Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 379 An Old Acquaintance, Worldly-wise, and Blue-Robed Man Visits
For the delegation heading south to Xiyue, there is still much work to be done, much of which is in areas that Chen Ye is very good at.

For example, coordinate the relationships between the thirteen tribes of Xiyue to prevent them from having any conflicts that could lead to internal strife.

At the same time, it also prevents them from becoming too united, which could lead to the situation getting out of control.

For example, urging the thirteen tribes of Xiyue to open free trade with Hanhai Territory, to achieve unimpeded exchange of goods among them as part of the Xiayue Alliance, and to promote the process of establishing Xiasha Port as a free port with a unique status.

Because this involves a significant impact on local industries and the interests of the tribes, it is necessary to engage in some necessary exchanges and collusion.

These are all things that can't be discussed openly; they're all discussed over drinks.

Of course, there are also things that can be done openly, such as the matter that Chen Ye is currently handling.

He needed to visit his grandmaster on behalf of his uncle.

A mage named Morton, whose cultivation level was only second-tier Moon Wheel, was considered an unremarkable and even somewhat down-on-his-luck little mage in the Stream Moon Magic World.

In fact, the reason why the shrewd chieftains and elders of the Thirteen Tribes of Xiyue were able to place considerable trust in Chen Mo was largely because these seasoned politicians clearly understood that the Lord of the Vast Sea was, at heart, a rather "classical" and even "outdated" person.

He is kind, sentimental, nostalgic, and has his own set of stubborn moral standards that sometimes seem out of step with the times.

For example, as an ally of the Elven race and an enemy of the Creek Moon Federation at the time, he paid a huge price to ask the Elves to rescue civilians from the enemy country who were caught in the flood.

For example, he took good care of John, Josie, Vincent, and others whom he had only met a few times, and even released Vincent, a resolute enemy.

For example, despite having control of the Summer Moon Alliance and the ability to mobilize the elven army, he ignored Green Pine, with whom he had a deep-seated grudge, and relentlessly fought against the orcs in the north.

It should be noted that Green Pine not only broke into Cloud Mist Territory, the birthplace of Chen Mo and Liu Shuang, but also repeatedly attacked the Vast Ocean Territory and Sky Frost City under this lord's jurisdiction, even resorting to assassination under the guise of secret attacks. Yet, this lord still relentlessly launched a military campaign to the north.

They're so kind, it's almost pedantic!
This behavior, which seemed utterly incomprehensible to many Xiyue politicians, actually brought them a great sense of relief.

In contrast, Xiyue is a place where strokes are rampant...

Little John and several other old acquaintances, mercenaries, were taken care of by their lord, but they were reluctant to leave their homeland and only held minor official positions in Whitestone.

Vincent was released by the lord and continued to serve his family and the Federation in resisting the elves. In the end, he was killed by the North Wind Legion. It was Chen Mo's battlefield observation team that collected his body.

No one else dared to do it, for fear of offending Xiyue and Hanhai.

And then there's this monk Morton.

Chen Mo sent letters to Xi Yue more than once, always referring to her as "my mentor," and instructing her to take good care of the person after finding her, as he would personally come to visit her.

However, on Xiyue's side, although the person was found, the situation was quite unfavorable.

Morton was from Shicui City in the Creekmoon Federation. He came from an ordinary family. Because he discovered some talent for learning magic during the assessment, his parents gritted their teeth and saved money, and with the help of his fellow villagers who contributed a copper coin or a handful of wheat, they barely managed to scrape together enough for the most basic tuition to enter a second-rate mage tower and become a third-tier mage.

However, continuing to study and striving for a higher level was simply unaffordable, so he became a mercenary.

With diligence and meticulousness, his life gradually improved. He thought that if he saved money and worked hard, he might still have a chance to turn things around. However, during a mission, he offended a narrow-minded foreign employer because he spoke out for justice.

Harboring resentment, the other party secretly arranged for someone to tamper with his magic potion, directly causing his magic power to go berserk, his meridians to be damaged, leaving him critically injured and on the verge of death, and his cultivation level to plummet.

