Black Hearted Mage

Chapter 278 Old Enemy

In the evening, the afterglow of the setting sun shone on the walls of Watchtower, tinging the ancient fortress with a faint golden hue. As Caesars' figure gradually walked away, Liv stood quietly on the high wall, watching him leave.

A strong desire surged in her heart, wanting to follow Caesars to travel the outside world, explore unknown places, and experience all kinds of wonderful adventures. However, Lambert's words were like a bucket of cold water, ruthlessly extinguishing her enthusiasm.

"Liv, Caesars wants to overthrow the Church of Saint Laurent. This is no small matter. You can't follow him, and you must not let those old guys in the Elf Council get hold of us!" Lambert's voice echoed in her ears with unquestionable determination.

Hearing the word "Elven Council", Liv frowned tightly. She didn't have much affection for this organization because it represented power and oppression, and often treated elves of other races unfairly.

Elves are not just one race, but three: arcane elves, nature elves, and elemental elves. The relationship between these three races is so complex that even some elves themselves find it difficult to understand the clues.

Tens of thousands of years ago, the Arcane Elves were once extremely powerful. With their powerful arcane powers, they merged the three races and established a vast elven kingdom. However, good times did not last long. The invasion of the demons brought a devastating blow to the elven kingdom, and the Arcane Elves almost suffered genocide.

After this disaster, the elemental elves took advantage of the opportunity to rise and seize power in the Endless Forest. They established an Elf Council composed of elemental elves and began to suppress the other two elves, causing the status of the Nature Elves and the Arcane Elves to plummet.

The Nature Elves and the Arcane Elves chose to migrate, from the Western Endless Forest west of the Great Rift Valley to the eastern part of the Great Rift Valley, away from the control of the Elven Council. However, the elders of the Elven Council did not give up. They repeatedly forced the two elves to return to the west, even threatening war.

A thin morning mist drifted slowly through the forest, and golden sunlight filtered through the branches onto the camp. Caesars, neatly dressed, emerged from the tent, his silver-gray magic robes gleaming coolly in the morning light. He took a deep breath of the dew-scented air and suddenly heard a familiar snoring sound.

Following the sound, I saw the greedy pup sprawled amidst a small pile of pixie fruit cores, its round belly rising and falling with each breath. Its dark red fur was still stained with a few scraps of fruit pulp, and a glistening streak of saliva hung from the corner of its mouth, clearly having enjoyed a sumptuous feast of pixie fruit the night before.

Caesars raised an eyebrow, his slender fingers forming quick seals across his chest as he whispered the incantation for the Water Ball spell. A fist-sized ball of water condensed in his palm, shimmering in the morning light. With a flick of his wrist, the ball arced gracefully, landing precisely on the puppy's wet nose.

"Ugh——!"

The puppy suddenly jumped up, its sensitive nose twitching violently, its scarlet eyes filled with grievance. It shook its head, splashing water, and then bared its teeth at Caesars and whimpered in dissatisfaction, but its tail kept wagging honestly.

"Greedy dead dog!"

Kaisas squatted down and rubbed the puppy's furry head vigorously. "The fruits in the elf orchard have been picked. I was busy on the fruit trees, but you were secretly eating under the fruit tree for most of the night." There was a bit of helplessness in his voice, but his fingertips gently helped the puppy pick off the fruit core stuck on the hair.

After packing his belongings, Caesars unfolded the animal hide map. The Blackrock Mountains to the north bordered the Endless Forest, winding like a giant dragon on the map. Blackrock City at its foot was marked with a striking red circle. According to the memories he extracted from Earl Garlon's men, the Earl was not only a master of strategy but also a hidden swordsman. The most troublesome thing was that he had been operating in Blackrock City for many years, with a complex network of influence and connections. It was said that he had three doubles alone.

The puppy suddenly bit his trouser leg. Caesars looked down and saw it holding a black herb that shone with a faint light—the very shadow grass he was looking for. He chuckled and put the herb into his space ring.

"Looks like you glutton is still useful after all!"

The puppy raised its head proudly, followed its owner's pace happily, and continued to head north.

