April 12th, Hollier City.
After the harsh winter, the Dukes Of Angmar's condition was finally alleviated. The old man, who could only wrap himself in a blanket in front of the fireplace, could finally walk outside and breathe in the so-called "revival of all things".
But for the old man, this might be the last time he felt spring.
The news of Roddy's "total annihilation" was still widely spread in the territory, but the Dukes Of Angmar knew very well that after the new year, the soldiers who went to the foot of the mountain quietly sent back a message: there were no corpses under the avalanche.
And then there was a secret message from Sola Sentry: Roddy's troops were intact. They participated in the battle against the Orcs and had already gone to Elson, ready to fight the undead Belorme's troops to the death.
This should have been exciting news, but in the next three months, the Dukes Of Angmar did not receive any news about Roddy, as if he had disappeared from the face of the earth.
Could it be that … he did not defeat Belorme after all?
Information about Belorme had been gradually collected and publicized: "Frost Baron", one of the most belligerent and powerful death knights under Augustine. For the Kingdom of Karen, this was a terrifying character that could stop children from crying at night, and Roddy …
"Master, the tax statistics have been completed."
Butler John's voice interrupted Duke's thoughts. The afternoon sun shone on the back garden of the Ducal Palace, and the neatly trimmed grass and flowers were pleasing to the eye. But the Dukes Of Angmar was not in the mood to observe. He just stared into the distance and said with his hands behind his back, "So fast? I'm afraid the harvest is the worst in years, right? "
This kind of question made John hesitate. He wanted to say yes, but he did not dare to … he wanted to say no, but Angmar's guess was right: the tax situation this spring was not optimistic, even half of the previous year's level.
Since the Duke suddenly decided to support the border forces last year, the territory's reasonable revenue immediately fell into a state of tension. War always burned money. Even if it was only the "preparatory" stage, the manpower and material resources consumed were far beyond imagination. If this went on, the Ducal Palace would not be able to function normally, let alone continue to support the border!
"This year's tax revenue is only … half of what it was in previous years."
Steward John told the truth. There was no way to hide such a thing. But as soon as he finished speaking, he found that Duke didn't show any expression and just nodded slowly. After a moment of silence, he asked, "More bandits?"
"Yes, but Knight Wellington reported that he had already gone to encircle them. Knight Titus' reply has not arrived yet."
This was the second thing that made Duke depressed … The taxes could not be collected, and some of the villages were always being looted by bandits. As a result, the financial situation had worsened, and Duke had to provide several knights to suppress the bandits at the same time. This kind of expenditure was too much for Duke to bear.
He rubbed the space between his eyebrows and asked, "Still no news from Sora's Sentry?"
Seeing John shaking his head, he sighed and waved his hand dispiritedly, "Let's talk about something else. Is there any good news?"
"There is one." Steward John thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "Before Captain Roddy left, he had set up a trade plan with the Wood Elves. Now the first batch of fruit wine has been sold at sky-high prices in various cities in the territory, and the sales volume is astonishing. The profit from this … is higher than all the previous wines."
In such an era, the supply of "wine" was basically monopolized by the nobles. The cheap ale sold in taverns was no better than horse piss in the eyes of the nobles, and the truly expensive fruit wine was impossible for the commoners to sell. Monopolization led to huge profits, and the wood elves' wine unsurprisingly earned an unimaginable amount of profit within two months of selling it.
"If we can manage this supply chain well, the profits can even make up for the tax gap, but …" Steward John glanced at the Dukes Of Angmar. There were some things that he did not say, but everyone knew that Roddy had been missing for three months. If Duke took all of the so-called "profit share", no one would stand up against it.
"Leave what should be left for him. I can still hold on."
Angmar waved his hand and did not seem to be moved at all.
"Yes, Master." John bowed his head and then added with some worry, "The nobles seem to be looking for the source of the wine. I think it won't be long before someone has their eyes on the Wood Elves."
"Inform Wellington that anyone who dares to touch the Wood Elves will be killed without mercy."
The Dukes Of Angmar squinted his eyes and waved his hand with a murderous look. "Leave. Let me have some peace."
He took a deep breath and took out the letter that Bishop Rubens wrote to him three months ago. Looking down at the words, the old father's eyebrows were full of worry.
"Annihilate the heretics … Sally, don't do anything stupid."
*****
A warm breeze blew in from the window, and the exquisite curtains fluttered slightly. The fragrant air brushed against Camilla's face. After subconsciously taking a deep breath, she slowly opened her eyes.
This was the most peaceful sleep she had in a long time. There were no nightmares, no fear, and no discomfort in her body. Instead, she felt as if her energy had been restored.
But … where am I?
Her long eyelashes trembled a little. She looked at the wooden ceiling full of hollowed out carvings, and the silent memories in her mind were stirred up.
