Chapter 373 Negotiation and Position (8k, codeword attributes explode!)
Songyuan City, Bank of El Dorado.
In the bank building, outside the door of "President" Qiao Dewen's room on the top floor, four waiters stood guard on two sides.
Because President Qiao Devin was having an "important conversation" with an "important guest," the waiters had already received an order from Vice President Gonzalo and would not allow anyone to pass through here for the time being, so as not to disturb President Qiao Devin and his guests. "guest".
And behind the waiters, inside the door they were guarding.
Mr. Qiao Dewen, the "President" of the "Golden Country Bank" in Songyuan City, no longer disguised himself as a waiter as usual, but put on formal clothes - it was a round-neck dress, with a large number of inlays on the skirt and cuffs. A brooch made of pure gold with gold thread, symbolizing the status of "President" of the Bank of El Dorado, is pinned on Qiao Devin's right chest. Under the illumination of the wall lamp, it is shining with a dazzling light.
His right hand was shaking a high-end glass wine glass, which was filled with a quarter of purple-red wine, exuding some kind of refreshing floral and fruity aroma.
On Qiao Devin's meticulously shaved face, his dark red eyes stared at the "guest" opposite——
It was a young lady.
She wore a black silk Gothic dress, with delicate lace on the neck and cuffs, and the pleated skirt was like a rose in the dark night; she had long silver-gray hair like a waterfall, covered by a black The ribbon was tied lightly behind her head, and a few stray strands of hair brushed her pale and delicate cheeks.
She wore a small-brimmed hat with a hanging sarong on her head, and a pair of smart pupils flashed under the sarong, exuding fluorescent green light. She looked at the opposite side with a smile on her face, looking at the person from the "Golden Country Bank" President Qiao Devin.
——That is Ms. Index Carlos, the president of the "Iris Chamber of Commerce".
"Iris Chamber of Commerce" is a new chamber of commerce that has just been established in Songyuan City. It was born out of the previous agreement signed by Luo Xiu, Gonzalo, and Qiao Dewen.
The affairs of the Iris Chamber of Commerce are mainly handled by Indis, who is stationed in Songyuan City and is in charge of the "Holy Abyss" affairs of Songyuan Territory. According to Luo Xiu's arrangements and instructions to her, she receives the funds shipped from the Bank of Gold on a monthly basis. With cash ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of imperial gold coins, a large part of which was used for the industrial expansion and operation of the Chamber of Commerce. With the endorsement and support of the Golden State Bank, it has basically established a firm foothold in Songyuan City.
But now, only a small part of what Intis and Qiao Devin are talking about is about the "Iris Chamber of Commerce".
"As you can see, Mr. Chaudwin."
With a smile on his lips, Intis said to President Qiao Dewen in front of him:
"Astrais, the Crow of Despair, is dead."
"..."
"...Sigh."
Qiao Devin let out a long sigh, his eyes a little lonely.
……
before.
Right in front of Qiao Devin, Ms. Index Carlos came to him with a member of the 'Mourning Mask' who was instigated to rebel, and she also brought him a copy of another one. Initial Mask's intelligence.
"Crow of Despair" Astrais, like Qiao Devin, is one of the original founders of "Mourning Song Mask", and he is an acquaintance of Qiao Devin.
But later - Qiao Devin withdrew from the "Museong Mask", but Astrais remained in it, and gradually took over a large part of the power in the "Museong Mask".
Asterais later defected to the Dark Principality and became one of the "executors". The "Mourning Mask" became the secret weapon of the Principality dormant within the empire.
In fact, among the "Mourning Masks", there are also other "original masks" - except for Asterais, some of the other initial masks who remained in the organization still stayed alone, while others joined " Holy Tower Theocracy", but these do not conflict with the purpose of "Mourning Mask" itself.
Instead, the "Mourning Mask" became the distribution center for communication between the Principality and the Theocracy.
But when facing the common and terrifying enemy of the "Norlan Empire", the two forces did not mind sharing the convenience brought by the "Mourning Mask" and used it as their common holding, A blade that can penetrate deeply into the heart of the empire.
