Salin rarely drank. The people of Scotia and Tanggulas liked to drink hard liquor. Salin only started drinking wine after he arrived at Bitter Water Prefecture.
For mages, hard liquor would affect the stability of spiritual power, but wine would not. When he was with Rex, Salin always put on airs and only drank tea in front of outsiders. In private, he would drink a little wine occasionally.
Salin took out a bottle from the drawer and tossed it to Ainphent without much care. The two of them took a bottle each and drank it slowly.
"This is good wine. You need a thin crystal glass to taste it. It's best to leave it for a while after you open it. "Ainphent took a sip and immediately recognized the characteristics of the wine.
"I know, I like this cool taste." Salin raised his hand and showed Ainphent the floating water flame on his palm.
Ainphent shook his head. Using magic to change the characteristics of the wine was a waste of power. He did not know that Salin's water flame consumed very little magic string power. It mainly consumed spiritual power.
"Ainphent, I remember that the distribution of cities in the north of the empire is less than in the south. But within a hundred miles, there must be a fortress that can be used as a stronghold. We can't defend Lianyun City, but it won't be so easy for these invaders to penetrate deep into Qin Yin's territory. I'm thinking, will the people of Phoenix really ally with them? "
"Salin, what's wrong? Didn't Rex tell you this? If the Grand Duke of Phoenix dies without an heir, everything in the duchy will be returned to the empire. The fate of the Phoenix nobles is in the hands of the Grand Duke. If it's returned to the empire, it'll be the parliament that controls them. It's difficult to confer nobles in the empire. Many people are watching. These people have no foundation in Sacred Rock City, so the Upper and Lower Houses will divide all their titles. "
"If that's the case, we have no way out. We can only wait here for at least half a year. If we send people through the Chaos Swamp, we'll still have to face the Phoenix nobles. If these people elected a leader, they wouldn't listen to Rex. Rex can't just sit and watch Phoenix leave Qin Yin. "
"I'm worried about this too. We have money, materials, and enough mages. But we don't have people. If you want to build a fleet, there are no workers, no sailors. There were no merchants in the city, no farmers in the wilderness. Right now, we only have the framework of a city. We can't do anything. "
"Rex will be back in March or April. Given the current situation, it'll be a huge problem for her to bring the army over. Even if she had no intention of quelling the rebellion, the nobles would not believe her. The Kushui Prefecture is tens of thousands of miles away from Phoenix. Do you think she's just passing by with the Swordsman Battalion? "
"Why don't we merge Phoenix with the Bitter Water Prefecture? Let Rex protect the interests of those nobles. "
"Rex still has a base in Bitter Water Prefecture. If she does that, Holy Rock City will send troops to attack Bitter Water first."
"The emperor will deal with his sister?"
"Emperor? Ainphent, you probably don't know much about Holy Rock City. Right now, Prince Sephiroth is in control of the city. "
"So what? If the prince wants to do something, he still has to do it in the name of the emperor. Otherwise, the local nobles will completely riot. Salin, let's not annex the whole of Phoenix, just a passage to Garoulan. Weren't there already three nobles from Phoenix who sought refuge with them? Let's just recruit more. Now that the empire has to face the East Sea Coalition Army, they will definitely acquiesce. "
"I'm already working on it. Deep Forest Town is planted. Pijacques will encourage the surrounding nobles. He will be tempted by what I promised him."
"Looks like we can only wait for the ice and snow to melt. Salin, I'm a bit anxious." Ainphent saw that Salin was as worried as him, but he had already done what needed to be done. He knew he could only wait.
"Yes, when spring comes, I'll sail directly from here to Scotia. I'll buy some old ships in Scotia and load them with the hired workers. "
"Ships in Scotia …" Ainphent shook his head.
"I can't go to Alchemy City, can I? There's Lianyun City in between, and the 300 warships of the East Sea Coalition Army are still at sea. If I encounter them, I'll have nothing left. "
Salin was telling the truth. He wanted to buy ships to load the hired workers. Of course, he could settle everything in Alchemy City, but how would he get back? His Coiled Turtle Alchemy Ship could pass through the enemy's line of defense without anyone noticing, but those regular ships would not be spared if they encountered the enemy's warships.
Hire sorcerers from Alchemy City to escort him? That would cost too much, and Salin couldn't afford that much money at the moment. Even if he could, he wouldn't do it. If he hired Alchemy City's fleet to escort him, the money he spent could allow Salin to build a powerful fleet, including hiring the soldiers on it.
