Chapter 89: Extraordinary Times Call for Extraordinary Measures

    Outside the base.

    Xieman and the other two looked anxious, constantly peeking outside.

    Beside them, Madeline and Gril stood with weapons in hand, their expressions calm.

    Stone golems, dense as the stars, stood around.

    Before leaving the base, Su Nan had used a communication spell to have Madeline and Gril protect the base and apprentices in case Hebb launched a surprise attack.

    A dozen new recruits huddled together a few meters away, looking bewildered.

    They had no idea what was going on, suddenly being called here.

    As such, they were not particularly worried, and had the leisure to sneakily look at Madeline.

    Many were curious about the forest child who looked so different from humans.

    At this moment, a figure suddenly appeared at the entrance of the base.

    Madeline and Gril instinctively raised their weapons, only slightly relaxing and lowering them after recognizing the face.

    “Teacher!”

    Seeing Su Nan’s safe return, Xieman, Atil, and Cole all breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to greet him.

    Hearing that the person in front of them was the legendary Wizard, their future teacher, the new recruits were shocked and quickly bowed.

    “Master Su Nan.”

    “Are the new recruits here?”

    Su Nan smiled slightly, encouraging them with a few words, before waving his hand.

    “Alright, everything is fine, you can go about your business.”

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    “Yes, Teacher.”

    Despite their curiosity, the three young apprentices obeyed and left.

    The new recruits followed their seniors.

    Su Nan turned to Madeline and Gril, nodding. “Thank you for your hard work.”

    Madeline shook her head, silently turned and left, returning to the Magical Plant Garden.

    “It’s good you’re alright.” Gril smiled and also turned to leave.

    “Meow!”

    Su Nan suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder. Amy appeared out of thin air, her eyes wide.

    “What happened? I felt a very strong energy fluctuation from Shining Light City!”

    “Nothing, just some enemies came knocking, but I’ve dealt with them.” Su Nan said, smiling reassuringly.

    “Enemies? Were they Wizard Apprentices?” Amy’s eyes widened.

    Only two Wizard Apprentices clashing could create such a strong energy fluctuation.

    When her master’s previous students were still around, she often felt similar energy fluctuations in the training grounds.

    “Yes.” Su Nan nodded. “A Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice.”

    “Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice!”

    Amy was shocked, but then became puzzled.

    “Meow, aren’t you a Second-Rank Wizard Apprentice? How did you defeat a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice?”

    Su Nan rubbed the little kitten’s head, saying with a profound smile, “I used the power of money.”

    Power of money?

    Amy’s small eyes were filled with big confusion.

    What kind of power is the power of money?

    A magic spell?

    Su Nan smiled and didn’t explain, patting Amy to let her go play, then headed towards the Mind Chamber.

    After a battle, comes the joyous moment of counting the spoils.

    Mind Chamber.

    Under the bright and soft light, Su Nan examined the spatial ring in his hand.

    Perhaps because he never thought the spatial ring would fall into someone else’s hands, there was no secret lock attached, and Su Nan easily opened the internal space.

    The space wasn’t big, less than one cubic meter, but it was crammed full of things.

    Su Nan took out the items one by one, carefully counting them.

    First, the money.

    There were only a little over a hundred gold coins, plus many loose silver and copper coins.

    There were a total of one hundred and twelve gemstones, most of them were low-to-middle grade gems like beryl, jade, zircon, spinel, and topaz, but there were also over ten high-grade gems like ruby, sapphire, and diamond.

    There was even a rare pale green stone.

    Pale green stone, also known as Shield Stone, is a brittle, sparkling stone that is green-white or very dark green, usually only found in extremely dangerous dark regions.

    When used in magic items, Pale green stone can significantly enhance the enchanted properties of energies like strong acid, cold, electric shock, fire, or sound waves.

    It can also be used to lay out formations, create soul cores.

    On the other hand, with the large amount of gems obtained from Hebb, Su Nan’s finances became much more relaxed.

    He took out the middle and lower grade gems, and added those he bought from the Fire Fox Trading Company, all of which were used to create Stone Golems.

    The battle with Earl Winter Frost had proven the powerful assault capabilities of Stone Golems on the front lines.

    Undeterred by death, fearless of pain, the Stone Golems, once they reach a certain scale, can even outperform an equal number of knights on the battlefield!

    The formidable reputation of the Golem Legion is not without reason.

    Therefore, Kei was very enthusiastic about building the Golem Legion, providing all the support possible, granting every request.

    By the time the Thunder Moon arrived, the Shining Light Territory’s Golem Legion had taken shape.

