Emperor of Arcane

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Sharp crossbow arrows flew in, killing the wolf men who were losing their minds one after another.

The strong and ferocious gnolls have considerable strength and are not afraid of death, but they are not even close to adventurers.

Hundreds of jackals fell to the ground one after another under the continuous firing of crossbow arrows.

The shooting skills of these adventurers are particularly outstanding, which is related to the enchanted crossbows that the Bay Territory continues to improve.

While the price remains roughly unchanged, the enchanted crossbow produced by Bayland has completed four improvements.

Accuracy, lethality, and range have all been greatly improved.

Because of its excellent performance and low price, it is becoming more and more popular among adventurers.

At a cost of 200 gold coins, even a beginning adventurer can basically buy it after about three months of hard work.

By that time, the combat skills that the adventurers were good at had also been honed.

Even if there is an enchanted crossbow, it will only supplement the lethality, and will not be regarded as a reliance.

The Gulf Territory only hopes to provide convenience to adventurers, but does not want these guys to sacrifice their own merits.

Therefore, almost every adventurer who comes to the Gulf Territory wants to get an enchanted crossbow.

Adventurers who are qualified to accept support missions are basically elite adventurers of intermediate level or above.

Crossbow shooting is just one way they kill enemies.

However, it is just right to deal with these beast-like gnolls.

Seeing that only the last few dozen gnolls were dead, adventurers who wanted to hone their melee combat skills rushed forward in a swarm.

Chris put down the crossbow, inspected it carefully, and maintained it carefully. He watched his teammates eliminate the remaining gnolls like chopping melons and vegetables, and asked Morak, who was yawning next to him:

"Why are we only clearing out these sporadic Jackals? There are quite a few Jackals outside the villages, towns and castles."

Rubbing his eyes, Morak put down the Gulf Territory Cooking Guide in his hand. Unlike the stupidity of ordinary ogres, he muttered rather cunningly:

"Hey, it's like the drow summoning us ogres."

"We negotiated the terms at the beginning, but when we finally got rid of the enemy, they regretted it and locked us up."

"But by that time, I was seriously injured, so hungry that I didn't even have the strength to resist."

Chris was stunned for a moment, then immediately thought of the crucial link, and suddenly asked Ashes who was settling accounts aside:

"Have all the merit and kill records applied for in the past few days been confirmed?"

Nodding without hesitation, Hui Jin quickly checked and replied:

"Everything has been confirmed, and the merits and gold coins have been distributed along with the supplies."

After hearing this, Chris suddenly said:

"I understand, those lords haven't paid their bills yet, no wonder the territories are not in a hurry now..."

"But did the eldest sister say anything about the follow-up task arrangements? Is it to continue cleaning up the dragon-blooded creatures in the periphery?"

Ashes sent the battle record and questions together, and quickly received a reply from Alice:

"That's right, first deal with the scattered jackals and kobolds outside, and save more refugees and villagers. This is a rare opportunity to gain merit."

Hearing this, Chris couldn't help but have some doubts in his mind.

Could it be that those lords have already given money?

Or is it that the Gulf leaders are not worried that the other party will owe money?

…

Using magic props to enhance the communication distance, various "communication techniques" were issued to ensure that the adventurers fought as planned.

While Alice summarized various data, she updated the data on the enlarged magic image, showing the real-time situation of each major territory one by one.

Dozens of newly graduated spellcasters were busy under Liana's command, using the spells they had learned to construct it.

Old John looked at these energetic young people with satisfaction, and gradually understood in his heart the purpose of the lord letting them participate in the development of the territory.

The Lord once said at an important meeting.

The caster is indeed powerful and can transform the mighty power of heaven and earth into one body with his own strength.

They learn and research arcane knowledge and create magical spells one after another.

From this point of view, the spell caster is like one humanoid wishing machine after another, able to use spells to do most things.

They were supposed to be the vanguard for the development of the entire human race.

Like the push for rapid development in the Gulf Territory.

