God War Begins

Hill understood why Bourne was in so much pain. He had always believed his parents' unwavering loyalty had completely vanished in the face of profit. To avoid putting Hill in a difficult position, he could only leave.

In truth, Hill was not saddened by this. Bourne had always thought Hill was too naive, but Hill had spent over a decade working around construction sites. He had seen too many tangled interests, grudges, and loves and hatreds.

Hill simply did not care.

What modern person would believe in eternal, unchanging loyalty or affection? There was no betrayal, only a misplaced price.

He treasured the companionship he had shared with Bourne over so many years, so there was no need to test it. Making his friend agonize between his parents and himself would have been too foolish.

He nodded. "Go hand things over to Liszt. I won't revoke your permission to enter the territory."

Bourne gave a deep bow, then turned and entered the tower.

When Hill turned around, he saw Adrian watching him with an unreadable expression and could not help asking, "What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Adrian asked curiously, "I thought you cared deeply about Lina?"

Hill laughed. "Uncle Adrian, even my own birth mother abandoned me for some incomprehensible reason, and my father wished I did not exist. How could you think I would still trust people wholeheartedly?"

Adrian said without hesitation, "There are plenty of cases like yours among the nobility. Most children who grow up that way place their feelings in their nannies. Many of them could not even treat their nannies as well as you treat Bourne."

"Bourne is Bourne," Hill said. "As for Mother Lina's family, I merely treat them a little better than ordinary people. After all, they truly did give a great deal for me."

Adrian said, "Sincerity for sincerity, false feelings for false intentions?"

"Only after I taught Bourne magic did they decide to postpone having children," Hill said as he led Adrian toward the lawn. "But since they said it was to take care of me, and they did ultimately devote themselves wholeheartedly, I accepted it."

"My teacher and I were always worried that you cared too much about them. Being softhearted was not a problem; we could always protect you. We were only afraid you would treat them as family!"

Hill said with a smile, "I realized that later too. But I could not really say anything. Bourne is the one who is truly simple-minded, but he is capable, honest, and obedient. He is well suited to work for you."

Adrian nodded in agreement. "I'll look after him and give him more work to do. It will train his magic power and keep him from overthinking!"

Hill chuckled quietly. "What you really need to remember is to have the caravan bring more young apprentices."

Adrian said regretfully, "We can only bring more children. Let Bourne teach them the basics for a few years. Hopefully, there will be a few useful ones."

Another task Adrian had come for this time was to replace the communication box in Hill's study.

Falan could connect directly to Archmages in the capital who were on good terms with him, but Hill could not. When Falan left the capital, he had destroyed the box there.

Now that the two places were so much closer, they would consume far fewer Elemental Crystals. Hill could also connect with Falan's side whenever he wished.

Hill had Liszt bring out an alchemical carriage. It conducted magic better, and Adrian could float it more easily. Otherwise, Hill feared Adrian would simply drag Bourne's entire family through the air with a rope.

Lina's family soon appeared with a huge pile of luggage.

Hill told them to load their luggage themselves, then went upstairs.

When he passed the third floor, he stopped, intending to give Bourne a few more instructions.

Bourne had already packed his belongings and was sitting in a chair in a daze.

Hill tapped lightly on the door. Bourne immediately jumped to his feet. "Young Master!" The title slipped out by instinct, one he had used for over a decade. For an instant, both of them were drawn back to those days by that call.

Hill suppressed the bitterness rising in his heart. "I won't say much more. Make sure to protect yourself. Grandfather probably won't say much to you either, but Uncle Adrian will look after you. Still, you need to understand that it will be different from being here with me. I have spoken to Grandfather already. Lina and the others will live near the caravan."

Many words reached his lips, only to be swallowed back down. After all, one should not meddle in another family's affairs. At most, Lina and Locke would ask Bourne for cultivation resources for their two children. Hill only hoped Bourne could hold firm to his boundaries.

Bourne nodded silently.

Hill looked at him. "Lina and the others have already gone down. Hurry and get ready too. Adrian has to leave soon."

Bourne picked up the suitcase at his side. "Don't worry. I'll stay in the Mage Tower as much as possible. Going to see them once a month will be enough."

Hill went upstairs at ease. He stood by the bay window in the reception hall and looked down. Lina and Locke were stacking luggage into the carriage, while the two children stood nearby. After Bourne went down, he did not rush over to help as he had in the past. Instead, he asked a few questions first, then floated several large trunks onto the roof of the carriage.

Hill was relieved. It was enough that Bourne knew to hold something back.

Adrian came out and looked at Hill. "Everything is loaded. I'll take them back directly. I'll contact you once everything has been settled. By the way, you said you wanted to build a small village outside the valley. Should I build it for you, or will you do it yourself?"

