Chapter 249 Meeting in Eaton City Inside the city, the Hagrid family holds a meeting.
"Go and call a few more people to move the boxes to my bedroom. The things aren't finished yet; there are a few parts that need adjusting."
Golden Oak was very unceremonious when giving orders.
The white-robed mage and the knight looked at Vesper, and after he nodded, the knight left, seemingly to fetch someone.
The group followed Vesper out of the magic circle. Ray, Nash, and Tata brought up the rear of the procession.
Where am I?
"Eton City in the Third Territory, this is the City Lord's Mansion."
"Ah, we've already arrived here."
"Yes, I remember you're from Eaton City."
"That's right. I have a relative who works here; he's a fire mage."
Lei mentioned it subtly.
"Ah! What a coincidence! Perhaps you will be able to meet before we leave Eaton."
Nash said, leaning closer to Rye and whispering.
“We won’t stay here for long; we’ll have to leave once the Golden Oak Master finishes assembling it.”
However, since you are a guest invited by your parents, please ask them if you can go out for a day to visit your relatives here.
"good."
Lei nodded.
This was a rare opportunity, and it was exactly what he was thinking.
It's not even noon yet. Although Vesper has only been away for two days, he still has a lot of things to deal with.
He told Nash to take good care of Ray before leaving in a hurry.
Rye was assigned to a suite on the fourth floor. Nash stayed on the sofa in the outer room, while Rye stayed in the inner room, so they wouldn't disturb each other.
He did not see the Holy Magister Vesper again until dinner time.
Golden Oak was busy in his room on the first floor and didn't come out for dinner.
Taking the opportunity, Ray mentioned to Vesper that he wanted to visit his relatives. Vesper thought about it briefly and agreed, but instructed Ray to bring Ryan to a meeting on the first floor the day after tomorrow.
After dinner, Rae asked Nash to help him find out about Vivian.
Eaton City was severely damaged during an attack by the demons.
Therefore, Lord Duke Emeric was constantly busy, redeploying defenses, preparing weapons, and undertaking post-disaster reconstruction, among other things. His subordinates were also working around the clock.
Ray thought he wouldn't see Vivian during his time in Eaton, but to his surprise, he saw her that very night.
Vivian's beautiful long red hair has been cut short.
She wore a light suit of armor, her hands were covered in scars, and her skin was no longer as fair and delicate as it used to be.
Although she appeared somewhat more weathered than when Ray first met her, Vivian's eyes were bright, and she was full of energy.
"Long time no see, Ray."
"Long time no see, Vivian."
Vivian gave Rae a big hug.
"Today, the captain suddenly found me and said that the mage from the White Tower wanted to see me. I was wondering why someone would suddenly contact me when I had no connection with the White Tower."
I never expected it to be you.
"I never thought I would actually meet you."
Nash came out of the suite, making room for the two people who rarely get to meet.
"You guys chat first, I'm going out for a bit."
Nash left, keeping his achievements and fame hidden.
"Are you alright in the royal city? How did you get involved with the White Tower and get sent here? It's dangerous here; you shouldn't have come here."
"Vivian asked."
After consulting with Ryan, Ray revealed some of His message to Vivian.
"I never expected you to have such an extraordinary encounter!"
Vivian was surprised when she heard the news about the elementalists.
"I didn't expect that either."
"I heard about Neil. How's it going? Did you find him?"
They were all children from the same village. Although Vivian was busy learning magic, she had practically watched Neil grow up, so it was impossible for her not to worry.
"We've found him, but there's no chance to rescue him yet."
Neil's situation is indeed difficult.
When Victor and his wife brought Neil home, Neil was already several months old.
Recalling the unusual events that happened to Neil at the Knight Academy, Hagrid had some vague guesses, but he didn't say anything.
"How are Uncle Hagrid and Aunt Linda? I'm planning to visit them tomorrow."
"Yes, they're all in good health. They're staying with me now. By the way, Ray, do you have an address?"
"some."
