Four-Armed Divine Emperor

Al then realized that this was prepared for him, a two-pronged approach, to see which one he liked.

He stopped paying attention and walked in. In fact, there were quite a few beautiful women, but Al was here as a guest, not to have a prostitute.

Moreover, he inexplicably felt that these things were fine intellectually, but he could not arouse interest in women who did not have much "reproductive desire" sensually.

If the female knight Ansuna was also standing in this row, he might be tempted.

Soon, the host and guests took their seats. The head of the Devon Gale family sat happily in the first seat. He raised his hand, and the maid beside him immediately brought him a wine glass.

"Respectfully, to the distinguished guest of Devengail, the mysterious and powerful master of knowledge, Lord El!"

All the people who attended the welcome party with smiles on their faces raised their glasses and shouted in unison:

"Greetings to you, Master of Knowledge, Lord Aiel."

Then, after drinking the wine in the cup, they bowed to Ai'er and the head of the family respectively, and left and exited the palace.

There were only six servants left in the hall, the old patriarch, Ansuna, and two middle-aged men.

At this time, the old patriarch stood up tremblingly, walked down from the first seat, and called the female knight's name.

"Ansuna!"

The female knight was still in military uniform. She stood up from her seat, walked to the side of the old patriarch, paused, and then turned towards El.

"Boom!"

The female knight who was so high and mighty and decisive when they first met knelt on one knee before El again, and the noble golden head also lowered in obedience.

"My eldest granddaughter, Ansuna Devengail, has offended you out of her original sin of arrogance and ignorance. This is the fault and shame of the entire Devengail family. Here, on behalf of an incompetent grandfather and an incompetent lord, I apologize to you."

The old patriarch was leaning on a crutch and spoke very slowly, but Al did not seem impatient.

As he spoke, a servant came over, holding a round plate with a roll of parchment on it.

"Deven Gale hereby offers the land 'south of the Maple Forest and west of the Eucalyptus River,' comprising one city, six towns, and twenty-four villages. According to the inspection conducted before the last Holy Fire Day, the total population was 31,342. It will be your fief."

"To compensate Ansuna for the offense she has caused you."

Two more servants came over carrying a box, opened it for Al, and showed Al the treasures inside, which were full of gold and silver.

"Some treasures as tribute." Compared to the actual territory, these treasures are nothing.

"Also, since you're new here and don't have any followers, it's difficult to govern your territory... Ansuna has trained in the floating city and is a high-ranking knight. How about having her serve you as a subordinate?"

After the old patriarch finished speaking this long paragraph, he seemed a little tired, panting, and leaning on a cane. The female knight's body trembled, but she still maintained the posture of lowering her head and kneeling on one knee, without any other movements.

Al said nothing.

The venue fell silent.

He kept this on purpose.

After deliberately waiting for a while to give these people time to think, El slowly said, "I told her." He raised his hand and pointed at Ansuna.

"If you clear my confusion and answer my questions truthfully, I will forgive your offense. Now that you have done that, the matter is over."

Al politely declined the old patriarch's generous "compensation".

Although he had no idea about geographical terms such as "Maple Forest" and "Euha River", the sentence that more than 30,000 people were his "fiefdom" was quite important.

Ai'er mastered the language of Tartarus. For convenience, the mages had developed a unified language long ago. Whether it was the frigid north or the scorching deserts on this continent, mastering the common language was enough to travel everywhere.

The word "food fief" is different from fiefdom and territory.

It refers specifically to a special way of offering sacrifices. For example, there is a very powerful profession who is the guest of honor of all nations, the celestial dragon, and they have to offer large sums of gold, silver, and large tracts of land wherever they go. However, most people prefer to study and explore mysteries and are not interested in things like territories.

Therefore, the secular lords did not hesitate to use their land and wealth to win over these people and hire them to serve them. In addition to delivering goods to their door, they were also responsible for a series of tedious services such as installation, after-sales service, and lifetime warranty.

