Chapter 289 Whitewash
The aura of death emitted from the Holy Emblem of Death caused the temperature in the room to drop suddenly, and the burning candlesticks on the walls turned a disturbing green.
Archbishop Thomas stared at the Holy Emblem, and then moved to Raven's face.
This evil object belonging to the hand of death is of great significance to both the Holy See and Thomas personally.
Using it in exchange for food, Thomas had no reason to refuse.
However, as far as Thomas knew, this evil object had disappeared four years ago, and Death Hand could not find it despite all its efforts. How could it appear in Raven's hands?
"Baron Raven, I know what you want to do, but before that, I have a question."
"How on earth did you get it?"
Raven said calmly: "Sir Thomas, do you still remember that there was a fire in my territory at the beginning of this year?"
Thomas nodded: "I received a report from Herinder, saying that in addition to the fire, some low-level undead creatures also appeared at the scene..."
"Did you obtain this evil object during that chaos?"
Raven nodded: "Actually, in order not to expand the impact, I concealed some of the facts."
"Not only was there a fire, but a fourth-level necromancer who called himself 'Imbil' attacked me."
"Thanks to the protection of Eric and the help of my wife, I was able to kill him reluctantly, and this Holy Emblem of Death was obtained from his bones."
With that said, Raven took out another bone staff and placed it between the two of them.
The upper end of this staff is made of the spine of some kind of magical beast, and the lower end is a smooth handle. At first glance, it looks like a standing cobra.
The bone is crystal clear, with a hint of ink, and is filled with a strong aura of death.
Judging from the purity of the breath, it was indeed one that a fourth-level necromancer had used for a long time.
However, are Raven, Nancy, and Eric, three third-level ones, really capable of killing a fourth-level necromancer?
One doubt is followed by another.
Thomas thought that just three years ago, there were rumors that Raven had summoned a bone dragon and killed many horse thieves.
Is that not a rumor but true?
After the battle against the Death Hand Order, Raven not only obtained the Holy Emblem, but also used it to control the Bone Dragon?
"Baron Raven, are you sure he calls himself Impil?" Thomas made some insinuations, trying to find some flaws.
Raven shrugged: "Yes, he seemed to feel that he had a chance to win at that time, so he introduced himself openly."
Seeing that Raven behaved so naturally, Thomas decided to go straight to the core of the problem: "Then, Baron Raven, can you explain why this evil thing fell into the hands of Imperial?"
"Uh..." Raven was stunned and frowned: "What should I explain?"
In Thomas' opinion, Raven couldn't continue acting. A smile appeared on his face, and when he was about to reveal Raven's true identity, his expression suddenly froze.
Because he realized something.
Did you have a preconceived idea?
Shocked by the appearance of this evil thing, Thomas subconsciously believed that Raven was deeply involved in this matter.
However, the Holy Emblem of Death once absorbed the souls of the war dead in the Nord province, and disappeared four years ago together with the Bone Dragon and the Soul-wielding Saint Parisiel. This was top-secret information, and Thomas only learned about it through internal agents.
What if Raven was telling the truth?
When Raven got the Holy Emblem from Impil, he naturally thought that the Holy Emblem belonged to Impil. It was normal that he couldn't answer his own questions because he didn't know the twists and turns behind it.
Thinking of this, Thomas couldn't help but look at Raven up and down. The clear doubts in Raven's eyes did not seem to be lying.
"Then, the last question." Thomas pondered for a moment, staring into Raven's eyes: "How do you know that this evil thing can buy you food?"
As a sacred object of the Order of the Hand of Death, the Holy Emblem of Death must be activated in a unique way to show its power. Otherwise, most of the time, it is just a plate exuding the aura of death.
"Based on your reaction." Raven thought a little, and then said before Thomas got really angry: "I'm just kidding, that's because my wife comes from the Fox family."
Thomas frowned and nodded slowly.
It stands to reason that the Fox family has a long history and holds information about Death's Hand.
And Thomas finally solved his doubts. He could clearly figure out how the Holy Emblem was lost and how it fell into Raven's hands.
Impil is a member of the Order of the Hand of Death and also has a place on the Church of Light's wanted list.
According to the information collected by the church over the years, Impil was not a fanatical believer in the God of Death. He was born in the Mage Guild. He took the initiative to join the Hand of Death because he was obsessed with the research of necromancy.
After joining, he has always been a loner and independent.
He may have been eyeing the Holy Emblem of Death for a long time, so he took action to kill the so-called Saint Parisl who was originally responsible for transporting the Holy Emblem.
And it was precisely because Impil was a member of the Hand of Death that the Bone Dragon did not intervene.
For a long time after that, he may have been hiding in the five northwest counties, studying how to use the Holy Emblem, and attacking Raven's Eagle Territory was probably to verify the research results.
A smile gradually appeared on Thomas's lips.
He felt that his previous thoughts were a bit ridiculous. It was too absurd for Raven to kill Parisiel and control the bone dragon.
