The wizard starts by trimming the donkey's hooves

Chapter 304 Opening (Two chapters in one)

Ryan looked out of the carriage window and saw houses lined up on both sides of the street.

Most of these houses have reliefs of various sizes on their exterior walls with exquisite styles. Because this is located in the administrative district, most of them are home to administrative agencies.

This was also the second time that Ryan climbed the stairs from Leavenworth Street.

The last time, Ryan was strolling up with Veronica.

Thinking of this, Ryan couldn't help but think of the pretty figure of the girl with twin ponytails. He wondered how she was doing at the front line in Yugang Town? When could she return to the branch smoothly?
"By the way, Lady Olena, what's the situation in Fishing Port Town?" Ryan asked.

"The situation is not very good. The branch has arranged a lot of assignments at present. A considerable number of sword-bearing teams have been mobilized to rush to the coast of Rossby County and Meister to carry out tasks." Olena frowned and said.

"Hmm?" Ryan raised his eyebrows, quite confused.

This situation was really a bit beyond his expectations.

He originally thought that after the last time Her Royal Highness the 'Red Queen' Menia severely damaged the Demon Tail Three-Headed Sea Dragon, the subsequent situation should be one-sided. Why is it that the situation has taken a turn for the worse again?

"How could this happen? Isn't His Highness Menia over there?" Ryan couldn't help but ask.

"His Highness Menia actually left secretly a week ago and returned to the imperial capital."

"And the entire Empire's South China Sea Fleet has now strategically retreated. Lord Ryan, this information is still confidential for now, so please keep it confidential." After thinking for a moment, Olena lowered her voice and said.

After all, the contraction of the South China Sea Fleet's defense involves tens of thousands of naval officers and soldiers. To a certain extent, it is impossible to conceal it. The only thing to do is to control the speed of spread.

"What? At such a critical moment, His Highness Menia actually returned to the imperial capital? What happened in the imperial capital?" Ryan was slightly stunned when he heard the news.

This kind of transfer or returning on its own was too unusual, which made Ryan's bad premonition even stronger.

There is a feeling that a storm is coming and dark clouds are looming.

"I'm not sure about this." Olena shook her head slightly and said.

"If that's the case, then why haven't I received any assignments?"

"Uh, on your side, Admiral Edward means that Sir Ryan, you have just completed so many gold-level missions, so naturally you need a relatively long rest time."

Before Ryan could say anything, Olena continued:
"Sir Ryan, there is another piece of news that you may be interested in."

"After the last outbreak of the evil spirit in the oil painting disappeared for a week, it began to break out in many counties in the province a few days ago, and the number of casualties has increased each time."

"At present, any form of art exhibition has been banned in the entire province of Münster, and we have also sent a team of gold-level sword bearers and the elite of the Goddess Church to track down the whereabouts of the painting."

"Has it appeared again? Has a giant evil spirit appeared?" Ryan frowned.

"Not yet. The news reported so far are all about evil spirit incidents involving normal-sized little boys." Olena shook her head and said.

Ren nodded.

He was the first one to fight against the evil spirit's clone, so he naturally knew how difficult the opponent was.

If the evil spirit of the little boy had not merged, it would have been difficult for him to completely eliminate it, unless he found the real mysterious oil painting.

In addition, ever since he knew that Archbishop Gomes of the Goddess Church was assassinated almost at the same time that night, the connection between the two events was very clear.

The Black Flame Church must be behind the evil spirit in the oil painting.

They used the giant evil spirit to attract some of the high-end forces of the Goddess Church, and took the opportunity to assassinate the archbishop, catching the Goddess Church off guard.

Now they are popping up frequently in various counties with their oil paintings and seem to be gathering strength.

"The storm is about to come!" Ryan thought to himself.

At this time, the carriage had arrived at the Temple of the Monsoon and Ocean Goddess, which Ryan had seen from afar before.

As a provincial-level cathedral, the temple in front of us is more magnificent than the church in Meister County.

On the top of the tall and majestic temple, many arches are pointed. Although there are still several Ionic-style columns supporting the main entrance, the number is much less than that of the county-level temples.

On the contrary, there are a large number of reliefs and statues as decoration, which makes it more exquisite.

Following the line of sight from the steps of the temple down, there is also an oval fountain in the square at the bottom.

In the center of the fountain stands a female statue, about five or six meters tall, holding a conch shell. Surrounding it are statues dressed as Knights Templar, priests, etc., who are praising, bowing, or kneeling in various postures.

The gurgling spring water kept flowing out from the conch held by the goddess, forming a small waterfall that flowed down.

