William's Two Foolish Older Brothers

Falan said in a low voice, "You're a Sorcerer. People were already prone to coveting you before, and now any smart person can see that Elemental Crystals are even more valuable. If people discover your ability to retain elements, it'll be troublesome. Advance quickly. Once this war is over, you must become an Archmage."

Adrian sighed. "I'm afraid that, from now on, you won't be able to hold onto an elemental mine unless you're Legendary! Fortunately, both towers here have already been built."

Falan said, "Until Hill becomes an Archmage, his tower won't be much use either!"

Hill hurriedly replied, "Don't worry, Grandfather. I'll advance quickly. I just wanted to build a more solid foundation, so I held myself back a little."

Adrian said furiously, "So why do Mages hate Sorcerers? Is this even advancing? It's as easy as drinking water!"

Hill replied as though it were only natural, "That's why Sorcerers have to suppress themselves! Otherwise, if the foundation isn't solid, even reaching Legendary will just turn you into a Magical Beast."

Adrian angrily cut off the communication. He did not even give Hill and Falan the chance to say goodbye. Hill felt that he was going to get beaten again.

Hill decided that he would advance when William won. The Elemental Sprites would be one level above him then. When the time came, he could summon them in large numbers every morning. With a whole valley full of Magus-level Elemental Sprites, there should be no problem: anyone who sneaked into the valley would die!

After settling the people Adrian had sent over, Hill entered seclusion again. Unexpectedly, only half a month later, Adrian opened communications once more: the old king had suddenly died.

He said in a gleeful tone, "Edward has ascended the throne! That fool Charles thought that, because he was a Sky Knight, the Rose Church would definitely support him! Who would have thought Edward would be willing to go so far? His Great Knight son, Ramsden, formally accepted baptism and joined the Church, becoming a Blessed Sky Knight. The Church was truly generous to offer a Blessed Baptism that could directly advance someone!

Edward had always been more capable than him, while Charles's stupid temper had offended quite a few people. Both sides had Sky Knights, so Edward was bound to win!

In the end, Charles might only receive the empty title of Duke. That would be because the Church still had use for him. Otherwise, he would probably already be dead."

Hill asked him, "Has there been any movement on Prince William's side?"

Adrian said, "We received the news much faster. William has no Advanced Magus by his side. He probably won't learn about it until after Border City has been sealed off."

Hill said, "Why do you always forget that he has divine favor?"

Adrian gave an "Ah" and said, "William's grandfather is still in that Border City. I'll go find out what the Spencer Family is doing."

Hill heard Falan interject, "By the time you think of it, William will already be fighting his way back to the capital."

Adrian did not dare say more. He merely asked attentively, "Teacher, you're back! Did you go out?"

Falan ignored him and spoke directly to Hill. "As soon as I heard the news this morning, I flew straight to Border City. Spencer has already let all of William's people in. What they are guarding now is the direction of the kingdom."

Hill asked, "Have the other Sky Knights in the Northern Frontier made any moves?"

Falan said, "This is an internal war of the royal family. Unless they have joined the Rose Faction, they will never enter the fray. After all, regardless of who wins, Sky Knights will still be needed to guard the borders."

"Then are there many people in the Rose Faction now?"

"Among the six marquises, only one has openly declared faith in Rose and Scepter. But the counts affiliated with them may also take part. This is a war of faith. The great lords cannot possibly step in to restrain their subordinate lords. No one dares offend the Gods."

Hill sighed. "Then the only thing William can do is unify the Northern Frontier as quickly as possible."

Falan said indifferently, "If Edward is smart enough, he'll soothe Charles first, then take William down in one stroke. But if he deals with Charles first, the outcome afterward will be hard to predict."

Adrian interjected, "Edward's family may be skilled at schemes and tricks, but they're narrow-minded. They definitely won't let Charles off."

Falan said, "Wouldn't that be best? Charles has always been the hidden heir to the throne. No matter how violent his temperament, high-ranking professionals and great nobles simply could not be bothered with him. Over the years, many people have defected to him. If the Church had not stabbed him in the back, Edward might not have been able to defeat him."

Hill said with a smile, "Fortunately, Grandfather left quickly. Once the Church makes a move, many people will definitely be dragged in. How is Helen doing now?"

Adrian replied, "The king died suddenly. A Sky Knight died just like that, so someone has to take responsibility. No one in the royal palace can escape.

Those mistresses living in the royal palace have all been locked up in a small palace beside it. Helen is no exception."

"Edward is already king, yet he still hasn't released her?"

Falan said softly, "Someone reminded Charles that Helen, who had been the old king's mistress for more than twenty years, was the older sister of Edward's wife."

Hill understood immediately. That use of "someone" was truly clever.

