The midday sun was dazzling by the air of the highlands, illuminating a large area of the hill. The ground of the mountain is deliberately leveled, and it seems that the work is not small, the natural mountain shape is gone, but artificially deliberately made into a large platform. The platform is also very clean to ensure that the magic array on it can play the most ideal effect. Because there are not one or two magic arrays on the ground, but dozens or even hundreds of various magic arrays of all sizes.

On the platform where the magic array gathered, an old man with white hair looked at it again and again with a turquoise leaf in his hand, and then sighed helplessly, and threw it away with disappointment and regret, and this shining green light artifact floated pitifully in the air a few times and fell to the ground.

The old man sat down on the ground in despair. These days he only sleeps two or three hours a day, and the rest of the time is spent on this little leaf, but the result is still nothing.

He was already the smartest, most knowledgeable, and most capable man on the continent, able to rescue several endangered subhuman races from under the iron hooves of humanity, and to call them to build a city out of nothing in the barren lands. But now, in the face of this little leaf, he only felt his powerlessness.

Cedros let out a long sigh and glanced at the magic circles all around him, his eyes that had been full of vitality were now bloodshot, tired and cloudy. He'd tried everything, but he still couldn't parse the magic contained in the leaf, which was purely a condensation of life force.

Is it because it's a fetish?

God. Cedelos never believed in this thing. Because he is not only intelligent and knowledgeable, but also a strong man with real self-confidence and self-awareness. Every achievement and every bit of progress he made was earned with his own sweat and hard work, not something unnecessary. He has always believed that the world can be held in his own hands. But now this little leaf has opened his eyes to a real unattainable mystery. A feeling of nothingness made him panic and irritable.

After a few soft sounds, General Gru jumped up from the edge of the platform behind Cedros. The hill was tall and steep, but it was as easy as a step. General Gru was still carrying a man in his hand, and as soon as he reached the platform, he dropped the man. He was a very short man, only half the height of General Gru.

General Gru looked at the magic array and the World Tree leaf and asked Cedros, "How is it?"

"Not yet. Cedlos sat cross-legged with his head on his hands, closed his eyes as if resting, as if thinking. "You guys have a few more reasons to help me drag it out for a few days. ”

"Honorable General Gru doesn't like to lie, and when questioned, he can only say that he doesn't know. And I couldn't find a better reason to procrastinate. The dwarf, who had been picked up by General Gru, walked up behind Cedros and gave a wry smile that looked very strange. "In my mouth, you have been bringing the leaves of the World Tree to return them to her, but there was a small accident, you met an old friend twice, and you went to handle some affairs for your illegitimate child. So in the past two days, the temper of the beautiful elf lady has become worse and worse, saying that we are dirty, smelly, and full of monsters here, and we must leave with the fetish as soon as possible. I have no choice. That's why the two of us are here to ask you about your progress. ”

"But I can't help it here. Cedros let out a long sigh. He paused and asked. "Is there enough food for this month?"

This dwarf was originally just the lowest-ranking official that Cedlos had recruited not long ago, but it was soon discovered that this unattractive guy had a mind and talent that was completely opposite to his appearance. So Cedros immediately made him his assistant.

As a good leader, the most important thing is to know how to use people, in addition to your own abilities. Cedros knew with a very unique vision that this was a very rare talent, and a very trustworthy person. Therefore, in a short period of time, he was allowed to enter the top management of Oufu. Thanks to this right-hand man, Cedros was able to take a break to study magic here.

The elf assistant replied: "This month, the cost of buying food has been overspent again, and the number of immigrants is increasing, and the food problem is becoming more and more serious. Although trade can be relied on in the short term, the soil in the Badlands is indeed too poor, and the transport of humus from the lizard swamps has always been limited and slow. ”

Cedros nodded slowly and said, "The food problem has always been the most important factor restricting our long-term development. That's why I hope for the magical power of the leaves of the World Tree. I hope to try to use magic to change the ability of plants to grow in order to solve this problem at the root. Otherwise, our development will always be greatly restricted. He let out another long sigh. "But the artifact is beyond my imagination..... not to mention the planned simulation and transformation, and there is no way to even analyze the magical power characteristics and effects in it. Perhaps only the elves are most familiar with and able to use this sacred artifact that they have guarded for tens of thousands of years. ”

"Then just ask them to help you out. ”

"Can you ask a devout priest to give his cross to a zombie skeleton as an ornament?" said Cedros with a wry smile. "The leaves of the World Tree are sacred objects worshipped by the elves. Orcs have always been their most despised race. I had to hide it from them even with this research. ”

The assistant nodded, shook his head, and said, "But the food problem must be solved." It's not just a matter of continuing to develop, it's even the key to the survival of Ofu City. Now the development of Oufu has been disconnected from its own productive forces, and almost all of it is supported by trade. Although it is indeed very prosperous now, the foundation is unstable. If once all around us food suppliers stop trading...... That's trouble. ”

Cedros shook his head: "That's not going to be. Unless there is a continent-wide famine, how can it be that all trade is stopped? ”

"No, it's possible. If they all have an alliance, or are controlled by a powerful and influential organization, such as the Church...... Of course, this seems unlikely to happen, but I'm just talking about it casually. ”

But there was a gleam in Cedros's eyes, and he nodded slowly: "No, you're right. In other words, we must have access to the power of the leaves of the World Tree. If you really can't parse it, then you have to leave this thing behind. Directly using this thing to create a magic array, I can simulate the environment of the Whispering Forest, and increase the growth rate of crops within a radius of tens of miles ten times. ”

"You mean you won't give it back to the elves, but you'll be at odds with them. ”

"They? they'll just know that this thing has fallen into the hands of the Necromantic Guild. I'm going to keep things hidden. ”

The assistant was silent for a moment, then shook his head like a rattle and said, "But I don't think it's good." Drinking doves to quench thirst is just a matter of harm and no benefit. ”

"Why?" asked Cedros in surprise.

