"So expensive?!" Richard couldn't help but blurt out.

"Royal family member, you think it's too expensive, but I'm afraid of the trouble." The witch said unhappily.

Richard smiled, and seemed to understand what the witch's expression just now meant.

It seems that she was also worried that she would take Daenerys' information and use it to do something disadvantageous to the other party, or to the royal family of the Kingdom of Harren.

Richard took out five intermediate magic stones, placed them on the table, and said with a smile: "I am actually her friend."

The witch rolled her eyes at Richard and said nothing. She lowered her head and began to write with a pen. She cursed in her heart, "You can at least come up with a similar excuse if you want to lie to me. Do you think you are a child? Who would spend 500 magic stones to buy their friend's information? Pah!"

Richard took the parchment scroll handed over by the witch and read it carefully.

"Daenerys Bennings, genius ice wizard, 39 years old"

"She is in the middle of the first level of strength, the youngest daughter of the previous king of the Heron Empire. She is affiliated with the Hedashia Academy on the Vitrol Continent. She is gifted in the magic of iceboxes and is good at the giant ice cone magic."

"It seems that he went to Crab Claw Peninsula yesterday with two other wizards from Hydashia Academy."

But after Richard read the first sentence, he was stunned, as if he was struck by lightning.

"Thirty-nine years old."

"Isn't this information a little too detailed?" Richard couldn't help but mutter to himself.

But it’s okay!

The age gap was not that big, and according to what was said in the previous life, it was the kind of situation where the man would hold many gold bricks.

This was the first time he learned about Daenerys' detailed background.

The witch's small ears were very sensitive and moved slightly, as if she heard what Richard said. She was speechless, "There are actually people who think that information is too detailed?"

Princess of the Kingdom of Heron Genius wizard of the Hydashia Academy Richard touched his nose and shook his head.

"In comparison, the gap between my background and his is too big."

"Fortunately, my strength has improved now."

"otherwise"

"Hey, Daenerys is not in the imperial capital, but went to the Crab Claw Peninsula?" Richard couldn't help but look up and asked when he saw the last sentence.

The witch nodded and said, "Consider this news a free gift, since it has already spread."

"The thing is, an ancient relic was discovered on a small island not far from the Crab Claw Peninsula. Currently, there have been several conflicts between the wizards of the Sea Clan and the wizards of the Kingdom, competing for the right to explore this relic."

"According to the information we have received so far, Lady Daenerys should have gone to deal with this matter."

"Because, if this matter is not resolved, the shipping of Crab Claw Peninsula will be greatly affected. At first, some merchant ships on the sea were directly destroyed by the sea people. Some time ago, I heard that almost all shipping routes were cut off, which made the wealthy merchants and nobles of the kingdom unable to sit still."

"If all routes are stopped, then the route from Crab Claw Peninsula to Vitroll Continent is also stopped?" Richard couldn't help but confirm again.

“Yes, it has stopped at the moment.”

"Until the Kingdom of Heron and the Sea Clan reach an agreement, I think the Sea Clan will not allow the route to be open again." The witch nodded affirmatively and agreed.

After hearing this news, Richard felt a little annoyed with the sea people.

"You said you wanted to fight for the ruins, so you fought for the ruins, but you attacked the merchant ships. Your methods were too despicable." Richard thought to himself.

It seems that the sea people are trying to use this behavior to force the Kingdom of Heron to make concessions.

When Richard left the wizard market, he went straight to the Knight family's mansion.

Since the city of Pentos was built on a mountain, the higher the status of the family, the closer it was to the top of the mountain and the closer it was to the king's palace.

According to the directions of passers-by, the Marquis's mansion of the Knight family is located above the halfway point of the mountain, at a higher point on the peak.

Richard walked up slowly, and learned about the customs and culture of Pentos.

Under the blue sky, as the terrain gradually rises, the silhouette of the griffin hovering on the mountain peak becomes clearer, and the cry of the griffin can be heard from time to time.

But Richard noticed the expressions on the faces of the people around him. There was no trace of fear or terror. Obviously, they were already accustomed to the existence of extraordinary birds of prey like griffins.

Even when the griffins were calling, many passers-by would look up and show expressions of relief and security on their faces.

It is truly worthy of being called the "Griffin City"! A model of harmonious coexistence between humans and griffins.

