I will be crowned king

Inner city, red brick streets, Clovis Cathedral.

After finishing his chat with the novelist, Anson left the Crown Tavern with Lisa almost immediately, rushed straight to Clovis Cathedral, and brought this information to Archbishop Luther immediately.

Of course, before that, he took the time to go back to the apartment on Bremen Street, took a shower, changed into a dark coat and a bowler hat, had a breakfast not cooked by Lisa in the cafe downstairs, and then Had a two hour nap on the couch with Lisa.

In addition to recuperating, he also needs to take some time to sort out the "trophies" from yesterday and the night before yesterday - the magic books and enchanted items collected from the corpses of "Old Pocket Watch", "Cigar" and "Rifling".

This is the experience he learned from Karin Jacques: "...there is no such thing as 'trust' between spellcasters in the outer city, so important items are usually carried with you, only those that cannot be carried with you. It will be hidden in a very secret place..."

Fortunately, the three people were blown up so much that not even the complete corpses were left, and the worst "rifling" was shattered by Lisa's twelve-pound shell... Otherwise, Anson would not have dared to risk being discovered by the Inquisitor. To touch the body.

I have to say that the three outer city spellcasters really fit the description of Karin Jacques - usually no more than level three, very poor, and rarely have particularly rare collections.

Anson searched the bodies of the three people, excluding those damaged in the explosion, and there were only six magic books plus one enchanted item in total. This also excludes the two books that "Rifling" gave to him as a down payment, and among them Three of them belong to black magic and conjuration magic, which are meaningless to him as a conjurer and can only be counted as a collection.

Three magic books, the first one is [Mist of the Undead].

Its effect "rifling" was demonstrated during the confrontation with the sneak attack "Cigar": it turns the whole body into a gray mist and returns to its original state after three to five seconds. It is an extremely practical magic at critical moments.

And this magic can also do more extensions, such as the color of the fog, the duration and the distance moved in the fog state, and even only part of the body can be turned into fog.

According to the "Five Stages of Spellcasters" theory in "Research on the Three Old Gods", spellcasters who have reached the third stage can begin to understand the nature of magic and can transform it into the form they need as needed - in the past, they would only use templates. Xiaobai, now I finally learned how to change the template.

Anson feels that he is almost at this stage now.

The second book is [Rising Fire] - no rubbing is required within the control range, a flame rises out of thin air and burns in the direction it points to, and can be ignited even under water.

This magic is an upgraded version, or a modified version, of [Condensing Flame], just like some large templates are made up of many small templates.

The effect is average, but it can be used as a temporary emergency measure when you can't carry a gun...if you don't get [Hunting].

This is "Rifling's" original magic after improving [Rising Fire] - rubbing the [Rising Fire] directly on the hand, gathering it at the fingertips and shooting a lead bullet-shaped flame towards the enemy. The power is Depending on the level of preparation, ranging from rifle bullets to artillery shells, plus a burning effect.

Its disadvantage is that first of all, the range cannot exceed the control range, otherwise it will disappear - this is also the disadvantage of all spells - and you need to be extremely careful when casting the spell. The more powerful it is, the easier it is to accidentally injure yourself.

The last enchanted item is a short sword, which is still a "rifling" relic. Its effect is "magic counterattack": magic that comes into direct contact with the sword will disappear directly; and if it is a spell caster I, myself, cannot, or rather find it extremely difficult to cast spells before the sword is removed from my body.

No wonder "Old Pocket Watch" was so afraid of "Rifling" from the beginning to the end. He was trying to parry it from beginning to end, and had to rely on "Cigar" sneak attacks to reverse the situation... Refer to his stabbing sword that can automatically parry and was eventually defeated. The "rifling" was cut off, and Anson guessed that this thing might also have a weakening effect on enchanted items.

There are three magic spells plus an enchanted dagger. Overall, although the number is smaller, it lacks diversity and does not fit in with the weird style that Professor Mace Honnard said: "Every conjurer is an artist." , but it is more practical, especially the dagger and the "Mist of the Undead", which finally gave Anson more choices and means when facing spellcasters.

