Chapter 442: Chapter 345: These Are Two Different Things, Part 2

"I’ve told Mary that the captain is very clever; he might have already discovered something. And Mary has an Invisibility Cloak, so even if things take a turn, her life won’t be threatened. But for that Captain Byron, it’s a different story. Clever people love to overthink, and they’re especially fond of wild speculation."

"Also, before these people left, I had a celebratory drink with them. We had the Ball Algae Wine brewed by the Naga Race. The taste of that stuff..." Shire thought for a moment, then smiled and shook his head. "I hope it doesn’t leave them with any psychological trauma."

Agatha, too, gave a bitter smile and shook her head. "Let’s hope that captain isn’t discovered by his peers."

"Don’t worry, he’s very clever. I think he should be able to find a way," Shire shrugged. "Anyway, about this armor, have you figured anything out?"

"I’ve made some progress," Agatha said, setting down her magnifying glass and picking up the teacup beside her. "There are a few lines of runes of the Four Gods etched on it. Strictly speaking, they’re runes of the War God."

"The runes of the Four Gods are different?"

"I compared it with a few examples of runes in my books, and they seem to be different," Agatha said, taking a small sip of chrysanthemum tea, then frowning. "It’s a little cold."

Then, she took another sip. "This is different from Arcane Runes and our Rune Speech. It’s designed to resonate with the Holy Order Army’s own magic, which is how its effects are triggered."

"What kind of effect is carved on it?" Shire asked, nodding his chin toward the Holy Order Armor on the table.

"I don’t know," Agatha shrugged. "The books don’t have a complete record of the runes, and I imagine the Church wouldn’t let them leak out. But I’d guess it’s something like strengthening defense or providing magic protection."

Shire frowned, staring at the armor. It was engraved with several rings of runes, some of which were even painted with gold lacquer, making it look quite magnificent. "So you’re saying that without being activated by magic, these runes are useless?"

"In principle, yes," Agatha nodded. "But that’s not really an issue. After all, these ’turtle shells’ are forged from Dwarven Steel, a material that’s harder than Fine Steel without sacrificing toughness."

"Hmm, that’s true," Shire said, a corner of his mouth turning up. "The material is extremely rare. When I was in Plantagenet City, I heard that even the Great Nobles only own a small amount of Dwarven Steel equipment, and the High Tier Knight Orders only have a few pieces."

"The Dwarf Royal Court in the northern snow mountains has always controlled the export of Dwarven Steel. The forging process has always been in their hands, making it difficult for other races to get ahold of it."

"So you’re planning to give all the armor you acquired to the Naga?" Agatha asked, watching Shire from her chair as she held her teacup.

"Mm, not all of it. Mainly the pieces for the upper body, since the Naga can’t use leg armor," Shire nodded. "We need to build a good relationship with the Naga right now. Only by relying on them can we effectively control Darren Lake and the Darren Lake Basin, and know the enemy’s movements in advance. With armor, these Naga warriors will have fewer worries. And besides, my next move requires the Naga Race’s participation."

"You mean the Magic Potion?" Agatha asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Yes, Pazani has already provided a few Magic Potion samples. I gave them to Lame Leg, Nine-finger, and the others. We don’t know what the reaction will be yet. Pazani says this type of potion takes a while to take effect, and I have no idea what will happen when a goblin drinks it." Shire took another sip of his chrysanthemum tea. "If the effects are good, then that’s the result I want. It’s just some Dwarven Steel Armor; giving it away is no big deal. Besides, I’ll give the leftover pieces to Marshall, the Magic Artisan. We’ll see if he can cobble something together."

"Do you realize that what you’re doing right now could turn the world upside down?" Agatha asked, her voice surprisingly calm as she held her teacup.

"Turn it upside down?"

"Yes. If goblins can use magic, it means other so-called lesser races can learn too," Agatha said, her eyes fixed on the gently trembling surface of her tea. "Centaurs could learn, Gnolls could learn, even the Kobolds hiding underground to mine ore could learn."

"Is there a problem with that?" Shire asked, his tone even.

"It would humiliate the Humans, Elves, and Dwarves. After all, they’ve always proclaimed that magic is a high art, and that learning it is a talent exclusive to the high-level races." Agatha swirled the liquid in her cup and looked up at Shire.

"I don’t care," Shire said with a smile. "I don’t believe any particular skill is exclusive to a single race. People used to say goblins couldn’t cook well, but Bai Mao’s food is delicious now. They also said goblins could only dig holes with their claws, but One-Eyed is doing great work. I think that one day, a High Tier Mage might even emerge from the ranks of the goblins."

"Have you heard of the Magic Federation?" Agatha asked with a soft sigh.

"Yes." Shire nodded. Many nobles had heard of it—the supreme institution composed of Mages and Warlocks.

"The Federation is composed of Humans and Elves; they don’t even have Dwarves. And that’s despite many Dwarves being able to use some Elemental Magic. I’ve heard they’re excluded, so let’s not even talk about goblins." Agatha stared at Shire, finally voicing her concern. "If one day, they find out that you have goblins practicing magic, those people will definitely..."

Seeing Shire’s brow tighten in silence, Agatha let out a soft breath and changed her tone. "Of course, the Magic Federation is a loose organization. A lot of them have their own ideas, and maybe not many would care about goblins learning magic. But if even one of them decides to make it an issue, it would be a catastrophe for your people."

"I know," Shire said, a smile playing on his lips. "It’s not that I haven’t considered that possibility, but it can’t be an excuse to stop me. If goblins don’t know magic, they will always be at the mercy of others. I don’t want my Kingdom to one day be bombarded by several Flame Burst Techniques. If that day ever came, I think I would regret not exploring the path of letting goblins learn magic."

"I will absolutely set the goblins on the path to learning magic. Even if we suffer attacks or a reckoning in the future, it’s a necessary preparation to counter the scorn we face. Not having a sword and having a sword but choosing not to use it are two completely different things."

"Fine," Agatha said with a slight shake of her head. "But I must remind you: in your Kingdom, not many people can read Common Speech. They probably won’t be able to understand the magic books."

"Er," Shire was momentarily at a loss for words. "That... is a problem."

He rubbed his temples and sighed. "That problem has been troubling me for a long time. I don’t have a solution for it yet, and I don’t know when I’ll find one."

"But that might be a good thing. This way, it will slow down the goblins’ mastery of magic, and you won’t have to worry about us attracting the Magic Federation’s attention."

"I suppose that’s true," Agatha nodded.

"Alright, I’m heading back. Why don’t you study this armor a bit more?" Shire drained the last of his tea in one gulp and set the cup on the table.

"Mhm, I’ll take another look," Agatha said slowly from her chair. "I want to try and see if I can combine Rune Speech with this thing."

"Can you even do that?" Shire asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You have to at least try."

......

In the backyard of the Moonlight Inn in Yangjiao Town’s West District, Diana stood frozen with her mouth agape. Her gaze swept over a large flock of Griffins tethered to wooden stakes before her. The creatures pulled restlessly at their ropes, letting out a series of sharp cries.

"Here... how are there Griffins from the Holy Order Army here? And so many of them?"

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