A sneeze destroys a magical civilization

"Sir Soth... I have to admit that the way you appeared did give me a huge surprise. Because among all the banquets I have attended and hosted in my life, you are the first to use a dragon as a means of transportation. "

Sir Crispian suppressed his inner fear of the huge creature in front of him, tried hard to appear calm and composed, and also tried to create a relaxed and humorous atmosphere with his words.

Of course, if his legs and arms hidden in the wide sleeves didn't shake so much, the effect would be better.

no way!

Even low-level professionals cannot be exempted from the dragon's power, let alone ordinary people who don't even have a professional level.

Being able to stand in front of an adult green dragon without immediately turning around and running away can be considered quite courageous.

In any case, Sir Crispian had seen the white dragon attack and the centipede demonic insect charge in the Yunwu Mountains, so he still had some courage.

Zuo Si smiled and patted the green dragon's head, signaling it to go into the woods to avoid human sight. Then he walked closer and explained with a smile: "I have no choice. You know, even if you come from Askatra, It will take at least two days to ride a horse. And since I haven’t been here before, I can’t use teleportation magic, so I had to choose to fly here on a dragon.”

"Hahahaha! Well, it seems I didn't think well. I should have sent a carriage to pick you up at the castle in advance."

As the green dragon disappeared into the vast night, Sir Crispian finally recovered completely and took the initiative to take the responsibility for this little commotion on himself.

Obviously, he ignored the very different ways of thinking between spellcasters and ordinary nobles.

The biggest difference between the two is that the latter usually cares about "decent" and "ostentation", while the former cares about efficiency.

You must know that in just a few minutes after the dragon landed, many horses in the nearby barn began to run away due to fright, and the servants responsible for taking care of the horses chased after them desperately.

After all, many of these horses are expensive stallions used by guests at the banquet to pull carts, and the price of each one is not less than a thousand gold coins.

If it is lost, it is a small matter to pay for it, but it is a big matter to make the owner lose face.

After a few brief greetings at the door, Sir Crispian immediately pulled Zuo Si into the living room of the manor villa.

As soon as they entered the door, the guests who were still whispering stopped all their movements and all looked at the door.

To be precise, it was directed towards Zuo Si, the chosen one of the goddess of poison and disease.

Although he has not been in Ascatla for a long time, he has already done a lot of things that shocked these top dignitaries.

In particular, he used the attack on the envoy to suppress Baldur's Gate and forced it to make huge concessions, successfully winning the praise of many great nobles and chambers of commerce.

The reason why we held the banquet today was not only to ask him for advice on how to suppress his competitors without starting a war, but also to accept his idea of ​​officially entering the circle of Amn's upper ruling class.

Out of the basic courtesy and responsibility of a host, Sir Crispian first introduced Zuo Si's identity to all the guests, then directly blocked all the guys who tried to strike up a conversation, and quickly came to the study on the second floor. .

More than twenty middle-aged and elderly men and women, ranging in age from forty to sixty, have been waiting here for a long time.

You don't need to ask to know that they are the real rulers of the country under their feet, and they are also the leaders of the major families.

In addition, there should be six members of the review hidden among them.

Sir Crispian took the trouble to introduce Zuo Si one after another.

This whole process alone lasted more than ten minutes.

But everyone present did not show any impatience, but waited patiently with a smile.

When everything was over, an old man who looked to be in his early sixties was the first to speak: "Everyone, we are all the richest and most powerful families in Amn. Many of our families can even trace their history back to Calimshan. The end of the Shane Dynasty.

I believe you all understand the reason why we are gathered here today.

In the recent negotiations with Baldur's Gate, the noble Lord Thos, the chosen one of Talona, ​​the goddess of poison and disease, used his superb wisdom and political skills to teach us all a lesson.

He got something at the negotiating table that none of us could get on the battlefield, and that was forcing Baldur's Gate to make significant concessions on trade and tariffs.

There is no doubt that this time, both in terms of diplomatic operations and economic blows, our competitors have suffered a big loss.

In particular, uniting with chambers of commerce in other cities and regions to raise the prices of daily necessities, completely dividing and disintegrating the relationship between the lower class people and the merchant class in Baldur's Gate, gave us a new way of thinking, and also successfully intensified the conflict between the city and farmers in surrounding areas. .

