Count Karlof Hossmann stood in the center of the banquet hall and watched with satisfaction the look of surprise and admiration on the faces of the guests he had invited.

As always, he remains the center of the place, the focus of all eyes.

With an elegant and decent smile, his gaze swept over every face in the scene, Viscount Carol, Baroness Graness, Count Peibo, this is a very important person, in addition to many gentlemen and ladies who have a voice in the south, pure blood and glory, some of them have inherited the title, some are important heirs in the family or big enough to speak on behalf of the family, it is not easy to invite these people together, especially in this cold winter month- The visit of these big names is enough to prove that the appeal of the surname Hossman in the south is as good as ever, and in order to further consolidate the authority of his surname, Count Hossman has of course prepared a "big meal" to match this banquet.

That is the magic net technology that he finally obtained with a lot of effort and good luck.

The crowd applauded, and Count Karlof Hossmann smiled reservedly, and after ten seconds of applause, he shook his glass slightly and showed humility: "I must admit that the ancestor who came back from the dead was a respectable figure, and he created something incredible—and perhaps received some 'help' from some alien friend, but in any case, the magic web technology is amazing, and such a good thing should obviously be shared with everyone." ”

A nobleman in a dark blue velvet coat took over Count Hossman's words appropriately: "But if I'm not mistaken, Duke Cecil didn't prohibit the exodus of the magic net—it is said that through the guarantee and introduction of Viscount Leslie, as long as enough money is paid, Cecil will send craftsmen to help those in need build magic nets, and even build various devices based on magic nets. ”

"Of course, at a sufficient price, Duke Cecil will 'help' us build the magic net," Count Hossmann toasted to the noble representative, then shook his head with a smile, "but that's a lot of money!" Our Founding Duke was literally going to carry all the gold out of our castle in a wagon—and more importantly, what was in someone else's hands was unreliable after all, wasn't it? Cecil would indeed send someone to help build the net, but it would be more about holding the technology firmly in our hands, and if the net is broken, or if it is not enough, we will need to spend a lot of money to bring back those craftsmen...... Doesn't you think it's more cost-effective to get your hands on the technology to build a magic web than this almost endless investment? ”

"That's true," said Count Pebo, with his pale blonde curls and slightly hairy figure, smiling, "my old friend, how did you get that technique?" ”

"With a little luck, I happened to meet two rune craftsmen who used to be in charge of building the magic net in Tanzania, and these two rune craftsmen happened to want some better development prospects," said Count Karlof Hossman unhurriedly, "They brought the blueprints and some of the construction techniques of the magic net—of course, for safety, I asked my scholars and mage advisors to participate in the specific trial work, and the end result was satisfactory, I made a usable A magic net with the same efficiency as Leslie's Mine Magic Net. Ladies and gentlemen, look up at the magic crystal lamps in this castle, and if you have a chance, visit the magic towers behind the castle - they are now powered by magic webs! ”

"The mages in my territory will be interested in this!"

"I'm interested in it myself—I'm a mage myself."

"Count Hossmann, what are you going to do...... 'Share' these results with us? ”

Nobles large and small gathered around, flattering and sincere to exchange information about the magic net with Count Hossman, because each of them knew about the changes in Leslie's Territory in the past few months—although they had some complaints about Viscount Andrew Leslie, who had completely fallen to the Cecil family, they had to admit that in the past few months, the ore produced by the mines of Tanzania had crushed many raw ore markets in the south, with huge production and extremely low costs. This made several southern nobles who had been competing with the Leslie family in the ore business miserable.

Of course, they want to get the same mining equipment and magic net system as Leslie Ling, but the price is really daunting, and they are even more jealous of the rapidly developing Cecil Collar, and they don't want to have too much to do with Cecil Collar directly, especially when it comes to basic technologies like "Magic Net".

Now that Count Hossmann has successfully "stolen" the magic net, how can they not be tempted by it?

Although mining equipment still needs to be purchased at a large cost from Leslie Collar or Cecil Collar, at least they solve half of the problem, and it is the basic energy problem.

The nobles are mediocre, but they still have their brains, they know the difference between the magic net and the mine magic energy machine - the latter is just a magic prop, and if it is broken, it will only lose money, but the former is the foundation, if the energy in the territory can only be built by other people's craftsmen, they are absolutely not at ease, only if their craftsmen have also mastered the technology of laying magic nets, they dare to use that thing boldly.