These young students, including spell casters, have been taught since childhood that it is their responsibility to develop their territory.

Their contribution to the development of the territory determines the treatment they can receive.

The level of ability determines more what position and platform they are in.

The greater the contribution, the higher the treatment received.

On this point, all managers in the Gulf Territory strongly agree.

They understand the advantages of this system.

This is the empire of Netheril, a country where spellcasters are always on top.

They are either exploring the eternal mysteries of magic or seeking immortality.

It's not that there's anything wrong with their approach.

It's just that they grabbed more than 90% of the wealth and resources of the entire empire.

They only focus on their own research and experiments.

But I have never thought about giving back the fruits of development to the people who provided the resources.

So, when those evil gods and evil things that were already on the road of plundering and devouring and traveling further appeared on the scene.

These spellcasters who believed that destiny and power combined were easily "controlled" by the other party.

There is only one card in the hand.

Even though this card is very powerful!

Once the opponent makes a targeted arrangement and targets this card, there will be no power to block it.

Just like the following major events that will cause turmoil within the Netheril Empire - "The Sorrow of the Netherese Scroll", "The Scourge of the Lich", and "The Mysterious Law".

All of them reveal powerful and terrifying secrets!

Now, these young spellcasters and professionals are guided from an early age to develop their territories, contribute more, and have this tied to their development.

Under the guidance of this system, the ingenuity of the spell caster will become a source of motivation to promote the development of the entire territory.

As a result, the territory develops larger, and the more resources and wealth it acquires, the more benefits it provides to these spellcasters.

Old John had already vaguely guessed it from the Lord's policy.

The lord's cultivation of talents will be one of the biggest expenses for the territory in the future.

Because the Lord will meet the training needs of most professionals.

The territory will provide as much as they can digest.

This also means that the territory will fully develop the potential of every professional.

Spell casters are naturally included.

In this way, there will not be a situation where the caster family is the only one.

"The Lord's plan seems simple, but in fact it has a profound meaning..."

While Old John was thinking, Alice, who had just completed most of the guidance of the adventurer team, also had doubts similar to Chris's.

She looked at Old John next to her and asked him this question without hesitation.

"Has the territory negotiated with other lords? Have they given money?"

Old John, who was looking at the map, marked all the villages and towns in the major territories, and answered in a calm tone:

"They really have no intention of actively giving money. We just need to record every transaction."

"Now they can still afford it, but they act like they don't care and even laugh at us..."

"But when this debt gradually accumulates..."

When this debt is big enough!

It’s so big that these lords can’t afford it…

hiss……

Facing Old John's smiling face, Alice's eyes flashed with a lot of surprise.

Only then did she suddenly realize it.

This former veteran has gradually grown into a commander and begun to learn more about the relationships between territories.

The growth that has changed so quickly is like the Gulf Territory becoming stronger like a dream.

This made Alice a little excited, as did herself and the adventure group.

You must work hard to become stronger in order not to be "eliminated" by the rapidly growing Gulf Territory.

After all, the first batch of adventurers who came to the Gulf Territory only had 1/3 familiar faces left.

It's not that they're all dead, it's that most of them are still the same as before.

If you stick to one place where you can easily get gold coins, you will stay there forever, losing the courage to forge ahead and take risks again.

That was their own choice, but Alice had greater expectations.

The "changes" of Old John and others, the rapid development of the Gulf Territory, and the "expertise" and "skills" learned by the adventurers all represent this rapid development trend.

Stepping into this niche, Alice gained access to numerous resources that were previously unimaginable.

This greatly increases her strength and upper limit.

Naturally, there will be higher pursuits in my heart.

Such as extraordinary!

Even a legend!

As the Lord said:

"Everyone needs to have a dream. What Bayland does is to build a road leading to the dream!"

"As long as you step on it and work hard to move forward, your dream will definitely come true!"

Of course Alice has one too, and it’s huge!

…

The territory of the Allard family.

The city of Arad is a medium-sized city with a 10-meter-high wall covered with guard towers and shooting ports.

