This Necromancer Just Wants to Plant Trees - Chapter 205

Chapter 205: War Intelligence, Services of Blackso Mountain!

Matthew didn't hide anything and roughly explained the matter of Melinda.

After No. 177 listened, he was greatly disappointed:

"Just this?"

Matthew was both angry and amused:

"Then what kind of content are you expecting?"

No. 177 immediately expressed:

"I'm not interested in human females."

"But about Blackso Mountain, I do know some information routes.

Blackso Mountain Fortress is a place where the Alliance detains powerful magic users.

In addition to official prisoners, they indeed offer private incarceration services to outsiders, but the cost is relatively high."

Matthew hurriedly asked:

"Can I pay with knowledge points?"

No. 177 pondered for a moment:

"I remember you can. The higher-ups at Blackso Mountain are all mages, and usually, they are not academically inclined, so they generally crave knowledge points."

"I can give you a letter of recommendation to take to the warden, Alexander, at Blackso Mountain. With this letter's face, he should make things easier for you."

Saying that, a bright blue magical light appeared in the deep hall.

A letter with a familiar material and style appeared in front of Matthew.

Looking closely, the handwriting on it was exactly the same as the recommendation letter Ronan had previously written for him to join the Alliance.

Opening it and checking the content, it was indeed written by Archmage Ronan!

"This was left by Archmage Ronan in advance?"

Matthew was filled with surprise.

No. 177 shrugged:

"Ronan is someone who likes to plan extensively. In fact, he wrote many recommendation letters for you in advance and left them with me. No matter which aspect of connections you need, there are relevant letters you can use."

"Of course, these are just grandiose words. In my opinion, he might be afraid that you would end up in prison for a crime, so he left behind letters to establish a relationship with the warden in advance."

"You must not be moved by these small favors. Remember, we are the founders that Ronan must eliminate!"

Matthew was indeed somewhat touched.

He didn't expect Archmage Ronan, floating in the astral plane, had prepared so much in advance for him.

But after the touch, Matthew vaguely realized that perhaps Ronan knew some information before going to the astral plane.

"There's also a possibility that he really stayed voluntarily or actively in the astral plane..."

In his thoughts, Melinda in Aebing's arms made a muffled groan, as if her consciousness was awakening.

Matthew frowned.

No. 177 reminded:

"She's about to wake up. Do you need help?"

Matthew nodded:

"Please let her sleep a few more hours."

No. 177 took out a magic collar:

"This is a new creation of mine, called 'Sleep Collar.' It not only has a powerful electric shock, but also has the effects of 'Sleep Spell' and 'Paralysis Spell.' You can try it!"

Matthew hesitated for a moment.

Seeing Melinda's condition worsening as she woke up, he could only personally put the collar on her.

"Huh? Who are you..."

At this moment, Melinda weakly opened one eye. Her memory seemed to have a brief lapse, and she didn't immediately recognize Matthew.

Matthew took the new remote control from No. 177's hand.

Pressed the yellow button.

Zap!

A powerful electric current erupted from the collar, instantly stunning Melinda.

"Thank you, No. 177."

Matthew expressed his gratitude.

No. 177 floated and said:

"No need to thank me; the craftsmanship of making collars is indeed superb!"

"But friendly reminder, try to control the frequency of electric shocks. Otherwise, you might have to prepare cleaning spells and spare clothes in advance."

Incontinence?

When such words popped into Matthew's mind, he saw Melinda's body convulsing involuntarily on the ground in a coma, confirming No. 177's words.

So, he quickly had Aebing carry Rhaegar's ex-wife.

After bidding farewell to No. 177.

He quickly headed to the teleportation hall.

Just out of the magic elevator.

A smiling man walked towards him. Seeing Matthew, a exaggerated expression of surprise quickly appeared on his face:

"Oh my, I didn't expect to meet you here, Mr. Matthew."

"Mr. Vandar?"

Matthew looked at this mage unexpectedly.

Vandar didn't show any intention to enter the elevator. Instead, he continued to chat with Matthew.

Matthew quickly realized—

Vandar didn't accidentally run into him; he specifically waited for him!

Seeing the other party's attitude, it was probably because he had something to say.

So he suggested finding a place to sit.

Vandar agreed willingly.

The two found a secluded corner in the crucible hall and sat down one after another.

"I really didn't expect to meet you here today. I thought you were busy absorbing new mages."

Matthew took out two cups from his bag, poured milk into them, and handed one to Vandar.

