Chapter 205: Devil’s Horn (Part 2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Quietly, Lex crept up behind Saleen and asked, “What are you thinking of?”
The fragrance from Lex’s body mixed with the faint fishy smell from the seawater, turning into an intense smell which filled the lungs. Saleen declared honestly, “I want a boat so that I can live a life without restraints.”
Lex laughed gently, “Hey, that won’t do. You still have many things to do in the Bitter Water Prefecture.”
“I can’t really do much. Aside from my rapid training, the only other important aspect of myself would be the good teacher that I have.” Saleen gazed at the ocean, and for the first time ever, he said whatever was on his mind.
“Do you feel that if it was not for your teacher, I would not have allowed you to leave that place?” Lex did not directly mention the hell of god’s punishment, as she was not sure whether other people would be able to hear their conversation.
“Not necessarily. It’s just that judging by your intentions now, you want to have me oversee many matters which I don’t actually enjoy doing.”
“Father talked to me about you in the past,” Lex suddenly claimed.
Saleen had never expected that Emperor Chanake would have spoken about him. Saleen had been full of admiration for the emperor and was very curious about what the emperor had thought of him.
“My father said that you were a man without great ambitions, but you would be able to accomplish great things. Even though you are only a grade-4 mage now, your future achievements will definitely surpass mine. Some people place their goals too far away. That is why they do not accomplish much throughout their lives. But you will complete whatever task is in front of you with great tenacity, and every step you take will be full of confidence and solidity.”
“Surpass you? It won’t be that easy,” Saleen replied honestly. Saleen viewed Lex as his goal simply because Lex was around the same age as him. However, Lex possessed a big head start, so even though Saleen had tried his best to build up his foundation, he still felt that there were many areas where he was inferior to Lex.
“After grade-6, the effect of money on magic training does not do much anymore. You also know that a grade-7 magic nucleus can’t be acquired with money.”
Saleen remained silent because he knew that Lex was speaking the truth. For this trip to Alchemy City, both of them had held the motive of finding out how Alchemy City had managed to support the training of so many sorcerers.
Now, both of them vaguely knew that Alchemy City was simply using the simplest of all methods – plundering.
Alchemy City was the holy ground for magic. One could purchase whatever magic materials and knowledge they sought from this place. If a foreign mage wanted to acquire these items, then they would have to carry out certain tasks for Alchemy City. Some examples included hunting, collecting, and mining. These tasks took up a lot of time and some were even life threatening. Hence, Alchemy City allocated these tasks to the foreigners, and the city even collected a fee from them.
Was this logical?
Perhaps not. But year after year, throngs of hopeful mages still decided to come to Alchemy City.
“It would be difficult for you to lead a life like that,” Lex continued speaking gently. A feeling of fatigue welled up in Saleen’s heart, but he quickly brushed away the strange emotions he was experiencing.
“Lex, that is not difficult at all. Just that I will need to let you take over some matters temporarily, as I don’t have the time to start on them. When I am more free, I will get a boat to go one round around the Myers Mainland, then…”
“Then what will you do?”
“Then I will keep moving towards the end of the ocean. I would like to see what is at the end of this plane.”
“That is… such a romantic thought.”
“I think you mean unrealistic, right?” Saleen smiled.
“To a mage, nothing is unrealistic. Do you know what I want to do?”
“You want to locate my teacher as soon as possible.”
“Hey.” Lex did not deny it. Before coming to Alchemy City, she had thought too simply about things. However, after coming to Alchemy City, she had discovered that the city did not belong to an individual and actually belonged to a group of people. Power struggles existed wherever people did, and even Alchemy City was no exception.
“I was just thinking about whether I would still be considered a mage if this goes on.” Saleen was a little emotional, completely unlike how someone his age typically behaved.
“Then are you still going to help me or not?” Lex changed the topic.
“Help? Of course I am helping!” Saleen shifted his body sideways to make a bit of room for Lex to stand in front of the window. Then, he whispered, “I can’t let you have all the benefits of that thing.” The thing that Saleen was referring to was, of course, the hell of god’s punishment.
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“Unfortunately, the Bitter Water Prefecture is situated deep in the empire’s land. If the prefecture had an entrance at sea like Alchemy Port, a navy could be established and people would be able to traverse freely just like they can in Cloudflow.” Lex ignored Saleen’s banter since she was very clear on his intentions.
“There are two ports in the north, but they aren’t as convenient as those in Alchemy City, so those places might not be ideal. However, the Phoenix Duchy is situated in the north. Isn’t there a large piece of no man’s land?” Saleen shared his thoughts as he recalled that there was an empty piece of land indicated on maps of the Myers Mainland.
“Like you said, it is no man’s land. Within a single year, there are at least four months when that place is covered in snow. No one is willing to live there. I have sent my people to conduct an investigation on it in the past. That place has a natural deep-water port, but unfortunately, it is frozen for a few months each year. If you like it, I will conquer that place. Shall I perhaps confer you the title of a marquis?”
“There’s no fun in being a marquis.”
“You want to be the emperor?”
“That won’t be necessary. I will already be content being a county king.”
