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

Chapter 288. King Norland's Decision, the Strange Movements in the Cyan Chapter

Logically speaking, the Kingdom of Norland has only been a formally established nation for over thirty years, and these dukes can be considered prominent families from the early days of the kingdom.

Of course, they had also fought in wars.

However, once people enjoy things they haven't enjoyed before, the speed at which they fall into depravity is quite rapid, especially for those who originally came from ordinary backgrounds.

They thoroughly enjoy the sense of superiority that comes with this status, so they cherish their lives all the more and wish they could enjoy it for decades longer.

In wars among nobles, it is common practice to capture the enemy and then have their families pay a hefty ransom to get them back—this is a standard practice among nobles across the continent.

But Kroya did not do that.

He truly did slaughter those who refused to submit, his blade still dripping with blood. On the other hand, he dispatched troops to slowly and steadily clear away the locusts.

This is practically a blatant indication that they've already claimed the western border, which borders the north, as their own.

They've already started to clean it up!

Just as the dukes were hesitating about whether to surrender with something, the king's army suddenly arrived in the western border region under such terrifying psychological pressure.

Why did the king suddenly come here?

Could it be that they came to suppress the Duke of Han Reef in the North because they knew he intended to disregard the dignity of the nobility?

The dukes' eyes lit up, like children who had finally found someone to tattle on, and they rushed to greet the king.

If the king could reprimand the Duke of Han Reef, perhaps he could give them some breathing room, and then send them some precious treasures, and the problem would be solved.

But when they met the king and recounted the events, before the king could speak, Estner, who was sitting to the side, asked:

"So, do you intend to submit?"

"Or are you planning to cause some trouble for Duke Han Reef?"

His tone was casual, as if he were just asking a question, and he even had a smile on his face.

Although the dukes recognized the young president of the Mage Guild, they were somewhat confused about what he meant by those words.

Is he on my side?

That would be wonderful; with the King and the head of the Mage Association reprimanding them together, they might even be exempt from receiving gifts.

One of the dukes, who was slightly overweight, tentatively said, "Your Majesty, he has completely disregarded the dignity of the nobility by doing this. You must reprimand him!"

It was just a reprimand; they had killed a duke and it was merely a reprimand.

The fat duke felt he had been tactful enough, even humble enough.

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than the plump duke felt a chill on his neck. The next second, he saw a familiar figure dressed in aristocratic attire.

"Why does this look so much like my body?"

—These were the fat duke's last thoughts, as the deep darkness swallowed all his consciousness.

The president of the Mage Association, Estner, sheathed the longsword he had conjured from magic, its sharp blue light tinged with a hint of blood.

"He's clearly a level three warrior." Estner shook his head dismissively. "He's been enjoying himself for too long, he can't even sense danger anymore."

King Norland laughed heartily: "The mage Estner wields his sword quite well. Would he be interested in giving my princes some pointers?"

"Of course," Estner said without refusing.

In any case, the relationship between the Mage Association and the royal family will be even closer in the future, so teaching each other's offspring is not a big deal.

King Norland chuckled.

By this time, the royal guards had surrounded the remaining two dukes, and the chains of the anti-magic iron emitted a dim light.

The two dukes remained calm and refrained from making a move.

They knew they might truly be doomed.

But why?

He had always been generous in his offerings to the royal family, not to mention the friendship he had built with his comrades in battle; even his title was bestowed upon him personally by King Norland.

The nobility is the foundation of the state. If they were to die, wouldn't the other nobles feel sorrow? Wouldn't the state fall into chaos?

Their doubts were quickly answered.

The corpses on the ground were removed, the carpets were cleaned, and calming incense was burned inside the carriage engraved with spatial magic patterns.

It was as if nothing had happened.

King Norland looked at his two dukes and grinned as heartily as ever: "Many people want to be dukes, and I will choose one of your direct descendants to inherit the title."

It won't lead to your line dying out.

Hmm... I hope your offspring will be likable enough.

His eyes shone with the passion of a young man, burning with fervor—this was how two dukes had followed him to destroy the “corrupt” Kingdom of Seth.

So now that this burning passion is finally going to be directed at them?

They finally realized... that the royal family was actually the greatest noble family, and how could the nobles not protect their own interests?

The dukes took a deep breath.

They bowed their heads respectfully: "Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty."

There's nothing more to say; the king has made his decision, and they can't resist.

King Norland said nothing more, but took out a bottle of wine he had treasured for a long time and poured a glass for each of the two dukes.

That was "Burning Ecstasy" produced by the Temple of the Goddess of Love.

It is both poison and one of the most wonderful drinks in the world of Themurion.

Generally speaking, this stuff is given to lower-level believers who want to see their gods. King Norland also spent a lot of money to get this bottle.

Once the two dukes had drunk their wine, genuine smiles appeared on their faces, and then they spontaneously combusted.

The crimson firelight illuminated the king's face, which remained expressionless as he drank a cup of wine.

In the end, the two adults didn't even leave behind a speck of ashes.

