Why did the lord rebel

Chapter 211 Chapter [-] A murder case that was publicized afterwards

On the top floor of the arcane spire "Pillar of Eternal Sleep", in the office of the "Imperial Southern Army Headquarters", the group of Shuangfengling finally met the famous Southern Army Commander-in-Chief, Paulus.

The chief crocodile of the Imperial Southern Army, his image is actually very close to Captain Cousins:

They are all bald men with a big shiny pot lid on their heads.

However, the handsome appearance, graceful demeanor, and amiable demeanor of the Knight Commander Cousins ​​made the former Knight Commander of Eagle's Rest more like a bird-walking old man in the capital with the noble blood of the Eight Banners;
As for Paulus...

His face was so fleshy that Xia Houyan could only think of a stinky stone in the latrine.

——Facts show that hairstyle is important, but appearance and temperament are the key. Not everyone can cosplay Superman with a bald head.

And soon, Xia Houyan and his men realized that Paulus not only looks like a stone, but also has a stinky and hard personality...

After listening to Xia Houyan's request as the lord of Shuangfengling, hoping that the Southern Army can take care of the security of the territory, Commander Paulus did not hesitate for half a second, and slapped the table and cursed:

"My Southern Army is for His Majesty the Emperor to guard the border, not you bastards and noble housekeepers! You can't even guarantee the safety of your own territory. How can you have the face to come to our Southern Army for help, a brat with no hair on your face?" ?! Where did you come from and go back? Get out!!!”

Generally speaking, "roll" is just an interjection with strong emotional meaning;
However, in the dictionary of Paulus, the commander of the Southern Army, "roll" is really "roll" in the literal sense...

After the two sides chatted a few words, the group of Shuangfengling was driven out of the office by Paulus's men in disgrace, and then the door was "slammed" in front of them, almost hitting Master Laurie's rosacea.

While Master Laurie was holding his nose, the remaining scum of Frost Maple Ridge stood outside Paulus' gate, looking at each other.

Xia Houyan really didn't expect that the commander of the Southern Army would act with such personality!
Even in the office just now, when Cousins ​​tried to present a large box of "Frost Maple Ridge Specialties" to Paulus in order to further strengthen the relationship, Paulus was just like the most honest and model civil servant, and justly carried out Rebuke:

"Take it back to me! I, Paulus, took the position of commander to be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor and protect the people of the empire, not to collect bribes from you noble moths! If you dare to try to bribe, don't blame me You're welcome, mother!"

Cousins ​​was dumbfounded at the time:
No matter in the circle of nobles or high-ranking officials of the empire, it is very normal to walk around and give gifts to each other. What's more, Shuangfengling came to pay homage to the pier this time, and sending a few priceless aquamarine crystals is completely in line with the requirements of the empire. Unspoken rules in the political circle;
But who would have imagined that Lord Paulus is actually a bald white lotus flower in the stinky ditch-like Imperial Army headquarters!
He doesn't even accept gifts!
No way, no way, there won't be any high-ranking military officers of the empire who don't accept gifts or bribes, right?
Even everyone has begun to wonder if Paulus was assigned to guard the tower in the remote countryside of the southern wilderness, because he was too incompetent and was squeezed out by other high-level empire...

In addition to refusing to accept bribes, Paulus' tough attitude in refusing to shelter Frost Maple Ridge is also impressive:
According to Paulus, the task of him and his Southern Army is limited to "guarding the line of defense of the Arcane Spire and resisting the invasion of the demon bastards". , then I don’t care about it!
In other words, Shuangfengling wants to visit the pier to find a big brother?
There are no doors!

"Damn it..." Xia Houyan rubbed his temples while leading the boys down the spiral stairs of the tower, "I wanted to find a protective umbrella for the Igor family, but I didn't expect Paulus to be this oily man." Die-hards who can't get in..."

"Then...then what shall we do?" Alice frowned.

"You can't make a trip in vain and head back to Phoenix Terrace, right?" Bob Brook said dejectedly, "Could it be that we didn't give enough gifts..."

