Imperial Crown

"Oh, oh, oh." Looking at his own appearance in the bronze mirror, Raven smiled and spread his palms: "My skills haven't regressed."

He changed into the clothes he used to wear when he was in Mon'en City.

He wore a tight and neat brown linen shirt on his upper body, with tight cuffs and a slightly open collar, and a pair of loose white linen trousers on his lower body. He wore black and shiny leather shoes on his feet, looking quite chic and uninhibited.

He applied a layer of ointment to his hair in the front hall, and tied his long hair into a short ponytail. The most exquisite thing was the small shadow of the nose root smeared with carbon powder, which softened his originally sharp face.

If they met for the first time, no one would associate him with the baron.

"The little bee is going to start collecting honey!"

Kicking the door open lightly, Raven quietly slipped out of the back door of the government hall with cheerful steps.

The sun had completely set, and the "Central Street" where the government hall was located was gradually becoming less crowded, but the "Tavern Street" ushered in its most lively time.

Tavern Street is also called "Mercenary Road", but its original name is "Quarry District", because it is close to the Eagle Mountain Quarry, and it was originally a gathering place for miners in the quarry.

Later, the Mercenary Guild opened a branch here, and many mercenaries flowed in and out.

Whether mercenaries or miners, they are all rich people, and they always want to spend their money after a hard day.

Taverns of all sizes are booming on this street. A short street of only 200 meters has squeezed more than 40 taverns!

Now is the time to drink, and the street is full of rich drinkers. Most of those wearing leather armor are mercenaries and adventurers, and those wearing dirty coarse clothes are probably miners.

There are also many people wearing neat linen clothes, obviously they are usually helping in various shops in the town of Shining Gold.

"It's so lively!" Raven exclaimed sincerely in the surging crowd.

The flow of people is the source of money. In order to compete for customers, the taverns also show their magical powers.

Some of them put a lot of tricks on their signs, either making them very large, with signs three meters high or five meters high, which can be clearly seen from a long distance; or embedding various wine bottles and wine jars on the signs, so that you can tell at a glance that there are all kinds of wine inside; or using magic means to make their own signs emit colorful lights in the dark.

Some put the kitchen at the door, and the chef cooks on the stone stove, frying bacon in the iron pan, baking bread in the oven, and the aroma of meat and wheat wafts away, tempting people's appetite. The chef, who is sweating profusely, raises his head and takes a sip of beer. Just looking at it is so refreshing that people can't help but go in and have a few sips.

Some taverns directly let the waitresses stand at the door in coquettish and revealing clothes. The girls will also swipe cards and dice in their hands. Obviously, there are not only wine, but also many entertainment activities inside.

In addition, there are many women in cool clothes leaning against the entrance and exit of the alley. The cloth on their bodies is not enough to make a vest, and can only barely cover the looming vital parts.

They flirt with every man passing by. If someone looks over, they will stick out their chests and lift their thighs to highlight their "selling points" as much as possible.

"Sir, don't just look at me. For only 20 copper coins, you can play with my beautiful chest~"

"Hey, dear, don't leave. For only 10 copper coins, I can make you feel so good~"

"Hey~ those mercenary brothers, come and take a look. I have several sisters, real sisters~"

Raven has seen this kind of rhetoric to attract customers. The age difference between these so-called real sisters may be greater than that between mother and daughter.

In the past, Raven might have rushed in, sprinkled a handful of copper coins, and made a good mess, but now, this kind of vulgar woman is not in his eyes.

Now that you are here, drink first!

After choosing a tavern called "Mare Banner", Raven pushed the door open and walked in. The familiar smell hit him in the face - the smell of alcohol, meat, sweat, foot odor, and cheap powder mixed together, enough to make people stink.

Along with the smell came all kinds of sounds, the sound of drinking, bragging, quarreling, and the screams of the maid being slapped on the buttocks and the slaps that followed.

Like a fish jumping back into the water, Raven walked to the counter with ease and slapped two copper coins on it: "A glass of beer!"

Bang!

The heavy oak wine glass fell on the greasy bar, and Raven picked it up and drank it all.

Yes, it was the horse urine smell that was exclusive to this cheap beer!

"Ah~ cool!"

On a hot summer day, what could be more comfortable than a glass of beer full of bubbles?

"Two more glasses!" Raven said, and slapped four more copper coins on the counter.

The bartender was a young and beautiful girl in her twenties, with distinct features and clear contours. Her flaxen hair was braided and piled on her head, which gave her a bit of Sophie Marceau's charm.

