The Magic Guild of the Imperial Capital

Before today, the Hero Shazo had been wavering between confidence and insecurity.

Speaking of confidence, he has defeated everyone in the world, even the Demon King was pinned to the ground and rubbed against him at least seven times.

The Demon King is a reincarnated being, so naturally he retains his memories.

At first, it was furious and enraged with Shazo, and it swore to tear him to pieces.

But when he was pinned to the ground and had his neck slit like a chicken being killed for the seventh and eighth time, the Demon King King's pride was completely shattered.

Its fear of Shazo had unknowingly seeped into its very bones, and it was no longer willing to actively gather an army to challenge Shazo.

The problem is that even though the Demon King didn't provoke Shazo, he still couldn't stop Shazo from coming to him, smashing the Demon King's Army to pieces, then grabbing the Demon King by the neck, pinning him to the ground, and slowly severing his neck.

Pain is something the Demon King is absolutely not afraid of, but the despair of being powerless is something it cannot bear.

So now, after his resurrection, the Demon King has hidden himself in the north, where he has built the Demon King's Ice Fortress that will never melt, Yamanaka Clan the snowy mountains.

The Demon King succeeded this time.

Shazo hated the excessive cold and refused to set foot in the permafrost-covered north, finally putting the Demon King King's mind at ease.

However, the Demon King was far to the north and his control over his Great Demon was lax, which ultimately led to the split of the Demon King's Army, with each of the Great Demon becoming like a warlord.

While the individual Great Demon posed a limited but persistent threat, they created favorable conditions for humanity to unite into a unified Great Empire, leading to the ongoing war of unification that humanity is currently waging.

In short, Shazo wasn't afraid of the Demon King at all. How could he be afraid of someone whose throat he had cut ten times?

However, Shazo was somewhat intimidated by the Red Mirror Dragon, because he really, really couldn't kill this strange monster.

He knew the dragon was dead, killed by a human boy named Shutark in the future.

Shazo naturally felt like the sky was falling. He could understand the rapid progress in magic, but was the progress in close combat really this terrifying?

Could it be that I, who am now invincible, will become a useless piece of trash a thousand years from now?

This doesn't make sense!

Luck, Frieren's research today provided him with a reasonable answer: it wasn't that the future Shutark was invincible, but rather that the Red Mirror Dragon had been weakened by rapidly advancing magic, becoming less powerful than it is now.

Although this weakening process will take hundreds or even thousands of years, Shazo Zuo has no shortage of patience and endless time to wait.

Shazo breathed Taiseki of relief and asked happily, "Now the question I'm concerned about is, what's next?"

Frieren tilted her head and said, "To keep the weakening spell running and prevent it from being repelled by the Red Mirror Dragon, you need to cast a sufficient amount of spell at once."

"But I simply can't do it, and I don't know if my master Frieren, could."

Shazo shook his head and said, "No, Frieren's magical power is very strong, but she excels at high-powered violent destruction and Barrier sealing. She is not very good at precise operation and rapid repetition."

"That guy doesn't have much patience."

"Frieren, do you have any other ideas?"

Frieren nodded. "I've come up with another way, which is to refine magic into potions."

"Inject a large amount of magical potion into the Red Mirror Dragon's body in a short period of time, allowing its body to naturally become a nest for viral magic."

"Once that happens, the Red Mirror Dragon will be unable to escape the virus magic and can only desperately await its future death."

Shazo said, "Yes, this is a good method; it also allows for some advance redundancy."

Frieren nodded. "Yes, but this method also has problems, and two big problems at that."

"Firstly, my personal laboratory has limited reserves, which simply cannot support the brewing of such a large quantity of magical potions. Moreover, the materials are far inferior, probably less than one percent of the required quality."

"The second problem is more serious. With my knowledge of potion-making, I probably, likely, or even completely lack the ability to concoct such a complex magical potion."

Shazo was stunned for a while before nodding with a smile and saying, "I understand, we still need Frieren's support."

"This is nothing. We'll go to the Imperial Capital and seek help from Frieren."

"By the way, you can also exchange magical knowledge with her, avoiding the predicament of working in isolation."

"In matters of magic, we should all trust Frieren's authority."

Frieren nodded. "Mm."

