When Adler returned to his mansion on Third Avenue, it was already late at night, but the mansion was still brightly lit, and under the music and light of the illusion circle, dozens of richly dressed nobles were gathering in the hall in twos and threes, some chatting and chatting, and some of them were joking and laughing with beautiful women in their arms.

This is a meeting of the aristocracy with a Encre flavor, compared to the banquet where Oroyosta must have a fixed etiquette, must have a band, must be dignified, and must have countless servants waiting for it, this way is much more casual, and everyone who attends may be secretly ridiculed in their hearts, but they have to admit that it seems to be more relaxed.

Of course, the most important thing is that they have to take care of their owners' hobbies, and the owners here like such a casual atmosphere, and they can only put down their bodies to cater to them.

In the innermost corner of the mansion, Adler finally found Robert Modorezeski Jr., a handsome and charismatic duke with a drunken face, surrounded by a crowd of noblewomen and maidens, who laughed coquettishly, and of course, even if it was just a meaningless hum, as long as it came from the mouth of the Duke of Incre, these aristocratic women would have listened with relish.

"Hey, my dear Nema, how about going to harvest this time?

Before Adler could speak first, he saw his duke beckoning to him first, and then introducing to the noblewomen around him: "This is my dearest friend and brother, Nema, and I have great news for you, as one of our most gifted and talented archmages in Incla, he is not yet married." ”

"It's His Excellency Adler, we've known each other for a long time. ”

"His Excellency Adler's reputation is very resounding among our sisters, and I can't imagine that Incre has such an elegant and graceful mage, it seems that we have all misunderstood Incre before. Lord Duke, when will you invite us to Inclave to have a good look......"

"Yes, Your Excellency Adler, there will be a masquerade party in my house the day after tomorrow, please come with the Duke......."

"Hello, Miss Anthony. Mrs. Howard's invitation, I will never forget. In the face of the warm greetings of the warblers and swallows, Adler responded very decently one by one, and then made a gesture to the duke. "Forgive me for having to borrow the Duke from you for a while, and I have something important to report to him. ”

"Oh, of course, the Duke is not ours. ”

"I just hope it doesn't take too long. ”

The Duke stood up in the midst of the complaints of the ladies and ladies, made a helpless gesture to them, and followed Adler to the next corner. Although the duke's face was full of drunkenness and he still had a glass of blue wine in his hand, he still easily arranged a seven-ring protective isolation arcane to ensure that the people around him could not overhear their conversation.

“... Don't you need to sober up first?Robert?" Adler shrugged. The smell of wine from the Duke's body and breath was very strong, and it seemed that he had been soaking here for at least three or four hours.

"It's all right, pure Dordo blue gems, and blood-red ears, tsk, this is a wonderful taste, a wine that has been handed down since the days of the Empire, and I haven't drunk it a few times in more than thirty years in Inclave. I have to admit that Oroyosta does have his charms......" The Duke raised his glass, and in the blue of the ocean, several bright red blood-like things swayed, revealing a bewitching and seductive aura. "You say, I can still tell. How's the talk with those Westerners?"

Adler made a helpless expression. However, he was not worried, the Duke was indeed a profligate wreck, and sometimes seemed to be a pure gentleman who did not know the height of the sky, but he never disappointed when he needed to be serious. He could only nod and say, "It's basically agreed, they agreed to hold a welcome ceremony in Oroyosta, after all, this is also the capital of the Empire......."

"No, who said that. Fuck the bullshit welcome ceremony. The Duke interrupted him suddenly. "I mean, you go and talk to those two Westerners about your bloodline contract. Do you think it's more important to discuss a witchcraft ritual with a bunch of rigid Western bureaucrats than your own life?"

"Haha, of course not. Adler smiled and groaned. "It's a bit strange to say, though, and overall, it's half the good news, so I'm going to end this topic. ”

"Is it just half the good news? But congratulations. The Duke raised his glass, and drank the blue liquor from the glass. "It tastes really good, it seems to go straight to the soul. It's more enjoyable than some hallucinogens, you really don't want to try it?"

