In a small office at the headquarters of the Mage Guild, three mages were sitting around an old round table. These three people are the only three dark gold mages in the Mage Guild: Level 17 Mage Ryan, Level 18 Grand Magus Hoover, and Association President Theodore.

Theodore said with a solemn face: "This time, we are taking too much risk. ”

Ryan sneered, "If we succeed, we can deter the nobles of the entire kingdom, and the guild's status in the kingdom will also reach its peak." How is it possible that there is no risk at all with such a huge gain, and so far, everything is under our control. That old fellow Burr could get some poison to kill him at any time. ”

Theodore frowned and said, "No, it's not appropriate. In my opinion, it is better for him to be tried in public in a secret courtroom and plead guilty. Master Monnet is very good at soul magic, so it would be good to let him operate it when the time comes. ”

Ryan smiled sarcastically and said, "Do you think that others will not be able to see that Burr is being manipulated? What is the point of doing this? No one can fool him!"

Theodore said quietly: "Even if you can't fool someone, you have to do it." This is the last fig leaf between us and the nobles of the kingdom. ”

"Brilliant description!" Ryan complimented, clapping his hands a few times.

The expression on Theodore's face didn't change at all, as if Ryan was really complimenting him. The president flipped through the information in front of him and said, "There's no problem with that Richard, right?

This time it was Ryan's turn to frown: "The first time Richard appeared, it seems to be related to an alien invasion in the Principality of White Rock. So I approached the High Priest of the God of Courage and asked him to ask for an oracle to determine Richard's origins. He had already agreed, but for some reason, the connection between the god of courage and the priests had suddenly become very weak recently. Although the highest ritual was initiated, the High Priest was still unable to communicate the will of the God of Courage. ”

Theodore nodded and said, "I've heard that something similar has happened in the churches of the God of Time and the God of Stability. The high priest of Sinai also did not receive any oracles, while Xerxes was in a better situation, having sent an oracle once in the last six months. However, there was nothing unusual about the content of the oracle, just asking them to increase the number of believers as soon as possible, and then there was no sound. ”

Ryan frowned and said, "This is a bit troublesome, and the matter of investigating Richard can only be put aside for a while." Although there are many rumors from the outside world, I still believe that the force behind Richard is at most an archmage, and not a legendary mage. There are only a few legendary powerhouses on the continent, how could a new legendary mage suddenly appear? This time, if Richard was smarter and let go of the benefits of the enchanted equipment and the Great Fortune Dao, if he refused to let go...... Hmph, young people who don't know how to advance or retreat, a lot of people die every year!"

Theodore tapped lightly on the table and said, "I suggest that the guild be put into a state of readiness, and that all troops and battle mages be ready for battle. Although the royal family and the three major dukes are silent on this matter, we must be careful. This is an order, so take a look at it and sign it if there is no problem. Of course, I still think that this war must be brought under control, and you must not forget that I am firmly against this war. ”

Ryan felt a pang in his heart, this document was obviously prepared a long time ago. Obviously, Theodore had anticipated the content and outcome of today's meeting. This old fox is not simple, although his magic power is one level lower than Ryan's, his scheming is unfathomable. It is not so easy for the latter to grasp the power of the Mage Guild.

Ryan took the document and glanced at it, then pushed it in front of Hoover, and said respectfully, "Master Hoover, please take a look! If you think there is no problem, then I have no problem either." ”

Hoover was so immersed in his own world that he didn't even listen to them. Hearing Ryan call him, the archmage grabbed the papers, signed his name without looking at them, and said, "I've been working on a brilliant idea for magic lately! Is there anything else going on now?"

Ryan and Theodore looked at each other and said, "No, that's what this meeting is all about." ”

Hoover immediately stood up and said, "Okay, I'll go back first!"

Theodore also stood up and said, "Master Hoover, this is a special situation, can you study magic in Lausanne? Your magic tower is too far away from Lausanne, and it takes too long to go back and forth." ”

Hoover snorted and said, "The lab here is too rudimentary to meet my requirements!" With that, he pushed the door away, ignoring Theodore's retention.

In the middle of summer, the Redwood Kingdom was plunged into violent turmoil.

First, the Mage Guild captured Count Burr and challenged the aristocracy of the entire continent, then the Avenue of Fortune began to operate, allowing the nobles to rediscover the value of the Bloodstained Lands, and finally Richard declared war on the Mage Guild as a nobleman rather than a mage!

Although many people guessed that the Mage Guild's actions were aimed at Richard, no one expected that he would be the first to intervene in this incident with an extremely strong posture.

Richard openly amassed an army in his domain, and demanded that the Mages Guild immediately release Earl Burr, remove all restrictions on the trade of magical items in the Earldom of Burr and Ser Akmund, and provide him with the magic materials he needed at a reasonable price, without obstacles.

"Otherwise, I don't mind bloodbathing Lausanne!"

The next day, President Theodore of the Mage Guild issued a declaration: "The Mage Guild will definitely wipe out the disruptors!"

Richard made a request to the nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom: "Anyone who stands in my way will be eliminated as an alliance of the Mage Guild!"

In just a few days, the Sequoia Kingdom was in flames!

The Mage Guild gathered more than thirty large and small nobles to form an army of up to 40,000 people, and even the Knights of the Kingdom appeared. This group of elite knights, numbering as many as two thousand, is the most elite force of the royal family, and they fill the gap of the Mage Guild's lack of high-level ground troops. Although all of the knights claimed to have entered the war in their personal capacity, their presence had already made it clear to all the nobles that the royal family was in stand.

Eventually, most of the nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom joined the coalition, including many of those who had gone west with Richard. Although they had common interests on the trade routes, they were not optimistic about Richard in this war.

Surprisingly, the three major dukes were silent about the war, and even the Duke of Glasburg, who was close to the royal family, did not say anything.

After the formation of the coalition of the Mage Guild, Richard immediately took measures to stabilize the rear. And on this matter, Reilly and he have a disagreement.

"I think we can take this opportunity to screen out our allies. ”

"Sifting?" Richard frowned.

"Let quicksand and Erin come to rendezvous with all their troops, leaving the Blue Water Oasis to those people. Reilly said with a smile.

“...... Do you mean to let the underlying unrests pop out on their own?" said Richard with a solemn face.

"Ah, the next thing to do is ......" Reilly stretched out his right hand, then clenched it into a fist vigorously: "Catch it all!"

Richard hesitated for a moment and said, "Let's give them a chance." ”

"Hmph, woman's kindness. Reilly sneered.

"Say whatever you want. ”

Richard sent people back to the Blue Water Oasis, put all the noble private troops stationed there under surveillance, and announced that all armed forces in the Oasis City had been requisitioned, or that they would return to the territory on the premise of abandoning all equipment and horses. Nobles who want to remain neutral will have to surrender all their weapons and horses, but they can keep their armor.

"Those who dare to resist will be killed!"

Most of the nobles who remained in Oasis City had fought alongside Richard and had long been afraid of him, so most of them chose neutrality. Although there were some people who wanted to do something while Richard was away, they were quickly killed by Quicksand and the humanoid knight.

Quicksand and Erin then left Oasis City with most of their warriors, leaving behind a thousand defenders who had just turned from slavery to civilians.