The Magic Empire for 20,000 years

Chapter 156 "There is a Magic Empire in the North!"

The strange man who came to Freya Village was a young man around 20 years old.

It is said that he came from a neighboring village that was destroyed.

People say that the neighboring village was destroyed overnight by an unusual meteor shower. This young man named "Hudson" is the only survivor.

After that strange man arrived in the village, he acted erratically, often saying strange things:
"The stars will guide us and bring us happiness..."

"I saw the constellation of harvest; next year will bring a good harvest..."

"See that purple guiding star? It's called [Kaifeng]. It will guide me on what to do. Every day in my dreams, I can hear the sound of the stars..."

No one believed the strange man's words; only the strange man himself claimed that he could hear the whispers of the stars.

In the last six months, the eccentric Hudson has been mentioning stars more and more often. He says the stars are twinkling more frequently. He also says:

"The stars will soon come to save this village and all the surrounding villages, bringing good fortune to everyone..."

Days passed by, and Freya's life remained unchanged.

……

That morning, at dawn, little Freya was awakened by the noise outside. With a nervous heart, she pushed open the door and looked out:
"what happens?"

Suddenly, a large group of beautifully dressed humans appeared in the open space in front of the village—Little Freya had never seen such gorgeous clothes with such exquisite patterns.

They all looked quite healthy, with rosy cheeks, full of energy, and smooth, radiant skin, completely different from most of the sallow-faced and emaciated villagers, as if they had never gone hungry.

Where did these people living in luxury come from?
Little Freya was astonished.

Although there are many other villages nearby, the living conditions in those villages are similar to those here, making it impossible for such a large group of people to have such a clearly affluent lifestyle.

These dozens of people, dressed in beautiful clothes, with rosy complexions and fair skin, were talking amongst themselves:

"I never imagined that so many humans lived south of the Emerald Mountains."

"Just as His Majesty El-Erian predicted, many centuries ago, the human race appeared simultaneously in various parts of the world."

"The living environment in these villages is quite similar to that of Eldoron before His Majesty Elion's reforms. I wonder if other human settlements in the world are like this."

"..."

As they spoke, a boy-looking person stepped out from the group.

He was handsome, with crimson flames flickering in his eyes, and exuded an aura that made people want to get close to him and even submit to him.

Upon simply seeing the boy, the villagers instinctively felt a sense of kinship with him and subconsciously believed that he was a trustworthy and friendly visitor.

—The extraordinary charisma of a near-legendary warlock!
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, the young man knew that his charm was working, and as expected, he smiled and snapped his fingers lightly.

boom.

A ball of crimson flame exploded in the air, then dissipated into a shower of drifting sparks.

"What just happened?"

"Did this child summon a fire?"

"It's magic!"

"But isn't magic a power that only extraordinary creatures like dragons can wield?"

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, the young man cleared his throat, lightly tapped his neck, and spoke in a resounding voice that could be heard throughout the entire village:

"Hello, everyone in the village."

“We come from the northern part of the Emerald Mountains, to a human nation called Eldoron.”

"It was a prosperous and powerful magical empire that revered magic."

“I am Grete, a disciple of Emperor El-Erian of Eldoron.”

“Some time ago, we killed the ancient dragon that ruled the Emerald Mountains, conquered this land that originally belonged to the dragon lord, and then discovered your existence.”

These few words stirred up a storm among the crowd.

Humanity's nation?
A country that reveres magic?
Kill that god-like ancient dragon?

Is this really something that a fragile and insignificant human race could do?
The villagers are all human. In their battles against goblins or gnolls, they have come to realize how weak and helpless the human race is, with its weak bodies and lack of superhuman strength!

Freya rubbed her eyes, almost wondering if she hadn't woken up from last night's dream.

Next, this group of humans, who claimed to be from the "Magic Empire Eldoron," began to demonstrate all sorts of strange spells, seemingly to prove their claims.

Some people floated into the air, some shot out icy rays, some used illusions to simulate the forms of different wild beasts, and some simply sprinkled a handful of white sand to instantly put several burly men to sleep...

[Levitation], [Ice Ray], [Secondary Illusion], [Sleep].

