Chapter 13: Hidden Tides
While Rogge was still on his way to Lille for the night, Etter was dressing himself up carefully. This year, dark blue is a fashionable color among the aristocracy, and he also specially ordered a dark blue cape. Under the cloak is a delicate dark green chain mail, the golden piping shows the master's youth and gold, combined with the mage logo on the corner of the cloak, the identity of Ette Demon Martial Arts is about to come out.
The two-handed greatsword had also been re-refined, with several smooth golden patterns extending from the hilt to a third of the way to the blade. This new pattern has no special function, just simply beautiful. Fez sighed as he beat him, and finally viciously collected 200 gold coins from Etter. Since the completion of Rogge's armor 'Reincarnation' and the battle axe 'Soul Binding', Faith has set a rule that all bosses of 'Hammer of War' must pay for equipment if they want to build equipment. Of course, it's just the cost, you can pay it if you want to, and you can deduct it directly when you pay dividends.
Etter carefully straightened his clothes and put a little perfume on behind his ears. It is said that this 'Caty Lanshi' perfume can provoke the spring of the coldest woman, and it is extremely expensive. Ette used thirty gold coins, but only bought a small bottle, and he was absolutely reluctant to use a little bit of it until he was in the limelight. But tonight was different, and Isabella finally agreed to dinner with him, which made Etter's long-standing heart jump.
Since Mist Phantom was pulled to the Hammer of War, Isabella no longer had to clean up Ett's room, much to Ett's distress and not being able to offend the odd-tempered Mist. It was only when Isabella went to church three days a week to help out that he could seize the opportunity to keep bothering, and now that he was expected to succeed, how could he not prepare well.
Seeing that it was still early, Ette carefully combed his face in front of the mirror. The person in the mirror is tall and handsome, with some roughness, there is a faint scar on the left side of the face, which adds a little heroic charm, and the lips are a little thicker, but it doesn't matter, it looks more manly. Ette was very satisfied with his appearance, but the only thing he was dissatisfied with was that time passed too slowly, and the sun was hanging in the air and refused to go down. He walked around the room, posing in front of the mirror from time to time to check if he was really tall and handsome.
Finally, when night fell, Ette immediately ran to the door, shouted to the servants to prepare the horses, and then walked away with a crisp sound of hooves.
An inconspicuous stagecoach stopped at the door of a very luxurious hotel, and the waiter at the door was obviously well-trained, and still greeted him enthusiastically, and the action of pulling the door was very elegant, and the bowing range was not less than half a point. A man with a small stature and a black pullover cloak got out of the car, looked at the hotel and the waiters a few times, and said with a satisfied smile: "This 'Helen' hotel is always so comfortable! The last time I came here was half a year ago." ”
Two more people got out of the car, the first one had short light blonde hair, blue-gray eyes were deep and quiet, and the one behind was a straight man with rare shawl black hair, his face was so handsome that he was even a little demonic, and his eyes looked like the black of the night sky at first glance, and only when he looked closely could he find that there was a deep blue in it. These two are none other than Kate and Franco. After the achievement of the divine fighting spirit, Kate's entire temperament also changed, and she looked holy and solemn in her gestures.
"Bishop Hart, since arriving in the city of Lille, the brothers have not had much money in their hands. Now that the 'Hammer of War' is doing well, I dare to ask Bishop Hart to come out and tell the story. If it weren't for 'Helen,' how could an ordinary small place be worthy of the status of Bishop Hart?" Franco said intimately.
The man in the cloak was none other than Bishop Gnard Hart, who had given orders and drenched holy water to the nobles. Under the guidance of the waiter, the three of them went straight to the fifth floor and found a quiet small room and sat down.
This room is a little smaller, but it is facing the most prosperous neighborhood of Lille, and when you look out of the window, it is very lively. The room is in a retro style, with tables, chairs, and tableware decorated with intricate and ornate ornaments, but fortunately, there are very few furnishings in the room, only a table and four chairs, and a cabinet for hanging coats, so it does not look crowded. On the wall hangs a work by a master painter in his later years when he was crazy, of course, an imitation. In the eyes of connoisseurs such as Franco, this imitation is of great value to the master, but in the eyes of Bishops Kate and Gennard Hart, the painting is nothing more than an inexplicable pile of colours.
