Imperial Crown.

Chapter 446: Castle on the Rift
Sorry for the late update, I'm so sorry

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Chapter 463: The Castle on the Rift

Winterfell, the core of the Brodes family's territory, is also the city where Earl Comos's "Sword Castle" is located.

The Sword Castle is just as its name suggests, standing like a sharp sword in the center of the city. Its tall tower can be seen from every corner.

If you look down from a high altitude, you will find that the location of the Sword Fort is extremely tricky. It is located on a natural crack. In addition to the relatively stable ground where it is located, there is a circle of cracks with a width ranging from 15 to 30 meters around it. It is only connected to the outside world by a suspension bridge.

As long as the drawbridge is retracted, no matter how many people there are, they will be unable to take over the castle.

But Raven's attention was not on the sword castle.

At this time, he was sitting in a wheelchair, letting Lux push him, his eyes fixed on the buildings on both sides of the road.

Raven had always thought that Nord's buildings paid enough attention to insulation, but compared to Molinier, which was in snow season for most of the year, it was a little pale in comparison.

Outside the city, there were extremely heavy tents, with at least two layers of animal skins and a thick layer of felt. A family of six or seven people, or as many as ten people, would be crowded inside. The mutton smell was so strong that anyone who passed by the door within 10 meters would fall over.

The houses in the city were built with large stones and did not even have eaves, looking just like pieces of black bread.

Apart from the chimney and the door, most houses have only one window, which is completely sealed with wooden boards and has an axis in the middle. It will only be tilted up to let in a little air when the sun is at its best.

Pedestrians walking on the street, whether adults or children, were all wrapped up extremely bloatedly. The adults looked like they were wearing yaks and the children looked like they were wearing sheep. Everyone's face was red.

"I thought people here would be more resistant to cold than the Nords." Hu Xia twitched his red nose and said, "How come they are wearing thicker clothes than the Nords?"

"Because any fool who thinks he is not afraid of the cold will not be able to survive on this plateau." Raven replied with a smile.

Being pushed to a jewelry stall not far away, Raven asked casually, "How much is this bracelet?"

Upon hearing this, the stall owner picked up the bracelet, grabbed a handful of snow and rubbed it carefully. He rubbed it until it was shiny before holding it in front of Raven.

The jewelry on the plateau is not as rough as most people assume, but extremely delicate.

The beads on this bracelet look like pearls at first glance, but when you hold them in your hand you realize that they are actually silver beads that have been polished to a very round shape.

There is also a pendant on the bracelet, which is the size of a fingernail, but it is carved into a very lifelike eagle, with every detail on its claws clearly visible.

Perhaps it was the long winter that gave them so much time to polish the details.

"How much?" Raven asked.

The stall owner saw that Raven was dressed in an extraordinary manner and the person who followed him was also very good-looking. He wanted to make a fortune but didn't want to lose a big customer. He thought for a moment and said, "This bracelet normally costs 4 silver coins. Since you like it, take it for 3 silver coins."

Lei Wen stretched out his hand, and Hu Xia handed over the purse. Lei Wen took it and counted out 5 silver coins from it.

The stall owner was overjoyed. He took the silver coins and put them away. He picked out an exquisite wooden box, put the bracelet in it, and placed it on the handle of Raven's wheelchair.

Raven didn't pay attention to the bracelet, but asked, "Count Comos, is your administration going well?"

The stall owner's smiling face suddenly froze: "... How can I, a small business owner, know this? You asked the wrong person..."

Hu Xia looked unhappy: "Boss, my Lord is asking you a question, just tell the truth, why are you making excuses, didn't he give you the money?"

The boss held out five silver coins that he had just received and were not yet warm. "This...this jewelry is given to you for free. Is that okay?"

Hu Xia got even angrier when he saw this. Just as he was about to speak, Lei Wen shook his head:
"Forget it, why bother him, let's go."

The group walked towards Jianbao. After walking a long way, Hu Xia was still very angry: "Is this Earl Comos so scary that I don't even have the courage to say a few words?"

"Sir, your achievements and reputation are much better than his, and I have never seen anyone from our Eagle Leader behave like this!"

Raven glanced at the frozen corpse hanging from a dead tree in the distance. "It's hard to praise it, but I dare not criticize it either. Of course, it's like this."

Comos's rule has always been known for its iron fist.

Different from the cruel torture of Little Flay, after Comos came to power, he formulated very strict laws in the territory, covering all aspects of the lives of the people.

There are strict regulations on which direction the chimney should face, which direction the garbage should be dumped in the house, when it should be dumped, and even the time for cooking.

Not to mention outsiders, even if the locals are very careful, there will come a day when they break the law.

The result was that one had to either join the army or pay compensation to atone for one's sins, causing misery to the entire territory.

