Chapter 260 260

"After that tribe gained two more Junior Mages, they decided to threaten our tribe and we along with the other nearby tribes joined forces to destroy this tribe"

"The other side is outnumbered by us but half of the eight Junior Mages that attacked the tribe died because of a single person"

"We don't know how he did it but that tribesman that is originally only at the 1st cycle swallowed something and his strength jumped from the 1st cycle to the 3rd cycle. If he didn't die from an unknown reason, all eight Junior Mages might have died from his hands that day"

Rezen explained what happened and he even took out the book from his beast fur bag and showed it to Wermon

"I found this weird thing in one of their huts. I don't know if they became stronger because of this thing or if it was from the tribesman that suddenly became a 3rd cycle mage but I hope it could help the investigation"

The moment that Rezen discovered this book in the Metal Sword Tribe, he already had some suspicions and he thought that something was brewing in the dark without him knowing anything

Now that the tribes inside the Drakery Forest were mysteriously destroyed, he cannot help but think that there might be a connection there

If not for Rezen framing the Metal Sword Tribe for the deaths of the other tribes' people, they might be the one that would be annihilated

If Titane didn't die for an unknown reason, a 3rd cycle mage would have the power to destroy the nearby tribes. Even if they can't do it in one go, they could retreat after killing some and coming back after they recovered

The existence of Titane a 3rd cycle mage is enough to cause the annihilation of the nearby tribes just like what happened to the other tribes in Drakery Forest. It wouldn't be far-fetched to say that there is a connection between the two

"This... this is a book about magic theories. Why would something like this be here?" Wermon muttered with a frown

Now that he heard this story and also received the book, he couldn't help but agree with the command center. Something really fishy happened in Drakery Forest

"Rezen, I'll take this book with me as evidence. I'll reimburse you for it when we arrived at the City of Hope" Wermon said

It seems like when it comes to official business, he is quite talkative

"T-there's no need for that. I don't even know what that is" Rezen said since a tribesman can't possibly know what a book is nor how to read it

Even so, he was looking forward to how Wermon would reimburse him

Since Wermon received the command, as an experienced soldier, he naturally has to oblige and he informed everyone of what happened before guiding them outside Drakery Forest

To give respect to the Drake King, the flying ship wouldn't enter the forest and it would pick up everyone on the outskirts

——-

"W-woah..."

"W-what is that giant bird?!"

"I-it's scary!"

On the outskirts of Drakery Forest, the members of Waterside Tribe along with Philome and Wermon waited for the flying ship until it finally arrived

As the tribesman never saw something like that, they almost broke their necks by staring at the flying ship in the sky

Many of them even thought that the flying ship was some sort of bird-type magic beast when it was not a living entity

Even Rezen can't help but admire this flying ship. This is what a fantasy world is!

Aside from the existence of magic, things such as flying sticks and flying ships are not something that could be found in the earth realm

The flying ship resembles the medieval ships used on the sea back in Rezen's previous world. But instead of the ship traveling in the sea, it was flying in the sky despite its large size

Rezen even has the urge to own this kind of thing that although he doesn't know the price of could guess that it must be crazy expensive that not just anyone could have

While everyone was busy gawking at the flying ship, its bottom part suddenly parted and from it, one flying stick after another flew down

The tribesmen that are new to the concept of flying sticks thought that they were being attacked and they were about to defend themselves when Philome stopped them

"Don't be afraid! It's just the same flying sticks I used earlier. It wouldn't harm you" Philome said and only then the tribesmen retracted their hands as they watched the flying sticks land in front of them

These flying sticks all look the same. They are simple sticks that are black in color but on their bodies, some mystical blue inscriptions were glowing

These inscriptions might be the reason why the flying sticks are magic artifacts

As Rezen is walking the path of an alchemist, he cannot help but be interested

Alchemy is a broad term. It is simply the process of transforming materials into something else using magical means

Potion-making is just a part of alchemy and there are also artifact creations. If Rezen were to become a genius in alchemy with the help of other's fortune aura or some heavenly treasures, he is interested in also learning the art of artifact making

"Please ride on the flying sticks. We will reach the ship with its help" Philome gently said and she even took the lead

The way mages ride on flying sticks is similar to the flying brooms of the witches from folklore. But while Philome and Wermon could control the flying sticks on their own, the ones that the tribesmen use automatically brought them inside the ship

"Waaahh! I-I'm dying!" Treen screamed loudly in fear as his body with the help of the flying stick rose in the air

He doesn't care about face at all and Rezen could only be embarrassed on the behalf of his neighbor

Fortunately, the flying sticks didn't move fast, giving the tribesmen enough time to enjoy flying until they landed on the deck of the ship and the flying sticks returned to where they came from

As soon as the tribesmen entered the ship, they saw a large crowd. There are many people that were wearing the same 'weird clothes' that Wermon and Philome do. They must be the other mages from the City of Hope

Aside from them, there were also people that looked the same as the tribesmen. Some people were also only wearing clothes made from the fur of magic beasts

However, although the number of tribal people combined is higher than the population of the Waterside Tribe, the difference is not that big

They might be the people that the other representatives encountered in Drakery Forest

However, considering that many tribes were annihilated, these tribesmen might be the survivors of the destroyed tribes

Just looking at the expressions on their faces, these tribal people looked traumatized though whether that is because of the destruction of their tribes or because of the representatives is still not known

Since Wermon and Philome brought a large crowd with them, the other representatives can't help but snort

Because of what happened to the tribes, the other representatives could only gather a few survivors but the numbers are far lesser than they expected

These representatives wanted to recruit as many tribal people as possible but they failed because of the abnormal situation

Seeing how lucky Philome and Wermon are to gather this many people, they can't help but be envious and dissatisfied

Why was it not them that encountered this many people? If it was them, they would be rewarded by the Elders!

Fortunately, there are not many mages here that are stronger than Wermon and they didn't make things difficult aside from expressing dissatisfaction with their facial expressions

Considering that in the City of Hope, one's contributions would be recognized and rewarded, none would try to snatch the 'prey' of others

The seat of the ten Elders are not passed down through bloodline but the seats are given based on a mage's strength and contributions

Even people with lowly backgrounds as long as they are powerful enough and gave enough contributions could claim one of the ten seats of the Elders

The Guardian is the most powerful and authoritative figure in the City and below him are the ten Elders. Who wouldn't want to be an Elder?

Due to the threats of magic beasts, robbing the contributions of other people would result in terrible consequences

One might be devoted to military slaves where they are forced to fight magic beasts until they die without receiving any form of salary and compensation

In many cases, military slaves are even used as cannon fodders. If the situation would cause people to die, the city would sacrifice the military slaves first before the lives of other people