Under the carpet of the hut, a small magic circle is carved into it, which can completely prevent the conversation in the house from reaching outside the range of the magic circle. This is the real value of this hut, the cost of maintaining a magic array is very high, even this simple small magic array. Therefore, the average Xiaofu does not dare to eat and drink coffee in this kind of room.
The dish is very simple, after the appetizer, it is just a few dishes of seafood, a fish, but absolutely fresh. The city of Lille is far from the sea on all sides, and it is winter at this moment, so these sea objects must be transported from the sea by fast horses without stopping, so that they can maintain their fresh taste. If it has been frozen, the taste is too far off.
The wine was more than seventy years old, and that's it, the maid who came in to serve the food turned out to be a half-elf slave. The elves don't have much contact with humans, and half-elves who are half-blooded are even rarer. The half-elves are all handsome men, and the women are stunning, and they are excellent collections for all kinds of dignitaries, and at this moment there is a half-elf girl to be a waiter, which greatly surprised the three people present.
Just as the three of them were hesitating, one knocked on the door and came in, this man was not tall, but he was a little fat, enough to fit two Francos in. It's as tall and sturdy as Kate, and it's okay to stuff it into one and a half. The big fat man had a sincere smile on his face, and chased after Rogge, and when he came in, he greeted Kate and Franco with no better acquaintance.
"These two must be Kate Knight and Franco Knight, they are really handsome and graceful, and their demeanor is extraordinary! The villain Jing Ge is now managing 'Helen' for my boss. As for this gentleman, although the villain does not know it, at first glance, he has been in a high position for a long time, and his bearing is not bad, standing in front of you, even the villain seems to be able to touch a little of the glory of God!
Gennard Hart is just an eighth-level priest, and the light magic can only be used to the fourth order, and he can't even be called a middle master, let alone a master?
Bishop Gnard Hart was immediately fond of Jing Ge, but Kate and Franco were suspicious. Jing Ge noticed that the two of them looked unkind, and immediately said, "The villain boss is Master Stanich. My lord was overjoyed when he received the goods ordered for the 'Hammer of War' the day before yesterday. I specially instructed the villain to invite several adults of the 'Hammer of the God of War' to come to 'Helen' for a pastime, and instructed the adults to patronize 'Helen' in the future, and fold them in half. Before the villain could invite him personally, who knew that the two had already come to the shop. Hehe, the villain has described the appearance of several people in detail with each of them, and as soon as the two of them arrive, the subordinates will immediately notify the villain. ”
Only then did the two of them have their doubts dispelled, and Kate smiled and asked, "Where is your old man Stanich?"
Jing Ge replied, "My lord has made an appointment with Marquis Abbiati today, as if he is going to the 'Night Elves'. ”
Franco and Kate glanced at each other, and secretly hehe, laughing so much that Jing Ge was confused.
After Jing Ge left, the three of them waved off the half-elf maid and began to eat and discuss. Bishop Gnard Hart squeezed the half-elf's ass so hard that she screamed in pain before letting her go.
The Bishop was so pleased with the food that he cleaned almost the entire plate of silver ice shrimp, and ate most of the sturgeon, a specialty of the Far North Styx. Kate and Franco touted the bishop, and at first they were quite restrained, but later when they saw the bishop's eating appearance, they began to pat their ass unscrupulously, and after a while, they photographed the bishop's strong mana, not to mention that the cardinal was captured, it was the pope's throne, and it was not without thought. Unexpectedly, this sycophant touched the bishop's heart. He tilted his head to take a sip of wine, flushed the sturgeon meat in his mouth, then put down his glass and let out a long sigh.
It turns out that this bishop is fifty-one years old this year, and he has followed Cardinal Burke for more than twenty years, and has been Burke's number one confidant for many years. Cardinal Burke is fifty-seven years old and became a cardinal seven years ago and was given the title of Diocese of the Duchy of Bavaria. Back then, Burke was also the second youngest cardinal archbishop, with a high level of light magic, and was second only to the Pope in the sixteenth-level magic attainment church. However, after seven years, Burke's ranking among cardinals has not risen but fallen, and he has slipped from eighth to eleventh, and the Pope has repeatedly expressed strong dissatisfaction with Burke's inability to extend the light of the Church of Light to the entire Rhine League.
