According to Murphy's previous prediction, when Marshal Loren took the Plantagenet Kingdom to have a diplomatic meeting with him, the Lord of Transnesia, he should not have mentioned the matter of the Orbs at that time, after all, Marshal Loren's means of obtaining those Orbs at that time were not so open.

The core orb in Murphy's hand also has a bright "swag" label.

Since everyone is a thief, it's good to forget about some things in the rivers and lakes, but I didn't think that the half-dwarf on the other side actually brought it up without caring about it, this guy is really too unsophisticated, and he is really small-eyed!

"It seems that the legends on the continent about the dwarves are small-minded! I don't know if this guy on the other side has a book of hatred in his hand? ”

Murphy thought for a moment, and then unceremoniously returned the color, and he responded with a slightly stiff smile:

"You're good, short man!"

“？”

Marshal Loren, who was opposite the psionic projection, was stunned.

Her eyes widened as if she had been struck by lightning, and Trissy, who maintained the psionic projection, laughed like crazy, her whole person endured very hard, and her bewitching expression was distorted.

"Hey, hold on! Why does this picture keep flashing? ”

Murphy shouted in an onomatopoeic voice, and Tracey rolled her eyes and said with a smirk:

"My technique is steady, it's the other side of the problem, it seems that the lethality of your joke is really great! Oops, I've finally learned how to use one word to make a dwarf hate me for the rest of my life. ”

"What the hell are you called! Take it back for me! ”

Marshal Loren blew his beard and glared in some anger and shouted:

"You're provoking a dwarf! No, you're provoking all the dwarves! You must apologize for that damn word for the dignity of all the dwarves you offended! You're provoking a war that you simply can't win! ”

"You said the word yourself, and it has nothing to do with me."

Murphy maintained his elbows on the table, holding his interlaced fingers to his nose in the signature gesture of a commander.

He steadied himself and said to the other side:

"It was your subordinate who reminded me in advance that I couldn't say that word in front of you, you know, I thought about it for a long time before I came up with a replacement word. So, are we going to continue to quarrel over trivial things? Or do you want to get down to business? Marshal. ”

"You stole 3,000 Orbs from me, that's enough to arm an army!"

The meeting was so hot at the beginning that Marshal Loren simply stopped pretending, took out his pipe and put it to his mouth, and said to Murphy in a big man's sitting position:

"And the core orb trial work that my country paid a great price to get, the thing that is hanging on your chest. Murphy, you must make amends for this! Until this condition is met, I refuse to engage in any diplomatic representations with you.

Don't think that your title as 'Acting Governor' scares anyone, the price of the Pioneer Legion now crossing the border of Transencia to overthrow your small forces is nothing more than a sincere letter of apology from my subordinates to the Winter Palace.

All I had to do was sign it.

You!

Young but cunning and evil vampires, you need to recognize your own strength at this time, and you and your small territory are just small problems that can be solved by a 'military conflict'. ”

"Of course you can say that, with your position and the strength at your disposal, you have enough confidence to say a similar threat to me, then you might as well let your army go now!"

Murphy waved his hand and said:

"I'm waiting at the Crimson Keep to be what you call a 'military conflict', but I hope you'll be prepared to start the 'Third War of the Night' directly before you make a decision. In addition to being the governor of the Translancia region, he is also the first in line to the throne of the Blood Vulture Clan, and has reached a strategic partnership with the Thorn Clan.

Meanwhile, a vanguard of the Knights of the Blood Pact is crossing the filthy swamp.

If

If you've heard even a little bit of a story about the Bloodline from Edward Sr., you know what the tripartite alliance means.

Any irrationality on your part is not just bullying the weak Blood Vulture Clan, but also slapping Lord Pa Ying in the face.

Of course, I also admit that I am now feigning power in the name of the Lord, and the Lord will not necessarily be furious at the fall of the Crimson Keep, and perhaps the Grand Duke of Thorns will only lament that I have accidentally angered the great Marshal of Steelheart and killed myself.

It's all possible.

But until they actually happen, you can't get rid of them.

So the question is, will you provoke another war for your king now when the Black Plague is about to break out?

Are you a madman who so indulges his emotions and destroys important things? ”

Murphy spread his hands and said very calmly:

"If you were, then we don't have to keep talking! See you on the battlefield. The land of Translancia is teeming with vampires and barbarians, do you know what these two things have in common? ”

This statement did not hide Transnesia's weakness, and even a little helplessness and desolation of fighting for her life.

But as it came out of the mouth of Murphy, the acting governor, even the disapproving Marshal Loren had to think hard about the meaning of the words, and he spat out the smoke ring and stared at the handsome vampire who was too young to be seen.

