Imperial Crown

Not only Raven, but the other three people present were also a little confused.

After being stunned for a moment, our Lord Baron realized that Nancy was probably talking about the catwalk.

In these 6 days, is this all she thinks about?

"But Raven, although I have forgiven you, you can't take it as my indulgence of you." Nancy stared and said seriously: "Don't even think about marrying me."

As these words came out, the eyes of Denise, Eric and Old Gordon all fell on Raven, and then looked at Nancy, their eyes wandering back and forth between the two, all in confusion. But the specific meaning is different.

Denise found it baffling. There was a huge gap between Fox and Griffith. With Raven's shrewdness, there was no reason to waste energy on such an impossible thing.

Eric admired Raven even more. He was worthy of being a baron. He dared to pursue even the daughter of the earl, which ordinary people would not dare to think of.

Old Gordon's thinking was from a different perspective. If Baron Raven could marry Miss Nancy, it would be a good thing for the Griffith family, but it would also be risky.

In history, there are many cases of big nobles marrying their daughters to small nobles, and then through various operations, taking the titles and fiefs of the small nobles as their own.

The most innocent person was of course Raven, who looked at Nancy with doubts in his eyes.

"Even if you look at me like this, I won't be soft-hearted." Nancy's face turned slightly red: "Although you are pretty good, it's not enough for me to take notice of you."

"If you want to marry me, you must at least be stronger than me. You are only a first-level mage, and I am a second-level mage!"

She rolled her eyes and continued: "Besides, your title is not high enough. I will marry a prince in the future. Even if that doesn't work, I will have to be an earl at the lowest level!"

Raven frowned, looking at the strange looks in the eyes of several people around him, and felt a wry smile in his heart.

What the hell is going on? When did I say that I wanted to marry her? I have been sleepwalking recently?

Unfortunately, this kind of thing cannot be explained, and the more it is smeared, the darker it becomes!

Jenny, who was standing behind Nancy, lowered her head anxiously.

Lord of Light, forgive me, I didn’t mean it!

At the press conference, before Nancy left, she said she wanted to ask someone else, but how could the noble lady go back and do such a thing in person?

This job, of course, fell to poor Jenny.

In fact, Jenny also knew the identities and origins of those catwalk models, but it was impossible for her to tell them.

With Miss Nancy's strange brain circuitry, if she really told her, she would definitely get angry because of the reason "Am I worse than a group of call girls?"

When Nancy loses her temper, Jenny suffers.

Therefore, under Nancy's increasingly urgent inquiries, Jenny had to make up a reason: Raven didn't want Nancy's grace to be seen by other men, and this was to protect her reputation.

Unfortunately, Miss Nancy only listened to the first half of the sentence.

Then Nancy’s logical chain was straightened out: Raven doesn’t want to share me with others → He wants to monopolize me → He likes me → The runway show is to stimulate me to pay attention to him and quarrel with him → I want to tell him and let him die Got this heart.

Jenny was also shocked by this, but she didn't dare to correct it and could only pray that nothing would happen.

The Lord of Light seems to have heard her prayers, and at least for now, the results are good.

At least she wasn't the one who suffered.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Raven coughed and cleared his throat: "The meeting will continue, Miss Nancy..."

Nancy picked an empty seat and sat down: "You said, don't worry about me."

Raven also knew that he couldn't drive her away, and what was going to be discussed next was not a secret, so he said, "Then let me continue to talk about how to spend the money."

When this topic was mentioned, the attention of the three people present gathered back.

"First of all, what Denise said makes sense. Flowers are the raw material of Angel's Kiss. ​​Their necks cannot be stuck by others. We need a stable supply of flowers, so it is imperative to deploy a group of flower farmers. Flowers that cannot be used for farming Mountains and hilly lands are perfect for growing flowers.”

Seeing that her proposal was adopted, Denise showed a satisfied smile on her face: "The price of flower farmers is much higher than that of ordinary serfs, but there is no doubt about their professionalism. If 100 people are deployed at a time, the price will be between 7-900 About gold coins.”

Ordinary serfs cost 1 gold coin each, while flower farmers cost 7-9 gold coins, a full 7-9 times their worth.

Raven nodded: "Okay, I'll leave this matter all to you. In addition, buy the recipes for beer and red wine. It's best to have one of each. It doesn't need to be too high-end. The budget is 2,000 gold coins. Is it enough?”

