Leo was walking to the Outer Forest when he heard loud noises from the battlefield. He immediately started hurrying up. He was initially planning to walk slowly so that he wouldn’t lose his way, but the loud noises and Magical Vibrations indicated that people stronger than him were fighting.
If the 4th Circle Powerhouses were fighting, that meant that the battle would come to an end. Either way, it meant that he had to quickly go back to his hiding spot. He would go back the next day after the effects of the battle had subsided.
After an hour, he heard a loud sound that let him know that the battle had to be over. Either they won or lost. Either way, it meant that he would have to get to the waterfall a little faster. The battle had finished quicker than he thought. It was only starting to reach sunset, which meant that the Beast Wave only lasted a day.
Based on what he expected, the number of Magical Beasts was going to be in the tens of thousands. But the battle already ended, which went on to show the true power of 3rd Circle and 4th Circle Mages. The reason he didn’t know how much power he had was that he never properly learned and used his 3rd Star Spells.
As he was getting closer to the Outer Forest, he felt the presence of multiple Magical Beasts in the distance. He quickly shadow-stepped away from them while trying to keep his direction toward Solhaven. Valkyr’s Forest didn’t solely border Solhaven. It was also next to a city called Verdantia, where the Viscount was from.
If Leo landed there, he would have to explain what he was doing there and that would be a hassle. Compared to that, he could just wait for two days in the forest and go to Solhaven. By that time, adventurers and mercenaries would go to the forest regularly.
So he kept a reference point and started running while keeping a distance from the Magical Beasts that were flooding the forest.
As time passed, he realized the sheer size of the horde that was entering the forest all at once. He could sense more than 1000 Magical Beasts all charging back into the forest. The entire bunch was completely disorganized and it was essentially a stampede. If he got caught up in it, he would definitely not be able to get out.
As he was sneakily going past the Magical Beast, he sensed multiple energies that were stronger than him. He was curious about what happened outside. Why were there so many 3rd Circle Magical Beasts there? What actually happened outside?
____
Meanwhile, outside the mages all surrounded the Silvershade Mage. The Magistrate jumped down from the wall and confronted him as well.
“That information was gathered by risking my life. I only shared it with you because I felt it was important to inform the benefits of fighting in this Beast Wave. But since you sold away that privilege, consider that you sold your right to stay at Solhaven.” The Magistrate said angrily.
The Silvershade mage smiled. “The Radiant Apple can let the Viscount of Verdantia break through to the 4th Circle. Then Verdantia will rival Solhaven. I no longer have to stay here.”
The Magistrate frowned. “Fine. But do tell me, how much did you take to buy over?”
“I am not cheap, Magistrate. It took him 1 Billion Starcoins to make me convert. Next time, I will be seeing you on the other side of the battlefield.” The Silvershade mage said.
One of the mages pointed their staffs at the mage, but the Magistrate stopped him.
“Don’t. The empire doesn’t allow any battles between mages unless it is in the Ten Year War. Let us save it for then. It isn’t so far away, is it?” He said. “Pack up, Baron Silvershade. You are no longer a part of Solhaven.”
“Thank you for your mercy, magistrate. I will see you-”
“Don’t call me magistrate anymore, Baron. To you, I am the Viscount of Solhaven.” He said. He turned away and looked at the army of Aura Knight looking at the scene that they created.
“People of Solhaven! You have fought valiantly. To reward your actions, Baron Silvershade here has donated his property. The resulting money from the sale of his properties will be distributed among everyone. Everyone here will be compensated with 100,000 Starcoins. Any family who has seen a death because of today will receive 450000 Starcoins.” He announced.
Everyone heard this and cheered loudly. While this might seem like a huge expense to the city, it was actually viable. The entirety of the Beast Cores left over from the entire Beast Wave would sell for around 400 million Starcoins, while the property of the Silvershade family would be worth around 600 million Starcoins. Together, it would pay for the remuneration of the conscription.
The mages quickly turned to the Magistrate after. He was in the process of taking a potion from his dimensional ring. While he was downing the potion, the mages were talking frantically.
“We always beat Verdantia in the Ten Year War and maintained control over the majority of the resources there. But if the Silvershade family leaves us, then we will no longer have the advantage. They will also have a 4th Circle Mage for the first time.” He said.
The Magistrate threw the empty glass vial after he finished drinking its contents. He looked at the mage.
“I am not worried about the betrayal or the new 4th Circle Mage. I am most worried about the anger of the second 4th Circle Purple-Eyed Golden Lion. If the Viscount managed to steal the Radiant Apple without facing the lion, then its anger will turn toward the city that killed its partner. I have to immediately go there and make sure I talk to it myself and clear the situation.” He said.
“Are you completely certain you understand what you are going to do? How are you going to negotiate with a Magical Beast? Especially one that just launched a Beast Wave at the city?” The mage asked.
The Magistrate nodded. “A Beast Wave is a necessary phenomenon. It allows them to decrease the number of Magical Beasts and also allows them to kill humans. It allows the coexistence of the two species without depleting all of the resources. The only reason it was this serious was because of the existence of the Radiant Apple.”
“The Radiant Apple is the most powerful Magical Fruit the forest has produced in years. It took decades to grow. If the fruit is to be consumed, then that Beast will be able to advance its bloodline. But in the process, it will lose its ability to fight back while it transforms. A single 4th Circle Magical Beast cannot fight back all the Magical Beasts in the forest. That is why they dwindled down the numbers this much.” He said.
“So even the Magical Beasts in the forest do not know about the Radiant Apple?” The lady mage asked.
The Magistrate nodded. “Yes. But now it might be gone.”