Imperial Crown.

Chapter 23 This is not blackmail, but cooperation!

In Raven's hand was a leather belt that was three fingers wide and about one meter and three meters long.

It is a dull black color all over, absorbing all the light around it. It feels weightless in the hand and looks ordinary.

But in Raven's eyes at this moment, it was absolutely beautiful.

Under the gaze of the Eye of Truth, the belt radiated an azure glow with intricate magical patterns engraved on it. The dense areas were like rushing water, while the wide areas were dotted with star-like light.

At that time, the belt was pressed under the enchanted plate armor, so Raven's Eye of Truth did not discover it.

This special magical equipment can only be activated through fighting spirit or magic power, and Eric taught Raven a special way so that ordinary people can use it.

Raven held a magic core and pressed it against his belt. The scarlet energy contained in the core seeped into it, and a layer of pale white light like mist emanated from the belt. An empty and regular space was reflected in Raven's mind.

Space equipment.

Anderson used it at that time to catch Raven off guard and almost killed him!

This space is about one meter long and two meters high. Most of it is empty, with only a bag of gold coins piled in the corner.

"Careful, calm!" Raven swallowed and stroked his free hand to his belt, imagining that he grabbed the purse and then lifted it up!
The next moment, he felt his hand sink, and the purse full of gold coins fell on the table with a thud.

Become!

Although his two lives together amounted to a total of fifty years, Raven was like a child who had found a new toy. He grasped the mysterious feeling and put the purse in and out, put it in and out, until he had done it more than a dozen times before stopping.

"It's amazing!" Without bothering to count the gold coins in the bag, Raven had already started to imagine the function of this belt.

In his opinion, Anderson's method of hiding gold coins inside was really unimaginative!

One meter by two meters, or two cubic meters of space, is enough to hold at least twenty loaded crossbows if arranged properly!
By then, these crossbows will be equipped with enchanted crossbow arrows, and Raven will be confident that he can shoot Eric into a hedgehog even if he is the current Eric!

What is a humanoid turret?

"It's a pity that this space equipment can't hold living people." Raven sighed regretfully: "Otherwise, if we put Eric in it and release it at the critical moment, it will definitely scare people!"

After using his imagination, Raven roughly counted the number of gold coins. There were a total of 127. Considering Anderson's strength and the size of his team, this number was not too many.

However, considering the cost of his equipment, Raven felt relieved.

"The crossbow issue needs to be put on the agenda as soon as possible. These gold coins are just right for use, so let Eric do it..." Raven muttered, tied the belt around his waist, and suddenly froze when he looked at the magic core on the table.

Inside the magic core, the scarlet light that was originally as thick as a finger was reduced to about one third.

Raven nodded: "So, I was just consuming the energy in the magic core as energy consumption for this space belt."

Suddenly, an inspiration came into Raven's mind.

Using the Eye of Truth in previous battles would cause a significant decrease in physical strength and energy, which is also a manifestation of energy consumption.

He recalled that when he killed Donald, it was a kind of power that flowed to his forehead and activated the Eyes of Truth.

At that time, Donald had undergone a ritual transformation and had actually become a monster. The source of his power should be the magic core.

"Did I accidentally break his magic core, and that's why I awakened the Eye of Truth? If that's the case..."

Holding the magic core in his hand, Raven smashed it against the windowsill without hesitation!

The magic core hit the windowsill and instantly shattered into a piece of crystal dust like diamonds. Through the Eye of Truth, Raven clearly saw the scarlet energy contained in it burst out and turned into misty fog.

"This is..." Raven lowered his head and stroked his brow.

At this moment, his eyebrows were pounding like his heart, revealing an almost instinctive desire!

“Come, come, come…”

Raven's mind gradually calmed down. The scarlet mist in the air seemed to be attracted by something and suddenly moved, rushing towards Raven's eyebrows.

The moment the mist penetrated his skin, Raven had an extremely contradictory feeling.

It feels refreshing like a breeze, but also has an indescribable heat!

The hot feeling radiated from the center of Raven's eyebrows, making his scalp itchy, and then spread along the blood vessels and skin.

He moved closer to the bronze mirror and saw that the blood vessels on his skin were exposed. He looked hideous and terrifying, and was quite similar to Donald after he broke out of his cocoon.

But soon, as the feeling of heat subsided, these blood vessels disappeared again, and no change could be seen.

"Strange..." Raven didn't know what was happening to his body. He shook his head, and suddenly there was a sound like popping beans.

He was stunned for a moment, then began to move his body constantly. He felt that the blood circulation throughout his body became much smoother, as if he had just experienced a massage from inside to outside!
"Could it be that the energy in this magic core can strengthen my body?" Raven clenched his fists, feeling that he had never been so strong.

He took out his crossbow, loaded it with arrows, hooked the crossbow string with four fingers, and began to string the crossbow.

As a creaking sound was heard, the crossbow string changed from a straight line to a V shape, and Raven's eyes burst into surprise.