That was when Intis brought "Dream Stealer" Piol to Qiao Devin to check the information.
From Qiao Devin's mouth, Intis has heard from Qiao Devin himself that the "Crow of Despair" Asterais has indeed been looking for him——
At that time, Astles had become the "Executioner".
His purpose of finding Qiao Devin was also very clear - he sent an invitation to Qiao Devin, inviting Qiao Devin to return to the "Mourning Song Mask" and go to the principality with him to meet the "Dark Duke".
Asterais once wanted Jodevon to join the Principality and become an "Executioner", but Jodevon rejected him at the time.
It is said that Asterais was dissatisfied with Qiao Devin's rejection. After that, Songyuan City's "Golden State Bank" was targeted and attacked overtly and covertly, and Qiao Devin spent a lot of money to settle these issues.
But Qiao Dewen was very vague about the "cost" part, and Intis did not ask further questions.
All we know is that there is indeed some rift between Qiao Devin and "Crow of Despair" Astrais - and after the arrival of Intis, who represents the "Bishop" Luo Xiu of the Red Maple City Church, she also brought Qiao Devin information about Information about "Crow of Despair" Asterais escaping into the spiritual sea.
"Dream Stealer" Pior, who had already received instructions from Luo Xiu, had secretly approached Astrais, so he could get information about where he would flee to - and what Intis asked Jordan to do was just I hope he can use his contacts in the "Mourning Song Mask" to confirm the authenticity of this matter.
For Qiao Devin, this is not something difficult to do.
It was in front of Intis - "The False Mask of Delusion" Qiao Dewen. He walked to a wall as white as new, reached out and touched it lightly at a certain location, opened the hidden secret door, and pulled out the A drawer as small as a hand.
There lay quietly a piece of "happy" mask and three crumpled paper balls.
Taking out a ball of paper and pressing it on the table, Qiao Devin then walked to a miniature "golden window" in his office and entered a series of short passwords.
After that - only two minutes passed, there was a gentle knock on the door of Qiao Devin's office, and a middle-aged man who looked ordinary, like a loader in a factory walked in.
His gaze directly passed over Intis and the "Dream Stealer" Pior behind Intis. He walked straight towards Qiao Devin and took the newly unfolded paper from Qiao Devin's hand. article, as well as the information about the escape of "Crow of Despair" Asterais given to him by Intis and Pior.
The "worker" then left, and only about five minutes passed before he came back again and walked directly to Qiao Devin again, still remaining silent and just nodding silently.
After that, the "worker" left again and never came back.
"Dream Stealer" Pior also left the room at Intis's signal. Qiao Devin showed a bitter smile to Intis and said:
"Please don't worry, that's just my informant."
"As a qualified businessman - 'connections' are always necessary. I have learned that the information about the escape of 'Crow of Despair' Asterais is true."
This is how information is confirmed.
After that, Qiao Dewen paid attention to the "Golden Window" - there was a picture of the deserted mountains outside Red Maple City.
Not long after, he saw the air on the mountain trembling and tearing apart, and "Crow of Despair" Asterais emerged from a huge crack.
As expected, that was the location where Astraeus would escape as pointed out by the intelligence.
Then, a gray mist surged, and Astrais was shrouded in it, disappearing.
Qiao Devin didn't know what was going on there - he only knew one thing. Astraeus is supposed to have been attacked, but it is not clear who attacked him.
The rising gray mist was definitely not [Glory]. Although he understood that all this was the arrangement of the "bishop", it still made Qiao Devin feel a little scared.
Just behind the scenes - Qiao Devin couldn't imagine how many saints that were not [Glorious] that the "bishop" had attracted to him just like he was trying to win over himself.
As for the "Bishop"'s sister, "Index Carlos" who was right opposite Qiao Devin, she also revealed a faint aura of danger, which made Qiao Devin always feel afraid, but he could not see the "Index Carlos". What is the true destiny of "Tix"?
However, Qiao Devin was not prepared to dig into this.
