As he spoke, he asked the well-dressed and elegant-looking young man next to him:
"What is the original schedule for tomorrow?"
The young man replied without hesitation:
"Talk to the chiefess of the Drunken Dragon tribe, my lord."
Rega immediately waved his hand:
"Then push it away!"
The young man hesitated:
"But, but..."
Rhaegar said nonchalantly:
"I had nothing to talk to her about, it was just a formality."
The young man finally nodded.
Instead, Matthew persuaded:
"There's no need to be in such a hurry. We can go there together the day after tomorrow."
"But whether it's tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, you'd better write a letter to Sif before you leave, and make sure that the letter can reach her before our visit, so as not to give her a rash visit.
An aggressive feeling.”
Considering Sif's current uncertain mental state.
Matthew’s suggestion was considered well thought out.
Rega nodded immediately after hearing this:
"What you said makes sense."
Then he couldn't help but joked:
"Matthew, you always speak the truth. Why don't you have a woman yet?"
Face this.
Matthew just smiled and said nothing.
At first, Rhaegar still had a smile on his face, but soon his expression turned a bit painful.
After a while.
He seemed to recall some unpleasant memory, and the eyes he looked at Matthew became no longer friendly:
"伱......"
Rhaegar's attack was interrupted in time by Matthew.
He cleared his throat and asked:
"Why did the female chief of the Drunken Dragon Tribe suddenly come to Rolling Stone Town?"
“Is there a problem on the southwest border?”
Rhaegar spread his hands helplessly.
The assistant next to him immediately replied:
"Yes, there has been widespread chaos on the southwest border of Red Earth Mountain. This is mainly due to the inaction of the lords of Red Earth Mountain."
"Although the young trickster publicly acknowledged the establishment of the Rolling Stone Kingdom and his allegiance to the lord, he has been making moves secretly."
"Not long after the spring started this year, a coalition army composed of dozens of mountain tribes emerged from the misty mountainous area north of the Millennium Mountains. After they came down from the mountain, they targeted the area by the Cui River and attacked seven or eight towns in the Red Earth Mountains.
They burned, killed, and looted, and most of the villages along the way were slaughtered."
"In response to this situation, the lord of Red Earth Mountain chose to stand still and asked us for help."
"Coincidentally, representatives from three tribes among the dozens of mountain tribes contacted us secretly and tried to negotiate with us by returning the towns by the Cui River."
"The most important representative of these three tribes is the female chief of the Drunken Dragon tribe that the lord is scheduled to meet tomorrow."
The young man explained everything in a few words.
It's obvious that he is a neat guy.
Matthew nodded secretly after hearing this.
The Rolling Stones Kingdom is about to be founded, but it still faces many problems.
After the Battle of Moss Green Hills.
In order to win over the local noble forces in Red Earth Mountain, Rega had to help the original lord family of Red Earth Mountain back to its original position.
Doing so certainly helps maintain stability.
After all, Rolling Stone Town is too small, and Rhaegar lacks enough management manpower.
Mages may help you solve combat or magic problems.
But it is impossible to govern the country for you.
Based on the current tentative territory of Rolling Stone Kingdom, there is no need to talk about the core area of Rolling Stone Town.
In order to ensure the stability of the high leaf collar and the golden fertile field, Zeller had to travel frequently between these two areas.
Especially after the beginning of spring.
Matthew almost never saw him in the office lobby.
in this case.
The Rolling Stone Kingdom has just barely established three core areas: Rolling Stone Town, High Leaf Collar, and Golden Fertile Field, which are relatively stable in all aspects.
As for the red soil mountains and border mountains further south.
Rhaegar and Zeller's original plan was that as long as these areas openly recognized the rule of the Rolling Stone Kingdom over them, even if they made small fuss in private, everyone would turn a blind eye and pass by.
.
However, the new lord of the Red Earth Mountain was more daring than Rhaegar and others imagined.
There was some excitement at the Mudong Festival dinner earlier.
After a winter.
