I, who was eager to retire, became an Imperial General.

Chapter 104 The Great Sage

Together with the 'Thousand Blades' of the Victoria Kingdom, the 'Stripping of All Things' of the Norman Empire, and the 'Golden Law' of the Brown Kingdom, it is known as one of the three great wonders. It possesses power that living beings cannot match, and it is different from the magical formulas passed down through family bloodlines.

The 'Sage' spell, which is regarded as a belief by all orcs, has neither the ability to fight nor the ability to pass on and spread the spell through bloodlines.

Instead, the spell can only be preserved within a spell crystal, which is formed after the death of an individual who possesses the 'Sage' spell and is revered by the orcs as a Great Sage. This crystal is extremely strong and cannot be destroyed by external forces.

They then observed whether the spell crystals flickered by having the newborn orc children touch them.

After all the suitable candidates are identified, under the witness of the Orc Elders Council of the Saga Kingdom, these candidates will participate in a series of nine trials of inheritance. After completing the ninth trial, the Trial of Will, they will...

The last surviving suitable candidate was able to absorb the Sage Crystal through the ritual, integrating the Sage's Technique into their body.

He officially became the next Great Sage of the Orcs.

To become an entity capable of commanding all orcs.

The Sage's Technique only has one effect: 'Bloodline Enhancement'.

Through the influence of this spell, which is not a miracle but whose effects are comparable to a miracle, the orc sage can perform a bloodline sublimation ritual on any orc, thereby giving the target a comprehensive boost in strength, stamina, speed, intelligence, and even lifespan.

Of course, there is a price to pay. In terms of physical enhancement, the Great Sage only needs to consume a certain amount of magic stones or magic lake water to be exempt from the price.

However, if one wishes to extend the target's lifespan, it requires sacrificing the Great Sage's own lifespan as a price.

Therefore, to prevent the Great Sage from being sacrificed due to the monarch's selfish desires, after there were instances of monarchs sacrificing the Great Sage to prolong their lives, the Orc Elders made a decision.

That is to abolish the previous system of bloodline succession to the throne in the Saga Kingdom and replace it with the succession by the new orcish sage.

Before a new great sage appears, the throne is managed by the descendants of the first king.

However, compared to these minor flaws, the power of the Sage's Technique is undeniable.

After all, while other mages were constantly studying and training to become stronger, the orcs of the Saga Kingdom only needed to undergo a ritual by consuming something containing magical power.

Under the influence of the Sage's Spell, it's not impossible for an ordinary orc soldier to transform into a battle-hardened elite, or even a Grand-rank, in a matter of minutes.

Therefore, in the game's background, the entire nation of Saga is composed of orcs.

They once briefly ascended to the position of world hegemon by creating an elite force far exceeding the number of other countries using the Sage's Technique.

Until a coup in the Kingdom of Saga a thousand years ago, the Orc King and Great Sage Gerdan was assassinated by an unidentified assassin. His body and the Sage Crystal were also taken by the assassin, causing the Sage Spell to be completely severed.

Without a leader, the Saga Kingdom began its decline.

The three nations that originally possessed the three great miracle techniques, but had always been suppressed by the Saga Kingdom, seized the opportunity to begin their expansion.

Then, because the strength of the masters of the miracle spells in the three major countries varied in each era, the dominant position changed hands among the three countries.

It wasn't until Perus I ascended to the throne that the Imperial Magic Department developed a method for cultivating invincible magic soldiers.

Under the terrifying suppressive power of Explosive Magic, which even Miracle Magic could barely contend with, and the terrifying mobility that allowed it to soar through the sky at great speed using its physical body.

For the next several centuries, the Norman Empire became the undisputed strongest power and began to conquer everywhere.

It was precisely because of the empire's explosive expansion that other countries felt the crisis and banded together for mutual support.

And so, the current situation has come to be.

Since the assassination of the Great Sage Gerdan, for over a thousand years, news about the Sage's Crystal has remained elusive. No matter how many people the royal family of the Saga Kingdom sent to search, they were never able to find its whereabouts.

Therefore, the Sage's Spell, which was rumored to be no less powerful than the three great miracle spells, gradually faded from people's sight.

Even today, the orcs of Saga's kingdom only regard it as a historical legend and do not believe that it actually exists.

