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"That's Lord Lotte, the son of Baron Pedro..." the guard answered truthfully.
Adrian thought about it and immediately remembered that in recent years, in order to allow Lot to pass the knight assessment smoothly, Baron Pedro had donated a lot to the church. He still had some impression of it.
……
On the other side, Lin En, who had successfully entered the Harbor Town, had cold sweat on his back. He was even ready to take action the moment he passed the checkpoint. Fortunately, everything went as he expected.
His current identity is the son of a genuine hereditary baron. It may not mean much in the entire Nordland Territory, but in the small port town, this identity can still provide a lot of conveniences.
After getting through the most difficult stage, Lin En finally felt relieved. However, the unfamiliarity with the harbor town soon gave him a headache again. He had to spend a lot of time wandering around the harbor, silently recording every place in his mind, and pretending to be familiar with everything.
Lin En continued to patrol like this until noon, when he cautiously walked into a shop with a circular logo.
If he was not mistaken, this was the emblem of the [ship gang] to which Lame Lord belonged.
The owner of the harbor shop was an old halfling. When Lynn walked in, he was busy moving a heavy bucket of yellow and black ore to the other end of the room.
But because he was too short, the heavy iron barrel stuck tightly to the half-man's face and kept shaking as he walked, and the fine ore on top was soon shaken off.
Seeing this, Lynn stepped forward to lend a hand, and together they piled the large barrels of ore in the corner.
"Thank you so much...guest!" The old half-man said with a heavy nasal voice. He wiped his dusty hands on his pants and then turned to look at Lin En and spoke.
"Okay, now let's talk business. Welcome to Bill's shop... No, I mean... Is there anything you need, Lord Lotte?"
After seeing Lynn's appearance clearly, the half-man Bill's originally casual attitude immediately turned into flattering.
He almost flew directly to the counter and took out several beautifully decorated boxes from the drawer, which contained some red and blue gems.
"You can take a look at these, they are all the best goods this year... There is also a whole ship of high-quality spices, which are treasures that cannot be bought anywhere else..." Halfling Bill introduced in a torrent of words.
Lin En on the side waved his hand with a lack of interest, interrupting the other party's words. "I am not here to buy anything. On the contrary, I have a batch of precious goods that I want to get to Vicnir through the Sea of Mist."
"I heard that you have the ability to arrange a ship for a long voyage and protect the safety of the materials, is that right?" Lin En asked tentatively.
"Of course, everyone in Harbor Town knows the name of the Ship Gang. Even those stinky pirates would never dare to intercept our ship!" Bill raised his messy beard and patted his chest to make the promise.
"But renting an entire ship to transport goods requires a lot of manpower and security personnel..." Bill carefully watched Lynn's reaction, ready to decide the price based on the other party's expression. This is a good opportunity to make a fortune.
"Money is not a problem!" Lynn offered the big cake without hesitation, and then changed the subject in Bill's ecstatic expression and continued, "But this batch of goods is very important. I need to meet Lauder in person, preferably in person!"
Bill's expression suddenly became hesitant.
"What? Do you think I'm not qualified to meet with Cripple Lord?" Lin En frowned and his tone became heavier.
"No, no, no." Bill shook his head frantically. He didn't dare to say that.
After hesitating for a moment, Bill looked around and said carefully, "In fact, few people in the entire [Ship Gang] know that Mr. Lauder is not in the Harbor Town now."
"What a coincidence?" Lin En paused for a moment, and looked at the halfling in front of him with a scrutinizing gaze. Suspecting that the other party was fooling him, he asked again. "Do you know what he did?"
Bill smacked his lips and said helplessly, "I'm not sure about that. In previous years, Mr. Lord would stay in the port around Sunday, but this year is indeed an exception..."
Lin En stared at the halfling in front of him for a long time, and then suddenly spoke. "Forget it, since Mr. Loud is not here, I'd better ask someone else for help."
The old halfling immediately became anxious. "Lord Lot, you might as well reconsider it. Although Mr. Loud is not in the harbor town at the moment, I can help you contact Labour. He is Mr. Loud's most capable subordinate and can be fully responsible for all affairs of the ship gang..."