"There is no such thing as an airtight wall. No matter how good your secrecy is, sooner or later there will be a danger of leaking the news. And if this thing leaks out, what will happen to you? Not only the elves are completely against you, but there are other forces? This thing is good, but it is a double-edged sword. Whoever takes it in his hand will be the target of the public. ”

“...... Right. Cedros smiled wryly. "Looks like I've been confused by this stuff for the past two days. Do you have any good doctrines?"

The assistant scratched his messy hair and said, "My idea is to let the elves help you." ”

Cedros smiled dumbly: "I said it was impossible. ”

"Nothing is impossible. The assistant didn't think so. "There's something like that in a book I've read. 'No one doesn't have a price. Some are money, some are power, some are faith, and some are feelings. As long as you give enough price and open enough conditions, you can let him buy him. I hate it emotionally, but it seems to be true. ”

Cedros tilted his head for a moment, but shook his head. "But if they were to do this kind of thing, they would refuse any condition I wanted. ”

"Then give them a condition that they can't refuse. The assistant smiled slyly, but let out a terrible laugh, as if a half-drunk man was snorting. "Huh. That's what I read from the book. ”

"I seem to understand what you're talking about. However, the details have to be carefully considered...... "Cedros's eyes lit up, he looked at the assistant and said, "Okay." I have decided, from now on you will be my senior staff officer. ”

"Huh. Or the lord of the castle, you have a vision. Ha ha. The new staff officer was not modest and laughed loudly. "I should ..... about it"

When Cedros and the man discussed these things, General Gru didn't say a word, didn't even look at the place, but stood on the edge of the hilltop platform and looked down on the city of Ofu in the distance. He never cared about these things. When the two of them had finished speaking, he came over and asked Cedros, "Have you decided to stay with the leaves of the World Tree?"

Cedros nodded and smiled, "We've decided, let's give it back to the elf girl first." And trouble you to escort her to Tulaleone. ”

"It's not too much trouble. General Gru nodded, a subtle smile. "At least it didn't let anyone's stupid trust in me fall through. ”

A bipedal wyvern suddenly flew towards here from the direction of Oufu, and the target was this hilltop platform.

Cedros frowned slightly, he had already instructed no one except General Gru and this assistant not to disturb him during these days. Now it seems that there should be some extremely urgent and important news.

The wyvern lands on the platform. The orc above presented Cedros with two pieces of parchment. When Cedros opened it, his face suddenly turned pale, and his body shook several times, as if he couldn't even stand on his feet.

"What's wrong?" General Gru frowned. "I don't think I've seen you look like this in so many years. ”

"News has just come from the Ironfast Empire that Bishop Ronis has been assassinated by the necromantic guild's spies. Cedros's voice trembled, and his face turned pale. His trembling hand spread out one of them, and it was a portrait. "This is the wanted portrait of the spy who assassinated Bishop Ronice. A reward of 5,000 gold coins was offered, and he was named a first-class viscount of the empire. ”

"Is that him?" General Gru and his assistant lost their voices at the same time.

The assistant shook the big head. "But how could ..... he go and assassinate Bishop Ronis?"

General Gru sneered and said, "Although this man is a little stupid, I don't think he will be stupid enough to assassinate Bishop Ronis." ”

"He can't kill if he wants to. Absolutely no one can easily kill him. Ronis...... "Cedros's expression had been distorted by sadness, and his voice had aged a lot in an instant, and even his back, which had always been as straight as the youngest, was a little rickety because of sadness. But even in this case, he did not lose his cool mind and reason. "But he was indeed assassinated. I'm sure. Only an unsuspecting assassination could kill him..... but it couldn't be this kid..... even if this kid became a member of the Necromantic Guild, the Necromantic Guild would never be willing to risk letting him do it. ”

"And who else do you think?" asked General Gru

"Who else? Who else? Who else will there be? Who will dare, who can and who will have the motive to kill him? There are not many such people in that country......

"Duke Mrak?" the assistant blurted out first.

"Yes. Cedros nodded. He didn't know how to give the black pot to the kid, and by the way, cut the grass and eradicate the roots. Here's one more piece of news. Duke Mrak arrested his own daughter, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer. And inform the whole nation that she is guilty of collusion with the murderer of the bishop. A month later, he killed her relatives in the royal capital and burned her to death. deliberately notifying the whole country about this should not be to show his selflessness. ”

"One month, enough to rush from any corner of the empire to the net. General Gru said coldly. "I just don't know if that kid is going to be so stupid. ”

Cedros shook his head slowly: "It's a pity, Duke Mlak should know him better than we do. And the duke has never done anything that is useless and uncertain. ”

"What are we going to do? Help this kid?"

"How can I help?" said Cedros with a wry smile. "The Duke is now on the hunt for the murderer of Bishop Ronis. And we don't know where that kid is......"

"But why was the Duke so anxious to force him to die? The assistant next to him said suddenly. His broom-like eyebrows furrowed together. "With the duke's means, since he can put the black cauldron on someone else's head, he will definitely not leave a chance for others to turn over. Then why did he kill that kid in such a hurry? Although it is good to cut the grass and eradicate the roots, but the price of sacrificing his daughter as the Chancellor of the Exchequer is too great. ”

Stunned, Cedlos nodded thoughtfully, and smiled at the assistant who had repeatedly inspired him: "Lord Porugan." It seems that my biggest takeaway from this period of bad luck is to ask you to be my counselor. He turned to the east, looking at the horizon of the heights. "The only thing I hope for now is that kid won't be so stupid and can't wait to die. ”