Chapter 97 The Rogue Principality

The Principality of Somerset is the only way to Ironforge.

The reason why the ambitious Duke of Butani did not annex it was because it was too weak and could get it at any time.

Moreover, this principality has a major water and land transportation route from the southern countries to the imperial capital. If you take it in your hands now, on the one hand, you will have to withstand strong reactions from the southern countries, and the empire will also have a strong sense of caution.

Now that the Grand Duke of Butani is consolidating his rule over the Kingdom of Cloa and planning preparations for annexation of the Principality of Norman, he does not want to cause trouble.

The Principality of Somerset is known as the Principality of the rogue, and the rogue history of this country is quite long.

The first generation of Grand Duke Spike was a liar and a hooligan, but in troubled times, liar and hooligan can sometimes play a major role. After Spike defected to the founding emperor of the Tagore Empire, he really made several great achievements, so he was enfeoffed here.

But this place is too small and surrounded by various powerful priests. It has no resources. It was a poor and remote place at that time.

However, Spike and his descendants soon came up with the idea of ​​getting rich. They built the best roads and inland ports of the empire, making it a hub for north-south transportation and an important distribution center for commodities, and using tax collection to maintain the existence of the principality.

The clever Grand Duke Somerset made the most stellar move, that is, not to set up an army. In this country, the country is known as the most peaceful country, except for a palace guard, the most common tax collectors, roads, rivers, and places where people can climb through, a tax card will be set up.

Because there is no army and the country is small, the several civil wars that have occurred in the empire in the past thousand years have not affected them, because these neighboring countries are really unwilling to destroy such a small country that does not even have an army, and bear the name of injustice.

Anyway, it has no effect on anyone. Even when the civil war is at its peak, no matter whose army enters and leaves the country, they will open the city without hesitation to accept it, open the city and have a farewell, and the municipal authorities will also hold a banquet to invite the army generals to drink.

Sometimes, they would entertain one army on the first morning, and welcome the other army on the next evening. At noon on the third day, they would lie on the top of the city and watch both sides fight outside the city.

To the winner, it will also send a sincere greeting and a gift. Such a rogue... really gives you no reason to beat it up.

The second thing that the extremely smart Somerset did was to get married. In addition to having good eloquence, liars were also necessary to have good looks. The descendants of Spike's ancestors retained the excellent genes left by their ancestors, and the beauties hired from generation to generation have been constantly improved, and their descendants became more and more beautiful.

Therefore, Grand Duke Somerset, who was rich in descendants of handsome men and beautiful women, continued to establish in-laws with various countries, allowing his sons to marry the daughters of royal families or important nobles, and marry his beautiful daughter to important figures in other countries.

Over the years, Grand Duke Somerset has had close ties with all countries. Unless necessary, no one will cause trouble for him.

However, now the Grand Duke Somerset has become more and more rogue and has made money to the point of being unscrupulous. He not only takes advantage of the current tension in the empire to impose high taxes on ordinary merchants, but sometimes he also finds trouble to detain some commodities that make him jealous and takes them as existing.

Not long ago, the Grand Duke detained a batch of fur goods transported to the south by the Kingdom of Rozlub. Unexpectedly, this batch of goods belonged to the personal belongings of Count Rozlub. The Count himself was not good at selling goods, so he did not express his identity. Unexpectedly, Grand Duke Somerset swallowed them all in one bite.

The annoyed Count Rozlu felt that it was necessary to teach this hooligan a lesson, but he had just assembled an army of 3,000 people. When he heard the news, Somerset rushed to Rozlub with all the goods he had swallowed, carrying a family tree and whipping it to Rozlub.

The elderly Grand Duke Somerset, regardless of his duke's identity, hugged Count Rozlo's thigh and cried and recognized his kinship.

After a long verbal verification, it turned out that more than three hundred years ago, the Earl of Rozloe married his sister to the Duke of Somerset. After some calculations, the Earl of Rozloe now became the uncle of the Duke of Somerset.

After repenting with great pain, this gangster nephew, who was over 20 years older than his uncle, before he could wipe his tears and snot, he recalled the friendship between the two countries over the years.