If it weren't for the intervention of the Grand Master Hal, he would have long since become a skeleton on the banks of the Northern Mountain River.

After that, Morton stopped at the second tier and could no longer grow. He could only follow the mage Hal, who was still growing at the time, to run a magic training class in the "farmhouse courtyard". Thus, he developed a teacher-student relationship with Chen Mo.

Strictly speaking, Chen Mo believed that Master Morton had been of great help to him, and that is true.

The resonance from apprentice to full-fledged mage, the multi-line operation of psionic energy diversion, the carefully prepared magical potions, the individual theoretical tutoring and training guidance—although Morton didn't like this guy who "got in through connections" at first, after learning about Chen Mo's experience and seeing Chen Mo's diligence, this teacher gave Chen Mo the maximum care within his ability.

In particular, at the end, Morton, the instructor, was convinced that Chen Mo would have a brighter future and firmly advised Chen Mo to leave that disgraceful identity.

In any case, meeting such a teacher certainly helped Chen Mo avoid many detours.

Although Chen Mo paid Morton a lot of money, at that time, money was completely unimportant to Chen Mo. Every bit of progress Morton made for him would bring huge rewards in the future.

Even Chen Mo would occasionally think that if Morton hadn't practically "rushed" him out of the "Har Farm Mage Compound," causing him to make a difficult journey to Cloud Mist Territory and just in time to obtain that pioneering territory and that precious year of "newbie protection period" before Cloud Mist Territory was destroyed, what kind of path would he have taken?

Xiyue and Lvsong have formed an alliance. What fate awaits me if I remain stranded on the land of Xiyue?
Reality has no "what ifs." Just as Chen Mo was about to soar to great heights after years of lying low in the north, this teacher, whose life had been full of twists and turns, encountered another unexpected and arduous journey.

Morton worked diligently and conscientiously, helping Mage Hal build the formal mage tower ahead of schedule, with Chen Mo's money playing a significant role in this.

Halfal Tower became one of the mainstays of Creek Moon, and then, faced with a large influx of talented people, Morton lost his job.

A second-tier Moon Wheel, placed in a formal mage tower, is still only at the student level. How can it be qualified to instruct others?

Just like the company's founding members who built the company up, it's perfectly normal if they can't keep up with the company's needs now. When high-level talent arrives, the older generation will inevitably be eliminated.

The mage Hal recognized his hard work and gave him a position as a college wardens, but Morton couldn't bear it, so he resigned from his post at the mage tower and returned to the countryside of Greenshire to recuperate.

In the vast Xiyue area, within the small village, in an era without household registration, finding a person was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Ultimately, it was by sheer chance that an insider, old Barton, escaped the floodwaters and inadvertently brought Morton's message.

During the first truce between the Silvermoon Elves and the Stream Moon Federation, the Stream Moon Council went to great lengths to find this mage, Morton, and had him write a personal letter. This laid a good foundation for the initial establishment of relations between the Thirteen Tribes Alliance and the Vast Ocean Territory.

However, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse after that.

War breaks out again in Xiyue, the capital falls, the emperor flees, and the Federation is destroyed.

Morton could not accept this situation.

He was a rigid and boring person. In his mind, he came from a poor background and belonged to the lower class. The reason he was able to become a mage was due to the influence of the Xiyue Federation's policies of respecting the mage profession and supporting magic technology.

From this perspective, he was very grateful to Emperor Xiyue.

In his mind, Xi Yue's emperor was indeed problematic, the federal bureaucracy was corrupt, the generals were tyrannical, and there were many scoundrels in the government, but that was Xi Yue's own business.

If the current emperor is not good, perhaps the next emperor will be a wise ruler.
Bureaucratic corruption can be eradicated once a wise ruler comes to power.
If the officialdom is clean and honest, then tyrannical generals will naturally be restrained.

Instead, it should have been about breaking the Xiyue River, causing the emperor to be displaced and never heard from again.

At first, Chen Mo wrote a few letters to Morton, seriously discussing with him issues concerning the governance of Xiyue, the fate of its people, and the historical trend. However, he soon realized that this reasoning was flawed.