"Thanks, don't drink when you're down to business, you know. Adler unceremoniously refused. "I have met with the highest officials of the legations, and they have fully accepted the conditions for the welcoming ceremony to be held in Oroyosta, and will not ask us for those gifts again. As to the scale and cost of the liturgy, I would like to entrust to His Excellency Anthony to consult with them, since he has been in contact with Westerners longer and is more familiar with their culture. ”

The Duke waved his hand impatiently: "It's fine, don't ask me to attend anyway, I'm not interested in these boring ceremonies at all." Let's just say I'll go back first. ”

"But they still insisted on going to Inclere, and their commander was very stubborn. ”

“....... It's still thousands of miles away from Inclave, and the road isn't very peaceful, aren't they afraid that something will go wrong on the road?" the Duke's words were winey and casual, and seemed to have a bit of a deep sense of calmness.

"I have said it, but their leader said that it was a mission given by His Majesty the Emperor, and that even the greatest danger would be spared. And they seem to have confidence in their own strength, and other ordinary soldiers are just that, that Master Liu, you know, as well as Chief of Staff Feng and that Sword of Benevolence......"

The Duke smiled thoughtfully: "...... In other words, we just need to deal with the three of them, right?"

"It should be. Anyway, I strongly disapprove of the use of violence. Adler shrugged. "These two are Wind and the Sword of Benevolence, which have combat power far beyond ordinary archmages, not to mention that Master Liu, whose abilities you have seen. I heard that after the treatment of the Arcane Academy, Liu's injuries have fully recovered. By the way, it was Chairman Magnus who personally used the arcane circle of the Aurora Fortress...... I've heard that even the professors in the academy rarely get into the Morning Light Fortress. ”

"I know that. Although the chairman didn't say it explicitly, he seemed to want them to go to Inclave as well. The Duke nodded, a slight smile on his face. "A strong and cohesive Inclave is something that no Empire veteran wants to see. It's not good for them to say anything in the open, so they can only use such small means in private. Rest assured, I also think that it is very foolish to use violent means, we are human beings, not beasts, and not all actions must be carried out with teeth and claws....... Maybe you should deepen your contact with them and ask them what they really think in their hearts, I think that people like them should not be at the mercy of a rigid bureaucrat like a puppet. ”

"Well, that's in my plan as well....." Adler nodded. "It's just that there are too many things to visit this time, and I haven't had time to communicate with them in depth, so I will find another opportunity to test them. ”

"Well, good. So let's talk about something more interesting. The Duke shook the empty wine glass in his hand, and a bottle of wine flew over in the distance to refill it. "Have you gone to visit Miss Ulysses?"

"Of course. She had just returned from the Arcane Academy, where she had heard that a play had been held there to thank the cadets for their support of her and her brother. Unfortunately, although I visited her later, I did not get any news about the great poet West, and her attitude did not hesitate in the slightest, and it seemed impossible to get news from her. ”

“....... Well, I'll admit that I misjudged. The Duke was silent for a moment, and poured the wine from the glass into his mouth. The action was a bit too violent, and a lot of wine was spilled on his face and neck, but he didn't care at all. "When I was in the theater, I hesitated. After all, I didn't want to tear my face with the Fernandez family in public, and I only thought about finding a way to deal with them, and missed the opportunity to win the heart of this Miss Ulysses. ”

"Actually, you can't be blamed for that. After all, no one would have imagined that she was actually a Westerner, or the niece of the Sword of Wind and Benevolence......" Adler shrugged helplessly. "This is Oroyosta after all, and we can't get to the bottom of them with much fanfare. I thought that they were also well-known figures after all, so they should be easy to get into...... Would you like to ask Anthony and the rest of the family? Or just use a causal nine-ring arcane technique, and you can find out what happened to Mr. West. ”

"Nope. The Duke made a judgment without even thinking about it. "Anthony, they are now turning to us only for the sake of immediate interests, and as long as we have not occupied an absolute dominant position in Oroyosta, they are not our real allies. If we show an unusually good interest in West, Project Millie is likely to be detected by some guys with a keen sense of smell. You know, there aren't too many people like Magnus who are willing to help us in the dark. ”

“....... So is it a new search for the right person or ......"