Ever since he assisted Luo Xiu in killing the [Supreme] Order Slayer and the illegitimate son of Marquis Bakar, "Velino Bakar", he and the "Bishop" had long been grasshoppers tied to the same boat. , is a complete unity of interests.
He looked at the ever-changing gray fog scene in the "Golden Window". While he was shocked, he could not help but feel a sense of peace of mind in his heart.
Until the surging gray fog gradually dissipated.
Jordan saw Astraeus, who had emerged from the "Spiritual Sea" intact before, now like a corpse - he was just like a bloody man with broken limbs embedded in the cracks of the rock.
After that, the picture in the "Golden Window" disappeared, and nothing was shown anymore.
……
"As you can see, Mr. Chaudwin."
Qiao Devin heard the lady "Index Carlos" opposite, she said with a smile:
"Astrais, the Crow of Despair, is dead."
"On behalf of my brother, I would like to thank you for your help and congratulate you - at this point, the threat and impact of the 'Mourning Song Mask' on you is smaller."
"..."
"...Sigh."
Qiao Devin let out a long sigh and said in a lonely voice:
"'Mourning Song Mask' has fallen to this...that was not our original pursuit."
"Now, Asterais is dead. Killing an 'executor' is an achievement of punishing evil for your brother, the 'bishop' of Red Maple City, but for me... I just It feels a little sad.”
"You don't need to worry too much about this, Mr. Qiao Devin."
Intis comforted her gently, and she continued:
"So, about the other thing -"
The smile on Intis's face faded, turned into a serious expression, and said clearly in a clear voice:
"My brother hopes that the 'Golden Country Federation' can end its 'neutral' wait-and-see and partially intervene in this war."
"You have also seen that there are countless silverfish like 'Crow of Despair' Astraes who are still dormant in the empire. Not only are the empire threatened by them, but the Golden Kingdom's industries in the empire have also been destroyed and attacked by them time and time again."
"This is not what we, nor you, want to see. You can also expect it - if you continue to let it go, you will only continue to be plundered and eaten away by this group of silverfish, because you have enough resources for them to continue to fight against the empire. For the resources that are consumed.”
"If you still remain silent and maintain a wait-and-see attitude of doing nothing - it is foreseeable that the empire's attitude towards you will become more negative. The people of [Supreme] have always waited and watched towards the Federation of El Dorado, and have always looked at the disaster of war. If you are dissatisfied with the behavior of grabbing greater interests, if this continues, the empire should impose sanctions on you.”
"So - my brother has given a plan. End the 'neutral' position, the church welcomes you to truly intervene in this war, and become the empire, at least the Songyuan Territory, and the church's truly solid backing. It will only be good for you."
"..."
"I understand what you mean, Ms. Index."
Qiao Devin smiled bitterly, with a helpless expression on his face, and said:
"Even if we stand on the same front, the position of the 'El Dorado Federation' will not change as my will changes. I hope you understand my difficulties."
"As you know, the attitude of 'neutrality' has always been the basis of federal diplomacy, or in other words - with only these bargaining chips now, it is not enough, far from enough."
"If I want to follow what you said, Ms. Index, I hope that the Golden Kingdom Federation can give up its 'neutral' stance, partially intervene in the war, and form an offensive and defensive alliance with the Empire - something else is needed."
"I know that." Intis smiled and nodded, "Of course I understand."
"What the federation needs - or in other words, what the federation has to pay attention to is whether you can get more benefits from it, or whether your existing interests will be further infringed."
"For this reason, my brother specially asked me to share something with you."
As he spoke, Intis turned slightly and took out a sealed document bag stamped with the church's sun gold seal from the soft bag on the side.
She held the document lightly with both hands and handed it to Qiao Devin, and the bank manager in front of her stretched out his hand to take it.
When Qiao Devin got the document bag, he weighed it a little and felt that it was a bit heavy.
He looked at Index, and after Ms. Index nodded, he took the silver paper knife on the side and gently cut open the lacquer seal.
He immediately reached into his bag and pulled out a thick stack of yellowed pages.
Just after a quick glance, Qiao Devin's expression froze, and his fingers gripping the edge suddenly tightened.
