Imperial Crown.

Chapter 360 The King's Secret Order

"...Q"

The moment he heard the name, Raven's scalp suddenly tensed up and he subconsciously clenched his fists.

This name, or code name, was not common, but it never disappeared from Raven's memory.

He clearly remembered that Gul'dan said that there were only two people who destroyed the Fox family.

Among them is the 5th level lightning warrior, named J.

And the 6th level ice mage is named...Q!

"What brings you here, ma'am?" Raven asked, lowering his head to hide the silver light of the Eye of Truth.

The abundant energy in his body shows that he is undoubtedly a 6th-level magician!

This is not surprising.

Raven had clearly confirmed that there was no one else in the room.

But the moment I saw Q, I felt as if she should be there. At the same time, I also smelled the fragrance wafting from her body and the aroma of wine in the air.

The fifth-level magic "Mind Curtain" will make others completely ignore any action you take when used, and the impact caused will be automatically rationalized, as if the person does not exist at all.

In other words, Q walked in with swagger!
"Tsk tsk tsk, you are indeed the invincible Baron Raven. You are so calm." Q walked to the dressing table. His overly plump body squeezed in the narrow chair made him groan a few times under the heavy load.

"I thought you would do something, like...

Revenge for the Fox family?"

Raven remained calm, as if speaking from his heart:
"The Fox family has long been disloyal to His Majesty the King. He deserves to die. As a loyal subject of the Empire, how could I ever think of avenging a man like him?"

puff.

Q Yile stared into Raven's eyes, trying to see something different in them, but Raven's eyes were as clear as a student who had just graduated from a seminary.

"My Lord Baron, do you know what the high-ranking officials of the empire think of you now?"

Seeing that Q was not going to take action, Raven also sat on the bed, crossed his legs, and held his knees with both hands:

"You are young, reckless, and ignorant of the seriousness of the matter. You have violated the laws of the empire and are not fit for great use. Even if you can gain some merit, you will die sooner or later from your own arrogance!"

"Then you still dare to do this?"

"If language could kill, I would have been killed thousands or tens of thousands of times by the Eivor people."

"Smart!" Q clapped his hands, "But your confidence is a little blind."

"If I tell you that the Empire suffered another defeat on the front line, and that 5 Insa cavalrymen bypassed the defense line and are almost knocking on the door of the direct-governed province, what do you think... the bigwigs will do?!"

Raven's pupils shrank to the size of a needle tip, and he was about to mobilize the power of the Ring of Blood and Curse.

But in the end, he just twitched his fingers and said in a confident tone:
"Then they should thank me even more for taking over Bolan City!"

"Hehe...hahaha!" Q laughed happily, and his soft clothes trembled against his skin.

After laughing for a long time, Q finally stopped and put his arms on the back of the chair: "You know, Raven, I've started to like you."

"He was not afraid of me, a rank 6 mage, and he was able to chat and laugh with me."

"No wonder His Majesty the King thinks so highly of you!"

At this point, Q's expression turned serious:
"The following words are conveyed on behalf of the noble King of the Keynes Empire, the guardian of human civilization, the lord of Middle-earth, the inheritor of the bloody reign, the most honorable king of kings on the Middles continent, Habsburg Mann Keynes, and His Majesty the XVI Keynes."

Raven stood up respectfully and saluted respectfully facing the east.

Q continued:
"You must have known how difficult the empire is facing right now. To be frank, this is not unrelated to my starting the war."

"Now, there are powerful enemies outside and old guys inside who are clamoring all day long, which makes me very worried."

"Fortunately, the empire still has nobles like you, loyal, brave and capable newcomers like you."

"You and I are about the same age. I can be considered your elder brother. Both of us brothers are people that the old guy can't stand."

"They couldn't touch me, so they wanted to touch you. When Q left, the cabinet had already formed a trend of handing you over in exchange for the assistance of the Fitun city-states."

"Brother, I'll take it for you!"

"A true noble should not use kindness to blackmail others, but now, I have to break this iron rule - because as a brother, I really need your help."

"Next, I will mobilize the troops of the province of Molinier, and they will all be under your control and command."

"And I have only one request of you, that is, to conquer the entire Principality of Eivor for me before the end of this year, that is, the year 1200! No matter what means or cost!"

"Once this is accomplished, I will ensure that you can make the Griffith family shine again!"

"The Nord Province also needs a new earl."

After saying this, Q returned to his previous lazy state.

Raven turned to the east again, performed the standard etiquette of a lower noble, and said excitedly:
"Raven Ota Griffith will never let down the King's trust!"

"I will serve as your Majesty's sharp sword to cut off all obstacles; I will serve as your Majesty's iron plow to open up new territories!"

Q's eyes were full of amusement.

