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"But how can he resolve the threat of the ghost? No matter whether he or his ogre is successfully parasitized, the game will be over! Now it has come to the critical moment of the game! Will the controller of the banshee win, or will the hero who saves the princess win the crown of honor again?!"

Aenarion paid no attention to the noisy audience and the excited commentary. The peregrine falcon, wrapped in skeletons, kept dashing, turning, circling, and diving in the air with the banshee. Under the gaze of thousands of people, it seemed as if they were performing a wonderful and gorgeous duet dance. The cloaked man took out his staff and cast several ray spells, but Aenarion dodged them one by one and missed all of them.

After delaying for a while, Aenarion finally waited for the opportunity: the ogre Lead Spitter was successfully loaded and holding the fuse, ready to fire a second time at any time!

I'm waiting for the ogre to reload, what are you waiting for?

Aenarion let out an excited hoof cry and flew up into the sky. After gaining altitude, he dived down like lightning and instantly exploded in front of his own ogre! He regained his elf form.

At the same time, the second [Death Grip] was also ready. The giant bone claws suddenly grabbed the mysterious man hidden under the cloak and dragged him in front of him. The ghost banshee also flew towards Aenarion's head.

At this moment, Aenarion, the cloaked man, and the ghost banshee were all crowded together! Under the muzzle of the ogre's lead-spraying cannon!

"Would you like to make a bet? Is your head stronger than that of the brown bear with three layers of armor?"

Aenarion whispered quietly in his ear. According to the unspoken rules of the Holy Grail War, when using range attacks on enemy undead, it would not be considered a foul if other spellcasters were accidentally injured or splashed. Anyway, he had the psychic bones to save his life, so what do you have?

The man in black looked at the black muzzle in front of him and turned pale with fear. The ogre had already pushed the burning fuse into the barrel of the gun. He could even see the gunpowder and iron filings wrapped in oil paper deep in the barrel and smell the pungent smell of gunpowder!

"I surrender."

Between life and death, he no longer cared about so many things. He raised his hands in surrender the moment before the banshee parasitized Aenarion and the moment before the lead-spraying cannon was fired.

Chapter 69: The Old Roman Gods

After the match, the audience in the stands were silent for a second, and then burst into a deafening carnival and celebration like a tsunami! Blessing the birth of the winner, thousands of spectators shouted Aenarion's name excitedly, and the lively atmosphere almost overturned the roof of the stands.

Some scantily clad female elves walked out of the fence gate, took out the golden helmet of Helios from the Holy Grail, and handed one tenth of the ticket proceeds, that is, 1500 silver coins, to Aenarion, and put an olive laurel wreath on his head, symbolizing the winner.

Aenarion was basking in victory, happily accepting the prize after the Holy Grail fight, and calmly exited the stage amid the cheers of the audience. Artemisia had been waiting outside the door for a long time, and when they met, she nervously checked to see if he was injured, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that he was fine.

"I'm not hurt. How much did you win from the bet?"

Aenarion hugged Artemisia and leaned tiredly against her soft body.

"Not much. The story of you saving the little princess spread throughout Constantinople. Everyone believes in your ability, so the odds are quite low. I bet 200 silver coins and only earned 12 silver coins."

Artemisia said with some regret.

"It's okay. I earned 1500 silver coins this time. I told you I would bring you victory."

Aenarion smiled and took off the wreath of olive branches and placed it on Artemisia's head.

The two mounted their horses, chatting and laughing as they returned to Ulthuan, took off their armor and clothes, and kissed each other passionately. Aenarion had used up most of the tricks he knew in the past few days.

Looking at the thirsty Slaanesh Paladin, he suddenly had a new idea. He took a kettle with a long and narrow mouth and poured fresh water directly into Artemisia's anus until her slender and flat belly bulged high, as if she was ten months pregnant.

Artemisia made sounds that were a mixture of pain and pleasure. After emptying her stomach of fresh water, she drank it again twice, which made her feel almost dead.

After three times of movement, Aenarion took a can of olive oil from the dining table and smeared it evenly inside her anus for lubrication. He then took out his spear and developed her third hole, playing with her graceful body, bringing a new and stimulating experience to the Paladin of Slaanesh. Artemisia's face, which was as cold as an iceberg, melted into a pool of rippling spring water, and she let out an alluring moan while trembling.

Astariel, who was locked aside, widened her eyes in surprise, as if her worldview had collapsed. Forget about the mouth, is there anything else that can be done?

