Chapter 12: The Heart of a Strong One (Part 1)
Seeing the seventh-rank magical beast ‘Velociraptor’ and the mysterious magician leave, Hogg finally breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
“Uncle Hill,” Hogg turned directly to look at the steward ‘Hill’, “Immediately arrange some people to find the gold nuggets melted from the gold coins in those ashes. This mercenary squad is no ordinary group; they likely had considerable wealth. I hope it can make up for the losses our Wushan Town has suffered.”
Hogg glanced around—the rows of houses had all been reduced to rubble.
“Yes, my lord.” Hill nodded.
“Hillman.” Hogg looked at Hillman beside him and smiled. “How do you feel?”
Hillman also nodded. “It was a mix of fear and worry. Seeing the seventh-rank magical beast ‘Velociraptor’ and that mysterious magician, I knew Wushan Town had no means of resistance at all. For a high-ranking magician like an eighth-rank magician, even if they destroyed our town on a whim, no one would dare blame the magician lord, let alone punish them.”
Magicians held an extremely lofty status.
An ordinary magician already commanded status comparable to a noble.
As for an eighth-rank magician, even when meeting the king of a kingdom, they need not kneel in obeisance; they could stand and converse directly. This shows how revered the status of an eighth-rank magician truly was.
“Exactly, so we should be grateful that at least no residents of Wushan Town died,” Hogg said with a smile.
“Yes, we should be grateful,” Hillman agreed with a nod and a smile.
“Hillman, take some people to assist Uncle Hill here and properly resolve the housing issues for the civilians who lost their homes,” Hogg instructed.
“Yes, Lord Hogg.” Hillman accepted the order.
Hogg looked carefully behind him and then asked Hillman in confusion, “Huh? Where’s Linley? He was right beside me just a moment ago.”
“I don’t know. I didn’t notice,” Hillman shook his head.
“My lord, young master Linley has already returned,” Hill interjected. “However, when the young master left just now, he seemed a bit distracted, lost in thought about something.”
Hogg nodded thoughtfully.
*******
At the Baruch family estate, there was no shortage of houses—there were many of them. During the Baruch family’s most prosperous days, hundreds of people lived here, but now far fewer resided within the estate. Even Linley, an eight-year-old child, occupied an entire house by himself.
Linley’s bedroom.
At this moment, Linley was sitting cross-legged on the bed, frowning in deep thought.
The terrifying scene of the ‘Dance of the Fire Serpent’ kept replaying in his mind. Seven fire serpents, each as thick as a water vat and dozens of meters long, soared into the air, waves of flame sweeping across the sky. In an instant, the surrounding area became an ocean of fire. The powerful warriors and magicians of the mercenary squad turned to ashes in no time.
“Magicians… so powerful.”
A tremor stirred in Linley’s heart. “I may have the bloodline of a Dragonblood Warrior, but its concentration is low. The Dragonblood Warrior bloodline also rejects other types of battle qi manuals. This… limits the ceiling of my growth on the warrior’s path. I wonder if I have any chance of becoming a magician.”
Linley suddenly felt a desire to become a magician.
“And that Velociraptor was terrifying too. If I could have a Velociraptor of my own, then…”
Linley recalled the image of the Velociraptor in his mind.
Its lightning-fast tail, casually swinging to shatter boulders and destroy houses. Its massive body was like a giant battering ram in an army. Once it charged at full speed, with its size and the hard scales covering its body, it would be absolutely terrifying.
“Magical beasts… I wonder how one can obtain a magical beast,” Linley yearned deep down to have one.
For some reason, lying in bed, Linley couldn’t fall asleep no matter what. He tossed and turned, his mind filled with images of the massive ‘Velociraptor’ and the mysterious magician casting the ‘Dance of the Fire Serpent’.
“Linley, what’s wrong?” A familiar voice sounded.
Linley scrambled up and looked up to see his father, Hogg. At this moment, Hogg was looking at Linley with a smile of approval.
“Father.” Linley called out respectfully. Suddenly, doubt arose in Linley’s heart. “Father smiling at me? And with that expression?”
Hogg was usually very strict with Linley and rarely gave him a warm smile. Especially this expression now—it surprised Linley even more.
“Not bad, not bad.” Hogg looked at Linley with praise. “Truly worthy of being a son of the Dragonblood Warrior clan, possessing the finest qualities of a warrior. If the descendants of Dragonblood Warriors were afraid of life and death, afraid of bloody slaughter, that would truly be laughable.”
Linley understood immediately—his father was referring to how he had witnessed the bloody scene of the Velociraptor biting ‘Luka’ to pieces without being frightened.
Linley was a bit surprised. “Father, you saw that?”
“The Velociraptor’s commotion was so loud, how could I not notice? As soon as the Velociraptor arrived at Wushan Town, I came out, but I was in another direction. I saw everything clearly—how you behaved while with Hillman,” Hogg nodded.
Linley chuckled lightly.
At that time, aside from the initial shock, he later felt his blood boil with excitement, an urge to fight with bloodlust. Linley wondered if it was due to the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline.
Hogg smiled. “Linley, did the events of today shock you so much that you even forgot to eat dinner?”
“Dinner?” Linley was taken aback.
“Grrrrr~~” At that moment, Linley’s stomach growled right on cue. He then remembered that he had gone to attend the evening training session, but before it even started, he encountered the ‘Velociraptor’ and the mysterious magician.
By all rights, he should have eaten dinner when he returned.
But his mind was filled with the soul-shaking ‘Dance of the Fire Serpent’ and the ‘Velociraptor’.
“Father, I want to ask—can descendants of the Dragonblood Warrior clan become magicians?” Linley’s hands unconsciously gripped the bedsheet tightly, and his eyes were fixed on his father.
Hogg was stunned for a moment, then understood in his heart—it seemed his son wanted to become a magician.
“It’s possible,” Hogg nodded.
A glimmer of joy appeared in Linley’s eyes.
Hogg raised a hand to calm Linley down, then said, “Linley, in the history of our Dragonblood Warrior clan, there have been magicians, but only two in total. Linley, you should know that magicians place great importance on ‘talent’. Generally, only one in ten thousand people has a chance to become a magician—just one ten-thousandth. The hope is too slim. So, don’t set your expectations too high.”
Linley shook his head.
“Father, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, I will fight for it,” Linley said with a serious expression.
Hogg looked at his eight-year-old son’s solemn face. Normally, a child’s serious expression would be amusing, but at this moment, Hogg couldn’t bring himself to laugh.
Hogg pondered for a moment, then said, “Linley, every year during the conscription season, which is late autumn, there is a recruitment test for magic students in the royal capital ‘Fenlai City’. If you truly want to go, try your luck when late autumn comes this year.”
“Late autumn? Isn’t that only half a year away?” Linley’s eyes sparkled with excitement.