Chapter 471 — Daniel's Contact

During this period, though Gao Yang had devoted most of his energy to consolidating and governing the southern reaches, he had not put matters beyond the southern reaches out of his mind—especially the Dreamers' network, which he had always kept under observation. It was just that the Dreamers had been fairly quiet lately, and there had been no major changes in the network, so in this regard he had largely been going through the motions: logging in to check the news, then assigning Daniel tasks of study, research, and technology theft.

He had not expected this old mage to contact him on his own initiative.

Daniel sat down cautiously across from Gao Yang, weighed his words, and said: "It is like this, My Lord. One of my apprentices happened to learn some news: the ruler of the Tifeng Empire... may be researching the Magic Web, or magic-web-related technology."

Gao Yang reined in his surprise and responded as though unconcerned: "Oh?"

"Luoyan Augustus has issued an order to recruit mages. The recruitment notice has even been posted in remote towns near the border, and the talents he seeks are most unusual—they must have some knowledge of ancient Gondor magic technology and also be familiar with self-charging arrays. This led me to think of your 'Magic Web.'"

When Gao Yang had publicized the Magic Web, for the sake of convenience he had once described it as "lost technology originating from the ancient Gondor Empire," a point he had also mentioned to Daniel.

"Knowledge of ancient Gondor magic technology and familiarity with self-charging arrays... That is indeed unusual." Gao Yang stroked his chin and mused briefly.

Ancient Gondor magic technology was a "high-end field" in the eyes of mages; basically only those with a certain capital of talent, birth, and strength were qualified to study it and master a smattering. Self-charging arrays, by contrast, were a low-end, worthless field of array technology. Before the nameless wild mage created the Magic Web, self-charging arrays—those "cheap and inefficient" creations—had always been disdained by grand mages. And to find talent proficient in both fields at once...

It was roughly equivalent to finding two stand-up comedians at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Even in the northern magic kingdom of Violet, one would probably not find more than a few such unconventional mages.

No wonder that Emperor Luoyan Augustus, despite having the Royal Academy of Mages in hand, would issue a public recruitment order—and even post it in remote backwaters. Among those eccentric, solitary hermit mages, he might actually find a few talents in this area.

He had never imagined that the "advertising copy" he had casually fabricated back then to promote the Magic Web would, through a twist of fate, mislead the ruler of Tifeng. Gao Yang could not help but find it somewhat amusing—and as for the "guess" Daniel had mentioned...

He had almost no doubt. From the recruitment information Emperor Luoyan had issued alone, he was ninety-nine percent certain that the ruler of Tifeng had developed an interest in the "Magic Web."

This was within his expectations.

Because he had never kept information about the Magic Web hidden—besides, Cecil's rise was so conspicuous that it could not be hidden even if he tried.

Even before the Southern War broke out, intelligence about the Magic Web had already traveled along the trade routes into the Holy Spirit Plain and the Eastern Region, and once the Southern War began, Typhon would surely turn its attention to any news concerning Cecil—as an empire of ancient standing and formidable power, it must have had intelligence channels within Ansu.

Daniel carefully studied Gao Song's expression and ventured, "My lord, do you think..."

"Very good news. By my reckoning, they should have gotten wind of the Southern War in Ansu by now. If Luoyan Augustus is truly a man of great ambition and ability, he will certainly be sharp in this regard," Gao Yan said, nodding, his expression calm. "Do you remember the knowledge I taught you back then?"

"Yes," Daniel nodded at once. "And I have already realized the Magic Web in the laboratory, along with several basic mechanisms..."

"You have already begun to distinguish yourself within the Long Night Order. As a seasoned mage, it is about time you became a technical star of the Typhon Empire."

Daniel's expression turned solemn; he seemed to have been waiting for these words from Gao Song, and he nodded immediately. "I shall obey your will."

"Let this matter be settled for now," Gao Yang continued. "Since you have come this time... tell me as well of the recent changes in Typhon."

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