The mage arrives

As we all know, due to the last attack of the tundra orcs, the empire lost the vast land outside the Great Wall of Anduin, and the group of nobles whose lands were outside the Great Wall were also called landless nobles.For so many years, among the group of landless nobles, only the Freeman family has risen again, and has achieved higher achievements and honors than before.Others have either died or are dying.

As Viscount Otto, who has been active in the south for a long time and is very familiar with the transportation and trade on the steam sea, he has met landless nobles who came all the way from the north more than once before.They used all their belongings to buy a sea ship, hoping to regain the glory and power of their family on the sea.

Sometimes having the wrong experience is scarier than knowing nothing.Viscount Otto, because of his habitual thinking, also regarded Gordon as one of the small nobles in the north who had to go to sea to beg for life after losing their fiefs.

In fact, if Gordon had been a little more diligent and paid more attention to the noble family crest that other Freton nobles valued very much, perhaps this "misunderstanding" would not have occurred.

The family crest represents the history and honor of a noble family, and under normal circumstances, it is not allowed to modify it casually.However, if a noble family has been promoted to the highest title, or acquired a new hereditary fiefdom, the family has the right to modify the family crest once.Although to modify the family crest, it is necessary to hire heraldry experts for reference, and to hire a great painter to create, and the final finished product has to be sent to the Platinum Empire Royal Heraldry Management Institute for review, the process is very troublesome.But this kind of thing that can add glory to their family, everyone is never tired of it, as long as there is an opportunity, they will never miss it.

But Gordon is an exception.

In the past, when the family was in trouble, in order to maintain expenses.Xiona couldn't go out to make money as an adventurer, and even mortgaged her house at the most embarrassing moment.Under such economic conditions, the Freeman family was already struggling to maintain Gordon's high arcane learning expenses.How is it possible to spend money to hire a master of heraldry again?

You must know that heraldry is a difficult and complicated social and historical subject that only nobles can use.There are very few people who are proficient, and any noble family wants to hire a master of heraldry, and the cost is no less than raising a middle-level mage.

Gordon had no conditions to study heraldry before.And when his title was promoted and he obtained the fiefdom, there were too many things to be busy with, and he didn't have time to learn this knowledge at all.Moreover, in the remote Haiwen Peninsula area, there are a lot of barbarians who drink blood, but they are experts in heraldry who are familiar with the family genealogy of the imperial nobles.But impossible to find.Therefore, the coat of arms of the Freeman family has not changed.

Moreover, Gordon felt that his own coat of arms was pretty, so he didn't have the heart to change it.

Thinking that what he had to deal with was only an outsider who came from afar from the north, and he was also a landless noble with little power, Viscount Otto immediately felt full of confidence.

The reason why he brought his thugs onto the opponent's boat so impatiently was that besides wanting to vent his anger and extort a sum of money, he also had a more important purpose, which was to make a major mistake Throw to each other.

Although Viscount Otto's merchant ship was flying the flag of the Temple of Dawn, it was not the property of the Temple.He is not a clergyman himself, just a follower of Meridia—and not a very pious one at that.

Every year, the Requiem Blessing Day is an important day in Fleuris City.For civilians.This day can get free food and medical treatment.For the church, this day can further deepen people's faith and spread the gospel of gods.For the nobles, this day is also an opportunity to stabilize people's hearts, maintain their rule, get closer to the church, and gain a good reputation.

So no matter how vicious they usually oppress the common people, the nobles will become extraordinarily generous and kind on Requiem Blessing Day.Not to mention being inspired by the existence of Bishop Ben Anisa, who can be called a saint.Nobles who want to do good deeds, this time of year.They are countless.

However, if Gordon knew about the ethos in Freiris City, he would definitely scoff at it.

Xiona disclosed in the letter before.The city has been infiltrated quite deeply by a cult known as the Death Will Cult.As nobles who possess power and military strength, they are not focused on how to eliminate those enemies who can really threaten the rule, but are keen on these superficial skills, which is simply ridiculous.

Would covering a fetid abscess with a piece of gorgeous silk solve the problem?

Viscount Otto's reputation is not very good, especially known for his harsh treatment of the people.What he likes to do the most is probably to use all kinds of despicable means to deprive the free people of the fiefdom of their land and make them become serfs without freedom.Even some time ago, he couldn't stand his son's begging, and he planned to restore an ancient law that had been abolished in the entire territory of Freyton many years ago in the fief: the right of the first night.

However, his unpopular idea met with fierce resistance from the citizens, and even two small-scale uprisings broke out.There is no threat to these peasant uprisings. Swords and staffs can easily solve them, and rolling heads can deter floating hearts.But when Viscount Otto's lord, the Patriarch of the Phoenix family sent a letter to reprimand him, Viscount Otto could no longer remain calm.