As the hands of the clock tower reached the hour, melodious bells suddenly rang out. Richard looked at the endless flow of people, the busy shops, the playing children and the people with smiling faces.

I just felt that this was an exquisite and vibrant city! When passing halfway up the mountain, in an empty square, Richard saw a tall statue made of white stone.

The statue is a human male wearing thick armor, holding a shield and a sword, riding on a majestic griffin.

The entire statue is about ten meters high and is carved from a piece of white stone. The carving craftsmanship is quite extraordinary, lifelike, and vivid, which fully embodies the bravery of human men and the majesty of griffins! Richard couldn't help but feel a little curious. He walked forward and saw a text board on the base that explained the character. It was written in detail: Osama Bennings, the founding monarch of the Kingdom of Heron. - Not long after, a visitor arrived at the door of the Knight family mansion near the top of the mountain.

"Is this the family Stephanie belongs to? They are indeed hereditary nobles."

Richard stood at the gate of the Knight family, looking down at the plain scenery below the mountain, seeing the winding river rushing into the distance, then turned his head to look at the eight knights in formal attire holding ceremonial guards, guarding the gate of the Marquis's mansion in high spirits, and could not help but admire.

"It's a pity that some people are getting old and confused."

Richard walked up the steps and said:

"Go and pass on the message that Richard from the Ignis School is here to visit."

The knight captain, who had originally had a calm expression, immediately changed his expression when he heard about the Ignis School. He bowed respectfully and said, "Sir, please wait a moment. I will pass the message immediately."

After a while, the door opened a crack.

A middle-aged man dressed as a butler in a tuxedo walked out of the gap, emitting the aura of a second-level wizard apprentice.

However, when he sensed Richard's breath, his expression changed drastically, his eyes wandered for a while, and he quickly stepped forward and said:

"Sir Richard, are you going to visit Miss Stephanie? I'm very sorry to inform you that Miss Stephanie has been out and hasn't come back yet, so..."

"Oh! Really?" Richard looked at the butler with a smile.

Under Richard's gaze that seemed to be able to see through people's hearts, the butler broke out in a cold sweat and began to wipe the sweat from his forehead non-stop.

"In that case, I'll look for Wizard Shiat!"

"What!" the butler couldn't help but exclaimed.

He thought that this strange wizard Richard would leave immediately after knowing that Miss Stephania was not there.

But no one expected that Wizard Richard would not play by the rules at all and actually wanted to go directly to see the family's chief elder - Wizard Xiat.

"Hey, does that mean Wizard Xiat is not here either?" Richard said leisurely, looking at the butler in front of him.

"No, no, Lord Richard, of course the Great Elder is here. I'll go and tell him to come to you right away. Please take a seat in the reception room first."

"Open the door!" The butler immediately turned around and led the way.

Upon hearing this, the four knights immediately walked to the door and slowly pushed open the three-meter-high grand door to welcome Richard in. ——Inside a certain alchemy room of the Knight family.

A silver-haired old woman was operating the instruments on the alchemy table.

There was a knock on the door.

"Your Excellency the Great Elder, a wizard named Richard from the Ignis School is here to visit you." The butler reported respectfully at the door.

"Oh! Didn't you tell him that Stephanie isn't here?" A hoarse and slightly shrill female voice sounded.

"Yes, but he seemed to be certain that Miss Stephania was in the mansion. After I told him that Miss Stephania was not there, he asked to see you, the Great Elder. Now, he is waiting in the reception room."

"Richard, why does this name sound familiar? Is he a formal wizard?"

"Yes, the Great Elder, a formal wizard. Judging from his appearance, he is very young, almost the same age as the young lady."

". Could it be that the Ignis School has produced another genius wizard who can be compared with Stephanie?"

"Richard. Richard"

"I remember now. Isn't this the wizard apprentice who took away Stephanie's Soul-Eating Spider that the family spies mentioned before?" said an old woman with a sinister face in surprise.

"Could it be that the other party has been promoted to a formal wizard so quickly?"

“Crunch!”

The door opened.

Hiat walked out of the room, leaning on a long staff, with silver-white hair and a face full of wrinkles. Even with the strength of a formal wizard, he could no longer control the aging of his body.

Life is indeed moving towards its end step by step.

"It just so happens that there is indeed no Soul Devouring Demon Spider on Stephanie, so it seems that the Soul Devouring Demon Spider should be on this Richard. But this Richard actually offered himself to me? Does he not know the situation or does he have something else to rely on?"

