Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 72 The "Raven" in the Sky

Rewinding to a little over a month ago, when Marquis of the Green Pine Kingdom, Lord of the Zircon Territory, and Honorary Insight Priest of the Seven-Eyed Cult—Zircon Monroe—returned to his territory from the royal city to begin final war preparations, the territory's scribe reported that several swordsmen and knights who were originally on the conscription list had disappeared without a trace.

That noon, the eldest son, Hysen, was hung upside down from a large tree in the backyard of the Marquis's mansion.

Two guards, one on each side, swung their whips back and forth, making the chief heir of Zircon Territory spin like a top, three times clockwise and three times counterclockwise...

Despite being a silver-armored warrior who could easily withstand such a beating, Haisen dared not use a single defensive skill.

The last time he did this, the Marquis personally delivered a lash infused with psionic energy, striking deep into his soul.

That feeling was exactly the same as when I wanted to have a physiological conversation with my wife and was kicked in the groin.

Therefore, the eldest son, Haisen, could only endure the bloody marks branded onto his body, and in the intervals between each beating, he could only let out cries of agony and pleas for mercy.

"Father! Forgive me! I know I was wrong!"

"Ah—! Please! Stop!"

Even though my father wasn't there and pleading wouldn't have helped, I still had to plead, otherwise, the whipping would have been for nothing.

The eldest son is quite sensible in this regard.

He howled for the entire afternoon, and it wasn't until after the grand banquet that the Marquis of Monroe finally arrived.

The Marquis casually tossed his magnificent evening gown, adorned with various jewels, to the meek maid standing to his side, then slumped heavily into a large ebony rattan chair carved with griffin claws, letting out a weary sigh.

His slightly bulky body sank into the soft cushions, his feet resting on the shoulders of two kneeling maids. The servants respectfully removed his boots, and the marquis squinted his eyes, enjoying the massage from the girls' soft fingertips, relaxing his tired muscles.

"How much have you smoked?" The Marquis's voice was deep and unreadable.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, the punishment is 1,650 lashes!"

Marquis Monroe waved his hand gently, and the two guards stopped whipping the young master. The eldest son's wailing also stopped abruptly, turning into a low, painful groan.

He knew his father was about to speak.

"Have you figured out where you went wrong?"

"I shouldn't have withheld the mission's reward, which caused the mission to fail!"

The Marquis rubbed his fingers together, and a long whip cracked across Haisen's back, which was already covered in what looked like a red fishing net outfit, adding another diagonal bloody welt. The eldest son let out a short and intense cry of pain: "Ah!"

"I... I shouldn't have used the city defense team to chase that lowly servant, causing damage to the territory... the territory..."

"Smack!" "Aaaaaah—!!"

"I misjudged people and made a mistake in employing them, thus betraying my father's trust..."

"Smack!" "Aaaaaah—!!!"

"I shouldn't have bothered my sister without my father's knowledge..."

"Smack!" "Ouch—!!!"

The sound of whipping was incessant, and Hysen's howls echoed through the sky. The other heirs, who were sneaking around in the front hall, were all pale and had cold hands and feet.

Or maybe we shouldn't even consider the position of heir. We're not as tough as our eldest brother!
Yes, her voice isn't as good as his either; if she kept shouting like that, she would have become mute long ago...

After an unknown amount of time, it seemed that the Marquis had gotten tired of rubbing his fingers together, and the scene finally quieted down.

"Put it down!"

The ropes were untied, and Hysen fell to the cold ground like a lump of mud. He struggled and crawled to his father's feet.

"Are you hungry? Come on, have something to eat!"

Zircon Heisenberg finally saw his refined and gentle father in the kingdom's court again. Although he always felt that the old man might be a little psychologically disturbed, his father's return to a loving tone meant that he had finally gotten through this ordeal.

“You haven’t been beaten to death or expelled yet,” the Marquis of Monroe said slowly, watching his disheveled eating, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible mockery, “You have two people to thank.”