    A total of three hundred Stone Golems were transported to the front lines, ready to be deployed at any time.

    “In the past month, the rate of spread of the disaster in Frost Dye Province has slowed considerably, and the infected who had attacked the borders of Red Leaf, White Tower, and Lake Orchid Provinces have all been wiped out. Now, the three provinces are preparing to dispatch troops to counterattack Frost Dye Province and completely solve the disaster.”

    In the study, Kei shook the battle report in his hand, then handed it to Su Nan who was sitting opposite him.

    Su Nan opened it and glanced at it, nodding in understanding.

    It was clear that with Hebb, the mastermind behind the scenes, dead, the infected army had lost control, and its expansion had gradually ceased.

    The infected army now resembled a group of headless flies, and it was only a matter of time before they were wiped out.

    Of course, due to the immense ferocity of the early stages of the disaster, it would still take a long time to completely suppress it.

    Unless the weakness of the infected could be found, it wouldn’t be possible to end the disaster in a short period of time.

    “What did the Royal Family say to Baron Jin Yan?” Su Nan asked, putting down the battle report.

    “What else could they say? The Royal Family probably didn’t expect us to be able to fight Baron Jin Yan to a standstill. They might be relieved now.”

    Kei smiled and opened a drawer, taking out a beautifully decorated roll of parchment and placing it on the table.

    “This is a letter of appointment sent by the Royal Family, appointing me as Earl of Shining Light. The Royal Family’s envoys also hinted that after completely defeating the rebels, the Royal Family will appoint me as a Marquis, granting me the Jin Yan Province as my territory. Then, the Grand Guild will hold a real appointment ceremony.”

    Su Nan raised an eyebrow, “That’s a generous reward.”

    Throughout the history of the Starlight Duchy, except during its founding, no noble had ever been promoted from Baron to Earl, and then even to Marquis, in just one year!

    And even more, a powerful Marquis who controls a province!

    It can’t be denied that the reward promised by the Royal Family this time was extraordinarily generous.

    “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. The Royal Family does have guts.”

    Kei said with a half-smile, “Red Leaf, White Tower, and Lake Orchid, the three provinces, are busy dealing with the infected. Purple Bamboo and Soman, the two provinces, are not powerful enough to handle Baron Jin Yan.”

    “The Royal Family must also be afraid that Baron Jin Yan will really gain power, so they promised me these things in order to make me work hard to take care of Baron Jin Yan.”

    Su Nan smiled noncommittally.

    He knew there was one reason Kei didn’t say out loud.

    That is, the Royal Family was also afraid that Baron Jin Yan’s rebellion would give the other Marquis’ ideas, so Baron Jin Yan must be wiped out!

    Make an example of them!

    Even if it meant sacrificing a Marquis title, it was worth it.

    Furthermore, if Baron Jin Yan is really wiped out, someone must replace him.

    And at that time, besides Kei, who actually controls the Jin Yan Province, there is no one else who is suitable. It might as well be done, and it can also appease the new Marquis.

    “No matter what, with the title of Earl, many things I couldn’t do before can now be done.”

    Speaking of which, a genuine smile of joy appeared on Kei’s face.

    Previously, he was just a Baron, and even if his subordinates achieved merits, he could only grant them knighthoods at most.

    But with the title of Earl, the feasibility of granting vassal titles has greatly increased.

    For example, titles like Baron or Viscount, as long as he has enough land to grant, then granting the titles just requires a nominal report to the Royal Family.

    “When are you planning to launch the war?”

    “Everything is ready, we will start at the end of the month.”

    “I won’t participate in the war, I’m going to retreat for a while.”

    Su Nan’s spiritual power had reached a critical point for a breakthrough, and he was going to retreat for a few days to prepare for advancing to Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice.

    As for the war during this time, he wasn’t really worried.

    Hebb is dead, Baron Jin Yan has lost his biggest trump card.

    On the other hand, Shining Light Territory still has the Blackrock Cavalry and the Golem Legion.

    In terms of military power, Shining Light Territory now has the upper hand.

    There’s no suspense in the upcoming war.

    “I understand, you can retreat in peace.”

    Kei nodded solemnly, he could tell what was important.

    The end of the Thunder Moon.

    The long winter finally passed, and the snow completely melted.

    The arrival of spring also marked the resumption of the war between Shining Light Territory and the Jin Yan Alliance, which had been put on hold for nearly half a year.

    This highly anticipated war attracted the attention of almost all nobles in the Starlight Duchy, without exception.

    It was clear to everyone that this battle would decide the ownership of the Jin Yan Province.

    The ultimate victor would undoubtedly gain the actual control of the entire Jin Yan Province.