Synthesis Wizard

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Chapter 92: The Mysterious Wooden Hut

The war took an unexpected turn once more.

Before half of the Summer Dragon Month had passed, news of the disappearance of Duke Jin Yan spread from Jin Yan City.

Thanks to this, the morale of the Jin Yan army on the front lines plummeted. Their already crumbling defenses instantly collapsed. The Shining Light army, with their triumphant victory, quickly reached the outskirts of Jin Yan City and conquered it within two days.

The news spread throughout the Starsea Duchy, causing an uproar! No one expected the war to end so quickly.

However, even more shocking news followed.

Three days after Jin Yan City fell, news arrived from Starsea City that a sect called the Star God Sect presented the King with Duke Jin Yan’s body and the weakness of the beast-infected.

The Grand Duke of Starsea was overjoyed. He declared the Star God Sect as the state religion and allowed their emissaries to spread their beliefs across the provinces.

Unsurprisingly, this news caused a stir among the nobles of the Duchy. Some supported it, some opposed it, and many more remained on the sidelines, wanting to see what this so-called Star God Sect was up to.

### Jin Yan Province, Shining Light City

The meeting hall.

After reading the battle report in his hand, Su Nan had a strange expression on his face.

Clearly, this so-called Star God Sect was just the Starfire Sect in disguise.

“I didn’t expect the Starfire Sect to kill Duke Jin Yan. They actually helped us a lot. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to conquer Jin Yan City so quickly,” Kei said, stroking his chin with a thoughtful expression.

“The Starfire Sect is ruthless, turning their backs on their allies so easily. Seeing that Duke Jin Yan was no longer useful, they killed him and used his death as a stepping stone for themselves.”

Kei and Su Nan, both clever men, understood the intricacies behind these events after a moment of reflection. They gained a deeper understanding of the Starfire Sect’s cold-hearted ruthlessness.

“But why does the Grand Duke of Starsea trust the Starfire Sect so much? I don’t believe he doesn’t know what the Starfire Sect has been doing in Jin Yan Province. Isn’t it a bit reckless to make such a cult the state religion?” Kei frowned, voicing his concerns. 𝐫Ã𐌽Ꝋ𝐁Ês̈

Su Nan replied calmly, “Perhaps they have reached some kind of agreement behind the scenes.”

“I don’t care what kind of agreement they made, but I won’t allow the Starfire Sect to enter Jin Yan Province. They want to spread their beliefs here? They’re delusional!” Kei scoffed.

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After suppressing the rebellion, the King kept his promise and appointed Kei as the Duke of Shining Light, granting him control over Jin Yan Province.

Unlike other provinces, the original noble landowners in Jin Yan Province either died fighting the Jin Yan alliance or were eliminated after rebelling with Duke Jin Yan. They were practically wiped out.

Currently, aside from Kei, all the nobles in Jin Yan Province were newly appointed by him.

As a result, Kei, as the ruler, had a level of control over these nobles who rose through military merit that other dukes couldn’t even dream of. It was unprecedented.

It could be said that Jin Yan Province was now entirely under Kei’s control, with everyone obedient to his orders.

Therefore, as one of the six dukes who possessed absolute control over his entire province (Redleaf Province was under the direct control of the King, without a separate dukedom), if Kei wanted to find an excuse to stop the Star God Sect from spreading their beliefs in Jin Yan Province, even the King wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

Naturally, Su Nan completely agreed with Kei’s decision.

In fact, he estimated that the dukes of other provinces, except for Redleaf Province, wouldn’t allow the Starfire Sect to enter their territories and spread their beliefs so easily.

A showdown between them was inevitable.

They would just have to wait and see.

Shifting his focus back to the battle report, Su Nan’s eyes landed on the words “Star God Sect presents the weakness of the beast-infected”, pondering deeply.

Based on his analysis, the Starfire Sect was unaware of the beast-infection disaster. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have remained completely uninvolved in the war between Duke Jin Yan and Shining Light throughout the entire conflict.

Therefore, their knowledge of the beast-infected’s weakness must have come from either Duke Jin Yan or by finding Heb’s laboratory.

Su Nan guessed that the latter was more likely.

Heb, unless he was completely insane, wouldn’t have told Duke Jin Yan such vital information about the beast-infected’s weakness.

“It seems that Heb’s remaining belongings have fallen into the hands of the Starfire Sect.”

Su Nan felt a slight pang of regret, but then quickly regained his composure.

After all, he didn’t expect to find anything left behind by Heb in the first place.

The wizard apprentice’s residence was most likely located in Frostfall Province. It would be like searching for a needle in a haystack for him to go alone to a strange province without any information and try to find a wizard apprentice’s residence.

