Imperial Crown.

Chapter 541 The Razor Party

woohoo-

Vessin kept wiping his bald head, large beads of sweat rolling down his smooth, bald head, occasionally hissing out hot breath. "Hey! The hot pot here tastes the most authentic and genuine! No matter how I make it at home, it just doesn't taste the same! It's fucking weird!"

A large, black iron pot, resembling a stone mill, sits in the center of a specially made table, its blood-red broth bubbling and churning. Within it, tender duck intestines dance and tumble like dragons; black tripe spins and leaps like a magic carpet; large, sliced ​​pork loin stands immovably, the undisguised king of the pot; lamb rolls peek shyly from the bottom; and freshly added lettuce and chrysanthemum greens thrive like a verdant oasis… Besides these, there are golden potato and sweet potato slices… translucent wide rice noodles, cheese rice cakes… each one fragrant and irresistibly tempting. Regardless of the ingredient, it is scooped out with long, narrow wooden chopsticks, still dripping with the scalding broth, then stirred in a secret sauce, and eaten, accompanied by a sip of chilled Angel's Tears. Oh wow, it's enough to make your soul leave your body.

Watching Vessin's unrefined eating habits, Sereva felt a pang of disdain. However, glancing down at his own equally messy plate, he could only purse his lips and swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue. This hotpot meal for 10 people would cost him at least 3-400 gold coins. Originally, there were 11 people attending the meeting, but Lady Doreen, being a woman and a widow, naturally didn't want to come with this large group of men. So there were only 10 people.

As the wine flowed and the conversation became more lively, Sereva cleared his throat and asked, "Gentlemen, what are your thoughts on what happened today?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Baron Zeyi of Mina Territory put down his chopsticks and asked subconsciously.

“It’s nothing, I just feel like today’s events are a bit strange.” Someone chimed in, and Sereva continued, “Think about it, the entire Nord Province is under the jurisdiction of Marquis Tyron, and most of us here today are families from Snow Maple County.” “If Governor Tyron makes a list in the future, we Snow Maple County families can simply unite against a common enemy and stick together for mutual support. There’s a saying, ‘The law doesn’t punish the masses.’” At this point, Sereva deliberately paused, allowing everyone to process the information in his words, before continuing, “But these two are different. One lives in Hippok County, and the other is from Mansa County, not far from Mon’en City. Are you two sure that if Governor Tyron puts pressure on you in the future, your families can withstand it?”

Dalton's face paled. In reality, he was merely Raven's agent controlling Binziman's territory. After all, Raven had wiped out the entire Ramsay Bolton family, sparing not even the maids, lest one of them be pregnant with one of Ramsay's bastards. Like Mark, he held no title. It was precisely because of this that he had survived and become Raven's trusted agent. Otherwise, he and Mark wouldn't even have been entitled to sit at this meal. Celeva was right; if he listened to Denise this time, Governor Tyrone would punish him easily, like crushing an ant. After all, he had no title. But if he disobeyed, Denise would likely take his life now. He was truly caught in a difficult dilemma, facing a double bind.

“Don’t look at me.” Jonathan picked up a large slice of scalpel, blew on it, and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing greedily. “You all know I’ve always been considered a good-for-nothing by my father.” “I don’t have much ambition.” “So I have neither the desire for a promotion nor the need for territorial expansion. I just want to protect my little patch of land.” “So whether or not this meeting happens, I won’t use my own resources to help Raven!” As he spoke, Jonathan’s eyes became frighteningly gloomy, and his voice turned colder. “After all,” “my father has already helped Raven enough.” “If Marquis Tyrone really wants to blame me, I’ll just deal with it as it comes.”

Upon hearing this, Sereva and Mark exchanged a glance, their eyes lighting up. The value of today's meal had become clear! Jonathan, having inherited John's viscount title, clearly harbored resentment towards Raven. Whether it stemmed from John's past contributions to Raven or from a rebellious spirit against his father's will, it didn't matter. As long as he didn't become Raven's lackey! If he could also be won over to their side, that would be even better! Why had Sereva orchestrated this whole affair? Wasn't the real purpose to test the attitudes of the various families?
Seeing that the time was right, Sereva laughed heartily, "Everyone, stop dreaming that Raven will help you!" "You don't know how Raven got his marquisate, but I, Sereva, know the whole story!" Sereva's voice was filled with the confidence and arrogance of someone who "possessed the truth," and the air of superiority seemed to emanate directly from his nostrils, manifesting itself before everyone's eyes. Then, Sereva glanced at Mark, who immediately understood, got up, and locked the door to the private room. Only then did Sereva take out a fist-sized magic crystal from his storage space. "This little thing, I bought from Marquis Tyron for nearly 8 gold coins. Today, I'll show it to you all for free." Immediately, Sereva activated the recording crystal with his battle aura, projecting the image within.

