The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 527: Volume 12: Magic Flame Burning Fiercely, - 18: Tamber Fortress

Chapter 527: Volume 12: Magic Flame Burning Fiercely, Chapter 18: Tamber Fortress

Rebry was taken aback, clearly not expecting the seemingly rough leader of the high seas to ask such a question. Glancing at Solonberg, whose expression remained indifferent, Rebry said, "Hayreddin, our Lord here is more complex than you might think. The reason Solonberg and I follow him isn’t something that can be explained in a word or two. Indeed, Solonberg and I are not exactly his subordinates. If we must define our relationship, you could roughly call us guests and friends."

Nodding with only partial understanding, Hayreddin was of course aware that the Lord he now followed was no simple man. Traveling from the distant Caucasus to Bohemia, and even planning to visit the Rosenborg Jellyfish Kingdom—these things hardly sounded like the acts of a noble lord. Moreover, the Lord was personally involved in these perilous adventures. Such confidence, wasn’t it a style in itself?

"So, Mr. Rebry and Mr. Solonberg, will you also help the Lord realize his thoughts?" After a lengthy silence, Hayreddin asked another question with a double meaning.

"Hayreddin, if you’re referring to the trip to the Jellyfish Kingdom, I think Solonberg and I won’t be of much help to him; at most, we can just bolster his presence," the Mage said, starting to laugh in a slightly eerie way, making no attempt to disguise his intent. Intelligent people understood each other’s intentions, which made the conversation much more relaxed.

Hayreddin too, began to smile, understanding the other’s point of view. It’s unwise to support someone with no strengths and no prospects. That is to say, Komer must possess sufficient power to win their backing; this was only reasonable. A muddy wall couldn’t be propped up; someone who relied solely on external forces could never stand at the summit.

The Magic Competition finally came to an end amidst the sighs and regrets of countless people. This time around, the Magic Competition ushered in a new era, marked by the impromptu mixed tournament that attracted many non-magic practitioners, and the participation of martial artists on stage competing against Magicians became a major highlight.

Due to promotional reasons, not many powerful martial artists attended, resulting in a one-sided competition between Magicians and warriors. However, even important figures from the Magic Association believed that this kind of mixed event, despite its potentially unreasonable starting point, could indeed greatly enhance Magicians’ abilities to counter martial artists.

Martial artists could benefit greatly from such confrontations and exchanges—learning how to break through a Magician’s defense and bring down their seemingly unassailable position became the ultimate goal for many. This, in turn, forced magic practitioners to pay more attention to these martial artists, whom they once disregarded.

Especially a few strong martial artists who emerged from the competition had already made them sense the approaching crisis—the use of pure Fighting Qi to slice through and breach magic barriers heralded the arrival of a new era.

With a lingering look at Prague City, Komer finally signaled that the horse-drawn carriage could set off.

The Magic Competition left a profound impact on everyone involved, particularly in the last two days, which featured high-level match-ups and bloody competitions that gave members of the Dark Night Angel Mercenary Group deep insights.

Komer included, witnessed this type of pure competition for the first time. Whether it was a contest between White Magic and healing spells of the Church of Light, or a collision between Ice Magic and fire-based Fighting Qi, or even a standoff between Assassins and warriors, or a clash between knights and Magicians, the expanded Magic Competition was no longer just a platform for magic demonstrations but had turned into an all-encompassing contest.

With the incorporation of martial arts, the competition became crueler and bloodier but also more exciting and practical. If magic was to stand proud on the Continent and shine eternally, it had to continuously embrace challenges—from within and from other forces. Only power that withstands every challenge and test could be considered the ultimate strength, and not everyone understood this, which was precisely what the Magic Association strove for.

Komer’s group had already witnessed the arrival of this trend. Everyone, including Eve, was contemplating how to survive in harsh battles. Relying solely on defense or offense was extremely risky when facing an enemy who could be either a Magician or an Assassin. Escaping unscathed in Prague didn’t mean they would always be so fortunate, and companions couldn’t be by one’s side at all times.

Eve’s group accepted Komer’s invitation to travel to the Duchy of Rosenbourg, as they had no other choice. Prague might be safe, but they couldn’t stay there forever. Heading to the far South might be a better option. After identifying that the enemies could be from the upper echelons of the Northern Alliance and the Church of Light, members of the Dark Night Angel Mercenary Group were aware that even if they stayed in Prague, trouble could eventually find them; their enemies would not tolerate such knowledgeable individuals remaining in the world.

