Imperial Crown.

Chapter 174 Goblins and Magic
The dungeon of Snow Maple Castle is different from that of Eagle Castle. In addition to the cells separated by iron fences, there is even an elaborately built water dungeon.

This would have been nothing, but when he walked inside, Raven felt something was wrong because there were too many different torture instruments in one of the cells.

There was an X-shaped fixed bracket, a triangular wooden horse, and a head and hand restraint frame. On the wall next to it were whips and fake tails of various models. There were also candles piled up in the corner.

Raven's expression suddenly became a little strange. Viscount John looked so serious, but was he playing... so openly?

Do you want to get one for yourself?
"Sir, we're here." The jailer's voice rang out, and Raven came back to his senses.

Unlike other prisons, this cell did not have a fence. Instead, its walls were built with large pieces of bluestone. The door was made of steel, with only a hole at the bottom for delivering food.

At Raven's instruction, the jailer opened the door with a loud bang.

The cell was empty, not as dirty as Raven had expected, but rather quite tidy. In the corner was a stone bed covered with a straw mat, and in the middle was a stone table fixed to the ground.

One end of the four iron chains was fixed in place, and the other end extended to the center of the house, binding up a slightly hunched back.

"Qiqigak, Baron Raven is here, hurry up and salute!" The jailer knocked on the iron door with the wooden stick he carried with him, making a heavy sound.

Amid the sound of shaking chains, the goblin named Chichigak slowly turned around and stood up.

Raven raised his eyebrows, feeling a little surprised.

Because in the rumors that Raven had heard, goblins were creatures that were thinner than dwarves, about the size of eight or nine-year-old children, but the goblin in front of him was different.

He was about 1.7 meters tall, which was not short among humans. His hair was brown and as rough as straw. His skin was yellow-green, with pointed ears with slightly curled edges, a protruding forehead, eyes that were a slightly dirty green, a large nose shaped like a duck's beak, and rusty fangs visible through his black lips.

These are all very obvious goblin characteristics.

But his next physical features no longer look like a goblin.

His shoulders were disproportionately broad for his body, his arms were long and thick, his sharp gray nails almost reached his feet, his knuckles and joints were thick, and even without exerting force, the outline of his thick muscles could be clearly seen. He wore a simple animal skin around his waist, his feet were bare, and his big feet were about a foot long.

There are brown and yellow scales on the ankles, elbows, neck and face, which seems to have some Warcraft bloodline.

Although he was locked up by the "Demon Sealing Steel", the dark yellow earth energy was still surging and flowing in his body, reaching the peak level of the second level. With time, it is not impossible for him to break through to the third level.

Raven figured out why he had this physique.

Goblins are spread all over the continent, and their greatest feature is their fertility - they have almost no reproductive isolation from any other creatures. Therefore, the offspring they give birth to are likely to have strange characteristics.

For example, they may grow long ears like rabbits, hooves like pigs and cows, horns like goats on their heads, or even gills or wings.

Qiqikek, perhaps he has awakened the bloodline of some magical beast.

"You, John, are not." Qiqikek stared at Raven and asked, "Looking for me, why?"

Raven found it even more interesting. Goblins were creatures with extremely low IQs, basically no different from wild beasts. He had never expected that this Chichikake could actually speak, so he asked, "Where did you learn the Imperial language?"

Qiqikek scratched his head: "Yes, yes!"

Seeing that he couldn't explain clearly, Raven didn't ask any more questions, but asked:

"Do you want to get out of here?"

Qiqikek understood what was said. He nodded vigorously, not hiding his desire at all: "I want to! I want to! Qiqikek, I want to fight! I want to kill! I want to eat meat!!!"

"You can fight, kill, and eat meat," Raven said, "but the premise is that you must obey my orders and be loyal to me."

Qiqikek made a gurgling sound in his throat, as if he was trying to understand the meaning of Raven's words. After a while, he said, "Qiqikek, you are strong. Obey!"

"You, John, are, stronger?"

Raven understood that this was a question about who was more powerful between him and Viscount John.

After just a little thought, Raven said, "Viscount John has left. I have the final say over this territory!"

This was actually a typical case of beating around the bush, but in Qiqikek's ears it perfectly answered his question.

