Above the mage

Chapter 306 Catching Rats

Regarding the [Spell Permanence] spell, Sunefa only mentioned it casually, but Goddess secretly kept it in mind.

Although there are no fifth-ring mages in the Zhenbing tribe yet, Gao De believes it's only a matter of time.

On one hand, there's Sunafa's progress in cultivating the "Green Wood Longevity Scripture." With the dual assistance of the plant essence provided by the sixth-order Ice Jade Wutong tree and his own super-strong spiritual power, he's changing every day. He's already reached the late stage of the first ring, and the second ring is only a matter of one or two months.

At least before the Fifth Ring Road, there will be no bottleneck for Sunafa.

On the other hand, with Yogg-Sarah as a sacred relic, the five rings are definitely within Gao De's grasp.

Even if you're only thinking of yourself, you should start planning for the [Spell Fixation Spell] early on.

And "Astral Teleportation" is his opportunity.

Otherwise, if they stayed in the North, how would they have the opportunity to come into contact with outside mage organizations?

"I won't easily provoke Master Gao Huan." As his thoughts raced through his mind, Gao De nodded slightly, taking Sunafa's reminder to heart.

"Is there anything else we need to prepare for you before you leave this time?" Sunafa asked again.

"Not needed for now," Gao De said, shaking his head.

What he needed had already been prepared.

Because when using astral teleportation, you can only teleport your personal belongings along with the teleportation item.

So in reality, Gaode Maps can only carry a limited amount of items, so you need to consider the weight you'll be carrying.

Moreover, it is still unknown where this astral teleportation will send him.

If he were carrying a full package, even if he could carry it, it would be inconvenient to move around after teleporting to the Astral Plane. If he encountered danger, he would still have to abandon the package to save his life.

Taking these two points into consideration, for this first "astral journey," Gao De only prepared to bring a small number of extraordinary items that were small in size, light in weight, but of high rank.

Once everything is settled and we have a place to stay, we can bring more things with us on the next "Astral Teleportation".

"You don't need to worry too much about what's going on here," Gao De paused, then continued, "Today we've made Northwest Barley No. 1 public, and Phoenix won't be peaceful from now on."

"I've already made arrangements for catching the rats; as for the tiger, that's your job."

For the Northwest Barley No. 1, it was like a transformative "treasure".

Although the Zhenbing tribe is the number one tribe in the North, Gao De does not believe that other tribes in the North would remain inactive due to their fear of the Zhenbing tribe in the face of something so important.

Putting aside other things, although the Frostwolf Clan and Winterhammer are slightly weaker than the True Ice Clan, they are only slightly inferior.

Therefore, they must have some ideas, whether it's through covert means, direct communication and negotiation with the Zhenbing tribe to purchase Northwest Barley No. 1, or even joining forces to deal with the Zhenbing tribe.

In this matter, nothing else works; the only thing that works is "force."

Sunafa is the strongest force in the Zhenbing tribe.

Therefore, after the harvest festival, it will be up to Sunefa to take charge.

"My king, you need not worry about this matter," Sunefa replied simply.

Carson paced back and forth in the room, as if the floor were burning hot, unable to sit still.

On the stone table in the room, there were seven or eight golden grains of wheat.

He managed to catch it with great effort this morning when the Iceborn mages of the Zhenbing tribe scattered Northwest Barley No. 1 among the crowd.

There were about ten pills in total. He ate some, and this is what's left.

Carson's gaze kept drifting to the seven or eight golden grains of wheat, and then he would occasionally walk to the doorway and cautiously peer outside.

The streets were still bustling with people, each with an undisguised smile on their face, and their conversations revolved around "New King Gaode," "Northwest Barley No. 1," and even something like "Ministry of Agriculture." In short, it was a joyful atmosphere.

Everyone was still immersed in the joy of the Northwest Barley No. 1.

But Carson was different from them; he felt no joy whatsoever.

"No, there are too many people now, it's too conspicuous. I'll leave at night," Carson thought to himself.

That's right, he's leaving Phoenix, taking those seven or eight golden grains of wheat with him.

Although the chieftain's orders were for him to remain hidden in Phoenix, observe any unusual activity in the Zhenbing tribe, compile the information, and report back when the tribesmen arrived.

But the last time they met was two months ago, when he sent back news of the new king, Gao De.

According to the usual practice, they usually only meet once every six months.

In other words, the clan will not send anyone again for another four months.

But now, Carson can't wait a moment longer.

Having been an informant in Phoenix for so many years, he still clearly understands what's important and what's not.