Because of this, the stupid and greedy dukes of Baldur's Gate had to choose to retreat.

Because the foundation of their rule was shaken.

Through this example, we can summarize many useful experiences and then use them on other competitors.

After all, starting a war is the stupidest thing to do.

Not only is the investment cost too high, but even if you win, you may not get what you want. "

"I completely agree." Another man in his forties with a beard nodded slightly. "For us, it will always be more profitable to gain trade dominance in a certain area than to actually occupy and manage it. This is a truth that has been proved a long time ago. And in the economic field, except for Sambi Except for those oligarchs, no country or city-state is Amn’s opponent.”

"That's right! That's why we invited Mr. Soth to come today. He comes from another world and has a lot of insights and precious knowledge that we don't know." The female nobleman in his fifties next to him also agreed. road.

"Then Mr. Soth, could you please explain to us how you made such an accurate judgment in a complicated situation?" the leader of the old man asked politely with a smile.

Zuo Si nodded slightly: "Of course. It's actually not as complicated as everyone here imagines.

There are several options for putting pressure on an independent political entity.

The first is the military pressure that everyone knows, which is to use powerful violence to make the other party feel the threat of destruction and death, and eventually have to retreat out of fear.

Of course, as the gentleman said, the cost of launching a war is too high, and the risks are also very high.

So big that few countries and city-states could afford one or two disastrous defeats.

Not to mention the loss of food, armor, weapons and various materials, just the pension and the death and capture of so many young and middle-aged laborers will cause a huge blow to the government's prestige, and even shake the foundation of rule.

In addition, maintaining a large and well-trained army for a long time will also put huge pressure on finances.

So war is always the last resort.

In contrast, the second point of diplomatic pressure is much easier.

When doing this kind of thing, you must first have a sufficient and unquestionable legitimate reason, and then put yourself on the side of justice, portray the other party as an evil villain, and criticize from the moral high ground.

The second is to create and coerce public opinion, let as many people as possible know about this matter, and then mobilize the people's empathy and let them join in condemning a certain country or city-state.

Finally, and most importantly, do your best to win over other surrounding forces, especially those churches and organizations in the good camp, and use various means to force them to express their stance.

When the above three elements are present, this country or city-state will inevitably fall into diplomatic isolation and absolute moral disadvantage.

At this time, the second step can be launched, which is economic sanctions, while simultaneously dividing and disintegrating the various social classes of the enemy and provoking and intensifying internal conflicts.

Not only are they unable to unite to tide over the difficulties, but they also blame each other and become hostile to each other.

As we all know, in the eyes of most low-level civilians, bad guys have no human rights and do not deserve sympathy.

After successfully shaping an evil country and city-state, we can unite merchants from other surrounding areas to carry out various attacks on it.

For example, suddenly restrict the inflow of some daily necessities such as food, salt, cloth, and steel, and then take this opportunity to significantly raise prices, causing an increase in people's cost of living, which in turn leads to social unrest and the accumulation of dissatisfaction.

When this kind of turmoil and dissatisfaction accumulates to a certain extent, conflicts will be like a volcano about to erupt, containing unimaginable destructive power.

At that time, all it takes is a little encouragement from the local Shadow Thieves Guild to trigger a horrific riot.

It may turn into a brutal civil war that violently overthrows the current government.

In addition, when taking this step, you can also consider recruiting and supporting a group of local businessmen as internal agents by promising benefits, constantly inciting confrontation between the poor and the rich, civilians and nobles, and creating strong hostility between each other.

In short, remember that the strongest fortress can always be breached from within.

As long as you pay more attention to the hidden dangers within your competitors, and then find ways to intensify these contradictions and cause commotion and chaos, you can easily defeat them completely.

This is true of Baldur's Gate, and it is also true of Sembria where serfdom is practiced.

Even the seemingly enlightened City of Waterdeep actually contains huge crises inside..."

With a calm and unhurried voice, Zuo Si explained some of the simplest and most basic "fool-like" operation methods to these Amn executives through clear and logical language.

After all, the other party paid expensive "tuition", so he also generously taught many "little tricks".