Strictly speaking, their relationship was not deep. They initially met during Matthew's assessment when he joined the Alliance, with Vandar being the main mage in charge of the assessment.

Afterward, due to A1's identity and the suspected relationship with Isabella, Vandar had always been very enthusiastic towards Matthew.

Even after Isabella ignored Matthew.

This thoughtful middle-aged mage always maintained a very good attitude when encountering Matthew.

Although Matthew knew Vandar was smooth and cunning, with no early rising without profit.

But he found it hard to dislike him.

Facing Matthew's seemingly casual probing, Vandar smiled and showed his characteristic harmless expression:

"I haven't been responsible for reviewing new recruits for a long time. Of course, I'm not the only one. The Alliance stopped recruiting new mages more than a month ago."

Matthew raised an eyebrow:

"Is that so?"

"Then it seems I'm lucky to have joined the Alliance before the recruitment stopped."

Vandar smiled:

"You're different from others."

But where exactly he was different, he didn't explain. Instead, he changed the subject:

"Under the backdrop of the war, most of the people in the Alliance are being trained as arbitrators for the upcoming battles."

"I heard that at least three official mages and more apprentices are assigned to each battle. These three mages are a chief arbitrator and two deputy arbitrators."

"The two deputy arbitrators are responsible for tracking and recording the marching situation and battle details of both sides of the battle—"

"Most importantly, it is to determine whether both sides strictly adhere to the rules of war."

"The chief arbitrator has a high degree of discretionary power over the content and even the outcome of the war."

"Of course, this power is cautiously used by most mages."

"The war itself still depends on the strength of both sides."

"What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Matthew's pupils involuntarily shrank.

He realized that Vandar was here to leak information to him!

"What if there is a violation of the rules of war between the parties in the battle?"

Matthew asked.

Vandar faintly smiled:

"I don't know, but the word on the street is that legendary mages will personally intervene."

Matthew was surprised again.

"Do legendary mages have enough quantity? Do they have so much energy?"

He asked.

Vandar shook his head:

"This is something I can't know, but the high-ups are very concerned about the upcoming wave of war. It seems that there have been several intense disputes among

the Seven Saints, but the final result has been decided. All legendary mages will work together to ensure that all battles are conducted within a controllable range."

"If someone dares to defy the general trend, the Alliance probably doesn't mind showing the world the power of legendary mages."

Vandar's words greatly overturned Matthew's perception of the Seven Saints Alliance.

He originally thought that the Alliance was a relatively loose organization of mages, and the rules of war were more like a guiding framework than absolute rules.

But now, it seems that the high-ups of the Alliance are exceptionally determined to control the mainland war.

If all legendary mages in the Alliance can work together, then the direction of the continent may indeed be within the Alliance's control.

Vandar continued:

"In the south, the battle between Rolling Stone Town and Highleaf Domain has been set as the first battle after the issuance of the war decree."

"This war is highly anticipated. In addition to the three arbitrators responsible for the battle, there will be many Alliance mages as spectators. They are required to learn the art of war and the criteria for judging in this battle."

"So as to deal with future battles that may erupt elsewhere."

"The location of the battle has been decided. It will be at the 'Mossy Green Hills.'"

Matthew nodded without changing his expression.

Was the Alliance planning to use this battle as an educational example?

As for the battle location being arranged in the Mossy Green Hills, Matthew was not surprised.

The Alliance artificially arranges battles to lower the intensity of the war and reduce casualties.

The largest uninhabited area between Rolling Stone Town and Highleaf Domain is the Mossy Green Hills.

There are only some crazy frog people active there. By removing part of the crazy frog people tribe, it can become an excellent professional battlefield.

The bad news is.

Rolling Stone Town's most elite soldiers are the cavalry in the Lord's Guard, but cavalry in hilly terrain evidently can't play the same role as on the plains.

Afterward, Vandar revealed some details.

For example, the specific time for the battle has been set for August 2nd.

And on August 1st.

The forces of both sides will undergo a deputy referee's inspection, then enter the designated positions to prepare for the battle.

Another example, the victory conditions for the battle are currently tentatively set as two types.

The first is "occupation."

The second is "annihilation."

Annihilation needs no explanation, whether it's Rolling Stone Town or Highleaf, as long as the enemy's army is scattered and unable to regroup or surrender, it counts as a victory in this round of the battle.

Occupation, on the other hand, is more interesting.

This victory condition is established to prevent one side from continually circling in the mountains, guerrilla warfare.

Take the Mossy Green Hills as an example.

The strategically significant goal is set to the central southern Watchtower Mountain.