From then on, there was no longer a duke in the western border of the Kingdom of Norland.

"This is my gift to Sir Chloe."

King Norland took out a stack of blank appointment letters that were unsigned but stamped with the royal and heraldic seals and waved them in front of Estner.

"How about my sincerity?"

Estner suppressed his urge to complain, but couldn't help rolling his eyes: "Your Majesty, after you destroyed the Kingdom of Sessen, you kept all the occult texts belonging to the Kingdom of Sessen for yourself."

Are there any level four or higher superhumans in the entire Kingdom of Norland now?

If you want to raise the butcher's knife, then they are the lambs to the slaughter.

After spending these few days together, Estner learned some things and felt that King Norant's thoughts were truly very deep.

He reclaimed the mystical resources of the Kingdom of Sessen that were at level four or above, but gave the nobles very generous treatment, which made them quickly become addicted to it.

From the outside, the entire Kingdom of Norland, including the royal family and nobles, basically lacks anyone who is exceptionally shrewd or powerful enough to pose a threat.

—Perhaps the former Dukes Olivier and Nar, but they are dead.

Although it was Kroya who did it, why was it such a coincidence that someone told Kroya just when they were about to open the Ruby Dragon's lair?

Estner looked at the king and suddenly realized that he seemed to have never seen the royal court mage system before.

They can build their own mystical defenses without the help of the Mage Guild.

What else is the royal family hiding?

King Norland did not answer his blatantly suspicious and questioning gaze.

……

Soon, the king's party passed by Kroya's party, and King Norland did not entertain the warriors who had helped him clear the locusts.

Logically speaking, as the king, he should have rewarded these warriors, since they were helpful to the kingdom.

However, he is now planning to cooperate with Kroya and the Star Town Mage Association behind him, as well as the Astral Council, so he is being extremely cautious.

He would be as cautious as possible about even the slightest move that would make Kroya sense his attempt to win people over.

Under these circumstances, he quickly reached the northern border.

Inside the seemingly understated yet luxurious reception hall, I met the long-awaited Kroa.

This was the first time the two had met, and they were observing each other, but it was clear that King Norland had no idea how the young mage in front of him could see through him.

Kroya spoke first, "Your Majesty, it has been a long time since we last greeted you."

King Norland chuckled and said, "I am very grateful to my duke for helping me resolve so many matters."

Both of them were clearly forcing smiles; they appeared polite, but were actually extremely distant and distant.

This situation is clearly not conducive to negotiations.

Estner, standing nearby, could only explain: "Kroya, His Majesty the King has now agreed to full cooperation with our Mage Association. He even killed three dukes on the way."

You will take over their territory.

besides……"

He recounted all the agreements he had reached with the king while he was in the capital.

After he finished speaking, Kroya's expression finally changed.

Wow, that's quite a bold move.

If you had been this bold before, I wouldn't have treated you like a mascot. You've been hiding your true colors quite well.

Kroya gave King Norland a deep look.

"Since that's the case, then I'll just say it directly."

"On behalf of the Star Town Mage Association, I will help you get rid of the locusts, and I hope you can occupy as much land in the surrounding countries as possible."

I will provide sufficient food and will also send my magical beasts and plants to join your army to provide ample occult support.

King Norland frowned and said, "Start a war?"

"While starting a war now would be a good opportunity, the outcome could be very bad. I'm not sure if I can handle a coalition of several surrounding countries."

Kroya interrupted him: "No, you can definitely do it."

"Because the Star Town Mage Association has issued an order that the mage associations of several surrounding countries will help you."

Since Star Town has granted me such high authority, and King Norland is now willing to cooperate, why not simply help King Norland annex the surrounding countries?

This way, the problems caused by the locust plague could be solved as quickly as possible, the church's thorns could be removed, and the reconstruction work after the disaster would be much easier—he had thought of this before and had even consulted Evelyn about it.

Evelyn's response was: "You can do whatever you want as long as you don't let those people in the church take advantage of the faith."

Cleaning away rotten flesh is painful.

But it might be the fastest way.

Evelyn means Star Town, which shows they don't care how much suffering they have to go through to get rid of the rotten flesh.

If Kroya doesn't get involved, someone else might, so he figured he might as well take this opportunity to get involved completely.

Although he didn't consider himself a good person, he could at least do some things that the world's army couldn't do, such as not randomly kidnapping civilians.

As for the nobility...

That would require his subordinates to discern the truth themselves.

The most attractive aspect of war is the glory of victory and the thrill of plundering resources, which is something he cannot stop; forcibly stopping it is likely to cause trouble.

King Norland, upon hearing Kroya's words, felt a stirring within him; he had been silent for quite some time.

Now is the time for him to make a decision.

The other party has already set their price.

Another point is, if he doesn't agree, can he really still leave the North?

He is not irreplaceable.

After thinking for a long time, he said in a deep voice, "I need a contract. Not a contract between Star Town and me, but a contract between you and me, Mage Kroya."

