Emperor Aldous couldn’t believe his ears, “There’s a large-sized teleportation circle inside the magic tower?”

“Yes,” Prince Derek nodded, “Just then, the teleportation circle, an analytic spirit, and the magic tower all disappeared together.”

Duke Chesterton sighed, “I don’t think even the Wizard Union wants to ask questions about it.”

The real ruler of the St. Ellis Wizard Union was Wizard Dunn. There were many links between him and Abel, and as a level eighteen advanced wizard himself, he was among the most terrifying fighting force that the human possessed.

Same for Abel. He’s killed a few advanced wizards himself. It was not like the Wizard Union would go after him for some dead people and some items that probably wouldn’t come back.

Bartoli’s voice came over, “Master Sorin of the Blacksmith Union has come.”

Master Sorin bowed, “Greetings, Grandmaster Abel. I’ve brought some gift from the union itself, and I’ve also got some things directly from Master Robin himself.”

Abel returned a bow, “Is Master Robin well lately?”

Master Sorin replied, “He’s been good lately. So good, actually, that he’s been locking himself inside his room all day! He’s mostly researching the things that you’ve done, Grandmaster Abel.”

Abel said with a smile, “Please, send him my best regards.”

As the banquet was about to start, more and more people started to gather. All the wizards that were close to Abel came. There was Wizard Murphy, Wizard Morton, Carlos, and Camille. Wizard Yveline couldn’t come. He was too busy on his own lockdown training. Due to his injuries, he had no choice but to dedicate more time to enhancing his strengths.

When Carlos and Camille saw Abel, they became more careful than they had previously been.

“It’s been a while, you two,” Abel said, then proceeded to complain to them, “You know, for the days I’ve stayed at Harry Castle, you’ve never come to see me.”

Carlos was already back to his usual ways of mouthing at people, “Well, you should be the one that comes to see us! Where have you been, Abel? We couldn’t see you anywhere!”

Camille nodded with a smile, “Language! I’m just saying, but it’s almost like you’re trying to hide from us.”

Abel tried to hold the urge to give them a big hug, “I’ve heard words that both of you reached rank five. You two are finally going to become official wizards.”

Camille said in confidence, “You are sure right about that! We don’t make the best competition for you but come on; we’re not that terrible!”

Ever since the training ground was filled with all sorts of equipment bought from Liante City, the wizards that lived in Harry Castle were really starting to make improvements with enhancing their ranks. It was especially true for Carlos and Camille. As direct disciples of Wizard Morton, they had almost limitless resources to use for their training, and it was making their progress go faster than ever before.

For Wizard Morton, he was just happy to see that his disciples were good to each other. With all three of them as official wizards, he was very proud of his achievements over the years.

Suddenly, a white light flashed by Abel. It was Wizard Dunn. He didn’t even bother waiting for Bartoli’s announcement. Wizard Lorenzo from Liante City was also with him.

Wizard Dunn was laughing as he greeted, “Grandmaster Abel! So good to see you on a day like this. Lorenzo and I are just, you know, you got any drinks for us?”

Wizard Lorenzo was much more formal in comparison, “Grandmaster Abel, I’ve come to send regards from the Liante City Wizard Union branch.”

At this time, Burbridge came back, “Your Majesty, the banquet is about to commence.”

When Abel walked to the center of the hallroom, he saw quite a lot of diversity among the guests he invited. There were humans, dwarves, elves, wizards, knights, and noblemen. They were the most respected people on the Holy Continent, and that just showed how powerful Abel was now.

“Everyone.”

Abel didn’t speak with a loud voice, but the sound circle he installed made his voice spread very clearly. Some of the ordinary people didn’t know how it happened. They were just surprised with everything that they saw and heard.

Since the palace was not supposed to be another magic tower, it must-have devices that would allow ordinary people to enter, Abel tried to fix that by installing low-concentration magic gathering circles. While they served as energy supply, the mana concentration wouldn’t go so overboard that ordinary people would die.

While observing the palace’s interior, Wizard Lorenzo noticed the diamond on Abel’s crown. It was a top-tier magic gemstone that he was wearing. Even advanced wizards wouldn’t do something like that.

“I am Abel, a blacksmith, a wizard, and now, I’ve become a duke that rules my own territory. I love the duchy of Carmel. It is the home that raised me. From today onward, I’ll fulfill my role to protect it.”

“The duchy of Carmel will forever remain neutral. It will not be involved in any conflicts between states, and it will never be the first one to declare any of its neighbors as an enemy. However, if anyone dares to invade, I’ll make them pay with blood. That’s all I have to say. Let’s start the banquet now.”

Abel’s speech demonstrated the founding principles of his duchy. It also showed a lot about the strength of the duchy of Carmel. It wasn’t easy for any state to become neutral. Since the three kingdoms were always going against each other, any sort of disagreement would usually lead to the smaller duchies involved. The humans didn’t have a lot of space to live in. There was a limited amount of all kinds of resources. If an empire wanted development, it’d always have to take from others.

Abel didn’t want any of that in his duchy. He served the Kingdom of St. Ellis, but that’s only in form. He wouldn’t want any of his subjects to die from meaningless wars. Now that he’s declared neutrality, it would be much harder for the others to ask favors from him.

With all that’ he’s said, Abel began to lift a crystal wine glass that was filled with red wine. Everyone followed. They all had their own concerns, but they all took their glass as soon as Abel did.

Things got a lot noisier after the first sip. The servants started serving the dishes that were cooked by the royal chefs.

Some of the gluttons already noticed, “These are from the Land of Forgotten!”

“Land of the what?”

Some of those had never heard of the place, but when they found out how much the food cost at Liante City, they simply didn’t know what to think. Even for a powerful empire, it’d be costly to hold a banquet of this magnitude.