Above the mage

Chapter 438 Omens

"You like raising these wolf cubs, but I'm not interested. I only want to maintain the stability of the tribe and let my people live a good life." Yarna's voice was slightly cold as she tried to steer the conversation back on track.

Herlica's sudden change of topic indicated her refusal.

"If you want your people to live a good life, then you should lead them to surrender to the Zhenbing tribe, not scheme here," Helica said calmly, gently stroking the wolf cub's head.

"After surrendering to Zhenbing, at the very least, you Winter's Hammer will no longer have to worry about food."

"Swords and hoes never share a workshop," Yarna said, no longer trying to persuade Helica. She stood up abruptly and said coldly, "Once we take the new king and obtain the Northwest Barley, I hope you won't regret it then, and certainly won't beg for our Winter's Hammer."

After uttering her last words, Yarna turned and lifted the curtain, her figure disappearing into the wind and snow.

"Elder, go and see off War Mother Yarna." Helica seemed to completely disregard Yarna's words.

Upon receiving the order, the Grand Elder immediately stood up and followed Yarna out.

A moment later, "the curtain was lifted again, and the elder walked in."

"Sent them away?"

"Hmm," the Grand Elder glanced at Helica, carefully considered his words, and asked with puzzlement, "War Mother, why did you refuse Yarna's proposal?"

"The Iceborne has Sunefa, the Winter's Hammer now has that sheep family member whose identity is unknown, Elder, what do we have?" Helica asked calmly.

The elder was speechless for a moment, then paused, seemingly realizing something.

"We have nothing, which means that no matter which side we stand on, we can't achieve equal status. In that case, why risk taking a side?"

Herricka downed the horseradish water in her glass in one gulp, her eyes gleaming with a deep light as she looked at the little wolf cub still whimpering in her arms.

Neutrality means that no matter which side succeeds, they will not have any corresponding merit of "following the dragon," but it also means that they will not have to bear the risk of losing by taking sides.

Phoenix.

Since the end of last year, when the police department launched a citywide "catch the rats" campaign, the "rats" hiding in Phoenix have been basically caught.

Only after each tribe paid a hefty "ransom" were these rats sent back to their respective tribes.

However, starting that year, after the tribal integration plan was launched, the personnel composition of Phoenix became a mixed bag again.

Milo walked out of the city hall, looked up at the sky, and saw the sunset painting the sky with vibrant colors.

Before the arrival of the new king, he was a third-ring Iceborn mage of the Zhenbing tribe and a member of the Zhenbing tribe's elder council.

Therefore, after Gao De took power and began to implement sweeping reforms of the political system, he was able to obtain a position in the city hall that was neither too high nor too low because of his status as a "veteran".

Despite his seemingly declining status within the tribe, Milo felt no discontent, as his standard of living had also improved significantly.

"Elder Milo!" A voice called out from behind him as he admired the sunset.

Milo turned around, saw the newcomer, and laughed, "How many times have I told you, don't call me elder anymore, that's in the past."

There are no elders left in Phoenix now.

"I'm used to calling you that, I can't seem to get rid of it." The newcomer was a middle-aged, burly man who scratched the back of his head and chuckled憨厚ly.

"Is there something you need?" Milo asked.

"Maurice asked me to come find you. He said he needs to see you and wants you to come to his house."

Upon hearing this, Milo's expression changed slightly, but the change was so subtle that the middle-aged man didn't even notice it.

"I understand, thank you for making this trip." He nodded.

"You're too kind. If it weren't for your care back then, I would have died in the jaws of wolves long ago. This little thing is nothing," the middle-aged strong man said loudly.

After the middle-aged man left, Milo's gaze suddenly darkened.

He was an orphan; his parents had died young, during a hunting trip, at the hands of creatures from the ley lines.

Although tribes share the responsibility of supporting orphans, life is definitely completely different for those with parents and those without.

So Milo didn't have a particularly good childhood; he even nearly starved to death during one harsh winter.

However, later, he awakened the Zhenbing bloodline, and the bloodline level was extremely high, which changed everything.

He rose through the ranks to become a third-ring mage and later became an elder of the Zhenbing tribe.

What appears to be an ordinary life trajectory actually hides a great secret.

Because, in reality, Milo's awakened Iceborn bloodline was only at the first level. The reason he was able to become a third-level mage was that the people of Winterhammer secretly approached him and were willing to provide him with Ice Marrow to help him improve his bloodline.

