The Marquis of Lindu, the highest-ranking prince in the western part of the Trania Kingdom, once relied on various means to control and amass the wealth of the border cities that were not in his fiefdom.

However, since a large-scale Chaos invasion many years ago, the border region has become more and more serious, and the Templar Pope and the Kingdom of Trania have reached an exchange of interests, and more and more border cities have become the domain of the Templars, and he has less and less wealth.

This was due to the fact that the Templars tended to turn their territories into independent city-states closed to the outside world, causing the Marquis to lose control of them.

With Zhaoming's arrival in Black Rock City, taking an oath of sovereignty on behalf of the Chenhui Knights and eliminating his subordinate, Haradin, Lin Duhou completely lost control of the border city.

Zhaoming's existence made Lin Duhou feel like a man's back, so he would do everything possible to embarrass and attack Zhaoming, trying to make the other party compromise and sell his interests.

In fact, if he could put down his body and live in peace with Zhaoming from the beginning, and have normal business dealings, Zhaoming would not mind.

But now it's too late to say anything, Lin Duhou grasped Zhaoming's weakness and pitted his secret method sand table, coupled with all the previous contradictions, they are already incompatible.

And now, Lin Duhou began to panic.

He huddled in his palace and walked about the room in great trepidation.

Because he has just received information, it seems that there will be a big military operation in Black Rock City!

"That kid Zhaoming began to store grain and grass on a large scale, and his foundry's orders for foreign ordinary appliances declined, so it should have turned to the production of weapons. Recently, there have been some restrictions on inbound trade, isn't that like his usual style? ”

Based on the above information, Lin Duhou has a bad guess - Zhaoming is going to take revenge on him!

He had been so confident that he had dared to challenge him several times, and his courage came from the agreement between the government of the Kingdom of Trania and the Templar Pope.

The independent domains assigned to the Order must not interfere in the worldly affairs of the kingdom!

So in fact, the lords rarely have any contact with the nobles and princes of the kingdom, and if it weren't for Zhaoming taking the lead, I'm afraid that the territories of these knights would still be small kingdoms isolated from each other.

"The contradiction between me and him is completely on a personal level, he cherishes his reputation so much, he will definitely not take revenge on me in a grand manner."

"But he's a young man after all, and it's not easy to do it if he gets impulsive!"

What Lin Duhou is most afraid of now is that Zhaoming is in a hurry to attack his heart, and he really pulls out the army to do it himself.

In everyone's opinion, Black Rock City's current military strength is at the middle and lower level of all the knights, after all, they don't know anything about the power of gunpowder.

So why was Lin Duhou so panicked?

Because his army is weaker!

Naturally, the king of Trania would not allow his princes to be too strong, so they all had clear requirements when dividing the feuds, and nobles of different ranks could have different numbers of guards.

The lowest-ranking baron could only have an escort of 100 men, and even a hereditary marquis like the Marquis of Lindu could not have a private army of more than 1,000 men.

And although he is greedy for money, he is not stupid, and he is very clear about the combat effectiveness of the wine bags and rice bags under his hands.

Haradin once told Zhaoming that if the demons invaded him, he would run to Lin Duhou to take refuge, which shows how stupid he really is.

"Although I have a lot of gold, I don't have many people under me, especially no one who can do anything."

As soon as he thought that he had spent money to raise a large number of useless literati, Lin Duhou felt that his eggs hurt.

"Zhaoming's subordinates are veterans who have just fought with demons, or a bunch of poor ghosts who don't want to die, if they go up, they really don't know what they can do......"

The more Lin Duhou thought about it, the more flustered he became, and finally he decided to meet the magician he had hired with a lot of money to see if she had any good ideas.

The magician's name is Mona, and she has stopped hiding herself since the last time her true appearance was revealed.

Her tall figure, plump figure, and specially tailored purple mage outfit outline every curve of her graceful body.

But obviously, Lin Duhou didn't have the heart to appreciate it, but sat in his position and lowered his head to think.

"Lord Marquis, what did you call me for?" Mona asked politely.

And Lin Duhou didn't answer Mona immediately, but just asked the servant to serve Mona a cup of tea.

Mona looked at the tea in her hand, and the refreshing fragrance that emanated made her silent.

"Tea from Ankaria? I heard that only the peaceful land of the East can grow such unusual tea."

"And this water, I heard that the Marquis doesn't like the water quality on our side, so he specially transported it from Kassel!"

Mona didn't drink it, and she was worried that she would become obsessed with the taste.

As a magician, her growth did not go well.

As a child, he was banished by his family as a devil because he did not know the power he had. After several upheavals, he was lucky enough to meet an elderly female magician who took him as a disciple and took him to travel around the world.