And this feeling of peeling off the cocoon reminded him of the time when he served in the Inquisition.
Of course, there are still some details that cannot be explained, such as why Raven was able to kill a senior fourth-level magician with three third-level magicians.
But Thomas stopped his desire to continue asking. Everyone has a secret. As long as the secret will not harm the church, Thomas is not willing to delve into it.
"This corrupted evil thing is full of innocent souls, and it does need the light of our Lord to purify it." Thomas looked at Raven and nodded seriously: "100 million pounds of food is not an excessive request."
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Raven smiled and said: "I am glad that we have reached an agreement on this issue, but Sir Thomas, just because I need food does not mean that I only need food."
"Then what else do you want?"
"Plus 200 second-level divine potions."
In view of Raven's "blockbuster" before, Thomas was not particularly surprised by this request. He just said: "Greed is not a noble virtue."
"Of course, but it is the instinct of every noble to strive for the best interests for themselves." Raven did not intend to take back his proposal.
"Baron Raven, you should know that the moment you reveal this evil object, the bargaining power belongs to me, not you." Thomas emphasized: "It is a sacred object of the Hand of Death."
This already has a hint of threat. If the news that Raven collects the Holy Emblem of Death leaks out, then what awaits Raven will be the continuous entanglement and attacks of the Hand of Death.
Raven smiled slightly, did not speak, but clicked the crest of the third-level magician on his chest.
Thomas asked: "Have you contacted the Mages Guild?"
Not only the Church of Light is not afraid of the revenge of the Hand of Death, but the Mages Guild also has this strength.
And Thomas also knows that all mages are natural blasphemers. They will definitely be extremely interested in this kind of holy object full of faith, and will not hesitate to spend a lot of money to buy it.
"Not yet." Raven put his hand on his chest: "This is my respect for you."
"You have the same courage as the legendary heroes." Thomas sighed: "I can give you food and god-given potions, but the quantity cannot be as much as you said."
Raven's eyes showed a hint of relief.
Now that Thomas has relented, the transaction is not a problem, and the next step is to bargain for a specific quantity.
After some discussion, the two finally decided on the deal.
Raven handed the Holy Emblem of Death to the church, and the church would provide Raven with 80 million pounds of food and 120 second-level divine potions within half a year.
"Thank you for your generosity and generosity." Raven placed the Holy Emblem of Death on the table and bowed before leaving: "My subjects and I will remember the church's help."
Raven left and the door closed gently. Thomas took the Holy Emblem of Death in his hand, rubbed it gently, and stared out the window.
The night was still dark, and only the holy symbol in his hand and the empty cup on the table could prove that Raven had been here. Undoubtedly, Raven showed complete greed in this transaction about the Holy Emblem of Death, and it can be said that he squeezed the value of this evil object to the maximum extent.
But while being greedy, he also maintained full vigilance and always strictly adhered to the bottom line. Although he used the Mages Guild as a bargaining chip, he was not really greedy for gain, and instead made concessions on specific conditions.
Be greedy when you should be greedy, be fearful when you should be fearful.
"Today's young people are really amazing." Thomas sighed with emotion.
After saying that, he stood up, walked to the bookshelf, and pulled the candlestick. The wall next to him suddenly disappeared, revealing a deep passage.
Picking up the candlestick and walking along the passage, Thomas came to a deep secret room and began to draw a magic circle.
As a level 3 magic crystal was embedded in the core of the magic array, rich necromantic energy overflowed into the magic runes, and a cold, dark picture emerged.
Thomas said: "I have what you want here."
……
The news that Raven met Thomas quietly disappeared under the water without causing any waves, as if it had never happened.
But it really happened after all.
The quantity of the god-given potion that Lei Wen wanted was too large and difficult to raise for a while. However, starting from the end of September, batches of food continued to flow into the Eagle Territory, filling the inventory of Eagle City almost day and night.
The influx of large amounts of food was like a bottle of uplifting potion. While other nobles were busy dealing with the aftermath of the locust plague, Raven's territory began to rebuild in full swing.
From the end of September 1197 to the beginning of March 1198, I was busy.
The reconstruction of the territory has achieved considerable results.
The land was plowed in an organized manner, and large areas of locust eggs were dug out of the ground, which became the rations of the surviving poultry, and also gave the poultry a wave of autumn fat.
Of course, poultry alone cannot eat up all the locust eggs, but with the arrival of winter and several heavy snowfalls, the lost vitality of the eggs becomes fertilizer in the fields.
The newly arrived refugees were dispersed throughout the territory and began to build their own homes. The trees on the hillside whose bark had been eaten away by locusts and dried up were the best building materials.
It is worth mentioning that thanks to the protection of Annuo, the twin snake-faced fruits planted in the college have not been infested by locusts and have already been harvested.
The specific details were handled by his subordinates. Raven only needed to listen to reports and read documents occasionally. The rest of his time was basically spent on improving his personal strength.
At this moment, Raven was sitting in his newly renovated meditation room, with the "Secret Burning Aromatherapy" prepared by Petty burning in the corner.
