Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 195 The Great Mage of the Mage Forest

Sunlight streamed through the high windows, illuminating the deep red carpeted floor of the conference hall, and a faint scent of parchment filled the air.

The door was pushed open with a creak.

The woman who walked in was a petite old lady with silver hair that reached her shoulders, wearing a purple and gold-trimmed cloak.

She looked like a kind grandmother who would pull out candy from her bosom for her grandson at any moment.

But when she looked up, her gaze was as calm as ice and snow, as if she could see right through the depths of people's hearts.

She is Flora Holden, one of the most renowned archmages in the Wizarding Forest, and she is here today to represent the Wizarding Forest in negotiations with Louis.

Louis, sitting in the main seat, straightened his posture slightly.

He deliberately maintained the demeanor of a "calm and composed young lord," his gaze calm, perfectly conveying the aloofness of a ruler.

Flora smiled and nodded, speaking politely before speaking formally: "Lord Calvin, thank you for saving Lyhill of our Mage Forest. The Mage Forest will never forget this kindness."

As soon as she finished speaking, she waved her hand gently, and the young attendant behind her quickly placed the box he was carrying on the long table.

It was a sturdy and ancient ebony box, inlaid with intricate silver patterns, clearly not something you could easily buy on the market.

Flora stepped forward herself, and with a flick of her finger, deftly unlocked the clasp.

With a soft click, the lid of the box slowly opened.

Inside lay a suit of silver-blue armor, its plates arranged like dragon scales, with a faint shimmering light flowing around its edges.

Under the light, it looked as if fragments of the Milky Way had been cast into the metal.

“This is a small gift we have prepared for you,” Flora said softly, her tone gentle yet weighty.

"The armor is made of Nebula Steel, with a strength no less than Dragonbone Iron. It also has a temperature-regulating barrier personally cast by the mage, which can automatically adjust the temperature regardless of scorching heat or freezing cold. On the battlefield, it might just save your life."

Louis's gaze shifted slightly, his fingertips lightly tracing the edge of the armor, his fingertips feeling slightly cool.

Nebula Steel has a cold, aloof feel, and its faint magical fluctuations pulsate like a heartbeat.

He could sense that this armor was no ordinary item; not only was it a masterpiece crafted by a mage, but the selection of materials and enchantments were also extremely meticulous.

He nodded slightly, a polite smile playing on his lips: "It's truly invaluable. Rayhill was injured on my territory; rescuing him was the right thing to do."

Then Flora coughed softly, her expression gradually shifting from the gentle warmth of their conversation, and her tone became serious:
"We are here to investigate the source of the insect corpses. According to Lyshill's description, they are not ordinary insects. If they spread, they could affect the entire North."

Her eyes, however, were as bright as searchlights, trying to see through the young lord before her.

However, Louis simply spoke up, as if he were casually mentioning something trivial: "Don't worry about that. We destroyed the Mother Nest Central Hub, the center of the insects, two days ago. It should be the source of control for the insect corpses that attacked Lyshill."

For a moment, the air seemed to freeze.

"...The Mother Nest? What is that?" Flora's eyes widened, and her brows furrowed slightly. "Leishier's description didn't mention the concept of the 'Mother Nest' either."

She wasn't questioning Louis's linguistic logic; she was simply incredulous.

How could an enemy of this caliber be "dealt with" so easily?
She hadn't even had a chance to start an investigation!

Louis remained calm, his eyes devoid of any arrogance or boastfulness, simply stating the facts: "We led elite knights into the deepest part, destroyed it with improved magic explosive bombs, and then..."

"..." Flora listened to Louis recount the whole story, her lips moved, but she didn't speak immediately.

Her expression could no longer maintain the demeanor of a "kind old lady"; her brows were filled with shock and disbelief.

Louis's next words made the air in the room even colder.

Louis remained expressionless and added softly, "We brought back some remains of the mother nest and samples of unparasitized corpse worms. If you are interested, you can send them over immediately."

His tone was calm, as if he were discussing a transaction, without the slightest boasting or showing off.

Flora hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded: "Please bring it."

Soon, several knights brought over a sealed black iron box. As soon as the lid was opened, a nauseating stench filled the air.

The remains of the mother nest had an eerie dark red fleshy texture, resembling part of some kind of giant biological organ.