They secretly created such a movement in the southwest!
It should be said that those mountain tribes did not have the secret instruction of the trickster.
Matthew wouldn't believe it even to death.
At that moment, he spread out the map on Rhaegar's desk and looked at it carefully several times.
There is a very large mountainous area to the southwest of Red Earth Mountain.
There is the northern remnant of the Millennium Mountains.
The Millennium Mountains that bisected the southern rainforest and desert have now become less steep, but the terrain has become more complex.
In the vast mountainous area called the Misty Mountains.
It is said that hundreds of mountain tribes thrive there.
These tribes all have independent languages and are enemies of each other.
Even if there were occasional raids down the mountain, it would only involve the alliance of two or three tribes.
Dozens of tribes joined together to plunder the people of the plains.
This is the first time in nearly a hundred years of history!
According to the intelligence from the Red Earth Mountain and the information that Rega sent people to verify afterwards——
The hill tribes have swallowed up nearly half of the territory along the Green River.
The reason why there are not a large number of refugees.
This is because the mountain people are extremely cruel in their actions, and massacres of villages and cities are commonplace.
In comparison.
Dragon disasters are much milder than them!
At least the lands that the red dragon Kusulus and the black dragon Maenogas had attacked.
There will definitely still be a considerable number of refugees fleeing.
Matthew vaguely remembered.
Not only do mountain tribes thrive in the misty mountainous area, there are also a considerable number of dwarves!
It is said that in very ancient times.
A very brilliant civilization was once born in a certain basin in the misty mountainous area.
However, that civilization was even more short-lived than the troll empire.
Totally just a flash in the pan.
Today's mountain people are more flesh-eating and blood-drinking monsters than the Jango people in the rainforest!
"Mountain tribes have a strong sense of territory. Unless there is nothing to eat on the mountain, they will not go down the mountain easily."
Matthew looked at Rhaegar and said:
"Even if they wanted to go down the mountain to rob, if it was for normal needs, they would probably do it in the fall, not in the spring like now."
Rhaegar agreed:
"Zeller and I thought the same way. This was completely a trick directed and performed by that bastard."
"The intelligence he gave us must have dug a hole in some places. If we just send some people there without paying attention, 90% of the time the ship will capsize, which will be a huge blow to the prestige of the Rolling Stone Kingdom."
"But if we mobilize our troops, those grandsons will definitely receive the tip-off in advance and flee into the mountains in a flash. You also know the situation in the Misty Mountains. The terrain is too complicated, and there is fog that lingers all year round, which is even more terrible.
Yes, there is a legendary forbidden place..."
Matthew nodded slightly.
The fog that persists all year round is not the most troublesome thing.
He knew very well that the Misty Mountains, as part of the Millennium Mountains, had the same chaotic ritual grounds as the latter.
This makes the Misty Mountains, like the Helen Mountains, a very abnormal place.
The effect of the spell will be weakened.
The cause of this phenomenon has not yet been found.
But it is most likely related to the dusk creation sealed in the Elt Peak.
"At that time, we rushed over with a large force, but in the end we missed. It was a dilemma whether to enter the mountain or not."
"Don't go in. I've spent so much money to mobilize the troops. I can't bear to swallow it. People will laugh at me."
"If you go in, the result may be worse..."
Rhaegar continued to complain.
Matthew thought for a moment and then reminded:
"The mountain tribes may not be of the same mind. They and the Red Earth Mountain Lords are just using each other. Look, didn't the female chief of the Drunken Dragon Tribe come over? This is just a microcosm. Maybe the chiefs of other tribes have the same characteristics as her.
We can definitely take advantage of this."
Rega pondered:
"I see."
"But my prediction for this negotiation is relatively pessimistic."
"The Drunken Dragon tribe wants to please both sides. These mountain people are very short-sighted. They all have a life attitude of making money if they can live a day..."
Matthew does not dispute this:
"But no matter what, you still have to see her."
Rhaegar sighed:
"Okay, okay, let's follow the schedule tomorrow."