But if the Great Sage were to truly reappear, it would inevitably attract countless orcs to follow him.

After all, it is almost on par with miracle spells, and in some ways even stronger than miracle spells!
So, if I understand correctly, John Maslow meant that the Philosopher's Crystal is hidden in Faoken Bay.
"!"

Conrad's heart skipped a beat when he understood John's implied meaning, but he quickly dismissed the idea: No, absolutely not!

If the Sage's Crystal is truly located in Faoken Bay, how could the Saga Kingdom not know about it? After all, this is Saga Kingdom territory. Therefore, John Maslow's claim is absolutely absurd...

"Major General Conrad, don't forget that once the Great Sage appears, the current descendant of the first Orc King will, according to the rules, have to abdicate and give way to a worthy successor."

"If you were in that situation, would you be willing to do the same?"

John's soft voice reached Conrad's ears at just the right moment, causing him to fall into deep thought.

Yes, everyone thought that the person who assassinated the former Great Sage Gerdan was an assassin from outside the Kingdom of Saga.

But how did this outsider manage to evade the patrols of Saga's kingdom, which was full of orcs?
However, if the perpetrators were replaced by members of the royal family of Saga, then in order to reclaim the throne and ensure the succession of the throne to future generations...

Finding a way to eliminate the Great Sage and make the Sage's Crystal disappear from the world would undoubtedly be a highly motivated and profitable outcome for the royal family of the Saga Kingdom.

But how did John know about such a secret?
Conrad's eyes flickered, his mind filled with doubt and uncertainty.

At this moment, he had put away his previous frivolity and arrogance, and instead looked at the young commander in front of him with unprecedented seriousness.

Looking at the other person's confident and composed demeanor, Conrad suddenly felt that he couldn't quite see through this young man in front of him.

Therefore, after pondering for a long time, Conrad slowly spoke:

"Major John, would you mind telling me how you learned about the Sage's Crystal being located in Faoken Bay?"

Of course it's part of the game's background, but I can't tell you that directly.

Besides, everything I'm saying is just to fool you!
Well, it can't really be called a hoax, since the Sage's Crystal was indeed in Faoken Bay eighteen years ago.

However, Maye Sistana, one of the main characters, was playing in the mountains when she was 5 years old. She accidentally found a Sage Crystal because a bird was attracted by its shiny appearance and carried it out of the bottomless canyon. Due to various accidents, it was eventually buried in the ground.

As it turned out, Maye not only had the qualifications to inherit, but she also happened to have worn her palms raw. When her blood mixed with the Sage Crystal, she fused with it that very day.

However, due to the lack of a preliminary trial ritual and the failure to master the skills of inheriting memories, he unexpectedly fell into a coma after absorbing too many inherited memories at once.

As a result, they were encountered and taken away by human traffickers from the Kingdom of Brown who happened to be passing by. They happened to escape the counterattack launched by the army of the Kingdom of Brown and were not destroyed along with the tribe. Under the manipulation of the human traffickers, they were sold to the Kingdom of Loran.

Nowadays, Faoken probably can't even find a single hair from the tail of Meyer, the fox-woman and the new Great Sage, let alone a Sage's Crystal.

However, Conrad is currently unaware of these matters.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it seems that it will be another two years before Meyer truly demonstrates his sage powers.

These past two years have been enough for John to completely outmaneuver Wolff and the conservatives.

Therefore, it was for this reason that John decided to make a fuss about this matter, in order to create an extremely mysterious image for Conrad and the Conservatives behind Conrad.

This illusion will also accompany him after his astonishing comeback victory in Faoken Bay, after which he will retrieve the remains of the former Great Sage Gerdan from the bottomless canyon and hand them over.

The mystery surrounding him would become even more profound in the eyes of Wolf and others.

Only in this way can he make the other party hesitant and afraid to resort to underhanded tactics against him again.

This gives them more time to develop and grow.

Therefore, John, knowing this well, didn't say much. Instead, under Conrad's flickering gaze, he smiled, put his index finger to his lips, and then spoke in a deliberately profound tone:

"Everyone has their own secrets, which is a very sacred thing. I personally believe that if you want to pry into someone else's secrets, you should at least pay the corresponding price."

"What are your thoughts on this, Major General Conrad?"

……

(End of this chapter)