"Give me a fart!" Cousins ​​shook the luxurious gift box with the ice-blue maple leaf flag drawn in his hand angrily, "The bald old turtle didn't even look at the contents of the box, and just pushed it back to me... ...Ah, I don't care how many crystals you send me, I won't accept them at all! It's so old, how can there be such a strange thing..."

Cousins ​​finished cursing angrily, and together with everyone, turned his attention to Eldridge.

This former imperial army commander from Rose City has a very embarrassed expression now.

To be honest, the reason why Xia Houyan brought people to the Arcane Spire defense line to pay homage to the pier was mainly Eldridge's idea:
Paulus was a classmate and friend of the Grand Duke Rosario in the past, and Eldridge was also Rosario's confidant. With this relationship, Eldridge thought that Paulus must always look at Rose City. For the sake of it, should I give Shuangfengling some face?

As a result, in the brief negotiation just now, not only did Eldridge not soften Paulus' attitude in the slightest, he even suffered a bloody scolding from the commander of the Southern Army for no reason:
"Eldridge! I thought that as Grimm's subordinate, you could learn a little of his noble sentiments of serving the country and loving the people. I didn't expect you to be willing to degenerate and mix with this useless nobleman who only knows about bribery! You A useless lazy dog, get lost with your new master!"

——This deeply humiliated Eldridge, who had sworn before and assured the lord that he was "a bit thin".

Now, he walked on the spiral staircase in silence, covering half of his face with a red scarf:
I really can't afford to lose this man...

As for Master Laurie?The old man was concentrating on looking at the magic power circuit on the inner wall of the tower, which was shining with a faint blue light. He obviously felt that foreign affairs were completely hopeless, so he might as well hurry up and do some magic research...

Shuangfengling's group walked out of the "Pillar of Eternal Sleep" arcane spire with their heads drooping like a defeated rooster.

However, just before they completely admitted defeat, a figure that suddenly appeared rekindled the flame of hope.

"Your Excellency Igor, please stay!"

Everyone turned around, and saw a short, gray-haired, middle-aged officer wearing a monocle, hastily chasing him out from the tower—while the Southern Army guards guarding the gate saluted in unison .

Xia Houyan remembered that in Paulus's office just now, he seemed to have seen this officer standing aside.

"You... good." He nodded slightly hesitantly.

"Hello, respected Your Excellency Igor." The short officer saluted him with a smile, "I am Lord Paulus' adjutant, O'Brien. Lord Paulus's attitude was too irritable just now, his personality This has always been the case, and it is not aimed at you and your territory. I hope you will allow me to express my sincere apologies on behalf of Lord Paulus..."

"It's okay, it's okay..." Xia Houyan quickly showed a professional diplomatic smile.

It has to be said that his adjutant, O'Brien, is much gentler and kinder than the tyrannical and violent Paulus: Xia Houyan speculates that the reason why Paulus has not been hacked to death by the offended enemy and is well-behaved Sitting on the arcane spire and commanding the army, O'Brien must have contributed a lot.

Subsequent developments further confirmed O'Brien's sophistication.

The busy second-in-command of the Southern Army enthusiastically acted as a tour guide for Shuangfengling and his party who had just arrived at the Arcane Spire's defense line, and took the lord for a tour around the taverns and shops of "Pillar of Eternal Sleep". At the same time, he talked endlessly about the anecdotes about the Southern Army, which immediately dispelled most of the unhappiness that everyone had just been scolded by Paulus.

In the end, a group of people drank a few glasses of cactus wine, a specialty of the wilderness, in a poorly decorated tavern. Adjutant Brian said:

"That, Lord O'Brien, the suggestion we made to Commander Paulus just now..."

The Shuangfengling scum all pricked up their ears.

O'Brien shook his head and said:
"In my opinion, maintaining the stability of the surrounding environment is also the natural mission of our southern army. Your request from Shuangfengling is completely legitimate! Commander Paulus is good at everything, but he is a little brain dead... so Come on, don't leave in a hurry, stay here for two days and wait, I will try to persuade Commander Paulus, he should still be able to listen to my words..."

Cousins ​​was overjoyed: "Then thank you for your hard work!"