Red wine is the base material of Angel's Tears, and beer is used to distill alcohol. You also cannot rely on others.

Moreover, these two kinds of wine can be used to supply the low-end market of Goldsmith Town and Eagle Town.

Denise smiled and said, "Of course it's no problem."

Raven's eyes turned to Eric: "Is it still possible to contact the Iron Legion?"

"No problem, sir." Eric immediately became alert: "What do you need?"

"120 war horses and 200 pack horses." Raven said: "In addition, 15 copies of the first-level god-given potion, non-directional awakening!"

"Hmm... As for the war horse, you can get it for about 9.5 gold coins. The pack horse is much cheaper, about 1.6 gold coins." Eric nodded excitedly and asked again:

"As for the God-given potion... the directional awakening of steel fighting spirit only costs about 300 gold coins, but the price of non-directional awakening is also more than 230 gold coins. Why not choose something more stable?"

Dou Qi with the same attributes will have a higher degree of coordination on the battlefield and will play a stronger role.

"Because I have to think about the future, instead of building a degraded version of the Iron Legion." Raven said.

Reading can indeed benefit people a lot. From the book "Knight's Self-cultivation", Raven learned that knights, like mages, have a natural affinity for elements.

Ordinary god-given potions activate the fighting spirit of corresponding attributes according to the user's original constitution. The extraordinary awakened in this way will have even greater development potential in the future.

Although directional awakening can awaken the fighting spirit of specific attributes, if the zodiac signs are inconsistent, it will also destroy the potential.

There are not many people Raven can use, and even fewer are reliable. When there are choices, of course, the more potential, the better.

Eric wanted to ask again, but Raven continued: "And yourself, Eric, as my personal soldier commander, it's time for you to improve your strength."

"In order to advance to the second level of steel fighting spirit, if I remember correctly, you should use natural 'iron essence core', right? How much does it cost?"

"Yes, sir." There was a look of surprise in Eric's eyes, and he swallowed: "To advance to level 2, I think... you need 4 iron cores, which can be purchased from the Iron Legion. The total price is about 840 gold coins. ”

"But sir, this is against the rules. Logically speaking, I should pay for my promotion myself..."

Raven raised his hand to stop him: "According to your contribution to the family over the years, you should have been canonized as a knight long ago, but the territory has not been fully recovered. I can't take out the fief at the moment. This, even if it is for your reputation. Make amends."

"Sir!" Eric's eyes suddenly turned red, and he hammered his chest hard: "I will definitely not live up to your kindness!"

Generally speaking, a noble's extraordinary subordinates should either be canonized as knights, and all their income will come from their own knighthood; or they should not be given a fief, but given a fixed salary, such as Eric's previous 60 gold coins a year. of remuneration.

The Griffith family owes Eric nothing.

Therefore, Raven's actions now show that he attaches great importance to Eric, and also win Eric's heartfelt gratitude.

Turning his attention to old Gordon, Raven said: "Mr. Gordon, please contact Baron Roger. I need to order a batch of magic props from him. Let them make a list to see what products they have. The budget should be generous. Anything within 10,000 gold coins is fine!”

This sentence made Old Gordon stunned. After thinking for a moment, he said slightly worriedly: "Sir, Denise needs a budget of 2,900 gold coins;

Eric's war horse, 15 god-given potions, and 4 iron essence cores will cost about 6,500 gold coins to deal with in the top slot;

If we set aside another 10,000 gold coins in our budget, even if we include the previous balance, we will only have 778.54 gold coins to mobilize! "

"As a result, the construction of Eagle Town may..."

"The construction of Eagle Town should not be rushed." Lei Wen shook his head and said: "Now we only need to build the general framework first, it is not the time to invest money on a large scale."

Old Gordon said with a grimace: "Sir, I know it too, but there is no need to invest so much money in enchanted equipment!"

"Yes, of course." Raven sat up straight and glanced at the three people present: "Because our next goal is to counterattack the Bloody Highlands!"

The air in the conference room suddenly solidified, and they couldn't believe what Raven said.

For many years, horse thieves have come and gone in bloody highlands, but no one has ever been able to eliminate them.

Even the Empire's Iron Legion was only stationed on the outskirts of the Bloody Highlands to guard against large-scale invasions, and did not dare to go deep into it!

"Yeah!"