“....... Where is it so easy to find genius...", the Duke sighed. "Especially in the clergy, unlike arcane, you can't improve your talent by stacking up resources. The poet West, who is widely regarded as a genius in the arts for decades, must have felt Millie's grace more than once, and Miss Ulysses is also very remarkable, and there is no other such good base point for them...... Fortunately, Millie's plan is not in a hurry, and it can be done slowly in a few years and ten years, while slowly looking for Mr. West, while waiting to see if a better genius can appear......"

"Hmm...... I have a strange feeling. Adler lowered his head and frowned for a while, then suddenly looked up and said. "Do you think the great poet Vest is also a Westerner?"

The Duke froze for a moment, and then looked at Adler with a strange look: "How did you come up with this? How is this possible?"

"What's impossible?" said Adler, spreading his hands. "It's a bit of a counterintuitive assumption, but if you think about it, you can see it. Now among Inclé's artisan mages, Westerners are already a force that cannot be ignored, you should admit that they are not inferior to us in arcane, engineering talent, but there is no accumulation and heritage, so so far there are no archmages, and the number of high-level mages is very small, but in terms of the proportion of Inclave's population and mages, you have to admit that the innate intelligence conditions and potential of their race are very good. Of course, they lack interest and cultivation in the arts, at least from the perspective of the Westerners in Incla, who are almost all rigid workaholics, and Augin, alchemical potions, and all kinds of equations are far more attractive to them than music and art, and even beautiful women, so everyone subconsciously thinks that they are just a group of natural craftsmen and laborers, like worker bees and worker ants. But have you ever thought about it, when they unleash this talent of their own into the field of art, plus one or two real talents, it is entirely possible to have a character like West? ”

The Duke was silent, his drunken eyes were in a trance for a few seconds, and suddenly he raised his hand and waved it in the air, and a necromantic arcane was activated, and then the drunkenness in his eyes quickly subsided, and when he spoke again, there was no longer the slightest smell of alcohol in the words he spoke: "You reminded me, Nema, I have to admit that you have a point." Like before that, if someone told me that Miss Ulysses was a Westerner, I would only think he was crazy. We all have some fixed prejudices against Westerners that unwittingly mislead our judgments. Now, if Miss Ulysses can be a Westerner, or at least half a Westerner, why can't West be a Westerner?

"Yes, I can relate to this, and it is also because Miss Ulysses, when she refused to shirk, said that although she had to go back and tell Mr. West to ask him to consider it, her attitude was very positive, as if she could make decisions for him, which shows that their relationship was not at all what we had supposed, but more intimate, even dominated by Miss Ulysses. If that's the case...... I mean if. Adler gestured to emphasize this assumption. "If West is really a Westerner, do we still want him to be the basis of the Millie Project? We don't want the envoys of the Qiandi Empire to go to Incre, just because we don't want the Western ethnic group in Incre to have cohesion and centrifugal force towards Incre. If a Westerner becomes the core base of Millie's plan......"

The Duke fell silent. After he came to his senses, the cynical aura disappeared along with the smell of alcohol all over his body, and at this moment, his eyes were deep and firm, his expression was solemn, and the aura of one of the top rulers in the continent was fully revealed. After a while, he spoke slowly: "If that's the case, maybe we should think about the issue of Western ethnicity from a different perspective." ”

“...... At the very least, though, West's true identity should be determined first. I'll find a way to keep inquiring, and now that I have this new direction, it's going to be a lot easier than before. ”

"Okay. The question will have to wait until West's identity is confirmed. The Duke clapped his hands and signaled that this was the end. His expression relaxed again. "Finally, tell me the good news about your contract. I would be glad to hear that there was a way to break or complete the contract, and then I could go back and continue drinking with the ladies. ”

"I'm sorry, that might be going to disappoint you. Whether it is to break or complete the contract, I haven't found a good way yet. Adler shrugged helplessly. "It's just that the druid who has mastered my contract sigil said that he actually has no interest in assisting the orcs, so he will never threaten me with the contract for anything, so I have at least a year or two to be safe. ”

"That's only half the good news," the Duke was stunned. "But are these words credible? If that druid is like that, why should the orcs trust him, let him take the contract?"

