Realm of Power

In Lisbonto, the city outline shrouded in black night is reflected in the dots of lights. It is already late at night, but for Lisbonto, a city that never sleeps, this is both the end and the beginning of the day. When ordinary citizens start When you go to sleep, this corner of the most prosperous city in the continent of Obaro can truly show its charm. This is the largest red light district in Lisbon.

Both sides of the street hung with various styles of decorative lights are full of colorful signboards. Under the lights, there are many beautiful girls showing off their charms, performing the most fatal provocative moves on every man who passes by. To attract business for itself, the empire has very relaxed policies in this regard, because large-scale wars have caused The imbalance between men and women is very obvious in the empire. In addition, Lisbon is the largest foreign trade port in the empire. The fleet merchants and large numbers of sailors who stay here all year round reach more than 100,000. There are also a large number of people who flock to Lisbon from other regions. Most of the labor force looking for work is young and energetic, which inevitably makes this place prosperous.

The rain fell on the street, so many men who were not determined enough quietly disappeared into the nearby house amidst the warm laughter of professional women. .However, there were also a few men in black clothes walking on the street, unmoved by the sounds from both sides. These were three middle-aged men walking with their heads lowered and holding umbrellas in their hands. They seemed to be nothing. They are very special, with their feet stepping on the water on the ground. From a distance, no one feels that there is anything special about them, but once they get close to them, many people will feel that they feel nervous and uneasy, and they can't help but feel nervous and uneasy. will make way

The three men turned and walked into a tavern and stopped in front of it. When they opened the door, they heard a loud noise. They sat down in a corner near the window and ordered a bottle of rum, which was not expensive. Opposite the tavern, the plaque of the Actoni Chamber of Commerce shines under the light. The Actoni Chamber of Commerce is the leader of Lisbon's shipbuilding industry. It owns three large shipyards and is one of the five shipbuilding chambers in Lisbon that can build large merchant ships. one

As a maritime trade center, Lisbon is also a gathering place for various chambers of commerce. There is a great demand for ship forging, repair and renovation, and more than a hundred ships are launched every month.

For the major shipbuilding chambers, what truly reflects their identity and capabilities are not ordinary merchant ship orders, but orders from the Imperial Navy. Although the Imperial Navy's warships are all manufactured in the Imperial Navy's docks, The Aktoni Chamber of Commerce is recognized as having the best repair craftsmen in During the war, being able to restore injured warships to combat effectiveness as quickly as possible is of extremely important significance to a naval fleet. Looking from the direction of the tavern, one can even vaguely see the endless flow of materials and people in the shipyard, which is being built. The masts of the sailboats are like forests, making it a lively scene.

One of the three men withdrew his gaze from the window and swept his eyes across the people in the tavern. Finally, he landed on a short, stocky middle-aged man on the side of the counter. That was Toner, the owner of the tavern. hair, a voluptuous face, and a figure that is already fat and slightly disguised. She is talking to a man there.

"Is this here?" The man looked away, his eyes were sharp and scary, his voice was slightly hoarse, and he looked at his companion opposite.

"It shouldn't be wrong. What's drawn on that picture is almost exactly the same as what we see from where we are sitting now. Except for the different angle of view, it seems to be from a higher place. I draw a little bit every day, and finally I will add the Dragon Tooth Battleship, and even "It's the hull and keel structure of the Dragon-class battleship." A companion gritted his teeth and replied in a low voice with an ugly face. "This is the dereliction of duty of our Navy Department. It is quite an honor. The sketch was not leaked, otherwise it would be detrimental to the empire." For the navy, it is a huge hidden danger! "

"A higher place? What do you think of the bedroom on the third floor of this tavern?" A sneer appeared on the corner of the leading man's mouth.

"Bedroom on the third floor!" The face of the man opposite changed, and he murmured in a low voice, "If that's the case, then it's basically correct."

"Boss, please come here." The leading man suddenly raised his hand towards the boss who was chatting in the distance.

"What do you guys want to order?" The tavern owner came over with a smile. It seemed that he had a good chat just now.

"I heard that the rum in your store is the best in Lisbon. We would like to reserve two hundred barrels, but I don't know if you have such a large inventory here?"

