Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 28 Beneath the Mage Tower
At this moment, Josie was neatly dressed. Her old leather armor was polished to a shine and tightly bound to her upper body with a brand-new soft braided belt. The hilt of the short sword at her waist was also wrapped with a new grip cloth, which seemed to have some words embroidered on it.

He tried to straighten his back, but when his eyes met Chen Mo's, he couldn't help but look away, revealing a hint of nervousness and shame that he couldn't hide.

The other archer, Little John, as his name suggests, was Old John's grandson. He was rather thin and carried a well-maintained hunting bow, the string already tightened.

The little guy looked all smiles. He stood there without moving his feet, but his body couldn't help but twist and turn slightly. He was full of energy!
Well, this arrangement... the intention to take care of one's own family is self-evident!

Seeing that Chen Mo didn't speak for a moment, the one-eyed man blinked and added:
“Josie and John have already reached the ranks, one a warrior and the other an archer. They are both my nephews and nieces, I watched them grow up, so don’t worry!”

"Although they are not old, they have all been on several missions with the old teams. They are clean-cut and have clear minds. They can figure out the terrain around Beilu River with their eyes closed."

Old John, who was resting nearby, coughed, attracting Chen Mo's attention. He forced a smile on his wrinkled old face: "Sir, if you don't mind, you can bring both of them along!"

"Don't let their young age fool you, they've both grown up among mercenaries, they're tough and resilient. Escorting, running errands, scouting, and keeping watch, they'll definitely be flawless in these tasks."

"Bringing two people along, one as a guard and the other as an errand boy, is just right. If we have to camp out in the wilderness at night, we can take turns."

Chen Mo nodded. Old John's words made some sense. It was only a matter of ten days or so, and a few dozen silver coins. It was important to hurry up and set off.

"Alright, let's hurry up and pack up, get ready to go!"

There is still a lot of preparation work to be done.

To get to Beilu River, Chen Mo couldn't possibly walk on foot; he would have to hire a horse-drawn carriage.

Accompanied by Old John and Josie, he went to the trading market. After inquiring about prices several times, Chen Mo gritted his teeth and reluctantly bought a two-horse four-wheeled carriage, and also purchased an extra strong horse.

Renting from a carriage shop would cost more than buying, with the deposit and rental fee combined. Considering I wouldn't be able to return to Whitestone City anytime soon, I decided to buy it.

Back at the tavern, One-Eye brought good news: the trouble on the black market had been temporarily resolved, and Chen Mo, despite the pain, took out another large sum of money.

One has to admire the connections these seasoned veterans have; otherwise, they might not even be able to spend that money if they wanted to.

The bounty on Chen Mo on the black market is still listed under the name of the Mountain Vine Squad. Although all members of the squad have been sent to their next lives by Chen Mo, the squad is still theoretically under "protection" until the deposit is deducted.

One-Eye's approach was to bribe the guy in charge of distributing missions on the black market and, using the name of a group of old mercenaries from his Old Hedgehog Tavern, take over all the follow-up work on the mission to hunt down Chen Mo.

The black market doesn't care who takes the orders; as long as someone pays the deposit on time, it doesn't matter who gets the task.

According to the rules, the order should only be opened to the next group if the previous person who accepted the order failed to complete it or renew the contract by the due date. However, since this is the black market, the rules are... well, if someone is eager to pay, can we really turn away the god of wealth?

Chen Mo spent a considerable sum of money, enough to keep the task "locked" for six months, making it impossible for others to take it on.

With the sharp blade hanging over his head temporarily removed, Chen Mo was finally able to catch his breath.

But how could a bounty placed on a well-known noble family be so easily resolved? The Zircon family… Chen Mo murmured the name in his mind, his eyes growing colder and colder.

Just wait, after I contact my family a few more times, this debt will eventually be settled.

After finishing their miscellaneous business in Whitestone City, Chen Mo and Xiao Bai boarded the carriage. Josie drove, and Little John rode the horse, setting off before the sun began to set. Before leaving the city, there was a small incident: Josie's father, Big Josie, and Little John's father, Middle John, both arrived early at the city gate to see their children off.

Big Joe handed over a heavy bag of dry rations and cured meat that smelled of wheat, while Middle John carried two tubes of shiny, brand-new arrows—Little John had thought he would be trekking on foot and hadn't carried many spare arrows, but now that he had a mount, he quickly asked someone to ask his father to replenish his equipment.

Seeing the scene of their loving father and filial son, Chen Mo generously gave Josie and John half a month's wages in advance, telling them to hand them over to their families on the spot.

When the two little ones returned to the group, their faces were glowing, their backs were straight, and their steps were swift.

As they were leaving, old John leaned against the cornerstone of the city gate, his cloudy eyes looking at the group before finally settling on his grandson, little John. His lips moved, but he simply waved his hand and said, "Go on, and be smart!"

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I must say, although it cost a lot of money, it was definitely worth it.

With these two mercenaries, familiar with the local environment and possessing some skill, taking care of him, the journey went unexpectedly smoothly. Chen Mo seized every spare moment to meditate and cultivate, and whenever he had a little free time, he would ask the two about strange tales, local customs, and people from various places. He felt that his abilities and knowledge were growing rapidly.

A week passed, and the carriage sped along the main road, finally arriving at the banks of the Beilu River, the largest river in the Xiyue Federation.

Regardless of country or region, rushing river water is a strategic resource.

The Beilu River flows swiftly down, passing through the twelve most central cities of the Xiyue Federation. It is no exaggeration to say that the Beilu River is the mother river of the Xiyue Federation.

The alluvial plains on both sides of the river are not only the Federation's main grain-producing area, but also abundant in various fruits and spiritual plants. As Chen Mo traveled along, he was greeted by beautiful pastoral scenery with crisscrossing paths and fragrant orchards.

In particular, the wines of the Xiyue Federation are renowned throughout the mainland for their unique taste and are even exported to the legendary Eastern world.

As mages who need to meditate for long periods of time, they especially like this kind of fruit wine with a light taste and a long aftertaste. When they are granted the right to choose their own fiefdom, many mages in the Creek Moon Federation will choose this riverside plain as their first choice and build their mage tower here.

In other words, it's the mages' independent manor, plus a private academy.

The first mage tower Chen Mo wanted to visit was the Beiluwan Huiguang Mage Tower, which was closest to the Baishi Official Road and could be reached by going straight along it.

When we arrived at the mage tower, it was dusk. A huge building emerged from the distant, hazy mountain shadows, the most eye-catching of which was its central main tower, which was as tall as a six-story building.

This belongs to a sixth-tier mage, a legendary Holy Light mage, a Void Chanter.

As the carriage slowly approached, the full view of the Mage Tower gradually became clearer.

The outer fortress was a small two-story structure, built entirely of some kind of dark, large rock, each boulder polished to a perfect square, interlocking tightly with each other.

The central tower, made of white stone, exudes a pale and cold light in the twilight. The tower is wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, and at first glance, it looks like a giant spear pointing straight to the sky. Numerous mysterious runes are deeply and lightly covered on the surface of the tower, like the marks etched by time.

These runes firmly imprisoned the magical energy within the tower. Even from several kilometers away, Chen Mo could feel the surging power, with its magnificent, purple-blue interwoven light flowing endlessly across the stone walls, undulating and flickering.

This is the true grandeur of a mage tower rooted in the heart of a great power! Compared to the dark and gloomy Black Crow Castle where Chen Mo once briefly stayed, it's like night and day.

(End of this chapter)