In fact, in the continent of Faerûn, due to the conflict between good and evil, order and chaos, the class consciousness of the people here is weak, or even non-existent.

But now, when Zuo Si clearly proposed this concept and gave a series of actionable suggestions, all the Amn dignitaries present showed either solemn or thoughtful expressions.

Because they realize that this set is a "double-edged sword" that can be used against the enemy as well as against themselves.

After a long time of silence, the old man who spoke first finally took a long breath and praised with a slightly emotional tone: "It's really breathtaking wisdom. It seems that as long as you master these, Am It will soon enter a period of strong expansion. But what I want to know now is, what do you think of the internal situation in this country?"

"In which aspect?" Zuo Si asked with a half-smile.

"Of course it's an internal conflict. Or to put it another way, what can we do to ease the relationship between the merchants and aristocracy and the lower class civilians, and ensure that a similar situation will not happen in Ascaltra?"

The old man directly asked the question that troubled him.

As the top dignitary of this business empire, he has extraordinary vision and understanding, and is very aware of the risks hidden under the surface of Amn's prosperity.

For example, there are the huge slums in the city, and the gangsters who can't find serious jobs and wander around all day.

In addition to inside the city, there are also many traditional nobles outside the city who use various means to seize land from farmers, or convert farmland into pasture to raise horses, cattle and sheep that can make more money, dismiss all tenant farmers and leave them to fend for themselves.

If someone uses similar means to deal with Amn one day, then the latter will collapse and explode at a speed that will not be much slower than Baldur's Gate.

Zuo Si’s meaningful answer: “Ensuring the smooth operation of a country and political power is nothing more than meeting two basic prerequisites.

That is, people's needs for security and basic material needs for life and survival.

To put it simply, it is to maintain a good public security environment and at the same time allow as many people as possible to have a job that can support themselves.

If it cannot be satisfied, then find ways to transfer the crisis externally.

You should have considered this a long time ago, right?

For example, the law of development and the law of the sea. "

"Oh? What do you think of these two codes?"

The old man suddenly became interested, with a deep light shining in his eyes.

“By encouraging exploration and the development of overseas colonies, and sending farmers who have lost their land and citizens who cannot find jobs to other places, this is one of the ways Amn is using to pass on its own crisis at this stage. In addition to this, There is another financial instrument.”

Having said this, Zuo Si took out a "Dante" gold coin from his pocket and placed it gently on the table.

"I have done tests and found that the precious metal content of such a gold coin cast by Amn is only about 40%, and the rest is composed of cheap metals such as lead, tin, and iron.

This is true not only for gold coins, but also for other silver coins, silver gold coins and platinum coins.

And it explains why Amn has always been only interested in controlling trade routes instead of occupying more lands.

Because actually occupying a piece of land means taking on the responsibility of protecting the people who live on that land.

But you don't want to take on that responsibility and the cost of fulfilling that obligation.

Just the opposite!

You have adopted a smarter and more cunning method of colonization, which is economic colonization.

By occupying trade routes and monopolizing commerce in a region, local residents gradually accepted and recognized the value of Amn currency.

As a result, the region will need a lot of currency to support its daily transactions and various economic activities.

Both businessmen and civilians will try their best to hoard.

And this kind of hoarding is equivalent to indirectly increasing the credit and demand of currency, and bringing unimaginable huge wealth to the coiners.

I call this way of obtaining wealth through coinage [seigniorage]. "

The words have not yet been spoken!

Everyone present stood up and applauded.

The leader of the old man exclaimed loudly: "What an incredible wisdom and insight! I didn't expect that you even noticed this. I originally thought that this secret could be hidden for a long time."

But Zuo Si smiled and shook his head: "No, you are wrong. I believe that many people in Faerûn have noticed the proportion of precious metal content in Amn gold coins.

It's just that the value of currency does not actually depend on itself, but on two other things, called credit and anchors.

The latter determines what the currency can buy.

The former determines how many people are willing to use it.

The two are complementary to each other.

At present, merchants in Amn are located in every corner of Faerûn, and provide almost all types of goods.

Therefore, the currency minted by Amn will naturally be accepted by almost everyone.

