Chapter 629.5: Pulling the "Enemy" Into Familiar Territory
Year 132, January 1st.
With the year's work finished, Bay Territory grew lively and bustling.
Figures could be seen all over the streets, laughter and cheer resounding everywhere.
Even the patrol guards had returned home to reunite with their families.
In their place, a force of tall, imposing Dragon Cavalry Golem No. 1 took over.
The brand new Dragon Cavalry Golem No. 2 had already been developed.
These now-outdated first-generation models, after some upgrades and maintenance, would become a key force in protecting the citizens.
The whole city was bursting with joyous noise, with bright red lanterns and banners hanging on both sides of every street.
Various self-operating shops welcomed many customers even if there was no one personally greeting them.
Everyone could always buy whatever they wanted at the fastest speed, curiously checking how these products were different from before.
After saving up money for a whole year, everyone happily indulged their urge to shop.
Fortunately, everyone earned a lot, and prices were not high, so every household could return home fully loaded.
Only a portion of residents and adventurers not yet used to Bay Territory were quite amazed by the situation here.
There was no arguing, no petty theft—only smiling faces everywhere.
Carlos smacked his lips emotionally, recommending Bay Territory's various delicacies to the legion commander beside him. Biting into a piece of lamb spine, he said excitedly:
"Only Bay Territory's food can truly satisfy me. When will our legion get a new chef?"
The legion commander rolled his eyes at him, savoring the tenderness of the lamb and the rich aroma of the bones.
He casually swallowed the bone along with the meat and retorted without thinking:
"You have the nerve to talk? You always brag about how close you are with Bay Territory, but you can't even get us a discount—I have to take care of it myself."
"We've already given all our money to Bay Territory. How are we supposed to afford a chef?"
"Can't you see how good their business is? Could we even hire them if we wanted to?"
Helplessly scratching his head, Carlos grinned shamelessly:
"It can't be helped. You see how effective it is. Instead of letting those idiots skim off the profits, better to train a batch of real elites."
The legion commander merely glanced at him, recalling the complaints and hints from those fools, and replied indifferently:
"You can notify Bay Territory—those orcs have stayed in the Scarlet Castle long enough..."
Carlos immediately caught the commander's meaning and tried to push his luck:
"Heh, in that case, what about the Eighth Legion..."
The commander patted his shoulder and, with interest, watched the footage of Dragon Warriors fighting Cole Elves on the magic screen at the plaza, speaking leisurely:
"Let's not talk about that now. Once the task is done, everything will be easy to discuss."
The legion commander felt he'd stayed at Scarlet Castle long enough, and if he could earn enough merit, he could finally leave this godforsaken place.
He'd long missed the comforts of Sevinton, without having to worry about orc raids every day.
He lacked neither money nor power—he just wanted a peaceful life.
As for those shortsighted fools, since the first time Scarlet Castle fell, he hadn't bothered with those sycophants.
He looked with interest at the bustling Bay City, marveling at its prosperity, feeling a strange sense of unreality in his mind.
"Did Bay City really develop this fast only because of Grand Arcanist Cronorman's help?"
The legion commander hesitated for a moment, then quickly shook his head, refusing to think about this headache-inducing question.
Carlos, heading toward the lord's manor, pondered what gifts to bring.
But then he realized all the gifts he bought were made in Bay Territory—wasn't it a bit awkward to deliver them as presents?
As Carlos was agonizing over this, a sudden magical fluctuation came from ahead.
"Who dares to cast spells inside Bay City? Is it the patrols? No, that can't be right."
Carlos instinctively looked over, just in time to see Councilor Arad, expressionless, staring at the approaching Dragon Cavalry Golem No. 1 and raising a magical shield on himself.
The Dragon Cavalry Golem No. 1 halted, glaring with crimson eyes, silently watching Councilor Arad.
Knowing what was happening, Carlos quickly hurried over and called out to Councilor Arad:
"They won't attack anyone unless they detect hostile intent."
Councilor Arnold looked over, noticing the curious eyes gathering around, and felt rather uncomfortable inside.
