"Even now, they are still stubbornly holding onto the price of food. How disgusting."
Sally exhaled lightly, trying her best to calm herself down. But when she thought of the nobles who were always at odds with her, her heart burned with anger. However, there was no use in being angry. She had no choice but to open a few letters to divert her attention.
The first few letters were sent by the church. As Sally had become the Duke of the territory and held the position of the church's priest, the "Rose Cross" now attached great importance to her identity. Coupled with the support of Viceroy Rubens and Bishop Benjamin, her position was now much higher than that of a "priest." But such a position also gave her certain responsibilities, and a lot more things to worry about.
The letter reported in detail the recent strange movements of the "Viper Cross". After reading it, Sally could not help but sigh. She said to herself, "What good can the royal family do? They are really hopeless! "
The "Viper Cross" should have been greatly weakened after the previous war, but in just three months, they were lively and active in various regions. They even began to openly recruit believers in the southeastern territory of the kingdom. If the "royal family" did not secretly play tricks, Sally would never believe that they would dare to be so arrogant!
Balance, balance. The kingdom is already riddled with holes, and you still want to monopolize the power? How unreasonable!
With a higher position, the more information she had, the clearer the intentions of these people at the top of the kingdom became. But the more it was so, the more disappointed she felt. Because as far as the eye could see, the whole kingdom was like the setting sun, gloomy and gloomy.
"Miss, this is news from the east. They don't seem to have any intention of giving in regarding the ownership of the Baska mine."
Hearing John mention the Pascal Mine, Sally immediately narrowed her eyes and said in a serious tone, "Then continue to fight with them. They're already within Efta's territory. Now that they know there's a mine, they're bullying me. Do they really think I'm a pushover?"
This was what Sally was most concerned about recently. Because someone had discovered a "Futhor Silver Mine" at the edge of Eiffel's territory, a few nobles in the neighboring territories were interested. They decided to take advantage of Sally's young age and weakness, and forcefully came over to get a share of the loot. And the reason Sally refused to give in was simple: Roddy needed to develop his army, and he couldn't do without these ores.
It didn't matter if he suffered a loss, but what he wanted to give to Roddy … he couldn't let go of even a single cent!
"The matter of the mine must be settled. If there's any news, inform me immediately."
She waved her hand in an imposing manner.
"Yes, Miss."
The way Sally handled the information in an orderly manner made John sigh. That serious look really had the demeanor of his father, the Dukes Of Angmar.
Efta really had a successor!
But just as this thought appeared, a scream scared John so much that he almost fell to the ground …
The female Duke, who was originally sitting upright, held the last letter and jumped up from her chair as if she had been electrocuted. Then, she started running around with a flushed face, muttering, "Quick, quick, get someone here. I want to change my hairstyle. Where's John? Go iron that cloak that I like the most, and get someone to prepare the ingredients for the banquet. It might be within five days, don't just stand there! "
"Miss, this is …"
"That bad guy is finally coming back!"
Sally completely threw away her ladylike demeanor and ran out of the study. John and the other maids were dumbfounded.
*****
At the same time, the "bad guy" in Sally's eyes was sitting in the middle of the banquet, chatting with a bunch of nobles.
It had been 11 days since they left the Bravehearts' Corridor. Ever since they entered the border of the Kingdom of Karen, Roddy had hurriedly sent a few letters to report that they were safe. Now that the team was rushing, they did not rest much along the way. They only took a breather when they reached the Bogdo parish and rested there for two days.
Even so, Rody and Sodelor did not stay idle at all. They visited Archbishop Benjamin, presented him with the staff that they had carefully selected, and at the same time, got to know each other better. These were the things that they had to do as' lords'.
And today, Benjamin specially held a "farewell banquet." Logically speaking, this kind of weather was not suitable for a large-scale banquet, but it was difficult to refuse the archbishop's hospitality. In the end, Roddy did not refuse and went to the banquet with Sodelor.
There were eight great lords in the Bogdo parish, and five of them were present. This also proved that Benjamin's position in the parish was stable.
"I thought you would return earlier, but I didn't expect it to be delayed until now." Benjamin sighed. "Today's main purpose is to see you off. The banquet is a little tacky, but it still needs to be done. After all, the rules are set, and it's not good to be too out of line."
This was actually a political connection and statement. To put it simply, it was to tell others that he, Roddy, and Sodelor were on the same team, so that they would have less trouble and more opportunities for cooperation.
Bishop Benjamin, who had not been seen for a long time, was now in high spirits and looked younger than before. Sometimes, power was more useful than magic. In his current state, Roddy felt that it was not an extravagant hope for him to become a "bishop" within ten years.
