Badge in Azure

Chapter 247: The Migration Plan (Part 2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Sika, how many people are there in your village?”

“A little over six hundred. It’s a big village.”

“I’d like to hire a hundred Caucasus people for now, find a place in northern Phoenix, and build a city. The first building will be a castle which can protect the Caucasus people who can develop that wasteland. Lex said that she would give me a thousand swordsmen, but I can’t possibly accept them. That many warriors will attract the attention of other people, and even if no one pays attention, I don’t want to rely on her.”

“Why not, Saleen?”

“Lex’s armies will be sent onto Loulan’s battlefields sooner or later. These thousand swordsmen have been following her for many years, and when the war begins, they will be anxious and want to return to Bitter Water Prefecture. I do not want to participate in such a war at this point. The Grand Duke of Phoenix is cowardly and if I develop my power to the north of his duchy, he won’t care. I will start with the construction of the castle, plantations, and the opening of a harbor. There is no need to be part of the war on the central land.”

“Saleen, don’t you think highly of Lex? ” Sika understood Saleen’s implications.

“No. What can Lex herself do if Qin is not united internally? ”

“She’s so nice to you. Aren’t you going to help her?” Sika expressed her disappointment through her tone. Her thoughts were very simple. Even if Saleen was not a perfect person, he should not have shown the slightest bit of ungratefulness.

“Sika, what am I doing at Alchemy City if not helping her?”

Sika blushed at Saleen’s question. She had been too concerned and had thus come to that misunderstanding. Saleen’s words reminded her that the most important thing for Lex was the magic tower of Raphael. This matter would require the help of Saleen. They could receive support from a reliable sorcerer only if they could find Saleen’s teacher, and even then, his reliability depended completely on how Saleen operated between the two parties.

“Let’s talk about the migration.” Sika changed the topic in a hurry.

“October is coming. I’m afraid the Tanggulasi Empire has already begun their attacks. Qin nobles staying in Loulan may not be willing to defend their positions until the end. Without exception, Prince Safilos will abandon the situation this winter and strike back next summer when the agriculture in the Tanggulasi Empire is thriving. The battlefield is near Caucasus, thus many Caucasians will be recruited. I want to hire all of the Caucasians who want to join the army before that. ”

“All of them! Saleen, we don’t have that much money. ”

“Money is not the problem. I will get money when we return to Alchemy City. The important thing is that you need to get back to Caucasus and choose reliable people to work on developing the wasteland in northern Phoenix.”

“I…”

“What’s the matter, Sika?” Saleen thought Sika was faced with a dilemma because she did not want to be separated from him.

“I’m afraid I might take the wrong roads. If you have me complete this task, it may take several years.”

“Haha!” Saleen laughed outloud. Sika knocked her head heavily against his chest, and Saleen instantly coughed.

“Well… I have thought about this. I will send the right people to go with you.”

“What happens after the recruitment?”

“Do you remember Deep Forest Town? The place we met Aini?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Bring the people there, and I will pick you up.”

“Why will you be there?”

“I need to buy a lot of things and they are too expensive to purchase at Alchemy City. I need to meet with Aini to discuss this.”

“Okay, I’ll do it.” Sika mustered up her courage. For her, finding the right paths was a thousand times harder than fighting. Even though Saleen had said he would find someone to lead the way, she still did not feel too confident.

At this point, Saleen had nothing to say. His plan was too complicated, and even if he told it to Sika, she might not understand. He looked to the distance and saw the sparse beam of light produced by the magic light hanging on the pirate ship. The night was dark. The sea wind was only becoming stronger and colder. Only Sika, who was in his arms, was warm.

Saleen took the last piece of green spirit from the Ring of Gifts, and then asked Sika, “Sika, do warrior priests in Caucasus use this type of gemstone?”

“Are you giving it to me?” Sika looked at the green spirit in disbelief. Saleen had obtained two green spirits in total. One had been used to seal the winged skeleton, and this was his last one.

“It’s supposed to be yours. Half of all the things we obtained from the temple are yours.”

“But you are the mage …”

Although Sika was one of those rough-and-ready people, she knew the rules of adventurers. The mage was not only entitled to the bigger half, but they also had the right to preemptively take any magic materials. She had known nothing when she had left her village. Her strength had not even been half of what she currently possessed, and she had contributed little to their discovery.

“You are a warrior priest, which are even scarcer than mages. Tell me, can warrior priests use green spirits?”

“Yes, we can.”

“Well then. When you are able to use this gem, I will ask Nailisi to hand over the magic beast skeleton to you and have you seal it inside. This way, I will be more relieved when you are alone.”

When I’m alone? Sika was about to say that Caucasians could fight on their own, but she suddenly felt quite sad. Alone? I will be alone after leaving Saleen.