[October 12, 767 Apocalypse Calendar, reported by the Holy Inquisition - 'Sina City' El Dorado Bank branch, Lucas Bell, Yanal Mendez, and Blair Graham identified it as' "The head of the pig has been eliminated;"
【……】
[On November 15, 767 of the Apocalypse Calendar, the mission reported that the Red Maple City Church, in conjunction with the Side Courtyard and the Fangbei Courtyard, exterminated a total of 32 members of the 'Fire of Remodeling' cult, and recovered 4,600 money and materials. The remaining imperial gold coins and more than 238,700 gold national commercial securities have been confiscated;]
【……】
[On December 28, 767 in the Apocalypse Calendar, the secret center reported that at the east gate of Red Maple City, the ‘El Dorado-Dikas Caravan’ brought six members of the original sect and tried to sneak into the city. Among them, 2 were "priests" and 4 were "favorites". Six original sect members were killed on the spot by four throne knights patrolling the 'side court', three Golden Kingdom businessmen, and fourteen caravan guards. Already imprisoned at the same time. 】
[...] [On December 29, 767 of the Apocalypse Calendar, the secret office reported that on this day, the interrogation of the imprisoned members of the 'El Dorado-Dikas Caravan' was launched. According to the confessions of Golden Kingdom businessmen Snodia Dickas, Harkanan Dickas, and Phillo Dickas, they did not know the true identity of the members of the "Primitive Sect" and only expressed the following: "Those are the guests of the family. The elders of the clan requested that they must be escorted well";]
【……】
This is all "evidence" that Luo Xiu has been collecting since he joined the Church of Sina City and became the Holy Inquisitor, about the fact that the Golden Kingdom has been deeply penetrated by the Theocracy and the Principality of Darkness.
Intis didn't know why her "Lord" was so obsessed with these things, and she was not curious. She just followed Luo Xiu's prior instructions and gave these things to Qiao Devin to see.
Just when Qiao Dewen, the "president" of the Bank of El Dorado, was carefully looking at the unprecedented information in his hand, word by word.
Intis is also observing the changes in the expression on his face——
Qiao Devin's face first showed an expression of shock and astonishment, and then it turned into panic and panic. Fine beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead.
——He was scared.
The words on the pages in front of him seemed to have begun to flow in Qiao Devin's eyes, gradually squirming and transforming into something that Qiao Devin didn't recognize and didn't want to recognize.
Looking at the lines of text in his hand, Qiao Dewen also understood one thing——
The "Bank of El Dorado" has long been penetrated by the "Principle of Darkness" and the "Holy Tower Theocracy"!
It was as if there was a wolf lying next to the bed ready to gnaw at his own flesh and blood, but he didn't realize it... At this time, Qiao Devin only felt a wave of terror.
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The "Bishop" of Red Maple City, "Roseux Carlos" asked his sister "Index Carlos" to transfer this information to him, which Qiao Devin had no idea about before.
Even though he is the president of the "Golden Country Bank", he is also the elder of the "Florence Family" at the core of the Golden Country Federation. He has never fully known this through any means.
There were even a few things in it that were directly related to Chaudwin himself - he turned to a page in the document and it was written directly that one of his former 'waiters' was actually a cultist of the 'Mourning Mask'!
That should be the later 'Mourning Mask', the eyeliner specially inserted next to him...
But some time ago, the waiter suddenly disappeared and never appeared again.
Qiao Devin originally thought that he just chose to leave without saying goodbye because he couldn't bear the job of a waiter... At that time, Qiao Devin just asked Vice President Gonzalo to publicly fire him according to the bank's prescribed procedures, and also gave him a salary He settled his wages during his employment and sent them back to his hometown.
But now I think about it - the money sent to him back to his hometown has become stolen money!
Qiao Devin only felt a chill, and his vision became increasingly blurry and dim.
Holding back the sudden discomfort, Qiao Devin still bit the bullet and read through the intelligence file in his hand page by page.
Then, he rolled up the stack of love newspapers, stuffed it back into the portfolio, and handed the portfolio back to Intis with both hands.
