Page 97
In fact, that is the chain of the Scorching Ray Necklace. The necklace itself is hidden in the secondary sexual characteristics, so the chain seems to overlap with the cervical vertebra.
"They still have two elves! They are truly a savior team. Most other teams would be lucky to have only one elf!"
"But why are their elves one black and one white?"
"That's called drow, a country leopard. Normally drow eat children, but this one was subdued by the Saint!"
"I heard they have a dwarf, but I didn't see him."
When the king heard this, he turned his head to look at Gotrek. As usual, there was a basket on the saddle behind the barbarian's horse, and the dwarf's muttering could be faintly heard from it.
At this time, he heard someone read: "Didn't they say the rescue team would have seven people? There are only six?"
The giant wolf under Wang's crotch suddenly turned back, and Xiaobai raised his hand: "Here, here!"
Suddenly all the cheering and whispering stopped.
Everyone looked at the wizard who was riding on a little girl who was much shorter than him.
Xiaobai was quite proud of being the focus of everyone's attention. He ran more confidently and had no intention of changing back.
Elizabeth held her laughter in for a few seconds, but finally couldn't help laughing.
In this way, the seven people who were given the title of "Savior Team" headed towards Monrovia, their target being the capital of Monrovia, the most prosperous human city on the continent: Minos City!
Chapter 107: Monrovia’s “Little Trouble”
After sailing downstream for a day and two nights - to be exact, a day and two nights plus an extra afternoon, the scenery on the river bank suddenly changed.
Wang stood on the watchtower at the bow, squinting at the lush forests on both sides of the river under the scorching summer sun.
The king said to Elizabeth beside him, "Take a last look at the trees on the river bank. If you go any further down, you won't see these trees that are common in your hometown."
"Eh?" Elizabeth looked at the wizard in surprise, "Why?"
Wang: “Because the climate is different, the Matraw Transverse Mountains block the warm and humid air currents from the south, so the climate in Monrovia is completely different from that in Kosanya.
"We are still at the junction of climates. If you look at the shore, you can see both coniferous forests common in Kusanagi and broad-leaved forests. If you continue downstream, it will be all broad-leaved forests."
Elizabeth looked toward the riverbank and muttered, "There are indeed some trees that I don't recognize. Also, there are basically no mountains along the river. It's basically flat."
Wang: "We have passed the Hengduan Mountains. We are now in Monrovia. We should be able to see the first border baron's castle in a while."
Monrovia would deliberately make the fiefs of border nobles larger so that they could afford more soldiers, build better castles, and hold out longer when the enemy attacked.
Of course, this wishful thinking has never been truly realized in Monrovia's history, but the tradition of border lords has been preserved and has formed a powerful interest group.
Elizabeth leaned on the guardrail with both hands, looking at the lush forest by the river, and suddenly sighed: "I have never seen such a lush forest in Langdon County. How many resources must there be?"
Wang: "This is the impact of the climate. Kuosania is too dry. It can also be seen from the diet. Kuosania always eats various radishes, cabbages, mushrooms and meat. It is only slightly better than the Soles. The Soles can only eat pickled cucumbers in various ways."
Elizabeth: “Is there a good variety of food in Monrovia?”
"Yes, there are more than a dozen kinds of fruits alone, a number that Kuosanya couldn't even imagine."
As soon as he finished speaking, Nini's voice floated from the top of the mast: "There is a castle and a port ahead!"
The king patted Elizabeth on the shoulder and said, "Now that you are here, I will leave it to you to deal with the red tape of being an envoy."
Elizabeth: "Then where are you going?"
The king shrugged and said, "I will stand beside you as a wise advisor and loyal guard. After all, no one in this new place knows that I cannot cast protective spells."
**
The Margrave of Bradford was a fat man who seemed to be blown up by air. He only glanced at the document handed over by Elizabeth and handed it to his secretary.
"Let the secretary handle this matter. Langdon... Your Excellency the Duchess."
This was a title Bruce had prepared specifically for Elizabeth, as she did not have a dukedom under her name. With this title, the nobles of Monrovia had to treat Elizabeth with the etiquette of entertaining a duke, which could avoid a lot of trouble.
Margrave Bradford looked Elizabeth up and down and asked, "Are you the saint in the legend? You don't have any holy emblem on you. What do you use to cast healing spells?"
It seems that the rumors in Monrovia have been distorted and have nothing to do with the facts.
Elizabeth: "I am a sorcerer. The saint is just a legend, not a real situation."
"Hmm, sorcerer." Margrave Bradford once again looked at Elizabeth with an appraising gaze. "May I ask if the Duchess has an engagement?"
Elizabeth interrupted the other party: "The purpose of our coming here is to deal with the crisis of world destruction."
"I know, you're the rescue team, that's what everyone calls you. But there are no cats or dogs missing in our territory, and there is no distortion of positive energy."
Wang: "It seems that your intelligence work is good."
Border Lord: "The Shadow Thieves already knew the details and shared them with the Military Intelligence Department. The Military Intelligence Department is a big sieve, which means that basically all the nobles in Monrovia know about it."
Elizabeth: "Then our work will be easy..."
