A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 200 Rightful Claim

"Oh, what a coincidence! Although I am not from the Hamlet family, I am the lord of the Hamlet territory. We are related in some way."

"So, where's the key?"

Jim knew that if he didn't give him the key, he would probably die here immediately.

Don't be fooled by how amiable this person is now; it's all because he can profit from it.

"Here."

Jim obediently handed over the family crest.

After all, those who know when to yield are the wise ones.

Jiang Shuzhou took it and looked at it.

Indeed, books and blood.

No wonder the previous lord looked so pathetic. It turns out the main vein was underground, and the branches were above.

"I won't accept your things for nothing. I will definitely help you get revenge, but..."

Jiang Shuzhou's words were pointed.

"I am willing to relinquish all the wealth of the Hamlet family, if only you would help me avenge my family!"

Jim naturally understood Jiang Shuzhou's implied meaning, but he didn't care at all. After all, he couldn't get the treasure of the Blood Lake anyway, and he had no use for it.

His only goal was revenge.

There is unwavering loyalty hidden underground!

How could Jiang Shuzhou not help such a loyal young man who is devoted to love and to the Mage Alliance?

"Leave this to me, but I need you to explain the situation here."

"Not now, the ground is too cold. Get up and let's talk back at camp."

However, Jiang Shuzhou did not move.

"Where's the patient? The doctor's here!"

Immediately afterwards, the doctor beast bared its teeth and claws and charged directly at Jim, grabbed him, and put him directly into the cavity for treatment.

When Jim woke up again, they were already inside the camp.

"You're awake. The surgery was a success, and you're fine now."

What comes into view is the bizarre appearance of the doctor beast.

"Thank you?"

"You're welcome, brother. If you need anything, just ask me. From headaches and fevers to broken arms and legs and amputations, I can do it all."

Then, the doctor beast left.

"Now, you should tell me about the situation here."

Jiang Shuzhou's words rang out.

Jim snapped out of his daze and began to recount what had happened.

This underground world is known locally as Satvini; it is a closed underground world with the edge of the world.

Almost no one knows they live in the underground world, or rather, they don't care. After all, just surviving is difficult enough; who would care about such trivial matters?

The dominant race here is the elves, these pointed-eared creatures who rule this region with their long lifespans and immense power.

Many of them knew about the situation here, but they chose to remain isolated.

Any organization or individual who claims this place is the underworld will be hunted down.

Jim's wife was killed because she accidentally let something slip, while Jim escaped using his second-tier strength.

Do you know exactly how big this place is?

Jiang Shuzhou asked, needing to know exactly how big this place was in order to estimate the total population and how to deal with them.

"this……"

Jim stammered, clearly unable to say anything.

This is what happens when you lack education.

Jiang Shuzhou sighed, rubbing his forehead.

I'm truly fed up with these illiterate people.

"Alright, let's continue. Tell me about the elves, so I can better help you get revenge."

Jim nodded and continued speaking.

The elves here are not the dark-skinned elves, or drow elves, that Jiang Shuzhou initially thought; instead, they are real white-skinned elves.

But their cruelty and cunning are in no way inferior to those of the drow elves.

Of course, there's also arrogance and conceit.

Every year, these elves hold a bloody ceremony to celebrate the birth of new life, during which they allow their newborn elven brethren to watch other races engage in bloody gladiatorial combat.

These gladiators came from all walks of life; some were bought, some were captured, and some were driven by honor and money.

But all they could do upon arriving at this arena was fight; without fighting, they could not survive.

"Wait a minute, you said newly born?"

"A new batch of elves can be born in just one year?"

When did the birth rate of these infertile elves become so high?

It's almost higher than the birth rate of mages.

"Yes, they are born from the Mother Tree of the Elves, once a year, and the sacrifice is the blood and flesh of gladiators."

The Fairy Mother Tree?

This is a good thing.

Although the Elf Mother Tree here is definitely not the legendary Elf Mother Tree that gave birth to gods, this thing is still a good thing.

Because of the abyss, Jiang Shuzhou's flesh and blood mother tree has never been very efficient at drawing power from the elements, while the elven mother tree is known to be favored by nature.

Isn't this excellent research material?

Putting aside everything else, even if the Flesh and Blood Mother Tree directly devoured the Elf Mother Tree, that would still result in a significant improvement!

Sure enough, the underworld has a lot of good stuff.

If this were on the ground, these elves would protect the Elven Mother Tree like they would their father. An alchemist like Jiang Shuzhou would probably be blasted away by the enraged elves before he even got close.

The key issue is that Jiang Shuzhou can't beat him.

But it's different here.

"About how strong are those elves?"

"The strongest Elf King is probably a legend."

"?"

Jim paused for a moment, then continued.

"That translates to fifth rank."

"?"

Subsequently, with Jim's explanation, Jiang Shuzhou gradually understood.

In the element-scarce underground world, there was no twelve-tier division like on the surface. Instead, they simply and crudely divided strength into five classes.

On the ground, it's the third tier; here, it's the high tier; and on the ground, it's the fifth tier—here, it's legendary.

The absurdity is astonishing.

However, no matter what, this Pokémon isn't very strong.

Then what's there to say? Let's just start the war.

Do you have a map?

Upon hearing this, Jim was taken aback, then shook his head.

Do you know the exact location of the elves?

Jim shook his head again.

"Do you know where that blood lake is?"

This time, Jim nodded vigorously.

Alright, even though he's not very educated, at least he's somewhat useful.

"What is the nearest town?"

This time, Jim was finally able to answer the question.

"In the northeast, there is a small town with a population of several thousand."

It seems that conquering the world must begin with conquering this small town.

"Hays, mobilize the troops. Set off today, and we must take this place by tomorrow!"

Jiang Shuzhou didn't want to get involved in this kind of thing, after all, it was just a small town, and there weren't even as many soldiers as his army.

According to Jiang Shuzhou's plan, they should first conquer a few towns, and then the elves would come to them.

It's a very simple strategy, but it's especially effective against elves, and many people have tried it.

After all, the Mage Alliance had fought many battles with the Elves, and these experiences had been written down and put into the library.

So reading more books and learning some little-known facts is really useful.