Imperial Crown.

Chapter 37 Negotiation (Part )

At midnight in summer, insects chirp.

Inside the Ironforge tower, torches were burning fiercely. The jumping flames made crackling sounds from time to time. Sparks accompanied by almost invisible black smoke rose straight up, making the already oily black walls even more scorched.

The stench of burning grease, smoke, and sweat mixed in the air, as thick as roasting bacon, and kept insects and mice away for long.

Even so, there was a man sitting in front of an old, greasy wooden table. He was wearing armor on his head, his black hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to his face. Even though his eye sockets were sunken, he was still concentrating on reviewing each document.

His eyes swept across a page of parchment, he thought for a moment, picked up the quill and wanted to write something, but with this action, beads of sweat the size of beans on his nose fell down, and fell onto the table with a crackling sound, leaving a trail of water.

"Huh..." The man opened his mouth to say something, but the dead skin on his upper lip immediately stuck to his lower lip, and a little dark red blood flowed out.

He licked his lips and realized that his mouth was dry. He walked to the wooden barrel filled with clean water in the corner and opened the lid.

The inner wall of the old oak barrel was covered with moss. After only half a day of filling, the water inside became so smelly that it made people cover their noses. But the man didn't care. He scooped out a bowl of the greasy water with a wooden spoon and poured it into his throat.

Dong-dong-dong, there was a knock on the door.

"Lord Judra, there is a letter for you."

After finishing a mouthful of water, Judra put the wooden spoon back to its original place, walked back to the table and sat down, then said, "Come in."

A knight in full plate armor walked in, holding a document in both hands and placed it respectfully on the table.

Judra picked up the letter and saw Denise's monogram on it. It was as if she felt a breeze on her face, and her originally tired eyes became much clearer.

Using a letter opener to cut open the envelope and take out the letter, Judra put her nose close to it and took a deep sniff, then sighed softly in ecstasy.

When he saw the content again, a long-lost happy smile appeared on his face.

This surprised the knight, because even when the young master sent a letter back from Mon'en City a month ago, Judra was not so happy.

"Aden!" Judra raised her voice.

"Yes, sir!" The knight stood at attention and saluted.

Judela gave the order: "Immediately take people to survey [Hydrogen Rock], and then stay nearby. Unless you are in danger, you are not allowed to evacuate without permission before receiving my order. Send someone to report the situation every three hours. If you can't find me here, come to my house to find me!"

"Yes!" Yaden took the order and left.

Halberd Rock is located on a hill at the border of Iron Furnace Territory and Eagle Territory. There is an artificial platform halfway up the hill. It is unknown how long its history is. Various buildings have long been abandoned and overgrown with weeds.

Apart from a few scattered stone tables and benches, there is only a huge rock that is more than nine meters high, three meters thick, and shaped like a halberd, inserted diagonally into the ground.

This is also the origin of the name of this place.

Arden didn't know why Lord Judra asked them to investigate this place, but whatever they did was a good thing.

Since returning from Eagle Fort three months ago, Judra has been guarding the city walls of Ironforge as if she were exiled, and she is not even allowed to return to Ironforge.

Angel's words were also spread by people with ulterior motives: "Judra, as long as I am alive, I will still be the Baron of Ironforge! You are just my son and have no right to make any promises on my behalf! Now, get out, guard the city gate, and think about what mistakes you made. If you can't figure it out one day, don't come to see me forever!"

And Judra seemed to be deliberately angry with Angel. She really sat in the city tower for three months to deal with various matters. When she was tired, she slept on the straw stack in the city tower. Even the number of times she went home to wash could be counted on one hand.

In Arden's opinion, now that Judra is willing to come out and move around, it is much better than sitting in the city wall all the time.

With a dozen soldiers guarding near the Halberd Rock, from night to morning, from morning to noon, and from noon to midnight, the latest soldier who reported returned: "Lord Judra is here!"

Yaden quickly pulled himself together and organized everyone, and before long, he saw a fancy rooster slowly walking down the mountain.

No, it’s not a rooster, it’s a person, and it seems to be... Lady Judra?

Aiden rubbed his eyes and confirmed the situation in front of him - it was indeed Judra, but no matter how he looked at it, something was wrong.

He wore a leather cap decorated with exaggerated pheasant feathers, his face was powdered so heavily that it even covered the red spots on his exaggerated nose, and his lips were as red as if he had just eaten two children.

