What's wrong with me, a mage, loving to farm?

Chapter 158. The Truth About Salt, The Bet Arrives Early

Kroya, far away on the Isle of Han, wasn't too worried about whether they could escape, because the mushroom man on Ryan's back had already seen everything.

That strange vine was only meant to drive them away; it actually grew very slowly, almost as if it was intentionally trying to make them escape.

What he was interested in was the cup he saw in the priest's hand.

The cup was made of gold and inlaid with small white gold fragments, making it look like fragments of celestial light.

"Fragments of the Sky."

"People from the church have come to the North too."

Kroya looked thoughtfully at the group of people in the video who had already escaped to a safe location and were talking.

"Greed. That infected cultist must have considered the entire castle his private property and wouldn't allow anyone to leave."

Does he believe that the power of the nobility is solely related to castles?

At this moment, his interest in that area had greatly diminished.

He could foresee all the possible developments that would follow.

It was simply a matter of killing the cultist after a difficult battle, with the help of the priest.

With that strange priest around, there was indeed no need to worry about anything happening; he just needed to wait.

The mushroom man could sense the priest's magic... close to level four. Dealing with such an infected cultist shouldn't be a problem.

As for why he did this... to be honest, Kroya didn't quite understand either. According to what the mushroom people sensed, those flower vines were at most level two or three.

They should be utterly helpless in front of a priest.

"Was it intentional? I really want to see it in person. The thing he's holding looks so similar to the Holy Grail of Purification."

"never mind."

After thinking for a moment, Kroya shook his head and instructed King Muyao Teng, "Cut to the seabed."

He planned to wait and see how things developed before making any further decisions. He also hoped that his apprentices could bring back the flower vine for him.

"Yes, sir." King Muyao immediately complied.

A moment later, the scene shifted to the seabed, or more precisely, below the air coral base, where huge cavities had been carved out by wind-eroded sandworms.

This involved digging downwards from the mine shaft, then widening it and building steps, creating a bottle-like terrain that is narrower at the top and wider at the bottom.

At the bottom of the "bottle" is a flat area with a radius of about one kilometer.

The ground here has been carefully polished, and the surrounding dark red magma rocks have been reinforced and waterproofed with magical materials. A drying magic circle has even been set up.

Magic lamps power this area, illuminating it. Busy people are using white magic mud as building material to construct houses.

This is the underwater factory that Kroya ordered to be built.

On Han Reef Island, he didn't plan to build any special factories or anything like that; all of that would be done underwater.

Firstly, for concealment; secondly, for convenience.

The former is to deal with people who might come to the island and prevent them from seeing things they shouldn't see; the latter is because the magic in the seabed is abundant, making it easier to set up magic arrays and make magic forging furnaces.

Of course, there was also the factor that he didn't want to turn Hanjiao Island into some kind of magic energy industrial island. He planted magic plants and raised magic beasts on a large scale on the island, leaving the other factories on the seabed, which looked more comfortable.

After observing for a while, Kroya saw that the smelter and weapons factory were basically completed and nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad. How's the tunnel digging going?"

The scene shifts again—

We arrived at an underwater tunnel that was 15 meters wide and about 10 meters high.

People with the waterproof magical materials he gave them are carrying out the final reinforcement of the tunnel. Once the reinforcement is complete, the tunnel will be ready for use.

This is the passage he plans to prepare for dolphins and other marine life, allowing them to travel directly to the island through this tunnel.

At the tunnel exit, he had already planned to build a structure filled with misty blue springs, so that fish could swim on land.

After surveying his territory, Kroya suddenly sensed something, lay back in his chair, and took out the Holy Spring Association's crystal card.

A bright light was flashing on the card—this meant that someone was inviting him into the Deep Blue Illusion for a face-to-face meeting.

"Estner".

He pondered for a moment, then chose to enter the illusion.

The familiar, overwhelming blue spring water covered his entire field of vision, and in the illusion of the endless holy spring flowing, a tall figure stood not far away.

He greeted Kroya as she entered;

"Hey! Long time no see!"

This was a young mage, probably in his early twenties, wearing the Mage Guild's battle mage set—a tight-fitting robe that didn't restrict movement, a pair of high boots made of earth dragon skin, and holding a short staff that looked like a walking stick.

He looked dashing and had an indescribable air of strength about him, completely different from those mages who wore heavy, cumbersome robes.

Kroya looked at him, a smile playing on her lips, and said, "It has indeed been a long time. How have you been lately, Estner?"

His tone was trying his best to imitate the way the original owner talked to his friends; the slight differences were due to the different environment.

