Chapter 115: City of Wisdom

Chapter 115: City of Wisdom

How the City of Wisdom first appeared and was established was no longer known. Scholars lived here, observing everything with cold eyes. A night owl, like a spirit under moonlight, flew over from the distance against the backdrop of the moon. At first, it was a black dot, then it gradually took up the whole view, completely blocking the moon behind it, and finally transformed into a huge shadow sweeping past.

After several months, Bran’s name appeared in this city again. The first time this name appeared here was a few years ago. Sean, a scholar who had remained quiet in the Northlands, suddenly made a move. This forgotten person reported Bran’s name, saying he had found someone who could inherit his legacy. About a year ago, Sean reported again in an uncertain tone that Bran had discovered the secret of Wizard evolution. Until a few months ago, scholars in the Northlands sent back messages one after another: Fairies had appeared. The creatures from Northlands legends actually existed.

It was no accident that scholars could be found in every corner. They had their own organizational system. They used their knowledge to serve various places, while constantly absorbing new knowledge and talent from them.

This situation became awkward in the Northlands. Generation after generation of scholars entered that place, only to fall into silence. They never truly touched the secrets of the Northlands, and they couldn’t even cultivate their own successors from there. For many years, the City of Wisdom had been sending people to fill the Northlands.

But no one lost patience. They didn’t gain anything because they hadn’t given enough. But some things began to change. The first group of young, excellent scholars entered the Northlands full of confidence, but fate let them grow old silently. When Death came, new replacements took their positions. Gradually, this place was seen as an unlucky land. Although the people who came were even more talented, their status changed somewhat. Most of them were people who had made some mistakes. This place became a land of exile, a place for atonement.

The Northlands held too many secrets. How did a seemingly savage race master the most advanced smelting techniques? What was the source of their power? And so on, and so on. There were too many things here that the scholars coveted.

From the first battle at the Eternal River, when the Northlands first revealed themselves to the world, the scholars noticed something unusual about this race and sensed there were things that interested them. Knowledge was tempting. Acquiring it truly required learning and recording. But what would you do when what you wanted to obtain, the other side refused to teach?

Perhaps from the black robes the scholars wore, one could guess this was not a group that considered themselves noble. They were also Predators, Predators of knowledge.

Years of effort began to bear fruit. Years of not-so-noble actions finally yielded gains. A thief may remain a thief for a thousand days, but who can guard against a thief for a thousand days? Now, a corner of the Northlands’ secrets was lifted for them. The appearance of Fairies made the scholars start re-examining and collecting the legends of the Northlands. Perhaps from these legends, they could discover more hidden truths and knowledge.

The night owl brought the latest news from Lava City. A large Delegation set out from there. Their targets were the Northlands and Bran of the Northlands.

The intelligence the scholars possessed was the most comprehensive and reliable. As Sean had said, he was recording everything he could. He tirelessly recorded everything in the Castle, and that included Bran. This old scholar recorded day after day, never overlooking any person or any detail. Now, this dedication and effort showed its value. Bran’s life from birth onward was completely laid out before the scholars. That Bran was the one who truly grasped Wizard evolution was no secret to the scholars.

They decided to protect Bran. If possible, the scholars hoped Bran would become one of them. A group of twenty set out from the City of Wisdom. They were a special group of Scholars. Under their black robes were fine chainmail and short swords. Long Blades and shields were fixed to their saddles.

How could those who stood firm on this land, who guarded and schemed for knowledge from all sides with a neutral stance, possibly be a group of unarmed people? How could the tall City of Wisdom lack a foundation of flesh and blood? Now was the time to need fresh flesh and blood to consolidate this great city.

…

Bran had no mood or energy to care about the changes outside for now. He was stuck in Northland City, sitting dull under a big tree. Now, he had another annoying person by his side, Zoya, who was quickly using up what little patience he had left.

This wasn’t like the old days at the Mountain Villa, where he could do nothing. As his power grew and his understanding of Mana deepened, Bran had more confusions and questions. He needed to think and verify with all his heart. He needed time. He should have hidden in the Mountain Villa, continuing to accumulate his strength. But to break free from restraints and truly enjoy freedom, these were the prices he had to pay. Only after paying the price, Bran found himself even less free.

The city’s construction was not going smoothly. After spreading things out, Bran realized something was wrong. The scale was too large, and there was a severe shortage of hands. He had to readjust. Northland City now looked messy and disorganized, and this situation would last for quite some time. Several stopped construction sites were like huge scars, mocking his incompetence.

In Zoya’s eyes, Bran was still that little Northlander who liked to listen to her talk about her thoughts. The only difference was, back then he sat in a rocking chair, now he sat under a tree. She could not understand Bran’s troubles, and Bran would not pour his heart out to a child.

After several days of talking about herself, Zoya finally began to care about Bran’s affairs. She heard, “You killed a lot of people this time again?”

“Who told you that? What do you mean ‘killed a lot of people again’?” Bran was somewhat displeased.

“Everyone is saying it.”

“Don’t listen to their nonsense! Last time, I didn’t kill those people. This time, the Anya People were killed by the Dragon Riders and the Royal Family. I didn’t kill anyone.”

Bran didn’t want to talk about these bloody matters with the little girl. It wasn’t to deceive, but he thought it was inappropriate to talk about such things with a child. Although in this World, blood and violence had long been part of daily life. Children grew up seeing and hearing about it and were used to it, but for now he didn’t want to discuss these things with a child, especially a little girl.

“You’re lying! I know what you’ve been doing with the White Wolves these days.”

Bran was startled. “Who told you?”

“My accompanying Knights and servants, more than one saw it. I heard their private talks.”

“Oh, don’t you feel scared or sickened?”

“No! We execute criminals too. But I’ve never seen wolves eat people. Take me with you next time.” Zoya seemed eager.

Bran let out a long sigh. “Alright.”

Amidst Zoya’s cheers, Bran fell silent. He needed to adjust his mindset now. The little girl cheering for the upcoming scene of flesh and blood flying was a bit too beautiful…

Zoya didn’t let him off. She leaned closer and continued, “Teach me how to kill, okay?”

Bran clicked his tongue, looked her up and down carefully, then reached out and touched her head. “As long as you want to learn.”

He didn’t need to teach her how to kill. The little girl already had decent skills; those were for protecting her life and killing. Maybe this was just the little girl’s way of showing closeness. Maybe she was curious about the feeling of a blade on flesh. Bran couldn’t see any bloodthirst or malice in the girl’s bright eyes.

…

This was the scene Earl walked in on and heard. She adjusted her mindset quickly and was no longer afraid. Through observation, she found that Northlanders were quite easy to get along with. They never made harsh demands on those around them. As long as you didn’t become their enemy, as long as you worked hard for them.

In just a few days, the residents of Northland City had shed their initial fear. Some idle people began to gather to watch the excitement, even making plans to go see the wolves eat people together next time. The initial fear was gradually replaced by another feeling—that of being spectators. And so, while watching, cheers gradually rose.

Thinking carefully about life here, there hadn’t been much change so far. Apart from the city becoming somewhat messy, it wasn’t much different from before. And people believed that as the city construction progressed, this messiness would soon disappear, provided there were enough hands.

Yes, hands!

Earl came to report to Bran about the manpower problem. A few bold and skilled guys had gone into the mountains on their own and captured some mountain folk. Bran had set an example, and now others were following it.

Bran, who was feeling overwhelmed, thought this was fine too. So let it continue…