Above the mage!

Chapter 463 Layout and Plan

If it really comes down to a head-on collision, Joa Roland will definitely not be able to touch Count Roland at all.

But Roland was not reconciled, so he often "annoyed" Count Roland.

He was certain that as long as he didn't go too far, Count Roland wouldn't break off relations.

Because that was the overall environment of the Plantagenet dynasty.

In an atmosphere that reveres classical honors, if Count Roland, as the de facto rightful heir of the Roland family, is treated too harshly by the Earl of Roland, it will inevitably become a pretext for nobles with conflicting interests to attack him.

Roland also had a good grasp of the degree, hovering on that critical line, always making Count Roland unhappy, but not to the point of risking his reputation to deal with him.

It's basically the same as picking on the weakest link.

Gaode was seen as an easy target by Ruovar Roland.

On the surface, there seems to be no problem. Gao De is, after all, just a grassroots mage. Even if the Killing Vine really killed him, no powerful family would stand up for him.
He had been personally invited by Count Roland to attend the title conferment ceremony, and to die the day before the ceremony would be a huge blow to Count Roland's reputation, enough to make him lose face.

Gaode was deep in thought.

Is this Joan Roland experiencing a delay in intelligence gathering?

He was now the youngest warrant officer mage in the Sea Sentinels, and his rank had already reached the level of sergeant. If he died in Auckland, how could the Sea Sentinels not investigate?
Even Count Roland was held accountable; could a mere Roland bear the consequences?

Unless Roland's intelligence was so outdated that he was unaware of his promotion to warrant officer, his audacity could hardly be explained.

Or perhaps he was certain that his methods were flawless, and that even the sea sentinels couldn't trace him?

It's highly unlikely that the Sea Sentinels won't even need to intervene; a single [Prophecy] spell could bring many things to light.

This is an extremely illogical place.

After thinking it over, Gao De felt that his attack might not be a simple case of being caught in the crossfire.

"The Earl is very sorry about the attack on Master Gaode, but he may not be able to give you a satisfactory explanation for the time being. Therefore, please accept this manor." Howard, the butler, explained the whole situation sincerely.

Gao De remained silent for a moment, without answering directly, but simply reached out and took the sheepskin land deed.

Upon seeing this, Howard's butler showed a relieved expression.

He didn't care what Gaode thought of Ruoer Roland; as long as Gaode stopped bringing it up, he considered his mission accomplished.

“Oh, by the way, Master Gaode, the Earl also asked me to give you this.” Butler Howard took out another bag from his pocket.

Gao De took the bag, untied it, and found that it contained a dozen or so berries that looked like wild blackberries.

"This is the fruit of that killer vine, and it is also the most valuable part of the killer vine, the essence of the flesh and blood of the creatures it devours in its lifetime."

The guarding mage wanted to take them back as evidence, but that's no longer necessary. These fruits are naturally yours to take, since you were the one who dealt with the killer vine.

Because Gao De's method of slaying the Killer Vine was the extreme cold of the North Wind, all of these dozen or so fruits remained intact.

"Okay." Gaode accepted the thing without the slightest hesitation.

After Howard the butler left, Gao De sat down in the huge hall of his own manor and carefully took stock of the gifts sent by the various nobles in the city.

Most of the congratulatory gifts are valued between five hundred and one thousand gold coin.

Gao De understood, of course, that the reason why the nobles of Auckland were so generous was essentially because of the strength and potential he had demonstrated.

Therefore, the timing of this promotion to the second ring road was truly perfect.

If he hadn't advanced to the second ring just before the title conferment ceremony, but instead had come at the level of a first-ring mage, the congratulatory gifts he would have received would definitely have been a level lower, dropping from the current third rank to the second rank.

The difference is significant.

Items at the third tier, whether they are potions, extraordinary materials, or others, are nearly five times the value of second-tier items.

Furthermore, if he hadn't already advanced to the second-ring mage level and encountered this third-tier killer vine, the outcome would likely have been very different.

However, he should only be unable to kill the third-tier Killing Vine, not necessarily lose his life.

Because he has a "Boeing", he can fly with the help of a "Boeing".

