Since its invention by alchemists, the telescope had come into fashion immediately. However, a normal telescope could only observe a small region and many wealthy people had only bought it out of curiosity.
On the other hand, in the army, an alchemy telescope was something a scout needed. A small but expensive telescope could also be installed on a high-grade magic crossbow, and this allowed a magic archer to kill a target from a kilometer away.
Once this method had been developed, it had been banned in many countries by the royals and the wealthy. An archer had to be at least Grade 8 before he could reach this level. However, an assassin that switched over to being a magic disciple could use something this horrifying even at Grade 1.
A mage could detect the elemental fluctuations of an alchemy telescope. However, the wealthy and the royals did not possess this ability. This made assassinating them very easy.
Even the Holy See did not approve of such an equipment. Since then, the alchemy telescope was unable to be downsized any longer and was instead upsized, being installed at the top of towers to observe an enemy's movements from a few kilometers away.
Opening the door at the top of the tower, the corridor here was already very narrow and Sijia had reached the roof. All four sides of the roof were wide windows, but the edges of the windows were very tall and if any archers were to shoot an arrow from below, they would be easy to defend against.
The sky above the top of the castle could be seen clearly. Even though it was the middle of the night, with the alchemy telescope, every single detail was visible.
Sijia searched carefully. The moon in the sky appeared much bigger through the alchemy telescope, the mountain ridges on the surface almost able to be differentiated. Mages on the Myers Mainland believed that the moon's surface was another mainland, only it was too far away from the Myers Mainland.
Just as Sijia was about to give up her search, a black shadow entered her field of view. She shuddered as she saw a set of massive wings with black feathers, two heads, and four eyes.
A double-headed eagle! Sijia groaned, her legs becoming a bit jellylike. She clenched her teeth and pressed her hand against the ground to stand. Outside the tower, the moonlight spilled onto the castle's wall, casting a silver glow on the cold stone. Under this light hid many black lines, almost as if the walls of the tower had numerous cracks added to them.
Sijia had no idea how she travelled down the tower. Her thinking was muddled as she instinctively walked towards the dining hall. She had to report this as soon as possible to the baron.
All the cutleries in the dining hall had been brought away and replaced with fruit and wine. Baron Cook had told a joke and just as Aini was laughing heartily, Sijia entered the dining hall despondently.
"Sijia?" Baron Cook immediately noticed that something was wrong. After she had become a swordswoman at the age of sixteen, he had never again seen this expression from her. She was a genius swordswoman, who all the people in the capital believed would become a swordmaster before she turned thirty. Someone with a greater determination than most men, what could have happened?
"Master, I saw a double-headed eagle." Sijia felt as if a fire in her heart had been suppressed and could not be vented. For a moment, her voice was hoarse.
The dining hall was silent. Only Sika was munching loudly on a pear, almost as if she had no feelings. The noise of her chewing was unimaginably loud. She couldn't understand the Qin language, and even if Sijia had said something more shocking, she would still not have had any reaction.
"Baron, I will need to discuss things with Aini first." Flamenco was the first to say something.
"Go. I'll be waiting for you all in my study." Baron Cook stood up, having completely lost his style as he left on his own without addressing anyone.
There was a room beside the dining hall and it was meant to be a place for any guests that arrived without notice to wait for the master to finish eating. The Nut Mercenary, Aini, and the others went into the room and closed the door behind them.
"Mr. Aini, Mage Saleen, I will not be able to complete this mission," Flamenco said calmly. "However, we will still ensure your safety."
Aini was frustrated but he did not say a word. Saleen said, "Flamenco, are you talking about black magic?'
"Yes."
"Is it serious?"
"I don't even know if I will make it out alive," Flamenco answered honestly. If the legends about this place were true, he had walked into a trap that he had set for himself. If only they hadn't spent the night here…
Saleen still was not anxious. Looking entirely steady and calm, it was hard to tell that he was only a youth fifteen years old.
"Aini, what do you plan to do?" Saleen turned his gaze to Aini.
Aini laughed bitterly. "What can I do? We cannot sit here and wait for our deaths."
"What if we were to leave now?" Saleen and Baron Cook had no relation at all, and obviously his first thought was to leave everything behind. Even though Baron Cook was likeable, Saleen had no intentions of risking his life for him.
"You may all leave, but I cannot. Not because Baron Cook is my friend but rather because according to the laws of the empire, when such a thing occurs, I will be called on and must assist the baron in fighting," Flamenco said in a defeated manner. He turned to Saleen and said in a serious tone, "Mage Saleen, now that a double-headed eagle has appeared, it is proof that the Dark Sky Devil has revived. It will be safer for all of you to stay in the castle. If you were to leave, you might be attacked at any time."