The city wall is made of bluestone slabs and is very strong. There are many marks of hacking and impact on the surface, which are traces of many wars.

The city of Arad has a long history, dating back 200 years from its construction.

Before the Eastern Province was expanded eastward and established, the city of Arad was one of the easternmost cities in the empire.

Its mission was once very important. It was the front line against barbarians and orcs, and it was also the foundation of the Arad family.

Times have changed and circumstances have changed, but the city of Arad still stands, as strong as ever.

But the people guarding it turned from an elite division into a group of stragglers.

Arad City, which could not be attacked by tens of thousands of orcs in the past, was now besieged by 20,000 gnolls. It was not only difficult to defend, but even crumbling.

As the city lord, Schroeder looked very ugly. He looked anxiously at the city wall where the shouts of killing were loud, and as more and more jackals climbed up, he couldn't help shouting to his adventure team:

"Hurry up and get rid of these jackals."

The team of high-level adventurers following him rushed forward without hesitation.

They showed excellent combat effectiveness and managed to get rid of the charging Jackals in a few seconds, temporarily stabilizing the situation on the city wall.

The garrison commander wiped the sweat from his forehead, his eyes filled with joy.

Fortunately, the city lord came back in time and brought back hundreds of elite adventurers.

Otherwise, the city wall may really fall, and the more than 100,000 people in the city may suffer catastrophe.

Just when he hurriedly called for the reserve soldiers and hurriedly came up for rotation.

Seeing this scene, Schroeder couldn't help gritting his teeth.

The guard force of more than 3,000 people was unable to defend against the attack of 20,000 jackals. It was a complete waste.

If you have never seen the scene of Gulf Territory soldiers before, just a few hundred of them swept away thousands of Jackals.

Schroeder also believed that the soldiers in his city were enough to defend the city.

But now, the cold reality slapped him hard.

Even these jackals who were about to lose their minds could rush up the city wall with simple siege equipment.

Not only did they cause big trouble to the defenders, they even nearly took over the city wall.

If they still have sense and don't focus on a small section of the city wall to launch an attack, Arad City may be really in danger.

Although Arad City is only a medium-sized city, it is of great significance to the Arad family.

If the city of Arad is lost in Schroeder's hands, then not only will his succession be in jeopardy, but his status as a noble may also be deprived.

Fortunately, he mobilized the adventurer team from the swamp ruins in time, otherwise it might have caused a catastrophe.

Even so, the heavy losses of the defenders still made Schroeder feel unoptimistic.

The opponent's attack lasted only three days, but the casualties reached 3,000.

But every day, hundreds or even thousands of jackals gather from other places.

Moreover, they have caused the casualties of more than 500 soldiers. Although the adventurers are strong, their number is only 200.

Once the ordinary soldiers are exhausted, these adventurers will not stop thousands of gnolls.

They just want to make money and never want to die.

"But why did the adventurers become so powerful under the orders of the Gulf Territory?"

"The price I offered is not low. Why don't the adventurers from Arad City come to help with the defense?"

"I don't know, but our supplies are severely depleted and we must purchase them from the Gulf Territory as soon as possible."

"The number of these soldiers is too small. We can temporarily recruit some soldiers. As long as they are equipped with weapons and equipment, they can at least play a certain role."

"You can purchase a batch of crossbows from the Gulf Territory. Even if you don't need to enchant the crossbows, it's enough to deal with these irrational jackals..."

"..."

After hearing their discussion, Schroeder's expression changed slightly, but he had to admit that they were right.

We must act as soon as possible!

But the thought of having to deal with the Gulf Territory again gave Schroeder a headache.

In the past, Schroeder had never considered requesting support from the Gulf Territory.

But now, the method mentioned by these adventurers is indeed good, but in the current Arad City, there is no soil for implementation.

Supporting the loss of the Scarlet Fortress a few months ago.

Coupled with the suppression of other nobles by the Arad family.

