Byrne, Bloodkeep.

Evening.

Overcast clouds and drizzling cold rain had stained the once bustling streets a leaden gray, and the streets were so muddy with snow and sewage that there were few pedestrians in sight, except for hangovers and travelers hurrying home.

The black-haired wizard in a cloak roamed the streets alone, covering his face with a hood as much as possible.

Thanks to Charlotte for the ceremony and feast that Charlotte had carefully prepared, there was no one in the entire Byrne who was at least in the Red Blood Castle, from the counts to the taverns on the street, who no longer knew what his Lord Duke looked like.

The good thing is that everyone knows him, and the bad thing is that everyone knows him.

Well, that's a ......

That's great.

Chuckling and tugging at the corners of his mouth, the black-haired wizard raised his gaze and looked at the tavern door in front of him.

It's just an ordinary tavern outside the city of Red Blood Castle.

Shortly after the celebration, many out-of-town merchants and travelers stayed here – the taverns outside the city walls were modest but inexpensive.

Clean beds, clean hot water, a fireplace for a fire, ale and brown bread for drinking, inexpensive wine and grilled sausages, stews and vegetable soups.

For a traveler who has traveled so far, there is nothing more satisfying.

Of course, it's also a favorite place for those who are keen to listen to the news - tourists from far and wide bring with them rumors and gossip from all directions, and if you have the heart, you can gather the information you want.

Pulling the hood above his head, the black-haired wizard walked straight through the tavern door.

..................

"Rutte Infinit?"

When he heard the name, Loren was slightly stunned.

"Rutt Infinit. Looking at his apprentice with a blank face, Dalton Candle repeated: "I told you not to care about him, he is no longer your enemy." ”

"But he's still my enemy – I can never mind him breaking the original agreement, using me, and once again turning me into a pawn and part of his scheme. ”

"So I found him, and in my own way, using his presence to your advantage and your Byrne, and revealed the news to the Imperial Justice, Victor Hughes, in exchange for the report of the battle on the front lines of Eberton and Lothair, and in exchange for Victor Hughes's personal promise, to gain one-third of the logistics control of Byrne in this war. ”

Dalton Kander's voice was steady, calm, and there was no emotion, no anger, no excitement, or ostentation.

He's stating one thing, and he's just stating one thing.

This absolute calmness, without any fluctuations due to the instinctive emotions of the body, is the demeanor that a wizard should have.

"Are you sure he'll really agree?" Loren was a little skeptical: "I know Victor Hus, this man is very principled, not the kind of person who can be blinded by the lust for power. ”

Having a relationship with the former leader of the Night's Watch will inevitably lead to the secrets of the royal family, and once you get involved, you will not be able to get rid of it, and you will either become a close confidant of the Emperor or die.

Victor Hughes... He's not the kind of guy who will do anything to climb up.

"He will. Dalton said coldly:

"Metternich Leopold is dying, and Conod needs an absolutely trustworthy Minister of the Seals, Victor Hus, who is a well-prepared candidate for Metternich, and he must seize this opportunity to win the absolute trust of the Emperor. ”

The black-haired wizard was slightly stunned, and after a little thought, he understood what Mentor Dalton meant.

This is the fermentation of the "Isaac Edict" incident.

No matter how determined Emperor Conod was to break down the barriers, and to grant wizards the right to be canonized, he would never be able to do it without sufficient support.

There is only one person in the imperial capital who can make all parties compromise and carry out the order... Metternich Leopold, who alone could have made this a reality from the emperor's determination.

So he had to pay the price.

It is impossible not to be retaliated against such a move, which is destined to seriously weaken the authority of the Church and provoke opposition from all sides, and they dare not target the Emperor himself, then they must target the executors and promoters of the matter.

Former Keeper of the Seals, Metternich Leopold... He is dead, and the church will never let him go.

