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The dwarf took out Cailin's holy symbol and began to chant a prayer.
After a burst of soft light, the unconscious baron woke up.
"Don't kill me!" he shouted.
King: "We will not kill a baron."
The baron shouted in disbelief, "I don't believe it! Your notoriety is known to everyone from the Isles of Thorns to the Kingdom of Mountains!"
Elizabeth smiled and said, "It seems I can't pretend any longer. Tell me everything you know right now! Otherwise I will let the werewolf over there peel you off layer by layer and eat you bit by bit!"
Water stains spread from the Baron's crotch, and the foul smell hit everyone's nose.
Baron: "I say, I say everything!"
Next, the Baron told the whole story in detail.
The Duchess of the Valley's uncle, Stoke, had always wanted to be the Duke and had been preparing for it. There were even rumors in the Valley that Stoke had drugged the dead old Duke so that he could not have another son.
In this way, he could take advantage of the loophole in the Valley's inheritance law that favors males, unite the nobles who dislike a duchess, and find a way to raise the banner of rebellion.
Now Stoke felt that the time had come, and he made a big fuss that the Duchess and her fiancé had teamed up to kill her father. This statement was supported by many nobles who did not want a Duchess to rule them. In addition, the Duchess herself was not in the Duchy, so the entire River Valley was actually controlled by Stoke.
Although Sadik Harvey, the agent sent by the Duke of Langdon, also tried to contact those who opposed Stoke to form an offensive and defensive alliance, he was placed under house arrest shortly after his arrival, and the formation of the offensive and defensive alliance was postponed indefinitely.
The king suddenly interrupted the baron when he heard this: "Who is Sadik Harvey going to form an offensive and defensive alliance with?"
Baron: "The Earl of Ximu and his family, as well as the barons and earls around their fiefdoms, used to live a prosperous life relying on mining, but the cave dwellers changed everything. So they have been trying to accumulate strength, destroy the cave dwellers, and take back everything they have. They don't like Stoke, who is prepared to live on Watergate for the rest of his life."
Elizabeth added, "The River Valley Lords have been unhappy with our tax increase, believing that it has reduced shipping on the Enlan River and reduced their tax revenue. Obviously, they themselves are the biggest obstacle to shipping on the Enlan River."
Wang: "Anything else besides these? I mean, those against Sir Stoker."
Baron: "He has now proclaimed himself Duke. He wants to capture you in order to exchange you with Duke Langdon for the Duke's family emblem flag that is held there."
King: "Okay, let me correct that. Besides Earl of Riverwood, who else is against Duke Stock?"
The baron shook his head. "Originally, the lords of the western plains opposed him, but you, Duke Langdon, killed the old duke. Now the lords of the west are in league with Stocker, because Stocker claims to want revenge on Lord Langdon."
Wang stroked his chin and thought for a few seconds before asking, "If Earl Ximu wants to encircle and suppress the cave dwellers, they should be very powerful, right?"
Baron: "Legend has it that they hired a team of dwarven miners who were experts in dealing with troggs."
Flint patted his belly excitedly: "Dwarf miner! This earl knows what he's talking about!"
Elizabeth asked the wizard: "Why, are you really going to solve the problem here?"
Wang: "No, I plan to take the Watergate and then continue to move towards Monrovia. I just asked the question out of curiosity."
The baron, who had wet his pants, said, "Then you better hurry. I heard that the Duke of Stoke has a vicious thief who will definitely have a clever plan to keep you guys."
As soon as the words fell, a deafening explosion was heard from the direction of Watergate!
Flint looked at the orange-red flames and exclaimed, "Carlis Newman! This is definitely alchemical explosives!"
Before he finished speaking, the stone bridge over the water gate collapsed, and huge stones piled up in front of the fallen water gate, sealing the narrow passage tightly. Of course, judging from the flow of the river, the water could still pass through.
The river water that passed through the gap formed several whirlpools of varying sizes in front of the closed sluice gate.
Elizabeth: "How did they have this?"
Wang: "They originally made their living in the territory of mining. What's so strange about having alchemical explosives in the mines? This Stoke is trying to trap us in order to negotiate with us!
