After setting sail and sailing down the river for a day and two nights—to be precise, two days and nights plus an extra afternoon—the scenery along the river suddenly changed.
Wang stood on the watchtower at the bow of the ship, squinting at the lush forests on both sides of the bank under the scorching summer sun.
Wang said to Elizabeth beside him: "Take one last look at the trees on the river bank. If you go further down, you won't be able to see these common trees in your hometown."
"Eh?" Elizabeth looked at the mage in surprise, "Why?"
Wang: “Because the climate is different, the Matlao Hengduan Mountains block the warm and humid air flow from the south, so the climate in Monrovia is completely different from that in Kusania.
"We are still at the junction of climates. Look on the shore, there are both coniferous forests common in Kuosania and broadleaf forests. If you continue downstream, it will be all broadleaf forests."
Elizabeth looked at the river bank and muttered: "There are indeed some trees that I don't recognize at all. Besides, there are almost no mountains visible along the river, it's basically flat plains."
Wang: "We have passed the Hengduan Mountains. We are now in Monrovia, and we should be able to see the first border castle in a while."
Monrovia will deliberately make the border nobles' fiefdoms larger so that they can afford more soldiers, build better castles, and withstand enemy attacks for more time.
Of course, this kind of wishful thinking has never really been realized in the history of Monrovia, but the tradition of border towns has been preserved, and it has formed an interest group that cannot be eliminated.
Elizabeth held the guardrail with both hands and looked at the lush woods by the river. She suddenly sighed: "Langdon Territory has never seen such a prosperous dense forest. How many products there must be."
Wang: "This is the impact of the climate. Cosania is too dry. It can also be seen from the diet. Cosania always eats all kinds of radishes, cabbage, mushrooms and meat. That's just pesos.
The Les people are better, the Sores people can only eat pickled cucumbers in different ways."
Elizabeth: “Is food rich in Monrovia?”
"Yes, there are more than a dozen kinds of fruits alone, a quantity that Kuosania cannot even imagine."
As soon as she finished speaking, Nini's voice floated from the top of the mast: "There is a castle and a port ahead!"
The king patted Elizabeth on the shoulder: "Here you are, I will leave you to deal with the red tape as an envoy."
Elizabeth: "Then why are you going?"
Wang shrugged: "Stand by your side and act as a wise advisor and loyal guard. After all, no one in the new place knows that I can't cast protective spells."
**
The Border Commissioner of Bradford was a big fat man who seemed to be puffed up with air. He only glanced at the document handed over by Elizabeth and handed it to his secretary.
"Just leave this kind of matter to the secretary. Langdon... Her Excellency the Duchess."
This is a false title specially prepared by Bruce for Elizabeth. She does not have a dukedom in her name. With this false title, the nobles of Monrovia must treat Elizabeth with the etiquette of entertaining a duke, which can avoid a lot of trouble.
The Border Count of Bradford looked at Elizabeth up and down and said, "Is that the saint in the rumors you? You don't have a holy symbol on your body, so what do you use to cast healing spells?"
It seems that the rumors have been distorted in Monrovia and have nothing to do with the facts.
Elizabeth: "I am a warlock, and the saint is just a legend, not a reality."
"Hmm, Warlock." Border Count Bradford looked at Elizabeth again with an appraising gaze, "Is the Duchess engaged?"
Elizabeth interrupted the other party: "The purpose of our coming is to deal with the crisis of world destruction."
"I know, rescue team, that's what everyone calls you. But there are no missing cats or dogs in our territory, and there is no distortion in the positive energy."
Wang: "It seems that your intelligence work is good."
Border Counter: "The Shadow Thief has known the details for a long time and shared them with the Military Intelligence Agency. The Military Intelligence Agency is a big sieve. Basically, all the nobles in Monrovia know it."
Elizabeth: "Then it will be easy for us to start working..."
"It's best not to have such expectations." Border Boss said coldly, "When the news came, the Shadow Thieves had confirmed the status of the cats and dogs and tested the positive energy. At present, their conclusion is that this is just
An evil cult is doing evil in a local area."
Elizabeth: "Don't they know there will be a next phase?"
"I know, but since we know what will happen in the next stage, it is easy to prevent it." Uncle Border spread his hands, "In other words, unless we see cheap healing scrolls and healing potions really appearing on the market,
Neither the Shadow Thieves nor the Military Intelligence Agency will take any action. You will not get help from His Majesty either."
Just as Elizabeth was about to speak, Wang gently patted her shoulder, and then spoke on her behalf: "Monrovia is in trouble now, right?"
The border clerk glanced at the king: "As rumored, the princess is just a vase, and you are the one who really makes the decision, hum. The Shadow Thief's information is as accurate as ever."
Elizabeth muttered: "You just said that I am a saint, how can I be treated without a holy symbol?"
"Of course you can't believe all the shadow thieves. Sometimes the rumors in the market unexpectedly contain some truth." The border uncle turned his attention to Wang again, "What you said is a bit wrong. It's not that Monrovia is in trouble now, but this country always has.
There is trouble, after all, it occupies such a large area on the map and extends in all directions."