In return, he would be required to provide the Winter's Hammer with confidential information about the True Ice after becoming an elder of the True Ice tribe, and even to do things for the Winter's Hammer when necessary.

Because of his near-starvation during the harsh winter, Milo was unwilling to live a life of hardship again. In addition, the early death of his parents meant that he did not have a deep connection with his tribe.

So after a brief hesitation, he agreed, which led to his current position.

Over the years, Milo has sold out a lot of information to Winter's Hammer and done a lot of things for Winter's Hammer that have harmed the interests of the True Ice Clan.

"Since last year, most of Winter's Hammer's spies in Phoenix have been exposed. I am Winter's Hammer's only remaining important spy. To avoid exposing me, they haven't contacted me for a long time, but now they've finally reached out..."

Something big must have happened.

Milo frowned, sensing that something was wrong. He felt a vague sense of resistance, yet he couldn't refuse.

Once you're on that pirate ship, you're no longer in control of your own destiny, and getting off won't be so easy.

With lingering anxieties and resistance, Milo arrived at Maurice's house.

Morris is another hidden agent of Winter's Hammer in Phoenix.

Compared to him, who was a native of the Zhenbing tribe, Morris was an outsider.

However, Morris has been in Phoenix long enough and is usually quite cautious, having become very "localized," so he narrowly escaped capture during last year's "rat-catching" operation.

Upon entering Maurice's house, Milo discovered that there was another person he didn't recognize.

"This is Alec, just like us," Maurice explained in response to Milo's questioning gaze.

Milo nodded and sat down at the table.

"The reason I brought you two here is on the orders of the War Mother. She wants us to do something, which should be our last mission in Phoenix."

"The final mission, what does that mean?" Milo had barely raised an eyebrow when Alec asked first.

"Because once this mission is completed, Phoenix will no longer tolerate us, so we'll head straight back to Winter's Hammer."

Upon hearing this, Alec responded with an "oh," but Milo felt a chill run down his spine.

Return to Winter's Hammer?

He was not willing at all.

As a city hall official, Milo was acutely aware of the changes and prospects in Phoenix and was full of hope for his future. However, upon hearing this "news," his heart sank.

"What is the mission this time?" Ali asked again.

"The new king," Maurice replied directly.

"What?!" *2

Alec and Milo both expressed shock, pointing to themselves, "You mean, the three of us are to go and fight the new king?"

Isn't this ridiculous?

Even Yarna, the War Mother, couldn't handle this, so why are you asking the three of them to do it?

"You don't need to be so surprised. Of course, I'm not asking you to harm the new king in Phoenix... Milo, you should know that the new king goes to Vallar Bay every now and then and stays there for a long time before returning to Phoenix."

"I don't know exactly what the new king is doing in Valar Bay, but what I do know is that he has been going to Valar Bay alone the last few times. This is the perfect opportunity for us to make our move."

"The new king doesn't have much power... as long as we can keep track of his movements, that's enough." After saying that, Morris looked at Milo.

Because Milo was in charge of deploying the guards at the Phoenix city gates.

"The two of us will first ambush the new king on the only route from Phoenix to Valar Bay. Once you receive news that the new king has left the city, immediately follow him out of the city, find us, and then we will attack together, capture the new king alive, and escort him back to Winterhammer."

"The new king is indeed not very strong, but once we make a move, Sunefa will receive the news and immediately come after us. The deputy director of the Security Bureau, Catherine, was once a hunter of the Snowfield Guardians and is most skilled at tracking. We won't be able to escape very far," Milo said with a frown, his words full of rejection.

"Someone will come to meet us, so you don't need to worry about that. Also... don't forget, you are where you are today because our tribe has given you countless resources, and over the years, you have done many things that have harmed Zhenbing's interests." Morris snorted coldly, seemingly seeing through Milo's thoughts, and pointed out his shortcomings.

After leaving Maurice's house and returning to his own home, Milo sat on the edge of his bed and pondered for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh.

Even if he was unwilling, he ultimately had no choice but to obey orders.

Because he has done too many things that have harmed the tribe, Zhenbing would never tolerate him if he were exposed, so he has no choice but to cling to Winter's Hammer.

Fortunately, although God is the new king, he is indeed as Morris said, not very powerful, and is only a first-level mage.

