A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 449 The End of the Second Battle of the Fortress

Six days after the Second Battle of Moncado.

Inside a luxurious and magnificent manor castle, a maid gently knocked on the bedroom door. She stood outside and said, "Young master, your breakfast and newspaper have been brought to you."

The door opened, and Richard stood in the gap, showing no intention of letting the maid in. His voice was deep and gentle: "Thank you."

The tall, handsome, gentle young master, who was also a mage, was returning home for recuperation for the first time since joining the army. He had gained an indescribable air about him, and there was a hint of melancholy in his calm eyes. The maid forced herself to remain calm in front of him, and then couldn't help but skip away in the empty corridor.

With their young master around, all the novels popular among maids and young ladies seem utterly tasteless.

Bang! The door slammed shut. Richard put the food aside and focused on reading the newspaper.

In the Second Battle of Moncado, the Republic emphasized the first half: the valiant National Guard routed the Imperial army, leaving them unable to even hold the fortress; the Empire emphasized the second half: it was all part of the new Marshal's plan to lure the enemy deep into their territory, after which the airship force dropped a large number of bombs, destroying the fortress in one fell swoop.

Who really won? In any case, the National Guard suffered heavy casualties, and the Republic's Committee for National Salvation condemned the enemy for using immoral, even evil, mass killing rituals. Propaganda accusing the Empire of colluding with evil gods was already being broadcast throughout the streets of Valuana. The Empire also failed to reclaim the Condi region, which it had ceded, and instead moved its main forces eastward, seemingly to avoid this strange territory.

The truth has been buried among those who experienced it firsthand; some are unaware of the full picture, while others are unwilling to recall what they went through.

Richard belongs to the latter category.

The strangest winner in the incident was an unknown military mage who was originally in the technical department. He actually launched a bold attack and severely damaged the enemy while serving as the temporary commander of the formation and conducting adjustments.

His attack, which defied common sense and military orders, ultimately salvaged the Empire's reputation during its mysterious retreat. Imperial newspapers attributed all the "merits" of the Necromancer and Mother Earth to that technical officer, who received a meeting and commendation from the new marshal, as well as a series of exceptional promotions.

The newspaper featured the two of them with radiant smiles. This novelty of a "photograph" had finally made it into the newspapers, quickly replacing hand-drawn engravings and matching headlines.

It was obvious to everyone that this was the newly appointed marshal setting an example. He then delivered a series of speeches to encourage officers at all levels to seize opportunities and act flexibly.

"Hmph, the Empire's Hell's Angels." Richard found such boasting utterly ridiculous; the reporter writing this story must have read too many chivalric novels or third-rate dramas. No, this could just be the Empire's propaganda strategy; the common people buy into it.

He stretched his weakened body. Most of the marks from his military training had disappeared, and even several scars and hidden injuries had healed. However, his spellcasting skills had also deteriorated significantly; he could no longer cast the most powerful spell he used to master, the [Dragon Breath].

Aftereffects. Richard realized he was no longer an intermediate mage, and what worried him most was doubting whether he could return to his peak strength. He had never doubted his good classmate and philanthropist, Rorschach, but he hadn't expected Rorschach to be so strong, actually able to reverse the necromancy cast by the necromancer.

Rorschach had never demonstrated any powerful magic to Richard, but his healing alone was enough to show his skill.

Should I have chosen to study at the Magic Tower in the first place?

Just as Richard was lost in thought, a crackling sound of electricity rang in his ears, followed by a piercing, noisy voice: "Hello? The Chief Assistant to the Army Mage's Office is calling the Colonel!"

"Received." Recently, all the accompanying mages have been required to learn a strange spell—[Radio Communication], which is even more bizarre than the machine Richard personally captured. It actually combines unrelated lightning magic with [Communication], and it is being vigorously promoted, with a corresponding relay station being established to imitate the guild's communication system.

The intermittent voice continued to come, but fortunately it was repeated enough times to ensure that Richard received it clearly: "The Chief's backup units 1, 3, and 4 have all had their static force fields deactivated and have now been moved to the ice storage. Please check the status of units 2 and 7."

The spare bodies are the mortal shells that the Necromancer can use at any time, products of the ninth-circle spell [Static Cloning]. There are a total of nine, and the Master will periodically reshape these "resurrection points" when conditions permit. Richard, as the Master's favored student, knows the hiding locations of spare bodies number 2 and 7.

He had even witnessed the disgusting process of cloning.

"Completely rotten, that's all."

"What? What? Colonel, please repeat." *Snap* Richard released his [Electric Claw], and the uncontrolled electromagnetic waves should give the person on the other end of the communication a little "ear-blasting" experience.

That person really is dead. At this moment, Richard finally believed that Rorschach's words were true.

He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his storage ring, on which was written Rorschach's message: "If you encounter difficulties casting spells later, you can activate the following magic circle. You are welcome to come to Byrne to find me and Bart. Please keep this a secret."

Below the comment is a crooked diagram of the magic circle. Regardless of the drawing specifications or the materials used, the magic circle on this border is impossible to work, but Richard can redraw it on a scroll using alchemical ink.

He did as he was told, and Richard's knowledge of magic arrays told him that this might be a portable communication array.

"Hannah, don't put it in the wrong place!"

"No mistake, the caller's identification information corresponds to 'New Compilation of Elementary and Intermediate Spells (Open Source Edition)' and 'Developer's Manual.' I'll send them over right away." Hannah picked up the printed scrolls and placed them on the teleportation array. This was the first time the two scrolls had been sent out.

What's this? Richard obtained two new scrolls from a communication scroll. He unfolded them and tried to infuse them with magic, but after a while, they responded sluggishly, the ink changing to form its contents.

"What is this?" It seemed to be a teaching material, but what did "open source" mean? He followed the instructions and infused his magic power into it. The ink changed again: Registration successful in magic characteristic analysis!

Richard's eyes never left the scroll from that point on. He quickly scrolled through two more scrolls until the ink appeared: Congratulations! You have reached the end. To return to the homepage, please enter the magic key in the lower left corner. To return to the previous page, please enter the magic key in the lower right corner. To return to the table of contents, please enter the magic key in the upper left corner.

Once he put down the scroll and could no longer sense Richard's magic, the handwriting immediately changed to reveal the first chapter of "The Three Royal Spellcasters".

Disguise? But isn't it strange to publish popular fiction on expensive gold scrolls? Richard was both amused and exasperated.

His mood inexplicably improved, and he picked up his cold breakfast, starting to eat while flipping through the scrolls. What interested him most wasn't the method to restore his power, but rather the most bizarre and interesting developer manual.

Rorschach had brunch with Kano and the others at the Starlight Torch Tower's sky restaurant. Both were severely injured and unable to move easily. Paul had to eat by himself using the [Mage's Hand], while Pascal only needed to open his mouth and someone would feed him.

Senior Brother, you have won!

Luo Xia suddenly paused, and the shrimp wrapped in scrambled eggs rolled off his fork.

"What's wrong?" Caroline asked.

"It's nothing."

Someone uploaded a new spell to the spell cloud. Rorschach learned from the tower spirit that the new spell is called [Electronic Communication].

(End of this chapter)