Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree-Chapter 504: Battle Group

Duke and Vivian didn’t have such sorcerer qualifications at the time, and Tom’s fourth-class wizard qualification was indeed decent.

But that was all it was. For Duke, as long as he wanted to, he could easily find a group of wizard apprentices with qualifications better than Tom’s as followers.

On Black Sail’s Academy Island, there were many wizard apprentices, many of whom hoped for the opportunity to follow an official wizard, and quite a few had decent qualifications.

"You have the qualifications to become a wizard, but there’s no need to follow me, it’s too troublesome for me. Once things here are done, I can introduce you to a wizard organization," Duke said casually.

Once things ended here, Duke planned to take Tom back to Black Sail, as if contributing to Black Sail’s growth.

When Tom heard Duke say that he had wizard qualifications, his eyes instantly filled with unbelievable joy, as if he had finally seen the light of a lighthouse in endless darkness.

And when Duke said he could introduce him to a wizard organization, Tom was so excited that he trembled all over, undoubtedly a gift to change his destiny.

Once again, he deeply bowed, his voice choked yet incredibly sincere, "Thank you, my lord! Tom will never forget your kindness!"

Tom then paused and summoned the courage to say again, "My lord, I hope you can give me a chance to follow you!"

"Follow me? But what value can you provide?" Duke said bluntly.

Tom could hardly provide any value to him, and he didn’t need a mediocre follower.

Tom thought for a moment, then said with determination in his eyes, "You saved my life, so I can offer everything to you, my lord, willing to give my life for you at any time."

Seeing Tom’s determination, Duke had some different ideas and said, "If you really wish to follow me, would you be willing to sign a slave contract?"

He knew Tom didn’t understand what a slave contract was, so he specifically explained it, informing Tom of the severity of the contract.

Unexpectedly, Tom didn’t hesitate for even a second and agreed immediately.

Duke pondered for a moment and thought he might try it.

Although Tom’s qualifications weren’t great, investing in him might pay off if he grew to be an asset in the future.

If Tom couldn’t grow, Duke wouldn’t have lost anything; it was a small investment.

Duke then suddenly thought of Yarbede, whose enigmatic actions seemed like an investment too.

To Yarbede, she hadn’t invested much, but if Duke grew, it would be a gain.

"If that’s the case, I can give you a chance to sign a slave contract and become my follower," Duke thought for a moment and said.

"Thank you, my lord! Tom won’t let you down!" Tom’s face instantly showed joy, and his eyes became even more determined.

Tom then signed the slave contract and received the Deep Blue Tide Meditation Technique, quickly beginning to study it.

In reality, Duke wasn’t optimistic about Tom because, without any other opportunities, Tom might find it challenging to advance to a Level 2 Mage through normal cultivation.

Unless he took the path of a Bloodline Mage, he could cross the wizard qualification threshold; however, acquiring a powerful bloodline wasn’t easy, and this path was tough.

...

After returning to Fengqiu City, Duke immediately held urgent consultations with Vivian, Earl Hardy, and Rein.

He informed everyone of the devastation in Bessm County and the suspected presence of a Level 2 Nest, and the grave situation weighed heavily on everyone’s hearts.

"We must immediately strengthen our defenses, especially long-range firepower and frontline barriers," Duke pointed out clearly, "Relying solely on our current soldiers and limited slave creature forces will make it difficult to withstand a potential insect swarm."

His solution was simple and direct: purchase a batch of slave creatures.

"I plan to purchase a standard regiment of slave creatures, about fifty thousand in number," Duke revealed his plan, "They will form the main force of our defense line, supported by some heavy firepower and wizards for defense."

The reason for fifty thousand was mainly due to his limited funds, currently over 40 million magic stones, which might not even be enough.

"Fifty thousand? I could borrow some from the teacher..." Vivian immediately realized it was a big expenditure.

Duke shook his head, "No need, I have enough funds on hand." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

He had enough magic stones now, and there was no need to have Vivian ask Grace for money.

Without further delay, Duke first contacted Lucas through the Wizard’s Mark.

He hoped to purchase through the internal channels of Black Sail, which would be more reliable in quality and price.

"Sir Lucas, I urgently need to purchase fifty thousand slave creatures to form a defense regiment to counter the possible outbreak of a Void Insect Race legion here."

Lucas replied shortly after, "This matter might be difficult. Fifty thousand is equivalent to the strength of a regiment, and the organization is currently very tense internally, so it’s probably impossible to sell that many to you."

"I understand, thank you, I’ll think of other ways." Duke had anticipated this result.

Black Sail was also engaged in combat on the Devourer Plane and urgently needed slave creatures, making it challenging to buy a large batch at such a time.

With internal channels unavailable, Duke immediately turned to the external market, contacting Harrison from the Giant Rock Commerce Association.

"Manager Harrison, I need..." Duke quickly explained his needs.

Harrison thought for a moment and said, "No problem, though the Commerce Association doesn’t have that many slave creatures for sale, we have cooperating commerce associations. Let me ask around for you."

"Thank you," Duke expressed his gratitude.

Harrison then reached out to friends from other commerce associations that specialized in slave creature transactions.

For these commerce associations, fifty thousand wasn’t a large number; it’s just rare for an individual to purchase this many slave creatures at once, usually only some wizard forces would make a single purchase of fifty thousand slave creatures.

Soon, Harrison replied, "I’ve already made contact for you. Fifty thousand slave creatures, and it’s a standard regiment, for a price of 30 million magic stones, which is a discounted price."

A standard regiment meant the slave creature regiment was already organized, with reasonable configurations all around.

Under normal circumstances, such a regiment’s price would be very high, with forty to fifty million magic stones being common; 30 million magic stones was indeed very cheap.

Such a regiment had five Level 2 slave creatures and several hundred Level 1 slave creatures.

Duke thought for a moment and said, "Alright, please send them to the Florence Continent as soon as possible..."

Harrison trusted Duke greatly, so he didn’t require any deposit and directly started contacting people to arrange for the slave creatures to be sent over.