Chương 89: Chapter 89: Extraordinary Measures in Extraordinary Times
At the entrance of the base, Sherman, Atiel, and Corey appeared somewhat anxious, frequently glancing outside.
Beside them, Madeline and Gritti stood with weapons in hand, their expressions calm.
Surrounding them were numerous stone golems.
Before leaving the base, Sunan had cast **Message** to instruct Madeline and Gritti to protect the base and the apprentices, keeping watch for any potential threats from Heb.
A few meters away, a group of twelve newcomers huddled together, their expressions bewildered.
They had no idea what was happening, having been summoned here unexpectedly.
As a result, they were not overly worried and even had the leisure to steal glances at Madeline.
The forest child, with her unique appearance, piqued the curiosity of many.
At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared at the entrance of the base.
Madeline and Gritti instinctively raised their weapons, but upon recognizing the face of the newcomer, they relaxed and lowered their arms.
"Teacher!"
Seeing Sunan return unharmed, Sherman, Atiel, and Corey simultaneously let out sighs of relief and hurried over.
The newcomers, upon realizing they were in the presence of a legendary wizard—their future teacher—were taken aback and quickly bowed in respect.
"Lord Sunan."
"Have the newcomers arrived?" Sunan asked with a slight smile, encouraging them.
"Indeed, Teacher."
Although they were curious, the three young apprentices obediently withdrew.
The newcomers followed suit, retreating alongside their senior apprentices.
Sunan then turned to Madeline and Gritti, nodding in appreciation. "Thank you for your efforts."
Madeline shook her head, silently turning to leave for the magical plant garden.
"I'm just glad you're okay," Gritti said with a smile before also departing.
"Meow!"
Suddenly, Sunan felt a weight on his shoulder, and Amy appeared out of thin air, her big eyes wide with concern. "What happened? I sensed a strong energy fluctuation coming from Shimmering City!"
"It's nothing serious; just an enemy who came knocking, but I've already dealt with it," Sunan reassured her with a smile.
"An enemy? Was it a wizard apprentice?" Amy's eyes widened.
Given the intensity of the energy fluctuations earlier, it could only have been a confrontation between two wizard apprentices.
During the time when the former students were still present, she had often felt similar energy surges in the training grounds.
"Yes." Sunan nodded. "A level 3 wizard apprentice."
"A level 3 wizard apprentice!" Amy exclaimed in shock but then became puzzled.
"Meow, but you're only a level 2 wizard apprentice. How did you defeat a level 3 wizard apprentice?"
Sunan ruffled the little cat's head, cryptically saying, "I relied on my financial power."
Financial power?
Amy's small eyes filled with confusion.
What kind of power was that? A spell?
Sunan chuckled, not elaborating further. He patted Amy and sent her off to play, then made his way to the meditation room.
After the battle, it was time for the rewarding task of counting his spoils.
**Meditation Room.**
Under the soft, bright light, Sunan examined the spatial ring in his hand.
Perhaps not anticipating that the spatial ring would fall into someone else's possession, it had not been affixed with any secret locking spells, allowing Sunan to easily access the internal space.
The space was not large, less than a cubic meter, yet it was filled to the brim with items.
Sunan began to pull out the items one by one, counting them carefully.
First, the money.
There were only a little over one hundred gold coins, along with a significant amount of scattered silver and copper coins.
The total count of gemstones was one hundred twelve. Most were lower to mid-tier gems like tourmaline, emerald, zircon, spinel, and topaz, but there were also over a dozen high-tier gems including rubies, sapphires, and diamonds.
There was even a rare jadeite.
Jadeite, also known as shield stone, is a delicate gem that appears greenish-white or dark green and is typically found only in extremely dangerous, dim regions.
Jadeite can be used to craft magical items, greatly enhancing magical properties related to acids, cold, electric shocks, flames, or sound waves.
It could also be used to set up arrays or craft soul cores.
