"You're here!"
"Yeah! I'm here!"
"You're late!"
Smack!
Uncle Angie Turner slapped Alex on the back of the head.
"Enough with the nonsense! Let's start the meeting."
Alex rubbed the back of his head and looked dejectedly at Uncle Angie Turner, who had just struck him.
"At a time like this, you're still fooling around! Sit down, quickly."
Angie Turner stood in front of the blacksmith shop's counter, looking at the hunter representatives gathered around it.
"I've already learned the general details. But to make sure nothing gets missed, let's have Li Xing, who was involved, explain what happened."
Uncle Turner brought Li Xing to the front of the counter.
"Tell everyone exactly what happened to you."
And so, in front of everyone, Li Xing recounted everything he had encountered, like a storyteller in a tavern.
When Li Xing finished, everyone present was stunned.
They could understand and accept that Li Xing was a Miracle wielder. After all, who traveled outside without a trick or two up their sleeve? But the fact that he had forced an undead wizard to retreat shocked them.
People looked at the handsome young man before them in delighted surprise.
They all had the same thought. Hunter Town's fighting strength has taken another leap!
"That's the situation. I asked you all here tonight so we could put our heads together and work out how to handle it." Uncle Angie Turner steered the discussion toward a solution.
"That mass of energy and light the wizard mentioned—does anyone know anything about it?" one of the hunters present asked.
"As far as I know, most of our hunters who've been out haven't found any such thing. If they had, I'd expect them to have bragged about it over drinks!" Yilaikesi replied solemnly, seemingly thinking something over.
Alex took a swig of the alcohol he had brought with him, then gave his opinion.
"What mass of light? I reckon it was just an excuse to pick a fight. If something like that had happened around here, wouldn't we in Hunter Town know about it?"
But the hunter beside him argued back.
"Alex, don't be so quick to judge. Didn't that wizard say he believed Li Xing? We can't just label him an enemy like that."
Alex sneered disdainfully.
"Pfft. Believed him? I reckon he got scared off by Li Xing's strength and by us patrolling nearby!
"Didn't he say he wanted to keep things respectable?
"As for him believing Li Xing's story, not even a three-year-old would buy that.
"If you ask me, he was just giving himself a way to back down."
Seeing the two on the verge of an argument, Uncle Angie Turner hurriedly intervened.
"That's enough, you two. We're here to discuss the problem, not argue."
Then Angie Turner turned to Alex and scolded him.
"Alex, I asked you here to discuss business, not to drink and quarrel. Either put your drink away, or treat everyone to drinks tonight.
"You choose!"
At Uncle Turner's scolding, Alex hurriedly put his flask behind him and gave Uncle Turner a guilty, ingratiating smile.
The hunter who had nearly argued with Alex quietly egged him on. "Hey! Don't chicken out! Show everyone what you're made of, Alex."
"Get lost! If you want to con me out of my booze, just say so. Don't take me for a fool."
"Pfft."
As the exchange between the two gradually died down, Angie Turner resumed leading the discussion.
"Although Alex's judgment was somewhat hasty, I agree that we can't blindly trust what the wizard said.
"For now, we can see that the wizard is still somewhat wary of Hunter Town.
"That also shows he knows something about our town's past. And he indirectly admitted that those people who looked like masked bandits were his men."
Yilaikesi suddenly interjected, "What I'm more concerned about is why that wizard was in cahoots with bandits. Those esteemed mages aren't exactly the approachable sort."
"True! That's something we need to pay close attention to."
Angie Turner nodded in agreement, then turned to Li Xing. "Li Xing! Is the undead mage you mentioned different from the esteemed mages we usually see?"
Just as Li Xing was thinking about how to explain, a figure outside opened the blacksmith shop's door.
"Big brother! I'm back."
Hearing the voice, everyone immediately realized that Angie Turner's younger brother, Old Turner, had arrived.
Then Old Turner stepped into the blacksmith shop, fully armed and clad in silver-white armor.
Hmm? Why does that armor look so familiar?
As Li Xing wondered about it, Old Turner walked to a corner of the room and put his helmet where the armor had originally been displayed in the blacksmith shop.
Then he removed each piece of armor by himself, arranged them, and put them back on display.
Now Li Xing understood why it had looked so familiar.
