"I've heard for a long time that Rhodes is not an ordinary person, and Black Hammer Fort is not an ordinary northern castle, but today, it seems that it is indeed as the legend says, a different scenery. ”

"Well, it's just a small town. It's still a world away from Baker City. ”

"But my lord, Baker was an important port in the north of Oster, and the city prospered for at least two hundred years. And Black Hammer Fort has developed from poor and white to now, but it has only taken two years. If it is allowed to develop for another twenty years, I am afraid it will become the most powerful region in the north of Kislev. It is even possible to become a second Errengrad. ”

"Okay, okay, just a bunch of barbarians, no matter how much it develops, it can't become a city in the true sense of the word. ”

Sitting on an Imperial merchant ship, looking at the neat houses and streets on both sides of the Winterspring River, Baker City's mayor Davis and treasurer Elton kept talking to each other. To this day, Davis is still reluctant to admit the development achievements of Black Hammer, let alone Rhodes's excellence. For him, the feud four years ago is not over. If it weren't for the spread of the plague, he wouldn't have come to this bitter cold land to ask for help from a Kislev.

Originally, the Empire's merchant ships were not allowed to enter the port of Blackhammer, but Elton wrote to Rhodes in advance to explain his intentions. Rod reluctantly agreed to let them pass. However, landing must be strictly vetted, and not a single box of goods can be brought ashore. Only city officials and guards could go ashore.

Under the gloomy sky, Rhodes personally went to the dock to greet him. Unlike Davis, Rhodes didn't have too many guards around him, only twelve strong men in animal skins stood sparsely beside the lord, looking relaxed. Unsuspecting.

The first to disembark was the captain of the guard in Baker City, and behind him, twenty-four heavily armed Imperial soldiers. Then there was Elton, the treasurer, and beside him stood two young men, who seemed to be clerks or doctors or some kind of official. Finally, there was Davis, the city councilor.

In fact, this time, the high-ranking officials of Baker City asked to meet, and Rhodes also made the decision to meet with them after much deliberation. Letting the ships of the empire dock is undoubtedly risky. But as long as there are no containers ashore, the risk is still controllable. After all, it is impossible for a rat to hide inside a human body and crawl onto land. Rod knew that the purpose of these people's trip was to come for Ice Pepper. This plant endemic to Kislev can be said to be more valuable than gold. It is a good medicine for the treatment of murine fever.

Rhodes also thought about refusing to meet them. But then I thought about it, this time the officials of Baker Harbor asked for a meeting from the top of the level, and even the city magistrate came in person, which shows how much attention they paid to it. If you don't see it, you will form a bond with the empire, and the so-called being a man will leave a line, and you will see each other in the future. Although Kislev did not have a good relationship with the Empire, it was difficult to guarantee that the two countries would have to stand on the same side in the event of a future Chaos invasion. In addition, the opening of new shipping routes also requires the approval of the upper echelons of the empire. After all these factors, Rhodes finally decided to meet with the officials from the Empire.

"You must be Lord Rhodes?"

As soon as Elton came ashore, he patted the dust off his body, then peeked around with his tiny eyes, and finally fixed his gaze on the tall, burly man. He has a temperament that is different from the others, even if he is dressed very ordinary, but his gray-black eyes are bright, just like himself, staring at the visitor.

"Exactly, hello, you must have been the one who wrote to me, Elton Wren, and it was a pleasure to meet you. ”

Rhodes stood there and shook Elton's hand warmly. Elton nodded and smiled, but he couldn't understand how Rod recognized himself in the crowd. There were other officials present, and the most important municipal governor, Davis, was still behind......

And the lord in front of him didn't seem to be annoyed by the other party's belated arrival in the slightest. On the contrary, he was polite and friendly.

But there was still an introduction session, and under Elton's auspices, Davis walked up from behind with an arrogant face to meet with Rhodes.

"We've seen you in the morning, Lord Mayor. ”

In front of everyone, Rhodes smiled and reminded Davis of that past. It's been four years, and time has passed like a white horse. Although Davis hasn't changed much, Rhodes and Blackhammer have changed dramatically. Most directly, as the lord of the castle, the scars on Rhodes' body and face have increased. The skin on Davis's face and hands is more delicate than before. Rumor has it that Davis, the mayor of Baker City, bathed in milk in his mansion, and now it seems possible.

"Please, talk to the castle. ”

Without waiting for Davis to speak, Rod politely made a gesture of invitation.

......

"So, the plague in Baker City has reached a very serious level?" Jiuzhou Chinese

In the gloomy hall of the castle, Rhodes sat on the lord's throne and had a decent diplomatic conversation with Davis and his party. Although the highest position in the Baker City mission was Davis, the city councillor, he barely said anything during the whole process, but it was Elton who kept talking. And it is clearly organized, starting from the source of the plague, to the time and place of the plague, to the current situation. Although he is only a treasurer, he has the eloquence of an imperial diplomat.

Davis, on the other hand, has been watching from the beginning to the end, as if this matter has nothing to do with him. Rhodes could see the mayor's mood, and he wanted to get out of here immediately.

"Yes, we did a rough count, and about one in ten people got sick. ”

Elton replied.

"It looks like the pandemic is worse than I thought. ”

Rod frowned and whispered.

"Yes, and the pandemic has a tendency to spread. We have taken steps to clean the sewers, recruit rat traps, burn rotting meat, and so on. ”

"How can I help?"

Rod asked.

"That's what we're here for, the Empire and Kislev have been allies for centuries, and our ancestors fought side by side to defend the continent from the encroachment of Chaos. ”

Elton spoke, his tone slowly high-pitched.

Davis, on the side, was still indifferent, he was only interested in Caroline beside Rod, and a pair of eyes looked at Caroline from time to time. Rod coughed, but he still didn't respond. Soon, the side door of the hall opened, and Usok swaggered in front of everyone.

Everyone's faces immediately showed extremely frightened expressions. Indeed, a giant bear with a height of more than four meters walked into the hall without restraint, which was really frightening. Even the guards around Davis were limp and ready to flee at any moment. And Davis himself was even more frightened at once, and his eyes no longer had time to look at Caroline, but stared at the huge white bear.

"Rhodes...... Rod...... Fast...... Shut it up ......."

Davis was forced into a corner by the white bear, and he couldn't even speak in a fright, his tongue was knotted, and it took him half a day to say a word. Seeing that the Minister Elton looked worried.

"Lord Rhodes, what are you?"

He asked, turning around. But his eyes never left Davis, the mayor was barricaded against the wall, and the white bear's nose was sniffing slowly at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's my companion, it's used to being free and lazy in the castle, and it can go wherever it wants, maybe when it sees you coming, it's curious to come and see it. You see, it's welcoming you. ”

Rod said with a smile. Then he called the name of the white bear and asked it to come to him.

Usok moved away from Davis and walked slowly to Rod's side. Looking back again, almost all the imperial guests present were drenched in cold sweat, and even the captain of the guard sighed deeply. They knew that if this beast went crazy just now, even if they had three heads and six arms, they would not be able to protect the city magistrate, and they might not even be able to save their own lives. It's really unusual for the lord of Blackhammer Castle to keep such a behemoth as a pet......

"By the way, where did we just go?"

Rhodes asked leisurely as he stroked the hair on the white bear's back with one hand.