His Grandfather Had Become His Neighbor

Hill looked at the silent Bourne and said slowly, "If you become a Mage, you can come see me on your own. I won't keep attendants by my side anymore. Other than you, I don't need any servants."

Bourne raised his head, his eyes reddening. "I'll talk to Mother. She won't be willing either!"

Hill sighed. Bourne had followed him for far too long and understood his parents far too little. Ever since Lina and Locke discovered that Dean and Sunny lacked the talent for magic and could only become ordinary people if they failed to become Knights, their hearts had begun to tilt.

Recently, Locke had rarely gone to manage the farms. He had been focused on training his younger son. Hill had once told Dean to read more in the library, but Locke did not agree. He believed that since his son could not become a Mage, he should train his body diligently and strive to become a Knight.

Hill had Liszt inform the two of them that it would be difficult to become a Knight in his territory.

Before long, however, Liszt discovered that Lina and Locke were training successors. When they had first arrived, they had insisted on managing everything themselves. Later, they gradually handed things over to the servants.

The two farms had effectively been handed over to two married servant couples. Lina had originally kept saying that the maids needed to choose carefully, but Locke ultimately arranged for two male servants to marry those two maids and take over the farms.

Liszt had already decided that once Lina asked to leave, only two maids skilled at cooking would remain at the tower as cooks. An alchemist's mage tower did not need so many people to begin with.

Hill knew that Lina did not love Bourne any less. Parents simply tended to favor the weaker child. Now that Hill had offered them a better path, one that did not even require them to give up Bourne, Lina and Locke would certainly seize it.

Lina would definitely persuade Bourne, so Hill said no more. Falan was still waiting for him, and he did not think delaying any longer would end well.

He told Bourne to wait until he returned, then turned and left.

Sure enough, Falan was already waiting outside the sitting room, while Adrian seemed to have been about to look for him.

The moment Adrian saw him, he reproached him. "Why explain so much to him? He'll learn what's what eventually."

Hill smiled. "Bourne has followed me since he was little and has never left my side. I never told him about this decision, so he just can't bear to part with me."

Adrian nodded. "You've treated him well enough. At least he has a conscience."

Falan turned his head and said impatiently, "Lead the way. Stop wasting words."

Hill had barely landed on that mountain rich with elemental power alongside Falan and Adrian when Alice arrived, already waiting there with the black panther Merkel.

Struggling to remain calm, she said to Falan, "Honored Magus Falan, Merkel does not wish to be your enemy. He has decided to move to Hill Territory. Will you allow him to take his belongings with him?"

Adrian was nearly stunned. "Hill, has your kindness spread to Magical Beasts now?"

Hill rolled his eyes at him. "Alice was brought to me by you! Surely her friend can't just be killed like that?"

Falan asked gravely, "He can just move there?"

Alice hurriedly replied, "Hill and I agreed that any Magical Beast wishing to move to Hill Territory must swear never to betray the territory and never to harm humans!"

Even Falan could not stop himself from glancing at Hill. "Has your Elven bloodline reverted to its ancestors?"

Hill did not dare say a word.

Falan said irritably to Alice, "Take him and get lost."

Alice quickly turned and meowed a few times at the black panther trembling behind her. Only then did Hill realize that Falan had been using magical pressure to suppress the panther all along.

Bearing the crushing pressure, Merkel dragged out an enormous bundle and shakily set it at Hill's feet.

Hill hurriedly held out his hand. Merkel pressed his head against Hill's palm and howled. Once he had sworn the oath, he urgently pushed the bundle toward Hill with his paws.

Gritting his teeth, Hill put the bundle away under the strange gazes of Falan and Adrian.

Then the two of them slipped away, leaving Hill behind.

Falan said, "There's no need to survey it. It's Mixed Ore. We only need to go down and find the Element Node."

Adrian burst out laughing.

Hill touched the ring on his hand and hurriedly summoned several Earth Elementals.

The Earth Elementals began exploring downward. The small hill where Merkel's cave had been was flattened without hesitation by Falan, whose powerful magic pressed the land for a hundred miles around into a plain.

Adrian patted Hill on the shoulder. "Your soft heart is terrifying! Luckily, you're a Sorcerer. Otherwise, Teacher would be furious."

Hill replied, "What else can live in my territory besides Magical Beasts in the future?"

Adrian laughed. "That's true. Even Fire-Element Law Magical Beasts won't go there."

Hill said sourly, "I once wanted to build a perfect Mage Town. I even drew so many designs, but they all came to nothing."

Adrian immediately held out his hand. "Hand them over. You don't need them anymore!"

Hill gave him several town design drawings based on Western architecture. Adrian clicked his tongue in admiration. "You planned to build this entirely with spells! It even has water supply and drainage. Such a complete living system must have taken a lot of thought."

