Black Hearted Mage

Chapter 303 Cleaning up the mutant vipers

Caesars placed the massive magic core into his spatial ring. The pulsing dark red light on its surface was instantly blocked. The cavern was plunged into complete darkness, with only a few scattered gray-green glimmers seeping through from the cracks in the rock. With the help of his darkvision, he saw the remaining mutant vipers, limp on the ground as if their spines had been removed, becoming listless and lifeless. The gray-green lines on their scales were fading at a visible rate.

"Damn dog, where have you been hiding?"

Kaesus grasped the elven dagger with his backhand, crushing the head of a viper attempting a sneak attack with the sole of his boot. Sticky bodily fluids splattered against the rock wall, making a corrosive sizzling sound. He suddenly realized that the puppy that should have been following him was gone—the greedy, fat pup that had vanished the moment the snake demon's remains began to behave strangely.

A faint whimpering sound came from behind a rock pillar over a hundred meters away. Caesars narrowed his dark eyes and saw the puppy squeezing itself into a crevice, its round butt stuck outside and wiggling constantly. When it noticed its owner's gaze, its triangular ears immediately drooped against its head, and a guilty glint gleamed in its little eyes.

"Come here!" Caesars' voice echoed through the cave. The puppy's tail froze in mid-air, its paw pads scraping against the rough rock for three or four seconds before finally trotting over with its head drooping. Its running gait resembled that of an overweight ferret, its belly practically scraping the ground.

Caesars's leather boots creaked softly as he crouched. He precisely grasped the pup's soft fur by the scruff of its neck and lifted the deserter to his face. The dangling pup immediately curled its tail over its belly, its four stubby paws futilely paddling like a tortoise turned upside down.

"Just now, when the demon remains revived," Caesars tapped the puppy's wet nose with the hilt of his dagger, "you ran faster than the phantom of the abyss succubus!"

The puppy let out a weak whine from its throat, and its scarlet tongue licked its owner's wrist flatteringly.

In the twisted, layered planes of the Abyss, the demonic hierarchy is suffocatingly strict. Lava dogs inhabit the lava planes before the 80th layer, while snake demons rule the Abyss from the 90th layer onward. Deeper still, on the 97th layer, Queen Medusa's golden vertical pupils never close. The fiery breath of a full-grown lava dog pales before the petrifying gaze of a snake demon—this suppression, etched in its blood, allows this immature, fat little dog to escape with speeds comparable to teleportation.

"You idiot, you're clearly not imprisoned by the snake demon." Caesars used his index finger to poke the puppy's eyebrows, and each pressure caused new wrinkles to appear on the wrinkled forehead. "When you ran away, why didn't you remember to bite Master Caesars's cloak and run with him?"

The puppy suddenly stopped struggling, tilted its head with an expression of sudden realization, then rubbed its owner's fingers with its wet nose and wagged its tail like a propeller, as if to say "next time for sure".

"You idiot, return to your original size and quickly find all the remaining vipers. I'll take you out in a moment!"

At Caesar's command, the high-level magic patterns on the puppy's body glowed red, and it instantly transformed from a boot-sized puppy into a chubby dog ​​weighing 100 to 180 kilograms. Howling, it rushed towards the mutant viper, biting the snake's stubby tail and lashing the snake against the hard ground with a powerful head shake. Then, with a flick of its head, it threw the viper in front of Caesar.

With a wave of his elven dagger, Kaisas killed the mutant viper that was knocked unconscious. The ferocious snake head rolled to the side and the smelly blood slowly flowed out.

The dark red puppy worked very hard and was busy in the cave for half an hour, finding all the vipers contaminated by the abyss energy.

"Come on, let's go outside and process the vipers. These snake skins should be able to sell for a few gold coins!"

Caesars frowned as he gazed at the pile of mutant viper carcasses in his storage ring. Even dead, these thigh-thick snakes still exuded a strange, unpleasant odor. He had specially prepared a separate storage ring to store these spoils, fearing the odor would contaminate his other belongings.

"We have to get rid of these strange snakes as soon as possible. If we delay any longer, even the storage ring will be marinated by the smell." Kaisas muttered to himself.

