Hosting a Banquet

With the scene of the delivery at the clubhouse, it did not take long for everyone to learn that this Moonlight Wine came from the hands of this young mage.

Consequently, before Donald's carriage had even returned to his own manor, all sorts of intelligence regarding Donald's personal identity and family background were quickly delivered to the desks of those with vested interests.

As it turned out, the creator of this Moonlight Wine was not only a mage but also a hereditary noble; he was none other than the summoner apprentice who had caused a sensation by defeating a Black Iron Mage.

Moreover, this mage's life experience could be considered quite turbulent. Decades ago, the Merlin Family was a hereditary noble house with a fief in North Shire, but they unexpectedly lost their lands and saw their wealth scattered, becoming fallen nobles. Furthermore, he was the very person who had recently been targeted by an assassination attempt from an organization with deep connections, an event that had stirred up several bouts of chaos in Giant Stone City.

And now, this genius apprentice had officially become a true, high-potential mage.

If he were merely a fallen noble who had lost his fief, not to mention how many such fallen nobles existed, there were already three digits worth of court nobles in the kingdom without any land!

A noble without a fief truly did not count for much in the eyes of those so-called big shots; he was nothing more than a pest that could be crushed with a single finger!

--But now, considering that Mr. Donald was not only a grounded official mage but also a rare summoner among them!

Such an identity was enough to ensure that, despite many people in the chaotic Giant Stone City being envious, no one dared to take any overly extreme actions.

Of course, this did not mean that the "big shots" were afraid of Donald: aside from considering the target's background, it was also because the potential benefits had not yet reached a level that would make them cast aside all caution.

Therefore, these factions did not resort to the methods they usually employed against commoners or minor nobles without backing; they had to lower their flags and silence their drums, waiting for other opportunities. This behavior was quite different from those who viewed Donald as a thorn in their side.

However, just because this genius mage could not be rashly provoked did not mean these factions would simply give up: since they could not touch the person, they would simply find a way to get the wine recipe.

Thus, after a mere day, the exterior of Dark Night Manor was almost "surrounded" by scouts dispatched by various factions.

What they did not know, however, was that the entire two-kilometer diameter of the manor was already shrouded within the Nature Barrier of the Tree of Life. From the moment the first scout secretly entered the range of the barrier, they were immediately discovered by the Tree of Life, which then relayed the situation to Donald, who was strolling through the manor, via telepathic connection.

The appearance of the first scout did not yet warrant Donald's serious attention—but subsequently, more and more figures flickered around the perimeter of the manor, and some of the bolder ones even crouched down to sneak into the manor to peek around, lingering like flies that had smelled blood. Even though no incidents had occurred yet, this situation of being spied upon at will already made Donald somewhat annoyed.

The bright side was that with his manor receiving such attention, the faction behind the assassination attempt would likely lie low for the time being. Otherwise, they would not only expose themselves to the various large and small factions throughout North Shire, but also attract other potentially powerful enemies.

Presumably, those upper-echelon factions of North Shire, who were too proud of their reputations to engage in common robbery, would be more than willing to conveniently uproot this hidden faction on Donald's behalf in exchange for the secret recipe of the wine.

Consequently, while Donald made preparations in advance, he also ordered the Tree of Life to enter a state of combat readiness. He then cast the Plant Animation ability on the plants outside the farm, causing countless tentacle-like weeds and vines to grow wildly, binding the few trespassing scouts before tossing them all outside the manor.

This commotion finally reminded the scouts of these various factions that their target was not just some minor noble who lacked professional status!

This was a mysterious and powerful mage!

While their stealth skills might deceive ordinary people and low-level melee professionals, it was very difficult to escape the detection of mages, who possessed a multitude of methods.

As a result, these lower-level scouts were all filled with trepidation and dared not act rashly again, forced to wait outside the manor to monitor the movements within and report back to their superiors immediately.

For these scouts whose levels and strength did not exceed the Black Iron rank, Donald could easily summon a few creatures using the Book of Truth and eliminate them all without leaving a trace. However, doing so would undoubtedly be a declaration of war against all the factions behind these scouts. Although Donald did not fear them, he did not want to invite that much trouble, so he only sneered in his heart:

"I will spare you for now. Once my plan is complete and I have sufficient strength, I will naturally make the factions behind you never dare to harbor any designs on me again!"

Having intimidated those ill-intentioned scouts, Donald instructed the Steward to begin preparations for the banquet to be held tomorrow.

As a noble, necessary social interaction was very important. Thinking back to the invitation he had accepted at the Baron of Red Maple's manor, although it had been interrupted by two annoying fellows, it had also brought him a significant wager.

With the manor as his foundation, Donald intended to host his own first banquet.

He did not want to be merely a mage; no matter how powerful an individual's strength was, there would always be areas beyond their reach. Becoming a powerful noble lord was the best way to secure his standing.

Just like the threat he was currently facing, if he were a noble lord like the Baron of Red Maple, who had extensive social connections and a seat in the upper echelons of North Shire, then in these peaceful times, even if the other party were dead-set on dealing with him, they would have various misgivings.

Assassinating an official lord of the kingdom and assassinating a lone mage were two completely different things in terms of the impact on the entire Kingdom of Selt. Not to mention how the upper echelons of the kingdom, who would feel a sense of shared vulnerability, would react to the assassination of a lord, the power of public opinion alone would force the kingdom to provide an explanation for the victim's fate.

Even if the perpetrator were also a member of the high nobility, they would choose to sacrifice their former ally to appease public outrage and completely distance themselves from the incident.

However, as a noble, if he were like those mages at the clubhouse who ignored worldly affairs and devoted themselves to cultivation and research, barely leaving their homes for half a year, he would inevitably become disconnected from the noble circle, which would be very disadvantageous for the future development of his plans.

Thus, a banquet was imperative. The invitations representing the Merlin Family were delivered that very afternoon to the guests invited this time: the Baron of Red Maple and Sir Jesse.

Donald had his own reasons for choosing these two individuals. Inviting all the nearby nobles would be fine, but the manor was not yet fully constructed and could not accommodate too many guests. Furthermore, he had essentially no relationship with those nobles and it would be inappropriate to issue invitations rashly.

The Baron of Red Maple was the only landed noble in the vicinity of his manor. The relationship between the two houses was rather complex; while they could not be called close friends, they were not enemies either. Therefore, he had to maintain a certain outward posture to put his neighbor, the Baron of Red Maple, at ease. This time could also be considered a return for the banquet he had attended previously.

As for Sir Jesse, he was someone Donald believed was worth befriending. Although he was only an honorary noble with a life-long title, the man held significant power and was very knowledgeable about the kingdom's situation and the relationships between nobles in various regions. He was a talent with management capabilities, and such a person was naturally worth befriending. Perhaps there would be a time in the future when he could be of use.

Moreover, for the time being, aside from these two, Donald had no friendly relations with any other nobles; most were enemies of the Merlin Family, so Donald did not have many other choices.

Furthermore, getting to know these two well-connected nobles would also allow his own situation to be revealed to the surrounding nobles, which would provide a certain convenience for him to befriend other nobles in the future.