A dozen minutes later, the content displayed in the crystal display ended. The entire private room was deathly silent; not even a breath could be heard, except for the bubbling hot pot. This showed just how powerfully the content had impacted those present!

"See that?" A full half hour passed before Sereva finally let out a satisfied snort. In reality, when he first saw the image-recording bead in front of Hyde, he behaved even worse than everyone else present, but now it became a source of his smug satisfaction. In truth, he had bought the image-recording bead from Hyde. Given his status as a mere baron residing in the remote Snowmaple County, he had no right to a private audience with Tyrone. However, to deliberately create the impression of a close relationship with Marquis Tyrone, Sereva directly stated that he had purchased the image-recording bead from Tyrone. Frankly, this feeling of "only I know a certain important person" greatly satisfied his vanity.

“That’s how Raven gained the Emperor’s trust and received the title of Marquis!” Sereva coughed lightly and continued, “So, do you still harbor any illusions that Raven can protect you?” “Besides, don’t you find it strange? Even if Raven doesn’t need our support, why did Denise go to such lengths to summon us here and specifically tell us about this?” “Yes! Raven is indeed a Marquis now! But how many more years can he live?” “He suddenly aged in 1203, and there were rumors at the time that he would only live for 5 years! Now it’s 1206 in the Bright Calendar!” “At most, he only has 2 years left to live!” “Even if the rumors are untrue, his family’s blood curse must be real, right?” “We’ve all been neighbors with the Griffith family our whole lives. Donald’s grandfather, father, and even Donald himself didn’t live past 40!” “And Raven is already around 35 years old this year.”

“But what about Lord Tyrone?” “Not only a marquis, but also the governor of the Nord Province!” “To put it bluntly, whether Raven can even contend with Tyrone is another matter entirely! If you still fantasize that he can protect you, you’re simply delusional!” Sereva’s voice turned icy, filled with obvious hatred. “Don’t forget how Raven annexed the Mountain Territory! I now suspect that the so-called necromancer was just someone Raven hired to impersonate him!” “It was just an excuse he made up!” “Have you forgotten what happened between Broca and the Vessin? He was the one who sent people to plunder Broca, but he deliberately framed the Vessin.” “Even now, the Eagle Army is still stationed in the Vessin’s territory!”

“Broca, Vessin…” Sereva’s voice was deep, “If you two are unwilling to form an alliance, you can leave now, and I will not blame you.”

There were 10 people present. Aside from Lady Doreen of Shattered Stone, who hadn't come, the others—Baron Kate of Moorhill, Baron Moss of Eckhill, Baron Zei of Minai, Baron Puwan of Pinker, and even Mark of Ironforge—had all already been secretly allied with the Celes. The only difficult ones were Viscount Broca of Scorpionshire and Baron Vessin of Kogashire, where the Eagle Army was stationed.

As for Dalton of Binziman, a guy like him would be more willing to kneel than anyone else if you just intimidated him a little and offered some incentives. Viscount Jonathan, on the other hand, had already made his stance clear: even if he didn't join their camp, he certainly wouldn't help Raven.

After Viscount John's Luke family moved away, in the entire Snowmaple County, besides the Raven family, only Broca remained a viscount! He had always been utterly loyal to Raven, and with his high rank, it was difficult for Sereva to find a way to break through his defenses. This time, Denise's gathering of everyone actually gave him an opportunity—an opportunity to persuade him to join her side. That's why Sereva had laid so much groundwork, so much buildup, in the hope of swaying Broca's resolve.

Broca drank the Angel's Tears without uttering a sound for a long time, his face revealing no emotion.

“Viscount Broca!” Sereva was getting impatient. “You’ve witnessed firsthand how Raven has gradually annexed the surrounding territories over the years!” “Back then, when Raven was at the height of his power, you chose to lie low, even deliberately blaming the robbery on the Vessasins—we could understand all of that!” “But what about now?” “Raven is old and frail, living like a dog in the Orc Empire. I bet the real reason Danis prevented us from participating in the governor’s conscription was because she feared us.” "We've discovered the truth!" "If we join forces and, with the help of Governor Tyron, we can overthrow Raven this time, and we can freely divide up his territory!" Sereva became increasingly agitated as he spoke. "Broca! Don't be naive! Do you really think Raven will return the governorship to your family?" "Do you really think that just because you're so subservient to him, he'll let you go? He won't annex your family?" "Even a stray dog ​​on the street can see Raven's ambition clearly, so why do you stubbornly ignore it?"