Her skin was a healthy wheat color, and she wore a gray coarse cloth dress, which was the most common in this era, on her well-proportioned body. Her waist was tightly tied with a belt, which squeezed the two pieces of bread into a round and full shape, almost colliding with one's eyes.

Sweat soaked her cheeks and chest, showing a greasy luster, and the ups and downs were even more attractive to people's eyes.

When she bent over and pushed the two glasses in front of Raven, the deep ravines jumped into her eyes. Under the dim oil lamp, even the bright buttons on the steering wheel were faintly visible.

Raven finally understood why this tavern with a weird name and unattractive facade had such a good business.

In the tavern street full of vulgar women, this woman was really outstanding.

"Hey, beauty, let's be friends?" Raven smiled.

With the pleasant vibration of metal, a silver arc passed through the air and fell into the woman's spacious chest. The cold stimulation made her skin rise with goose bumps, and her originally cold eyes immediately burst into fiery passion: "Petit, you can call me Petit, what about you?"

"Well... you can call me Wen Rui." Raven leaned forward slightly and smelled the strong and seductive hormones emanating from her: "Can I call you Petini?"

In the Keynes Empire, adding a word "Ni" after the name is a nickname for women, usually used by elders to call little girls.

Patty covered her nose with her hand and chuckled: "You look younger than me."

"But I must be older than everyone you have ever seen." Raven lowered his voice: "Maybe, you will call me 'Dad' by then!"

"Oh, I have seen many bragging people, but no one can be as natural as you." Patty had a smile on her face, but her body was still nailed to the spot.

One silver coin can buy her smile, but it is far from enough for her to do more.

"Then why don't you try it yourself?" Raven pressed a silver coin in her palm and pulled this soft hand into his arms.

"Hey, that black-haired boy! What are you doing!?" A rough shout sounded, and Patty pulled her hand back violently.

Raven looked back and saw a muscular middle-aged strong man sitting not far behind him, glaring at him.

"Haha, Old Jones has stopped another person from flirting with her daughter! Is this the first guy who wants to take advantage of Petty this week?"

"This is the third one. Every foreigner who comes here will suffer a loss."

"But that guy looks like he's about to succeed. This is the first time I've seen someone hold Petty's hand."

The discussion of these people has given enough information. In fact, even if there is no information, Raven knows what's going on.

It's nothing more than using his daughter as a living signboard to seduce lustful drinkers, making people think they can succeed, so as to get a lot of tips.

Sometimes human nature is so mean. The more you can't get it, the more you want to get it, and you are very reluctant to let others get it first.

If it works well, relying on such a girl, it will be enough to keep the tavern business going for more than ten years.

When in Mun City, Raven was one of the many men who could not eat, but now he was not going to suffer this loss again: "Are you the owner of this tavern?"

"Of course!" Old Jones showed off his strong deltoid muscles: "Old soldier of Mun City! I have chopped off three heads with my own hands, so you'd better be quiet."

Raven opened the Eye of Truth and swept his vision. No one present, whether mercenaries or miners, had extraordinary powers, and they didn't even have enchanted equipment.

A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "But I paid two silver coins plus six copper coins, and the wine in Mun City is not so expensive."

"Mun City is Mun City, and the wine in our Shining Gold Town is this price." Old Jones opened his mouth and showed a mouthful of yellow teeth, and smiled rudely: "Drink if you can, and get out if you can't afford it!"

After running the tavern for many years, Old Jones could tell at a glance that Raven was not a local, so of course he had to rip him off.

Petty still had a good impression of this handsome and wealthy man. Not wanting to see him suffer, she whispered, "My father has a bad temper. You'd better leave quickly!"

Raven spread his palms to Petty: "Give me back the two silver coins first."

His eyes slid to Petty's chest and smiled gently: "Or, let me take out the first silver coin myself."

Bang!

Old Jones's fist hit the table hard, shaking the wine glass into the air: "Boy, if you dare to talk nonsense again, I will strip you naked and throw you out!"

Raven said frivolously: "Then you can try it."

Seeing the two people confronting each other, the drinkers immediately started to make a fuss.

"Old Jones, have you become soft because of your age? Go and beat him up! If you don't knock out his two front teeth, how can you run this tavern in the future?"

"That kid named Wen Rui, don't just talk, get on with it! Take her out!"

"Hey, I bet ten coppers that this kid can't last ten seconds in front of Old Jones!"