"Two hundred barrels? There definitely aren't that many in the store, but there should be some in the wine cellar." "The boss's eyes widened when he saw that he was a big customer." We want to take a look at the wine cellar. You know what southerners think about Lang. The quality of rum is very picky. Although we have great trust in you, boss, we don’t dare to be careless.” The three people stood up, and the one in front of them said very affectionately, and naturally came up to pat the boss on the shoulder. The Southerners were the Empire's name for the Barrow region of southern Europe. The word "Yankee" has become somewhat of a pejorative.

"Of course, no problem, I'll take you to see it right away"

When the tavern owner heard the word "Yanker", he frowned slightly, but he quickly put on a happy face and led the three people out of the tavern. The wine cellar was not far from the tavern. When they walked to the corner, the owner Suddenly I heard the leader say, "Antu Kale, Boss Tona, have you ever heard of this name?"

"What are you talking about? The boss's face changed quietly. He seemed to turn his head, but in fact he wanted to retreat quickly, but the way back was blocked long ago.

"Who are you? What are you going to do? This is within the empire. As long as I shout, the patrol will come over!"

The boss looked horrified and wanted to make a final struggle, but a thick hand was placed on his shoulder, pinching him like an iron pincer. He had no strength to break free. It was obvious that he regarded them as... Lisbon, a prosperous maritime trade center, was entrusted to the dark forces. Spento brings together forces and chambers of commerce from all sides, and even national forces. It can be said that it is a mixture of dragons and snakes. Although it dealt a heavy blow to these restless forces during the Tiernarant period, as Tierna Rand was injured and transferred out, and there have been faint signs of resurgence recently.

"The Imperial Supervisory Department is asking you to question me. If I were you, I wouldn't choose to scream!"

The leading man's face was cold, and a staggered cross scar could be seen on his right cheek. He whispered, with a faint friendly smile on his face, and raised a small black book in his hand. The small book was surrounded by hot gold edges. , on the cover is a pattern of a flying falcon swooping down. The falcon is vivid, with a pair of talons butchered into black. The falcon's talons are clearly the mark of the Imperial Supervision Department.

"The Imperial Supervision Department came to question me! I didn't do anything. Did you make a mistake?"

Boss Toner's face was pale. The moment he saw the little book, he was like a deflated rubber ball. He knew that what the other party said was true. The Imperial Supervision Department was handling the case, and the regional patrols would only stay away. A black car The carriage drove over from the darkness and stopped steadily in front of the four people.

There was also the mark of the Imperial Inspection Department on the car door, which made the boss, who had still had a glimmer of hope, feel even more confused.

"Crack" the car door opens

"Get in the car, Boss Tona, or I can call you His Excellency Viscount Angtuleka!" The leading man waved his hand, and a tall man jumped out of the driver's seat of the car and grabbed Tony like an eagle catching a chicken. The boss caught it in his hand and stuffed it directly into the car. The three people quickly got into the car, closed the door from the inside, and quickly left the area.

"I'm not Angtuleka, and I don't know Angtuleka. You must have made a mistake!"

On the carriage, Boss Toner looked ashen, and the man sitting opposite him showed acquiescence. He just looked at him with cold eyes, but always had a signature kind smile on his face. Such a strange and cold atmosphere made the boss Beads of sweat continued to appear on Toner's forehead. In such a cold weather, he felt that the car was extremely hot.

"Ten structural drawings of various parts of the Imperial Dragon Fang battleship and three structural drawings of the keel of the Imperial Dragon-class main battleship were all completed in the bedroom on the third floor of your tavern, and your tavern has only been open for three months. Who can do this except you, the boss? Do you think we are fools?" The leading man still smiled and spoke slowly, his eyes seeming to penetrate into the boss's heart. In fact, as soon as the boss came into contact with this look, his face immediately turned a little blue, which reminded him of the feeling of facing a hungry lone wolf in a snowstorm.

"We need your cooperation."

"I don't understand..." the boss said cringingly, curling up his body.

