Eleven days later, the Fire Lion Mercenaries crossed the Wharton Prairie and arrived at the Wraith Forest Frontier in the Kingdom of Dordor nearly a month faster than the route from Whitewater Fortress, and their journey would have been faster if it weren't for Grand Master Vile's request to hunt some beasts and defeat a few groups of gnolls by the way.

Only a few people in the mercenary group know that Grand Master Vier's money bag is shriveled, and he can't find a few copper soles, so he needs to get some animal skins and tendons to sell at the development point, otherwise, the fire lion mercenary group can't pay the deposit for the connection mission.

The Wraith Forest is the wilderness where humans first set foot in the wilderness, and legend has it that the ancient Elven Court annihilated the army of the Chosen One who pursued the Elves, and the souls of the dead roamed the forest ever since.

This is, of course, a rumor spread falsely, and the creation law of the four elements determines that the undead will quickly disappear without the support of the water element. There have never been naturally occurring undead in the world, and even if evil wizards were able to create undead, they would not be able to survive for long.

The Flute Willows, which only grow in the Phantom Forest, have many holes in their trunks, and when the wind blows through the trees at night, they let out a strange whimper, as if the ghosts are singing an elegy, which makes people shudder.

Anthropologists have not yet been able to fully determine what particular value the flute tree is. In addition to the Flute Tree, the Wraith Forest is rich in wood, herbs, spices, fruits, rare animals, and valuable veins of keel steel.

The royal family of the Dordor had the technology to refine keel steel, a key ingredient in the manufacture of military heavy ballistas, large ballistas, and trebuchets. It could also be used more widely if the production was sufficient.

The Duoduo have long coveted the riches of the Wraith Forest, and soon after the migration of the White Centaur tribe adjacent to the forest, they sent elite scouts into the forest several times to survey the distribution of resources and the movements of the White Centaurs. However, compared to the precious resources of the Wraithed Forest, the Kingdom of Duoduo valued the strategic value of the Great Grassland. As long as they can occupy a territory in the savannah, the kingdom of Duoduo will have a constant supply of cattle, sheep and fine horses.

The Ghost Forest Exploration Point is actually built on a flat grassland, more than 50 kilometers away from the edge of the forest, and the scale is not large, only half of the average town, after all, the grassland cannot grow food, and the development point naturally does not need to reserve the location of the internal grange. The heavy wooden walls enclose a ring, on which are set up a number of wooden arrow towers, and the buildings inside are mostly simple large wooden houses, mostly used for storing and processing materials. The Castle of the Lords at the Frontier Point has not yet been built, and the Glorious Chapel is the only limestone building inside, and it has a rugged and simple style, which can also be used as a defensive fortress if necessary. As the facilities of the pioneer site were gradually improved, the church could be converted into a castle, and the resident priests' church would build a real cathedral on another site.

In addition to the temporary church, there is also a strange building made of blue bricks in the development site, and the large chimney standing tall is particularly eye-catching. The Fire Lion mercenaries were curious to come forward to see what was going on, but they were sternly stopped by the guards.

Seeing that his subordinates were being reprimanded, Grand Master Vill raised his chin and said disdainfully, "It's just a giant brick kiln, what's the big deal." ”

Mary (Elizabeth), who had already turned into a little fan girl, first looked at the knowledgeable Grand Master with adoring eyes, and then stood on tiptoe, straightened her neck, and tried to observe the blue brick building behind the wall, "This is a giant brick kiln? It's the first time I've seen it, and I've heard that it can produce tens of thousands of green bricks a day?"

"There are many craftsmen who make bricks, and there are thousands of people working together. Vile curled the corners of her mouth, said lightly, and then turned on a straight face, and scolded the guards: "Hey, take us to the mercenary tavern, I also want to see the priest in the church." ”

Orthodox vassal soldiers are in awe of knights and nobles in their bones, even if the other party is just a little ranger who is not very famous. The female mercenary leader had a bad attitude, and the guards at the pioneer point did not dare to refute, so she walked in front and led the way without saying a word with a cold face.

Seeing that the guards were deflated at the hands of the Grand Master, the Fire Lion mercenaries were extremely happy, and they drove the oxen to pull the plough and came to the mercenary tavern at the pioneer point.