“Well, I’ll take it.” Sika nodded and accepted it, feeling the winds outside of the magic robe becoming even colder.

Below them, the pirates were piloting the ship carefully. Without a magic compass, they could not detect danger that was too far away, and the watchtower had been taken over by Saleen. Thus, they could only pray that they would not encounter any Cloudflow warships that night. The sail was full, and the ship was moving at its top speed, almost twenty-two miles per hour. Inside the alchemical boat that was being dragged behind, Nailisi and Lex were having tea.

This alchemical boat had a small control cabin that could only accommodate four people. In addition to Lex and Nailisi, six fully constructed puppets that possessed a bit of self-awareness were onboard. Fully constructed puppets could neither control nor attack magic arrays. Lex and Nailisi had set them out only because they had been too bored.

The entire alchemical boat had a rather large space, but four of the main alchemical power capsules were all closed and occupied a certain amount of space. The complex alchemical rudder was at the stern, from where Lex and Nailisi were controlling the direction of the alchemical boat.

This cabin was equipped with the magic compass made by Lex, which was a bit simple and would surely be replaced by a new one later. The two of them were at leisure because there was no need for them to start the paddle.

Nailisi was making tea for Lex. The blue-green tea water formed a simple kind of beauty against the white porcelain teacup.

“Nailisi, how did you get to know Saleen?” Lex could not help but ask this question now that she and Nailisi were familiar with each other.

“My master would not allow me to tell,” replied Nailisi, winking. She took a bubble with her white, slender fingers and played with it using her fingertip. This was not magic. It was simply Nailisi’s delicate control over her power. She could use her fingernails, which were sharper than knives and swords, to draw a pattern on a bubble without breaking it.

“Why do you call him master?” Lex was confused. She could not see through the supreme transformation magic Nailisi was using and had never thought that she could be an imp. A soul bond could not be signed between two people, so Lex thought that it was strange for Nailisi, a person with great talent, to follow Saleen willingly.

“I owe my master a lot of money,” Nailisi said with tears in her eyes, deliberately sighing. Even Lex was convinced.

“If you work for me, Nailisi, you will make huge amounts of money,” Lex tempted Nailisi. She had many swordsmasters, even grand swordsmasters, working for her, but they were all men and were not appropriate for close protection.

“Contract… contract… ” Nailisi broke the bubble with her fingernail and started to cry.

“What contract? Tell me, Nailisi, and I can help you work it out.”

Sobbing and with tears falling, Nailisi said to Lex, “I was young at that time and my master cheated me into signing a magic contract with him which required me to work for him for all times.”

“What kind of contract?”

“I… I don’t know. A lot of weird patterns were on that big piece of paper, and there were also words that I did not recognize.” Nailisi merely made it up carelessly, secretly laughing in her mind. Lex is good. She has noticed that I am a little bit stronger than Master in terms of strength. However, she will never know my identity unless he tells her.

“Did you write your name on the contract or leave your soul imprint?” Lex asked patiently.

Nailisi was afraid that she would say something wrong, so she simply burst into tears.

“I don’t… I don’t know! My master made me bleed a lot. It was so painful. Lex, let me show you.” Saying this, Nailisi gestured as though she were about to loosen her clothes.

Lex grasped her hand hurriedly. Nailisi’s heart was trembling, thinking, If I bit you, even a grade-6 mage could not survive. But Nailisi also knew that Saleen would never forgive her if she bit Lex to death. The problem was that Lex was being extremely annoying in asking so many questions.

As Lex held Nailisi’s hand, she felt a cold feeling on her neck, as though she were being locked down by magic that had been cast by a sorcerer. Her heart trembled and wanted to release Nailisi’s hand, but Nailisi hugged her instead, crying even louder.

Lex held Nailisi in her arms and comforted her in a low voice, “Saleen is a good person and it seems that he is nice to you. Let me talk to him and persuade him to dispel the contract between you two. ”

A murderous expression flashed in those green eyes of Nailisi. Dispel the contract? You are trying to separate me from Master, right? She ground her teeth but pretended to be panicking. “Don’t, my master will punish me for that!”

Lex let go of Nailisi and frowned, “How can Saleen do this to you?”

“Lex, actually, I really like my master.” Nailisi wiped her tears and changed her tone, which surprised Lex. Nailisi continued, “My master taught me how to speak and how to protect myself when I knew nothing. Although he has a bad temper sometimes, I still cannot forget what he was like back then…”

Nailisi did not continue. When she saw the unfriendly expression on Lex’s face, she knew that she had said enough.

Lex has been asking about Saleen recently, as if she hasn’t already done her research. I changed the topic the last time, but I didn’t expect Fellett to die. My plan for Shengfeng country had to be put on hold because of that, and now she’s asking questions again. Geez! Do you like my master? If you don’t have my permission, forget about it!