European modulation mode

"Do you see the many dents on the giant pillar? It used to be smooth. The Romans used precious metals and jewels such as silver, mithril, pearls, and bluestone to inlay and decorate the goddess' temple. But now, those treasures have been taken away, and only the marble pillars and the dents on them are left."

"What a pity."

Aenarion's disappointment was swept away. Even if it was just a ruin, it was worth the trip to see such a desperate situation. He admired the ingenious craftsmanship of the ancient Greek elves and moved deeper into the temple ruins.

In the middle of the giant columns is the statue of Artemis, the goddess of hunting and fertility. Here, she is worshipped in a posture of abundance and fertility, lying on the ground holding a doe, with countless marble-carved flowers and vines rushing around her.

This large sculpture, more than three meters high, was carved lifelike by craftsmen. The veins of the leaves, the doe's hair, and even every wrinkle on the goddess' skirt were all finely carved out of marble by the craftsmen.

After visiting the Temple of Artemis, Aenarion returned to the hotel with great satisfaction. His only regret was that he didn't have a camera to take pictures of all the attractions.

It was already dark by now, they had finished their shopping, and had bought food and supplies. After a night's rest, they boarded the fishing boat early the next morning and set sail.

Several people boarded a very ordinary fishing boat that was more than ten meters long. The elf fishermen on the boat looked normal, and none of them had a professional level. Their skin had turned into an extremely rough dark brown due to long-term exposure to the sun and sea breeze, and the unpleasant fishy smell permeated every piece of wood on the hull.

This group of people went out to sea with an empty boat, and returned to the port after the boat was filled with caught fish. During the fishing process, they would also send their group to Naxos on the way.

Seeing that he had some free time, Aenarion began to pull Artemisia to learn sword and spear fighting techniques from her to hone his fighting skills. After more than two hours, the fishing boat suddenly stopped, and the fishermen reefed the sails or dropped anchors to fix their boats on the sea.

"Why did the boat stop? It hasn't reached Naxos yet?"

The little princess rushed out curiously and asked the leader of these fishermen.

"Don't worry, we have arrived at a rich fishing ground. Look, there are so many fish under the sea. We will cast a few nets and send them to you."

The fishermen looked at the schools of fish under the sea and began to fish with great interest. They threw a huge net into the sea, like a huge pot lid, covering the blue sea.

However, a circle of heavy pendants were evenly distributed on the edge of the fishing net, dragging the corners of the large net and slowly sinking to the bottom of the sea. Together with the center of the fishing net, which was still floating on the sea surface due to buoyancy, it formed a pocket shape, covering the dense school of fish in the net.

At the same time, another fisherman pulled the traction rope, bringing together the heavy pendants on the outer ring and gathering them at one point, completely blocking the fish's last escape route.

Finally, several fishermen worked together and dragged a net bag full of fish onto the deck.

"Wow! There are so many fish here! Quick, put these fish into the cabin and cast a few more nets!"

The fishermen cheered happily, but Indrognir couldn't hold it anymore. I was tied up on the boat for three days, and I spent another three days looking for a boat in Smyrna. Today is the seventh day since I disappeared! I don't know how worried my brother and Governor Dandolo are. Now, it's fine if you don't send me there quickly, but you're still fishing???

"How much can you earn from a single fishing trip? I'll give it to you. Send me to Naxos immediately. I'm in a hurry!"

"I know you're in a hurry, but don't worry, it will be fine soon, it will be fine soon."

The fishermen didn't charge any extra money, but they cast two more nets. When they found that the catch was getting less and less, they gave up. They put away the anchor, hoisted the sail and set sail, but they did not forget to sprinkle bait at the stern and put on the fishing net, and catch as much as they could on the way.

During the voyage, Aenarion concentrated on learning the fighting skills of spear and shield and sword and shield. The basic teaching of the Greek spear was relatively simple. The spear shaft was held in the right hand, and the spear tip came out from the thumb side for a positive grip, and from the little finger side for a reverse grip.

Use the length of your weapon to bully the enemy while thrusting, sweeping, and poking with the gun in your hand. If the enemy gets close, hit him in the face with your shield, then retreat and keep your distance.

Holding the gun in the backhand position makes it easier to stab and throw. Another method is to place the butt of the gun on the ground, lower the body, raise the gun at a 45-degree angle to the ground, and use the spear to fight against cavalry.

Just as he was practicing diligently, suddenly, the whole ship shook violently twice, and Aenarion almost fell down. The sailors' shouting was heard again outside the cabin.

"Captain! The fishing net at the stern has caught a big fish!"

Aenarion paid no attention to the noise outside and continued to practice his spear thrusts, but the ship jolted again and this time he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

"Did you catch a whale, or an aboleth? One that makes the whole ship shake?"