"I don't trust Startown, just as I didn't trust the Church of Mother Earth in the first place."

"Of course you can force me to do it, and I will do it."

The king looked at Kroya with intense gaze.

Kroya couldn't help but laugh. He glanced at the empty space beside him and said sarcastically, "Star Town's reputation isn't even as good as mine, Grand Mage, what do you think?"

Evelyn's figure slowly appeared, and she helplessly spread her hands: "I already knew that. Mages have never had a very good reputation."

"In that case, are you willing?"

She seemed to be asking Kroya, but her eyes were fixed on King Norland. The magic power of a level 10 archmage was somehow circulating around her, forming a lie detector array that could detect mental fluctuations.

"certainly."

Kroya nodded: "If I'm willing to sign this contract, you should feel more at ease, right?"

The great magician smiled awkwardly.

Both she and King Norland breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that Kroya was willing to sign the contract.

To be honest, their cooperation is so strained that neither side trusts the other, and they desperately need a mediator to resolve the issue—after all, the support from Star Town means that the territory of the Kingdom of Norland can expand several times over.

This is a "gift," so naturally it needs to be supervised.

So, Kroya then signed a contract with King Norland, who breathed a sigh of relief after signing his name.

He didn't really trust Kroya, but he trusted his son, after all, he was his only bloodline.

With the signing of the contract, the atmosphere immediately eased considerably.

Seeing this, Ms. Evelyn picked up her fishing rod, waved, and left: "Kroya, you'll represent us here in Star Town. I have fishing plans with Mr. Oak, so I'll be going now!"

After saying that, she used spatial magic and disappeared.

Only Kroya, Estner, and King Norland remained in the room.

Kroya clapped his hands, and immediately a small spatial magic circle delivered the delicious food.

"The North is barren; there's nothing of value there."

"Please, both of you, have something to eat."

The president of the Mage Association and the king looked at the delicious dishes on the table, all made from magical ingredients, including specialties from the mermaids deep in the ocean, and were at a loss for words.

Should we criticize Kroya for being pretentious, or should we say that in his opinion, these things are just something to eat casually?

Just as the two of them were thinking this...

Kroya added, "I just meant these things are just for a casual snack. We're all smart people, and I don't need to say anything pretentious to you."

Because what he said made a lot of sense, the two of them suddenly felt that the delicious-looking and fragrant food in front of them didn't seem so appealing anymore.

But these dishes really do taste great—heavy on oil and salt, plus good ingredients, it would be strange if they didn't taste good.

They immediately started eating and drinking.

The three of them would occasionally chat about various topics, with King Norland talking the most about his experience conquering the Kingdom of Sethen.

There were indeed many interesting anecdotes during that time, and Chloe listened quite attentively.

In the end, it's unclear whether he got drunk from drinking wine or if King Norland did it on purpose.

He stated bluntly, "Without the book given to me by the Church of the Earth Mother, I would never have been able to cross the thorny barrier of the capital city of Seth."

"I am indeed very grateful to the Church of Mother Earth, but I cannot deny that they treat me like their loyal hound and even want my son to become a bishop."

As he spoke, he took out the book that the Church of the Earth Mother had given him and handed it directly to Kroya.

"Grand Duke Hanjiao, consider this book a gift from me."

Hmm... the shift in topic was a bit abrupt. Kroya originally wanted to refuse, but when he saw the name on the book, he swallowed his words of refusal.

Because this book is called "The Miracle of Death: The Balance of Life and Death".

The name sounded so familiar, and the book looked so familiar—it was clearly the "Miracle of Death? The Buried Magic" that Evelyn had given him a while ago!

He was already struggling with that book because it didn't have a first one, which left him stuck in a limbo. All magic tomes are progressive, and the first one is very important.

And now it's actually been delivered right to our door?

Kroa suddenly found King Norland to be much more pleasing to the eye.

He put the book away with satisfaction, and was just about to say a few polite words when the Woody Vine King suddenly emerged from the void, gently touched him, and sent him a message.

The prophecy at the highest level of the Mage Tower... has been deciphered.

"It's untied?" Chloe's first reaction was how coincidental it was, and her second reaction was to look out the window.

Actually, there's no need for Muyao Qu Teng Wang to say it.

Now, as he turned to look outside, he could see many strangely shaped stars suddenly appearing in the once bright sky.

The stars blocked out the sun's light.

They shimmered with starlight, and a clear and mysterious blue halo cascaded down like a waterfall, right at the Mage Tower on Hanjiao Island!

It's as if a huge hole has been torn in the sky, and starlight is eroding the magic field of Hanjiao Island!

What level of prophecy is this that could produce such an extraordinary phenomenon?

What struck him as even stranger was that the blue chapters of his long-untouched "Poem of the Rainbow" were now fluctuating.

It was only at this moment that he realized he had never paid attention to the cyan chapter before.

It's like after red, orange, yellow, and green, people immediately focus on blue and purple, completely ignoring cyan.

Thank you all for your monthly tickets and recommendation votes!

(End of this chapter)