But if one day there are financial and trade problems in Amn and it is no longer able to provide so many goods, then these currencies will naturally and inevitably depreciate.

If we want to avoid a similar crisis, the only way is to maintain and expand our advantages in trade. "

"Yes! This is exactly the policy that Amn has been pursuing. It seems that you have a unique and profound understanding of politics, diplomacy, economics and trade. I would like to ask, are you interested in accepting a special adviser to the six-person council? Your title?" The old man narrowed his eyes and probed cautiously.

"What are the benefits?" Zuo Si asked calmly.

"The advantage is that from the moment you accept this title, you will be the top ruler of this country just like us. You can enjoy all kinds of unknown hidden privileges, even if there is a vacancy in the six-person council. Participate in the election under certain circumstances.” The old man smiled and showed his trump card.

Zuo Si touched his chin and thought for a moment, and finally nodded slightly: "Okay, I accept it. But there is an additional condition."

"Oh? What are the additional conditions?" A curious expression appeared on the old man's face.

"Bernard and I are planning to fund an expedition recently. If nothing else happens, they should discover a strange continent on the other side of the Traceless Sea. I hope that when the news comes back, everyone here can guarantee that we The benefits you deserve will not be lost.”

Zuo Si made the request straightforwardly.

Because he knew that it was impossible to hide such heavy news, so he simply took advantage of today's opportunity to show off with the other party.

"What? A continent! Opposite the Traceless Sea?"

"Really?"

"Bless the goddess of wealth! How much trade and wealth can a completely unfamiliar continent bring?"

"Oh my God! Doesn't that mean..."

All of a sudden, the dignitaries who were originally very calm all showed reactions of shock, greed, or excitement.

You must know that Snowfall Port in the Shadowmoon Islands and Nanzalu Port in the Chult Jungle in the south have brought unimaginable profits to Amn.

It even directly allowed two originally unknown families to take off and gradually enter the ranks of top famous families.

"Quiet! Mind your manners!"

Seeing that the scene was a bit chaotic, the old man at the head finally couldn't help but slap the table hard.

Under his strong pressure, order was quickly restored in the study.

But this order is only superficial.

Secretly, everyone began to make their own little plans.

After all, the benefits of a continent are so great that no one will back down easily.

The old man clearly felt this. He frowned and asked in an uncertain tone: "How do you know there is a continent across the Traceless Sea? Where did this news come from?"

Zuo Si shrugged his shoulders and responded: "Sorry, I have no comment on this point.

But by October or November next year at the latest, the expedition should be back with news and new routes.

By then, you will naturally be able to distinguish the true from the false.

And what I want is not too much, just a guaranteed 50% share.

As for the other parts, it is up to you to discuss how to distribute them.

Of course, in exchange for the personnel, materials and funds needed to develop the New World, the Amn government must provide maximum support. "

The old man thought for a long time, discussed quietly with the others around him for a while, and finally nodded.

"No problem! On behalf of everyone here, I agree in principle with the conditions you proposed. However, the specific details will have to be discussed after the news comes back. Finally, you are welcome to join and become one of us."

"Thank you. I am also honored to join the big family of Amn."

After saying this, Zuo Si raised his glass to signal to everyone present, and then made a fake drinking gesture.

Others also raised their glasses in response, raised their heads and drank in one gulp.

At this point, the core part of today's banquet has been completed.

The host of the banquet, Sir Crispian, stood at the door and watched the whole process, not even qualified to say a word.

Because of the families behind the twenty or so people in the study, if you pick anyone at random, you can easily push him to the ground and rub him repeatedly.

However, compared to those guys outside who spent money to buy tickets but were not even qualified to attend, Sir Crispian was actually quite lucky.

At least he knew a lot of secrets that only the top brass knew.

For example, how to use economic, diplomatic and public opinion methods to bring down a city-state or even a country;

Another example is Amn's minted currency, which contains only 40% of the precious metals. The six-person council used these currencies to make money crazily and openly;

Finally, there is news from another continent to the west beyond Wuhen.

After the "big shots" in the study left in batches and returned to the living room on the first floor to attend the banquet, the ambitious nobleman finally came to his senses and said in a very complicated and envious tone: "Congratulations, Lord Soth. You are already one of the masters of this country."

