Casting spells

Recalling the scene of the fat businessman kneeling in front of him a few days ago and swearing allegiance, Zhang Cheng couldn't help but curled up his mouth and showed a playful smile.

It is also because of the trust of this big businessman that he can raise the food that an army of thousands of people needs to consume without alarming anyone.

After all, Luskan itself is located below Icewind Dale and the Spine of the World. According to the standards of the earth, it belongs to the periphery of the Arctic Circle. Although it is not impossible to plant, due to the short summer, the production is not very high, mainly relying on fishing, Grazing and a small number of large farms support its internal consumption.

This also meant that locally produced food alone was not enough to support the thousands of extra troops, and had to be purchased from Waterdeep City and Neverwinter City further south.

However, according to the current tense situation, not to mention buying, even ships flying the Luskan flag approaching the opponent's coastline will be immediately greeted by various catapults and ballistas.

But it’s different if it’s a foreign merchant. They often have multiple flags. They hang the flag of Luskan when they enter the waters of Luskan, and the flag of Waterdeep City when they enter the waters of Waterdeep City. Even during the war, they can still travel here unimpeded. Come and go freely in a chaotic land.

Valindra nodded thoughtfully: "Understood, I will let Chief Gar get ready. May I ask, when do you plan to use them?"

"When Deltagle is defeated! If I'm not mistaken, he who owns the magic crystal shards may have secretly gathered a lot of monsters in the forest. If there is no accident, he will launch an attack on Neverwinter City within a week or so at most. .And Waterdeep City will never just watch its allies be destroyed, and will soon choose to send troops to rescue, so the battlefield that really determines the outcome is in Neverwinter City.” Zhang Cheng said the next plan without thinking .

Because he knew too well the essence of Clinshinibon, which was a terrifying magic item created by seven powerful liches through complex magic rituals, which combined the endless desire for destruction of the bottomless abyss.

Therefore, every owner of the Shard of Magic Crystal will end up badly, either being killed by a dagger from behind, or becoming a stepping stone for heroes like Akar Kessell.

This is why, even the most evil and chaotic gods are not interested in the Crystal Shard. It will only exhaust the resources of an area through killing and destruction, and does not understand the importance of creating and maintaining balance.

Perhaps Deltagle was a powerful mage, but as soon as he began to be influenced and hinted at by Crenshinibon, his tragic end was sealed.

Whether it is the voters of the goddess of magic, or the group of senior members of the Harper Alliance who have been fighting for the so-called "ideal" all their lives, they will never let him go.

Although Zhang Cheng has never liked Clinshinibon, who has independent thought and consciousness, this does not mean that he will give up using this powerful force to serve his own plan.

……

At the same time, in the lord council of Waterdeep City farther south, a fierce quarrel was in progress.

"My God! A total of 150 warships! More than 2000 people! Just buried like this?!" A fat man wearing a mask asked loudly, waving his thick arms.

"No! This is not the most serious thing! The most serious thing is that one of us was captured by the enemy! Do you know what this means? It means that our true identity will be known by the enemy!" The masked woman also roared furiously.

"I'm very sorry. But I want to say that it's not our fault. The enemy is too powerful. Can you believe it? They can control sea monsters! And the so-called Lord of the North Tower is a dragon! A terrible Goddess of Magic! I have never seen such a huge dragon, it is twice as big as an adult red dragon." The old mage who escaped alive explained tremblingly.

"Twice as big as an adult red dragon?! Damn it! Could it be an ancient black dragon that woke up from a deep sleep? Also, what's the matter with controlling sea monsters?"

"Intel! We need more intel!"

"What's the news from the Harper Alliance?"

……

All of a sudden, the other dozen or so masked lords became tense.

Whether the entire fleet was wiped out, or one of them became a prisoner of the enemy, everyone's most sensitive nerves were stimulated, and some even clamored to send troops to crush Luskan and let the Arcane brothers The chop suey tastes amazing.

Just as the venue became more and more noisy, the closed door was suddenly pushed open, and a middle-aged man with a serious expression walked in from the outside.

As soon as he appeared, the originally chaotic conference room suddenly fell into dead silence.

The old mage with gray hair and beard didn't care about other things, and hurriedly bent down and bowed deeply: "Master Kelben!"

