Chapter 597 Trickery
Miklos listened carefully to every word the other party said, and engraved it in his heart. Dealing with monster forces requires taking huge risks, because they have various styles of acting. And there are no moral constraints. Don't go back on your word too commonly.
What is more troublesome than dealing with the monster forces is the monster forces ruled by a giant dragon, an evil colorful dragon. Most of them have characters similar to that dragon, greedy, perverse and powerful. , and also has various taboos. If these can be avoided, the success rate will naturally increase significantly.
“Thank you for your help, General. We in Sambia will remember your kindness. This is a little thought from our Selkirk family. With this token, you can travel anywhere in Sambia. One hundred thousand cash was withdrawn from the Chamber of Commerce." Miklos handed a palm-sized metal token to Gost. It had a vague magical aura on it and obviously had a mage mark belonging to a powerful mage to prevent counterfeiting.
"This gadget is very convenient. You can use it just in case. I'm not polite." Gost did not refuse this time and directly stuffed the metal token into his pocket.
This kind of metal token is not only available to Sembian merchants, but also to the Zhentarim Chamber of Commerce. It is completely based on their huge economic foundation and business network. However, the number of such things is not large. After all, every time it is used, it will The liquidity of local areas of the Chamber of Commerce is a huge burden and can only be obtained by those who will make significant contributions to Sembia or Zhentarim.
Even at the level of Gaust, I have only seen it before, but I have never had the opportunity to buy it.
If one hundred thousand cash was thrown in front of him, Gaust might not even blink an eyelid, but if it was this kind of cash exchange order, he would keep it as a treasure.
"Time waits for no one. If there is nothing else, I will take the first step." Mikros took the initiative to resign. The conqueror army has already entered the goblin border wilderness and arrived at the destination according to their marching speed. There would be no more than three days around Thun Marsh, and his time was very tight.
"Then I wish you will not become the Lizard Queen's snack." Gost's blessing was full of black humor.
"Thank you." Mikros didn't even return to the Dark Castle. He turned the teleportation ring on his hand and disappeared in a magical light.
He came to the Dark Castle to take the front line. If everything goes well and the gifts and support from Sembia are just in place, there will naturally be no need for it now.
The magical aura transmitted by Miklos has not dissipated yet. The transmitted magical aura flickered. A handsome middle-aged man wearing an old-fashioned black mage robe appeared next to Gost. It was not darkness. Who else could be Baobao Chairman Meng Meng?
“Lord of the Castle.” Gaust was not surprised at all. He bowed and saluted, and respectfully presented the cash exchange order that Miklos had just given him. “This is his bribe. "
"Keep it, this is the prize for this mission." Xi Manmeng waved his hand and said, "Have you told him everything you need to know?"
Just as Miklos speculated, this was a scene played for him from beginning to end, including Ximanmeng's previous rejection. If not, how could Gaust create an opportunity to talk to him?
To be more precise, this situation has been unfolding since Miklos arrived at the Dark Castle and Gost contacted him secretly, with the purpose of leading him to the Lizard Queen in Thun Swamp.
"Thank you, Lord, for your kindness. Please rest assured, this is being carried out completely in accordance with your instructions." Gost's expression was extremely respectful, and he could not see his previous dissatisfaction with Xi Manmeng, let alone his previous dissatisfaction with Simon. As for the previous ambitious look, whether it was a disguise or a true character, only he knew.
"Very good." Xi Manmeng nodded with satisfaction, and a smile finally appeared on his handsome face, but it was fleeting. "You will organize your army immediately. Our garrison of the Dark Fortress should not move a single step. With one move, we will gather all the monster tribes we control to form a monster army."
"This..." Gauss. Te couldn't help but raised a hint of doubt, "Lord Lord, the combat effectiveness of these monster legions is not weak for ordinary people, but for the army of conquerors, I'm afraid it will be difficult to exert their due combat effectiveness. I heard that they They are very good at using trucks to form car camps and engage in defensive counterattacks, and attacking fortresses has always been a weakness of these monster legions.”
As the agent of the Dark Intelligence Network in the west, the radiation influence of the Dark Castle is much further than ordinary people imagine.
They are not just overlooking the Sunset Mountains and the Gray Observer Mountains. After hundreds of years of operation, their tentacles have already extended to the surrounding cities, including the Dragon Coast. In major cities, among the dark forces, how many are supported by their dark intelligence network, and how many secretly join the dark forces? In the newspaper network, only Xi Manmeng knew about it, and even Mansong didn't know, because this is a small network run by Xi Manmeng himself. This is not a betrayal, but a normal development model of the Zhentarim pyramid. Products, in the hands of capable senior executives, are outside the big network and control their own small networks. The two promote each other, influence each other, and are closely intertwined.
