This is a thing that goes back to the beginning of the earliest eleventh generation.

At that time, the empire had just experienced an unusually violent upheaval, and the fear of the invasion of the northern monsters had not yet dissipated;

At that time, the empire had just lost an empress who loved art, was cool about poetry and literature, indulged in unrestrained and ruthless blood, and lost a duke who was loved by all and almost became an emperor and finally became an "apostate";

At that time, Otto I, who had just succeeded to the throne and was evaluated by later generations as "mediocre and inactive", and even carried the suspicion of killing his mother and usurping the throne, silently restored the empire in the hands of his mother, which was almost shattered, trade routes were cut off, and civilians were displaced.

He had to negotiate with the dukes, he wanted soldiers and food, he wanted to revive the war-torn East Sackland, he wanted to give Ebolden autonomy so that he could borrow money from the free aristocracy and the chambers of commerce, he wanted to secure the status of the Turin family and fight for the stability of Byrne.

Alto I pleases everybody, and in the end no one pleases, and he does everything, so he does nothing;

Not a single palace has been built, not a single church has been built, not a single battle has been fought, there is no statue or city gate, no library nor bridge with his name or relief, and if it were not for the eleventh generation, the empire would have almost forgotten that there was still this emperor.

But none of this was of concern to an alchemist at the time.

The Dragon Empress is dead, the Black Duke is in disrepute, and he is completely hopeless in the face of a withered and ruined empire, and he no longer wants to pay more for this country that has "betrayed him".

It's not yourself that's wrong, it's not the empress, it's not the duke, it's the world that's wrong.

So he turned his gaze to the misty sea to the west—on the other side of the sea, another country.

The kingdom of the elves, the Azorean kingdom under the Eagle King.

He set out with the ocean-going fleet, but the fleet did not actually reach the territory of the Azores, so he found his own way, and finally relied on a small sampan, and swam across to a place called Eagle Roaring Island, where he was rescued by an elven lord......

So far, it's all Loren has heard. But then there's what's really important.

"After dating for a while, the elven lord seems to have a strong interest in alchemy and wants to have a deeper conversation with me. ”

In the Elven Tree House in the Morning Star Forest Settlement, Harlein Van Ashamai sighed and continued: "I was still very young at that time, so I agreed without much thought—after all, the other party saved me, not to mention that it was not too much of a request. ”

The black-haired wizard nodded in agreement.

Although the wizards of the empire have always valued knowledge more than life, and the theoretical systems between schools and even academies may be very different, as long as it does not involve core research, "basic popularization" is still very enthusiastic... What's more, the other party is a life-saving benefactor.

"So, after some talking, I can say with great confidence that the Azorean elves know almost nothing about alchemy. Asami struggled to recall, "He was very sincere and very hardworking—to be fair, for the Elven Lord's age, he was a gifted learner. ”

"But the truth is that the Azorean elves know nothing about the occult, ancient runes, alchemy, and spells—almost zero in this regard!"

What the?

This time it wasn't just Al Yin and Luceen, but even the black-haired wizard couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Only Peter Fasa seemed to know something, and there were some complicated emotions in his eyes that were difficult to discern.

The Empire's knowledge of the Azorean elves has always been very shallow, but it can also be seen from the goods brought about by the ocean trade, especially luxury goods, that the country on the other side of the sea is in no way inferior to the empire in terms of literary and artistic achievements.

And in textiles, pottery, metallurgy, forging, stone carving, etc., it even far exceeded the level of the empire.

In the fixed thinking of the people of the empire, especially the wizards, the elves must have a much more developed alchemy than the empire to reach this height, even if they have different names and different development directions, they must exist and flourish extremely well.

But now Harlem Van Ashamai told them that not only did the elves not have a school of alchemy, but they didn't even have wizards!

"At that time, I suspected that it was because the number of wizards among the Azorean elves was too small or too low, so that the elven lord had no idea about them. Just listen to Ashamai continue:

But the truth is quite the opposite, there really is no – because it is not necessary. ”

"Not necessary?"