There were constant faint ripples on the surface, and twisted human faces were embedded in the folds, as if they were emitting silent wails in the process of being half-burnt.

Those "faces" seemed both real and illusory, each one filled with pain and struggle.

The original insect body was soaked in a light blue magic preservation liquid, as thin as silk and translucent.

Its head is the most striking feature; its sharp, needle-like proboscis is faintly visible in the liquid, trembling slightly from time to time, which is quite terrifying.

Flora stared at the remains of the mother nest, her originally kind and gentle gaze gradually freezing, replaced by a furrowed brow and an almost imperceptible chill.

She slowly reached out her hand, and a strand of extremely fine blue-silver magic energy floated in her palm as she probed towards the sample.

The moment the magic touched her, her pupils contracted sharply.

This is not magic.

It's at least not magic from the Mage Forest system.

The residual magical fluctuations on the wreckage were extremely strange, like sharp spikes that could penetrate mental defenses and seep into the depths of perception with whispers and noise.

It lacks a clear structure and does not follow any known legal principles, yet it seems to possess some kind of primal "will," constantly struggling, corroding, and roaring.

"...It's still resisting." Flora murmured to herself, her voice filled with vigilance and awe.

She had seen remnants of forbidden techniques before, and had also experienced deep levels of magical energy pollution at the edge of the magical tide.

But this fluctuation...

It possesses a complex set of attributes: distorting order, reversing life, and devouring spirit.

It doesn't seem like something created by humans; it's more like something "from elsewhere."

She took a deep breath, forcibly shutting off the magical sensation, and with a flick of her finger, the magic thread immediately broke, dissipating like a burnt spider web.

Then, she looked at the protozoan body soaking in the bottle.

The insect's long, piercing mouthparts seemed to be trying to penetrate the bottle wall, and even though it knew the other party was already dead, that malice and instinct still spread in the air.

Even as one of the great mages of the Mage Forest, she felt a long-lost tremor.

This thing was definitely "designed" by some kind of advanced magical wisdom.

This completely overturned her original judgment. She had thought that the so-called "insect corpse disaster" was nothing more than a chaotic situation caused by the dissipation of demonic energy, which was common in the Northern Territory.

Similar situations to the wolf tide and the rotting beast horde, but now...

She spoke slowly: "This magic... carries malice... a cursed self-expansion that doesn't match any natural attribute."

It doesn't even seem like something a human mage could control or create; it's more like…

And her doubts about Louis completely vanished.

This young lord was not exaggerating. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she probably would have thought it was just a fabricated achievement by the young lord to gain credit.

But seeing these remains, Louis truly confronted this profound horror, even destroying them with his own hands.

Perhaps it's because he doesn't understand magic at all that he was able to do this.

Just as she was trying to calm herself, Louis spoke again, his tone still calm and collected: "Although it has been destroyed, based on the structure of the site and the origin of the insects, we suspect that the mother nest was not the only central hub."

He paused, as if weighing how much to reveal, before continuing with the number: "Perhaps... there are still a dozen or so mother nests like that."

The air suddenly became so heavy it felt as if it could crush the entire conference hall.

Flora's pupils contracted slightly as she slowly looked up at him: "Can I go to the scene and take a look?"

Louis nodded: "I am too busy with my own affairs to accompany you personally. But I will arrange for a knight to escort you there."

But it's late now. Let's have a hot meal and get some rest. We can set off tomorrow morning.

Flora nodded slowly: "...Okay."

This meeting has completely changed my impression of the young lord.

The truth behind this insect plague may be far more profound than one imagines.

Just as the meeting was drawing to a close and everyone was getting up to leave,

Louis seemed to have suddenly mustered his courage and said, "Um... Lady Flora."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was enough to make the archmage, who hadn't gone far, stop in his tracks.

Flora turned around and looked at him with a puzzled expression: "Hmm?"

Louis tilted his head slightly, as if considering his words.

At this moment, he didn't look like the calm, collected, and experienced lord he always was, but more like a young man about to knock on some mysterious door.

"I'd like to ask... if I could apply to become a member of the Mage's Forest?"

"Huh?" Flora rarely showed such obvious surprise. "What did you say?"

She blinked, momentarily stunned, and even wondered if she had misheard.

