110 Expedition Part 1 (2/2)

”So little!”

”Stephanie has gone to Alchemy City.”

Alchemy City! This magic city was a place that was both loved and hated by the Qin royals. A great number of mages had been attracted to Alchemy City and had not returned to the palace, but those mages had become the future of the city.

With that said, Alchemy City guarded the most important port in the empire, and even the navy of the Cloudflow Empire could not do anything about it. Without Alchemy City, the empire’s coastal regions would have been completely exposed to the invincible navy of the Cloudflow Empire, and they would have needed to spend a large amount of money in building magic cannons to protect these areas like the Tanggulasi Empire had done.

Moreover, even though the mages in Alchemy City were not required to obey the empire’s instructions, during the tumultuous times in Phoenix Duchy, they had sent hundreds of mages over to the border to stop the black mages from entering the Qin Empire.

”Father, have Faerun go with you.” Lex could not stop the emperor and needed to think of other strategies. At least with more sorcerers by her father’s side, she would feel safer.

The Qin Emperor laughed and said, ”Lex, I may not be the strongest person in the mainland, but even a Grade 9 sorcerer cannot do much to me. Faerun has always followed you. That puts me at ease.”

Lex nodded silently. With her father going on an expedition, in addition to requisitioning the soldiers from the wealthy around that area, he would have full control over Loulan Duchy. This was a great advantage he held over Safilos. Although on paper this would be considered an expedition, in reality, her father was going to regroup the powers of the wealthy through this trip.

Her uncle would not hold him back. This time, everybody wanted to preserve the glory of the Grukos royals.

Uncle wanted stability. However, father is using this opportunity to rejuvenate the empire again.

The news of the empire going on an expedition spread quickly, and the capital was thrown into chaos again. The upper and lower houses stopped arguing about Lex establishing a county, and the troops were the ones who had the most positive reaction. If the emperor was going on an expedition, the powers of the army would naturally increase, and they would no longer be protecting just the capital. At the same time, so long as Loulan Duchy secured a victory, the army would become even more wealthy. If they were able to expand the land, it would be easy for them to get some feudal estates as a reward.

The wealthy families in the upper house of the empire were but the descendants of the people who had helped build the empire at its start.

The goal of the Qin Empire was to build a unified Fifth Dynasty. What else could have possibly been more exciting?

The turmoil in Loulan Duchy was just the beginning. Once there was a direct conflict with the Tanggulasi Empire, many opportunities to make contributions and sacrifices would spring up. The wealthy and glorious plains had been conquered by the sacred Holy See for far too long. Who wouldn’t have gotten jealous?

That afternoon, the Qin Empire gathered all of the cabinet ministers of the house at the palace. Saleen could not go this time, as he was not qualified. He called Sika to his room, not knowing what to say yet.

”Saleen, what do you want to say?” Sika had just been practicing her martial arts when Saleen had interrupted her. Hence, she was slightly annoyed.

”This… Sika, I have talked to the viscountess. She will send some money and rations to your village.”

”Really?” Upon hearing that, Sika was overjoyed. She had been worrying for the past few months. While she had been enjoying herself, she had not been sure what was happening back in her village. She had many reasons for not going back, but none of them would change the fact that the biggest reason she had not left was because she did not want to leave Saleen.

”Really. The emperor wants to personally make a trip down to Loulan, and the viscountess will be returning to Bitter Water Prefecture. She’ll then be able to send someone to enter Cascausus from Loulan, since by that time, there will definitely be an army there to eliminate the Holy See’s forces.”

”Master, why don’t we go there?” Nailisi asked Saleen. Upon hearing about a battle, she licked her lips.

”I need to follow the viscountess for at least three years.” Saleen sighed. He had never planned to leave anyway, but it was just that he would not enjoy much freedom in the future. The more he was involved in the viscountess’ life, the harder it would be for him to let go. If Lex truly made him responsible for establishing contact with the Clyde family, he could not just leave as he pleased after three years.

Whatever. I will be training there anyway. If I am tied to Bitter Water Prefecture, I will still have a Grade 8 mage’s protection. Before finding my teacher, he will be my only backing.

If he had not had anyone backing him back then, he would not have dared gotten into a fight with the nobleman on the streets. That man must have also wanted to get his way with force.

Saleen faced a small problem while Lex had a big issue on hand. The emperor deciding to go about his own way had led to the cabinet ministers venting their anger out on her. When Lex returned, she released a Ground Fire spell and burned everything in the room.

At first, she had held little opinion towards forming a country, but the attitudes of the wealth had made her more determined. After releasing her anger, she called everyone to her side and reminded them not to leave the palace for the next few days. Once they returned to Bitter Water Prefecture, they could restock their equipment and enter Loulan from the small roads.

In addition to Saleen, the combat mages and swordsmen were excited. Building a county would increase their status to greater heights. The Qin Empire was made up of mages and swordsmen. The strength of Lex’s army was similar to that of the Qin Empire when it was first established. One day, these people would become dukes or duchesses, or even build cities like Alchemy City.

After increasing the spirits of her troops, Lex began to grow bored. She had destroyed her room and had been given Nailisi’s room instead. She had Faerun gather the lifestyle mages together to discuss how they would deal with Hadisai City.