As long as one side occupies Watchtower Mountain and holds it for more than 15 days, they automatically win the battle.

From another perspective.

Occupying key points seems to reduce unnecessary casualties.

One can only say that the Seven Saints Alliance is putting a lot of effort into controlling the intensity of the war.

In the end.

Vandar sighed:

"Actually, there are many different opinions within the alliance, but the current Silver Council has completed internal coordination.

Only some details are still under discussion.

For example, is it reasonable for dragons to have only one slot in the battle list?

Most people think it's not very reasonable.

The combat power of a random dragon exceeds three or four hundred people, or even more.

And in small-scale battles, each side has 1000 people.

A single dragon can sweep everything—

Isn't this forcing major territories to seek the help of dragons?

Even without dragons, they have to seek extreme personal strength, especially the kind that can bypass the rules.

After all, the influence of such entities is only weakened in battles with more than ten thousand people.

And such battles are really hard to come by.

Looking at the entire south, the lion city with 3000 elite soldiers is already a strong candidate for the southern hegemony.

The other competitors are of similar levels.

A true war with tens of thousands of people may only happen when they absorb a large amount of nearby territory and engage in a decisive battle with each other.

So in this situation.

The existence of dragons as individuals is actually a loophole in the alliance rules.

However, strangely.

The Silver Council doesn't seem to intend to patch up this loophole.

I heard that many places are actively contacting dragons now, and the rulers of those territories hope to become allies with dragons.

It's ridiculous.

If a dragon can be an ally of rulers, why doesn't it become a ruler itself?"

Vandar said a lot.

Matthew remembered the key points.

In fact, on the matter of the loophole, his views were similar to Vandar's.

For ordinary territorial battles, dragons are indeed too overpowered.

But he didn't express his opinion.

Because he had registered early as a mage of Rolling Stone Town, he wasn't allowed to voice his opinions on relevant matters.

In a strict sense.

Only alliance mages like Vandar, who were not registered in any city and would not participate in wars in the future, could serve as referees in battles and express opinions on the details of war orders.

He could only listen to Vandar's information like listening to a story.

After a while.

Vandar put down his cup, tidied his clothes while smiling:

"Speaking of which, today's unexpected encounter is thanks to Lord Eckmonde. He scolded me for a long time today, delaying my time to rush to the Floating City in the Far North. As a result, I accidentally met Matthew."

"Just consider what we talked about as hearing a story, don't take it too seriously."

"Well, we've talked for so long, I have to go do official business, wish everything goes smoothly."

Eckmonde?

Is Eckmonde once again showing goodwill to him?

Matthew immediately asked:

"Are these stories... classified?"

Vandar looked around and finally whispered:

"The classification is neither high nor low, but if no one tells you, you probably won't know until the war starts."

"And from what I know, that black dragon has many eyes within the alliance."

"So you don't need to have any psychological burden. After all, there are probably more people informing him than informing you!"

With that, he patted Matthew's shoulder:

"Good luck, don't think too much. Lord Eckmonde just doesn't want that black dragon to win, that's all."

Vandar left with a smile.

Matthew pondered for a while.

After a moment, with his companions, Aebing and Melinda, he set out for the teleportation array leading to Black Soot Mountain.

...

Black Soot Mountain is a floating fortress above the western desert of the Aendu continent.

The alliance's teleportation array can only reach the platform south of the fortress.

To enter the heavily guarded Black Soot Mountain prison, one must take a 20-minute cable car.

Successfully passing the guards' inspection.

Matthew and his group boarded the cable car, slowly advancing towards the colossal fortress in the sky.

On the cable car.

Matthew looked around, and everywhere he looked, it was endless wasteland and desert.

It is said that the domain field here is permanently set as the "Desert Maze," and those who enter this place almost always get lost and eventually die in the merciless desert.

This is a place where alliance mages change color when mentioned.

Because Black Soot Mountain has the largest permanent anti-magic zone in the entire alliance and specialized prison guards against mages—

"Black Soot Army."

This is not only a desert for living beings but also a desert for magic.

Since Matthew boarded the cable car, he felt that the mana in his body was continuously suppressed.

This feeling became stronger as he approached that grim fortress.

And twenty minutes later.

When the cable car officially landed on the Black Soot Mountain fortress.

Matthew found that his mana had been suppressed to only one-tenth of its usual capacity.

The magical effects were also significantly weakened.

He hadn't even entered the actual anti-magic zone; this was just the influence on the edge!

"No wonder no mages want to come here."

