Chapter 28: The Disappearance of the Legendary Mages
As the warmth of summer gradually dissipated into the darkness of night, a breeze carrying a hint of moisture swept through the streets and alleys of Moldavia. The chirping of cicadas still echoed among the trees, and the adventurers roaming between taverns and gatherings showed no signs of settling down. Their presence kept the entire commercial street brightly lit, bringing a spark of life to the silence of the darkness.
At some point, the northerners, who had once been accustomed to returning home to rest by nine in the evening and waking up at four or five in the morning to prepare for labor, had begun to adapt to this lifestyle of nighttime entertainment. Ever since that lord inherited the old lord's title a few years ago, the entire Moldavia had undergone earth-shattering changes. Although he had not altered any decrees or reformed any laws, the suggestions he casually offered had brought tangible benefits to everyone.
Thanks to the already widespread Glowstone Lamps, the commoners in the main city of Moldavia now only needed to spend a few silver coins each month to purchase those cheap glowstones, filling their homes with light day and night. Thanks also to the free heating pipes being rapidly laid to every household, many who had worried about firewood felt a weight lifted from their hearts. Beyond these two improvements, mentors were permanently stationed in the public communities built around the Lord's Manor, teaching hunters and adventurers about the distribution of magical beasts in the Great Aias Mountains and practical techniques for the frozen forests. Judging by the words of adventurers lamenting in the taverns, many had benefited from this, some even saving their lives.
Although some with ulterior motives spread rumors that the heating pipes were merely a byproduct of the high heat generated by the Mana Core, and that the cheap glowstones were simply discarded magic crystals repurposed, everyone still praised the lord's generosity. Before this, such byproducts and cheap glowstones had never been popularized or sold—this was the fundamental difference.
Rumor had it that the lord was also planning to collaborate with the dwarves to build something called a "subway" underground in Moldavia. Legend had it that this peculiar mode of transportation could carry thousands of people or countless ore shipments to distant places.
Feeling the tranquility of the city, at the Saint Lawrence Cathedral, the Silver-Haired Girl cheerfully pulled the still-worried Dragon Girl aside, helping her unwrap some packages and adorning the bewildered Black with various pieces of jewelry.
"Hey, are we really letting Lin move all that alone?" Black, being treated like a doll, still worried about others. "Should I go help?"
But Ying, who was treating Black like a doll and happily arranging the jewelry, waved her hand dismissively. "It's fine. Although those things look like a lot, they're actually very light." She didn't realize that it was because Joshua was beside them.
Leaving aside Lin, who was frowning at the large pile of amethyst crystal packages, the Artificial Intelligence Girl also displayed her prowess. A layer of phantom image detached from the steel shell, and Number 3, returning to her magical projection form, connected to her main body. Vast magical power instantly materialized into tangible force, lifting large bundles of packages and floating them toward the underground storage warehouse of the Lord's Manor. The pile in front of Lin was also moved away, earning the Black-Haired Boy's sincere gratitude.
The affairs around the Lord's Manor temporarily concluded. Meanwhile, the warrior had arrived at the entrance of the Saint Lawrence Cathedral, where Archbishop Atanis was waiting for him.
"What's the matter, Your Grace? Has something happened?"
Without much pleasantry, facing this friend of the old steward and his father's companion, Joshua asked curiously, "I've only been away for a day. Could something happen that requires even you to get involved?"
The warrior knew that the Saint Lawrence Cathedral had been very busy lately. Due to the expansion of the new city district, the Church of the Seven Gods also needed to build new churches. Taking advantage of the summer, they had to intensify their faith promotion. Recently, Atanis had been busy planning these issues, leaving trivial matters to his apprentices. Something that required his personal involvement was certainly not a minor issue that could be handled casually.
"This matter is neither big nor small, but regardless, it's very troublesome."
Sighing, the old archbishop didn't waste time with formalities. He shook his head and said succinctly, "This afternoon, an urgent short message from the Sky-Piercing White Tower arrived for me. According to them, the person they were looking for was originally you, but the Sky-Piercing White Tower didn't have the short message address for your Lord's Manor, nor could they find where you were. So they temporarily sent it to me, asking me to pass it on to you."
"This matter is actually somewhat related to the Church of the Seven Gods; otherwise, they wouldn't have let me see the content of the message first."
"So, what exactly is it?" Joshua pressed.
Taking a deep breath, Archbishop Atanis furrowed his brow and said seriously, "'Rune Master' Baniel and 'Mind Controller' William, two guest mentors of the Sky-Piercing White Tower, have lost contact."
Upon hearing this news, Joshua showed little surprise. He simply said calmly, "Those two Legendary-rank experts? Them losing contact... is that strange?"
This wasn't because the warrior was carefree, but because it was the usual habit of these two Legendary Mages.
