A soft sigh made the smug Victor's scalp tighten, and he avoided Sylvia's resentful gaze and said casually, "Randall's finances have improved, so I can maintain a mercenary army of thousands. It can be said that I single-handedly supported the standing defense of the southern fortress. The York family also benefited from this. The materials I purchased in Jinshui City have never been credited. ”

Sylvia turned her anger into joy, pursed her lips and smiled, "Honey, go on." ”

"Everyone has benefited from my secret business. Everyone united and gradually formed a force. I call it the Golden Regiment. ”

Victor continued: "The Golden Regiment seeks to grow, and I can't stop if I want to. It's like Baron Garrot, who went from a poor lord to a rich lord who could afford to procure Adamantite to trade with my caravan and ask for more. If I want to get Adamantite, I'll have to find a way to satisfy his appetite. The mountain people, the black goods vendors, and the village chief who was in charge of covering the goods all wanted more ...... The Golden Regiment has developed to this day, even if I am willing to let go, others will continue to do it!"

"Honey, do you want me to let go?" Victor chuckled.

"How is that possible?" Sylvia shook her head and suddenly asked, "Does Nicole know about the Golden Regiment?"

This time, she was serious.

Victor conceals the golden group, and Sylvia can be used as a small surprise between lovers. Nicole, as her henchman, has a serious problem of not reporting it.

"Nicole, Nicole only spends the money, she just asks me where I get the money. Victor said quickly.

Sylvia smiled noncommittally and said, "She's like Trisley." ”

Tracey is like you...... Victor muttered in his heart and continued: "Compared to the actual value of this trade route, earning wealth is no longer the most important purpose, but the key is to communicate with each other. Clover merchants sell pure gold to the Centaur Hills, not to mention the high price, as well as trade quotas. The Kite Keep can at any time ask Sofia to reduce, or end the Centaur Hills' trade in adamantite. The Golden Regiment can help us get rid of this clamp. Speaking of this, he changed his voice and shook his head: "It's a pity that the development of the Golden Regiment has encountered a bottleneck...... It needs a more suitable leader. ”

"How about I give you the Golden Regiment?" Victor said to his wife with a sincere smile.

Sophia looked at Victor's handsome face, slightly dizzy, and asked in surprise, "Give it to me?" Are you sure you want to give me your hard work?"

Victor smiled and didn't say anything, just nodded.

Sophia thought for a moment, shook her head and sighed, "I understand...... This is the retreat you arranged for me...... You don't want me anymore. ”

"......" Victor's wise and affectionate character collapsed instantly, and he couldn't say a word for a long time.

Sophia sneered and said brightly, "Teasing you." Give me the golden regiment. I promise you won't be disappointed!"

Sylvia stroked her glass, leaned back in her chair, and asked lazily, "What are you going to do?"

"Neutral!" Sophia smiled slightly, and said confidently: "The root cause of the Golden Regiment's failure to develop is that Victor cannot maintain a neutral position. The Stag Merchant Order is on the verge of collapse, also because the Knights of Radiance doubt my neutrality. Victor said that the key to my breakthrough was the disloyalty of the Bucks business group. In fact, they are the ones who are truly neutral. Therefore, the buck merchant group has changed many owners and names, but those people have been passed down from generation to generation and have never changed. In that case, I can give up the name of the Wimbledon Chamber of Commerce, turn them from light to dark, and grow the Golden Regiment. She added: "I may also renounce the title of Marquess of Wimbledon if necessary......

"It is the right choice to give up the Chamber of Commerce and turn from light to dark. Renunciation of the Marquis Title...... Then I can only give up on you. Sylvia shook her head and asked, "As the Viscountess of Randall, who would believe that you are neutral?"

"But the Golden Regiment is a black market merchant......

Sylvia looked disdainful and chuckled, "Black marketeer, if Victor is content with the black market trade, he won't hand over the golden group to you." ”

"I'm not good at business, but I know politics. Sylvia said calmly, "Clement's Holy See is truly neutral. Victor went to great lengths to develop the public carriage, which I was puzzled at first. Now I understand that he is planning for the Golden Regiment. ”

Sophia's mind flashed with inspiration, and she continued: "The volume of freight in the secret trade route is too small, and you plan to use the public carriage to solve the transportation problem. In order to curry favor with the priest of the territory, the freedfolk merchants would rather rent carriages at a loss. The public carriage could carry goods for short distances, and because of the protection of the church, the lord could only acquiesce to the stop-loss measures of the freedmen traders. As long as you have the public carriages of the two territories in your hands, and buy some village chiefs to cover them, the goods can be transferred. The lord tasted the sweetness and would secretly support the actions of the free folk merchants. ”

"Victor, you are indeed a genius. Sophia sighed heartily, "I know what to do next." ”

Genius? The wisdom of these two women is impressive...... Well, women who are smart, beautiful and know how to pretend to be stupid are particularly cute.

Victor looked at Sylvia, who was smiling, and said, "In addition to channels, there must also be a market. The Golden Order must woo certain High Lords. Each kingdom needs a strong ally to support the Golden Order. The shareholding system can help us achieve this goal. Sophia, you have a lot of connections and can pick the Golden Regiment's collaborators, but not the royal family and the royal vassals. ”

"At the moment...... It's a bit difficult. Sophia furrowed her slender eyebrows and said with high spirits: "I will overcome difficulties." ”

Sylvia was silent for a moment, and said with emotion: "Sophia, you are tenacious and unyielding, and you draw strength from the struggle. I guess it was a mistake to leave you in the Centaur Hills. ”

Sophia smiled slightly, held Victor's hand, and said softly, "If this path doesn't work, I have another path." But with your support, I won't fail. ”

"It's a trap...... Let's not talk about that. Sylvia shook her head and asked, "How much do you know about the Brotherhood of Kamen?"