Moreover, he had just become a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice, a crucial period for rapid growth. He couldn’t waste a lot of time and energy pursuing such a slim hope.

Setting aside the battle report, Su Nan turned to Kei and asked, “What are your plans next?”

Kei already had a plan in mind. Without hesitation, he said, “Although this war didn’t last long, Jin Yan Province has taken a heavy toll. Next, I plan to focus on recuperation for a while, invest heavily in economic development, and simultaneously accumulate strength.”

“Agreed,” Su Nan nodded in agreement.

Although they didn’t explicitly state it, both understood that the matter wasn’t over.

They had to avenge the Starfire Sect!

What they needed to do now was to silently accumulate strength and wait until they were strong enough to uproot the Starfire Sect.

“I’ve already made arrangements for the aptitude assessments. All the towns that haven’t conducted assessments will hold them in the next few days. Children who pass the assessments will be sent to your base.”

“Also, the materials you asked the Fire Fox Trading Company to purchase have arrived. I’ve arranged for them to be delivered to the base.”

These materials included some rare metals needed for refining Magic Emblem Cores and supplies for Su Nan to mass-produce magical items.

Purchasing these materials had cost a considerable amount of money.

However, Kei had just made a fortune from the war, so he was quite generous with his spending.

“I plan to open another one or two Magic Plant Gardens. I might need you to deploy troops to guard them,” Su Nan said.

“No problem,” Kei readily agreed.

He was actually hoping to persuade Su Nan to expand the cultivation of Dragon Blood Fruit. After all, as their territory grew and the army expanded, the demand for Dragon Blood Fruit would also increase.

He would be happy if Su Nan opened more Magic Plant Gardens.

Leaving the Duke’s Manor, Su Nan returned directly to the base.

The war was over. He could now focus on cultivating, learning, and developing his farm.

Over this period, Su Nan had successfully mastered his first Second-Ring spell, “Elemental Protection.”

The learning progress of his second Second-Ring spell, “Levitation,” had also begun.

Furthermore, his training progress for “Partial Spell Casting” was already halfway complete, advancing faster than he expected.

Su Nan estimated that he would be able to master “Partial Spell Casting” in at most two months.

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“Next, I’ll focus on creating magical items and try to upgrade my “Magic Item Manufacturing” skill to level 4 as soon as possible.”

“I still need to find replacements for twenty-nine types of rare metals for the Magic Emblem Core.”

Lost in thought, Su Nan arrived at the base.

Suddenly, his eyes stopped, gazing towards an owl perched on a nearby tree.

The owl had a terrifying face with six pairs of eyes densely scattered across its head. Its beak had tiny sharp teeth, and its sharp claws were dark red.

Upon meeting Su Nan’s gaze, the owl spoke in a deep male voice.

“Nice to meet you, Su Nan.”

“My name is Night Owl. It’s an honor to meet you.”

Su Nan’s lips twitched slightly.

Another wizard apprentice.

Seeing Su Nan’s lack of response and his calm gaze, Night Owl cleared his throat with a human-like cough and continued, “Su Nan, there’s no need to be so cautious. I have no malicious intent. I simply want to invite you to join our Mysterious Wooden Hut.”

“The Mysterious Wooden Hut?” Su Nan’s expression changed slightly.

“That’s right. The Mysterious Wooden Hut is a secret organization. All members are Third-Rank Wizard Apprentices…”

Su Nan suddenly interrupted Night Owl, “Heb Gilman, is he also a member of your Mysterious Wooden Hut?”

“…Yes, but please don’t misunderstand.”

Seeing Su Nan’s suspicious narrowed eyes, Night Owl spread its wings in a human-like gesture and explained, “The Mysterious Wooden Hut is a loose organization. It was established mainly for members to exchange information and resources. Aside from trading relationships, members have no other closer connections and don’t interfere with each other’s actions. So you don’t have to worry about anyone in the group wanting to avenge Heb.”

“In fact, many members of the Mysterious Wooden Hut disapprove of Heb’s actions.”

Su Nan didn’t respond but was already eight-tenths convinced.

After all, according to Night Owl, there were multiple wizard apprentices in the Mysterious Wooden Hut. If they really wanted to avenge Heb, they wouldn’t need to be so coy and could simply ambush and kill him, wouldn’t they?

Of course, this assumption wasn’t a hundred percent accurate.

Su Nan didn’t let his guard down. In addition to the already activated Protective Ring, he quietly slipped a high-level rune gem into his palm.

“I’m more curious about why you would invite me to join the Mysterious Wooden Hut.”