These strange spells opened the eyes of the villagers, who had only ever seen magic in supernatural beings. They were all utterly astonished, their jaws nearly dropping. The bolder villagers reached out to try and touch the illusory deer projected by the magic, but their hands passed right through them; the timid children panicked and ran home in fear; others were so excited they shed tears, asking the sorcerers how they had mastered such extraordinary power…

"Is what you're saying true? Are you really from a prosperous and magical country?"

"A magical empire built by humans!"

Little Gret smiled:
"of course."

"The Magic Empire of Eldoron is a powerful nation with a population of one million, jointly led by His Majesty the Great Elion and more than 100 high-ranking spellcasters."

"In our country, there are more than 15000 formally qualified monks who have reached at least the first level. There are also several times that number of monk apprentices."

"That's equivalent to nearly one in ten people knowing how to use magic!"

Halfway through his speech, Gretel looked at the villagers—who were sallow-faced, thin, and dressed in shabby, dirty clothes, a stark contrast to him—and felt a pang of emotion.

The surface of Eldoron before the reforms looked much like this...

However, in the surface villages of Eldoron, legends about celestial mages still circulate, indicating that humans might possess magical powers. The people there are quite astonished by the idea that "humans can use magic"...

Gretel gathered his scattered thoughts, his crimson eyes flashing as he broke into a radiant smile, further unleashing his extraordinary charm as a near-legendary warlock:
“We come carrying the goodwill of His Majesty Eldoron and His Majesty Elrian.”

"Perfect timing, we brought quite a few gifts, consider them as a token of our meeting."

Grete waved behind him.

The dozens of envoys who had arrived together took out the items from their [Dimensional Bags] and distributed them to the villagers.

Here you'll find beautiful handmade clothes, shoes, and small toys, as well as all sorts of food:

Soft and delicious white bread, sweet jam, fragrant cured meat...

The villagers' eyes lit up, and they rushed forward.

Many starving villagers immediately stuffed the food into their mouths after receiving it, marveling at the fragrant aroma of the delicacies.

Under the influence of Little Gretel's extraordinary charm, they completely trusted these envoys from the magical kingdom of the North and had no worries about the possibility that the food was poisonous.

Seeing the little girl Freya standing there in a daze, Grete took a piece of white bread dipped in jam and handed it to her:

"Little girl, have a taste. This is a specialty of our Rolling Stone Town in Eldoron."

The little girl Freya paused for two seconds, looked up at the handsome boy who looked only a few years older than her, and hurriedly took the bread:
"Thank you! Thank you, brother..."

When the soft bread was put into her mouth, the aroma of the bread and the sweetness of the jam burst in the girl's mouth, making little Freya so excited that she almost shed tears.

Luxurious clothing, a comfortable living environment, plentiful and delicious food, and the most incredible magic...

She simply couldn't imagine it:
What a rich and beautiful dreamland this magical empire in the north called Eldoron must be!

Looking at the villagers' joyful and excited expressions, Gretel smiled slightly, as if he were seeing himself in the first year of the Empire.

The dragon vein sorcerer turned to the mage beside him and said:
"Everything went smoothly."

"The people here have fully accepted our goodwill."

"They have developed a completely positive impression of the human magic empire of Eldoron in the north."

"His Majesty Elion means that, just like the reforms carried out on the surface villages in the first year of the Empire, we can send mages to reside here, lead them, educate them, let them learn magic, understand history and the culture of the Empire, until they eventually become one of us..."

Halfway through his speech, Grete's thoughts drifted away, as if he were back in the past.

The dragon bloodline fixed his physical age, and also fixed his youthful vigor.

The events of that year seem as vivid as if they happened just yesterday.

The villagers were so engrossed in learning of the "prosperous magical empire in the north" that no one noticed:

In the shadows of a corner of the village, the strange man named Hudson clenched his fist.

This eccentric man, who worshipped the stars, stared blankly at the group of uninvited guests from Eldoron, muttering to himself:
"Why is this happening?"

"It shouldn't be like this!"

"The only thing that can bring happiness to everyone, the only thing that can save us all, is the star, only a messenger descending from the star..."

"Instead of these envoys from that so-called magical empire, Eldoron!"

This strange man who believed in stars was furious, his eyes burning with rage.

He turned away angrily and returned to his humble dwelling, intending to pray for star revelation once more that night.

What Hudson didn't know was—

His unusual behavior was reflected in the crystal ball in front of Emperor Elion and Archmage Cassandra.

(End of this chapter)