Chapter 54: The Nature Mentor's Visit
By the time Joshua returned to his private collection room in the Lord's Manor—a hall adorned with various dragon heads, all magically miniaturized and hung upon the walls—he learned some new information from other staff members of the Lord's Manor.
For instance, the rewards for his participation in the Mad Dragon War.
Months ago, the warrior had fought fiercely on the Far Sea Holy Mountain, nearly losing his life. It was only thanks to the Nature Mentor, Pope Eagle, and several other Ultimate-rank clergy that he hadn't truly perished. Though the process was arduous, the returns were generous.
Even before the war began, as Joshua's weapons, the Divine Mechanism siblings, Firefly and Frost, had already been strengthened to the level of Sacred Artifacts. The Empire also sent a floating warship—though the Gale had been shot down mid-war by an Ultimate-rank dragon, and its wreckage was reclaimed by the Imperial Magic Laboratory. Still, the warrior had already enjoyed piloting it, and since he couldn't afford to maintain it anyway, he didn't mind at all.
The rewards after the war were even more substantial. Setting aside the increased favor with the clergy and prestige on the Holy Mountain, the material returns alone were countless.
Due to the losses caused by the war, the Church of the Seven Gods now lacked even the funds to repair the original defensive arrays on the Holy Mountain. So instead of pure monetary compensation, they offered various material goods as collateral.
Joshua glanced at the list in his hand, then turned to look at a large, iron-gray box carefully placed in a corner of the hall by a maid.
Five hundred control cores for automatic divine-puppets, along with the accompanying instruction manuals.
"...Because they've run out of money to manufacture puppet bodies, they just gave me the control cores in bulk..."
Joshua muttered to himself, but he knew that five hundred automatic puppet cores were already an extremely valuable reward. For Moldavia Territory, which lacked neither mines nor craftsmen, this was almost like suddenly gaining five hundred Silver-rank combatants. Moreover, handing over the cores meant giving Joshua and the Empire the final manufacturing method as well. By that measure, the Church of the Seven Gods had shown considerable sincerity.
Lowering his head to continue reading the list, Joshua blinked, then turned to look at another side of the hall.
There stood a large iron chest engraved with micro-magic, bearing a few large words in the script of the Far South Kingdom: "Fragile Items, Handle with Care."
"Floating Ring."
The warrior nodded. He had almost forgotten about this item.
Because his dragon mount, Black, couldn't fly, every time Joshua needed to travel or fight airborne enemies, he had to do it himself instead of making a cool entrance riding a dragon. The warrior had always complained about this, but the Floating Ring could solve the problem.
The Floating Ring was developed by the Church of the Seven Gods to give giant war puppets aerial mobility. It was rejected for various reasons, with only one prototype ever built. Upon learning of Joshua's request, they modified this prototype to fit Black's size, allowing this aquatic fire dragon to fly and dominate land, sea, and air.
The Floating Ring could use the wearer's mana for self-defense, but before being equipped, it was just a fragile iron block inscribed with runes. This large iron chest was securely placed on a sheepskin rug, showing the caution of the movers.
"But, I recall Black seems a bit afraid of heights..."
Thinking this, Joshua frowned, but then immediately relaxed. "Whatever she thinks, more training will definitely teach her."
The black dragon, who had been comfortably receiving grooming services from the Divine Mechanism siblings, suddenly shuddered and sneezed. Amidst Firefly and Frost's dissatisfied scolding, Black woke from her sleep with a start, cautiously looking around but unable to find the source of that dangerous chill.
Beyond these items, there were many other odds and ends, both objects and personnel. For example, a complete set of the latest alchemy lab equipment, several elite clergy specially sent to teach at Winterfell Academy, five pairs of winged warhorses (one male and one female each), and many batches of specially crafted holy water... In short, the Church of the Seven Gods had absolutely shown their sincerity. The list was so long that the warrior couldn't be bothered to read further.
Most of the Holy Mountain's supplies would arrive in Moldavia before spring. What was currently in the hall was the most valuable batch, delivered via teleportation magic.
On the other hand, the Empire's rewards, though not as generous as the Holy Mountain's, were still considerable.
Again, setting aside pure money, the Empire offered prestige and titles related to family and nobility. Now, Moldavia Territory could maintain a military force of three thousand. This was different from the city guard and patrol police, which were more like law enforcement, and different from Joshua's private army and knight order. This was a formal military establishment, eligible for subsidies from the Imperial Military Department.