The amused and crying Count Rozlu had no choice but to kill this soldier without taking him to admit his mistake. The nephew who recognized his relatives had to give up the troops.

After settlement, Grand Duke Rozlu found that in addition to the cost of entertaining the gangster to eat and drink, as well as the expenses for summoning the army to spend more than half a month in the capital, the sum of the money could be bought twice the same fur. He was so angry that he stared at his eyes and finally cursed and said: "This... shameless gangster!"

Now, Jady has entered this rogue country. He dressed as an ordinary young man visiting relatives, carrying no goods on him.

Despite this, I paid a lot of tolls, but it was very quiet along the way. Because the country was too small and relied entirely on transportation and business to maintain the country, there were too many businesses that could make money, so there were no small thieves in the public sector who had cut the path.

Along the way, Jady saw the most were taverns, brothels, casinos, and hotels of all sizes, even small villages were no exception.

The power of the Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji Dhaji

Jady rode on the horse, with a relaxed smile on her lips, and his handsome appearance was really eye-catching. He was savoring the beautiful night with Helen, a night of romanticism. The next day when Jady stepped onto the horse and rushed to Iron Fortress, Helen didn't go out to see him off.

Because of the crazy night, Helen, who had just experienced the storm, walked strangely. In the bedroom, Helen was embarrassed and angry because she had to rest in bed for a day. Thinking of her moving expression and her anger, Jady's lower abdomen became hot again.

In front is a city. Compared to the small town you saw along the way, it is a real city. The city walls are built with milky white stones. Although they are not tall or majestic enough, they are very beautiful. The people and travelers in and out at the gate of the city are very prosperous.

Jady was thinking about it, and when she saw the city, she couldn't help but sigh, and subconsciously reached into her waist bag.

Throughout this journey, Jady had developed the habit of paying for the city gate when he saw it. The tax he snatched in the Principality of Norman reached astronomical figures, but in Somersetbe, he became a tax-paying citizen.

Sure enough, an indispensable scenic spot at the city gate was the tax collector wearing the uniform of a green tax official. Jady paid the toll, got off the horse and led it into the city.

The small town is really lively and has been very business-oriented. In addition to some mid-to-high-end shops, there are many stalls on the side of the road, with a wide range of goods placed.

Jady found a hotel, tied the horse at the door, and wanted to go in and have a good rest. The air here was drier than the Principal of Norman, and the sun was very strong at noon, so he was a little dry. At this time, if you come to two iced ale and then a plate of half-cooked and tender steak and chew it carefully, it would definitely taste good.

Of course, Jady entered a high-end hotel. He had only one person and sat down in the corner of the first-floor lobby. Since this is a commercial city, there are many wealthy people, so there are many diners. However, when looking at the clothes, most of them are wealthy passing merchants.

In the middle of the hall, a dancer wearing a plaid dress with healthy wheat skin was dancing happily, and next to it was a middle-aged bearded man playing the organ while singing an ancient folk song.

Jady ordered two iced ale, a mixed cold cut, a cold apple soup and an essential grilled steak to enjoy it slowly.

In such a more upscale place, there are no drunks who scream or coquettish prostitutes who lift their skirts away from each other on the chair. They look quieter, and only the cheerful singing is heard from time to time.

Suddenly, two people walked into the door, and the two people immediately attracted everyone's attention. Jady was a very handsome man, especially his unique temperament, which was very eye-catching. But he was dwarfed by the man who had just walked into the hotel in front of him.

It was a knight, a very handsome knight. He was wearing light armor and had a very mighty cross sword badge on his chest. This cross sword badge without flames shows that he was not a Templar, but a free knight who believed in the doctrine of light, and in fact, a ranger with noble beliefs and free identities.

His long pure golden hair and the sky-blue forehead bondage between his hairline made him look majestic and solemn. His light armor is not leather, but some kind of metal. The armor is well maintained and can be used as a mirror if it is bright.

