Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree-Chapter 494: Liaison

This is also why only a small number of people were sent this time, as it is almost impossible for such a small force to truly cover the entire Florence Continent.

After the meeting ended, the massive fleet of Floating Airships ascended once more, carrying the main forces of Black Sail and Thorn Holy Tower, like scattered meteors, flying in all directions of the Florence Continent to weave a larger protective net.

The outskirts of Fengqiu City suddenly became much more empty, with only a small Floating Airship left for the Duke and his companions.

This small Floating Airship was nowhere near as large as a Floating Airship, but it could still accommodate hundreds of people, which was entirely sufficient for the Duke and his companions.

The operation of the small Floating Airship is handled by specialized slave creatures, which the Duke and his companions do not need to worry about.

The Duke and Vivian stood high in the castle of Fengqiu City, gazing into the distance.

The burden on their shoulders is not light. Although the Vera Kingdom is only a part of the Florence Continent, its territory is still vast, with mountains and rivers crisscrossing, and hidden dangers are unpredictable.

"We will first establish a radiation-pattern patrol route centered on Maple Hill County," the Duke said to Vivian beside him and the remaining wizard team leader, "with a key focus on areas with abnormal energy reactions or where there have been recent disappearances of beasts and abnormal withering of vegetation."

Vivian added, "At the same time, we need to establish connections with the official Vera royal family and other major nobles within the territory, issuing alerts and collecting reports of anomalies from the populace. Some clues may be hidden in the experiences of farmers, hunters, or traveling merchants."

The Vera Kingdom is considered a small nation on the Florence Continent, but its area is still large, extremely vast.

With the manpower the Duke and his companions have, they are far from sufficient to investigate the entire kingdom, so they can only conduct targeted investigations through civilian rumors and messages.

In Maple Hill County, things are manageable; the Duke and his companions have stronger control over Maple Hill County, essentially being able to know any little movement within Maple Hill County.

But it is not easy in other places; getting the lords of other territories to cooperate with them is not easy. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

These people have no idea how big the world is, nor do they know how dangerous the so-called Void Insect Race really is.

The Duke can already imagine that, even if they cooperate, it would probably be superficial, with no real action.

He doesn’t care about the life and death of these people, but the key is that if there is a Void Insect Race quietly building a nest in these people’s territories, and they are unresponsive or indifferent, by the time the Void Insect Race develops, it will threaten Maple Hill County.

This is probably the meaning of the saying "When the lips are gone, the teeth will feel the cold." These territories are all adjacent, and for the Void Insect Race, there is no concept of territory; they will only devour everything they see before them.

After formally beginning operations, the Duke and Vivian are considered to be officially executing the tasks of Black Sail and Thorn Holy Tower.

As the Duke anticipated, communication and coordination with various forces is far more complex and intricate than actually clearing away the demons.

They first made contact with the royal family of the Vera Kingdom through Earl Hardy’s connections.

The Vera Kingdom’s royal family is more aware of the world’s structure and knows what the existence of a wizard is like, far clearer than the local nobles about the seriousness of the situation.

They understand well that if such a large number of wizards have descended, the threat faced must be extraordinary.

Thus, the royal family showed great cooperation and quickly issued a formal royal decree requiring all noble lords nationwide to fully cooperate with Maple Hill County, with the Duke and Vivian’s work, providing all necessary facilities and promptly reporting any suspicious signs.

This document sealed with the king’s imprint granted the Duke and his companions great operational convenience, at least on the surface.

However, once the royal decree left the capital, its effect rapidly diminished as the distance increased.

In the territories of several Grand Dukes closer to the capital, where royal control is stronger, the envoys sent by the Duke and Vivian were still relatively well-received.

The lords, though skeptical about the so-called Otherworldly Insect Race, out of submission to the royal decree and dread of the mysterious power of the wizards, outwardly promised to strengthen patrols within their territories and convey information as required.

But when the envoys’ steps entered those remote territories, where the mountains were high and the emperor far, in the counties and viscount territories, the situation was quite different.

Some more cautious or ancient families that have previously come into contact with extraordinary knowledge, although internally not entirely convinced, cooperate reasonably well, willing to heed suggestions, issue announcements within their territories, and remind hunters and travelers to pay attention.

But more distant lords showed obvious perfunctory, suspicion, and even resistance.

"Extraterrestrial demons? Devour everything? Ha ha, Envoy Sir, it’s not that I don’t believe, it’s just that my territory is secluded here, the fiercest things we saw were just a few magical beasts over the past century. Where would such monsters be?" a border earl with a full beard and a body reeking of alcohol spoke in a blunt manner, full of disbelief in his gaze.

Another viscount, known for his stinginess and conservatism, was more concerned with practical interests, "Strengthen patrols? Sure, but where do the manpower and food wages come from? The royal family isn’t funding us, I can’t empty the warehouse myself, can I? Besides, if I send all the people to patrol those deserted mountains, who will look after the crops in the fields?"

Even more, some harbor deep-seated rejection and fear of the very existence of wizards, "Wizards? Who knows if what they say is true or false? Maybe the forest incidents were caused by them! Trying to extend their reach into my territory? No way!"

These lords are guarding their fiefdoms and powers, their world is limited to their territory, lacking perception of the outside world, and instinctively resisting powers that go beyond their understanding.

To the extent that they can say things like wizards are coveting their territory, sometimes the envoys sent by the Duke face these ignorant people and are speechless, completely unable to communicate.

In their eyes, the royal order may sometimes be less important than a boundary skirmish between neighboring territories.

The so-called cooperation often remains at the verbal level, with the patrol teams only symbolically wandering a few turns in the core areas of the territory, while the vast, potentially risky borders and wilderness are left unsupervised and uncared for.

Maple Hill County, the Duke and his companions are also receiving messages from various parties continuously.

"The situation is pessimistic," the wizard responsible for summarizing information reported, "more than half of the remote territories, especially those adjoining forests or possessing large undeveloped mountain regions, are almost all in a defenseless state. They either do not believe the threat exists or are incapable of effectively monitoring."

The Duke looked at the areas marked on the map, his brows furrowed tightly.

These areas, like blind spots, could very well become the breeding grounds where the Void Insect Race lurks and thrives.