Surviving The Fourth Calamity

80: Chapter 72: Hill’s Bountiful Harvest_2 80: Chapter 72: Hill’s Bountiful Harvest_2 We’re off to the Capital.

Before leaving, all our affairs were listed and handed over to our mentor, Mage Nigel Bisley.

Our mentor has been too busy to attend the Mage Association lately, so currently, all matters of the branch are handled by us.”

Hill was dumbfounded.

Was the Mage Association not even visited?

The branch head has been in the Capital for over half a year now.

All the branch heads across the nation were summoned.

His Majesty the King has always been envious of the Association’s wealth.

The vice-president thinks more people should go for added insurance.

But with the branch head away and our teacher having acquired a massive amount of books, Danton is out of funds.

We haven’t had our salaries for three months now,” said the female apprentice solemnly, “There were a few apprentices around before, but they’ve all gone out to find work.

We two can’t leave; we’re barely hanging on.”

Right, they were legitimate apprentices, knew more spells, and it was easier for them to find jobs compared to those unconventional ones downstairs.

The male apprentice glanced at his complaining peer, “We’re lucky, having met the Magister.

This money will be enough for the Danton branch to survive.

I’ll inform the teacher to return tonight.

With the money, those people should come back for their salaries.

This is something the teacher needs to do.”

Looking at the chest of Crystal Stones, the female apprentice began to weep, “I’m so scared!

Even the Crystal Stones for maintaining the Defensive Magic Array are running out!

Without the teacher, how can we two hold on!”

Hill looked at the girl who burst into tears from joy and the male apprentice who tried to stay calm, feeling deep sympathy for them.

Having a mentor with no sense of responsibility is truly miserable.

Hill did not bother with the apprentices in the hall eagerly looking at him; he walked out the door without looking back.

The two apprentices seemed to have come down and said something, which made the hall erupt.

They probably told them that as long as they hold on until the Saral People arrive, they will have a way out.

That male apprentice was truly capable, it’s a pity he already had a teacher, otherwise, Hill would definitely have introduced him to Adrian.

Adrian had complained for a long time about not being able to find a few apprentices capable of dealing with estate affairs, and he still has to handle many things himself at the moment.

Hill knew that if it weren’t for the fact that he had become a Magician, Adrian had wanted to make him his first disciple.

Now, to find a new chief disciple, he would have to spend a great deal of effort screening.

Becoming the heir to a Magic Tower is not easy.

But having a few more apprentices capable of managing Mage Town would be good for Adrian now.

Hill did not ask the boy’s name.

In the world of mages, a High-level Mage asking the name of an apprentice implies a desire to take on a disciple.

He’s working at the Mage Association, so he must have a mentor.

Hill couldn’t give him an unattainable hope.

Hill looked back regretfully for a moment, then climbed onto the carriage.

He instructed Srei, “Let’s go.

If we pass by a big city, stop for a while; we need to buy books at the Mage Association.” He touched his ring, “With so much prodigal spending, it’s a waste not to buy, and even if it’s just to inquire about the Knowledge Church, stop by too.”

“Yes, sir,” Srei asked, “What about the Capital?

Are we still going?”

“No, no, no, no, no,” Hill answered repeatedly, “We’ll go around it.”

He really didn’t want to see just how chaotic Haifasardo’s Capital was.

As for that King with a seemingly suicidal desire, Hill thought it best to keep him at a respectful distance.

“All right, sir.”

Hill slumped into his chair and slowly sipped a cup of juice.

Hill suddenly laughed, recalling how in novels, protagonists at the Mage Association were always highly popular, given free water and meals, even accompanied by High-level Mages.

Would you dare to eat what they give you?

Would you let them accompany you if they dare?

That’s courting death.

Mages are indeed wealthy, but they also don’t mind using means to acquire more resources.

Unless you have a strong background, the moment they figure out you’re just a lucky guy with a lot of adventures, thousands of poisons deadly even to Elemental Spirits are waiting for you~~

An Elemental Body could indeed neutralize most poisons, but what about those that target the soul!

You have a big secret, they have some very vicious potions.

