"General Claude, this grey robe is the standard for Greytower magi," Chzerak said.
The third time he visited, he brought a grey robe with him. "Look, it's different from the outer robes we usually wear. The collar is vertical and the buttons are made of obsidian. There's a pocket on the left and right. It looks simple, but it's very classic.
"Also, the material used to make the robes is a cross weave of Sigri hemp and Siros fine wool. Look, the slanted side of the robe shines with a silver sheen under the sun. That's the characteristic of Siros fine wool, also known as the Silver Sheen.
"These two materials are prohibited from being sold on Sigri, so they're the best choice for making robes.
The robes of the Greytower magi have their own unique symbol. First, there's a seven-storey tower embroidered on the collar. That's how they got their name.
"Second, there are two fixed spells on the left and right chest. The one on the left chest is a cleansing spell that can be used three times a day.
"The one on the right chest is Shadow Transformation, which changes the color of the robe in a dark environment. It's a spell that can be used once every three days.
"Apart from that, the magi of the Greytower are also used to embroider their magus rank on the sleeves of their robes. They also embroider a hexagram on the bottom of their robes to show the number of assassination missions they've completed." Chzerak pulled out the right sleeve of the robe for Claude to see. There were two black lines embroidered on it, which meant that the original owner of the robe was only a two-ring magus.
The bottom of the robe was very clean, which meant that the original owner had met with misfortune during his first assassination mission.
Claude asked General Saljorak, "What's the highest level of the magi that were killed?"
General Saljorak replied that apart from the three gray-robed Magicians who had three black stripes on their sleeves, the others all had two black stripes.
Claude found it strange. Did the famous Greytower magi rely on these two-ring and three-ring magi to carry out their assassination missions?
No wonder he had a feeling that even without the revolver, he could deal with two or three gray-robed Magicians with just his spells …
Saljorak had obviously put a lot of effort into that. He told Claude that according to the information provided by a few rogue magi in the colonies, Greytower had been recruiting islanders with insufficient talent in magic for the past two to three decades. They were prepared to spend time and money to groom them into qualified magi assassins.
The grey-robed magi who came to assassinate Claude and Aljess were probably the first batch of new blood that Greytower had nurtured over the past two decades.
It was no wonder he felt that the grey-robed magi were easy to deal with. Strictly speaking, the grey-robed magi sent to assassinate him were just defective products. They weren't true battlemagi and were only one-off magi killers.
If Claude and Angelina's talent in magic was above 80%, Bloweyk's was only around 60% to 70%.
In that case, the islanders recruited by Greytower should only be around 40% to 50%. They were the kind that could learn magic, but their progress would be slow and they wouldn't have much potential.
But for Greytower, they had no choice but to recruit such islanders. No matter how slow their progress was, it was still better than Greytower disappearing with the passage of time.
Even though Higros was huge, the island's population was less than a million. The one or two geniuses that appeared every year would be snatched away by the other magi factions on the island. There was no chance for Greytower to groom magi into assassins and killers.
Claude only took a year to become a one-ring rune magus while Angelina only took six months.
Bloweyk's talent was the worst among them, but he only took 16 months to become a one-ring magus.
As for the islanders recruited by Greytower, it would take them at least three to five years to become one-ring magi and another ten years to become two-ring magi.
It was no wonder they were sent out for assassination missions when they only had two or three rings. Greytower wouldn't be able to afford to raise them until they reached the fourth or fifth ring.
Just as Claude and Saljorak were discussing Greytower's intelligence, Skri barged into Claude's room with a messenger eagle.
He was very excited, but he tried his best to keep his voice low. "It's from the frontlines. General Bolonik led the royal guard folk, part of Thundercrash, and the first and second folk of Monolith to attack Port Vebator two nights ago. They entered the city and fought for a day and a night, forcing most of the enemy's defenders to surrender. They successfully took over the entire city.
