In the Grey Fort living room, Roland quietly looked at the old man in front of him.

He was in a wheelchair, his hair gray, his cheeks sunken, and the wrinkles on his forehead raised high, clearly nearing the end of his years. However, compared to his age, his pupils are not too cloudy, and he still looks full of life, which is further enhanced by the monocle on the tip of his nose and the black bow tie tied around his neck. While Roland was looking at him, he was also looking at Roland.

After a moment, Roland broke the silence and said with a smile, "It's not easy to invite you here from Dawn. Welcome to the new royal capital of the Grey Castle, Mr. Barich Lothar, who has worked hard all the way. ”

"It's my honor to be summoned by the King of the Grey Keep......," the other party lowered his head slightly, "I just don't know what His Majesty wants me to order?"

"You've already contributed a lot to Greycastle, and you don't need to accomplish anything more. ”

"Me?" he looked visibly surprised, "Your Majesty, have you made a mistake?"

Normally at this age, the speed of thinking will drop dramatically, and the expression is slurred and intermittent, but Barich not only answered the first time, but also controlled the facial muscles to make a disguised expression, which is enough to prove that his brain never stops thinking. Compared to the irreversible aging of his body, his consciousness may be a more true reflection of his condition.

"I know you have concerns, but rest assured, I don't have any ill will towards black money. Roland spread his hands and said, "The 'divine messenger' who passed the news to you is also a part of Neverwinter. In fact, I asked them to send the message. ”

Using Pasha's mouth, he summoned Barry to the Grey Keep on the grounds that the time had come for the transformation ritual, and then sent someone to forcibly bring him back to the castle after determining the target, which was a little rough but straightforward.

"Your Majesty...... I don't quite understand what you mean......"

"It's okay, I'll tell you what you know - it's a story with a lot of twists, but it happened. Roland gave a general account of the ancient witch's past, and also said the essence of the transformation ritual of the Divine Punishment Army. The Soul Container can only collect the consciousness of the demon-possessor, in other words, the non-demonic can only become a shell.

Turning into a body without self is also in line with the ancient witch's longevity rhetoric in a sense, and if Black Money is just an ordinary underground chamber of commerce, he won't care too much. But in the battle against the Devil's Western Front Army, Black Money made a great contribution, not only assisting the First Army in supporting the Wolf's Heart and Eternal Winter's theater intelligence network, but also sending key intelligence many times to fill the gap in the witch's investigation in the Red Mist Zone.

Perhaps Barry did not do this for the sake of humanity or to save his fellow citizens, but the contribution was real. Roland didn't think it would be a proper reward to turn such a meritorious person into a deprived puppet, so he decided to meet him personally.

After a long time, Barry Lothar slowly took off his reading glasses, and his voice trembled slightly, "You mean, Changsheng is just a scam?"

Roland sighed lightly, "At present, the one who can maintain immortality on the basis of maintaining consciousness must be the demon supporter. For humans, it's witches. ”

Even he, who had opened up the dream world, could not be sensed by the soul container.

"But after drinking those pills, my body is really getting better-"

"Those potions are not useless, they increase the success rate of the ritual by overdrawing vitality, but they cannot be used endlessly. Roland interrupted with his head shaken, "Soon its side effects will appear, which is why I am in a hurry to come to you." ”

Barry was stunned for a moment, "You mean, I don't have much time......"

"I'm sorry. Roland regretted, "I can't make that promise come true, I can only compensate for it in other ways." Black money has protected witches and contributed to the war of divine will, and if you have anything you want, you can bring it up, and this is also a well-deserved reward. ”

Nightingale had asked him why he didn't let the Pasha and the others solve the problem on their own, and that acting as king would be tantamount to transferring the consequences of the deception to the Greykeep.

Her thoughts can't be miscalculated, but Roland knows that since the Grey Keep has fully accepted the Tachira Witches, then she can't just enjoy the benefits they bring, and it is also an obligation to take the blame for them.