Intis took it, put the file bag back into her soft bag, and looked at Qiao Devin with a smile:
"Your face seems a little bad."
"...Haha."
Qiao Devin laughed twice. At this time, he really had no intention of joking.
"I think I already understand what your brother means..."
Qiao Devin's eyes rose, and he met the expectant gaze of Intis across from him, and said slowly:
"I know, the 'El Dorado' has been thoroughly penetrated...in every sense of the word."
"We are indeed profit-seeking businessmen."
"But the reason why we stick together as a whole is not only to obtain greater benefits, but also to avoid a greater disaster - a 'disaster' that no individual can escape when it really comes."
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"I am all of my 'personality', I am also a pillar of the 'family', and I am part of the 'federal' - no one can be alone. This is the foundation of our existence."
"But there are always people who want to be like moths and sell the harbor that can be sheltered from the wind in a very funny way and at a very absurd price, to people who may become our enemies."
"..."
"So?"
Intis still maintained an indifferent smile on his face and asked President Qiao Dewen softly:
"I want to know, Mr. Qiao Devin. What is your attitude?"
"..."
"Of course I hope that the Golden Kingdom can carry out a thorough 'purge' from top to bottom."
"This is very difficult, but it is worthwhile and necessary to implement."
"I understand, Mr. Qiao Devin."
Intis nodded lightly.
"...then, Ms. Index."
This time, it was Qiao Devin who asked Intis:
"If - well, I do agree with you and your brother's ideas. The 'purge' within the Golden Kingdom should indeed start from changing the 'neutral' stance. But, you...or Mr. Luo Xiu, want to How? ”
"Just re-explain what you just saw to the other elders of your 'Florence Family'."
Intis said clearly and calmly:
"There is also the 'Manston Family'. With the influence of you and the Manston family, it will not be difficult to leverage the positions of other core families in the Federation."
"For this reason, my brother also specially told me to tell you another thing——"
"My brother said this: 'After half a month, the imperial troops from Red Maple City and several fortresses around Red Maple City will officially launch a counterattack against the principality.
Our target is [Fafnir City], and during the counterattack, we will conquer at least six fortresses and three important towns.
If the Golden Kingdom can send out troops to entangle the psyker army displayed by the Holy Tower Theocracy in the Songyuan Territory during our 'expedition', perhaps we can transfer some of it from the 'Judgment' expedition launched against the Dark Principality. interests. ’”
"Brother also said: 'If Mr. Jordan agrees with this and is consistent with our position, Index, I hope you will tell him——
Tell him not to worry about the name of getting involved in the war, it can be 'peacekeeping', it can be looking for 'lost businessmen', or it can be anything else. ’”
"This is what my brother wants to tell you."
Looking directly into Qiao Devin's wine-red eyes, Index paused and finally said:
"If you still have any concerns, you can tell us. You can trust me, trust my brother, and we can help you solve it."
"..."
"You said so..."
Qiao Devin sighed and said:
"Okay. I will tell this to the Florence family and the other elders of the Manston family as you said."
"I can probably convince them. But I can't guarantee whether I can convince the elders of other families in the future."
"That's enough, Mr. Chaudwin."
Intis smiled, stood up from the velvet seat, lightly lifted the pleated skirt, and bowed deeply to Qiao Devin.
"Thank you again, Mr. Qiao Dewen, for understanding and accepting our opinions and taking the time to talk to me for such a long time."
"Then - I'll leave the rest to you, Mr. Qiao Devin."
"If there is any progress, I hope you will contact me in time. I will be waiting for you at the Chamber of Commerce."
……
Red Maple City, the Holy See of the Bishop.
"'Golden State Bank', President Qiao Dewen has agreed. He is willing to try and try to get the Golden State to change its neutral position."
On the bed in the bishop's bedroom, Luo Xiu, who had been covered with a velvet quilt, heard such a somewhat illusory but clear sound in his ears.
His "familiar", Intis, has reported back to him the latest progress of the "negotiation" through the spiritual transmission of the "familiar crest".
