Seven days later, the carriage finally arrived at its destination, the imperial capital.

The emperors of the three empires are directly named after the country, the prosperity of the shadow imperial capital is far beyond Chen Rui's expectations, the carriage stays at the suburban post station, but you can already see the residents and scattered houses, the wide road is paved with haode white stone mixed with corresponding materials, which is smoother and stronger than the cement road of another shijie, which looks extraordinary.

The long-distance carriages of the inn could not enter the city gates, and there was another lighter type of camel-drawn carriage that could pass through the imperial capital.

Finney stretched: "I'm tired these days, I'll have to sleep well when I get home." ”

Chen Rui smiled and said, "Lord Rummenigge, thank you for your gift and guidance along the way. I'm going to go to a relative's house first, and I'm going to take my leave. ”

Rummenigge nodded: "I hope you can pass the certification of the maker as soon as possible, there is a badge here, you hold, if you want to participate in the maker competition, even if you have not registered in advance, you can participate directly, just as a thank you gift for our tower ride and drinking your wine." ”

Chen Rui took the badge and bowed to Rummenigge to express his gratitude. Since he was practicing the art of making weapons in the forging room, the chat with Fei Ni in the next few days was significantly reduced, and Fei Ni just waved her hand to Chen Rui to say goodbye. Monroe still ignored him, called a light carriage, and left with Rummenigge and Finney.

Chen Rui had the heart to see the Shadow Imperial Capital, walking all the way, the further he went, the stronger the feeling of the prosperous Imperial Capital, the Shadow Emperor was a flat city, just from the perspective of scale, even when Dark Moon City was once famous for the heyday of the Fallen Angel Empire, it was much inferior. As for the level of prosperity, the current Dark Moon can only barely be regarded as a desolate small township in front of the Shadow Imperial Capital.

The tall and solid city walls have a majestic momentum, and the flag of the Dark Phoenix Flame King, which represents the Asmodean clan, flutters in the wind. The walls of the city were lined up with spear-wielding guards, all equipped with shining silver armor, and the checks at the city gates were very standardized and rigorous, and it was rare to see the kind of extortion that filled one's pockets. Due to the approach of the Craftsman Competition, there were constantly craftsmen rushing to the imperial capital from all over the country, and Chen Rui easily passed the inspection as an apprentice crafter.

Due to the huge area, in addition to the main roads, the large and small streets in the imperial capital are as intricate as spider webs, and the various shops and residences are dazzling, and Chen Rui has to take out the magic eye compass to assist. When some locals saw this behavior, they couldn't help but smile contemptuously, "Look at this hillbilly", and the superiority of the metropolis was unmistakable.

But everywhere is the same, there is glamour and decay, prosperity cannot hide the gloom and danger, Chen Rui knows this very well.

The imperial capital is divided into an inner city and an outer city, and the shops and residential buildings are distributed in the outer city, and the inner city is mainly the residence of the princes and nobles, and the center overlooks the high mountain in all directions, and is the location of the royal palace, the highest building.

The Custer family is known as the first commercial family of the Shadow Empire, and its base camp is in the inner city, but according to the news sent back by Ji Ya, the eldest young master Dio, who was rescued by General George, dislikes the "hometown" of the inner courtyard very much, and is now living in a separate courtyard in the most prosperous south of the outer city.

I finally found the annex, and I saw that there were a large number of guards at the door, and it seemed that this young master Dio had become much more cautious after almost losing his life.

Chen Rui walked into the gate when he was stopped by the guards.

"Please tell Monsieur Dio that Kia's friend has come to see him. ”

The guard looked at him for a moment and sneered, "Just you, an apprentice who wants to see Mr. Dior?"

The other guard then sneered, "He also said that he knows the beautiful little sister Ji Ya!"

"I am indeed a friend of Sister Ji Ya, so let's ......" Chen Rui casually took out a handful of black crystal coins: "Whoever invited Sister Ji Ya to the gate to meet me, these black crystal coins belong to whom." ”

The guards' eyes lit up, there are about ten of these black crystal coins, which is definitely a windfall, and they just invited Ji Ya to the door, so many guards are here, and they are not afraid of what tricks this person will play.

