Black Hearted Mage

Chapter 276 Watchtower

After leaving the web-strewn, opaque spider jungle, the woodland gradually brightened. Dappled sunlight filtered through the treetops onto the ground, and herbs that struggled to survive in the gloom finally came into view. While rare herbs like golden ginseng and starlight grass remained elusive, patches of high-quality herbs were everywhere—dreamleaf grass shimmered a crystalline blue in the sunlight, ice grass leaves swayed gently in the breeze, and morning dew clung to the sharp barbs of thorngrass. Few elves were active in this area. After all, to them, these high-quality herbs, so valuable in the outside world, were nothing more than ordinary weeds.

Kaisas walked and stopped, and what should have been a half-day journey took him two full days. Every time he found a patch of herbs, he would carefully squat down and dig up the herbs by the roots with a special small hoe, then carefully sort and put them away.

When he finally caught sight of the towering black wall in the distance, the setting sun had already dyed the sky red for the second time. He put away his small, mud-stained herb hoe and took off his soft leather herb-picking gloves, which had long been stained dark green by the sap, and unconsciously held his breath.

The yellowed tomes in the Magic Tower's great library had indeed recorded the grandeur of Nethergarde. Yet, when the forty-meter-tall black wall actually rose before him, Caesars still felt a suffocating sense of oppression. Constructed of smoothly cut black steel rock, its surface covered in ancient magic patterns, it shimmered with a faint blue light in the twilight. The upward curve of the wall reminded him of the arched back of a great beast.

Just as Kaesus was a hundred meters from the city wall, a sharp alarm suddenly pierced the sky. The elven guards on the high walls quickly drew their enchanted longbows, their arrow tips dancing with a dangerous magical light. But the alarm soon ceased. A middle-aged elf in black leather armor appeared from behind the battlements, his dagger gleaming coldly in the setting sun.

"Did you learn Eagle Vision from a caveman?" the middle-aged elf Lambert shouted harshly, "You can't even recognize the Frost Crown emblem!" His voice was filled with suppressed anger, and his right hand was still on the famous "Scarlet Blade" dagger at his waist.

The young elven guard lowered his head, the tattoo on the back of his neck gleaming slightly with shame. He didn't explain that he had indeed seen the emblem on the visitor's chest, but instinctively sounded the alarm.

"Forget it." Lambert suddenly slowed down his tone and looked at Kaisas who was frozen in the distance. "The surveillance array really didn't capture any trace of him - this guy came from the direction of the Spider Jungle." When he said the last few words, his voice unconsciously lowered.

Hearing the words "Spider Jungle," the young guard shuddered. This forbidden zone, nestled deep within the Endless Forest, was a place of death, a place all elven sentinels were repeatedly warned about upon joining. Ordinary dark spiders were terrifying enough—over four meters tall, their claws easily piercing even armored steel. But the legendary beast "Black Pearl" lurked there, a nightmare for all elves. Its massive eight-meter-tall body, its jet-black carapace covered in eerie silver-gray markings, was so powerful that even the Elven Council's most powerful magical bombardment, "Star's Wrath," couldn't leave a mark on its shell.

Lambert unconsciously touched the scar on his left arm. It was a commemoration of the sudden appearance of an elven assassin during the Elven Council's siege of Nethergarde, thousands of years ago. As eight Grand Magisters, clad in moon-white robes, chanted a combined forbidden spell, preparing to annihilate Nethergarde, a massive, shadowy spider erupted from the earth like a nightmare. With a single strike, it shattered the elves' magical barriers, its razor-sharp forelimbs pinning the eldest Magister to the ground. Since then, the Elven Council has never again dared to stake a claim on Nethergarde.

"Open the gate!"

Lambert collected his thoughts and gave instructions to the young guard. His eyes never left Caesars in the distance. His ability to safely pass through the extremely dangerous spider jungle must have earned the Black Pearl's approval.

The towering walls of Nethergarde cast a deep shadow in the setting sun. The entire castle had a single, solitary gate, located on the west side, as if deliberately shielding it from threats from the south. The walls here were noticeably taller than those at other points. Ancient magic patterns adorned the pitch-black stone, gleaming with a pale blue glow in the breeze. Caesars gazed up at the towering battlements, a heavy, oppressive feeling making him step softly.