There is also a lack of various weapons and equipment, which does not allow Arad City to mobilize a large number of reserve soldiers in a short time like the Gulf Territory.

Thinking of this, Schroeder couldn't help but think back to some time ago.

He and several other lords laughed at the Gulf Territory's militia training and overreaction to the "Crazy Dragon Mystery Lock".

But now it seems that they are the ones who are really stupid.

Listening to the roars below, Schroeder showed the courage and determination to take risks under the swamp ruins.

Without hesitation, he took out the special communicator and sent a message to the other party.

…

"Schroeder is willing to pay 200,000 gold coins to ask for assistance from the Gulf Territory to relieve the crisis in Arad City?"

Matthew couldn't help but smile at the corner of his mouth, and Yaya next to him even smiled brightly, hehehe said happily:

"I really want to see what these guys look like now. It will be very interesting."

Aini next to her saw this scene and couldn't help but smile.

She has witnessed with her own eyes that other territories participated in the trade blockade of the Gulf Territory, and other territories laughed at the Gulf Territory.

Now, they are asking for help from the Gulf Territory.

She couldn't help but feel that there was only benefit between the territories.

Matthew shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and sent a message to Old John on the other side:

"Send them the price and let them decide whether they can afford it."

Aini, who had calculated the use and consumption of the Gulf Territory soldiers, once felt very shocked.

The cost of equipment, marching, fighting, rewards, and pensions of the Gulf Territory soldiers was even higher than that of the El Elf soldiers.

Even their current average professional level is only about level 4.

But their combat effectiveness is already comparable to the ordinary soldiers of the El elves.

Aini even had a feeling that it would be a large-scale army battle with more than a thousand people.

The Gulf Leader army is even better than the El Elf army!

Perhaps, after being tempered by the battle with the Cole elves, the strength of the El Elf army may rise by 1 to 2 levels.

But the soldiers of the Gulf Leader Army are progressing much faster than the El Elf Army!

"Those idiots must still be thinking that the Bay Leader will open its mouth."

"They must not have imagined that Bayland is already offering discounted prices, and we can't even ask for support..."

Ani recalled asking Matthew and getting the answer:

"Allowing these idiots to let go will cause heavy losses, but it will indeed bring some benefits to the future development of the Gulf Territory."

"However, those ordinary people are innocent and they should not lose their lives because of some people's stupidity."

At that time, Aini did not feel very understanding.

But when she saw more and more refugees in the Gulf Territory, the Gulf Territory digested and absorbed them faster and faster.

The development of the Gulf Territory was not only not affected, but also became more and more prosperous, which gave her a better understanding of the size of the population.

Temporarily putting aside her thoughts about those guys, Aini looked at the spell image map again.

She thought the El elves could use it too.

What technology can be used to exchange it?

Maybe, a large magic defense circle would be good...

…

"What? They sent out an army of 3,500 people, and they dared to ask me for 500,000 gold coins?"

"Are the Gulf leaders crazy about money? Why don't they grab it?"

In fact, robbery is not profitable at all!

Seeing the high-level adventurers charging forward, they cut down another group of gnolls who rushed up the city wall.

Schroeder, who was in contact with other lords, turned extremely ugly and couldn't help but continue shouting:

"What the hell, didn't you agree to support us? How dare you ask for such a high price!"

The other lords who heard Schroeder's words suddenly shut up.

They rightly believed that this was entirely the Gulf Territory's "revenge" against their lords.

But they dare not speak out in anger.

Today is different from the past.

Although they were not as miserable as Schroeder, not only were they besieged by jackals, but the city was almost breached.

But their situation is not much better.

There are more and more dragon-blooded creatures gathering outside the city, and some lords have even seen some powerful jackal barbarians and other elites.

This shows that the influence of Mad Dragon Mystery Lock is getting bigger and bigger.

They can still hold on now, but they may not be able to do so in a while.

By that time, maybe they will also ask for help from the Gulf Territory.

They are all professional and serious when it comes to saving their own lives.