Originally, most of Moldavia's formal troops were stationed at Black Forest Fortress, fighting the annual Black Tide. But now, besides being able to reinforce Black Forest Fortress, the troop quotas for other towns and villages outside the main city also had considerable leeway. This was indeed very important for the Northern Territory, which had long suffered from cultists and unruly adventurers. Most importantly, most of the expenses were covered by the Imperial Military Department, so why not?
In fact, this single reward was more than enough. But clearly, the Empire wasn't short on money and didn't want to shortchange Joshua.
Emperor Israel had promised, in his personal capacity, to provide Joshua with a batch of materials that could advance the Divine Mechanism. This was different from the Holy Mountain's method of infusing Holy Light power; it was another form of enhancement. Now, those materials were already on the way. According to the herald, they had reached the checkpoint at the Ural Mountains and would arrive in Moldavia in just over ten days.
Additionally, there was a small airship. This thirty-seven-meter-long aerial vessel inherited the Gale's designation and was equipped with numerous mana weapons. It was a new product from the Imperial Magic Laboratory, based on experimental data obtained from the former Gale. Not only could it fly swiftly through the air, but it could also dive underwater—a dual-purpose sea and air warship. The laboratory gave it to Joshua in hopes that he would help collect data during his travels.
After all, everyone knew that the Count of Moldavia was never one to stay long in his territory.
The remaining odds and ends, along with thanks from Moldova Territory, were too tedious to list. But a few days ago, Brandon, who had advanced to Ultimate-rank, came to see Joshua before returning to the Imperial Capital after spending time with his wife and daughter. Besides sparring with the warrior, he also shared an important piece of news.
"The Imperial Capital is very unsettled right now."
The blonde swordsman said this while adjusting his collar, but it was clear he wasn't good at handling clothes. After struggling for a while and finally giving up, Brandon, as if to cover his embarrassment, spoke in a serious tone to the expressionless Joshua: "His Majesty the Emperor hasn't appeared in any formal occasions since returning from the Holy Mountain. According to Teacher Nostradamus, he seems troubled by something, and the atmosphere among the Imperial Capital's nobles is very strange."
"You know." At this point, Brandon shrugged. "I've been in the Northern Lands too long, so I'm not entirely clear on the situation. But I can vaguely guess why—it's all because of that Second Prince, Di Mo Er Dai Er Meng De. Joshua, you've met him once, so you should understand this is a conflict within the Imperial Royal Family. Be careful; someone might already see you as a thorn in their side."
At that time, Joshua scratched his head in slight confusion, then subconsciously flexed his fingers.
"See me as a thorn in their side? I say, shouldn't they be the ones who need to be careful?"
The image of the blonde swordsman's speechless expression flashed through his mind, and the warrior suddenly remembered something. He thought with some regret: "Damn, I forgot to borrow Brandon's Order Twin Blades to look at again."
But this wasn't a big deal. The blonde swordsman often came to the Northern Lands to meet Verdani, so he could ask next time.
Peaceful days always passed quickly. Ten-odd days flew by, but during that time, quite a few things happened.
After experiencing an adventure in the Great Aias Mountains, the students of Winterfell Academy faced another practical exam. This time, the first place wasn't the sibling pair Ivan and Amira, but rather the half-dwarf in their team. This robust half-dwarf, who had just come of age and awakened his racial talents of Magic Resistance and Stone Skin, was practically invincible in the academy, where most were only Black Iron-rank. He laughed heartily as he knocked over a dozen despairing opponents and kicked his good friends off the arena one by one.
After studying the matter for a long time, the two deans, Joshua and Nostradamus, finally decided to let this half-dwarf student, whose written exam scores were abysmal, choose for himself whether to transfer to the newly established Warrior Branch or stay in the main Mage Branch. The result was unexpected: this young man named Ni Ke was an unexpectedly devout follower of the Seven Gods. He was noticed by several Gold-rank clergy from the Church of the Seven Gods and became a young Paladin apprentice.
As for the young white dragons, they grew up healthily under the guidance of the blue dragon Sularno. In just a few months, some of the young white dragons had already learned to control magic and fly with their wings—generally, white dragons, which lean toward water and ice elements, initially awaken abilities to control ice and liquid, not atmospheric flight assistance. But since their mentor was an Ultimate-rank blue dragon, being influenced by the stray elements on her body was unavoidable.
There were also many good news from the dwarf settlement.
Last time, along with the urgent message from the Holy Mountain, came an announcement from the old dwarf Moria. By studying the special living metal on the steel elemental Chu Hao, they had successfully created a new type of rune puppet. But tests revealed many shortcomings. For example, if too far from Chu Hao, the living metal would gradually lose activity and revert to ordinary alloy within a few days.