Killer vines do not have the ability to attack aerial targets. As long as Gao De takes to the air, he can naturally escape the attack range of killer vines. This is also one of the important reasons why killer vines are considered to be at the bottom of the third-tier creatures.

Unless in the sea, third-tier creatures that lack the ability to attack air units are nothing more than toys in the face of mages who have mastered the [Flight] spell.

Accepting the land deed signifies that Gao De is willing to give Count Roland face and accept the explanation given by Count Roland, but it does not mean that Gao De will let the matter rest.

After counting the gifts, Gao De smiled with satisfaction.

Receiving a fortune in gifts is one thing, but for Gaode, these gifts also have another important meaning: they can help him legally launder money.

Because he couldn't reveal the existence of the Northern Territory, his public resume was simply that of a talented grassroots mage. Under these circumstances, much of his wealth couldn't be disclosed.

If he were to reveal assets far exceeding what he could possibly possess, it would likely trigger another background check by the Sea Sentinels, and he would certainly be unable to provide a reasonable explanation for the source of those assets.

It was precisely because of this consideration that he needed to have Dr. Danica as the official "legal representative" at the Harland shipyard in Lagos, so that he could disappear without a trace.

But this can't go on forever, so we can manage the acquisition of assets for now.

But you can't expect someone else to buy all your daily expenses, such as renting a training room or purchasing materials for spells and potions, right?

With this wave of gifts, everything will be much easier.

Others will only know that he received so many gifts, but it's hard to find out whether he used them himself or resold them for Golden Bird Coins.

If there are large expenses in the future, this wave of gifts can be used to explain them.

"It seems I should really go to Black Sails City." After going through the "money laundering" idea in his mind, Gao De suddenly realized that he had another reason to go to Black Sails City.

Black Sails City is essentially a large black market, so the Sea Sentinels' reach is naturally impossible here.

Therefore, as long as one has the experience of going to Black Sails, many resources obtained from the North can be laundered.

If anyone investigates in the future, or if it comes to the point of "political vetting," just say that it was an unexpected gain in Black Sails City.

Whether others believe it or not, at least we have a way out, so we won't be stuck like we are now, unable to bring anything out and feeling miserable.

"In addition, we can use the identity of the Honorary Mage of Auckland to transfer the branch of Harland Shipyard to Auckland, and then move the shipping routes there as well, gradually turning the original factory in Lagos into an empty shell." Gao De flipped through the parchment booklet, which was also given to him by Howard's butler, which introduced the rights of the Honorary Mage of Auckland, and made another decision in his heart.

The local nobles in Lagos were very unfriendly to him, and they would definitely move the Harland shipyard if given the chance.

Although honorary mages in Auckland do not have the title of nobles, they enjoy many rights equivalent to those of nobles in Auckland.

These include various privileges for doing business. Gaode alone can use tariff reductions, exclusive trading licenses, judicial immunity and dispute resolution, and the right of first refusal for land.

By simply moving the Harland shipyard here, he can become the shipyard's backer.

Furthermore, during the Plantagenet dynasty, there were countless examples of merchants collaborating with nobles to obtain these privileges and patronage.

Merchants contribute money and effort, while nobles contribute their social status and influence, essentially "investing" in the company using their own names.

In this way, it will be possible to gradually and reasonably associate Harland shipyard with him.

After all, you can only keep it a secret for a while, not forever. If Harland Shipyard grows bigger by taking advantage of the direct shipping route to the North, it will eventually attract the attention of those who are interested.

Under these circumstances, it is clearly unrealistic to expect to completely detach oneself from the Harland shipyard.

—For a simple example, if Harland shipyard were to encounter difficulties or harassment from others, would Gaode not step in to solve the problem?

Once he's ready to make a move, his relationship with Harland shipyard will be exposed.

After all, if he had no connections, why would he be so idle as to stick his neck out?

Rather than waiting to be passively exposed later, it's better to take the initiative to contact Harland shipyard now.

Draft a fake contract, stating that you have entered into a cooperative relationship with Harland Shipyard and acquired a portion of its equity. Once the idea was in place, Gaode quickly clarified its subsequent plans.

It has to be said that the title of Honorary Mage of Auckland really helped him a lot.

In fact, Gaode Maps is already planning to make Auckland its "main city" in Barrow County.