In the eyes of these people, his robe, symbolizing an arcanist's status, brought neither the usual respect nor fear, only a monkey-like curiosity.
If not for the Dragon Warrior transformation technology, Councilor Arad would never have set foot in Bay City.
He silently recorded today's humiliation in his heart, already resolved:
"One day, I'll make everyone in Bay City pay!"
After finally shaking off the Dragon Cavalry Golem No. 1, Councilor Arad examined Carlos's adventurer attire and asked, puzzled:
"Aren't you a colonel now? Why aren't you at Scarlet Castle? What brings you to Bay City?"
Carlos originally couldn't be bothered to respond to this 'esteemed' councilor,
but recalling the friendly relations between the Yao Moon family and Arad's clan, he forced himself to reply:
"The legion commander sent me to discuss cooperation with Bay Territory."
Councilor Arad glanced at a nearby troll, frowned, and asked:
"Is Bay Territory always like this?"
Carlos didn't want to play guessing games with this councilor. He nodded, then stayed silent.
Sensing Carlos's coldness, Councilor Arad dropped his follow-up questions about Bay Territory.
Instead, several spellcasters with him exchanged curious glances.
"He's a core member of the Yao Moon family and childhood friends with the councilor."
"Their families have a good relationship, but the two don't get along much…"
"Carlos is favored by the military. With the Yao Moon family's influence, maybe he'll be a legion commander in a few years."
"A legion commander? He could really get such an important position?"
"Yeah, the current commander is a big shot, specially assigned by the council to guard the east…"
"No wonder Carlos gives attitude—so that's why…"
"..."
This brief exchange of glances fully revealed the basic political reality of the Netheril Empire.
Before they could discuss much further, Carlos, leading the way, stopped and turned to Councilor Arad:
"Bay Territory is unlike any other land. Neither Grand Arcanist Cronorman nor Lord Arcanist Matthew are people to trifle with…"
Councilor Arad, who'd been 'taught a lesson' by Bay Territory's mysterious legendary spellcaster, grew slightly cold and nodded silently, signaling he understood.
Carlos pointed to the administrative hall and said nothing more, turning straight for the side door.
He still needed to find Old John and Arnold to discuss a big deal.
For a high-ranking legion commander, troop combat power and the grassroots didn't matter that much.
He just needed to manage the major officers and decision-makers.
But for Carlos, who intended to build his career in the legion, the combat power of the soldiers and the command units represented the strength and influence he could wield.
How could he not care?
Watching Carlos leave, Councilor Arad frowned at the plain-looking lord's manor, hesitated a moment, and went in.
Fulfilling his mission for both council and family came first!
To his surprise, when the staff led him to the conference hall, it was already full.
Several noble knights of Lodan in full armor were present, including the Grand Knight Commander, Macaan, whom he recognized.
The other was a marquis of tremendous power and influence.
He commanded the Victory Knights—an elite force of 1,000 champion knights!
Even in the Kingdom of Lodan, that was the top of the pyramid.
Both status and strength far surpassed his own!
Seated across from the knight nobles was a dwarf rune master in golden armor—Vara.
His Dwarf Rune Council was the most trusted pillar of the Dwarf King.
Even though the Dwarf Kingdom had declined, with tens of millions of people and thousands of years of heritage, they still could not be underestimated.
Besides these two big shots, Councilor Arad spotted more illustrious figures.
The paladin captain of the Church of the Magic Goddess—Sun Sheng!
The head of the Adventurer Guild's Netheril Empire branch—Firas!
One of the heirs to the Royal Family of the Riel Elves, one of the three Northern Elven Kingdoms—Princess Dawn!
The deputy speaker of the Council of Kenrito in the Ail Elven Kingdom—Kanda!
They noticed Councilor Arad's arrival but simply glanced over, then turned away indifferently.
Councilor Arad's heart tightened as he silently fixed his gaze on the figure seated at the head—Arcanist Lord Matthew!
Feeling the weight of Matthew's aura, that intangible, mysterious pressure, Councilor Arad felt inexplicably tense.
He was filled with disbelief.
What was going on with Matthew?
How could his strength be so great?