The armor Old Turner was wearing was the same silver-white armor Li Xing had seen in the blacksmith shop earlier!
"Well? Was it true?"
Once Old Turner had sat down, Angie Turner asked him about the situation.
In response to his elder brother's question, Old Turner frowned and thought back over the situation as he recounted what he had seen and heard.
"It should be true.
"At the location where Li Xing said the confrontation took place, I found some bone fragments I'd never seen before, more than ten meters away.
"After I put them together, they formed a humanoid skeleton. There was also an extra broken bone blade beside it.
"Judging by the quality of the bones, they definitely weren't human!
"But they were very similar to the wolf bones Li Xing described."
Old Turner looked at the others and solemnly gave his assessment.
"This is a Miracle I've never seen before. Even I, who often dealt with those esteemed mages in the army, have never heard of such an evil spell."
Hearing this, Yilaikesi said to Li Xing, "Then it seems you're the only one who knows about this spell, since you recognized what that wizard was at first glance!"
Everyone turned their various gazes on Li Xing.
Li Xing's mind fell into turmoil.
*Fuck! I completely forgot. Undead wizards didn't appear in large numbers until after Lordaeron's "filial son." Right now, probably only a handful of magic researchers have ventured into those fields.
Shit! Did I give something away? No, I have to explain my way out of this!
Seeing Li Xing's thoughtful expression, Angie Turner spoke in front of everyone.
"Li Xing, whatever thoughts you have, whatever you want to say, go ahead.
"We don't have any rule here about newcomers not being allowed to speak up.
"Tell everyone what you know, so we all have some idea of what we're dealing with."
Seeing how eagerly everyone awaited his explanation, Li Xing thought it over and began to explain himself away.
"Actually, calling that mage an undead wizard isn't really reliable. To be precise, he was more like a fallen wild mage."
"What do you mean?"
"Mages are divided into academy mages and wild mages. Old Turner should know about that."
Faced with everyone's questioning looks, Old Turner nodded.
"That's right. Most mages in the army came from academies. Only a very few were wild mages."
After Old Turner had added that explanation for him, Li Xing continued his story—his lie.
"As for the term 'undead mage,' I learned it a long time ago on a small island outside the continent of the Eastern Kingdoms. Back then, I met two spellcasters who dressed no differently from ordinary mages.
"But when I spoke with them, they called themselves undead wizards.
"The spells they cast supposedly resurrected the bodies of the dead like this and controlled them in battle."
Everyone gasped when they heard that and cried out.
"Isn't that a cult? Playing with the bodies of the dead and enslaving their souls. How is that any different from a cult?"
Li Xing nodded in agreement.
"Exactly.
"So, because those two had crossed a fundamental moral line, the local mages hunted them down and killed them.
"Only later did I learn that they were just wild mages registered with the local mages' association, not spellcasters from an academy.
"I was surprised to run into another wild mage using this kind of sorcery here."
After listening to Li Xing's account, Angie Turner noticed the information conveyed by his words.
"Li Xing, you just said those two addle-brained mages were killed! Can you be more specific?"
Li Xing described the situation he had made up as though it were nothing.
"Back then, the villagers discovered the terrible things those two were doing, and reported them to the lord.
"But the lord was wary of them because they were mages, so he contacted the person in charge of the local mages' association.
"Later, after the mages' association investigated and confirmed it, the lord led his warriors to kill the two of them, with the association bearing witness."
"That simple?" Yilaikesi asked.
"That simple!" Li Xing answered their doubts in a certain tone.
Hearing Li Xing describe how the esteemed mages had been killed so easily, everyone found it hard to believe.
So they all turned to Old Turner, who had served in the army.
"Why are you all looking at me?" Old Turner felt uncomfortable under their questioning gazes.
Uncle Angie Turner explained everyone's doubts again.
"Little brother, you and Li Xing are the only ones here who've had dealings with mages. None of us believe those esteemed mages could be killed so easily. Care to explain?"
Old Turner glanced at his elder brother and complained impatiently.
"What's there to explain? The mages I dealt with in the army were all the most ordinary kind, not archmages."
"Then what are your chances against those mages?"
"Me? If it were an archmage, I'd run straight away. But if they were ordinary mages, I could kill about five by ambush. In a head-on fight, killing three shouldn't be a problem!"