As for the other three magic books, Anson's plan is to wait for a while before taking action, and find an opportunity to resell them to Karin Jacques, a second-level dealer in the Old God Sect, to see if he can exchange them for a few more magic books.

After two months of testing and careful reading of "Research on the Three Old Gods", Anson roughly figured out the principle of how conjurers prepare magic in advance, which is to transfer magic to the spirit through "memory". in, and then release it when needed.

The time of memory is only related to the complexity of the magic - for example, [Mist of the Undead] takes almost twice as long as [Hunting] - at the same time, the memorized magic can only be retained for a maximum of seven days, and there is an upper limit problem.

His daily memory limit is now fifteen. Anson speculates that if his level rises, or he is promoted from "Spellcaster" to "Desecrated Mage", the memory time and storage limit will increase.

After collecting all the loot, Anson and Lisa finally stopped a taxi outside the apartment and rushed to Clovis Cathedral as soon as possible.

After seriously suspecting that the black mage knew Lisa's existence from August's bloodline, Anson was no longer worried about her being alone.

When the two arrived at the door of the cathedral, it was exactly 7:30 - the morning prayer ceremony had just ended, and banking business had not yet begun, so only the side doors on both sides of the main entrance were open for believers to enter and exit.

The banking business of Clovis Cathedral is usually open to the public after ten o'clock. At this time, Archbishop Luther should have just arrived at the cathedral, enjoying breakfast while handling some trivial matters.

After informing the church deacon of her identity, Lisa stayed in the waiting room obediently. Anson turned and went straight to the archbishop's study; he calmly knocked on the door, but the one who opened the door was not Luther Franz himself. .

"Anson Bach, what are you doing here?"

Sophia Franz opened the door and stood behind it. She was wearing a simpler light-colored dress than usual. She held a stack of "Clovis Truth" in her arms and looked at Anson with tired eyes. I woke up immediately:

"My father... Archbishop Luther Franz is not here now."

Not here... Anson frowned slightly, but then showed a smile: "It's okay, I can wait."

After saying that, he turned around and walked towards the small prayer room outside the study.

"Wait a moment!"

The voice behind him stopped him in his tracks. Anson turned to look. Sophia, who pursed her lips slightly, opened the door to the study and said in a soft tone that she tried hard to maintain:

"If you don't mind, you can come in and wait."

Um?

Is it an illusion caused by being too tired? I always feel that her attitude towards me is much gentler than before... Looking at the girl smiling at him behind the door, Ansen, who was stunned on the spot, nodded quickly:

"Thanks."

Walking into the study, Anson sat down on the sofa corner in front of the fireplace. The girl put the newspaper in her arms on the corner of the coffee table and walked aside knowingly:

"Coffee or wine, I remember your little clerk said, do you like navy rum?"

"Coffee will do."

Anson smiled calmly and silently cursed a certain little traitor in his heart.

"No problem, just wait a moment."

A few minutes later, Sophia walked to the sofa with a tray with two cups of coffee, and handed one of them to Anson; the rich baking aroma wafted from the white porcelain cup with a gold rim.

"how is the taste?"

The girl asked casually.

It's much better than Lisa's... Anson praised it without reservation: "It's very delicious, it's a pure Clovis flavor."

"Clovis flavor?"

This answer stunned Sophia for a moment: "But... coffee beans are not produced in Clovis."

Looking at Anson, who looked a little stiff, the girl picked up another cup of coffee on the table:

"This is from the Southern Seven Cities Alliance."

Anson Bach: “…I mean the way to make coffee.”

"method?"

"That's right!" Anson, whose mind was spinning rapidly, immediately replied:

"The weight of the coffee beans, the temperature of the hot water, the speed of pouring the water and the splash of water in the pot are all extremely accurate. It is a scientific coffee brewing that can only be possessed by the city of Clovis where Saint Isaac was born. Technique!”