“I have some knowledge of meditation and can also cast some low-level spells,” Louis said softly, as if stating something insignificant. “When I was a child, the mages in my family taught me some.”

Of course, this was a pre-arranged story between him and Leahy. Although it sounded ordinary, it was enough to cover up his abnormally rapid growth.

Flora squinted, scrutinizing him as if she were carefully analyzing the truth behind this person.

But a few seconds later, she nodded slightly, thinking to herself as if explaining, "It's the Calvin family, after all. It's not surprising that they have a few knowledgeable old magicians."

She didn't hesitate for long. After all, granting Magister Lin Zeng an additional mage was a small privilege that was nothing to a great mage like her.

"Then... show us your magic."

Upon hearing this, Louis raised his right hand, his fingers twirling slightly, and a visible surge of magical energy rippled through the air.

The next second, a fireball suddenly appeared in his palm.

The firelight was clear and bright, burning steadily and subdued, without even the slightest crackling sound.

Flora raised an eyebrow, her expression showing slight appreciation: "Fireball spell... well controlled. You're very skilled at manipulating magic; it's clear you've put in a lot of effort."

She took a few steps forward to observe the rotation of the flame, but failed to discern any deeper mystery within it.

She simply attributed it to "laying a good foundation".

What she didn't know was that behind that gentle fireball, Louis was merely "imitating" what an ordinary person should be like.

In fact, Louis's magical output was extremely restrained, using only about five percent of his magical power.

If the real Him wanted to, the flames would slice through a massive rock like a blade, instead of hovering quietly like this.

“With your skill level,” Flora finally spoke, her tone encouraging and affirming, “I can write you a letter of recommendation, allowing you to participate in the Mage Forest entrance examination.”

She paused briefly, then her tone became half-joking and half-serious: "After all, our Mage Forest isn't a place you can just walk into whenever you want. Even the descendants of the Calvin family have to go through the proper procedures."

“Understood.” Louis bowed slightly, his tone gentle and polite, a smile of neither servility nor arrogance playing on his lips. “Thank you for your kindness, sir.”

As for the assessment, he believed it was simply a matter of course.

He didn't say much.

It doesn't mention that he can manipulate a hundred-pound boulder remotely with his magic-wielding hand, nor does it mention that he has mastered more than ten kinds of combat magic, let alone that he is using the "Primal Meditation" technique to open the path of magical resonance.

Louis simply withdrew the slowly extinguishing flame from his palm.

It was as if the demonstration just now was merely a "casual display of skill" by a nobleman's son.

Flora didn't notice anything unusual, simply assuming he was a young man with a solid foundation in magic.

She smiled gently: "Then I look forward to the day you pass the test."

“I won’t let you down,” Louis replied sincerely, but made no further promises.

He then rose and thanked Flora, saying, "Thank you, my lady. I will make arrangements for our trip to the Mother Nest ruins tomorrow."

“Hmm.” Flora nodded. “The magical fluctuations of the Mother Nest ruins are too strange to be underestimated. It’s good that you’ve shown me with your own eyes so that we can investigate it as soon as possible.”

As evening approached, the meeting finally came to an end.

Flora walked out of the meeting hall, her figure appearing exceptionally serene against the deep red carpet.

Her tall robes swayed slightly in the night wind. The chill of the snowy night had not yet faded, but her expression was even colder than the wind.

After witnessing the magical fluctuations emanating from the remains of the Mother Nest, her heart could no longer find peace.

“...How could I possibly relax?” Flora muttered to herself, her steps heavy. “This is probably not just a simple matter of a mage being attacked.”

She had a premonition that this matter of the insect corpses would not be as simple as an ordinary crisis investigation, but for the time being there was no evidence to escalate its crisis to the level of more mages, so she could only take it one step at a time.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the conference hall was completely different.

Louis, however, could not contain his inner satisfaction.

His plan for today has been perfectly accomplished.

First, the secret of the Insect Corpse Mother Nest successfully caught Flora's attention, which meant that the mage group was officially drawn into the game, and the subsequent investigation and intelligence sharing would become a natural progression.

Secondly, he also took this opportunity to demonstrate his magical control abilities, thereby gaining the recommendation to go to the Mage Forest for the assessment.

"Both objectives have been achieved." He smiled faintly.

(End of this chapter)