NOVPUBAnd Angus and Viery both burst into laughter.
...
After exchanging ends with Neoro, Rein, who had been fighting against the trio in a drawn-out battle, retracted the witchcraft ’Metal Barrier,’ taking a temporary rest.
He glanced at the Warhammer Wizard (Legendary) occupation panel, and with the strong cooperation of the newly joined team members such as Neoro, his witchcraft Metal Barrier had reached lv2 (218/300).
The progress was very gratifying!
Considering the current turbulent situation, Rein initially planned to raise it to lv3, before directly accelerating its enhancement with Skill Points to rapidly build combat strength.
...
The group sat around the coffee table to rest.
The servants in the hallway respectfully poured tea and laid out refreshments before quickly leaving the room.
"Tsk tsk, Lord Reine, your treatment as a Star-ranked team captain is truly exceptional," Angus said with envy.
Rein smiled slightly and asked, "Did you hear about what happened last night?"
"Lord Reine, are you referring to the demonic spirit attack that occurred last night?" Neoro asked, raising an eyebrow.
"So it was a demonic spirit attack last night?" Viery and Angus looked at each other, their faces showing sudden realization.
Evelyn’s beautiful eyes were fixed on Rein, as if waiting for the rest of his story.
Rein cast a look at the group.
It seemed that, as a noble scion from Mingster itself, Neoro was quite informed.
It wasn’t that Viery and Angus lacked sharp senses; by the time they perceived something amiss, the battle had already ended.
Yesterday’s fight had lasted less than two minutes before it concluded.
"Not just the demonic spirit attack, there’s another matter—Archbishop Gomez was assassinated," Rein dropped a bombshell.
"What!" The group’s faces all changed.
Everyone present was either a noble heir or from a military background, so they naturally understood the status and power represented by an Archbishop of the Goddess’s Church.
Such a prominent figure’s assassination spoke volumes without words!
"Please keep this matter confidential for now. The main reason I’m telling you this is that if your families haven’t yet moved to Mingster, it might be time to hurry," Rein said with a serious expression.
"The Empire’s situation may be more turbulent than we imagine," Rein said earnestly, looking at them.
Now that they were all teammates in the same squad, Rein saw fit to share this news with them in a timely manner.
"My family has already moved some people over. But my father, being a nobility of the fief, must not leave Rosby County," Evelyn nodded.
"It’s just me from my family," Viery shrugged, looking at Rein.
"Huh? Just you?"
"Yes, my mother passed away early, and my father was once an Imperial Colonel. He fell in battle during a crackdown on feral beasts," Viery said with a touch of melancholy.
"Viery, if you don’t mind, you can move into my residence," Rein offered.
"Can I really?" Viery’s face brightened with joy, yet there was a hint of hesitation.
"Of course," Rein nodded.
Rein had been considering this already; his family’s foundation was a bit thin, and aside from himself, there wasn’t much formidable strength to wield.
Now, with Viery as a follower, the situation had improved considerably.
"I’ll contact my family immediately. My home is in Cantar County, similar to Evelyn’s situation. My father, as a fief nobility, can’t leave, but the others can," Angus nodded.
"Lord Reine, have you heard about the recent happenings up there?" Neoro suddenly remembered something and pointed upward, speaking with a hint of mystery.
"The Imperial City?" Rein raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, I heard that for some reason, top fighters from various provinces have been called to the Imperial City," Neoro whispered.
He had come across this piece of information by chance when he overheard his Marquis father; it was supposed to be a top-secret matter of the Empire.
"Are you certain? Including Mingster?"
"Positive, Mingster as well," Neoro nodded.
Rein began to understand; something important must be happening in the Imperial City, drawing in the Empire’s top combat forces.
But what could it be that involved the Empire’s high-end forces over the long term?
This puzzled him for a moment.
However, the information seemed reliable.
Evelyn had told him yesterday that Neoro was the second son of one of Mingster’s five major Marquises, Marquis Winger.
As the son of a Marquis, his sources of information were naturally quick and extensive.
...
After the others had left, Rein began studying Inscription.
With Neoro’s tutoring, Rein had basically mastered the ’Junior Defense Inscription.’
Because his innate wizardry was the Metal Morphing Spell, he found engraving inscriptions on plate armor much easier than others.
Even without using Skill Points, his efficiency outstripped that of others by dozens of times.
Rein’s engraving tool moved over the plate armor, as effortless as if he were carving into a candle—smooth and fluid.
The metal particles seemed to spontaneously disperse under his will.
Moreover, Rein had experimented a little and found that Knight’s breastplates inscribed with the ’Junior Defense Inscription’ had about a ten percent increase in defensive ability compared to those without inscriptions.
Don’t underestimate that ten percent; it included defense against elemental energies as well.
In other words, the effect of the ’Junior Defense Inscription’ was all-encompassing.
On the other hand, Rein also discovered that the inscriptions on the ’Secret Silver Engraved Plate Armor’ were actually called ’Junior Energy Inscription.’
