A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 177 War and Peace

"We want peace, not war."

The protests proceeded as scheduled, and Kenos remained a bustling metropolis.

Jiang Shuzhou stood on the city wall, looking down at the crowd below.

"Skillful words, bewitching humans, and..."

He was trying to discern the traces of magic. Although bards, as spellcasters, were not as omnipotent as mages, they could not be underestimated.

As experts specializing in support and verbal spells, these bards possess an extremely terrifying ability to sway people, capable of turning black into white and calling a deer a horse with ease.

So when Jiang Shuzhou realized that he couldn't use the local garrison to block public places, he chose to let it go and wait for another protest to break out.

In this way, he could discern the specific spell used by the peace dove and thus determine its approximate rank.

Because the interpretation of the law took place several days ago, Jiang Shuzhou couldn't see anything wrong with the previous protests, so he acted this way out of caution.

Seeing the people below shouting slogans and moving towards the city gate, seemingly intending to storm it, Jiang Shuzhou knew it was time.

"On my command, Lord's Guard, move out!"

At Jiang Shuzhou's command, the lord's guards, who had been lying in ambush, immediately picked up their mental injection rods and began the suppression operation.

The first season of Running Man in Keno has officially begun.

Those who run slowly will be punished, and those who run fast will be shot.

However, Jiang Shuzhou still showed some mercy, since he had been misled, so he asked the soldiers to avoid hitting vital points as much as possible.

Severing an arm or a leg would be enough; there's no need to kill them outright.

These people are usually ordinary people who have been misled; there's no need to kill them.

The soldiers, wielding spirit-injecting sticks, immediately dispersed the protesting crowd upon entering.

"No! Don't hit me!"

However, Jiang Shuzhou's private army was not like the local garrison; they didn't care about such things and started fighting directly.

"Awooo!"

The staff, imbued with spiritual energy, struck the man's body, and after only a few blows, he fainted from the pain.

Since the Spirit Injection Rods could be mass-produced in the Alchemy Workshop, Jiang Shuzhou specially equipped each member of his private army with one, specifically for suppressing riots.

However, Hamlet's territory has never been used, since compared to other territories, Hamlet's military and police forces, as well as the proportion of administrative personnel in the population, are frighteningly high.

Under such terrifying administrative power, no one was willing or dared to challenge Jiang Shuzhou's authority.

This situation can only exist in the private territories of alchemists, since with high-value-added industries like alchemy workshops, tax revenue can fully support the personnel expenses within the territory.

Other places were less suitable, after all, it was a semi-feudal system. The officials came here to make money, not to benefit these peasants, so naturally they couldn't hire so many people.

Although the spirit-injection rod is not needed in Hamlet Territory for the time being, we can test it here first.

Clearly, the effect is good.

By the way, there's an export version of this thing, and it's very popular.

Not only the Church of the Lady of Pain, but also the Mage Alliance and the Empire have a large number of orders for this.

The military is the main recipient of the "spirit-injecting stick," because "no pain, no gain," and "fighting will leave wounds," making it a difficult choice.

However, since Jiang Shuzhou's spirit-injection stick was invented, many armies have chosen to purchase some specifically for training new recruits.

"It's good to be young; you can fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow."

Looking at the sleeping crowd below, Jiang Shuzhou nodded with satisfaction.

Private armies are still the most effective.

The battle royale continues in Kenos, and the beer halls are sure to be bustling again tonight.

However, this was exactly what Jiang Shuzhou wanted.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Inside a dimly lit room in Kenos, Piss already knew what was happening outside.

"Ha, I knew it. These high and mighty mages only know how to use violence to suppress others."

"But that's perfect. If things continue like this, this protest will soon turn into a riot, and then..."

Piss seemed to have already imagined that wonderful moment, his face full of ecstasy.

See you at the beer hall.

Pease wrote those words, then with a cold laugh, the candle went out, and darkness enveloped the room once more.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Dare to come to the beer hall? You'll never leave alive!"

By this time, Jiang Shuzhou naturally already knew where this so-called peace dove was giving her speech.

Just grab a few protesters at random, use some kind of memory recovery technique, and you can find out not only the location of the speech, but even how old you were when you wet the bed.

Moreover, just to be on the safe side, Jiang Shuzhou also used a lie detector to confirm that the other party was telling the truth.

What else is there to say? Let's start the ambush.

Jiang Shuzhou is going to see today how many faces this so-called peace dove really has.

However, to prevent anyone from tipping them off, Jiang Shuzhou outwardly only adopted the usual method used by nobles, which was to send people to patrol.

However, in reality, Jiang Shuzhou had people disguised in almost every place where people gathered, and they were all kept under close surveillance.

Once someone gives a speech, Jiang Shuzhou and his personal guards can arrive immediately.

As for whether the other party will back down?

Jiang Shuzhou thought it was unlikely, as he understood the characteristics of this type of person very well.

They like to shout, like to express their opinions, and oppose for the sake of opposing.

Just like birds, chirping is their nature, and you can't stop them.

Picking up the book, Jiang Shuzhou prepared to quickly skip the time.

Time always flies when you're focused on something.

Soon, night fell.

The night in Kenos should have been very quiet, but in the beer hall, a jarring sound shattered the tranquility.

"This is what they've given us! They want us to stay silent so they can slaughter those poor orcs with a clear conscience."

"They say orcs are inhuman, then I'd like to ask, do mages have any humanity when they experiment on people?"

"We're just asking for peace, but what about them?"

"Prayers for peace are met with the dark muzzle of a gun; hopes for peace are suppressed by violence!"

"for……"

Pease is still giving a speech.

When he got carried away, he even wanted to use the same trick again to bewitch people with magic.

Unfortunately, he didn't get his wish this time.

"bump!"

With a loud bang, Jiang Shuzhou made a dazzling appearance with a large number of soldiers.

"Hey bro, you really dare to come?"

"Arrest everyone! Anyone who dares to resist, kill them without mercy!"

Jiang Shuzhou then stared at Piss and found that he seemed unhurried, indifferent to everything else, and completely unconcerned about his own life or death.

"What, have you given up? Aren't you going to struggle a little longer?"

"There's no need. I haven't lost. This is just a puppet."

After saying that, Piss slumped over and collapsed.

Is this... the art of flesh and blood puppetry?

Jiang Shuzhou couldn't hold back anymore. "Brother, do you know in front of whom you're using a flesh and blood puppet?"

Using flesh magic in front of an alchemist who is proficient in the art of flesh and blood, and not even destroying the residue, you really have something to say about yourself.

He probably thinks he's very handsome.