Just like trusteeship, after the monarch or lord assigns a certain area to the mage, the mage can do whatever he wants with it or completely ignore it. The original owner will send officials to serve the mage to ensure that the territory is effectively, or even minimally, governed.

If you want to take charge, you can come out and do some minor management. If you don't want to take charge anymore, you can leave it to the master's people. The harvest and output of the territory do not need to be taxed to anyone. It belongs entirely to the owner of the fiefdom, and he has absolute disposal rights.

It is a special contract.

Theoretically, if Al accepted the compensation, he would have the legal power to order all women in his fiefdom to not wear clothes or face the crime, and all men to be castrated or face the death penalty...

Or it would be fine to expel all the people in the territory.

But at the same time, accepting this "compensation" contract also means that El's own identity has become "a spell consultant who accepts employment from the Devengai family, enjoys their offerings, and provides them with magical services."

Thirty thousand people, one seventh or one eighth of the population was assigned to him.

To a wizard of unknown origin whom I met for the first time.

Gee...

Al pursed his lips.

"Are you in any trouble?"

He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. The smell of incense in the room was a bit strong. His left arm stretched out from under his robe and fanned in front of him. This scene made everyone in the field a little restless. Among the two middle-aged men, one was dressed more exaggeratedly and flamboyantly. In Al's eyes... the greasy and effeminate middle-aged handsome man screamed, but was kicked in the calf by the other man, and his voice was interrupted in mid-sentence.

On the contrary, the servants were of good quality. They remained calm after seeing the strangeness of the legendary "Mage" with their own eyes. A maid who had been waiting to serve in front of a wall pillar not far behind El walked quickly to open the window of the palace and turned off the two incense burners.

"Let me think..." He didn't wait for the patriarch to reply, and looked at Ansuna. "It's related to... the Xerxes, right?"

"You fought a battle half a year ago. The other side had a mage join in, and you lost." Al spoke in a calm tone, his words certain, as if he was stating some indisputable fact.

"Obviously, after half a year you still haven't received the help of magic, and the Xerxes are no longer satisfied with their previous victory. Do you want to cede land? Or pay compensation? Or both?" His thoughts were very clear. He heard the female knight's explanation along the way, the sudden mention of information about the war when entering the city, and the generous "compensation" that the head of the Devengail family forced on him in the name of atonement.

There is only one purpose.

Let Al stay, even if it’s just temporarily, in the Devangel territory.

Well, there aren't many reasons why they would do this.

"Then, Xerxes came again. Perhaps the war didn't break out all-out, but they must have sent envoys to negotiate and intimidate you into submission and backing down, right?"

"You didn't want this to happen, but unfortunately, just like the war six months ago, the Xerxes have mages, and you don't."

"Am i right?"

Al picked up the wine glass, raised it to his nose and sniffed it gently. It seemed to be some kind of wine and smelled quite fragrant.

He raised his head and drank it all in one gulp.

It tastes good.

The scene was very quiet.

The old body trembled a little, and his cheeks shook a few times. Before he could speak, the female knight who knelt on one knee and apologized to El for the third time stood up.

Ansuna stood up and walked to El's seat, filling his glass, and then slowly said:

"Yes, Master Mage, Dwenger is facing a war, a crisis, provoked by those superstitious fire worshippers..."

"Sage, if you are willing to accept Devengail's employment and help us fight against Xerxes, then in addition to the above conditions, I am willing to give you twice as much territory as your fiefdom, and my daughter Ansuna can also serve as your servant and attendant."

"Servant" is a popular personal contract in the secular world, which is highly dependent. If El agrees to let Ansuna become his servant, then he can basically have the life and death of the female knight at will in the future.

To put it nicely, they are called servants, but to put it bluntly, they are slaves.

"Thank you."

Al raised his hand, lightly covering the wine glass with his palm, indicating that enough was enough. He didn't understand the details, but he could hear that the old patriarch's intention was obviously to give his daughter away.

As long as he helps.