Not everyone can be persuaded. Everyone's background, education, experience, and environment are different. Strictly speaking, Morton was a kind-hearted and upright royalist.

On this issue of stance, if there can't be a consensus, there can be no consensus.

Later, Morton even stopped seeing the people Chen Mo sent, and refused all the gifts they brought.

Chen Mo could only respect Morton's choice, but he would still instruct the delegation to visit the teacher on behalf of the lord after finishing their main tasks.

After learning the whole story, Chen Ye was impressed by his uncle's sentimentality, but also felt that his uncle was too upright.

For scions of noble families from the Heavenly Vault, this kind of thing is a piece of cake. Chen Ye quietly made some arrangements.

And this time when he arrived, Morton indeed opened his doors to guests.

Although his face still looked bad, he was much more restrained with his words, and even asked about Chen Mo's recent situation in a trembling voice.

"Chen...Chen Mo...Lord, how have you been lately?"

Chen Ye chuckled and said, "Uncle has recently been leading the war against the orcs in the north, also hoping to give those poor human slaves a way to survive! Uncle's sincerity has never changed."

"Now, in Xiyue, taxes have been reduced in the disaster area, and there is also emergency relief. The people have recovered. This is thanks to my uncle's repeated efforts. Mr. Morton must have heard about it."

“Once the troubles in the north are resolved, my uncle might come to visit Mr. Morton in person. At that time, the gentleman can’t keep his door closed!”

Morton nodded, stammering, "Um, okay, no...no..."

Once outside, Chen Yuanfeng was filled with curiosity. "My colleagues have come by many times, and this old man is never friendly. How did you manage to do that?"

Chen Ye patted Chen Yuanfeng on the shoulder with a smug look on his face, deliberately closing the distance between them: "I can tell you, but you'll have to treat me to dinner later!"

"no problem!"

“Everyone has their strengths. I am not as good as your colleagues in handling government affairs and being diligent in their duties, but when it comes to handling interpersonal relationships, they are not as good as me.”

"This grandmaster's parents are gone, and he has no wife or children. He seems to be all alone and has no flaws. However, as long as one lives in this society, it is impossible to sever ties with other people."

“He has several nephews and nieces who are usually quite filial to him. Now, because of his connections, these people are receiving preferential treatment in Shicui City. If we just give their superiors a hint, they will naturally know to persuade this stubborn old man!”

"Furthermore, many families in this village contributed to the fact that this grandmaster uncle was able to attend magic school. He was kind-hearted and later repaid them in many ways."

"Now, all I need to do is send a message to the local authorities: this old fellow has a terrible attitude. Although the lord still cherishes old friendships, if things continue like this, he will eventually become unhappy. The bureaucrats of the city-state will naturally know how to put pressure on the villagers."

After listening, Chen Yuanfeng exclaimed with great admiration, "The Commander-in-Chief once said that understanding the ways of the world is true learning. I have indeed learned a lot from what you said!"

Chen Ye unceremoniously put his arm around Chen Yuanfeng's shoulder and walked forward, while saying, "You think others can't do this? You're underestimating them."

“The officials here in Xiyue are all shrewd. They dare not put pressure on me like this because they are worried that if Morton really lowers his head and complains to my uncle, who knows if my uncle will take his anger out on them.”

"Only someone like me, a 'relative' of my uncle, and with an overseas identity, isn't afraid of offending anyone, so I can do this job without any worries!"

Chen Yuanfeng pondered for a while, then said with a hint of envy, "As expected of a scion of a prominent family, with a rich family tradition of learning. I have learned a lot!"

Chen Ye's expression suddenly turned melancholy, and his voice softened.

“My uncle is your teacher. He taught you all by himself.”

"Let me tell you, my uncle is certainly wise enough to think of this method. It's just that his character and personality make him unwilling to use such means. Or rather, he simply respects this teacher, not that he can't do without him, so there's no need to resort to such methods."

"He doesn't teach you because he thinks it's enough for you to develop honestly and uprightly, and he doesn't want you to get involved in these dirty things."