Lei Wen originally thought that this was a rumor that was constantly exaggerated and spread, but now it seems to be the truth.

"Count Raven, you are finally here!" At the gate of the Sword Castle, Comos said in an enthusiastic tone:

"I thought today's wine would get cold."

"I'm in the neighboring province, but I haven't visited for a long time. Now that Count Comos has invited me, of course I have to come." Raven showed a suitable tired look while observing the earl.

He looked very young and handsome, with a shiny slicked-back hair that almost reflected the sunlight, making him very eye-catching.

If he didn't know that he was 37 years old, Raven would have thought he was a young man in his 20s.

"Leave it to me." Comos walked forward with a smile, pushing Raven's wheelchair inside. "Count Raven, I have long admired your achievements in Eivor. Today you must tell me how you fought at that time!"

Raven was somewhat surprised by Comos's action, but he did not have any special reaction:
"It was just a fluke."

"You're so polite." Comos stared at Raven's pale hair, but his mind was a little distracted.

Many people thought that the fact that Raven was still safe and sound after killing Anthony meant that he held an extremely high position in the heart of His Majesty the King.

However, Comos knew that this was not the case.

Generally speaking, joining one faction means offending another faction.

Factions will always confront each other in imperial politics. For the same policy, one faction may support it while another faction will oppose it.

This isn't about being right, it's about stance.

As a relative of the Queslan family, Comos undoubtedly stood on the side of the new nobles. The new nobles' attitude towards Raven was to guard against and monitor him. Therefore, Comos would always have 5 troops to deal with Raven.

But the strange thing is that the old guys in the empire did not object to this point, neither openly nor secretly.

Unconsciously, Raven was abandoned by both major factions of the empire.

There is only one reason: His Majesty the King gave up on Raven, but for some reason he did not take action against him.

A thought became clearer and clearer in Comos' mind.

Crunch.

The drawbridge behind him closed, and Sword Castle became an unreachable island in Winterfell.

Comos's spine became straighter and straighter. This castle gave him endless confidence.

Arriving at the top of the castle, Comos parked Raven's wheelchair beside the table, arranged seats for everyone, and then returned to his seat and sat down.

The sunlight poured into the house through the window, illuminating Lux's face.

The light was cut by her golden hair, turning into a mist-like halo, making her deep blue eyes even deeper, and the curve of her nose and lips was so alluring.

Komos admired it unscrupulously, not suppressing the lustful look in his eyes, and then turned to Raven: "Lord Raven, when you attacked Eivor, you were so powerful that even the Wall of Sighs fell before your might."

"What do you think of my Sword Castle compared to the Wall of Sighs?"

……

Chapter 464: Throwing the Cup as a Signal

"What do you think of my Sword Fortress compared to the Sighing Wall?" As soon as these words came out, the originally relaxed atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Hu Xia's voice was a little dry: "Haha, Lord Comos, your Sword Castle is of course one of the few solid castles on the continent, but you and my lord are not enemies. The Sword Castle and the Wall of Sighs are really not comparable."

Comos smiled in an ambiguous way and clapped his hands gently.

The maids brought wine and delicious food and placed them in front of everyone.

Komos raised his glass and said, "This is our specialty of Molinier, 'Icewine', which is made from frost-bitten amethyst grapes that are pressed raw and fermented."

"Because fermentation is difficult and quality control is difficult, basically only a batch of wine can be produced every 3 to 5 years. Among them, the best of the best can be called 'Dongxia', and they can usually only be produced once every 20 years."

"Let us toast to Lord Raven with this glass of wine."

"Although it's unlikely, I still sincerely hope that you, Earl Raven, can live to drink the next batch."

Hu Xia had already raised the wine glass to his lips, but he froze when he heard these words. It would be wrong not to drink, and it would be even worse to drink.

But out of the corner of his eye, Raven seemed not to hear the sarcasm. He had already taken a sip and gently put the cup back on the table.

Hu Xia had no choice but to take a sip, but he couldn't taste anything at all.

"Good!" Comos suddenly clapped his hands in approval. "Everyone says that Earl Raven is dying, but in my opinion, as long as he can still drink, he can still live well!"

"By the way, Earl Raven hasn't answered my previous question yet."

"What do you think of my Sword Castle compared to the Wall of Sighs?"

Raven turned his glass. "The Wall of Sighs is different from the Sword Keep. They can't be generalized. I would say that each has its own merits."

"Not bad!" Comos slapped the table and brushed his greasy hair with his right hand: "Each has its own merits."

"The Wall of Sighs was built 600 years ago, as old as the history of the Principality of Eivor; my Sword Castle has stood here for more than 700 years."

"There is a magic circle inside the Sighing Wall that can defend against stone throwing and magic attacks. There is also a magic circle inside the Sword Castle."