A bright red cloak was draped over her shoulders, making the dark green top look even brighter. A gold shoulder chain dotted with gems hung in front of her chest. Around her waist was a white and purple short skirt commonly worn by noble men. On her lower body were tight, light yellow slim pants that fully highlighted her leg lines, and on her feet were a pair of black leather boots decorated with silver thread.

He walked in front of everyone and dismounted: "How is it? Does it look good?"

Yaden wanted to laugh but didn't dare to, so he could only say: "Sir, your taste is really... so unique!"

"Well, of course." Jude shook his collar and said, "Okay, all of you retreat. No matter what sound you hear later, don't come up without my order. Do you understand?"

Arden straightened up and said, "Yes!"

Although the Halberd Rock was halfway up the mountain, the mountain was not steep. After they retreated, they could hide well in the jungle without having to return from the main road.

Just when they were about to retreat to a position where they could no longer see the platform on the mountainside, a carriage slowly drove up. The driver was not an ordinary coachman, but a young girl.

She was wearing a blue woolen dress, which was the attire worn by servants, but it could not conceal her beauty at all. Under the moonlight, it instead revealed a pure and misty temptation.

The carriage stopped, the door opened, and a woman got out of the carriage with the help of the girl.

Arden finally understood why Judra dressed like that.

The girl driving the car was already very beautiful, but the woman who got out of the car was so beautiful that she looked like an elf!
She wore a silver headband on her head, which sparkled brightly in the moonlight. Her fair face even made the moon look dim, giving people a feeling of indifference and alienation. She wore a white long skirt on her body. Although her figure was as plump as a melon, she looked elegant, noble, and inviolable.

Yaden didn't dare to look anymore and lowered his head and retreated.

The woman walked forward step by step like a queen, and even the moonlight seemed to follow her.

Judra swallowed his saliva, his eyes surging with passion. He knelt on one knee, took the woman's hand, and gave a perfect kiss: "My dear Ms. Denise, by the mercy of the Lord of Light, I finally see you again."

"Mr. Judra, I..." Denise opened her mouth and wanted to say something.

But Judra immediately interrupted: "Denise, my heart, you don't have to say anything, just be silent and listen to the poem I have prepared for you."

As he spoke, he stood up, stretched out his arms like a peacock spreading its tail, took two steps back like dancing, placed his left hand on his chest, raised his right hand high, and recited affectionately in the mountain evening breeze:

"Love is like a flood that breaks out in a mountain stream.

The deep water is silent, while the shallow water is gurgling.

Love expressed with flowery words is superficial and thin.

Then he is not worthy of being a lover."

He looked at Denise lovingly with his eyes, a fake smile on his lips, and took a deep breath, preparing to recite the second paragraph of the poem.

Pop, pop, pop.

Just when Judra's emotions were brewing to the fullest, rhythmic applause sounded, and a voice came from the carriage: "Oh, what a touching recitation! If I were a woman, I might be moved by you."

Then the car opened and Raven jumped out. "Long time no see, Mr. Jude."

Judra's face turned visibly from white to red, and then from red to black.

The embarrassment of having my carefully prepared love poem interrupted by others, especially by Raven, was like being stripped naked and thrown into the street.

He didn't even dare to look at Denise. He was like a chicken with its neck strangled. He opened his mouth several times but couldn't say a word. Finally, he gritted his teeth and asked angrily, "Raven, why are you here!?"

"Because I arranged this meeting." Raven walked to Denise's side as a matter of course: "Aunt, you are not scared, right?"

Denise raised her eyebrows slightly, but did not respond directly. Instead, she saluted to Judra: "Mr. Judra, this is indeed Raven's request. Men's affairs do not need women to interfere. I will avoid it first."

After saying that, he turned around and walked back to the carriage.

At the moment the car door closed, Judra growled, "If this is a joke, it's a bit too much, Baron Raven!"

His expression was extremely ugly. His fragile self-esteem made him unable to accept that he was being played around by Raven, a gangster. He said in a condemning tone, "Taking advantage of a lady is definitely not something a noble should do!"

"Ha, that's funny." Raven clapped his hands again. "What a justifiable reprimand. As a noble, have you fulfilled your duty?"

Judra's eyebrows twitched wildly, she took a sharp breath through her nose, and looked away.

In the presence of many nobles and priests of the Holy See, he had promised in person to return the Eagle Mountain Mine and the Thousand Needles Jungle to the Eagle Territory, but he was unable to fulfill his promise due to the strong pressure from his father Angel. This has become the heaviest burden on his heart for the past three months.

