The First Magic World War

In the past, the Orc Kingdom and the Sherlock Dynasty competed for supremacy on the Old Continent, fighting so fiercely that the sky went dark and the earth dim. The war lasted for more than three hundred years; eventually, the Orc Kingdom was vanquished by the Sherlock Dynasty, which slaughtered millions of beastmen. Nevertheless, due to the centuries of war, the Sherlock Dynasty exhausted the nation's potential and was conquered by the emerging Fars Empire.

However, the Orc Kingdom had once been a top power in the Old Continent, and it was a well-known legend that the beastman nobles who were bloodily massacred had hidden much wealth before dying. In fact, some people had found the treasures hidden by the beastman nobles and became wealthy as a result.

For seasoned individuals like White Wolf and Louis Simi, a possibly bogus treasure map could easily be dismissed with a sneer, but those lowly adventurers didn't have such "resolve." They would flock to Yorktown for a Demon Hunter's legacy and would naturally believe in a nebulous treasure map. After all, as long as someone was paying, even a fruitless trip wouldn't mean a loss.

Especially since Charles, after having been snubbed by White Wolf, had cleverly altered the origin of the treasure map from an old goods store to his uncle's legacy, making it seem even more credible.

The remaining adventurers were also stirred up, joining Charles's new team, with only two groups declining the invitation. They didn't even linger and promptly left Yorktown.

With an amiable smile, Charles turned and said to White Wolf, "Mr. White Wolf, sell me all your barley wine, please!"

"I'll buy a round for everyone here."

The adventurers erupted in cheers; suddenly, it became lively in front of the oversized wooden house.

......

Charles downed a mug of barley wine in one gulp, then suddenly slammed the cup onto the ground and roared skyward!

He had always presented himself as polite and refined, and he indeed was: in his previous life as a mathematics teacher or even after transmigrating and working as a clerical office worker.

But Magru Teller had signed his dismissal, capriciously erasing Charles Meklen's hard work and forcing him to betray Menilman, and brazenly indicated that he would be discarded like a used rag afterward. It was suffocatingly infuriating.

Before this, Charles had only wanted to bide his time and wait. Perhaps Menilman would extract himself from the political struggle and pull Charles up. But just moments ago, Charles suddenly thought of the chase by two detectives from the Liemar Detective Agency and a surge of resentment welled up in him, shattering that illusion by his own hand.

He wiped the beer from the corner of his mouth, looked at the over a hundred adventurers he had bamboozled, and a thought he was all too familiar with from childhood yet never contemplated realizing emerged in his mind!

Since he had fled and could no longer climb the rank and file of the government to live an easy life on a steady paycheck, why not make a big scene instead?

"Damn it!"

"Princes and generals, have they not been spawned from common stock?"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"The King, after all, is but one who stands strong in arms!"

"Now I may be of lowly strength, and these adventurers are hardly sufficient, but one day, I'll have thousands of warriors at my command, return to Strasbourg, and chop off Magru Teller's head to show that bullying transmigrators has no good end."

Huang Hai was born in an era of peace and had never experienced war in his life.

Thus, he had never considered personal vengeance; even when being pursued, it was nothing more than "self-defense."

Just in that instant, Charles suddenly understood what it meant to "carry a blade and have the instinct to kill" flare within him. Did he really swindle these adventurers for some damn treasure map of the Ancient Beastman Empire?

He had no real treasure map, and even if he did…

What good was a mere treasure map?

Even if he found the treasure, wouldn't he still be a fugitive of the Fars Empire?

Even if he went to another country to live, wouldn't he still be oppressed by officials?

Once Charles's thoughts became clear, an aura naturally emanated from him. He glanced at the adventurers who were drinking heartily, stretched out his hand towards the sky, and bellowed, "Those who join me in this treasure hunt, I, Qian Nan, swear on the souls of our beastman ancestors, guarantee that their fortunes will never fall below a hundred Gold Eglus."

"Let's set off!"

He kicked apart the luggage used to disguise his identity, not caring for its lack of anything valuable. Carrying the magic alchemy wand and the bloodsucking rapier gifted by Louis, he strode out of Yorktown.

Influenced by his momentum, some adventurers couldn't help but drop their cups and follow him. With someone taking the lead, the rest of the adventurers followed Charles in pairs and threes.

The team thus began to develop a trace of cohesion rather abruptly.

White Wolf glanced at the messy ground in front of his wooden hut and said, "Louis! Your friend is something. He's definitely going to achieve great things."

"However..."

"Why do I see the aura of a desperado in him?"

"You wouldn't be dealing with desperados, would you?"

Louis Simi said with a wry smile, "He's an Imperial Civil Servant!"

"And a very promising one at that."

Curious, White Wolf asked, "What kind of promising?"

Louis Simi replied, "His companion is the daughter of a certain count."

White Wolf was stunned for a moment before whispering, "No wonder! To marry a count's daughter, one needs to have a bit of a desperado's spirit."

Louis Simi spread his hands; he didn't mean it that way.

Once out of Yorktown, Charles called out loudly, "Who knows the location of Machu Picchu's ruins?"

Immediately, an adventurer shouted, "I've been to Machu Picchu!"

Charles smiled slightly and said, "Excellent, please lead the way, sir."

Machu Picchu was a fortress of the Ancient Beastman Kingdom, known as the never-falling Machu Picchu.

After conquering the fortress using stratagem, the Sherlock Dynasty set fire to Machu Picchu, turning this fortress of the Ancient Beastman Kingdom into ruins.

Now, hundreds of years later, the place had become desolate, with many terrifying rumors emerging. Only a handful of adventurers dared to try their luck there.

Hearing they were heading to Machu Picchu, some adventurers hesitated. The fortress of the Ancient Beast Kingdom was shrouded with too many frightening rumors. But when they thought about not being a small group, but rather a large team of over a hundred people, with a Transcendent leading them, and that Mr. Qian Nan reportedly had a treasure map, their hearts warmed with the thought that they might avoid danger and they continued to follow.

Charles had two reasons for choosing Machu Picchu. First, this ragtag bunch was unlikely to endure a long journey, not even an elite army could handle long marches without difficulty.

Machu Picchu was close, just over two hundred kilometers away from Strasbourg in a straight line.

For these adventurers, it was merely a two or three days' journey, a "sweet" target.

Furthermore, he was due to pay the first round of salaries in a week. Though he could afford it, well...

Uh!

He was somewhat reluctant to pay out.