"I should have said that this batch of goods is very valuable. I need to meet with Lord in person. Please notify me when he comes back." Lynn ignored Bill who was still shouting behind him and walked out of the store without stopping.
Outside the door, dozens of huge sailing ships were docked on the flat dock. Dock workers in gray were busy moving boxes full of cargo from the deck to the rafts beside the dock. The noise of the crowd and the shouts of the supervisors were endless.
Lin En looked around at the prosperous scene of Harbor Town, his heart full of doubts.
In recent days, the port has been the busiest. According to Johnny's description, the waterway to the Wizarding Land will also be opened briefly. This is the only opportunity a year to transport materials to the Wizarding Land.
If something went wrong, decades of accumulation would be destroyed. At such a critical moment, it was reasonable for Lord to never leave...
Chapter 25: Son, learn to be moderate!
What went wrong?
Lin En kept thinking that using his noble status as a stepping stone to meet Lord through trade was the fastest and safest way he could think of, but he didn't expect to hit a wall at the first step.
This made Lin En somewhat troubled. He even suspected that Lord might have received some bad news, so he hid himself on purpose.
If this is true, then it will be troublesome. It is not easy to find someone who deliberately hides.
Just as Lin En was thinking, the dense crowd at the port suddenly became extremely chaotic. Amidst screams, an exquisitely decorated carriage drove through the narrow road and galloped towards this side.
Which noble family is so arrogant?
Lin En frowned and was about to withdraw, but the carriage stopped directly in front of him.
Not long after, a well-dressed, tall and thin middle-aged man got out of the car and bowed politely.
"Finally I found you, Master Lotte. Please come back with me as soon as possible. Master Pedro has something very important to discuss with you!"
Faced with the sudden invitation, Lin En almost didn't react. Fortunately, he recalled Lotte's diary and quickly determined that the person in front of him was the butler in Pedro's mansion. Then a drop of cold sweat appeared on Lin En's forehead.
He just wanted to borrow this identity temporarily as a stepping stone to enter Harbor Town and meet Lame Lord, but he didn't expect that the real owner would come to him now.
And it happened much faster than he had expected!
To go or not to go?
Countless possibilities flashed through Lin En's mind. After a pause of one or two seconds, under the respectful and firm gaze of the butler, Lin En nodded, lifted the curtain and got into the carriage.
Bangta bangta...
The stalled carriage started slowly, moving forward on the muddy road at the dock. The body of the carriage kept shaking, making Lin En, who was sitting on it, feel a little uncomfortable.
"You'd better tidy yourself up before entering the mansion. Lord Pedro will be very unhappy if he sees you!" The curtain of the car was lifted again, and the tall and thin butler glanced at Lin En's hands and reminded him.
Lynn lowered his head and found that his hands were stained with a lot of yellow and black powder. It should be that he accidentally got them on when he helped the half-orc Bill move the cargo barrels.
Wait…Lynn suddenly raised his hand, lowered his head and smelled it.
This taste seems to be...
sulfur?
……
Pedro's mansion is located in the northwest of the harbor town, on the most prosperous street. The dark black iron gate stands majestically. When the carriage slowly drove into the gate, Lynn quickly noticed what was hidden beneath the surface.
Dense weeds grew out from the gaps between the tiles, and half of the flowers planted on both sides of the road had already withered due to lack of care.
But it's normal to think about it. Pedro's palace hasn't hired a gardener who specializes in pruning flowers for a long time.
After a simple wash, Lynn was led by a servant to the front hall of the mansion. Baron Pedro was already sitting at the dining table covered with a crimson tablecloth waiting for him.
Also sitting at the table was a brown-haired girl, about sixteen or seventeen years old, staring at him with an indescribable look. She was probably the sister Ivina that Lotte mentioned...
Lin En observed silently and sat down at the only empty seat. On the table in front of him was a plate of hot steak and a few unknown vegetable leaves. Obviously, this was his dinner today.
Compared to eating black bread with water, it can be considered extremely rich!
