336 Spotting a Double-headed Eagle Again Part 2 (2/2)
”Mr. Jola, thank you for your guidance,” a magic beast swordsman thanked sincerely.
”Just address me by my name in the future. In Qin, the title 'Mr' is only used to address mages. Don't bring trouble to yourselves.” Originally, Jola had been a swordsmanship instructor in the palace, so some students would address him in this manner. However, he knew very clearly that certain rules in Qin were stricter than they were in Cloudflow. Jola was fine with the four swordsmen addressing him in this manner privately, but if the other mages overheard, there would be unnecessary trouble.
”Okay.” The magic beast swordsmen stopped talking. They began brainstorming for weapons which personally suited them. An epee might have been the simplest choice, but they were well-versed in a variety of combat skills, so an epee might not have been the most suitable weapon. During their time in Cloudflow, the magic beast swordsmen had only been able to carry sabers due to the nature of their job. They would not receive any special weapons.
These five men stood guard outside the tent. Since they were already grand swordmasters, the frigid weather would not affect them adversely. Under non-combat conditions, the sword aura was just like a mage's magic in that it could provide a comfortable environment for the body.
It was only late into the night that Saleen's voice came from the tent. ”The five of you, come inside.”
Jola led the four magic beast swordsmen into Saleen's tent. Saleen's tent was huge. Now that the pirates had moved the last of the weapons away, only three mages remained inside the tent, making the interior look spacious.
”Sit down, let's eat together.” Saleen took out his premade meal from the demonic ring and placed it on the oilcloth which was spread out nicely. At the moment, he was not a grade-6 mage yet, so the space in the demonic ring was limited. Hence, Saleen would not bring along items such as tables and chairs. Unless Saleen's spatial equipment was like Lex's god's ring, he would not even think of bringing along those lifestyle appliances.
Jola reached for the food and started eating. On the other hand, the four magic beast swordsmen were feeling perturbed as they had thought of weapons after being reminded by Jola. However, since it was mealtime now, they were embarrassed to make any requests, thus they felt very conflicted.
Saleen was the first to finish his bread, then he used the Cleaning spell to put away the utensils. Then, he said to Jola and the magic beast swordsmen, ”Jola is right, we might run into trouble. I have thought of a weapon for Jola. As for the four of you, show me your strongest skill later on. I will help you design weapons.”
”Sir, what kind of trouble is it?” Jola took the initiative to ask Saleen. In truth, Jola was an easygoing person. Be it Saleen or Emperor Jupiter, there was not much difference to him. If his lord could not tolerate him, then he would simply bid them farewell. That was why Jola was not as restrained as the four magic beast swordsmen.
”Mm, we might run into some black mages.”
The five of them were not familiar with magic. Even though they might have heard some myths regarding black magic, it was inevitably a thousand year old issue already. A few years earlier, some black mages had appeared in Phoenix, but they had disappeared again very quickly, so nobody had really become alarmed. This incident was only spread within the empire's royal family and had not created any ripples.
”I have fought with the puppets controlled by the black mages. They are an annoying bunch.” Seeing that the rest of them were not really nervous, Saleen continued, ”A black mage can create a huge number of puppets. Furthermore, those black puppets which surfaced the previous time were obviously made from scarecrows. Just think about it, black puppets might not be very powerful, but they come in massive numbers. If there are ten thousand black puppets, can you all guarantee you will emerge victorious?”
”If we have ten thousand soldiers, we can win,” Jola chuckled.
”Do I need you tell me that? But we only have slightly more than a hundred soldiers. There might be more than one hundred thousand black puppets. Also, a headless rider is far more powerful than a black puppet. It is almost as powerful as a swordmaster. How many swordmasters can you handle at a time?”
At this point in time, Jola furrowed his brows. If the battle was between a grand swordmaster and a swordmaster, the grand swordmaster could win even with his eyes closed. But in a chaotic battle, a dozen swordmasters would pose a threat to a grand swordmaster.
”Sir, I have underestimated the enemy,” Jola admitted unabashedly. Even though Jola was careless with his personal life, he took his job very seriously.
”One thousand years ago, it was no coincidence that the black mages were able to create so much trouble. Right now, we don't have a city to rely on. And in the Chaotic Swamp, the black mages will be able to unleash all their power. I am not sure if other puppets will appear, but the evil dragon will definitely make its appearance. It will be pointless for us to establish a simple formation. As long as the headless riders hide behind the evil dragon as they charged forward, we will not be able to hold the fort even if we have a huge number of steel crossbows with us.”
”Evil dragon?” None of the five grand swordmasters knew what an evil dragon was.
”It is one of the most terrifying weapons in the world, to its enemies, I mean.” Saleen recalled the time when he had discovered the evil dragon at the end of the road of bones. It was truly strange because evil dragons still had not appeared at any other locations. Now, it seemed that these things had gone into hiding in the Chaotic Swamp, and many more of such monsters might have been groomed after all these years.
That tug-of-war in Loulan would have provided the black mages with the best nourishment possible – suffering souls.