"Captain, is it possible for us to tow the ship over from the land beside?"
The captain replied: "It is possible. But you need to capture the entire Watergate Town first, and then hire thousands of young and strong laborers. I personally think it would be more practical to find someone to clear the rocks blocking the Watergate, but this also requires capturing Watergate Town and building defenses."
Wang took a deep breath.
"Okay." He said, "We will split into two groups now. The first group is our team. We will go to Riverwood Town to make connections. The second group is the captain and his elite sailors to guard the Star Chaser. This is our base camp."
The captain patted his chest and said, "Leave it to us."
Elizabeth grabbed the king's hand and asked, "Why don't you turn into a dragon and attack Lakeside City? Wouldn't this force him to surrender?"
Wang replied solemnly, "I can only transform into a dragon for one hour a day, and it takes 23 hours for the staff to recharge. The enemy only needs to hide deep in the fortress where the dragon cannot directly kill them, and they will be fine during this hour.
"Once this hour is used up, we will face an overwhelming attack in the remaining 23 hours. The enemy knows that we only have third-level mages and priests, and there are only so many spells in total.
"If the dragon can escape immediately after taking the water gate, then there is no need to worry. Now we may have to overthrow this self-proclaimed duke before we can move forward.
"Under this situation, I can't easily transform into a dragon. As long as I don't change, the enemy will always be wary and can only attack from behind.
"Correspondingly, we also have no way to transform into a dragon and force our way into Stoke's lair. Without transforming into a dragon, it would be too difficult for our team to deal with the remaining troops of the Valley Territory.
"There shouldn't be any high-level spellcasters in the River Valley, but there should still be quite a few second- and third-level arcane spellcasters like me! There are probably even more divine spellcasters, after all, not all local priests participated in the expedition against Langdon that night.
"We need to find allies."
Elizabeth: "I see. Let's go to Lord Creekwood."
The king stood up and said, "Prepare your horses and get ready to go."
Chapter 77 Watergate Landing
The first problem Wang faced was how to reach the beach.
Stock must have known that if the weak Miss Langdon team intended to pose a threat to him, in addition to relying on dragons, they could only seek support from the locals like the deputies sent by Duke Langdon.
The guards of Watergate Town had already set up their positions on the beach closest to the Star Chaser. They used the ferry boat that had been towed ashore as a cover and hid behind it with their swords in hand.
In order to prevent being wiped out by a single fireball, they formed a very loose formation. This formation would certainly be vulnerable to the impact of a large number of enemies, but it would be an insurmountable wall for a six-man team that wanted to break out.
The key king also discovered that some of the guards had single shields that protected against fire energy.
This means that there must be enemy spellcasters lying in ambush nearby.
As a person who opposed the protection school, Wang himself could not cast spells like fire protection on his teammates. This meant that if the enemy mage threw a fireball, his teammates would have to take it.
The only good news is that after testing, the positive energy of the Valley Territory has not been contaminated, and the dwarf priests can safely guide the positive energy for group healing after the fireball attack.
While observing the enemy's formation, Wang said to Xiaobai, "Turn into a bug quietly and go find the enemy's hidden mage. Can you still use your nose when you turn into a bug?"
Xiaobai: "Then I can only turn into a bug that can smell. But what does the enemy mage smell like?"
The king looked at the enemies on the shore and said, "The guy next to the ferry boat painted green has a single flame protection. The mage must have been very close to him when he cast the spell. Go and smell him."
Xiaobai: "Oh."
After saying this, she turned into a fly and flew away buzzing.
Because Xiaobai was short and was blocked by the side of the ship, the enemies on the shore hardly noticed that she was missing.
As soon as Xiaobai left, the dwarf suddenly felt isolated, because now he was the only one who couldn't see the scene on the shore. He stood on tiptoe and asked, "What do you want me to do? Tell me quickly! I also have to take responsibility."
Wang: "I was thinking that the enemy is clearly well prepared. Maybe we need to use our dragon transformation here. We can transform into a dragon and rush out, then use the horse to escape from the enemy's pursuit and avoid being besieged next."
