Several women ran through the rosé-gold marble corridor, dressed in tulle, a fabric of gold value, transparent and delicate like cicada wings, casting a soft golden glow over the texture of the woman's skin. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

They were a little more robust than the women of the Empire, with slender and athletic thighs, deep features, and long brown hair that hung down to the waist.

Their skin was honey-coloured, two pink preserves stood high under the tulle, and a thick jungle below their bellies—all shrouded in the hazy golden glow that loomed between them as they ran.

They were playing a game of who would reach the pool first—and if anyone was caught up in the promenade, another woman would ride on top of her, and make her groan with pleasure—the trills would be like a canary's chirping, like a melodious ballad, and the higher the high, the greater the reward for the victorious woman.

The victor lays the silver coin on his plump arms, on his chest that stands like a mountain peak, on his lower abdomen that is flat like a prairie, and between his thighs that sink like a trench.

Above them was a large painting, perhaps the only painting in the Imperial Mansion that did not depict portraits of Osiris, saints, or families.

This is a narrative painting of a devil who violently rapes a virgin in the form of a golden rain, and the woman in the painting embraces the golden raindrops with a ruddy face, and the thick, radiant rain is depicted in real gold - the artist created the last blasphemous work of his life, and then died of poisoning.

Ted Hall was by the pool, the golden sunset shining through the huge stone pillars illuminating his silver sideburns—he was too old for a woman to interest him anymore. At the age of twenty-three, he married the sister of the former monarch of the Sunset Empire, but he had no feelings for her, and he never had children, and this short-lived girl died of depression twenty years earlier.

His illegitimate sons were scattered throughout the empire, and only one was recognized - he and the former queen's son, Evan Hall. This was supposed to be a scandal that shocked the empire, but in the end, it was not leaked, and a nurse carried the illegitimate child from the palace to Deep Valley City.

The reason is that he had an ambiguous relationship with the king at the same time.

So, he loved the king's family and hated the other city-states that had conspired to poison the king—but none of that matched his love of money.

After centuries of being marginalized by the Sunset Empire due to complex diplomatic relations, and with the exception of Ted Hale, no one of the Hale family had married the royal family, and now Sir Sir.

Any Sanctuary mage can burn half a year's income to ashes. When the storm of the empire came, even the wild horses of the barbarian tribes, the tribal women who had no sense of morality and were skilled in human affairs, who could find out the secrets of the whole country for him, were no longer sufficient, and even enough to provide for the emperor.

The old knight's brow was furrowed, and the wrinkles that represented the years were even deeper on his face.

He was worried about the constant attacks on the border caravans by the Sanctuary mages. Since the new monarch came to power, his underground agreement with the Sanctuary seems to have been ruthlessly overturned. And that box of burned gold dust - the greatest warning to him!

Legend has it that the mage who attacked was singing the ballad of the savage tribe and setting the goods on fire in front of both sides of the trade!

Suddenly, one of the guards burst into the corridor. The guard looked a little panicked, but in a moment he sorted out his appearance and posture, and reported to the old knight in a well-trained voice.

"A mage who calls himself Carter Larson's entourage asks for an audience. ”

The old knight's face was impatient—a fool who had cost him an entire chest of gold, and now desperate, wanted to make a profit out of him.

If it weren't for his late father's face, he wouldn't have been able to do the slightest bit of help to such a worthless guy whose head was prevaricated by rusty iron, let alone be cautious in the future under the power of the state and the majesty of the Sanctuary.

"Reject him—you idiot!" when even the personal guards became so blind, which exacerbated the displeasure of the Grand Duke of Hall.

However, he had trespassed into the lobby of the mansion. The guard's reply was trembling.

"Let Lawrence throw him out! Are all the mages that the Hall family pays for are idlers?" Old Hall almost burst into a rage, he rarely lost his temper, but everything today made him extremely angry - how could he be surrounded by idiots!

"But he's already thrown Master Lawrence out. ”

The guard's voice was as weak as a mosquito: "He emitted strange flames all over his body, and he swept down the gate guards, and Lord Lawrence ...... too"

As the guard's voice fell, another voice rang out in the ears of Grand Duke Hall.

"Venerable Lord of Deep Valley City, it's an honor to meet you. "It's a young and pleasant voice.

Old Hall leaned against the carpet by the pool, dripping with his bathrobe, and he looked up to face the uninvited guest, and found that the other party was almost completely wrapped in a black robe, but his face was surprisingly young and beautiful.

A man who could easily break into a lord's mansion should not be taken lightly - although it seemed to Old Hall that the young man was as simple-minded and reckless as his pretty face, and he did not even remember such a man among the nobles, more likely to be the descendant of a merchant who had not seen the world and had a ridiculous enthusiasm for the aristocracy.

So, he slowed his face and pointed to the tribal women who were winking at the young man next to him, and they were laughing like brass bells.

Old Hall said in a very polite tone, but without the slightest politeness, "You should not have seen this situation—it was rude. Please forgive me for not liking to receive guests in private residences. ”

The young man smiled, his red lips, snow-white skin, and obsidian-like eyes made his smile untainted with the smell of mortality, and it was extremely easy to impress.

"Rather, I think that these women are much more real and lovely than the devout believers, and that this masterpiece is more 'artistic' than the lifeless picture scroll of the Holy Spirit. In quoting the word "artistic," the young man seemed to think about it and chose a word that he thought appropriately.

Old Hall looked at him earnestly, as if trying to find a disguise, a flattering expression in the face of this shallow man who thought he was brilliant—all who had been to the Golden Corridor had shown a look of eating flies, chanted hymns in a sympathetic tone, and then squeezed out some words of praise with great awkwardness.

However, the young man's black eyes were as bright as stars, and the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned—he was really fascinated.

Old Hall was starting to take an interest in this man - even though Carter Larson, who led him, was a foolish man who was dying, he could easily defeat the mage Lawrence, and there was enough reason to take him under his command.

"Oh, I'm sorry that I forgot to introduce myself in such a wonderful situation—my name is Odin Diggs, and I am the retinue of Master Carter Larson, the heir of Paliva. The young man said very politely.

"I'm not like the hypocritical politicians of the empire, who bypass the complicated doorways - tell me what you can bring me. Otherwise you will pay for today's stupidity. "Archduke Hall's words had a commanding oppression, and he didn't want to waste any more time and resources on the stupid plans of Paliva City.