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

Chapter 165. I want this land.

Not only them, even Kroya couldn't help but stand up. This... huh?

Magic veins are similar to spiritual veins in cultivation novels, but they are more special because forming a flowing vein requires many complex causes.

Many magicians believe that the magic vein is equivalent to a small rift and projection of the ethereal realm onto the prime plane, and only in this way can it be explained why it has a continuous flow of magic.

Generally speaking, they are divided into twelve levels, just like mage levels—this is the highest level cap for mages in this plane of existence.

The magic vein can do many things. First, it can provide pure magic power, which can power the magic circle without any conversion.

Secondly, by extracting a little magic from it, one can make magic recovery potions.

Finally, a planting and breeding base can be established around the magic vein, and a new territory can be developed around this magic vein.

So even Kroa was getting a little restless.

The magic vein in front of the apprentices, constantly flowing with liquid-like magic, is estimated to be at level two or higher.

After the liquid magic flows out, it transforms into invisible magic that spreads into the surrounding environment.

The apprentices were starting to feel a bit lost.

Although their education included the identification of magical energy veins, it didn't teach them how to deal with them, because these things were extremely rare to encounter.

They could only turn to the mushroom people for help, or more precisely, to Kroya, who was staying inside the castle.

Kroya watched from the other side, deep in thought.

The magic vein cannot be moved. If you want to occupy this magic vein, you can only include this beach in your territory.

It's not far, only about 20 kilometers.

He pondered for a moment, then glanced at the map hanging nearby: "This is the territory of White Gull Island, and its lord is...."

The answer was immediately given on the map completed by Bartos and Rob: the Blackwater Knight.

The Blackwater Knight was trapped inside Baron Andy's castle. Although he hadn't died from being bled out, he was probably close to it.

Once he arrives, he'll likely be at my mercy, completely powerless to resist, and his territory will naturally belong to Kroya.

At worst, they could just install a puppet to take the throne, maintaining the facade of a noble territory while secretly manipulating it.

This way, it wouldn't provoke the fragile hearts of those nobles—even though Kroya had already given all the nobles in the northern part of the Kingdom of Norland a good beating.

However, the reactions from the kingdom and other high-ranking nobles must still be taken into account.

Kroya made a decision immediately.

"I want this land. I will allow you to receive assistance from the prisoners if necessary. Go."

The monk's words were relayed through the mushroom spirit, and the apprentices who were waiting for instructions immediately brightened up.

This is not only about finding treasure, but also about expanding one's sphere of influence. This should be the first time that Kroya has explicitly stated that he has occupied a certain region.

They were naturally eager to claim the credit for the first achievement.

"As you wish!"

They bowed to the mushroom people and immediately set off for the castle where the Blackwater Knights lived. Once they occupied that place, they would basically have succeeded.

Chloe wasn't idle at the castle either; he summoned Rob and instructed him:

"Send a team to the Blackwater Knights' castle. By the time you arrive, they should have almost finished setting up the spatial magic circle."

The multi-space channel C-type magic array he purchased could freely teleport within a hundred kilometers, so he decided to install one there.

This spatial magic circle is incredibly easy to install; simply unfold it according to the diagram and then install the magic nodes inside.

Kroya had, of course, already trained the knights and their men to install such magic arrays.

They're my subordinates, after all. If they can't even build a magic circle, that would be incredibly embarrassing.

With the help of the spatial array, unless some powerful figure comes along who can sever spatial connections, he can send people to suppress whatever happens.

Now that we've decided to occupy that area, we need to take it seriously and see if there are any mineral resources there while also carrying out infrastructure work.

He didn't plan to get involved in those things; all he cared about were the magic veins and those ores.

As for the other odd jobs, they were all left to the servants and knights under his command, to see what kind of construction they could produce.

After all, he can't be made to handle every little thing personally, otherwise what's the point of him being a lord?

"My lord, I wonder if we could arrange for Joshua to go?"

After listening to Kroya's arrangements, Rob suggested that the knight Joshua lead the team himself, revealing his true intentions.

As he grew older, he naturally wanted to pave the way for his son. Being Kroya's steward was a very good job, but Joshua just couldn't learn it.

If I can't be a butler, then I'll just have to be a knight in name and in fact.

"You," Chloe nodded at him, without refusing.

Robert gave an awkward smile.

Joshua is indeed quite good, and he also has some management skills, so it would be suitable for him to go.

So he readily agreed.

"I'll reward you if you do a good job, and I can let anyone do it."

He gave a final few instructions and then waved for Rob to leave.

The latter quickly excused himself and hurriedly found his son who was training.

Joshua was covered in sweat and was shirtless, lifting dumbbells—something that Kroa had created back then, of course.

As a result, it quickly became a favorite among these knights, as it allowed them to train and lift weights at the same time, to the point that Kroya doubted whether this thing was really that fun.