Saleen touched his Ring of Gifts, trying to reason things out in his heart. At this point, he was not familiar with Baron Cook's situation. If he were to leave now, Baron Cook might not entirely tell the truth and might even use him as a sacrifice to test the abilities of the enemy. Aini definitely wouldn't choose to leave. Himself, Sika, and Nailisi. The three of them had no idea what kind of enemy they would be facing.
"Fine, I'll stay." After much consideration, Saleen knew Baron Cook would welcome him to stay. Even though he was only a Grade 1 mage, when it came to battling in a castle, mages could unleash great powers. It was a pity he couldn't create a magic array. If not, he could have altered the castle to be impenetrable.
Stay, and his position would be elevated, being protected by all the swordsmen. Leave, and he would be destroyed. Did Saleen have any choice?
After much discussion, the group opened the door and Flamenco said to the guard at the door, "Bring us to see the baron."
Baron Cook was pacing around his room. Upon seeing that everyone turned up, he heaved a sigh of relief. If Flamenco really had the intention of leaving, he had no way of making him stay either. Even though it was the empire's law for a mercenary to follow the instructions and be dispatched by the wealthy in such situations, when it came to a suicide mission, how many mercenaries would actually abide by the law?
The mage had stayed too. Baron Cook laughed as he got a few of his servants to bring in some extra chairs. Once everyone was seated, only then did he say, "Since everyone is staying to battle, let me tell you all everything in detail."
Saleen was glad that they had stayed. It seemed what was happening was not something as simple as a black mage appearing. If he had left hastily, who knew what dangers they would have faced.
"Everyone should be familiar with black magic, right?" Baron Cook surveyed the room. Sijia had returned to normal while the people from the Nut Mercenary had a steel-like expression on their faces. Aini was deep in thought while Saleen was sitting upright, waiting for what he had to say. As for the Caucasus warrior…
Sika was munching on a melon seed. As they were leaving the dining hall earlier on, she hadn't forgotten to grab a bunch and stuff them into her pocket.
Sika's fighting abilities were the strongest, and even though she knew that the others were discussing something terrible, she was a warrior and was not thinking about anything else besides protecting Saleen.
For Caucasus people, death was only a cycle to return to nature and was not something to be afraid of. Hence, the Caucasus people were usually the bravest warriors and deserters were unheard of.
Saleen knew what black magic was, and if death magic was something that was prejudiced against, black magic was definitely something that was universally hated by everyone. Every country had banned the existence of black magic. That could likely have been the only viewpoint held in common between the Qin Empire and the sacred Holy See.
The religious text discriminated against death magic but there were death mages in the religious tribunals. The emperor of the Qin Empire did not allow death mages to build magic towers, but he still granted death mages the same immunity.
However, if anyone dared practice black magic, it did not matter whether it was the Holy See or the emperor. Either would send out strong forces to eliminate that person.
Legend had it that black magic had originated from divinity. The Holy See obviously denied this saying vehemently, and mages even refused to acknowledge it as magic. Mages believed that black magic at its core did not involve any elemental powers. Instead, it was through sacrifices and the torture of a living soul that a god was created from nothingness. This gave black mages their secret powers, and hence, black magic belonged to the realm of divinity.
However, the Holy See believed that whether it was the fallen Goddess of Nature or the current God of Light, they would never torture a living soul or require such a sacrifice. Hence, black magic was witchcraft.
Wizards were a dying occupation and if anything tainted their reputation, there would not be a strong reaction.
Saleen knew however that black magic was just black magic. It did not belong to any category, but was a brutal skill, enough so that it wasn't accepted by anyone.
However, all this did not deny the strength of black magic.
A mage with normal gifts could take up to a lifetime to advance to Grade 4, becoming the lowest of the grand mages. However, so long as he had enough ingredients, a black mage could rapidly overcome any obstacles and gain superhuman strength.
A double-headed eagle was created using black magic. By forcefully combining the bodies of a few magic beasts and a soul together in a container and burning them using a black flame, the souls would kill themselves out of the bitter pain. Black mages would then use a technique similar to alchemy to recombine the bodies of the magic beasts and form a life that should not even have existed in this world.
Any black mage that could create a double-headed eagle must have had horrifying powers. This proved that he could create headless riders, evil dragons, and an infinite number of black puppets.
Double-headed eagles were the followers of black mages, and wherever they had their sights, a black mage wanted a bloodbath to take place. Hence, the double-headed eagle was also known as the evil eagle.