The battle of the Temple of Oedipus turned out to be a delight for Burke. This Holy Maiden Wella, who came out of nowhere, is still a sixteenth-level light magic attainment at a young age, and it is not impossible for the Church of Light to have a female pope. However, after the death of Cardinal Bren, the pope actually promoted a thirty-six-year-old and unknown bishop to fill the cardinal's position. During the ceremony of bestowing the cardinal's robe, the man unexpectedly displayed a divine power of up to level seventeen, which shocked Burke again. Yi Boke originally planned that the Pope was only a sixteenth-level divine power, and he was already ninety years old, so he must have regressed instead of advancing his light magic attainments, although Burke himself had not improved over the years, it was not a problem to overpower the Pope, who was already old and nonsense. But as soon as this person appeared, Burke's original wishful thinking immediately fell through, and from then on he began to accumulate wealth and abandon himself.
When Pope Burke was hopeless, he turned his anger on the Bishop of Hart, accusing him of bragging, his low power, and his incompetence. Hart is also extremely aggrieved, if Cardinal Burke is not good at this, how dare he slap the horse every day? When did he not slap Burke comfortably? As for the low divine power and ineffective work, you already knew it twenty years ago, why did you remember it now? Of course, Hart only dared to scratch his heart firmly, and his mouth was still like a tide of sycophants, until Burke slapped Burke again to be comfortable, and then left.
But since then, Burke has turned to vigorously promoting newcomers, and now the two bishops tied with Hart are less than forty, but they are shrewd and capable, and their divine power is high, and they are both light mages of the twelfth level. Burke had any important things, and he slowly handed them over to these two people, and Hart had long been left out in the cold.
Bishop Gnad Hart really has a limited talent, and it took him two hours to finish it. By the time Kate and Franco had finally figured it out, Bishop Hart was so drunk that he collapsed on the table and couldn't get up.
Kate picked up Bishop Hart and turned to head upstairs. Franco followed behind and whispered, "Compared with the other two bishops, this Bishop of Hart is already weak, is it worth it for us to pay so hard and spend a lot?"
Bishop Hart, though heavy, is nothing to Kate. Kate shook her head and lowered her voice: "My Lao Tzu has repeatedly told me that those people in high positions, no matter how mediocre and incompetent they look, must be outstanding. We have also seen the other two bishops, who are indeed strong and young and promising, but we always feel that they are too sharp and arrogant. Even if we go to settle the payment, a lot of gold coins are piled up, and people don't necessarily have a place for us in their hearts. If something really asks them, it will be a face again. ”
Franco suddenly realized, "You're right. In retrospect, Bishop Hart had acted much more measuredly. The bishop, though also greedy for money and lustful, did not make excessive demands. Hehe, this is my snobbishness, and the other two bishops must look down on us when they are in the throze. ”
Kate went up to the sixth floor at this time, and at the signal of the waiter, pushed open the door of a luxurious client, put Bishop Hart on the sofa, and then said, "Yes, we don't need much help from the church anyway." From the point of view of friendship alone, Bishop Hart is more trustworthy to me. ”
Franco asked the waiter to call the half-elf girl and tell her to serve Bishop Hart well, and then he and Kate pushed the door and left.
The half-elf girl stripped off the drunken Bishop Hart and went to the bathroom to put hot water. As soon as she left, Hart rolled over and sat up, looked at the door where Kate and Franco had left, nodded and smiled in satisfaction, and then lay down on his back to enjoy the tenderness of the night.
In the middle of the night, it is the time when the "Night Elves" are at their most popular. An exclusive parking plaza at the entrance is already magnificent, and whenever night falls, this square is bound to be full of all kinds of luxurious carriages. If those who are rich and expensive have no money to decorate their carriages and horses, they are embarrassed to pass by this place at this time. However, at this moment, two unadorned carriages were parked at the gate of the "Night Elf", and from the carriage came down, one fat and one thin, and they looked at each other and smiled, and they entered the gate together, and it was the rich man Stanich and the Marquis Abbiati.
The coachman of the two men looked a little arrogant, and their attendants guided them to park the carriage in a small parking lot in the backyard of the "Night Elves". Although the "Night Elves" have a wide range of services, the skin and meat business is too famous, and those who really have status are eager for it, but on the surface, they have to pretend to be disdainful, and occasionally come to it, they are sneaky like thieves. This small parking lot in the backyard is dedicated to these people, and the cars in the yard are rustic and unadorned. But the aura of wealth and nobility cannot be irrepressibly revealed from the horse pulling the cart alone.