Obviously, the person who came was none other than the patron saint of Waterdeep City and one of the highest leaders of the Harper Alliance, the voter of the second-generation goddess of magic, and the famous legendary mage in the continent of Faerun—Kelben "Black Rod" "Aru Sang.

It is said that he masters almost all the magic in this world, especially the original "Black Rod" series of spells, which even the goddess of magic admires.

I saw this powerful mage frowned and glanced at everyone first, and then said in a low voice: "The Harper Alliance spies have just sent the latest news! The current holder of the Magic Crystal, Deltagle The monsters in the forest are being recruited aggressively, and it is estimated that they will launch an attack on Neverwinter City in a short time. As allies, we must not sit idly by and watch the evil expand. Everyone, the war has already begun, you had better abandon your prejudices and unite."

"Will the Tower of Order participate in the battle?" The fat man who spoke at the beginning asked hurriedly.

"Yes! Not only the Tower of Order! The God of Justice, the God of Guardian, and the Church of the God of Dawn have also indicated that they will send a large number of priests and paladins to participate. The Magic Crystal Shard is a dangerous artifact. We must destroy it and it. holder." Kelben gave a straightforward answer in the affirmative.

"Then what are you waiting for! Let's declare war!"

"Yes! Issue an order with the lord's council! Assemble the city guards!"

"This time we will completely destroy Luskan's armed forces! Let these evil people no longer threaten the surrounding area!"

……

Chapter 461 Speech

"Do you know? Many people mistakenly believe that magic is just a kind of power, a power that can change fate and make oneself stronger.

But they didn't understand the nature of magic at all!

The most precious and essential thing in magic is creation!It's change!

It can be a kind of technology, it can be a kind of knowledge, or it can be a tool used to protect oneself or defeat the enemy.

Arcane spells, divine spells, special abilities, and even the divine power used by the gods are all one of the external manifestations of magic.

Especially after the goddess of magic weaves all the energy scattered in the world into a magic net in a certain sequence, it is easier and more convenient to cast all spells, but this also makes many mages give up exploring the truth and the essence of magic desire.

They are satisfied with the convenience provided by the magic net, the superior social status, and the wealth that magic can bring.

Only a very small number of top spellcasters who feel the upper limit of the magic net and the restrictions imposed by the goddess of magic on mortals will choose to get rid of the constraints of the magic net and use the original magic energy to build their own spell models.

Although this is very difficult, it will also generate a lot of extra consumption and waste, but it can break through the confinement and restrictions, and create a legendary magic that is more powerful than the nine-ring spell.

You must know that in the golden age of the ancient Netheril civilization, archarcanists could easily cast powerful spells with a ring of ten or more. They created the floating city and the core of Mythra that could draw energy from the magic net. Karthus was even able to slay one of the most powerful gods at the time with a twelve-ring magic.

But look now, how many mages have the courage to do such a thing?

Your thinking is firmly confined in a small space, and the lackey of the god Elminster actually thinks that magic is a dangerous power, and warns everyone not to use it as much as possible.

absurd!

Starting today, I will lead you to regain the glory of magic, explore the deepest mystery hidden behind the magic net, and unravel the covered truth!

Rejoice, my servant, a new era is about to come..."

Standing on the spiral staircase in the public area of ​​the North Tower, Zhang Cheng spoke impassionedly to a dozen of his subordinates who had been transformed into dragons.

To be precise, he needs to let these ambitious guys have a clear goal, so that after capturing the Arcane Brotherhood, they will not fall into infighting again, and draw a big pie by the way.

Since Deltagle has not yet cracked the many obstacles left by Akram Gris, he has been unable to enter the central control room, nor can he control the entire mage tower like the former, which caused him a serious lack of security. He didn't want to stay in the central spire at all, but lived in the magic crystal tower formed by the replica of the broken magic crystal, so he didn't have to worry about being spied on.

As Waterdeep's army approached Neverwinter overland, the titular leader of the Arcane Brotherhood completely relinquished control of the Spire and devoted all his energies to the coming war.

Under the constant hints of the Crystal Shard, he was no longer that powerful mage, but a monster driven by endless desire and ambition.

"So great master, do you mean that after we seize power, the Arcane Brotherhood will give up its original goal of controlling the Northland and turn to delving into the mysteries of magic?" A man in his 30s with messy brown hair He raised his head and asked frantically.

In fact, he was an old guy on the brink of death a few days ago, but the potion provided by the moon elf restored his youth and strength.