Rob is also one of those people who cannot understand.

Although his body remained strong under Kroya's care, he was getting old and could no longer lift weights without any protective measures.

"Father? What brings you here?"

Joshua quickly put the dumbbells down, picked up a cloth to wipe his sweat, and said in surprise, "It's not my turn to patrol today."

Rob picked up the water glass beside him and handed it to him, saying:

"Hurry up and get out of here after you finish your water. Our lord is going to conquer the Blackwater Knight's territory, and his apprentices are already working on it. Take your master's magical pet and hurry over!"

"Huh? Cough cough cough..." Joshua almost choked on his water because he couldn't swallow it.

He didn't even bother to drink water; he quickly put on the clothes and armor that were nearby and rushed out.

Only Robert was left to pick up the water glass, his face showing a hint of helplessness, but mostly relief.

To be honest, I've been on Hanjiao Island every day for a while now. It's been peaceful, but I'm also getting a little bored. All I do every day is train and teach students.

Both he and his son had long wanted to go out and train.

Now is the time!

……

Time passed quickly.

The 20-kilometer journey took only three hours, all thanks to the quality of the people Joshua led and the help of the Ice Rabbit.

With the help of these rabbits, they rode sleds across the snow, experiencing a truly unforgettable adventure.

When Joshua arrived with his men carrying a spatial magic circle, led by the mushroom people, the apprentices had already finished their battle.

For them, taking over a castle that had lost most of its men to the Blackwater Knights was a piece of cake; it didn't take much effort at all.

After learning from the mushroom people that reinforcements were coming, Lisa waited at the castle gate early in the morning.

Upon seeing Joshua, she respectfully greeted him, "Instructor Joshua!"

"Well done, Lord Kroya praises you," Joshua said, waving to his subordinates, "Go and find a suitable place to set up the magic circle."

"Really? That's wonderful!" Lina was overjoyed to hear Chloe's praise.

She led Joshua into the castle and explained, "When we arrived, there were only a hundred soldiers in the castle. Apart from a few who resisted, the rest are temporarily locked up."

"We found 500 gold coins, 20 magic crystals, and about 700 kilograms of various grains inside the castle."

She had just taken control of the castle, and the first things she found were in the knights' rooms and storerooms; she hadn't had time to search other places yet.

By Kroya's standards, this gain wasn't much, but to these apprentices, it was a lot.

Especially those five hundred-plus gold coins.

Piled together, their golden color is truly eye-catching, representing the purest form of desire.

"The magic crystals should be given to the lord; you can distribute the rest yourselves," Joshua nodded and said.

"Yes."

Although Lina was a woman, she understood very well that if she wanted her subordinates to be loyal, she had to reward them.

Those spoils that Kroya didn't care about naturally became rewards for his subordinates; the majority were handed over, and the rest were distributed among themselves.

As they walked and talked, they quickly explored the entire castle and soon made a new discovery—there were ten strong black horses in the castle's stables.

They were leisurely eating soybean leaves and hay brought by the farm servants, and there was even a charcoal brazier burning in the stable, making it very warm.

Joshua raised an eyebrow, stepped forward to look directly at the dark horses, and a look of joy flashed across his face.

"good!"

These horses were certainly not magical beasts, but in his opinion, they were quite good horses, and taking them back would make up for some of the lack of horses.

Hanjiao Island is a coastal area with no lush grasslands or pastures, so wild horses are extremely rare.

But how can a proper knight be without a horse?

While Warcraft horses are rare, these ordinary horses are quite good and suitable for beginners to train. Finally, they can teach their apprentices horsemanship.

For the next period of time, they were busy investigating the situation while waiting for Kroya's arrival.

……

The magic circle was quickly set up.

Kroya personally arrived here via a magic circle.

He didn't pay much attention to what was happening inside the castle, and instead took Lina and the magic apprentices to the seaside.

On the way, he also looked at those magic crystals, which were only level one magic crystals, but level one magic crystals are still considered very good.

If it really is a level two magic crystal mine... he'd probably have to consider killing someone to cover it up, because there's a world of difference between level one and level two.

The level-two magic crystal mine would likely be personally received and managed by the Mage Association.

What he needs to determine now is how much magic crystal this mine has, how it was formed, and why no one discovered it before.

As for those white stones, he held them in his hand and examined them. They emitted an extremely terrifying chill, which could cause skin necrosis if it came into contact with human skin.

It appears to be naturally formed.

But when he examined it closely, he discovered an unusual magical power inside—a magical power from a magical beast—along with a strange, fishy smell.

"Could it have fallen from some kind of magical beast?" he wondered, deciding to search carefully once he reached the beach.