This action is certainly impeccable, but is Raven really the kind of person who would do anything for the king?

Judging from past events, that doesn't seem to be the case.

Moreover, Q also knew that His Majesty the King was not as sincere as he said.

Because of this, depending on the progress, Q is responsible for two different tasks.

If Raven fails to capture Bolan City or delays for too long, Q will not say these things, but will first unite with Marquis Anthony and Earl Tyrone, then subdue Raven and take him to the royal capital in public.

Q himself also believed that with 13 troops in Bolan City, even if Raven was a good fighter, it would be impossible for him to win a quick victory due to the absolute disadvantage in military strength.

She was ready to take direct action to control Raven.

Unexpectedly, in just over a month, Raven captured the city of Bolan in one fell swoop.

"Lord Raven, how on earth did you do this?"

Raven sat back on the bed and asked, "Ms. Q, is there anything else you don't know?"

"You are very perceptive." Q's face flashed with a hint of offended anger, but he quickly concealed it: "But I only arrived seven days ago and didn't see the whole picture."

"I listened to your conversation with Frank. It was very interesting, but there are still some parts that I don't understand."

"From what we learned afterwards, Frank did not intend to betray Eivor. The key point of the matter was the unknown crossbowman's trembling hands, and then Quentin and Aragorn ordered to shoot."

"Have you bribed Aragorn and that soldier?"

Raven smiled:
"Indeed, Quentin and the others were able to detect it because I deliberately revealed the flaw. The so-called evidence they found was also forged by me and I let William frame it this morning."

"But I can't offer any conditions that would impress a marquis, and I don't know who Quentin will take with him, so how can I bribe him?"

Q frowned and studied Raven's face, but finally gave up after a while.

Raven's current state doesn't seem to be fake.

And just as Raven said, there are too many coincidences. If Raven could calculate them all, he would be a god.

"So what exactly is going on? I have to report this to His Majesty when I get back. I can't just be clueless, right?"

Raven was quite calm: "If Ms. Q needs the specific process, I can write it into a document and submit it to His Majesty."

"But, for the last part, I think it's mostly luck."

"Luck?" Q asked puzzledly, "But if there is no such luck, what are you going to do?"

The army has been mobilized to attack. If they retreat, there will be no chance of taking Bolan City except to delay time.

This is different from the Battle of Thorn Ridge.

Not to mention, there was a secret order from His Majesty that Raven was unaware of. The delay alone would make the Principality of Eivor's response a huge variable.

Is the victory of this kind of battle determined solely by luck?
"There is no other way. If the goddess of luck is not on my side, I can only fight hard and take the city." Raven said frankly, with sincerity in his voice. He was telling the truth.

Raven did want to take advantage of the discord among the nobles in the city and launch a counter-espionage plan to capture the city without a fight.

But after collecting enough intelligence and having in-depth contact with Frank, he realized that this was an impossible task.

Whether in war or politics, strategy is always only auxiliary.

Now Lei Wen agreed with this point more and more - for example, "Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors" seemed to be successful, but the final result was that Tian replaced Qi.

So Raven adjusted his goal and instead hoped to use this strategy to weaken the city's defenders as much as possible.

He was even prepared to continue fighting a tug-of-war with the defenders in Bolan City by relying on the city wall after capturing the southern city wall.

The letter requesting help from Earl Hyde and Marquis Anthony was also tied to the belt of the Hippogryph Cavalry, ready to take off at any time.

Thinking of this, Raven felt a little scared, but also a little relieved:
"But fortunately, that bitch, goddess of luck, always likes to be on the side of the winner."

Q nodded.

Yes, those who win will always be the lucky ones, this is an irrefutable truth throughout the ages.

But it is hard to say whether the strong will always be favored by fate, or whether those favored by fate are the strong.

"You have finished asking your questions. I do have some questions." Raven said, "Ms. Q, you are a Level 6 expert. No one in the entire city of Bolan can be your opponent. And from what you said, you were also present when Frank and I met."

"Then why not take advantage of that opportunity to capture all the high-ranking nobles in Bolan City?"

Q chuckled, as if amused by Raven. "I can answer this question, but before that, you might as well think about it. In the entire Principality of Eivor, the strongest is only level 5. Why haven't both Insa and the Empire wiped it out in all these years?"

Raven's eyelids twitched slightly: "Is it because there are also rank 7 warriors in the Feyton city-states?"

"Smart." Q snapped his fingers: "Having a rank seven warrior is the cornerstone of a country's existence."

"Indeed, a massive army can drown a 7th-level warrior, but a 7th-level warrior will not stand still and let his fighting spirit and magic power be depleted as described in those inferior novels you read!"

"They are human beings who move, think, and are smarter than most people in the world."

