The next day, after eliminating the effects of beer on his body, Siegel spent the morning practicing his sword swing and spent the afternoon and evening reading those interesting books. Such a peaceful day was a rare pleasure for him, as pleasant as the windy and clear weather in the middle of the sea.

So on the third day, the squid woke up early, and every time he was full of food and drink, he was in good spirits and could sleep a lot less. He heard the sound of chopping wood in the backyard and wanted to take the opportunity to exercise.

"Hey, squid, you got up so early, too!" Timothy was rolling up his sleeves, revealing his strong arms, swinging his head-sized axe and chopping the firewood with all his might. "Why didn't you go to the port?"

"What are you doing at the port? Is something going on?"

"Haven't you heard?" Timothy explained, "a very beautiful golden battleship has come to shore, with the flag of the starry royal family on it, and I guess it's a prince's trip, or at least a royal duke." ”

"What are the royals doing here? Aren't they all docked in Waterdeep to the north?"

"Who knows what the old men think?" the innkeeper shook his head, "isn't their greatest pleasure in seeing a piece of land, walking over it, pointing to it, and saying, 'It's mine,' and the contents are his." It would be better if the land already had an owner, and it would be a fight for a few years - the poor would die anyway. ”

"You're saying they've got a crush on Brookwood?"

"Anyway, there has been no lord here, and everyone doesn't have to pay the lord's tax, and after stealing the fun for so long, it should be content. Presumably, the prince or duke felt that his coffers were not full enough and needed more jingling sounds, so he came by boat. Timothy chopped the wood with all his might, like cutting off a pirate's head: "Anyway, I can't do anything about it, I've watched it." ”

Siegel was curious, he wanted to see the golden ship. In his 16 years at sea, he had seen all kinds of ships, human, elven, orc, and even such a strange ship as the dwarven wide-body - dwarves hated water, let alone sailing, but he had never seen a golden warship. He said goodbye to the innkeeper, packed his belongings, and headed to the docks.

The Golden Battleship was a five-masted ship that occupied a row of berths alone in the harbor. The massive hull of the ship showed an inoffensive temperament, and it used the bow of a starry angel with his eyes closed, unconcerned about the creatures kneeling beneath her. The angel held the greatsword in both hands, pointing diagonally to the sea, just as the battleship collided. Compared to it, the other sea ships are like poor children, who can only hide obediently and play in the mud.

The battleship was indeed flying the flag of the royal family of the Star Country, and no one could mistake the big tree badge hanging down the starlight. Next to the royal flag, the angelic flag of the Church of Dawn is hung, which explains the identity of the soldiers who stand on the deck like statues - the Knights of the Dawn Guard. There are also many flags of the accompanying nobles hanging next to it.

There is a flag that no one recognizes, and the pattern is very simple: a red background with white swirls painted on it.

Through the soaring portholes, the glow of the morning sun fills the harbour, casting a golden halo over this rare tranquility. The seafarers were knowledgeable and powerful men, and they waited for the golden battleship to make a move before they dared to decide the course of the day.

In Prince Andrew's eyes, it was a chaotic, lowly city that needed order and noble administrators. But this manager will not be himself, a small town will have a maximum of one baron, and a loyal enough tax collector. Anchoring the ship here was enough to make the whole city tremble, and there was no longer any need for the prince to be in charge.

"This is Creek Town? Are you sure you want this place?"

The prince's call 'you' are men in robes. They were armed with staffs and uncrowned hoods, each with no hair but a swirl mark on the top of their heads.

One of the robed men walked out, and he was clearly the leader of the group. The man respectfully walked up to the prince, bowed his head, kissed the prince's ring, and said, "Your Highness, Knox will be happy to serve you. ”

Standing on the other side, the Knight of Dawn stared closely at the people who approached the prince, who were responsible for protecting the royals, so they wore full-body armor even on the ship. They have the right to participate in all royal activities, but never deal with politics and do not have any opinion on policy. The Knights of Dawn will only intervene if an Assassin, demon, or Church deems evil intent to harm the body or mind of the royal family.

The Knox Commons have been aggressive, and have grown rapidly in recent years, amassing a large pool of talent. The Dawn Church is also concerned about the rise of this force, and has sent many "Star Eye" agents. From the feedback, there is no evidence that the Knox are doing something nefarious, so the Knights of Dawn will not prevent them from making contact with the royal family.

Prince Andrew sat in a chair with a tall backrest, looking at the mages who had been acting very respectful in front of him. It was hard to see what they were thinking, and the prince thought that these Knox Commoners must have had a different purpose, otherwise they would not have applied for the construction of the Mage Tower in this harbor city. 'Can anyone tell me the answer?' the prince remembered that when he was in the Star King's Capital, there were advisors from the school city who were ready to solve his doubts, and he was on his own in the New World.

"Are you sure you want to build a mage tower here? Although this is a seaport and easy to transport, it has a small population and chaos. There's a lot of effort involved. ”

"Yes, Your Royal Highness, we will try to do a good job to your satisfaction. ”

'That's not the answer I want to hear!' Prince Andrew was tempted to shout, but he knew that doing so would give the impression that he was ignorant and shallow. With a sincere smile on his face, Andrew said, "Ximu Town is currently under the trusteeship of the Chamber of Commerce Alliance, and does not belong to the fiefdom of any country. I will act as a witness for both of you to negotiate a ransom, but I will not take sides. Moreover, if the two sides cannot reach an agreement, neither is allowed to resort to violence or other means. ”

"By your will, Your Highness the Prince. ”

Andrew waved his hand and told the echo bugs to quickly retreat. He took a glass of wine from the maid and drank it down. Then he looked at his attendant, Count Todd. This resolute warrior, who was in his 60s, fought as a knight retinue of his grandfather, and later assisted his father in ruling the country, and now he came to teach himself. As long as he is around, all the courtiers and knights will understand who will be the future king.