Night Owl seemed to smile, then continued, “We actually noticed you a long time ago. Your reputation spread throughout the Starsea Duchy after the Battle of Shining Light City. We naturally heard about it.”

“But at the time, you were just a Second-Rank Wizard Apprentice. According to the rules of the Mysterious Wooden Hut, we only accept Third-Rank Wizard Apprentices. That’s why we haven’t contacted you.”

“Until you killed Heb and displayed power comparable to a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice. After deliberation, we decided to make an exception and invite you to join the Mysterious Wooden Hut.”

“Of course, it seems we don’t need to make an exception now.”

Night Owl looked at Su Nan, its gaze seeming deep and meaningful.

A Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice’s body can store a small amount of energy particles. It’s easy to distinguish between Third-Rank Wizard Apprentices when observing them up close.

“So, what do you say, Su Nan? Are you interested in joining the Mysterious Wooden Hut?”

“Please trust me. It will be very beneficial to your future development!”

Su Nan pretended to think, but in his heart, he had already decided.

He had been searching for a wizard apprentice organization for a long time.

Now, he had finally found one, and he wouldn’t miss this opportunity.

Especially since the Mysterious Wooden Hut was a loose organization built on trade.

Joining would allow him to avoid excessive restrictions and trade resources and information with other wizard apprentices, offering numerous benefits.

As his power increased, the resources he needed became increasingly rare and valuable.

The Fire Fox Trading Company alone could no longer meet his needs.

Even with the Synthetic Magic Cube, there were many materials he couldn’t obtain. He could only spend time and energy researching substitutes, which took a long time.

However, perhaps this secretive organization, which brought together several Third-Rank Wizard Apprentices, could surprise him.

“Alright, I’ll join you!”

After pretending to think for a moment, Su Nan agreed.

“Then, welcome aboard, Su Nan. You are now a member of the Mysterious Wooden Hut,” Night Owl said, tapping its wings together as if clapping.

Then, it flapped its wings and flew down from the tree, landing on the ground. Its body leaned forward slightly, its belly suddenly bulged, and it quickly spread toward its beak before spitting something out with a “wah” sound.

It was a palm-sized, intricately crafted wooden toy house.

The house had no roof, allowing a clear view of its internal structure. There was only a long table and a dozen chairs, nothing else.

Whether it was the floor, walls, or the long table and chairs, countless enchantment runes were engraved on the surface.

“Trading House!”

Su Nan whispered, surprised.

Night Owl was even more surprised than him. “Su Nan, you recognize this?”

“Sort of,” Su Nan nodded slightly.

The Trading House is a very special type of Minor Light-level magical item.

Although it looks like a toy house, it’s actually a key, connecting to a dimension space called the Trading House.

In this dimensional space, all those who enter are considered to have signed an oath contract. Limited by the oath contract, they cannot engage in any activities that disrupt the trade, including but not limited to harming other traders, stealing other people’s belongings, etc. Otherwise, their souls will be obliterated.

In short, it’s a magic item specifically designed for guaranteed transactions.

Whether it was in the age of wizards a thousand years ago or in the future age of wizards, Trading Houses were very common.

Many wizards (apprentices) liked to use Trading Houses for remote transactions, as they were safe and convenient.

Seeing that Su Nan wasn’t lying and seemed to genuinely recognize the Trading House, Night Owl couldn’t help but be secretly surprised.

He had stumbled upon this Trading House in an inheritance of a wizard apprentice. He had never met anyone who recognized it until now.

He had also put in a lot of effort to make other wizard apprentices realize the security benefits of this item before successfully forming the Mysterious Wooden Hut organization.

But he didn’t expect Su Nan, a newly promoted Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice with little experience, to recognize the Trading House at first glance.

“Did you see it in a wizard book?”

Night Owl wondered secretly but didn’t ask further. He pointed to the Trading House on the ground with his wing.

“Since Su Nan recognizes this, then things are easier.”

“The Mysterious Wooden Hut holds a gathering every three months to exchange resources and information. The next gathering will be on the evening of the sixteenth day. You can prepare the items you want to trade in advance. Then, you can enter the Trading House directly.”

Su Nan nodded and used energy particles to clean the Trading House, washing off the mucus on it before taking it in hand.

The Trading House could separate into multiple ‘keys’. The one in his hand was just one of them, granting him access to the Trading House.

“Oh, every member of the Mysterious Wooden Hut uses codenames to address each other and keeps their identities confidential. You can decide on your codename in advance.”

After reminding Su Nan once again, Night Owl flapped its wings and flew away.

Watching it leave, Su Nan retracted his gaze, played with the ‘key’ in his hand, and smiled playfully. He then turned and walked towards the base.