Chapter 341: Chapter 93: Level 6 Mage, Lord Robson

No one had touched that batch of spoils. It all belonged to him, Lord Robson. Even if he sold it for cheap, it would be worth at least several thousand Gold Coins.

Robson hadn’t touched it mainly to prepare for the future. After all, the Kingdom Government wouldn’t be providing them with equipment anymore.

The Mages began to argue amongst themselves. They couldn’t tell if Robson was putting on an act or if he truly meant what he said.

’Go back? Going back is impossible.’ They knew their place perfectly well. They were the Mage Corps sent by the Edward family to support Robson in developing this new territory.

In other words, they had been given to Robson by the Edward family.

Having been sent here, getting sent back would be more than just a loss of face. That was secondary. Most importantly, the Edward family would never let them off the hook.

This was even more true for the Mages from the Fengman Clan.

Everyone knew the relationship between the former lord and the current one. Even if they were sent back, could they expect to have a good life?

"Viscount, you misunderstand. We... we just came over to take a short break."

"Yes, yes, we’ll get right to it..."

Not long after Robson finished speaking, a few Mages from the Fengman Clan were about to get back to work.

Just then, Robson spoke again, though his tone was slightly gentler this time.

"Gentlemen, I’m sure you all understand the situation we are facing."

As he spoke, Robson pointed north.

"Not far from here, there is a river called the Mingwiss River. On the other side of that river is the Beastman Empire. And to the east, as far as the eye can see, lies the Demon Beast Mountain Range.

Our Affleck Domain is a mirror of our mother, the Frank Kingdom.

Centuries ago, the Knight King and his followers founded the Frank Kingdom under assault from Beastmen, the undead, and tides of demonic beasts.

The same is true for Affleck. We are the Kingdom’s foremost front line, living under the shadow of demonic beast tides. Our domain could be overturned in an instant.

Therefore, whether it’s the common folk, you gentlemen, or even myself, we must all throw ourselves into the construction of this domain," Robson explained, his voice smooth and persuasive.

This was, in fact, the classic carrot-and-stick approach.

He was shifting his attitude, paving the way for what he was about to say next.

The routine was cliché, but it was effective.

These words truly stirred the souls of the Franks. For thousands of years, the one thing all Franks, from the highest to the lowest, took the most pride in—what could even be called the very reason for the Kingdom’s existence—was guarding the frontier for the Human Race.

Seeing that the emotional groundwork had been sufficiently laid, Robson began to introduce his main point.

"Of course, I am a Mage myself, so I understand how you feel. As Mages, we should be doing more meaningful things—things that allow us to realize our own self-worth.

But it can’t be helped. The domain is newly founded, and everything needs to be built from scratch. The harsh conditions are only temporary.

You all wish to have your own Mage Towers, and of course, there’s no problem with that. In the future, Mages will have their own mission quotas. As long as you complete the corresponding tasks and accumulate enough credit, you can come to me, and I will naturally order people to build them for you.

Of course, beyond that, I have many more rewards to offer all of you." As Robson spoke, he instantly conjured a shower of ice behind him.

The ice shower then dispersed and reformed into a massive Ice Dragon that coiled around Robson.

Laymen watch for fun, while experts look for technique.

Seeing Robson’s casting process, all the Mages were struck with amazement.

’Fast! Stable! It was incredibly fast and stable!’

Robson had just cast the spell almost instantaneously. Before they had even sensed it, the surrounding water elements had already been drawn away.

Especially the part where the ice shower transformed into the Ice Dragon—this demonstrated the ultimate control over Magic.

"Gentlemen, you must be curious as to how I can be so fast.

Everything is knowledge. Everything has a principle behind it.

Knowledge on how to improve casting efficiency, on more advanced principles and structures of Magic, information on magical materials from the Demon Beast Mountain Range, and even some... unusual spells. If you’re interested, you can exchange your merits for all of it.

I once spent a great deal of time in the libraries of the Edward family and the royal family. I will compile a specific list of what is available.

Gentlemen, there are no barriers here. Merits earn you knowledge! If you contribute, I will hold nothing back!" Robson said with a smile.

Some of the magical knowledge Robson spoke of came from the Edward family, but most of it was from Mage Falan. Falan was truly erudite when it came to Magic.

Unfortunately, with his Magic Crystal body, he could neither cultivate nor cast Magic, possessing only a wealth of magical knowledge.

As for the "unusual spell," it was a little trick Robson had devised himself to gain more support from Valentino, something to amuse her. Unfortunately, Valentino wasn’t one of those easily-fooled girls from Robson’s past life; she didn’t fall for that sort of thing.

Hearing Robson’s words, the Mages cried out in astonishment.

No matter where you were, knowledge was always the most precious treasure.

This was especially true for a group as insular about knowledge as Mages. Which Mage family didn’t hoard its knowledge, keeping it under lock and key?

If Robson truly had enough Magic for them to exchange for, how could they possibly slack off?

’Something this good, and you didn’t say so earlier?’

Watching the excited Mages, Robson nodded in satisfaction.

’Ordering people around can’t rely solely on intimidation.’

Threats of force were ultimately no match for being bound by mutual interest. If Robson didn’t use this Magic to motivate them, they would just cut corners and slack off whenever possible, even if they performed their duties under duress.

Besides, all Robson was giving up were Mage Towers and Magic.

He was going to have to provide these things for the Mages anyway. After all, they were his people now, and it was useless for Robson to just hoard this Magic himself.

He was just presenting it in a different format now.

The only thing to worry about was whether they would falsify their contributions.

However, that sort of thing rarely happened in the early stages of establishing a domain. Besides, these Mages were all on his Knight’s Command Panel, and their spellcasting was recorded.

"The Lord is absolutely right! We’ll go help everyone with the construction of the domain right away."

"Hey, I just remembered! There was a place that needed some ice broken up. A Flame Technique would be perfect for that."

"What do you mean, *you* just remembered..."

Before long, the honorable Mages began to remember that they were members of the domain. Even Cross, who had led the dissent earlier, was the first to express his loyalty.

To this, Robson just smiled.

’Interest above all else. Such is human nature. My job is not to oppose it, but to use it.’

Critiquing human nature was a job for poets and writers. Robson’s job was to exploit it. If used well, he could get them to shout "Long may he live!" while working like beasts of burden.

"Robson."

Just as Robson was watching the jubilant Mages, Mage Falan, who was beside him, looked somewhat puzzled.

"Hm? What is it?" Robson asked, looking at Falan.

"I don’t remember teaching you anything that would allow a Mage to cast spells instantly," Falan asked, confused. "Your cast just now had no preparation at all. The formulas I taught you only reduce the time it takes to construct a spell model. Casting instantly should still be extremely difficult."

Of course Falan didn’t remember. Robson’s ability to cast instantly was thanks to the Knight’s Command Panel.

"That’s a secret. It concerns the very survival of the Human Race, so you don’t need to know," Robson said with a grin.

"Huh?" Falan scratched his head, completely baffled.

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