Old Jones was not overwhelmed by the booing. Fighting in the tavern is normal, but it would be bad if the tables and chairs were broken. These were all accumulated by him using Petty's beauty, and he was not willing to waste them at all.

Spraying a breath of alcohol from his nose, Old Jones showed off the muscles on his arms: "Boy, let's arm wrestle. If you beat me, you can take two silver coins away! If you lose, you take off all your clothes and get out!"

"Oh, that won't work." Raven said, waving his right index finger.

Old Jones said disdainfully: "If you don't dare, go home and suck your milk!"

Raven smiled and shook his head: "Those two silver coins were originally mine, why should I bet with you."

As he said, he looked at Petty's chest: "If I win, I want her to take off all her clothes."

"Boy, don't go too far!" Old Jones's face was as gloomy as a dark cloud.

Raven mocked: "Why, you don't have confidence in your muscular body?"

"Fart!" Old Jones rubbed his wrist and put his arm on the table with a thud: "Wait a while and go out naked. When you cry, there are not only guys who like women on this street!"

Raven moved his shoulders and stood up, walked openly to sit opposite Old Jones, and put his arms on the table as well.

His physique can be called strong, but compared with old Jones, it is still not good enough, and the thickness of his wrists is twice as big.

This made the drinkers present have no desire to place bets - the gap between the two was too big, and no one thought Raven could win.

At this time, someone had spontaneously acted as a referee, walked to the table and waved his arms: "Three, two, one!"

"start!"

Click, bang, bang!

The dim light on the greasy tabletop was shaken away, an arm was pressed tightly on it, and the wine glass jumped up and fell to the ground.

A clean victory.

There was silence in the tavern.

Because it was not Raven who was pushed down on the table, but old Jones!

His arm was red and bright, like a huge sausage. The mercenaries present knew that this was because his muscles were severely strained, causing congestion and edema!

"Old Jones... lost so completely!?"

Most of the drinkers present were locals and knew the strength of old Jones very well.

Although he is over fifty years old, he has barbarian blood and is as strong as any Nord boy. Even now, he can carry an eighty-kilogram pig without blushing or panting. The ten kilogram wine barrel was like a light balloon in his hand.

In the twenty years since the opening of the Mare Banner, the only time Old Jones lost was five years ago, when he faced a knight from Xuefeng. After that, his wife stopped showing up and stood beside him. Behind the counter it became Patty.

"Is this guy a... transcendent?"

Listening to everyone's discussion, Raven moved his wrists and smiled with satisfaction.

The strength gain brought by absorbing the magic core far exceeded his expectations. It was an all-round strengthening of bones, fascia, nerves and muscles. Even if it was not as good as a first-order knight, the gap would not be much.

This only uses two magic cores.

Old Jones yelled: "He is not extraordinary, I underestimated the enemy! Pompey, I will hire you now to drive him away, and I will give each of you five silver coins!"

The mercenary whose name was called did not act immediately. Raven's performance was really amazing. He would not take risks for this little money.

"Greedy vampire, okay, you win, ten silver coins! Plus unlimited beer for a week!" Old Jones quoted a price that made his heart bleed.

In the corner, a group of four mercenaries stood up from their seats, picked up their weapons, and walked up with malicious intent.

These four people were all wearing leather armor, with long swords or scimitars hanging on their waists. They seemed to be moving around at will, but they had completely blocked all of Raven's escape routes.

This looks like an experienced old mercenary.

"Hey, boy." Pompeo was a middle-aged man with fleshy balls at the corners of his eyes. He looked at Raven with evil eyes and weighed the sharp steel sword in his hand: "As the ancient proverb of the empire says, wise Men know when to retreat."

"You don't look like an idiot, so you should know that fighting with four mercenaries in a small room over a woman is not a wise choice."

Raven leaned on the bar and smiled softly: "Then have you heard of another saying? A smart man will not stand in a building that is about to collapse."

Pompeo's eyes were slightly gloomy: "Friend, since you understand, why don't you leave now? This is good for you and us."

"Because it's not me who is in danger, but you." Raven sighed, grabbed a wine bottle on the bar, and poured himself a glass.

Pompeo smiled conceitedly: "It seems you still don't understand who you are facing. I, Pompeo, am the captain of the E+ level team of the Mercenary Guild. I once led a team to kill first-order monsters."

"Even if you are really a first-level transcendent, what can you do to us if you are unarmed? You don't have the fur or claws of a monster."