Wang: "The trouble is particularly serious now?"
The border man nodded.
Wang: "Then it should be that the orcs on the grassland have formed a tribal alliance again and are coming to plunder."
Border Bo smiled: "It is rumored that the strong contender for the future emperor of Kuosania values you very much. Now it seems that this rumor is correct. Yes, the orcs have just ended the civil war and created a new chief of the tribal alliance.
"But this has nothing to do with me. After all, my territory is right here next to Kuosania. You will get a customs clearance document and a letter of introduction.
"My daughter is married to a big businessman in the capital. She is now 'managing connections'. You can go to her with a letter of introduction and let her lead you into the capital's social circle."
As he spoke, Bradford Border Clerk took out a sealed letter from his drawer and handed it to his secretary. It was obvious that he had made all preparations: "Give this and the customs clearance document to the Duchess.
Your Mightiness."
The secretary bowed respectfully.
The border clerk looked at Elizabeth: "I can't help much with the rest. I will arrange a sumptuous dinner and provide you with a good guest room. If you have any special needs, please tell my housekeeper. By the way.
, Your Excellency, the Duchess, you haven’t answered my original question yet, do you have any plans to get engaged?”
Elizabeth answered decisively: "No. There is a world waiting for me to save now."
"That's it." The border clerk nodded, "That's it. You will continue your journey tomorrow. Monrovia is larger than Cosania, and you will have to sail for several days to reach the capital. My suggestion is
Don't stop in every count, that will greatly reduce your movement speed. Many people just have sons of the right age, do you understand what I mean?"
Elizabeth nodded.
**
After the meeting with the border bureaucracy, the housekeeper took Elizabeth and the wizard to the small hall where the team members were waiting.
"This is your living room. I promise no one will disturb you." The housekeeper said respectfully, "As for the allocation of rooms, there are a total of four rooms and eight beds. I think you can handle it yourself. Then I will
Goodbye, dinner will be served in due time."
Wang snapped his fingers: "Wait a minute, remember to bring a whole ham for dinner, no need to cut it. And the ham should not be so salty."
Although the butler looked strange, he still nodded: "I understand, a ham, don't be too salty. Do you need to cut it and bring it?"
"No, just bring the whole thing."
"Understood. Then I'll say goodbye." The butler closed the door.
As soon as he left, Marika ran to the door and put her ear against it. She waited for a few seconds before saying, "There is no movement. No one is eavesdropping outside."
Elizabeth let out a long breath, then pulled out the Beholder Necklace: "This thing is very uncomfortable to wear, and it's all sweaty."
Wang: "But look, you are no longer fainting."
"That's because I learned how to 'close my eyes'. This thing can actually close my eyes!"
As she spoke, Elizabeth showed the necklace to everyone. Sure enough, the folded metal "eyelids" unfolded on the base of the necklace and she closed her eyes.
Wang: "It turns out there is another hand. I didn't find this during the appraisal. You see, you already know more about this necklace than I do. Sure enough, you are the most suitable person to wear it!"
Elizabeth opened her chest muscles: "Look at this mark. I wore a waistband today. In order to put the necklace in, I didn't dare to tighten the waistband. If I attend Minos's banquet from now on, others will think that I am
Indiscreet."
Wang: "Is it because the waistband is not tightened?"
"right!"
Wang: "It turns out there is such a saying. I learned it. Then you don't need to bring this with you when you attend the banquet."
Flint intervened in the conversation between the two: "So what did Borderer say?"
"I didn't say much," the Master replied. "He cleared the customs for us very reasonably and gave us a letter of introduction so that we could go to the capital to find his married daughter."
Marika, who was guarding the door, said: "It sounds like we were forced to sell a favor."
Wang nodded: "By the way, Monrovia may know more about our mission than we thought. But because they have their own things to do, I guess we won't get much help."
Dwarf: "I just went to the Royal Institute of Architects to ask a question. No special assistance is needed. There is no way that there is some shocking conspiracy for us to solve everywhere we go."
Wang: "That's right."
Nini, who was sitting on the windowsill, suddenly asked: "You just said that the Monrovians are busy with something. It sounds like they have something difficult to do. What is it?"
King: "We can't control this. Beyond the eastern border of the Monrovia Empire, there are huge grasslands and hills, you know? Orcs are the rulers here. The orcs have just created a new generation of grassland overlords.
"According to tradition, after the orcs end their civil war, they will soon start plundering human cities in order to solve the problem of the expanding population and the lack of war to fight."
Nini frowned: "What do you mean there is no war to fight?"
Flint: "It seems that the little elf girl has never encountered an orc and does not understand the racial characteristics of the orcs. Orcs are basically a species born for war. If there is no war, they will soon start fighting among themselves.
"The grassland in the east of Monrovia - it's a bit reluctant to call it grassland, but it's actually a large wasteland. The orcs living here are the initiators of almost all the wars in Monrovia's history. Whenever the orcs play a game, all tribes can
If the tribal leader is convinced, they will start plundering.
"The Solace people in the north are also deeply troubled by the wild orcs. Both countries have a large number of orcs sold as slaves. This is the masterpiece left behind when the orcs plundered human villages."
