How come this arcanist is invincible?

Chapter 249 Five Years in a Flash

Susas, the royal court.

It had just rained, and the outer courtyard streets carried a faint scent of wheat and the damp smell of earth.

George was getting ready to finish work and head to the pub for a drink.

Five years ago, he lost all his possessions in a war that involved the entire royal court and was barely surviving on meager relief in the ruins.

But now, he has found a job as a scribe at a chamber of commerce that partners with the college.

Although the income was not high, with Wang Ting providing housing, the money was enough for a family of four to live a stable life.

"stop!"

A stern rebuke interrupted George's thoughts.

He looked up and saw two sheriffs standing in front of him, with short swords at their waists and a strangely shaped crossbow on their backs.

This type of crossbow has only become popular in the last two years. It is rumored that it can fire three bolts at the same time, producing a powerful arrow burst.

"Show me your identification."

The tall sheriff on the left said expressionlessly.

George quickly pulled a small wooden plaque from his pocket, on which his name, occupation, and address were engraved.

This is a new system implemented by the royal court, requiring every resident to carry identification with them at all times, otherwise they will be questioned as suspicious persons.

The tall sheriff took the wooden sign and examined it carefully.

He looked up and examined George again, and only after confirming that there was no problem did he return the wooden sign to him.

"Recently, many outsiders have come to Wangting, and the security situation is not good. Please be careful."

"Okay, thank you, sir."

George nodded and bowed repeatedly.

George breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the sheriff's departing figure.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, secretly relieved that he hadn't gotten into any trouble.

Over the past five years, the Royal Court has implemented a series of new policies, providing numerous job opportunities and housing support.

A large influx of migrants from other regions or the other five countries brought further prosperity to the royal court, but also significantly worsened public security.

After all, there are always some restless individuals who are unwilling to stay in the houses provided by parliament and do those assigned, tedious jobs.

George shook his head and continued walking, but after a few steps he felt thirsty.

He touched the copper coins in his pocket, thought for a moment, and then turned into a small tavern next door called "Drunken Horse".

The tavern was dimly lit and filled with a strong aroma of ale and tobacco.

Several old wooden tables were filled with people.

There were workers dressed in coarse cloth, merchants carrying bags, and several mercenaries with long swords at their waists.

In a corner, a bard was playing his harp and singing a ballad about the regent.

George found a seat by the window, and a waitress in a greasy apron came over: "Sir, what would you like to order?"

"A glass of rye," George said.

The maid nodded and turned to leave.

George leaned back in his chair, looking out at the bustling street outside the window, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Five years have passed, and the changes are truly remarkable.

If he hadn't experienced it firsthand, he would hardly have believed that this bustling city was the same Susas royal court that was ravaged by war just five years ago.

With a "bang," the wine glass was slammed heavily onto the table.

George took a copper coin from his pocket and handed it to the maid.

The maid took the copper coin, turned around, and left.

George picked up his glass and took a big gulp. The chilled ale slid down his throat and into his stomach, instantly making him feel refreshed.

"Excuse me, would you mind sharing a seat?"

George looked up and saw a black-haired, black-eyed human standing next to him.

The man was tall with deep eyes and a faint smile, giving him a gentle yet dignified air.

George paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Of course not, please have a seat."

The man thanked him, sat down opposite George, and ordered a beer as well.

"Are you from Nord?"

George couldn't help but ask, after all, only Nord would have such obvious black hair and black eyes.

The man nodded.

"Yes, I just came here from Nord in response to the council's call, and it's a really nice place."

"you do not say."

George started talking excitedly.

Five years ago, this place was in complete chaos.

The heir to the throne killed King Susas and replaced him with a demon, and also massacred the councilors who knew about it.

Our great regent has appeared out of nowhere, while his successor has committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

"Not only that, the Duke later sent an army of 200,000 to besiege the city, but the regent led a small squad and killed the Duke directly."

