Blue Sword

"So you were expelled from the Thieves Guild?" Ask looked at her with a half-smile.

"Oh, I didn't mean to do it." Mia sat on the railing of the stairs leading to the second floor, her legs dangling boringly.

"I was thinking that since gold-striped leeches can be sold for money, wouldn't they be sold in the morning and in the evening? Why not put the money in your pocket early? So I caught all the leeches in the reservoir and pounded them into meat. The mud was all put into jars. I originally wanted to sell it...well, give it to Mastro to sell it for money."

"As soon as I returned to the guild, I saw him standing at the door with a livid face, and asked me what was in the jar I was holding. I truthfully told him that it was the meat paste of golden-striped leeches, and then he grabbed it and took a look. He beat me up severely and said that I had committed a crime of significant property damage and that the Thieves Guild had expelled me."

The more she spoke, the angrier she became. She clenched her little fist and smashed it against the railing: "What do you think is going on! Didn't I sell it privately? Didn't he take all the minced meat back? Where? What kind of major property damage has occurred! This is simply an attempt to incriminate someone, so why bother!"

This NPC can actually use idioms...Asker complained in his heart. Of course, considering that the original "Iron and Fire" game world is not a purely Western-style fantasy world, it is not surprising that the NPCs come up with idioms - there is also a Chinese NPC from the Kingdom of Dragon in the Siris Province. I can recite "Tao Te Ching" and "Huang Di Nei Jing".

"Do you know why gold-striped leeches are valuable?" Ask asked her.

"Because a noble young master like you can buy it." Mia said flatteringly.

"Don't flatter me!" Asik's face darkened, and he slapped her on the forehead, which made Mia gasp, put her head in her hands and burst into tears, "Golden-striped leeches are spiritual materials and are used to make magic. It’s medicine, you know?”

"It's the magic potion that extraordinary beings need to take, right?" Mia said confidently, "Of course I know," and said, "Then, just sell it to extraordinary beings."

"Golden striped leeches are one of the main ingredients of the life-stealing sequence potion. However, not all extraordinary people need to take the life-stealing sequence potion." Ask explained to her.

"If you can't meet a transcendent buyer with a suitable route, you won't be able to sell your meat paste at all. Once the golden-striped leech is killed, the spirituality will slowly drain from the material."

Mia slowly opened her mouth wide, and after a long while she said with difficulty: "So, I can't sell even my big jar of minced meat?"

"It's probably difficult," Aske said.

"And the spirituality will be lost, and it will be scrapped if it cannot be sold in a short period of time?" Mia asked.

"Yes." Asik said.

"Just accept me!" Mia suddenly jumped to Aske's feet like a little wild cat, hugged his legs and cried bitterly.

"My jar of meat paste, about sixty or seventy gold-striped leeches...it's equivalent to a loss of six to seven thousand pounds! Even if you sell me, you can't pay back so much money! Mastro will definitely kill me!" Why don't I join your mercenary group? If Mastro comes to the door, you have to help me block him!"

Ask showed a speechless expression. If I really want to kill you for this, you won’t be able to get out of the Sunken Palace at all, okay? Moreover, my team is short of a thief, so Mastro sent you to my door. Why does it smell like a deliberate conspiracy?

Could it be that they are targeting our team’s property? The huge sum of more than 7,000 pounds accumulated after selling to the Life Sect? Honey trap?

Just as he was thinking this, Asik's phone vibrated and he received an email. He opened it and took a look. It was actually from Mastro:

Dear Master Achilles.

Perhaps you have already heard the news of His Majesty the Emperor's defeat at Manzikert. Our Thieves Guild has judged that the fate of Constantinople in the future is unpredictable, and it may be in danger of overthrowing the entire city. Therefore, we all boarded a passenger ship on the Black Sea last night, intending to go to Kiev in the north to find another way to make a living.

Like other children, Mia grew up in the Thieves Guild, but her identity is different from other orphans - we picked her up on the rocks off the coast of Gallipoli.

At that time, she was surrounded by the body of a drowned noble lady. After drifting for several days after the shipwreck, she still had the strength to cry loudly. In the delicate silk swaddling clothes surrounding her, the name "Mia Sinquemane" was embroidered with needlework.

We think she was probably of noble birth.

A noble dolphin cannot hang out with leeches in the sewer all day long, otherwise it will only taint her noble bloodline. So I used some clever tricks to get her kicked out of the guild and directed to you.

You are also a noble person and have an upright heart. You should be able to give her the care that a nobleman deserves.

If possible in the future, take her to Palermo, Sicily. According to our many years of research and investigation, "Cinquemani" seems to be an ancient Sicilian noble surname.

The family suffered a bloodbath after the Normans established the Palermo court, but recently seems to be enjoying a new lease of life in local politics.

Sincerely, Mastro.

Ask looked at the phone and was speechless. The plot unfolds... It's a standard hidden mission routine, and it doesn't look like an ordinary side mission, maybe it's a mission chain.

He showed the phone to Mia.

Mia muttered and looked at the phone, and gradually couldn't look away.

Then he showed a horrified expression as if the world was collapsing.

