Chapter 37 Negotiation (Part 1)
At midnight in the summer, insects are chirping.
In the Ironforge tower, torches burned fiercely, and the jumping flames made crackling sounds from time to time. Sparks rose straight up along with barely visible black smoke, making the already black walls even more scorched. .
The smell of burning grease, smoke and sweat mixed in the air, as thick as baking bacon, making flying insects and mice reluctant to stay here any longer.
Even so, there is still a man sitting at an old, oily wooden table. He is still wearing armor on his head, and his black hair is soaked with sweat and stuck to his face, even though his eye sockets are deep Even though he was trapped, he still read every document attentively.
His eyes swept over a page of parchment, he thought for a moment, picked up the quill and wanted to write something, but with this movement, big beads of sweat fell from his nose, and fell to the table with clattering, gradually appearing. A trail of water.
"Huh..." The man opened his mouth to say something, but the dead skin on his upper lip immediately stuck to his lower lip, and a little dark red blood flowed out.
He licked his lips and realized that his mouth was dry. He walked to the wooden bucket filled with water in the corner and opened the lid.
The inner wall of the old oak barrel was covered with moss. After only half a day of filling, the water inside was so smelly that it made people cover their noses. However, the man didn't care. He scooped out a bowl with a wooden spoon and drank the taste. Smooth water poured into his throat.
Dong-dong-dong, there was a knock on the door.
"Lord Judra, I have your letter."
After drinking a sip of water, Judra put the wooden spoon back to its original place, walked back to the table and sat down, and then said: "Come in. ”
A knight in full plate armor came in, held a document in his hands, and placed it respectfully on the table.
Judra picked up the letter and saw Denise's monogram on it. It was as if she felt the breeze blowing on her face, and her tired eyes became much clearer.
Cut the envelope open with a letter opener and take out the letter paper. Judra put her nose up and took a deep breath, sighing intoxicatedly.
Seeing the contents again, a long-lost cheerful smile appeared on his face.
This made the knight quite surprised, because even when the young master sent a letter back from Meng En City a month ago, Judra was not so happy.
"Arden!" Judra raised her voice.
"Yes, my lord!" The knight stood at attention and saluted.
Judra ordered: "Immediately lead people to survey [Phalberd Rock], and then stay nearby. Unless you are in danger, you are not allowed to evacuate without permission before receiving my order. Send someone once every three hours. If you can’t find someone here, come and find me at my home.”
"Yes!" Yaden took the order and left.
Hilder Rock is located on a hill at the junction of Iron Furnace Territory and Eagle Territory. There is an artificial platform halfway up the mountain. I don’t know how old it is. Various buildings have long been abandoned and overgrown with weeds. .
Except for a few scattered stone tables and benches, there was only a huge rock over nine meters high and three meters thick, shaped like a halberd, stuck diagonally into the ground.
This is also the origin of the name of this place.
Arden doesn’t know why Lord Judra wants them to scout this place, but whatever they do is a good thing.
Since returning from Eagle Keep three months ago, Judra has been guarding the walls of Ironforge as if she was sent away, and is not even allowed to return to Ironforge.
Angel's words were also spread by interested people: "Judera, as long as I die, I will still be the Baron of the Ironforge Territory! You are just my son and have no right to make any promises on my behalf! Now! , get out of here, guard the city gate, and think about what mistakes you made. I can’t think about it for a day. Tong, please never come to see me!”
Judra seemed to be deliberately trying to get angry with Angel, sitting in the tower for three months in a row dealing with various matters, and falling asleep when she felt sleepy. On the straw pile in the tower, I could count on one hand the number of times I went home to wash myself.
In Arden's opinion, now that Judra is willing to come out and do some activities, it is much better than sitting in the tower all the time.
Leading a dozen soldiers to guard near Halberd Rock from night to early morning, from early morning to noon, and from noon to midnight, the latest soldier to report returned: "Lord Judra is here! ”
Arden quickly cheered up and organized the people. Not long after, he saw a fancy rooster slowly walking down the mountain.
No, it’s not a rooster, that’s a person, and it seems to be... Lord Judra?
Arden rubbed his eyes and confirmed the situation in front of him - it was indeed Judra, but nothing looked right.
He wore a soft leather hat decorated with exaggerated pheasant feathers on his head, and applied thick powder on his face, even covering the red spots on his exaggeratedly big nose, and his lips were as red as if he had just eaten had two children.