He was only twenty years old—how could he possibly make a transcendent arcanist like himself feel such unusual pressure?
Could it be…?
Had he already advanced to a transcendent arcanist?
Meeting Matthew's deep black eyes, Councilor Arad was struck by a sudden wave of panic.
He forced down his agitation and walked over naturally, taking a seat at the guest table.
"I'm sure everyone is very curious about the Dragon Warrior transformation. Let's take a look now!"
Matthew glanced over the visitors and reached out, whereupon a crystal chandelier shone with brilliant light.
A very clear anatomical diagram appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Dragon Warrior transformation surgery!"
The text was marked in both common and eastern script, immediately drawing everyone's attention.
Two images, one large, one small.
The internal proportions were vastly different.
The latter was basically a scaled-up version of the former.
But there were also subtle differences.
Everyone focused intently, doing their best to memorize what they saw.
Sun Sheng, comparing the body size before and after the operation, immediately realized the information was genuine and credible.
He was puzzled by Matthew's decision—was it really necessary to reveal something so important?
But thinking of Bay Territory's usual style, he vaguely sensed Matthew must have his reasons, so he chose not to speak.
The legendary rogue Firas was different. His keen senses detected that, beneath the simple comparison chart, there were actually a great many sophisticated enhancement techniques.
Remembering the Adventurer Guild's mission, he couldn't help but quietly ask:
"Lord Arcanist Matthew, I acknowledge the reality of the Dragon Warrior transformation, but achieving these results must have taken Bay Territory a lot of effort, right?"
Noticing the curiosity in everyone else's eyes, Matthew could only nod with a sigh and replied honestly:
"That's right. The Dragon Warrior transformation consumes an enormous amount of resources. Each transformation costs over two million gold coins."
Two million gold coins?
Everyone was shocked, staring at Matthew suspiciously and beginning to doubt his intentions.
"Is this just to scare us with a high price?"
Matthew acted as if he hadn't noticed, pointing to the glowing magical projection, and spoke with a tone of emotion:
"This is only the first step. The secondary heart transformation requires highly concentrated nutrient potions and the life essence unique to the Church of the Harvest."
"At the same time, selecting the personnel and preparing them takes quite some time."
"The subjects must also possess bodies that meet the specifications and…"
Matthew briefly explained the process of the first transformation procedure.
The magical projection simultaneously showed before-and-after comparisons.
Matthew even described the transformation principle and the special spells involved.
Of course, he would still keep a few secrets—without paying a huge price, there was no way they could truly 'learn' it.
Watching Matthew explain so fluently, Councilor Arad was suddenly overwhelmed with frustration.
After listening to the basic process, he was convinced this was indeed a miraculous transformative spell.
Especially given Bay Territory's connection to Grand Arcanist Cronorman and the Truth Organization,
Any improper ideas in Councilor Arad's mind instantly vanished.
From Matthew's deep familiarity with the procedure, Arad was sure Matthew was at least one of the Dragon Warrior transformation's main contributors.
Still so young, with not only great strength but the backing of a vast territory, and such talent and opportunity…
Maybe, one day, Matthew would really break the transcendent arcanist barrier and reach the highest level of Grand Arcanist!
Even having given himself this excuse, Councilor Arad was still inwardly resentful.
He carefully studied the magical images, doing his best to memorize them, planning to report them back to his family and mentor in full.
Councilor Arad believed, as long as his family and mentor took action, they would surely unravel the Dragon Warrior transformation's secret.
Others who heard Matthew's words had similar thoughts.
They even thought Matthew was overconfident and arrogant.
To dare reveal such an important secret so openly before everyone…
When he saw no more questions, Matthew nodded at Ralph Carlisle and said cheerfully:
"Alright, I think everyone is convinced now."
"If anyone is interested in cooperation, feel free to discuss with Butler Ralph."
"And as always, Bay Territory welcomes all cooperation and never fears any challenge."
As Matthew said this, he was openly looking at that beautiful, fairy-like Princess Dawn!
After all, the Riel Elven Kingdom was a Cole Elf lapdog!
There was no need to guess her real purpose for being here!
Matthew's plan to lure people into the pit was already half a success!