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Although Stoke looked scared, he still laughed and said, "They used the dragon transformation. Come on, prepare for defense according to the plan. We have to delay for an hour. After the wizard turns back into a human, we will kill them all and capture that damn Princess Landon..."
Puff.
It took Stock a long time to understand what the sound meant.
Little York slowly pulled the sword out of his father's body and said, "No, you don't have that chance. I've had enough of your stupid brain and your nagging for thirty years.
"No, you are not a duke, just a pathetic, incompetent clown. Don't worry, offering your head to the duchess should bring me a good ending. This is the only way I can save my wife and children."
Stoke stared at Little York with an unwilling look on his face: "You damned rebellious son! Everything is going to be just as I wish..."
"No, it won't be as you wish. Those are all hallucinations created by your stupid brain. I even suspect that you have eaten too many hallucinogenic mushrooms, so you have hallucinations." As he said that, little York once again stabbed the sword he had just drawn into his father's stomach.
Stoke twitched and looked at the ceiling: "Is this... death? This feeling is so... special..."
The death of "The Clown" Stoker ended the civil war in the Valley Territory. He served as "Duke" for a total of 31 days.
In all official records, the word duke is enclosed in quotation marks.
Chapter 105 The wild goose plucking its feathers
After Stoker's son York the Younger killed his father, he surrendered to the coalition led by Earl of Riverwood.
Then Wang and his team members met with Sadik Harvey, the deputy officer mentioned in the letter from Duke Bruce Langdon.
"You are worthy of being the strategist that Lord Bruce values so much!" As soon as they met, Sadik flattered Wang loudly, accompanied by a warm and somewhat exaggerated hug.
Wang: “Indeed.”
Even Nini, a member of the team, was used to the king's way of doing things, but Sadik was clearly not used to it.
He was embarrassed, but still adjusted himself immediately with his excellent professionalism and smiled: "Haha, you are quite frank."
After saying this, he turned to the princess and bowed respectfully: "Your Highness, you are still as beautiful as ever."
Elizabeth was wearing a formal dress and did not take off her gloves, so Sadiq was tactful and just shook her hand without kissing her hand.
Wang: "We need to immediately organize people to clear the destroyed water gate. It would be best if we could set off today. We have already wasted too much time in the valley."
Sadik: “So urgent?”
"It's that urgent."
The deputy officer sighed, "My followers were hacked to death by that madman Stocker. I am still alive because of the protection of Lord York. Now I really want to organize some manpower..."
King: "This is easy. We can let Earl Ximu and his son do it. Without them, it would not be so easy for us to overthrow Stoke. They can all be trusted."
Sadik was shocked. "Since he is recommended by the wise man, he must be very useful. I will definitely entrust him with an important task. You just said that you want to clear the water gate as soon as possible, right? I will ask someone to do it right away."
"No need," Earl Ximu took Ralph into the room where Sadik was imprisoned. "Early before the siege, I sent people to clear the rubble that blocked the water gate. In order to speed up the cleaning, we temporarily gave up repairing the water gate. So now we have to take the ferry to cross the Enlan River."
Sadik questioned: "The ferry has not been used for so many years, can it still be used?"
Earl Ximu shrugged his shoulders and said, "Why not? Tow the boat that was originally used to carry sailors ashore in Watergate Town over there, and the boat problem will be solved. The current in the Laenland River is not fast, so we don't need an experienced boatman. A young man can do the job."
Sadik raised his eyebrows. "Okay, so after the water gate is repaired, Your Highness is going to set off immediately? Wouldn't it be controversial to cut in line like this? Those merchant ships have been stuck in the collapsed water gate for a long time, right? They must be in a hurry to pass through."
"There are no more checkpoints," said Ralph. "In fact, we are going to tear the gates down completely and restore as much shipping as possible."
Sadik was shocked: "What about the finances of the Valley Territory? The Valley Territory will go bankrupt!"
King: "We have eliminated the troggs, and now we can mine in the valley."
Sadik looked the king up and down in surprise. "Really? Those are cave dwellers. Even the Valley Lords in their heyday couldn't do anything about them! You guys can handle them with just a small team?"
Wang: "No, to be precise, we didn't do it. We brought more than a hundred mercenaries who volunteered to join us. Most of them are teams that have been adventuring together for many years. They have a certain degree of coordination and are fully equipped."
Sadik shook his head: "I read the information about the Valley Territory before I came here. The configuration of the Valley Territory was definitely more complete than yours. In addition to the five or eight mercenaries and adventurers, there were also well-trained regular troops.
"But all their attacks on the underground failed. Although Riverdale was not as rich as Landon at that time, it was still quite good. It could be said to be the second richest duchy in the entire empire!"
King: "In fact, our success this time was due to luck. The adventurers were just a diversion, while we went straight to the dragon through a vertical shaft. In the end, we killed the caveman temple guards, rushed into the temple of Lamashtu, and destroyed an ancient evil machine inside."
The king paused and gestured to Sadik: "Please wait for details in the poem the bard is writing. As for how long it will take to finish, that is another matter."
Now several bards are writing about their team's affairs. The last time the king went to pay attention to the writing progress, he found that every bard was scratching his head over rhyme, as if it didn't matter whether it reflected the facts or not, the rhyme must be extremely accurate.
Sadik looked at each team member in turn, and the more he looked, the more he revealed an "I get it" expression.
"I overstepped my bounds," he said, shaking Wang's hand. "It's normal for a team like yours to do something earth-shattering. So are the cavemen completely gone?"
"Yes, even if there is a little left, it is sealed deep underground." Wang replied.
Sadik: How?
Wang briefly recounted what happened underground.