A bright red cloak is draped over the shoulders, making the dark green top more vivid. A gold shoulder chain dotted with gems hangs on the chest. Around the waist is a white robe often worn by aristocratic men. A purple short skirt, a pair of tight light yellow slim pants that can fully highlight the legs, and a pair of black leather boots decorated with silver threads.
He walked up to the crowd, got off his horse and said, "How is it? Does it look good?"
Arden wanted to laugh but didn't dare, so he could only say: "Sir, your taste is really... so unique!"
"Humph, of course." Judah shook his collar: "Okay, you all stand down and wait for a while. No matter what sound you hear, don’t come up without my order, do you understand?”
Yaden straightened his body and said, “Yes!”
Although Changjiyan is halfway up the mountain. , but the mountain is not steep. After retreating, they can be well hidden among the jungle without having to turn back from the main road.
Just when they were about to retreat to the point where the platform on the mountainside was no longer visible, a carriage came slowly. The driver was not an ordinary coachman, but a young girl.
She was wearing a long blue dress made of woolen material. It was an outfit only worn by servants, but it could not hide her beauty at all. Under the moonlight, it revealed a pure and elegant look. The misty temptation comes.
The carriage stopped, the door opened, and a woman got out of the car with the help of the girl.
Arden finally knew why Judra was dressed like that.
The girl driving the car was already very beautiful, but the woman who got out of the car was as beautiful as an elf!
She wears a silver hairband on her head, which shines in the moonlight. Her fair face even makes the moon look dim, giving people a feeling of indifference and alienation. The long white skirt is draped around her body, which clearly shows her figure. As plump as a honeydew melon, it looks elegant, noble, and inviolable.
Arden didn’t dare to look anymore, bowed his head and retreated.
The woman stepped forward step by step like a queen, even the moonlight seemed to be following her.
Judra swallowed, a surging passion bursting out of his eyes. He knelt down on one knee, took the woman's hand, and gave a perfect kiss on the hand: "My dear Ms. Denise, with the mercy of the Lord of Light, I finally see you again."
"Mr. Judra, I..." Denise started to say something.
But Judra immediately interrupted: "Denise, my heart, you don't have to say anything more, just be silent and listen to the poems I have prepared for you."
While speaking, He stood up, stretched out his arms like a peacock, took two steps back like a dance, put his left hand on his chest, and raised his right hand high Standing up, in the evening wind in the mountains, he recited affectionately:
“Love is like a flood that breaks out in a mountain stream.
The deep water is silent, and the shallow water is gurgling.
Love expressed with sweet words is superficial and thin. If love is expressed with rap,
Then he is not worthy of being a qualified lover. "
He looked at Denise affectionately with his eyes, a somewhat fake smile on his lips, took a deep breath, and prepared to recite the second paragraph of the poem.
Pa, Snap, snap.
Just when Judra's emotions were brewing to the fullest, rhythmic applause sounded, and a voice came from the carriage: "Oh oh oh, what a touching recitation. If I were a woman, maybe I'm going to be impressed by you. ”
Immediately after the car rang, Raven opened the door and jumped out: "Long time no see, Mr. Judra."
Judra's face turned from white to red, and then from red to the naked eye. Turn black.
Having a carefully prepared love poem interrupted by others, especially Raven, felt as awkward as being stripped naked and thrown into the street.
He didn’t even dare to look at Denise. He was like a chicken that had been strangled by the neck. He opened his mouth several times and was speechless. Finally, he gritted his teeth and asked with annoyance. Said: "Raven, why are you here!?"
"Because I arranged this meeting." Raven walked to Denise as expected: "Uncle, you didn't Are you scared?”
Denise raised her brows slightly and did not respond directly, but saluted Judra: "Mr. Judra, this is indeed Raven's request. Women do not need to intervene in men's affairs, so I will avoid it first."
After saying that, he turned around and walked back to the carriage.
The moment the car door closed, Judra growled: "If this is a joke, then it's gone too far, Baron Raven!"
His face was extremely ugly. His fragile self-esteem prevented him from accepting that he was being played by Raven, a guy with a gangster background, in order to condemn him. He said in a tone of voice: "Taking advantage of a lady is definitely not what a noble should do!"
"Ha, that's funny." Raven clapped his hands again: "It's such a justified reprimand, isn't that? Do you know whether you have fulfilled your duty as a noble? ”
Judra's brows twitched wildly, she inhaled sharply through her nose, and looked away.
Witnessed by many nobles and Vatican priests, he once personally promised to return the Eagle Beak Mountain Mine and Thousand Needles Jungle to the Eagle Territory, but he could not fulfill it under the pressure of his father Angel. It was the heaviest stone in his heart in the past three months.
