The figure that appeared was very young, looking no more than twenty-sothing, with an ordinary face, but a pair of eyes that inspired fear. Those eyes were quite bright, as if they could see through everything, and if you looked at them for a long ti, you’d feel a vortex deep within, capable of sucking in one’s soul.
Even Moli, who had been promoted to a Level 4 Wizard not long ago, quickly looked away after glancing at those eyes, turning her gaze to other parts of him, then noticing the glowing rope in his hand.
At the other end of the rope, a person was struggling constantly.
"Lord Richard actually has ti to co out and conduct inspections?" Moli moved her eyebrows and asked aloud, "Have you finished researching everything you wanted to study?"
"Heh." Richard responded with a light chuckle, "Naturally, the research can never be fully completed, but with dozens of research teams under running at overcapacity, once I finalize the procedures, control the direction, and solve the bottlenecks, my help is limited. So I ca out for a walk, as a form of rest.
As a result, during my walk, I conveniently captured soone in hiding. The other’s abilities are quite impressive, an actual Level 4 Wizard. If not for the special magic tools the lab provided and the ancient magic, their strength should only be a bit weaker than yours."
"But you still caught them." Moli said, "So, did you figure out their identity?"
"I did, they’re from Shaya, so Chief Judge of the Judgnt Court."
"What a coincidence, I just killed a Deputy Judge, and then you caught a Chief Judge. Does this an we’ve cleaned it up nicely?" Moli raised an eyebrow.
"So, it’s all related to the Alliance?"
"Yes, I was just about to tell you, but it seems you’ve already figured it out."
"Even in the lab, I don’t miss out on every piece of news." Richard smiled slightly and said calmly. "I have heard so things about the Alliance, indeed it’s a bit troubleso. The new emperor ascended the throne, originally I thought things would be stable for a while, take hold of the power and resources they could control, and then take so actions. Even if action is taken, it shouldn’t specifically target Shalin, after all, the consensus reached during the border talks a few years ago should have settled that.
Now it seems we were too idealistic, and the new emperor is too impatient. It’s hardly been any ti since ascending the throne, and already they’re starting a purge, then probing us in Shalin. I’ve heard that the neighboring territories, which had originally given up confronting us, are also having new little movents, with troops, Magic Knights, and Wizards being frequently mobilized."
"What you’re saying is true." Moli nodded, her expression sowhat serious, "I have confidence in dealing with these situations, but once the other side launches a full-scale attack, the developnt of Shalin is sure to suffer a blow. I wonder what your thoughts are."
"My thoughts..." Richard pursed his lips and said, "My thoughts are actually quite simple, just go with the flow. Shalin dislikes trouble but is not afraid of trouble. The Alliance tried us, and we responded. If the Alliance doesn’t want to bite off more than it can chew with us, then there’s peace and everyone benefits. But if the Alliance is dissatisfied with us and wants to increase their probing, we’ll rise to et it.
If it were three years ago, I might still have so worries about this, but now Shalin is not what it was three years ago, I have confidence in solving any problems that arise. If it cos to it, in the worst-case scenario, let there be world peace. Once the world is at peace, everything is renewed, and it might not be a bad era."
"World peace?" Moli blinked her eyes, as if she didn’t understand.
"You’ll see if there’s an opportunity." Richard said.
"Alright then." Moli spread her hands.
"In the coming period, have soone keep a close eye on the border, especially the direction of Reef Rock Castle, and notify promptly if there’s any situation." Richard said.
"Okay." Moli nodded, then looked at the so-called Chief Judge bound by Richard’s energy rope, and asked, "What do you want to do with this person, not going to kill them directly?"
"His internal Magic Origin structure is a bit special, I plan to take him back and study it first." Richard said.
"Got it." Moli expressed understanding, "If the Alliance cos to inquire, I’ll just say I haven’t seen him, and let them guess."
"That works." Richard said, then seed to think of sothing and asked, "By the way, has Nora Wizard’s specially recruited student arrived in Atlantis City yet? Nora Wizard ntioned that the student’s talent is excellent, and with specialized training, could potentially beco a reserve mber of my research team."
Moli listened, thought for a mont, and said, "The person has arrived, I saw her just now, she was among the onlookers at the Security Court—a bold one, with strong curiosity. As soon as the Deputy Judge made a move in the court, everyone else ran, but she stayed till the end.
However, I think her intentions might not be pure, as I noticed faint traces of mind-bending type spells on her male companion—the one helping her enroll as another Atlantis University student. Hopefully, in the days to co, she’ll truly focus on research, rather than on other things."
"Gently warn her, give her a reminder, and then observe her performance." Richard said, "Truly talented people are always scarce, and if she has real ability, so small flaws can be tolerated. If she doesn’t, advising her to leave would still be tily. I’ve heard she’s still trying hard to disguise her identity?"
"Yes, still trying. She has a total of three layers of disguise, and it seems she has indeed put so effort into it. It looks like she doesn’t know that she has long been fully exposed, or believes that only the outer one or two layers have been uncovered." Moli couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head, "What do you say, should we play along with her or expose her?"
"That’s up to you, I don’t care what her identity is, as long as she can be a qualified assistant, that’s enough."
"Okay, I understand."
"If there’s nothing else, I’ll take this research material back." Richard tugged at the energy rope in his hand, waved at Moli as a farewell, then stepped to the side, and the entirety of him, along with the captive Chief Judge, vanished as if evaporating into thin air.
Moli’s eyes flickered as she released her perception, carefully sensing, then confird that Richard’s ans of leaving truly didn’t emit a single wave of energy, making it impossible to discern if it was a spell or sothing more advanced than magic.
Truth be told, she had beco a Level 4 Wizard, already considered one of the small group of people standing at the top of the world. Yet she found out that over these three years, her distance with Richard hadn’t diminished, but rather increased considerably. Increased to the point where she was no longer clear on how powerful Richard actually was.
However, this is ultimately a good thing. Richard is in the sa camp as her, and the stronger he is, the greater her chances of reclaiming the Sika Royal Family’s legitimacy—of course, assuming Richard keeps his word.
"Phew—"
Moli, thinking these thoughts, exhaled lightly, turned, and left as well.
...
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