George paused, took a sip of his drink, and continued, "Originally, this would have been fine, since these are matters for important people. But unexpectedly, the Regent persuaded the Queen, and at the same time, he got those mages and soldiers to help build a new royal court, provide housing for disaster victims, and reduce various commercial taxes and provide subsidies."

Although the new house is a bit ugly and we have to buy our own furniture, it's still enough for us to survive.

"Isn't there anything wrong with it?"

"The Nord man with black hair and black eyes asked."

George shook his head.

"It's a bit inconvenient that salt and ironware can only be purchased from exclusive merchant guilds, but it doesn't really matter. The prices are about the same, and the quality is much better—it doesn't matter who you buy from anyway."

The man listened quietly, a faint smile on his face throughout.

His fingers tapped lightly on the table, as if he were thinking about something.

"By the way, my name is George, what's yours?"

"My name is Kane," the man said with a smile.

"Kane?!" George frowned and said, "It seems quite a few Nords have this name, even our Regent has it."

He paused, looked Kane up and down, and asked, "Are you a mercenary?"

"I served as one for a period of time."

"I see. But although the Royal Court's Chamber of Commerce has many mercenary positions, being a mercenary isn't a good profession these days."

Why?

"Because Sussas is peaceful now, there aren't as many battles to fight."

George said.

"Moreover, the royal court is now vigorously encouraging land reclamation. As long as you apply to the royal court for permission to reclaim land, you can receive two cartloads of black soil from the merchant guild."

It is said to have been created by the mage academy using special magic; simply laying it on the ground can transform much of the uncultivable land into fertile fields.

George pointed out the window and continued, "You know what? The saline lands of Twin Harbors, the desertified lands near the Free Cities, and the swamps on the edge of the Dark Forest have all been reclaimed. Those lands used to be barren, but now they've all become farmland."

"The reclaimed land is exempt from tax for the first three years, and after that, only one-tenth of the tax needs to be paid."

Furthermore, the royal court would provide seeds, farm tools, and oxen. If money was needed, one could also apply for an interest-free loan from the royal court.

Kane nodded and said, "Are there any other options besides pioneering?"

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"Of course."

George said, "Right now, all the royal court's merchant guilds are short-staffed, but the royal family's and the academy's merchant guilds are the hardest to get into. I suggest you try to find a job at one of the new merchant guild branches established here by the merchants from the five countries."

Alternatively, you could join the military; the benefits are excellent, and upon retirement you can be allocated land, housing, or a position in a chamber of commerce.

George took a sip of his drink.

"Speaking of the army, did you know that Sussas now has four major army groups: the Royal Army, the Royal Guard, the Garrison Army, and the Expeditionary Force?"

Each army group has twenty corps. The total strength of all army groups exceeds one million.

Moreover, it is said that the regent also has a shadow army that serves him exclusively.

But no one knew how many men were in this army, nor where they were.

As the two were discussing, the bard began to sing a ballad adapted from the Battle of the Royal Court.

When the song ended, thunderous applause erupted in the tavern.

Everyone raised their glasses and shouted, "Cheers to the Regent!"

George also excitedly raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

He wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth and said to Kane, "Look, this is our regent, he is deeply loved by the people."

Kane also raised his glass and took a sip.

He still wore a faint smile, but a complex emotion flashed deep in his eyes.

"However, not everyone likes the regent."

George lowered his voice and said.

"For example, those old nobles."

They used to be arrogant and domineering, but now they've lost many of their privileges. Last year, three marquesses and four earls launched a rebellion.

"Oh? How did it go?"

Kane asked.

"The result?" George chuckled and said, "The result was, of course, that the Regent easily quelled the rebellion, and he even preserved their titles, only confiscating some of their property."

They were even allowed to obtain large quantities of black soil developed by the academy from the royal court in the form of loans.

"Isn't that too lenient?" Kane said.

"No, we only discovered the Regent's intentions later."

George began to boast about his experiences as a scribe for the Chamber of Commerce.

