Someone who was not courageous was not worthy of being part of the wealthy. Even though the Qin Empire was built upon magic, most of the wealthy chose to practice swordcraft and could personally kill enemies on the battlefield.
Even though Baron Cook was not particularly skilled, he was also an intermediate swordmaster. Since he had been young, he had set his mind on repaying the country through force. Or perhaps, he just wanted to win battles to rise even higher in rank. Whatever it was, the baron wasn’t useless.
If they survived this time, Baron Cook would be able to promote at least two ranks, becoming a third-class viscount. No matter how much the elders of the lower house hated him, they would not be able to erase his achievements.
"Sijia, go find Mage Saleen. Let him restore your energy," Baron Cook said before turning to the soldiers and shouting. "Soldiers of the Qin Empire, out there are the black puppets. I know you are all afraid and many of our comrades have died. But, will the soldiers of the Qin Empire lose their courage?"
"No!"
All the soldiers answered loudly. This was an instinct they had kept since their training.
"Will we retreat?"
"Fight! Fight! Fight!"
"Will we surrender?"
"Never!"
"Good! I swear on the honor of the Qin’s wealthy, I will be with you until the end, never giving up."
As Sijia walked down the castle wall with tears in her eyes, she saw Flamenco walk over with four other mercenaries. She stopped, and using her hands to touch her chest, she said in a low voice, "The baron’s safety is in your hands."
Baron Cook’s promise had not been empty. By law of the Qin Empire, if a wealthy person broke their promise, they would lose everything they had. The emperor could not have been happier to accept whatever the wealthy left behind: gold coins, land, estates.
So could a wealthy person go against their words? Do not forget that in this world, there existed a magic known as detection magic. Baron Cook had made a promise which meant that he would rather die on the battlefield than escape.
Flamenco did not answer and only bowed.
Sijia dragged her exhausted body to the magic laboratory and knocked on the door. She was still very grateful to the mages. If it hadn’t been for Saleen and Aini, the six hundred soldiers on the battlefield would have already died. Those scarecrows would have taken over the castle wall and opened the castle gates. If the headless riders made their way into the castle, everyone would become prisoners of the black mage.
"Come in."
Inside the laboratory, Saleen was still making restorative water. He needed more time to make the healing medicine and had entrusted that task to Aini. Aini seemed to be learned in magic medicine as well and there were little ingredients involved in simple healing medicine. They were all available in the laboratory shelves and had been left behind by the grand mage.
Sika and Nailisi were by Saleen’s side. Saleen had not been able to do anything, for Nailisi had run to him complaining about her hunger. Saleen knew that if she was confined in her room alone again, it was possible that she would really snatch up two people to eat.
She wasn’t really hungry. She just didn’t like it when Saleen left her alone.
"It’s Sijia. How are the injured soldiers doing?" Saleen asked in a fairly concerned manner upon seeing Sijia.
"Thank you for your help." Sijia loved the way Saleen spoke. This mage did not put on any airs. She had not noticed that out of nowhere, for everyone who interacted with Saleen had grown accustomed to the way he spoke. Whether it was Aini, Flamenco, or even Baron Cook, they all already regarded Saleen as someone important.
Since the discovery of the double-headed eagle, Saleen had been the calmest and was not flustered. Even the mercenaries from the Nut Mercenary had to admit that this ritzy mage had a lot of guts. His courage was admirable.
"Sit down. Does Baron Cook have any instructions for us?"
Sijia sat in the seat that Saleen had directed her to, looked at the busy Aini, and said, "No, he only asked me to rest for a while." She had a good education and was not as direct as the mercenaries when she spoke. Saleen understood, smiling and asking Nailisi to remove her armor for her. He stopped whatever he was doing.
Sijia was embarrassed. As to avoid hindering her in battle, she only wore a blouse under her armor. She was not even wearing any undergarments. The premium cotton material was soaked in sweat and her body was revealed, lacking concealment.
This mage seemed to be lecherous. Sijia closed her eyes and tried to relax, not knowing what Saleen was about to do. She was an intermediate swordmaster and was equivalent to a Grade 5 professional. Saleen was only a Grade 1 mage and a Grade 2 professional. She did not understand why she felt so anxious.
She felt Saleen walking towards her. He was getting closer. If it had been someone else, even with her eyes closed she would have been confident in being able to punch the teeth out of them. However, her fingers were stiff now and she could not even close them into a fist.
The mage’s breathing was right in front of her. Sijia felt two hands on both her breasts, pinching lightly. She immediately stiffened, her body becoming sluggish, and she felt her energy leaving her.
She heard an angry voice shout, "Nailisi!"
