Crown of Chaos

Early February 1361 in the valley calendar, Wanxing Town, Arabelle Restoration Army camp, headquarters.

Ms. Millman-Laure was standing high on a hillside.

From here, using the telescopes of the mages of Waterdeep, you can see the city of Arabelle in the distance.

Once the pearl of the north of Cormyr, her city is now occupied by a large group of dark and dirty green orcs. The torches lit by the orcs illuminate the outline of Arabelle, as vast as the stars in the sky.

Ms. Raul has recalled the day of the fall of Arabelle countless times: the endless green tide engulfed her city, and the bleak and noisy drumbeats from the one-eyed orcs would have been expelled from any military band, but the orcs didn't care. , they were like an infectious disease on the earth, like a disorderly wave of destruction, drowning their own army.

The souls of the orc ancestors of the orc Great Khan Turgeon carry unstoppable power, and nothing can stop them. She has tried all her efforts, with all her strength and all her wisdom, but she still cannot stop the orcs. strength.

The orc army raged through Arabelle like a tide, crushing all the last human resistance. The bloodthirsty orc saber-tooth roared and tried to destroy everything. The army of giants and monsters overwhelmed Ms. Raul's last guard. The orc army was in Carnival reveled in the ruins of ancient cities.

She saw with her own eyes that the Holy Land Hotel left by her god during the Year of Troubles was rushed in and plundered by the ecstatic orcs, and then set the hotel on fire. This holy place where the lucky lady Taimora had lived for a long time was destroyed. reduced to ruins.

Now, she's back, taking her army with her.

Looking away, Ms. Raul looked at her army, the army she had high hopes for.

Hundreds of tents are scattered around Evening Star Town - except for her own 3,000 people and a small number of supporters of other nobles, anyone is forced to admit that this is a mixed and patchwork army, with some from Bedaiwu barbarians from the north, adventurers from the Sword Coast, primitive tribesmen from the south, and even necromancers and monks from the east.

There are aasimars who are descended from celestial creatures and mortals, there are tiefling bastards from hell devils left in the mortal world (no derogatory meaning), there are elementals born from the influence of the four elemental planes, and there are also their own Behind him is also the lord of the heavenly realm and the lord of the evil demon, a magician who can escape from the hell and abyss in a circle.

She didn't know how powerful her army could be, she only knew that she only had one chance.

The orc tribe of the Orc Great Khan Turgeon is just one of many orc tribes, nothing more.

Contemplating the number of enemies in vain, she turned back to her tent.

In the camp, in addition to her deputies and several generals, the warlock Samir and Viscount Salian Aaron were already waiting.

There are several plan books on the table, which contain the battle plan to turn passivity into initiative.

According to the oracles of Tymora, the lucky lady, and Lathander, the Lord of the Dawn, if you want to suppress Tujin's ancestral souls and prevent those ghostly killing machines from sweeping away your army like wheat, you must pray for the power of the gods. .

Only gods can fight against gods. This is some kind of unspoken rule in the kingdom.

Therefore, the religious adventurers led by Aaron proposed several very close plans.

As a favored person of the Silver Virgin Suellen, Aaron has received an oracle from Suellen. He has three moon gems on his body. Aaron's plan is that he will not participate in the frontal battlefield, but form a small team of adventurers. Try to bypass the orcs' defense line and enter the Silver Virgin Temple located in the forest on the outskirts of Arabelle. Use the moon gem to activate the divine power transmission device hidden inside the temple, activate the blessing of Suellen's divine power, and use Suellen's divine power to fight against the orcs. The divine power of God King Gruumsh.

This plan is simple to say, but not easy to implement. Although the Temple of Selun is located on the outskirts of Arabel, there will not be so many orc sentries and patrols. The risk of carrying out this task alone with only a few people is still very high. .

Similarly, Samir's plan is to enter Arabelle City with a token of Taimora, the goddess of luck. This member of the Harper Alliance who disrupted the conspiracy of the Lord of Nine Hells in the Year of Turbulence knows a secret to the interior of Arabelle City. He said that he also planned to sneak into the city with a few men to activate Taimora's divine power.

Exactly the same, the Church of the Three Gods of Justice, the Church of the Lord of the Morning, the Church of the Mother Earth, and even the Church of Nature including the Druids of the Emerald Garden have all made the same plan. They all plan to activate the power of their gods to fight against The ancestral soul of the terrifying orc god-king Gruumsh.

Ms. Raul knew in her heart that this might be one of the few key tasks that she could take the initiative in her own hands and that could have a decisive impact on this war. She and her cronies knew that if Tujin’s ancestral soul could not be solved, , then there is no chance of winning this war.