There is also the slender sword body, gorgeous scabbard, and the hilt of the sword is decorated with shiny gems. The sword tip and hilt are so beautiful, which shows how precious the sword in the sheath is. It seems that he is very rich. An ordinary ranger cannot afford such a sword!

People pay more attention to a girl next to him. At first glance, the girl can only be said to be pretty and absolutely not a stunning beauty. However, the charm between her eyebrows and eyes reveals a very pure and sacred charm. She has a head of millet yellow hair, and a cat-eye pendant hanging on her beautiful forehead.

Her figure is slender, especially her skin, which is whiter than snow and smoother than jade. As the saying goes, one white covers all ugliness, not to mention that she is very delicate, which makes her look even more charming.

Her white and beautiful face and her light and elegant temperament make people feel as pure as crystal when they look at her.

This young girl feels like a boiled egg white that has just been peeled. It is so clean that it makes people love it. It reminds people of any part of her body that is so bright and clean, even if there is no trace of dirt in her nails.

This feeling is when her facial expression is very tired, and the hem of the robe is stained with mud, which makes her look embarrassed. What kind of smell will she give her if she dresses up happily?

Her robe and the talisman-carved staff in her hand should look like a magician. However, those who are familiar with magicians will see a slight difference. She is actually an alchemist.

In fact, there is no essential difference between warlocks and mages. Warlocks are a tribe of mages, but they focus more on the study of minerals and plants, and like to use magical medicines to achieve the effect of chanting spells. Some people also study puppet techniques, summoning techniques, etc.

In short, their profession recognition is not as strict as that of the magicians, and their organization is very loose and their freedom is high. Moreover, because the church and the magician guild occupy the upper class, many of the sorcerers have fallen to the lower and lower classes.

Over time, they became called wizards and witches, so they artificially made a considerable difference from magicians. This difference is not in the nature of the profession, but in status. The difference in status is like the difference between famous universities and third-rate universities.

However, it is undeniable that some people with talent and rebellious personality do not want to be strictly restricted by the magician industry and become warlocks, and they have great attainments. In addition, the temperament of this sorcerer is so outstanding that they immediately received unanimous respect from everyone.

Ranger and Warlock, the young and beautiful couple, both had heavy steps and a faint tiredness on their faces. They sat down at a table. The waiter immediately walked up to him and asked politely: "Good noon, two, what do you want?"

"Please give me a glass of water and a piece of bread, thank you!" The young sorcerer's voice was both crisp and nice.

It seems a bit inappropriate to have such cheap food in such a high-end hotel, but the girl's pure temperament makes her look like a piece of crystal. Everyone thinks that providing her with wine and meat is a defilement. This girl like a flower should eat some light food.

"Oh, give me a plate of snails, a red wine pheasant, and another sour cucumber soup." The Ranger Knight untied his sword and threw it on the table tiredly.

This is not very consistent with the etiquette of this high-end hotel, but it is in line with the unrestrained personality of a ranger. Coupled with the excellent appearance and elegant manners of the ranger, the waiter takes a blind eye.

The hall was calm again, and the businessmen whispered while having dinner, occasionally turning their eyes to the more eye-catching men and women.

"Salist, the green dragon was scared by us. I don't think it will appear in front of us publicly again. This is awful, after all, it can fly, and we can't. I think, let it go." said the handsome ranger.

Jady's ears moved and immediately noticed their conversation.

A dragon? Although it is the lowest-level green dragon among the dragons, its combat power is also quite amazing. This ranger and the sorcerer can scare a green dragon and escape in panic. How terrible should they have?

The guests sitting near the two men also heard their conversation, and the guests immediately shut their mouths and looked at them with surprise and admiration.

Because these guests suddenly became quiet, more guests in the distance noticed something strange and looked here one after another.

"Knight Picassovando, have you forgotten how many treasures a dragon has? Not to mention anything else, the body of the dragon is full of treasures, and the hard work we have put in is worth it." The sorcerer known as Salist smiled slightly.

Picassovando shrugged, "I have no interest in the body of the Green Dragon. Only an amazing warlock like you will like the magical materials that make up its body. What I want is the shiny things it collects, gold coins and diamonds.