Soon, Ji Ya's figure appeared at the gate, Chen Rui did not break his word, and gave the black crystal coin to the fastest reacting guard John, and the eyes of the rest of the people were red. ,

It's still the familiar charming enchantress, the usual maid outfit has long been replaced by a long skirt with expensive clothes, and the slightly tight-fitting clothes make the plump upper circumference more prominent, although it is natural to sway the waist slightly, but the action is full of temptation, as if a look can make the male's blood swell

As soon as Ji Ya appeared, she immediately attracted the attention of the surrounding guards, and she was even more jealous of the John who went to pass the word first, it was so lucky to be able to talk to Sister Ji Ya and get the Black Crystal Coins.

Ji Ya looked at the big demon who claimed to be a friend, showed a puzzled look, and was about to ask, but the other party had already spoken: "Sister Ji Ya, don't you remember me? I'm Arthur, a friend of old Gauss." ”

When Ji Ya heard Old Gauss's name, she showed a sudden look, looked at Chen Rui a few more times, and nodded: "Yes, come with me."

Chen Rui followed Ji Ya into the courtyard, although it was called the courtyard, but the level of luxury was far better than that of the palace of the dark moon. Ji Ya led him to a more secluded corner and said, "Who are you? Why haven't I seen you?"

"You don't care who I am, my current name is Arthur. I was ordered by the eldest princess to take over the work of old Gauss, and to investigate the whereabouts of old Gauss. Chen Rui gave Ji Ya a magic letter signed by Xia herself, which ordered Ji Ya to obey all the arrangements of "Arthur".

After Ji Ya finished reading it, she handed back the magic letter with both hands, and bowed respectfully to Chen Rui: "Lord Arthur." ”

Chen Rui nodded, took the magic letter, and used liliang slightly, the letter turned into ashes and dissipated, Ji Ya's eyes moved slightly, although her liliang was imprisoned by the forbidden magic ring, but her eyesight was still there, this seemingly random liliang was only afraid that it could not be performed by high-level demons.

There are many people with the same name in the demon world, and I don't know how many people are called Arthur, the question is, when did there be such a character next to the eldest princess?

"I got some information from the eldest princess, but I want to hear your report first", Chen Rui frowned, "Also, how did old Gauss disappear?"

Ji Ya settled down and spoke.

The founder of the Custer family, Sacramen Caster, is a celebrity of the Shadow Empire, originally an ordinary craftsman with a flexible mind and a bold strategy, starting from a small magic shop and growing into a huge Caster family. The current patriarch Croze is also a remarkable figure, when the "Rebellion of Kings" occurred in the Shadow Empire, he decisively chose Princess Catherine, who was not seen at that time, and provided a lot of money and material support, and finally Catherine swept the rebellion in one fell swoop and ascended to the throne. The position of the Custer family, which has "the power of the dragon", is more stable and firmly occupies the position of the first business family.

Croze had been seriously injured in his early years, and now that he was in his twilight years, he was frail and sickly, and naturally had the idea of handing over the family responsibilities to the next generation. Kreuz had three sons and a daughter, the eldest son died in the turmoil of the imperial capital at an early age, the second son Dio became the eldest, the third son was named Faramo, and the youngest daughter was named Celine.

In terms of age, Dio is the first in line to be the heir, Faramo is the second in the line, and Celine is the third in the line. In fact, Kreuz is not satisfied with these children, Dio is mediocre, likes beauty, and reckless, he almost turned against the family for a political marriage, and has had a bad relationship with Anna, the concubine of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for many years: Faramo is cowardly by nature, and married Marlene, the sister of Valen, the second general of the Shadow Empire, Marlene, who is a royal family of the Shadow Empire, with a strong wife and a weak husband; 。

Dio went out to play in the name of inspection, but disappeared for a few months, Kroze has been worried, and after explaining the assassination after returning this time, Kroze will be the biggest suspect on Faramo, because if Dio dies, the biggest beneficiary will be Faramo.

Kreuz himself has also gone through a fierce family inheritance struggle, and originally did not expect these children to respect and love each other and live in peace. It's just that Faramo has always been controlled by his wife Marlene, and behind Marlene is the second general representing the royal family, if he really inherits the family, then the huge family business is likely to fall into the hands of "relatives" in the future, so Kreuz has always had a pimple in his heart. ,

Old Gauss, who knew all this, used targeted tactics to make Crow and Faramo more suspicious, and the balance gradually tilted in Dior's side, of course, the pressure from General Valen's side was still very strong and could not be ignored.

The Custer family started as a magic shop, and is currently the official supplier of ordnance and magic supplies, and has maintained a good relationship with the Shadow Imperial Capital for many years.