Stanich and the Marquis Abbiati have been friends for many years, and they have fought each other openly and secretly. Stanich is rich in wealth and abundant income. The Marquis Abbiati has a long family history, a vast territory, hundreds of years of net worth accumulation, and I don't know how many priceless heirlooms there are, so he has never been left behind.
The two of them rented one of the most palatial rooms of the Night Elves and discussed the harvest of this year's harvest in the Marquisdom. This room is not so much a suite as a small mansion. The hall is large enough for thirty or fifty people to have a party, and there are three bedrooms, each with a reading bathroom. From the crystal magic chandelier to the porcelain dishes with fruits on the floor, the interior is not something that a medium-sized family can afford.
Over the years, sixty percent of the grain and other crops in the marquisate had been sold to Stanich, and the two agreed on the price and quantity at the beginning of the year, and then delivered it at the harvest season, and Stanich only had to pay the full amount in advance. For the marquis, in this way, most of the harvest in the territory has a fixed income, and he no longer has to worry about buying and selling. On the one hand, Stanich has ensured that the supply is sufficient, and on the other hand, he has sufficient manpower and experience to cope with the fluctuation of food prices in the market. In fact, since this old man Stanic monopolized more than half of the new grain in the principality, a large part of the trend of domestic grain prices depends on his face.
Due to years of cooperation, the two settled this year's contract problem in just a few words, so tonight's main drama was staged.
A delicate maid led a row of bewitching girls into the hall for the two to choose from. The Night Elves were a great deal, there were two half-elves and a real dark elf among these girls! The dark elves had magic symbols on their bare shoulders, apparently to suppress her magic and control her from escaping. As for the other human girls, they are either pure, charming, elegant, or pitiful, with different demeanors and demeanors, all of which are the best of their respective types.
The two humbled each other, and in the end, it was Stanich who chose first. The big fat man stretched out his hand and pointed at it, and it fixed on the dark elf. Abbiati raised her eyebrows, knowing that the fat man was not a good person. The dark elves with the female surname are not only natural magicians, but also excellent warriors, although the captured dark elves do not know how to control them, but their natural physical strength and reaction advantages are still there, if you want to conquer such goblins in bed, it is by no means the word 'macho man' can be described. If he doesn't think it's useful to this fat man, he can toss a cup of hot tea, how dare he pick this goblin? Could it be that he is really old and strong, or has he found some nourishing holy product? The marquis was scheming, suspicious, but his face remained silent, and he ordered a pitiful girl of sixteen or seventeen years old.
Stanich was also shocked, the girl was also an untamable character known as the "Night Elf", she seemed innocent, but in fact she was unusual, if the man behaved poorly, she would definitely scold afterwards and spread it widely. However, because of this, it made the nobles and rich people of all sizes proud of conquering her, and since then they have been in the market.
Gently turning a large ring on his thumb, Stanich suddenly settled. This ring is exquisitely made, the shape is exaggerated, and a huge fire oil diamond is even more eye-catching. This is still the design plan that Rogge personally set before leaving, and it is agreeable to every corner of the big fat man's heart. Stanic smiled and dragged the dark elf into the room.
Watching the big fat man disappear into the bedroom, Marquis Abbiati unconsciously twisted a ring on his middle finger with his thumb, and sneered at the corner of his mouth. The ring is made of two-tone gold, with a row of fine fiery diamonds set with the initials of the Marquis. The whole ring is unremarkable, and it is purely won by the beautiful lines and simple design, which is exactly the plan set by Franco.
The boundless* spreads throughout the room. The bedrooms of the two of them deliberately never closed the door, and there were bursts of heart-wrenching and turbulent screams and moans one after another, reflecting each other.
Half an hour passed silently like passing water. A waiter quietly pushed the door of the hall open, and the battle inside was still thrilling. With a look of envy and disbelief, he quietly closed the door.
