Imperial Crown.

Chapter 145 Judra's Surrender
call--

A strong wind blew into the big tent, the flames in the brazier flickered, and Judra's shadow stretched across the tent like a savage devil.

Raven walked to the door and closed the curtain: "I didn't hear it. If you want information about the terrain of the lower city, then I can..."

"Help me kill Angel." Judra's voice was low, hoarse and lifeless.

The thunder exploded again.

Raven turned back and looked deeply at Judra. The eldest son of the Wharton family looked abnormally pale, and his eyes were as gloomy as the current weather.

Clearly, he wasn't kidding.

"Mr. Judra, you've got the wrong person." Raven walked around Judra and sat in his seat: "I'm an imperial baron, not a killer."

As he spoke, Raven picked up the wine bag. As soon as he opened it, Judra snatched it away: "Will you help me with this?"

Raven spread his hands and said, "Family love is the most precious treasure in this world. As an upright noble and recipient of the Imperial First Class Medal of Courage, how could I possibly do something that goes against the spirit of nobility?"

"Oh my god, this is horrible. My heart is broken just by hearing this kind of talk!"

Judra's eyelids twitched: "Raven, aren't you afraid that Donald will crawl out of the ground when you say something like that?"

"It's burnt to ashes and can't get up." Raven also straightened his face: "Give me a reason to help you."

Judra took a deep breath and sat down opposite Raven: "...Raven, I think you should know that my status in the family is not high."

"Since I was little, I have been receiving the education that an heir should receive. Until my brother Mark was born, everything changed. Everything that originally belonged to me was given to him."

"The eldest son inherits the title. This is the unchanging iron rule of the empire since ancient times."

"I once had illusions about Ingres, hoping that he could respect this tradition. However, facts after facts told me that my illusions were just illusions."

Judra clasped her hands together and looked down at the ground, remembering all the injustices she had suffered.

Ingres ruthlessly trampled on his reputation, sheltered his brother's illegitimate son, and only gave him 200 serfs for this expedition, while letting his brother stay in the territory.

"Your previous words and Viscount John's words today have completely awakened me."

"The more military exploits I have, the more I will be suspected and excluded by Angel. If I wait until the war is over, it will be too late!"

"I don't want to spend my life as a knight. I was born a noble and I must become a baron in the future!"

"So, I need your help."

Raven looked at Judra steadily and asked again, "What help?"

"Kill Angel!" Judra made her request for the third time.

"I can't help you with this." Raven said.

"What do you mean?" Judea frowned. "Eagle's Beak Mountain, Thousand Needles Jungle, and Gray Mountain Mine, don't you want them anymore?"

Raven shook his head and said with a sigh: "We have known each other for almost a year, right?"

"To be honest, your desire for a title and your ambition for power are qualities I admire."

“So I’m willing to invest in you.”

"But what about you, Mr. Judra, how did you treat me?"

"From the moment we entered the tent, you kept making demands, as if I were your subordinate."

"You won't even call me Baron."

"You came to my tent so late at night and hired me to kill your father with something that originally belonged to me..."

Judea sneered, "The price isn't high enough? Well, as long as the job is done, I'll give you another knight's collar!"

Raven looked at Judra deeply, then slowly stood up and picked up the helmet that was on the table.

"Judra, Judra, what kind of misconception did my words and actions give you that made you disrespect me so much?"

"If you enter the tent, call me Baron, and behave in a proper manner, then I can definitely grant you your wish."

"With my help, you will regain the status and reputation you deserve and inherit the title of baron."

"But... ha!"

Having said this, Judra's expression finally changed.

He understood what Raven meant. Raven wanted more than just the three territories that were promised to him. What he wanted was submission and loyalty!

The word "respect" says it all.

Judra clenched her fists tightly, staring at Raven's back, and her breathing began to become heavy.

He absolutely did not want to bow to Raven. The contract signed before was just a kind of cooperation in Judra's view. He always believed that talking to Raven on an equal footing was already a very humble gesture.

But now, no one can help him except Raven.

Lightning suddenly flashed.

Under this sudden strong light, Raven's back was so far away and so tall that Judra had to look up to see him.

click-

Raven had already walked to the door. Once he stepped out of the tent, it would mean that Judra would have to accept her predetermined fate.

"Raven... Baron!" Cold sweat broke out on Judela's forehead. "Your Excellency Baron, I, Judela, ask for your help."

Raven stopped but did not look back.

Judra knew that this was not enough.

He bit his lips so hard that they bled, then knelt on one knee and touched his chest with his hand: "My Lord Baron, if you are willing to help me, then I swear on my soul and honor that from now on, the Wharton family will follow in Griffith's footsteps for generations!"