"I admit that that matter is my problem. If you want to take this opportunity to retaliate against me, then congratulations, you succeeded!" Judra took a deep breath: "I fancy myself. Reputation is worth more than life, so I can forgive you for being rude today, but I don't want to There will be a next time! Otherwise,..."
"The shame of reputation can only be washed away with blood!"
His eyes were full of resentment, and then He turned around and headed straight for his horse. He didn't want to stay in this place for a minute longer.
Raven laughed and said: "Ha, you are a dignified second-level flame knight. When you encounter problems, you only know how to escape. No wonder Baron Angel despises you!"
"What did you say?" Judra stopped. He turned around, his brows beating wildly.
"Oh, didn't you hear it clearly? Then I'll say it again." Raven cleared her throat and said loudly: "You, Judra Wharton, are just a loser. A coward who knows how to escape, a wretch who is frightened by the facts!"
"You!" Wharton's fist burned. With a fiery fighting spirit, he walked towards Raven step by step, leaving deep and clear footprints on the ground with his feet: "Leaven, my self-cultivation is not the reason for your unscrupulousness!"
"Then you Come on." Raven patted his cheek and said sarcastically: "Hit me, give me a good beating."
"After all, it was me who blocked you from returning those two territories to me."
"It's me, too. I would rather break the contract than trample your reputation into the mud like shit. Let the name Judra be stinky in the entire Nord province.”
“It’s me, It makes you and Angel hate each other. You are sent to the city wall and you have to work as a cow or a horse. You are a noble, but your life is not as comfortable as a dog."
"I'll kill him! You—" Judra rushed forward, and his thick fist wrapped in fighting spirit hit Raven's face like a meteor in the dark night.
The latter did not dodge and looked at him with a contemptuous smile. Just when his fist was about to hit, Judra stopped and the wind blew away the thunder. Wen's hair.
"Huh...huh...huh...!" Judra's breathing was as thick as a bellows. He slowly put away his fists: "Put away your tricks!"
"No matter what you do, Said, I won't do anything here today, I won't do it because of a few bees buzzing ', just lose your future! "
Raven is a real noble, an Imperial Baron. If Judra beats Raven here, then he will probably be deprived of it by the Council of Nobles. inheritance, something his father and brother would be more than happy to see.
"Oh, oh, I'm really impressed by you, Mr. Judra." The smile on Raven's face was less sarcastic and more appreciative: "You can calculate the pros and cons at this time. , suppress your anger, you are indeed a wise noble."
Judra sneered, shook his shoulders and said disdainfully: "I have not fallen enough to need you to judge me."
"Pride, my favorite original sin." Raven didn't care about Judra's offense: "I asked you out today in the hope that I would have a firm ally, and you did not disappoint me."
Judra turned around again: "But I don't need your ally."
"That would be a pity." Raven shook his head and sighed: " It seems that the gold coins I prepared can only be given to Mr. Mark."
Judra stopped and turned around with bright eyes: "What do you mean?"
Raven spread his hands: "I need a baron to be my ally. Since it's not you, it can only be Mark. Isn't this weird?"
The corner of Judra's mouth twitched slightly: "Don't pretend to be omnipotent. You have no ability to decide who will inherit the Ironforge Leader!"
"Uh-huh, I don't deny it." Raven nodded. : "But if this continues, Mr. Judra It is also true that you will never become the next Baron Wharton."
Judra could not refute it. Although he had cultivated some power of his own over the years, it was under Angel's favor. , Mark’s strength is far higher than him.
The Iron Forge has six knights under its jurisdiction. Among them, only Arden is loyal to Judra, but there are two loyal to Mark, and one of them is even a second-level knight!
The three knights remained neutral between the two of them, but Judra also knew that once Angel was in need, the three of them would fall to Mark's side at any time.
Seeing Judra's silence, Raven struck while the iron was hot and took out a document he had already drafted: "It's still early, why doesn't Mr. Judra take a look at my proposal before making a decision?"
Jude La took the document and unfolded it, and began to read it word by word under the bright moonlight. His eyebrows trembled more and more violently, and finally he threw the parchment back to Raven's chest: "I did it during the day. Dream!”
“Raven, I am not you, and I am not Donald. Personal gains and losses are not that important to me! Even if I cannot inherit the title of Baron, I will never harm the Wharton family. Any benefit!"
Listening to the fierce words and looking at his unmoving footsteps, Raven's mouth covered by the paperwork showed a smile of victory.
After walking for so long, fish
Finally took the bait!
……
(End of this chapter)