"The concentration of mana here is already above the normal limit, teacher. ”

A mage wrapped in a black cloak opened his eyes, quietly stared at the forest in front of him, and spoke.

And so it was. ”

Old Chris frowned, and there was a hint of worry on his old wrinkled face like tree bark.

As a member of the Outer Law Ring Council of the Mage Guild, Old Chris naturally conducted an investigation into the Twilight Forest before he came. Of course, unlike the Church of Holy Grace, the mages have their own set of investigative methods of reading. They are not like the Church of Holy Grace, which does whatever it wants in the name of Holy Mana. In the eyes of the Mage Society, Manna is an energy for human use. Because of this, they will conduct a lot of preliminary and peripheral investigations before making direct contact with them, and use this information to determine the authenticity and then decide on the next plan.

And the twilight forest is the same.

In the beginning, the Mage Guild was not without information about the appearance of xenomorphs in the Twilight Forest, but they did not send personnel to investigate, for the simple reason that mages are serious researchers, and they believe that only after sufficient information and research will the action be successful. Those idiots will only make things worse, but since these idiots are responsible for being pathfinders, the Mage Guild is happy to let them do it. Anyway, they also knew very well that even if the Church of Grace really discovered the source, it would not be a matter of a day or two to use it. As long as the Source really exists, then the Mage Guild has the confidence and strength to snatch it from them.

With enough planning, why rush?

And the next development also proved that the judgment of the Mage Association was correct. But things are going in a weird direction.

The investigation team of the Church of Divine Grace is missing - it is normal, it would be a surprise if the fools did not die, and they really thought that they were messengers representing Mana, and that a few words of praise to the gods would be enough to appease the unstable power of the source?

The lords of the twilight forest actually have two high-ranking swordsmen as subordinates - this is a bit interesting, but the mages don't care, although the high-level swordsmen are enough to threaten their safety, but as spellcasters, they have no conflict with the warriors. Even on the other hand, many mages are willing to maintain a fairly good relationship with the warriors, which does not cost them a penny, but they can ensure that there will be no knife stabbed from the back by their side, and not making senseless enemies has always been one of the first three provisions of the mage code, so the mage association does not particularly care.

However, after that, the attitude of the Mage Guild towards the Twilight Forest suddenly changed from focus to attention. All because of one thing.

That was the emergence of the City of the Lost Soul.

Although Valhalla has little contact with the outside world, there is still a lot of contact. Especially those who used to live in Twilight now have some money, and Yulian has also spent some effort to open the Golden Trade Road and the City of the Immortal Station, so that the townspeople can also go to the big cities outside the forest, of course, this is also indispensable to have a few drinks and talk about some things that happen around them.

"Hey, work, I don't think you'd have imagined! We were outside the forest that night, listening to the roaring explosions inside, and we thought that the end of the world had come early! And then the next morning, you see, you see! Our town is gone, and in its place is a great city! Holy grace is above, I don't know how our lord did it, and I don't want to know, but I only know one thing, and I don't want to trouble him. He's given us a good life, and hey, hey, he

The drunken speeches of these people were not taken seriously, and although many people knew that there was indeed a city in the twilight forest right now, it would be built overnight? Therefore, the words of these people are even more used as jokes everywhere.

But the Mage Guild didn't let that stop, and they also detected the violent explosion and the flow of Mana that night, which were very abnormal. Even the mages of the Mage Guild, who have studied Mana's power quite well, can't figure out what's going on there. They were inclined to believe that perhaps the source had undergone some kind of mutation, resulting in an explosion. But it turned out that this was not the case. While the Mage Guild couldn't be sure when Valhalla was founded, relying on their vast intelligence network to investigate, it was clear that the city was built overnight, if not overnight, as those claimed, it must have taken a very short time—and an almost impossible time.

With this information, the Mage Guild has made a preliminary investigation - there is indeed a source in the Twilight Forest, and as it stands, it may have been occupied and used by the young lords of the Twilight Forest. But this is not particularly bad news for the Mage Guild, although the mages also care about the source itself, but don't forget that they are the indulgence and users of Mana, and for these mages, what they need most is a high concentration of Mana power, in addition to the source, the high concentration of Mana near it is also useful. And the Mage Guild naturally has its own means of how to use these.

