Quadruple split.

Chapter 552
Game timeAM10:43
When the balance of the battlefield finally began to slowly tilt towards the lord's coalition forces, Mercury City sent out the last batch of reserve troops, including a small number of loyal elites of the Autonomous Army, the remnants of the First Slave Catching Regiment, and all the Whispering Cultists in the city, totaling [-] Thousands of people.

This is not the trump card of the Marshall family. It is just the last bit of power that Buffy can squeeze out, whose average combat power is far lower than that of the three main battle groups. Their mission is very simple, that is to help the main force on the front line who are fighting bloody battles with the lord's coalition forces The troops bought time and tried their best to delay the doomed defeat until the assassination team led by Gavin and Quinn completed their mission.

Today, whether it is Buffy Marshall himself or the entire Marshall family, there is no way out, so even if he knows that the last game Gavin proposed will be lost if he loses, he has no choice but to gamble. Do not do what the other person wants.

He has already lost, the last time he walked into the Hall of Purple Nine and was judged as 'guilty'. From that moment on, as long as Buffy Marshall wants to save his life, the situation will definitely evolve In such a situation, Buffy wanted this kind of thing, Gavin wanted it, and Xiu wanted it too.

From an objective point of view, only death is the best way to deal with it. After all, as long as Buffy sacrifices voluntarily and puts aside his relationship with the family, even if the Marshall family will decline in the past few decades, it will never be destroyed. Speaking of others, even Archduke Simon, who had a good personal relationship with Buffy when he was young, would never sit back and watch others be too blatant to add insult to injury, so at first glance, it seems that leading the death with peace of mind has become the only correct choice.

But... no!
Putting aside the relationship between the slave trade incident and the family and voluntarily accepting the punishment, although it seems that there is no problem at first glance, it is an absolutely impossible choice for Buffy. This is not because he is afraid of death. Buffy Marshall, who can be regarded as a hero, is not afraid of death at all. On the contrary, if only one death can solve the family's future troubles, Buffy will definitely go to the gallows and end his magnificent life with a smile.

But the problem is, he knows very well that even if he dies, the Marshall family will never be safe, because besides the slave trade, there is another bad problem...

In addition to the Grand Duke of the Violet Empire, Buffy Marshall has another status, that is, the honorary headmaster of the Whispering Sect. Although the authority is not enough, he has no less "gifts" than other high-ranking believers, and he His family members also believe in the God of Whispers. The eldest son got the rank of the 'Faceless Knight' a few years ago, and both daughters are 'Whispering Priestesses'. Years ago, they secretly became believers of the Whispering God. Under their subtle influence, Mercury City has completely become the den of the Whispering Sect today. Neither the Thieves Guild nor the Wanderer's Inn found any clues.

In terms of city, scheming and wisdom, no matter whether it is Buffy's future heir or other members of the family, there is no one who can stand shoulder to shoulder with him. Even with the help of Fudge, Quinn and others, there is no guarantee that the There was no mistake, so Buffy Marshall, who secretly calculated the account in his heart, came to a conclusion, that is, if he accepts the trial and lets the family and the slave trade incident be separated, it will be as short as ten and a half months, and as long as three years Five years later, the collusion between the Marshall family and the cult will definitely be revealed, and there will be no room for maneuver at that time...

What does a grand duke family that believes in evil gods mean to the Violet Empire? This answer is simply not easy to guess.

Whenever things are revealed, not only the Marshall family itself will have no way out, but even the Violet Empire will bear criticism from all sides. The Holy Church Alliance forcibly intervenes, and the denunciation and pressure of major neutral organizations are almost certain. At that time, Marshall will have to face It's not just as simple as the tens of thousands of lords' coalition forces in front of them. It's not a joke to be wiped out while talking and laughing.

So he can't afford to die!
So he has to struggle!

Gavin's plan is the last straw for Buffy. As long as Clever dies, the Crown Prince Ruibo, who has temporarily reached a cooperative relationship with him, will definitely buy the Marshall family a period of precious time, and then things may return to normal again. On the negotiating table, in that case, there is still room.