City wall … Crystal … Escape …
Scenes flashed by quickly. Camilla suddenly recalled the last scene in her memory: When she wanted to cross the city wall but was hit by a heavy blow, countless giant runes flashed in the sky!
What is that?
Camilla suddenly sat up and found that she was still wearing the red robe that Roddy gave her. She was shocked. When she looked around, she found that she was in the bedroom where she changed her clothes.
How did I come back?
After fainting, Camilla's memories were completely blank. No matter how hard she tried to recall, her mind was in chaos … She clenched her fingers slightly, feeling the powerful arcane energy at her fingertips. She let out a small sigh and prepared herself to escape from this place once again.
She got up and walked to the window. She closed her eyes slightly.
The feeling of seeing through everything appeared again. Everything around her appeared in her mind: the patrolling soldiers not far away, Sodelor who was looking at a map in another mansion, Akasha who was flipping through books in the room on the second floor. But …
Where's Roddy?
"Knock knock."
The sudden knock on the wooden door startled Camilla. She instinctively raised her hand to gather elements and prepared to attack. But when the wooden door slowly opened and Roddy's figure appeared in her vision, the elements in her palm suddenly trembled, and then with a crackle, they disappeared without a trace …
She pursed her lips. In the end, she couldn't harden her heart to attack Roddy.
Roddy noticed this and felt an inexplicable warmth in his heart. But the two of them were still on opposite sides, so he had to maintain a cold expression. He pushed the door open in an extremely aggressive manner, looked up at the elegant and exquisite High Elf wooden chair, and sat down directly.
"Do you have time to talk now?"
Camilla didn't move. Even if she felt guilty, it didn't mean that she would give in. Camilla also had the same domineering nature, so she didn't weaken in the slightest. She looked down at Roddy and frowned. "I have my reasons for doing these things. There's nothing to talk about."
She didn't compromise at all.
Roddy just looked at her. Camilla's expression was so similar to the Naifei in his memory, and it unconsciously touched the few emotions hidden in his heart … But this emotion was quickly suppressed. He knew very well that he wasn't here to talk about feelings or reason.
His fingers rhythmically tapped on the armrest, he slowly said, "You should have also noticed that you can now feel everything in this city, and you have power that you've never experienced before — right?"
He took the initiative as soon as he opened his mouth. Camilla had a bad feeling in her heart, but she immediately shook her head and said, "Cadgar left something at the top of the tower for you, but it was coincidentally obtained by me, so it's not strange that my power has become stronger. Speaking of which … I should say that I'm sorry to you."
Although she said sorry, Camilla changed the topic.
But Roddy didn't fall for it. He leaned forward slightly, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Do you know what Turing was before he lost control? He was the 'core' of Elsen — the protector of this city. "
"He controlled all the defense systems of this city, and his power was with this city."
"But now … he has disappeared, and the defense system of Elsen City has lost its protector — I don't know the specific reason, but I have reason to believe that you … have become the second Turing!"
The second Turing.
Camilla's heart instantly skipped a beat. She uncontrollably took a step back, but her mind was in a mess. She weakly refuted, "Impossible … You're talking nonsense!"
Roddy shook his head and stood up. This time, he looked down at Camilla, who was a little absent-minded, and said in a low voice, "Why didn't I stop you at the city wall? Because the 'protector' can never leave this city! I didn't have to do anything, and you can't get out! "
"The protector will be imprisoned in this city forever, do you understand?"
Although these words were very cruel, in order to let Camilla understand the situation, Roddy still said it word by word —
"You — Camilla, can no longer leave this place!"
"It's impossible for you to complete your mission! For those behind you, you have lost your last value, do you understand? "
These words were like a bucket of ice water, pouring through Camilla's heart.
She tightly pressed her lips, wanting to say something, but could not. Countless elements gathered in her clenched hands — but thinking of all the things that happened in the Pasha Magic Tower, Camilla had to admit …
Roddy's words were probably true!
If she was really imprisoned here, the mission of the "Holy Assembly" could no longer be completed. Then what about Naifei? Would she …
Camilla could not think about it anymore. The cruel reality that Roddy had told her made her completely unable to calm down — Naifei was all the motivation for her to live. If she could, she would rather exchange her life for the chance of Naifei's survival!
She took a deep breath, trying to suppress the panic and helplessness in her heart, and said in a trembling voice, "What evidence do you have to prove all this?"
Roddy did not answer her immediately. Instead, he sighed and sat back in his chair. At the same time, he whispered to Camilla, "Sit down."
Is he ordering me? Is he crazy?
Just as this thought popped up in her mind, Camilla found herself sitting uncontrollably on the bed behind her …
"What … This is —"
She was extremely shocked. She wanted to get up, but found that her body was a little out of control!
"I am the castellan of Elsen City. According to the original design of the magic circle by Cadgar … I have absolute control over the 'core' of the 'defense system'."
He sighed again, but his voice was calm, "So — if I want you to stay, I only need to say one word."
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