"That's not necessary." Elizabeth said confidently, "I have a good idea."
Wang looked at her suspiciously, hesitated for a moment, and nodded: "You go ahead."
Elizabeth smiled, left the side of the ship, walked up to the forecastle, jumped onto the bow step, held the figurehead and said loudly: "Everyone!"
On the surrounding ships, only a few people noticed Elizabeth, and almost no one listened to her.
The king came to him and held high the glowing dragon-headed scepter.
The dazzling light immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Elizabeth said "thank you" softly, and then said loudly again: "Everyone! I am the sister of Duke Langdon, and the special envoy sent by Langdon to Monrovia! I will not hide it from you, my brother has a small conflict with the Lord of the Valley."
Wang heard someone on the nearest merchant ship muttering, "You call this a minor conflict? You two are basically sworn enemies, okay?"
Elizabeth ignored these people and continued, "The man who calls himself the Duke of the Valley blocked the water gate just to prevent me from moving towards Monrovia! He wants to take me hostage! It is for this reason that he has forced your journey to be temporarily interrupted!
"I know that many of you purchase goods in Landon Territory through so-called business contracts! My eldest brother is in charge of the official Chamber of Commerce in Landon Territory, and he once told me about this way of trading.
"The advantage of this method is that it does not require a large amount of cash to trade, but rather a contract! The transaction information will be confirmed by carrier pigeons and the Chamber of Commerce in Monrovia. You can get your money by shipping the goods to Monrovia for delivery!
"This kind of transaction requires credit as collateral, and what is actually mortgaged is the goodwill of your captain! If you cannot reach Minos City, the capital of Monrovia, within the specified time, you will not only lose actual money, but also your goodwill!
"The current situation is that even if we start clearing the floodgates immediately, you will definitely not be able to catch up! Stock, who calls himself the Duke, has seriously damaged your interests!"
The sailors and captains responded to Elizabeth loudly with great enthusiasm.
Elizabeth was greatly encouraged and continued to work hard: "Now, I have a plan to make up for your losses! That is, we rush to the shore together! The tax office that collects taxes in the valley must have a lot of money piled up in the safe! That is all your hard-earned money that they have exploited!
"Now that they have caused you losses, it is only natural for you to get the money back, isn't it?"
The sailors shouted!
Elizabeth: "I know that there are mercenaries and spellcasters among you! And you are experienced in many battles! On the other hand, the Duke's elite troops were all lost in my hometown, White Langdon City, a week ago! The rest are just a mob!"
The sailor once again shouted, "Yeah!"
"That's right!"
"They are all cowards! They only know how to hide behind high walls!"
Elizabeth was very satisfied with this and was about to continue shouting "Attack", but as soon as the first syllable came out, the king said: "And now the enemy's means of communication between the two sides have been blocked by themselves."
Elizabeth: "And now the enemy's means of communication between the two sides have been blocked by themselves!"
King: "The tower where the guards are mainly stationed is on the left bank, and the tax collection office is on the right bank."
Elizabeth: "The main tower where the guards are stationed is on the left bank, and the tax office is on the right bank!"
Wang: "The advantage is mine!"
Elizabeth: “The advantage is ours!”
Wang: "Just give some encouragement and call for an attack."
Elizabeth: "We can take it down with just any...any attack! Don't worry about the revenge of the River Valley Territory. Any revenge will be directed at me! And in the near future, I will definitely hang the body of Stoke, the mastermind of all this, on the gate tower of Lakeside City for public display! Just like what my second brother did to the emperor! Forward!"
Marika seemed to have been waiting for this moment for a long time. She jumped into the water from the boat, waving a dagger, and swam to the shore.
The captain of the Star Chaser also drew his sword and shouted, "For victory!"
Then he jumped over the side of the boat.
The sailors of the Star Chaser followed closely behind.
Seeing this, the sailors and mercenaries from other ships also rushed to jump off the merchant ship.
Merchant ships anchored on the other side of the river cast off their cables and moved towards this side. Many sailors jumped off the boats and swam to the shore without waiting for the arrival of the ship.