The resolution of the psionic projection maintained by the three psionic masters was terrifyingly high, allowing the marshal to clearly see Murphy's eyes, which were black with scarlet points of light.

It's like a beating fire.

The vampire girl didn't seem to be joking, and his determination in his threats was more like a dwarf.

"Heh, the fox fake tiger is a perfect game, but the fox is always a fox, don't take it out if you can't be on the stage!"

The half-dwarf marshal did not let go of his momentum, but he changed the subject very smoothly, and said:

"It makes me very sad that my friend Old Finoch died at your place."

"Who killed him?"

Murphy asked rhetorically:

"It shouldn't be us, right? I also took in his daughters and followers, giving them citizenship and sheltering them with all the power of the land. I thought I would make up for the guilt of accidentally taking what belongs to you in a 'black to black' that I didn't decide to do, but you still don't give up.

You haven't even paid a penny for the future of your friends' daughters and followers, and I'm responsible for supporting them in the face of the scourge.

You see, I didn't even ask you for guardianship money, I thought we had some tacit understanding. ”

"So, are the vampires so good-mouthed?"

Marshal Loren again spat out a puff of smoke rings, and he said:

"One of you, one old Edward, has a tongue that can turn right and wrong upside down, well, do something for me, Lord Murphy, so that I can convince myself to forget this thing that makes everyone unhappy."

"Speak, please."

Murphy listened.

Marshal Loren looked at the scenery outside the train window, and he said casually:

"Old Edward sent his family's elite to the Eastern Front in the name of preparing for the Black Plague, but I knew what he wanted to do. The proliferation of the Wolf Venom Clan on Greeney Island has become a social problem, and I don't want the poison they spread in the dark to spread back to the mainland.

Sadly, old Edward has used allegiance as a means to gain possession of the entire Cato region in the Dark Zones from my Majesty.

Alas, it's a pity that the 'Wolf Plague' 70 years ago failed to wipe them out.

I've heard that you Blood Vulture and Wolf Venom have a feud for over hundreds of years, and that the Wolf Venom Clan is indeed deeply involved in the disaster in Cadman City, so it makes sense for you to 'clean' the night, right? ”

"But we can't cross the border and enter your zone to hunt wolf cubs."

Murphy frowned and said:

"And we don't have enough manpower."

"What do you think?"

The half-dwarf sneered and said:

"I'll deal with the wolf poison cubs in my defense zone myself, but those wolf pioneers who are about to enter Transncia in the name of aiding the 'Black Plague War', you have to deal with it! They are doing evil everywhere under the guise of war.

They are underestimating the serious matter of war, so they need to be punished.

Personally, I don't really like vampires in my chain of command, and it makes me uncomfortable all over. ”

"Me too, Marshal."

Murphy smiled and said:

"I'm not kidding, I'm also a vampire, but I don't like my overly vicious compatriots, well, I'll take your request. I will give you an explanation that will satisfy you.

Now, can we get down to business? ”

"You want to be beautiful!"

Marshal Loren patted the table and said solemnly:

"Apologize to the dignity of all the dwarves for your undignified statement! And swear to your Mother of the Night that you will never utter that blasphemous word again! ”

"Ugh."

Murphy didn't expect this Marshal Loren to be so stubborn in this regard, and he apologized very seriously and said:

"I'm sorry, I offended your taboos, I send you my sincerest apologies for my faux pas, I won't say that blasphemous word again."

"But I can't control what my little players want to say."

He said so in his heart.

Seeing Murphy's sincerity, Marshal Loren nodded, he put his pipe back on the table, held his marshal's command knife, and said with a serious face:

"Just a few days ago, His Majesty Paliano, the First Lord of the Knights of the Blood Alliance, visited my Majesty, bringing prophecies related to the Black Plague and urging us to release the 10,000 armed Blood Servants who were previously captured in the war, I guess this is your request, and you want to use these Blood Servants to fill the manpower?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, I urgently need a lot of manpower right now, whether it's repairing the city or building a base on the front line of the filthy swamp, I need a lot of people."

Murphy also said solemnly:

"So the 10,000 captives must be sent back to Transnesia as quickly as possible, as I agreed with the kingdom of Nordutov. I don't care what they caused losses with you, 10,000 is 10,000!

I don't want much, but I can't do less.

You've just wiped out 150,000 people in Transasia in one fell swoop, putting a rather terrible strain on the defenses of the land.

In addition, the Winter Wolf Legion of the Nordtov kingdom has taken the Crimean fortress, and they will assist in our defense there, what about you?

Marshal, how are the armies of the Plantagenet Kingdom ready to assist us? ”

"You still want the command of the war in Transnesia?"

Once again, the half-dwarf was shocked by Murphy's lion opening.