"I admit that it was my fault. If you want to take this opportunity to retaliate against me, then congratulations, you succeeded!" Judea took a deep breath: "I value my reputation more than my life, so I can forgive your rudeness today, but I don't hope there will be a next time! Otherwise, ..."

"The shame of honor can only be washed away with blood!"

He looked at Raven with eyes full of resentment, then turned and ran straight towards his horse. He didn't want to stay in this place for even a minute longer.

Raven laughed and said, "Ha, you are a dignified second-level Flame Knight, but you only know how to escape when you encounter problems. No wonder Baron Angel looks down on you!"

"What did you say?" Judra stopped, turned around, and her eyebrows twitched wildly.

"Oh, didn't you hear me clearly? Then I'll say it again." Raven cleared his throat and said loudly: "You, Judra Walton, are a coward, a coward who only knows how to escape when faced with problems, and a poor creature who is frightened by the facts!"

"You!" A layer of fiery fighting spirit burned on Wharton's fist. He walked towards Raven step by step, leaving deep and clear footprints on the ground. "Raven, my cultivation is not a reason for you to act recklessly!"

"Then come on." Raven patted his cheek and said sarcastically, "Beat me. Beat me up as much as you can."

"After all, it was me who prevented you from returning those two territories to me."

"It's me too. I would rather break the contract than trample your reputation into the mud like dog shit, and make the name Judra stink in the entire Nord province."

"It was me who caused the trouble and made you and Angel hate each other. You were exiled to the city wall and had to work like a slave. You are a noble, but your life is worse than that of a dog!"

"I will kill you--" Judra rushed forward, and her thick fist wrapped in fighting spirit smashed into Raven's face like a meteor in the dark night.

The latter did not dodge, but looked at him with a contemptuous smile. Just when the fist was about to hit him, Judra stopped and the wind blew Raven's hair away.

“Hoo…Hoo…Hoo…!” Judela’s breathing was as heavy as a bellows. He slowly put away his fists: “Put away your tricks!”

"No matter what you say, I won't do anything here today. I won't sacrifice my future just because of a few bees' buzzing!"

Raven was a true noble, an Imperial Baron, and if Judra beat Raven here, he would most likely be deprived of his inheritance rights by the Council of Nobles, and his father and brother would be very happy to see this.

"Oh, I really have a new respect for you, Mr. Judra." The smile on Raven's face was less sarcastic and more appreciative. "You are a wise nobleman who can consider the pros and cons and suppress your anger at this time."

Judra sneered, shook her shoulders, and said disdainfully: "I haven't fallen to the point where I need you to judge me."

"Pride, my favorite original sin." Raven didn't care about Judra's offense: "I asked you out today because I hoped I could have a firm ally, and you didn't let me down."

Judra turned around again: "But I don't need you as an ally."

"That's a shame." Raven shook his head and sighed, "It seems that the gold coins I prepared can only be handed over to Mr. Mark."

Judra stopped walking, turned around and looked at him with a sharp gaze: "What do you mean?"

Raven spread his hands: "I need a baron to be my ally. Since it's not you, it can only be Mark. Is this strange?"

Judela's mouth twitched slightly: "Don't pretend that you are omnipotent. You don't have the ability to decide who will inherit Ironforge Territory!"

"Yeah, I don't deny it." Raven nodded. "But if this continues, Mr. Judra, you will never become the next Baron of Wharton. This is also a fact."

Judra couldn't refute it. Although he had built up some power of his own over the years, due to Angel's favoritism, Mark's strength was far superior to his.

There are six knights under the jurisdiction of Ironforge, and only Aden is loyal to Judra, but there are two who are loyal to Mark, and one of them is even a second-level knight!
The three knights remained neutral between the two of them, but Judra also knew that if Angel needed anything, the three of them would always side with Mark.

Seeing Judra was silent, Raven struck while the iron was hot and took out a document he had already prepared: "It's still early, Mr. Judra, why don't you take a look at my proposal before making a decision?"

Judra took the document and unfolded it. She began to read it word by word in the bright moonlight. Her eyebrows trembled more and more violently. Finally, she threw the parchment back to Raven's chest: "Daydreaming!"

"Raven, I'm not you, let alone Donald. Personal gains and losses are not that important to me! Even if I can't inherit the title of baron, I will never harm any interests of the Wharton family!"

Listening to the heated words and watching his unmoving steps, Raven's mouth, which was covered by the document, revealed a smile of confidence.

After walking for so long, the fish

Finally got hooked!
……

(End of this chapter)