The Hiat people were experienced and made the connection immediately.

"Go, inform Lord Edgar to come together. Also, invite this wizard Richard directly here." After thinking for a moment, Hiatt spoke, with a shrewd look in his eyes.

If we call Edgar along, we should be able to deal with this new wizard calmly even if he has some tricks up his sleeve.

Moreover, after more than a hundred years of transformation, this place is now filled with wizard arrays and a shadow energy particle pool. He can exert 130% of his power here.

Even a mid-level first-level wizard is unlikely to be his opponent here.

It all depends on whether this young man will come.

"As you wish, Your Excellency the Great Elder!" The butler retreated respectfully.

"By the way, if Wizard Richard is hesitant, just tell him that Stephanie is here with me. Then he will come naturally," Hiatt added.

"Understood, Your Excellency the Great Elder."

The housekeeper was also a shrewd man. He understood the Great Elder's intention immediately and a meaningful smile suddenly appeared on his face.

When the butler stepped into the reception room again, he saw Richard sipping tea leisurely, his eyes fixed on the valuable oil paintings on the wall.

The housekeeper suddenly felt amused.

I thought to myself, "I am still young. I am still in the mood to look at paintings."

However, on the surface, the middle-aged butler showed a kind smile and said, "Lord Richard, the Great Elder has agreed to meet you. However, the Great Elder happens to be conducting an important experiment in the alchemy room. She asked me to invite you to meet. I don't know."

"Okay!" Richard agreed readily.

"Uh" the butler looked at Richard in a daze. He didn't expect Richard to agree so readily.

I didn't even have the time to speak out the two reasons I had prepared.

"What's wrong? Is there any problem?" Richard looked at the butler with a smile.

"Of course not. I'll take you there right away." The butler forced a smile to cover it up.

He was thinking in his heart: "I really don't understand! Shouldn't a formal wizard be more cautious? Didn't his teacher teach him not to easily step into the residence of a strange wizard?"

In fact, Richard had already noticed the middle-aged butler's heartbeat and blood flow speeding up when he entered the hall. Moreover, his eyes were wandering when he was speaking, a typical sign of someone having something to hide.

But...what does it matter?

In the wizarding world, strength is the most important thing!

The opponent is two levels lower than him, not counting his own summoned creature.

All the means used by the other party are meaningless to him.

Just one blood-bone puppet with the strength reaching the top level one can overwhelm the entire Marquis Knight's Mansion.

The two walked through the back garden and came to an independent two-story building.

The small building is made of pure stone and has a white exterior, giving it a bit of the Baroque style from the previous life.

But Richard could vaguely sense the huge shadow energy fluctuations inside the small building.

Don't forget, he is also a necromancer who majors in shadow, so he is naturally very familiar with the fluctuations of shadow energy.

Immediately, Richard seemed to understand the other party's plan.

"Lord Richard, the Great Elder is inside, please come in." The butler bowed respectfully.

"Yeah!" Richard nodded and walked into the two-story building.

"Hey! Not bad!"

In the corridor, Richard discovered no less than seven elementary wizard formations, one of which was a rare mixed wizard formation. If caught off guard, even an ordinary first-level high-level wizard might suffer a small loss.

"This must be the young wizard Richard, right? He is so young that it is enviable." A hoarse female voice that could make ordinary people's scalps tingle sounded.

I saw an old woman with silver hair and wrinkles on her face appear at the end of the corridor.

Richard took a quick look and realized the opponent's true strength.

It was indeed as the intelligence said, although Hiat Knight was the chief elder of the Marquis Knight's family, he was only at the beginning of the first level, and he had already entered the countdown of his life.

As a necromancer, Richard could even feel her body gradually decaying and the aura of death slowly emanating from her body.

Most importantly, as the distance got closer, Richard could vaguely feel that Stephanie seemed to be under the building.

In this case, the real culprit is right in front of him and Stephanie has been found, so Richard doesn't plan to waste any more time.

"Wizard Hiat? I'm sure you know why I'm here this time. Please release Stephanie. In this way, I can forgive her for what happened."

"What?!" Hiatt couldn't help but look at Richard in amazement.

She had lived for so many years, but she had never seen anyone so arrogant? Domineering? Straightforward?

She even didn't know what words to use to describe the other person.

(End of this chapter)