The morning mist gradually dissipated, and the distant chirping of birds echoed through the forest. Caesars gripped his staff tightly, his gaze fixed on the looming black mountains in the distance. This game of hunter and prey had only just begun.

Count Garlon, who understood forbearance and strategy, had already quietly laid out plans in Blackrock City long before little Garlon entered the Northland Tower, which was long before Caesars was born.

Now Caesar recalled that the old wizard who had stayed in the Blackrock Tavern for many years and had been purchasing the venom and high-grade herbs of the black snake was most likely Earl Garlon's man.

As Caesar walked north through the forest, he was searching for valuable herbs and thinking about how to find the hidden Earl Garlon.

"To hell with the Earl! This old fellow's title has been stripped away, and his fiefdom has been taken back to the Roland plane!" Caesars muttered.

At this time, he looked at the fat puppy. This guy had already been known by too many people. If he entered Blackrock City, he must not bring this fat dog with him.

Five days later, Caesars reached the end of the Grand Canyon and could vaguely see the towering black mountains to the east.

On the forest floor, herbs are rare, but the footprints of many magical beasts are common. This area west of the Blackrock Mountains is frequented by elven rangers. Nighthawks patrol the sky at night, while shadow leopards hide in the dense forest during the day.

Just as they were about to step out of the dense forest, Caesars suddenly raised his hand to signal the puppy behind him to stop. Dappled sunlight filtered through the treetops onto the ground, and Blackrock Valley was already visible in the distance. He stroked the interstellar ring on his left index finger, the gemstone inlaid on the mithril ring gleaming with his movement.

"I need a change..." he muttered to himself, pulling out several sets of leather armor that smelled of tanned leather from his ring. These were spoils from previous battles, which he had kept for disguise—one breastplate was engraved with the wolf-head emblem of a mercenary group, and another had a clear knife mark on its shoulder. The weapons, made of magic steel, gleamed a faint blue on the grass, and the blood stains on the bowstrings proved they were no mere decoration.

The puppy was playing with a dagger with its nose when Caesars suddenly grabbed the soft flesh on the back of its neck and lifted it aside.

"You idiot, many people have seen you. Unless you shrink and become the same shape as when you hatched, I can't take you to Black Rock City!"

The little creature whimpered in grievance, the flame pattern on its tail flickering. When it saw Caesars pull out his backpack, it suddenly spun in circles excitedly, the crimson magic patterns on its body flowing like lava coming to life. With a soft "puff," its hound-sized body shrank to the size of a boot, becoming slightly furry.

"Tsk, you damn dog, you really can become smaller!"

Kaisas poked the miniature lava puppy with the tip of his boot, and it immediately bit his trouser leg and started swinging. He finally chose the herbal-scented ranger leather armor and put the bow and arrow back into the space ring. The puppy needed to be stuffed into the backpack, so he couldn't carry the bow and arrow on his back.

"Dead dog, remember that!"

As he fastened the two short knives around his waist, he flicked the puppy's pointed ears, which had suddenly stood up, and said, "From now on, don't make too much noise!"

Caesars gently placed the elven transmogrified mask over his face. A faint green glow immediately emanated from the edges of the mask, which, like a living thing, squiggled and adapted to his facial contours. He could feel a subtle tingling sensation beneath the mask, like countless icy needles reshaping his bones. When the light faded, the reflection in the mirror revealed a middle-aged man with unkempt brown curls and a short beard. Even the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes were lifelike.

"Woo...Ahhh!"

The puppy took two steps back in shock, baring its teeth and barking at Caesars twice. It desperately twitched its wet nose and circled Caesars three times, trying to sniff out his scent.

"Stupid dog, this is Master Caesar's disguise!"

Caesars picked up the puppy by the scruff of its neck and roughly stuffed the little thing into a hide backpack, leaving only its nostrils exposed for air to circulate.

As they emerged from the dense forest, the afternoon sun poured down like molten gold. Caesars squinted his eyes, the outline of the Black Rock Mountains in the distance slightly distorted in the heat, like a dormant giant beast.

