Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 245: Chapter 195: The Grand Mage of the Mage Forest

It lacks a clear structure, does not follow any known legal principles, yet seems to possess some sort of primordial “will,” constantly struggling, corroding, and howling.

“…It’s still resisting,” Flora murmured, filled with vigilance and awe.

She had seen the remnants of Forbidden Techniques and had touched the deep magical pollution at the edge of the Magic Tide.

But this fluctuation…

It is a twisted order, reverse life, devouring the spirit with composite attributes.

It doesn’t seem to be man-made, more like an “external entity.”

She took a deep breath, forcibly isolating magic power perception, her fingers trembled, and the demon silk immediately snapped, scattering like burnt spider threads.

Then, she looked at the original insect body soaking in the bottle.

The insect’s long spiked mouthparts seemed to be trying to penetrate the bottle wall. Even though knowing it’s already dead, the malice and instinct still spread in the air.

Even as one of the Grand Mages of the Mage Forest, she felt a long-lost shiver.

This thing was definitely “designed” by some advanced magical intelligence.

This completely overturned her initial judgment. She originally thought that the so-called “insect disaster” was nothing but the chaos of mutated creatures caused by the usual demonic energy diffusion in the Northern Territory.

Like the Demon Wolf Tide, the Rotting Beast Swarm, and other such situations, but now…

She slowly opened her mouth: “This magic… carries malice… a kind of curse-type self-expansion incompatible with any natural attributes.

It doesn’t even seem to be something human mages can control or create, like it’s…”

And her suspicion of Louis in her heart completely dissipated.

This young lord did not exaggerate.

If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she would probably think it was just the young lord’s fabricated achievement for credit.

But seeing such remains, Louis truly faced such profound terror, and even destroyed it with his own hands.

Perhaps it was because he knew nothing about magic that he could achieve this.

Just as she was working to calm her mood, Louis spoke again, his tone still unruffled: “Although it has been destroyed, based on the structure on-site and the origin of the insect body, we suspect that the nest is not the only hub.”

He paused, as if weighing how much to reveal, before continuing with the number: “Perhaps… there are a dozen more nests like that.”

The air suddenly became so heavy that it seemed it could crush the entire conference hall.

Flora’s pupils narrowed slightly, slowly raising her head to look at him: “May I have a look on site?”

Louis nodded: “I’m busy with affairs, unable to personally accompany you. But I will arrange knights to escort you.

However, it’s already late. Have a hot meal first, rest well tonight. Setting off tomorrow morning is not too late.”

Flora slowly nodded: “…Alright.”

This meeting completely changed her impression of the young lord.

And the truth of this insect disaster might be far deeper than she imagined.

Just as the meeting was nearing its end, everyone was preparing to leave.

Louis, however, suddenly mustered the courage to speak: “Um… Lady Flora.”

His voice was not loud, yet enough to make the Grand Mage who hadn’t gone far stop in her tracks.

Flora turned around, looking at him with confusion: “Hmm?”

Louis slightly turned his head, as if pondering his words.

At this moment, he didn’t seem like the always composed, experienced lord, more like a young man about to knock on a mysterious door.

“I wonder… if I could apply to become a member of the Mage Forest?”

“Eh?” Flora showed an unusually surprised expression, “What did you say?”

She blinked, not reacting for a moment, even doubting if she’d heard wrong.

“I know a bit of the Meditation Technique, and can perform some low-tier magic,” Louis spoke softly, as if stating some insignificant matter, “When I was young, the mage in the family taught me some.”

Of course, this was the story he and Lei Xi’er had concocted in advance, sounding simple yet sufficient to mask his unusually rapid growth.

Flora squinted, scrutinizing him, as if earnestly analyzing the truth behind this person.

But after a few seconds, she nodded lightly, thinking to herself: “After all, it is the Calvin Clan, having some knowledgeable elderly mages isn’t surprising.”

She didn’t hesitate long; after all, allowing a new mage into the Mage Forest was a trivial authority for someone like her.

“Then… show me your magic.”

Upon hearing this, Louis lifted his right hand, his fingers gently rotated, and an observable wave of magic power immediately rippled through the air.

The next moment, a ball of fire emerged suddenly in his palm.

The flames were clear and bright, burning steadily and modestly, the fire didn’t even make a crackling sound.

Flora raised an eyebrow, revealing a slight expression of appreciation: “Fireball Technique… well controlled. You’re very adept at manipulating magic power; it’s evident that you’ve put in a lot of effort.”

She stepped forward a few steps to observe the rotating trajectory of the flame, yet didn’t see the deeper mystery within.

She only attributed this to “a solid foundation.”

What she didn’t know was that behind that tame fireball, Louis was merely “mimicking” what a normal person should be like.

Actually, Louis’s magic output was extremely restrained, probably using only five percent of his magic intensity,

If the real him were willing, the flame could slice through a huge rock like a blade, instead of quietly hovering there.

“With your level,” Flora finally spoke, her tone filled with encouragement and affirmation, “I can write a recommendation letter for you, allowing you to participate in the Mage Forest’s examination.”

She paused slightly, her tone turning half-joking and half-serious: “After all, our Mage Forest isn’t a place anyone can just enter, even the offspring of the Calvin Family must follow procedures.”

“Understood.” Louis bowed slightly, his tone gentle and proper, a modest yet poised smile on his lips, “Thank you for your kindness, my lady.”

As for the examination, he saw it as nothing but a formality.

He didn’t say much more.

He didn’t mention he could use Magic Hand to manipulate a hundred-pound boulder from a distance, or that he already mastered over a dozen combat spells, nor did he mention he was currently opening the path of magic resonance with the Primordial Meditation Technique.

Louis simply withdrew the slowly extinguishing flame from his palm.

As if just now, it was merely a noble scion’s “casual show-off.”

Flora didn’t notice anything unusual, merely considering him a young man with a solid foundation in magic.

She smiled: “Then I look forward to the day you pass the examination.”

“I will not disappoint you,” Louis replied earnestly, without promising more.

Then he stood up and thanked Flora: “Thank you, my lady. I will arrange the matters for tomorrow’s visit to the nest ruins.”

“Hmm.” Flora nodded, “The magic fluctuations on the nest’s remnants are too strange to be underestimated. Seeing them with my own eyes will help in a swift investigation.”

As time wore on, the meeting at last concluded.

Flora walked out of the conference hall, her figure especially calm on the deep red carpet.

The tall magic robe slightly swayed in the night breeze, snow night’s chill hadn’t yet faded, but her expression was even colder than the icy wind.

Having seen the magical fluctuations on that piece of nest remnant, her heart could hardly find peace again.

“…How could one just ease up?” Flora murmured, her steps heavy, “This might not merely be a simple issue of mages being attacked.”

She sensed that this insect corpse matter would never be just an ordinary crisis investigation, but without evidence to elevate its urgency to allocate more mages, she could only take it one step at a time.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the conference hall was entirely different.

Louis could barely contain his inner satisfaction.

His plans for the day were perfectly achieved.

Firstly, the secret of the insect corpse nest successfully caught Flora’s attention, effectively drawing the Mage Corps into the situation. The subsequent investigation and information-sharing would proceed smoothly.

Secondly, he seized the opportunity to showcase his magic control ability and naturally gained the recommendation to take the Mage Forest examination.

“Both targets were achieved.” He smiled faintly.