The stomach of the witcher spider was now mosaicked with a crystal that had a mixture of colors, a temporary substitute. Saleen then added a spiritual imprint which enabled him to have a mental connection with the puppet.
A magic array appeared in Saleen’s mind. This array consisted of simple lines, and Saleen could quickly deduce the magic principles behind it using the Figaro formula. However, at the bottom of the magic array, there was an extremely complex magic array. This array was used to stimulate the phantom.
After initiating the simple magic array using the power of a magic nucleus, Saleen could control the movements of the witcher spider. At the same time, the complex magic array was also initiated, releasing the phantom.
Fellett and his wife had specially designed the magic arrays for Saleen since his level was too low. It had not been an easy task designing these magic arrays.
After controlling the witcher spider and manipulating it into doing a few actions, Saleen stored the spider into his demonic ring. It turned out that in order to stimulate the phantom, mental power was used, so when there was insufficient mental power, the phantom could not be activated.
"That’s truly not bad." Saleen was convinced. The puppet could be controlled easily, and the spider’s counteracting magic effect had been unleashed to its fullest extent. Furthermore, the magic arrays had been refined internally, so there had been no damage to its material. If Saleen did not like it in the future, he could easily redo the refining again.
"Saleen, I heard that you’re representing the Bitter Water Prefecture and doing business with the Clyde family?" Aini’s mother spoke gently. The way she looked at Saleen was the same way she looked at her own child.
"My name’s Lanny. You can call me Aunt Lanny."
"Yes, the viscountess is going to establish her own county so she wants to expand trade."
"Saleen, when Aini becomes a mage again, he will never go and manage the family’s business…"
"Aunt Lanny, I was forced to do this. I have no other choice because I owe them a favor."
"Alright, that’s good. A mage should never bother themselves with these mundane affairs. The right path is one that focuses on cultivating magic."
"Alright." Saleen felt a warmth in his heart as he was lectured by Lanny.
"Saleen, this is for you." Fellett took out a book and handed it to Saleen. He said, "These are some business notes. Use memory magic to memorize all of this information. Commerce is more complicated than magic. Don’t waste too much time on it."
Lanny patted Saleen’s shoulders and said, "Go and see the earl. When you are in the imperial capital in the future, you can come and look for us. By then…"
By then, you will have regained your freedom, Saleen thought to himself. Fortunately, he had not fallen out with Aini in the past. Aini’s parents were both experts in magic. There must have been more experts like them within the Clyde family. On just a notion to visit Aini’s parents, Saleen had gained two more backers.
Fellett and Lanny were apologetic. They had caused great losses to the clan, and had needed to give away all their assets as compensation. Hence, they had nothing valuable to gift Saleen. People whom Aini gave his badge to were reliable. Saleen had certainly had no desires to steal Aini’s badge, because the badge contained Aini’s spiritual imprint.
While Saleen was being entertained in the earl’s residence, in the palace, the Qin Emperor had convened a meeting with his officials.
"Once I set off for war, the government in the imperial capital will be managed by the crown prince and the prince will assist him. The war on the frontlines is too urgent. I cannot wait any longer. The soldier town at the border has contributed twenty thousand troops to help exterminate the black mages. In the middle of July will be the day of god’s descent, so the Tanggulasi Empire will definitely deploy their troops and embark for war on that day. The situation is completely different from what we had thought. The Qin Empire must contain the war within the Loulan Duchy."
"Your Majesty, what do you plan to do with the Cloudflow Empire?"
The emperor looked at the person who had posed the question and saw that it was the minister of finance of the empire. "Trade will go on as usual. The price of metals will not increase."
The minister of military affairs then asked in exasperation, "Then what about the coordinated launch of troops from both empires?"
The Cloudflow Empire had premium iron ores and the Qin Empire continuously purchased them in large amounts. However, this did not mean that the Qin Empire did not possesss any iron ore, it was simply that the Qin Empire placed greater emphasis on agriculture. The mines were controlled by the royal family, and these mines were not actively mined. It would be impossible for the Cloudflow Empire to enjoy a fortune during the war, because the Qin Emperor could easily open his mines to depress the price of metals. What the minister of finance had been hinting at were the troops from both empires, but the emperor had answered him nonchalantly. Thus, the minister of military affairs had only been able to ask the question directly.
"If the Cloudflow Empire does not deploy their troops, will the Qin Empire not go to war?" the emperor chided.
Seeing that the ministers were speechless, he continued, "The Qin Empire has over one thousand hereditary nobles and billions of citizens. When the empire was first established, we had only a few thousand miles of land and a few million citizens. What is wrong with all of you now? Are you afraid of the cavalry soldiers from the Tanggulasi Empire, or the glorious lord?"
These ministers were even more speechless now. Indeed, the Tanggulasi Empire had a fearsome cavalry force, but the Qin Empire had many more mages. When it came to what they feared, no one feared that sort of meeting. As for the glorious lord? The powers of the nobles were greatly weakened in the region under the control of the Holy See. In the Tanggulasi Empire, even the coronation of the emperor required consent from the pope.
If their nobles needed to live like that, how interesting could their lives be?
The Holy See possessed huge business. The taxes they paid were comparable to that from the entirety of the Tanggulasi Empire. Everyone’s assets would shrink by at least half even if the Holy See surrendered during the war. Also, the Holy See possessed a great deal of authority, so they could drive many people to insanity.