If it weren't for a few colleagues to help intercede, I am afraid that the three baronies owned by Viscount Otto would be taken back by the Patriarch one or two, and his title of Viscount would also be downgraded by one level.

You know, the Duke of the Phoenix family is quite strict with his vassals.

After making a mistake, Viscount Otto, who felt that his status was unstable, naturally had to find a way to earn performance and make up for his mistakes.And the Requiem Blessing Day is a good opportunity.

The Viscount, who considered himself a devout believer, asked Bishop Ben Anisa to take over [-]% of the preparations for the Blessing Day ceremony.Although this job not only doesn't make a penny, but also pays a lot of money, if you can win the favor of the lord just by spending money, it can't be more cost-effective.

After obtaining the consent of Bishop Ben Anisa, Viscount Otto sent a three-masted merchant ship of his own to hang the logo of the Temple of Dawn.Shopping for festival supplies.

Among all kinds of ceremonial supplies, one is the most critical.

In the city of Fleuris, the major churches have long since abandoned the Mercy and Mercy Zone, which was severely damaged in the pirate attacks.Find another place to settle down.Today, it is located on a hill north of the city of Fleuris.Not only the Temple of Dawn, the Temple of Platinum, and the Temple of Law, the activity sites of the three major churches of Freyton, but also the temples of the other twelve gods, including dwarves, halflings, and elves, were also built in the temple. here.

This urban area called "Shen Temple Hill" is the main place where the Requiem Blessing Day ceremony is held.

On the Day of Requiem Blessing, the bishops of the major temples, as well as the prominent nobles of Fleuris City—including the head of the Phoenix family—would walk for a kilometer from the Platinum Square under the temple mountain.There are a total of [-] steps to climb the temple mountain to show piety.

And on this section of the road, there will be long carpets of bright red-symbolizing blood and sacrifice, and trimmed with platinum.

According to the usual practice, this kind of red carpets are all purchased from merchants from the Southern Continent.After all, the velvet blankets from the desert ethnic artisans are well-known in the Northern Continent, and they are high-end decorations.If it is not adopted, the entire festival will seem to be lowered to a lower level.For noble gentlemen who pay attention to form and good face, this is absolutely unacceptable.

But this year, the task of purchasing high-end carpets fell to Viscount Otto.But something went wrong.He did not find a businessman who had cooperated many times in previous years, but changed to a carpet business with a cheaper price.Then, this self-proclaimed shrewd Mr. Viscount found out very sadly.I was cheated by profiteers.

Fortunately, the high-end carpet that I purchased was placed in the cabin for two days, and it began to fade by itself.

Every year on the Requiem Blessing Day, the mountaineering activities in the morning are the focus of the festival.And the red carpet laid from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain will always be in the center of sight of hundreds of thousands of festival participants, which is the most important thing.If something goes wrong in this matter, one can imagine what will happen to the person in charge.

The deceived Viscount Otto, with an extremely heavy and bad mood, took a boat to the city of Fleuris.The Requiem Blessing Day is coming, and he wants to make amends now.There is no time.As a result, at this moment when he was at a loss, a small tsunami suddenly appeared.The resulting collision made Viscount Otto very happy.

Hull smashed.The place where the sea water pours back happens to be the cabin where those poor-quality carpets are stored.now.It would be foolish for Viscount Otto not to seize this opportunity and blame the ship that collided with it.Anyway, after being soaked in sea water, no one will be able to distinguish the fake and inferior carpets.

Now, taking advantage of the fact that the accident had just happened and no one else had intervened, Viscount Otto decided to seize the time and forcefully oppress the other party, making him bear all the faults.In this case, not only can I get rid of all guilt, but I can also earn a sum of compensation.If he had learned Chinese idioms, Viscount Otto would definitely praise his wonderful idea with "kill two birds with one stone" at this time.

As for what kind of loss Gordon would bring by doing so, he was lazy.

Commoners must obey nobles unconditionally.And the small nobles must obey the big nobles unconditionally. This is Viscount Otto's outlook on life.

Although Gordon didn't know the wonderful plans in the viscount's mind, he knew that things couldn't go well after the viscount boarded his Sainte Marisa aggressively.

"Vinya, you go to the cabin to rest first." Gordon told his fiancee.

Because of the divine power of the God of Hatred in her body, the female druid must maintain a stable physical condition. It is best not to go into battle unless it is absolutely necessary.So now she can only be protected by Haosheng just like the weak and pitiful Miss Jiao.

Sighing helplessly, Vinya gently squeezed her fiancé's palm: "You have to take care, don't be too aggressive."

"Don't worry, I don't need to do it myself to deal with these guys."

As soon as Gordon finished speaking, Yang Qi Jian Er, who had been silent by his side, stood up.This little half-elf was serving as the captain of the guard during Gordon's trip. Twenty carefully selected veterans led by him will be fully responsible for the safety of the lord and his fiancée.