Raven raised his head and drank a glass of wine: "So?"

"Pompeo, if you don't take action, I won't give you the money!" Old Jones had been helped up by someone at this time, sitting on the chair with cold sweat on his head: "Beat him out, as long as he doesn't die, anything will be fine!"

A trace of helplessness flashed across Pompeo's face. Mercenaries also have to use their brains. He didn't want everything to be solved through violence, but ten silver coins per person was a considerable income.

"Since your Excellency refuses to give in, I'm sorry."

With a clang sound, the sword in his hand was unsheathed! The other three mercenaries also showed their respective weapons.

"Guys, stop it!"

Pompeo originally wanted to say "Fuck me", but the second half of the sentence was distorted and looked like an embarrassing farce.

A dark hand crossbow appeared in Raven's hand at some point, and it was already aimed at Pompeo's eyebrows.

However, at a distance of three meters, there was no possibility of missing, let alone dodge.

Looking at the enchanted crossbow flashing with dark green light, a little cold sweat flowed from Pompeo's temples. He raised the corner of his mouth and said in disbelief: "Space equipment!?"

One stone stirs up a thousand waves!

"Space equipment, what is that?"

"It's something that can hold a lot of things. It looks like a satchel, but it can hold a fat pig!"

"Wow, then, then this thing must be worth several gold coins?"

"Then you can only buy a few carts of sacks. The worst space equipment will cost more than a thousand gold coins!"

Pompey regretted it at this moment. Why did he wade into this muddy water just for ten silver coins? How could he afford to offend a man who carried space equipment with him?

"Friend, misunderstanding, all misunderstanding! Let me go this time, and we will go our separate ways!"

Raven shook his head and smiled: "If I don't have space equipment, will you let me go?"

"But it's not impossible to compromise. You guys, take off his clothes for me!"

Pompey's eyes lit up, and he rubbed his hands and walked towards Petty.

Raven's crossbow hit his forehead, and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "What are you going to do?"

"Didn't you say that we should take off her clothes?" Pompey asked.

"It's Old Jones, not Petty, are you deaf?" Raven scolded with a smile: "How much of a hooligan are you to want a girl to strip naked in public?"

Pompey was speechless. Didn't you want to take off her clothes before?

But the situation is stronger than the person, so just take off the clothes, anyway, it's not yours.

"Wait, what are you going to do, no, stop, stop——" Old Jones screamed like a girl being violated, but he was injured, how could he be the opponent of four wolf-like mercenaries?

When the last bit of rags was torn, the whole tavern fell into a strange silence.

"Puff..."

I don't know who laughed first, and then the whole tavern was filled with laughter.

"Lord of Light, what is that? An earthworm? I never thought that such a big person could have such a small thing."

"You are ignorant, right? How can an earthworm be that short? If it were you, this thing should be called a pacifier."

"Pacifier... Ha! You are still more knowledgeable. But 'Pacifier' Old Jones is indeed much better than 'Iron Arm' Old Jones."

For a while, the sound of "Pacifier" echoed in the tavern.

Old Jones's face turned from white to red, from red to purple, and from purple to black. He fainted after his eyes rolled up.

Raven smiled, turned his head and spread his hands to Petty: "Give it to me."

"Ah...ah?" Petty was completely shocked by what happened before.

"You don't really want me to take it myself, do you?" Raven blinked maliciously.

"No, no..." Petty finally understood what Raven meant, and quickly took out two silver coins and handed them to Raven.

"Find a way to make a good living for yourself. You won't be able to get married if you keep following such an unreliable father!" Raven stuffed the two silver coins back into his pocket and turned around and left the tavern.

Although he was talking nonsense, Raven didn't really want to do anything to Petty, because he knew too much about the lives of the lower-class citizens in this world.

As long as he succeeded today, Petty would be degraded from a living signboard of the tavern to a snack that everyone could taste.

Then within two months, she would become a streetwalker, and all this was not subject to her own will. This fucked-up world was full of malice towards everyone.

Raven was not a bastard enough to ruin a girl's life just for fun, and he had better choices.

Fine wine and beauty have always been inseparable. In addition to streetwalkers, there are of course more high-end places of entertainment in the tavern street, such as the Pink Mansion.

On the sign polished by the magic crystal fragments, there is a foot wearing high heels, and under the heel, there is a soft and deformed underwear.

Raven showed a hint of anticipation on his face. He had never spent much time in such a high-end club.

I wonder what the gameplay is like?

…