"Under the protection of masters of the same level, they may not be able to achieve results, but it will not be too easy to assassinate one or two nobles."

"There are a limited number of level 7 experts, and not many level 6 experts either."

"People like me can appear on the front battlefield, but they cannot participate in assassinations."

"In fact, if you had taken action at that time and killed Frank, it would not be a big deal. But if I dared to interfere and kill all the nobles in the city, it would definitely attract the attention of the 7th-level strongmen."

"Today I help you win this war, but tomorrow my ruined and ravaged plump body will be thrown on the street, and then you and the nobles of the entire Nord province will suffer."

Raven nodded.

Today, he had a whole new experience of the deterrent power of a level 7 strong man.

Then a smile suddenly appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"What's wrong?" Q asked.

"Nothing, nothing..." Raven shook his head, his smile growing wider.

He thought of Lux. He was so ignorant at that time that he dared to provoke Lux. Her teacher, Crouch, was a genuine 7th-level great wizard.

It seems that he was still restrained when he threatened me and showed his power.

"I just feel a pity that Ms. Q can't stay and help me." Raven sighed.

Q stood up and said, "Yeah, now that there's a result, I have to go."

"Wait a moment." Raven stood up, walked to the dressing table and quickly wrote a note: "Although there is no good wine in the army, as long as you arrive in Meng'en City, you can get unlimited Angel's Tears with this note."

Q's eyes lit up: "Aren't you afraid that I will empty your wine cellar?"

Lei Wen said calmly, "I couldn't ask for more!"

Without further ado, Q picked up the note and left the room.

Raven still had a smile on his face. He went back to bed and fell asleep without taking off his clothes.

It was not until the next morning that Raven opened the Eye of Truth and confirmed that Q had left, and then he finally regained his calm expression.

I plunged into a new day of work.

Many soldiers defending the city ran away yesterday, but most of the serfs stayed in the city. Raven estimated that there were at least 10 of them.

A strong and healthy population of this size is a considerable fortune.

Not to mention, there was a large amount of food stored in the city, of which only a small amount was consumed, and the nobles had no time to move away when they retreated!

According to Frank's previous performance, this food can last until June this year, which means at least 6 million pounds of food will be needed!

In the next few days, Lei Wen was busy with these things - it must be said that without Hu Xia, Lei Wen's workload increased a lot.

This afternoon.

Lancha came to Raven's desk and said, "Sir, the reorganization has been preliminarily completed. 3722 people have surrendered from Count Frank's Mountain King Corps, of which 1977 are willing to join you and serve you. I hope they can avenge Count Frank later."

"Add them all to your independent legion," Raven said. "They can keep their previous equipment and armor. Remember to communicate with the quartermaster and record the quantity."

"Yes!" Lancha nodded seriously, but did not retreat immediately.

His brows, which were as high as those of an orangutan, knitted slightly. After weighing the pros and cons, he said, "Sir, I have a question to ask."

"speak."

"You had clearly ordered Knight Eric to block the road to the north gate. If not all of them, at least one or two nobles could have been saved, such as Quentin and Aragorn. Why did you let them go?"

"Why do you want me to keep them now? Why should I let them go?"

Lancha's breath was choked.

In this battle, what strategy Raven used and how Frank died are no longer secrets in the Eagle Army.

So Lancha knew that Count Frank was not someone who would betray Eivor.

Because of this, after experiencing the Battle of Thorn Ridge, Lancha hated Quentin and Aragon who killed Frank even more, and wished he could kill them himself!
If it weren't for this kind of scum, how could the situation in the principality have become so corrupt?

After listening to Raven's words, Lancha finally understood the intention.

It was precisely because Quentin and Aragorn were the kind of black sheep that Raven deliberately indulged them.

Otherwise, if they are left behind and the person in charge becomes a smart person, it will be disadvantageous to the Eagle Army.

It was for this reason that Raven gave a large sum of gold coins and a talisman he made himself when returning Count Frank's body.

That was to prove Count Frank's crime of "treason".

"I understand, sir." Lancha took a deep breath:
"In the next war, I hope to be a vanguard!"

Since he cannot keep them here this time, Lancha will kill these two traitors on the battlefield!

"They are not traitors, Prime Minister Gatugen. There is no point in speculating. What matters is the evidence!"

In the Blue Castle, the Palace of Posuo, Eivor VIII roared loudly:

"If Frank didn't betray me, then what's the matter with this letter?"

"If Frank had never betrayed, why would he have to die for his crime?"

"If Frank had never betrayed, how do you explain Raven's gift?"

The sound echoed in the hall, causing every participant to bow their heads deeply.

Only Gatugen raised his head:
"Your Highness, this is not the point."

"The point is, how do we deal with Raven!"

……

(End of this chapter)