In these ten-odd days, the Rune Dwarves made significant breakthroughs. By imitating the energy flow inside Chu Hao, they managed to keep the rune puppet active for over ten days. Of course, this was still far from enough, but Joshua believed the dwarves, now on the right track, would soon achieve the final result.
This way, he could fulfill a promise to someone.
Year 834 of the Falling Stars Era, February 18th, Moldavia, Main City, Lord's Manor.
Joshua was in the dining room, enjoying his lunch.
Having reached the Ultimate realm, the warrior could no longer obtain enough energy from food to sustain his body's functions. In fact, the energy consumed by his digestive organs alone far exceeded the nutrients in ordinary ingredients. But regardless, eating was never just about survival.
The main course on the table was a steak made from the most premium tenderloin of a magic bull, pan-fried to a perfect crisp on the outside and tender inside, incredibly fragrant, and rich in earth-element mana, with excellent chewiness.
The side dishes were various magical plants, cooked into special delicacies with magical beast meat. Taste aside, each dish provided a considerable amount of mana to strengthen the body and spirit—a satisfaction that ordinary food couldn't offer.
Although these enhancement effects were now a drop in the bucket for Joshua, with no real impact, Frost's culinary skills had improved further. Just for the taste, the warrior was willing to sit at the table and devour all the food.
It took about five minutes to clear the entire table. Under Firefly's shocked gaze, Joshua took the letter from the Divine Mechanism girl's hand and casually asked, "What's wrong, Firefly? Another urgent message?"
"It's not exactly urgent, but since it's a handwritten letter from Mr. Nostradamus, I thought it would be better for you to open it yourself, Master."
Composing herself, the silver-haired girl forced herself to forget her master's whirlwind eating scene and said in a slightly puzzled tone, "But weren't you discussing things with the old mage at the academy just a few days ago? Why didn't you talk then?"
"Because that means the letter is about something that happened only in the last few days."
Opening the letter, Joshua focused and scanned it.
His expression immediately turned serious.
"The Nature Mentor and his party secretly arrived at the Empire's border yesterday..."
The warrior muttered as he read, "A Legendary expert, accompanied by envoys from the Elven King's court, is visiting. His Majesty Emperor Israel will receive them in the Imperial Capital. Both sides will conduct a series of strategic cooperation negotiations based on the principles of complementary advantages, mutual benefit, long-term cooperation, and joint development—this part is official jargon and has nothing to do with me."
Skipping a long middle section filled with diplomatic nonsense like "cordial and friendly talks" and "strategic partnership," Joshua looked at the final paragraph.
"I see... After the reception in the Imperial Capital, the Nature Mentor will head directly to the Great Aias Volcano. The Empire's reward materials will also be shipped together. At that time, I will lead the team, taking these elves to see if the teleportation portal is still in place and whether we can go to the Ilgena World."
Roughly understanding the purpose of Nostradamus's letter, Joshua placed the paper on the table and fell into thought.
He had been prepared for this for a long time. The passage leading to the underground cavern beneath the Great Aias Volcano had already been excavated by workers wearing mana armor, but the warrior himself hadn't gone to see it yet. However, based on the workers' reports, the chances of the teleportation channel remaining intact were very low.
Remember, the one who destroyed the teleportation channel was the Calamity Evil God himself. The full force of the World Coordination Array had turned the entire Sigma Volcano into nothingness, even completely piercing the underground magma reservoir. The aftermath had even caused the Great Aias Volcano at the other end of the world to show signs of eruption. Joshua believed the space-time channel wouldn't be completely destroyed, but normal passage would be impossible.
But this had nothing to do with the warrior. Joshua only needed to lead this group to the location of the space-time channel. With the resources of a Legendary expert and the Elven King's court, they would surely find clues that the warrior couldn't.
Perhaps they really could find a way to the Ilgena World?
"Is there a problem, Master?"
Firefly, seeing Joshua deep in thought, found it a bit strange. She thought for a moment and then softly asked, "Didn't you get enough to eat?"
"Even if I ate a dozen meals like this, I wouldn't be full. But that's not the issue."
Shaking his head, Joshua stood up, flexed his fingers, and said, "Alright, Firefly, come with me to Nissier Snow Mountain for a bit."
Ruffling the obediently nodding girl's hair, the warrior smiled and said, "I need to prepare properly. I can't let our distant guests think we lack sincerity."