Nancy had been drowsy after hearing it, but now her eyes were shining and she jumped up suddenly, holding her hands on the table: "It's fun when you hear it, Raven, I support you!"

"Lord Baron, please think about it carefully!" Old Gordon swallowed and persuaded with reason:

"Of course I believe you can succeed, but the horse thieves are too poor. If they win, they will lose their manpower. Not only may they not make much profit, but they will be unable to make ends meet."

"And if it fails, the consequences will be even worse."

"Not to mention that your army now has military pay, and there is a big hole in pensions; the Eagle Territory has just begun to recover, and too many soldiers have been lost and need to be replaced. This will also hinder the development of Eagle Town. And it will be detrimental to your reputation. It will also be a major blow!”

As he spoke, Old Gordon winked at Eric.

Eric understood what Old Gordon meant, and he did not agree with Raven's decision: "Sir, it is indeed not a good idea to attack Bloody Heights now."

"It's already November now, and winter has begun even in the Eagle Territory. It's already the snow season on the Bloody Highlands, which is not suitable for long-distance marches."

"Although the current batch of recruits have been trained for longer and have your own soldiers as the backbone, after all, they have never seen blood, and they are not fighting in defense like last time. They have psychological and terrain advantages. When the time comes, I’m afraid the performance won’t be very good!”

Denise rolled her eyes and said as if she didn't care: "Haha, you are all trying to persuade me in vain. When will anyone be able to shake Baron Raven's determination?"

Old Gordon looked at her with dissatisfaction.

"Raven, if you insist on going, that's fine." Denise looked at her nails: "Anyway, if you die, Vesdon will be the heir, but before you go, you must first get the formula for Angel Tears. Stay."

The expressions were different, but the attitudes of the three people were the same: they opposed Raven's decision to counterattack the Bloody Highlands.

"Has it all been said?" Raven looked around the audience and said confidently: "Then it's my turn."

He was the first to look at Old Gordon: "It's true that the horse thieves in Bloody Highlands are poor, but that's only for free money. They have many Warcraft mounts, war horses, and enchanted equipment in their hands. As long as they can win and snatch them back, they can make a lot of money. Last one."

"What's more, we are not unprepared. The money we spend on armaments and food is our confidence."

"Even if we lose, we can retreat!"

Then, Raven's eyes turned to Eric: "It is indeed the snow season in the Bloody Highlands, but because of this, the horse thieves are all hunkering down, and they never thought that we would kill them. In this way, we can take the lead." machine."

"Furthermore, the Nord province is about to be in chaos. We don't have many soldiers at hand, so we must take this opportunity to fight in real combat. Without the baptism of blood, new recruits can only remain recruits!"

"As for what you're considering, Aunt Denise..." Raven turned his head, smiled and said, "I'm not crazy enough not to take my own life seriously."

"Besides, if I really die in battle, mastering the formula of Angel's Tears is your way to kill me!"

Denise looked stiff.

As Raven said, while he was alive, the nobles would not go too far under the imperial order; but if Raven died unfortunately, she would not be able to keep the family business as a widow!

"Do you have any other comments?" Raven asked as a final question.

"No, not at all!" Nancy said with an excited smile on her face: "When you set out, you must inform me in advance."

"This is my first time to participate in such an exciting thing!"

The other four people ignored Nancy's "self-recommendation."

"Hey! What are you doing? Look at me!" Nancy pouted and shouted, "Raven, I'm going to Bloody Heights, do you hear me?"

"I heard it." Raven scratched her nose helplessly, and decisively refused: "But I don't intend to take you there."

"Why? I'm a second-level mage, look!" As she spoke, she raised her palm, and with just two syllables, a cluster of flames burned brightly.

"If I say no, I can't." Raven looked into Nancy's eyes and said, "Besides, isn't the Earl of Montreal already urging you to go back?"

"Anyway, I didn't receive the letter." Nancy said with a smile: "Hey, just take me there, I promise not to cause trouble!"

"No, okay!" Raven said word by word.

Nancy's eyebrows suddenly knitted together, and she was about to get angry.

Jenny quickly pulled the corner of her clothes behind her and whispered: "Ass, miss..."

Seeing Raven's palms starting to rub each other, Nancy's face turned pale and she pretended to be calm and said:

"Then... I'll let you go today, but I won't give up!"

After saying that, he turned around and left.