"We will meet Sif the day after tomorrow."
The young assistant immediately said happily:
"You have no other plans the day after tomorrow morning, except for the secret meeting with Mrs. Tahir and her twin sisters... Um, do you need my help in informing them?"
Rhaegar glared at him.
The latter lowered his head in embarrassment.
Matthew was not surprised by this. Lei Jia's sword was still young, so he was very happy for him.
"Talking to people from the Drunken Dragon Tribe is just one side."
Matthew pointed to the southwest corner on the map and said:
"I guess there's still going to be a battle here."
Rhaegar frowned and said nothing.
In fact, both of them know that the current Rolling Stone Kingdom lacks prestige.
This prestige is aimed at the dominance of the middle and lower classes!
This world is so ridiculous sometimes.
Because of the support of the Seven Saints Alliance and the great victory of Moss Green Hills.
The truly strong and powerful people would not dare to cause trouble to the Rolling Stone Kingdom.
On the contrary, the little characters who have little information always want to find a sense of presence.
Otherwise, based on Matthew's reputation alone.
It was enough to scare Xiao Xiao!
"Our reputation is still not loud enough among ordinary people in the world."
Matthew sighed:
"You must establish authority, Rhaegar."
"And the fastest way to establish authority is to fight and win the war!"
Of course Rhaegar understood this.
He sniffed and said:
"There are many pairs of eyes looking at me, Matthew."
Matthew said gently:
"There are also more people supporting you."
"If you think this matter is too difficult, then you can leave it to me and my undead army to solve it..."
As he spoke, he placed a roll call list in front of Rhaegar.
"No, this roster contains the control of 600 undead, including 300 skeleton swordsmen and 300 silver moon zombies. Although they are not very powerful in close combat, they are numerous, organized and organized.
Discipline, it doesn’t cost much to feed them, and it can greatly weaken the enemy’s morale..."
Matthew gushed about his roster:
"If you don't believe it, I can take them to take back Cuihe River tonight..."
Rhaegar, who was still silent at first, immediately stopped him when he heard this:
"Don't."
“Can’t I just buy it?!”
"But don't act rashly about this matter by the Cuihe River."
Matthew showed a satisfied smile.
He actually understood Rhaegar’s concerns——
The Green River is only theoretically Rhaegar's territory. If he was more shameless, he could just pretend that he didn't see anything. At most, he would lose some face to the Rolling Stone Kingdom.
But once involved, all actions will represent the image of the Rolling Stone Kingdom.
It is reasonable for Matthew and a Necromancer to lead the Necromancer troops into the battlefield.
But if a large number of undead units appear in Rhaegar's own army, or if the undead units play too big a role in the much-anticipated event of recapturing the Green River, it is likely to trigger another round of controversy.
Ordinary human beings.
After all, we still fear the undead.
This is why Matthew pays more and more attention to the boundaries between cemeteries and ordinary human gathering places.
The future of the Rolling Stone Kingdom is destined to be limitless.
But the fun is everyone else's.
The Death Fear Cemetery has its own unique operating rules.
Except for crucial battles.
Matthew actually does not intend to let the undead get too involved in the future army system of the Rolling Stone Kingdom.
This is damaging to the image of the Rolling Stones Kingdom.
certainly.
This does not prevent him from promoting the roll call——
Integrating the undead into an army is one thing;
Buying a roster to defend yourself is another aspect, but managing unruly people is another aspect!
What's more, he just casually promoted Rhaegar.
Real buyers.
I have to be a local rich man like Yu Lian who has the power and abundant financial resources.
"Actually, it's not impossible for your undead army to appear on the southwest border, but you have to have a name to send troops."
"When we were discussing the countermeasures for the Green River, Zeller suggested that I issue a development order..."
Rega looked at Matthew with a questioning look:
"how do you feel?"
Matthew raised his eyebrows:
"You want to create new nobles?"
"You mean, let me lead the pioneering order and attack the southwestern mountainous area in the name of expanding the territory?"