The next morning, Aenarion prepared to buy weapons and armor for the zombies. Because of his warlock blood, his face could show the most desired and hoped-for appearance in everyone's heart. Although he could use this charm to attract the enemy's attention in battle, it also caused many inconveniences in daily life. Some people with poor self-control would even stare at their own face blankly and stand there motionless.

However, this [Helm of Helios] comes with a mask made of pure gold, which completely covers his beautiful face.

Aenarion put on the helmet forged with golden refined gold and iron-gray steel, and found that although the Helmet of Helios looked good, it did not go well with ordinary silk clothes. He used an inert armor and controlled psychic power to weave himself a set of heavy armor in the style of the Eastern Roman Empire, changing the fabric and frame to a gold color that matched the helmet. This made it look much better. Anyway, this armor was woven with psychic power and did not weigh a bit.

"A High Elf who believes in neither the Chaos Gods nor God himself?"

Suddenly, a faint, ethereal voice sounded quietly in Aenarion's ears.

"Who?!"

Aenarion turned sharply and looked back, but saw no one.

"I am the incarnation of the sun, the immortal phoenix, the true god of Rome, Helios. Find my statue and you will get the reward you deserve..."

The ethereal voice continued to echo beside Aenarion. Although it tried to sound solemn and majestic, the voice was too disembodied and weak, giving people the illusion that it was dying. In the end, it simply disappeared completely, leaving no trace.

Suddenly, Aenarion felt a burning pain in the palm of his left hand. He raised his palm and found that it was burned into a phoenix totem mark, which was very similar to Artemisia's Slaanesh mark, as if it was also a mark sent down by some god.

[Mark of the Phoenix]: Restore one point of health every six seconds.

Aenarion looked at the mark of the god and was speechless. How weak! The mark of Slaanesh of the Leopard Woman can restore one point of health per second. How can you, the god of the Phoenix and the Sun, only restore one point in six seconds? Combined with the [Secondary Evil Aura] of the Death Knight, I can only restore two points of health every six seconds. Is Slaanesh too powerful, or are you too weak?

Aenarion took off his helmet, looked at it carefully, and put it on again and again, but the sound never came again, as if the sound and the brand just now had exhausted the last bit of his remaining energy.

"Artemisia, Helios, I remember he was an ancient Roman god?"

Aenarion was not sure. He did not know much about the Roman pantheon, only the most famous ones.

"Who is that? I don't know."

Artemisia had a bewildered look on her face, but Estariel, who was tied up beside her, whimpered.

Aenarion took off her gag, and the little girl immediately spoke out proudly.

"This question is too simple. Helios was the sun god of ancient Rome, a member of the old gods. He fell in the apocalyptic catastrophe in the third century AD. In that disaster that split Rome into three, tens of thousands of gods worshipped by the Romans incarnated themselves and led their followers to fight on the mortal land for more than a hundred years.

In the end, only the God of Christians survived to the end, while all other gods died in battle. From then on, the polytheism of Rome was transformed into the monotheistic Christianity, and only scattered polytheists survived in the corners, holding on to the remains of their long-dead and broken gods.

Oh yes, the Emperor Aurelian, who initially ended the Crisis of the Third Century and reunited the fragmented Rome, was the walking incarnation of the sun god Helios. He also had another name: Asurian.

The statue of Helios, or Asuryan, was built in the port of Rhodes. It was 30 meters tall, made of brass, and stood with legs apart, holding a torch that served as a beacon. Passing ships sailed between the legs of the statue, which was a very spectacular sight. This spectacle was comparable to the huge pyramids in Egypt and the magnificent temple of Artemis in Smyrna. But seven hundred years ago, when the Arab Ghisyanki rode red dragons and sailed sailboats to defeat the Eastern Roman army and capture Rhodes, they dismantled the bronze statue and took it back to their home in the holy land of Arabia, and it has never been seen since then. "

Aenarion nodded. Could it be that the voice was asking him to find the one with the Egyptian gold?

The Pyramid, a famous wonder on par with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, a statue of the sun god over 30 meters high and made entirely of brass? This thing has been lost for over 700 years!

Chapter 70: Zombie Arms

Aenarion temporarily ignored the task of finding the statue, which was too far and too dangerous. He decided to take care of the things at hand first and go to the market to arm and strengthen his undead.

Aenarion rode into the weapons and armor market in Constantinople. It was as depressed as the gunpowder market, with only sporadic weapons and armor for sale. After asking around, he found out that the largest market in the entire Constantinople was actually located in Galata, north of the Golden Horn.