In Qiqikek's opinion, territory must be fought for. He had previously lost the battle for territory to John. Now that Viscount John has left, it must be because he lost the battle for territory to Raven, so he was exiled.

"Allegiance, Chichikeke, yes!"

"Weapons, equipment, meat!!!"

"Untie him and give him meat." Raven gave the order and turned to Qiqikeke: "You can't fight or hurt anyone without my permission, otherwise I will kill you!"

Qiqikek nodded heavily: "Qiqikek, credit, yes!"

Leave Qiqikek here for now. After all, Raven has no interest in observing others eating.

Before leaving, Raven asked casually, "This Qiqike seems to be obedient to the strong, why didn't Viscount John subdue him before?"

The jailer whispered, "This guy is very stubborn. He has always believed that Viscount John is his enemy. Although he is strong, he cannot be loyal to him. Viscount John also felt it was a pity to kill him, so he has kept him here."

It turned out to be the case.

Raven smiled. This was indeed a good gift.

This kind of powerful humanoid creature is unlikely to be used in the army, and Raven does not intend to form a bizarre alien coalition, but Qiqiqioke has his place to show his value.

His existence is much more peculiar than that of a simple second-level transcendent.

That night, Raven had a mysterious guard, who was completely covered in plate armor.

The next morning, Raven received a document sent from Eagle Town last night. Just after he checked it, Kuman came to report the situation.

Although Green Forest Town suffered some damage, it was not difficult to repair. At the same time, it also conveyed the gratitude of the residents of Green Forest Town to Raven - a crown made of bear teeth.

Raven accepted the crown. It couldn't be worn, but as an ornament it had a rough and primitive beauty.

After playing with the crown for a while, Raven got down to business: "There seem to be a few open spaces along the river around Xuefeng Town, right?"

"Yes, Baron, those places were originally used for temporary storage of goods," said Kuman.

"Enclose two of them and build two factories according to these two drawings." Raven placed the letter he received in the morning on the table. "I don't care how many people you use, but as long as the quality of the construction is guaranteed, the sooner the better, and the longest should not exceed half a year." This is the factory design drawn by Fiona. It was designed according to Raven's requirements and is quite large. Each factory is expected to accommodate hundreds of people.

One of them will be used as a blacksmithing workshop; the other one...

Kuman took it and looked at it carefully, frowning slightly: "Baron, there is no problem with these design drawings, but it will be difficult to complete them within half a year."

"What's the problem?" Raven raised his eyebrows.

"It will cost money, a lot of money." Kuman said, "A factory of this size will need to requisition some of the civilian land that has already been sold. Adding in the labor and materials, it will cost at least 50,000 gold coins in total!"

"Fifty thousand gold coins..." Raven rubbed his chin.

Previously, he had brought down about 70,000 gold coins from the Bloody Highlands, and later he brought back about 103,000 gold coins from the City of Mon'en, for a total of 170,000 gold coins.

Although the total value of the various gifts and goods brought back was more than 100,000 gold coins, their value for personal use far exceeded the profits from selling them.

After deducting the funds for the construction of Eagle Town and the gold coins used to purchase magic and magic plants, there are less than 80,000 gold coins left in the account. If 50,000 gold coins are spent in one go, only 30,000 gold coins will be left. This does not include the expenses for the expansion of the Riverside Workshop, the construction of the brewery, etc.

"Well, I'll give you 10,000 gold coins first, which will last you at least a month." Raven stroked his chin and continued, "If you need money later, ask me for it."

Kuman breathed a sigh of relief: "Yes, Lord Baron!"

After discussing some details with Kuman, Raven waved his hand to send him away and once again made that classic comment:

“I’m short of money!”

Over the next few days, Raven completed the banquet at the same pace as before, and during the process he resolved several minor and major troubles.

As the banquet came to a successful conclusion, Raven's reputation in the Snow Maple Territory continued to rise, and he was generally respected and recognized by the merchant class. Especially after the announcement of the cancellation of the city gate tax, he received unanimous praise from the free people.

At the same time, the news that Raven had single-handedly killed the Earth Bear had spread, and the nobles had mixed reactions.

Some people think that Raven has demonstrated the qualities that a noble should have and his personal strength; others think that Raven was reckless and unwise, and that this move not only slapped Viscount John in the face, but also fully highlighted Raven's "nouveau riche" temperament.