As he passed through the deep doorway, Caesars' fingers gently brushed the cold stone walls on either side. The doorway was over ten meters deep, each massive stone fitting seamlessly into the other. Between the cracks flowed reinforcing magic patterns cast in mithril by the elven craftsmen. His leather boots tapped on the polished floor, and the sound of his footsteps echoed in the vaulted space, as if invisible guards were observing this visitor from the shadows.

"Lord Lambert, we haven't seen each other for several years!"

Caesar's voice was particularly clear in the empty courtyard. He took out a gift list and said, "I brought some small gifts—ten barrels of Fire Maple Wine, a century-old brew from the Roland Empire; one thousand kilograms of cream cheese from the Gravel Kingdom; and five hundred secret cheeses."

Every time he mentioned something, Kaisas would bring out the corresponding item. The barrel of Fire Maple Wine was branded with the year, and it shone amber in the sunlight.

Lambert slowly descended the steps, his long, silvery hair tied back with a starstone hairpin. When he saw the familiar pattern on the barrel, his deep green eyes lit up slightly. "Fire maple wine? I haven't tasted it since Riven left Roland Continent." He stroked his slender fingers across the surface of the barrel, his magical sense instantly recognizing it as the finest aged wine.

After passing through the doorway, the sight before him made Caesar's breath catch. A vast plaza stretched before him. Each gleaming obsidian tile measured three or four meters square, etched with intricate magic-gathering circles. These circles interconnected, and a halo of magical energy flowed through the cracks between the masonry. Caesar could almost see the magnificent scene of tens of thousands of elven guards meditating here thousands of years ago—their silver armor reflecting the moonlight, and their magic energy formed a dazzling galaxy above the plaza.

"this way please!"

Lambert's voice brought him back to reality. As they walked through the grand hall, capable of seating thousands, Caesars noticed the crystal chandeliers suspended in the dome, as if sealed with eternal light. Portraits of past Watchers hung on the walls, their eyes seemingly following the visitors' movements. Finally, they reached an unassuming oak door at the back of the hall. Pushing it open, they discovered a different world—an elegantly furnished small living room. Bookshelves lined the walls with ancient tomes, and a magical lamp floated above the central coffee table.

When the servant presented the nectar in the moonlight cup, Caesars finally spoke: "Lord Lambert, I actually have a small matter that I would like to ask for your help."

His fingers unconsciously stroked the space ring, which held the precious material gifted by the Dark Spider. To weave it into a magic robe, perhaps only an elven master weaver on the entire continent could be competent.

"Kaisas, if you have something to say, just say it directly. No need to beat around the bush!"

Lambert's voice echoed through the small stone hall. He set down his crystal teacup and looked at the young Caesar. Sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows, casting a dazzling light on his long, silvery hair. As the de facto ruler of Nethergarde, Lambert possessed a unique aura.

"Black Pearl gave me a ball of spider silk!"

Kaisas said as he took out a shimmering package from his space ring. "I don't have the ability to handle it, so I'd like to ask for your help!"

When he unwrapped it, a ball of dark gray spider silk revealed its true form. Unlike the chaotic, tangled web of ordinary spider silk, this one displayed a strange, regular pattern of curls, undulating slightly as if alive. Even more astonishing, a magical glow flowed within.

Lambert's eyes widened slightly. He reached out and touched the surface of the spider silk. His fingertips were immediately wrapped in a thin halo of light.

"It's so generous to you!" He said with a rare exclamation in his voice. "I need to send monster meat to the Spider Jungle, and the spider silk Black Pearl gave me is barely enough to make a belt!"

Caesars noticed the dark grey belt around Lambert's waist, nearly invisible in the light, its outline visible only when magic flowed. He knew Black Pearl was the ruler of the Spider Jungle, a dark spider queen who had lived for tens of thousands of years, her silk a legendary ingredient throughout the Endless Forest.

"The silk of other dusk spiders is white, but its silk is dark grey."

Lambert gently stroked the spider silk brought by Caesars, as if assessing its quality. "Even more rare is that the black pearl spider silk can be woven directly. There is no mucus on its surface, so it does not need to be soaked in alchemical solvents."