The dark forces of the Dragon Coast have united at an unprecedented speed. On the surface, they are led by Ximen's Night Mask, but privately, the Dark Castle is adding fuel to the flames in order to drive the conqueror's army away from there. Go out and influence their development layout there.
So, Dark Castle knows all the information about the Conqueror’s army that the dark forces on the Dragon Coast have, and they also know all the information they don’t know, including what Mikros said before. It is speculated that Ximanmeng had already figured it out half a month ago when the conqueror's army reached the Giant Plains.
Even the plan agreed upon by the Sambian Businessmen’s Council had been sent to Ximanmeng’s desk before it could even be implemented.
There is a reason why the Zhentarim are called the Dark Intelligence Network. Their intelligence is second to none in Faerûn, and no one dares to say it is first.
Miklos tried to use speculation and intelligence to convince Ximanmeng that it was just a matter of course, and it was natural for him to be fooled around by them.
The troll kingdom on the Giant Plains has proved with its own failure that the monster tribe alone cannot defeat the army of conquerors.
Let’s not talk about whether the monster army they organized in the Goblin Frontier will be as powerful as the Troll Kingdom. The conqueror army is no longer the same army on the Giant Plains. Their manpower, Material and financial resources at Dragon Coast have at least doubled.
To defeat such an enemy, one must have an absolute numerical advantage, such as hundreds of thousands of monsters.
If he is given a few months, Gost is confident that he can do this with the development and operation of Dark Castle over the years. Now he only has a few days to organize a monster army with the same number as the conqueror's army. Remarkable.
“Who said we would be enemies with the army of conquerors?” The person who answered Gost was not Ximenmeng, but a cold female voice, and a graceful figure walked out of Ximenmeng’s shadow. , this is a moon elf with pure blood, beautiful appearance, wearing the same black mage robe as Xi Manmeng, but she was forced to She looked like she was wearing an evening dress, with her graceful back completely exposed. A wide and shiny outer belt not only perfectly showed off her slender waist, but also made her breasts appear unusually tall and straight. What is revealed in her movements is not the unique leisure and coolness of elves, but the confidence and elegance of a human noblewoman.
"I have met Madam." Gost bowed and saluted hurriedly, "This subordinate is stupid, please let Madam clarify."
Only people like Mikros who don't know the internal operation mode of Dark Castle Only a person would regard Gost as the second-in-command of Dark Castle. Insiders all know that the lady in front of them is the real second-in-command of Dark Castle. This person’s name is Ashmi, and she is nominally Ximanmeng’s student. In fact, she also works as a mistress and dark assistant. Many tasks that were not suitable for Xi Manmeng to take part in person were handled by this person, and he won Xi Manmeng's favor.
"The size of the conqueror's army is too large now. Even if we intervene, the possibility of completely defeating it is less than 30%. On the contrary, all our years of operation will be involved." Ashmi's eyes were focused on The flickering light was very similar to Ximanmeng's. It was the light of cunning and cunning. "Since there is no way to deal with it, If they want to resist, we must make full use of their strength to seek benefits for us. Kurgol and her royal court have a great influence on our layout in the goblin wilderness."
"My lord is. I want to take the opportunity to completely eradicate the Lizard Queen's Court!" Gost suddenly realized that he was not really stupid just because he didn't react for a moment.
"This is the preliminary plan." Ashmi gave a look that said you are not stupid yet and continued, "This will depend on the development of the situation. We will be like the king of war, forever. Stand on the side of the winner."
The implication is obvious. If the fat dragon gains a war advantage, they will join the war as allies and jointly attack the conqueror's army. Stay in the goblin frontier forever.
If the lizard queen's army is defeated, it will be a perfect opportunity for them to slay the dragon. If she is slaughtered by the conqueror's army, things will be even simpler. They will directly Just take over her territory.
"The strategy of the castle master and his wife is really beyond my comparison." Gost exclaimed sincerely, "This is indeed the wisest choice, but if the Lizard Queen is really defeated by the conqueror's army, just rely on Those ordinary monster armies are afraid that they will not be able to penetrate deep into the Thun Swamp.”
Those who have not been to the swamp in person can never imagine the dangers lurking here. On the one hand, this danger comes from. Due to the unique environment here, the bottomless duckweed quagmire is just the most well-known type. There are many areas that do not seem to be dangerous. Once you walk in, you will never be able to get out, and you will soon become a ghost there. There are new corpses. Those who are not residents of the swamp don't even know why they died. There are many reasons, it may be suffocation by marsh gas, or it may be the plague virus. All swamps are natural places for breeding new viruses.
As for the predators lurking in the swamp, there are so many of them, only a few are known to them, and most of them don’t know who their enemies are until they die, because they often lurk in the water or mud. , even the mosquitoes and flies here are more ferocious than those in ordinary areas. When they rush towards a creature in a swarm, the creature is basically not far away from turning into a corpse that has been drained of blood.
