44: Chapter 43, Fake Magician Online_1 44: Chapter 43, Fake Magician Online_1 After sending off Knight Hiludi, Hudson secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the emissary sent by Earl Piers was not a competent persuader, he might not have been able to resist the temptation otherwise.
If it had been a native knight, there was a high chance they would accept such a tempting offer, even if they knew it would be a hot potato.
At the end of the day, it all came down to the fierce competition.
Each year there were countless novice knights like Hudson entering the mix on the continent, but fewer than one in ten could ultimately secure a fief.
Most knights perished on the path of conquest, with only a select few fortunate enough making their mark.
By comparison, Hudson was lucky.
Before setting out on his own, he managed to secure an opportunity to lead soldiers into battle.
No matter how incompetent the serf soldiers were, they were still better than starting from scratch.
Without the serf soldiers from his family, Hudson wouldn’t have made it to his current position.
Though he seemed to have been forced into leadership every step of the way, wasn’t he also actively pushing things forward?
Could anyone have forced him if he wasn’t willing?
If he joined this war as a wandering knight, he would be the cannon fodder on the front lines.
As far as Hudson knew, even the lower ranking commanders in Earl Piers’ Crimson Knights’ Brigade were knights.
It was impossible to distinguish oneself from such a group without surviving through several wars.
This was an elite force.
If it were an ordinary unit, the chances of standing out would be even slimmer.
The probability of obtaining a fief from a hands-off ruler would be considerably lower.
Most knights only held titles and did not own any fiefdoms.
If they happened to follow a generous boss, they could luck out and get a manor as a fief.
Most regular knights only received a meager salary.
If they wanted more, they had to loot it on the battlefield.
If not for his tight budget, Knight Hiludi wouldn’t have been so easily employed by Hudson.
As the Snail Squadron set out once more, Hudson noticeably observed the transformation within the peasant soldiers.
After two consecutive victories, he began to see some semblance of hardened soldiers within them.
Unfortunately, he was only temporarily in command of this unit.
After the war, everyone would go their separate ways.
No matter how effective the training, it was ultimately benefiting others.
Having been ambushed once, Hudson became more cautious and sent out scouts as far as five miles ahead.
In his free time, Hudson studied his Golden Finger – the Mysterious Compass.
The soul fires of the five silver skeletons, like five blood packs, greatly replenished the compass, benefitting Hudson immensely.
Thanks to his sharp perception, he, an amateur archer, evolved into an impressive marksman.
His overall physical ability greatly improved as well.
Unfortunately, such a boost had a cost.
Once the energy in the compass was depleted, he would return to his normal state.
Prior to this, Hudson had already experienced an increase in cultivation speed.
Sadly, it did not last long due to the depletion of energy.
Of course, it didn’t entirely disappear, his physical condition improved a lot, it just wasn’t as formidable as when being assisted.
“Mighty Wind Element, please heed my call, ripple my winds!”
Upon the completion of the incantation, the leaves in his sight merely fluttered twice.
It was uncertain whether it was due to his spellcasting or a result of the saliva he spouted while reciting the incantation.
Such repeated occurrences no longer surprised the others.
Everyone knew that the noble lord was practicing magic.
As for why he couldn’t release any magic, they didn’t know, and no one dared openly discuss this issue.
As long as one had thick skin, embarrassment could be nonexistent.
For the sake of becoming a great magician, Hudson did his utmost.
There were no problems with him meditating.
Every time, he was able to enter a meditative state with the aid of the Mysterious Compass, and his spiritual power was continuously improving.
As for magic power on the other hand, that was a different story.
Although he wasn’t entirely devoid of magic power, it wasn’t much better.
The magic elements in the world did not recognize him.
Even though Hudson’s spiritual power was on par with a junior mage, he couldn’t release a single spell.
To be precise, he couldn’t cast any spells through his own efforts.
With the aid of the Mysterious Compass, Hudson could still cast spells.
For instance, during the midday hunt, he had managed to cast the first-order spell ‘Earth Arrow Technique’.
As a result, the only Earth Element Demon Core he owned was used up and completely decomposed after casting the ‘Earth Arrow Technique’ a dozen times.
Compared to a knight’s training, magical training was more inclined to meticulousness.
Every magical incantation was needed to match the corresponding magic elements to be able to cast the spell.
The energy presently stored in the Mysterious Compass, which was converted from the Skeleton’s Soul Fire, was obviously necromancy-dominated.
The regrettable thing was, Necromancers were extremely rare, so Hudson did not obtain any necromancy spells from Knight Charles.
Lack of energy reserve didn’t hinder Hudson from reciting magic spells.
Being familiar with them in advance wouldn’t make him panic at a critical moment.
The speed of incantation often determined the speed of the spell’s release, so every great magician was a “fast talker”.
Hundreds of failures did not shake Hudson’s determination to learn magic, at least on the surface that was so.
It was all pushed onto him, learning magic was not easy, especially for someone self-studying without a tutor, it was even more difficult.
Out of the blue, a mage appeared, how could it not attract attention?
Any intentional investigator would instantly realize something was off.
In such abnormal situations, the first thing that comes to everyone’s mind are the followers of the Evil God, like the High Priest of the Skeleton Society who cast spells with the power of the Evil God.
Hudson already had one foot in the circle of nobles in Southeastern Province, he didn’t want to be suspected of being a follower of the Evil God.
Therefore, before portraying himself as a magical prodigy, it was crucial to first fill in a period of learning magic.
At the very least, it should theoretically make sense and not give anyone a chance to object.
The current group of soldiers were the best witness.
They knew nothing about magic and could be easily fooled.
But actually, in front of the nobles, Hudson dared not to play this trick.
Reciting incantations was seen as practicing magic, people could just about accept that.
But if one couldn’t point out a single magic element, like Knight Charles who had achieved nothing in decades, this was completely unrelated to being a prodigy magician.
In order to purchase the Demon Crystals rationally and logically in the future, Hudson put a lot on the line.
The Fifth Army’s Robbery Squadron, which had failed several times, finally got a taste of victory as the deadline approached.
As General Chels inferred, the rebels were indeed transporting resources to the rear.
Having successfully robbed a rebel transport team, they secured wheat, cloth, salt, tea, spices…
and even a few boxes of coins.
Based on their initial estimate, the loot was worth at least 100,000 gold coins, making their gain quite substantial.