Estner chuckled.

"Fortunately, the Mage Association recently organized an operation to purge cultists from the Yavana Sacred Mine, and I went with my mentor."

"You seem to be in good health. Did you encounter any danger?" Kroya asked with concern.

"I was almost killed by the Spore Warriors, which is why I had time to return to the Mage Guild to recover," Estner said with a wry smile.

"...It's good to be able to leave that place." Kroya frowned. "I heard it's one of the largest magic crystal mines on the continent. Is the association going to ignore it?"

Estner replied, "The situation there is very complicated, and there is also the danger of the Abyss Lord invading the Prime Material Plane. I estimate that the Church will need to invite the Holy Son to go there."

"Oh, right, Chloe." He suddenly remembered something very important.

He warned in a serious tone, "Be careful. Before I came here, a friend in Startown told me that there is a demonic aura in the North."

With the North currently blocked by blizzards and the Yavana Sacred Mine issue looming, neither the Kingdom nor the Guild has the time to deal with it.

However, it is said that some holy knights returning from the Salt Mountains have headed north. If you encounter them, be extra careful!

When these holy knights were mentioned, Estner's expression almost turned into one of fear and disgust.

Kroya's heart sank, but she asked with feigned curiosity, "Hmm? The Holy Knight shouldn't be in any danger, right?"

"Aren't people in the church always spreading the gospel of God?"

Estner shook his head: "The holy knights who emerge from the salt mountains all possess a powerful ability. Chloe, do you know where those salt mountains came from?"

The moment he heard this, Chloe remembered the story the Baron had once told him, about a weapon that could turn people into salt.

He hadn't thought that much about it before, but now that it's suddenly brought up...

He pretended not to know: "How did it come about? I remember the legend says it was created by the power of God, at least that's what the church has always said."

"In fact, it was created by the power of God, but those salt mountains all came from sinners executed by the Holy Knights."

Their bodies form the endless Salt Mountains.

Estner said with lingering fear, "When I went to the Yavana Holy Mine, I met a Holy Knight from the Salt Mountain. He turned a powerful level seven demon into a lump of salt with just one crossbow bolt."

"Huh?" Even though he had already guessed, he was still shocked after confirming it.

"Are the salt mountains filled with the corpses of demons and sinners?"

To be honest, it was fortunate that the salt the Mage Association used to buy was produced by the kingdom itself, otherwise he would have really felt like vomiting.

Knowing something is one thing, but understanding it is another.

"Yes, so you have to be careful. Those guys are willing to risk their lives to get rid of the demons; they're a bunch of fanatical religious lunatics."

After giving him another warning, he looked Kroya up and down and said, "A level four mage, it seems that keeping you in the capital is a waste of your talent."

If you wish, you may return to the capital now.

"Neither Stein, who framed you, nor his mentor could stop a fourth-level mage from returning to the Guild, and you can take your revenge however you like."

In fact, Estner was shocked when he received Kroya's message, as he was only a level three mage and had just broken through.

As a result, Kroya actually jumped three levels directly, from level one to level four, which was simply too exaggerated.

A genius mage of this caliber would receive absolute support from the higher-ups of the Mage Association if he wanted revenge. Weighing the pros and cons is something mages excel at.

Of course, he was the only one who knew about this, and he didn't tell anyone. He wouldn't say anything until Kroya wanted to announce it.

"Go back?" Kroya shook his head dismissively. "Forget it. I just want to know how strong Stein's mentor is."

I want to have an honorary duel between mages with him.

Estner had expected this, and shrugged: "Very weak. He barely made it to level four with just a little effort, and he only managed it with the help of a magical plant."

Speaking of which, the guy who framed you was his illegitimate son.

The Moonlight Dew Grass he promised was his mentor's greatest asset for advancing to level four.

Upon hearing this, Kroya was slightly taken aback.

He suddenly found a flame of anger rising in his heart, something that had been hidden for a very long time and had only just surfaced.

That was... the disgust and resentment towards Stein and his mentor, the pent-up anger and resentment from the person who had killed the original owner.

It was so intense that it even affected the workings of magic.

If this fire isn't extinguished, it could seriously impact his future.

But that's exactly what he wanted.

He narrowed his eyes: "Isn't that guy supposed to have a three-year agreement? Estner, I want to request that the bet be honored early and invite him and his mentor to Han Reef Island."

Please be my witness, okay?

I'm a bit busy today, Monday, so I'll be working less. I'll continue tomorrow. Please bear with me, dear readers. Thank you so much!

(End of this chapter)