With a flash of dazzling purple light, Caesars appeared at the entrance of the Grand Canyon cavern. Lush vegetation swayed gently in the breeze, the air filled with the fragrance of grass and trees. The chubby puppy following behind him was clearly not used to the dizziness caused by the teleportation spell. Its four short legs staggered back and forth like a drunk, finally collapsing to the ground with a thud, panting heavily with its tongue hanging out.

Ignoring the puppy's embarrassment, Caesars immediately set to work processing his loot. He first pulled a dozen half-man-tall wooden barrels from his space bag. The clear well water shimmered in the sunlight. His sharp dagger swiftly twirled in his hands, expertly peeling off each metallic snake skin. The processed snake meat was soaked in clean water, quickly staining the barrels a pale red.

The most laborious part was extracting the snake's gallbladder and venom sac. These precious alchemical materials had to be carefully separated; any carelessness would destroy their integrity. Caesars worked intently, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Peeling, soaking, washing, drying, pickling...these tedious processes took him three days.

"You stupid dog, stop staring at the snake meat with that look." Caesars slapped away the puppy's restless claws. "These snake meats need to be marinated for at least twenty days. Once we get back to Violet City, we have to dry them for another half a month, or smoke them, and wait until the meat turns red before we can eat them." As he spoke, he put the last batch of processed snake meat into a large wooden barrel and sprinkled a layer of spices on it, which could better remove the strange smell of the snake meat.

After finishing his work, Caesars sat in a chair, lost in thought. This adventure had taught him a profound lesson: never underestimate the cunning of demons. Even a snake demon, dead for thousands of years, could still set a deadly trap with its lingering will. Even more puzzling was why his ancestors had slain the snake demon, leaving behind this hidden danger. Was there a deeper purpose behind deliberately preserving the demon's heart and magic core?

With these unanswered questions, Caesars set out on his journey home. Half a day later, when he finally reached his small stone house in Violet City, the warm winter sun shone brightly on the flaming maple wood lounge chair. He breathed a sigh of relief, shedding his exhaustion, letting the sun soothe the waves of this adventure.

On the lawn in front of the small stone house, a chubby puppy was hard at work. With its furry paws, it carefully spread out sheets of leather, each shimmering with a strange sheen. From time to time, it nudged the edges with its nose, ensuring each piece of mutant viper hide received ample sunlight. The leather was a vibrant riot of color, shimmering in the sunlight with eerie patterns of emerald green, amber yellow, and deep purple.

"Kaisas, where did you get all this leather? What kind of leather is this colorful stuff?"

A familiar voice called from nearby. Caesars looked up and saw his father, little Ludwig, walking down the cobblestone path. His father, whom he hadn't seen in a while, looked particularly impressive today. He wore a blue aristocratic robe that shone like silk in the sunlight, its lapels embroidered with delicate silver emblems. Behind him, a young maid in a white headscarf followed closely, holding a gilded box.

"I hunted them all myself. They were ferocious mutant vipers, almost as thick as my thigh. Father, have you... been promoted to a higher rank?"

Caesars looked at his father, the color of the noble robe was darker.

On the Roland Continent, the color of aristocratic clothing was the most direct symbol of status. Caesars clearly remembered that the last time they met, his father was wearing a light blue baron's tuxedo. The azure blue he wore before him was clearly a privilege only afforded to viscounts.

"That's right, I've officially been promoted to Viscount!" Little Ludwig laughed heartily, fine lines forming at the corners of his eyes. "This is all thanks to you, Caesars!"

“My credit?”

Caesars was stunned. In the Violet Alliance, where every inch of land is valuable, advancement to the nobility has always been difficult. There are so many ancient families gathered here, and each title is entangled with complex and complex relationships of interests. He couldn't understand how he, a leisurely man who spent his days hunting in the wilderness, could become the key to his father's advancement.

"Kaisas, after the news of your victory in the Magician Challenge spread back to the Violet Alliance, the entire aristocratic community was in an uproar!" Little Ludwig waved his arms excitedly. "Those noble lords who usually look down on others are now lining up to visit our mansion, and the door is almost broken down. Thanks to you, I just received an imperial decree from the Noble Alliance the day before yesterday. I was fortunately promoted to Viscount!"

"So that's it..."