Broca took a deep breath, clearly somewhat tempted, but still hesitant. "What do you plan to do? You can't just turn around and attack Eagle City, can you?"

"This..." Sereva chuckled coldly, "You can forget about that. Unless you can make up your mind right now, why would we trust you?" "Since I dared to speak my mind in front of everyone, I've already risked my life! Besides, I have powerful backers!" "You may fear him, but I don't!" "If we can truly take Raven's territory, I can decide that the entire Mountain Territory belongs to your Broca family!" "Puwan, Zei, Moss, and Vessin... will divide the largest, Snow Maple Territory, equally!" "Eagle Territory will go to Mark!" "Kate and I will split Holo Territory!"

“Of course.” Celeva looked at Dalton and Jonathan. “If you two are also willing to join, Dalton will be promoted to baron and take half of the Binziman Viscount’s estate, while the other half will belong to Viscount Jonathan.”

"You've even divided up the territories?" Broca asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise. Only now did Broca realize the gravity of the situation! Sereva had offered such a vast and detailed temptation; he had probably been planning this for a long time! Whether he joined or not wouldn't cause him much trouble! Moreover, Sereva must have someone backing him! The answer was probably obvious: the only person in the entire Nord province who dared to do this, could do it, and wouldn't be held accountable afterwards was Governor Tyron! If that was the case, then if he didn't agree today, he probably wouldn't be able to return alive to his Scorpion Territory.

“Don’t overthink it.” Sereva seemed to see right through them. “Viscount Broca, and everyone here today, it doesn’t matter if any of you don’t want to join.” “You won’t get any benefits, so don’t blame me for not giving you a heads-up.” “It’s better with you, but it won’t hinder our operations at all without you.” “I’m willing to pay, but not with you,” Jonathan said first. “I’ll offer 10 gold coins.”

“No problem,” Sereva nodded. “What about Vessassins?”

Vessin looked around, biting his lip, and said, "I don't have money, but I'll provide manpower."

“Okay.” Sereva then looked at Broca.

“I’ll pay too.” At this point, Broca had no way out. No matter how much he trusted Raven, he wasn’t about to offend everyone for Raven’s sake.

"Hahaha!" Israel laughed heartily. "That's wonderful!" "Gentlemen, have you ever heard of the Razorfen Downs?"

“The Razor Gang?!” Broca frowned deeply. “A criminal organization that has recently gained notoriety in Snowmaple County. I’ve heard they’re quite powerful.”

“That’s right.” Celeva nodded. “I wouldn’t be foolish enough to confront Raven head-on. To be honest, I’m the one who trained the Razor Gang. Everyone contributes manpower and money. As soon as the time is right, we can wipe out the Griffith family without anyone knowing!”

"I see," Broca nodded to himself. It seemed that Sereva wasn't just a reckless fool, but a bold and meticulous fellow! He needed to be wary of this man. Who knew when he might turn on him?

After the discussion, everyone signed and sealed the agreement, those who gave money gave money, and those who contributed manpower gave manpower.

They then left the Wallace Hotel one after another.

……

"Wow!" "This child is so beautiful!" "Like a delicately carved jade doll."

Inside Denise's castle, Lady Doreen, watching Melove eagerly suckling at Denise's breast, couldn't help but praise her. Even though Denise had no milk, Melove would still suckle for a long time after being full before stopping crying. Doreen took Melove from Denise's arms, feigning anger, "Little one, do you know you're already two years old! Still suckling? Aren't you ashamed?"

Melovie clearly didn't understand, and kept rubbing against Denise, her pink little hands gripping her, loudly calling out "Mama, Mama."

After Denise tidied her clothes, she picked her up and carried her away, and the little one finally calmed down.

"Uh..." Doreen looked at Denise, who was immersed in maternal love, and couldn't help but purse her lips, stammering, "Sister, it's not that I'm being nosy, but are you... sure this is Raven's child?" "Although she also has a pair of black eyes."

"What do you want to say?" Denise asked with a smile.

"Actually, you know that too." "We are all Raven's women, but none of us are pregnant." "Not even Nancy and Lux ​​have any signs of pregnancy." "How come that little blonde girl got pregnant on her first try?" "Could it be someone else's bastard child?" Doreen said sourly.

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Denise rolled her eyes. “When did I become Raven’s woman?” She couldn’t help but retort. “Since you’re worried, I’ll show you something.” As she spoke, magical light shone from Denise’s hands and surged toward little Melove.

"Blood!!!"

"Blood Curse!!!"

Looking at the scarlet blood lines that appeared like a spider web under Merovev's fair skin, Lady Doreen screamed in fear and terror!
……

(End of this chapter)