"I don't think these things are appropriate to discuss on our first meeting. Perhaps... could you please find me some books first? Basic introductions like history and customs will do. The more the better."

After finishing the second glass of wine, Al still felt unsatisfied, so he opened the cork of another bottle of wine on the table and handed the first one to the female knight who was silent and looked a little embarrassed.

The old master gave her away as a beautiful gift, traded her as an additional condition for the El contract, which was a humiliating thing for Ansuna, who had received an enlightened education.

"I can help, but..."

"After I understand it."

El's psychic power had been locked onto everyone in the venue. If anyone posed a threat to him, he would be ready to strike first. Fortunately, no one showed such emotions, whether it was the head of the family whose thoughts were directly exposed, or the two middle-aged men who looked like important figures, or the female knight who was very humble, apologized, poured wine for him, and served him like a servant.

Instead, he noticed a growing sense of dissatisfaction in the female knight, apparently because the old master had given her to

"There is still room for discussion."

Al thought to himself.

The head of the family finally reacted. Perhaps his overly aged brain did not support him joining in such exchanges.

"Yes, yes, sure."

The old patriarch first expressed a series of approval and affirmation, and then stammered, "We must entertain our distinguished guests. We cannot let the honorable mage be dissatisfied with Devengail's hospitality."

It was difficult to say polite words, and Al's evaluation of the old patriarch lowered a little.

On the other hand, the female knight Ansuna was very humble and modest. She was also very smart and knew when to keep a low profile and when to step forward and join in the conversation. El's desire to have this woman bear a child for him became even stronger.

There were only two middle-aged men who didn't even know how to speak. Al initially judged that they might be the leaders of the next generation, but they seemed to be in a period of transition, with some being too young and some too weak.

The choir, band, dancers, and servants came in one after another, playing music for the banquet and bringing a joyful and lively atmosphere.

Besides paying attention to the dancing figures of the female dancers, El's mind was also on drinking and chatting with Ansuna, who was originally there to serve him but ended up drinking with him and looked no different from sitting with two friends.

Chapter 4: The Knight's Oath

After attending the banquet held for him, El went to the luxurious room prepared for him. The servants had prepared a large number of books in advance and arranged them in different categories. After the banquet, Ansuna also followed him into the house.

Then El read a book, and the female knight sat beside him obediently, answering El's questions from time to time, introducing and communicating with him, which lasted until late at night. In the end, Ansuna drank too much and unlike El, who showed no signs of being drunk, she had to say goodbye and leave.

Al read until the candlelight went out, and after cramming a lot of knowledge about this world, he chose to lie down on the bed and close his eyes for a nap.

Thanks to his almost photographic memory, he can remember everything he sees in his mind after just one look. Al has a better understanding of the world and has a preliminary grasp of the area he is currently in.

In a word:

A place of chaos.

The Kingdom of Brio is a country composed of the descendants of the remnants of a fallen empire on the continent of Tartarus that launched a massive eastward expedition long ago, marched towards the eastern part of the continent, and conquered many areas. This country is located in a wild land near the north at the junction of the east and west of the continent, the "Seso Zone".

It is said that this area has barren land and scarce magical power due to the War of the Ancients or something else, which has led to mages generally having no interest in this magic-poor land, and thus basically no major country has the intention to attack here.

The order is very chaotic. The north is close to grasslands and mountains. Greenskins and nomadic barbarians come and go on the grasslands, and orc tribes in the mountains are constantly in conflict. From time to time, figures such as chiefs and kings emerge.

There is a large canyon in the south, covered with dense forests, and inhabited by many closed, conservative and xenophobic elves... Anyway, it is a mess, with racial and geopolitical conflicts constantly happening. The caravans traveling between the East and the West don't like to pass through here, but the poorer people are, the more they reproduce, and the more they reproduce, the poorer they become. Thanks to the magical productivity in this world, the civilized forces engaged in farming will basically not lack food, so there is no shortage of population. The total population of various forces, big and small tribes, kingdoms, etc., is estimated to be over ten million.