The letters between Ray and Hagrid had specific addresses, so Ray wasn't worried about not being able to find their place.
"It's getting late, and I still have some work to finish. I'll take a few hours off tomorrow afternoon to go back. See you then, Ray."
"OK."
Lei saw Vivian off from the fourth floor.
In the chaos of wartime, with a mix of all sorts of people, he didn't want Ray to travel alone for too long without Nash's company, fearing that bad guys might be lurking around.
Not everyone was wholeheartedly committed to resisting the demons; some were either misled by cults or foresaw that victory was impossible. Secretly, they had already defected to the enemy.
They lurk in various corners of the continent, delivering messages for the demons or carrying out assassination missions.
Several people have already died by this despicable means.
The next morning, after breakfast, Ray, accompanied by Nash, went to Vivian's villa.
The situation inside Eaton City is actually not too bad.
The further you go in, the more residents come and go on the street.
People gather together to trade the vegetables they grow or any surplus items they have.
Soldiers can be seen patrolling at regular intervals along the streets.
Moreover, some of the destroyed buildings in the city have already been rebuilt.
In reality, moving away from Eaton City would be the best option given the current situation. However, many residents have chosen to stay for various reasons.
They didn't know where they could go after leaving Eaton.
This place has been their hometown since their ancestors' generation.
All their relatives, all their land and property, are here.
Rye and Nash sat in the carriage, lifting the curtains in the window, and watched the journey.
Remarkably, even at a time like this, Nash managed to find a horse-drawn carriage for Ray.
Communication was difficult, and Ray and Nash arrived unexpectedly.
It was summer, and through the iron fence, Lai saw an adult and a girl working in the field.
They were focused on their own tasks and paid no attention to the donkey carts and horse-drawn carriages coming and going.
They only stood up and stopped working when the carriage stopped in front of the villa.
"Grandma, is Auntie back?"
Luna asked Linda.
Over the years, she has grown quite a bit taller. She has grown from a playful little girl into a sensible young woman who actively helps adults with household chores.
"This timing is unusual."
As Linda spoke, she walked towards the door and saw two people dressed in mage robes alight from the carriage. However, their faces were obscured by leaves.
She circled around the branches and recognized Ray at a glance.
"Ray!"
"Aunt Linda!"
Linda opened the door to welcome Ray and Nash, her face beaming with smiles.
She pulled Lai into the house, her eyes never leaving him. She wanted to see how he had changed during her absence, and whether he had been injured again.
"You've grown taller, but you also seem to have lost weight."
Luna called Farah down from upstairs as well. She was holding the baby and recognized Ray immediately.
"Is this Xiaobao?"
"It's him, Xiao Bao, quickly call him uncle!"
Farah put the child down from her arms and pushed him forward.
"uncle!"
The child wasn't shy at all, and spoke loudly. His eyes were as big and bright as Luna's.
"Your Uncle Hagrid and the three brothers, Brian and his brother, have gone out to work. They'll be back for lunch later."
"good."
After a long separation, Linda had so much to say to Linda.
The two sat chatting in the villa's small living room.
The space here was originally quite large. To welcome her family over, and fearing there wouldn't be enough room, Vivian partitioned off another room from the living room.
Farah saw that it was almost time, so she left Xiaobao with Linda and took Luna to the kitchen to cook.
Rye and Nash didn't intend to invite them to stay for dinner.
It is wartime now, and Eaton is a major battleground, so food is extremely scarce.
Linda kept urging Ray to have a bite to eat there, and Ray couldn't resist her enthusiasm, so he stayed in the end.
It was quite a while after lunch was prepared before Hagrid and the others finally returned.
Seeing that there were guests at home, and that the guests were none other than Lai, whom they hadn't seen in a long time, they couldn't help but give them a warm welcome.
Ray didn't see Kelly at the dinner table; Danny brought the food to her room.
Linda later quietly told him that Kelly had given birth to a girl.
The child was weak and had six fingers on his left hand.