Croze had to make a decision to choose one of the three children to be a supporter among the participating Makers, and whoever chose the highest ranking in the Makers Contest would be the real first in line, and if he could win the competition, he would be the undisputed heir to the throne!

This branch is two-sided, and must be agreed by the craftsman himself, which not only tests the eyesight of the heir, but also the comprehensive ability of means and strategies.

As soon as Kreuz's decision was announced, Dio and Faramo immediately began to prepare intensively, but Selene, who was the least likely to inherit the family business, seemed unhurried.

Old Gauss is well aware of the truth of knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent, and at his suggestion, Dio used the internal connections of the Maker Alliance to obtain first-hand information about the makers who signed up for the competition, and after layers of screening and evaluation, the selection was finally narrowed down to two people.

A descendant disciple of Master Leo of the Imperial Capital Artifact Alliance, and a famous genius Craftsman Saviche in the Imperial Capital who has risen in recent years.

The other is the veteran Maker, the winner of the last Maker's Competition, and the most promising Robert.

Of course, this Smith Contest will also attract Smiths from the Fallen Angel Empire and the Bloody Empire, in addition to these two, there are also powerful factions and may also be unknowns, but since only one supporter can be chosen, it is necessary to choose the candidate who has the best chance of winning, at the very least, ranking as much as possible to outperform the other two competitors.

Old Gauss looks at Haode the most is the last champion Robert, who did what he liked, and carried out a series of enveloping offensives, I have to say that Old Gauss has been Sia's most trusted close minister for so many years, and his means are still quite commendable, but just when he was about to succeed, Old Gauss suddenly disappeared. After this incident, Robert suddenly changed his original plan and switched to the side of Faramo. It can be seen that the biggest suspect in the "evaporation" of old Gauss is Faramo.

Dio has been sent several times to search for and send people to follow and spy on Faramo, but nothing has been found.

At present, the Maker Contest is imminent, and Dio can only focus on Saviche according to the original analysis of the old Gauss. Saviche became famous at a young age, and there is a senior master like Leo behind him, who has always been above the top, extremely proud, and unscrupulous, Dio tried many methods, and finally got closer to Saviche . Prepare to set up a feast in the annex tonight, entertain Sawiche, and discuss Zuihou's decision-making cooperation.

After Chen Rui learned about these situations from Ji Ya, he pondered for a while and asked Ji Ya to take him to see Dior.

Dio is a tall and thin mutant demon, Liliang is a high-level demon, he looks only in his twenties, but he is actually more than two hundred years old, and his expression looks a little haggard, I don't know if it is due to too much pressure recently, or because of his daily indulgence in alcohol.

Without Old Gauss's planning, Dio only felt that everything was difficult, and now when he heard Ji Ya say that Dark Moon had a new supporter, his spirits were greatly lifted, and when he saw Chen Rui dressed as an apprentice in the crafting machine, his brows couldn't help frowning.

However, Dio finally had some insight, and knew that the person who could be sent out to support by Her Royal Highness the eldest princess of the Dark Moon was by no means mediocre, and this set of clothes was just a cover-up, and immediately smiled: "Lord Arthur has come from afar, and it has been a lot of hardship!"

Chen Rui nodded, and after the two sides exchanged courtesy for a while, Dio ordered the maid to stand down.

"I've already heard from Ji Ya about your family and the Maker Competition. Chen Rui muttered, "How sure are you going to invite Savice tonight?"

"I don't know, the benefits of sending them over have all been accepted by Saviche, but he just refuses to formally agree, which is much more difficult to deal with than that Robert. At the mention of Robert, Dio gritted his teeth for a while, "Robert is not a good person, he actually threw himself on the side of Faramo!"

"It's just a matter of means. Chen Rui shook his head, if this is a test for Kreuz's three children, then it has just begun, "But old Gauss's vision has always been good, Robert's hope should be slightly greater than Saviche, even if you successfully invite Saviche, you may not be sure of winning." ”

"What then?" Dio looked anxious, in fact, it didn't matter who won the final winner of the Smith Competition, as long as the contestants he supported could overshadow his brother and sister, of course, it would be better to make him the heir directly.

Chen Rui smiled slightly: "Don't worry, I have my own way." ”

The rewards of this Maker Contest are very rich, especially some rare materials, which are the key to making "Lei Yin", and he who has reached the master level will naturally not let go of such an opportunity.

PS: Today has been changed to 8000, asking for a monthly pass...... ）