Chapter 451 – Story
After Megan’s introduction, Zhao Hai now had a general idea of the several heirs of the Calci Family. It should be said that there heirs were very good since they had their own special talents. With the exception of Juwan, each one of them are definitely capable of acting alone.
The eldest child Peter always stayed in the clan and acted as the head of the League of Dark Mages, his status within the league was quite high.
The second child was Smith, the one who held the family’s purse. Although the Calci Family also had fiefs on other places, it was without a doubt that the one who made the most money was Sky Water City. Because of how much money he made for the family, his status within was also quite high.
The third child Dillan was a cultivation freak, he was the one with the least interest in becoming the Patriarch. In his opinion, the position of Patriarch was just something that would impede his progress. He practiced since he was at a young age, he was now an 8th rank expert and may even break through to 9th rank one day.
The fourth child Mike was the diplomat of the Calci Family. He was a smooth talker, the help he provided for the family wasn’t small either. Without his help in making connections here and there, the Calci Family might not have retained its current status with the suppression of the Radiant Church.
They were all very important for the Calci Family. Although Dillan didn’t serve the family, he was the person that was closest to becoming a 9th rank expert. As long as his strength becomes 9th rank, Randolph can just sit comfortably in the position of Patriarch, n.o.body would dare oppose him then.
Just as Megan finished talking to Zhao Hai, a servant came with a message from Smith saying that everything was ready. Zhao Hai nodded and was followed by Megan to the meal. Laura and the others didn’t come with them, but Laura and the others didn’t seem to be excited. They knew that Zhao Hai really didn’t want to go, but he had no other choice.
Zhao Hai and Megan went to the main area of Rustling Tree Courtyard and headed to the living room where Smith and his wife are waiting. He didn’t see any other person, so Zhao Hai can only greet Smith and the madam this time. Smith asked Zhao Hai to sit on the opposite end of the table and said, “This can be considered as a family banquet. I’ve already asked Kristen and Diya to invite their uncles. They should arrive soon. Since you are from the younger generation, I had to call you ahead of time.”
Zhao Hai didn’t object since he was truly a younger generation with regards to Peter and the others. So in today’s banquet, it was right for him to arrive earlier than the older generation.
He can now be regarded as from Randolph’s line, so there should be rules that need to be followed, especially during meals. Although he doesn’t need to follow the customs strictly like Kristen, he should still respect their rules from time to time.
Naturally, this also comes with exceptions. If he faces Juwan, then he certainly wouldn’t be following the family’s custom. If he gives me a foot of respect, the he’ll return it with a zhang(~10ft) of regard, this was Zhao Hai’s principle.
Before long, a servant’s voice announced, “The First, Third, and Fourth Young Master has arrived.” When his voice finished, three people entered the courtyard.
Zhao Hai and Smith immediately stood up to give their greetings. Zhao Hai looked at the appearances of the three people in front of him. The middle one was a person who had a normal n.o.ble’s appearance. There wasn’t any special feature to him aside from looking like an older version of Smith. This should be Peter.
The one on the left of Peter wore a Magic Robe. This magic robe was a traditional garment worn by Dark Mages. It looked very secretive. The person was very thin, but one could still see some fat here and there. He had a pale skin and looked very much like a sick scholar. This should be Dillan.
On the right of Peter was a person who wore magnificent n.o.ble clothing. Even if he looks a bit fat, he wasn’t very big. But if you compare him to both Peter and Dillan, then you could clearly see how much fatter he was. But even though he had more weight, he wasn’t unsightly at all. He had a fair complexion and wore a smile on his face, looking very approachable. This should be Mike.
Smith immediately went forward and gave salute to the middle person first, “Elder Brother”. Then he turned his head to the two other people and said, “Third Brother, Fourth Brother, you came.”
Zhao Hai also went forward this time and gave the newcomers his greetings. When Zhao Hai was in the lobby, he also saw the three of them. But since they didn’t speak and just sat the entire time, Zhao Hai didn’t know their ident.i.ty.
Peter also took notice of Zhao Hai’s presence, seeing Zhao Hai give his greetings, Peter couldn’t help but smile and said, “Zhao Hai? Hahahaha, I already heard of you, very good. You actually have some spine, not bad.”
Zhao Hai quickly replied, “I don’t dare, how can I accept Uncle’s praise when I’ve been impolite.”
Peter laughed, then he patted Zhao Hai’s shoulder and didn’t talk anymore. At this time, Dillan suddenly said, “Zhao Hai, do you really have 10 thousand undead Beastman Cavalry?”
