Arknights, but the family has fallen again

"Imperial Baron, Vice Earl, Salt Mine Earl, Harbor Earl, Earl 'promoted to Duke'..." Ott listed them all.

"The current twin queens of Leithania, compared to other emperors, have an even more formidable disadvantage—they have no territories of their own. They don't even have the option of 'moving the capital back to their home'. Even if they choose to establish a capital, they can only place it in a place once used by the Witch-King."

The previous emperor, Otto, the "Witch King", was a rare emperor with real power in hundreds of years. Under his brutal rule that treated everyone equally, he killed everyone, whether nobles or commoners, and anyone with enough talent could enter his court.

As a result, education and upward mobility were magically and massively opened to the working class.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Witch-King's reign was a time in the history of Leithnia when effort and talent were most rewarded - but also a time when death was most likely to occur.

As one of the most outstanding masters of Originium in history, the Witch King devoted more energy to Originium skills in the late period of his reign. The infected were one of the consumables he studied, and there was even a disguised "tax" that ordered all places to hand over the infected on a regular basis and in fixed quantities.

The nobles' fear and anger towards the Witch King grew even greater. To this end, the war hero Archduke Leopold obtained a secret method from someone... and created a pair of artificial humans specifically to kill the Witch King.

Leopold had a brilliant idea: after using the androids' special physical attacks to dethrone the Witch King, the android sisters would be nearly there! He could then eliminate the androids himself and seize the fruits of his victory.

But Leopold made a small mistake:

After defeating the Witch King, the twins are in good shape.

So, the current Emperor of Leithnia is an artificial human, the black and white twin queens.

"You know, the Twin Queens have been ruling for over twenty years, and they don't have any children—no heirs to continue their legacy."

"When the Queens' power seems so hollow and shaky, and they bravely march forward to overthrow the Witch King, while nobles from all over the land now operate in tacit agreement, each with their own agenda, as the 'Echoes of the Witch King'..."

"Imperial barons with narrow visions who cannot understand the true nature of power, free lords, and bourgeois who have been granted feudal privileges by empresses... How can Stein ensure that his small privileges can be passed on... to the next generation?"

"Blade Master... let go of my face..." The heir of Rhodes Island pinched Otto's face with slurred words.

"..." Otto said nothing, but his competitive spirit like a little devil rose up.

Kelsey sighed: "You two, stop fighting on the deck!"

Old Rupert's Village.

"Doctor?" Graythroat tugged at the corner of the scavenger's clothes.

"...There are some urgent matters to deal with on our ship." Otto said seriously.

Refers to messing around with Amiya.

"Is it really okay for us to rest like this?" Graythroat pointed at Provence sleeping beside him. "Is a natural disaster coming?"

"This ship has already headed for the village at the deepest point. Its position is rather awkward, and we can no longer expect it to evacuate on its own."

The scavenger's arm opened the window, and Otto looked at the clouds in the sky, which became increasingly gloomy in the night.

"The two villages here still have enough time to evacuate on their own."

"Don't worry, if they delay until the end, Rhodes Island will intervene."

"..." Gray Throat was silent for a moment, but finally couldn't help asking, "Why do you still let those people do whatever they want?"

"When relocating the village, they handed over so many young and strong laborers to the tax collectors for tax collection... Even if they were afraid of the lord's punishment, they shouldn't have done that... If it were you, Doctor, you would definitely be able to stop them!"

The scavenger leaned against the window frame, and Zalak's eyes reflected a devilish red light: "Perhaps."

"But if the operators hadn't taken the initiative to petition, Rhodes Island wouldn't be in a position to do this."

After finally catching this big fish, how could I be lost for several days?

Outside the village, lying in the car, Thor suddenly realized why Provence asked him to help watch the car.

Chapter 283: Caprini Warlock

They were intentionally giving me a place to stay for the night!

Thor stood up suddenly and accidentally hit his head.

However, before he could cry out in pain, he sat up and saw a group of people sneaking out of the village.

Where are they...going?

Thor had a bad feeling.

He hesitated, looking towards the front of the SUV, at the key still in the driver's seat. Its base wasn't fully engaged with the keyhole, revealing a hint of silvery-white metal that shone brightly in the thin moonlight.

As fellow Scourge Messengers, Rhodes Island lent me their vehicles for the night, but am I going to steal it?

The car even had the Rhode Island logo on it, so "borrowing" it wasn't just a matter of stealing or misappropriating other people's property!

If it's really as I imagined... then this will undoubtedly involve Rhodes Island and Miss Provence's organization!

The villagers who left quietly had already passed the end of Thor's sight. Under the moonlight, their shadows were flattened on the horizon like a scimitar.

Thor's vague guilt was completely cut off.

Elafia's hand blocked the moonlight reflected from the key, the engine roared, and the in-car terminal also woke up.

Rhodes Island is really rich... Even cars destined for the wilderness are equipped with terminals...

He tried to drown out his guilty conscience with distracting thoughts.

A bright line slowly unfolds in the center of the screen, followed by a triangular white castle in the sunlight (Note ①).

"Doctor?" Graythroat watched as the Scavenger suddenly pulled out his terminal and subconsciously drew his crossbow. "Want to fight?"

"Our car was stolen."

