Chương 34: Chapter 34: Clues of the Wizard Apprentice
Learning about Marquis Jinyan's conspiracy weighed heavily on Su Nan's mind.
Unless they abandoned their territory, they would inevitably clash with Marquis Jinyan in the future.
Shaking his head, Su Nan temporarily set aside this matter and continued questioning the black sword knight.
When he heard that the Starfire Cult's branch in the Golden Rock Province had recently mobilized to hunt down a magical creature, Su Nan interrupted the black sword knight, asking with interest, "What kind of magical creature?"
"A cat."
**A cat?**
Su Nan was momentarily stunned.
He had expected a powerful and fierce magical beast to prompt such a large-scale mobilization by the Starfire Cult, only to find out it was a cat.
He thought back and realized he couldn't recall any formidable cat-like magical creatures.
However, the Starry Continent was vast, and perhaps there were cat-like magical creatures he was unaware of.
After pondering for a moment without any fruitful leads, Su Nan pressed on with his questioning. "Why were you trying to capture that magical creature?"
"It was the priest's order. I don't know the specifics, but it seems to be related to wizards," the black sword knight replied in a dazed manner.
"We deployed a significant number of people, but that magical creature was quite cunning. Up until I came to Blackstone City for the assassination mission, I hadn't heard of anyone in the cult capturing it."
"A magical creature related to wizards... could it be a magical pet?"
Su Nan mused thoughtfully.
However, from the black sword knight's words, it seemed they had pursued the magical creature for quite some time without being intercepted, which indicated that it was likely unclaimed, not a typical magical pet.
Curiosity piqued, Su Nan further inquired about the details of the situation until he confirmed he could no longer extract useful information. He then lifted the spell.
As the black sword knight regained his senses, he displayed a look of shock and confusion.
"W-what did you do to me?"
The **Charm Human** spell did not erase the target's memories; the black sword knight clearly remembered answering all of Su Nan's questions earlier, which left him feeling horrified and unable to comprehend why he had acted so obediently.
Su Nan, however, had no intention of explaining. Without sparing a glance at the black sword knight, he turned and left the prison, leaving the pale-faced knight questioning his very existence.
Returning to the council hall, Kei, who had already heard the news from Braid, eagerly approached.
"Did he say anything else?"
Su Nan, not hiding anything, recounted all he had learned about the Starfire Cult.
Upon hearing this, anger flared in Kei's eyes as he struck the armrest of his chair in frustration.
"I knew my father's death had to be connected to them!"
After a moment, he took a deep breath to calm himself and said, "So, the attack on Baron Storm was also orchestrated by Marquis Jinyan from behind the scenes?"
Su Nan nodded. "Most likely."
"With Baron Storm attacked and in a coma, he can secretly intervene in the power struggle for the Baron's territory. By supporting a puppet, he could covertly control Baron Storm's territory."
In the Golden Rock Province, apart from the Marquis, the two most powerful lords were Barons Winterfrost and Storm.
Baron Winterfrost had already aligned himself with Marquis Jinyan, sharing a close relationship. If Baron Storm's territory fell under Marquis Jinyan's control, he would be almost untouchable in the entire province.
"We still have a chance."
Kei took a deep breath, his expression resolute.
"According to news from Baron Storm's side, his sons are currently at a standstill in their power struggle. Marquis Jinyan will surely focus his attention there for now, allowing us to seize the opportunity to retake Shining Territory and gain leverage against him."
If other nobles heard Kei's words, they would surely laugh at him for dreaming.
How could a mere Shining Territory possibly compete against the Marquis, who controlled more than half of the Golden Rock Province?
Yet Kei was filled with confidence.
His source of confidence was undoubtedly Su Nan, the wizard apprentice!
With their control over Blackstone City, they had the strength to contend with a baron's territory.
If they possessed an entire baron's territory, wouldn't they be able to challenge Marquis Jinyan?
Seeing that Kei did not become dejected but instead was invigorated by the prospect of conflict, Su Nan quietly nodded and brought up another matter.
"I plan to leave Blackstone City for a while."
Kei paused in surprise, instinctively asking, "Where are you going?"
"To Stone Bell City."
Kei recalled that Stone Bell City was located within the territory of Viscount Silvermoon.
"What are you going there for?"
"To find something," Su Nan replied vaguely, not elaborating.
Stone Bell City was where the magical creature the Starfire Cult was pursuing had been sighted, according to the black sword knight.
Since arriving in this world, Su Nan had discovered a lead about wizards for the first time, and he certainly couldn't let this opportunity slip by.
Even if he ultimately found that the magical creature had nothing to do with wizards, it would still be worth the trip; perhaps there would be some additional gains.
Moreover, although he currently lacked the strength to confront the Starfire Cult directly, he was quite displeased about the assassination attempt on him and his brother.
Finding that magical creature before the Starfire Cult did could also serve as a way to collect interest on the situation.
Upon hearing Su Nan's words, Kei didn't press further.
After all, Viscount Silvermoon was part of the group of nobles that did not have close ties with Marquis Jinyan.
In Silvermoon's territory, even if Marquis Jinyan and Owen wanted to do something, they would be unable to reach him, so there was no need to worry about Su Nan encountering danger.
"When are you leaving?"
"In a few days."
Considering that this trip might involve confronting the Starfire Cult, Su Nan planned to prepare thoroughly.
For example, he needed to create more rune gems for protection.
And to continue strengthening the Hidden Dragon's abilities.
Once he was fully prepared, he would head to Stone Bell City.
After all, according to the black sword knight, the Starfire Cult had no means to capture that magical creature, and it should remain free for the time being.
To avoid another assassination attempt, Kei decided to move to the barracks, where he would eat, sleep, and handle affairs.
Unless a legendary knight intervened, he would hardly need to worry about someone assassinating him under the protection of over a thousand soldiers and more than three hundred knight-level warriors (including Black Rock Panthers).
As he was about to leave Blackstone City, Su Nan also upgraded Kei's Black Rock Panther to great knight level.
Including the previous ones, this upgrade required a total of forty-two Black Rock Panthers, costing nearly sixteen hundred gold coins.
Even for Blackstone City, which had mining operations, the annual tax revenue was only enough to create three great knight-level Black Rock Panthers.
Of course, both Kei and Braid expressed that it was worth it.
Exchanging sixteen hundred gold coins for a great knight-level combat ally was incredibly cost-effective!
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