The tavern was bustling with people, and the corners outside the door were filled with mercenaries with big shoulders and round waists, scrutinizing the new competitors with defiant eyes. Grand Master Vier, who has always liked to be lively, stopped, secretly touched the shriveled money bag, and commanded with a fluttering look:

"Uh...... Well, Theodore, you have to sell all the prey we have caught, and rent a few rooms in the tavern so that everyone can settle down first...... I took Mary to the church to find the priest on duty to see if the church had released a Ranger mission. ”

Unclear about the situation, Mary was dragged away by Grand Master Vile, and as soon as they were out of sight of the mercenaries, Penny chased after her from behind and quietly gave Vile a bulging money bag.

"Head, see the resident priest to donate first. She whispered.

Vile took the heavy money bag and asked in surprise, "Where did you pick it up?"

She remembered very well that the last time she was shopping for supplies, Theodore had collected all their money by herself.

Penny pursed her lips and smiled, her long fingers making a pinching motion, turned and ran away.

Vile opened her mouth and pouted for a moment before shouting at Penny's back, "I'll pay you back...... Wait until I have the money. ”

"Head, Sister Penny, what do you mean by that?" said Mary, pulling Ravelle's skirt and gesturing to Penny's gesture.

"...... stolen it, shhhh Vile covered Mary's mouth and whispered.

Mary broke free of Vile's hand and said, "It's not right to steal...... We should return the things to the family, and let Sister Penny apologize to the owner. ”

Grand Master Vill thought for a moment and said distressedly, "It seems to ...... Kind of makes sense. However, I'm going to donate the money to the church....... so that when we earn a commission, we will return the full amount to the owner. ”

Not long after, Vile and Mary came out of the church and returned to the Mercenary Tavern sullenly.

Todd, the scout who was waiting outside, welcomed the two people in, and the mercenaries in the tavern consciously moved out of the way, some of the mercenaries had blue noses and swollen faces, and there were a bunch of broken wooden tables and chairs in the corner of the hall, apparently there had just been a skirmish here.

Under the awe-struck gaze of the crowd, Todd led Grand Master and Mary up to the second floor of the tavern and into a simply furnished room. Mr. and Mrs. Theodore and Penny stood up from their stools and greeted Vile.

"Head, we sold our prey to the tavernkeeper for three rooms and some supplies. You and Mary have one room, and Ruth and I have one room, right next door to this room. The rest could only settle in shanty towns temporarily. Theodore reported.

Vile took a cup of flower tea from Ruth's hand, took a sip listlessly, pointed to Mary and said, "Give her the extra money, the priest accepted our donation, praised a few words, and ignored the theft, and only said that he knew what was wrong." This guy was devastated, and if I hadn't pulled it, she would have almost quarreled with the priest. ”

Mary pouted, unconvinced, "It's not right to steal...... People's money is also hard-earned and should be returned to others. ”

Theodore looked at Penny, and the arcane assassin pursed his lips and twisted his head to the side, so he scratched his head and said, "This...... We don't have any money. This tavern was opened by the bear regiment, and they took the prey, but did not give money, only two days of free food and lodging and a batch of supplies in exchange......."

"What?!It's the Bear Regiment again!" Before Theodore could finish speaking, Vile shouted, realizing that he didn't act like a Grand Master, picked up the teacup and took another sip of flower tea, explaining: "There is no mission on the Church Priest's side, he asked us to go to the Ghost Forest Frontier Camp to find Barrett, the leader of the Bear Regiment, and said that that guy is responsible for providing tasks to all mercenaries and rangers and distributing bounties." ”

Theodore and the others looked at each other, and he asked cautiously, "Head, you have a holiday with the bear group." ”

"It's the first time I've heard of the Bears. Vile shouted, rested his chin on the table again, and muttered: "The garrison priest said that the bear group has 4,000 people and more than 1,400 combat mercenaries, which is the largest mercenary group ......in the kingdoms....... how can their scale be so large?

As she spoke, she raised her face and asked with a wistful look in her eyes, "You say, how long will it take for our Fire Lion Mercenary Group to surpass the Bear Group and become the largest mercenary group in the Kingdoms?"

