Badge in Azure Chapter 292

Chapter 292: Barbarian (Part 1)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Saleen brought Nailisi up into the air, nearly to a height of four hundred to five hundred meters before he stopped. He did not go any higher, and even though it was winter, dark clouds filled the north and it was snowing.
Saleen was afraid a winter storm would appear, although those were rare.
Mages had a saying – be careful of lightning when one flies too high. This was used to caution someone against setting their sights too high, but it had come from a mage’s caution towards lightning.
As long as there was cloudy weather, mages would restrict their altitude to five hundred meters at most. If one flew too high, it could easily attract lightning strikes. The speed of a lightning strike was too quick and a mage would not have the time to react. Moreover, the defensive abilities of magic shields against lightning were incredibly poor, and as of now, besides the secretion from the lightning dragon, mages had not been able to create magic equipment to protect themselves from lightning.
An altitude of five hundred meters was not low to the ground, and looking down from this height, the early stages of a city were already forming on the pristine white beaches. Tens of thousands of death creatures were working throughout the day and night. The underground portion of the city had already been dug, and several wide roads had been laid. Many houses had also already been built.
The happiest people were the pirates. Being a pirate did not guarantee wealth, and aside from the captain, many of them ended up being arrested and executed, or turning old, sick, and eventually passing away. Saleen had captured these pirates, but had given them a home which was not just a stronghold on a barren island. These pirates knew how to farm as well and the soil in the north was unusually fertile. Even if they could only harvest once a year, their gains would be decent.
The mages from Sregl Island managed the pirates incredibly well. Saleen surmised that most of the swordsmen from Sregl Island had originally been pirates, and that they had been captured by the mages to become farmers.
Smoke billowed from the residential area of the pirates. From above, Saleen saw that some of them had set up an iron furnace and were welding. Most of the swordsmen were not willing to wear leather unless it was armor made from a high-grade magic beast. However, most pirates would not wear metal on the sea and now that they were living on land for the moment, they were making their own armor.
Saleen realized that even among this group of unfortunate pirates, there were talented people too. Creating armor was much harder than creating normal swords and many among them could do high-grade welding. If these people had not been pirates, they would have done decently in Holy Rock City. It was a pity that they had made mistakes and could not earn a living in the capital.
Saleen did not stop along the coast, and he brought Nailisi north. There was a river twenty miles away and the rapid river had frozen. Only those that were closer to the entrance of the sea had not. In December, even the sea water would freeze in the north. If magic had not been released in this port city, all the ships would have frozen in the water.
All the way north, after more than a hundred miles, Saleen saw another river.
“Why is nobody staying on such wide and open land? I think this is a very suitable place for the Caucasus people,” Saleen said to Nailisi, pointing at the land below.
It was definitely cold in the north, and without the protection from the Quickcloud spell, the chilly wind would have immediately frozen Saleen’s blood. However, for the Caucasus people, many months in the year made up the snowy season. Moreover, the Caucasus region had very little fertile soil and did not have any wide and open fields like this place did.
Beneath the white snow, life was hidden as well. Saleen saw a pure white fox jumping around in the snow, chasing after its prey. It had a small body, and there was only a hint of black on the tip of its tail.
A grade-4 magic beast! Saleen recognized this species of fox. It was a rare grade-4 snow fox. Saleen had no intention of chasing after it. He had a large number of high-grade magic nuclei in his Ring of Gifts and demonic ring, so he would not lose his mind over a grade-4 magic nucleus.
The fox gave chase for a short while before pouncing onto its prey and holding it down with its claws. It was some kind of mouse.
The snow fox held it in between its teeth as it scurried away towards the mountains. Further north, Saleen heard the howl of a wolf.
Magic wolves had the best adaptability among all magic beasts. From north to south, they were everywhere, and some of them could even be tamed by humans. Even if a person was not a mage, they could command it to help in their hunts.
Saleen travelled through the vicinity for over two hundred miles before finding a place suitable for humans to stay. He was selfish. Moving the Caucasus people was to prevent the Holy See from having things easy. However, in order for the Caucasus people to live well, it would be best to stay near the city he had built. Saleen would absolutely consider Sika’s village first when looking at the locations around the city.
No one could be sure if the conflict would spread here in the future. Even though the Caucasus warriors were brave, without the help of mages and facing a regular army, they would not be able to defend themselves. Saleen wanted to move Sika’s people to a safe spot and not according to Lex’s plan, which was to have them stay on the plains west of the city.
It did not matter whether or not the Holy See made their way over here. But if they did, that would be the first place affected.
Phoenix Duchy did not provide suitable cover, and in the entire duchy, there were not any suitable talents. If not, Saleen would not have taken a liking to this field in the north. Being close to a powerful duchy was not good for his development.
After finding numerous locations that were suitable for habitation, Saleen brought Nailisi to survey the east. Along the coasts towards the east were mountain ranges, and besides the location where the city was being built, there were no other entrances towards the mountain ranges to the east, which progressively became higher as well. Saleen flew through midair, his senses heightened as he scanned the mountains thoroughly.