Nailisi retracted her hands from Sijia’s breasts and said innocently, "Master, I was just curious…"
"Curious? Do you not have them?" Saleen was furious. Sijia might have misunderstood and thought that he had told Nailisi to do it.
"Master, mine are fake!" Nailisi replied seriously.
Sijia could not understand the conversation between Nailisi and Saleen but knew that the one who had touched her was not Saleen. She relaxed her body, but for some reason, she felt an unspeakable sense of loss.
"Success!" Aini shouted, startling everyone. Sijia opened her eyes and saw Aini dancing excitedly in front of the table. A portion of completed magic medicine was on the table.
"What medicine have you concocted?" Saleen quickly changed the topic to diffuse the awkwardness. Nailisi rubbed her fingers, laughing mischievously at Sijia as her eyes did not move away from Sijia’s chest. Sijia’s sweat had made the cotton translucent and her large breasts were perked up.
Sijia was not angry, but was a little shocked. Before Nailisi’s hands had touched her, she had not felt anything at all. If she had been holding a dagger…
This maid was not simple. Sijia felt Nailisi’s gaze and a chill went up her spine
"Huichun alcohol, Saleen. I have made Huichun alcohol."
Sijia flushed. This master from the Clyde family was no upstanding person either. He still had time to make aphrodisiacs at a time like this!
"That’s awesome!" Saleen clapped.
Sijia realized then that Huichun alcohol was not only an aphrodisiac. If taken with hard liquor, it could restore energy and increase fighting ability. Although this had little effect on a swordmaster, if it was given to a normal swordman, fighting throughout the night would not be a problem.
The only problem was that the effect of this magic medicine lasted longer than others, and if the affected were unable to find a female to vent their frustrations on, it would be hard to tell how long the soldiers would stay excited. Hence, the Qin Empire did not allow this medicine to be included in the purchase plan for the army. Once a soldier drank it, the problems it could cause were serious.
"Aini, you did well," Saleen complimented him. Aini and his grade were too low and were of limited help to the soldiers. Aini’s weird antics had created this medicine, and even though it had its side effects, their survival took priority right now.
Sijia frowned. If the battle ended and the effects of the medicine did not, the soldiers in the castle would not be easy to control. However, if the soldiers did not take the medicine…
Sijia thought about all her weary soldiers as she had been leaving the top of the castle. In this situation, even with Baron Cook’s supervision, the problem could not be solved.
There was a saying in the Qin Empire: if a person was dying of thirst, they would not care if the water was poisoned.
Just as Sijia was pondering this, Saleen turned around and cast a magic spell without warning. It was restorative water magic.
The magic that he had cast was complete magic and not the half-magic that he usually cast for collection. A vapor appeared in the air and before it could condense, it started seeping into Sijia’s body and entered her lungs through her mouth and nose. Sijia felt her body warming and a wave of tiredness rolled over her. Her whole body relaxed and less than ten seconds passed before she fell asleep.
Any kind of magic was assaultive in nature, even healing magic.
Saleen could only cast Water Magic and hence had researched it more deeply than anyone else. Having used this occasion as an experiment, the hypnotic effects of his restorative water would definitely be much stronger than holy water if his enemies were caught unaware.
Hypnotic magic was a healing spell that required the cooperation of the other party, while the hypnotic effects of restorative magic could not be controlled. Even a Grade 5 professional like Sijia could not stop them.
Aini was shocked. Never had he imagined that restorative water could be used in this way. What kind of a person must Saleen’s teacher have been to have created a freak like him?
If Aini knew that Saleen had researched this method of using restorative water on his own by only following a saying, he would have been even more ashamed of himself. In reality, Jason had barely given Saleen any direct guidance in magic. He had only opened up Saleen’s thinking so that he would not be limited to any forms of logic.
Saleen was pleased with himself as well. The effect of this magic had been greater than he had expected. Normally, all means of defensive magic were aimed at negative effects, but restorative water was a healing magic. In other words, most magic armor would not be able to defend against this magic, a swordmaster’s sword aura included.
Who would create magic armor that rejected the effects of healing magic? That was madness. A swordmaster’s sword aura was able to protect the body with a similar principle. Any power which destroyed the body’s structure would be negated by the sword aura. Restorative water happened to not fall under these powers.
"Aini, do you think releasing Huichun alcohol and restorative water together would create a stronger effect?" Saleen was deep in thought, considering the possibility of this question.
"That wouldn’t work!" Aini was terrified. If the soldiers absorbed vapor created out of Huichun alcohol, it was possible that they would all become lecherous perverts. Even if the enemies were scarecrows, they might pounce on them to relieve themselves first. If such a thing happened, even if they survived, they would have no face left.