Chapter 46

Thank you, Gongye Chang, for the VIP ticket!

The war in the Muni Principality did not attract much attention, as the region where the Roland Empire is located is a remote and underdeveloped area of the continent. The Roland Empire is not the economic or political center of the continent. Although the war in the Muni Principality involved 3 million people, most of them were farmers and irregular troops, which, in the eyes of the upper class, were not even considered human.

The continent where the Roland Empire is located is called the Lansi Continent. There are dozens of empires of various sizes on the Lansi Continent, and the Roland Empire ranks almost in the bottom ten. The ranking of the empires is based on national strength, which includes not only the size of the territory but also population, military power, and most importantly, the number of high-level professionals.

The Lansi Continent has three major empires: the Magic Empire, which, despite being an empire, has only one directly governed province, while the rest is composed of fifteen kingdoms. These fifteen kingdoms are controlled by the top three mercenary groups, seven guilds, and five large chambers of commerce on the continent, all of which operate under a parliamentary system rather than a monarchical system. The directly governed province of the Magic Empire is not large, but it houses the capital of the Magic Empire and the headquarters of the Mage Guild, known as the City of Magic, which is the cultural and economic center of the entire continent. The City of Magic also contains the largest school on the continent, the Magic Empire Academy, which offers dozens of courses, from the warrior system to the mage system, thief system, and more. Despite the numerous courses and departments, the number of graduates each year is usually in the double digits.

The other two empires are controlled by two major churches: the Light Church, which worships the power of light, and the Dark Church, which worships the power of darkness. The Dark Church is also known as the Dark Cathedral, and the empire it controls is called the Dark Empire.

The remaining empires are composed of countless religious sects, such as the Red Lansi Empire controlled by the Fire Worship Sect, the Water Lansi Empire controlled by the Water God Sect, and the Green Lansi Empire controlled by the Church of Nature and Life, among dozens of other empires and cathedrals. These empires are almost always at war, with constant small conflicts, although the three major empires rarely engage in combat. The Magic Empire is a vast alliance of mage guilds and chambers of commerce, and no one wants to provoke it. The Magic Empire maintains neutrality and has strict regulations for registered mages.

The Dark Empire, although opposed to the Light Empire, is geographically isolated, making war between the two almost impossible. The Dark Empire is located in a basin surrounded by mountains on two sides, which are filled with magical beasts and are too high for birds to fly over. On the other side is a vast sea, and the remaining side is bordered by the Magic Empire and a dozen other empires, which form an alliance. These dozen empires are located in the middle of the three major empires, and ironically, the alliance they form is called the Chaotic Alliance, as the members of this alliance are constantly at odds with each other.

North of the Magic Empire and these dozen empires, and further north of the Light Empire, is a vast primeval forest. No one knows the size of this forest, as it covers almost half of the continent and is located in a tropical region, making it lush with food and trees, and thus teeming with magical beasts, many, many of them!

Surprisingly, on the other side of this forest is a vast desert, inhabited by some bandits, fierce tribes, and barbarian tribes, as well as giant tribes. Beyond the desert and the magical beast forest, to the north, are another dozen empires, and the Roland Empire is located in the far northwest region. This region is connected to the area where the Magic Empire is located by only one path, which runs along the edge of the magical beast forest and the desert, following the base of the Torular Mountains. It is estimated that no one has ever traveled through the desert and the magical beast forest.

"This is the general overview of the continent," Lori explained the continent's overview to Cook and Mitch in detail.

"Tsk! So, we're in a wilderness. Are there really large people, barbarians, elves, dwarves, gnomes, giants, and orcs? Where do they live?" Cook, while flipping a pie made from a crushed fern and small fish on a stone slab, asked.

"Indeed, the barbarians and giants live in the desert, while the elves, dwarves, and gnomes live in the magical beast forest. As for the orcs, they occupy most of the northern regions of the magical beast forest, the Yalani Empire, and the northernmost part of the Light Empire. Fortunately, the Yalani Empire is separated from the orcs by the Diteru Great Snow Mountain, which is the highest and largest mountain range on the continent, making the Angons and Torular Mountains seem insignificant in comparison. The Yalani Empire also borders a vast plain that extends to the sea," Conknee, with a smile, explained before Lori could speak. Conknee, who drinks a bit of the poison Cook makes every day, was surprised to find that it suppressed the scorpion's venom, which improved her mood.