"That Elafia!" Graythroat frowned. "We even lent him our car!"

Ott just looked at her.

It was silence, but the scavenger's silence and Otto's silence showed a completely different feeling.

Graythroat tried to understand Ott's expression and said with difficulty, "We didn't lend him the car for this, did we?"

Apparently, this was part of Ottner's ever-changing plans.

Zalak squatted on the window frame and did not answer the question. He just said to Graythroat, "The tax collector and some of his guards are still there. There are some things that need to be verified."

Graythroat watched as the eyes that belonged to the scavenger turned an alluring and dangerous red, and watched her disappear silently from the window.

The ethereal voice didn't seem to come from the Scavenger's mouth, but echoed in Graythroat's own mind: "Follow."

When he met with the village chief today, Old Rupert couldn't even vacate a house for the Scourge Messenger to stay temporarily.

Fortunately, there is a large number of young and middle-aged laborers who are rushing to help the lord collect taxes before the natural disaster comes, so the Rhodes Island group can finally have a decent place to lie down.

Inevitably, in the process, the Rhodes Island group caught some clues about the tax collector and his guards.

Otto also constructed a vague guess based on these clues.

Dark clouds obscured the twin moons, and a gentle breeze blew across the empty fields to the red-tiled and white-walled house of Old Rupert.

The angular lamp at the door of his house had long been extinguished, but the tax collector burned the fat in old Rupert's house without any scruples to support his night shift as a "city man".

Zarak melted into the night with ease, like a drop of wine in a glass of water.

She waited quietly by the dimly lit window.

"Hum?...Hum, hum, hum?..." The tax collector hummed a tune while studying the accounts under the flickering light.

After exercising such self-discipline for dozens of minutes, he finally raised his wrist and looked at his watch.

The tax collector happily closed his account book and undressed.

However, this happiness did not last long, and his color changed: "Where is the bathroom!?"

Judging from the unexpected behavior of the tax collector, old Rupert already had some at home.

Is it probably the impact of relocation after a natural disaster?

"Damn it! I feel like I'm going to stink!" the tax collector muttered. "Do they want me to take a bath with these peasants?"

He only felt this way now? If he had searched the wilderness for a long time before finding this village, he should have sensed it a long time ago!

The tax collector hesitated for a long time, but his fear of body odor outweighed his disgust for the peasants.

Hearing the tax collector walking away cursing, the scavenger nimbly climbed into the bedroom.

The accounts in the hands of tax collectors were loose-leaf and the recording method was too straightforward.

A large amount of taxes paid in kind were converted through various reasonable calculation methods, and then inexplicably cut to match the data of previous years.

Ott turned the page and found a series of small villages under Stein's name.

Some villages have very detailed records, while others only have exact annual figures and speculative ranges.

This is not a public account, but a private account under a public account.

He was embezzling money, but that was nothing surprising.

But you are still guessing about your colleagues?

The entire private account is measured in time... so...

Ott quickly found the predecessors of these three villages.

really.

He confirmed his suspicion.

The bedroom door suddenly opened, and a dark energy ball rushed straight towards the scavenger's face!

Ott took a step aside to get out of the shooting range, closed the account book with one hand, and reached behind his waist with the other hand.

The pitch-black magic ball lifted the scavenger's silver hair, revealing his ruthless red eyes like gemstones, and then blasted a huge gap in the village chief's mansion.

Zarak's body, his eyes will turn red when he is emotionally excited.

And Otto's brain, which was constantly performing precise calculations, seemed to be recognized by this body as "emotionally excited."

"I didn't know the Scourge Messenger also recruited thieves!"

Guard Caprini waved his staff and gathered two more magic balls amidst the mocking sounds.

call out!

Sniper!?

A crossbow arrow came from the window behind Otto, and the guard was caught off guard and had to give up the magic ball in his hand and deploy a barrier.

No ability to maintain both attack and defense at the same time?

It seems that he is not a warlock specializing in combat.

But he is a guard... and very alert.

After discovering something interesting, Otto watched the guards' performance coldly and handed the initiative of the battle back to the scavenger.

The nimble short axe was hidden behind the scavenger's arm, and with a swaying step, she disappeared from the guards' sight.

"They are all thieves!" The guard cursed angrily. Just as he opened his chest and wanted to do something, an axe that stretched out from his blind spot was held to his throat.

"Trash, you want to call out to the other trash?" the scavenger said coldly, "If you dare to speak loudly, you'll say goodbye to your life forever."

Although it's rude to say this, the Doctor is more likable when he's in there.

Graythroat sighed softly, but the crossbow didn't waver at all.

Wait, why is that guard laughing?

He has now lost his ability to move and has no way to call his companions!

Chapter 284: The Remaining Poison of the Witch King

Why could Guard Caprini still laugh when he had completely lost the initiative?

Graythroat's question was soon answered.

Warlock Caprini said as if to show off, "You little thief, you turned out to be an infected person!"

All my years of practice actually came in handy in this life-or-death situation...

Warlock Caprini was filled with excitement, pride, and a strange feeling of destiny.

The Originium particles flowing in Zarak's blood, the Originium crystals on her body, and the Originium crystals in her flesh and blood trembled slightly under the rough spell of the Caprini warlock.