He blew his beard and glared and said:

"Do you think I'll feel comfortable handing my soldiers into the hands of a vampire? Don't even think about it! My Pioneer Corps will fortify the fortresses of East Prus. If your defenses fail, there's a second line of defense against the Gnoll Plague.

Preparing the defensive line in six months is not an easy task, so don't expect me to send more soldiers into you. ”

"But what about the border guards?"

Murphy asked rhetorically:

"In addition to the 50,000 men of the Pioneer Corps, there should be an equal number of border guards in East Phorus and Anjou, right? A large part of it is the 'puppet army' that you have recruited during the Ten Years War.

They were all local legions of the Portian Confederacy.

They were part of the forces used by the country to defend against the Black Plague, and it shouldn't be a legal problem for me to take back their command of the Black Plague now, as the Governor of Transnesia, right?

If you're not willing to let go, I can even sign an agreement with you.

After the end of the Black Plague, I can give you back those puppet soldiers if you want! ”

"The newly formed Frontier Corps is indeed a problem, their loyalty, will, and combat readiness are almost as disgusting as those of the outcasts, and especially the issue of military discipline is as disgusting as a pack of gnolls.

If you really want it, it's not impossible to give it to you. ”

The half-dwarf marshal pondered for a moment, and he said:

"I have a request, that those men may be under your control, but that I will send a group of professional officers to train and direct them, and that you shall not interfere with their wartime command for any reason and shall be responsible for their supplies, Murphy.

You're not a soldier.

It's better for you, a layman, not to meddle in this kind of professional matter, this is the advice of a marshal. ”

"Yes!"

Murphy agreed to this harsh condition without hesitation, but he bargained in the next second:

"My territory lacks all kinds of supplies, and I need arms support, but I know you won't give me too good, so those border guards send their weapons along with them.

At the very least, don't let me give each of them a stick to charge into battle, that would be a little too ugly.

Even cannon fodder shouldn't be used this way.

In addition, if I can, I will need some machine tools, at least for the repair and processing of firearms in the rear of the battlefield, as well as the most basic military materials such as self-made bullets and explosive bombs. ”

"Ha, are you Telencia so poor that you don't even have these things?"

Marshal Loren quipped:

"Why don't you swear allegiance to my majesty, Murphy, and then you'll get everything you want."

"We would have had! The city of Sico was the manufacturing center of Transencia and the pride of the entire Portia Confederacy, producing firearms that were synonymous with quality even among the halflings of the Genoese peninsula.

And then, you destroyed it with a plague!

Just like when you destroyed Cadman City. ”

Murphy responded in a cold tone:

"Do you need me to tell you the reasons why Translasia has fallen to this point? Marshal, I know that war is only about victory and defeat, and for a soldier like you, victory is justice, and a soldier can give up all morality for the sake of victory, that is your professional quality.

But the behavior of a group of marauders trampling on a poor man who had just been looted, and laughing loudly at his poverty and backwardness, I don't think even in the social customs of the dwarves is something to be promoted, right?

The war is over, but a new one is about to begin!

No matter what you personally think of Transia and me, the vampire lords, we are all comrades you can't get rid of in the Black Plague.

Unless you're willing to destroy us first with the Gnolls, and then take the boys of the Plantagenet Kingdom with us to do what should have been our responsibility!

If you don't want your people to shed their blood, then grant my request, for the Transans are about to shed their own blood for your safety.

We may have a chance to fight in the future, Marshal.

I swear!

At that time I will give you all the arrogance you have inflicted on me and Transcia today, but only if we have 'later' to speak of.

Get back those production lines you stole from Seaco!

It is ours, and it can be used far more in our hands than in your hands. ”

"Good!"

Marshal Loren nodded, and he said:

"You are in much better shape than the hypochondriac prime minister who surrendered to me before the Portian Confederacy, and you keep up, a vampire young but not lacking in courage.

What you want is already in the hands of the Capetian family, who are preparing to build a few new factories in East Pruos, you know who to talk to. ”

With that, the marshal was about to hang up the communication, but Murphy stopped him.

"One last thing."

The Vampire Lord said:

"As for my identity, I hope that King Louis will issue an edict appointing me as the governor of Translasia, so as to ensure that Transncia can better fulfill its responsibilities as a strategic buffer zone between the two countries."

"Portia's classic sideways hopping diplomacy. Of course, this is already your tradition, so let's use the tradition left over from the previous Black Plague to talk. ”

Marshal Loren picked up a letter of appointment to the governor of Transencia on the table, which had been stamped with the king's seal.

He pointed to the blank name column and said to Murphy:

"When you survive the Black Plague, if there is still a place name 'Translasia' on the continent, this thing will be yours. So, a word? ”

"Well, it's a deal!"

(End of chapter)