This is a spice refined from 3 different first-level magic plants and 1 second-level magic plant, which can effectively improve the efficiency of meditation.
As his understanding of alchemy gradually deepened, Petty showed considerable talent and enthusiasm.
Although this kind of serene aromatherapy is inferior to the magic-soaked lemongrass, it is more in line with Raven's personal constitution and the cost is also lower.
This is what it means to be a personal alchemist.
Raven sat cross-legged on the soft bed, with a crystal bottle and a dozen second-level magic cores placed in front of him. As he breathed, the magic cores exploded one by one.
The essence of the rotten soul was put into the crystal bottle, and the elements contained in the magic core were swallowed in his throat, sucked into the water of the magic pool, and crushed into his own magic power under the pressure of the two whirlpools.
A surging tide of magic rippled through the room, rising and falling around Raven.
"Hoo——"
When the last bit of element was completely converted into magic power, Raven slowly opened his eyes.
With the completion of the engraving of the fireball technique, Raven's affinity for the fire element has greatly increased, and his magic power has grown at an even more gratifying rate.
Now it has reached the third level of seven stars. According to the current progress, in less than a year, Raven's magic power will reach the third level of ten stars.
After finishing his meditation, Raven went to the next room and activated the dark blue platform. Without hesitation, he purchased a formula for the magic-enhancing potion.
As a necessity for promotion to the fourth level, its price is as high as 437,781 gold coins - and this is after discounts.
This move caused the gold coins in Raven's warehouse to drop to less than 500,000.
The path of a mage is difficult!
Apart from the physical pain, Raven also thought about the Holy Emblem of Death that he sold to Thomas. Among other things, if he gave it to the Mages Guild in exchange for a formula, it would be more than enough.
But Raven has no regrets.
Whitening the Holy Emblem of Death through Impil and handing it over to the church was a strategy that Raven finally decided on after repeatedly pondering and weighing the pros and cons.
The magic potion formula is indeed expensive, but in many cases, problems that can be solved with money are not problems.
And many of the supplies controlled by the Light Church cannot be bought with money alone.
For example, a god-given potion.
The standard price of a second-level god-given potion is 700 gold coins, but in actual transactions, it is already very good to get 1,000 gold coins, let alone 120 at a time.
In the entire Nord province, there are not so many second-level divine potions released by the church every year.
So according to Raven's psychological estimation, 100 would be considered good, and 120 would be a pure surprise.
Of course, Raven would not be satisfied with just these, so he kept thinking about what else would be better.
The arrival of the locust plague gave Raven a clear idea - he wanted food.
Although the price of food will definitely fall after this peak, and 80 million pounds of food will not maintain its value, it is enough to feed everyone in Raven's territory for more than a whole year.
With this one-year buffer, the territory can be self-sufficient in food and continue to develop while other nobles are struggling on the edge of food shortages.
Five days later, Raven's old acquaintance, Monro, a third-level magician from the Mages Guild, sent Raven the formula for a magic-boosting potion, and he couldn't help but sigh with emotion at Raven's training progress.
It has only been three years since he was promoted to the third level, and now he is already preparing for the fourth level. This kind of progress can't help but make Munro jealous.
After enthusiastically leaving a private communication magic circle to Raven, Monroe left Eagle City.
And Raven also started this recipe.
The magic potion formula gives 51 possible raw materials, and also comes with a method to detect the magic power composition. The accurate formula must be obtained based on the test results.
After checking the ingredients of his magic power, Raven formulated a formula consisting of 17 raw materials, 15 of which are used to squeeze, strengthen, and consolidate the medicinal properties. There are only two real core raw materials.
The third-level magic ore "red molybdenum", and the third-level magic plant "core flower".
Among them, the red molybdenum ore is also sold on the dark blue platform, but the rock core flower is a sacred object of the dwarves, so it is somewhat difficult to obtain.
In response to this, Raven posted a reward on the Deep Blue platform, and wrote to Count Jonah, hoping that he would pay attention to it. At the same time, he also released the news through the Skyhawk platform, taking a multi-pronged approach.
After doing this, Lei Wen leisurely made himself a pot of tea.
Gently blowing away the clouds on the teacup, Raven raised a satisfied smile
After this period of practice, he was finally able to brew a pot of blood tea with bright red soup.
Taking a sip of the strong tea in the cup and savoring the strong fragrance, Raven sat back on the chair, caressed the black cat that jumped on his knees, and looked out the window leisurely.
As if to compensate for the drought of the past year, the heavy rain outside the window has been falling intermittently for a whole week.
Stretching, Raven raised a smile:
"The firewood in the creek is soft and the blanket is warm. The raccoon slave and I don't go out."
Anyway, there is still some time before reaching the third level and ten stars. Raven believes that with the heavy reward, he will be able to obtain the rock core flower sooner or later.
However, some people are not as able to enjoy life as Raven.
Just like our governor Anthony.
Just after the locust plague was extinguished, new news came from the capital.
……
(End of chapter)