For this question, Adler could only shake his head with a strange face: "...... It should be credible, after all, he doesn't have any reason to deceive me. What that orc chief did was incomprehensible......"

The Duke thought for a moment and said, "I heard that the druid has now officially passed the bloodline, re-belonged to the Fernandez family, and has become the next generation of newcomers that the True Red Family has focused on cultivating, so should we deal with this matter at the political level now? ”

“...... I do not know. After a few seconds, Adler spread his hands. "I've been in contact with him, but I don't really know what he's trying to do, so I can only say that the druid's worldview is too different from ours. ”

"Phil, what the hell do you want?"

At this time, in a luxurious mansion in Oroyosta, Julia Fernandez was also staring at Phil and asking this question. At this moment, Julia's face no longer has the touching charm that belongs to the flower of the imperial capital, but only the ambiguous smile and deep vision unique to politicians.

"Why do you ask? Sister Julia. "Phil is still so handsome and sunny, full of spring breeze and cheerful.

"Out of curiosity, I wanted to know. Julia smiled. It's still a smile that smitten most of the men in Oroyusta, or at least it seems.

"I don't want much. If you can't get it, you still try to pursue it, isn't that asking for trouble?"

The young man's answer seemed to be very philosophical but meaningless, but Julia was not discouraged, she said directly: "So what did you get from that Miss Stephanie? a so-called imperial bloodline? Regardless of whether she is a real Orogreen or not, even if it is, does it make any sense in this day and age?"

"Couldn't it be love at first sight?" Phil smiled.

"When you look at her, you don't look at the eyes of a woman you like. At most, it's just a favorite toy. Julia smiled too. She was very confident in this, she had bathed in the eyes of countless suitors who loved and longed, with all kinds of desires, full of emotional projections and worship, so she could clearly judge that Phil's demeanor was not love at first sight.

What's more, from the woman's own point of view, she really can't see that Stephanie can outdo herself in any way. Maybe Stephanie can be regarded as a beauty, still very young, but in terms of style and femininity, the gap between the rigid chick who only knows that she is addicted to arcane and herself is simply the difference between a goblin and an archmage. Just standing on the level of pursuing the 'opposite sex', it is impossible to give up oneself and choose her.

So when Phil completely ignores his own temptation and shelters the outsider in plain sight, Julia knows there must be something else deep. Others might mistakenly think that the young druid was fascinated by the little female mage of the Revival, but Julia was 120,000 percent sure that this was not the case. From her point of view, in the current decline of the Arcane Renaissance, the most valuable thing on Stephanie's body is nothing more than the royal family name that does not know whether it is true or false, which can be regarded as a valuable habitable curiosity in the eyes of some people with ulterior intentions.

"Sometimes a man's love for a woman doesn't have to be a man's love for a man. It's like walking on the side of the road and suddenly seeing a very beautiful, beautiful tree, you can't help but stop and admire, but you don't want to have a deep relationship with her or take her for yourself. Again, it was love at first sight. ”

"Well, I really don't understand the druid's orientation and values. Julia frowned, deciding to go a little deeper, more essential. "To tell you the truth, Brother Phil, you may not know, the Fernandez family may be brewing a storm, and I need you to stand by my side when necessary. In return, you can tell me what you want, and I can do my best to accommodate you. Believe me, I can definitely do a lot more than that little girl Stephanie, much better, in every way. ”

"You're being candid, Sister Julia. There was a glint in Phil's eyes.

"Sometimes candidness is the most effective way to communicate, isn't it?" said Julia, who saw the glitter, and she breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, the most effective way for her to communicate should be to make the other party surrender wholeheartedly to her charm, and let her dictate and drive without complaint. It's just that she found that that method didn't work for this 'younger brother' who looked young and harmless and didn't know anything about the world, so she had to change to the way she is now.