Caesars nodded thoughtfully, his slender fingers gently stroking the rim of the crystal wine glass.

“But that’s not the most surprising thing!”

Little Ludwig's cheeks flushed with excitement. He grabbed Caesar's sleeve and said, "Caesar, you've also been granted nobility, and a truly powerful noble! You know, in the Violet Alliance, this is an honor that only comes once in a thousand years!"

Upon hearing this, Caesars raised an eyebrow. "Did the Violet Alliance allocate territory to me?" A playful smile played on his face. "Could it be that they've given me the cursed forest where the white ogres are entrenched?"

"Haha, Caesars, you're worrying too much!" Little Ludwig laughed and shook his head. "Those petty nobles of the Violet Alliance have divided up their land into smaller pieces than a chessboard. There's no idle territory left. Listen, you're now—" he deliberately dragged out his tone, "the Count of the Roland Empire!"

Seeing Caesar's slightly surprised expression, Little Ludwig continued to explain, "Your territory is located at the southernmost tip of the Roland Empire, on the fertile plains north of the Emerald River. Although it's a bit far from the Violet Alliance, it's not too far either, and the advantage is that it's rich in resources..."

As he spoke, he snapped his fingers behind him. The maid who had been waiting quietly at his side immediately came forward with an exquisite gilded wooden box. She gently placed it on the carved coffee table in front of Caesars, casting a dazzling array of light and shadow on the box.

"This is..." Caesar's eyes fell on the wooden box.

"Your ennoblement document!" Little Ludwig signaled the maid to open the box. As the lid slowly lifted, a specially treated, snow-white animal hide scroll came into view. The scroll was meticulously tied with a dark blue ribbon, and the end of the ribbon was adorned with a small emblem of the Roland Empire.

Caesars reached out and unsheathed the scroll, his fingertips feeling the uniquely supple texture of the animal hide. As he untied the ribbon and slowly unfolded the document, the gilded words gleamed in the sunlight. His gaze swept over the ornate official rhetoric, finally stopping at the description of the territory—just as Duke Solomon had predicted, the Roland Empire had forced the territory that had once belonged to Earl Soren onto him, the champion.

The Roland Empire's intentions were clear; they were even willing to offer a county to Caesars. In the past, given his proud character, Caesars would never have accepted such a handout. But now, he had a long-term hunting mission from the Thorn Flower Trading Company, and the deceased Earl Garlon, who had hidden a staggering amount of wealth in the south.

According to information gathered by Caesars, the mysterious Earl of Soren might be hiding in Abel City or the eastern city of Hailansa. The former was the capital of the southern province of the Roland Empire, prosperous and well-defended; the latter was a medium-sized trading city near the coast, with frequent merchant ships and a mixed crowd.

After careful consideration, Caesars concluded that Earl Soren was more likely to choose Highland City. Not only was it extremely close to the Saint Roland Empire, but more importantly, if the situation changed, Highland City could readily be used to escape on merchant ships. In contrast, while Abel City was larger, it was under the strict surveillance of the Roland Empire's legions. Both the waterway and the land checkpoints were heavily guarded, making it akin to a giant prison.

"Father, this fiefdom is a real thorn in the side right now!" Caesars pointed to the narrow strip of land along the Emerald River on the map, his brow furrowed. "It sits right on the powder keg of the border between the two countries. The Roland Empire and the Saint Roland Empire are on the brink of war, and all-out war could break out at any moment. That territory is in the southernmost part of the Roland Empire, and it's only a matter of time before it's affected by the war!"

Kaisas wanted to dissuade little Ludwig from going to Kaisas's territory. However, once he left Violet City, little Ludwig would no longer be protected by the Thorn Flower Company.

"Ah! Caesar, your territory is a bit dangerous!" Little Ludwig said in surprise.

"As long as the two empires fight a good battle, there will be peace there for hundreds of years. Now that neither side is taking action, that territory will be even more dangerous!"

After hearing Caesar's explanation, little Ludwig completely gave up the idea. Although he was unwilling, the cruelty of war made him let go of everything.

"I almost forgot something important. Caesar, Madam Kaschi wants to see you!" Little Ludwig was about to leave when he suddenly turned around and said.