The Imperial Scepter of Glory

Chapter 16 Magic (Part 2)

After enduring a brutal battle, the group was utterly exhausted. Thankfully, after a night of rest, no further dangers emerged. By the next day, they successfully found a path down the mountain, and the Frlegg Mercenary Group, escorting the caravan, finally left the treacherous Harris Mountain Range.

Three days later, Lintan and his men successfully delivered the caravan to its destination. Despite the numerous obstacles along the way, the merchants suffered no major losses, and as promised, they paid the agreed 200 gold coins in commission.

Lintan had originally set out with a thousand gold coins. The three magical gemstones taken from the necromancer had fetched a price of one hundred gold coins, which he distributed entirely as a bonus to the surviving warriors. After deducting another hundred gold coins as compensation for the fallen soldiers, Lintan was left with a total of eleven hundred gold coins.

Of course, his greatest gain wasn’t the gold, but rather the thirty-plus system energy points he had acquired from the necromancer. This pleasant surprise left Lintan in high spirits. Now, his system had a total of eighty energy points remaining. He decided to save them, using only two points per day—one for swordsmanship training and one for combat energy refinement.

In just twenty days, a new month would begin, granting him an additional 320 system energy points. Lintan had also noticed an interesting effect—his leadership during the deadly battle had raised his prestige among the mercenaries, allowing them to generate energy for him. This energy wasn’t a fixed amount; the more people who respected, admired, or revered him, the more energy he received. Whether it was loyalty, trust, or even deep admiration, the intensity of these emotions determined the level of energy supplied to his system. It seemed as if the system itself was pushing him to be a good leader.

Along the journey, Lintan had also been familiarizing himself with spellcasting.

Mastering magic required extensive study of magical runes and spell theories—something Lintan had neither the time nor patience for. He would rather invest his efforts into refining his combat skills and energy techniques. Fortunately, with the system’s aid, he only needed to understand the fundamental principles of magic. The complex glyphs and inscriptions? The system translated and explained them all, drastically reducing the time required for him to cast spells. Naturally, he could only memorize a limited number of spells, focusing solely on those he deemed useful.

Finding a secluded spot during their journey, Lintan eagerly tested his newfound abilities. The necromancer’s spellbook contained a significant number of death-related spells, but this didn’t concern him. After all, he wasn’t personally performing these dark incantations—his system handled most of the complex aspects of casting. He had no intention of delving into the cruel and gruesome arts of necromancy.

However, there was still one major limitation—magic required mana. Even with the system’s assistance, he had to expend his own energy to fuel his spells. Thankfully, he discovered that he could substitute mana consumption with combat energy. Still, like a typical mage, he could not cast spells beyond half his own level. At his current third-tier level, he was limited to zero-tier and first-tier spells. Attempting a second-tier spell would completely drain his combat energy.

Lintan was at peace with this limitation. After all, no power came without a price. A force without restrictions would be a broken system.

Currently, Lintan and his group had arrived in Florensa City, the coastal capital of the Florensa Principality. Granting his warriors five days of rest, he allowed them to relax and recover from their arduous journey.

As for himself, he immediately headed for the local Mercenary Guild, intending to recruit more fighters to reinforce his ranks. He had no interest in scouting raw recruits from villages or urban centers. While that option was undoubtedly cheaper, such recruits lacked battle experience and would require extensive training before becoming effective in combat. Even with the system’s assistance, forming a unit of elite two-handed swordsmen or spear infantry would take at least a month. Moreover, no matter how well they were trained, they could never match the hardened veterans currently serving under him—men who had already survived the trials of blood and fire.

Thus, Lintan set his sights on experienced mercenaries. Though untrained by his system, these seasoned warriors possessed immediate combat capability. Discipline might pose an issue, but as long as he kept their numbers manageable, he could maintain order within his ranks.

For five consecutive days, Lintan spent nearly all his time at the Mercenary Guild, recruiting skilled fighters. Aside from dedicating two hours daily to training his swordsmanship and combat energy, he focused solely on strengthening his force.

When the five-day period ended, the Frlegg Mercenary Group reassembled at an inn in Florensa. Lintan had successfully recruited twenty new mercenaries to join his veteran troops. Many of these recruits had just returned from the brutal Beastman War, their previous mercenary groups either wiped out or disbanded due to heavy losses.

The cost of these twenty mercenaries? Six hundred gold coins. Adding in the expenses for supplies and provisions, Lintan was nearly broke.

With his newly reinforced team, Lintan led his men across the Florensa Principality, taking on various mercenary contracts. The majority of these missions involved law enforcement, tracking fugitives, and clearing out bandits. These were relatively low-risk tasks, allowing them to maintain stability without suffering major casualties.

“Edward, shouldn’t we head to the Meazza Kingdom to join the Beastman War?” One evening, as they rested at camp, Garrabron approached Lintan, his expression filled with frustration. Over the past week, their assignments had barely yielded any profit—just enough to break even. Mercenary work wasn’t particularly lucrative unless one sought high-risk endeavors. Real wealth came from two sources: dangerous expeditions or large-scale warfare. So far, they had avoided both.

Unlike smaller elite squads that specialized in rare expedition contracts, a large unit like the Frlegg Mercenary Group was better suited for battlefields.

Lintan, however, had his reasons for avoiding the war—for now.

“The timing isn’t right,” he stated firmly. “Right now, both sides are in a stalemate. Winter is approaching, and neither the allied forces nor the beastman army will have an easy time surviving it. If we join the war now, we’ll just be freezing in the wastelands, accomplishing nothing.”

“Then when do we go?” Garrabron demanded. “Your father’s death hasn’t been avenged! I won’t be satisfied until I’ve slain my fair share of beastmen!”

“Spring. Next year.” Lintan’s voice carried certainty. “Once winter ends, the beastmen will face a food crisis. At that point, they’ll have only two options: launch an all-out offensive against the allied forces to plunder supplies, or retreat. Retreating would mean two years of war with no gains, and the current Beastman King would likely be overthrown. Without resources, the eastern wastelands cannot sustain their massive population. They will have no choice but to wage total war. That’s when the real battle begins—and that’s when we strike.”

Mercenary contracts during wartime were structured in two ways—fixed wages based on time served or high-reward bounties based on battle achievements. The former paid little, while the latter was where fortunes were made.

Garrabron, though still frustrated, accepted Lintan’s reasoning and returned to his quarters. Lintan, meanwhile, gazed eastward, lost in thought.