Constantinople faces the sea on the southeast and the Golden Horn on the north. It is surrounded by water on three sides and is protected by towering city walls on all four sides. The western wall has three layers.

Galata, located north of the Golden Horn, has left the protection of the city walls and is considered a new city on the outskirts of Constantinople. The reason why it has become a trading zone is because it is adjacent to the Golden Horn in the south and is not surrounded by the undulating city walls of Constantinople. The establishment of ports and docks is not restricted. The city south of the Golden Horn is densely packed with ports and docks.

The flag flying over the city of Galata was not the purple double-headed eagle of the Eastern Roman Empire, but the red cross on a white background of Genoa. Constantinople's largest trading market and maritime bottleneck had already become a Genoese colony, and the entire city's trade was controlled by the Genoese.

Aenarion returned to Ulthuan. Artemisia stood on the ceiling of the stern pavilion, controlling the angle of the ship by manipulating a huge rudder. Aenarion controlled ten undead, commanding them to either furl or unfold the sails of the four masts and change the angle and direction of the sails.

In this way, a large carrack that required at least eleven people to operate, under the control of Aenarion and Artemisia, barely started moving, slowly left the port of the Holy Palace District in the south, circled Constantinople half a circle, and arrived at the Golden Horn in the north.

Along the way, under the guidance of Artemisia, Aenarion also learned some knowledge about sailing, such as how to sail against the wind, and what effect will be produced when the angle between the sail and the hull is different. He steered the 40-meter-long behemoth into the port, dropped the anchor, parked the boat steadily, and headed for the bustling flower market in Galata.

The two first went to the armorer's shop. Aenarion looked at the prices of the equipment. A wooden kite shield covered with leather cost 7 silver coins, the cheapest chain mail could be sold for 150 silver coins, and the cheapest breastplate was 200 silver coins, which was not particularly expensive.

But this number, once multiplied by fifty-four, becomes 10,800 silver coins!

This was an astronomical figure that he had never seen before. Just using the cheapest and most popular breastplate armor, it would cost so much money to arm a mere fifty-four people. It was normal for small European lords to not be able to support a professional army.

Forget it, don't count on the armor. Use a cheap shield instead of armor for defense. Just make do with it. Anyway, my [Secondary Evil Aura] can continuously heal the injuries of the undead.

Aenarion turned around and headed for the weapons market. Weapons required much less steel and craftsmanship than armor, and were also much cheaper. A spear cost only 5 silver coins, while a longsword and scimitar were more expensive, requiring 15 silver coins. The muskets sold here were Ottoman style, the same as the one in his hand, both with a large caliber of 19MM, and cost 100 silver coins each.

Aenarion thought about it. Based on his understanding of zombies in the past few days, these guys have no knowledge of martial arts. If he equips them with weapons, it would be best to use weapons such as spears, sticks, and scimitars that can be quickly mastered and simple to use. It would be better to forget about long swords that require skills.

However, the spear was not very useful in narrow places such as the cabin, the scimitar's armor-piercing ability was questionable, and he could not get the Ottoman Atkan saber. After weighing the pros and cons, Aenarion set his sights on a Morningstar Hammer.

This thing is 8 centimeters in total, with a wooden handle and a fist-sized spherical iron lump fixed on the handle. The iron hammer head has star-like thorns scattered in all directions, and is used for hammering and killing. One hammer sells for silver coins.

Although it is a bit short and the attack range is insufficient, this thing is lethal enough. Blunt weapons and sharp stabs are both the damage modes that are most likely to penetrate armor defense, and this thing takes into account both stabbing and blunt injuries. The conical spikes that spread in all directions can also tear the enemy's flesh and blood, making them bleed. The problem of insufficient attack distance can be solved with a wooden shield. Just hold the shield close to the face and smash it hard. It also takes into account the simple and rigid movement mode of zombies.

After some bargaining, Aenarion finally spent 7 silver coins to buy fifty-four Morningstar hammers and fifty-four shields at the price of 7 silver coins for a Morningstar hammer and silver coins for a wooden kite shield. He asked the Genoese merchants to deliver all the goods to his ship and armed the fifty-four zombies.

Afterwards, Aenarion went to the carpenter's shop and requested to customize thirty wooden cannons, which would be painted black. These things certainly could not be fired, they were just for show and to scare people. A cannon cost six or seven thousand, or even tens of thousands. He could not afford them in such a short time. These scary things would probably accompany him for a long time.