In that instant, Lex’s face turned scarlet. Why had Saleen said that? If Lex had not been made county queen yet, then that sentence would have seemed as though Saleen had been trying to flirt with her. Saleen did not notice the strange look on Lex’s face. He simply stared at the ocean and said, “Lex, all those emperors simply wanted to unify the mainland and restore the glorious days of the old dynasties. But that way of thinking is so childish. Even the Fourth Dynasty also controlled a few thousand miles of sea beyond the border, not to mention the first three dynasties. It was only today now that I’m here out at sea that I realize how minuscule my goals were.”
“What were your goals?”
“I hoped that every meal would fill my stomach, and I hoped that the money beneath my pillow would not be stolen or cheated from me. I began learning magic because of these goals.”
As the two of them conversed about trivial matters, the eastern side had unknowingly grown whiter. A blinding ray of golden light shone on the surface of the sea. Sunlight pierced through the darkness. In the moment before dawn, Saleen and Lex unwittingly held their breaths as they witnessed their first ever sunrise at sea.
The ship had reached Devil’s Horn!
In the distance, a foggy island was vaguely discernible. The ship slowed down and the sailors lowered the sail. The ship was going to be powered by magic from here on, as it would allow the ship to enter the layer of mist slowly.
Saleen and Lex never returned to their seats. They extended their perception to the exterior of the ship and realized that the formation of the mist itself actually originated from a magic array. Even though the island was still far away, it already looked massive. The mist was projected at least dozens of miles from the shore, and if all of it was being released by a magic array, then the magic array was far too horrifying even if it was a low-level one.
The ship carefully avoided the reefs, causing Saleen to think to himself, No wonder Devil’s Horn could be established at sea and its people are not afraid of the Cloudflow Navy. If this gigantic island was engulfed in mist all year round with those reefs scattered all over its perimeter, then it would be impossible for anyone to even get close to it without a detailed map. Even though the island utilized its surrounding environment, which was rich in water elements, this set up was also far too overwhelming already.
As the ship navigated through the mist, Saleen made mental notes on its route. However, he soon realized that in this mist, a person could not even orientate themselves properly. After a few turns, Saleen had already lost their original coordinates.
Saleen was a grade-4 mage, and his mental power was not any weaker than Lex’s. If even someone like him could forget the way, then Devil’s Horn was definitely safe enough.
If the ocean currents, geomagnetism, mist, and reefs underwent changes, then no incoming ships would be able to get close to the island unless the people from Devil’s Horn gave their authorization and disseminated concise magic coordinates.
Holy Rock City and Alchemy City had astounded Saleen in the past. This was because those two cities had been built up over thousands of years and looked majestic. However, Devil’s Horn was built upon a colossal magic array which had been formed by the multitude of changes that the ocean had undergone during the past hundreds of millions of years. Such a technique had already exceeded some of Saleen’s present knowledge.
That was the power of mages. The elemental power and the natural environment had fused together completely. No matter how strong the Cloudflow Navy was, it would not be able to get close to Devil’s Horn unless it possessed the capabilities to disperse all of the elemental power in a radius which spanned over hundreds of miles.
Even a forbidden curse would not be able to achieve that.
Saleen and Lex glanced at each other as a common thought emerged in their hearts. What type of person had set this magic array?
When the ship was several miles from the island, it stopped turning, and the mist also became fainter. A large metallic port came into view. The style of the port was that of toughness and ruthlessness. The magic lamp on the ship flashed repeatedly to signal to the tall tower built on the dock. Many mages crowded around the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of the magic ship which was berthed at the port.
The people from Alchemy City did not stop these mages, as they did not care if people looked at the magic ship. If a person could steal all of its secrets through sight alone, then Alchemy City would not have been able to dominate the ocean anyways.
The harbor had been developed from a gargantuan rock, and enormous forts surrounded the harbor on three sides. There was a metallic port mosaicked into the depths of the inner part of the island. That dock was huge, berthed with dozens of large ships.
Saleen did not need anyone to point it out to him. At a glance, he had already spotted the magic ship that Andrew was talking about.
Si… oh!
Exclamations and inhalations filled the air as many people were filled with awe. However, even more of them were filled with anticipation and greed which was displayed in their eyes. So there was such a ship. If Saleen had not seen it in person, he would never have been able to imagine that a ship could be built this way.
The ship’s dragon bone had been extracted from a colossal sea magic beast, and it was almost two hundred meters long. The skull of the magic beast was placed at the ship’s bow. Its mouth was agape, and the two empty skull orbitals were mosaicked with two extremely gargantuan gems. From the beginning to the end of the hull, not a single crevice could be spotted. The pure wooden color of the hull made the ship look as if it had grown naturally on the bone of this magic beast.
From the side, magic powered propellers could not be seen, but there were two wing bones which were currently retracted. The deck consisted of four stories, and there were no sails. In addition, there were magic cannon towers located at the bow and the stern. The magic cannon could only be fired under elemental stability. Hadn’t the manufacturing process for this item been lost already?
In addition to the magic towers, the ship also contained many arrow towers of different sizes, and alchemical crossbows were installed on them. Saleen clearly saw a simple magic tower on the highest point of the ship’s bridge.
If this ship had a sorcerer as its commander, then it would be able to traverse the seven seas. This ship had defied much of Saleen’s general knowledge, for example, having magic cannons and a magic tower on its dynamic hull. Such an enormous ship did not have any sails. How many magic nuclei would be required to power it?