Chapter 33: The Veteran
"Teacher Landuo, can't I teleport directly over there?" Ever since he knew that there was such a convenient means of transportation as the teleportation circle, Liu Li had never figured out why Wells had let him "walk" to Eleno City with the mercenary group in the first place.
"Hmm? Wells didn't tell you that beginner mages can't use teleportation circles?" "Well, Liu Li really couldn't answer Landolia's question, he really didn't know about this before. Two years of study is too short for a spellcaster, even if he has extraordinary talent and far surpasses others in the speed of mastering magic, but the accumulation of knowledge is not something that can be completed overnight, at least regarding the knowledge of the teleportation circle, there is no relevant record in the books of Wells's study, and Liu Li has no other way to learn about these things.
"Okay, I'll teach you another lesson before we leave. "In terms of the speed and efficiency of learning magic, Liu Li has always made Landolia very satisfied, but in a lot of common sense, it often makes her cry and laugh. "The teleportation circle mainly relies on the opposing characteristics of the five color elements to break the space, so as to achieve the purpose of teleportation. However, for a beginner mage whose meditation space is not stable, the opposition of elements during the teleportation process can easily cause the concussion of the meditation space, which is extremely fatal to the damage of the beginner mage. At worst, it will take a long time to recuperate, and at worst, it will not have anything to do with magic in this life. ”
At this point, Landolia seemed to suddenly remember something, and instead of continuing the explanation, she fell into thought. "But maybe that's a good idea...... Well, I'll accompany you to the teleportation hall in a moment. Considering that Liu Li's physique far surpassed that of other mages, that he had made some progress in the cultivation of martial arts, and more importantly, that his proficiency in black hole spells had exceeded his expectations, Landolia finally decided to let Liu Li experience the feeling of teleportation over a long distance.
After a week, Liu Li came to the teleportation hall of the Academy of Magic again, at this time he had already changed into the outfit of the mercenary, and the "return" was still stored in the space bracelet, and behind him, he was carrying the "Shiningmang" that had been recast by Karen. No way, in the process of learning martial arts, "Shining" has always been a common weapon when he and Kuhn practice, and it is for this reason that this spear is seriously damaged. Although Liu Li didn't know what price to pay to let Karen continue to help, this was not a problem, and he directly helped him solve the problem when Wells was still there a while ago, and the price paid was only to take two bottles of Cullen's treasured spider wine.
As the light of the teleportation circle dissipated, Liu Li's figure also disappeared into the circle.
The sentry camp was not broken, the solid walls were resistant to the attacks of the swamp creatures, and the mottled blood stains on the walls and the mental state of the garrison soldiers showed the fierceness of the battle here. A mage tower rises from the ground in the sentry to support the defenses. After the veterans who stayed here were transferred, they could be directly appointed as non-commissioned officers of the regular army of the empire, and this swamp was also one of the most famous training grounds in the southeast of the empire. It is said that the current head of the Second Order of the Empire, known as the Knight of the Iron Wall, Victor Kaino walked out from here. When Vedro arrived here, he was a new recruit who had just completed his training, joining the sentry garrison as a heavy shield warrior. Just as the elemental tides of the entire continent are approaching, the swamp creatures are becoming more and more irritable. In the first battle he experienced that year, the soldiers of the entire outpost were reduced by more than forty percent, but he remained at the forefront. In that battle, Vedro resisted the charge of the swamp monsters as a second-order high-level heavy shield warrior, and when the battle damage reached 20% and many squad leaders were killed, he collected the remnants of the army with a jerky but also beginning to show his edge of command, and fought hard for two days and one night until reinforcements arrived. Later in the battle, even the mages on the team accepted his dispatch with great satisfaction, which was rare among arrogant spellcasters. Although the scale of that elemental tide was not very large, it lasted for a whole decade. In the past ten years, Vedro has gradually sat in the position of the chief of the sentry, not only has his cultivation improved rapidly, but his command skills have also become more and more exquisite. It is worth mentioning that the mages who followed him at the beginning were impressed by his command and personality charm, and stayed by his side as a mage. When the elemental tide subsided, Vidro obeyed the orders of the Imperial military headquarters and moved to various places, as long as he was there, the defense was impregnable, and he also earned the title of Knight of the Iron Wall, and the sentry next to the swamp was officially named the Iron Wall Sentry. Well, these are all things that Liu Li read from Wells's collection of "History of the Empire" when he was still in Casfield City.
Liu Li, who came out of the teleportation circle of the mage tower, was not in a very good state, although it was not as serious as Landolia said, but the symptoms of dizziness, nausea, dizziness, tinnitus, and mental trance were indeed lingering, but at least he did not lie down and was able to come out on his own. Liu Li could sense that in his meditation space, those crystal clusters had been greatly agitated during the process of teleportation, but thankfully, there was no damage. It was only when the discomfort in his mind finally eased a little that Liu Li was finally able to concentrate and carefully observe the environment he was in.
The Iron Arm Outpost is located on the edge of the swamp, and the enrichment of the black element is even comparable to the Black Meditation Room of the Academy. Most of the casters stationed here are majoring in black spells, and their spells will also have a certain amplification effect when they receive an elemental activity bonus near the swamp. There are also a small number of red and blue spells as the main caster, which is not very serious here, and the caster who majores in white and green spells is extremely rare here, in this area where the black element is more active, as the white and green caster who is opposed to the black element, the meditation process is extremely inefficient, not to mention, if you accidentally ingest too much black element during the meditation process, causing the erosion of the opposing element on the body, it will be serious.
