Black Hearted Mage

Chapter 105 Harvest 3

Caesars showed no sign of stopping his work, remaining completely absorbed in collecting the scattered spoils, completely absorbed in his activity, as if nothing else mattered to him. The spy chief, standing nearby, remained motionless, a look of indecision on his face. His gaze fixed on Caesars's busy work, hesitantly debating whether or not to seize this opportunity to capture him.

At this moment, Caesar suddenly found a magic steel shield. When he picked it up, he immediately felt that the weight of the shield seemed a little off. Compared with a normal magic steel shield, it was obviously much lighter.

"Huh, how could this heavy magic steel shield be so light?" Caesars muttered to himself, bewildered. He then grasped the shield with both hands and began twisting and turning it vigorously. As he moved, the shield emitted an extremely unpleasant creaking sound. The sound was sharp and astringent, like someone cutting wood with a rusty saw, making one feel uneasy and their scalp tingle.

As Caesars's force intensified, the once impenetrable magic steel shield gradually began to warp and deform. Gradually, the shield was twisted into a twisted shape. Finally, with a crisp "crack," the magic steel shield, unable to withstand the weight, broke completely at the twisting point. Watching this, the spy chief standing nearby gasped, his heart filled with an indescribable fear. After all, if the man before him were merely a powerful warrior, perhaps he could have managed to maintain his composure. However, he never expected that this man, possessing such terrifying power, was also a magician!

"Hmph, it turns out that this so-called magic steel heavy shield is nothing but a fake with only a good appearance! The middle part is actually made of ordinary iron, and it is only wrapped with a thin layer of magic steel on the outside!" Kaisas said angrily.

Then, he swung his arm, using all his strength to throw the broken iron piece in his hand. The two pieces of rotten iron shot forward like an arrow, flying dozens of meters away in the blink of an eye, and then slammed heavily into the solid city wall, making two dull thuds.

"Sir Carlos, please don't just stand there. Come and collect the bodies! There are two people breathing over there. If we don't rescue them quickly, I'm afraid they will follow in the footsteps of these people and become cold corpses!" The person who spoke was Caesar. He shouted at the spy chief with a gloating look.

As Caesars spoke, he quickly circled around, picking up any items that looked valuable and placing them into his interspatial ring. After doing all this, he raised his head and his gaze fell on the stunned, motionless spy chief. Then, without hesitation, he turned and walked deeper into the Fire Maple Forest.

The spy chief watched Caesars's receding figure and suddenly noticed that he was holding a metal ball in his hand, which emitted a cold light. The metal ball looked heavy and seemed to contain endless power.

The spy chief's heart sank, for he recognized the metal ball instantly—it was an extremely powerful alchemical bomb! Among the many items not for sale at the Thorn Flower Trading Company, several similar metal balls were prominently displayed. At the time, out of curiosity and professional habit, the spy chief had even specifically inquired with the company's staff about these alchemical bombs in detail.

The night was deep, and all was silent. Carriages laden with corpses slowly rolled into Fire Maple City. The creaking of the wheels shattered the night's stillness, echoing through the silent streets. These carriages, laden with over two hundred cold corpses, finally stopped before the brilliantly lit castle of the Black Prison.

Moments later, several magicians in ornate robes hurried to the scene. Their faces were solemn, and they were whispering among themselves. Meanwhile, several prominent nobles from the Roland Empire also appeared. These usually pampered figures wore no trace of arrogance; instead, they expressed shock and anger at the devastation before them. Even prominent members of the Roland Imperial Family were present, eager to understand the horrific events that had transpired. The entire forecourt of the Court of Justice was suddenly packed with people, and the atmosphere was tense and oppressive.

"Carlos, what on earth is going on?"

The extremely noble prince of the Roland Empire roared in disbelief, his eyes widening. This prince was the old emperor's biological son and third in line to the throne, which clearly showed his immense power and status.

Yet, at that moment, as he gazed upon the corpses strewn across the ground before him, his heart ached, a pain he wished he were dead. For these bodies were not ordinary people, but members of the Roland Mercenary Group, affiliated with the Roland Trading Company. After all, Roland Trading Company was directly under his command. Even more heartbreaking was the fact that among them were several young royals, all of whom had stood firmly by his side, fully supporting his fight for the throne and were his trusted allies.

Facing the prince's furious questioning, the spy chief beside him replied tremblingly: "Your Highness, please calm down. According to what I know, they were trying to rob a magician outside Huofeng City, but were strongly counterattacked by the other party. Unfortunately, all of them died. Moreover, this matter has alarmed the local city guards, and they are well aware of this." After that, the spy chief carefully took out a photo stone and placed it on the magic projection device.

Instantly, a vast, clear image appeared before everyone. However, since it was a video recorded from the city wall, the crowd could only see the image changes, without hearing any associated sounds. The faces of those who had been so aggressive suddenly changed drastically after coming into contact with the magician, and they fell to the ground, convulsing in agony. Not long after, they all died in a scene of utter tragedy.

"Oh my God! What kind of poison is this? It is so fierce and powerful that it can kill people within just one minute after being poisoned!" Someone screamed in horror, and everyone present gasped, their hearts filled with fear and shock.