"Hmph, do you know why no one has crossed those great snow mountains?" Lori glared at Conknee, feeling that Conknee was trying to lure her toy, Cook!

"Hehe, those mountains are the territory of the dragon clan. No one dares to cross them," Conknee chuckled, her chest more prominent in the firelight.

"Hmph!" Lori glared at Conknee's chest, then looked at her own, and coldly snorted.

"Ouch! Mitch, why did you pinch me!" Cook, who was excitedly watching Lori and Conknee argue, was suddenly pinched hard on the thigh by Mitch and quickly turned to ask.

"Hmph!" Mitch, who was trying to warn Cook to be careful, but didn't expect him to say it out loud, only coldly snorted and pointed to the food on the stone slab.

"Oh! Alright, alright, fresh pie!" Cook quickly picked up the pie made from the fern.

"Mm, it's quite good," Lori, who was the first to get a piece, took a bite and nodded in approval.

"Where did you get the salt?" Mike, who finished his pie in a few bites, stared at the one Cook was still making and asked curiously.

"Hehe, there's a salt mine over there," Cook replied with a smile.

"Salt mine!" Lori and Conknee exchanged glances, clearly shocked.

"Um, large, large salt mines, many of them," Cook didn't care, as he didn't know that in the age of cold weapons and underdeveloped transportation, salt was equivalent to gold.

"Hehe, Miss Conknee, shouldn't we fulfill the magic contract we agreed upon three days ago?" Lori chuckled and asked Conknee.

"Hmph, I was thinking the same thing. Five hundred magic words, I don't believe I'll lose," Conknee stared at Lori, refusing to back down, clearly competing over the salt mine.

"Cook, come here, tell Miss Conknee how many magic words you know," Lori pulled Cook over and asked.

"Nine hundred and thirty-five, no, plus twenty-six magic incantations, a total of nine hundred and fifty-one," Cook answered, while Mitch continued to make the fern pie.

"Impossible, you're lying!" Conknee immediately jumped up, her pale face almost touching Cook's, and shouted.

"Really! Want me to write them down for you?" Cook felt a woman's unique scent, his heart beating faster, but seeing the menacing Lori, he wisely suppressed his thoughts and stepped back to ask.

"Write!" Conknee almost spat out the word.

"What did you bet on?" Cook, sensing something was off, asked weakly.

"Write it!" Both women shouted in unison.

"Um, I'll write! The Starry Aura Cultivation Method, the Wood Aura Chapter...," Cook began to write on the ground.

"You, you're cheating, look, look, this is just a cultivation method... You, you're using scrolls, you, you?" Conknee jumped up after reading a few lines.

"You're slandering! We signed a blood contract, if there was cheating, the contract would have reacted," Lori also jumped up, facing Conknee and shouting.

"Uh...!" Conknee was speechless, knowing that magic contracts are fair and are granted by the God of Contracts, which cannot be changed by human power.

"Hmph! Speechless, huh? I now request the God of Contracts to enforce the contract as a contractee," Lori snorted, waving her staff triumphantly.

"Uh?" Cook felt a flash of light, and an invisible force instantly bound him, then something was forcibly implanted in his mind. When the light faded, Cook looked at Conknee in surprise.

"Haha! Ha, you're now my servant's servant, ha!" Lori laughed without a trace of ladylike manners.

"Sweat!" Cook, hearing Lori's words, finally understood the strange feeling.

"Sir, sir, this isn't right, this isn't right. If I'm your servant, what about the bounty and the title?" Cook, realizing this, asked urgently.

"What do you want to do?" Lori asked with a smile.

"Break the contract, then return to the empire... Smack! Ouch!" Before Cook could finish, Lori hit him with her staff, and Cook, covering his head, looked at her with a pained expression.

"You country bumpkin, you know nothing but titles and bounties. You despicable person, what use are titles and bounties? They're just illusions, illusions, understand?" Lori scolded him.

"Yes, sir, but she's poisoned, if she dies, won't that...?" Cook quickly pulled Lori aside and whispered.

"Can't you find a way to cure her?" Lori rolled her eyes at Cook, not in a good mood, though she was just realizing the problem herself, but would she admit her mistake?