Fortunately, this method is not new to her now, although there are countless ministers under the skirt, and she is as high as a goddess in the eyes of her suitors, but she is still a politician at heart, but the things she trades are more obscure. Now that you know that the other party has something to ask for, there is room for exchange and operation, which is much better than playing dumb riddles with each other before.

“... I'm not interested in the storm within the family or anything. Because it seems to me that the outcome of a storm is predestined before it happens. But since you say so, Sister Julia, then I can also give you some help then......." Phil muttered for a moment before he said what he requested. "But I'd like to take a look at Fernandez's family history, the kind of internal, detailed family history, and I hope Sister Julia can help me. ”

"Family history?" Even though she had already been mentally prepared for all kinds of excessive, or strange conditions, Julia was still stunned when she heard this.

The family history record is a must for every aristocratic family, recording all the big and small changes and affairs of the family from the beginning, the larger the family, the more detailed and sound the record will be, which is not only a record of the glory of the family and the historical merits, but also the necessary information for dealing with the internal affairs of the family. It's just that although this kind of thing is not too confidential and important information, and anyone can see the rough outline record, it must have confidentiality when it comes to many obscure internal details, and generally speaking, at least only the head of the family is qualified.

Without asking Phil why he wanted to see this, Julia gradually saw the true face of this younger brother, hidden under that handsome and sunny appearance, it was actually a very deep city, and the casual temptation was just thankless. This condition was not a difficult thing for her, and after bowing her head and muttering for a while, Julia nodded: "... This one...... Well, although I don't have the right to consult the family history, I will find a way and should be able to get it to you. ”

"It's wonderful. Phil clasped his hands together. "Since Sister Julia can be so frank, then I also make a commitment to stand by you when needed. ”

Julia secretly breathed a sigh of relief, it was difficult to determine how effective this promise was, but at least it opened up a situation of mutual exchange of benefits, which made a good preparation for future cooperation. However, Stephanie's woman remained unresolved, which made her feel uneasy, and as a former leader of the Arcane Revival Society, she knew very well how dangerous this so-called 'give everything for the sake of ideals' arcane maniacs really was. After thinking about it, she still said, "... I still have to warn you, Phil, that the girl you fell in love with at first sight wasn't really a pretty and harmless tree. The ideas she adheres to, the people and forces behind her, are the most dangerous group of madmen on this continent. If it weren't for your protection, her only outcome would have been to be sent to the Forbidden Black Tower to be confined to death. I don't ask you to expel her or stay away from her, but at least a certain distance and vigilance are necessary. ”

"Haha, don't worry, Sister Julia, of course I will take her into account at any time for my beloved arbor......" Phil smiled happily, but then he was stunned for a moment, his brows furrowed slightly and looked left and right, as if he wanted to find something in the air, and before Julia could ask, the smile on his face immediately brought out some helplessness and bitterness. “... I didn't think it was really like what you said, Sister Julia. This tree doesn't seem so quiet..."

In another unknown corner of Oroyosta, in a dimly lit basement, Stephanie unleashed a lighting arcane that emitted a milky white glow from the air everywhere, illuminating her surroundings as if it were day.

This is a basement with a radius of dozens of feet, buried hundreds of meters deep underground, and the walls of the basement are constructed with countless intricate arcane patterns, inlaid with dense crystals and gemstones. The cost of secretly constructing such a secret room under the reconnaissance sequence of the Arcane Academy is unimaginable to ordinary people, and it is enough to bankrupt a slightly smaller family. However, correspondingly, the blocking effect of this secret room has also achieved the extreme in the conventional sense, unless a large arcane sequence is used to scan at a fixed point, even the nine-ring arcane is difficult to detect the situation in it.

"You're here, Stephanie, and it seems that the druid didn't embarrass you. ”

The old woman sitting on a stone chair in front of her turned. She had just seemed to stay there and blend in with the darkness until Stephanie lit up the underground chamber.

