Badge in Azure Chapter 336

Chapter 336: Spotting a Double-headed Eagle Again (Part 2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
It was more troublesome smearing magic medicine on weapons than doing so with poison. Magic medicine had a higher level of volatility, and only a mage would be able to ensure that the magic medicine on a weapon could last for an extended duration. Even if a soldier possessed magic medicine, the magic medicine would be useless.
Chaotic medicine was used to deal with summoning spells, but it also had the same effect on puppets. Even if a puppet was not controlled by a mage, it would still need a set of operational rules to distribute its energy so that it could battle autonomously. The moment a puppet was damaged by chaotic medicine, it would lose control over its movements. Not only would it attack its enemies, but it would also attack its own companions.
This kind of medicine was the forte of a death mage. If an elemental mage tried producing it, it would be as difficult as producing high-grade medicine.
After the wooden spears were refined, they became long spears which were over five meters in length. They were more suitable for use by infantrymen, as cavalrymen would need to undergo specialized training to learn how to wield such long weapons. However, Saleen had drawn some magic patterns on the pole of each spear, allowing the wooden spears to maintain their original weight. As long as the pirates gripped onto the center of gravity of the spears, they would not lose control of them.
The best weapons against a headless rider would be weapons such as a square axe, a two-handed epee, or an explosive meteor hammer. A square axe would be able to cleave heavy armor because of its inertia. The two-handed epee was a swordmaster’s favorite weapon as it allowed them to utilize the sword aura in a reasonable manner. The explosive meteor hammer was a rarer magic weapon. Besides delivering heavy blows, it could also produce a tearing effect.
Swordmasters were rare in Saleen’s team. Saleen had refined the square axes for the pirates to use. One of Saleen’s fully constructed puppets also wielded a square axe. This weapon was extremely heavy and had unparalleled sharpness, and even magic armor could barely resist its attacks. The only problem was that this weapon was too heavy, and a lot of physical strength would be consumed trying to carry it.
Fortunately, Saleen had bone horses in his team. One only needed to hang the square axe on the weapon hook of the horse to do the trick.
These weapons did not pose much of a challenge, because metal and wood were relatively easily refined. Also, Saleen still had to produce new gloves for the pirates.
Usually, the pirates only used a saber or a long knife. If they were to wield a square axe, they would need a pair of gloves which could withstand immense friction, so that the axe would not slip from their hands.
At this point in time, the benefits of having followers were clearly exemplified. Jola and the four magic beast swordsmen protected Saleen’s tent while the pirates streamed in and out of the tent continuously, distributing the newly refined weapons. With the protection of four grand swordmasters, Saleen and Aini would not need to worry about being assassinated.
More often than not, a mage would select a very safe location to carry out their alchemy experiments. After all, when a mage was conducting alchemy, they would have to concentrate a huge amount of mental strength, which would cause their perception of the surroundings to be reduced.
To a mage who was used to having everything under control, having a lowered perception was extremely dangerous. During such a time, a mage was more vulnerable to attacks than a swordsman.
When Jola observed the weapons sent out of the tent, he said to the four magic beast swordsmen, “You all should have the lord refine a weapon for you. Judging by this situation, the lord must have run into some trouble. Didn’t you notice that the three mages looked nervous?”
The four magic beast swordsmen looked at one another. They were still not used to regarding Jola as their partner. After all, they had been pursuing Jola for months. They could not bring themselves to disregard whatever had happened like what Jola was doing right now. The four of them were orphans who had been groomed into magic beast swordsmen by the imperial family. However, they did not swear allegiance to anyone. Furthermore, as magic beast swordsmen, they could not retreat if they met with danger.
Jola despised the Cloudflow institutions. In order to make someone work hard, one had to provide some benefits in exchange. Magic beast swordsmen did not lead very good lives. They might have enjoyed higher statuses than civilians, but they were inferior to even a third-class baron.
“We have just become beginner grand swordmasters. We still need some time to get used to our weapons. We don’t even know what kind of special weapons we require, so…”
One of the magic beast swordsmen hesitated, confessing his worries. To them, it was a very troublesome affair to ask Saleen to refine a weapon. The weapons they required were not some lowly products like the ones which would be given to the pirates. A premium alchemical weapon would accompany a grand swordmaster for the rest of their life. Hence, the magic beast swordsmen decided that they would stabilize their skills before requesting that Saleen help them by crafting suitable weapons for them.
“Hey, has Jupiter made all of you stupid?” Jola objected, “Before long, you are going to put your lives at stake. If you survive, the lord will treat you very well. In the future, you might even obtain some land, two wives, and a brood of children. Furthermore, the lord will hire a teacher to educate your children. By behaving like this now, it’s obvious that all of you are not sincere in joining the lord.”
The four magic beast swordsmen became flustered. They did not know how the outside world worked. They only knew that they had to continue fighting if they joined Saleen. However, they did not know that a follower would enjoy such privileges. If that was really the case, then they did not need to stand by ceremony with Saleen. If they distanced themselves too much, just as Jola said, it would mean that they did not regard Saleen as their lord at all.
“Is that the truth?”
“Of course. I feel that Sir will volunteer to help you all refine a weapon this time around. But if you still do not take initiative the second time, the situation will not be too good. You should know that a mage will probably have more than a hundred followers. The few of you were lucky. In truth, you can’t even return to Cloudflow anymore. Yet, you were adopted by a grand mage, which is an opportunity others would gladly accept. All of you must cherish this opportunity,” Jola continued spouting nonsense, but he was absolutely right. As a follower, one would have to ensure their master’s safety. Hence, they needed to maximize their offensive abilities.