But Ms. Raul also understands that by making such a decision, she is letting these adventurers who are closely related to her and come for the justice of the country and the recovery of Arabelle to risk their lives for her.

This has truly become a black comedy: as a lord, it is impossible for her to take risks herself, otherwise the Liberation Army will fall apart, and those who plan to take risks are truly excellent and valuable people who are willing to devote themselves to the peace and justice of the country. .

They are sacrificing themselves for their territory, and those who remain are the opportunists.

Ms. Raul has seen this kind of reverse elimination too many times in her life - warriors who truly yearn for peace and justice sacrifice themselves for the country and fight for their ideals, while those opportunists and selfish individuals enjoy peace of mind. They sacrificed themselves and laughed at the ugly way in which the warriors died.

This was very painful for her.

What's even more painful is that she has to let these outstanding young people take risks.

If she was alone, it wouldn't matter whether she became a lord or not, but behind her were tens of thousands of Arabel refugees who were displaced. They were the civilians she swore to protect, as well as her dead bodyguards. Her friends, as well as her army, these soldiers who lost their homes and relatives were frustrated and resentful. Their anger could only be calmed by the sight of piles of orc heads.

"I ask you one last time, Aaron and Samir, have you really thought about it?" Ms. Raul felt like her heart was being cut.

"Of course." "Hehehe~ Do we have any other choice? My lady?"

"I understand. May Taimora bless you... I'm tired, you guys, please go down." Ms. Raul waved her hand, indicating that Aaron and Samir could leave.

Watching the two people leave, Ms. Raul's adopted daughter, Christine, walked in holding a thick stack of books: "Mother? How to solve this problem?"

"This question is very difficult. Mom doesn't know it." Ms. Raul didn't even read the questions left by the palace tutor on the book. Her smile was covered with a thick layer of fog: "Daughter, the war is about to begin. , I’ll have someone take you back to Susar.”

"Mother? No! I want to be with you!" Christine was surprised at first, then stubbornly shook her head.

"I'm not asking for your opinion, I'm just informing you!" Ms. Raul said coldly, and then two heavily armored soldiers took Christine out.

I could die fighting here, but Christine, my daughter, I want you to live a full life.

This is a mother’s wish!

…………

Coming out of the wartime command post, Aaron and Samir looked at each other, relatively speechless.

Each of them held a roll of parchment, which was a certificate of permission to act and stamped with Ms. Raul's ring.

"Hey, don't be so serious." Samir pretended to be relaxed and put his head in his hands, and said with a smile: "Isn't it just to call for divine power? It's not like you haven't done it before."

"Ha." Aaron smiled, but it felt a little unnatural no matter how he looked at it: "Yes, there is nothing to be afraid of, the worst is just death."

When submitting the plan, Aaron was full of confidence, but after actually getting the license seal, his mood became a little depressed.

Not far away from here, there was also the fallen city of Tifantun, where his parents died in battle.

"Don't be like this, Aaron." Samir sighed softly and shook his head repeatedly: "Do you know how I went around in hell and abyss and returned to the mortal world?"

"It is my strong desire to survive. I want to live. I want to live more than ever. This strong will drove me to successfully walk out of Avernus, to the bottomless abyss, and then from there. Abyss left.”

"Human beings always need a goal to truly live." Samir smiled lazily.

"I have a goal. I have always wanted a fiefdom. I have always wanted to restore the glory of Salian. I..." Aaron said seriously.

"Haha, you know, that's not what I'm talking about." Samir shook his head.

Aaron was silent for a few seconds, and then nodded slowly. He understood what Samir meant.

The two of them stopped chatting because the fluctuations in the air aroused their alertness. A slender and clear figure was standing in front of an eighty-year-old woman who was setting up a stall on the edge of the town street.

"Selling goat milk, fresh goat milk! A cup only costs 2 coppers!" It was getting late, and an old woman wearing the roughest linen dress, a checkered scarf on her head, and greasy sleeves on her arms was selling goat milk. Nai, she looked a little anxious because the light was getting darker and darker.

A figure wearing slim-fitting clothes stood in front of the stall. He looked half-dead. His body was thin, his cheeks were sunken, and his face was like a skeleton. He was holding a glass of goat's milk in his hand and was sipping it in small sips.

Aaron and Samir looked at each other and calmly went up to ask the price: "Grandma, what are you selling?"

"Goat milk, fresh goat milk." The old woman's eyes lit up when she saw someone coming up to ask for the price. She could see that it was two young men in Chinese clothes, and her face became much darker.

How can such a person buy cheap goat milk to drink?