“The Lord of the Castle has thought of this a long time ago.” Ashmi gave Ximanmeng a look of reverence and said, “I just came back from the distant sea swamp and reached a strategic cooperation agreement with the hag gathering there. , once the Lizard Queen's court collapses, they will send their own army to assist us , help us seize ownership of the Thun Swamp.”
There are two swamps in the Goblin Border, and they are absolutely sisters, because they come from the same source, and they are both composed of mountains and mountains that surround this place. It is formed by rich groundwater, and both are run through by the Bianhuang River, connecting the two together.
Originally, the area of the Distant Sea Swamp was much larger than that of the Thun Swamp. However, due to the erosion of the Enook Desert from the north, its area has shrunk by two-thirds from its peak. Now it is only one-half of the Thun Swamp. Once arrived.
Although the two are less than a hundred kilometers apart, they each have their own belongings, and their relationship is very tense.
The Lizard Queen has been trying to bring the distant sea swamps into her rule. It is said that she is looking for a powerful magic to sink the land between the two and connect the two swamps.
But in the distant sea swamp, there is a legendary gathering of hags. Their existence is said to be older than the formation of Thun Swamp. They have absolute control here, which makes the Lizard Queen, who has always been high-profile and domineering, only dare to Conspiracies were hatched but no real action was taken.
Only when three hags of different races gather together can it be called an assembly. In view of the treacherous, selfish and manipulative nature of hags, only hags of equal strength can form an assembly, otherwise it will be a one-sided meeting. The control and manipulation should be called a ghost woman King, not a hag assembly. The legendary hag assembly means that it is composed of at least three quasi-legendary hags. The hag assembly is not just a name, but can gather the power of hags to form a more powerful force. Three quasi-legendary hags. Together, the hags have a power comparable to that of a legend.
As for the gathering of three legendary hags who are all legendary hags, it is not that there is no such thing in this world, but it cannot be accommodated by a distant sea swamp. Even if they do not expand their influence beyond the goblin frontier, they cannot allow an old man to do so. The black dragon established herself as queen in the Thun Swamp and has long since brought this place under her rule.
"A gathering of hags in the Far Sea Swamp?" Gost seemed to recall some bad memories, his cheeks twitched involuntarily and said, "All hags are evil and cruel bastards. What they said Every word and every promise carries deadly poison. Once you believe their promises, you are not far from destruction."
Ghosts are a name, they look like humans. The skinny women are actually not. They are actually the same as the eladrin, belonging to the elves, originating from the fairy wilderness, but they represent the evil side of the fairy wilderness, but their number in the material plane has far exceeded The Fairy Wilderness, especially the swamp, is their favorite living environment, not just because this high-risk environment can provide them with shelter and make them less vulnerable to the attacks of good forces.
It is also related to their filthy nature. They naturally like things related to death. All kinds of bones, minced meat and filthy objects are their favorites, including the mud in the swamp. They are typically considered ugly. Beauty, so they have an inner aversion to the beauty in the world, so they always help other creatures destroy or change their beautiful appearance, but they rarely Many hags often pretend to be beauty gurus, advertising that they can help people stay beautiful for a long time, attracting those stupid beautiful women to come to their door. They will soon find that their goals have been achieved, but this kind of beauty is not based on Her judgment criteria are based on those of hags - which means that they will live with their ugly faces forever.
This is just one of their evil deeds, there are countless worse ones than this.
"We don't need to believe in the promises of these hags, we just need to believe in their ambitions." Ximanmeng revealed his intentions a little, "The most troublesome thing about these swamp forces is not how powerful they are, but how powerful they are. They huddle in the swamp and refuse to come out. This is the case with the Lizard Queen in the Thun Swamp, and the same is true with the gathering of hags in the Far Sea Swamp. Therefore, as long as there are enough benefits to attract them from the swamp, we will have the opportunity to inflict heavy damage on them. When their power is greatly damaged and their control over the swamp is greatly reduced, we will have the opportunity to draw our own from them. Swamp forces, and then slowly encroach on them and bring them under our rule."
Holy shit!
The emotional connection between the hags of the Far Sea Swamp is false, but it is true that they were deceived from the Far Sea Swamp in the name of plotting the Lizard Queen's inheritance.
And the monster tribe that I prepared will attack these hags when the time comes.
This conspiracy is simply one link after another. No, this is a web of conspiracy. This network combines the lizard queen, the army of conquerors, the gathering of distant sea hags and the sniper plan of the Sembian merchants. No one was left behind, they all went in.
Not all of them need to be successful, even if one or two are successful, it will greatly expand the Dark Castle's influence here.
The most important thing is that their Dark Castle has always stood on the side of the God of War. No matter how the forces in this web of conspiracy fight for life or death, they will only succeed and never fail. It is nothing more than a matter of success.
(End of this chapter)