With numerous titles and honors, including "Dragon Slayer", "Griffin Knight", and "Imperial General", Mai Ge • Alex stands at the center of the storm. With the strength of both sides almost evenly matched, his choice is almost decisive, and even the king will take into account the intentions of this young general who has gradually grown into a pillar of the Imperial military.
This choice wasn't hard for most people to guess. It seemed impossible for Mai Ge • Alex to side with the Second Prince; the military and the Mage Tower had always been at odds, and the First Prince had consistently supported the military and enjoyed a good reputation with the Marshal.
With Mai Ge • Alex's support, the balance of power in this struggle for the throne seems to have shifted in favor of the First Prince.
"If that guy doesn't act rashly, it's uncertain who he'll choose." Mai Ge tapped the pen between the Second Prince and the First Prince. In his memory, the Second Prince seemed quite gentle, while the First Prince was too warlike and lacked wisdom, making him a poor candidate for the next king.
Moreover, the actions of the First Prince's faction after that incident chilled him to the bone. They only sought to maximize their own interests and no one cared about the safety of him and his daughter. This was similar to his initial assessment of the First Prince: heartless and ungrateful.
As for the elves, it must have been at the behest of the Elf Queen; otherwise, no one could have taken Amy away from the Elf Princess. The high-ranking elven mage who appeared that day was not someone anyone could easily command.
As for the demons, they were probably just high level thugs hired by both sides to confuse the public and take the blame. After all, the blame was completely shifted onto the demons. All the demons in Luo Du were even arrested, investigated, and expelled. The two sides were on the verge of war, almost breaking out into a second large-scale war. The Demon Lord was probably so badly tricked by those guys that he was about to vomit blood.
As for why Mai Ge • Alex didn't die despite having all his meridians severed, the most crucial factors were probably Amy and the absent elven princess. As the sole heir to the elven throne, her status was even more noble than the Second Prince, and even the elven queen had to consider her feelings.
"She's definitely in the Wind Forest right now, but I don't know if she's in seclusion or trapped. Until the elven race find a better heir to the throne, she shouldn't be in danger." Mai Ge drew a circle around the elf princess.
Even with Mai Ge's strength back then, he was made to suffer so badly and barely managed to escape those people's surveillance to get here. Naturally, he can't just go directly to their door and expose his identity now. He needs to find an opportunity to find out some information about the elves and her first, and then see if it's possible to let Amy see her, depending on the situation.
If Amy hadn't missed her, Mai Ge wouldn't have planned to get involved in this mess, but recalling Amy's aggrieved look earlier, how could he bear to let her sad and disappointed?
The little one was so sensible. She'd asked Mai Ge • Alex once when she was little where her mother was, but Mai Ge • Alex hadn't answered, so she never asked again. It wasn't that she'd forgotten; it was just hidden in her heart.
"I'll dress up on my next day off and go to a detective agency to get some information about the elves. If I don't remember them, I'll just have to get to know them again." Mai Ge looked at the piece of paper in his hand and crossed out Mage Tower, the First Prince, the Second Prince, and the Elf Queen. Although he wasn't in a hurry to avenge Mai Ge • Alex, but he wouldn't mind tricking them if he had the chance in the future. He still remembered that someone suggested killing him and Amy together that night to eliminate any future threats.
"I hope I don't get the chance. Although I have no interest in being emperor, it would be more interesting to support that third prince who's obsessed with carpentry than to let those two guys take the throne." Mai Ge scoffed, tore off the piece of paper, lit it, threw it into the trash can, watched it slowly turn to ashes, and then turned and walked toward the kitchen.
A grinder has been added to the stove, and the second Bai Ji Mo oven purchased from the system has also arrived. Fortunately, when the system designed the restaurant, it reserved a lot of space for the kitchen, with many empty spaces. Now, as the kitchen utensils are added one by one, it still doesn't feel crowded at all. Moreover, these kitchen utensils are not fixed in place and can be put away when not needed.
Mai Ge walked over to the refrigerator and glanced at it. The soybeans and various side ingredients were already prepared. In this respect, the system is quite reliable.
As for the price, Mai Ge wasn't worried. His pricing was simply two or three times the cost of the ingredients, as long as he made more money than the system.
Mai Ge soaked the soybeans in a large bowl. He had originally only planned to make enough for two people, including Amy, to try it out first, but after hesitating for a moment, he grabbed a few more handfuls of soybeans, turned off the light, and went upstairs to sleep.
…
"Lord Crassus, are you really going to build a magic room in the Chaos City?" In a simple room lit by an oil lamp, a lean middle-aged man looked at Crassus, who was sitting at a desk and seriously sketching something, with some disbelief. On his chest was a small black tower emblem, the symbol of the Mage Tower of the Los Empire.
"Yes, Arthur, go back to Luo Du first thing tomorrow morning and have them send over everything I need as soon as possible, including all the things I have stored away." Crassus said without looking up. He paused, put down his pen, turned to look at Arthur, and his expression became somewhat serious. "By the way, tell those old fogies that if I'm missing even one of the things I asked for, I'll go back and dismantle a floor of the Mage Tower. If I'm missing all thirty six items, the empire will never have a Mage Tower again."
"Yes!" Arthur's expression hardened, and he quickly nodded in response. He looked at Crassus, who had turned back to continue drawing. He had served Lord Crassus for twenty years. Perhaps few people remembered this white-haired mage, but he was the only great mage in the Mage Tower who dared to fight a dragon in close combat with a mage's staff and was not at a disadvantage.
He entered the Mage Tower at eighteen and is now over one hundred and twenty years old. He has served Lord Crassus since his grandfather's generation, learning of his deeds from a young age. He knows that Crassus lives on the eighteenth floor not because he is the eighteenth in the tower, but simply because he likes the number eighteen. If he wanted, he could live on the thirty sixth floor as well.
A hundred years ago, his prominence was no less than that of General Alex a few years earlier. The Mage Tower's status soared in those decades, and he played a significant role in that.
However, heroes grow old. Arthur followed him south to take on disciples, but unexpectedly, they stopped here, and it seems he intends to settle here and spend his remaining years in peace. This makes Arthur's feelings somewhat complicated.
"Go." Crassus said. "Prepare a carriage for me first thing tomorrow morning. I need to go to the Restaurant Mai Mi early."
"Okay." Arthur replied, quietly leaving.
In the room, the light flickered. After a long while, Crassus finally put down his pen, looked at the design drawings of the magic room on the paper, and a smile appeared on his aged face. He got up and walked to the window, looking at the few stars that were half-hidden by the dark clouds, and sighed to himself, "Back then, that girl Irina said she would give birth to a daughter for me to be my apprentice that I'd teach her the most powerful magic, and build the most beautiful magic room. It's a pity that my body won't be able to wait until then. Fortunately, I've found a nice little one now, but I wonder if that little one will like it..."