"That's right, Your Excellency, there's no need. Ashmai bowed slightly, and suddenly turned his gaze to the little wizard: "Ain, you have been in the wizarding guild of Byrne for so long, and you have also served as a mentor to teach new apprentices. ”

"Tell me, how long does it take for an average apprentice to be recruited, and how many of them can become at least qualified?"

"Hmm... At the very least, it will take about two years. The little wizard muttered, "As for the ratio of the number of people, it is generally between one thirtieth and one fiftieth, almost... Wait, what do you mean?!"

Facing the crowd that raised their heads almost at the same time, Ashamai nodded again.

Loren's heartstrings tightened.

"Surprised? Even more than you are when I realize this—only one out of thirty Imperial people has the basic talent to become a wizard, but for the elves, it is their innate ability. ”

"Any elf can fall asleep, and there is no need to build a spiritual temple, no need to understand boring ancient runes, and no need for spells, to master and use the power of the void equivalent to the level of low-level spells, which is innate, just like the instinct of using tools with hands. ”

"That's right, it's not that their starting point is too low, but too high, and of course they don't need to, and they can't develop a theoretical wizarding system like the Nine-Pointed Star Wizard Tower!"

The deep voice fell, but in everyone's ears, it was tantamount to a thunderclap.

The black-haired wizard lowered his head, stared at the ground in a daze, and said nothing.

Ai Yin, who was immersed in shock, showed an expression that could not imagine this scene.

The gray-eyed boy stood silently by the side of the door, clenching the hilt of his sword at his waist - it was the only thing he could think of, something he could do.

The Azorean elves did not develop alchemy because each of their craftsmen was an "alchemist", and there was no need to distinguish between the concepts of "scholar" and "wizard".

It's a difficult concept to understand... To put it more plainly, the Azorean elves may still think that they live in a world of "no demons" or "low demons", because their use of the power of the void has been integrated into their lives and has not formed a separate system.

And human beings have such an independent "system" because the level is too low, and the proportion of people who have this talent is very small.

That's a ......

"The Azorean elves did not give birth to the profession of 'wizard', but it does not mean that they do not have another system for using the power of the void. Ashamai's voice sounded again:

"The samurai system. ”

The gray-eyed boy raised his head sharply and opened his eyes alertly.

"Similar to Byrne's knightly system, the nobles of the Azorean elves have learned the skills of swordsmanship and bows and arrows since childhood, and the elven lord who rescued me is himself an extremely skilled samurai, and the sharp Azorean long knife in his hand can even split iron armor. ”

"Not only that, but they use the power of the void in a very unique way in their swordsmanship, something similar to 'beyond perception' but completely different, very terrifying, I don't want to exaggerate, but ......"

Harlevan Asha paused, looked at Loren and said word by word: "An Azorean elven warrior, in the case of foot combat and parity, can compete with at least four Byrne knights at the same time. ”

Loren looked at him silently, and did not say anything to interrupt.

"Not only that, but the Azorean elves are also a country with a tradition of 'martial worship', and according to the elven lord, the stronger the warrior, the more revered the status - the best of the best, even alongside the Eagle King. Ashamai sighed:

And this elven warrior who can cut through iron armor, according to his humble statement, is precisely because of his poor swordsmanship, he can only get an official position to defend the frontier island. ”

"To be honest, I hope from the bottom of my heart now, it's really that he is too humble. ”

Luceen's pupils narrowed.

Many times more powerful than slashing iron armor, enough to qualify as an elven warrior alongside the king and wielding an Azorean sword......

I really want to have a fight.

The black-haired wizard fell into deep thought.

"Master Ashamai, why do you ......" the little wizard said in confusion, "Why have you never mentioned this before, and why does the empire still know nothing about the Azorean elves?"

"Why?" Haringvan Ashamai, whose expression was a little gloomy, did not answer, and turned his helpless gaze to Loren with a wry smile.

"Because it's not necessary. Loren silently gave the answer.

That's right, there's no need.

Separated from the Misty Sea, even the Empire's ocean-going fleet can only make a round trip once a year, and there are only two or three thousand mercenaries, including sailors and escorts.