Hill remained silent. The designs he had given Adrian were modeled after Rothenburg, Germany. Along Y-shaped streets, small houses with dark red roofs were linked by archways, beginning from a towering clock tower. They were colorful, rustic, and elegant.

It had been his favorite town during his travels in Europe. Unfortunately, to Adrian, who lived in a fantasy medieval world, the water towers fashioned into little castles with onion-domed stairways and the broad underground sewers were far more worthy of attention.

Falan walked over and said to the two of them, "This place is quite suitable for a mage tower. Once we find the Element Node, Adrian will stay here and command the puppets."

Adrian waved the blueprints in his hand. "Teacher, why not build the town while we're at it? The caravan people should arrive in another half month."

Falan took the drawings and glanced at them. "Not bad. Since they are willing to leave their homes and follow us, we should prepare good living quarters for them." He pointed to the vertical stroke of the Y. "The outermost section here goes to the caravan. The blank area is a small square, right? The left side belongs to the apprentices, and the right side will be kept in reserve."

Adrian calculated silently. "About three hundred meters of woodland between the mage tower and the town should be enough, right? If all ordinary people stay on the caravan's side, they won't affect anything."

He looked up at Falan again. "If Hill's place won't be open, should we build a road?"

Falan took out a map and studied it carefully. "It should not lead to the back mountain behind his territory. This mountain range slopes toward his front left. A road down the mountain can lead directly to the entrance of his valley."

Adrian said with a smile, "Although we flew here from behind his mountain, we're actually closer to Salar."

Falan snorted. "That isn't bad either."

Hill suddenly cut in, "The right side can be reserved for the Undead."

Falan could barely suppress his surprise. "Do you truly believe William will not lose? That the God War will not happen either?"

"The Undead are indifferent to gods. Give them enough profit, and they would dare draw their blades against a god."

"They are a race with a Supreme God!" Adrian was dumbfounded.

"That one does not seem to need devout believers. He prefers exchanges of benefit. The Undead only call upon him verbally in daily life; what they value more is getting what they pay for."

"How did you see that? I watched them for so long and never noticed. Whatever they do, they always shout for the Supreme God's blessing!" Adrian asked curiously.

"You should look at how they treat William," Hill said coldly. "They treat William more like the owner of an adventurer's tavern handing out quests. And he is the undisputed future pope."

"Adrian, make preparations. Ensure the houses on the right have proper protective measures," Falan concluded. "There's no need to rush, anyway. Even if there really are many Undead, and William is certain to win, they won't reach us for at least another year."

He looked at Hill again. "Are you sure they can find the address you left?"

Hill said, "Each of them has an Alchemical Map, the temple version."

Adrian coughed. "This Majesty is truly incredible. The gods probably cannot find Him at all, can they? If they can only rely on believers on the ground, then an Undead race made entirely of professionals really would be hard to defeat. Do they have high-ranking professionals?"

Hill answered, "At least, I haven't seen any yet."

Adrian shrugged. "Then I'll prepare. Once large numbers of high-ranking ones begin appearing, we can consider opening up."

Falan asked Hill, "Do you intend to let them into your territory?"

"No. I plan to build a small village in front of the valley entrance to provide basic trade. There are no special products in my territory, so probably not many people will come."

Adrian asked in confusion, "Then why do you insist on opening a place?"

"The Undead have enough curiosity to kill several hundred Nine-Lived Cats. If they pass by a completely sealed territory, they will only want to see what secrets are inside."

"What about our place?"

"Just welcome those of the Mage profession." They would fully understand what a Mage class-change site was, Hill thought.

"I would like to know how many Mages they have," Falan suddenly said.

Hill did not dare respond. Instead, he turned to look underground. "The Earth Elementals found the node. Grandfather, do you want to go down and take a look?"

Falan raised a brow at him. "You'll lead the way?"

"Grandfather can go down directly. The Earth Elementals opened a path downward," Hill said. "Once you find it, I'll dismiss them immediately. It would be better if I didn't know the exact location."

Adrian said, "You're being a little too cautious. If necessary, it's not as though we can't bind a few Earth Elementals."

Hill smiled. "I'm only a minor Sorcerer. I can't handle Grandfather's enemies."

Falan gave a noncommittal sound and took Adrian down with him.

Hill sighed and dropped onto the ground. On one hand, he did not want Falan coming into contact with the players. On the other, he was always afraid Falan would choose the wrong side. His constant indecision had probably long since aroused Falan and Adrian's suspicions.

At that moment, he felt that being a Sorcerer was not so bad after all. The earth, wood, and Water Law powers he had awakened were all forces of nature and were greatly favored by the natural world. Under nature's call, his Elven bloodline was also growing stronger and stronger.

Falan probably believed that Hill had received nature's guidance as well. That was good. With some mental preparation, he would not be too shocked.