Originally, after making a preliminary investigation, the Mage Association had already begun to prepare to send someone to contact the young lord, intending to have a good discussion with the lord about this aspect and make a deal at the same time. After all, you must know that there has been no source in this area for many years, and because of this, neither the Mage Guild nor the Church of Holy Grace have any way to expand their power, and now that a source has appeared here, it is equivalent to filling the gap, and they will naturally not let go of this opportunity.

However, a decree issued by Valhalla made the Mage Guild have to stop itself. The content of this decree is only one sentence: the Church of Holy Grace is forbidden to appear in the territory of the Twilight Forest.

This decree should have made the Mage Association happy, because it represented the official attitude, that is, if the Holy Grace Church wanted to get involved here, there would be no way! But the characteristics of the Mage Association have always been cautious, you know, the so-called official is not the official of their Mage Association, but the official representing the royal power. In this territory of the Kingdom of West, they and the Church of Divine Grace are both outsiders, and if the Church of Holy Grace is forbidden to appear, then their Mage Guild also has the same possible surname.

Mages are proud, of course they don't want to take the initiative to meet the ashes, so, after discussion, the Mage Association decided to send a few people into the Twilight Forest first, to find out the local situation, and at the same time judge the attitude of the young lord, these jobs cannot be done by ordinary people, they don't know spells, and they don't understand magic theory, these jobs can only be handed over to mages. Therefore, the Mage Guild finally decided to be led by the elder Chris of the Outer Law Ring Council to investigate the true situation in the Twilight Forest.

And now, they have come to their preliminary conclusions. There is indeed a source here, and it looks ............ Has it been used?

It's strange, it takes a lot of devices and tools to activate the source, but according to the information provided by the Mage Guild, no similar device has ever been transported here, so how did they come to be? Or did the lords here start planning a long time ago? That's not right, according to the results of the association's internal investigation, this lord named Yulian Felix was not a resident of this place before, his background was not here, he had obtained this territory for less than a year, and more importantly, the Source Energy Conversion Device was not something that anyone could possibly get their hands on!

However, he also remembered that there seemed to be a member of the royal family next to the young lord............... "Everyone, is your investigation over?"

Just as Chris retracted his thoughts and waved his hand to give further orders, a voice from behind them almost frightened the old man.

He's a Middle-Ring mage! How could he not notice that someone was behind him?

Thinking of this, Old Chris hurriedly turned around and subconsciously put on a defensive posture, and several mages around him were the same, and then they were surprised to find that a young man was riding on a horse, looking at him with a friendly, elegant smile. He didn't seem to be very old, only in his early twenties, and his tall and thin figure was wrapped in a well-fitting aristocratic dress, and his black eyes made him look a little mysterious. What caught the old mage's eye the most was the horse beneath him—its form was blurred, even like a frozen mist, and only a pair of bright, radiant eyes proved that it had life.

Soul creatures?

Mages are well-informed people, and it was only natural that Chris Sr. was aware of the creature's true identity. And at this moment, the identity of this young nobleman was also about to come out.

A man who can use a soul creature as a mount and is still so young?

"Hello, mages, I am Yuren Felix, Lord of the Twilight Forest. ”

At the same time, Yulian had already turned over and dismounted, he owed slightly, and then introduced himself with a smile.

"Hello, lordship..............."

Hearing this, Old Chris showed a wry smile, and frankly speaking, this situation is quite embarrassing. Of course, they didn't report to Yulian before they investigated, but now, they and the others have been caught by this lord here - there is no need to think about killing people, there may not be a few people who can tame soul creatures as mounts in the Mage Association, coupled with the rumors outside, Old Chris believes that he can't have the slightest chance in front of this young man.

So, he also gave up the idea in his heart and returned a mage salute to the other party.

"Hello, my lord, I'm Chris Ayrt of the Outer Ring Council of the Mage Guild. ”

Old Chris still kept an eye on it, and did not take the initiative to say what he and the others were doing and what they were doing, because in this way, they obviously answered Yulian's previous question, so that they would fall behind, and although they were unwilling to have a head-on conflict with this lord, the pride in the mage's heart still did not allow them to bow their heads like this.

What made Chris feel reassured was that Yuren greeted them after dismounting, rather than riding on a horse, which showed that he still had at least some respect for his own mages.

"The Mage Guild, it's really an honor, I didn't expect the members of the Mage Guild to come to my territory. ”

Hearing this, You Lian also smiled slightly, and didn't ask any more questions.

