“President, since no one else is talking, then let me begin.”
The person who spoke sat at the right side of the long table. He wore a heavy gray robe, and he looked old.
As he spoke, the old man reached out and stroked his gray-white goatee. “My suggestion is to gather all the mages in the guild immediately and head to Blackmoon Castle to eradicate that force! Killing a Mage Guild elder is a crime that we cannot tolerate. If they are not severely punished, the Mage Guild will not be able to continue to have a foothold in Monte Town.”
That elder was Leonard. He was the vice-president of the Mage Guild in Monte Town, and he was also a gold-tier Mage. He was great at fire-elemental magic. However, even though they were gold-tier mages, he was much weaker than Audrey, who had mastered dark-elemental magic. Therefore, he was very respectful toward her.
“Vice-president Leonard, that doesn’t seem appropriate. I heard that Folson died because he was bribed by a manor owner named Zangwill! All these years, Folson has been working as a bounty hunter behind our backs. We have always turned a blind eye to such things, but that doesn’t mean that what he did was right.”
The person who spoke sat next to Leonard. It was a middle-aged woman with freckles on her face, and she had messy hair. She was in a fiery-red robe. Her name was Anna, the Mage Guild’s chief elder, and just like Leonard, the vice-president, they were both fire-elemental mages. However, she was at the peak of the silver tier.
Most mages who practiced fire-elemental magic were short-tempered. In addition, both of them used almost the same materials to practice, and that resulted in frequent friction. Therefore, Anna would always say the opposite of what Leonard said. Of course, she did not think that Folson’s death was Blackmoon Castle’s fault.
Who could they blame if that person coveted another’s property? They could only blame their lack of strength.
After Anna finished speaking, Leonard looked at her with an unhappy expression. Then, their gazes met, and sparks flew.
“I agree with the vice president’s words. If you touch one of us, then it doesn’t matter if the other party has made a mistake or not. Just kill him! Otherwise, people will think that the Mage Guild is easy. It isn’t a matter of right or wrong, but a matter of dignity. What do you think, Lady Audrey?”
A magnetic voice echoed from the side; it was a young man. He had golden hair and a handsome face. At that moment, he had his hands wrapped around the back of his head. He deliberately raised his chair and shook it gently; it made people worry that he would fall.
As soon as he finished speaking, the blond young man stared intently at Audrey. His eyes were filled with undisguised love.
Audrey did not look at him, nor did she seem to be able to hear his voice. Instead, she continued to fiddle with her beautiful fingernails nonchalantly. Then, Anna turned her head in dissatisfaction. “Martin, do you mean that you’re on Leonard’s side?”
“I’m not taking anyone’s side. I’m just standing on the side of justice. So what do you think, President?”
Martin continued to focus on Audrey. When he realized that she ignored him, he curled his lips and cast his gaze at the man behind him. He did not say a word. He had messy brown hair, and his figure was as tall as a giant bear. “Mr. Hilbert, you are known as the unbreakable barrier. Do you have any objections?”
Hilbert had his eyes closed. His resolute face exuded an oppressive aura. Furthermore, he did not wear a mage’s robe. Instead, he was in a set of chained armor. As a result, no one could tell if he was a mage.
Hilbert remained silent upon Martin’s question. He did not move; it was as if he was asleep.
Martin shrugged. “Didn’t you say that you wanted to discuss it? So why aren’t you talking? This conversation can’t go on like this.”
“Well, then there’s no need to continue this meeting.”
Audrey set her fingers onto the table and raised her head slightly. Her starry eyes seemed bottomless as she looked at everyone there. “From now on, all of you can shut up. I’ll speak.”
The moment she opened her mouth, the mages held their breaths. Even Hilbers, who had dozed off, opened his eyes.
Audrey’s slender fingers tapped on the table. “Three days. I’ll give you three days. I want to see heads from everyone in Blackmoon Castle! “Winter’s is coming, so I have a lot of things to do. Three days should be enough for all of you. Don’t disappoint me. Otherwise, you know what kind of punishment you’ll receive.”
“Yes, President.”
All the mages, including Martin, smiled bitterly.
Their president was a very arrogant person. She often made decisions without listening to them, and she always pretended to let them talk about it; they were already used to it.
“But—” Anna was the only one who hesitated and wanted to say something.
Crack!
Before she could speak, the chair beneath her suddenly shattered, and the broken wood splinters splattered all over her body. Cracks appeared on the ground, and it forced Anna to stand up in a sorry state. Her expression was one of pain.
Audrey pointed her finger at Anna, and a faint black glow appeared on the tip of her finger. Then, she exerted heavy pressure on Anna, which caused her body and calves to tremble non-stop.
“But what? Anna, are you doubting me? You should know that that world revolves around me. Anyone who disobeys me will die! The Mage Guild lost an elder a while ago, but I don’t mind losing another one.”
The arrogant words from Audrey’s mouth sounded so natural.
“Lady Audrey, it’s not what you think. I only wanted to say that Blackmoon Castle can wipe out Folson and the allied forces from more than ten manors. Perhaps they have some secret weapon! I even sent someone to inquire about it. They said that Blackmoon Castle’s young master, Watson, is the border count’s illegitimate son. So if we were to attack Blackmoon Castle, would we anger the border count as well?” Anna’s voice trembled; she tried her best to maintain her posture as she defended herself.
“Lady Audrey, I’m not disobeying you. I’m just worried—”
“What are you worried about? The border count? Even though we’re at the border, the Mage Guild had been established by His Majesty. So even if the border count had a grudge against His Majesty, he would not dare to oppose us so openly and shed all pretense of cordiality with His Majesty unless he wanted to rebel.”
Martin spread his hands and said with a relaxed expression, “How about that? If Anna doesn’t want to go, then I can go. I can wipe out a small force at the border by myself.”
“Anna, I hope you can finish your words before I lose my temper next time.”
Audrey retracted her fingers and deactivated the spell. She leaned against the comfortable, soft chair. “You don’t have to worry about the border count. I’ve already received the notice that the Royal City’s Lord Astrologer will come to Monte Town tonight or tomorrow. The border count can’t do anything with him around.”
The Astrologer?
The few mages looked at each other in surprise.
They had all heard of that name. Anyone who studied magic would have known that name. If the border count was the strongest mage in the kingdom, then his predecessor was the astrologer. After all, he was Lord Sylvan’s teacher.
The astrologer had not shown his face in public for more than ten years. Instead, he had been staying in the Constellation Palace that the King had built for him. He was to calculate the kingdom’s direction there.
“If the astrologer comes here, then the matter will be resolved.”
“He is a platinum-tier mage. If he wants to destroy Blackmoon Castle, then he only needs to lift a finger. He could probably do that in a day! I did not expect a big shot like him would come to such a remote place like Monte Town. Did he think we performed really well and wanted to give us some pointers? If we can get some pointers from him, we’ll definitely advance further.”
The Mage Guild’s elders and the vice-president heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, they were no longer worried about Blackmoon Castle. Instead, they looked forward to a meeting with the astrologer.
