Wearing a blue mage robe that hung on him like a tattered fishnet—this indicated he was a neutral mage—he held a long magic staff in his hand. The head of the staff, which should have been curved, was already broken, making it impossible to tell what kind of magic stone had once been embedded there—well, if he could even afford a magic stone.

“Heh—heh—, give it a rest, old man. With the way you look, you’re still pretending to be a grand mage?” Ethan Brooks rudely tugged at the mage insignia on the fishnet. “If you’re going to pretend, at least do it professionally. There’s a problem with your insignia. While the general shape is right, look here—this should be the ocean symbolizing neutrality, but why is it a waterfall here?”

“Young man, I want to ask you about someone.”

“I don’t know.” Although he was a noble of the empire, the courtesy of a first meeting was quickly replaced by the true nature of a demon.

“Do you know Edward Brooks?”

“Huh?” Ethan Brooks was clearly stunned for a moment, then immediately shook his head. “Don’t know him.”

“Oh, Logan Brooks?”

“Don’t know.” Ethan Brooks kept up the same head-shaking rhythm.

“Oh, let me think again.” The old mage’s withered claw scratched his damp hair. “Chi... what about Henry Brooks?”

“No…” Ethan Brooks couldn’t stop shaking his head out of habit, then gulped down a mouthful of saliva. “No… I do know him.” His attitude instantly became much more honest.

“You’re a Chi too, right? What’s your name?”

“Chi… Chi… Ethan Brooks.”

“Ning, Liu, Hong, Yuan, Da, Han, Chang, Xiao… Han, Han, you little rascal, you little rascal!” The old mage’s bony hand suddenly swung up and smacked hard on Ethan Brooks’s flowing long hair. “Still telling me you don’t know them? You really don’t? Don’t you even know your own ancestors?”

The clueless Amy stared blankly at the scene. “Wow—so even Uncle Brooks, who always teases and bullies others, has a day like this. Feels great.” He thought it, but didn’t dare say it out loud.

“I… do I really know them? They’ve been dead for hundreds of years. You didn’t ask if I knew about them.”

For the first time, Ethan Brooks acted like a child, arguing like a child.

“No excuses, excuses are just cover-ups.” (Ha, every time I tried to explain to my girlfriend why I didn’t call on time, I’d hear this familiar line.) The old mage gave Ethan Brooks’s head two more hard smacks. “You’re just as mischievous as that ancestor of yours, Edward Brooks. Back in the day, he sprayed a whole headful of thousand-grass leaf brew on me at the Treehouse Tavern. Waiter, bring me a large glass of thousand-grass leaf brew, your best roast chicken steak, and, hmm, get me

a pretty hostess, must be a human from the Aiminor Continent, and put it all on this young man’s tab.” After gesturing to the waiter, the old mage made a quick, subtle move—target: Ethan Brooks.

Boom… The hapless victim, with an expression of shock, disbelief, grievance, unwillingness, helplessness, nervousness, and the urge to escape, collapsed under the table.

“Everyone, don’t worry, he’s just had too much to drink, he’ll be fine soon.” The old mage reassured the surrounding guests.

“Hey, little brother, how are you…” The furry head leaned in close to Amy.

“N-no… I’m not a Chi, and I have no money, look…” Having already witnessed the power of a grand mage, the little boy quickly turned all his pockets inside out while shifting the blame, “He has all the money, we just met. No, we don’t even know each other.” The small black tail behind the usually kind and honest little deer trembled in fear.

“Oh, I want to ask you about someone.”

“Help! Robbery…” So many things happening in such a short time.

It seemed to have reached the limit a fourteen-year-old boy could bear. Amy, who dared to challenge berserkers, poor Amy, shouted at the top of his lungs, but something even more heartbreaking happened—he couldn’t make a sound.

Red-robed archmage, flashed through his mind, Amy immediately tried to jump up—no, Amy immediately wanted to jump up to call for help, but to his shock, he found that what had just happened to the berserker was now happening to him, only with a different target.

“Do you know Lake Harper?”

“I don’t know anyone… spare me… Dad, my dad.” Amy’s mouth opened and closed.

Clearly, the old mage understood what he meant. With a loud snap of his withered fingers, Amy collapsed to the ground.

Volume One: Friendship of Ice and Snow Chapter Eight: Blade of Ice

Compendium of Divine War Magic Weapons

Page 15, Column 2: Blade of Ice

Two-handed greatsword

29

Length: 1.6 meters

Original weight: 22.5 kilograms

Magic attribute: Ice

Magic enchanter: High-ranking ice spirit Ernest

Special attacks: Randomly triggers Ice Blade (Level 1 magic), Blizzard (Level 2 magic); within the domain of ice and snow, can summon Ice Spear of the Land (Level 3 magic); with sufficient mana infusion, can summon Forest of Ice Spears (Level 4 magic); if a contract is made with Ernest, can unleash Frost Dragon Rampage (Level 5 magic) and World of Ice and Snow (Domain, Forbidden Spell)