"I'm honored to be Lord of the Twilight Forest, but ......... I don't think it's a good place to talk. ”

As he spoke, Yulian swept through the surrounding woods, his words were not many, but the meaning was clearly expressed.

"Maybe we should find a better place?"

"It's ............ Of course. ”

Old Chris's appearance was very calm, but in his heart he secretly complained, Holy grace is above, how could this young man be so troublesome. From the moment he appeared until now, the young lord had the initiative in the whole conversation, he asked questions, he took them back, he led their answers, and he also led their actions. He didn't mean to be condescending in the slightest, nor was he arrogant, he just put on the posture that he should entertain guests as a host, which was the most troublesome, and Old Chris didn't know what the other party really thought. He knew that a group of investigators from the Church of Holy Grace had "disappeared" here, and that a regional bishop and his guards had also "disappeared" here. All of this makes the Church of Grace gnash its teeth in anger, but what can they do? They are the Church of Grace, a huge organization. And the Twilight Forest is only the domain of minor nobles, and if you want to oppress them, you will lower your reputation. This is especially true of churches that rely on fame for their food.

Therefore, they can only condemn it verbally, and publicize to the surrounding area that the Twilight Forest is a terrifying place, and the lord there is a terrifying person......... But these have no effect on the Twilight Forest, he does not rely on these, the Twilight Forest does not need too many people, and the statement of the Church of Holy Grace combined with the rumors of the original Twilight Forest makes him happy and quiet. There are no troublemakers, no troublemakers, no troublemakers, no fun, which is simply undesirable for Yulian.

So, what exactly did the young lord think, and what did he plan to do?

While Old Chris was thinking about these questions, they had already walked out of the forest under the leadership of Yuren and came to the Valhalla City in front of them.

It was not surprising that the mages looked surprised at the sight of this majestic, spectacular city, although they had seen many similar cities before, but they were all big cities, very lively, very prosperous, and most importantly, they had existed for many years before they had changed into such cities. But now, look at this beautiful city, how did it come to life deep in this forest?

Looking at the Gothic houses in front of you, the bright sunlight shines on the beautiful, neat streets, and the clear spring water flows down the ditches on both sides of the street, making a crisp and moving sound of water. Such a city is definitely not something that can be built in a few days!

Old Chris walked on the streets, looking at the inhabitants here, but deep down he was very complicated, he knew very well that building such a city, even with the use of those magic tools, it would be difficult to do so well in such a short period of time! Even if the Mage Guild used all its strength, it would not be possible, especially without anyone noticing, this was almost beyond the limit of what could be imagined now!

What is the background of this young man?

"Mr. Chris, what do you think of my city?"

"Oh?"

Julien's inquiry pulled old Chris back into his deep thoughts, and he paused for a moment before speaking.

"Nice, beautiful city, though a little rude, but I never thought to see such a city in the twilight forest, and it surprised me. ”

"Thank you for the compliment. ”

Hearing Chris's answer, Yulian nodded, and then said no more.

Damn it, again.

At this point, Old Chris was already very helpless, he glanced at the mages beside him, and their expressions were similar to his own. Even if this young lord said two or three more words, then they would have the confidence to take back the initiative of the scene. But in fact, such a never-ending conversation has been going on all the way, and Yulian has stopped at the most critical place every time. He didn't say much to show that he was interested in the guests. Every time it was just a point, as a mage of the Outer Ring Council, Old Chris understood very well that the other party was hinting that he wanted to get to the point first.

Otherwise......... Old Chris didn't know what would happen otherwise, but his instincts told him that it was definitely not what he wanted to see.

So, he had to open his mouth.

"Your Excellency, in fact..................... We are here to make contact with you on behalf of the Outer Ring Mage Council. ”

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Yu Lian turned his head, this old mage is smart, as soon as he puts on an official posture like this, his previous oppression will not work, and now he has said that he is coming to contact him on behalf of the Outer Ring Mage Council, so the previous investigation behavior, he can explain it as curiosity, or a whim............ Anyway, you can say it. But it didn't matter, it just meant that the mages had resisted the pressure they had exerted and put the conversation back on a reciprocal track.

"I really didn't expect that the Outer Ring Mage Council would be interested in my small territory......... So ........."

With that, Yulian finally stopped and reached out for the first time.

"Maybe we should have a good talk. ”

(To be continued)