But while the nobles, large and small, gathered around Count Hossman, a tall and thin figure left the banquet hall quietly.

Viscount Carol, dressed in a black woolen coat, a wisp of beard, and crystal monocles, walked out of the banquet hall alone and came to the corridor outside the hall, and sighed slightly.

The castle was indeed brighter than ever - it was not the first time he had visited Count Hossmann's castle, he could see a lot of magic crystals added to the corridors, courtyards and even the outer walls of the main castle building, and with the abundant supply of magic power, the bright lights almost made the old castle appear crystal sparkling, it seemed that the Count Hossmann was right, he had indeed acquired the magic net technology - and he couldn't wait to use it in his castle.

Viscount Carol looked at the courtyard illuminated by the lights, and under the bright light around him, the bright starry sky above the courtyard seemed to dim a little, and his gaze swept at random, and suddenly he found that he was not the only one standing outside the hall.

A thin lady in a black court dress and a black wide-brimmed hat stood not far from her, her clothes looking thin, but a magical shield loomed around her, shielding her from the cold wind of the winter night.

Baroness Penny Gülen was the richest but probably the most unfortunate widow in the South.

"Lady Penny," said Viscount Carroll, who walked over with his glass, he could not let such a lady stand alone in the open on such a cold winter night, "do you also feel stuffy in the hall?" ”

"Please call me by my title and surname, Mr. Viscount," said Repène Glen, glancing at Viscount Carol, whose eyes were deep, her cheekbones were high, and her whole person was still a sickly, and although she could still be seen to be a beauty, there was no doubt that her beauty was in decline in poor health and mood—but she was still very attractive to many young noble men, "it was a very formal banquet. ”

"But we're outside the ballroom," said Viscount Carol with a smile, and after finding that his little humor had not been answered, he quietly changed the subject, "and then Baroness Gülen, aren't you interested in the magic web?" ”

"Count Hossman just needs someone to tout him, and after the hype is over, it's the real money, and I don't need to waste time and energy until then," said Penny Gülen in an almost vitriolic manner, her style of speech has always been the same, "and to be honest, I really don't have much interest in the magic net, and if the price offered by Count Hossman is not suitable, I will just leave." ”

Viscount Carol smiled and nodded, "I understand, Miss Gülen is waiting for you to come home." ”

At the mention of her only daughter, Rope Gülen's face softened slightly, she turned her head to look at Viscount Carroll, and asked casually, "What about you?" Aren't you interested in the Magic Web? ”

Viscount Carol thought for a moment and showed a somewhat exaggerated expression of distress: "To be honest, interested, but not daring to be interested." ”

Roofney Gülen finally had a curious look: "Oh? ”

"Things from Cecil's Territory are full of weirdness," Viscount Carol said in a slightly lowered voice, but the volume was just right for people to hear, and his subtle means of speaking were always invincible when arousing the curiosity of the opposite sex, "I don't know if you have noticed, now the South is full of new gadgets from Cecil Territory - all kinds of alchemy potions, magic nets, mining machinery, and the high-quality currency they minted, almost overnight, when everyone didn't react, Gawain Cecil is already everywhere......"

Speaking of this, Viscount Carol paused and opened his hand: "Even I see Gawain Cecil's face at least countless times a day - while counting the money. ”

The corners of Loppenny Glenn's mouth turned up slightly: "I'm okay, I only like the silver and gold shields of the kingdom." ”

"You see, you are also a man of humor," Viscount Carol immediately complimented, and then took his glass and looked in the direction of the courtyard, "Many people are not aware of this infiltration, but I have a sense of crisis...... Cecil's 'new gadget' is so convenient and cost-effective that no one can resist it, but you should also know that the more poisonous it is, the more it will disguise itself as sweet and seductive...... Those miraculous creations from Gawain Cecil seem to me to be no less than a dose of poison......"

Viscount Carol said, his gaze inadvertently swept over the soldiers in the courtyard, and under the keen gaze of the low-ranking knights, he saw a small crystal neck peeking out of the belt bag around the waist of one of the Hossman soldiers.

The crystal neck still has Cecil's logo on it.

"I'm afraid we've got poison in our hearts."

Rogpenny Gülen glanced at Viscount Carroll: "Then will you refuse these poisons?" ”

Viscount Carol was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "Sometimes, poison is also a cure - as long as everything is under our control, as if now, I am going back to the banquet hall to enter the 'real money' stage with Count Hossman." ”