Even a strong band like the Slayers felt that it was difficult to deal with the threat of two galleys with ten cannons, and they did not want to suffer so much damage in a head-on confrontation.

A carrack with forty guns might not even be in the mood to rob.

These hollowed-out, blackened wooden stakes are easy to make. You can get one for one silver coin, and all of them cost thirty silver coins.

Then came forty brand new gun carriages, used to carry the ship's ten cannons and thirty camouflaged wooden cannons. This type of gun carriage had four wheels, with a huge front wheel and a narrow rear wheel, which could ensure the stability of the cannons on the bumpy sea. This thing had a high technical content, and one gun carriage cost five silver coins, a total of two hundred silver coins.

Aenarion nodded in satisfaction. Anyway, his ten real cannons were all placed on a mobile and stable gun carriage, with five on each side. If the enemy appeared on the right side, he would order the zombies to push the gun carriage and move the other five from the port side.

The Genoese carpenters made a quick estimate and concluded that it would be easy to hollow out ten wooden stakes and paint them black to disguise them as cannons. Then they could convert the forty existing gun carriages into the wheels of the size he required, which was just a matter of changing the wheels, and it could be done in three days.

After the deal was done, Aenarion's wallet shrank rapidly to 545 silver coins. He would use this money to buy gunpowder and shells from the Ottomans. The gunpowder from the Genoese was also very expensive. Gunpowder from Izmir or Smyrna was cheaper.

While waiting for the carpenter to finish his work, Aenarion continued to look for ways to make money. He first went to the gladiatorial arena and signed up for it, but this time his luck was bad and the competition was postponed to thirty-three days later.

He had no choice but to return to the most prosperous Galata district in Constantinople to look for job opportunities. As a newcomer, he knew nothing about the rules here, but his caravel was one of the largest ships even in the prosperous Golden Horn and was very conspicuous.

Aenarion suddenly had an idea and hung a large wooden sign on the bow of his ship with two lines of words written on it in the Elvish language used in Greece and the Latin language used in Italy.

"Pirates are rampant in the Aegean Sea! I am willing to escort you on this forty-gun caravel!

Italians, you don't want your goods to be robbed by pirates in the Aegean Sea, do you? "

Chapter 71: Guardian's Mission

After two days of hanging the sign of Aenarion, it finally welcomed its first customer, a petite, youthful and lively female elf, who was wearing a loose, black cloak. She stood on the dock and shouted to the three-story deck.

"Is this ship looking for work? How much do you want?"

Several zombies holding Morningstar Hammers and wooden kite shields stood on the side of the deck, carrying out Aenarion's orders to stand guard, as motionless as sculptures. Unless someone tried to board the ship, these brainless creatures would not react at all.

"Can't you hear me? Tell your captain that I want to hire his ship!"

The female elf tilted her head and shouted again in confusion, but still no zombie paid any attention to her. Fortunately, Aenarion heard the noise from afar and hurriedly walked out of the ship's tower, lying on the side of the ship, looking down at the elves on the deck.

"Here we go, get down the floating ladder!"

At Aenarion's command, several zombies slowly opened the huge floating ladder that was only used when loading and unloading goods, and beckoned the guests to go onto the deck. Aenarion was a little nervous when he saw the customers. It was the first time for him to do this, and he didn't know how to raise the price. Artemisia was born a pirate, and although she was proficient in sailing, she didn't know much about trade.

"Hello, Mr. Captain, I am Izara, Izara of the Kayon family."

Izara greeted politely. Under her jet-black hair and on her youthful face, she had a pair of narrow eyes that were slightly upturned like a fox. Her gaze was particularly charming. Her already upturned eyes were smeared with a touch of black eyeshadow, making her beautiful eyes look even more alluring.

"Our family's fleet just returned from the Crimean Peninsula on the northern shore of the Black Sea after a night raid. However, it was attacked by Black Sea pirates and suffered serious damage. Next, the caravan will cross half of the Aegean Sea and head to Izmir... Oh, you are a high elf, so I'll call it Smyrna. We can only seek a group of mercenaries for security in Constantinople. What's your price?"

"Hello, Miss Izar. I am Aenarion, the captain of Ulthuan. What's the price? My carrack has sixty brave sailors who are not afraid of pain or death. It also has four elite spellcasters and forty cannons - another thirty can be shipped tomorrow. What do you think we are worth?"

Aenarion pretended to be shrewd and pushed the questions he couldn't answer back to the opponent. He also exaggerated his strength, but not too much. What if this guy misjudged his own strength and asked him to fight something he couldn't beat at all, that would be a big mistake.