Angie Turner: ...
The hunters: ...
Everyone was speechless at Old Turner's description.
So in his eyes, those esteemed mages were just little chicks he could kill whenever he pleased!
Then what had they all been so nervous about just now...?
Seeing their complicated expressions at his explanation, Old Turner felt displeased.
"Everything I said is true!"
Angie Turner asked, "That's it?"
"That's it!"
"What, you don't believe me?
"Just look at what those esteemed mages usually wear! There's hardly a scrap of metal on them, just a few pieces of clothing. One slash of a blade and it's cut through. What more do you want?"
"Then why do so many warriors call them esteemed mages? Isn't it because they're powerful?"
"You lot! Sigh... forget it.
"That's because you haven't had much contact with them.
"They're called esteemed mages because most of them are nobles to begin with, so they have high status.
"I don't know about wild mages, but as far as I know, every academy mage comes from a wealthy family. The mages I dealt with told me in private that studying spells with a tutor one-on-one costs a lot of gold coins.
"They came to serve in the army because they could learn some spells there for free.
"And from what I've seen, whenever mages went out to fight, they had at least five or six warriors following close by to protect them.
"Remember, mages aren't like the soldiers we think of, who fight one-on-one! So when I said I could kill three in a head-on fight, that's assuming I'd risk my life. Understand?"
Yilaikesi interjected, "In other words, those suspected masked bandits were probably guards for that so-called undead wizard?"
"Who knows? Those wild mages don't follow the same ways as the academy mages in the army. I don't know what they'd be thinking either."
"Little brother!"
"What is it?"
Old Turner looked at his elder brother's curious expression as he answered.
"Tell me, did those esteemed mages approach you in private because they wanted you as a follower? And you said magic could be learned for free in the army. Why didn't you learn a spell and come back to show your big brother something new?"
Looking at his elder brother's curious expression, Old Turner covered his forehead.
"Big brother, you know me. If magic were really that easy to learn, would I have passed up the chance?
"It's just that I couldn't even read at the time. Only later, with a friend's help, did I learn all the characters.
"After that, I found out there were still plenty of books to read. Only after understanding them could I learn the magic in those spellbooks.
"Those esteemed mages who came to the army had finished reading all those books when we were still playing in the mud, and only then learned magic.
"As for why they approached me in private, what does that have to do with this meeting?
"Don't change the subject. Look, Alex has started gnawing on dried meat, and you're not even going to say anything?"
Everyone immediately turned to look at Alex, who was chewing on dried meat.
"Uncle Turner, you can't blame me! I haven't eaten yet, and my stomach just couldn't take it anymore!"
At that, everyone smiled knowingly.
Alex's reminder made Angie Turner realize it was about time to end the meeting.
So, seeing that everyone present now had a clear understanding of the matter, Angie Turner spoke.
"As town mayor, I've decided that starting tomorrow, no one from town going out to hunt may act alone. Anyone going out must form a party of at least four before leaving town.
"Apart from those on patrol duty, all hunters without urgent business must remain on standby at the tavern. Does anyone have a problem with that?"
"I've got no problem with it. I usually pass the time in the tavern when I've got nothing else to do anyway." Alex raised his hand in support.
"No problem here either!"
"No problem!"
"Same here."
Seeing everyone voice their support, Angie Turner announced, "Then here's what we'll do next. Each of you tell the hunter teams you're responsible for what we discussed this time. When you leave later, stop by each household and tell them to send a representative to the tavern for a residents' meeting."
"Understood!" *N
In any case, Old Turner had made everyone understand one thing at this meeting.
Mages were not invincible either. They could die if struck by arrows.
All in all, after the meeting's discussion, people also had a clearer idea of what it meant to face a mage as an enemy.
The meeting ended just like that, and Li Xing, as someone involved in the whole incident, had attended the town's hunter meeting from beginning to end.
Just as Li Xing was about to leave, Angie Turner stopped him.
"Is Little Jerry still at Lucy's?"
"Yes, Uncle Turner."
"Oh! Then go with my brother later and bring Little Jerry back."
"What about Old Turner?"
As he spoke, Li Xing looked around the smithy for Old Turner.
"He went inside to wash up. Take a look at this first."
As he spoke, Li Xing watched in shock as Angie Turner pulled out something familiar to him.