"Where have you been? My son, I wanted to look for you last night, but you were not in the mansion." After Lin En sat down, Baron Pedro asked with an dissatisfied expression, but his eyes couldn't help but look at the tall and thin butler who came in with him.
"I found the young master at the dock at the port." The butler replied without looking away.
Baron Pedro's face immediately darkened, and he said in a deep voice, "I should have reminded you, Lotte, that it's okay to relax appropriately, but never spend the night in a place like that, where low-class people hang out with dirty prostitutes!"
Lin En was speechless. So you thought I went to a prostitute, right?
What made him even more uncomfortable was that he couldn't say anything to refute. He couldn't say that your son didn't come back last night and committed suicide by jumping into the sea, right?
Lynn anticipated Lotte's reaction, and finally lowered his head and said nothing.
"I don't want it to happen again!" Baron Pedro's tone was very stern. After a pause, he continued speaking.
"Also, you all need to pay attention to me in the next few days. Harbor Town has not been peaceful recently."
"I heard that Bishop Anruk had brought a large number of people to the town of Ur a few days ago to capture the devil's followers, but suffered heavy losses. Only a dozen of the 100 elite guards returned alive. Not only that, even Bishop Anruk was severely injured..."
"Are these wizards really that powerful?" Ivina shifted her gaze away from Lynn and asked in astonishment.
You must know that although the entire Sekas Empire is ruled by the king and lords, the one who truly controls everything is the Holy See!
Or in other words, he is the messenger of the great Lord of the Stars and Goddess of Creation [Ella] on earth.
An archbishop like Anruk was undoubtedly the spokesperson of God in the Nordland Territory. It was hard for Ivana to accept the fact that such a big man, who was unimaginable in normal times, was defeated in the process of hunting down wizards.
"These wizards have been corrupted by the devil and master witchcraft that is unimaginable for ordinary people. They are not so easy to deal with." At this point, Baron Pedro couldn't help but shudder.
He had met Bishop Anruk a year ago. He looked about the same age as him, or even younger. But when they met again tonight, he saw an old man in his eighties or nineties. He really couldn't imagine what kind of witchcraft could turn the powerful bishop into this state.
What Baron Pedro could not have imagined was that the other protagonist in his words was sitting quietly beside him, cutting the steak slowly and orderly with a knife and fork...
Lin En was somewhat surprised at the information that Anluik was still alive. He had thought that under such circumstances, the bishop would have only three possible outcomes.
Either be poisoned to death, or be crushed to death by falling rocks, or sacrifice yourself to complete that divine descent technique.
Or maybe the so-called [Ella] projection rescued him again.
But it was obviously not a complete rescue, otherwise Pedro would not have said that the other party was seriously injured...
Chapter 26: Imprisoned Devil Followers
Baron Pedro saw that Lynn and Ivina were so terrified that they didn't respond for a long time. After thinking for a while, he spoke to comfort them.
"You don't have to worry too much. According to Bishop Anruk, most of the devil's followers have been killed, and the Holy See has secretly mobilized a 3,000-man guard to enter the Harbor Town."
"Three thousand people?" Lin En couldn't help but frown. This was too many.
Generally speaking, in non-war times, a small city like Harbor Town would only have a garrison of a few hundred people. Now that the Holy See is secretly transferring so many troops here, it must be for a reason.
Lin En couldn't help but wonder if Lame Lord's identity had been exposed, and the Holy See was planning to destroy the entire [Ships Gang].
"Father, what does Bishop Anluik mean? Are we going to go to war?" Lynn asked tentatively.
Baron Pedro shook his head. "It should have nothing to do with the war, but I don't know much. I just heard that Bishop Anruk caught the wizard apprentice who escaped earlier on his way back to Harbor Town, and now he is imprisoned in Harbor Town, preparing to execute him in public after Sunday!"
Hearing this, Lin En's expression immediately became very serious.
Could it be that Johnny and White Dove were caught?
Lin En couldn't help but think of this possibility. When he sent the two witches away before, their conditions were extremely bad. It was even impossible to be sure whether the two were forced to separate in the turbulent water.
If the Vatican had organized a large number of manpower to search for them immediately after the war, it might have been possible to capture them.