The road from Prague to Rosenborg was in quite good condition, but due to the ongoing strained relations between the two countries, Rosenborg had stationed heavy troops at the Tamber Fortress border area.

When Komer and his party entered Tamber Fortress, they could feel the stronghold’s sturdiness; the fortress was not only tall and walled but also employed a great deal of magic defense equipment at various locations on and below the city wall.

This was a special tool that automatically activated magical defensive forces when the castle encountered a magic attack, and it was quite expensive. To perfect the entire fortress’s defense system, a large amount of magic metal and special materials was consumed in the production of these permanent instruments.

At the city gate alone, Komer found three pieces of magic equipment. Although he wasn’t clear about their use, from the size of the curtains covering them and the strong earthy magic power leaking out, Komer could guess that they were earth magic defensive equipment. Once an outside magical attack occurred, the earth magic shield could automatically activate, protecting the walls within its coverage area and reducing the force of the magic strike, effectively serving as a defense; of course, this type of magic defense equipment was useless against physical attacks.

Seeing Komer shaking his head and sighing incessantly, Havier, who had been incessantly admiring the fortress’s robustness, really didn’t understand why his companion behaved like this. In his view, this fortress already had the most comprehensive defense system he had ever seen. Even the fortresses in the other countries at the boundary with the Beastmen in the North did not have such magic defense equipment installations. Of course, that was related to the fact that Beastmen did not use magic attacks. But speaking solely of the thickness of the fortress walls, Tamber Fortress could be ranked among the Continent’s major fortresses.

"Komer, your expression is very strange—could it be that even such a sturdy fortress fails to impress you?"

Almost all members of the Dark Night Angel Mercenary Group had become aware that their companion’s identity was probably not as simple as he had originally claimed, being just an ordinary magician who had recently started out.

While magicians held an exalted status on the Continent, their numbers had been steadily growing. Although still fairly scarce, at least half of the Magic Practitioners from the Whole Continent would come to participate in the magic competition event. The presence of Magic Practitioners filled Prague City, which also made everyone feel that magicians were perhaps not as mysterious and fantastical as they had imagined.

Yet, this companion presented everyone with endless enigmas, from the extraordinary strength displayed during an ambush to the courtesies from the Bohemia Ministry of Internal Affairs, from the visit by three other mysterious guests before leaving to the individual invitations from the Magic Association, all of which pointed to something extraordinary about this companion’s identity.

But since Komer had not taken the initiative to talk about his own identity, his few companions also tactfully kept silent. It was the awkwardly positioned Elf Thief who, several times, asked about Komer’s identity in an admiring tone, only to be dismissed with a laugh by Komer, which made the rest of the companions even more skeptical that their companion was perhaps a legitimate descendant of some aristocratic family.

"Havier, what do you think such a sturdy fortress indicates? Why do you think there are no fortresses in the Bohemian territory on the other side?" Komer asked with a smile.

"What does it indicate? Well, of course it shows that the Duchy of Rosenbourg has a complete and robust defense. The Bohemians, even if they were to deploy their Mage Corps, would have a hard time capturing this fortress. And if it’s combined with a strong guarding troop, this fortress could virtually be called an insurmountable natural moat," Havier replied somewhat cluelessly. "As for why the Bohemians don’t have a fortress, perhaps it’s because they feel the Duchy of Rosenbourg wouldn’t attack them aggressively?"

"Is that all?" Komer shook his head. "By showing such vigorous precautions, the Duchy of Rosenbourg only proves that they are filled with the fear of Bohemians. Maybe they have suffered a big loss in their past clashes, prompting them to spare no expense in building such a fortress and equipping it with so many magic defense instruments. But they didn’t consider that defense is always passive, and the cost is too heavy. Magic equipment has a certain lifespan; beyond that time, the magic power will expire, requiring replacement every three to five years. Such a massive amount of magical equipment is unbearable for any country. Every three to five years—who could afford such a cost?"

"And look at the Bohemians, apart from their capital, they don’t have a single dedicated defensive fortress within their borders; although their country is flat and open, still, no country dares to provoke them. This not only demonstrates their extreme confidence but also keeps both the rulers and the people always on edge with a sense of crisis. This ensures the country must maintain a strong martial power to respond to the possible onset of wars at any moment. Cultivating such a war-priding, martial spirit is incredibly important for a country."

If you like this book, please visit Qidian Chinese Network at www.cmFu.com for more Chapters. Support the author, support authorized reading!