"I'm just a consultant, no big deal. And I don't have much time to waste on all kinds of endless trivial matters. My true identity is a spell caster, not a politician or family leader."

Zuo Siman carelessly threw the glass of wine in his hand into the corner.

Ever since he saw the brewing process of Faerûn at Daggerford, he had made up his mind to never touch any alcoholic beverages.

"That's what makes people even more jealous. After all, you have casually reached a height that others may not be able to reach after a lifetime of hard work. You must know that from the establishment of Amn to the present, the families and individuals who have been admitted into the true ruling inner circle, Altogether there are no more than forty.”

While saying these words, Sir Crispian took a swig of strong wine and stood near the guardrail on the second floor, looking down at the guests who were talking and dancing in the hall below, as if there was a fire in his heart. Burn violently.

Because he understood that being allowed to observe today was actually an opportunity, an opportunity to enter the top level of power.

If you work hard enough, you will achieve great success in the next series of external actions.

Then in ten or twenty years, he and his family may be able to overcome that invisible barrier.

Just when Zuo Si was about to say something, a middle-aged man in a gorgeous dress came up from downstairs and bowed to the two of them with very exaggerated movements.

"Good evening, Ser Crispian. And you, Sir Thos, chosen by Talona, ​​the great goddess of poison and disease."

"Who is this……"

A trace of doubt flashed in Zuo Si's eyes.

He searched the memory area of ​​his brain and was 100% sure that he had never seen the other person before.

"He is the Duke of Farsington Ronoll. I told you before."

Sir Crispian quickly put away all the emotions on his face and made a brief introduction as a banquet host.

Farthington Ronoll?

Isiah Ronoll’s father?

An imperceptible hint of amusement flashed across Zuo Si's eyes, and he immediately said with a smile: "It turns out to be Duke Ronoll. It's an honor to meet you."

"No! I should say that I am honored."

Farsington hurriedly put one hand on his chest modestly and bowed again.

Even though he usually looks arrogant towards civilians, in front of the country's real dignitaries, he will put on a different look and try to please them at all costs.

The so-called "bullying the inferior and flattering the superior" is nothing more than this.

According to Zuo Si's investigation, the guy in front of him successfully established cooperative relationships with some judges and guard captains through bribery.

Not only is there a large smuggling business in Ascaltra, but it is also closely connected with the slave-catching team that provides gladiator slaves to the Bronze Crown Inn, secretly selling various humans, halflings and elves to Calimshan.

Many of them are children who were abducted before they reached adulthood.

Just as he was secretly thinking about how to deal with this guy, Fassington immediately came closer, lowered his voice and pretended to be mysterious and whispered: "Sir Soth, I specially prepared a gift for you when I came here, just put it there In the carriage outside.”

"A gift? Could it be..."

Sir Crispian seemed to have guessed something, and his expression suddenly turned ugly.

Because this is in his manor!

If some scandal really breaks out, the whole family will be humiliated.

"Don't worry. I was very careful and didn't get seen by anyone."

After saying that, Fassington took the lead and led the way.

After a while, the three of them arrived at the open space behind the manor villa.

In an inconspicuous corner, there was a black fully enclosed carriage parked, and even the windows were covered from the outside.

Two heavily armed guards stood nearby, observing the surroundings vigilantly.

Farsington didn't make any sound, just waved his hand and drove the guards away, and opened the locked car door with his own hands.

moment!

An elf girl with her hands and feet tied with ropes and a piece of cloth stuffed in her mouth appeared in sight.

Her skin is dark brown, and she has long, beautiful black hair. She is about 1.6 meters tall and looks quite thin. Her weight must not exceed 60 kilograms. She wears very little clothing on her whole body, with only one piece on her upper body. A simple homemade leather armor, and the lower body is a short leather skirt that only covers the thighs.

As for age, there is no way to tell by appearance.

no doubt!

This is a typical wild elf.

Different from their noble, elegant cousins ​​who possess a lot of knowledge, technology and magical power, they are like the barbarian tribe among elves, living in isolated wilderness and forests.

Some golden elves and moon elves even believe that these similar people who have given up their traditions and become barbarians can no longer be called elves.