Cook was stunned, staring at Lori, then after a while, he weakly asked, "Sir, do you think I have a chance?"

"Um, I believe in you, kid, good luck!" Lori nodded without hesitation, encouraged him, and then left.

Cook, looking at Lori's back, was stunned for a minute before sighing, "This is just a mess, a real mess!"

"Um, since you're my servant now, go wash the cookware, then give me a shoulder massage...," Cook, returning, walked straight to Conknee and ordered, thinking simply that if he didn't use his authority now, it would expire, and he might as well take advantage of it before Conknee had any issues.

"Smack!" Before Cook could finish, he was hit hard on the back.

Mitch, smiling, stood behind Cook, holding a staff given to her by Lori, and asked, "Want to sleep with me, my lord Cook?"

"No, no, no, you're busy! You're busy, I'll go wash the cookware." Seeing Mitch's smile, which reminded him of Lori's, Cook quickly waved his hands and left.

Conknee's mood was clearly bad, and Mitch, sitting next to her, explained, "Don't misunderstand, your mentor had good intentions. Otherwise, do you think Cook would patiently detoxify you? He was just using you to earn battle credits!"

"Hmph!" Conknee didn't know if Mitch was telling the truth, but thinking about Cook's attitude when he made the poison, she felt there was something off.

"Sigh, rest well. Cook has sent Kaka to scout. If we're lucky, we won't have to stay here long." Mitch lay down by the fire and said to Conknee.

Cook, after washing the cookware with Mike, chatted, "Mike, why haven't I seen you practicing?"

"Boss, I do practice, but our bards have a different method." Mike, surprised, explained.

"That makes sense. Alright, the rest is up to you. Give Little Bad and Big Mouth a bath, clean the ferns, and catch some fish. I need to practice. Sigh! I have to meditate and practice aura, it's too much!" Cook, hearing this, put down his things, gave instructions, and left, leaving Mike almost in a frenzy.

"Hmph! Catching fish, I'm the best at that." Mike, wanting to resist, thought of Cook's methods and the wide-eyed Big Mouth and Little Bad, and grumbled.

Cook began his second practice in life, which went more smoothly this time. After three hours, he finished, and Lori was already waiting. Seeing him awake, she quickly warned, "You're not allowed to spread the method of using mental energy to create a net!"

"What's the big deal?" Cook didn't understand.

"Swear, if you tell anyone, you'll lose your male function." Lori, ignoring his question, ordered.

"Come on, sir, it's just a small trick?" Cook, half-red and half-green, asked.

"Swear, no more nonsense, or I'll make you regret it!" Lori, in a bad mood, raised her staff.

"Alright, I swear I won't tell anyone, and if I do, I'll lose my male function." Cook, holding his head, quickly swore.

"Hmph! Remember that!" Lori put down her staff, walked to where Mitch was sleeping, and lay down. The three women and the two gray wolves slept together, while Cook and Mike took turns keeping watch, as no one knew what dangers might lurk underground.

As Lori and the others fell asleep, dawn broke on the surface. Meliv looked at the sky and ordered, "Advance the headquarters by a hundred kilometers. It might rain, so order all the troops to chase with all their might."

"Indeed, it will rain!" A woman in her thirties, wearing a rose-colored mage robe, stood beside Meliv. Her fire-red robe, contrasting with her white skin, made her look stunningly beautiful.

"Sigh, I hope Lily and the others have already left the underground river." Meliv sighed.

"It's all your fault. Last time Lily was in trouble, and this time you didn't even watch her." The woman beside Meliv was Lori's mother, Monchi's daughter, Yaris, a fire mage. It's worth noting that Meliv was once Yaris's student, and while they are of the same level, there is a difference in seniority. Yaris has been a mage for over twenty years, while Meliv has only been one for a few years. Although Yaris is nearly fifty, in the two-hundred-year lifespan of a mage, it's not significant.

"Yaris, it's my fault." Meliv, feeling guilty, was even more miserable after Yaris's words and said dejectedly.

"Sigh, who knows if Lily is still alive. It's the underground river!" Yaris also sighed, her expression dark.

"It's all the fault of the Sylan Empire's bastards. Order the headquarters to advance by a hundred and fifty kilometers. This time, our target is the Sylan Empire's additional 600,000 troops." Hearing Yaris's words, Meliv, with red eyes, gave the order again.

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