"However, it took the manpower and material resources of our Southern Army to provide you with shelter in Frost Maple Ridge..." O'Brien put his arms around Cousins' shoulder drunkenly.

What a character Cousins ​​is, he is an "elite" who worked hard in the fish market of Fort Eagle's Rest since he was a child!
Seeing what O'Brien said meant something, Cousins ​​took out the "Frost Maple Ridge Special Gift Box" that he was going to give to Paulus from his arms without saying a word, and stuffed it into O'Brien's hands with ease:

"This little thing is a gift from Shuangfengling to the Southern Army..."

So the atmosphere became lively again, and spirits poured into the cup non-stop. Xia Houyan, who was pretending to be drunk, squinted, and saw Cousins ​​secretly raised a thumb to this side, which meant "play".

……

It's night, on the top floor of the "Pillar of Eternal Sleep".

The office of the commander of the Imperial Southern Army was still brightly lit.

The illuminating crystals embedded in the white wall tiles exude a cool light blue radiance—on this arcane spire, there is no need to light any oil lamps at all, just draw a little magic energy from the magic power circuit in the tower , is enough to provide the energy needed to illuminate the crystal.

Commander Paulus sat behind a boxwood desk, carefully counting the Confederate Army's munitions catalog.

Beside the desk, an orderly has already set up an extremely simple camp bed for him:
Commander Paulus, who is busy with military affairs every day, does not have a residence on the defense line like other high-level Southern Army officers. He has always lived in his office on the spot, and it has been the same every day for 20 years.

"Commander." O'Brien stood at the door of the office, looked at Paulus for a while, and then said, "The group of people from Frost Maple Ridge have settled down at the 'Pearl Hotel'."

"What?!" Paulus raised his head abruptly, "Have those bastards rolled out of my 'Pillar of Eternal Sleep' yet?!"

"Lord Paulus..." O'Brien held on to his monocle and carefully chose his words, "Although that Elliot Igor is young, he is also a genuine noble lord, you still respect him. A little better..."

"It's just the son of a conspirator!" Paulus snorted contemptuously. "He can't even manage his own territory well, so he has the nerve to ask the Southern Army for help... He is a prince, and I can still scold him!"

"Speaking of the Igor family..." O'Brien blinked, and took out the gift box with the ice-blue maple leaf flag printed on it from behind, "They gave me something interesting, I think you should take a look."

Paulus raised his eyebrows, got up from behind the desk, and walked towards O'Brien impatiently.

O'Brien gently lifted the lid of the gift box.

The box was empty.

"Huh?" Paulus stared at the empty box for a while, then raised his head inexplicably, "O'Brien, this is—"

The next syllable from Paulus' throat was drowned in the hot blood rushing up the esophagus.

With a wave of his left hand, O'Brien threw the box onto Paulus's desk, then put his hand against the officer's chest, and pushed his right arm back, slowly pulling the sharp dagger from Paulus's desk. The abdomen was pulled out.

Then, he pushed lightly, and Paulus, whose face had become hideous due to the severe pain, collapsed to the ground with a loud noise.

O'Brien stepped on the officer's chest with his feet, then raised the dagger again, pointed its blood-stained edge at Paulus' throbbing throat, and gave it firmly and firmly.

As a result, Paulus, the commander of the Imperial Southern Army, could no longer make any sound.

"Demoncraft, my dear Lord Paulus." O'Brien flicked the blade of the dagger, spattering countless blood spots, "To be honest, it is much sharper than the weapons of our empire."

Then, the Confederate adjutant who had just murdered his own boss, stepped over Paulus' body, picked up the Frost Maple Ridge gift box from the desk, and carefully tore off the ice-blue maple leaf flag on the box lid , dipped the blood in Paulus's wound, stuffed it into the hands of the corpse, and then took the gift box back into his own package.

Holding his monocle, O'Brien inspected the carefully crafted "crime scene" with satisfaction, then sat on the sofa in the office, and stared at Paulus' body with his legs crossed until it gradually approached. It was cold, so he turned around and grabbed the door frame of the office, leaned out half of his body, and screamed at the guard on duty in the tower:

"Come on! Come on - Commander Paulus... something happened to Commander Paulus!"

(End of this chapter)