Although today's state could not directly enter the swamp area, Liu Li did not plan to directly find a hotel to waste a day, he decided to walk around and familiarize himself with the environment.
It is said to be a sentry, but in fact, it can also be said to be a small town, but its defense capability is far beyond other places. The thick and towering walls are not far behind the big cities of Casfil and Erenor. The soldiers of the city defense did not see the leisurely and lazy appearance of their counterparts in the peaceful area, the ballistas placed at intervals on the city wall were facing the direction of the swamp, and the battle damage of up to forty percent of the original elemental tide was also partly due to the lack of preparation, and now the defense capacity of this fortress town, which has been officially renamed the Iron Wall Sentry, can be said to be several times more than before.
There are not only Imperial soldiers in the town, but also mercenaries who have a way to survive here. While the swamp area poses danger to the outposts, the minerals, herbs, and spell-casting materials produced in it are also hard to find elsewhere, and mercenaries who make a living from them often penetrate to relieve the pressure on the town's defenses while using their own strength to gain wealth. Of course, there are often some dangerous outlaws in the swamp area, who survive by plundering the mercenaries who go deep into it, and these people naturally come from the destination of Liu Li's trip - Sin City. The empire once sent troops to clear the confiscation, but these people rooted in the swamp have repeatedly escaped from the hands of the clearance team due to the difficult terrain of the swamp area, and now they have become a cancer here. They have their own way of life and can take advantage of the environment to a certain extent. However, these people are also very shrewd, they never take action against the imperial forces, and can even provide certain information and help to the defenders when the environment of the swamp area changes slightly, and over time, the empire's clearance intensity has gradually decreased, just let the mercenaries and adventurers who run away from the order be cautious, and no other measures will be taken.
Liu Li, who was sitting in the tavern of the town, asked for a glass of fruit wine with the lowest degree as always, quietly listened to the group of loud mercenaries tell their experiences, and then tried to analyze the real part from it, so that he could have a general understanding of the environment in the swamp area. In addition to the mercenaries, the number of spellcasters in the tavern is not large, but there are some. Compared to the rest of the Empire, the majority of spellcasters here are majoring in black spells. In the entire empire, the only place where the black element is more active is this swamp that is still often inhabited. For example, on the side of the dark cave on the western side of the empire, although the black element is more active than here, the danger level is also increased exponentially. The underground swamps in the caverns deep in that mountain range are inaccessible, and the shadow beasts formed by the gathering of the elements are the great enemies of all life, if it were not for the fact that they could not survive without the dark caves, the empire might even summon a group of spellcasters above the fifth order to change the terrain structure over there. To sum up, in the entire empire, this swamp area is the most suitable place for cultivators who major in black element, not only is the concentration of black element high enough, but going deep into the swamp can also improve the experience of actual combat.
Liu Li's next destination, which left the tavern, was the training ground here, of course, it was impossible to go deep into it, but it was not all fruitless. On the side of the training ground, Liu Li saw a veteran who had just finished training for recruits and was resting on the side. After informing himself of the identity of the student of the Magic Academy, Liu Li could feel that the veteran's defense of him had also eased a lot. For this swamp, no one can have more experience than these veterans who have been stationed here all year round, and these experiences are exactly what Liu Li urgently needs at this time.
The veteran is missing an arm, his only remaining right hand is missing his little finger, he doesn't walk very well, and his left leg seems to have a hidden problem. It is said that this veteran was one of the soldiers who fought with Marshal Videro in the first place, and he performed so well in that battle that he defended here with Marshal Ironwall for ten years until the elemental tides subsided. It's just that he was not very lucky, he was repeatedly wounded in battle, and in the end, his entire left arm was left in the defensive line. When Vedro was transferred, he didn't want to be dragged down by his crippled body, so he took the initiative to stay here, although he was no longer able to fight, but his familiarity with the swamp area after ten years of fighting had guided many juniors, and it could be seen from the tone of his voice that he was very satisfied with his current life. According to the veteran, his greatest wish in life was to prevent dangerous creatures from the swamp from stepping past the sentry post.
The veteran has a good sense of Liu Li, he does not have the condescending attitude of other mages, nor the impetuousness of other young people, and he is also very clever to know the situation, and he also answers Liu Li's questions one by one, and even explains to him in detail many problems that need to be paid attention to after entering the swamp. Although the veteran does not know how to spell, his experience of fighting alongside mages during the Ten Years of Elemental Tides has made him no stranger to spellcasters, as well as their strengths and weaknesses in swampy areas. Liu Li benefited a lot from the conversation with the veterans and became more confident in this mission.
At the time of separation, the veteran did not tell Liu Li his name, but it did not prevent Liu Li from remembering this respectable old man in his heart. The green element life field has a spell of finger regeneration, and the veteran is unwilling to leave this place where he has struggled all his life, Liu Li secretly vows that one day he will return a sound body to the veteran to repay the grace of today's teaching. This may only be done by Liu Li, who has a full affinity for the whole system, and other spellcasters who major in the green element need to pay attention to elemental erosion at all times in this area where the black element is active, and there is no way to release this kind of spell that requires fine control.