archbishop Fengyuan to treat His Excellency the Duke."

……

Archbishop Fengyuan, who came in a hurry, arrived almost at the same time as the guard carriage escorting the Duke back to the mansion. After casting the healing spell three times and taking a dose of magic potion, Duke Ralph finally woke up slowly from his coma.

"Ahem... Damn it!" The Duke was half-lying on the bed after being supported by his arm. He asked the people guarding the bedroom, "What on earth happened? Someone actually dared to attack me in the eagle room!"

Captain Cambeyer's face was livid, and he was speechless for a moment. Morik, however, stepped forward to defend him, saying, "My lord, the assassin wasn't lurking within the Aerie. He attacked you from further out in the city." The Duke's eyes widened in disbelief. "What? How could a bow or arrow, a hidden weapon, hit me from such a high position in the Aerie tower?"

He stared at Morris and asked gravely, "A long-range attack weapon for the caster? Or some kind of alchemical weapon?"

The magic consultant shook his head. "As far as I know, only the Skyfire Demon-Breaking Crossbow developed by the Alchemy Exploration Society can reach a casting range of 500 meters. But that thing is as big as a four-wheeled carriage. There's no way it can be pulled into Fengyuan City without being discovered..."

Of course, it is even more impossible to hit the Duke on the tower so silently.

The Duke did not ask any further questions. He only felt a dull pain in his chest and a dry throat. He did not faint when he was attacked by the first wave. A falconer happened to rush over to help him up, and then the other party's head and upper body suddenly exploded in front of his face, and sticky, fishy and hot blood and flesh sprayed all over him.

If that subordinate hadn't blocked the way, I would probably have...

When he thought of this, he felt his hair stand on end and quickly raised his hand to touch his neck.

Archbishop Miro Rivera of Fengyuan quickly stepped forward and said in a gentle, comforting voice, "Your Excellency, it's a blessing that you followed the Archduke's instructions and always wore this protective amulet bestowed upon you by His Holiness the Pope. Otherwise, you would have had no chance of surviving this terrible attack."

"That's right..." Duke Ralph said in shock, "I didn't expect His Holiness the Pope's defensive talisman to be so magical that it could actually block this terrible attack for me."

"Has the assassin been caught? What is his background and identity?"

Cambeyer and Morik exchanged a glance and said gravely, "They were two suspected high-level spellcasters. After being exposed, they immediately used flight magic to flee the city... We discovered they attacked from... from an abandoned tower on the inner city wall, and they left a note behind."

Duke Ralph's face turned grim as he took the note from Morik and unfolded it. He couldn't help but shudder when he saw the scribbled words on it.

This is a warning, but not the last—a friendly reminder from our northern neighbor.

"It wasn't an open assassination attempt by the Federation... It was actually the very person I was planning to deal with, the spellcaster lord entrenched on the northern border, Harvey..."

The other party actually sent two high-level spellcasters, carrying such a terrifying... terrible weapon that can kill the target silently from thousands of miles away.

Grand Duke Ralph turned his neck slightly and saw two waiters standing in front of the spacious and magnificent floor-to-ceiling windows, carefully lifting the heavy curtains so that the Duke, who had just woken up, could breathe some fresh air.

"Draw it! Draw the curtains! Close the windows!" The Duke suddenly shouted, his voice hoarse and trembling as if his throat was pinched. "Cambeye, help me get to the castle basement immediately! It's not safe here!"

"Yes, sir!" The captain of the guards seemed to realize why the Duke was nervous, and hurried forward to help him up. Surrounded by the crowd, they hurried downstairs.

No matter what kind of strange and powerful magic weapon the other party possesses, at least the thick stone walls and steel doors in the castle basement are much safer than the large floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides of the Duke's bedroom.

After the rage he felt from the inexplicable attack gradually subsided, Duke Ralph found that even though he was already in the castle's solid and heavily guarded basement, the inexplicable fear still made his back chill and his heart tighten...

(End of this chapter)