The four magic beast swordsmen had decided to break their sabers as an exhibition of loyalty. Henceforth, they could only rely on their cavalry equipment. Furthermore, if they traveled on foot, they would no longer have any weapons suitable for use.
“Mr. Jola, thank you for your guidance,” a magic beast swordsman thanked sincerely.
“Just address me by my name in the future. In Qin, the title ‘Mr’ is only used to address mages. Don’t bring trouble to yourselves.” Originally, Jola had been a swordsmanship instructor in the palace, so some students would address him in this manner. However, he knew very clearly that certain rules in Qin were stricter than they were in Cloudflow. Jola was fine with the four swordsmen addressing him in this manner privately, but if the other mages overheard, there would be unnecessary trouble.
“Okay.” The magic beast swordsmen stopped talking. They began brainstorming for weapons which personally suited them. An epee might have been the simplest choice, but they were well-versed in a variety of combat skills, so an epee might not have been the most suitable weapon. During their time in Cloudflow, the magic beast swordsmen had only been able to carry sabers due to the nature of their job. They would not receive any special weapons.
These five men stood guard outside the tent. Since they were already grand swordmasters, the frigid weather would not affect them adversely. Under non-combat conditions, the sword aura was just like a mage’s magic in that it could provide a comfortable environment for the body.
It was only late into the night that Saleen’s voice came from the tent. “The five of you, come inside.”
Jola led the four magic beast swordsmen into Saleen’s tent. Saleen’s tent was huge. Now that the pirates had moved the last of the weapons away, only three mages remained inside the tent, making the interior look spacious.
“Sit down, let’s eat together.” Saleen took out his premade meal from the demonic ring and placed it on the oilcloth which was spread out nicely. At the moment, he was not a grade-6 mage yet, so the space in the demonic ring was limited. Hence, Saleen would not bring along items such as tables and chairs. Unless Saleen’s spatial equipment was like Lex’s god’s ring, he would not even think of bringing along those lifestyle appliances.
Jola reached for the food and started eating. On the other hand, the four magic beast swordsmen were feeling perturbed as they had thought of weapons after being reminded by Jola. However, since it was mealtime now, they were embarrassed to make any requests, thus they felt very conflicted.
Saleen was the first to finish his bread, then he used the Cleaning spell to put away the utensils. Then, he said to Jola and the magic beast swordsmen, “Jola is right, we might run into trouble. I have thought of a weapon for Jola. As for the four of you, show me your strongest skill later on. I will help you design weapons.”
“Sir, what kind of trouble is it?” Jola took the initiative to ask Saleen. In truth, Jola was an easygoing person. Be it Saleen or Emperor Jupiter, there was not much difference to him. If his lord could not tolerate him, then he would simply bid them farewell. That was why Jola was not as restrained as the four magic beast swordsmen.
“Mm, we might run into some black mages.”
The five of them were not familiar with magic. Even though they might have heard some myths regarding black magic, it was inevitably a thousand year old issue already. A few years earlier, some black mages had appeared in Phoenix, but they had disappeared again very quickly, so nobody had really become alarmed. This incident was only spread within the empire’s royal family and had not created any ripples.
“I have fought with the puppets controlled by the black mages. They are an annoying bunch.” Seeing that the rest of them were not really nervous, Saleen continued, “A black mage can create a huge number of puppets. Furthermore, those black puppets which surfaced the previous time were obviously made from scarecrows. Just think about it, black puppets might not be very powerful, but they come in massive numbers. If there are ten thousand black puppets, can you all guarantee you will emerge victorious?”
“If we have ten thousand soldiers, we can win,” Jola chuckled.
“Do I need you tell me that? But we only have slightly more than a hundred soldiers. There might be more than one hundred thousand black puppets. Also, a headless rider is far more powerful than a black puppet. It is almost as powerful as a swordmaster. How many swordmasters can you handle at a time?”
At this point in time, Jola furrowed his brows. If the battle was between a grand swordmaster and a swordmaster, the grand swordmaster could win even with his eyes closed. But in a chaotic battle, a dozen swordmasters would pose a threat to a grand swordmaster.
“Sir, I have underestimated the enemy,” Jola admitted unabashedly. Even though Jola was careless with his personal life, he took his job very seriously.
“One thousand years ago, it was no coincidence that the black mages were able to create so much trouble. Right now, we don’t have a city to rely on. And in the Chaotic Swamp, the black mages will be able to unleash all their power. I am not sure if other puppets will appear, but the evil dragon will definitely make its appearance. It will be pointless for us to establish a simple formation. As long as the headless riders hide behind the evil dragon as they charged forward, we will not be able to hold the fort even if we have a huge number of steel crossbows with us.”
“Evil dragon?” None of the five grand swordmasters knew what an evil dragon was.
“It is one of the most terrifying weapons in the world, to its enemies, I mean.” Saleen recalled the time when he had discovered the evil dragon at the end of the road of bones. It was truly strange because evil dragons still had not appeared at any other locations. Now, it seemed that these things had gone into hiding in the Chaotic Swamp, and many more of such monsters might have been groomed after all these years.
That tug-of-war in Loulan would have provided the black mages with the best nourishment possible – suffering souls.