Rhaegar nodded:
"All the territory you conquered will belong to you. Just like before, you only need to bow to the Rolling Stone Kingdom in name."
Matthew immediately showed a helpless expression:
"Sorry, I have no interest in this aspect, and I lack the energy to manage the territory..."
Rhaegar seemed to have expected it.
So he just sighed:
"It is understandable, as we have discussed before, this kind of thing cannot be solved by a mage."
"It seems that we can only select some suitable talents from the group of desperadoes in the north as potential enfeoffment targets..."
Matthew suddenly said:
"Lumière!"
Rega was stunned for a moment:
"What?"
Matthew explained:
"Lumière and his people have always wanted to come out of the rainforest."
"You can let him lead the pioneering order to attack Cuihe River."
"You can give him some manpower and a sum of money, and let him figure out a solution with the remaining manpower."
"Believe me, he is much more effective than the mercenaries in the North!"
The Jango people are brave and good at fighting.
What restricts their development is the terrain and climate of the rainforest.
Lumière had long understood this.
So his biggest wish is to take the people of the tribe to the plains to live a good life.
It just so happens that there is such an area with rich water and soil right next to the Cui River.
Mountain men only plunder and kill.
They don't know how to build at all.
After this invasion, nine out of ten houses along the Green River were empty, and that land fully met Lumière's needs.
Rhaegar doesn't intend to personally manage the southwest border anyway.
Instead of cheap mercenaries from the north.
It's better to let your own people take the lead.
"Can."
Under Matthew's patient explanation, Rega made a decisive decision.
He signed a development order on the spot and gave it to Mathieu, who asked him to forward it to Lumière.
"No matter what the outcome of tomorrow's talks is, this development order is effective."
"If Lumiere and his people are really brave enough, I can kill the grandson of Red Earth Mountain..."
Rhaegar said to Matthew solemnly.
Matthew spread his hands:
"Come on, the Red Earth Mountains need stability - even superficial stability is precious."
"It won't be too late to kill that kid after you have enough people and energy to ensure that the situation in Hongtu Mountain can be stabilized."
Rhaegar nodded sadly.
The two chatted for a while about other things.
When talking about the future of the Rolling Stone Kingdom, Matthew and Rhaegar are full of longing.
Matthew noticed.
There are more and more strange faces in the office hall.
Under the construction of the Southern Division Division Corps.
The entire town of Rolling Stones glowed with unprecedented vitality.
Although there are occasional twists and turns.
But everything is developing on the bright side.
"The people from Ronan told me that the construction of Rolling Stone City will be completed by June at the latest."
"But that's just the beginning."
"According to their statement, a huge circular barrier must be built to enclose the core area of Rolling Stone Town."
"Those barriers are said to be 200 meters high."
"I can't imagine what that scene would be like..."
Rhaegar said with emotion.
Matthew nodded sympathetically.
Who knows the next second.
Rega suddenly asked coyly:
"By the way, speaking of... Melinda's matter, are you serious?"
"I mean, do you want me to decide on that level of things?"
Matthew smiled:
"It's not entirely up to you to decide, but I have to consider your feelings."
Rega gave Matthew a complicated look:
"You have some conscience."
"But I still don't understand why Melinda would discuss this matter with you first..."
Matthew said without changing his expression:
"Perhaps after Sif's birthday last time, she felt too embarrassed to see you?"
Rhaegar looked doubtful:
"maybe."
"I used to really care about Melinda, but after Sif's birthday, everything was relieved."
"When she was scolded by Sif, I even felt a little pitiful for her."
Just at this time.
Zeller pushed the door open and said unceremoniously:
"Don't pity her."
"Melinda deserves every accusation Sif throws at her - remember, they are objective accusations, not subjective insults."
"If you hadn't owed a lot of money now, I wouldn't have allowed you to have more relations with that woman!"
Rhaegar coughed:
"you're right."
"But you also think that if you don't take that money, you won't get it for nothing, right?"