On the contrary, if it fails, even if the coalition forces of the lords smash down Mercury City today, it will only be executed immediately with a reprieve.

"Sylvia..."

Buffy Marshall drank the red wine in his hand, and turned his attention to the elf who was sitting opposite him playing with his nails.

"Ok?"

The charming and sexy blood seeker responded casually, and after a while, she lazily raised her eyes and asked in her characteristic sweet voice, "What's the matter? Boss."

Buffy poured himself another glass of wine, and raised a glass to the former with a smile: "You have worked so hard for so many years."

"It's just a deal, you're willing to let a prodigal like me stay here, so it's right to help you."

Sylvia Shuangrui casually played with her long water-blue hair, and yawned lazily: "Besides, I'm a bloodseeker with a bad reputation... well, but knowing what kind of evil god you believe in?" After that, there seems to be nothing to thank for not tabooing my identity."

Although the titular deputy head of the mage group knew many of Buffy's secrets, and was involved in things like slave hunting, killing and silence, but until last night, she didn't know that Buffy Marshall not only had a relationship with the evil Even he himself is a cultist, and his status is not low.

"The reason you are angry..."

Buffy stared at the slender and fair neck of the Elven Bloodseeker, and asked softly, "Is it because I've been keeping this from you? Sylvia."

The latter smiled casually, waved his hand and said: "You think too much, boss, I just don't like the evil god, even if you don't hide it from me and tell me this little secret from the beginning, I still won't like it." happy."

"To tell you the truth, I'm a little disappointed."

Buffy blinked and drank the second glass of bright red wine.

Sylvia was slightly taken aback, and after a while of reaction, she looked at her boss with a half-smile: "Isn't it?"

"If I met you before I married Nadel..."

Buffy shrugged his shoulders, and leaned back on the chair as if he was a little drunk, with a bitter smile on the corner of his mouth: "Or, you are a human lady with a lifespan similar to mine, rather than a woman who can live easily. To the elves of thousands of years, or, Buffy Marshall did not take the current path, but became an upright lord with a clear conscience as he pursued when he was young..."

Sylvia sighed, bent her fingers and popped a cold blue light, sealed the wine bottle that Buffy had just picked up in a thin layer of ice, shook her head and said, "You're drunk."

"You thought you were frozen, but you weren't."

Buffy said something serious to the wine bottle in his hand, and then the ice layer on it fell off with a splash. Not only that, the third glass of wine he poured out was even warm.

"Again or...haha..."

He drank the whole glass of red wine, and smiled at Sylvia with obvious flush on his face: "If you don't only like to sleep with women, and you only drink the blood of children, heh... as long as you attack a normal man , I can also reason to convince myself..."

Sylvia frowned slightly: "Buffy!"

"Persuade myself to confess to you, even if I don't hesitate to use the power of the evil god, I will get you... Haha, don't be surprised, the teachings of our sect are quite loose, there is no need to talk about words like 'my lord' all day long, in fact , as long as we still believe in Him, He doesn’t even mind if we insult Him.”

Buffy laughed, then closed his eyes somewhat dejectedly, and said in a low voice, "Unfortunately, I haven't found a reason to convince myself."

"I'm relieved about that, Buffy."

Sylvia looked away from the other person's face, and asked lightly: "Are you finished?"

"Last question, Sylvia."

Buffy shook his head, and after a long silence, he spoke again: "If one day after I met you, I found a reason to convince myself and launched a strong pursuit of you, what would happen?"

"In that case, I would have left Marshall Territory long ago."

Sylvia answered without thinking.

"As expected."

Buffy clapped his hands vigorously, then stood up abruptly, picked up the half bottle of wine in front of him, drank it all in one gulp before the other party stopped him, threw the empty bottle on the table, and laughed loudly with open hands : "Haha, praise Buffy Marshall, thank him for his restraint and self-discipline."

"why?"