A few ravens suddenly fell silent in a dead tree at the edge of the meadow. The hair on the back of Caesar's neck suddenly stood up, and almost instantly, a sharp eagle cry ripped through the clouds. High in the sky, a nighthawk spread its wings, as big as a carriage, its wingtips gleaming an eerie purple in the sunlight—a species domesticated by the elves.

"Swiftness, Feather Fall, Agility!"

Kaisas cast a spell quickly, elemental energy wrapped around his body. When he took his first step, the grass only swayed slightly; on his third step, his toes actually left the ground.

From the depths of the dense forest emanated the distinctive low-pitched roar of a shadow leopard. Caesars knew, without even turning back, that the pupils of the pointy-eared pursuers' mounts must have slashed into dangerous lines. He suddenly accelerated again, sprinting towards the Blackrock Mountains.

This area was usually patrolled by elemental elves, and the elves of Nethergarde rarely came here. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Kaisas sprinted at top speed.

Deep in the dense forest, the elven ranger had heard the nighthawk's call and was riding his shadow leopard at full speed eastward. Following the nighthawk's descending position, the ranger spotted a figure "flying" across the grass.

A dozen elves looked at the fast-running figure, feeling somewhat puzzled. The man was running so fast that it seemed as if he was flying over the half-human-high weeds.

"Humans can't run that fast. Could they be the elves from Watchtower?" A ranger looked into the distance and said with confusion.

"The Nighthawk has sounded the alarm, let's chase it first!" said another elf ranger.

The elves were about to catch up when suddenly the figure running on the grass disappeared.

"Stealth? That doesn't seem likely. He hasn't even slowed down yet!"

A dozen elves froze in their tracks. This had all happened so suddenly, it was beyond their comprehension. Stealth's movement speed was only 60% of normal speed, so it was impossible to enter stealth mode while running at high speed; the speed had to be reduced.

"Could it be the Shadow Warrior from Nethergarde? The Shadow Warrior who changed his job from a magician?"

About a minute later, the nighthawk in the sky made another crisp cry, but this time it did not stay where it was. Instead, it flew quickly towards the Black Rock Mountains.

Meanwhile, Kaesus stood quietly at the junction of the mountain's shadow and sunlight, his figure blurred between light and dark. He knew the elves would not pursue him any further, because the place was full of rocks of all sizes, and the shadow leopards could not use their speed advantage in such a rugged terrain.

At this moment, a sharp whistle suddenly came from the distance. It was the unique eagle whistle of the elves. Caesars immediately understood that the elves had given up chasing him and were preparing to summon Nighthawk back.

The pitch-black nighthawk, upon hearing the hawk's whistle, immediately soared, its wings gleaming black in the sunlight like a shooting star in the night sky. It soared higher and higher, reaching a height too high for human eyes to see. It would then continue circling overhead, overlooking the vast area west of the Black Rock Mountains.

As the nighthawk circled low over the Black Rock Mountains, its presence had already attracted the attention of some people. After all, nighthawks don't usually fly at low altitudes, and its low flight often meant that someone had met with misfortune, or even been killed.

Kaisas slowly placed his backpack on the ground, then took out a fur cloak from his space ring. He gently shook the cloak open and put it on himself.

A chill wind howled through the valley, bringing gusts of cold. Like ice knives, it sliced ​​across Kaisas's skin, sending a shiver down his spine. However, his cloak, made of high-grade Warcraft leather, only offered a slight shield from the wind, but it provided a powerful defense.

Caesars walked steadily through the cool, shady valley. His steps were light and cautious, each one a deliberate one. Suddenly, a strange feeling washed over him: he felt as if he were being watched.

This feeling of being watched made Caesars wary. He stopped and looked around, but apart from the rocks and weeds, he didn't see any suspicious signs. Perhaps the person who was secretly watching him was still some distance away, beyond his perception.

Blackrock Valley was a rocky landscape, devoid of wild beasts. Yet, beneath these rocks lay venomous snakes and insects, the true masters of the valley. Caesars was familiar with the area, having visited it many times in his youth.

This valley is a shortcut to Blackrock City, but it is also a dangerous road, especially for mercenaries traveling alone, as it is full of dangers.