I will be crowned king

Mason, whose cheeks twitched, put down the letter in his hand, pulled out the second piece of paper and read the content on it:

[Before we officially start, let’s talk about something we all know - yes, I captured two members of the Faithless Knights before and got information from them about you being their sponsor behind the scenes. 】

Um? !

Mason was shocked and quickly picked up the letter and continued reading eagerly:

[So when I got the invitation, I roughly guessed that you were planning to have a formal showdown with me tonight; coincidentally, I thought so too.

Therefore, although I know that you probably prepared some 'surprise' for me, I still came. In order to give you a 'surprise', I came alone without an escort, so that you can be more relaxed during the showdown. ——To be honest, I actually dislike people who talk in circles, but I don’t mind occasionally making fun of them.

Those were my initial thoughts, and as expected, we had a thorough exchange of opinions and didn't reach any consensus at all; don't deny it, because I can see it.

Enough nonsense, here comes the whole article.

First of all - I know that the Faithless Knights did not betray you, and you arranged this entire assassination. 】

Does he know? !

The frightened Mason's eyes widened, and he was so frightened that he almost fell off his chair.

[When I fired the first shot to ‘save you’, the shot was actually aimed at your shoulder. The idea at the time was to use that shot to save you from fatal injuries, but it was the wine glass that was hit.

So the person who really 'saved your life' was actually your butler... I guess your original plan was for the butler to help you fake your death, and then he would join forces with the Faithless Knights who ambushed behind you to kill or capture me alive. This way You can clear yourself of suspicion and avoid being associated with the Faithless Knights.

It must be said that this was indeed a pretty good plan; it was a pity that it was not perfect enough and ultimately failed.

So for the Faithless Knights, you no longer need to think about contacting them, or worry about being retaliated against. Whether they are dead or alive has nothing to do with you. You just need to pretend that this matter does not exist.

Why am I telling you this? Because after careful consideration, I have decided to forgive you this time.

Not only because I did not suffer any losses, but also because your 'big gamble'... gave me a very rare opportunity; as for what the opportunity is, you will understand it tomorrow morning.

Of course, this means that you and your friends can continue to resist me, or cooperate with some people to resist me; it doesn't matter, I am a very generous person and I don't mind at all - just like you fail next time After that, you probably won’t mind if I turn you into a heretic and burn you at the stake...right?

Believe me, it is so easy for me to do this, not even the slightest bit difficult; the only thing that can stop me from doing this is my kind heart as a believer in the Circle of Order.

As long as you are willing to hand over the Beluga Port Chamber of Commerce and not hinder my plan to introduce factories next year, I will ensure that this kind heart can continue.

Lest you get the wrong idea, let me reiterate - yes, this is a threat, a threat that means what you say.

And just in case you have any doubts about the credibility of what I said, I repeat that all the promises I made to you in the restaurant are true.

For example, for the cute little Baekeland, I will keep my word and write a letter to invite my painter friend to visit Beluga Port in April next year and serve as his art teacher.

I hope that little Baekeland can swim in the ocean of art and have a bright future.

Your best friend and savior, Anson Bach.

Burn after reading. 】

"Plop!"

Mason, holding the letter, leaned forward and knelt on the floor.

……………………

After solving Mason Wetzler, Anson left the "crime scene" and walked in the deserted streets of the port area facing the moonlight and the biting sea breeze.

The reason for letting him go is not just Anson's conscience - this accounts for at most 99% of the reasons - the other reason is that the other party controls the Beluga Port Chamber of Commerce and the sales volume owned by the chamber of commerce. channels and business networks.

In the 101st year of the Saints calendar when there was no real "network", commercial trade was basically credit trade, especially bulk commodity transactions were based on the relationship network between various chambers of commerce; to a certain extent, both parties could even save cash. , doing business entirely on bills.

Even if you are penniless, you can still handle transactions worth several digits with just "put it in your account" and always know what to transport to where and who to sell to - this is a company that has mastered local sales channels and controlled external affairs. Several trade lines reveal the biggest advantage of mature chambers of commerce.

It only takes one bullet to kill Mason Wetzler, kill the entire Beluga Port Chamber of Commerce and then rebuild. It is not difficult for Anson and the Luen family, but they must be prepared to bear the side effects of damaged trade and reduced income. .

After weighing the pros and cons, Anson still believed that the living Mason Wetzler was more useful to him than the dead one; without the trump card of the Faithless Knights, the threat that the other party could pose to him was minimal.

Anson did not go to the Beluga Harbor Parliament to enjoy the "good show" of mutual suspicion between the members and Speaker Harold to see who would expose himself first and who would react first.

Before that, I must take a good rest.

The whole battle seemed to be handled by me with ease, but the actual risk was extremely high; I still seriously underestimated the strength of the Faithless Knights, and I didn't expect that after one of them was killed and two were captured alive, five talented people would be able to ambush me.

Now my mental state is extremely bad. My temples on both sides hurt as if they were about to explode. There seemed to be a loudspeaker protesting loudly in my skull. My heartbeat in my chest was obviously abnormally fast, and I could even hear it clearly. heard the sound.

Conjuration magic is a power that distorts reality. It does not have to directly act on the physical and mental levels like blood magic or black magic. However, conversely, among the three, the conjuration mage's mental and physical strength are the weakest.

But since it is a battle, it is impossible not to consume these two kinds of power. Simple ones like [Fire Gathering] are okay, but magic like [Yanyujia], which is extremely demanding of "micro-management" and requires full concentration, is a burden. doubled increase.

After all, in order to "distort reality", the first step is to "imagine" the distorted picture.

Quietly, a four-wheeled carriage appeared beside him without any warning.