The defenses on all sides were quite strict, with a guard post every five steps and a sentry every ten steps. Obviously, after the assassination of the archbishop, the temple had strengthened its defenses again.

Following the notification and confirmation, Ryan and Olena soon came to the reception room of the temple under the guidance of a temple guard.

The two did not wait long in the reception room of the temple. A few minutes later, an old man with a red beard, only about 1.5 meters tall, walked in quickly with a frown on his brow, mumbling something.

"Young man, it's you who defeated the giant axe golem guards. You're quite powerful!" Before Olena could introduce herself, the other party took the initiative to greet Ryan, his voice as loud as a bell.

"Thank you Master Mogaro for the compliment." Ryan bowed slightly.

When they met for the first time, Ryan was quite curious about Mogaro's height and his appearance which was obviously different from that of ordinary humans.

"Hey, why didn't you bring your war hammer? I saw the wound guarded by the giant axe golem, it should be the damage caused by some advanced hammer technique."

Then, before Ryan could speak, Mogaro waved his hand, indicating that Ryan did not need to explain, and continued:
"Forget it if you didn't bring it. By the way, I heard that you wanted to talk to me? I'm busy dismantling the golem, so the time I can give you is limited, at most ten minutes."

This one
Ryan couldn't help but glance sideways at Olena.

Sure enough, he has a weird temper. No wonder Olena had to give herself a shot of prevention.

In this case, Ryan decided to get straight to the point and said:
"Master, I would like to go to your school to study for a while. I heard that you are a metal puppet master. I wonder if I can choose you as my mentor."

"I'm sorry, I don't plan on taking in any more disciples."

"Moreover, you sword bearers who come here only stay in the academy for a few months or half a year, and you can't learn anything too complicated." Mogaro's head immediately shook like a rattle.

"Of course, this is only my personal opinion. You can ask other masters."

Ryan's heart sank when he heard the other party's answer, considering that the other party was the only metal puppet master among the three masters who came this time.

After thinking for a while, Ryan said again: "Well, Master, I am also a metal wizard, so..."

"Ok?"

"You are also a metal wizard? Aren't you a great knight?" Mogaro, a master of puppetry with halfling blood, looked at Ryan in surprise and asked back.

Apparently, he was beginning to take some interest in Ryan.

Ryan did not answer directly, but smiled slightly, quickly deformed the hardened gold on his two arm armors, and cast the first-level metal magic "Metal Barrier".

The next second, three hardened gold kite-shaped shields appeared on Ryan's body, slowly surrounding him.
Mogaro's whole body suddenly froze, his eyes widened, his mouth opened, his face showing shock and confusion!
After a few seconds, the other party pointed at Ryan and said tremblingly: "How can your metal transformation be so fast!"

"As your innate magic, the metal barrier is cast quickly, which is understandable. But how is it possible for your metal transformation to be cast so quickly!" Mogaro repeated again with horror on his face.

As a metal wizard, Mogaro naturally saw it clearly. Ryan did not have any shield in his hand just now, but only a second later, the metal in the other party's hand transformed into three kite-shaped shields.

If this isn't metal transfiguration, then what is it!
He was all too familiar with metal transfiguration.

In other words, metal transfiguration is widely used in puppetry. It can be said that it is one of the most commonly used witchcrafts by wizards who specialize in making metal puppets.

However, this kind of witchcraft is easy to learn but difficult to master. Many metal wizards in the school have been using this witchcraft for twenty to thirty years, and it takes them about one second to transform into a steel shield.

But what did he just see!
The young man in front of me actually transformed into three kite-shaped shields at the same time. What's more, the material he used was not ordinary steel, but hardened refined gold!

You know, deforming the same weight of hardened refined gold is much more difficult than deforming ordinary steel.

"Master, I have been practicing this witchcraft hard recently." Ryan smiled and explained.

Just now, Ryan slightly concealed the casting time of his innate magic 'Metal Transfiguration'.

The casting of 'Metal Barrier' did not deliberately delay the time, it was still about 0.25 seconds, but when casting the innate witchcraft 'Metal Transfiguration', it was a little slower and took about one second.

After all, if the metal transformation was performed almost instantly, Mogaro, who was also a metal element, would soon notice that something was wrong.

The fact that metal transfiguration is regarded as a natural witchcraft is really too shocking.

It would be much more normal if people mistakenly believed that the "metal barrier" was his innate magic.

As for why Ryan wanted to demonstrate the two metal-related witchcrafts he mastered, it was naturally because of the other party's statement just now.