"If it weren't for your mother's powerful family and the fact that they arranged a marriage for you with an even more powerful family early on, your line of succession would be... what was your place in the line of succession again, compared to that dead one?"

“Nineteenth on the list…” Hysen answered softly.

"Yes, you're at best on par with him; I probably wouldn't even remember your name."

Pushing the plate towards his son, Marquis Monroe continued, "Of course, even if it were just your mother, she couldn't protect you, you fool. But you happen to have a good son."

"Really, if it weren't for the high priest of the religion verifying the bloodline, I would have always thought that it wasn't your child!"

"The only possibility is that when you were born, you threw your talent and brains into your pants and left them to little Dimo. In the nineteenth generation of the family, he is the child I am most satisfied with."

That's why I've tolerated your stupidity time and time again!

Extremely hungry and exhausted from howling, Haisen wolfed down a roasted pig and several large bowls of thick soup. He then obediently got up from his seat and squatted down to listen to his father's teachings.

Despite his words being full of humiliation, the Marquis of Monroe couldn't help but instill his calculations and analysis into his "good-for-nothing" eldest son in the most straightforward way.

He was just like a father who was disappointed in his son.

"I, along with several mages and strategists from the territory, have carefully studied the whole story, and we all agree that this is by no means an isolated accident; it can almost be considered part of the continental war!"

"When we conduct a post-mortem analysis, there are a few points of doubt that we cannot avoid!"

Marquis Monroe tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingers slowly: "A prospective apprentice who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, with no skills whatsoever, was able to kill an entire squad, including a family-assigned... that little brat in the teens of the rankings, an entry-level warrior."

"Then, by chance, he boarded the spaceship of Cloud Mist Territory."

"He inexplicably acquired astonishing wealth and bizarre magical weapons."

"Several groups of warriors were sent to pursue them, but they all disappeared without a trace, even causing quite a bit of trouble for our Zircon Territory!"

"Finally, this guy made a round of travel in the Xiyue Federation and then got together with the people of Yunwu Territory. Moreover, information from various sources indicates that Yunwu Territory relies heavily on him!"

The Marquis paused abruptly, then emphasized, "One accident might be an accident, but a series of accidents linked together means it can't just be an accident!"

"do you understand?"

Heisen nodded, then shook his head, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Fool!" Marquis Monroe of Zircon couldn't help but curse again, personally revealing the answer.

"If you can use your brain, which has been rotten by wine and women, even a little bit, the answer is practically etched there: it's a 'raven,' and if I'm not mistaken, it's a raven from the Sky Empire!"

Hysen understood the word "crow," which meant a spy or agent of a major power.

And the Sky Empire! It is a behemoth entrenched in the historical shadows of the southern kingdoms! A powerful force that once trampled the Emerald Plains under its iron hooves, and even after being forced to retreat after the "War of Independence of the Mist," its gaze has never truly left this fertile land!
Many, many years ago, most of the Emerald Plains was occupied by the Sky Empire. The Sky Empire's oppression of this area kept the land from ever being at peace.

Later, taking advantage of the fierce battles between the Heavenly Sky and the alien races, the local rebels, together with generations of pioneering knights of the Qiyue Dynasty, gradually eroded this place, turning it into a vassal state of Qiyue.

Then, the descendants of the pioneering knights, instigated and aided by the Misty Moon Divine Court, raised the banner of independence, defeated the Moon-bound army, and eventually formed these independent kingdoms and duchies.

After a century of peace, the four southern kingdoms were once again engulfed in war due to the power struggle between the Qiyue Dynasty and the Wuyue Divine Court.

At this point, it would be perfectly reasonable for the Sky Empire to send some "crows" to stir things up.

The eldest son was dumbfounded, yet it was as if he had been enlightened.

Yes, it's connected, everything is connected!
(End of this chapter)