Aenarion walked out of the cabin muttering to himself and found a calf-sized fish caught in the fishing net behind the stern. The green and yellow scales of the fish glowed a dull metallic color in the sun. The huge fins looked like a pair of black fleshy wings, and the head was wrapped in a layer of bronze bone armor. The tip of its mouth protruded forward like a sharp spear, and its bloody mouth was full of sharp teeth, just like the ancient overlord Dunkleosteus.

If the fishermen's nets were not flexible and strong enough, and the fish was not so huge, it would have escaped. Even so, several large holes were bitten in the net, and the huge fins hit the water, stirring up thousands of waves.

"Look at the long bone spurs on its mouth. This creature should be a swordfish, but its body is unusually large, and its scales are bronze. We may have captured the Bronze Fury: the descendant of Wormisol! We're going to make a fortune now!"

The fishermen cheered. Some tried to retract their fishing nets and wrestle with the giant creature. Some took out barbed fishing spears with iron chains on the ends and threw them at the green-scaled creature. However, the iron harpoons were bounced off by the wet bronze scales and could not penetrate at all.

"

Bronze Fury, what is Wormithor?"

Aenarion watched the men fishing with great amusement.

"A teenage bronze dragon. He is fairly righteous and kind as a dragon, but he is very energetic. Just like dolphins use fish to masturbate, he also likes to have sex with all kinds of fish and run away after having fun. As a result, there are many fish with real dragon blood nearby! This thing is very valuable in the market! Quick! Pull the chain, take back the harpoon and continue throwing! Pierce his scales!"

The captain was extremely delighted, but the abilities of these non-professionals seemed insufficient to deal with a giant fish with the blood of a real dragon. The harpoon could not penetrate its scales at all, and they could only watch as the monster bit a hole in the fishing net and drilled out half of its huge body.

The fishermen looked extremely disappointed. Damn it, they wasted their entire net and still didn't catch this big fish.

At this moment, Aenarion took action. He put a paper bullet into the musket, then cast [Preemptive Strategy], predicted the flight trajectory of the next bullet, pulled the trigger, flames flew up, and a lead bullet whistled through the air and waves, shot into the brain of the fish through the eye socket, and detonated layers of bloody waves on the water!

The bronze swordfish struggled for a few times, then collapsed inside the fishing net and remained motionless. Blood and brain matter flowed down its right eye socket, dyeing half of the sea surface red.

"Good marksmanship!"

The captain looked at Aenarion in surprise. He was thankful that the musket could accurately hit objects twenty or thirty meters away. But this elf in front of him could actually use the musket to hit so accurately at a distance of fifty meters, even with the hindrance of light refraction on the water surface?

The fishermen quickly pulled in their nets, hauled the meter-long bronze swordfish onto the deck, and placed it before Aenarion with awe-inspiring looks on their faces.

"The fish is yours now, my Lord."

PS: I want a monthly ticket for the 10 burst~QAQ, on the mobile phone, you can use the free coins to exchange for a monthly ticket in [Discover] - [Black Market Store]. Please~

Chapter 32: Naxos

After catching the bronze swordfish, the fishing boat changed the fishing net at the stern without any further delay. When Aenarion was tired of practicing with the spear, he went to look through the spell book he had seized. He did not learn the wizard's spellcasting techniques, but directly looked at the performance forms and specific effects of each spell to enhance his spell recognition ability. When fighting against a spellcaster, if he could tell at a glance what magic the other party was using, it would be of great help in the battle.

Maybe because he played a lot of DND group games in his previous life, he learned the professional skill of spell identification very quickly.

The group set out early in the morning and arrived at Naxos Island as the sun set.

Under the shade of olive and palm trees, a bustling city stands on the west coast of the island. Although not as prosperous as Izmir, it is also very beautiful. A large number of solemn and conservative Gothic spires of Venetians are intertwined with the heavy and magnificent Greek dome buildings of Greek elves, surrounding a rock castle standing on the reef, bathed in the bloody sunset.

And her name, like the island, is Naxos.

Artemisia took out a magic wand and cast a second-level magic [Hide Information] on the Leopard Girl and herself, covering the attribute bars of the two.

Aenarion used a reconnaissance spell out of curiosity and discovered that what he saw had turned into randomly generated false information. Whether it was her profession as a Slaanesh Paladin or the marks of Slaanesh on both of them, they were all hidden behind pieces of disguised information and could not be detected no matter how hard he tried.

"Is this also your way of hiding information?"

Aenarion asked the little princess beside him.