Raven then turned around with a smile on his face: "Hey, Mr. Jude, get up! We are as close as brothers, why do you have to say such distant words?"

As close as brothers! If that's the case, why didn't you just let it go earlier?

Judela cursed in his heart, but didn't show it on his face. He stood up and said, "...Are you willing to help me?"

"Don't be in a hurry, take your time." Raven sat back in his seat.

Judela was a little impatient: "How many extraordinary people do you have in your team? Give them all to me! If it doesn't work, at least Eric must be there. Angel is a third-level extraordinary person. We can't take him down without careful planning!"

"No." Raven shook his finger. "I won't give you any."

"You!" Judra's eyes widened: "Raven, are you kidding me?"

"Oh, don't get excited." Raven said with a smile, "We are nobles. Fighting and killing each other is too damaging to the relationship. Besides, you have been fighting for so long. Aren't you tired?"

"I have a better way."

As he spoke, Raven touched his belt and grabbed a crystal bottle in his hand. This was the only bottle Raven had left.

Judra's eyes fell on the bottle suspiciously: "What is this?"

"Corrupted Soul Essence." Raven said calmly, "It is the purest form of negative energy. As long as it is placed in the room, when the Dou Qi user practices Dou Qi, he will naturally absorb this thing into his body."

"It won't take too long before it starts to erode the victim's body, causing him to become violent and irritable, becoming increasingly fragile and less able to control his fighting spirit. Eventually, he will suddenly die during the training process!"

"The worst thing is that even if the priests came, they wouldn't be able to see any clues, because this is no different from a mistake in training that caused the fighting spirit to run wild and kill people!" "Such a sinister method of harming people, an upright noble like me will never use it in my life!"

Judela looked very strange, thinking to herself: Are you honest? If you were really honest, how could you have such a thing in your hands? You are talking so clearly, who would believe you if you said you have never used it?

Isn't this what Donald died under?

After all, Donald's death was unclear.

With this incident as evidence, Judra did not doubt the reliability of the Corrupted Soul Essence and reached out to grab it in her palm, but Raven immediately picked it up.

Judra asked, "What do you do?"

Raven raised his palm: "Such a good thing can't be taken away for nothing, right?"

"How much do you want?"

Raven held up three fingers.

"Three thousand gold coins, are you crazy!?" Judea was horrified: "It's just a small bottle, and you want me to pay so much money?"

Upon hearing this, Raven was also stunned. There was not much essence of corrupted souls in the bottle, which was only equivalent to about thirty magic cores. Calculated according to the price of magic cores, three hundred gold coins would be about the same.

He only wanted three hundred.

But since Judra had said so, there was no reason for Raven to lower the price: "This is something that is unique in the entire Nord Province, and even in the entire Keynes Empire. If you don't want it, forget it."

As he said this, he pretended to put it back into his belt.

"Wait!" Judra's fingers trembled. "Three thousand is three thousand. Take it from the gold coins you promised to give me!"

"It's a deal!" Raven immediately stuffed the bottle into Judra's palm.

The speed was so fast that Judela doubted whether he had been fooled! ?
"Does this thing really work?"

Raven glanced at him and said, "Your interests are aligned with mine. I won't lie to you about this. Don't try it on your own."

"There is no antidote for this poison."

At least Raven couldn't find a solution.

"I see..." Judra put the bottle into her belt, "Goodbye."

After saying that, Judra stood up and walked out of the tent.

The moment he stepped out of the tent, thunder roared in the sky, lightning flashed, and heavy rain fell on the earth like a curtain.

Jude stretched out his hand to catch some of the rain, pursed his lips, and strode into the rain.

Volav asked curiously, "Baron, what did you say to him? Why did you seem to have made him stupid?"

Raven's eyes widened. "Don't talk nonsense. He is stupid. It has nothing to do with me!"

The rain is getting heavier.

A night of heavy rain cleansed the air of Mon'en City and washed away the blood on the streets, opening a bright and sunny curtain for the war.

Sunlight is the nemesis of undead creatures, which is why the Hand of Death Cult chose to launch its attack in winter.

The next morning, the Fox family's army set out and headed straight for the inner city.

With the priests' care, the army advanced at an astonishing speed, and wherever they passed was like a hot knife cutting through butter.

The Iron Legion that retreated into the inner city also took advantage of the situation to launch a counterattack.

Even with the support of the bone dragon Gregory in the air and Sachni gathering a group of necromancers to release the Mist of Withering again, the Undead army still suffered heavy losses, with the city alone losing nearly a quarter of its territory.

After the rainstorm, the ground became extremely muddy, especially outside the city. However, under the encouragement of a group of nobles, the four temporary legions rushed out of the city and began to clear out the undead legion outside the city. Their strategic target was the bone spire standing in the wilderness.