"Otherwise, given the level of trust you have, how could I have become the deputy commander?"

“So,” Chen Ye smiled, a hint of self-deprecation in his smile.

"The ones I should really envy are you guys."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The social gatherings and power struggles in the South will continue for a long time, but once the establishment of the Golden Pavilion was finalized, Chen Mo immediately received representatives from the Dwarf Merchants Association at his home.

This was Chen Mo's first face-to-face communication with the dwarfs' senior management.

The dwarf who came was named Ants Kimmy, a genuine blue-robed dwarf.

This guy was even shorter than Chen Mo had imagined. To put it simply, if he were wearing platform shoes and standing on tiptoe, he could walk right under Chen Mo's crotch.

Although he was short, he exuded the unique air of a dwarf aristocrat.

She was covered by a deep blue robe that trailed to the ground. The fabric of the robe was indistinguishable, but it had a silky sheen. The cuffs and collar were embroidered with intricate gold patterns. What was most striking was the hem of the robe. Although it should have been trailing on the ground, it swayed slightly, keeping an inch off the ground, and it was spotless.

Clearly, the robe is enchanted.

Ants' face had the typical broad forehead and pointed chin of a dwarf, and his skin was a healthy light color, with many fine wrinkles left by time, especially at the corners of his eyes and mouth, where deep lines crisscrossed. His eyes looked like they held a calm scrutiny.

Her hair was tied in a short, neat bun at the back of her head, secured with a gold ring; a pair of small gold hoops hung on her ears, seemingly inlaid with extremely fine magical crystals; but what was most eye-catching was the small top hat on her head.

It's hexagonal, about the size of a palm, and covers a small patch of scalp on the top of the head. If it's a bald man from my hometown, it should just cover the bright spot.

However, the dwarf wears this not because of hair loss.

According to the dwarfs themselves, because they are short, the top of their heads is "the place closest to the gods!"

To prevent this place from being exposed to wind, sun, rain, and frost, and from being tainted by the filth of the world, it must be covered with this hexagonal hat to keep it clean and await the gods.

Of course, this is the mainstream view in the Misty Moon Divine Court, but in the Qiyue region, it is a completely different view.

Legend has it that in ancient times, the Seven Luminaries God borrowed money from the Dwarf Ancestral God but failed to repay it on time. Enraged, the Dwarf Ancestral God launched the 'Contract Pursuit' and nailed the Seven Luminaries God to the 'Wall of Despair', which was forged from the wails of the defaulter.

Then many eyes were drilled, thus creating the Seven-Eyed God.

When the Seven-Eyed God returned after his divine transformation, he naturally sought to exact a terrible revenge. Thus, the Dwarf Ancestral God chose to make his own people bear the wrath of the gods, causing the Dwarf race to suffer all kinds of hardships and wander from place to place.

Among the suffering they endured was a punishment: when the Seven-Eyed God opened the "Eye of the Sky," lightning would descend from the sky to strike these "sinful" dwarfs.

Since it was struck by lightning, it must have hit the highest point, which is the top of the dwarf's head.

So a small hat is placed here, with a magic circle embedded in it, mainly to slightly block lightning strikes.

No wonder the dwarf race's airships resolutely refuse to take off on rainy days; they've learned from being struck by lightning!
In short, he is a standard, meticulous, and shrewd representative of dwarfism.

Olen, from the Seven Luminaries Garland Merchant Guild, who was leading the way, quickly squatted down and used his hand to guide Chen Mo, introducing the place to him.

"Your Excellency Lord Chen Mo, please allow me to introduce you to this gentleman, Mr. Ants Kimi, the president of the Northern Branch of the Seven Luminaries Garland Merchant Guild, ranked seventh in the twelfth order of the Dwarf Supreme Council, a renowned scholar in both Mist Moon and Dwelling Moon, and a great venerable man in blue robes!"

Chen Mo bent down, but found the gaze still awkward, so he had to squat down again, putting on a polite smile.

"welcome!"

　My family member isn't feeling well today, so I'll be taking care of them. I probably won't be able to post the second chapter this afternoon, so please don't wait! Thank you all for your support!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)