Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Chapter 1002: Chapter 797: An Old Friend After a Long Time

Hill stood by the window, looking southward towards Agleya: ”I wonder how Deepwater City is doing now.”

What he most wanted to know was, what exactly had fallen into Deepwater City’s hands that attracted the Zholar to invade so crazily, even though they knew Hill and Kelben’s cold and somewhat adversarial relationship, they still had to prevent him from interfering.

Although Celene can be quite confused at times, at least she won’t fail to discern something capable of destroying Shaer... that’s something her intuition can identify without needing her judgment.

”The dragon roars last night were not just from our Agleya,” Lynn quickly answered, ”The giant dragons in Deepwater City wouldn’t usually help humans defend against external enemies... they would generally hide in their secret chambers.”

”Aren’t the dragon’s secret chambers all underground?” Hill chuckled, as the Zholar emerged from underground tunnels.

”Though you can’t tell from above Deepwater City, the people of the Underworld mostly know where they lead to the dragons’ underground caves,” Lynn explained, ”So... there’s certainly a dragon in the Zholar’s target. Unfortunately, it’s too far, even Terry and Tasding couldn’t figure out which family is in trouble.

Just don’t know if the Zholar got what they wanted before their sudden large retreat.

I’ve already paid the Harpists a sum of money, given it’s unrelated to Kelben, I reckon they would sell correct information to us.

After all, Miliel hasn’t withdrawn from the Harpists, the current leader of the Harpists, Storm Silverhand, has been trying to retain the Bards.”

Hill nodded and shook his head regretfully, ”The Black Robe Master actually didn’t show up...”

He thought he would see the Black Staff Tower explode into the sky before the sun rose... Halaster the Black Robe was an expert in the art of explosion, and during his time in the Underworld, he was mostly irrational.

The reason Kelben holds such a high position in Deepwater City is that his Magic Tower is indeed the closest suppression point to ’Under the Mountain’ near Deepwater City, should something go wrong, he would undoubtedly face the Black Robe’s bombardment first... a bit of a pity.

”The Singer said the Black Robe loves to compare himself with Elminster... so he might also be building his own planet like that master... maybe he’s residing inside one of those asteroids near the Tears of Celene now.”

Hill would never doubt one of the greatest sources of gossip in Toril, he couldn’t help but curl his lips: ”The Haber Family got such a bargain... fortunately... we protected Edna.

At this time, if the Haber Family intends to make a move on the little girl again, they probably can only look up in vain... the White Dragon Queen may not be as intelligent as those Archmages, but in cunning, she absolutely would not lose to them.”

Hill nearly bit his tongue, luckily he changed the topic in time... he couldn’t very well say in front of Lynn, ’thank goodness Miliel’s information transmission is fast enough,’ could he...

Even if both Lynn and Miliel know why Hill was so crystal clear, one can’t insult the bald monk in front of him!

”How many Dark Mages do you think participated in this robbery ’Under the Mountain’?” Hill asked curiously.

”Mostly outsiders?” Lynn hesitantly answered, ”Anyone who has had contact with that Black Robe wouldn’t feel lucky... he seems to have set a boundary for himself, if there’s anything unclear, even in madness, he’d go to the surface to think it over.

As long as he touches the sun, he will quickly regain his rational state.

Hill, he’s a Archmage exceeding Level 45, I don’t think he wouldn’t find a way to deal with fools daring to lay hands on his homeland.”

”So, the Haber Family won’t leave anything from the labyrinths?” Hill looked at him, ”Then why did they participate? It’s no secret that the Zholar borrowed the way from them.”

”The Haber Family once had an Archmage, more talented than the current Marko, unfortunately died when the Black Robe was mad... borrowing the way is normal, Master Halaster wouldn’t be excessively harsh on them for that,” Lynn explained, ”And the father of that Archmage seems to still be alive, I’ll look into it to see if he’s nearing death... a mad father’s revenge before he dies, even Halaster wouldn’t do much about it.

After all, he is also an Archmage who knows the importance of mage legacy, in Toril, it’s rare for Archmages to directly obliterate a long-inherited Mage Family like the Habers, it’s usually a matter of whoever acts gets taken down rather than exterminating the family.”

Hill blinked, understandingly nodded, otherwise, when the Mage Association in Teraxil disgusted him so much back then, he wouldn’t hesitate in wanting to be ruthless, for mages legacy seems unimportant, but when it truly confronts one, some hesitation remains.

The great Archmages of Toril are the same, neither good nor evil faction would easily harm apprentices... provided it doesn’t affect their interests.