Victor pricked up his ears and listened to Sophia's words: "Kamen Brotherhood? All the villain forces in the Borui Kingdom are called the Kamen Brotherhood, including the Eastern Bandit Gang of the Suss Kingdom, and the mercenary group of the Eastern Alliance. The Brotherhood is a loose alliance of gangs supported by the Eastern Lords and the clergy, and is responsible for controlling the Free Folk villages of the Eastern Alliance. ”

Victor's heart was shocked, and he pretended to be curious and asked, "There is actually the support of the church behind the Kamen Brotherhood, and is it the power of the church?"

"Mostly the Inquisition...... There are also priests from small monasteries. Sophia explained, "The Eastern Alliance is a vast area, the land is barren, and most of the area is overgrown with poisonous demon grass, and no crops can be grown. The large and small outcasts became breeding grounds for wizards. The Inquisition supports the Brotherhood of Kamen, mainly to gather information on wizards. The mercenary groups of the Brotherhood of Kamen are basically armed forces supported by the priests of the Inquisition and the Monastery. ”

Sylvia casually asked, "Honey, do you have any questions?"

Victor gathered his thoughts, shook his head and said, "It's nothing...... It's no wonder that the Kamen Brotherhood can make my people suffer in Ascending Rock City. ”

Sylvia asked, "The Dwemick of Rock City are your chosen collaborators, and how were you going to convince them?"

"Slap him in the face, slap him swollen and then talk about cooperation. ”

Victor Yun smiled lightly, "The sheriff of Ascending Rock City openly shielded the Kamen Brotherhood and killed many of my people. I'm going to encourage the Bucks to trap him and frame him for the Kamen Brotherhood. First destroy the relationship between Ascending Rock and the Borui people, and then negotiate with the Marquis de Wemick. ”

"If he refuses to cooperate, he will kill a few more sheriffs. Victor's tone became snarky. The backbone that Mercury had worked so hard to cultivate was folded in the hands of Dengshi City, which made him hold back the fire in his belly.

"It's a mess. Sophia shook her head and said, "Do you really think that the Dwemick family is a soft persimmon that is easy to pinch? They have five great knights, more than 20 knights, and more than 200 apprentice knights. The Marquis de Vermick took a look at the iron barrel run by Rock City, and there was the support of the royal family of Dodor behind him. I definitely don't want to go toe-to-toe with him. ”

"It's a mess. Sylvia said, "There is only one chance to shoot, and once you have to beat Dwemick to the ground...... What good does it do to trap a painless sheriff?"

Sylvia took a sip of spicy green barley wine, lightly pursed her red lips, and said lightly: "Then in Dwemick's territory, kill the envoy of the royal family of Dodor, Count Hora Ludwig." ”

Hora and Victor had a confrontation at the Blue Amber Hotel, but the petty conflict between the two sides did not reach the point of life and death. And Ludwig relented in public and compensated Victor a huge sum of money.

Victor gained face and benefits, and he really couldn't find a reason to hate each other. Most importantly, Victor doesn't like senseless killing.

There are many ways to solve a problem, and violence is probably the simplest and most straightforward. But the use of violence to solve problems has come close to the bottom line of civilization and barbarism. Extralegal places like mountains, forests, grasslands, and wilderness follow the law of the dark forest, and anyone who uses any means to protect themselves is beyond reproach. But the upper class has formed a fixed sense of morality and etiquette for resolving disputes, and this social rule of symbiosis and coexistence protects everyone.

In other words, civilized people obey the rules of society in order to protect themselves.

You don't have to be the strongest, and even if you are, you can't be strong forever.

As a time-traveler from a highly civilized society, Victor always adheres to the bottom limit of civilization - within the rules, and does not abuse violence.

This is not weakness and pedantry, but the belief that the strong must have.

Reverence for power is the only way to master power, otherwise power will consume you.

The fall and demise of the Chosen One is the most striking example.

Austin of the Buryatia family kills the guards of the Randall family, and Victor can take revenge. The sheriff of Ascending Rock intervenes in Mercury's fight with the Mask and kills the Randall family's spies, and Victor can let him die. Count Hora has settled the dispute between the two sides, and Victor has no intention of breaking through his own bottom line.

"I need a reason. Victor looked at Sylvia and said in a deep voice.

"Reason?" Sylvia looked at her very serious little lover in surprise and asked with a smile, "Count Ludwig has offended the companion of the Divine Knight. He also tried to seduce the wife of Viscount Randall. Are these two reasons enough?"

"Not enough. Victor shook his head and said, "He has already paid a ransom of 50,000 gold soles." ”

Sylvia knocked on the table and said, "Kill Ludwig, and the Marquis de Wemick will become a supporter of the Golden Regiment." ”

Victor thought for a moment, but still shook his head: "There are many methods that we haven't tried...... I can't agree more. ”

"Honey, you're nice. Sylvia smiled in appreciation, then stood up, stared into Victor's eyes, and said softly, "Kill Hora to save Sophia, otherwise she will not live to be 70 years old." ”

Victor looked at Sophia, who was as calm as water, in amazement, nodded and said, "This reason is enough." ”