According to Bishop Thomas, this bone spire is called "Ghost Tomb". It can not only provide shelter for the army of undead, but also absorb the surrounding souls into it, continuously creating undead creatures.

Conquering it and destroying it are both great achievements like wiping out the main force of the Undead Legion.

The nobles bravely charged forward, their morale high, but their morale was no match for the muddy terrain. Add to that the low level of training and almost no coordination, and the battle ended in a mess.

Some troops had already rushed forward several hundred meters and were surrounded by the Undead army, but some remained behind, stuck in the mud and unable to get out.

Fortunately, most of the necromancers are concentrated in the city at the moment, lacking a commander to take charge of the overall situation, otherwise the four legions would have suffered heavy losses.

Even so, they were unable to achieve their intended tactical objectives, but did retreat safely.

The two "free men", Raven and Judra, also started to move. Judra chose to stay close to the main force of the Fox family. As they advanced, there would always be small groups of undead legions being squeezed out. Judra would take advantage of the situation and eat some leftovers.

Although Raven has fewer people, they are more elite than Judra. His familiarity with the terrain of the lower city and the help of the Silver Hand Brotherhood make him feel like a fish in water.

At this moment, Raven was leading his personal soldiers to rush towards Klein Street. The only alchemy shop in the lower city was on this street.

Today, this alchemy shop named "Fairy's Hut" has been surrounded by a small group of undead troops. Even though various alchemical bombs are constantly thrown out from it, the effect is minimal and it is about to be completely breached.

Looking at the crumbling gate, the shepherd in charge licked his lips.

Waving the bone staff in his hand, he mobilized three first-level elite skeletons to rush towards the door.

With a bang, a bottle of alchemical potion flew out of the window and hit the skull of one of the first-level skeletons, instantly exploding into a pool of sticky orange liquid, covering its entire body. Then a violent flame broke out, igniting the entire skeleton into a torch.

But this did not affect the Shepherd's determination. The other two first-level skeletons had already rushed to the door with clattering footsteps, raised their weapons, and chopped down fiercely with the gray-white undead aura wrapped in them!

click-

Even the heavy oak door could not withstand such a chopping motion, and it completely collapsed with wood chips flying everywhere!
A smile suddenly appeared on the shepherd's face.

However, at this moment, a burst of dense horse hoof sounds rang out. The shepherd turned his head and saw a team of cavalrymen in full helmet and armor galloping towards him!

The knights on horseback didn't even need to take action. The warhorses, which were even more majestic than monsters, were galloping, and their hooves, as big as bowls, would directly break the skeleton into pieces with just one kick, and bones and dust would fly everywhere.

What the hell is this!?
The elite of the Fox family have come here! ?

While the shepherd was distracted, dozens of skeletons had been trampled into pieces. His throat moved and his heart felt cold. He glanced at the alchemy shop unwillingly, gritted his teeth, turned around and was about to leave.

Anyway, he was born in the lower city, and there are still many undead creatures in the city. As long as he is alive, he will be able to come back for revenge sooner or later!
But what he didn't expect was that the elite cavalry actually rushed straight towards him, as if they had already locked onto his position!
The shepherd was really panicked. He commanded all his first-level skeletons to charge forward regardless of the cost.

However, there is no point in doing so. Once the iron fighting spirit of the leading knight is activated, the rusty knives and swords in the hands of the skeletons will break into pieces of scrap iron, and then their bones will also shatter.

The crisp sound of breaking swords, the sound of crushing bones and the sound of horse hooves intertwined together, as if they were providing music for this scene!
When the knight rushed to the shepherd's face, he had forgotten even to cast magic and stood there in a daze, waiting to die.

However, just as the iron hoof was about to pierce his weak chest, the knight suddenly lifted the reins, turned nimbly, and passed by him.

Then the rows of cavalrymen galloped past him.

For a moment, the only sound he could hear was the sound of horse hooves.

At this moment, the last warhorse slowly approached him, and on the horse sat a man in shiny black leather armor. He had a handsome face, three-dimensional features, and a short beard under his chin that added a touch of majesty to him.

The most eye-catching thing is the badge on his chest. The shepherd does not know its meaning, but it is certain that this is a noble.

A hint of enlightenment arose in the shepherd's mind - he wanted to capture me alive?

With a sneer on his lips, the shepherd clenched the staff with both hands and began to chant a spell.

It's just right. I want you, an ignorant nobleman, to see what I am capable of. Your life is the capital for my escape!
At this moment, he saw that the noble also took out his staff, stopped his horse, and began to chant as well!
……

(End of this chapter)