Zeller walked up to Matthew and looked at him seriously:
"Stulook Industries is a real behemoth and we have no experience dealing with an organization of this level."
"I'm very grateful that you consider Rhaegar so much, but in the future you can make the decision on this kind of matter. We trust your professional judgment."
"Everyone performs their duties in their respective fields, which is one of the basic conditions for the stable operation of Rolling Stone Town."
Matthew took a deep breath:
"I see."
"I think working with Melinda will do more good than harm to the Stones."
"This is indeed seeking skin from a tiger, but we have completely tied up the alliance's warships, and it is destined to be a life-and-death situation with Stuluk Industries."
"One day in the future, we will confront them head-on. Instead of waiting for that day to come, we should take the initiative to contact the other party and deceive as much as possible..."
Now Matthew explained in detail the details of cooperation with Melinda, the possible funds and technology, and the necessary means to prevent problems before they occur.
After the three of them expressed their opinions.
The secret cooperation framework between the Rolling Stone Kingdom and Stuluk Industries was initially decided.
certainly.
This is just a framework.
"We don't need to agree too early. Remember to hang on to Melinda for a while, so that you can squeeze better conditions from Stuluk Industries..."
Matthew reminded Rhaegar.
Rhaegar patted his chest confidently:
"Do not worry."
"My attitude towards Melinda is very bad now. She wrote to me a while ago to talk about the past, and she actually hinted in the letter that she could give me another child!"
"What a shameless woman. I wrote a letter and scolded her on the spot."
Zeller said quietly:
"The number of words in your reply is 50 times that of hers. You have already lost, Rhaegar."
After hearing this, Matthew also began to worry about whether it was the right choice for Rhaegar to face Melinda again.
But under Rhaegar's repeated promises.
He still relaxed a little.
"In addition to Stuluk Industries, I hope you can restart the dialogue with the Blood Flag Kingdom."
Matthew brought up the next topic:
"I know that because of the existence of that portal, the relationship between you and Luticia is quite sensitive."
"But after all, you are also the heir to the Blood Flag Kingdom. We have cooperated with Stuluk Industries. There is no reason not to let the Blood Flag Kingdom get a share of the pie."
"Before, because we had no backer, we lacked the conditions to talk to Luticia on an equal footing. But now it's different. The Seven Saints Alliance is our backer. The relationship between Luticia and the alliance is pretty good. Maybe we can negotiate this time.
A condition that satisfies both parties."
Matthew's words were also thought over for a long time.
The biggest reason why he fell out with the Blood Flag Kingdom before was because Rhaegar was worried that he would not be able to suppress those demons and would eventually have no choice but to have no contact with them.
But now the situation is different.
After the Blood Moon Incident, the Alliance's weight once again became more important, and the Southern Legion took over the town of Rolling Stone. Everyone knew that the Kingdom of Rolling Stone was the territory of the Alliance.
Previously in the Margaret incident.
Lutitia also provided some convenience to the alliance in the early stage.
Matthew believes that both parties have a basis for negotiation.
After hearing this, Rhaegar questioned:
"But what if Luticia's prerequisite for the negotiation is to return the Holy Grail of Sin?"
"Don't forget, you have dug into the ancestral graves of the Blood Flag family before..."
Matthew shrugged indifferently:
"Then return the Holy Grail to her."
"As for the matter of the ancestral graves, I think with the mind of a legendary queen of a country, she won't care about me, a weak necromancer, right?"
The Holy Grail of Sin is indeed of no use now in Matthew's hands.
The only use of this thing is to lure the monsters in the dungeon to attack the Deathdread Cemetery.
But Brother Olorin is too fierce.
The underground space near the cemetery was directly baked into a no man's land.
This is also one of the reasons why Matthew dared to enclose land casually before.
The only function of the Holy Grail of Sin is to provide a large amount of evil elements.
This is obviously inconsistent with Matthew's compatibility.
What's more, he now holds the Crown of Sin, which is the nemesis of the Holy Grail of Sin.