The king took up the dwarf's words and added: "Fortunately, the various orc tribes have been in an endless civil war. Only when a strong man who can defeat all tribes appears will a unified tribal alliance be formed.
.
"This kind of tribal alliance has never existed continuously, because the children of powerful orcs are rarely strong enough to inherit their father's mantle, and are often killed by challengers. In fact, powerful overlords will be killed by challengers when they grow old.
"
Nini was stunned: "What a barbaric race. What's the point of doing this?"
"There is no meaning. In other words, the very act of showing one's strength is meaning to the orcs."
Elizabeth asked doubtfully: "Then why not assassinate this orc overlord?"
Xiaobai said in surprise: "How can someone who can be easily assassinated become an overlord?"
Dwarf: "Yes, do you think orcs can't assassinate? The most powerful orcs are either powerful and cunning, or cunning and powerful, so the new overlord must have killed hundreds of blind assassins on the way to hegemony."
Wang: "Anyway, let's ignore Monrovia's business. We have a few things to do when we arrive in Minos City. Let me list them first. The first is to visit the Royal Institute of Architects and see if anyone knows the headquarters of the Order.
architectural style.
"If no one recognizes it, we will go to the Bard Academy and ask the most knowledgeable teachers in the academy to see if any of them recognize it.
"Then, I think we can add another one. Let's visit the Shadow Thieves to see if they have any clues. I'm impressed by their intelligence work capabilities."
Elizabeth added: "Is it possible to ask Monrovia's official intelligence agency Military Intelligence?"
Wang frowned: "Don't be like this, ask them, I guess the sect will know... hmm? If the sect takes the initiative to attack us, it seems to be a way to catch their fox tail?"
Marika: "The premise is that we can withstand the attack. The last minion of the cult who took the initiative to find us was a seven-ring mage."
Wang: "Don't be afraid, we have a fourth-ring pastor now!"
Dwarf: "What the hell are you doing to amuse yourself?"
King: "There are also elven rangers!"
Nini: "I'm not sure that I can kill a seven-ring mage with one strike."
Wang: "Well, one more thing is to buy a powerful scroll. We need a scroll that can effectively annihilate high-level enemies, just like the Banshee's Wail.
"We can't leave behind the equipment. We have a lot of money. After replacing them with equipment, we can make up for the lack of combat effectiveness to some extent.
"Minos City is a more prosperous trading city than Langdon City. After all, it is known as the crossroads of the continent. We should be able to have a satisfactory harvest."
Elizabeth: "Don't we still have a letter of introduction from the Border Commissioner? Are we going to find this... er, Mrs. Williams?"
The daughter of the Bradford frontier married Monrovia businessman Williams, so she is now the famous Mrs. Williams.
Wang: "We can pay a visit. After all, her husband's Williams Chamber of Commerce is so famous. We should be able to get a lot of the props we urgently need. For example, scrolls of powerful spells."
Malika suddenly said: "Shh, someone is coming. Don't talk."
A few seconds after he finished speaking, someone knocked on the door.
Elizabeth: "Who?"
"We're bringing dinner."
Wang: "Okay, after dinner I will continue to give lectures to Nini. Elizabeth, do you still want to attend?"
"Yes!" Elizabeth said firmly.
Wang: "You fell asleep last time and drooled all over the table."
"I'm just drooling, there's not a table!" cried Elizabeth.
The person knocking on the door outside asked again: "Excuse me? Can I come in?"
Elizabeth: "Come in."
Marika then opened the door and the maids filed in.
Xiaobai shouted excitedly: "Big ham! I want it!"
**
After a day's delay at Margburg's castle, the Star Chaser sailed down the river again.
The king adopted the suggestion of the border prince and went straight to the Minos city without stopping at all.
On the fourth day after entering Monrovia, Nini loudly reported: "There is a huge white city ahead!"
Elizabeth happily lay down next to the guardrail of the bow, looking forward: "Where is it?"
Wang: "What she saw from the mast is now surrounded by plains. The view from the mast is very good, and basically everything around it is panoramic. Because of the curvature of the planet's surface, we can't see it yet."
Elizabeth: “What is planet surface curvature?”
"It's just...it's a long story." Wang then thought about it and resisted his urge to be a teacher.
At this moment, Nini at the top of the mast shouted again: "Thick smoke! There is a manor on the plain burning!"
Wang: "What the hell?"
He also lay down next to Elizabeth, leaning forward to look outside.
Elizabeth said in a teasing tone: "Because of the influence of the planet Quli, we can't see it now."
Wang corrected: "Planet curvature. There are basically no bandits in the core area of Monrovia. Moreover, it is summer and the air humidity is so high that the possibility of natural fire is small..."
Nini's voice came from the top of the mast for the third time: "Wolf Cavalry! The riders are a race I have never seen before!!"
The king shouted to the top: "It's the orcs! They're starting to plunder!"
Nini: "The ferry ahead is on fire! A group of wolf cavalry is setting fire and shooting rockets at passing ships!"
King: "Battle alert! Captain, get your sailors ready! And call Flint and the others up from below the deck!"