Sylvia raised her eyebrows and said helplessly, "By the way, you are really drunk."

"Because of this restraint and self-discipline, you have stayed with me for so many years."

Buffy muttered inarticulately, then raised his hand to cover his forehead: "I... am not drunk."

Sylvia rolled her eyes: "Hey, even if you are deceiving yourself, there must be a limit."

"No, there is no limit to self-deception, at least not to me."

As a result, in the next second, Buffy Marshall, who was originally flushed, slurred, and swaying, sat back on the chair steadily, and replied calmly. Sylvia took a closer look, but it turned out not to mention drunk Now, even the smell of alcohol on Buffy's body disappeared completely, as if his previous appearance was just made up by himself out of thin air.

"you……"

"You go out of the city now, hide your strength and follow the reserve team into the battlefield."

Buffy interrupted Sylvia lightly, and said slowly: "Then join Gawen and the others. If there is a chance, help them assassinate Clever. If our situation is over... you can leave , because the Marshall family can no longer protect you after that, so the transaction is over."

Sylvia gritted her teeth and snorted softly, "I'll do the same without you telling me."

"There is a little money in it. I personally suggest that you temporarily go to Liberty City to live for a while after you leave."

Buffy took out a general-purpose magic crystal card issued by the Steam Consortium from his pocket, threw it to Sylvia, and said with a smile: "The corresponding password for this card without identity verification is: Mercury stamen, but if we succeed Yes, you have to return it to me when you come back."

"Think beautifully."

Sylvia caught the crystal card casually, then took out a large gray robe from the storage ring and put it on her delicate body with very little fabric, and said with a smile: "Then I'm leaving now."

"be careful."

"Would you like a parting hug?"

"Oh... I'm sober."

"That's really a pity~"

Sylvia shrugged, then put on her hood and left with brisk steps.

……

"Yes, what a pity."

After a while, Buffy sighed deeply, then slightly raised his voice and said, "Come in, Fudge."

Two seconds later, the old goblin respectfully opened the door and walked in, bowed to Buffy and said, "Master."

For some reason, he changed the name of the latter to "Master" when Buffy hadn't inherited the title of Patriarch decades ago.

Buffy nodded slightly, and asked indifferently, "Have Nadel, Tim, Dorothy, and Minter left?"

"Not yet, master."

Fudge shook his head, with an uneasy expression on his face, he said, "No one who went to confirm the departure route before came back. I was afraid it would be unsafe, so..."

"There is no time. If the plan fails, this place will soon become the most unsafe place."

Buffy frowned, and said in a deep voice: "Whether it's the garbage that has been suppressed for too long because they couldn't help but want to kill people, so they lost time, or they were killed by troublemakers because their beliefs were exposed, we can't wait any longer, you Arrange for them to leave now, be careful not to take a single believer with you, the Mercury Guards who don’t know the truth should still have two teams left in the city and let them serve as guards.”

Fudge bowed and bowed: "Follow the arrangement, young master, then I'll go back as soon as I go."

"Do not."

Buffy waved his hand vigorously, got up and walked to the cabinet behind, took out a bottle of red wine and a glass from it, then returned to the table to fill the two glasses with wine, and pushed one of them to the Fudge: "Come with me for a drink, old Fudge."

"Master, you..."

"You go with Nadel and the others, and come back after all the dust settles, or go further afield, that's all."

Buffy smiled and touched the trembling cup in Fudge's hand, and patted him on the shoulder: "Let's go without delay."

"But, master..."

"It's me who taught you to settle accounts, old Fudge."

"...Follow the arrangement, young master."

The old goblin nodded with difficulty, and drank the wine in his hand with reddish eyes.

……

A moment later
Buffy Marshall was the only one left in the room.

He drank glass after glass, bottle after bottle of red wine that he didn't like very much, his eyes were sometimes blurred and sometimes clear, and every once in a while, he would whisper something...

"I'm not drunk."

Chapter five hundred and fortieth IX: The end

(End of this chapter)