In fact, the emergence and history of wild elves can be traced back to the Three Crown Wars 10,000 years ago, which was the elves' own civil war.

Several elven kingdoms, countless cities and villages were destroyed in this catastrophe.

Some of the homeless refugees just disappeared into the inaccessible mountains and forests, and slowly became the earliest wild elves.

Because they were few in number and isolated from the world, they gradually abandoned those red tapes and actively chose to embrace nature and wilderness, eventually evolving into what they are today.

However, there are not many wild elves living in Amn, only a handful of small tribes.

"So, are you satisfied with this gift? You know, I lost several smart and powerful hunters in order to catch her." Fassington asked proudly.

As for this female elf, she had obviously been fed some drowsy and anesthetic drugs. She was currently in a deep coma and had no response to anything outside.

"Satisfied! Of course satisfied!"

Zuo Si showed a very dangerous smile.

Because just now, he suddenly had an idea of ​​how to give the "scumbag" in front of him the retribution he deserved.

Farthington didn't realize that the target he was trying to please had murderous intentions for him, and he began to talk endlessly about the process of finding and hunting the wild elf tribe, and the high price these pointy-eared guys could fetch in Calimshan.

And he also deliberately emphasized that the wild elf girl in front of him was a low-level druid, and her value was much higher than other slaves.

Zuo Si listened to the Duke of Ronoll's boasting with a smile on his face the whole time, and occasionally echoed it, but in his heart he had already sentenced him to death.

Through his disguise and deception, Farsington thought he had succeeded in making a powerful friend.

The two of them returned to the banquet scene talking and laughing, as if they were old friends they hadn't seen for many years.

Only Sir Crispian, as the master, noticed that something was wrong.

Because in his impression, Zuo Si seemed to have never been so close to anyone he met for the first time.

What's more, Farsington Ronoll and the family behind him are not important characters.

However, the wealthy Sir Crispian did not show any abnormality. On the contrary, he was very interested in seeing what Zuo Si planned to do to the Ronoll family.

…

While the banquet in the manor continued, a fierce battle was going on in the sewers of the temple area in Ascatla City.

One of the warring parties is Erinikas, who is looking for the temple of the ancient sun god Amaunata, and the other is the beholder community entrenched nearby.

After just one confrontation, the goblins, gray dwarves and vampire servants brought by Erinikas were all wiped out.

Because these guys simply can't withstand the beholder's terrifying rays.

Especially the vampires who did not eat control were turned into a pile of worthless dust by the green dissociation ray without exception.

Even Irenicas himself and his sister Bati were hit several times, leaving hideous scars on the surface of their skin.

In particular, the huge Eye of the Elder hiding behind can not only release a variety of rays and anti-magic fields, but is also a warlock with a spellcasting level as high as LV17.

In addition, there are a dozen beholders and a large number of smaller Gauss beholders around. As soon as you show your head, you will be immediately besieged by countless rays.

In addition, slaves controlled by charm are also a big trouble.

"Damn! Where did these beholders come from?"

Badi covered his chest, which was torn apart by energy, and couldn't help but gnashed his teeth and cursed in a low voice.

You don't need to ask to know that she was hit by a dissociation ray just now.

Fortunately, its own vitality is strong enough, otherwise it would have turned into a puddle of powder like those descendants.

"I don't know! But I have a hunch that these beholders must know something, otherwise they would never block the passage." Irenekas responded with a gloomy expression.

He had just added a lot of protective magic to himself, but as a result, he was suppressed by the opponent's anti-magic force field in a confrontation, and almost even himself was killed.

fortunately!

In addition to cannon fodder, this exploration also brought two clay golems, which blocked most of the attacks at the critical moment.

However, the two loyal golems were quickly destroyed by the spells released by the Eye of the Elders.

"We can't continue like this! We must retreat immediately! Otherwise, once we are blocked, these beholders will tear us into pieces."

Badi glanced at the monster who was searching in the distance and gave his own suggestions.

You must know that a vampire is not a lich, and there is no way to regenerate after the body is completely destroyed.

What's more, she wasn't sure whether the Eye of the Elder could do the terrifying positive energy spell.

