Mercenary Wars

Chapter 196 Solar Eclipse
If you only have the Ice spell, the ice created will be just ordinary ice. But if you use Ice Powder as the casting material, the ice created will be extraordinary.

In fact, this ice can last at least a summer without completely melting, and it is quite sturdy, making it a cost-effective material for ship cabins.

After Gaucano finished casting the spell, a mage suddenly asked, "Your magic teacher must be quite old, right?"

“Yes, he’s over seventy,” Gao Jiano said.

“I guessed so.” The mage nodded without surprise. “There’s an old professor at Ax Academy of Magic named Matthew who uses this ice spell, but it’s different from the common ice spells. Everyone else thinks it’s outdated, but he insists it’s the best ice spell.”

Gaucano was slightly surprised: "You're a graduate of the Ax Magic Academy?"

The mage chuckled self-deprecatingly: "Yes, not every graduate of the Ax Magic Academy becomes a court mage, magic lecturer, or teleporter... There are also those like me who drift through life in small towns."

Although Ax Magic Academy is slightly inferior to Deep Blue Academy, it is still a renowned magical holy land on the continent. For its graduates, becoming a mercenary in the Gray Eagle Mercenary Group is not considered a high position.

Gao Jiano then went with the mage to repair another ice chamber, and during and after that they talked for a long time, inquiring about many things about the city of Ax and the magic academy.

The mage guessed his intention: "You want to take the entrance exam for the Ax Magic Academy?"

Gaucano nodded: "I really want to try my luck."

The monk immediately took out a somewhat worn booklet: "This is for you. It's not anything rare, but if I had read this earlier, I might not have had to go back to South Sea Town."

Gao Jiano took the booklet and saw that the cover clearly read: Ax Magic Academy Survival Manual.

The mage continued, "This 'Survival Handbook of Ax Magic Academy' contains a lot of content that mocks the academy and teachers, so you must never let the teachers see it."

Gaucano noticed that the booklet had a name, John, listed under the title, and asked, "Is John the author of this book?"

“Perhaps,” the mage shrugged slightly. “But no one can find the real author through this name. After all, you know, there may be ten million people named John on the continent.”

As he spoke, he casually pointed to a passing mercenary: "His name is also John."

“Indeed.” Gaucano also knew a lot of Johns.

"It's getting late, I'll go rest now," the monk said. "I estimate we'll reach our destination by tomorrow morning."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Gao Jiano casually flipped through the "Ax Magic Academy Survival Handbook" before returning to his room to rest.

The Griffith was lucky.

Despite the attack by the Naga sea monsters, only one person died. In the deep sea, where countless ships have capsized, this is undoubtedly a good result.

After a month-long deep-sea voyage, the Griffith finally arrived at its destination: an unnamed deserted island.

The island cannot even be found on most nautical charts, which shows how remote and uninhabited it is.

However, it's quite a coincidence that Gaucano obtained a sea chart when he killed the Bloodsail Pirates in the Tidelands, and this location seems to be marked on the chart.

This seems like bad news.

After all, this means that pirates might visit this place...

The morning after the Naga attack, the Griffith docked, and cheering crowds disembarked on the island.

To pinpoint the exact location of the treasure, Night Owl performed divination again, as did other members of the mercenary group who were skilled in divination; they all received the same result. The deserted island was small, its longest point not exceeding two kilometers.

Therefore, guided by the divination results, the mercenaries quickly arrived at their final destination: a vast, flat area in the center of the island.

"Is this where the treasure is located?" People looked around. "It looks quite ordinary."

“Treasures are often found in ordinary places. If there were dozens of magnificent statues standing here, archaeologists would have turned the place upside down long ago!” Hicks said.

Then he ordered, "Get to work, guys!"

The mercenaries sprang into action, those with magic used it, and those without used tools. The two hundred-plus men worked feverishly, digging on the flat ground.

Lucius sat not far away, spending most of his time gazing into the distance with his only remaining left eye, occasionally glancing up at the sun, without participating in the excavation.

The mercenaries had no complaints about their leader's "laziness".

After all, he had just lost an eye in battle, and coupled with the arm he had previously lost, he was already severely disabled. The mercenaries felt only sympathy and admiration for him, and of course, they had no complaints.

Several days of digging passed in the blink of an eye, and a deep pit had been dug out in the center of the island.

The mercenaries still hadn't found any trace of treasure. They assumed they hadn't dug deep enough, so they continued to work hard and dig deeper.

On this day, the group of mercenaries who were digging suddenly noticed that the originally clear sky had darkened without warning.

"Why is it dark?"

"It is going to rain?"

As Gao Jiano was waving his staff and digging with magic, he noticed the sky darkening rapidly. Looking up, he saw that the sun in the sky was quickly obscured by a shadow.

"It's a solar eclipse!" This rare celestial phenomenon greatly shocked people.

“Mossa bless!” Some devout Mossa followers even began to kneel and pray.

The celestial phenomena of the Farallo world are shrouded in mystery. Solar eclipses follow no predictable pattern, much like the ebb and flow of tides; only the gods can accurately predict them, while mortals can at best make a rough estimate through divination.

Therefore, people generally hold great awe or even fear towards such celestial phenomena, since a solar eclipse is not a good omen for any normal living being.

For Gaucano, this celestial phenomenon brought back memories of his encounter in Driftwood Town many years ago—where he witnessed bloody magic under the full moon.

Compared to a full moon, a solar eclipse is undoubtedly rarer, more ominous, and more unpredictable, which immediately made him nervous. He subconsciously moved away from the pit and ran towards the surface above.

As he passed Cassandra, he grabbed her hand without hesitation and quickened his pace.

"What's wrong?" Cassandra asked, startled.

Gaucano was about to explain.

Just then, Lucius, who had been sitting quietly by the pit, suddenly stood up.

He spread his arms, staring directly at the eclipse in the sky, a mad look flashing in his single eye, and cried out, "Supreme Behemoth, I am your lowly servant!"

(End of this chapter)