Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 478 The Great Law of "It's So Good It Is"

King Paterson stood up, poured himself a glass of wine, and downed it in one gulp.

Feeling the burning sensation in his stomach, he let out a long sigh: "The elves truly deserve to be called a great race that has continued for tens of thousands of years. Your understanding of contracts is truly profound."

"I'm sorry, all the people I've dealt with in the past were useless—not smart, not brave, and even less discerning. They made me a fool too."

"Mr. Elf, are you telling me all this because you want to reach a direct agreement with me?"

Xia Zuo smiled: "Yes."

"I have high hopes for you now. I believe you will be the victor of this war, the founder of the first human empire, and the first Caesar."

At this point, Xia Zuo paused, inwardly thinking: "Your empire is probably the only one of its kind in human history, and you don't deserve to be called an emperor."

After finishing his rant, he continued, "Since I'm convinced you're the inevitable winner, I naturally hope to reach the necessary agreement with you."

"Rest assured, our agreement will not be written down or made public; it will be maintained solely by our conscience and our strength."

Leo Paterson took a deep breath and stared intently at Shazo: "Mr. Elf, what kind of agreement do you wish to reach with me?"

Seria stared in disbelief: "So, you've made an agreement with Leo Tertsen of the Tertsen Kingdom, binding the safety of the Magic Guild and, in the future, the Magic Association, to his life?"

Xia Zuo nodded: "Yes, that's right."

"Although I also proposed an agreement for the elves to retreat to the mountains, forests, and islands, that was just a cover. Even if he were to abide by it, his son would definitely not."

"As the human population expands, they will inevitably move towards the forests, clearing them out to harvest more arable land."

"But by then, the elves should have been accepted by the Magic Association and fully integrated into human society, becoming part of the upper nobility, and there will be no need for so many forests anymore."

"Seria, your Magic Association has a long way to go."

Celia said weakly, "Oh, thank you."

Well, with Xia Zuo's actions, the Magic Guild is indeed safe now, and there will be no obstacles even if it is reorganized into the Magic Association.

However, this brought the Magic Guild into the future emperor's sights, and it would attract even more attention.

It is foreseeable that many outstanding talents will join the Magic Guild in various forms and assist Celie in establishing the Magic Guild.

These people will leak information within the magic guild and bring in all sorts of strange habits, but they will also forge a close connection between the magic guild and human society, deeply embedding their roots within the future empire.

This is absolutely a good thing for magic guilds or magic associations.

The only problem is that Celia herself is under increased pressure, and she needs to expend more energy to maintain control of the Magic Guild and avoid being sidelined.

Moreover, as Leo Paterson aged, Celia had to be wary of his sudden madness, as he attempted to eliminate a major threat within the Empire before his natural death.

Celia smiled and said, "It's hard work, but it's not really dangerous."

Before Leo Paterson chose to turn against her, he would never have imagined that Seria, the great mage, was completely different from the other great mages of the elven race.

In the future, Frilian realized a truth: the outcome of battles between magicians is not entirely determined by the strength of their magic.

This is the truth, but it is not the whole truth.

Because Celia is an exception; her magic is unimaginably powerful, enough to disregard the skills of other mages.

skillful.

At the same time, she is also the elven archmage who possesses the most magic and the most diverse magical techniques, making her a veritable encyclopedia of magic.

Celia said regretfully, "What about Frillie now that you've done this?"

"I originally planned to hold out here for the first 100 years, and once the human empire was stable, I would bring Frilian back so she could continue to study and grow within the Magic Association."

"It seems I can't bring her back now."

Xia Zuo laughed and said, "You're always all bark and no bite, and you always think a lot."

"By then, Frilian will be an adult and strong enough. Neither you nor I should continue to supervise her."

o

"Whether Frilian wants to join the Magic Association, settle in a city, or become a wandering Planeswalker, it is her choice."

"We can't control it, and we shouldn't."

"That heartless guy," Celia muttered. "Why wasn't he this nice to me back then—"

"oops!"