"The high wall of sighs has not fallen for 600 years, and my sword fortress has never been breached by foreign enemies."

"But do you know what the difference is?"

Hu Xia would naturally not leave this kind of work that requires answering and supporting the main character to Lei Wen: "I really don't know about this."

"That is, I sigh that the high wall does not have me!" Comos said disdainfully:
"If I had been at the Sighing Wall, Earl Raven would never have been able to capture it even if he had used 10,000, 1,000, or 1 million soldiers!"

Hu Xia was already sweating profusely at this time and didn't know how to respond.

Raven suddenly chuckled.

"What is Earl Raven laughing at?" Comos's face darkened.
"Do you think I'm bragging?"

Raven shook his head. "Of course not. I was just laughing. Since the Sword Castle is so solid and I'm already sitting in front of you, Count Komos, why can't you just say what you want to say?"

Comos was stunned for a moment, then he clapped his hands and laughed: "Okay, okay, what Earl Raven said is really to my liking!"

"No wonder you can achieve such great results at such a young age."

He laughed enough, then calmed down and stared at Raven: "Raven, your body is too weak. In this case, why bother to go to the Orc Empire to seek death?"

"Why don't you stay in Jianbao and live out the rest of your life in peace?"

Hu Xia finally understood that Comos had been pressing on step by step since entering the castle, just to put Raven under house arrest!
How dare he!?
Hu Xia wanted to slam the table and scold Comos, but his legs were weak and he had no confidence at all.

Because what Comos boasted about the Sword Castle was not false, once the drawbridge was raised, it would become an isolated island on the mainland!
At this moment, they were isolated and helpless.

"Thank you, Earl Comos, for your kindness." Raven remained calm, his eyes as still as a lake.
"It's just that His Majesty the King has given me an order, so I have to obey."

Komos sneered: "Raven, your words may be useful to others, but unfortunately, I know that you have been abandoned by His Majesty a long time ago."

"He asked you to go get the Titan cub because he just appointed you as an earl and he was too embarrassed to strip you of your title, so he used this excuse to send you to die."

"Your Majesty doesn't want to be the villain, and neither do the high-ranking nobles of the empire, but I don't mind dirtying my hands."

"So, in order to avoid making the situation too ugly, you should take the initiative to stay, okay?"

Raven sighed:

"I admit that the terrain of Sword Castle is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Not to mention that there are only 3 troops, even if there were 30 troops, we wouldn't be able to take it..."

Komos looked smug, but Raven's next words made his smugness die on his face:
"But the premise is that I am not the one leading the troops!"

This is almost a return to what Comos said before!

"Very good." The corner of Comos' mouth twitched slightly.

He originally just wanted to imprison Raven in order to spare the new nobles and directly please Keynes XVI, and then decide how to deal with Raven based on Keynes XVI's reaction.

But now, Raven's reaction angered him.

"As a fellow imperial noble, I don't want to go to war with you."

"But since you, Lord Raven, have ignored my good intentions time and again, I don't have to worry about it anymore!"

As he said this, he stood up, raised his glass and slammed it to the ground.

The wine splashed, making crisp sounds and rippling waves.

The torches burning on the walls suddenly turned dark blue. Lines of magical light pulsed along the cracks in the bricks, weaving intricate magic circles on the walls, ceiling, and floor. The emanating halo enveloped the entire hall.

The magic-sealing circle began to operate, suppressing all supernatural powers within the circle.

But it was clear that Comos only broke one wine glass, but two noises were heard at the same time.

Comos looked at the broken wine glass at Raven's feet in astonishment, and couldn't help but laugh:

"Lord Raven, this is Sword Castle, not your Eagle City. Are you getting old and confused?"

Raven said, "I'm sorry, I have a problem. My sense of smell is too sensitive."

"When I smell the stench of a dying person, my hands start to tremble."

What does this mean, self-deprecation?
The next moment, shouts and sounds of weapons clashing were heard from outside the door.

With a bang, the door was knocked open by a war hammer, and a gray dwarf rushed in:

"My Lord Earl, we are here. Please wait a moment. We will kill those bastards for you right away!"

Hu Xia was overjoyed: "Ping Erde, I love you so much!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a long sword stabbed at Ping'erde's back. Ping'erde rolled on the ground to avoid it, turned around and fought with the man.

Raven seemed oblivious to the tense situation. He forked up a piece of bacon and took a bite, chewing hard.
"The food at the Hongmen Banquet is especially delicious."

Comos' eyelids twitched slightly. He sat back in the chair and put a piece of meat into his mouth.

Although he didn't understand what the "Hongmen Banquet" meant, he also didn't know when and how Raven got people into the Sword Castle.

But the guards in the Sword Castle were all elite troops that he had carefully trained.

He believed that this small "rebellion" would be put down soon.

……

(End of this chapter)