In Auckland, he already had his own estate, many noble scions who had been kind to him and were friendly to him, and he enjoyed a status and power equivalent to that of a nobleman. This place was essentially his home turf, except for the presence of a somewhat disgusting man named Roland.

The title conferment ceremony has concluded, but God did not immediately return to Dorne.

He had already accumulated enough military merits and had no worries about ranking, so he didn't need to rush back to take on the mission. He simply chose to wait in Auckland for the Astral Teleportation to finish charging.

Although the project is already halfway complete, the remaining work will still take 21 days.

During such a "long" period of time, Gaode Maps certainly couldn't be idle.

Putting aside those mundane matters, his current priority is developing the [Adaptive] specialty.

This is something that will be rewarded as long as you work hard and put in the effort.

After enduring two weeks of hardship in Dorne, I gained a [Basic Healing Body].

This strong positive feedback triggered Gaode's latent "liver king" and "hamster" bloodlines, making it eager to "liver" a bunch of "entries" immediately.

He sorted out his thoughts a little.

For [adaptive], there are currently two directions to take.

One is the adaptation to resistance to various elements, such as fire and lightning, which can directly enhance one's combat power and solidify one's claimed combat expertise.

Another direction is to develop in various practical directions, such as the Elementary Healing Body and the Ninja Body. Although they cannot directly improve combat power, they are extremely practical and have endless benefits.

The first approach actually requires the cooperation of an extreme external environment. Of course, you can also choose to use the corresponding elemental spells to attack yourself to trigger [Adaptive], but it is difficult to control the degree of this.

Unlike swords and blades, magic is an extraordinary power with immense strength.

A mage is ultimately just a mortal being, a typical "glass cannon" that shatters at the slightest touch.

Without the support of corresponding protective spells, an attack with an attribute different from that of [Elemental Body] could very well kill Gao De, a second-ring mage.

Therefore, at least until the "adaptive" progress is accelerated, Gaode Maps will not dare to do this.

Extreme external environments are hard to find, and while it's possible to create them artificially, that's obviously not an easy task either.

After some thought, Gaode realized that the most practical approach at present was to continue improving the two sets of entries: "[Increase water flow sensing by 36% and increase oxygen uptake by 61%]".

First, it's simple; just dive into the sea, and you can simultaneously improve the progress of two sets of entries.

Secondly, it's practical. He's a sea sentinel mage who has to fight various water beasts in the water system for a long time to improve his swimming skills, which can be considered as indirectly improving his combat power.

Gaode has always been a doer; once an idea is formed, it immediately takes action.

Fortunately, the estate gifted by Count Roland was not far from the sea, only a ten-minute drive away, leading directly to the beach.

After tying a stone to himself, Gao De jumped into the sea and used the weight of the stone to fall into the depths of the ocean—this is because the deeper the sea goes, the more turbulent the currents become, and the thinner the oxygen becomes, meaning the environment becomes more extreme.

The more extreme the environment, the faster Gaode's adaptive capabilities will improve.

For the next two weeks, he continued his quiet and unchanging practice.

It's worth mentioning that the temperature in the deep sea is extremely low. Although it's not as frigid as the North, and certainly not enough to make Gao De uncomfortable, it's an excellent environment for the awakening of the Zhenbing bloodline.

This also caused Gao De's progress in "The Secret of Perfect Ice," which had plummeted to rock bottom after leaving the North and arriving in the Plantagenet Dynasty, to begin to rebound, gradually moving him towards becoming a second-class apprentice.

【对水流的感应提高41%52%63%摄氧量提高63%71%79%89%】

Twenty-one days passed quickly amidst extremely regular practice and continuous progress.

[Sensitivity to water flow increased by 89%, and oxygen uptake increased by 96%].

Both sets of entries are still some distance from 100%, but Gaode still chose to end its intensive training.

Since the Astral Plane had finished charging, he needed to hurry back to the North to arrange various matters related to his trip to Black Sails.

[Adaptive] There's plenty of time to improve, but the Black Sails City's Day of Remembrance auction won't wait for him; if he misses it, he'll have to wait until next year.

Moreover, it's hard to say whether there will be any Azus Feather Whistle trees up for auction at next year's Wrath of the Liberation auction.

(End of this chapter)