At noon the next day, Vicente and Bailey traveled all morning and finally returned.

"Lord Griffith, Bishop Charlotte says she doesn't have a boat. If you want to rent a merchant ship from the church, that's fine, it's 200 gold dragons a day, and you can't take credit. ”

Charlotte's fees are not expensive, the ships of the Church of the Goddess of Commerce are all large ships with a load of more than a few hundred tons, plus the salaries of captains and sailors, it is worth this price. But from Thousand Sails City to the mouth of the Chishui River, it takes at least ten days to go back and forth, and Griffith can't afford to rent it now.

"Where's Bailey, over there?"

"My lord, there is one thing I want to report first. When Black Lotus spoke to me, it seemed to imply that someone had bought our information from the Raven Guild. Black Lotus didn't say it explicitly, but I had dealt with her a lot and could probably guess what she meant. ”

"Did Black Lotus say that the Raven Guild was sold, or not?" asked Griffith meaningfully.

She didn't say. ”

"That's already sold. Griffith sneered: "I just accepted the money from there, and in the blink of an eye the news leaked to me, I still have to admit their love! ”

"Can we still trust them?"

"Yes, why not?" said Griffith, with a hint of helplessness on his face, "the cooperation still has to continue." Since the Black Lotus has revealed its bottom to you, it proves that the Raven Guild still has the idea of being left and right, at least it will not deal with us personally. Instead of guarding against thieves for a thousand days, it is better to take the opportunity to bite back, so that you can have a stable life in the future. What did she say about the ship?"

"Black Lotus said the union didn't have a ship, but she introduced me to a captain named Locke. I went to the dock to see the ship, it was a flat-bottomed boat, the draft was not deep, and it could carry about twenty or thirty tons of cargo. They offered 400 gold dragons and promised to send us to the village of Hydra. ”

The Raven Guild is the largest bandit organization in Thousand Sails, and Griffith doesn't believe they don't have their own smuggling boats.

Whether it's betraying their own intelligence or being unwilling to directly supply ships belonging to the Guild, it's clear that the Ravens' attitude towards Griffith has begun to drift away. Although Bailey had promised Black Lotus today that he would continue to sell low-level scrolls in the future, after all, it was far away, and the other party would never believe in such an empty promise.

"Is that Locke reliable?" Griffith bit his lip.

"I've been to the docklands, and Locke is a local, so I didn't find anything too suspicious. His ship, on weekdays, mainly helps merchants transport goods, and in the off-season, he also goes out to sea to fish, according to my estimate, he should also be involved in smuggling secretly, otherwise he will not be on the line with the crow union. ”

"Then let's settle it as such, without further ado, and set off in two days. Bailey, you keep an eye on that Locke for me to see if anyone comes into contact with him, and the sailors on the ship are to check it out. Vicente went to buy some grain, mainly wheat and bacon, ham, etc., which could be stored for a long time, and could be used in the territory later. Well, you don't need salted fish, try to fill the boat to the brim. ”

As soon as Griffith finished his assignment, a raven flew from a distance and landed leisurely on the windowsill.

"This?" Griffith recognized at first glance that it was not the one he had raised.

Before the crowd could react, the raven jumped down from the ledge, landed on the ground, and with lightning speed turned into a man in his early thirties, dressed in a gray wolfskin robe, whose slightly pointed ears suggested that he should have elven blood.

"Uncle Thorn—" Griffith cried out in surprise and then with a very mixed feeling, "Anna, come over here and see who's coming." ”

"My little Griffith, he's grown so big!" the half-elf named Sean stepped forward, looked at Griffith carefully, and then gave Griffith a hug.

"Uncle Thorn!" An excited tone came from the mouth of Anna, who walked in quickly, and the tall and long-arm maid hugged the two big men excitedly, and the three of them hugged each other.

The three from Carolinburg behaved a little exaggeratedly, making Pele, Vicente and Hansen on the side a little embarrassed.

"Anna, why have you grown so tall! It's almost time to catch up with Andrew!" Finally breaking free from Anna's embrace, Thorn stretched out his hand to compare, and then touched Anna's head very awkwardly.

That's right, Griffith's brother Andrew is also a tall and strong man. Griffith has always speculated that Anna's crush on Andrew is entirely due to her height. No way, among the children who grew up together in Carolinburg, Andrew was the only one taller than Anna. When it comes to being handsome, Griffith thinks he's much better than his brother, but he doesn't see any girl who likes him.

It can only be said that in this barbaric world, Xiao Xianrou is a little inedible, and it is far less popular than muscular men.

"Let me introduce you to Uncle Thorne, my father's companion in his youth, and now an advisor to the Carolingian barony. These two are my servants, Bailey and Vicente, who have been with me for more than two years and are invaluable helpers. There is also this one, it is the Level 1 Ranger Hansen, a person from the nearby Black Rock Village, who began to accept my employment a few days ago, and is also a good hand. ”

Griffith introduced each of them, but the obvious intimacy in his words made Hansen a little embarrassed.

Of course, Griffith did it on purpose. In the past few days, the treatment of Bailey and Vicente, Hansen is obviously a little red in his eyes, Griffith knows that he will recruit him now, and Hansen is likely to agree immediately, but Griffith did not do this, but from time to time, he took the opportunity to knock Hansen.

What is too easy to get is easy for people not to cherish.