Riker Canyon is not far from the Imperial Capital, only about 300 li away. The problem is that the canyon itself spans east to west and stretches for over a thousand li.

Shazo and Frieren's sanctuary is located in the northwest of Riker Canyon, which is quite far from the Imperial Capital.

Moreover, the canyon terrain was not suitable for travel, so they first left the canyon to the south, then turned east, and traveled on the plains for more than ten days before finally arriving at the Imperial Capital.

This distance wouldn't have meant much to the two of them originally, but the war for human unification had reached its climax, and the rules of war...

The scale is getting larger and larger, and the frequency of battles is becoming increasingly exaggerated.

In order to avoid the battlefield of fierce fighting, Shazo and Frieren had no choice but to take detours.

What was originally a journey of less than a thousand li turned into a journey of more than two thousand li after many detours, naturally requiring more time to reach the Imperial Capital.

The Imperial Capital the largest city on the continent, with a population of 80,000.

Standing on the riverbank, Shazo looked at the increasingly prosperous city on the opposite bank and sighed, "It's been ten years since I last came here, and it looks like the population has exceeded 100,000."

Frieren opened slightly: "Amazing----"

This city is known as the Imperial Capital, but it has never actually been the capital of an empire, since no empire has ever been born on this continent.

However, everyone was convinced that this city was destined to become the capital of the future empire, and there was absolutely no other choice.

Because this city is located on the largest plain on the continent, at the confluence of two major rivers, it can directly control the entire plain and obtain abundant resources by taking advantage of convenient water transportation.

The only problem is that this place is easy to attack but difficult to defend; it will be hard to hold the city until the entire plain is occupied.

Thus, through the joint mediation of forces that did not participate in the struggle for imperial supremacy —the Elf Race, the Northern Church, the merchant group, and the Dwarves kingdom —the Imperial Capital became a city without war.

There's no need to attack the city at all; simply occupying all the surrounding villages, towns, and small cities will allow us to directly acquire the city and enjoy its vast human and material resources.

The occupier's strength will increase dramatically, transforming from a relative advantage to an absolute advantage, enabling them to defeat all enemies in a short period, unify the entire continent, and establish the first Great Empire in history.

"The bigger the city, the worse the sanitation conditions."

Wearing a bird-beak-shaped mask, Shazo walked on the muddy road, his heart filled with a sense of despair.

Wearing the same type of mask, Frieren clutched her suitcase tightly to her chest, carefully watching every step she took.

She wore wooden clogs that Shazo had made for her, with wooden teeth a full foot high, enough to avoid the dirty mud.

But Frieren became even more careful; she was terribly worried about falling. If she were to slip and fall on such a street, she would feel like dying.

Shazo wasn't wearing wooden clogs. He could now walk steadily on the water and grass. As long as he wore a pair of straw sandals over his shoes, he wouldn't have to worry about getting dirty.

The sanitation improved as they approached the Magic Guild, and by the time Shazo and Frieren arrived at the Magic Guild's gates, the ground was dry and clean, paved with cobblestones.

The stench and putrid smell in the air were completely gone, replaced by a faint floral fragrance.

This change occurred because the Magic Guild money and sufficient power.

The Magic Guild situated on a small hill, with a cobblestone path paved with magic and a spring that is used to wash the ground twice a day.

The water flow, aided by the slope of the ground, washes away all filth, excrement, and garbage into the river, ensuring the ground remains clean and tidy.

When Shazo and Frieren arrived, the Magic Guild flooding the streets.

The two of them were at the foot of the mountain where the sewage was flowing into the river. Shazo looked at the sewage, which was covered in white foam, and his face turned green.

He whispered a vow, "I will never drink the water from the lower reaches of this river again, absolutely not!"

Frieren's face was extremely pale. "Me too."

"Mr. Shazo, rest assured, I possess [Air-to-Water Magic], and I will absolutely ensure you drink pure drinking water."

Shazo Zuo nodded. "Thank you so much, little Frieren."

Frieren shook her head and said, "No need to thank me. If it weren't for my stubbornness, you wouldn't have come to this filthy city."

Shazo smiled and shook his head, saying, "The Red Mirror Dragon is also a source of worry for me. Helping you research it is my wish, and it can't be considered your willfulness at all."

