Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree-Chapter 414: The Mining Area

Duke glanced at the dire state of Black Oak Town and knew there was little value in searching here.

He had no intention of getting involved in the massacre and instead ordered the slave creatures to turn around and head towards the northern mining area.

Shortly after Duke and Vivian led their forces away from the town, Leonard, who had been overseeing from a high point, also noticed their movements and immediately took out a map to check.

"The northern mining area... Sea Heart Iron?" A gleam flashed in Leonard’s eyes, "Hmph, that’s territory belonging to us, the Silver Hand! Ella, forget about these lowly people, let them clean up themselves! Let’s follow, there’s no way we’re letting those two take the gains from the mining area alone!"

"Mining area?" Ella was unfamiliar with the terrain here and never liked looking at maps; she would just follow Leonard wherever he went, without worrying too much.

Leonard nodded, "There’s a Magic Metal mining area north of Black Oak Town, and there should be a lot of good stuff there. Plus, I heard from my teacher that it’s supposed to belong to the Silver Hand in the future. Vivian and the others have already gone there, can’t believe they didn’t even come into town to loot anything."

Just as Duke expected, the small town had little to offer, apart from finding some silver coins and common jewelry in what seemed to be wealthy homes.

The only notable gain was a box of Level 1 Energy Crystal Stones and a tattered notebook documenting the properties of local herbs, found in the basement of a house in the town.

The danger level of a place like Black Oak Town was indeed low, but correspondingly, the spoils were meager.

Leonard and his sister didn’t care for such things. Moreover, according to his inside information, the mining area had already been designated as the Silver Hand’s, and he considered it his own, unwilling to let Duke and Vivian touch it.

Because most of the mining area’s contents were unprocessed minerals, they were of no immediate use to him, which is why he hadn’t rushed over initially. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Unexpectedly, Duke and Vivian had gone straight there, heading directly for the mining area Leonard considered already belonging to the Silver Hand.

Leonard and his sister no longer hesitated, quickly gathered most of the slave creatures, leaving only a few to continue symbolically searching and making noise, while the main force swiftly left the chaotic town area and moved rapidly toward the northern mining area.

The mining area wasn’t far from Black Oak Town, situated at the foot of a barren hill.

At the entrance, one could see crude mine tunnels, piles of waste rock debris, and some long-inoperative lifting equipment and rail miners.

It was currently silent here, as if the miners had long since fled.

Duke and Vivian arrived first, ordering the land dragons and bat-winged beasts to spread out and keep watch, preparing to enter the mine tunnels for exploration.

At that moment, hurried footsteps and Leonard’s slightly arrogant voice came from behind:

"Stop! Duke, Vivian! You probably can’t enter this mining area!"

Duke turned around, strangely asking, "Can’t enter? Why not?"

"This mining area belongs to the United Legion, and it’s full of unrefined minerals. Entering won’t do you any good. I just consulted my teacher, Hawkins, and he said this area is meant for the Silver Hand, so you can’t touch what’s inside," Leonard explained.

Duke chuckled, "Even if it’s to be allocated to the Silver Hand, that’s something to be decided after the war. There’s no ’ownership’ during a war."

Such things never happened in previous Black Sail Plane Wars, as Black Sail was the only wizard organization involved.

But now, with the United Legion led by the Four Great Wizard Organizations, areas will be divided post-war to ensure each side gains something.

However, that’s all post-war. Currently, it’s still the beginning of the war, and there’s no talk of ownership.

Duke hadn’t received any such notification; Leonard might be referring to inside information.

But until everything settled, this place was ownerless, and this was true for whoever arrived.

Leonard’s face darkened immediately. Duke’s words had directly pierced through his attempt to bluff with future ownership claims.

The nervous Ella instinctively moved closer to Leonard.

"Duke!" Leonard’s voice rose, carrying obvious threat, "This is news my teacher, Lord Hawkins, just told me. Are you sure you want to knowingly violate it?"

Hawkins was a Level 3 Mage of the Silver Hand, as well as a Level 3 Arcane Master, and indeed had some reputation on the West Coast.

Considering his sister was with him, Leonard hadn’t intended to fight Duke and Vivian, hoping to use Hawkins’ name to pressure Duke.

Duke was unfazed and instead chuckled lightly, his tone tinged with mockery, "Leonard, currently we’re executing the United Legion’s sweeping task. All is governed by war-time regulations. The regulations clearly state that war spoils during the clearing period belong to individuals. As for your teacher’s words, wait until he truly takes over this place to discuss. But for now..."

At this point, Vivian stepped forward, her voice cold and clear, carrying an undeniable authority, "Leonard, my mentor, Wizard Grace, explicitly informed me before the mission that this task is governed entirely by the United Legion’s war-time regulations. Any internal division or promises are ineffective before the war ends and the legion’s official documents are issued."

She paused, her gaze calmly meeting Leonard’s somewhat bewildered eyes, continuing, "If you insist on claiming this mining area as the Silver Hand’s and attempt to prevent us from exercising our right to collect war spoils, I don’t mind reporting the situation here directly to my mentor, Wizard Grace, through special channels, asking her to verify this matter with the legion’s higher-ups."

Leonard’s face fluctuated, as Grace’s reputation on the West Coast was far superior to Hawkins’, with extensive resources and connections.

In terms of backing, he might indeed not outmatch Vivian.

However, it also depended on how fondly Grace regarded Vivian, for Leonard was a direct line of his family, closely related to Hawkins.

And Vivian and Grace were merely teacher and student; if their relationship was average, Leonard’s position would inevitably be superior.

But from Vivian’s presence here, it appeared that Grace also valued this student greatly, otherwise, she wouldn’t have arranged for her to be part of the Seventh Squadron through her channels.

What Leonard didn’t know was that Duke was also placed here by Grace.