"Lord Earl, the affairs on the ship are all taken care of, is it time to go ashore?"

"One more thing, Your Highness the Prince, 'that letter'. Master Riele instructed that it should be opened after docking and before disembarking. ”

"Oh, that's right, that's what wise Master Liel said. I remember to hand you the box containing the letters, did I, Mr. Earl?"

"I brought it to you. ”

The prince took the box, the sealing wax on it intact, and the dark streaks were not broken, just as Master Riele had handed him the same time. Andrew told everyone to leave, leaving only the Prince, the Earl, and the Guardian of the Dawn in the cabin. Except for Prince Andrew, the others automatically formed a circle with their backs to each other, their hands on the long sword at their waists, and they were on guard to prevent anyone from approaching and peeping. When everyone had stood still, the prince took a deep breath, crushed the sealing wax, unlocked the box with the seal, and took out the letters inside.

"Knox is a sword, used carefully to make sure it only hurts the enemy, and the Church of Dawn is a strong shield, patiently checking to make sure there are no cracks. Lead the dragon as a support, advance with the shadow, the stars will not be extinguished, and the king will inherit. ”

After reading it, the prince lit the letter with a flint and burned it to ashes.

"Alright, it's finally time to go ashore. There's nothing fun to do these days other than watching Knox's mage blow up and sink an orc pirate ship. It is said that there are many rare customs and customs here in the New World, and it is rare to come once, so it is natural to take a good look. ”

"The Chamber of Commerce Alliance has already been arranged, Your Highness the Prince. They are waiting for you on the shore. The Count replied as he led the way.

On the other side, the departing Knox Mages would gather in their cabins and form a protective circle. The common mages cast a variety of protective spells to ensure that no one could peep into the room, while their leader, Archmage Casper, who had been in charge of dealing with the prince, was being protected in the center of the circle. In front of him was a basin of mercury, on which the archmage's slender and dexterous hands moved, and the magical energy made the mercury appear as a perfect mirror and display the image.

It was the image of the prince opening a letter from Master Riele in another cabin.

In the mercury basin, the contents of the letter are clearly visible: "Beware of the Red Shadow Spire, where chaos spreads, and the golden dragon and the black phoenix have appeared, and the Ko'an dynasty has been retained." Retreat in the face of the plague, advance in the face of darkness, and live in the afterlife of death. ”

Then the prince burned the letter, and the image in the mercury basin disappeared with it. The mages of Knox gathered around, waiting for the leader's instructions.

"The Prophet of the School City lives up to his name and has insight into some of our plans. But they hadn't dug too deep, or they would have been communicating with the Dawn Church. Archmage Casper said, "In the New World, the school city has no power, and the same is true of the Dawn Church, their gods cannot use all their strength. This is our chance, the best opportunity in five hundred years. We carefully guard our own power, this hard-won power, hidden, waiting, almost forgotten by the world. It is not our goal to be forgotten, never. May the Red Flame shine on the universe!"

"Red Flame Shines on the Universe!" the others whispered.

"Settle the greedy and ignorant merchants, get them out of Creek Town, and hurry up to complete this boring process of negotiation. The archmage instructed, "I cast a spell on the seal, and the prince can only see what I let him see, which is good for us." Tell the kitten in Starry City that the information she brings is valuable, reward her, promote her, and let her continue to work for us as soon as possible. ”

"That kitten has come to the New World, and as a reward, how about assigning her some treasure hunting?" said one of the mages.

"The reward she'll be able to get is comparable to her guts? Also, the time has come to contact the flames who are already in the New World and ask them to turn in the tasks that have been assigned to them, and test their abilities. I command that the Red Flame Magic Tower be built as soon as possible, without being delayed in terms of resources and building materials. ”

As the instructions continued to be issued, the mages began to split up. Until the end, there were two people left in the cabin. Archmage Casper said to the other, "You don't need to worry about the chores in the congregation, I have other things to do for you." ”

"Yes, teacher. The man bowed his head and stroked his chest, waiting for the archmage's arrangement.

"The golden dragon and the black phoenix mentioned in Master Liel's letter intrigued me to find them and see if they could be of use to me. Just so you can continue to practice Transfiguration spells and try to become the chief in this field. ”

The archmage then left the cabin, and he had to accompany the prince in negotiations with the Chamber of Commerce. As they disembarked, the band arranged by the Chamber of Commerce began to play the welcome song, and streamers and flower petals fell from the cliffs and landed on the onlookers. The prince waved his hand to greet the people here, perfectly showing the magnanimous and majestic side of the king.

On the shore, Siegel watched from afar the heavily armed warriors of the brigade - well-armed and neatly groomed - and secretly envied in his heart. The prince is also worth seeing, after all, it is difficult to meet members of the royal family, and in legend they are always unreal. By the time the Knox Guild mages disembarked, the squid could clearly see the swirl tattoos on their bald heads. He thought about it for a moment, and decided to slip away quietly before anyone noticed, and this matter needed to be told to Sir Bill.