Really not optimistic about Raven's plan, Eric still wanted to make a final struggle: "Lord Baron, Simon hasn't come back yet. Is it too early to make a decision now?"

"If you wait until Simon comes back, it will be too late!" Raven said calmly: "Even if he doesn't come back, this batch of supplies will be of great use in the future."

Eric lowered his head and said nothing.

Raven waved his hand: "If there is nothing else, let's adjourn the meeting!"

Everyone dispersed with their own thoughts and concentrated on their work.

Raven continued his daily activities.

That night, Lux came to Eagle Keep to tutor Raven in Elvish language.

Since the last church class, Lux proposed to move the class to Eagle Castle. Although Raven didn't know why, he happily accepted it.

The air in the study room was filled with the faint fragrance of jasmine. Lux, who was wearing a plain white dress, hugged her knees and curled up on an oak chair, with a thick copy of "Book of Sacred Scripture" on her knees. The scene was indescribable. Harmonious and beautiful.

"Raven." Lux closed the book and asked softly, "Are you worried? I see that you are not very focused today."

"Sorry." Raven smiled apologetically: "I was indeed a little distracted."

Lux was not angry, but said considerately: "No wonder, socializing with nobles is always tiring. You have been with them for 6 days in a row, which must be very exhausting."

"It's okay." Raven smiled and said, "As a lord, you can't avoid this kind of thing. At least I haven't fallen behind in my daily meditation."

"What's more, you are here to teach me Elvish!"

"You're talking nonsense again." Lux glanced at Raven: "This won't work. You'd better not meditate tonight and have a good sleep."

Raven leaned back in the chair, resting his chin on the back of his hands and asked, "Why?"

"Meditation cannot completely replace sleep." Lux said slowly: "Sleep is not only to restore energy, but also to relax the soul."

"Oh, that's why." Raven nodded slowly, and suddenly said: "No wonder, I always feel a little exhausted these days, but I don't know what's wrong."

"Then I'll go back first, you should rest early today." With that, Lux stood up and was about to leave.

"Wait a minute!" Raven paused and said, "Anyway, it's not time for me to rest now, sit with me for a while?"

Lux hesitated a little, but when she saw Raven's tired face, her heart softened, she nodded gently, and sat back in her seat.

Raven's eyes fell on her, from her soft golden long hair to her round and well-proportioned shoulders, and then to her slender and white fingertips.

It was as if he was admiring a beautiful work of art.

Lacus shrank her hand a little uncomfortably: "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing." Raven retracted his gaze: "I just thought, it would be nice if you were also a member of the Griffith family."

Hearing this, Lacus's face suddenly turned red: "...Don't joke."

"No joke, I'm serious." Raven sighed: "If I had a sister like you, life would be much easier."

Needless to say, when dealing with various nobles and merchants, even in Eagle Castle, Raven must always maintain his image as a lord.

Only in front of Lacus can he really relax.

"I won't be your sister." Lacus snorted and bit his lip.

"That's right, it's better not to spread the curse of the Griffith family." Raven said with a smile.

"That's not what I meant!" Lacus said with a sigh, frowning slightly: "Actually, I wrote to the teacher about the curse of the Griffith family."

"He said that this curse doesn't seem to be a recent work, and it may have a long history. He needs to look through ancient books to see if there are any corresponding records."

"But you don't have to worry. Over the years, our human magic and divine arts have made great progress. If we couldn't solve it back then, we may not be able to solve it now."

"Lacus." Raven smiled slightly, staring at the blue eyes and said seriously: "Thank you."

Lacus quietly avoided his gaze.

The air became quiet, and the two stopped talking. They could only hear each other's steady breathing.

After a long time, the hourglass on the table was shining, and Lacus stood up: "Then I'll say goodbye first."

"Shall I see you off?" Raven stood up as he said that.

"No need to bother." Lux gathered her scattered hair behind her head and said, "You should rest early. I hope you can concentrate more in class next time."

"Wait." Raven stopped her, "Are you really not going to be my sister?"

Lux frowned and glanced at him, "No!"

Then he left quickly.

Standing by the window, watching Lux leave, until her figure disappeared into the night, Raven returned to his bedroom.

After changing into pajamas with Petty's help, Raven held a bottle of Angel's Tears in his hand, "Retreat."

"Yes, Baron." Petty left respectfully.