Bolonik had commanded his troops to attack Port Vebator the moment they arrived. Fortunately, everything went smoothly. It only took one day and two nights for them to take over Port Vebator.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly. It only took one day and two nights for them to take over Port Vebator.
He didn't know how many casualties the royal guard suffered during the siege. Hopefully, Bolonik would remember Claude's warning and reduce the casualties of the royal guard.
"Is there any news from the royal capital?" Claude asked Skri.
"No. The royal capital recalled the first group of envoys and sent the second one. Based on their schedule, they should have just boarded the ship at Whitestag's military port. It'll take them at least a month to get here.
Mister Weyblon told us last week that the second envoy didn't have a single member of the first envoy. I don't think they're here to make things difficult for us. "
Claude breathed a sigh of relief. "As long as they're not here to make things difficult for us, it'll be fine. We'll just stay in the colonies and watch the two princes fight it out.
There's no need for us to take sides in the future. We'll just serve whoever is king. "
General Scribe and General Hazorak looked at each other and nodded.
Had it not been for Claude's determination to save himself, they would've been in deep trouble by the time the first envoy arrived.
Back then, with Marshal Michelic holding the fort, they didn't have to worry about offending the useless generals of the royal bloodline.
Who would've thought that the situation would change so quickly? Marshal Michelic was injured and went into seclusion. Thanks to the assassination attempt, the useless generals of the royal bloodline found a good opportunity to take revenge on the generals in the theatre.
It was conceivable that if the First Special Envoy Investigation Team really came to the war zone, they would be able to pick out even a piece of tofu from it …
What chilled the generals the most was that Prince Hansbach, whom they were loyal to, didn't even speak up for them. He allowed the useless generals of the royal family to slander them and accuse them of plotting the assassination for the sake of power.
Fortunately, the first envoy was summoned back by the bigwigs of the royal capital. Otherwise, the generals in the theatre would've been faced with unimaginable consequences.
It was all thanks to Weyblon and the mining association's assistance. They sent news from the royal capital to the theatre, allowing Claude and the generals to see how the royal capital responded to the assassination attempt, as well as the attitudes of the bigwigs and the members of the envoy.
It could be said that the surviving generals all owed the Mining and Commercial Association a big favor.
It seemed like they only needed to wait patiently for another month or so for the second envoy group to arrive at Lanu Town and deal with the assassination.
However, Skri still had to send news of Bolonik's capture of Port Vebator to the royal capital. He believed that the royal capital would have to send a third envoy to settle down the troops in the theatre.
Since the colonial war was over, it was up to the bigwigs to decide whether there was a need to keep the theatre.
Claude could finally rest in his bed and recuperate in peace. But eight days later, General Skri sent him another piece of good news.
General Bolonik's Royal Guard Regiment was investigating the residents of Port Vebator when they discovered the whereabouts of the escaped magi.
Faced with the aggressive soldiers of the Praetorian Guard Division, they tried to fight back with the cover of the terrain and the houses. However, three or four projectiles were thrown at them, killing four of them and wounding three. Now, the command center finally had a live source of the assassins.
This was indeed good news. General Saljorak had already run to the Dorinibla River to await and greet the team that was escorting the three living Magicians. He swore that he would get the name of the mastermind behind the assassination from the mouths of the three Magicians who were still alive.
However, none of that had anything to do with Claude. He learned from Perunt that the heavily injured Birkin was recovering better than him and would be able to leave his sickbed in two months.
Sir Bennett, the civil affairs director of the other war zone, was very unlucky. He had lost his left hand, which had been cut off by a wind blade spell during the assassination.
By the time Myjack appeared in front of Claude, the second envoy mission was only three to four days away from Lanu.
Myjack had escorted the wounded soldiers and the three grey-robed magi back alive. After handing the three captives over to General Hazorak at the Dorinibla River, he rushed back to Lanu with the wounded soldiers.
Claude learned from Myjack about how Bolonik led his troops to take Port Vebator. Well, how should he put it? It was an average performance.
Had it not been for the grenades that proved their prowess during the siege and urban warfare, the port that Shiks had placed their hopes on wouldn't have been taken so easily.