Such important news about Northwest Barley No. 1, should we wait until four months later when our clansmen come to meet us before reporting it?

By then, forget about Northwest Barley No. 1, even the daylily will be too late!

"Is the prophecy really that accurate? This new king has only been around for a short time, yet he has already brought such a miracle to the Zhenbing tribe." While anxiously waiting for time to pass, Carson couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Although the prophecy of the War Mother Oretia had long been known throughout the snowfield, apart from the Zhenbing tribe, the attitudes of other northern tribes toward this prophecy were not clear.

One-third of the people believe it, one-third don't believe it at all, and the remaining one-third are half-believing and half-doubting.

Carson, on the other hand, was one of the three who didn't believe it at all.

After all, if this prophecy were true, the Iceborn wouldn't have fallen to this state.

In addition, as a member of the rising Frostwolf Clan, Carson has a strong sense of identity with his tribe.

He always regarded the Zhenbing Tribe and the Winter's Hammer as "old relics," barely maintaining their current status by virtue of their ancestors' honors, and there was nothing worth mentioning about them.

On the contrary, the Frostwolf Clan, which has reached its current status step by step through its own efforts, is the true light of the North and will eventually surpass these two clans to become the largest tribe in the North.

Given his disdain for the Zhenbing tribe, Carson naturally and instinctively dismissed the ancient prophecy of the Zhenbing tribe's War Mother.

But now, the heart-wrenching scene from this morning still echoes in his mind, lingering there, to the point that Carson's conviction has begun to waver.

In all its long history, the North has never seen any food crops grow on the permafrost tundra, but as soon as the new King Goddard arrived, Northwest Barley No. 1 appeared.

This perfectly matches the content of the prophecy.

"Could the prophecy be true?"

Carson quickly shook his head firmly again.

"Impossible! The era Oretia lived in is so many years removed from the present. Even if she were incredibly powerful, she could never have foreseen events so far in the future with a mere ritual spell!"

Time slowly passed as Carson struggled with his anxious and conflicted thoughts.

"Knock-knock-knock!" Just then, Carson heard a knock on the door across the hall.

He walked to the window and looked outside.

Two Iceborn mages dressed in specially made animal skin robes were knocking on the door.

Carson recognized the man from his distinctive attire; he was a member of the police force.

I heard that this Public Security Bureau is like the Ministry of Agriculture, and it's also something that Wang Gaode came up with.

He didn't know what the police department did; he only saw them wearing uniforms all day, not doing any work, just wandering around the city, supposedly on patrol.

Patrol? Are you kidding me? Why would an Iceborn mage waste time in the city instead of hunting?

Just like the Ministry of Agriculture, which is absurd—the main task of the Ministry of Agriculture recently was to lead people to reclaim snowfields outside the city.

Clearing out snowfields? Are you kidding me? What can you do with the cleared land, grow moss?

However, after today, Carson's disdain subsided considerably.

The Ministry of Agriculture's initiative to reclaim snowfields has already proven its rationality.

So it seems that the police department might have some functions that he didn't expect?

Thinking this, Carson saw the Zhenbing clansman across the street open his door, exchange a few words with the two police officers at the door, and then the latter hurriedly left to knock on the door of the next house.

Carson didn't hear their conversation, after all, they were separated by a street, and the police officers were all ice-blooded mages with powerful senses, so he didn't dare to get too close.

However, he didn't take it too seriously.

Carson's entire focus is now on Northwest Barley No. 1.

Finally, the sky gradually darkened, and the number of pedestrians on the street became sparse.

Without further hesitation, Carson put on his animal skin cloak, fastened his belt, straightened his clothes, quickly packed his belongings, took the seven or eight grains of Northwest Barley No. 1 seeds, and walked out of his room.

I'm currently reading the error-free version! This is the first time I've published this novel.

For some reason, the Zhenbing clan members across the street also left their house at that moment, bumping right into him.

"Going out so late?" the other person asked in surprise.

"Let's go for a walk." Carson made up a flimsy excuse and walked away without waiting for a reply.

He didn't care whether the other party believed him or what they thought; he was just an ordinary member of the Zhenbing clan, without even having the bloodline of the Ice Descendants.

Carson's identity in Phoenix is ​​that of an ice-blooded mage from a small tribe that was wiped out by a beast tide more than a decade ago, and he was the only survivor.

After losing their tribe, they wandered all the way to Phoenix and settled there.

Of course, this was all fabricated by him, and there were many flaws. A simple investigation would reveal that the tribe he mentioned did not exist at all.

However, in Phoenix, no one cared about his identity.

Carson walked along the street toward the city gate.