No matter how bad Kelly is, she's still the child's mother. Seeing the condition of her child's hands, she keeps herself cooped up in her room all day and rarely comes out.
Such congenital physical deformities make it very easy for a girl to be discriminated against.
It's alright now that the child is still young and doesn't understand. But when she grows up and becomes more sensible, and discovers that she is different from others, she will inevitably feel inferior.
This incident brought indelible grief to the entire family.
Fortunately, things took a turn for the better.
A year after the child was born, Vivian brought her to the city lord's mansion.
A physician working at the city lord's mansion agreed to help remove the extra little finger.
The excision surgery went smoothly, with the help of a wood-element mage. There was not much bleeding after the surgery was completed.
Even so, the little girl, who was only one year old at the time, still suffered a lot.
Hagrid didn't mention any of these things in the letter.
After lunch, Vivian returned.
She had already eaten lunch at the city lord's mansion. To conserve food, she usually ate there.
The time spent together passed quickly, and it was time to say goodbye.
Rye left Hagrid two large bags of food, as well as many urgently needed daily necessities.
Most of these were collected by Ray himself, and some were prepared in advance by Nash.
Nash said that Vesper had instructed him to do so, and Rye was very grateful for it.
The day after returning to the city lord's mansion, Lei met Vesper for the second time in the conference room on the first floor.
He has been very busy since he arrived here.
At the same time, Ray also met Duke Emeric, the lord of Eaton City, and the legendary half-dragon.
He sat at the head of the long table, with two very conspicuous dragon horns on either side of his forehead.
Aside from that, what's most striking is his appearance. He possesses an inhuman, inorganic quality that compels people to submit.
This important meeting to discuss war opportunities was attended not only by the main leaders of the Third Territory, but also by generals from the other territories.
And several envoys from other races.
In addition, there is Golden Oak, and a blond young man with golden eyes.
Then there's Ray.
It was rather inappropriate for a young, ordinary human to suddenly appear among such a powerful group of people.
Lei felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.
He was also seated next to Vesper, in a front-row position, which made him even more conspicuous.
Everyone present was intelligent; no one would intentionally invite trouble. Besides, it was obvious that Lai was brought by the White Tower Holy Archmage.
His presence at this meeting speaks volumes about the attitude of Lord Willard of the Third Territory.
The meeting was held on time after everyone had arrived.
Ray initially thought it was just a routine meeting to discuss how to fight the demons, but the more he listened, the more alarmed he became. He finally understood why Vesper had asked him to attend.
It wasn't really about getting him involved in the meeting, but rather about Ryan.
They planned to launch a full-scale attack a few days later on on the remaining unrepaired boundary marker in Eaton Forest.
The forest is not a suitable place for two armies to fight, and such a large-scale offensive will face even more difficult challenges.
But for the sake of stability on the mainland, this is something we have no choice but to do.
How much longer will it take for the weapons to be installed?
Everyone looked at Golden Oak, who was secretly drinking.
The dwarf rolled his eyes and quickly stuffed the wine jug under his beard.
"Assembly, debugging, and experimentation will take at least seven more days."
"Okay, we'll set off in three days."
Willard interrupted Gold Oak abruptly.
Golden Oak was so angry he was practically fuming, but he couldn't utter a single curse word.
"I can't handle this all by myself!"
The golden oak was simply left to rot.
Willard stared at him, his eyes cold, and a tense atmosphere filled the conference room.
How many people do you need?
"At least three, no, four high-level alchemists are needed."
"There are no advanced alchemists, only intermediate ones."
"Then give me eight five-star intermediate alchemists."
Alchemy is at its highest level, with five stars being the highest. It's actually very difficult to find someone who is just one step away from reaching the advanced level.
Willard just stared at the dwarf, and Golden Oak, knowing he was in the wrong, lowered his demands further.
"Minimum three stars, no less!"
"Can."
Willard is truly an extraordinary person to be able to persuade a stubborn dwarf to compromise.
The meeting ended, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
There was no fighting, and everyone reached a consensus—this is the best possible outcome.
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