Irenekas lowered his head and thought for a moment, then nodded immediately: "Okay, let's retreat."

As the last word blurted out, he quickly chanted a spell and summoned a large number of various alien creatures, all of which rushed towards the location of the beholder.

Since each beholder has a large number of eye stalks, they can observe the surrounding environment at 360 degrees without blind spots.

When a large number of enemies appeared, they immediately changed direction and activated the ray bombing mode.

In the blink of an eye, colorful lights flashed in the air, looking like lasers from a distance.

It seems that it suddenly changed from a fantasy world to a science fiction world.

However, the beholder's rays are not only harmful, they can also cause charm, control, dissociation, petrification, drowsiness, instant death, slowness, fear and other effects.

Therefore, in the blink of an eye, this large group of summoned creatures were either controlled by charm, turned into stone statues, ran around screaming, fell to the ground and fell asleep, or turned into a pile of dust.

Others seemed to be slowing down, and every move became extremely sluggish.

Just ten seconds later, these summoned alien creatures were all wiped out, while the beholder remained unscathed.

But Erinikas and Bati had already used this time to cast teleportation magic and leave.

Under the orders of the Eye of the Elders, the beholders carefully searched the surrounding passages, and after confirming that the enemy had really left, they quickly returned to their lair.

Only a few beholders, Gauss beholders and a large number of slaves were left guarding the area.

Irenicas, who had successfully returned to the sewer base in the shopping mall area, was standing in front of a huge portal, stroking his chin and lost in thought.

After a full three to five minutes, he sneered and said, "I understand!"

"Understand what?"

Badi casually threw away the corpse of the slave who had just been drained of all his blood.

With the replenishment of fresh blood, the wounds on her body were healing at an incredible speed.

"I understand why Soth gave out so much important information so easily. Because he knows that it is impossible to defeat so many beholders and reach the temple with our strength alone. So he is waiting, waiting for us to take the initiative to seek cooperation. , and then take the opportunity to impose more conditions and requirements." Irenekas analyzed meaningfully.

Ba Di immediately showed disdain when he heard these words: "Hmph! Can't we slowly accumulate strength? You will make large quantities of constructs and golems, and I will transform more vampire descendants, and then rely on the numerical advantage Just bulldoze that beholder nest?"

Irenekas shook his head slightly: "Theoretically, it is indeed possible. But the problem is that you ignore the most important time.

Whether it is making constructs and golems, or transforming more vampire descendants, it will take a long time.

But Soos obviously will not give us that long time.

So the only option now is to cooperate after paying a certain price.

It seems that this chosen one of Talona, ​​the goddess of poison and disease, is more difficult to deal with than expected.

And I think those beholders are lingering nearby, maybe because there is something hidden in the temple that interests them.

Maybe this thing is exactly what Soth wants. "

"Do you need me to contact the woman named Lei Yin?" Badi asked in an uncertain tone.

"No, there's no rush. Since we agreed to wait for two weeks, I just need to use this time to observe the behavior of those beholders so that I can have more leverage in the next negotiation."

After saying this, Irenekas quickly cast a spell to transfer his injuries to the slave next to him, and then walked straight to the room filled with clones of the Elf Queen Elixing.

You don't need to ask to know that he is going to use this method to vent all the boiling anger and desire in his heart.

As for Badi, he stood aside with great interest to watch his brother torture and abuse the clones, with strong pleasure in his eyes.

After all, it was Elf Queen Alistar herself who ordered the two people to be deprived of their elf identity and life essence and exiled.

Therefore, Badi had an indescribable resentment towards her, and she was extremely eager in her heart to one day pinch Ali Xing's neck with her own hands, drain her blood bit by bit, and then transform into a vampire spawn. .

Unfortunately, this idea cannot be put into practical action at all.

Badi knew very well that Elf Queen Elixing belonged to Erinikas.

If you dare to cross the line one step further, you will immediately suffer the latter's chilling wrath.

But fortunately, as her life form changed from the living to the undead, her personality and behavioral habits were also undergoing drastic changes.

He even became addicted to the ultimate pleasure brought by drawing blood and all kinds of indulgent desires.

Especially the newly transformed dark elf vampire can provide many interesting and wonderful experiences in bed...