The snow on the main street had just been cleared yesterday, and in one corner of the main street, there was a group of buildings that had just started construction a month ago.

It is said that it was also an order from the new King Gaode, and it is unknown what it was for, but a very large open space was requisitioned.

As they approached the city gate, Carson saw the guards of the Zhenbing tribe.

He tightened his pack, feeling slightly nervous—even though the Zhenbing tribe never checked this procedure when leaving the city.

Just as Carson reached the city gate, he suddenly heard shouts and hurried footsteps behind him.

His heart tightened, and before he could react, the two Zhenbing tribe guards in front of him had already closed in, blocking his way.

In an instant, Carson was surrounded.

However, Carson still held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that it might not be aimed at him.

"Kneel down and raise your hands!" The next moment, his wishful thinking was shattered by the footsteps catching up from behind.

They were the so-called "police officers".

How did you expose yourself?

As he knelt down, Carson felt a strong sense of bewilderment.

They could discover me even before I left the city. When did the Zhenbing tribe become so powerful and efficient?

Is this police department really that powerful?

town Hall.

A stone lamp stands in a corner of the room, its flames burning brightly.

The room was filled with the scent of herbs, brought by a type of moss unique to the North. After being dried, it was burned in kerosene and emitted a distinctive aroma.

Sunafa sat on the stone chair, flipping through the parchment on the table.

This is Sunafa's office, right next to Gaode's office.

To be honest, the environment is very basic.

But in the North, one can't expect too much; elegance is not a thing of the sort in this place.

She was looking through the summary information of Jinhui Farm.

In the Ministry of Agriculture's affairs, Gao De was responsible for everything from providing initial guidance to coordinating personnel and handling specific tasks in the later stages.

This was the tribe's top priority, so Sunefah spent most of her time on it.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Sunefa said softly, putting down the sheepskin in her hand.

"War Mother, we've caught another rat, and this time it's a big one." Pushing open the door was her former supporter, Elder Lanwen, a fourth-circle ice-born mage. No, now he should be called Deputy Director Lanwen.

"Oh?"

"They're from the Frostwolf Clan!" Lanwen stepped forward and placed a package on the table.

"There's a roll of sheepskin in the package with some information about the tribe recorded on it. There are also seven or eight people from the Northwest Barley No. 1 variety who are still being interrogated. They're not tight-lipped, so we should have more to find out soon."

"Thank you for your hard work." Sunafa nodded slightly, counting the number in her mind at the same time.

This is the seventh one. In just one day, they have captured so many informants from other tribes, and even some from the Frostwolf Clan.

"It wasn't hard work at all; we were just responsible for retrieving the person after receiving the information." At this point, Lan Wen couldn't help but exclaim, "Your Majesty's idea is truly brilliant."

At the very beginning of the establishment of the Sheriff's Office, God had a conversation with Lanvin and Caitlin about how to find other tribal informants hiding in the city.

During that conversation, Goddard argued that Phoenix was so large that relying solely on the Sheriff's Department for "supervision" would be impossible, let alone fifty or even five hundred people.

We must mobilize the masses and make all Zhenbing people our eyes and ears for the security bureau.

Although he outwardly obeyed Gao De's orders, he was initially somewhat skeptical.

Putting aside the fact that the Zhenbing tribe would never have the inclination to help them with these things, even if they did, how could they possibly do it well?

Since they can become informants, they must have certain "professional skills," so how could ordinary clansmen discover their flaws?

Despite his thoughts, Lan Wen still followed Gao De's instructions, organizing the security bureau members to go door-to-door to give instructions to all the Zhenbing tribespeople:

Phoenix has many informants from other tribes who are plotting against the Zhenbing tribe. If you discover any suspicious individuals, report them to the Sheriff's Office immediately.

There is no penalty for false alarms; once verified, you will receive a food reward.

And this initiative was launched today.

After the harvest festival, Lan Wen organized officers from the Public Security Bureau to visit the households again, reiterating:

With the appearance of Northwest Barley No. 1, the Zhenbing tribe will no longer have to worry about food. However, those lurking informants are definitely also coveting Northwest Barley No. 1. We must be extra careful and report any suspicious persons immediately to prevent them from harming Northwest Barley No. 1.

It's better to report incorrectly than to fail to report.

In less than a day, the police department received more than a dozen reports.

Although there were many false alarms, there were also quite a few real "rats".

"Give full play to the initiative of the people."

Lan Wen recalled the words Gao De had said when he entrusted this matter to him.

That's a really strange and hard-to-understand statement!

(End of this chapter)