The crossbow arrow that originally required the knee to be quickly strung now only requires four fingers - this speed is certainly not fast, but it is also something that the previous Raven could never do!

"Try again?" Raven licked his lips and smashed the second magic core without hesitation.

Just like before, the dark red mist was drawn into Raven's forehead, but this time, the hot feeling was so strong that Raven felt as if there was a fire burning on his head!

He leaned in front of the mirror and saw that beneath his originally fair skin, blood vessels, even the tiniest capillaries, had burst out one after another, like the roots of an old tree entrenched in the soil, or like a group of wriggling worms.

Beads of sweat the size of beans gathered on his forehead and slid down his skin. At this moment, Raven could even feel the sweat flowing through his skin.

Fearing that his blood vessels would burst, Raven stood in front of the mirror and dared not move. Half an hour later, the feeling of hotness completely disappeared.

"Huh... too much is as bad as too little." Raven shook his head: "I can't do this any more in the short term."

He stretched his body and then froze.

Through the mirror, he could clearly see that his muscles formed a perfect outline against his coat.

"Huh? The effect is so obvious?" Raven took off his clothes and was immediately stunned by the scene in front of him.

To be honest, Raven before was definitely not a thin dog, but he was just considered strong among ordinary people. But now he is completely different.

His chest muscles are firm, but not too strong like those of a fitness addict. Instead, he looks like a long-distance runner, with well-proportioned muscles, slender and powerful lines, and clear eight abdominal muscles, which are enough to make any woman crazy.

He drew out the rapier from his waist, and with a flick of his wrist he raised the tip of the sword upwards. Then he pinched it lightly with two fingers and began to play with the three-pound rapier like a wooden stick.

"The magic core has this effect?" Raven put away his rapier and shook his head slowly: "No, this should be the effect of the Eye of Truth."

Just by absorbing two first-level magic cores, one of which was damaged, his strength increased by at least 50%. He is not yet a transcendent, but he can have such an improvement. Once he becomes a knight or a mage, he will absorb more and better magic cores...

The future is bright!
You know, things like magic cores are much cheaper than enchanted equipment and potions!

With a smile on his lips, Raven grabbed the purse. The purse, which originally felt heavy in his hand, now became light.

Just as he was about to put the purse away, Raven put his hand under it and suddenly experienced a rather strange touch.

When he opened it, a cunning smile appeared on Raven's face: "Hey, Hyde Slater, I wanted to come back to you in two days, but I didn't expect you to give me such a big gift."

Time passed by little by little, the sun faded its brilliance, and the silver moon's light sprinkled on the earth. A carriage pulled by blood-eyed war horses drove out of Eagle Castle and came to the door of Eagle Wing Inn in Shining Gold Town.

Raven straightened his collar, got out of the car holding a wooden box, and said to Eric who was driving, "Wait here for me." "I will follow your orders, sir!"

Raven nodded and pushed open the door of the tavern. It was still as quiet as last time, but the bald boss's expression was much uglier than last time.

"I'm here for Master Hyde's sake," Raven said calmly, "If you don't want to see your master kicked out of the succession sequence, you'd better not piss me off."

A man in a brown cloak heard this and put his half-drawn sword back into the sheath.

"Take me to him."

The brown cloak walked ahead of Raven without saying a word.

It was still the same room, with the same layout. Raven pushed the door open and sat directly on the bench, only a shoulder away from Hyde.

Hyde's face darkened, and he ran his fingers through his middle-parted hair. "Baron Raven, is this how you submit to me?!"

"Surrender?" Raven raised his eyebrows and threw the box on the table: "Hyde, Mr. Hyde Slater, you seem to have misjudged the current situation."

"I'm here to negotiate terms."

Hyde sneered, and pressed his slender fingers on the sword at his waist: "You are just a small baron, why do you want to negotiate with me?"

"That's it." Raven snapped the box open and turned it towards Hyde.

A strong smell of blood accompanied by a hint of rot instantly spread.

"Be bold!"

"Protect your lord!"

Two enchanted swords were placed on Raven's neck. He sneered, reached out and picked up an apple from the fruit bowl on the table, and took a big bite. "Mr. Hyde, can't you even manage your own men?"

Hyde's brows twitched slightly. He turned his head and saw Raven chewing an apple in big mouthfuls. The red peel mixed with white flesh stuck to his teeth and tongue, just like a magical beast chewing on a beating heart!

"Stand back." Hyde's lips twitched slightly.

The two guards were stunned for a moment: "But sir..."

"I said back off!" Hyde let out an angry roar from his throat.

The two guards put away their swords, turned around and disappeared into the shadows.

Hyde's chest was heaving violently. He didn't want to look, but his eyes were still fixed on the wooden box.

What's in there is Anderson's head!

His hair was dry and disheveled like weeds, and blood flowing from his seven orifices and five senses stuck to his pale face, like a cruel and hideous painting. His bloodshot eyes were wide open, and there was a blood hole on his forehead as thick as a chopstick, from which one could even see the overflowing brain matter!
A human head would not scare Hyde. What really frightened him was the letter next to the head, a blood-stained letter with his wax seal on it!