"Is it still hot?" Aaron didn't have any airs. He looked at the old woman's wrinkled face under the headscarf, her saggy cheeks, deep wrinkles and cloudy eyes, and the few strands of almost white hair exposed under the headscarf. Hair, knowing that the other person must be very old.

"Hot, hot, sir, do you want some?" the old woman asked cautiously, for fear of offending the noble lord.

"How much?"

"Two copper coins a cup, sir, you can taste a little first, for free." The old woman reluctantly scooped half a cup from the barrel and handed it to Aaron, indicating that there was no fee for the cup.

Aaron was not polite. He took the wooden cup and drank it in one gulp while looking at the old woman's distressed eyes. He also smashed it in his mouth: "How old are you this year? Grandma."

"84 years old." The old woman took the wooden cup back and answered numbly.

84 years old? !

"Why are you still selling things at such an old age in such a cold weather?" Aaron's attitude became softer.

"In the ranch...if you have nothing to do, just come out and sell some..."

"Where is your child?" Aaron said warmly, his charisma working again.

The old woman's eyes immediately turned red. She lowered her head and whispered: "The children are all gone. None of my five children are gone. They were all killed by orcs..."

"..." Both Aaron and Samir were silent. After a few seconds, Samir asked: "How are you living now?"

"Thank you to His Highness the Regent and Ms. Raul. They arranged for me to work in a ranch. But as an old woman without children, I can't do much work, so the ranch asked me to sell goat milk."

"Sell a barrel and give me a silver coin. I live on this. If you can't sell all the barrels, you'll be deducted from me."

“Then can you sell out?”

"Not necessarily. Sometimes I can get some money if I sell out. Sometimes I get scolded if I don't sell out. There are so many troops coming to the town recently. I want to see if I can sell more and save more money." The old woman probably couldn't explain clearly. What's the use of saving money on her own? It seemed to be just her instinct. Sometimes she was confused, and sometimes she didn't want to think so much. She just looked at Aaron with hopeful eyes: "Sir, do you want some? I can make it cheaper. , Just don’t tell the ranch owner, I don’t want to be scolded, in front of so many people..."

Aaron silently stared at the wooden barrel in front of the old woman. In the distance, the sunset was slowly setting.

Such deep pain can only be expressed so easily.

She couldn't do anything. Just staying alive had used up all her courage and all her strength.

After too many sacrifices, mortals are still homeless and precarious.

He had ridiculed Leonard for his indiscriminate kindness before, but when he really encountered such a thing, he couldn't remain indifferent.

"Whatever is left, grandma, I want it all." Aaron said softly.

"Hey? Sir, how much do you want?" The old woman opened her mouth in surprise: "Sir, if you don't drink enough of this, it will go bad."

"It's okay, I have many followers." Aaron smiled brightly. He first took out two golden lion coins, and without asking the old woman to change, he took all the remaining buckets of goat milk from the old woman.

"Thank you, thank you so much, sir, I really..." The old woman almost cried with gratitude: "Thank you so much. Today there was also a fierce-looking knight who scared me and asked me why I was selling sheep here. Milk, after I told him, he bought a whole bucket and left."

"There are still many good people in this world." Samir smiled.

After repeatedly asking the old woman whether the money really went to her and not to the ranch owner, Aaron handed the money to the old woman. He motioned for Samir to come and help carry the goat milk, and turned around to leave.

However, just when Aaron was about to leave, the thin, bald man who had been standing next to him tasting goat milk spoke. He put the cup on the table and smiled playfully: "I didn't expect you to have such a kind heart, Aaron. -Your Excellency Salian, this does not seem to be consistent with the intelligence."

Aaron and Samir just looked at him. They had already sensed this guy. He was deliberately waiting for them to create a chance encounter.

And Aaron also deliberately waited for him to take the initiative.

"I'm honored to introduce myself. I come from a burnt, rubble-filled wasteland. I'm sorry that I can't tell you my real name, but you can call me 'Singer'. This is my code name."

"I came here this time to discuss a business deal with you." The bald singer said elegantly, with violent flames flashing in his amber eyes.

"What business?" Aaron asked calmly, carrying three buckets of goat milk, "Is there anything we can discuss?"

"Of course, for our common interests, we have a lot to talk about, but... I think we should change places, if you don't want to be rudely disturbed by others..." The bald singer bowed gracefully and gestured to the people on the block with his eyes. the other side.

Purple Dragon Knight Manakorn-Anaheim is approaching with a group of followers.

"You and he are enemies, right? Your Excellency Aaron Salian, and Your Excellency Samir." The bald singer blinked: "It's an honor that the person I traded with him is also an enemy."

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend!”

"This is the rule of the game here."

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