Drogba, the highly respected, white-haired Grand Alchemist of the Magic Guild, had a solemn expression on his weathered face as he slowly spoke, "Such a potent toxicity is truly astonishing. However, what's even more incredible is that the person who poisoned it didn't take any protective measures. Wasn't he afraid of the poison's backlash?"

As soon as the words fell, the magicians present sprang into action. They quickly pulled out pieces of specially made protective clothing from their bags and donned them with expert, orderly movements. Once everything was ready, they cautiously approached the strangely colored corpse, ready to begin a detailed examination.

At the same time, the prince beside him frowned, staring at Carlos with a sharp gaze, and asked sternly: "Carlos, why didn't you take action in time to stop them all?"

Facing the prince's questioning, Carlos seemed somewhat helpless and guilty. He lowered his head and explained softly, "Your Highness, it happened suddenly. By the time I noticed it, it was too late to stop it..."

At this time, the prominent nobles were also deeply worried. They secretly thought that if the antidote they had was too inferior, they would be helpless if they encountered such a strong poison attack.

At this moment, a video clip appeared before everyone's eyes. In the video, Carlos was seen frantically trying to save the poisoned person, but unfortunately, the antidote in his hand was like a drop in the bucket, and had no effect at all.

Time passed minute by minute, and the alchemists of the magic guild were concentrating on conducting a meticulous examination of the corpse. They soon made an astonishing discovery.

One of the men, wearing an alchemical suit, shouted, "After in-depth research and analysis, we've determined that the main ingredient in this poison is the venom of the Golden-Eyed Black Devil Snake. Furthermore, it seems to contain some other mysterious substances. It's these unknown ingredients that make the toxicity even more potent and effective. Judging from the current situation, ordinary, powerful antidotes are completely useless against this poison!"

Although Drogba said this, he was actually filled with fear. If Keynes hadn't intervened in time, he would have been lying lifeless on the ground like that cold corpse.

The prince, who was nearly fifty years old and had a dignified face, asked as soon as he opened his mouth: "Which great alchemist is this?" There was an unconcealable confusion and shock in his tone.

Drogba took a deep breath and slowly replied, "There's no need to speculate. He must be from the Thorn Flower Trading Company. Only that place could possibly produce such a powerful alchemist!"

As he said this, Drogba's eyes revealed a trace of undisguised envy. He was obsessed with alchemy and wanted to get more alchemy formulas.

You know, the Thornflower Trading Company is shrouded in mystery, a taboo, little known to the public. Even within the Roland Imperial Family, only a handful of people knew its true background. And within the Magic Guild's knowledge, only a handful of high-ranking individuals had heard of it. As for the Roland Empire's powerful nobles, even fewer could discern the secrets hidden behind the Thornflower Trading Company.

At this moment, the prince pondered for a moment with a serious expression, then decisively issued an order: "Carlos, let's end this matter here. I will not pursue this matter further, and you should not delve into it further!"

From the prince's firm tone, it can be heard that he is obviously well aware of the details of the Thorn Flower Company.

He then turned and signaled to the guards around him to quickly clear the bodies from the ground. After all, the prince was unwilling to risk losing his inheritance because of the deaths of a few of his supporters. Furthermore, even with the entire Roland Empire's might, they wouldn't be able to defeat those mysterious elves.

A major incident that resulted in the deaths of over two hundred people was so easily forgotten, as if it had never happened. This result made the ruthless spy chief, who controlled countless secret intelligence, feel relieved, and secretly thankful that this incident did not cause a greater disturbance.

Deep within the eerily quiet Fire Maple Forest, beneath a tall, sturdy Fire Maple tree, Caesars sat with his back against the trunk. He carefully pulled out from his bosom the mysterious Soul Gem, emitting a milky white glow. This gem had just greedily devoured over two hundred living souls, yet now it still looked like a starving ghost, its light weak and dim.

"It seems that I need to harvest more souls!" Kaisas muttered to himself as he looked at the soul gem in his hand.

In fact, with his current low strength, he couldn't directly absorb the powerful energy contained in these souls. However, despite this, this magical soul gem still brought him some unexpected benefits - every time he held it, he could feel his thoughts as fast as lightning, becoming sharper and clearer than ever before.

After putting the Soul Gem away, Caesars pulled out a seemingly ordinary exploding crystal from another pocket. At first glance, this crystal looked no different from a common magic crystal, but in reality, the two were vastly different. The elemental energy within this exploding crystal was incredibly violent and unstable, and it couldn't be absorbed and utilized normally like a magic crystal.

The dangerous exploding crystal is very similar to a magic crystal. If the delicate elemental balance inside it is slightly disrupted, it will instantly release the surging elemental energy with all its strength like an enraged beast - explosion!

The explosive crystal was originally useless, but after the unremitting research and experimentation of the great alchemist of the elves, and the ingenious improvements and innovations of the ancestor Caesars, it was cleverly made into a simple and easy-to-use alchemical bomb.

The process for making this simple alchemical bomb is relatively straightforward. First, prepare a few ordinary magic crystals and an equal number of explosive crystals. Then, arrange them neatly together and carefully coat them with a thick layer of alchemical glue. Then, it's a matter of patience. Once the glue has completely solidified, a sophisticated, simple alchemical bomb is complete.