This was especially true during the final battle to occupy the docks. The seven light cruisers of Sea King's fleet stationed at Port Vebator bombarded the area that had fallen into the hands of the attackers. They tried to prevent them from getting close to the docks, hoping to keep a small portion of the docks in the hands of the defenders.
However, General Bolonik was prepared. The five heavy field cannons that had been painstakingly transported from Port Patres began to show their might. Taking advantage of their superior range, they attacked the seven light patrol gunships in the port. In the end, five of the enemy ships were sunk and the last two light patrol gunships were forced to raise the white flag and surrender.
Once the seven enemy ships were gone, the enemies at the docks couldn't hold out any longer and quickly surrendered. Just like that, Port Vebator fell into the hands of the attackers.
Myjack told Claude that his childhood friend, the fat Borkal, had contributed greatly to the capture of Port Vebator.
All the attack routes in the city were planned based on the information Borkal provided. He even had a guide to lead the way.
That was the reason the battle at Port Vebator only lasted a day and a night. The Shiksan defenders found themselves surrounded as they fought and lost contact with the rear.
If they refused to surrender, then what awaited them would only be grenades being thrown at them from all directions …
More than twenty thousand casualties were suffered in the siege. Most of them were injured and only a few died.
The ones who suffered the most were the four corps from Monolith's first and second folk. They accounted for 60% of the casualties and lost almost two of their corps.
Only Thundercrash and the royal guard folk were left. The royal guard folk suffered the least casualties, so much so that the officers of the royal guard felt embarrassed and took the initiative to guard the city.
What happened next was simple. Borkal received a report from one of the former Port Vebator's mid-level officials who sided with him and passed it on to the royal guard. The royal guard sent some men to surround the area and interrogate the residents. It didn't take long for them to discover the whereabouts of the magi who escaped.
All they had to do was throw a grenade and all the trouble was solved.
That was what Myjack meant when he told Claude that his friend, Borkal, had contributed greatly in the siege of Port Vebator. Without Borkal's information and route of attack, the number of casualties in the city would've at least doubled.
As Majid III had rewarded the corps defending Port Vebator heavily, the enemy didn't surrender so easily and put up a fierce resistance.
However, it was all meaningless. The defenders of Port Vebator had long been isolated and couldn't even leave the city to scout the enemy.
On top of that, their equipment couldn't compare to the standard Aueran military equipment. Bolonik's troops were equipped with catapult bombs. The unexpected explosion quickly destroyed the remaining courage and determination of the defenders. That was the main reason why Port Vebator was conquered in just a day and two nights.
With Port Vebator captured, the magi who escaped were captured and the envoys were about to arrive at Lanu, Claude felt that he could finally rest in peace. There was nothing else for him to do.
What Claude didn't expect was that the envoys would arrive at Lanu three days later. After the welcoming banquet, the envoys all headed to Weyblon Manor.
In the name of visiting General Claude, they gave him a large number of valuable gifts and filled his ward to the brim.
Claude could only smile bitterly. He knew what the visiting envoys were planning. It was none other than the revolver he invented.
Saljorak took some time out to visit Claude and told him a piece of news that made him laugh and cry.
The three magi who were captured confessed that they had accepted a bounty from the Shiksan king, Majid III, to assassinate the generals in the war theatre.
What was laughable was that the one with the highest bounty was Claude. His head was worth a hundred thousand gold keptons.
On the other hand, the bounty on General Aljes' head was the same as that of General Bolonik and General Skri, which was only 50,000 gold Kepton.
That was why the grey-robed Magi split into two groups when the assassination attempt happened. Claude sent seven of them on his side.
After the envoys received the confessions of the magi, they got into an intense argument.
They weren't willing to accept the fact that General Aljes' bounty was only half of Claude's and wanted to force the magi to change their confessions. At the very least, they had to make up for the difference between the two.
They argued eloquently that it was a matter of General Aljese's reputation ….