Chapter 114: Aftermath

After teleporting back to their territory, the four of them appeared directly in the lord’s mansion.
Experiencing the magic of teleportation for the first time, Ad was incredibly excited.
Donald was fairly satisfied with this new member, but he still needed to reprimand him.
“Only the four of us know about today’s events. You should understand the consequences of revealing this secret. The treatment and rewards promised to you will be given soon. All I want is your loyalty. No need for any oaths—go and have William arrange everything for you!”
Ad immediately thanked him earnestly. After he left, Donald sent for the treasurer, Jesse. At the same time, he brought out the ordinary collections from the Macbeth family in an empty room in the lord’s mansion.
Seeing the piles of gold and silver utensils and antique paintings, Jesse’s eyes widened in shock as he exclaimed, “Lord, did you rob the palace?”
Donald didn’t explain. Instead, he said with a smile, “Send two loyal servants to help you count these. Keep those that are difficult to handle or of high collectible value; store the rest in the warehouse. Sell them when possible to get hard currency like Gold Solars, Magic Cores, and Element Crystals!”
Jesse knew well what he should and shouldn’t say as a noble’s subordinate, so he didn’t press further.
“I understand. There are many valuable items here. I need to examine them carefully—it will take some time.”
“There’s no rush. Just do it quietly and ensure proper secrecy.”
Jesse nodded and focused on the thousands of items.
After dealing with these matters, Donald went alone to Stone City once more, carrying a piece of secret silver, to see his teacher, Messeil.
After briefly describing what had happened, the old mage was shocked.
“You really know how to cause trouble—almost attracting the attention of a true god?”
Donald replied helplessly, “It was inevitable. If I hadn’t taken action first, I would have been at a disadvantage, and it could have caused great harm to the territory! Besides, no one could have guessed that Macbeth was one of that god’s followers. If I hadn’t killed him in time to avoid drawing the true god’s attention, the consequences would have been unimaginable.”
Messeil nodded gravely.
“That’s true. But the power of a true god far exceeds what we can imagine. Once Macbeth dies, his soul will surely return to Heaven Mountain. By then, that god might still find out. It’s said that souls pass through the underworld first. Do you have a plan for what to do next?”

“Don’t worry, teacher! I’ve taken care of Macbeth’s soul. I guarantee that no one will discover my secret unless a high-ranking priest like the archbishop shows up in person!”
“Oh? How did you do that?” Messel was greatly surprised. He had only just begun to learn a little about souls, and no matter how talented his apprentice was, it seemed impossible for him to accomplish what only those of the Golden rank could do.
Donald replied, “I certainly couldn’t do it myself, but I summoned two undead creatures to infect Macbeth’s body with curses and plagues before killing him. That way, his soul became corrupted and couldn’t leave his body to go to the underworld. Even if he were revived as an undead, he would lose most of his wisdom and memories from his life. On top of that, I burned his body!”
“Well done!”
Messel applauded in approval.
Only his disciple could think of such a method and have the means to carry it out. The necromancy spells inherited by necromancers are among the most adept at manipulating souls, but it’s not easy to find a necromancer these days. Such individuals who deal with corpses are even rarer than dragons.
“It’s a shame we can’t reveal the fact that Macbeth was a follower of the Lord of Dawn. Otherwise, it would surely uncover many secrets! With that, the prince deeply connected to Macbeth’s family would be too busy trying to clear his name to deal with me.”
Messel gave his disciple a disapproving look.
“Don’t even think about things without evidence. You’re lucky if you’ve managed to avoid that person’s attention!”
“As for the prince, the situation is complicated. Even I doubt I can intervene. But if he really intends to kill you, I won’t let him succeed. Although the Mage Association is unlikely to help, when I was young and traveled across the continent, I had a good relationship with several mages from Gardrel. An old friend from Yulin still owes me a favor—she’s now a Golden Archmage. If all else fails, I’ll risk asking her to come over. That should be enough to intimidate Andrew and his men!”
The old mage then sighed. “With Macbeth dead, it won’t have much impact on us, but the power dynamics here in Stone City will change again.”
“It’s all about power struggles. Why bother with those guys, teacher?”