Zhao Hai already know that Dillan was a cultivation maniac, so he wasn’t actually surprised for his first words to be like this, so he immediately replied, “Answering to Third Uncle, I do. In the past on the Beastman Prairie, I got to help the Cow-headed Race’s Herculean Bull tribe in their matters. These undead Beastmen that I have are Fighting Bull Tribe’s cavalry.”
Dillan quickly replied, “Release one for me to see.”
Zhao Hai stared, then with an awkward face he turned to Smith. Smith smiled and said, “Go on and let Third Brother have a look, he likes to look at these things.” Zhao Hai nodded, then with a wave of his hand, an Undead Fighting Bull Cavalry appeared.
Dillan stood before the undead and carefully inspected it. At this moment, the undead had the appearance of a skeleton. After Dillan fully looked at the skeleton, he knocked a bone with his hand. And then with a shocked face, he turned to Zhao Hai and said, “This is an Advanced Level Undead?”
Zhao Hai knew that he cannot hide the truth from an expert like Dillan, so he didn’t hide it as he nodded and said, “They can also transform into Zombie form.” Then he wielded his magic staff at the undead Beastman before it turned into a Zombie Cavalry. Not only was Dillan intrigued with this, Peter and the others were also surprised.
What they were seeing was really different from a normal Zombie, it was no mystery why Peter and the others looked surprised. They had studied and researched Dark Magic ever since they were young, so they were extremely familiar with Dark Magic. However, they had not heard nor read about a Dark Magic spell that can transform an undead between a Skeleton and a Zombie.
One must know that in the system of Dark Magic, the branches of skeletons and zombies are different. When a Skeleton progresses, it would go from Iron Skeleton, Bronze Skeleton, Silver Skeleton and then Gold Skeleton. This progression was the same for Zombies, Iron Zombie, Bronze Zombie, Silver Zombie, and Gold Zombie. They had not heard of a Skeleton turning into a Zombie, as well as a Zombie turning into a Skeleton.
Dillan had also studied for a long time and even he had not heard of such scenario. Smith was the first to recover, he knew that he cannot make Dillan continue to inspect the undead, or else there would be no dinner that will happen.
Smith turned to Zhao Hai and said, “Little Hai, store it first, then we’ll head inside to talk.” Zhao Hai nodded, and then received the Undead. Dillan actually wanted to inspect Zhao Hai’s undead more, but he was blocked by Smith. Then the group entered the room and sat down.
After they sat down, Smith turned to Zhao Hai and said, “Little Hai, what was that? Why is your undead different?”
Zhao Hai forced a smile and said, “This I don’t know. This may have something to do with my Magic Staff.” Then he showed his Ghost Staff. At this point the staff reverted to its original form, with the Skull and the gloomy atmosphere surrounding it.
Zhao Hai handed his staff over to Dillan while he said, “I got this Magic Staff from the Black Wasteland. Back when I drank the Water of Nothingness, I was totally depressed. I wanted to run to the Carrion Swarm and kill myself. I didn’t expect that when I entered the swamp, this staff suddenly appeared. I became curious and took it to see what it was. And then I was surprised when the skull’s mouth opened and nipped my finger, taking along a drop of my blood with it. After that, I fainted and was ultimately saved by Grandpa Green. At that point, the Magic Staff had always followed me, there was no way to discard it. It also surprisingly cured me of the toxin from the Water of Nothingness. Most importantly, it was also a very good conductor for casting Magic. When I cast Dark Magic using this staff, it would also increase its potency. The undead created with the staff would have upgraded abilities, the lowest undead that it could make was Advanced Level Undead. It also had the ability to convert the undead from one form to another. Another good thing about this staff is that it can’t be stolen from me. If I get too far from it, it would just directly fly towards my direction. This staff is truly mysterious, even I don’t know its origin.”
Zhao Hai already had this excuse prepared. n.o.body can also debunk his story since it was impossible for Green and the others to betray him. He went all out on this story with his novel writing skills, one could say this reason was very airtight.
When he heard Zhao Hai, Dillan couldn’t help but try using it to replicate its effects. But unfortunately, nothing happened. The staff seemed just like a piece of useless wood in Dillan’s hands.
Zhao Hai’s excuse was also believed by Smith and the others because the Carrion Swamp was truly mysterious. All these years, the number of 9th ranks who lost their lives inside were numerous. n.o.body can survive in that place but who knew that Zhao Hai would actually find such a treasure there. All of them sighed when thinking about Zhao Hai’s good luck. They didn’t suspect Zhao Hai even for a bit, they knew that the Buda Clan had been transferred to the Black Wasteland, everybody knew it. Other than the Black Wasteland, Smith and the others cannot think of any other place where Zhao Hai could have acquired his current strength.