Lin Duhou didn't speak for a long time, Mona glanced at him, and fell into his own memories again.

"Master is very strict, and if he makes a mistake in a spell while studying, he will severely criticize or even beat me."

"I have so much money, but I never want to eat something good, but I'm happy to dress up beautifully to talk about business with those nobles......"

"But I don't hate her at all, she gave me a chance to live again, and also told me the most important truth in my life - never pursue comfort."

The clothes of a magician should be stained with sweat and dust, only then can he be strong and gain a foothold in the world.

"If I can't control my power, I'll still be considered a cursed devil. But if I can master magic, I am a respected magician! ”

While Mona was immersed in her memories, Lin Duhou, who had been mentally prepared for a long time, finally spoke.

"Miss Mona, I have received reliable information here, there will be a military operation in Black Rock City recently, and eighty percent of them are coming towards us, do you have any solutions?"

Lin Duhou's attitude was very sincere, he was seriously asking Mona.

But hearing this, Mona rolled her eyes speechlessly, and then said slowly: "Lord Marquis, this kind of thing should be discussed with your staff and generals, not me, a weak woman." ”

Mona was right to criticize that as a prince, he should consult with his elites when facing such a political event.

But Lin Duhou knew very well who his subordinates were, and he was good at helping him loot wealth by relying on his power, and it was impossible to really lead the troops to fight.

Lin Duhou cleared his throat, and then motioned for Mona to come closer.

"I wanted to ask if you have any magic to give Zhaoming ......"

Speaking of this, Lin Duhou made two cuts on his neck with the palm of his hand, indicating that he wanted to get rid of Zhaoming secretly.

Hearing such an outrageous idea from him, Mona hurriedly took a few steps back, looking like she wanted to clear up the relationship.

"Lord Marquis, why do you think so? No matter what the other party says, he is also the head of the knights, the lord of one side, if something happens to him, as soon as the church tracks it down, neither of us can eat and walk around! ”

Who is Zhaoming?

A person who dares to take office in the case of the annihilation of the regiment and recover the entire territory by himself is even more vigorous, and governs Black Rock City, which no one looks down on, in an orderly manner.

With a dozen knights and less than two thousand soldiers, he dared to harden the invading demon and personally killed a Chaos warlord (Bianca's head was counted on Zhaoming's head when he was credited)

Now Zhaoming's influence in the western part of the human world has become more and more great, and many knights have befriended him.

The Pope, for his part, has also gradually valued him from the time he used to be unseen.

Mona said solemnly: "His magic attainments will not be below me, but even if I have a way to assassinate him, I will not use it, once he has an accident, the consequences cannot be beared!" ”

After listening to Mona's words, Lin Duhou sat down on his throne like a deflated balloon.

Mona turned her gaze to the side and stopped looking at him, disappointed.

At this moment, Lin Duhou's men came to report again.

"Troops have been sent from the direction of Black Rock!"

Hearing this, Lin Duhou was so frightened that he almost fell off the chair, seeing his hurried appearance, he was probably already thinking about how to run.

The magician Mona beside him had a look of hatred on his face, and this marquis disappointed her too much.

However, Lin Duhou's subordinates immediately added: "But they did not come to the east, but to the west!" ”

"What?"

Lin Duhou was stunned, the development of things was not quite what he imagined.

He faced his subordinates and hurriedly explained the matter, and he quickly tidied up his clothes, so as not to look foreign again.

It turned out that after a period of preparation, Black Rock City was ready to organize an expedition, and officially sent troops this evening to march towards the dark border to the west!

Lin Duhou didn't know what they were going to do on this trip, but as long as they didn't come to him, he was relieved.

"To the west, huh? Well done! It's better not to come back! ”

……

Black Rock City.

The operation was very fast, and Zhaoming did not arrange any departure ceremony, but ordered the troops to assemble quickly, and then set off for the battlefield after completing the preparation at the city gate.

The vanguard led by Gawain had already opened the way first, Sevita was in charge of the Chinese army, and Zhaoming was at the end of the team to explain the important tasks to his subordinates.

"Grouchy, you have to guard your home during my absence, it's hard for Lin Duhou to say that he won't come to find fault again, once something happens, immediately notify the Red Scorpion Knights, they will lend a hand!"

Grouch stood in the twilight, his troops marching to the battlefield beside him, and his lord standing in front of him.

Although he had never been a soldier, Grouchy felt a sense of enthusiasm that he had never felt before.

"Don't worry, my lord, I'm here!"

The two looked at each other and smiled, and Zhaoming got up and left.