Sadik: "So... the cavemen discovered ancient relics, and then relied entirely on the relics to reproduce, and changed their social structure. As a result, you destroyed the relics, so the cavemen produced by the relics exploded?"
Wang: “That’s about it.”
Sadik was amazed: "Great, great."
Ralph: "We are ready to erect monuments for you in Riverwood Town. I heard that the earls and barons in other territories also want to do this. I guess in the future, wherever there is a mine in River Valley Territory, there will be statues of you."
Wang: "That's too much. Why not build a big one in Lakeside City? After the mining industry gets going, you'll have money."
Ralph smiled and said, "It's a deal."
Sadik watched awkwardly as they decided the territory affairs in this way, without asking him, the deputy official, a single question throughout the process.
After Wang and Ralph had talked enough, Sadik redirected the topic to the main topic: "So you decided to leave as soon as the watergate is repaired? Don't you want to pick up something here?
"The current Duchess is your Highness's sister-in-law, so it is reasonable for her to ask for some compensation. Moreover, she has done a great deed by restoring the ancestral property of the River Valley Territory."
Elizabeth: "We don't need anything."
King: "I think the secret treasures in the treasury of the Valley Territory Palace can meet our needs."
Elizabeth immediately stepped on the king's toes and leaned in to whisper, "Come on, we don't need supplies at all. What's the point of having so many except to take up the capacity of your dimensional bag? Although your dimensional bag has no upper limit, you can't be so greedy!"
Wang: "I mean to see if there are any magical equipment."
Sadik shook his head. "Don't even think about it. The River Valley Territory has long since sold off everything it has. I guess all the equipment it had accumulated during its heyday has been pawned."
Elizabeth: "I think so. Is there a direct heir to the Riverdale Territory who can prove this statement?"
Everyone looked at her in surprise.
Wang made a gesture of scratching his neck.
Elizabeth immediately remembered: "Oh, sorry!"
It was her brother who had whittled down the direct line of the Valley Territory, leaving only Duchess Ruth.
It's a bit abnormal for her to ask this question at this time.
King: "Although the River Valley Territory is very poor, we are facing a world-destroying crisis, so we must pick up the best equipment possible.
"So even if it's a poor place, we have to make the most of it and do our best to increase our strength."
Sadik frowned. "This is the first time I've heard someone describe robbery in such a refreshing and refined way. Okay, go to the treasury and take whatever you see that's suitable."
**
Although the king said so, the treasury of the Valley Territory - no, it can't even be called a treasury. After being the "Duke" for 31 days, Stoke had taken away all the last bit of gold in it, leaving only some scrap copper and iron that looked worthless.
When the door of the treasure house was opened, Elizabeth said in astonishment: "It looks like we are destined to have no gains this time."
The dwarf agreed: "This 'treasure house' without any golden color is really an eye-opener for me."
Wang: "Nini, do you see anything emitting magical light? I won't cast the spell to find the magic item."
The elf looked around the empty "treasure house" and shook his head: "No. Nothing in here is a magical item."
"I guess so." The king paced around the huge room. "Duke Langdon still has a Pathfinder in his back pocket, but Duke Riverdale doesn't have anything, which is inappropriate, right? They were rich before!"
Dwarf: "It's pawned!"
The king turned his head and looked at Elizabeth: "I remember your second brother checked the things that the Duke of Old Valley and his family brought to Langdon?"
Elizabeth nodded, "Yes, I checked it, and there are only a few items of the same level as the counter ring you have."
Dwarf: "They are nobles, not adventurers who go on adventures everywhere. Adventurers often go to dungeons, so they have a lot of powerful magic equipment on them.
"Nobles can usually only buy things that professional corpse collectors strip from dead adventurers."
Wang continued to pace in the treasury. "The Emperor of the Empire has a hidden scroll of the Banshee's Wail, which is quite remarkable considering the scarcity of knowledge related to the Nine Rings of Magic in this world. Langdon has the Pathfinder...
"Malika, check if there are any secret doors or mechanisms."
Dwarf: "Why, you still want to play the rolling stone trap in Lakeside City?"
The king simply shrugged, his attention focused on the drow who were carrying out his orders to check the wall.
About fifteen minutes later, Marika shook her head and said, "I checked every inch of the wall. There are no secret doors or traps in this place."
If Marika, a seasoned wanderer, said there was no secret door, then there was none.
The king was shocked: "Let's go and take a look at the study and bedroom in the castle. It will take time to clear the water gate anyway."
Elizabeth: "Is this okay? Wandering around in someone else's castle?"
Wang: "What are you afraid of? This is your sister-in-law's castle. You are the sister-in-law of all the servants in this castle!"
After saying that, the wizard took the princess's hand and dragged her around the castle.
Marika followed the two and asked, "You're not going to let me search the entire castle, are you?"
"That's not necessary. You just need to follow us and check any places you think are suspicious." Wang paused, "We trust your intuition as a professional wanderer."
At this time, the two men entered a hall. The interior architectural style of this castle was that there were no through corridors. Instead, there were halls connected to each other. The doors of all the halls were staggered, which ensured that crossbowmen and spellcasters could not gain vision through the entire building.
This is a structure that is convenient for armored heavy infantry to defend.
This castle should have been built earlier than Landon City. Landon City had a long, continuous corridor. Standing on the corridor and looking along it, the carefully designed columns and huge windows would give people a feeling of grandeur.
This is a classic example of sacrificing defensiveness for luxury.
The wizard led the warlock into a room with many specimens of animal heads hanging on the walls - most of them were local wild animals.
There is also a complete specimen of an adult sika deer in the room, which looks lifelike.
Wang walked around the deer and looked up at something on the wall. He suddenly stopped and stared at the deer head on the wall.
Elizabeth asked curiously, "What's wrong?"