Qiao Dewen agreed, which is a good start——
Regardless of whether the higher-ups in the Golden Kingdom will be more likely to make "neutral" decisions because of this, the seeds have always been planted, and it will have some or beneficial influence on their own side.
Luo Xiu, who has memories of his past life, clearly knows that this is the first step to change.
In the previous life - when the Kuma Territory's "Bloody Declaration" had just been terminated by the empire, and the empire's heavy troops were about to be driven into the territory of the Dark Principality, ready to take advantage of this perfect opportunity to inflict heavy damage to the principality, the "Holy Tower Theocracy" Stabbing the Empire in the back, several psyker legions invaded the Empire's borders and occupied almost half of the territory of the four territories.
This is not the end, just the beginning——
The empire, which was surrounded by enemies from both sides, suddenly fell into a dilemma. The Dark Principality also began to recruit troops aggressively when the Theocracy was delaying the empire, and blocked the imperial army that counterattacked into the hinterland of the principality.
In this way, the empire only lost a large amount of frontier territory and lost millions of expedition warriors. Even though the overall strength was still the strongest in the Fanor continent, it was difficult to organize another expedition of the same scale as the previous one.
And when the Theocracy snatched a large piece of cake from the empire through "backstabbing", the Theocracy's peace envoy quickly came to the imperial capital, met with Emperor Augustville, and conveyed to him the "Pope's" message. will.
It is not known what the envoy said to Emperor Augustwell. All Luo Xiu could remember was that shortly after the envoy from the Theocracy left the imperial capital, the emperor issued a new decree-the [Lost], [Ku Tu] 】Established as the legitimate destiny of the empire.
After that, the Theocracy re-signed a peace agreement with the Empire, and the Theocracy returned the empire's territory occupied by the [Psyker Legion] - although nearly half of it was scorched earth, and more than half of the civilians died of some secret Sacrifice - but the Theocracy does not recognize these, and the Empire will no longer pursue them.
In fact, from a player's perspective, this is not a bad thing.
It was also at that time that Luo Xiu, who mainly worked within the empire, also practiced two trumpets of [Lost] and [Ku Tu], and played with the Master and the Big Warrior for a while.
However, for Luo Xiu, who is now the "Bishop of Red Maple City" - maintaining the sole legitimacy of [Glory] has greater interests and benefits for him.
He also had no intention of surrendering the "faith" firmly held by the "Holy Court" in the empire to the Theocracy.
The intervention of the "Golden Country Federation" in this war is necessary and must be done sooner or later.
And now, President Qiao Dewen of the "Golden Country Bank" in Songyuan City has nodded in agreement.
All Luo Xiu has to do is wait, and continue to wait - waiting for new reactions from the Golden Kingdom, and then he decides what to do next.
He has even planned that if the "El Dorado" ultimately vetoes changing its "neutral" stance, he will take more extreme measures to force them to agree.
——For example, let the "Holy Abyss" disguise itself as the "Executor", "The Head" and "The Black Fang" of the Dark Principality, and launch attacks on the banks, industries, caravans of the Golden Kingdom, etc. This is an effective way to quickly attract the attention of the Golden Kingdom, but it is not to the extent that it is necessary.
"..."
While thinking about this, Luo Xiu reached out to the bedside table and covered it with a lamp that emitted bright yellow light.
At the same time, he let go of these complicated thoughts in his mind, allowing his thoughts to return to a state as clear and clear as when he was meditating. Then, some drowsiness emerged from his mind.
He was indeed tired again - he had been through so much in one day.
Luo Xiu then slipped into bed, finally opened the panel, looked at what the players who were still online were doing in the [Player Forum] and [Chat Channel], and closed the panel.
He originally just wanted to take a nap, but he couldn't stand it anymore.
If the priests need him for something later, they should... wake him up...
……
After that, Luo Xiu's consciousness gradually became one with his quilt, his pillow, and his bed.
Just before the morning sun was about to shine through the cracks in the window, a few rays of warm light came in.
He finally fell asleep and sailed towards the distant dreamland.
……
(End of chapter)