Of course, the Lord of the Seals could not have been killed so easily, and Conod could not have allowed it, but the Church could wait, and they could wait until the Emperor needed help, or even came to the door to ask for help, and then make some "unexpected" moves.

The Heavenly Dome Palace can only pretend that it is really just an "accident".

Victor Hughes is the "aftermath" he arranged - with Conod's prudence, if it is Metternich's initiative to recommend the candidate, it is impossible to gain his trust, so he wants to increase the bargaining chips for Victor and become important in front of the emperor.

Getting Victor and Byrne to come to an important deal should be the first step in this plan;

Dalton Kander decided to take advantage of this opportunity to push him and get more from the Heavenly Dome Palace at the same time.

Well... If he hadn't known his mentor well enough, Loren would have thought it was a design he had designed, not an improvisation.

There's a catch, though......

"If you really want to do this, won't the identity of the Night's Watch in the Imperial Capital be revealed?" asked Loren with some vigilance, "and the target of your revenge on Ruth Infinit is also ......"

"They won't succeed. ”

Dalton Kander shook his head:

"I told Victor Hughes about the 'former leader of the Night's Watch', and I didn't lie; That doesn't mean that Ruth Infinit is still there. ”

"He's the leader of the Night's Watch, and knows more about the Imperial Capital than anyone else, and if he doesn't want to be discovered, no one can find him. ”

"As for the agreement with Victor Theseus... As long as he finds a clue about Root Infinit, we can make a deal. ”

"You have that confidence in him?" Raising an eyebrow, Loren couldn't help but smile, "Maybe he failed, and Conod will begin to doubt the loyalty of the Night's Watch in the Imperial Capital, and we can't catch Rut Infinit." ”

"He will not fail – if he is not a man of power, this is his only chance to inherit Metternich's ideals and become Lord of the Seals, and if he is a power-keeping, this is his only chance to reach the pinnacle of power. ”

Dalton Kander's tone was a little more affirmative: "The night watchman of the imperial capital... I don't think Emperor Conod has long since stopped trusting their loyalty, but he won't overthrow them completely, at least until he finds a replacement, and he needs these people to serve him. ”

"As for Rutt Infinit... His life is mine. ”

The tone was flat, and there was no trace of murderous aura.

But the black-haired wizard could just feel the icy aura.

..............................

Ignore the surrounding party-buying drunk, or already drunk, flushed travelers and regular customers. Loren, who walked straight to the front of the tavern, pushed away the unconscious drunkard, snapped his fingers at the boss, and placed the silver coin on the table.

Delicate silver coins, striking beautiful notes on the table where the filth is hidden.

Seeing a guest coming to the door, the bored tavern owner hurriedly stepped forward eagerly, and did not forget to take a jug of wine and a beautiful goblet from the wine rack behind him.

"This year's new wine, this gentleman. ”

The tavern owner took the silver coin and placed the glass in front of the rain-soaked black-haired wizard: "Do you want to stay in the hotel, or do you want to inquire about any news?"

The blood-red liquor swayed in the glass, and the oscillating surface reflected the dim candlelight of the tavern.

The tavern owner rubbed his hands together with a flattering face, and he looked like he was breathing, but there was a magic rune mark like a blood mark under his wrist, which was faintly visible.

It's exactly the same as the witcher of the Wings of the Firmament.

"To meet an old friend. ”

Loren smiled slightly, picked up his glass, and drank the full bottle of wine.

The crisp and sweet syrup seeps into the throat, and there is a sour taste of grapes that has not been removed, and it is cold from the lips to the heart, and only the warmth of the alcohol can be felt in the internal organs.

By the time he had drunk the wine in his glass and put it down, the tavern owner in front of him was gone, leaving only a line of writing on the counter with wine stains.

Raising an eyebrow, the black-haired wizard wiped the wine stain off and turned to walk towards the upper stairs of the tavern with his hood on.

........................