Matthew shivered.

He instinctively disliked this place, and thoughts of quickly leaving kept rising in his mind.

He could only persuade himself to restrain this instinct.

"Visiting or doing what?"

After the cable car landed, a Black Soot soldier approached.

His face was covered in pitch-black armor, making it impossible to see his face. In his right hand, he held a weapon resembling a halberd, and his tone was extremely rigid.

"I'm here to see Mr. Warden."

Matthew greeted with a smile, handing over a few small gold coins before presenting Ronan's letter of recommendation.

The seasoned BlackSoul soldier deftly pocketed the coins, glanced at the letter, then turned away with a remark, "Please wait here for a moment."

After about fifteen minutes, the soldier hurriedly returned, saying, "Lord Alexander invites you. Please follow me."

The two passed through two massive gates, swiftly navigating the fortress's interior along a small path.

Throughout the journey, Matthew didn't spot any prisoners, but the strict guards every ten steps gave him significant pressure. Each BlackSoul soldier had an imposing stature, rivaling that of northern barbarians, emitting a nauseating scent of blood.

The prison was permeated with an indescribable odor. Matthew initially didn't realize it, but later, he understood it was a combination of excessive use of cleaning spells and the oppressive atmosphere of the anti-magic zone, creating an unfriendly environment for mages.

Repeating assurances to himself, "You are a druid..."

Fortunately, the walk wasn't too long. After passing through four massive gates, they reached a platform. Climbing a spiral staircase behind the platform led them to a tall circular tower.

According to the BlackSoul soldier, this tower belonged to Alexander, the Warden of BlackSoul Mountain. It was the highest structure, offering a panoramic view of the fortress and the White Poplar Desert below.

The Warden's office was on the first floor of the mage tower. "I've already shown Lord Alexander the letter, and he's waiting for you inside," the BlackSoul soldier politely pointed to the tower's door.

Matthew nodded in acknowledgment and briskly entered.

As he stepped through the mage tower's entrance, an unprecedented sense of relaxation washed over him. Surprisingly, the pressure from the anti-magic zone had vanished!

"Feeling more comfortable?" A well-built man in a formal black suit greeted him, "Hello, I'm Alexander, the Warden of BlackSoul Mountain."

Matthew shook his powerful hand, introducing himself, "Hello, I'm Matthew, a registered mage from Rolling Stone Town."

Glancing at Alexander's hand, Matthew couldn't help but marvel at its size. It was as large as three of his hands combined!

"No need to be surprised; I have barbarian blood," Alexander said with a meticulous expression, "I've read Lord Ronan's letter. The contents are a bit vague; I don't quite understand his exact intentions. Regardless, within BlackSoul Mountain's territory, everything must adhere to our rules. I don't allow corruption from the Alliance to manifest under my rule. Understand?"

Matthew silently scoffed, recalling the Dragon Worship incident, but Alexander, unaware of the pressure he faced as Warden, continued with his stern tone.

Regardless, Matthew had a request and quickly voiced it, "Private confinement?"

Alexander's gaze focused behind Matthew, "Is it that woman?"

Matthew nodded.

"Under the identity of A1, you theoretically can apply for a certain amount of private confinement, provided you pay enough gold coins," Alexander explained.

Matthew promptly responded, "I can pay an equivalent amount in knowledge points."

Alexander nodded, "That works. Bring the person you want to confine."

Leading Matthew deeper into the mage tower's first floor, passing through a hall filled with diverse fish tanks, they reached a spacious room. On the left side, a dim magic circle was present, and on the right, a massive scale was placed on the ground.

"Put her on the Scale of Sin," Alexander pointed to the magic scale.

Matthew instructed Aebing to place Melinda on the scale. After a few seconds, a light blue number appeared above Melinda – 30!

"Sin Index 30, the confined individual isn't too bad, at most has committed a few slightly immoral acts," Alexander noted in his mini notebook.

He continued to evaluate Melinda's abilities after activating a nearby magic circle. Different magical runes surrounded Melinda in colorful lights. Alexander interpreted the results and dictated them to Matthew.

"Wizard 19th level, Space Voyager 1st level, Intelligence 20 points, mastery in 6 domains: Secrecy, Knowledge, Star Realm, Intimidation, Self, and similar spells. Equipment analysis…"

As the assessment results appeared in Alexander's notebook, Melinda's confinement information was preliminarily recorded.