Unexpectedly, Old John's casual words made them all sweat profusely.

"This question is very simple. I will just settle the accounts for you. If you have different opinions, then our cooperation can be cancelled."

"The consumption of a large teleportation array costs at least 5,000 gold coins. This is the fastest way to provide support. It also requires space to stabilize the array and avoid the loss of personnel and materials."

Just looking at the "travel expenses", it is indeed not particularly expensive, and all lords including Schroeder can accept it.

"The expenditure on combat supplies must be at least 50,000 gold coins, including but not limited to 3 blood-activating potions per person, 3 nutritional potions, 2 war spell scrolls, 70,000 crossbow arrows..."

"In addition, the combat loss of equipment has reached 150,000 gold coins, and 500 sets of weapons and equipment are used for replenishment..."

Hearing this, every lord took a breath, and Schroeder, as the main leader, was even more silent.

They naturally understood a "reason".

If an army wants to achieve strong combat effectiveness, it must have sophisticated weapons and equipment and other supplies.

However, the weapons and equipment prepared by the Gulf Territory for the soldiers were too luxurious.

If Schroeder is willing to invest 500,000 gold coins, he can already train a qualified army of 10,000 people.

But now, it's too late!

Schroeder's heart ached at the thought of just spending 500,000 gold coins to ask the Gulf leader to send troops to save a life.

But Old John hadn’t finished speaking yet and continued to introduce to everyone:

"The most important expenses include the rewards for soldiers who kill enemies and the compensation for soldiers who are unfortunately killed or injured. A total deposit of 200,000 gold coins is required."

"If this expenditure is not that much, the excess gold coins can be returned."

The unprecedented treatment of soldiers left Schroeder and other lords speechless.

No lord, force, or even kingdom has ever offered such high treatment to ordinary soldiers.

But Schroeder had no choice. Spending some money was better than losing the city and his own future!

After all, even he believed that the Gulf Territory was taking this opportunity to retaliate.

Thinking of this, Schroeder decisively agreed to Old John's conditions.

While the situation can still be restored, he must seize the time to preserve Arad City's vitality.

After these jackals are eliminated, Schroeder will definitely increase his training and investment in soldiers.

The previous "Orc Invasion" and the current "Crazy Dragon Mystery Lock" can already illustrate the problem very well.

The current situation is unstable, and having a fighting force of your own is much more useful than just how much money you make.

No matter how much money you make, it is very likely that someone will take it away.

Old John on the opposite side was also a little surprised. He really didn't expect that Schroeder would be so decisive and actually ask for the support of a brigade.

Thinking of this, Old John immediately sent a message to the Gulf Leading Camp:

"Choose a strong brigade to come over. They are taking action for the first time. They must win cleanly and beautifully."

This is a good "advertisement".

If they perform well enough, they will naturally give other lords confidence.

In the future, if you encounter trouble that cannot be solved, you can think of sending money to Haiwan Ling.

Old John couldn't help but think of what the lord said:

"The neighbors are stocking food, I am stocking guns..."

Ahem...

Not this sentence.

"A big fist is the truth. Whatever you say is good, whatever you say is right!"

…

After receiving the order, Chris subconsciously raised his eyebrows and shouted loudly to the big guys around him:

"Guys, it's time to go."

"The mission this time is very simple. We arrive at the teleportation location in advance, arrange the teleportation beacons and the teleportation stabilizing array, and our mission is completed."

"Once you complete this task, you will get at least 3,000 merits..."

When the big guy heard the details of the mission, his eyes immediately lit up.

They are not newbies, so they naturally understand that the situation where these two things need to be used is definitely not as simple as an ordinary battle.

Maybe, they can see the Gulf leaders taking the initiative again.

Among the large number of adventure teams in the Gulf Territory, they are the group of adventurers who have been around the longest. They have witnessed with their own eyes the entire process of the Gulf Territory's army growing from weak to strong.

Basically every two or three months, the strength of the Gulf leadership will be greatly improved.