Although Gordon's guards may not be of much use if they encounter an enemy of the level of God's son Alan Telfer, but in this situation, they can show their talents.

At this moment.Viscount Otto took the lead and walked towards Gordon.The heavy armored guards around him lined up in a row, with an astonishing momentum.The weapon in his hand shone with a cold metallic luster, giving people an invisible oppressive force.A little timid.After hearing the sound of those iron boots trampling on the deck, they would all shy away in fright.

Viscount Otto glanced around and saw the sailors of the Virgin Marisa running away in panic, and suddenly felt that his confidence was a little stronger.How could these ignorant little noblemen not be afraid after seeing their fully armed guards?

The guards built by the Sulzbach family invested a lot of money. Not only did they perform very well when cutting off the heads of those mobs, but they were also used to show the family's prestige.It's also good for scaring those who don't know what to do.

"Hmph, each of my guards costs [-] gold coins just for the majestic full-cover fine steel plate armor. In the Changxia province, there are not many nobles with my financial resources. Even those guys from the Phoenix family who have their eyes above the top must be very envious of my guards. Their famous Phoenix armor may not be as good as the armor of the Sulzbach Guard."

Seeing the sailors running away, the Viscount felt a sense of superiority.Then.He cast his gaze not far away.At the stern of the ship, there is a young man wearing a mage's robe and looking like an aristocrat.On his left stood a small, inconspicuous archer.On the other side stood a short, fat man with a bruised nose and a swollen face.

"Hmph, a guy who doesn't know good and bad, actually wants to send me away with a few gold coins?" Viscount Otto looked at Du Luo who had been taught by himself, and smiled contemptuously.

He paid no attention to Gordon at all.It's just that those landless nobles in the north are really down and out. Not only is there only one guard around them, but also a short half-elf.Compared with those burly and majestic guards of his own, it was more than a step worse.

What's even more ridiculous is that the half-elf was only wearing a set of half-new inlaid armor, and his main weapon was just a longbow.

longbow?

Doesn't the other party know.For a guard, the most important thing is to protect the safety of the owner.And the longbow is a long-range weapon.What role can it play in this regard?

Think here.Viscount Otto was even more confident. He felt that he was fully capable of giving that young nobleman who must have never seen the world a blow, and made the other party honestly agree to all his conditions.

"Listen, people on this ship, I am Viscount Otto von Sulzbach! The owner of Altenburg and Karlszin! Just now, you rammed my merchant ship unreasonably and brutally, causing heavy losses , and even delayed the preparations for the holy Requiem Blessing Day. Now, I make two requests to you!"

Viscount Otto raised his head proudly, and held up a finger, as if it was the supreme scepter that could determine the life and death of a nobleman: "First, you must compensate me for all losses, a total of 480 gold coins !"

Viscount Otto spoke extremely fluently, as if his accounting staff were so efficient that they had really calculated all the losses in such a short period of time.However, this frighteningly large number was just a random nonsense of his.

"Second..." Viscount Otto continued, "The person in charge of this ship must go with me to the Temple of Dawn, confess his sins, and bear all the consequences caused by the damage to the sacrificial supplies due to the collision accident!"

In fact, Viscount Otto wanted to add a third requirement.When he boarded the Santa Marisa just now, he caught a glimpse and saw a woman walking down the cabin.The slender figure tickled his heart, and his possessiveness was growing crazily like vines in the rainy season.

"It's really unfair. A mere little nobleman without a fief is actually accompanied by such a beautiful woman! Shouldn't truly beautiful things be owned by the strong?"

Fortunately, Viscount Otto hadn't forgotten the reprimand from his immediate superior, so he restrained himself a little, suppressed the desire in his heart, and showed the appearance of a pious believer who denounced justice for the Temple of Dawn.

When Viscount Otto yelled out his unreasonable demands, the half-elf guard captain beside Gordon also asked in a low voice: "My lord, what should we do?"

"What should I do?" Gordon looked regretfully at Viscount Otto, who was about to overflow with arrogance, "Actually, I just want to be a good person who treats others well and avoids causing trouble..."

The mage looked up at the sky, as if he was recalling something: "Well, the Imperial Vassal Law stipulates that noble ships are also equivalent to fiefdoms and are protected by law. Now a group of guys who don't know what is good or bad are fully armed and invaded my fief. How to do it?"

When Yang Qi Jian Er heard this, his eyes lit up and he showed an excited expression: "My lord, let me test the results of my special training a while ago. You don't need to act, and you don't need to call other guards over. That I will deal with the tin cans of the idiot aristocrats by myself."

"Understood, quick battle."

After getting the permission, the half-elf immediately took the longbow from his back, held it horizontally in his hand, and then took four arrows exuding abundant arcane energy from the quiver.