"I, I, I..." she stammered, standing up with a lost expression, "I have to go back and take a look!"

Throwing the phone back to Aske, she ran out the door like the wind.

"Don't you have to catch up?" Hidrifa asked, crossing her arms.

"No need," Asker said, "She'll be back."

While the two were talking, suddenly the funeral bell rang outside.

To be precise, the death bells rang throughout Constantinople, resonating into a huge sea of ​​sound over the imperial capital. Hilda was so frightened that she touched the weapon, but her touch came up empty, and Aske grabbed her arm.

"Don't be afraid, the news of the emperor's death has arrived." Asik said.

Soon, the news of Manzikert's defeat spread throughout the imperial capital, and the citizens discussed the sad news in public:

"His Majesty Constantine was shot three times on the battlefield of Manzikert. He passed away to the Lord's Kingdom on the spot. The army made great sacrifices to retrieve his body. Now his body has been resting in a coffin in Nepal. At the Notre Dame Monastery in West Asia, the two princesses in purple have already rushed there by special plane."

Outside the monastery in Nicaea, Her Royal Highness Theodora jumped out of the helicopter in a hurry, lifted up her skirt and rushed into the monastery. Then came out the Emperor's Ink Controller, Lady Varomina. She bowed slightly and stretched out her arms gracefully.

Her Royal Highness Zoe held her arm, stepped out of the helicopter dignifiedly and solemnly, and said lightly:

"Lead the way ahead."

"Yes." Ink Controller Varomina saluted again, thinking that Her Highness Zoe and Her Highness Theodora were really two completely different personalities.

Her Royal Highness Theodora appears to be quiet and elegant, but in fact she is like an energetic deer, acting with gusto.

Her Majesty Zoe seems to be good at conversation, but in fact she is not talkative and has a deep mind, just like His Majesty Basil.

Perhaps this is also related to the ages of the two Highnesses. Her Highness Theodora is only 17 years old this year, which is a full 7 years younger than Her Majesty Zoe... Varomina soon realized that her thoughts were a bit overreaching, so she lowered her head deeply with a guilty conscience.

"Father..." In the main hall of the monastery, Theodora was holding her father's coffin, almost sobbing.

Emperor Constantine VIII was lying peacefully in his coffin. His face, which was blackened by gunpowder smoke, had been skillfully repaired by the facial contour artist and now looked too fair. Her Majesty Zoe stood behind, not crying like Her Majesty Theodora, but just wiping the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.

The monks present were well aware of the different attitudes displayed by the two His Highnesses.

During his lifetime, Emperor Constantine refused to allow the two princesses in purple to get married because he was afraid that his future son-in-law would interfere too much in the government affairs.

It's okay for Theodora because she is younger, but Her Majesty Zoe is already 24 years old. She is at the age when she longs for marriage, family and the love of her husband. However, she is "imprisoned" in the palace and is not allowed to meet any men. How can she treat her like this? The emperor has no resentment?

Immediately afterwards, the emperor's coffin was transported to Constantinople and passed through the Golden Gate. All the citizens spontaneously gathered around the funeral procession, holding placards, scattering flowers, lighting candles, and crying sadly.

Of course, this is not necessarily because the citizens are so sad about the death of His Majesty the Emperor, but because people always like to pretend to mourn in bad news that has nothing to do with them, and use this ritual to gain some sense of self-moral satisfaction. .

Just like in the past life, once some bad news happened abroad, a large number of domestic Weibo posts would be flooded with words such as "Spot wax", "Cry for them" and "Tonight we are all from country X", making it seem as if the whole country was mourning together - in fact , most of these bloggers put on their makeup and went out to eat hot pot Malatang happily after posting condolences and tearful emojis.

The emperor's funeral will be held with great pomp and ceremony for three days, and will undoubtedly dominate the discussion in the imperial capital for a long time.

Another matter that cannot be delayed any longer is the coronation of the new emperor.

After learning the news of Manzikert's defeat for the first time, the imperial bureaucrats, nobles and the church quickly reached a tacit consensus to assist the two princesses in purple to ascend to the throne and become co-emperors of the Eastern Solomon Empire.

Under the military threat of the Seljuk Empire, this is the fastest way to stabilize the situation in the imperial capital.

The enthronement ceremony was then held at the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom. In front of the icon screen, Alexei, the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Solomonic Orthodox Church, took out the emperor's crown from the box held by the bishop beside him and put it on the head of His Highness Zoe.

He took out a smaller crown that also symbolized the emperor's power and put it on Theodora's head.

Then a pair of boys and girls dressed in white came forward and anointed the faces of the two majesties with sacred oil.

Finally, there is the golden ball cross symbolizing power, which was solemnly taken out by the Patriarch Alexei from the box held by the bishop beside him.

Staring at the golden cross scepter, Her Majesty Zoe's breathing quickened subtly. She wanted to reach out directly to hold the golden ball cross, but Theodora's call stopped her:

"elder sister!"

She came back to her senses and looked at Theodora, whose tears were still wet.

Alexei smiled and handed over the golden ball cross. The two sisters looked at each other and held the imperial scepter together.