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

Chapter 258. Loot, the Key to the Floating Island

The postwar recovery efforts were carried out quite quickly.

With the assistance of two high-ranking traitors, the Duke's legion barely made a ripple before being completely suppressed by Rob's squad of knights and mages.

Those who were lucky enough to survive were captured, while the dead were immediately exorcised and buried. In just half a day, the military camp was completely buried under a thick layer of soil.

As if nothing had ever happened, lush green grass and shrubs would cover the area.

The mages were all entangled by writhing, purplish-red vines, their thorns digging deep into their flesh and blood, preventing the circulation of magic.

The knights and the Nar monsters were all put into specially made cages and guarded by the knights themselves to ensure that they had no chance to resist or escape.

These knights, mages, and warriors, who were usually high and mighty, experienced firsthand what it was like to be a prisoner. They didn't even dare to ask Kroya to give them the comfortable treatment that nobles deserved.

Because they had already seen that another group of knights and mages who had been flirting with Ian and Athos had escaped unscathed with virtually no resistance.

"They did it on purpose! The Duke's son and the Isle of Ham Reef are working together!"

Upon witnessing this scene.

They knew that even if they barely survived, they would have no chance of receiving any help from Olivier or the Nal family, or rather... it would be better not to live at all.

It got embroiled in the power struggle among the nobles, but those nobles wouldn't care about so much.

They were taken to Hanjiao Island.

Soon, the detailed list of names was handed to Kroya.

"Seventy battle mages, fifty Nar monsters, thirty level-two knights, and thirty level-two warriors."

After carefully reviewing the list, Kroya instructed the returning Taling, "Separate them and imprison them on Kufa Island and Zhuli Island."

Let them tell us as much as they've learned about their knowledge and martial arts skills as possible; whoever talks the most will receive better treatment.

These are all people brought by the Duke, and they should all possess some knowledge, even the most scattered pieces of knowledge. As long as they can be integrated and compiled, they can become a classic.

"OK."

Having just finished a trip outside, the tower spirit was now full of energy and immediately began arranging these trivial matters.

After making the arrangements, it said, "Robert wants to step down as butler; his family will be back soon."

He wanted to make up for the regrets of this period and enjoy himself with his family.

Kroya was slightly taken aback: "Oh, that's good too."

The monk temporarily put down what he was holding, thought seriously for a while, and then started writing and drawing on the crystal board in front of him.

He then said to Tarling, "Follow the arrangements here. Robert has helped me so much; he should enjoy a leisurely life in his later years."

Tower Spirit glanced curiously at the crystal panel and saw a series of unimaginable, extravagant arrangements and generous treatments, such as "Sun Array Healing," "Mermaid Song Adjustment," "Island Construction and Decoration," and "Custom-made Full-Body Magic Artifacts."

This was custom-made for Rob by Chloe based on her current abilities; even a king could not enjoy such a privilege.

"You're so good to him."

After expressing its feelings, it immediately made arrangements and then transported some miscellaneous items over via the Woody Wing King.

It was a small mountain of wands, books, various small magical artifacts, and amulets.

The magical light shimmered on it, and even though it was just piled up like a junk, it was still captivating.

Kroa glanced at the tower spirit with a puzzled look.

"What are you going to do with me?"

Tarling immediately said, "These were all found on those prisoners."

"I've carefully selected what I'm presenting to you; everything possesses some magical power. Master, wouldn't you like to experience the thrill of counting your spoils?"

Its voice carried a clear hint of urging, as if it really wanted Kroya to rummage through the pile of spoils.

After hearing what it said, Kroya looked at the huge "garbage heap" in front of her again and suddenly found it quite pleasing to the eye.

"Then I'll take a look."

Kroya simply reached out and started flipping through the pages. First, he took out a bunch of magic books recorded by mages, which were full of the spellcasting experience of these battle mages themselves.

For example, even a simple spell like Fireball has a different interpretation in every book, and there are even different ways to cast it, such as War Array.

"A complete array of battle mages." Kroya's eyes lit up; he hadn't expected that something like this could be recorded in such a complete written form.

It should be noted that even the Mage Association never keeps written records; the knowledge is all memorized by the president and can be imparted to anyone through jarred containers.

"Perhaps they never imagined they would be captured," Tarin said. "After all, they are the Duke's men. In the Kingdom of Norland, even the King cannot freely enter the Duke's territory."

"That's possible." Kroya nodded, casually tossing aside the book she was flipping through, and ordered without any politeness, "Organize all the spells in these magic books for me."

"Pay special attention to the battle mage formation inside. Once you've organized it, give it to the apprentices in Golden Apple Paradise as soon as possible so they can try it out."

"..."

"You're getting lazier and lazier."

The tower spirit grumbled a complaint, then diligently began organizing the magic in the magic book that Kroya had thrown at it—it scanned every page of text and image, and then began organizing and repairing it through its attached intelligent array.