For this reason, when Sunaf insisted on supporting God as king, he was initially resistant, feeling it was too frivolous.

However, after witnessing the series of earth-shaking events that Gaode had accomplished, Milo gradually became convinced of his worth. Not to mention that just a few days ago, Gaode had awakened the same pure-blooded Iceborn bloodline as Sunefa.

Fortunately, Gao De had just awakened the Zhenbing bloodline. As a third-ring mage, he would surely be able to capture it easily if he took action himself.

In another year or two, he might not have that ability anymore.

Thinking this, Milo went out again, and with a random excuse, asked the clansmen in charge of guarding the city gate to notify him as soon as they discovered that Gaode had left the city.

In the cultivation room, Gao De opened his eyes, a satisfied smile on his face.

In the mana pool, the icy blue mist-like mana cultivated by the "Secret Transmission of Perfect Ice" had expanded slightly compared to when he first ascended to the next level, and was now sufficient to support him in casting three spells.

In fact, he hadn't been deliberately practicing the "True Ice Secret Transmission" these past few days.

However, because his training room is close to the Ice Jade Wutong Tree, the concentration of magic power is equivalent to that of a fourth-tier spiritual land. In addition, the ice element is extremely rich, so even when he is just "idling," his progress is very fast.

On the other side, the sixty-first rune on the jade crystal of magical power created by the "Green Wood Longevity Scripture" had already condensed to a small extent.

This is because the Dragon Bird Blood Fungus still had some medicinal power remaining, which was gradually refined and absorbed by Gao Desheng after he successfully completed the ring-raising ceremony.

All beginnings are hard.

The fact is that, for Gaode, the most difficult stage of his cultivation so far has been the apprenticeship period as a Dharma Master.

As his mage level increased, his cultivation progress not only did not slow down, but actually accelerated.

It took Gao De 21 months to go from a Dharma apprentice to a first-ring Dharma master, not counting the original body's cultivation time, but only 19 months to go from a first-ring Dharma master to a second-ring Dharma master.

After finishing his practice for the day, Gao De rested for a while before closing his eyes again and entering a state of concentration.

Nearly a week later, he had gathered all the missing ingredients for the magic potion, mixed them into a magic potion, and drank it down.

Now, we just wait for him to build the spell model.

Despite being busy these past few days, Gaode still managed to complete the spell models for [Summon Mount] and [Spiderweb Sanctuary].

[Summon Mount] (Conjuration Spellcaster, Second Ring):

Summon a spirit with extraordinary intelligence, strength, and loyalty as a mount, and establish a long-term contract with it. The mount appears in unoccupied space within the casting range.

Its appearance can be chosen from the following forms: warhorse, pony, camel, elk, dog.

Mounts are actually a type of spirit or demon (your choice) rather than a typical creature type. In addition, mounts can understand a language you know.

Whether in battle or not, your mount can provide assistance, and the pact between you makes your actions more intertwined. When you ride the mount, all spells you cast that target only yourself will also affect the mount.

This mount will disappear when it takes fatal damage, leaving no material residue. You can also dismiss the mount at any time with a single action.

When your mount is within 1 mile of you, you can communicate with it telepathically.

You cannot possess more than one mount at a time with this spell. You can release a mount from its contract at any time with a single action and make it disappear.

[Spiderweb Sanctuary] (Conjuration, Second Ring):

Create a shelter made of sticky spider silk, with a hanging door, and large enough to accommodate a medium-sized creature.

The shelter's walls were an inch thick and opaque, completely concealing anyone inside.

Spider silk is sticky enough to catch twigs, leaves, dust, and other lighter objects, allowing you to use it to shelter yourself, but only weak, tiny creatures will get stuck in the web.

The shelter doors are completely waterproof and insulated when closed, and the shelter is normally susceptible to fire damage and is as flammable as wood.

When the spell ends, the sanctuary will quickly decay and disappear.

The latter realizes Gaode's long-held idea of ​​using magic to solve camping problems in the wild.

The former can be used as his means of transportation on land. With the addition of the dumpling and the Storm Soul, he will have a means of transportation on land, sea, and air.

More importantly, the additional effect gained from the [Summoning Pets] skill after being upgraded by Fenglingyueying allows Gaode and Flora to form a bond.

Therefore, he always felt an extra longing for this kind of summoning magic.

I wonder if, after adding points to Fenglingyueying, I'll experience a surprise similar to "Flora".