"At the time, many nobles thought this business was a sure thing, so they mortgaged a lot of assets to the royal court in exchange for black soil and grains."

The following year, due to a bumper harvest, prices plummeted, forcing them to surrender their territory and people to the royal court.

.

"In this way, the regent regained a large amount of land and wealth without bloodshed."

At the same time, he also took in a large number of refugees, settling them on newly reclaimed land, and invited mages from the academy to conduct tests, bringing many talented individuals to the academy to be taught special spells.

What was that called again? A production-type magic trick.

"Now, although male mages are still rare, there are many more mages than before."

"And you might even bump into a few people on the street; one of them might know a couple of magic tricks."

George blushed, put down his empty glass, and said, "I'm almost done. It was nice meeting you, Kane. You have a great name."

"Thank you," Kane said with a smile.

George nodded and prepared to get up and leave the tavern.

Just then, the tavern door burst open, and a squad of soldiers in steel armor and red cloaks walked in.

"They're the Imperial Guard!"

The others stood up and bowed respectfully, including George, who was about to leave.

The soldiers ignored everyone else, walked straight to Kane's table, knelt on one knee, and remained silent.

Kane nodded and said, "Get up."

He smiled and patted George on the shoulder, then left accompanied by the guards.

George stood there, stunned, watching Kane's retreating figure, his mind blank.

"Black hair, black eyes—Kane—no—his is—the Regent?"

On the other side, Kane walked out of the tavern, looking at the rows of houses on both sides of the street and the people with happy smiles on their faces, and felt a mix of emotions.

Five years. A full five years.

After seizing power in Sussas, he immediately embarked on a series of sweeping domestic reforms.

The original ducal army was split up and merged with the royal army to create multiple army groups, and the troop movements remained under the control of the noble council.

However, the royal family has oversight power and direct command of the Royal Guard.

He averted a rebellion by appeasing the nobles, thereby lowering their guard and gaining a legitimate claim to the cause.

At the same time, with the support of the mage academy, they suppressed numerous opposing voices and prioritized the promotion and popularization of magic tricks such as purifying food, adhesion spells, freezing rays, and electric shocks. They also further encouraged formal mages to conduct research on weaponry.

As it turned out, Kane was right.

In an experiment, a mage from the School of Shaping Energy produced fertile black soil by turning sandy soil into mud and adding discarded animal entrails and fodder.

This laid the foundation for his subsequent economic war.

Iron powder arrows and crossbows have been upgraded several times, and cannons and catapults have also been improved, not to mention other new types of military equipment.

In the third year, the other five countries finally couldn't sit still any longer.

Despite acquiring weapons such as iron powder arrows from Susas, Susas remained wary after witnessing its dramatic rise in national power and its ability to drain population from neighboring countries.

Kane smiled and extended an invitation to the ambassadors of the five countries, leading them to participate in the military parade and a public display of some of the more common military equipment.

He then personally took to the field and defeated the Tier 3 warriors sent by the five nations in a duel.

This filled the five nations with apprehension, and Kane wisely withdrew from the situation.

Susas can provide food and black soil, but requires the five countries to provide a large amount of metal and ore. If all else fails, they can exchange it for monster corpses or the corpses of members of the Demon Cult.

After discussions, the ambassadors of the five countries basically agreed.

Thus, without losing a single soldier, a peaceful environment for development was secured for Sussas, and a large amount of much-needed strategic resources were obtained.

Meanwhile, the demon cult strongholds within the five kingdoms, which had just begun to resurge, were once again annihilated.

According to indirect statistics, tens of thousands of people involved were arrested and killed, and countless deep-seated strongholds were eliminated by the military.

Kane went to the Speaker's office.

An old monk with a weathered face stood here.

It was Arundel, whose ether concentration had reached level three.

He saw Kane, knelt on one knee, and said, "Regent."

"How's the investigation going?" Kane asked casually.

"After losing three teams, I found a clue about the 200,000 civilians who disappeared."

"Where?"

"The grasslands."