"All ordinary crew members will receive 2 silver coins a day, and you and your elite will receive 10 silver coins a day. For this caravel... I am willing to offer 120 silver coins a day, which adds up to 280 silver coins a day. The commission will be paid daily, and any cost of firing the artillery will be borne by me."

"How about making it an even number, 300 silver coins a day?"

Aenarion bargained, and the other party agreed readily. It seemed that his offer was a little too low.

"Okay, give me a day, and tomorrow my cannon will be equipped and ready to go."

"No problem. Our merchant ship also needs repairs. I'll come to you tomorrow and our construction period will be settled starting from tomorrow."

Izara bowed politely and left Ulthuan.

The next day, the Genoese carpenters transported the gun carriages and wooden cannons onto the Ulthuan. Once the forty portholes on the two lower decks were opened, forty black cannons were revealed. It looked very creepy, although only a quarter of the cannons could be fired and there were no shells yet.

After a while, Izar also came over. She was commanding three 30-meter-long Phoenician galleys. Although the side chords were occupied by large oars and only a few cannons could be installed at the bow and stern, the speed and maneuverability of the galleys were several levels higher than those of the caravels in such inland seas and rivers. The three galleys were in front and the caravels were behind. The four ships set sail from the Golden Horn and headed for Izmir, the first city that Aenarion arrived at after his crossing.

Aenarion calmly controlled the zombies to raise the sails and adjust the angles. Leopard Woman, who had the best eyesight and could see normally in the dark, turned into a leopard and climbed to the top of the main mast in a few steps to act as a lookout to scout the movements in the nearby sea. Astarielle, who had been guarded by Leopard Woman, was placed on the stern pavilion and was personally guarded by Aenarion and Artemisia.

This guy is a level six dual-professional, and if he is left alone, something bad might happen.

"Look, Astariel, I did not join the Eastern Roman Empire. I just kept my contract and promise, sent the princess home, and got the reward I deserved."

Aenarion took off the golden mask fixed on his helmet, revealing his beautiful face, and tried to persuade Astariel that it was useless to be a strong person who could not be controlled. This girl was like a time bomb to him now.

"We are just a group of mercenaries who do things for money. Now our relationship is over and we no longer belong to any faction. There is no hatred between us. During the seven days you were detained, I restricted your activities but did not wrong you. I took good care of you. You ate the same food as us. You have no reason to attack us now, right?"

Aenarion said, playing hard to get.

"I give you two choices. First, after arriving in Izmir, I will put you off the ship and you can return to the barracks of the Thirteenth Legion by yourself. We can all part ways in peace.

Second, you stay and join my ship, and we can live as we please, without being bound by anyone. "

Astariel stared at Aenarion's face. She had been tied up by him for almost a week, but for some reason, every time she saw his handsome face that looked like a god, the anger and grievance in her heart would disappear.

As for taking good care of her? He took too good care of her. For a whole week, he personally took care of her eating, brushing teeth, washing her face, and even going to the toilet. Astariel felt ashamed and angry, and her heart was beating fast. She was held in his arms like a child several times, and the scene of her crossing her legs and holding her to pee made her blush and her heart beat faster.

"Since your contract with the Eastern Roman Empire has ended, can you join our Ottoman Empire now? Isn't it just killing ten Janissaries? Dying on the battlefield is a soldier's honor. What's more, most of the Janissaries were drawn from blood taxes of ordinary families or bought from slave markets. They don't have much power. You have my brother and I, as well as the Angelos family to help you suppress them. Just apologize and this matter can be easily settled."

Astariel asked instead of answering, still trying to drag Aenarion into her camp.

"Let's talk about it later. I have no intention of joining any faction at the moment. I just want to recruit crew members for this ship and equip it with cannons. Even the reconnaissance unit of the Venetian Navy is only equipped with a Galleon and three or four Arab sailboats. As long as I upgrade this ship to the top level, it will be a force that cannot be ignored in the Aegean Sea."

Chapter 72: New Crew

After some discussion, the two still could not reach a consensus. As she saw that she still could not recruit him to join the Ottoman Empire, Astariel couldn't help feeling a little frustrated.

"Sometimes, I really don't understand what you are thinking. In the last days of the Eastern Roman Empire, some elves persisted in their beliefs and vowed to hold on to the very end, and to be buried with their declining empire, such as Indrognir of the Palaiologos family, Constantine XI, and Thomas."