In the flickering of the magical flames, Stanich felt that the whole room seemed to be shaking slightly. He was already panting and sweating profusely. The dark elf beneath his body was already limp on the bed, his dark, delicate, satin-like skin covered with beads of sweat. At this time, she was no longer able to cooperate with Stanich's movements, but just lay weakly, letting Stanich sprint frantically.
Stanich also couldn't say it, although he was supported by the magic ring of the 'Hammer of the God of War', the 'Immortal Spring', but he was not made of iron after all, at most he was iron on the outside, but he was still a glass core on the inside. After holding on for so long, why is the old boy on the other side still alive, what's weird?
Finally, Stanich couldn't hold it anymore, and the bull roared several times, and it was like a mouthful. He gasped for a moment, and when he listened, there was no sound there, and he couldn't help but be overjoyed. The dark elf under him said weakly: "Over there, five minutes ago, it was over." My lord, are you, are you really human?" Stanich laughed wildly, his fat body jumped lightly to the ground, and there was a chaotic sound of cups and dishes in the room.
He haphazardly put on his clothes and rushed into the hall in a hurry, and saw the Marquis Abbiati sitting on the sofa panting for breath. The little beauty next to her seemed to have no bones, leaning softly on the marquis, her eyes half-open and half-closed, and there was no trace of brilliance. Stanich had been firmly pressed by the Marquis Abbiati for many years in bed, and this time he was very happy with his revenge.
Stanic glanced at the magic hourglass on the wall, and when he saw that it was frozen in one hour and five minutes, he couldn't help but smile like a flower again. Although the marquis was angry and annoyed, he had gained a lot from tidying up the little goblin around him this time. The two looked at each other, both puzzled by each other's sudden bravery, and accidentally saw the ring on each other's hand, and the red and bright color of the fire diamond made their hearts jump. But they are all old and slick people, and none of them will say this.
Finally, the fat and thin two took a breath and left in their clothes. The waiters in the hallway of the corridor looked at the two of them with surprise and envy in their eyes, which greatly satisfied the vanity of the fat and thin two. As soon as the two left, the two little goblins were surrounded by the waiters and maids, and they kept interrogating them. Even the director of the Night Elves heard the news and hurried over. The two little demons were in a state of spirit, as if they hadn't slept for a few days, their hands and feet were weak, and they had to be helped to walk. Everyone saw this, and various versions of rumors naturally flew all over the sky.
This kind of thing spreads most quickly in aristocratic circles.
In the afternoon of the second day, the theme of the afternoon tea party in almost every aristocratic house with a head and face was the story of Stanich and the Marquis's old tree sprouting and conquering the two goblins of the "Night Elves" with great courage. Countless ladies and ladies who had listened to the story sat in carriages and hurried to visit their relatives and friends, so that they could tell the astonishing news from their own mouths.
The house of the Marquis of Stanich and the Marquis of Abbiati was suddenly opened, and countless so-called friends, past and present, asked to visit. More aristocrats left their names in the concierge, hoping to get an invitation to afternoon tea or dinner at the right time, and if they could, they hoped that they would be able to enjoy the light and attend their family gatherings. And those nobles who are not qualified enough to be invited are trying to inquire about the relatives and side branches of the two, and then visit them, hoping to get some gossip sporadically.
The night fell again amid the rumors. The two supporting characters of the night rumor, the two goblins of the "Night Elves", announced at the same time that they would take a week off and never see any more guests. It's like throwing a torch in the dry forest after autumn, and the fire of rumor immediately burns brightly.
Stanich and Abbiati were happily troubled. The two of them would never have thought that the one-night competition would be the result, and those who are not very familiar with each other are just that, and some decades of world friendship are not easy to pass. The two could not withstand the endless torture of the night, and finally confided their secrets to a few of the closest people on the third day.
The price of fire diamonds on the market has suddenly soared, and so has adamantite gold. The number of visitors to the "Hammer of the God of War" has also increased suddenly, and the crowds have come and gone. All kinds of carriages crowded the door of the "Hammer of the God of War", and the coachmen often had to quarrel for a seat.
Rogge, who had just returned to the royal capital, stood at the other end of Fifth Avenue in disbelief, looking at the "forest" lined up with dense carriages at the entrance of the 'Hammer of War'. He rubbed his eyes, looked at it more closely, and was convinced that this was really Fifth Avenue, and that the three-story building in the Carriage Forest was really the 'Hammer of the God of War'.
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