"......," Barry was silent for a long time, "even if it's in the morning light, can you handle it?"

"You should know my influence in the Kingdom of Dawn. ”

"Then I'm relieved. Unexpectedly, the other party did not despair or become hysterical, but showed a calm smile, "I want to live longer, I want to keep the black money industry for my children - if I die, other noble businessmen will never let go of the opportunity to carve it up, and in the face of large enough interests, a few lives are insignificant." If Your Majesty is willing to intervene in this, I don't think anyone will dare to act rashly, and this is even more reliable than my personal immortality. In that case, what else do I have to complain about?"

Roland pondered for a moment, "Are you sure this is what you want in return?"

"Your Majesty, is it ...... Can't you?"

"It's not impossible. He paused, "I wonder if you've ever heard of the name Rainbow Stone?"

"I've heard of it," Barry thought for a moment, "it seems to be a new fashion store in your country, very large, and some of the finished products are sold to the dawn—but with all due respect, it is far inferior to us in style and design. ”

Because the craftsmen Victor is looking for are all from the Lothar family...... And he doesn't tell you that in Neverwinter this kind of clothing is only a tenth of the price of other hand-woven clothing. Roland coughed twice, "As far as I know, the founder behind this clothing store is called Victor Lothar, who is your fourth son. In addition, the income of the clothing store has been converted to more than 10,000 gold dragons so far. With this talent, I don't think he would easily lose to those merchant families even if he didn't have Grey Castle as a backer. ”

Ten thousand golden dragons is by no means a small number, and in the past, Neverwinter could only exceed this number with Chaos Drink - for the simple reason that not everyone needed a drink, but everyone had to be dressed. With the high concentration of the population of Wudong, the scale of basic demand will only further expand. In the face of the foreseeable profits of large-scale industrial production, the turnover of the underground chamber of commerce is not worth mentioning at all.

This time, Barich really showed a look of surprise, "Your Majesty, what did you say...... Is it true? He hasn't been in contact with me since he left Glowlight...... I thought he was still in the jewelry business......"

"Victor is in Wudong now, it's not difficult for you to see him, it's better to verify it in person. But...... Gotta hurry. ”

"Yes...... I know. Barry couldn't help but hold on to his wheels, an action that clearly exposed his inner thoughts. "Allow me to take my leave, Your Majesty. ”

Roland nodded, and was about to ask the guards to send him out, when he suddenly said, "You said I was running out of time...... Will that allow me to spend my last moments on that floating island?"

"......," Roland closed his eyes, "if you wish." ”

After the door was closed, the nightingale appeared and muttered, "Strange ......"

"What's wrong?"

"His reaction at first was a little strange, not a lie, but the magic gave me a very vague feeling, not as calm as he appeared. The nightingale shrugged.

"I see," Roland said thoughtfully.

"Do you know why?"

"Probably. He slowed down his voice and turned his head to look out the window, "Immortality is always full of temptation, and if your expectations are disappointed, no one will accept it easily." ”

"But that's not a lie. Nightingale emphasized.

"Because he knows that no matter what he does, he can't change that outcome. Roland sighed with emotion, "Since it can't be changed, then it must be accepted - instead of making a grudge against the king of the Grey Keep, it is better to pretend to be open-minded to win favor, any unnecessary emotions will become sunk costs, this is probably his idea." There are many people who understand this, but few can really do it...... That's where he's so powerful. ”

He kind of understood the reason why these big businessmen would be treated as nobles in Dawn - this control ability and stop-loss consciousness can surpass most nobles even in politics.

"It's you—" Speaking of this, Roland couldn't help but look at the nightingale, "Now you can not only distinguish the truth from the fake, but you can even feel the inner emotions, are you about to evolve?"

"Do you think I've evolved to deliberately keep it from saying it—or to say it so modestly?" the nightingale glanced at him angrily.

Well, that makes sense.

Roland closed his mouth in amusement.

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