All stories have a beginning, but only the real participants understand that everything is quietly laid before the curtain opens.

The surprise of Miss Ariel Corona's "unexpected visit" was only the beginning, but for the evening's guests, the "surprise" was far from over......

"Thanks to the kind invitation of the Turin family, the Corona family's chamber of commerce will officially settle in the Crimson Blood Castle and form a joint chamber of commerce with the local merchants, and Ariel will also be a guest at the Crimson Castle Palace for a while before the official head arrives, maintaining the deep friendship between the two ancient families......"

Just such a short paragraph, the amount of information contained in it is enough to shock the four seats!

For a long time, the Ebolden chamber of commerce and trade routes were basically maintained in the north and west of the empire, and all overseas luxury goods and local specialties had to be transported from Golovin in West Sacland, and in recent years the trade routes have gradually been completely monopolized by the Yod Chamber of Commerce;

For the minor nobles, the monopolized market meant that there would be no second buyer of the wines and local products on their estates other than the Yod'd Chamber of Commerce, and for the knight lords, it meant that the trade routes and flows within their domain were completely controlled by the Yod'd Chamber of Commerce.

As for the other small chambers of commerce, they were either excluded or annexed, and they simply did not have the financial and material resources to compete head-on with the Yode Chamber of Commerce.

But Ebolden is different!

Sitting on a principality, and having the only ocean-going trade privilege in the whole empire, Ebolden's strength is undoubted, and the most important thing is that since the Corona family wants to develop their business in Byrne, they will inevitably confront the Yod Chamber of Commerce head-on, which means that the monopoly of the Yod Chamber of Commerce in Byrne will be cracked;

Small merchants and nobles will have more choice, and lords will have more money and cheaper prices for specialty and luxury goods from the north of the empire and overseas.

True, for the vast majority of people, this is the end of the story, but for those who really know Loren Turin and his plans......

“...... So, it's understandable to break the monopoly of the Yod Chamber of Commerce and take the opportunity to weaken Governor Byrne's control over Crimson Castle and the entire Duchy, but why would Asriel be a retinue of that damn impostor?!"

The young man holding his shoulders puffed out his cheeks angrily, hugged his shoulders and looked at the black-haired wizard who hooked the corners of his mouth, with a trace of grievance in his scarlet eyes, and a sense of crisis that would never be spoken.

"Uh... To clarify, not an ordinary retinue - but a personal servant, or rather... Butler?"

"What's the difference?!"

"It can reflect the importance of your status, not some ordinary servant. Loren pretended to think for a second, then winked at Asriel, "And explain why you two don't leave an inch, and occasionally disappear at the same time." ”

"So?"

"So you really want to hear me - I'm sorry, dear Asrael, I wasn't supposed to have your turn in this chapter, but I'm sorry to leave you alone like this... Poor almsgiving?"

The black-haired wizard put his fingertips under his chin and looked at the young man in front of him with interest, who was raising his eyebrows, and his expression full of resentment seemed to be how much he had been wronged.

"Dear Asrael, don't play dumb... You know it's a pretense. ”

"That imposter lady doesn't think so. There was a hint of schadenfreude in the boy's mocking tone: "Such an 'important' task, she must feel that she is your person." ”

"Hmm... I don't really like that, but it seems right. Loren smiled slyly: "After all, you are all 'Asriel'... Strictly speaking, there is no difference between the two of you and me. ”

"Dear Loren, do you know ......"

"What are you worried about?" the languid voice of the black-haired wizard interrupted him, his burning gaze causing the boy to froze.

"The two of us are completely connected to each other, in a way... It can be said that it is a relationship of life and death. At that moment, Loren's gaze was so deep that it could even pierce Asrael's eyes:

"In that case, why do you always worry about being replaced by Ariel... This inexplicable sense of crisis really makes me curious. ”

"Could it be that in her hands... Do you really have some kind of power that can completely replace you?"

For a moment, a flash of fear flashed in the boy's eyes... However, it was only for a moment, and the expression naturally returned to its original polite smile:

"So, is it really just a façade?"

"Or else?" the blunt turn made Loren roll his eyes.

The first thing that wants to completely destroy the power of Governor Gaspar in Byrne is the Yod Chamber of Commerce - and in order to break the monopoly of the Yod Chamber of Commerce, it is necessary to use the power of Ebolden.

Loren had been plotting this from the beginning, and the deal with Yode Jr. was for the same purpose... I believe that the Corona master and the free aristocrats of Eberden should be able to see the opportunity behind this incident and take advantage of the situation while the Yod Chamber of Commerce has not yet reacted!

Of course, the best way to do this would be to form an alliance in private, but it was also the most detrimental way for Loren - because if he did, he would end up in an alliance with the House of Turin and throw themselves aside.

It's definitely not impossible... Master Corona is half of his own mentor, and he has been very openly willing to support him, but he is also the Archon of Ebolden and the leader of the Corona family, for him, the interests of Ebolden and the Corona family come first!

No matter what the final result is, the initiative and interests of the whole plan must be tightly grasped in their own hands!

Therefore, Loren must take a step ahead of the curve and let the whole plan be exposed by the enemy, so that the Corona family and Ebolden, who are still hesitating, have to passively accept this result and follow their own predetermined steps.

Only by doing so can Loren himself gain the most in this struggle, become the person who really holds the real power in the United Chamber of Commerce, and finally replace the position of the Yod Chamber of Commerce, or become the voice of the Corona family and Brandon's interests in Byrne... Either way, he will no longer be a mermaid, a "mere" spellcaster.

But that's not really what he's trying to do......

"That monster ......" the black-haired wizard slowly spoke, his eyes flickering, "In addition to recovering speed and vitality, he has surpassed vampires in almost every aspect, and even has simple intelligence... Definitely not a beast that has been twisted and mutated just because of the erosion of the power of the Void. ”

In fact, what Loren really wanted to say was that there was no difference between the size of a monster so powerful and the evil god shell that had once ravaged Ebolden.

"So ......"

Asrael raised his head, his scarlet pupils glowing strangely, "You suspect that behind him... Is there an evil god there?"

"Is it really possible?" the black-haired wizard asked rhetorically.

"Before you feel the breath of the other person exactly... It's hard to know for sure. The young man shook his head, but the corners of his mouth were hooked into a playful smile: "But one thing is certain, that is, he will not give up!"

"While everything in the physical world doesn't mean anything to the gods, not every nuisance is as peace-loving as Asriel... There are also some guys who are interested in very scary games, such as a certain imposter lady who loves blood sacrifices......"

"In order to maintain its own existence, in order not to return to the void, he was torn to pieces by the increasingly powerful Holy Cross... It's not surprising that these guys do anything unimaginable, but one thing is for sure, the more active they are, the weaker they are!"

"All in all, this is a threat, the evil god lurking in the Red Blood Castle, no matter what, it must be completely eradicated or returned to the Void......" Loren, frowning slightly, paused, and turned his gaze to Asriel's eyes:

"I need you to find this guy and then we'll kill it together!"