In the early morning, on the banks of the Leibo River.
Fishermen, awake early, began to fish with bleary eyes, while the housewives, as usual, either fetched water or washed clothes by the riverbank.
This was an ordinary morning.
Knock knock knock—
However, a regular knocking suddenly rose at the door of Villa No. 5.
"Renee, go see who it is."
"Yes, Master."
In the dining room, Renee nodded in response and quickly walked towards the yard.
Colin picked up the white napkin in front of him and wiped the corner of his mouth, curious.
These past few days had been lively, just yesterday morning that landlord named Hosone had come for a visit.
And this morning, someone had come to visit again...
However, the dining room didn't have a window facing the yard, so he couldn't see the specific situation.
I'll wait for Renee to come back...
Shaking his head, he continued eating the lavish breakfast in front of him.
He didn't have to wait long.
Renee quickly returned, but she was holding a not-so-large square leather paper bag in her hand.
"Master, for you."
"What is this?"
Colin reached out to take the paper bag and opened it, revealing several folded...newspapers?
"The person who knocked a moment ago was a tall Knight... his strength should be that of a Great Knight." Renee explained, "He claimed to be under the orders of Landlord Hosone, bringing some things... Ah, then before I could react, he left the paper bag behind and departed."
Colin nodded slightly and unfolded one of the "newspapers" in his hands.
After seeing it clearly, an expression of surprise appeared on his face.
It was actually several copies of daily announcements issued by the Supreme Council.
Looking at the dates, they were indeed from the past few days.
"He's quite considerate..." he murmured softly to himself.
During Hosone's visit yesterday, he hadn't taken it too seriously.
The Fabados Kingdom was just a small country, and with his own strength, perhaps only the backing of the Royal Family could possess the power to contend.
A mere real estate businessman, naturally, did not warrant too much attention.
After all...he was cautious, not paranoid.
"However, that Hosone is indeed a smart man."
Colin caressed the announcement in his hand, smiling.
This announcement from the Supreme Council was exactly what he desired.
In the Wizard City, such announcements were easily obtainable.
But outside of Wizard City, getting a hold of them was not so easy.
"Next time that Knight comes again, give him...hm, five Magic Stones for each announcement."
He lifted his head and instructed Renee.
Having said that, he lowered his head and sorted through the Supreme Council's announcements in chronological order.
First was the announcement from the Yanan Calendar, November 5th—
"On November 4th of the Yanan Calendar, the Divine side launched another attack on the Soah Islands, but it was thwarted by the Wizard side..."
After reading it through once, Colin quickly summarized in his mind.
'Good news.'
A smile emerged on his face.
It seemed that the Wizard side had indeed managed to secure a foothold on the Soah Islands.
Next was the Yanan Calendar, November 6th.
That day was calm at the frontlines, with no wars breaking out.
However, the Supreme Council made a groundbreaking decision—that was to encourage all Wizards to research new types of witchcraft, new knowledge!
This was an unusual decision.
As far as he knew, at least for several hundred years,
The Supreme Council had explicitly suggested that Wizards should not blindly explore new knowledge, new witchcraft,
To lower the death rate of Wizards as they relentlessly pursued new knowledge and researched new witchcraft.
Yet, unexpectedly, the attitude of the Supreme Council had taken a one hundred and eighty-degree turn...
"Probably because of the war..."
Colin reflected with a sigh and continued reading.
In the second half of the announcement on November 6, many names of witchcraft were included.
These were the first batch of recommended witchcraft for research particularly listed by the Supreme Council.
As long as one achieved effective research results in these witchcraft and passed the assessment of the Supreme Council,
then depending on the quality, one could exchange them for corresponding contribution points from the Supreme Council!
"Water Armor Technique... Naga Transformation Skill... Odor Removal... Eh, there's also the Deep Red Transformation Technique."
Colin quickly skimmed through them, feeling somewhat eager to try.
Not to mention anything else, just the Deep Red Transformation Technique, he already had effective research results at hand!
'Contribution points from the Supreme Council... those are valuable things.'
He closed the November 6 announcement and took out the last one, dated November 7, also from the day before, and slowly unfolded it, ready to continue reading.
However, the next second, as Colin saw the large headline in the first line of the announcement, his pupils couldn't help but constrict.
"Wizards have retreated to the Teiya Strait... How could this be?"
He sat up straight, spread the paper out carefully, and read each word with a furrowed brow.
Before long, after he had carefully read through it once, Colin's heart felt somewhat relieved.
The reason the Wizards' front line had fallen back was not because of what he had imagined—the Soah Islands had been lost, leading to a retreat.
Instead, it was a strategic move.
The Supreme Council used almost an entire page to explain why the Wizards had chosen to proactively fall back.
However, in Colin's eyes, all that was said boiled down to one thing—
Terrain reasons.
The original Soah Islands were scattered and not conducive to defense, whereas the Teiya Strait was the exact opposite and extremely suitable for defense.
Therefore, the Wizards had chosen to strategically withdraw, gathering strength and waiting for the time to counterattack.
'The situation doesn't look good...'
Closing the announcement, Colin couldn't help but sigh.
Even if it was a strategic retreat, it was still a retreat.
Those lost islands would not be so easy to reclaim later on...
And regardless of the situation, such a withdrawal of the defensive line inevitably hid another reason—
The Wizards... were running low on war power.
At the very least, they were no longer able to hold the Soah Islands...
All must rely on a retreat to gain time to recuperate and rebuild their strength.
Exhaling a turbid breath, Colin put away the announcement.
'The war between Wizards and the Divine is like a dark cloud, always looming overhead, leaving no moment of peace...'
He stood up and quickly walked toward the courtyard.
Although the Siya Continent could be considered calm for now, according to the current war situation, turmoil would inevitably spread.
When that time came, in this world where power is supreme, everything will become more naked and exposed...
'Only personal strength is the only thing that can be relied upon.'
Stepping onto the courtyard, Colin stood on the mat that Renee had laid out and began practicing the Traction Technique.
Everything about this villa was good, except that it lacked a suitable basement, having only two narrow cellars and a low underground shelter next to them, not even as big as a bedroom.
'Perhaps because it's close to the river, and the underground is prone to water seepage...'
For this reason, he could only practice the Breathing Skill in the open space of the courtyard on ordinary days.
However, there was a Meditation Room built in the master bedroom, which was rare in a normal mortal kingdom.
He didn't know for what reason...
But it was precisely because of this Meditation Room that he eventually decided to live here.
Shaking his head, Colin continued his practice.
He focused his attention on his chest; the golden Ancient Tree Heart Crystal had changed a bit more compared to two days ago.
Its outer hard, pale golden shell had been mostly absorbed, leaving only a thin layer.
'If all goes well... perhaps today, it can be completely absorbed.'
Colin exhaled gently and stepped off the mat, starting to practice the main part of the Yi Guang Breathing Method.