"My name is Stein, the head of the counter-intelligence department of the Imperial Supervision Department. This is a newly established department. You should be honored to be the first guest of our department after its establishment." The leading man smiled kindly and asked from his upper body pocket. He took out something that looked like a small pair of scissors. This was a small pair of scissors made of fine iron. It had no blades and only had a hole in the middle where it intersected, just about the size of a finger. Both sides of the hole were sharp. And the hard blade emits a cold light.

"The Counterintelligence Section of the Imperial Oversight Department... The boss's eyes fell on the small scissors in his opponent's hand, and his face suddenly changed, turning into the color of a dead fish.

"This is something only used by the owners of the Barrow slave manor in southern Europe. It's a coincidence that you know it, isn't it?" The leading man smiled and waved the small scissors casually, as if the boss was an old friend he hadn't seen for many years. , seemed more kind and friendly, and said slowly, "What exactly do you want me to do!"

The boss's face turned blue and white, and his eyes were erratic. Sometimes he was afraid, sometimes excited, and finally turned into a dead gray color. He seemed to be unwilling to say, "Of course he knows about this kind of thing, and he has even used it." , which was used by Southern slave plantation owners to punish efforts to escape, by cutting with small scissors Remove the fingers of the escaped slave, so that even if the slave escapes again, as long as people outside see that the finger is missing, they will know that the other person is an escaped slave. This is a label, a label placed on a person, and there are even specially made luxury categories. Some are inlaid with gorgeous gemstones or engraved with various beautiful patterns.

The cruelty of this thing is that it will not kill people, it can retain the labor ability of the slave, and can be used multiple times. The worst thing is that all ten fingers and toes are cut off and then used as livestock for grinding." Tell me your upline and your subordinates, and then you can continue to be your tavern owner, and everything tonight will be as if it never happened." Stein looked at him with a cold face and said lightly, "I won't tell, give me a Have fun! "The boss's body was shaking, and his fat face was struggling.

Stein blew on the small scissors, leaned forward slightly, carefully looked at Stern's face, said with a smile, smiled coldly, and did not continue. The emperor was furious, and the Counterintelligence Section of the Supervision Department followed. As a result, the appointments of eighteen regional branch ministers were issued almost within a day. Now it depends on who can submit the results as soon as possible. In other areas, it is conceivable that they must be operating at full capacity. "Are you happy? Two or five at a time, you can satisfy you." Stein smiled slightly, stretched out his hand and gently pulled out the boss's trembling fingers. He stroked his finger very gently, as if the finger was not someone else's, but his own, and it needed careful care and careful care. "You can't do this. I am a noble viscount and a noble. The empire cannot treat me like this." The boss's face turned pale. He tried hard to pull his hand back, but he couldn't. The other person's hand was like an iron plier. Clamp his fingers tightly in the same way "There are no nobles in the empire, let alone His Majesty's enemy. It's a pity. What a pair of hands these are." Stein grinned. The boss's fingers were well maintained, very fat and white, and the nails were also carefully taken care of. The repairs were done and nail polish was applied. It seems that he is indeed very good at taking care of his body

Anyone who can become a viscount must also be the owner of a large manor.

Stein's face became gentler and his smile became brighter. Although the southern manor owners had only heard of the cruelty of slaves, as a former Salander noble, he had the experience of being sold as a prisoner of war by the Normans and sold into slavery by the Normans after the defeat. , allowing him to have a more intuitive view of these hearings,

He played with the small scissors in his hand calmly, gesturing to the size of each finger of the boss. When the hole of the small scissors was opened to the maximum, it could just accommodate the boss's thumb. Stein put it on and took it off without ceremony, looking at him. Looking on other fingers "No, don't do that," I said, I Say anything!" The boss's body trembled slightly, and his moans were full of despair. He looked at the small scissors on his ring finger. He wanted to shake his fingers desperately to shake off the small scissors, but Stein's hand seemed to be wet. It's the same as in his palm, no matter what Boss Yang does, it won't help. Trembling violently, a desperate moan came from deep in his throat.

"You should have said it earlier. Everyone follows the rules. Now that you are on board, why don't you give it a try? Even if you are open for business! Just be patient and it will be fine for a while!" The look on Stein's face was astonishing. As if he had lost a lot of money, he sighed and pressed the scissors in his hand violently, screaming like a pig being killed.