Caesar nodded. He had read in the "Encyclopedia of Magical Materials" that ordinary dark spider silk needed to undergo seven alchemical processes to remove the corrosive mucus on the surface of the spider silk, and this process often took several months.

"It will take a month to make a battle robe." Lambert looked up at Caesars and continued to ask, "What kind of magic pattern do you need to weave on the robe?"

Caesars didn't answer immediately. To the west was the seat of the Elven Council, the central area where arcane magic was forbidden. When he thought of this, a look of determination appeared in his eyes.

"Arcane Torrent and Arcane Corrosion!"

The room suddenly became quiet, Lambert's expression became serious, and he put down the spider silk in his hand.

"In the Elven Council in the middle of the Endless Forest, arcane magic is still a forbidden spell!" He said to Caesar in a low voice, "But we are not bound by the Elven Council!"

After saying this, Lambert took out an emerald green magic communication stone. As he whispered into the stone in Elvish, Caesar could only understand a few scattered words - "emergency," "black pearl," and "arcane." The combination of these words made Caesar curious.

Less than five minutes later, the door to the small reception room flung open. A slender figure rushed in like the wind, her long, pale blond hair flowing behind her. Liv wore fitted leather armor, two short swords slung at her waist. Her cheeks were flushed from running, and her pointed ears trembled slightly.

"Kaisas, you actually came to Watchtower."

She spoke loudly as she entered the room, but her eyes first glanced at the dark gray spider silk on the table, and then turned to Caesars, "Hurry up and give me some of the fire maple wine, soufflé and cheese!"

A smile appeared on Caesar's lips, and Liv was still the same as before.

Caesars immediately took out three sealed barrels of fire maple wine, the fire maple barrels exuding a faint maple syrup aroma. Then he took out the milk puffs and cheese in animal skin bags.

“Liv, the soufflés and cheese can only be halved, and I’m running low!”

Liv's eyes lit up when she saw the Fire Maple Wine. She waved her hand without any hesitation, and everything was put into the space ring inlaid with emerald on her finger.

"This is the wages for weaving the battle robes!"

She walked towards Caesars and took out a silver tape measure. "Stand up, stand still. Let me measure you!"

Her tone brooked no refusal, and Caesars stood up straight. Liv's movements were swift and precise, the tape measure moving across his shoulders, chest, waist, and arms. Each touch was just right, neither too light to be accurate nor too heavy to be uncomfortable. Caesars noticed that she paid special attention to the range of motion of his arms and the width of his shoulders.

"Battle robes will be looser!"

Liv recorded the data while explaining, as if she understood Caesar's doubts, "Elf magicians often need to cast spells while running, and being too tight will affect their movements." She suddenly paused, looked up and looked directly into Caesar's eyes.

"Are you sure you want the Arcane Rune?"

Caesars met her gaze and nodded. Liv's brows furrowed slightly, but quickly returned to normal.

"Kaisas, I'll take the spider silk first. It should only take twenty days to weave it."

She put away the tape measure and picked up the ball of dark grey spider silk. "Black Pearl's spider silk is easier to work with than ordinary dark spider silk, and this ball of spider silk is infused with extra magical power, making it much easier to weave!"

"Liv, you can actually weave spider silk robes! I underestimated you!" Caesars said in surprise. In his impression, Liv was always the elf girl who practiced archery desperately on the training ground.

Liv was stunned for a moment, then burst into a clear, bell-like laugh.

"I'm not a weaver!"

Liv shook her head and put the spider silk into a special silver silk bag, "But my mother is the chief weaver!"

Kaisas suddenly understood. No wonder Liv was so knowledgeable about the size requirements for battle robes; it turned out she'd been influenced by the elves' exquisite weaving skills. He was about to ask more when Liv turned and walked towards the door.

"See you in twenty days, Kaesus. I hope you know what you are doing. Arcane Spells... are no joke!"

With Liv's departure, the small living room fell silent again.

Lambert nodded, his gaze profound. "Use the arcane with caution, young man. And be prepared to face the consequences of your use. The Elven Council banned the arcane for a reason!"

Kaisas knew that the destruction of the Elf Kingdom was due to the Archmage's extreme desire for power, and he eventually fell into the conspiracy woven by the demons.