Physician Ruth said in a soft voice, "Head, it's almost impossible....... no lord can tolerate such a large mercenary group...... The bear group is a special case. ”

Penny said crisply: "I have inquired clearly, the Bear Group is composed of dozens of small mercenary groups, they used to live on the Bucks Merchant Group, and then somehow, the Bucks Merchant Group disbanded all its mercenaries. These people have no income and have to look for work everywhere. It happened that the Kingdom of Duoduo opened up the Ghost Forest and recruited a large number of mercenaries and rangers, so they came over, and then hugged each other and formed a super-large mercenary group under the banner of the bear group. ”

Regarding the disbandment of its mercenary group by the Bucks Merchant Group, Octavir knows the inside story. At the beginning, the Lord of Duoduo cooperated with the Southwind Chamber of Commerce of the Borui Kingdom to fight against the Wimbledon Chamber of Commerce, and Sophia, in a fit of rage, united with Victor and Sylvia, and attacked and killed the Earl of Houghton of the Golden Lane Bird family. She had apparently used the Chamber's mercenary forces, but since then, the High Lords have become more wary of the Wimbledon Chamber. In order to regain the trust of her partners, Sophia had to fire the mercenaries of the vassal and Wimbledon Chamber of Commerce.

These mercenary groups seem to be the predecessors of the Bear Regiment.

"The commander of the frontier did not agree to the mercenary group. Theodore said, "However, the Orc War broke out in the Sassan Empire, and the Lords of Duoduo sent the elite of the frontier to the north for reinforcements, and they needed a strong and unified mercenary group to guard the cordon at the edge of the Spirited Forest. The Frontier Commander's Commander and Resident Priest have given the Bears a lot of convenience, including dispatching new mercenaries and rangers, issuing quests to them, and handing out rewards. Even the loot and the precious resources gathered, the bear group can get a piece of the pie. ”

Ruth also continued: "Head, the power of the Bear Regiment is very great, and later mercenary groups like ours must rely on the recommendation letter of the Bear Regiment in order to be appreciated by the nobles of the Pioneer Lord, and only then can they have the opportunity to be accepted as vassals by the Pioneer Lord." At present, Duoduo's cavalry is busy taking over the six steppe holy cities and clearing out the increasingly rampant steppe gnolls, and they don't have the energy to deal with the monsters in the Wraith Forest, so they still leave the vigilance, guarding, and exploration tasks to the bear regiment. There are three armies in the Wraith Forest Frontier, with the 800 elite soldiers commanded by the knight lord of Duoduo to defend the settlement, and the 4,000 mercenary warriors from the hills of men and horses are distributed in the sentry barracks along the way to protect the displaced people who move south...... Only the mercenary group and rangers led by the bear regiment are at the forefront of the Wraith Forest, dealing with the beasts and monsters in the forest. ”

Grand Master Vill sat up straight all of a sudden, and asked with sparkling eyes, "Grand Master Barrett of the Bear Regiment...... Is he strong?"

Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads, indicating that they didn't know the details of each other. Scout Todd thought for a moment and said, "I heard it's an old fellow who is not too old...... He shouldn't have much strength, otherwise the Pioneer Point Commander wouldn't let him take charge of the Bear Regiment. ”

"The Bear Regiment has absorbed various small mercenary groups, do those leaders have a place in the Bear Regiment?" asked Vill as she turned her head.

Todd nodded and said, "There are several leaders of the mercenary group who hold important positions in the bear group, and it is said that they ......" He pursed his lips and continued: "According to the few pus pockets below, their head is the deputy head of the bear group, and they are big shots, so we should be careful." ”

"Bang", Vile slapped the table, stood up, his eyes burning, and his eyebrows fluttered, "I've decided, we'll join the Bears! In this way, I am a veritable Grand Master and Grand Ranger, Octavier...... Ha, ha, ha. ”

A ranger with aristocratic blood wants to seize the ownership of the bear group, which is almost impossible to achieve. Mary didn't understand the reasoning, so she thought that Sister Vile was so powerful, so she clapped her hands vigorously.

Theodore and the others had no choice but to clap their hands to cheer, and Grand Master Vile's slightly hoarse laughter became more and more proud.

The eastern frontier of the Sidon Khanate, now called Sidon, opened the frontier defense line. Howard Turstir stood on a high ground looking out to the far east, where his extraordinary vision could not reach, where the centaurs and orc tribes might be at war, and the defeated would become the slaves of the victors, who would surely pose a threat to the forward line of defense. But by then, the forward line of defense may have been perfected.

Craftsmen and soldiers were like industrious ants, constantly building fortifications, and Grand Master Stirr only wanted to build them faster.