That is to say, even if the Azorean elves launch a full-scale war and a full-scale invasion, the army they can put into it is only four or five thousand people at most, and the only direction they can attack is the port of Eboden, and only once a year.

Even if they can fight ten of them one by one, with the power of Ebolden's native power, they can defend against the invasion of the elves, so there is no need to worry at all.

What's more, what can they gain by crossing the ocean to invade the empire?

Wealth? No amount of wealth is worth it compared to the cost of such an expedition;

Not to mention whether they can control the land they occupy across a sea of mist, even if they want to open up colonies, the next thing they have to face is the siege of the empire on all sides, the lack of troops, and the rebellion inside, it is impossible to hold it.

Slaves, as inappropriate as this may be, if they really want to, the Ebolden Chamber of Commerce and the ocean-going fleet will definitely find a way to satisfy them in exchange for huge profits from the ocean-going trade.

What kind of war maniac would have to be able to think of such an expedition that cost a lot of money, labored on an expedition, and was doomed to lose money and gain nothing?

"That's... What Master Ashmai said, irreparable mistakes......"

"I haven't really come into contact with the warrior system of the Azorean elves, but ......" Ashami smiled bitterly, "They should already know our wizarding system very well." ”

"I suspect that I may have inadvertently exposed the actual war potential and level of the Empire. ”

The black-haired wizard sighed - when Master Ashamai told him about it, he thought it was just some personal question......

"Also... If the elf who came to the forest of ancient wood was my benefactor, I suppose it would be against the Duke if he were to see me—you know, the happiness of a man is often built on the pain of others, and it is unfortunate that the happiness of me and his two daughters, and a niece, is weighed on by this father and uncle......"

"Of course, it's a good deal from an alchemical point of view, because we create three times as much happiness, but only one pain... But I guess he probably doesn't think so......"

"........." the crowd.

The room, which is enclosed by "silence like water", is so quiet that you can even hear everyone's heartbeat.

"Half a year ago, the team sent by Ebotden to reconnoiter the shipwrecked ocean-going fleet is said to have an eyebrow. ”

Just when everyone was quiet, Peter Fasha's voice suddenly sounded faintly:

"Although there is no conclusive evidence, they did find the area where the fleet was shipwrecked - it is said that there was no bad weather or any signs of hurricanes or waves on the day of the death. ”

"At least, the nine-pointed star wizard Tari, a wizard who is well versed in divination and astrology, predicts this. ”

"What do you mean ......," Lusen asked, snorting coldly.

"At the site of the incident, they also found some debris on the ship's body. Peter Fasa ignored him and continued: "Especially on the fragment of one of the masts, marks of a sharp blade were found. ”

"That's the ocean-going fleet, the mainmast of the flagship;"

"I am ...... by some, an unknown blade"

"Cut it off with a knife. ”

The voice fell, and the room was quiet again.

Loren, frowning, looked at Peter Fasha's right hand without squinting, and his trance-like gaze seemed to travel through time, back to a scene three years ago—

In the middle of the night, in a torrential downpour, an elven warrior leapt up to the deck of the flagship with his sword, and gently clasped the hilt of his sword in the midst of the exclamations of the sailors and mercenaries, the panicked footsteps, and the shouts that surrounded him.

The bright sword light came out of its sheath at the moment of the thunderous explosion.

Plasma, gushing like ink, screaming, one after another.

After a few moments, there was no second person on the deck standing besides him.

The lone elven warrior swung his sword to his side, returning it to its sheath, and the drops of blood that fell from the blade drew a crescent-shaped half-arc around him.

When he turned around, the main mast behind him had a neat cut and toppled in a wail.

"Bang ——!!!!"

The door was opened.

The nervous crowd turned their gaze in the direction of the door almost at the same time, and Peter and Ashamai did not forget to put on their hoods and disguise them again.

"Sorry didn't bother you, did you?"

A cold voice sounded from outside the door, and the expressionless female elf hugged her shoulders and stared directly at the black-haired wizard with her back to her:

"Elder Morning Star Lin's orders, they agreed to your request!"