… President
Hearing these words, Benjamin couldn't help but take a breath of air.
No need to ask, this strange old man who suddenly appeared in the corner of the room should be the legendary president of the Mages Guild. Although he didn't know why he appeared here, through the water element induction method, Benjamin could also feel how powerful the elemental movements and mental power of this old man were.
Invisibly, Benjamin even had a feeling that if the old man planned to take action, he might not be able to survive three moves.
Therefore, facing the sudden appearance of the old man, he had no choice but to take a deep breath, scatter the water balloons in his hands, barely calm down, and said: "I didn't expect to meet the president of the Mages Guild in this place. It's our first time meeting. I don't know. Your Excellency suddenly came to visit, what’s the matter?”
Hearing this, the old man also smiled and suddenly said: "Answer me a question first, what is your name? Grant? Or Benjamin?"
… oh
Benjamin was a little surprised.
After thinking about it, he simply showed a calm expression and replied: "My name is Benjamin, Benjamin Reese."
After he said these words, he could find that a trace of surprise seemed to flash in the old man's eyes. Then, probably because he knew a lot of relevant things, the old man was silent for a while, nodded, and showed a surprised expression.
"Sure enough, it's a common trick of the church." The old man sighed to himself. Suddenly, he raised his eyes and looked at Benjamin and said, "Can you tell me how you did that huge water balloon in Havenright?"
Benjamin hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
Not to mention whether he trusts the other party, even if he really wants to say it, the process of summoning water polo is quite complicated and cannot be copied. Benjamin did it almost in a haze of consciousness, making it difficult to describe clearly.
Moreover, he didn't understand why the old man asked him this.
"No, I don't want to pry into your secrets." Seeing this, the old man shook his head and said, "I just want to know if you use what the church calls a 'prayer space' to practice magic?"
… This is
Benjamin nodded in astonishment.
There is nothing to hide about this kind of thing. Special cultivation methods are studied by the church, and there should be records by the mage. The fact that the old man can ask this question shows that he actually already has the answer in his heart.
However, after listening to Benjamin's words, the old man suddenly sighed.
"At eleven o'clock tonight, take all your friends to the west gate of Regina. Your friends left in Hank Town will also be there by then." He looked at Benjamin and said extremely seriously, "Arrived At that time, you get on the carriage and leave Regina. I will let someone take you. In the name of the Mages Guild, the guards outside the city will not stop you."
… What's the meaning
Benjamin was confused.
To be honest, he couldn't understand the current situation more and more. From the looks of it, the president seems to want to help them leave Icol, but why should he help
Moreover, looking at the old man's posture, he looked as if the sky would fall if Benjamin didn't leave Regina today. In the end what happened
"...Thank you for your kindness, but can you explain to me what exactly is going on?"
Hearing this, the old man was silent for a moment, and finally nodded.
"These things are a long story." He hesitated for a while, as if he was considering his words, and said slowly, "I know that you left the Kingdom of Hori and came to Ikol, wanting to find a land of your own. The mage's paradise. It may disappoint you, but in fact, the so-called paradise does not exist, at least... it does not exist in Ikol."
Benjamin listened quietly without speaking.
He also has some understanding of the living conditions of mages in Ikol. I originally thought that the Mage Guild monopolized everything and squeezed the living conditions of wild mages, but looking at the old man's appearance, there seemed to be something hidden.
"Eight years ago, I followed Her Majesty the Queen and established a new Mages Guild in Icol." The old man continued, "At the beginning, I thought I could build the most solid line of defense to stop the church's invasion and provide mages with more information. A good living environment. Later I discovered that I did block the church, but I failed to let the mages who trusted me have a better life. Instead, I made magic a slave to politics."
Hearing this, for some reason, Benjamin suddenly thought of the strange expressions that the mages occasionally showed when they were guarding the queen at the gate.
Are you a slave to politics
"Did the Queen do something?" Thinking of this, Benjamin asked.
Hearing this, the old man's demeanor also changed slightly at that moment.
"She... When she was a child, she was always a gentle and well-behaved little princess in people's minds. She was smart, but never arrogant. She followed her two brothers quietly, and would always look into each other's eyes when listening to others." He There seemed to be a hint of regret in her tone, "I don't know where she got a strange potion formula. No... It can't be said to be a potion, but a curse, or a combination of the two. She used that formula , mixed with her own blood to refine a strange potion."
At this point, the old man paused, and his tone became a little gloomy, and said: "Drinking this potion, that person's life will be subject to some strange restrictions. In other words, if Her Majesty the Queen dies, that person's life will be affected by some strange restrictions." People die too.”
Hearing this, Benjamin couldn't help but frown.
A bit evil...
According to the old man's description, it is somewhat similar to a curse, but it is difficult for ordinary curses to achieve this effect. However, it still seems a little difficult to control so many mages in Icol with just this weird potion.
How did the Queen do it
"At the time, before I knew it, Her Majesty the Queen had gathered a group of very loyal believers among the mages. She made those mages voluntarily drink the potion, and also used various means to put the potion into the food of countless other mages. ." The old man said in a somewhat miserable tone, "She did it very carefully, eating away at the Mage Guild bit by bit. When they found something was wrong, all the mages except me drank the potion. After many mages found out, they left the Mages Guild angrily, and the Queen let it go. But after they left, the Queen sent mages loyal to her to kill all those people, and announced to the entire Mages Guild that they were traitors."
Hearing this, Benjamin couldn't help but ask: "Isn't there anyone who resists?"
The old man nodded and said, "Yes, but because of the potion, no one would kill the queen. Occasionally, some people wanted to die together, but they were stopped by other mages. During that time, the mages in the guild had been fighting among themselves. I want to stop the killing, but I can't do anything. I can't do anything to Her Majesty the Queen. If I kill her, all the mages will die, so I can only try to prevent the mages from killing each other."
"In the end, there are only a few rebellious mages after all. After the queen's followers gained the upper hand, other mages felt that their lives could go on. The queen would not really treat them as slaves, but would only occasionally obey orders. Gradually, they got used to it. In this state. As for the new mages who joined the guild, they began to drink the potion openly and regard it as an honor - to defend Icol and Her Majesty the Queen with their lives. They all said so, this is already a sign of joining the guild. Declaration."
As he spoke, the old man sighed again, with heavy self-blame on his face. The other three mages dressed as soldiers also lowered their heads, hugging their helmets and remaining silent.