"Mr. Jefferson. Seeing the figure of the old woman, Stephanie breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't know how this vice president got out of the True Red Palace, but she had vaguely heard a little, and it wasn't until she came here to see her that she really put her mind at ease.

"Have you cleared all the traces along the way here? It's not just the Academy's reconnaissance sequence that needs to be careful, the young druid's threat is not weak at all, the great druid who can sense the cause and effect order can exert the effect of the detection arcane above the eight rings with only his perceptual instinct. ”

Stephanie immediately replied confidently, "Don't worry, Mr. Jefferson. I did it in full accordance with the confidentiality regulations of the highest vigilance, using the back door that had been buried in the guardianship sequence of Howard and the other three families to hide in turn, and as soon as I entered this shelter, I immediately activated the Supreme Partition Circle, and as long as he was not secretly following me, I would never find out about me. And I came out in the middle of when he was going to discuss things with Secretary Julia, and he was going to face that scheming woman and wouldn't pay attention to me. ”

"Well, it's right to be careful. We can't afford another failure, and this is our last refuge. There was a slight loneliness in Jefferson's faint voice.

"It's okay, haven't you already brought Vice President Griffin back, as long as there are two of you, our Arcane Revival Society still has enough cohesion and deterrence......

"The real deterrence and cohesion is still in the Hall of the Stars, in the presence of His Excellency Gesidy. Jefferson interrupted Stephanie and sighed. "Actually, your encounter this time is a very rare and good opportunity, I have heard that the young druid fell in love with you at first sight, he is the upstart of the Fernandez family, this should be put to good use......"

"Mr. Jefferson, that's not the case at all. I've talked to him about it, and what he says about liking doesn't mean liking between ordinary men and women...... Anyway, it's a druid-only idea, not the same as everyone else thinks..."Stephanie's face flushed, stammering anxiously. "And I'm really not good at dealing with this kind of thing, you must not let me play with him or something......"

"I know. I'm not going to let you do that. Jefferson smiled. "It's just that the Fernández family is important to us now. Although Vice President Griffin had returned, he was closed off at home and had little to say anything useful. If the previous information is correct, their family should have preserved a piece of the power core fragment of the floating city, similar to the one you found in the swamp, but unfortunately that piece fell into the hands of the Southern Legion, and this piece of the Fernandez family, it is obvious that they are not used in the family's arcane sequence, but they don't know where to hide it and put it away, this is a very strange thing, it is necessary to investigate clearly......"

"Yes, I'll start investigating this when I get back......"

"There's no need to rush. Jefferson raised his hand. "The most important thing for you now is to focus on that druid named Phil. ”

"But ......"

"Listen to me. It's about whether the Star Temple can return. Jefferson's voice became heavy and deep. "I told you before, there isn't much we can do to help the Star Temple re-anchor the main material realm, but there are still some of them that are quite operational, the most ideal of which is the elemental channel opened by a high-level element druid in the main material realm when he put his soul into the elemental realm, and that short moment is the high-dimensional resonance of the main material realm and the elemental realm, which is almost not attenuated in the boundless sea of stars. If the damage to the Star Temple is not so severe, and the search for the main material realm has been maintained, it can be used to reposition the main material realm...... And in this day and age, elemental druids who can communicate with elemental realms are so rare, and now that this Phil has suddenly appeared in front of us, I think this is a very good opportunity. ”

"Of course, this opportunity also represents a huge difficulty, after all, he can perceive the causal order at a very high level, even me or Vice President Griffin may not have the ability to force him to do this in a violent way, and it is unlikely that he will even want to restrain him. So I think the only way to do this is to take a slow and roundabout approach, which requires you to reach him as much as possible....."

"Please wait, Mr. Jefferson, I have some new discoveries to report to you about this. Stephanie's expression and words suddenly paused, as if she was hesitating something, and finally she gritted her teeth and continued. "Actually, he is not the only high-level druid, I know the other one, and it is much easier to deal with than him......"