He believed that if he could demonstrate strength that would be recognized by the other party, things would turn around.

but
Ryan did not expect that the two witchcrafts he just displayed seemed to have shocked Master Mogaro too much.

"Hard training? What kind of hard training can improve the speed of metal transformation to this level?" Mogaro looked at Ryan with a look that clearly said, "Are you kidding me?"

"It has been forty years since I mastered Metal Transfiguration, but I am still not as fast as you when I perform it."

When he said this, there was shock, envy, and a hint of disappointment in Mogaro's eyes.

Ok?
Ryan was a little confused.

It shouldn't be
But Ryan thought about it and it was normal.

After all, his level 12 witchcraft control was roughly equivalent to the proficiency a wizard could gain after practicing witchcraft for more than ten or twenty years.

Normally speaking, it is impossible for a wizard to practice only one kind of witchcraft for a long time.

"Moreover, you can transform three sides of the hardened adamantium kite shield at once!"

"Well, Ryan, what is your affinity for metal elements?" Master Mogaro grabbed Ryan's arm excitedly, his face flushed. "Well, early nineties." Ryan thought for a moment and gave a more conservative number.

The last time it was measured, it seemed to be 93.6, but the problem is, if his steel body talent transforms again one day, this value will increase again.

It would not be wise to be precise about the numerical values ​​now.

For example, the effect of Dragon Bloodline this time may have caused the value to change again.

"Over ninety? No wonder your metal transfiguration is so powerful! Over ninety, that's an extraordinary talent!"

"He has a superb understanding of witchcraft and a great affinity with metal elements. He is extremely talented! He is extremely talented!!" Looking at Mogaro's expression, he was almost beating his chest and stamping his feet.

Olena on the side was also staring at the scene in amazement.

But she vaguely remembered that Ryan's affinity for metal elements was over eighty?
How come you are in your early nineties now?
Because Admiral Edward was paying more attention to Ryan at that time, she had learned some information about Ryan.

"No, I have to contact the dean immediately about this matter." Mogaro seemed a little impatient.

"Hey, Master Mogaro, this way I am." Ryan reminded kindly from the side.

"You just said you wanted me to be your mentor?"

"No problem, I can promise you now." Mogaro looked at Ryan with bright eyes.

"If you have any other requests, just tell me."

Mogaro looked eager.

An expression that says, "I won't give up until you make a request."

"This." Renn looked thoughtful.

He discovered that the level of strength he displayed was a little too high.

Because of the other party's enthusiasm at the moment, it was a little difficult for him to adapt.

"It is like this, Master Mogaro, Lord Ryan is a diamond-level swordsman of our branch. You should know about swordsmen of this level. They are the pillars of our Munster branch."

"So, during your studies at your school, you may receive some field missions from time to time." Olena said at the right time.

"What! Your Munster branch actually wants to send such a valuable Imperial research talent out on a dangerous mission?" Mogaro said angrily.

"What the hell! I will definitely file a complaint with your Sword Bearer headquarters about this."

Olena looked embarrassed immediately!
"Hey, Master Mogaro, actually, this is my initiative and it has nothing to do with the branch." Ryan had to interrupt the other party.

"Well, okay then."

"I have understood what you have just heard. You may have to go out on missions during your study period. Although the school has never made such an exception before, in my opinion, this will affect your studies."

"But you are different. I can make an exception for you on this point."

"Any other requests?" Mogaro asked again.

Ryan and Olena looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Then follow me back to the school's headquarters now!"

"Now?" Ryan asked in surprise.

This is too urgent.

"It may not be possible now, Master Mogaro. Tomorrow, Lord Ryan will attend the Viscount investiture ceremony of the Munster Province."

"Viscount? It seems that you have made a lot of contributions to the empire. You are a viscount at such a young age." Mogaro couldn't help but look at Ryan again and sighed.

"You are really young and promising! This is a good thing, and I can't stop you."

"Okay then. When you finish the award ceremony, I can finish my work here as well. Then we can return to the academy together."

"Okay, Master Mogaro." Ryan nodded.

When Ryan and Olena left the Goddess Church, they did not expect that this incident would be so dramatic.

This made Olena secretly glance at Ryan in front of her again, and sighed in her heart, "Sure enough, strength is the key factor in changing other people's views!"

When Ryan returned to the branch, he opened the door and found that his team members, including Neolo and Evelyn, were still exchanging some combat experiences in the training room.

When they saw Ryan coming back, everyone greeted him.

After thinking about it, Ryan naturally told everyone about his next step, which was that he might go to the Bixiu Construction School for further studies.