Of course, it could also be used to create rune gems, though that would be somewhat wasteful.
"Good stuff."
A smile spread across Sunan's face.
High-quality gems were immensely valuable.
For instance, that jadeite was worth at least 5,000 gold coins.
The remaining gems would easily amount to over 4,000 gold coins in total.
Just from the gems alone, Sunan had more than recouped his recent expenses and was feeling quite pleased.
Besides the money and gems, the spatial ring also contained a variety of rare materials.
Many of these were unidentifiable, so Sunan placed them into the magic cube to obtain detailed information.
To his delight, among these materials were exactly the rare metals needed to craft the magic rune core, and there were five different types.
"So many rare materials! I wonder how many years and how much effort Heb expended to gather them, only for me to benefit from them now."
Sunan felt a surge of joy.
The total value of everything in the spatial ring was at least around ten to twenty thousand gold coins.
He could confidently say that he had made a significant profit this time.
"Indeed, the rewards from defeating elite enemies are substantial."
After enjoying this moment of elation for a while, Sunan refocused his thoughts, recalling what Heb had mentioned earlier.
"According to Heb, he must have met or know many other wizard apprentices."
"I wonder if these apprentices have any connections among them?"
Sunan furrowed his brow in contemplation.
In the thousand-year resurgence of wizards, he was well-versed in information about various wizarding factions.
However, he was less familiar with the organizations of wizard apprentices in version 1.0 of the Starry Continent.
After all, he hadn't lived through that version.
"Commissioning the Fire Fox Trading Company to investigate may not be effective. Even if there are wizard apprentice organizations, it's unlikely that ordinary people would have access to that information."
After pondering without resolution for a moment, Sunan shook his head and chose not to dwell on it further.
If wizard apprentice organizations truly existed, he would eventually come into contact with them one day.
With a relieved sigh, Sunan gathered his thoughts and resumed his routine meditation.
Ultimately, reinforcing his own strength was of utmost importance.
As long as he was strong enough, he need not worry about any external threats.
"Advancing to a level 3 wizard apprentice as soon as possible will allow many things to proceed."
Following the encounter with the wizard apprentice, Key had promptly sealed off any related news.
As a result, the incident did not cause any chaos in Shimmering City; everything remained as peaceful as usual.
The Golden Rock Coalition also remained silent, appearing as though nothing had transpired.
Only a select few were aware of the turbulent currents beneath the surface of this calm.
As time moved into the month of Spring Dawn, the snow began to show signs of melting.
The Shimmering Territory grew increasingly lively.
Troops were mobilizing, and various supplies were steadily being shipped to the front lines.
The entire Shimmering Territory was gearing up for the upcoming war.
On another front, with the influx of a substantial number of gemstones obtained from Heb, Sunan found himself in a much more comfortable position financially.
He brought forth the mid-tier and lower-tier gemstones, combining them with those he had purchased from the Fire Fox Trading Company, and utilized them to craft Stone Golems.
The battle against Baron Winter Frost had already proven the formidable offensive capabilities of the Stone Golems on the front lines.
Fearless of injury and pain, the Stone Golems, once scaled, could even exert more influence on the battlefield than an equivalent number of knights!
The reputation of the Golem Legion was well-deserved.
Thus, in the effort to build the Golem Legion, Key exhibited great enthusiasm, providing unwavering support and fulfilling every request.
By the time the month of Thunder Roar arrived, the Golem Legion of the Shimmering Territory had begun to take shape.
Three hundred Stone Golems were dispatched to the front lines, ready to be thrust into battle at a moment's notice.
"I've heard that the spread of Beastization Syndrome in the Frostflower Province has significantly slowed down. The infected forces threatening the borders of the Red Leaf, White Tower, and Lulan provinces have been eradicated. Now, the three provinces are preparing to send troops to counterattack and completely resolve the outbreak."
In the study, Key waved the battle report in his hand, then handed it to Sunan, who was sitting opposite him.