Its main task is to adaptively filter and modify magic that has obvious subjectivity, at least to the point that the requirements for magic power, mental strength, etc., are modified to a level that most people can use.

While it was organizing, Chloe wasn't idle either. He first skimmed through the magic book, then circled the parts that interested him.

Time passed slowly.

After Kroya finished flipping through the magic books, he handed them to the tower spirit. They worked together and quickly read through most of them.

Surprisingly, Kroya actually found some very interesting magic inside.

For example, a battle mage who couldn't learn the flying spell no matter what he tried actually took a different approach and added the basic spell Hand of the Mage to the flying carpet spell.

It's like using a mage's hand to lift yourself up and fly. Although it's not as free as flying, it consumes significantly less magic and mental energy, and it's not difficult to learn.

There was also a battle mage who was extremely confident in his Ice Shield spell, even maintaining it while sleeping. However, he unexpectedly discovered that the Ice Shield spell had become one with his mental power, taking on a deep chill belonging to ice-attribute magic.

It's incredible that a spell that could originally withstand some physical attacks has been transformed into magic that can withstand mental attacks.

In addition, a female battle mage used the Water Moisturizing spell, which can prevent the magic circle's power from leaking out, on herself, and as a result, her appearance and skin remained in the form they were when the spell was cast.

They even found a book called "The Mystery of Death: A Beginner's Guide to Necromancy".

In short, Chloe was amazed by these magical effects.

Alternative flying techniques, mental protection magic, anti-aging techniques...

He suddenly realized that while he had provided his apprentices with resources that even the Mage Association couldn't offer, he had neglected a more diversified education.

Allowing apprentices to freely express themselves in different environments might bring him even more surprises.

So, after flipping through the spellbook, he pondered for a moment and said to the tower spirit, "Let the apprentices choose for themselves whether or not to go on the Northern Trials."

"If you go out, everyone must bring a bottle made of sun crystal and nerve hyphae produced by the fungus people. Even if you die, you can still enter Valhalla."

"Make sure you bring enough supplies."

He went on and on, giving a rather rambling explanation.

"Yes, ma'am."

The tower spirit immediately made the arrangements.

Meanwhile, Kroya continued searching through the treasure for useful items, carefully studying the magical artifacts, and occasionally making notes and drawings, striving to create some more useful magical artifacts.

He was so engrossed in studying magic that he seemed to have forgotten something, but he just squinted at it for a moment and then forgot about it.

……

the other side.

Estner and Mibecca, the royal representative, have entered the North. Once inside the North, they are closely escorted and guarded by the apprentices.

The apprentices made no attempt to conceal their presence, completely surrounding the car the two were in, and even requested aerial fire support.

If anything unusual happens, it's likely that fire falling from the sky is a celestial phenomenon.

Of course, this was directed at Mibecca, not Estner—the vast majority of the current apprentices were former serfs and commoners, and they didn't really have a good impression of the royal family.

Especially after being invaded by the two dukes, they now have an extreme distrust of outsiders.

Mibecca sat in the comfortable convertible golem, facing the somewhat bleak autumn wind of the North, her face full of curiosity.

She looked left and right, her gaze lingering on the straight road below the car for a long time until her eyes started to blur before she finally looked away.

That white road resembled a path to worship a god.

"Master Estner, over here..."

The princess carefully considered her words: "Was it created by that great mage all by himself?"

It should be noted that such roads are not common even in the capital, let alone in a remote area far from the capital.

The North is, of course, famous within the royal family, who have sent people to investigate its true strength and weaknesses.

However, after many attempts, all attempts failed. Even the elite spies and mages in the capital could not extend their reach into the North. It was as if there was a magical barrier here, and anyone who entered would be discovered.

So this was the first time she had witnessed the changes in the North.

I was absolutely stunned.

Estner glanced at the princess and chuckled, "Of course, this place was all created by my friend Chloe."

"Please fasten your seatbelts, because with you here, we're going to take a different route into the depths of the North to reach Han Reef Island."

"Hmm?" Mibecca was slightly taken aback.

Then she suddenly felt the car beneath her "leap" and then steadily drive into the sky. Below the car, the originally white road seemed to have become a little darker.

Upon closer inspection, it appears to be a road made of pristine white clouds—the surrounding scenery has changed, and the exquisitely constructed houses and streetlights along the way have completely disappeared, replaced by thick clouds.

The clouds drift and shift with the wind, forever obstructing their view, preventing them from seeing the scenery beyond the clouds.

"..."

Even if Mibecca were stupid, she would realize that she could no longer see the specific situation in the North. In her mental perception, there was a powerful magic circle around this road.

It's estimated that even a level six mage wouldn't be able to force their way through, so naturally they wouldn't be able to see what's outside the clouds.

She smiled wryly and said, "But I came with the goodwill of the royal family!"

These words didn't convey much anger, but rather a sense of helplessness.