"What do you want...?" Hyde asked darkly.

"That depends on your sincerity, Lord Hyde." Raven said with a smile, "Collaborating with the bandits of Bloody Highlands to attack the territory of an Imperial Baron is really heartbreaking."

"I feel like I need something golden to fill my broken heart!"

"In short, you want money, right?" Hyde sneered, "Three thousand gold coins, is that enough to buy you to shut up?"

Raven reached out and picked up the letter in the wooden box. "Lord Hyde, I don't think you realize the seriousness of the matter. This is your own handwritten letter, and it uses your own private seal. If it appears on Mr. Minsk's desk... what will happen?"

Minsk Slater, the first heir of the Slater family, is the current centurion of the Iron Legion, a fourth-rank Iron Knight, and Hyde's elder brother. He is known for his impartiality.

This is not the problem. The problem is that the relationship between Hyde and Minsk is well known to be bad. Once this handle is grasped, he will be excluded from the team of heirs without any room for maneuver.

"...You dare!" Hyde's fierce gaze fell on Raven's face: "Aren't you afraid that I will kill you here?"

"You don't have the guts, otherwise why wouldn't the commission ask for my head?" Raven said with a smile, "And this letter is just a copy I wrote temporarily. The original is ready to go to Mon'en City at any time."

Hyde took a deep breath and felt a strong sense of frustration.

This damn Anderson, the rising star in Bloody Highlands, two first-level transcendents, and sixteen battle-hardened bandits, couldn't do anything to Raven, who only had thirty or so serf soldiers!
Now, he even left his letter, making me unable to raise my head in front of this damn pariah, this little bee!
Hyde rubbed his fingers together, "What on earth do you want!?"

"Eight thousand gold coins." Raven said calmly: "Besides that, I also need you to cooperate with me and help me take back Glittering Gold Town."

Hyde's hair exploded and he screamed without any manners, "You are blackmailing me!"

"Oh, calm down, calm down!" Raven took a bottle of red wine from the table and poured it into the glass in front of Hyde: "This is not blackmail, but the beginning of our great friendship and the beginning of a mutually beneficial cooperation."

"You know, I don't come from a good family. Territory and power are not important to me. What I care about is money!" Raven put his arm around Hyde's shoulders and whispered in his ear, "But a few thousand gold coins is too little for me. It's not enough for me to give up my territory."

"You are still young, and I am a member of the Griffith family."

"As you know, the Griffith family is cursed by blood. All members cannot live past the age of forty. I am already twenty years old. I need money, a lot of money, to get rid of this lingering shadow."

The corner of Hyde's mouth twitched, and he believed Raven's words a little: "What does this have to do with taking back the town of Shining Gold?"

Raven said, "Of course it matters. Shining Gold Town is a goose that lays golden eggs. I still have at least 20 years to live. In these 20 years, Shining Gold Town can contribute more than 10,000 gold coins."

"You pay me to help me take back Goldshire, and I will sign a document that when I am forty years old, whether I am dead or not, I will hand over the title of Baron of Eagle Territory to you."

Pouring himself another glass of red wine, Raven concluded: "I got the gold coins I wanted, and you can harvest a complete Eagle Territory in your prime. Isn't this a mutually beneficial thing?"

Hyde was moved.

His goal was indeed a piece of territory, but he was reluctant to give up the extravagant life in Mon'en City. Now Raven's proposal really hit his pain point.

"Eight thousand gold coins is too much. I can't take it out." Hyde said, "Six thousand gold coins is my limit."

Raven smiled and patted Hyde on the shoulder: "I am not a hard-to-talk person. Since Lord Hyde said so, of course I have to appreciate it."

He picked up the wine glass and touched it to the glass in front of Hyde: "Six thousand gold coins is six thousand. In addition, I need you to do me a favor!"

Hyde was still furious, so he picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp: "Don't hold your hopes too high. The resources I can mobilize in the family are quite limited."

"Of course, all you need is a little cooperation from you."

Ten minutes later, Raven returned to the carriage carrying a huge box. When the box was loaded, the wheels of the carriage were obviously several inches shorter.

He sat in the car and breathed a sigh of relief: "Children are just children, they are easy to deal with."

"Lord Raven, should we go back to Eagle Castle directly, or walk around Shemling Town for a while?" Eric asked.

"Neither of us are going." Raven twisted his neck and said, "Go east to Snow Maple Castle. I have something to ask Viscount John."

Eric was stunned for a moment: "But... isn't it too abrupt to visit without an appointment?"

Raven said, "This is exactly the effect I want. No need to ask any more questions. Let's go!"

After a brief pause, the carriage wheels began to turn.

Raven leaned against the carriage and sighed:
"I just acted like a grandfather for a while, now I have to act like a grandson!"

……

(End of this chapter)