Xia Zuo withdrew his hand, smiled at Celie who was holding her head in her hands, and disappeared from the room before she could unleash her compressed magic to activate [Celie's Big Slap].

The thousand-year-old Celia was so angry that she jumped up and down, as if she had returned to her childhood self at the age of 200.

After a while, she suddenly stopped and burst into happy laughter.

Two months later, the war for supremacy among human kingdoms came to a conclusion, with the Kingdom of Paterson achieving a decisive victory and becoming the strongest of the four kingdoms.

However, Leo Paterson's outspokenness made him an enemy of the three defeated kingdoms, leading to a joint attack and putting him in a difficult situation once again.

At this moment, all four kingdoms realized they had reached their most critical juncture, and they all pulled out all the stops and fought desperately.

The scale of the war increased again, but the resulting decline in military discipline led to a geometric increase in brutal killings.

Bloodshed wasn't limited to the battlefield; it also occurred during the collection of food and military supplies. Village after village was turned into a wasteland, and commercial towns were burned to the ground.

When human armies display their bestial nature, they are in no way inferior to the Demon King's army.

The refugees spread the terrifying news, and panic ensued in the capital.

No one thought the four kingdoms would abide by their previous agreement at this point. As long as they had the ability, people tried every means to leave the capital and flee in a direction far from the battlefield.

Although life will be much harder after leaving, I won't starve to death.

The mages of the magic guild also packed their belongings and moved to their designated headquarters, Oisaster.

However, the mages had too many things—books, notes, potions, materials, and various precious tools—so their hasty actions naturally resulted in chaos.

Frillie's order for magic potions also fell through, leaving a shortage of up to 20%.

Celia felt extremely guilty, but there was nothing she could do; she couldn't even give Frilian enough compensation.

It wasn't that there weren't enough magical materials, but rather that Frilian couldn't carry them.

The magic briefcase was great, but it was already full of magic potions to deal with the Red Mirror Dragon, even Xia Zuo's briefcase was stuffed full.

The Magic Guild still had many magic briefcases and even magic cabinets, but they were already filled with all kinds of supplies and precious books. There were also a lot of less valuable things left in the warehouse that they couldn't take with them.

The mages could only dig holes on the spot to bury it, hide it with magical barriers, and temporarily preserve it in place.

Having no other option, Celia had to write an IOU to Frillie, promising to return to her for the item once things had stabilized.

As for the missing 20% ​​potion, Celia really couldn't do anything about it.

Xia Zuo chuckled and suggested, "You're really stubborn. Potions mimic magical effects. Why don't you come with us and cast the spell yourself to fill in the missing part? Wouldn't that solve everything?"

Celia stared in disbelief, then tapped her head in regret, saying, "Oh dear, how could I forget that method? My mind is just full of random things."

Xia Zuo scoffed, "I told you long ago, don't worry about the details, don't worry about the details. Now you're really getting caught up in all these trivial matters, aren't you?"

Seria shook her head and said, "Wait, no, I have to move the Magic Guild with me!"

Xia Zuo said, "You can leave such a simple matter to your disciple."

"How can I entrust such an important matter to them?" Celia said with distress.

Xia Zuo retorted, "What good would it do if you just handed the work over to your disciples?"

Seria stated firmly, "If I don't do anything, the Magic Guild will definitely have to shut down!"

"So many things in the past, things I wasn't involved in, always managed to be delayed to the point of madness—"

Xia Zuo chuckled coldly: "You're already struggling with just one magic guild. What if it expands into a magic association, with branches in every city? Will you still be able to manage it all?"

Seria asked dejectedly, "Then what should I do?"

Xia Zuo replied, "First and foremost, lower your expectations for the perfect outcome! That's the most important thing!"

"Then break your work down into tasks and let your disciples complete them. You just need to focus on the results of their tasks."

"This way you'll have enough time to study magic and push your disciples to catch up on their studies."

Celia sighed, "Fine, fine—I'll give it a try. I don't care about this retreat—let those idiots handle the retreat—sigh—"

Xia Zuo grabbed Qingmei's arm and pulled her away: "Alright, I'm not a child anymore. I'll definitely surprise you."