"Yes, the zero-ring magic: Reconnaissance and the first-ring magic: Identification can obtain other people's information, and the second-ring magic: Concealment can hide your own secrets and protect your privacy. If you want to crack this, you can only use the third-ring magic: Dispel Magic to directly destroy this shielding spell."

Indrognir nodded and looked at the small town in front of him excitedly. As soon as they arrived at the port, many sailors surrounded them. However, their target was the bronze swordfish in Aenarion's hand. After a conversation, they finally sold it to a Wes man for fifty Grosso silver coins. These people seemed to be very interested in this strong beast with a trace of dragon blood.

Aenarion looked at the small amount of money he had obtained with great joy, while Indrognir directly revoked the [Hide Information] magic in front of everyone, and transformed into a tiny baby dragon in front of all the sailors, with its blue and purple dragon scales sparkling with gorgeous colors under the setting sun.

"Listen up! Venetians! The person in front of you is the daughter of the former Eastern Roman Emperor Manuel II and the youngest sister of the current Emperor Constantine XI, Thunderborn, Indragnir Palaeologus! Your future Governor's wife!"

There was a hint of anxiety in Indrognir's solemn voice.

"Perhaps you have heard that I was missing. Yes, the ship that transported me suffered an accident, but now that I have returned, I demand to see the local governor immediately! Ask him to send a fleet to take me to Venice!"

Several sailors were a little surprised. These days anything could be a lie, but the unique sorcerer bloodline of the Palaiologos family would not lie. They hurriedly sent one person back on horseback to report the news, and the others respectfully invited the four men and one leopard into the seaside castle.

Right now

A middle-aged man with blond hair and blue eyes, dressed in silk and satin, also got the news. He hurried out of the castle gate, surrounded by a large number of soldiers and ten fully armed knights in plate armor, to greet them.

Anyway, zero-ring tricks don't consume magic power, and psychic power doesn't require chanting or action. Aenarion sent a scout spell to the governor and his guards one by one, and found that the governor was a third-level wizard, and most of the soldiers had no professional level. However, the ten soldiers behind him were not Venetians, but high elves, and they were all fourth-level warriors! The level of Leopard Woman.

The ten guards were wearing Western European Gothic full body plate armor, with Ottoman Atkan scimitars and round shields on their waists, and they also carried composite bows and large arrows favored by Greek elves. The mixed style was extremely rich.

"Welcome, Madam Governor, I am the Governor of Naxos: Jack Opasa, you can just call me Jack."

The middle-aged man said this humbly, his eyes full of the philistinism of a businessman rather than the dignity of a local lord. He did not even mention Indrognir's Eastern Roman title, as if the only title of Governor's wife was worthy of his respect.

"It's late today, and no one is going to sail. So, I have prepared several rooms in the castle. Please have a good rest first. I will immediately arrange for the chef to prepare a sumptuous dinner for you. As for the ship, I will take care of it now! At the latest tomorrow morning, you will be able to board the ship to Venice and meet the eternal Doge Dandolo. The others, are they all your servants? I will also arrange separate rooms for them."

"No need, Irene is my personal maid, we can just share one room."

Indrognir nodded with satisfaction and finally breathed a sigh of relief after leaving Osman's territory.

"The three of us are her bodyguards. We can just live in one room. There's no need to separate."

Aenarion was also unwilling to live in a single room. Whether they were Ottomans or Venetians, they were all strangers and worthy of vigilance to him. It would be safer for the three of them to live together.

"Okay, what do you like to eat? Do you have any dietary restrictions?"

Jack received the future Governor's wife with great hospitality.

"Just a little bit is enough. We are a little tired after a whole day on the boat. It's time to rest. We don't need to eat a lot."

Indrognir said solemnly, and Governor Jack agreed one by one. He led several people onto the sturdy castle built on the reef and divided the five people into two rooms. Aenarion looked around. The walls of this room were completely made of rocks, and only the floor and ceiling were made of wood. Through the windows, you can see the Aegean Sea at night. The interior decoration of the room is simple but comprehensive, with a huge bed covered with soft leather.

Aenarion was tired after a day of sailing and training in spearmanship and swordsmanship on the rough sea. He lay on his bed to recover his strength until several servants knocked on the door and presented them with a sumptuous dinner: a large basket of hot, fragrant bread, three roast chickens doused with honey, salt, spices, and roasted fat, and a large barrel of wine.

"Wow, this chicken is really well seasoned. I've been here a week, and this is the most delicious food I've ever smelled."

Aenarion's appetite was aroused. He sighed and tore off a large piece of chicken, putting it between two pieces of bread and trying to chew it. Suddenly, the Catwoman Nidalee raised her head alertly, pounced, and gently bit his right arm, preventing Aenarion from putting the food into his mouth.