There were no signs of humans here, although there could be powerful magic beasts. With his Quickcloud spell, Saleen was no longer afraid of magic beasts on land. Aside from dragons, there were no powerful magic beasts which could fly.
Venturing over a hundred miles deep into the mountains, Saleen stopped. There were definitely magic beasts living within the mountains, but they did not answer his provocations. From their auras, Saleen could tell that they were not any high-grade beasts, and were grade-5 at best.
However, there were a little too many magic wolves here. They gathered in packs of three to five, running around the snow as if they would never grow tired. If they had not been magic beasts, normal beast would not have run around like this wasting energy. The rate of success for a magic beast on a hunt was incredibly high. It was not afraid of wasting energy.
Saleen had already flown for several hours and was a little tired. He brought Nailisi back to the ground, casually tossing out an ice arrow and killing a mountain chicken.
Having spent so much time with Lex, Saleen had formed a habit of carrying seasoning and cutlery with him, since these things were easy for others to poison. Lex was not pampered, she had simply been taught how to stay safe since she was young. Saleen knew that some poisons had incredible toxic properties and could usually kill a person within a few minutes. Without any mage or holy master around, there would not be enough time to save him.
Nailisi caught the mountain chicken and plucked out its feathers, and Saleen picked up some dried twigs as he started a fire.
This mountain chicken was unusually plump. Winter had just barely started, yet the meat of the chicken carried the aroma of fat. Placing it on the fire to grill, it immediately attracted several magic wolves.
The magic wolves in the north were slightly larger in size, and including their tails, they were almost three meters long. Saleen and Nailisi set up a bonfire in the empty space among the mountains. Their backs were against the snowy wind, and the chicken was perched atop the bonfire, its aroma wafting throughout the area. Two packs of wolves came to the empty space almost simultaneously, peering at the scene intently.
Saleen and Nailisi did not take the presence of these wolves too seriously. A magic wolf’s grade varied greatly, with some mutated species reaching up to grade-6, although usually they were grade-1 or grade-2. Among these two packs of wolves, there were nine of them in total, and there was only one that was grade-3. The rest were all grade-2.
When a low-grade magic beast hunted, it would not release any magic. These two packs of wolves peered on as they seemed to realize that these two foreign creatures would not be easy to deal with, hesitating and being unwilling to enter. However, the temptation of the mountain chicken was great too. These magic wolves did not back down, almost as if they were waiting for Saleen and Nailisi to finish before seeing if they could feast on any scraps.
Saleen watched on as he laughed. He was in an especially good mood today. Seeing the wolves with their pitiful looks, he almost forgot that they were dangerous magic beasts. He told Nailisi to take out some jerky and throw it to the magic wolves.
“Master, they are such low-grade magic beasts. Do you intend to tame them? They aren’t as useful as snow foxes.” Nailisi was unwilling.
Saleen laughed and said, “These magic wolves are pretty crafty. We need to let them get used to the presence of humans. If not, they’ll cause trouble for the Caucasus villagers.”
“What trouble? With Sika being who she is, she’ll be able to kill hundreds of these magic beasts. I think she is the magic beast.” Nailisi pouted, but she still took out some jerky from her bracelet and threw it to the magic wolves that were watching from afar. After absorbing the powers of the tiago, her explosive power was similar to that of Sika. The jerky flew over a hundred meters as the magic wolves quickly retreated, allowing the jerky to land on the snowy ground.
“A warrior like Sika isn’t common in Caucasus. There are too many magic wolves here. Luckily, they aren’t the craziest of magic beasts. So long as they are aware that humans are powerful, they will not attack the villages.”
“If you feed them meat, they will think you are weak. How will they know that humans are strong?”
“Feeding them is to make them familiar with our presence. As for scaring them, isn’t that easy? Take out the tiago’s skin, and the aura of the dragon will send them scurrying for hundreds of miles.”
The magic wolves obviously could not understand Saleen’s words. A young magic wolf tried to smell the jerky, licking it with its tongue. A bigger magic wolf came from behind and smacked the smaller one aside, smelling the jerky suspiciously.
Saleen grabbed a fistful of magic powder and threw it into the bonfire. An enormous sound blasted out as a flame column over five meters high erupted. The few magic wolves retreated, afraid.
“See, aren’t they afraid now?” Saleen laughed triumphantly. Magic beasts were afraid of fire too. The cost of the magic powder had been less than a silver coin, and it had been enough to get the nine magic wolves scurrying. Magic beasts would always be easier to deal with compared to humans. There were not any humans around, and that was what pleased Saleen the most.
Thousands of years ago, when the mainland had been in chaos, countless wealthy people had brought their citizens away and roamed for tens of thousands of miles. Nobody could be sure that there would not be any wealthy people from the Fourth Dynasty living here. Saleen did not want to find humans residing in a place like this.