"Now, let's discuss the treatment of the confined individual in the prison, these are some details –"

"Do you need torture? How many times a day? Is there any outdoor time and frequency? Does the confined individual need the company of the opposite sex? Is library access permitted? Are additional entertainment measures required? Regular diet or high-calorie diet? Or reduce food supply? Is the confined individual allowed to defecate? How is the hygiene environment?"

"How's the sleeping arrangement? Do you want to create some noise, or should we release soothing music in the room? Single room, double room, triple room, or a large bunk bed? Here, fill out this form."

Alexander handed a blue form to Matthew.

Matthew quickly went through the checkboxes.

Dealing with Melinda was indeed tricky. After all, she was Rhaegar's ex-wife, and Matthew couldn't go too far. However, her identity was sensitive. Rhaegar might have been reckless, and Zeller seemed to have overlooked something. Matthew had to cover their tracks, at least during the war. Melinda had to be imprisoned!

"Normal confinement, no mistreatment, no violation, don't deliberately harm her, but there's no need to make her too comfortable. It's best to keep her away from others. Any conditions she proposes should be rejected..."

Matthew communicated with Alexander while checking the boxes.

The latter seemed to listen attentively, nodding occasionally.

Suddenly, Matthew couldn't help but point to one of the options and ask, "What does 'no bowel movements allowed' mean?"

Alexander immediately replied, "Clients in the private confinement business always have peculiar requests. To meet their needs, Black Peak Mountain has been improving its business capabilities. Regarding this, we have developed a constipation technique that prevents the detainee from normal bowel movements. At the same time, we can provide services like colonic irrigation."

Matthew was astonished after hearing this. Who on earth was using Black Peak Mountain's private confinement services? The atmosphere seemed to be getting less serious.

Seeing Matthew's shocked expression, Alexander proactively explained, "The environment is the same for the options below. We have many fleas and cockroaches in the prison to satisfy different clients' needs. Similarly, we also have potent drugs to repel fleas and cockroaches."

"If you want to artificially create a worse confinement environment, then the water dungeon might be a better choice. However, currently, all the water dungeons are fully occupied, and if you want one, you might need to schedule it."

"We can even provide limb severance services. Rest assured, after the confinement period ends, we guarantee that we can put you back together."

Matthew shook his head in disbelief. He never expected Black Peak Mountain to be wilder than Turing No. 177!

He only wanted to teach Melinda a lesson, not actually ruin her.

He quickly completed all the checkboxes and, after negotiating with Alexander for a moment, the two parties signed the contract.

In the end, Melinda moved into a private single room at Black Peak Mountain Prison for the hefty price of one knowledge point per week.

During her confinement, she couldn't step outside, had ordinary food, an average environment but at least without fleas, no one to talk to, and no one to harass her. She would be completely isolated for a while.

After completing all this, Matthew bid farewell to Alexander.

As he left Black Peak Mountain Prison, Matthew suddenly saw a group of people coming from the teleportation array on the platform, riding a cable car.

There were two familiar faces on the cable car – Hugo and Macbeth, who he had encountered during the Dragon Worshipper incident. They appeared to be escorting two unkempt prisoners to the floating fortress.

The two noticed Matthew.

In that moment, their expressions seemed awkward, but soon they forced a stiff smile.

Matthew responded with a gentle smile.

This seemed to calm them, and their departing smiles became more natural.

As the cable car gradually descended, Matthew turned to look, and the fortress in the sky was steadily moving away.

At some point, he felt like this fortress resembled a monstrous beast crouching in midair. The cable cars were like food heading into the beast's mouth.

He couldn't help but recall Suerel's words, "The world is like a murky fish tank..."

Matthew shook his head, couldn't help but self-mockingly smile.

After returning to Rolling Stone Town, Matthew immediately shared the intelligence obtained from Vandall with Zeller and Rhaegar.

This information was crucial and could influence the course of the upcoming war.

Two days later, the Alliance issued war permits to Rolling Stone Town and Highleaf Territory, along with more detailed war orders for the imminent battle.

Most of the information mentioned in the document had already been revealed by Vandall. Hence, with almost no additional preparation, the army of Rolling Stone Town had already been assembled.

The next day, on August 1st, the day the battle was set to begin finally arrived.

At noon, after the army of Rolling Stone Town completed its assembly at the Lord's Mansion, it began to dispatch towards the northwest, to the mossy green hills.

The residents of Rolling Stone Town bid farewell along the way.

Countless flowers and tears were scattered on this once serene land, adding a touch of coolness to the scorching summer.

To the northwest, large dark clouds gathered over the mossy green hills, as if brewing an unprecedented storm.

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