Seria was powerless against the swordsman's immense strength and could only grumble and mutter, "If they give me a big scare, you'll be responsible, Shazo."

Xia Zuo laughed heartily: "Alright, alright, whatever you ask me to do, I'll do it."

So Celia also joined the expedition to subdue the Red Mirror Dragon.

Frillie was overjoyed by Celie's arrival and skipped and hopped all the way, like a child who had just bought ice cream.

Hmm? Ice cream?

Xia Zuo suddenly realized that he now had all the ingredients for ice cream: milk and honey, and he also had a great magician by his side. He could make ice cream!

"Huh? You want me to use magic to make food?" Celia was furious. "Shazo! What do you take magic for?"

Xia Zuo picked at his ear and said, "Of course, it's the most convenient tool."

"In battle, they are tools for killing; in peacetime, they are naturally tools for daily life."

Celia: "Pah!"

"Magic is a noble talent, a bond inextricably linked to the essence of the world, it is—"

"—Haha, honey milk ice cream, so delicious!"

Celia and Frillie each had a huge scoop of ice cream, their noses covered in milk and honey, their eyes squinting so hard they could barely see.

With Xia Zuo's lightning-fast hand movements, the ice cream was completely shattered. Its smooth texture and the ultimate sweetness balanced by its coolness were simply irresistible.

Seria chuckled, "I'm going to invent a magic spell called 'Ice Cream Making Magic,' so I can eat ice cream anytime!"

Xia Zuo laughed and said, "What's wrong? Is magic no longer noble?"

Celia blushed, cold sweat poured down her forehead, and wisps of white steam rose from it.

She argued, "Making ice cream isn't lowly—it's about making delicious food!—Can something a mage does be considered lowly?"

Then came a string of incomprehensible phrases, such as "ice cream is noble" and "I am noble too," which made Frilian and Shazo burst into laughter.

The desolate mountain road was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Xia Zuo couldn't help but sigh: The "it's actually delicious" law is indeed a universal principle that applies to all realms.

After several months without being disturbed, the Red Mirror Dragon has returned to its old habits, continuing to sleep carefree in the valley.

In the valley just across the mountain, Xia Zuo took out a large pile of glass bottles and handed them to Frilian.

Then he started browsing through his collection while devising his next strategy.

This time, he must ensure the Red Mirror Dragon is suppressed, giving Frilian and Celia enough time to inject the magic potion into the Red Mirror Dragon's body.

Furthermore, it is necessary to ensure that Seria can unleash sufficient magical effects to transform the Red Mirror Dragon's body into a magical bacterial culture medium.

dish.

Celia estimated that the entire process would last four hours, or even longer.

During the injection of the potion and the activation of the magic, not only must the Red Mirror Dragon not be allowed to escape, but it must also not be allowed to struggle too violently, so as to avoid prematurely activating its abnormal magic resistance.

Therefore, Xia Zuo must take this seriously, and most importantly, avoid collapsing the mountain and interrupting the process.

Just as Xia Zuo had figured out his tactics and brought out his bladeless greatsword, the mages were also ready.

Celia and Frillie used a magic circle to transform the magical potion into long arrows and cast a [Throwing Arrows] spell, preparing them for launch.

When everything was ready, Xia Zuo, wielding a blunt heavy sword, leaped down from the mountain peak and slashed the Red Mirror Dragon across the neck.

With a crisp "crack," the red mirror dragon's third cervical vertebra broke instantly.

The giant dragon monster let out a scream and was jolted awake from its dream, recognizing Xia Zuoqian from the familiar pain.

The Red Mirror Dragon was about to retaliate when it found that it could not control its body at all; it could not even turn its head.

But this wasn't the first time Xia Zuo had broken the monster's neck, so it immediately opened its mouth and spewed out raging flames.

Using the recoil from the flames, the Crimson Mirror Dragon finally raised its head and spewed dragonfire at Xia Zuo.

boom!

The entire valley instantly turned into a sea of ​​fire.