The coachman, who was holding the reins tightly, was slumped in his seat, with a three-cornered hat with a hole in it covering his face. A slight snoring could still be heard faintly; translucent liquid remained along the corners of his raised mouth, which had already been Frozen together with the stubble.

The delicate compartment door opened automatically and gently, and the warm wind mixed with the smell of alcohol and light incense blew from the side.

Anson stopped and boarded the carriage calmly; before he could reach out, the carriage door closed automatically.

The coachman, who was immersed in sleep, gently swung the reins, urging the two black draft horses, which had also not yet woken up, to snore and move briskly.

Not paying attention to the figures in the carriage, Anson, who had a splitting headache, lay down directly on the soft seat and relaxed his neck with the blanket-covered pillow.

"That's right, just relax."

Thalia, who was wearing a bright red evening gown, sat opposite him and looked at the sleepy Anson with doting eyes.

With a gentle "bang~", the bottle of Tirpitz Rum was opened, and the mellow liquor spilled from the spherical ice cubes, adding an alluring golden color to the wall of the transparent glass.

"It's very late. My dear Anson's plan is going perfectly. It's time to rest."

"Um……"

Anson, whose consciousness was hazy, didn't even think about it, or in other words, he didn't even have the ability to think. He obediently reached out and took the wine glass handed by the girl.

The ice cubes were very cold, the wine was very strong, and there seemed to be something unexplainable hidden in the familiar taste, which made the tense body relax instantly, and the heart gradually became calm.

"Go to sleep~"

The deep sleepiness suddenly emerged from the girl's soft whisper.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

"Snapped."

As soon as his fingers loosened, the wine glass with some wine left in it fell onto the soft blanket, and the ice ball rolled in the carriage with the slightly swaying carriage.

……………………

Port area, nameless warehouse.

Pushing open the unlocked door, three figures walked into a warehouse as if there was no one around, and kept walking deeper; the leader was the man in black who was kicked off the eaves by Lisa.

Derek, with a sullen face, followed closely behind him, lowering his head and hiding half of his face under his tall stand-up collar; the third man holding a spear deliberately kept a distance from the two of them, and was always vigilant behind him.

When he was about to reach the other end of the warehouse, the man in black finally stopped, raised his right hand high and snapped his fingers, then turned to look at his companions expressionlessly:

"This is the Chamber of Commerce Shipyard warehouse. No one will come here except drunk sailors before 7:30 tomorrow. We are safe... Of course, it is temporary."

"The troops of the garrison in the city have been dispatched, and there seems to be cavalry, blocking the entire Beluga Port except the port area; the purpose is very clear, which is to trap us in the port area."

"I only have a rough retreat plan now, and I need your help: we will rest here for thirty minutes to an hour, and when they start searching the port area, we will immediately..."

"Why did you stop me?!"

Derek, who had always lowered his head, suddenly interrupted the chattering man in black and roared at his companion holding a spear behind him.

A deafening roar echoed in the silent warehouse.

Compared with the over-emotional Derek, the figure with his back to him looked very calm. He looked back casually, revealing a pair of lake-blue eyes, and wrote lightly:

"Because the mission has failed."

"Failed? It was obviously a success!"

"Success... don't kid yourself, Derek."

"What did you say?!"

"The information is completely wrong. Anson Bach himself is a powerful conjurer, and the girl beside him is also suspected of being a spell caster... It is normal for him to miss when he is unprepared."

"But I can kill him!"

As if to prove that he could really do this, Derek's eyes turned red with excitement and he suddenly stepped forward, "Bang!" and crushed the wooden board under his feet.

"I really can!"

"What's the use of killing him?!" The companion who turned around widened his eyes:

"Philby and Sewell are still in the military camp prison, and there is no garrison commander in exchange for hostages. Is it possible for us to break into the fortress where thousands of soldiers are stationed to rescue people?!"

"We need money, we need a boat, we need to rescue our captured companions - and a commander's head will not help us at all. It can only turn us into street rats that everyone in Beluga Harbor shouts and beats!"

"Chris and Lobo are dead, and Philby and Sewell are still in their hands. Do you think our current situation is not miserable enough? Huh?!"

The sharp voice shook the dusty air in the warehouse.

Derek's face was dull, and he stared at his companions who were glaring at him in stunned silence:

"I...this is the first time...I see you so...excited."

"Really?!" The other party glared at him again:

"With such an excellent companion like you, I'm afraid I'll have to do this more often in the future!"

The furious Derek finally shut his mouth and turned his head to the side.

Dead silence returned to the dark warehouse once again.

"Are you done arguing?"

The man in black with his hands in his pockets raised the brim of his hat, looked at the two people in front of him, and said in a calm tone.

No one responded.

The man in black didn't take it seriously and glanced at the livid Derek: "Simon is right, the plan has completely failed. Even killing Anson Bach will not help, and will lead to endless revenge."

Derek snorted.

"This is...my fault." The man in black sighed lightly:

"I over-trusted the intelligence from open channels, and I couldn't resist the temptation of an important hostage and Mason Wetzler's high reward. I chose to take a risk and take a gamble. The failure was not a completely unexpected result."

"However, we are not completely without gains - Mason Wetzler no longer dares to have anything to do with our car, which means that the assets he provided us before can now legitimately become our own. thing."

"Even if we discount those farms, fishing boats, taverns...all of them into cash, the money we get should be enough for our fare to leave Beluga Port and our living expenses for a period of time."

"The cost is that we still have nothing except the boat tickets and a little money, and we have to abandon two very important companions."

Following his understatement, both of their expressions became obviously gloomier.

"These...are the last choices. If we are really desperate, we have no choice but to do this if we want to survive." The man in black looked around and narrowed his eyes:

"But until then, I'm going to take one more risk."