At the beginning, there were very few professionals among the Gulf Territory soldiers, so it was a bit difficult to attack a group of jackals.

Gradually, the Gulf Leaders were able to easily defeat thousands of trolls.

At that time, the adventurers' collective fighting strength was somewhat inferior to that of the Gulf leadership.

Subsequently, the Gulf Leader army defeated an army of tens of thousands of orcs, showing extraordinary resilience and powerful combat effectiveness.

The adventurers already knew in their hearts that they were no longer a match for the Gulf Leaders.

By now, they just want to see where the strength of the Gulf leadership has reached.

Although Chris also thought so, he kept his thoughts firmly in his heart.

He led his teammates to the mission location as quickly as possible, looked thoughtfully at the Jackals in the distance, and immediately understood the purpose of the Gulf Leader.

Focusing on getting rid of these jackals will not solve the fundamental problem.

The hundreds of thousands of gnolls wandering throughout the territory have not been solved, and there will be no progress in solving them.

However, this time is obviously different.

The light of the teleportation array gradually extinguished.

3,500 Gulf Territory soldiers who were waiting in full formation appeared neatly in front of Chris and others.

Seeing the latest models of enchanted armor and weapons on their bodies, as well as their majestic and condensed killing aura, all the adventurers remained silent.

A brigade?

3,500 versus 25,000?

Can you really win?

Chris, who suppressed his thoughts and thoughts, waved to Beelzebub who was striding over.

The latter learned about the basic situation from him and made a reconnaissance gesture to the cavalry scout.

He was not in a hurry to attack, but instead discussed the situation of these jackals while chatting with Chris.

I listened to Chris talk about the current situation in the major territories.

He also asked him carefully about the number and activity patterns of jackals and kobolds.

Beelzebub touched his smooth chin thoughtfully:

"So, the vast majority of jackals and kobolds have already begun to be affected, and the remaining ones basically can't escape." "Fortunately, we cleaned up in a timely manner, otherwise it will definitely affect the development of the territory. And the construction brings a lot of trouble.”

Hearing what he said, Chris couldn't help but nodded happily.

Compared to other territories that were caught off guard, basically nothing happened in the Gulf Territory.

Half of the troops and adventurers are still participating in the sweep.

I wish these guys would pop up from all over the territory.

You can focus on solving them all at once.

After about 10 minutes.

The patrolling scouts have returned.

They checked the surrounding situation as quickly as possible and confirmed that there were no other enemies around.

After getting the answer he wanted, Beelzebub made an attacking gesture towards the jackal army in front of him that was besieging the city wall:

"attack!"

The Gulf Territory soldiers lined up neatly and slowly moved forward, immediately attracting the attention of these jackals.

Except for the attacking Jackals, almost all the Jackals turned around and attacked the Gulf Territory soldiers who were rushing towards them in neat lines.

tread! tread! tread!

The sound of uniform footsteps could be heard far away in the empty battlefield. It was hard to be seriously shocked and filled the hearts of every spectator.

"Certainly!"

call! tread!

The marching soldiers immediately stopped.

"Rack the crossbow!"

All the soldiers in the rear row raised their crossbows in unison.

They naturally divided into three rows and formed a three-stage shooting formation.

Beelzebub watched the gnolls getting closer and closer, and could even see their bloodshot eyes. He shouted without hesitation:

"shoot!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The first row of crossbows fired a volley.

The jackal who rushed at the front fell to the ground instantly.

They squatted down and placed arrows skillfully.

The second row of crossbows flew out from above their heads.

Then came row 3.

After they stood up again, they became the 4th row as they should.

In just a few breaths, thousands of crossbow arrows flew out like a violent storm.

The wolf man army that rushed over seemed to have been bitten by a terrifying big mouth, and less than half of it was gone in an instant.

Schroeder, who had not paid yet on the city wall, muttered to himself:

"Who dares to owe money to Haiwan Ling?"

8000 today

Asking for a monthly pass,

rush!