The corners of Sophia's mouth raised slightly, and she took a sip of coffee:

"My father went to Osteria Palace. Carlos is discussing with the Privy Council how to deal with the issue of the Elf Kingdom of Yser - it is said that the vast majority of the councilors support war."

Anson nodded thoughtfully.

The Elf Kingdom of Ysel is located in the southeast of Clovis, and the two sides are bounded by a giant tower fortress and river belonging to the Kingdom of Clovis. The Ysel elves and their eastern compatriots in the Dark Ages were brave and good at fighting until the introduction of rifles and firearms. Large-scale popularization has led to a reversal of the situation.

The Yser elves who have now naturalized the faith of the Ring of Order, in the impression of the Clovis people, are a paradise with a decadent dynasty, love peace, are good at singing and dancing, and are full of exotic cultures.

Since the success of the "Iron Cross Plan" and the complete control of the southern provinces by relying on the army and railway transportation, the Clovis Kingdom has always regarded the Yser Elf Kingdom as the next direction of expansion.

Obviously, the chaotic night at St. Isaac's College greatly stimulated the war faction in the Privy Council. The failure of the counterattack against the empire had caused these people to disappear for a while, but the "elven ambassador is an old god sect". This incident obviously gave them another great opportunity.

And they also have a reason that no one can doubt: it is no longer a matter of a day or two for the Elf Kingdom of Yser to receive military assistance from the empire, and the death of the country’s diplomatic ambassador in a foreign capital gave the Elf King a great deal excuse.

Under such a situation, instead of waiting for the Ysel elves to declare war on the pretext of "ambassador's revenge" and join forces with the Empire to attack Clovis; it is better to declare war beforehand and avoid falling into passivity.

In other words, the war with the Ysel elves is inevitable. Whether to start a war is just a matter of time... With these messages flashing through his mind, Anson asked politely and softly:

"Then when will the Archbishop come back?"

"I'm not sure. It depends on when the meeting ends - it's possible in the evening at the latest." Sophia looked at him through the mist of coffee:

"I have asked Angelica to wait for him outside the Osteria Palace...Are you anxious?"

"You can say that."

Anson twitched his lips uneasily. He was not sure whether he should mention a certain novelist to Sophia. His eyes fell on the thick pile of "Clovis Truth" beside the table:

"So, you came here specially to wait for your father... Archbishop Luther?"

"Of course." Sophia raised her chin slightly:

"Because of a small accident and meticulous observation, I discovered a conspiracy that is very likely to endanger the entire city of Clovis!"

"oh?"

Anson raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Unfortunately by the time I figured this out, my father had already left for the Osteria Palace, so I just went back to Clovis Cathedral and waited."

The more Sophia spoke, the more proud she became, her bright eyes sparkling:

"Anson Bach, you will never imagine that all the clues are in the "Clovis Truth" where we started!"

"Yes, I know from the look on your face that you understand; everything this time is still the same as the North Port incident five years ago. Draco Vertes, he observed in the shadows and corners that we can't see. He guided everything and discovered an unprecedented crisis in time that none of us saw!"

Anson, who was holding the cup, froze, and his mouth opened uncontrollably on his stunned face.

Sophia, who didn't notice this at all, continued:

"The problem now is that I still don't know exactly what 'chaos' and 'war' he refers to. Which force does 'rat' and 'knight' refer to? And why are we wrong? 'We' Who is it again?"

"But one thing can be confirmed, that is, the mastermind behind all this must be the Old God Sect who is manipulating all of this, just like what happened at St. Isaac's College last time and what happened at Old Wall Street last time!"

"So Anson Bach, if you have extra time, you might as well follow this line to find out where our Lord Draco Wirts is now!"

With an extremely comfortable smile after revealing the secret, Sophia slowly laid her eyes on Anson's face:

"Well, why do you look so surprised? It's not what you want to talk to my father about today, is it related to Draco Vertes?"

Anson, who was smiling awkwardly, looked at Sophia's expression as if she was joking, and twitched his throat hard.

A few seconds later, a scream rang out in the Archbishop's study:

"What, you met Draco Vertes?!!"