Falan said, "For the next while, I'll go check on the Northern Frontier every few days. You two should make the most of your time and cultivate.

If William unifies the Northern Frontier and Edward still has not sent out troops, Hill, then you should advance!"

Hill quickly answered, "Don't worry, Grandfather."

Adrian interjected, "Hill, several Mages are coming to seek refuge with Teacher. Your Bourne is quite lucky. He happens to be preparing to advance right now. I've already had him choose a room in the Mage Tower. After advancing, he can formally take charge of the apprentices. He can't keep living outside the tower with them."

Hill understood inwardly and said with great gratitude, "Thank you for your help, Uncle Adrian!"

Falan cut off their conversation and directly warned Hill, "You will no longer need to worry about that person. Just handle your own affairs. Even if he fails to advance, I'll have him manage the library.

Since he has proven himself capable, he can remain in the tower. As long as he works properly, I won't treat him poorly."

Hill stood and said, "Thank you, Grandfather. He is already a Mage, so I definitely won't interfere any longer."

Falan directly cut off the communication.

Hill understood that from now on, he truly could no longer ask about Bourne's affairs.

The number of Elemental Sprites Hill summoned continued to grow, and the entire valley was filled with three types of elements. Things that Apprentice Bourne could not understand would always become clear once he became a Mage.

Adrian would certainly keep Bourne extremely busy, leaving him no time to come out to Hill's place.

Falan would not allow someone who knew too many of Hill's secrets to casually leave his Mage Tower.

For now, Bourne only knew that Hill was a Sorcerer, and that fact needed to be kept secret. Even if that secret spread, it would not be worth the trouble of offending Falan just to deal with Hill.

Hill was not actually worried. After all, scattered Elemental Sprites, even if they remained in Hill Territory forever, would not cause the elements to gather and form a mineral vein.

And in the short term, the turmoil in Salar would be enough to draw everyone's attention. As long as no one learned that he could permanently summon a tribe of Earth Elementals, he would be perfectly safe.

Moreover, Falan and the others believed that the God War would end in Salar, but Hill did not agree.

For the God of Space-Time to bring one hundred thousand people over so easily and all at once, the World Will must have opened a back door for him.

If the World Will truly wanted to drive the power of the Gods from the continent, then not only humans, but probably the Elves and Magical Beasts across the entire continent, would be drawn into the flames of war.

Hill did not understand what had happened to make the World Will willing to reduce its own total amount of elements just to drive out the power of the Gods. But he believed that he would eventually see the outcome, and then he would know the reason.

Hill walked outside the Mage Tower. As expected, Alice was still playing with the Wood Elves.

Hill raised a hand and called her over.

Alice asked, "Did something happen? It isn't even mealtime. It's rare for you to come looking for me."

Hill said directly, "The God War is about to erupt. Don't go out recently. Tell Merkel that he must not leave the territory. Don't give my grandfather a chance to silence him."

Alice asked, "Is it because the elemental mine needs to be kept secret? I know Merkel's mine is special, but it isn't even large. Does a Magus need to keep it secret too?"

"Dear Alice, the world is about to undergo great changes. You should listen more closely to the voice of nature instead of thinking only about playing."

Alice said dejectedly, "All right, all right. But I'm only a cat. Why do I have to care about so many things?"

Hill smiled and patted her head. "If you don't want trouble, then stay obediently in the territory for the next few years. But you had better step up your cultivation. Perhaps a hundred years from now, advancing will no longer be as easy as it is now."

Alice looked at Hill in confusion, but Hill could not say any more. Nature would also tell these Elves that time was pressing.

It was just that Alice really was a cat. Other than matters of life and death, playing was the most important thing to her. She would even ignore nature's urging on her own.

Hill finally told Alice, "Tell Merkel to hide his mine better. He absolutely must not take anything out of the territory."

Alice nodded silently.

Seeing that the little cat was already feeling some urgency, Hill said nothing more.

He had originally wanted to suppress his advancement to Archmage for a few more years, but now he had no choice but to hurry and advance.

Since he was advancing so quickly, he would have to remain at this level for a while.

Before becoming a Magus, Hill had to temper every aspect of his foundation. He absolutely did not want to have the chance to advance to Legendary, only to turn into a bear.

The results of Falan's constant inquiries were exactly as they had expected.

Edward still moved against Charles first. Even though the Church of Nobility and Sovereignty desperately tried to mediate, Edward still wanted to first drive everyone in the capital who obeyed Charles out.

The enraged Charles began directly with Helen.

He personally guarded the small palace where Helen and the other mistresses were imprisoned, swearing that he would find evidence of Edward murdering his father from their mouths.

During this time, William personally led people to arrest everyone from the Noble Church in the Northern Frontier. Aside from the Sky Knight marquis who fled with his family, everyone else became prisoners.