"My lord, the wizard's identity has been clarified. His name is Buckley, and he was born into an ordinary family of lords in the village of Oxhoi in the southern border of the Suss Kingdom, and belonged to Baron Tokberg, the outer lord of the Red Eagle family. Thirty-nine years ago, at the age of sixteen, Barkley inadvertently exposed his talent for witchcraft and was brought to the local church. The priest who was stationed led the arrest was attacked by his witchcraft, killing and wounding 24 people, and Barkley escaped afterwards. Judge Trigovar took half a step behind Howard and introduced, "Because the wizard Barkley killed the guards stationed at the priest and the lord, the Inquisition officially intervened after being notified. During the interrogation of his relatives, we did not receive valuable information. In order to trap the wizard, the Inquisition Paladin, who led the team, executed his parents and relatives for public display, but ...... Barkley did not show up, and he disappeared for thirty-nine years. ”

"Inquisition's records show that Buckley's talent for witchcraft is 'activation', he can animate any item, and the best effect is dirt, and the dirt traps he creates can devour up to 8 soldiers at a time. In addition, compared to his cast range, he can peek into the opponent's actions through the 'activator', and there is evidence that he himself can bury himself in the ground, and even travel through it for a short time, and when he comes out, he has a large amount of dirt attached to his body, like a dirt golem, with strong defense and strength. It was with this ability that Buckley killed the Resident Priest and the two Paladins. Later, he escaped from the Inquisition, but we believe that he witnessed the execution of his loved ones through the living objects and had a deep hatred for the clergy. ”

"The attack on Watery Town was clearly Buckley's handiwork, and his main purpose was to kill the clergy, not Her Highness Elizabeth Frederick. According to Bishop Dister, the undead monster in Buckley's incarnation wanted to kill him, but in the end, he and the two adjudicators were plotted by witchcraft and lost consciousness, and when they awoke, the mighty monster had collapsed. ”

Howard withdrew his gaze, turned to Trigovar and asked, "Why did Barkley become so powerful?Who are his two wizard helpers?Solarivin is sure that he killed Buckley...... How could a dead wizard attack a church in Waterland?Who was the mysterious wizard who attacked Bishop Dist and the Ruling Samurai?Why didn't he kill Dist...... Or why did he save Dist from the hands of the undead monsters?"

The referee shook his head with a heavy heart, he couldn't answer any of these key questions.

"Is it the priest's extraordinary talent to know what to do to cover up the traces?" Howard stared at Trigovar for a moment, and then said, "Everything that involves wizards and can't explain can be blamed on the devil's head, and you know that Pope Clement is ready to propose that His Majesty the Pope perform a grand prophecy to solve all the mysteries of this matter." Patriarch Friedes used his authority to postpone this impossible motion.......You say, how long can I shelter you?"

The power of the Pope is hollowed out, but he is a Level 7 Holy Spirit Priest after all. The Holy See wanted to ask him to perform the Great Prophecy, but he would only scoff at it. The Great Prophecy will shorten the caster's lifespan, and it would be similar to Nakhtigar asking the Pope instead.

Clement's proposal was to put the matter in the name of the devil and thus transfer the structure of the Inquisition from the Templars to the Templars.

It has not been a day since the Holy See coveted the enforcement power of the Inquisition, and Trigovar knew this, and he said in a deep voice: "My lord, please give me three months, and I promise to find Princess Elizabeth." ”

Howard smiled slightly, and said indifferently: "The paladin squad escorting Elizabeth was killed by the transcendent knight, do you have any suspicions about the target?"

Trigowal shook his head and said, "I'm going to start with the Baselius family first. ”

"Elizabeth is pure golden blood, and everyone is suspected of planning this attack. Howard was silent for a moment, then continued: "Bloodwolf Castle and Neville are the most suspicious, followed by the Kingdom of Duoduo, and they are the most convenient to do this...... The least suspect is Cambis, followed by Barcelius. ”

"You want to use this matter to prevent the Barcelius family from splitting the Sassan Empire, the starting point is good, but it's useless!"

