Chapter 72: Goblin Mine

But when he looked up and saw the person coming, his anger immediately disappeared by more than half. It turned out that the person who came in was his nemesis, Ice Magic Saint Rui Li.

Originally, Rui Li also came with anger. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so rude to barge in. But seeing the Old Mage’s discomfited state, her anger dissipated a lot, and she couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“Rui Li~” The Old Mage saw that she not only didn’t apologize for her behavior but also had the nerve to laugh. He couldn’t help but say with some annoyance, “I seem to have taught you that such unrefined behavior is not what a noble Mage should do!”

“Hehe, I’m sorry, Teacher, I was just in a hurry!” Seeing this, Rui Li also knew she was in the wrong. She hurriedly apologized, then took the initiative to come over, took out her handkerchief, and carefully wiped the Old Mage’s beard. She didn’t have the fiery look from just now at all, but instead revealed a sense of warmth.

Facing such Rui Li, the Old Mage, even if he had anger, it immediately disappeared without a trace. He could only smile bitterly and say, “Alright, alright, I’ll do it myself!” Saying that, he wanted to wipe it himself.

“No, you are too clumsy.” Rui Li clearly didn’t intend to give the Old Mage face. She reached out and knocked away the Old Mage’s hand, continuing to wipe his beard until it was completely clean.

The Old Mage had no choice but to let her do it. He quietly enjoyed it.

After wiping, Rui Li threw the handkerchief away casually, then said seriously, “Teacher, I came here to issue a letter of challenge. Last time Little Stephen won by luck. I request a Duel!”

“Oh my!” The Old Mage immediately said with a headache, “Rui Li, just spare me, okay? For the Little Princess’s matter, you already smashed my conference room. It was just repaired yesterday. This time it cost me nearly 1,000 Gold Coins. In addition, I lost a authentic work of the painting Master Polo from 300 years ago. I bought that for 3,000 Gold Coins! Isn’t that enough to vent your anger?”

“Of course not. I demand a fair Duel between them. Only by defeating Little Stephen in a Duel can I vent my anger!” Rui Li said hatefully.

“Oh my god!” The Old Mage immediately said depressedly, “You clearly know that the Little Princess is no match for Little Stephen. Why make the poor Little Princess get beaten by Little Stephen again and again?”

“Stop talking nonsense!” Rui Li immediately said angrily, “Last time, if Little Stephen hadn’t played tricks, he definitely would have lost!”

“Little Stephen used wisdom. He reasonably used schemes without violating any Duel rules. This is completely allowed in Duels between Mages, and should even be praised, not blamed. You and I both know this clearly!” The Old Mage paused, then said with a slightly dissatisfied bitter smile, “On the other hand, the Little Princess, she not only violated the rules by attacking first before the Referee announced the start, but also brought contraband. That seems to be what should be condemned, right?”

“Nonsense, how could she be carrying contraband?” Rui Li immediately said stubbornly.

“Rui Li, that object on her body was personally made by me for you. I not only clearly know its shape and size, but I am also very familiar with its scent and aura. It is impossible to hide it from me!” The Old Mage suddenly said very playfully.

“You shameless old guy!” When Rui Li heard this, she immediately blushed red with shame and could not help but punch the Old Mage’s chest hard a few times. Then she said hatefully, “Yes, that’s right, the Little Princess does have an extra item. But she is, after all, two and a half years younger than Little Stephen. To make up for this gap in cultivation time, it is only right for her to have that one item, isn’t it?”

“Rui Li, that item is my masterpiece after just advancing to the Saint Level. The rare materials alone cost no less than 50,000 Gold Coins, and it took me nearly half a year of effort. Is such a Magic Guiding Device, which can be considered a treasure, only worth a mere two years of cultivation?” The Old Mage could not help but complain, “Are you underestimating my craftsmanship, or are you despising the intelligence of both of us?”

“Anyway, I don’t care about that!” Rui Li knew she was in the wrong on this matter, so she simply stopped arguing and said directly, “I just want to tell you that I request they have a Duel for a second time. It will still be according to the standards of the last time, and my bet remains the same as before!”

“You are being unreasonable!” The Old Mage immediately said depressingly, “Last time I clearly won, but the result was a loss for me. This time, I estimate that if I win, the result will be the same. But if I happen to lose, I will only lose even more miserably. I have no interest in such a gamble where I am bound to lose.”

“No, this time is different!” Rui Li smiled slightly and said, “I bet that you will definitely be interested. Look at this!” As she spoke, Rui Li took out a very ancient leather scroll from her sleeve and pointed out the small characters marked on it to the Old Mage.

“The complete Blueprint for manufacturing Goblin Mines!” The Old Mage almost shouted. Then he immediately widened his eyes to the size of ping-pong balls and could not help but exclaim, “Good heavens, it is actually a relic of the Goblin Dynasty. Where did you get this?” It looked like he wished he could just take this thing for himself.

In fact, it was no wonder the Old Mage was so excited; the origin of the scroll was simply too great. According to the historical records of this Continent, about a hundred thousand years ago, there were two super kingdoms on the continent, one in the south and one in the north. The one in the south was a glorious Magic Dynasty established by the Elves, while the one in the north was a technology dynasty established by the Goblins, powered by Magic Crystal Stones.

The Goblins at that time combined Magic and technology, creating an extremely splendid civilization. According to records, they possessed a series of high-tech items such as Goblin Tanks, Goblin Mines, Goblin Mortars, Goblin Muskets, Goblin Airships, and Goblin Helicopters. Almost all citizens were masters of manufacturing and design. The current Dwarves were a subordinate race of the Goblins at that time, only responsible for the least technical casting. But now, relying on the forging technology obtained from the Goblins, the Dwarves have become the most famous casting race on the Continent, with technology second to none. This shows how high the level of the Goblins was at that time.

It is a pity that when the Goblins achieved brilliant success, they also swelled with crazy ambition and actually aimed to unify the Continent. In fact, the Elves were also at their peak at that time, dreaming of becoming the sole rulers of the Continent. A life-and-death war between the two powerful races was inevitable.