Raven just smiled at this.

It won't cost you a single cent if people talk about it.

If people can't eat the grapes, they can't help but say they're sour, right?
On the second day after the banquet, Raven first summoned officials from various towns in Xuefeng Territory and reiterated his policy. There were two points that must be adhered to: first, the city gate tax must be completely abolished; second, hired workers must be paid.

Officials were more or less dissatisfied with this measure that cut off people's financial resources, but no one dared to express it, nor did they dare to fail to carry it out, let alone play the game of lip service.

No matter how powerful they are, they cannot be more powerful than the Earth Bear.

After the meeting, Raven set off without delay, returned to Eagle Castle that evening, and went to bed early.

The next morning, Raven, who had rested enough, ordered his men to fetch the "express delivery" that had already been delivered from the warehouse - a second-level magician badge, six new second-level magics, and two magic plants.

Today, the secret room in Eagle Castle has become Raven’s laboratory, and the unboxing session also takes place here.

The Mages Guild strives to embody the dignity of a magician in every aspect.

The second-level magician badge was actually made of purple gold, with a star-like vortex outlined with gold lines on it. Holding it in the hand was like holding the galaxy in the palm of your hand.

Six second-level magic scrolls were placed in beautifully decorated wooden boxes. The box itself could be sold for at least five gold coins.

After opening it, you can clearly see that the carrier of magic is not the common parchment, but magic leather made through a special process. It has fine texture, tough texture, and feels excellent to the touch.

Raven looked at the six scrolls that were shining with different lights and smiled happily:

"That's what a magician is!"

Finally, I don’t have to rely on four common magic spells to get by!

This time, Raven bought one each of the six types of second-level magic: earth, water, wind, ice, light, and darkness, spending more than 20,500 gold coins.

Since he has mastered the most destructive second-level fire magic, Raven does not choose magic based on destructive power.

For example, the second-level water-attributed magic "Nourishing Rain" is a ritual magic that requires many prerequisites. After it is cast, it can create rain clouds of varying sizes to irrigate the fields according to the different ranks of the caster. It is also an essential magic for planting and cultivating magic plants.

It is said that a great magician above level five can irrigate hundreds of acres of land with one "nourishing rain".

Another example is the second-order earth attribute magic "Surface Manipulation". This kind of magic has a very magical effect and can change the surface properties of any material containing the earth element.

For example, it can make the originally rough land become extremely smooth, like ice; it can also make the originally muddy swamp become as hard as steel.

The ideal place to use it is on the battlefield. Once the enemy launches a charge, a "surface manipulation" will make the ground extremely smooth, immediately turning the enemy into a rolling gourd.

If this spell is mastered on the Bloody Highlands, those cavalrymen will not even be able to charge and will die under the hooves of their own horses!

For single-target attacks, there is a second-level ice-attribute magic called "Shivering Metal". This magic can be cast on any metal object, making it extremely cold and freezing everything it touches.

This kind of magic is best suited for dealing with knights and warriors.

If applied to their weapons, it can make it impossible for people to hold them, thus disarming them; if applied to armor, it will turn the enemy's armor into a refrigerator. Even if they are not frozen to death, their movement sensitivity will be greatly reduced, and their fighting spirit consumption will also increase dramatically.

The magic that Raven likes the most and is also the most expensive in this pile of scrolls is the second-level light magic "Mirror Image". After using it, it can create four illusions that are indistinguishable from the caster himself.

These illusions will appear around the caster in an irregular order, and will maintain consistent movements with the caster for the duration. Even the magic they cast will replicate the light effects, making each one indistinguishable from the real thing.

Not only can it effectively deal with single-target magic and attacks, but it can also adjust the position of itself and the illusion at any time, making it a life-saving skill.

In addition to these, there are also the wind magic "Storm Shield" and the dark magic "Embrace of the Night", which are more inclined to strengthen oneself.

There are six types of magic in total, which will allow Raven to practice for a long time.

After putting away the magic, Raven rubbed his hands, an expectant smile appeared on the corners of his mouth, and his eyes fell on the huge wooden box next to him - the magic plant was inside.

Whether or not we can open up new sources of income for Eagle Territory depends on them!
……

(End of this chapter)