"Elizabeth's whereabouts are unknown, and Oroxia doesn't want to confront us, and she's going to do it now. Howard let out a long sigh, shook his head and smiled bitterly: "The more you use this matter to force Barcelius to back down, the more fierce the backlash will be from those Sasan lords who support Barcelius's restoration...... It's a matter of attitude, just as you're framing Barcelius for orchestrating the wizard attack, and you're showing me your attitude. ”

Howard doesn't need Trigoval's attitude now, he must stabilize the current situation, and stopping the fragmentation of the Sassan Empire is the top priority. In contrast, the search for Elizabeth's whereabouts is at the back of the list. For this, the Knights of Radiance may sacrifice the Inquisition and compromise with the Holy See. Since one-third of the seats in the Holy See were in the hands of the Radiant Knights, and even if the Inquisition was incorporated into the Templars, the Testil family still had considerable influence over religious law enforcement, so the real victims were the Trigovars.

The referee said dejectedly: "My lord, I understand, please give me half a year, I will handle some things in the Eastern Conference properly......"

Howard nodded silently, stepped down the slope, and said to Trigovar beside him as he walked: "I'm afraid that the illegal activities in the Eastern League may not be cleaned up in half a year....... I don't want to change anything, but you have to be prepared." However, things may still turn around......"

He pondered for a moment and asked, "Do you know what His Highness Randall has been doing lately?"

The chief inquisitor perked up, thought for a moment, and tried to say: "The news of Elizabeth's disappearance reached the Nightingale Manor, and His Royal Highness Randall immediately sent people to contact the Blood Wolf Castle and the Barcelius family respectively. What exactly they talked about, I don't know. ”

Howard said noncommittally, "Before that, His Highness Randall received Viscount Tenes Ludwig. ”

"Viscount Tenes Ludwig?"

Trigoval recalled a little and said: "He is a good friend of His Royal Highness Randall, who used to be in charge of taxation in the Finance Department of the Royal Capital of Cambes, and later because of his close relationship with His Royal Highness Randall, he was secretly demoted by the regent of Williams and given an idle position. ”

Howard nodded and said, "According to the agreement, in another ten years, Sophia will hand over the Wimbledon Chamber of Commerce to Sauron, the knight of the tempest, in exchange, she has adopted Sauron's young son." Sophia now has the opportunity to have a daughter with His Royal Highness Randall as heir to the Marquess of Wimbledon, and she herself has begun to seek real power in the Kite Castle, with Turnis Ludwig as her agent in order to obtain the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer. ”

"Tenis proposed two tax reforms. First, the kite castle levied a trade tax on all the lords of the kingdom of Gombis, and second, the kingdom levied a poll tax on the tenants, which was paid by the lord to whom the tenants belonged. A tenth of these taxes goes to the church, and we certainly welcome that. However, the lords resolutely resisted, including the lords of the mining provinces of Cambes, who also united to put pressure on the four princely families of the kite. The Duke of York of the Centaur Hills also pretended to object. ”

"Why is His Highness Randall promoting these two unpopular taxes?"

The Grand Master replied to himself, "As the kingdom of Gombis crosses the river to the south, the royal family and the descendants need to allocate more revenues and recoordinate the lords of the various places through taxes. ”

"In addition to money and power, Gambis needs food more than anything. Howard smiled confidently: "The new farming and animal husbandry has allowed Gambis to achieve self-sufficiency in grain, but their grain reserves are far from the minimum level of crossing the river to the south. Based on the rate of population growth in Gambis, it would take at least 15 years for them to have the food reserves needed for the war in the south...... This is too long, my cousin has to take hundreds of thousands of people from the Sassang Empire, and it is obvious that he is preparing to complete the manpower deployment of crossing the river to the south as soon as possible, and the food shortage in Gangbis is even greater. ”

"We laid down the Sidon Khanate, which provided a solid foundation for the pioneering wars of the kingdoms. In just five years, the Sassan Empire could produce enough barley to meet the needs of all kingdoms for war. The northern lords were divided internally, but the outer kingdoms, including Cambys, feared that the Sarsanid Empire would break up, affecting their grain reserve strategies. ”

"I hope that the Raging Wind Blademaster will be willing to support the Radiant Knights and the Bloodwolf Castle, and with him and Sylvia's statement, the Trigovars may be able to continue to rule the Inquisition. ”

Terstir and Trigovar walked down the hillside, took the reins of the horned wolf from the hands of the paladin's retinue, and said with a deep gaze:

"You come with me to the Blood Wolf Castle and let His Highness Randall see my determination!"