"Captain, it's a good thing that you want to go to the wizard school for further studies, but there is a problem. If you are not here, I'm afraid we won't be able to handle some of the assigned tasks." Neolo frowned and said.

When the others heard this, they all seemed to be thinking about it.

Ryan knew that Neoro was not shirking his responsibility, but because he was the captain of the Diamond-level Sword Bearers, the difficulty of the tasks assigned to him, no matter how low, would at least be gold level.

If he wasn't there, it would be difficult for Neolo and the others to complete the gold-level mission successfully. After all, they had just joined the Sword Bearers and had only been there for a short time.

"Don't worry, I will rush back as soon as there is a mission. I have already had preliminary communication with the school on this point." Ryan patted Neoro's shoulder and said.

"That's no problem. By the way, Captain, why did you choose the School of Construction? I heard that it is a research-oriented wizard school." As a scroll master and a member of a marquis family, Neoro had heard of some wizard schools in the empire.

"Neoro, you forgot that the captain is a metal wizard. The Construction School should have the metal wizardry that the captain wants to master." Angus said with a smile.

"Yes, the stock of metal-based witchcraft is scarce. It should be one of the few schools besides the School of Construction." Neoro's face showed sudden realization.

"Yeah." Ryan nodded.

"By the way, you may need to pay special attention to the situation in the city recently. I have a bad feeling about this."

As he spoke, Ryan told everyone about the reappearance of the evil spirit in the oil painting.

"It seems that the cult may make some big move next!"

"By the way, Captain, speaking of this, we haven't had a proper combat drill yet." Vieri said on the side.

"Well, you reminded me." Ryan nodded.

Before, he had always been fighting alone, and recently he had been either busy improving his extraordinary combat skills or upgrading his career level as the Great Armorer (Extraordinary). Therefore, since Neoro and others joined, the entire team had not really conducted any coordinated training.

This is still necessary.

Apart from anything else, this scroll of Neoro alone can grant him a lot of beneficial witchcraft.

For example, Swift Wind can increase his speed by nearly 20%.

Starting from early the next morning, the entire administrative district, church district, noble district and upper town of Münster were decorated with lights and filled with joy.

Although the number of people promoted to baron and viscount each year is not large, there are nearly a hundred people in the entire province of Münster.

Among them, nearly half were from noble or wealthy families in the provincial capital of Münster. Therefore, quite a few nobles were directly and indirectly affected by this awarding ceremony.

In addition, nobles above the rank of Baron Munster also received invitations to watch the ceremony.

Ryan originally wanted to invite his mother Emma and his father Ryan Sr. to attend, but his mother Emma always felt that the two of them might embarrass her son in terms of image, so she turned down her son's kindness.

Instead, the beautiful ladies Jennifer and Jenny accompanied Ryan to the banquet.

In nature, the awarding ceremony is more of a symbol, while the exchange banquet in the evening is the highlight.

Because at the banquet, the newly promoted barons or viscounts can communicate with the old nobles, and at the same time, young men and women can release their hormones.

Around five in the afternoon, the sun sets.

There is a constant stream of traffic in front of the magnificent administrative hall.

Ladies and young ladies in various dresses came one after another, but even in such an environment, Jennifer, the beautiful woman beside Ryan, was one of the most eye-catching ones.

"Hello, Mr. Ryan!"

"Mr. Ryan, long time no see!"

Many people greeted Ryan, because most of the young sword bearers were awarded the title of baron, including Angus, Evelyn and others.

Among the sword holders, Ryan, who used the 'Meister Battering Ram' to knock down the obsidian giant with one blow, was naturally famous.

A quarter of an hour later, hundreds of Munster nobles and their families, dressed in their best clothes, gathered in the audience. Also attending the ceremony were representatives of the Goddess Church, representatives of the Sword Bearers, and others.

Ryan also saw Special Envoy Javier, but Admiral Edward did not come.

At the same time, Ryan also saw for the first time the supreme ruler of the entire Münster province, the Duke of Münster.

The other person was an old man with a brilliant spirit, grey hair, and dressed in aristocratic formal attire. He had a calm aura and a majestic air without even getting angry.

Just as the Duke of Munster was about to step forward to give a speech, a man dressed as a royal guard walked over quickly and whispered something in his ear. Immediately, the Duke of Munster's face turned ugly.

Since Ryan was awarded the title of Viscount, his seat was arranged in the third row at the front. With his super perception, he could vaguely hear several key words such as "giant evil spirit" and "cult".

This made Ryan narrow his eyes.

"Could it be that the cult chose this time to take action?" Ryan thought to himself.

(End of this chapter)