"Rutte Infinit... He's a night watchman, so when I spot him, he'll be aware that he's been exposed, so he'll run away. ”

"If he wanted to continue to serve the Empire, he should have surrendered a long time ago, but since he has not appeared until now, it proves that he does not intend to continue to serve the Heavenly Dome Palace, but has other plans. ”

As if telling a story, Dalton Candle said coldly: "With the entire Imperial Capital Night Watch betrayed, the Imperial Capital is no longer safe for him, so he won't stay there, he won't even stay in East and West Sackland." ”

"What used to be the safest place for him has become the most dangerous place. ”

But he was clever enough to know that if his seekers could not find any clues, he would not rest on his laurels, and would continue to search for any clue until he found more clues and confirmed his death. ”

"So he's going to leave some information so that the people who find it can concentrate on finding out the truth of it; He had more time to escape. ”

"As for Victor Hughes......" Dalton paused for a few seconds before continuing:

"Finding the information and clues of Rut Infinit is equivalent to being involved in the most hidden shadows of the royal family of de Salion; he will not know too much, nor too little, and his ability and character will be completely displayed in front of Emperor Conod because of this incident. ”

"A minister of the seal, who has outstanding ability, no ambition, high and low birth... It was the dream of Emperor Conod. Loren muttered to himself.

"It's a win-win. Dalton slowly got up and put his hands behind his back: "We get Rut Infinit, and Emperor Conod gets Victor Huss." ”

Loren bowed slightly, but there was still a problem that had not been solved......

..............................

"Smack, smack, smack, smack......"

The creaking staircase was marked by light footsteps tapping on the rotten planks, and the tavernkeeper had not placed oil lamps or torches between the staircase and the hallway, perhaps to save money, and the light around him dimmed as he walked up the stairs.

Pushing away the travelers who had just come downstairs, and casually sending away two drunkards who wanted to cause trouble, the black-haired wizard with a hood walked towards the dark corridor.

The narrow aisle, with a rag-like carpet underfoot, flanked by hotel doors with charcoal numbers written haphazardly on the black panels.

The figure was in front of him, walking steadily towards the depths of the corridor, the dim oil lamp flickering on and off outside the dark corridor, and each shaking made the numbers on the wall appear once.

By the light that wasn't bright, the black-haired wizard stopped outside a door, his dark eyes scanning the numbers on the door.

It's exactly the same as the wine stain on the counter just now.

..............................

Rut Infinit... If he wasn't in the imperial capital, then where was he?

That's a problem.

The Night's Watch spies and intelligence networks spread throughout the empire, which used to be his advantage - with this vast network of intelligence, Root Infinit could easily judge and know the exact form of a region, and no one could find him if he wanted to.

However, after the death of Eckhart II, the divided Night's Watch split in two, and neither Conod nor Brandon's Night's Watch could no longer follow any orders from the "former leader".

Where would he go in such a situation?

No... That's not the point, the point is what exactly will he do now?

He was no longer the night watchman, but he had a sea of information and the truth of that night, all of which were his bargaining chips, which could be sold for a high price if he did it right.

Could it be ......

"He will not betray the Empire and take refuge in the Azorean elves. ”

Before Loren could speak, Dalton Candle dispelled the apprentice's concerns: "Rut Infinit, he is a night watchman, and his loyalty belongs to Eckhart II alone, no matter how high the elves can offer, it is impossible for him to betray him." ”

"Even if Eckhart II is dead, he will continue to carry out the orders of His Majesty the Emperor until the end of his life, until the mission is completed. ”

"So... Whatever he was doing now was certainly continuing what he had not done, a task that he had to accomplish even if it put his life at risk. ”

Dalton's words left Loren confused.

Mentor he... What exactly do you want to say?

"Loren. Dalton Kander looked back slowly, and looked at the black-haired wizard in four eyes:

"Rut Infinit, he's here now. ”

"It's in the Crimson Blood Castle. ”