Before Hill left on his own, Fran’s biggest instruction was not to eat anything in public, even if it came from his own ring.

Once exposed to the air, it could easily lead to trouble.

Hill, once he left the carriage, would be tightly enveloped by an invisible membrane formed of natural energy.

In the Mage Association, there was no need, nor would they have high-level mages come out to greet visiting ones.

If that were the case, no mage would dare to enter.

Hill was only surprised because no mage came out to collect money when it was time to do so.

Generally, the chairmen and branch chairmen of the Mage Association were there to show presence, and they hardly ever made an appearance.

Given the current situation in Haifasardo, setting up a magic array for defense would suffice to avoid any trouble.

That is why the vice-chairman dared to summon all the branch chairmen of the entire nation.

It’s estimated that Danton’s branch chairman had taken away the mages who usually worked, with all the professionals in Danton leaving, staying there would be pointless.

It just hadn’t been expected that the mage who was left would be so unreliable in his work.

Hill smiled and caressed his ring, hoping he could collect as many books as possible in Haifasardo.

Sometimes, the inherited books of the nobility contained many surprises.

He hoped he would have this kind of good luck in other countries as well.

Hill’s carriage continued southwards, passing through forest paths swarming with thieves.

However, upon seeing this alchemical golem carriage without a coachman, they all secretly hid away.

Hill figured that the high-ranking thieves must have run away.

Their information was, in fact, more accurate; the reality that the Saral allies had been almost entirely wiped out was enough to daunt them.

Who didn’t have some nobles backing them up?

Yet the cold hard fact that Saral had flipped over along with those backing nobles slapped all the watching thieves squarely in the face.

Perhaps these thieves had run away even earlier than the nobles?

The remaining riffraff who couldn’t even be considered professionals cowered at the sight of a mage.

However, Hill also felt that there were too many thieves and bandits in Haifasardo.

Indeed, when a nation was in turmoil, all manner of monsters and devils came out, making the lives of the common people the most difficult.

Hill didn’t care about this and left it to the players to grind for experience.

In this world rich with elemental power, as long as one worked hard on farming, one wouldn’t starve.

Many townfolk could meet the needs of their families by growing some fruits and vegetables in their own small yards.

The wheat needed for basic food was also very cheap.

If they didn’t want to buy it, they could just get some seeds and grow it themselves in their yard.

Monsters were actually very rare inside the country; more dreaded than monsters when going out to till the land and sow crops were the tax-collecting nobles, but they wouldn’t keep their eyes on that little bit in the yards.

Now that most of the nobles had run away, those coming out to rob were the types of lackeys who had followed the nobles in flaunting power and oppressing the civilians.

The commoners took this opportunity to hurry and work their lands.

Hill thought about it and decided that unless faced with a life-threatening crisis, he still didn’t want to kill people.

Preparing mentally to take lives didn’t mean he was going to actively seek the opportunity.

He released a natural barrier around the carriage so that if anyone dared to make a move, they would be struck by swirling vines and flung away, their fate left to the heavens.

Hill had already passed through three large cities, collecting many books along the way.

It was somewhat better than Danton; those who came out to collect money were all mages.

Bypassing the capital of Haifasardo, Hill would soon pass the roadblock set up by the king.

He could feel a lot of people gathering there.

Hill transformed his carriage into a sailboat, flew up into the sky, and hid in the clouds to look down.

Haifasardo was shaped like an oval with a little tail, and just past the capital was this tail, where the king had built a long roadblock, with most of the nation’s soldiers dispatched to guard it.

The great nobility with high-level protectors, had mostly broken through the blockade and left; those with money had paid to avoid trouble.

Those remaining were the ones too stingy to spend money, hoping to gather more people to create pressure and force the guards to let them pass.

Hill, from high above, could hear the ceaseless swearing from below.

But nobody paid any mind.

The soldiers who had already reaped their spoils weren’t about to be chased away by such small pressure.

Hill lay on the gunwale watching for a while, then uninterestedly decided to leave.

By the time there were more people, enough to gather some mage knights to fight with the guards, William might already have entered the capital of Haifasardo.