"I thought my bad luck had come to an end. I didn't expect it to continue." Salin raised his head and took a big gulp of wine to completely relax himself. He leaned against the chair, which had a Water Ripple Shield on it. It formed a deformable cushion, and Salin was almost lying on it. The water element that was beneficial to the body wrapped around him, and the wine he drank did not stimulate his nerves.
"It's not all bad luck. I think with invaders causing trouble in the north, Holy Rock City will definitely consider supporting Rex. If Rex can deal with the Phoenix nobles in the north, Holy Rock City may make concessions, and Rex's position will be further strengthened. "
"Further? She's already a queen. If she advances further, she'll be a prince, like Sephiroth. "
"It's all the Glücos family's business. There are many branches of the Glücos family, but only a few have territory. If Rex can make concessions, everyone can divide Phoenix. It's better than letting it become the enemy's food base. "
Salin didn't understand. Ainphent explained to him, "If the land in Phoenix becomes the Glücos family's, the royal family can justifiably chase away all the local nobles. What kind of place is the House of Lords? It's a place that protects the royal family. The House of Commons wanted to intervene in Phoenix and sent troops, but what happened? The local nobles rioted. So the House of Commons will definitely compromise with the House of Lords. Otherwise, they'll be held responsible. Although Sephiroth represents the House of Commons, he's also a direct descendant of the Glücos family. If the emperor and Rex are both dead, he can't be emperor. "
This was easy to understand. No matter how big the conflict between Sephiroth and Rex was, it was still a family matter. If Rex was willing to make concessions and let the House of Lords intervene to divide Phoenix, Sephiroth would acquiesce. Sephiroth wasn't willing to let his sons take important positions because his two sons were useless. But what if he could obtain a huge territory in the north? Sephiroth would definitely be willing. After all, they were his sons.
Phoenix and Salin were in different geographical locations. Phoenix was very suitable for growing crops. Just one season per year would be equivalent to two seasons' income in the south. Even if one didn't have the ability to manage, as long as one treated the farmers well, one wouldn't lose money.
Salin recalled how Sephiroth and Emperor Chanak argued. He felt that this man might not be like what Ainphent said. But the situation in the north had to be settled quickly, because there was still a war in Jialoulan. If the war in the north couldn't be settled, then the noble army in Jialoulan who was fighting for the empire would immediately retreat to protect their own territory.
"Ainphent, do you blame me for dragging you here? If you stayed in the family, you wouldn't have to work so hard. You just have to focus on your magic practice. "
"Focus on magic practice?" Ainphent gulped down the wine in the bottle, as if it was the fiery liquor from Tanggulas. His chest rose and fell heavily. After a while, he continued, "You saw my parents in Sacred Rock City. Do you think they are focusing on their magic practice?"
"No, they seem to have many things to do."
"Yes, when I reach a certain level, I will have to rely on the family to continue my cultivation. I need money. Once I accept the family's support, I will have to do many things for the family. My parents' talent is no less than mine. Look at them. Do they have any hope of becoming a level-nine Magic Shooter in this lifetime? "
There was resentment in Ainphent's tone, but he also knew that since he wanted it, he couldn't ask the family to give him unconditionally.
"But my real enemy is the Vatican. Have you ever thought that even though we are all Magic Shooters, we might still die in this battle?"
"Vatican?" Ainphent laughed disdainfully. "That's a bunch of things that are worse than pigs. Do you know? Those people can't live without God's guidance. How pitiful. As humans, a race that could challenge God back then, they have to believe in God. Let them believe in God for tens of thousands of years. When God is gone, they will probably start to believe in magical beasts. "
"If you dare to say this to the pope, I will admire you."
"When I can defeat him, I will definitely say it to him personally."
Ainphent was speaking nonsense. He couldn't defeat the pope. The pope had the power of a level-nine Magic Caster, and he had the three Divine Weapons of the Vatican. Of course, one of them was in Salin's hands now. But even without the three Divine Weapons, the pope's power wasn't something that Magic Casters like them could compare to.
The pope wasn't just one person. He had the entire Vatican behind him. Salin had deduced that Emperor Chanak's power was probably about the same as Joey's. Even such a powerful person had been tricked by the Vatican. Salin wouldn't go to the Tanggulas Empire to court death no matter what. Ainphent naturally wouldn't have the courage to do so.
Just like that, the two of them drank while talking about their current predicament and the direction to solve it. The sky unknowingly brightened. The table was filled with wine bottles. Salin fell asleep on the chair.
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