After all, other grand dukes generally have the same attitude towards the royal family; the saying "the wind can enter, the rain can enter, but the king cannot enter" is not just a saying.

"Look, this place is quite nice too." This was the first time Estner had seen this cloud road, which was specifically built to accommodate visitors.

He lay down on the soft chair, his gaze lingering on the dazzling clouds illuminated by the sunlight, watching the clouds drift and enjoying the cool breeze.

To be honest, this experience seems even better than being on the bottom.

Mibecca had no choice but to join in and enjoy the rare experience of traveling along this pristine white cloud path.

As a "dedicated road for welcoming guests," this place is not just filled with unchanging clouds and mist; some exquisite buildings can be seen hidden among the misty clouds.

It was an architectural style that Mibecca had never seen before. The pavilions made of white jade were full of ancient and natural harmony, as if they were meant to exist in these clouds and mist.

"So beautiful."

"This is what the Kingdom of God is like."

She couldn't help but sigh, and as she continued to look closely, she saw that the buildings were inhabited by strange winged snakes.

They tirelessly shuttle through the clouds, seemingly busy with something, and only when they get tired do they retreat into those ancient buildings to rest.

"What are they doing?"

Mibecca's curiosity was immediately piqued.

Unfortunately, no one answered her questions. The car quickly passed through the road created by the Phantom Cloud Serpent and arrived at its destination at an extremely fast speed.

That is, the welcoming hall by the sea.

Miffy stood at the doorway, gazing at the sky.

Standing beside him was his apprentice, Samir, who was preparing to greet the guest. The mayor of the small town of Han Reef asked curiously, "Mr. Miffy, why do you insist that they walk up there?"

Actually, if you had asked, they could have gotten here using the roads below.

Upon hearing this, Mi Feiyin smiled and said, "That won't do. She is, after all, a member of the royal family. Even if she is my sister, she cannot casually spy on the Northern Territory."

"This place is developing so well that if the royal family knew, they would definitely do something foolish."

"I used to be part of the royal family, so I know them very well."

Samir: "..."

Isn't this just telling yourself that you're not a good person?

He didn't ask anything more, but Miffy looked at the somewhat exaggeratedly young mayor and continued, "Mr. Robert has already told me that he plans to retire."

"I expect you'll be taking over things from now on. Stay by my side for now, and I'll tell you everything I know."

"Huh? You're going to teach me yourself?" Samir blinked, then asked in surprise, "Robert's retiring?"

His heart pounded – was Rob's retirement meant he was to take over the castle's stewardship?

"Yes." Miffy nodded. "His son and wife will be back soon, and he plans to step down as butler and enjoy life with his family."

"Kroya personally planned out his life after retirement."

The young bishop's face showed envy: "If only I could have such a fertile land to rest after countless years of toil."

He was genuinely a little envious.

It should be understood that even within the Church of Mother Earth, true rest is virtually impossible; one must dedicate oneself to God until the very end of one's life.

Samir scratched his head: "Isn't this simple? Just tell Lord Kroya when you want to rest."

Would an adult refuse your request?

"..." Mi Fei blinked, suddenly realizing that she might really be overthinking things.

Right, would Kroya refuse his request?

The thought of enjoying his retirement made him unable to contain his smile, leaving Mibecca, who had come by car, looking on with a puzzled expression.

Isn't this her brother?

She had never seen Miffy laugh like that before.

Mibecca hesitated for a moment before calling out, "Brother?"

"Hmm." Upon seeing her, Mi Fei's expression quickly changed, returning to that warm yet somewhat aloof smile.

"Don't call me brother, dear Mibecca."

"..."

Seeing this, Mibecca realized that this was indeed her brother, unchanged.

……

After picking up Mibecca and Estner, Miffy personally led them across the sea bridge to reach Han Reef Island.

Then they met Kroa, who had rushed over.

Since it was about giving the Duke's token, which was somewhat important, Kroya made time to come over.

"Mage Chloe".

Mibecca didn't delay and took out the things she brought from the royal family—a scepter engraved with a map of the North and a small platinum compass.

"This is your scepter; you will henceforth be the Duke of Han Reef. The other item is the key to the floating island promised to you by the royal family."

Kroya casually took the two items, glanced at the royal princess, and smiled, "You're a guest, so let Miffy show you around and give you some souvenirs."

"I will handle the matter of the merfolk."

"Estner, please come with me."

After saying that, he and Estner vanished without a trace. Only a faint, almost imperceptible spatial fluctuation remained in the air.

Mibecca was dumbfounded.

She had never met someone so casual before.

Miffy patted her cheek: "Come on, what are you thinking about? Is a duke of a kingdom really that valuable?"

"If he hadn't brought the key to the floating island, he wouldn't have had time to see you."

"..."

The princess once again clearly understood Kroya's attitude, sighed deeply, and did not feel that the royal family's status had been offended.

After all, strength is everything.

Thank you all for your monthly tickets and recommendation votes~ I am extremely grateful.

(End of this chapter)