"Your Majesty, even if the Cloudflow Empire doesn’t help us, they will also not assist the Holy See. But we should be on guard against Sikeqinya. I have heard that the Holy See have business in northern Sikeqinya and are trying to influence Sikeqinya into declaring war with us," Prince Safilos said worriedly.
"Sikeqinya…" The emperor did not continue his sentence, thinking about what Saleen had told him. Large mercenary groups whose capabilities were comparable to the Qin’s elite army were in Sikeqinya. There, mercenaries were motivated by money, so they could become disloyal at anytime. If they were bribed by the Holy See, it would mean huge trouble for the Qin Empire.
"Are there any movements from Laiyin Duchy?"
"No, their troops are still stationed at the border to prevent infiltration by the black mages."
"Troops?"
"The Laiyin Duchy has two swordsmen camps that consist of about fifty thousand mercenaries." Safilos was in charge of external military affairs, so he had known about the military situation in the vicinity of Loulan Duchy since long ago.
"Seventy thousand people. With the support troops added in, the number will exceed one hundred thousand. Lex, can you handle these people?"
The twelve dukes uniformly cast their gazes onto Lex. Lex answered calmly, "If I get into a head on clash with them, I won’t have enough manpower. But it will not be difficult to defeat them."
Lex was not boasting at all. Her swordsmen camp was filled with various experts, and the camp had more swordmasters than swordsmen. The ten thousand strong force would be able to withstand the twenty thousand swordsmen from Laiyin Duchy. Furthermore, the emperor had gifted Lex with countless weapons and armor, and with her many years of accumulating and storing supplies, she would be able to expand the size of the army to thirty thousand so long as there were enough people.
The Bitter Water Prefecture had an advantage, which was the strong cohesion between its mages. In the past ten years, the prefecture had groomed more than ten mage masters. Even though these mage masters might not have been staying in the prefecture anymore, they would definitely return if Lex needed their help. With hundreds of mages and thousands of disciples, the Bitter Water Prefecture had possessed the resources to establish a county long ago.
"Alright, then I will grant you the power to lead ten camps of troops. You will recruit the soldiers yourself, and if you lack in weapons or armor, you can take them from the empire’s storage facilities. I will face one hundred thousand troops from Laiyin Duchy when I go the western region, so it won’t be easy for me. You can station two camps at Loulan and help me defend against Laiyin."
The faces on the ministers changed. Ten camps of troops meant one hundred thousand soldiers. Even the prince could only lead ten thousand soldiers during peacetime. The authority he was giving her was too great, but the ministers did not argue, because it was not good for the emperor to face any underlying trouble when he was about to set off for war. The dukes could only command ten thousand troops. Should they use their private armies? But that would be too distressing for them. After all, the war with the Holy See was still far away. If the Holy See came to the Qin Empire, all of them would not mind fighting until their last breaths.
No one felt that the emperor would lose the war. The confidence of the Qin people was being displayed at this moment. Around three thousand low-level mages had rushed to the imperial capital for the Holy War. For these poor mages, it was a golden opportunity. They would be able to kill maniacs like those from the Holy See while being able to grow rich at the same time.
The combat ability of a low-level mage was not that strong, and a little over ten swordsmen could take out a Grade 1 mage. If there were enough swordmasters, a Grade 3 mage would not even pose a threat whatsoever. Since there were around three thousand low-level mages, they could provide combat support for at least two swordsmen camps.
The Qin Empire had a unique strength – mage camps. For every ten swordsmen, one low-level mage would be paired with them to form a formidable force. Also, not only were there many mages in the empire, but the citizens were robust too. The support troops were made up of farmers, lone swordsmen, and occasionally, a few swordmasters.
According to Saleen, the power of these support troops were comparable to that of the small mercenary groups.
Seeing that the ministers had stopped objecting, the emperor heaved a sigh of relief. If Lex established her empire with one hundred thousand soldiers, she would have no problem absorbing Loulan Duchy. The few duchies under the control of the Qin Empire were in terrible political situations. If the empire had not supported them, they would have crumbled long ago. Rather than allowing them to be destroyed, it would be better to absorb these duchies into the Grukos family.
Safilos secretly sighed. Even after the war ended, the issue of Lex establishing a county would perhaps once again ignite a conflict within the government. But since the situation was so dire right now, they could only look after the empire and prevent the outsiders from causing ruin.
What Safilos really wanted to protect was the honor and glory of the Grukos family.
Unfortunately for Safilos, both of his sons were not capable of becoming mages. Otherwise, the emperor would not have only been biased towards Lex.
"If that is so, I shall personally lead the troops into battle in Loulan Duchy in three days’ time. Safilos…"
"Yes."
"I will need to trouble you to take care of affairs in the imperial capital," the emperor said solemnly. The crown prince had just recovered from his illness. Thus, he did not have enough knowledge and power to control the upper house. If only Lex had been the crown prince. Now, the emperor could only rely on his younger brother to take care of things.
"Your Majesty, for the honor and glory of the Qin Empire." Safilos stood up, put his hands to his chest, and bowed respectfully.
In the great hall, all twelve of the dukes and over thirty marquises stood up and turned towards the Qin Emperor. They said, "For the honor and glory of the Qin Empire."
The Qin Emperor looked at the various officials before him and thought to himself, Do all of you truly remember the honor and glory of this empire? The dream of the Grukos family was to unite the Myers Mainland and become the Fifth Dynasty. If all of you still remember this dream along with its honor and glory, then why has the mainland remained separated after a thousand years?
No matter what the astrologer had said, the emperor was going to do things his way this time around!