As two of the few Legendary-rank experts in this world without a subordinate faction, roaming across the continent in search of traces of ancient dragons, Baniel and William were best at hiding among the crowds and traveling the land. The families and kingdoms behind them had once offered a million gold coins as a bounty just to find their whereabouts. Countless renowned high-rank bounty hunters had joined forces, yet none had found even a trace of them.
Moreover, these two occasionally ventured into extremely dangerous and isolated forbidden lands. In such places, not to mention communication arrays, even space-time sorcery or all elements could be sealed. It was well known that the Mycroft Continent had a considerable number of dead magic zones. Although these zones were useless against Legendary Mages, whose power resided within themselves, temporarily cutting off their contact with the outside world was all too simple.
"And what does this have to do with us?" Joshua asked with some confusion. "Although I have a good impression of those two Legendary Mages—after all, they helped guard my territory for quite a while, and I haven't thanked them yet—why should their loss of contact involve us?"
Atanis gave Joshua a deep look, muttered, "I thought you already knew," then sighed, shook his head, and explained, "Joshua, to be honest, you might not know this, but it does have a lot to do with us."
Pausing, the old archbishop continued, "Because ever since these two Legendary Mages accepted the commission of the Church of the Seven Gods to come guard your territory, they haven't contacted the Sky-Piercing White Tower again. Magical fluctuations show that they have been staying in the Great Aias Mountains of the Northern Lands, seemingly searching for something."
Not only that, Atanis added, "If it were just that, it wouldn't be a big deal. After all, they don't belong to the Sky-Piercing White Tower; they were only teaching there for a while as a favor to the 'Element Controller.' If these two don't proactively contact the Sky-Piercing White Tower, there's not much they can do, since the Element Controller wants to recruit them into his faction and naturally won't restrict them too much. But not long ago, the magical fluctuations of the two Legendary Mages completely vanished from this world!"
The rest, the old archbishop didn't need to explain; Joshua could understand.
Legendary-rank experts were free. This freedom manifested in every aspect. For example, Israel could casually go out, accompany Master Nostradamus to every Divine Calamity Mist, and wait at the Void Observation Station for him to complete his advancement—this was a symbol of his legendary rights. An ordinary emperor, on the other hand, couldn't even step out of the palace, let alone leave so freely; they had to sit on the imperial throne at Morlai Palace, receiving the most rigorous protection from everyone.
If Baniel and William were willing to stay with a faction, that faction would give them the warmest welcome. But if they didn't join, they would face the strictest vigilance. This was why the Northern Empire had always forbidden them from entering its territory. However, most of the time, they could go wherever they wanted, and the empire's ban was only something they chose not to violate out of respect for the law.
These two had stopped in the Northern Lands to search for something—likely traces of ancient dragons. They concealed their whereabouts so well that even Joshua couldn't detect them. So the Sky-Piercing White Tower and the empire naturally turned a blind eye. But the complete disappearance of their magical fluctuations was a different matter.
Baniel and William had both left their magical imprints at the Sky-Piercing White Tower. These imprints could roughly determine whether the two Legendary Mages were alive, whether they were still in this world, and their general direction. They operated at all times, even in dead magic zones. But now, they had stopped, which meant only two things.
"They're dead."
Joshua said slowly, each word deliberate. "Or they've left this world."
Exactly. The old archbishop nodded seriously, frowning as he said, "Joshua, two Legendary Mages disappearing on your territory—this matter is neither big nor small. After all, they don't belong to the Sky-Piercing White Tower or any faction, and everyone knows you couldn't have restrained the freedom of two Legendary spellcasters or killed them so cleanly." As he said this, the old archbishop couldn't help but wince inwardly, because the mage from the Sky-Piercing White Tower who had contacted him earlier seemed to harbor such suspicions. He couldn't help but sigh at the warrior's current reputation in the outside world.
"But they did disappear on my territory."
Joshua continued. He also understood the seriousness of the matter and why the old archbishop had specifically waited for him to return from the imperial capital. "This could easily become a diplomatic incident at the national level... Hah."
With that, he actually laughed. The warrior turned his gaze toward the direction of the Great Aias Mountains and said in a relaxed tone, "Two Legendary Mages go missing on my territory? How interesting. I've been resting for over a year, and all the interesting things are happening at once, aren't they?"
"Be serious." Atanis initially wanted to frown and remind the warrior of the gravity of the situation, but as he spoke, he couldn't help but laugh too. "Forget it, forget it. Just keep an eye on this matter."
The old archbishop had been worrying about this all afternoon, but somehow, the moment Joshua returned and he saw the warrior's figure, his heart involuntarily relaxed.
There are always some people whose mere presence can calm others.
Watching Joshua, who had already turned around as if intending to head to the Great Aias Mountains right away to check the situation, Atanis couldn't help but think with some emotion.
So decisive, yet so reassuring—perhaps this was his charm.
Of course, only to his friends.