Hill replied, "No need to trouble yourself. I'll have a few Earth Elementals build it. It's just a few houses along the mountain, with a wall around them."

"Do you need me to send a few merchants?"

"Give me a few young people who can read, write, and keep accounts. Married ones would be best."

"Just a few people?"

"I only plan to set up a general store, an inn, and an apothecary. I'll also have the married servants in the territory move out there."

"You really think the Undead will definitely come!"

Hill laughed. "If you take my advice, build a library on the road reserved for the Undead and stock it with more low-level Magic Books. It will make a lot of money."

Adrian said without hesitation, "We have to recruit apprentices anyway. When the time comes, we can have them copy books. We can also set up two general stores selling low-level alchemical products."

He glanced at the family downstairs, who had finished packing, then turned to Hill. "Then I'll be off. Cultivate diligently, and it would be best if you reach Archmage as soon as possible. That way, we can worry less about you. If there is any news, I'll contact you."

Hill nodded and saw him downstairs.

After watching Adrian float the carriage away at high speed, Hill handed all the miscellaneous matters to Liszt and immersed himself in cultivation.

It was not until Adrian contacted Hill a month later that he realized how quickly time had passed.

Adrian told him that the God of Nobles had indeed begun calling for the God War, but while the nobles who worshipped him were still recruiting troops, the God of Space-Time had directly summoned one hundred thousand people.

He exclaimed, "They're all professionals. There probably aren't even that many in all of Salar. When my teacher contacted the capital, they practically went mad there. They say there are already Great Knights and Archmages among those who arrived first, and Priests at bishop rank have appeared as well."

Hill asked, "Have any Sky Knights appeared?"

"No one has seen one yet. But those people could not possibly have advanced to Archmage within a month, could they? No one knows how many high-level experts they have hidden."

Hill listened to Adrian's uneasy words, wondering inwardly how His Majesty had pulled this off.

Adrian said, "Even my teacher could not hold back and went to take another look. He felt that the elemental power in the air around William's territory had grown thin."

He said meaningfully to Hill, "At this rate, the world is going to change!"

Hill silently weighed the matter. If William's side developed well and attracted more and more people into this game, there could be hundreds of thousands, even millions of players. What would become of this world, where the elements were so dense they almost solidified in the air?

The World Consciousness could not possibly fail to notice, yet it was still allowing it. That was far too strange! Did it want to reduce the concentration of the elements?

Powerful elements were what allowed the Gods, though they stood high beyond the world, to raise a hand and influence the lower realm.

Their power was too great. Long ago, the world had stopped allowing Gods to tear open the barrier between realms and enter in their true bodies. Was it now planning to restrict even their power?

Hill looked up at Adrian. "Then elemental mines will become even more valuable in the future."

Adrian replied, "No one knows there is a mine here. My teacher has not told anyone. The people in the capital all think this place was built here to protect you. We absolutely cannot reveal it in the future either. Keep an eye on your leopard!"

"There are only three servants left in my territory now: one cook and two who look after the manor. The miscellaneous work has all been handed to Alchemical Golems. Merkel goes to the Dryad Forest every day to wait for me to make some steaks, and he basically never leaves."

"Your village is built already?" Adrian said. "When I came through to repair the road a while ago, I did not see it."

"The Tower Spirit communicated directly with the Earth Elementals. The houses simply grew out of the ground. At most, it took some time to lay the water channels. I have made those servants into residents and assigned them land and houses. Once their fields pay enough taxes to cover my food, I'll have the remaining two in the territory move out as well."

"How much land did you enclose?"

"I calculated it. There are a full thousand mu of land along the mountain range. Giving out half of it will be enough."

"I'll send people over tomorrow. They've been ready for a long time: three pairs of newly adult young couples, all able to read, write, and keep accounts. They can only do odd jobs if they stay with me, so I'm giving them all to you."

"Thank you. I'll assign them land too. They can hire people to farm it."

Adrian laughed. "You really don't suffer any losses."

Hill replied, "I only charge ten percent in commercial tax."

"Other than you, where else can they get supplies?"

"From you, of course! My alchemical products are not that comprehensive."

Adrian had nothing to say.

Falan finally could not resist interrupting. "Why so much nonsense!"

Hill said, "Grandfather, with things like this, can the God War still happen?"

Falan said, "With a sense of crisis, Gods that need faith will only participate in greater numbers!"

He instructed Hill, "Do not let yourself get dragged in. Those two idiot princes of Salar are planning to join the Rose Faction. They have already announced that they will close the borders."

He sneered. "William's side is already so full that people have nowhere to go! With such a good excuse, let them go to war!"

Adrian said, "I have already bought enough supplies for ten years and brought in more than thirty young apprentices. I have also sealed off the road from Salar to our side. Don't go out unless you have to. If you need anything, come here and get it."