Not to mention the foreign races around Brio, there are three main neighboring countries. The two to the west are countries mainly composed of the remnants of the western continent of Tartarus, and the relationship between them is pretty good. To the east is the "Kingdom of Xerxes" established by the Zoroastrians who were beaten and conquered by the ancient empire's eastern expedition.

In Al's opinion, the Zoroastrians are quite similar to the Persian civilization that often appears as villains in European and American blockbusters. They are poor and rich, prosperous and desolate. They worship fire and light, and regard the power of magic as the manifestation of the two. Mages are not called wizards in their place, but "holy wizards."

The Zoroastrian empire "Alan" was built on mountains, deserts, and highland plains. Of course, if such a large force really came to fight, it would crush Devangel. The Kingdom of Xerxes was not a major power of the Zoroastrians. Like the Kingdom of Bleio, it was a country established by a small group of remnants and exiles.

However, the founder of the Kingdom of Xerxes was a prince from the Alan Empire, the largest country in the southern Zoroastrian civilization. He originally came to cause trouble for the remnants of the West. Later, the Alan Empire was in civil strife and many heroes emerged, so he gradually became independent and separated from his homeland.

......

Al understood why Devangel had a population of hundreds of thousands but had "zero" mages. The neighboring Kingdom of Xerxes had a population of over a million but only two mages in the capital. The one who provoked the war this time was Xerxes' Western Prince, who was slightly larger than Devangel, had an army of tens of thousands, and ruled over hundreds of thousands of people. He had only recently recruited a mage to join his army.

It's such a poor and barren place (for spellcasters), with so many contradictions and conflicts, and fights every few days. No one would want to come here.

In the world of Il, there are two main ways for mages to use magic:

Magic, ritual.

Magic power is the power that a mage possesses. It is mainly replenished through meditation, and secondly through other methods, such as the blue bar and wind of magic. Once it is used up, it must be restored.

Rituals consume materials and props, and can be prepared temporarily or in advance. Depending on the type, difficulty, and strength of the magic, they can be performed from manipulating corpses to burning down cities with heavenly fire. Some magic can also be bound to certain objects through solidification techniques, that is, to create "magic tools" and "magic props."

As for the two main paths mentioned above, let's not talk about magic for now. Let's talk about the latter two. This place is named "Serso Zone" on the map, also known as "Land of Chaos and Barrens". The magic is thin, so the first one is crossed out. The second one requires various materials and props. Given the barrenness of this place, there may be some in the Orc Mountains and the Dense Forest Canyon, so cross it out too.

Given the constant conflicts in the Thresso area, no matter how much magic power a wizard has, it will not be able to withstand the consumption. The greenskins and orcs do not respect wizards like civilized people. When they are angry, they even dare to scrape off the flesh of noble wizards to taste it.

And if we just want to stay in the civilized area and enjoy ourselves... then even going to the Alan Empire in the south, or heading west to the prosperous areas in the west, would be much better than staying in this chaotic place.

Given the barrenness of this place, a mage cannot gain any effective progress here. As for the experience of life-and-death battles... How crazy a mage would have to be to go to the wilderness and fight with the barbarians who are like locusts and cannot be killed or driven away in order to "gain combat experience" when he is already a superior person and a celestial dragon traveling in the world?

Even Al wanted to run away quickly after learning the details and go to the civilized world to enjoy the treatment of the best of people. But then he changed his mind and thought, oh, that's not right!

I'm not a fucking mage!

[Level: First-level Warlock]

On that crude template, the mage's, or more accurately, warlock's, bloodline abilities that Al currently possessed were visualized. In addition to his existing abilities, there were also rows of spell lists for him to choose from. He currently possessed a total of five warlock abilities:

[Four-Armed Mage's Hand]: Due to the inheritance of four arms, your mage's hand has mutated and can be solidified on your extra arm.

[Infection·Group Charm]: Due to mental infection, your charm has mutated and become more potent. It can be released on a group and plant psychological hints in the recipients.