Hansen did not pledge allegiance to Griffith that day, and he had to pay a price. Griffith deliberately made him suffer a little, so as not to cause Bailey and the others to be dissatisfied. This way, Hansen could more easily integrate into Griffith's men in the future.

"Hansen, you're a ranger, you don't have an animal companion yet, and when you get back to Carolingburg, I'll give you a bear cub, would you?"

"That's—thank you so much!" the Ranger nodded busily, his face full of excitement and gratitude.

Ranger can also have animal companions, but they are not as convenient as druids and must be cultivated from an early age. When Hansen was in Heiyan Village, he had a few dogs, but they were so ordinary that he felt a little embarrassed to bring them out, so he simply stayed in Heiyan Village and gave them away.

A cub bear, for a young ranger, is really a dream of a good partner, and Hansen is immediately full of affection for this strange man.

Thorne is a mid-level druid, and because he is a half-elf, he looks relatively young, but in fact he is the same age as Griffith's father, who is already in his fifties.

After gaining the territory, Baron Stone did not forget his roots, and he invited his mercenary companions he had met in his youth to Carolingburg. For example, Anna's biological father, Buck, was knighted and given a manor. Thorne did not accept the title of knight, but remained in Carolingburg as an advisor, and Stone later simply handed over a forest near Carolingburg to Thorn.

It is said that in recent years, Thorn has adopted orphans and began to help Baron Carolingian raise druids.

In terms of affinity and power, Thorn was an important figure in the Carolingian barony. Stone was able to send Thorn over, which made Griffith very moved, and in addition to being moved, Griffith was a little uneasy, worried that the magpie's nest dove would be discovered.

After all, the druid is also a spellcaster, and his mental power is not bad, which means that he is more sensitive and easy to detect abnormalities.

Although Griffith's problems weren't noticed three years ago, whether you're close to Anna or as well-informed as Gerald, it's always right to be careful.

"Griffith, you don't seem to be as cheerful as you used to be. Thorn also seemed to notice a little problem, and said something a little casually.

"I'm an adult, Uncle Thorne, and not a kid who doesn't understand anything like I used to be. Griffith made a reasonable excuse, and then put on a worried face and asked, "What is the condition of my father, Uncle Thorn, you are here, there will be no problem at home, right?"

When Sean heard this, he was very relieved, and the little abnormality he felt in his heart was naturally thrown aside: "Don't worry, Stone is fine." When he came back, he looked really miserable, and his arms were broken, but the next day, he invited the high-ranking priest of the Lion God, and because of the timely use of regeneration, there were no sequelae. ”

Speaking of this, Thorn looked around, "Griffith, you're a level 1 mage, you know how to insulate the sound circle, right?"

"Yes, please wait. "The soundproof circle is a level 1 magic that prevents the sound inside the circle from reaching the outside. Griffith took out the magic materials from his pocket and whispered a few incantations, and an invisible magic barrier suddenly enveloped most of the room.

Since becoming the Chosen One of the Darks, Griffith feels that he has been casting spells a little faster.

"Stone recuperated for half a month, and the injury was almost healed. Although the strength of level 8 may not be maintained, it will never fall below level 7. However, we all feel that these years have been a little too sharp, and it is just the right time to take the opportunity to recuperate for a while, and let you young people gradually take responsibility. And—"

Thorne deliberately betrayed a pass, causing Anna to want to punch him with her fist, and then continued: "Gary and Larry have both been promoted to level 4, and Liana, she is also back." ”

"That's great. Anna's face was full of joy.

Gary and Larry are twins and Anna's half-brother. Sir Buck was married to a noble wife, so he was unable to give Anna the legal status of her illegitimate daughter. But both Sir Buck himself and the two sons born to his wife were very good to Anna, and the affection between brother and sister was especially strong.

Anna was naturally sincerely happy to hear that the two brothers had been promoted to the middle rank.

"Aunt Liana is back, and you have to let Uncle Thorn run this trip, my father is really not a man. After the initial nervousness, Griffith's mentality gradually calmed down, and even made a joke about Thorn insolently.

Anna burst out laughing.

Like Thorn, Liana was Stone's companion in his youth, a level 5 warlock. However, because Liana has a little demonic blood, she is afraid of causing trouble for Stone, so she did not stay in Carolin Castle like the other friends, but ran alone to the dark region, and it is said that she has become very famous in the Gray Dwarf's Molten City.

Thorn has been courting Liana for almost thirty years.

However, the Warlock Lady seems to be a little annoyed with the half-elf druid, and deliberately ran to the dark region to hide from this stalker suitor. Every once in a while, though, Liana would stay in Carolingburg for a while to meet old friends.

Thern's willingness to stay with Stone was mostly due to the need to wait for the rabbit.

"You kid!" Thorn feigned annoyance, and smacked Griffith on the head as he did when he was a child.

"I'm relieved to have Aunt Liana here. ”

Since Stone is not seriously injured, and there is a level 5 warlock with explosive combat power in charge, unless Marquis Griffin himself wants to eradicate the Carolingian family, Carolingian Fort is as stable as Mount Tai.

"Uncle Thorn, you've come just in time, a poisonous snake has been eyeing me for a long time. Originally, I was worried that my strength was not enough, but now it's time for them to see what it means to catch cicadas with praying mantises, and yellow finches are behind. ”