"what happened?"

Aenarion was startled at first, thinking that the slave contract was invalid and that the terrifying leopard woman was going to attack him again, but when he found that she was just biting lightly, he became confused again, put down the bread, and stroked her head.

"Don't eat it, this food smells wrong."

The Leopard Woman changed back into human form and spoke in rather awkward Greek.

"A leopard's sense of smell is hundreds of times stronger than a human's. When I'm in leopard form, I can smell blood from several kilometers away. How could I not smell the poison in front of me? Even if these guys put a lot of spices to cover it up, I can still smell it! This is... the scent of imp dung, dog-shaped roots, and swamp fungus pods. It's a paralyzing poison."

"Has our Slaanesh identity been exposed?"

Artemisia also tensed up.

"Or is it that the damn little princess is safe now, and you want to destroy the bridge? Damn it! These elf nobles and royal family are not good people!"

Nidalee turned back into a leopard, sniffed, then changed back into human form and continued.

"No, they live next door to each other and have the same poisonous smell. It's these Venetians who have a problem."

Aenarion's expression suddenly turned serious.

"Are you sure? There's no reason for them to poison us?!"

Artemisia also didn't trust the Leopard Woman who had just joined. She wasted a little mana and cast a poison detection spell. A green divine pulse spread from her fingertips, creating ripples on the three roasted chickens. Then, her icy face became even colder, and she nodded solemnly, acknowledging the Leopard Woman's judgment.

There is something wrong with these Venetians!

Chapter 33: Beast Curse

"Don't make a sound. We must escape immediately. Don't worry about the princess. The Venetians are probably the target.

It is Indragnir."

Artemisia immediately opened the window, calculating the possibility of escaping through it.

"I've been hunted down by the Venetians once because of that guy, and I don't want to be hunted down a second time."

Aenarion hesitated for a second, ready to flee, but then he remembered her promise of a galley and the price offered by the harbor sailors.

The value of that ship was 96,000 silver coins! The price of 32,000 luxurious meals for five people! I had risked my life to control a pirate ship, but I only got 3,000 silver coins. I came here with nothing. If I could get such a big ship, I would be one step closer to my dream of being a real man.

"No, let's go save her. This princess is too valuable to give up."

Aenarion took a deep breath. Fortune and wealth come from danger! He was the first to use his beast curse. His slender body, which was more than two meters tall, curled up into a ball. All the clothes and equipment on his body melted into his flesh and blood, and he turned into a dark falcon. He fluttered a pair of strange black wings and flew up with his light body.

This beast curse is actually instantaneous and does not require a reading time.

Aenarion tried hard to adapt to the new form, flapping his wings and flying out of the window. His vision was enhanced unprecedentedly. The eyes of this falcon could even see sea fish and seabirds more than ten kilometers away. He circled in the dark and flew into the next room through the window. In front of Indrognir and Irene were the same bread, wine, and roast chicken, but they had already eaten them.

"Don't eat it! It's poisonous!"

Aenarion tried to stop them, but the sound he said turned into a series of high-pitched eagle cries. It seemed that he couldn't speak normally after transforming into a beast. He had no choice but to transform back into his original form and repeat what he had just said under the surprised gazes of the two women.

"Don't eat it! It's poisonous!"

"Are you overly nervous? The Venetians are allies of the Empire and are safe."

Irene said doubtfully, but at this moment, she felt a paralyzing pain in both hands and could not move at all. Her face changed drastically and she wanted to get up, but she only completed half of the action because the paralyzing toxin had spread through her blood and nerves to all parts of her body.

Every muscle and nerve node in her body twitched and could not function normally. She fell heavily to the floor, her body maintaining the strange posture when she got up.

Indrognir's face suddenly fell. He looked at the food in front of him and the paralyzed maid in shock. His brain was in a stagnation. It didn't make sense. I was about to marry their governor. Why would these people attack me?

However, her warlock bloodline allowed her to acquire all the abilities of a dragon, including immunity to paralysis, and the dragon's stomach easily digested the poison.

"In 1204, when the Venetians led the Crusaders into Constantinople, they were also allies of the Empire! There is something wrong with these Venetians! Let's go first!"

Aenarion said nervously.

Indrognir showed a hint of emotion in his eyes, and he immediately transformed into a blue-purple-scaled dragon again. He grabbed the paralyzed Irene with his four claws, and flapped his dragon wings hard. However, the dragon chick she transformed into was too small, not even as big as an adult husky, and there was no way she could fly with an adult elf.

"Aenarion! Get ready to run! Someone just came in to see if we had eaten. I tied him up with the Mark of Slaanesh to save him from danger. There are Venetians everywhere around! We could be exposed at any time!"