Judging from the intensity and fluctuations of this magical power, this magical beast is probably at least level three. A level three magical beast... is something that ordinary people simply cannot deal with.

This potential threat must be completely eliminated in order to build the planting base they plan to establish in the future.

Soon, we arrived at the seaside.

He glanced at the swaying seaweed and said:

"It really is the thirsty sea luminescent algae."

With just one glance, he was absolutely certain that these were indeed Sea-Thirsting Fluorescent Algae, not due to the Astral Imprint Technique, but rather based on his understanding of this type of algae.

He had always used his pile of Sea-Drying Phlox as blankets and quilts, keeping them warm in winter and cool in summer. He was very familiar with the magical fluctuations of this algae.

They became like this, it seems, because the ice magic here is exceptionally abundant.

Kroa walked directly to the sea surface, gathered her magic power in her palm, and then gently pressed it against the sea.

"Snapped!"

His magic had taken over this area of ​​sea, which was about three kilometers in circumference.

The sea surface suddenly trembled violently, and the seaweed drifting in this area was instantly shaken and gathered together by the magic.

The slightly deep seawater below was revealed.

Immediately afterwards, he gathered his magic power and made a pushing motion.

"Splash~ Splash~"

About twenty meters outward from his feet, the seawater was pushed aside by a powerful force, revealing the beach and land beneath.

The coastline receded thirty meters directly backward.

The scattered magic crystals and magic veins were naturally exposed to everyone, and the fish that hadn't had time to escape were struggling and flapping their tails.

The apprentices stared in astonishment and gasped. Although they knew their lord was very powerful, how many tons of seawater would that be to push away like that?

It was only because they had some understanding of magic that they could truly sense Kroa's power and unfathomable depth.

Go pick it up.

Maintaining the seawater wasn't too strenuous for Kroa, but she couldn't do it for an extended period.

He gave his apprentices an instruction, and only then did they snap out of their surprise and rush forward to pick up the magic crystals and white stones.

He then leisurely walked to the magic vein, placed his fingers on the ground, and began to cast the earth and stone shaping spell.

He was very curious about what was down there.

As the magic took effect, the soil below churned up, and the magical energy emanating from the magic veins gradually increased.

But a few seconds later, Kroa suddenly sensed something and jumped to the side, dodging a tentacle with suckers that emerged from the soil.

"Master!"

The apprentices saw this and wanted to gather around, but Kroya waved them away.

"You all just go about your business and don't need to worry about this."

Based on his perception, the magical fluctuations of this thing were at level three, and octopuses were notoriously cunning and difficult to kill; these apprentices coming over would only affect him.

"Hey, there really is something here." He stared with interest at the tentacle that was about a meter long that had been extended out in front of him, and activated the Astral Body Imprint Technique.

Soon they spotted a giant octopus lurking beneath the soil.

Judging by appearance, its body is about seven or eight meters long, and its tentacles are more than twenty meters long. Currently, only one of them has extended out, penetrating through the soil layer, while the vast majority is still buried underneath.

"Cold-armed Octopus."

For the Warcraft octopus, it's not particularly large.

Legend has it that truly gigantic magical octopuses can even extend their tentacles to tens of thousands of meters, enough to rival legendary mages in the ocean.

He remembered that when he first subdued the thirsty sea algae, they had sent out a message saying that they no longer needed to be eaten by the giant octopus.

Could this be the giant octopus they were talking about?

If you wanted to eat a giant octopus that was at the level of a level 3 magical beast, you could indeed eat it like a snack.

Kroa thought for a moment, then instead of digging the octopus out directly, she sent it a message of goodwill.

Let's try diplomacy first, then force. He's not some kind of demon. I've heard that octopuses are very intelligent. If this guy is willing to talk to me properly, I won't do anything to him.

But what if it is unwilling to accept peace talks?

Then Kroa will have to reluctantly try what such a huge octopus tentacle tastes like, and she doesn't know if its size will cause the meat to become tough.

Perhaps this thought was mixed into Kroya's consciousness, because the octopus's whole body trembled slightly.

It quickly crawled out of the hole in the soil, its flexibility was simply exaggerated, as if it could shrink itself.

Finally, it appeared completely in front of Kroa.

Yes, it's still huge, but strangely it's also kind of cute.

It was pure white all over, and even the suckers on its arms had a translucent color. Apart from being a bit huge and having particularly strange eyes, it wasn't unacceptable.

"you……"

Just as Kroya was about to ask a question, she suddenly felt something was wrong; the ground beneath her feet seemed to be shaking.

It was as if something was about to erupt.

Thank you so much to the generous donor "Unruly Madman" and all the other big shots for their monthly tickets! Wow, so many at the end of the month! Thank you so much... If I could get a thousand monthly tickets, I would add an extra chapter next month while updating 10,000 chapters!

(End of this chapter)