But you know, we have been following it for two months and are exhausted. I think if this continues, we may have to chase it for a lifetime. For a creature like dragon, which has a long life, this is just a small episode in its life."

After Picassovanduo complained, the waiter had already brought the sorcerer's food, a cup of water and a plate of bread.

"Thank you!" Salice smiled and gestured to the waiter, and then said: "Although there are many mountains around here, most of them are low hills and there are no large caves. The green dragon has nowhere to hide, not to mention that it carries the treasures accumulated over the years. The only place it can hide is Fire Cloud Canyon, where the mountains are high, dense forests and many caves are its only choice."

The Ranger sighed and said, "I hope your analysis is correct, okay, then let's stay here first. I need a break and prepare some tools at the same time. Oh, hell, I spent so long with this damn green dragon, and my gold coins were almost exhausted."

"Okay, I'm the same. I've been chasing it for so long, and I've used almost all my magic materials and need to be supplemented. Alas, my money is almost spent."

"Please... May I ask," a fat businessman suddenly interrupted. When he saw the Ranger and the holy sorcerer raised his eyes to him, the businessman felt a little cramped and his voice stuttered: "Oh, sorry, please forgive me for disturbing me. Are you... Are you two saying that a green dragon ran into the Fire Cloud Canyon?"

The Ranger Knight shrugged and spread his hands, saying, "Sorry, I don't know, that damn dragon was stabbed by my sword, and since then it ran away when he saw me, I hope it's there."

"It should be there. When we came, I had sensed its existence nearby. But there were not many magic materials. I was no match for the dragon with bare hands, so I went to the city for a while to rest," the sorcerer interrupted.

"No, no," the merchant laughed dryly: "I don't want it to be there, I want to ask..., Lord of the Knight and Warlock, will that dragon hurt people?"

Picassovando laughed: "Of course, if you break into its realm, the dragon is a creature with a bad temper. Not to mention how powerful the green dragon's breath has, just its sharp teeth and claws... Well, since it was injured by me, I should hate humans even more."

"What?" the merchant was shocked and complained: "This is bad. It's an important pass to enter and exit the Hueys Castle. If you don't walk there, you will have to take at least half a month. Oh my God! When my fresh freight is shipped to the north, it will turn into worthless dried fruit."

Another businessman said with a sad face: "If we take a detour, we will be unprofitable at all. This is impossible. Is that dragon... really that scary? Since it has been beaten by the respected Knight, it should avoid it in the mountains and dare not come out, right?"

Knight Picassovando sat there proudly, looking at him with a condescending look, his eyes full of pity. The knight didn't say a word, but his eyes contained rich emotions, and I don't know how many words he had "sayed".

The merchant was ashamed of being seen by him. He lowered his head timidly, and did not dare to look at the knight. He didn't know why he felt this way, and did something shameful or said too stupid, but the knight's eyes... After seeing it, it made people feel that if he didn't make a shameful expression, it would have disappointed the knight's vivid eyes.

The knight finally stopped staring at him. The merchant who was sitting on pins and needles had just spoken out loud when he suddenly heard the knight sigh in his ears, and immediately felt ashamed again.

"Knight Vando, you should not condemn the ignorance of this merchant. In fact, how many people understand the terror of a dragon?" Miss Salist said seriously.

The businessman looked at the righteous and frank sorcerer gratefully, and showed a flattering smile and said to her: "Dear Miss, we have only heard of dragons, but we have never seen them. Is their harm really great?"

"Of course!" Miss Salist said sternly: "Any monster is cruel and destructive, and as the dragon of the world's top power class, it is even more terrifying creature. A golden dragon can easily razend Huyers City.

Even the weakest green dragon is a huge creature with a body of more than twelve meters. They like to collect treasures, have a bad temper, and will kill people or animals in the forest at any time. They will also snatch people's treasures and take them for themselves, and then guard these treasures year after year. A synonym for dragons is... a slave to keep the wealth!"

"Yes, dear lady, I have heard of what you said, please continue." A businessman hurriedly interrogated.
To be continued...