Anyhow, he has already exposed the actions of the Haber Family; this suppressed grievance is considered resolved... as to how relevant persons intend to deal with this family, it’s no longer his concern.

Lynn looked at Hill: ”I need to ask you something. During the defense of the city, not only did the City Guard participate, but also many people from University Town, including those Dwarves and Gnomes. I want to include them in the military exploits rewards category.”

Hill said indifferently, ”In my view, there should be gains where there’s effort. Since they willingly contributed their ideas and efforts for the domain, they naturally deserve the rewards.

The items you took from Agleya City’s warehouse don’t require my approval. If you need anything from my private treasury, just have Marsha communicate with List.

You don’t need to ask me about such trivial matters.”

Lynn nodded: ”Once it’s confirmed, I’ll have Marsha inform List to show you the inventory. Could you please stamp your City Lord’s seal on it?

The first time is always different; you can’t just use a minor seal.”

Hill nodded: ”Got it. By the way, Lynn, the Undead Tribe will likely rest for 4 to 8 days, so can I know Rose’s target before they set out again?

The most important thing is, I want to know if she succeeded... I really can’t imagine what could possibly be used against Shaer, unless it’s a shard of the Tablets of Fate?”

Lynn chuckled: ”Maybe it’s just something she thinks might work. After all, Toril has many ’famous’ Divine Artifacts.”

As they were talking, Marsha and List were quickly tallying up the finalized reward list... Within Agleya’s control range, nothing could escape Marsha’s eyes as long as it was outdoors.

List’s review was merely a formality; Marsha hardly ever made mistakes... The only way to make a Tower Spirit have issues is for an overwhelmingly powerful Divine Power to directly alter its energy circuits.

Once Hill affixed the City Lord’s seal, Lynn hurriedly left... He hoped to distribute the military exploits as quickly as possible, not for the City Guard who were already accustomed to the generous rewards of Hill’s Domain, but for the students and teachers from University Town.

Especially the students... The population of Agleya City’s civilians had grown substantial, and Lynn always hoped for more officials who could assist with his work.

If those students, who had already been living within Marsha’s field of vision for some time, willingly stayed, Lynn wouldn’t need such a long observation period.

Appointing officials in Toril was sometimes akin to an adventure... No one knew if a Cult member would come forth, and Lynn never thought Detect Alignment would be 100% effective. The limitations of such a spell are understood by those who have lived long enough.

Hill watched Lynn’s figure disappear through the doors of the city hall, feeling a bit hesitant... He knew what Lynn had been busy with recently, but he really wasn’t sure if he should give a painting of Legendary Level from his collection to Lynn.

Yet, he ended up giving up on the idea. Toril people seemed to live in a land of lies... whether they were deities or ordinary people, they deceived others while also deceiving themselves.

Hill felt that even if he did give it to Lynn, he might not have the courage to use it.

Three days later, Hill received a thick report from Lynn sent from Deepwater City... Not knowing why Lynn had left quickly while wearing a strange smile, Hill couldn’t help but twitch his lips upon opening it for the first glance.

The item Rose believed could help her deal with Shaer turned out to be Amanata’s Holy Grail... She seemed to think that this object could not only enlarge the gap to the Shadow Realm but also provoke a direct conflict between the seemingly resurrecting Amanata and Shaer.

As for that unlucky dragon... it had absolutely no idea why Amanata’s Holy Grail ended up in his treasure vault in Deepwater City. It was the male ancient gigantic Black Dragon Lich Duogasos.

But the giant dragon was very pleased with the cup it had obtained, even though all it had left was a pile of bones, it kept trying to use the cup... It was precisely because he recklessly tried to use Amanata’s Holy Grail to take advantage of its resurrection abilities that this matter reached Rose’s ears.

What can I say? Duogasos was an idealistic Dragon Lich: he is trying to gain all the abilities of a normal Black Dragon, and by ”returning to life” (actually engaging in OOXX) sufficiently populate and cultivate a new dragon species of his own creation.

Due to his bizarre desires, even Hill, who rarely paid attention to these giant dragons, knew him well... However, Duogasos hadn’t willingly turned himself into a Dragon Lich, so he can be understood if he feels unenvious.

He enjoys music and accompaniment, possessing a strong and perpetual curiosity, along with an astonishing memory. In The North, beautiful Bard maidens were often warned: being invited by a stranger to the campsite was dangerous because he might be more than just a Harpist, but actually a Bone Dragon... Unless your singing is enchanting, you might encounter misfortune.

Hill suddenly raised his head, trying to carefully recall what he was thinking when he threw out that cup back then... The result might not seem too surprising.