"Politics is really too abstract. I really don't like it." Roddy smiled and raised his glass. As it was a banquet held by the monastery, the glass was filled with juice. "But I see that other than you who are friendly to me, those guys don't seem to like me."
This was actually very obvious. Roddy and the other two seemed to be ostracized everywhere in the banquet hall. Apart from the people from the monastery who were willing to come closer to chat, the other dozen or so nobles seemed to be in a state of "indifference" as they chatted heatedly among themselves.
"Oh, you're the one who set up Paer's business, aren't you?"
"Yes." Roddy nodded and then suddenly realized. "Oh … I was wondering what was going on. I was so busy with the journey that I almost forgot about it."
He had planned to stock up on firewood and food half a year ago. By now, those goods had probably been cleared out. Not to mention the effect of "lowering the average price", in terms of practical benefits alone, he had definitely made a lot of money. He did not know the specific amount, but it was definitely enough to solve the financial problems of Elsen City and Paer's territory for two to three years.
From another perspective, he had swallowed so many gold coins in one gulp. It would be strange if the other nobles did not hate him.
After understanding this, Roddy looked around again. Speaking of which, the hostility of these nobles was not focused on him, but on Sodelor. The reason was not difficult to guess: the owner of the "Paer's territory" in the name of the business was Sodelor.
In the eyes of the nobles, the name "Roddy" did not seem to have much of a presence, so Sodelor had been shot a few times.
While they were talking about this topic, Sodelor happened to sit down with a gloomy face. He muttered, "What's wrong with these people? I wonder if they drank some bad potion. Each and every one of them is weird … One guy asked me how the territory was doing, and I said I haven't been back for half a year. What happened? They said I was a hypocrite! What the hell? "
Roddy did not know whether to laugh or cry as he explained. Only then did Sodelor understand. He complained, "Goddess Siqi, no, I have to apply for compensation. I have to get a better shield."
"Fine, fine, fine. Take your pick."
Roddy was absolutely generous when it came to matters like this. After chatting with Sodelor for a while, he suddenly looked into the distance and stopped for a few seconds. He turned to Benjamin and asked, "Who are the bearded man second from the left and the skinny man with the fake smile next to him?"
"Those two? Oh, it's Viscount Anru and Count Bolachi, the two 'Great Lords' of the Bogdo parish. "Benjamin raised his eyebrows." Why are you suddenly asking about them? "
"Maybe they don't like me and have been discussing how to teach me a lesson."
His "Sensitive Environment" posture was not just for show. Roddy could hear most of what they said from a distance. But to be honest, Roddy was not interested in their little squabbles, so he just smiled and completely ignored them. Beside him, Sodelor was also noncommittal, not even bothering to say anything.
Benjamin had a deep understanding of Roddy's capabilities, so he naturally did not think that they could pose any threat to Roddy. He just added, "These two usually don't give the church much face. This time, they're probably here for you. Speaking of which, it's quite a coincidence. Their territories are very close to Efta. There used to be some friction between them, but recently they seem to be discussing cooperation. I'm not sure what exactly it is. "
"It's so cold, and they're still making trouble. How restless."
"Money is everything. They don't care about the life and death of their men. Sigh, the nobles are still thinking about making money. But because of this weather, many villages have become bandits. Not only do they steal food, some even treat people as food … "
The bishop's words revealed the cold reality behind the glamorous banquet. This made Roddy's heart inexplicably heavy. Right now, these drunken nobles did not know that in the near future, this country would encounter a disaster more terrible than snow and cold …
Before leaving, Benjamin secretly gave Roddy two books. What surprised Roddy was that these Light Priest's high-level skill books [Group Silence] and [Wall of Truth].
[Group Silence]
Requirement: Holy Priest advance to Level 10
Consumption: 350 mana points
Basic Casting Time Effect: All units within a radius of 15 meters enter a state of silence for 3 seconds.
Cooldown: 10 minutes.
[Wall of Truth]
Requirement: Holy Priest advance to Level 10
Consumption: 580 mana points
Basic Casting Time: 5 seconds
Effect: Creates a wall that can block attacks, lasts for 1 minute. Damage absorbed depends on spirit and casting materials.
Casting Materials: Mantra Scroll, Magic crystal.
These two skills were very valuable because they were very useful in actual combat, and they could be learned by Akasha immediately.
"The staff you gave me yesterday can probably be considered a family heirloom. This is a gift in return."
Facing Roddy's puzzled gaze, Benjamin smiled and did not explain further. The actual reason was that he did not want to say it … The war was coming, and instead of keeping these trump cards for himself, it was better to give them to Roddy.
Compared to the nobles who only knew to be jealous, the old bishop's actions made Roddy very emotional. But he was not in the mood to argue with the nobles. When the orcs invaded and the undead approached, humans would eventually stand in the same trench.
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