Sunan glanced at it briefly and nodded in understanding.
It was evident that with the death of Heb, the mastermind behind the outbreak, the army of infected had lost its control. Their expansion had begun to stagnate.
Now, the army of infected individuals resembled a flock of headless chickens; it was only a matter of time before they were completely eradicated.
Of course, due to the initial severity of the outbreak, it would take a long time to fully suppress it.
Unless they could pinpoint the weaknesses of these infected individuals, it would be unlikely to end the outbreak in a short timeframe.
"What has the royal family said about the Marquis of Golden Rock?" Sunan asked, setting the report down.
"What can they say? The royal family probably didn't expect us to be able to stand toe-to-toe with the Marquis of Golden Rock. They might be relieved now."
Key chuckled, opening a drawer and pulling out a beautifully decorated piece of parchment, placing it on the table.
"This is a letter of appointment from the royal family, designating me as the Baron of Shimmering. The royal envoy hinted that once we completely defeat the rebel forces, the royal family will confer upon me the title of Marquis and grant me the Golden Rock Province as my domain. Afterwards, the Grand Duke will hold an official conferment ceremony."
Sunan raised an eyebrow. "That's quite a generous reward."
Looking back at the history of the Principality of Starlight, aside from the founding period, no noble had risen from a baron to a marquis, let alone gaining control of an entire province, in such a short time!
It was a remarkable reward from the royal family.
"In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken. The royal family certainly has its resolve."
Key said with a knowing smile, "The three provinces of Red Leaf, White Tower, and Lulan are currently busy dealing with the infected, while the provinces of Purple Bamboo and Soman lack the strength to confront the Marquis of Golden Rock."
"The royal family must also fear that if the Marquis truly solidifies his power, it could inspire thoughts of rebellion among other marquises. Therefore, the Marquis of Golden Rock must be eliminated!"
"Even if it means sacrificing a marquis title."
Sunan nodded in agreement, understanding the underlying motivations.
Moreover, if the Marquis of Golden Rock were indeed defeated, it was certain that someone would need to take his place.
At that point, aside from Key, who had actual control over the Golden Rock Province, no other suitable candidates would exist. It would be sensible to promote him, allowing for a smooth transition while also appeasing the new Marquis.
"Regardless, with this title of baron, I can now begin to undertake many endeavors I previously found inconvenient."
As he spoke, Key's expression shifted to one of genuine joy.
Previously, as merely a baron, even if his subordinates achieved great feats, they could be elevated only to the title of knight.
However, with the title of baron, the feasibility of granting subordinate titles had greatly increased.
Titles such as that of baron or viscount could now be conferred simply by notifying the royal family, as long as he had sufficient land to distribute.
"When do you plan to start the war?"
"We're all set. We'll commence at the end of the month."
"I won't participate in this war; I need to enter seclusion for a while."
Sunan's mental power had reached the threshold for a breakthrough, and he needed to focus on preparing for his advancement to a level 3 wizard apprentice.
As for the war during this period, he wasn't particularly concerned.
With Heb dead, the Marquis of Golden Rock had lost his greatest trump card.
In contrast, the Shimmering Territory still had the Blackstone Cavalry and the Stone Golem Legion.
In terms of military strength, the Shimmering Territory now had the upper hand.
The upcoming war seemed to have little suspense.
"I understand; focus on your seclusion."
Key nodded seriously, clearly recognizing the importance of the matter.
By the end of the month in the month of Thunder Roar, the long winter finally came to an end, and the snow had completely melted.
With spring's arrival, the war that had been stalled for nearly half a year between the Shimmering Territory and the Golden Rock Coalition reignited.
This highly anticipated battle drew the attention of nearly all the nobles in the Principality of Starlight.
It was evident to discerning eyes that this battle would determine the fate of the Golden Rock Province.
The ultimate victor would undoubtedly gain the actual control of the entire Golden Rock Province.
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