It doesn't matter even if I return the Holy Grail to Luticia.
"As long as you can get benefits in exchange, there is no harm in making some concessions."
Matthew summed it up this way.
It can be seen that Rhaegar still has certain fears and doubts about his sisters and aunts.
However, after repeated persuasion from Matthew and Zeller.
He finally agreed to find a suitable time to restart negotiations with Lutitia.
The three of them chatted for a while.
Matthew reluctantly said goodbye.
Noon the next day.
He then received a notice from Rhaegar - the female chief of the Drunken Dragon tribe had bad intentions. She opened her mouth as soon as she came over, and the negotiations obviously broke up unhappily.
Matthew understood.
He directly handed the development order into Lumiere's hands. After explaining the ins and outs of the matter, he handed over the choice to the other party.
"Of course there are risks in attacking Cuihe River, just like you are working as a mercenary for the Golden Lion, but at least the territory captured will be yours."
"If you need help, come to me at any time. I will help in my personal capacity, but the most important thing is to look at yourself."
Matthew concluded.
Lumiere excitedly grabbed the development order.
As Matthew expected, he directly accepted the permission and task.
After the two discussed it.
Matthew sent Lumière south through Moonglade.
The latter headed straight for the rainforest.
…
The next day.
The floating city in the far north, outside the Warlock Academy.
Matthew and Rhaegar stood on a high raised city wall.
Ahead is the floating staircase leading to the interior of the Warlock Academy.
After the notification is completed.
Soon someone from the college led them inside.
But Matthew didn't move.
Under Rega's doubtful eyes, Matthew explained:
"I can come over at any time, but you may not."
"So, I won't disturb your father-daughter meeting."
As he said this, he waved goodbye to Rhaegar.
The latter is not pretentious either.
I followed the staff directly into the college.
Not long after.
Matthew then appeared in front of a lonely mage tower in the east of the floating city.
This is Hibbert's residence.
He went over and knocked on the door, and a blue djinn emerged from the door:
"Master won't see guests today, please come back, handsome boy."
Matthew said politely:
"Please tell me that the visitor is Matthew."
The Djinn put his hands on his hips and said:
"He won't see anyone who is a visitor!"
"You don't understand. Today is a very important day for the master. Please come back."
It doesn't make sense to see the other person.
Matthew could only smile and take two steps back.
Then he took out a magic note, wrote a few lines on it, and then lit it.
Wow.
The note turned to ashes.
Two minutes later.
The door opened from the inside out, and the lantern hanging on the door looked at Hibbert with some surprise as his head poked out from inside:
"Owner?"
"Didn't you say you won't see any guests today?"
Hibbert enthusiastically pulled Matthew inside, ignoring the existence of the djinn.
"Sorry, I really didn't plan to see anyone."
"Because today is a special day for Feliwen and I..."
Hibbert explained.
Matthew paused:
"I can come visit again tomorrow."
Hibbert hurriedly waved his hand and said:
"No, you came at the right time. We happened to have some problems and we need to find a normal person for reference——
You know.
Feliwen and I are not normal people."
There was an unnatural smile on Matthew's face.
The two walked through the ordinary hall and came to a small room.
Lying on the bed in the small room was a little girl with an exquisite face.
The little girl closed her eyes tightly and seemed unconscious.
Matthew looked around and saw no sign of Fei Liwen, so he asked:
"Who is this?"
Hibbert spoke:
"Oh, she is my and Feliwen's daughter."
Matthew stared at the girl for a long time, and he always felt that the face looked familiar.
Suddenly.
He shuddered——
The appearance of Hibbert's daughter is actually 70-80% similar to the statue of the magic goddess Ye Li that Matthew saw in Ronan's warehouse!
Before Matthew could ask, he asked.
Hibbert asked a little embarrassedly:
"She was just accidentally knocked unconscious by Feliwen."
"That's what I want to ask -"
"What should a normal person do after accidentally knocking his daughter unconscious?"