In November, the Eagle Territory was still warm during the day, but it was already bone-chillingly cold at night. Raven opened the window, and a bone-chilling north wind blew in his face, dispersing the heat brought by the temperature control array, which made him much more excited.

Since the recovery of the Shining Gold Town, the Eagle Territory has been recovering rapidly, and many goals have been achieved.

The recruitment and training of new soldiers was quite effective, and the maids and attendants in the castle were also replenished.

Eagle Town accepted the transferred residents, the riverside workshop was completed and put into use, the Angel's Kiss and Angel's Embrace were invented, and the temperature control array was installed in Eagle Castle.

In addition, he himself has also made great progress.

In terms of strength, he has become a first-level wizard, obtained four first-level spells, and the effectiveness of the Eye of Truth has been further developed.

In terms of knowledge, he has mastered the Elvish language, and has some understanding of the taboos and knowledge of cultivation. He has also further understood the many nobles in the Nord Province.

"Noble." Raven took a sip of wine and sneered: "Noble!"

In the past 6 days, thanks to Raven's careful hospitality, he gradually had an evaluation of "although young, but thoughtful and hospitable".

This is a noble, obviously praising you, but always making you feel a little uncomfortable.

As for the conference itself, it was undoubtedly a success, raising the popularity of Angel's Tears by a large margin. If nothing unexpected happens, sales will rise further.

Angel's Kiss has also become famous as a real luxury product. 83 bottles is by no means the end, but only the beginning.

These two things will bring continuous income to Eagle Tie.

Although Angel's Embrace is not as expensive as the previous two, the market is broader. Both Mon'en City and Hovi City have tens of thousands of middle-class citizens who have considerable requirements for quality of life and their family assets are much richer than ordinary civilians.

As long as the sales are slowly opened up, even though the price is the lowest among the three, the profit margin will not be much smaller.

After drinking a sip of Angel's Tears, Raven smiled and his eyes became much clearer.

"The next step is to prepare for the counterattack on Bloody Highlands, which can also be regarded as training for the turmoil in advance."

He has become more and more proficient in using the Eye of Truth. The next step is to use the magic core to transform the warhorse into a semi-magic beast.

At the same time, he must also take into account the growth of his own strength.

The energy in the magic core can be used to strengthen the beast, replenish magic power, and increase his magic power limit. A first-level magic core is probably equivalent to his 14 days of meditation, which makes his promotion to the second level much faster.

But the current supply of magic cores cannot keep up with his consumption.

Still need to spend more money!

And there are many places to spend money in the future.

Raven turned the bottle and took another big sip: "Riverside Workshop is just a beginning. The construction of Eagle Town also costs money. The most important thing... is industry."

Weapons, armor, military industry, building materials.

It can not only bring profits and never lack sales, but also enrich the foundation of Eagle Territory.

After all, if you want to arm the future Twelve Constellation Legion, you can't just buy equipment.

So, he needs to take back the Eagle Mountain Quarry and the Thousand Needles Jungle, and he needs the Gray Mountain Mine in Iron Furnace Ridge!

"Judra." Raven muttered the name and chuckled, "You'd better not let me down."

The eldest son of the Wharton family is really shallow.

In comparison, Gul'dan of the Fox family is much stronger.

Although his request to obtain the formula of Angel's Tears was rejected by him, he did not show obvious hostility and malice, but secretly sent someone to hint:

The Fox family knew that Raven had become a mage, and hoped that he would think carefully and it would be best not to get too close to the Slater family.

"The Earl family...!" Raven sighed.

He thought of the pomp when Nancy came to Eagle Castle, the precious equipment of Townsend and his party, and Gul'dan's enchanted dress that was purely for style and had no practicality.

He also thought that Gul'dan ordered Florence like a servant, completely ignoring the fact that the latter was a genuine baron of the empire!

I don't know when he, Raven, will be able to have such financial resources and power.

One day.

One day!

After drinking the last sip of Angel's Tears, Raven followed Lux's instructions and slept until dawn instead of meditating.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the Eagle Territory was running in an orderly manner, but Simon still hadn't returned.

That morning, Raven finished his breakfast amid Nancy's chattering. As soon as he arrived at the meeting room, he saw Old Gordon and Eric sitting there with grim expressions.

"What's wrong?" Raven asked.

"Sir!" Old Gordon stood up and pushed his monocle:

"I encountered some trouble with what you ordered."

...