“You are also one of the nobles of North County; some responsibilities inevitably fall on you. You can’t avoid everything by doing nothing. Besides, the Mage Guild is one of the major forces in Stonehold City, and our opinions can influence how interests are distributed.”
Donald said anxiously, “I understand all of this you’re saying, Master. I just don’t like this life of constant scheming. If I had absolute strength now, I wouldn’t have to worry about these things!”
“I’m glad you think that way. Focus is a crucial prerequisite for our mages’ cultivation. As a local lord, you inevitably have to engage in social interactions. But in another year or two, once I reach Silver rank and can support you, things should improve!”
Donald knew his master had extensive experience. If not for his deep focus on alchemy research, his strength would have already approached the Gold rank. So he said, “I have a method that can help you advance immediately, without any adverse effects from external forces. In fact, it will bring unexpected benefits. You might want to consider it, Master.”
“Oh? What strange thing have you come up with now?”
“It will be ready in a few days. I’ll let you know then, and I’ll bring Chris and the other two along. They’re also half-disciples of yours. If there are benefits, they should share them too.”
Seeing his master still hesitant, Donald pressed further, “I guarantee my method won’t cause any risks from forced advancement. Even if you don’t think of yourself, think of your three senior brothers. With chaos looming in the kingdom, imagine what would happen if North County suddenly had three Silver mages?”
Only then did the old mage agree to consider it. Donald then took out the piece of mithril as if presenting a treasure.
“Where did you get this?”
Messel asked in surprise.
“It’s from the Macbeth family’s collection. Its origin is unknown, but there’s quite a lot of it. Tell me how much you need, Master!”
“I don’t need much. This piece is more than enough. It’s the largest piece of mithril I’ve seen in years.”
It wasn’t that Donald was stingy; in magic research and experiments, very little mithril was needed, unless creating large magic arrays or alchemical puppets. So this piece would last his master for a long time.
He already had plans for most of the remaining mithril, with one-third of it intended for crafting magic wands for Dalaran.

Once those magic coins spread in the future, they would not only greatly boost Dalaran’s reputation but, most importantly, allow him to exchange them for many valuable treasures within the mage community and attract numerous mages from outside to the Northlands for exchanges. The day after returning from his teacher, news came from Stonehold: an unexpected fire broke out in the city lord’s residence, and their city lord perished in the flames. Macbeth’s death caused great turmoil throughout the Northlands. As for why Donald didn’t eliminate all members of the Macbeth family that very night, he did consider it, but then realized it would be too obvious and inappropriate. Macbeth had recently shown hostility toward him and imposed an economic blockade on Dalaran; if the entire family died suddenly, anyone with a bit of sense would suspect him. Now that only Macbeth was affected, most people outside would assume he died in the fire by accident, and few would link his death to him. Of course, that old fox Anguva would surely realize it was his doing, after all, it was this former intelligence chief who had brought him the news earlier! As for Macbeth’s successor, Bolton, he must be very busy these days—not only stabilizing the chaos caused by the death of the previous Macbeth patriarch but also dealing with numerous subsequent problems. Moreover, he wasn’t the only heir; two brothers were competing with him for family power, so the Macbeth family wouldn’t trouble him for at least two or three years. Donald was confident that by then, Dalaran would have grown into an overwhelming force they couldn’t resist, even the highest nobles in the Northlands, with their viscount titles, would have to look up to it. This fire ruined all of the Macbeth family’s plans. With Macbeth, the pillar of the family, dead, their strength was greatly weakened, and many nobles in Stonehold began to consider other options. Donald dismissed these developments as mere news, as they had little to do with him. Then, something else pleased him. A few days later, Clinton had initially stabilized his realm and came to report to his master.