"Actually, the Red Mirror Dragon is also Frieren's regret, so when you make a request of her, you must be confident and absolutely..."

Don't think of yourself as someone who's there to ask for a favor.

"Do you understand?"

Frieren nodded emphatically. "Yes, I understand!"

At this time, the Magic Guild were not yet the Magic Association that would later become, and their strength and status were not as dazzling, so naturally, their entry requirements were not as exaggerated.

After Shazo introduced himself and Frieren and explained that they had come to visit Frieren, no gatekeeper gave them any trouble.

Soon, Mage emerged from the Magic Guild and led the two into the guild's interior, where they found Frieren studying magical plants in the magic garden.

Seeing her childhood friend and favorite grand-disciple, Frieren was overjoyed. After greeting them, she happily showed off the magical plants and herbs she had successfully cultivated.

After she had finished showing off, Shazo finally let Frieren explain her purpose.

Frieren was utterly shocked. She asked incredulously, "You really found a way to weaken the Red Mirror Dragon?"

Frieren nodded. "Yes, that's right."

After saying that, she took out a large pile of bottles and jars, and used these specimens of Red Mirror Dragon flesh to demonstrate to Frieren the [Red Mirror Dragon-Weakening Bacteria Magic] she had developed.

Frieren breathed a long sigh of relief and praised, "Frieren, you're brilliant! Your approach is correct. Since we can't defeat the Red Mirror Dragon monster in one go, let's use its own power to weaken it."

"Use a long period of time to transform the Red Mirror Dragon from an invincible bug into a normal, slayable monster."

"Great, that's a really clever shift in thinking."

Frieren sighed deeply, "If I could have changed my mindset earlier like you, the Red Mirror Dragon definitely wouldn't be alive today."

Shazo scoffed, "Give me a break. When you were the same age as Frieren, you were so arrogant that you looked down on everyone. You never thought about changing your approach to solving problems. You attributed every problem to insufficient magic power or that your magic wasn't strong enough."

Frieren blushed slightly and tried to explain, "It's not my fault. I didn't have a teacher as capable and enlightened as myself back then."

"In conclusion, I believe this solution is absolutely effective."

"Especially the alternative to magical potions, it's a truly ingenious idea."

"It's ready to be implemented!"

What do you need me to do?

Frieren smiled happily, "Great-Grandmaster Serie, I've decided to use the magic potion method. You must help me cure it."

"Resolve issues related to manpower, materials, and facilities for refining pharmaceutical agents."

Frieren frowned and said, "The location isn't a problem; the guild has many vacant laboratories, and there are quite a few crafting materials and novice Mage, but—"

Shazo frowned and asked, "You're out of money?"

Frieren shook her head and said, "I have money, but money is useless."

"Beginner Mage can be hired simply by paying money, and laboratories and magic circles can also be rented and activated for a fee. The problem is that the magical materials are lacking."

She pointed to herself and said, "I made my own rules: magical materials will be valued in gold coins, but exchanges can only be made using guild points or barter."

Gold coins can be used for exchange, but the total percentage cannot exceed 30%.

Shazo nodded and said, "I understand. Your regulations can prevent the loss of magical materials and create a siphoning effect on the outside."

Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you.

"Frieren, take it out."

Frieren: "Yes, Mr. Shazo!"

As she spoke, she took out a large number of wooden boxes covered with sealing magic runes from her suitcase.

Without even opening it, Frieren recognized the seal runes as dragon scales, dragon teeth, and dragon whiskers.

Upon opening the seal and seeing the several boxes full of blue materials, feeling the familiar and intense magical fluctuations, her eyes widened in surprise. "You guys went and robbed the Blue Dragon Erebus Busen!"

"Erebus has fully recovered."

"Great! Its recovery speed has increased, so we can harvest more often now."

Frieren asked, "Grandmaster, is this enough?"

These belong to Frieren herself. If that's not enough, she'll have to use the materials that belong to Shazo to make up the difference temporarily, and she'll find a way to repay them later.

Frieren waved her hand. "That's enough, and there's quite a lot more than that. Once the potion is finished, you can exchange it for some more needed materials from the guild's material storehouse."

Frieren smiled happily, "That's wonderful."