"It's best not to have such expectations." Border Earl said coldly, "When the news came, the Shadow Thieves confirmed the status of the cat and dog and tested the positive energy. Their current conclusion is that this is just a certain evil cult doing evil in a local area."
Elizabeth: "Don't they know there's a next stage?"
"I know, but since we know what will happen in the next stage, it is easy to prevent." Border Earl spread his hands, "In other words, unless we see cheap healing scrolls and healing potions appear on the market, neither the Shadow Thieves nor the Military Intelligence Department will take any action. You will not get the help of His Majesty."
Elizabeth was about to speak when Wang patted her shoulder gently and spoke for her: "Monrovia is in trouble now, right?"
Border Earl glanced at the king and said, "Just as the rumors say, the princess is just a bottle. You are the one who really makes the decision. Hehe. The Shadow Thief's intelligence is as accurate as ever."
Elizabeth muttered, "You just said I was a saint. How can I heal without a holy emblem?"
"Of course we can't trust the Shadow Thief completely. Sometimes rumors unexpectedly contain some truth." Border Earl turned his gaze to Wang, "You are a little wrong. It's not that Monrovia is in trouble now. This country has always been in trouble. After all, it occupies such a large area on the map, and it is connected in all directions."
Wang: "Is the trouble particularly serious now?"
The border officer nodded.
Wang: "That should be because the orcs on the grassland have formed a tribal alliance and are coming to plunder."
Border Earl smiled and said, "It is rumored that the strong contender for the future emperor of Kusania values you very much. Now it seems that this rumor is not wrong. Yes, the orcs have just ended the civil war and created a new chieftain of the tribal alliance.
"But this has nothing to do with me. After all, my territory is right next to Kuosaniya. You will get a pass and a letter of introduction.
"My daughter married a big businessman in the capital. She is now 'working on her network'. You can go to her with a letter of introduction and let her lead you into the social circle of the capital."
As he spoke, the Margrave of Bradford took out a sealed letter from the drawer and handed it to his secretary. It was obvious that he had already made all the preparations: "Give this and the customs clearance document to Her Excellency the Duchess."
The secretary bowed respectfully.
The Border Earl looked at Elizabeth and said, "I can't help you much with the rest. I will arrange a sumptuous dinner and provide you with the best guest rooms. If you have any special needs, please tell my butler. By the way, Your Excellency the Duchess, you haven't answered my original question yet. Do you have any plans to get engaged?"
Elizabeth answered decisively: "No. There is a world waiting for me to save now."
"Is that so?" The Border Earl nodded. "Then let's do this. You will continue your journey tomorrow. Monrovia is larger than Kusaniya, and you will have to sail for a few more days to reach the capital. My suggestion is not to stop in every earldom, as that will greatly slow down your movement speed. Many of you just happen to have sons of the right age, do you understand what I mean?"
Elizabeth nodded.
**
After finishing the meeting with the Border Earl, the butler took Elizabeth and the wizard to the small hall where the team members were waiting.
"This is your living room. I promise no one will disturb you." The butler said respectfully, "As for the room allocation, there are four rooms and eight beds in total. I think you can handle it by yourselves. Then I'll take my leave and dinner will be served at the appointed time."
Wang snapped his fingers and said, "Wait a minute, remember to bring a whole ham for dinner. No need to cut it. And it's better if the ham is not too salty."
Although the butler looked strange, he nodded and said, "I see. A ham, not too salty. Do you want it cut and sent to me?"
"No, just bring the whole thing over."
"Understood. Goodbye then." The butler closed the door.
As soon as he left, Marika ran to the door and put her ear to it, waiting for a few seconds before saying, "Nothing happened, no one is eavesdropping outside."
Elizabeth let out a long breath, then pulled out the beholder necklace: "This thing is very uncomfortable to wear, and it's all sweaty."
Wang: "But look, you are no longer dizzy."
"That's because I learned how to 'close my eyes'. This thing can actually close its eyes!"
Elizabeth showed the necklace to everyone, and sure enough, the folded metal "eyelids" on the base of the necklace unfolded and closed the eyes.
Wang: "So there is this trick. I didn't find it when I was appraising it. You see, you know more about this necklace than I do. It turns out that you are the most suitable person to wear it!"
Elizabeth spread her chest muscles and said, "Look at this mark. I'm wearing a corset today, and I didn't dare tighten it at all in order to fit the necklace. If I attend Minos' banquet in the future, people will think I'm not decent."
Wang: "Because the corset was not tightened?"
"Correct!"
Wang: "I didn't know there was such a saying. I learned it. Then you don't have to bring this with you when you attend the party."
Flint interrupted the conversation: "So what does the Border Lord say?"
"Not much," the wizard replied. "He was very reasonable and gave us a letter of introduction so that we could go to the capital to find his daughter who had married him."
Marika, who was guarding the door, said, "It sounds like they are forcing a favor on us."
Wang nodded. "By the way, Monrovia may know more about our mission than we thought. But since they have their own things to do, I don't think we will get much help."
Dwarf: "I'm just going to the Royal Institute of Architects to ask a question. I don't think we need any special assistance. It's impossible for us to solve some shocking conspiracy wherever we go."
Wang: “That’s true.”
Nini, who was sitting on the windowsill, suddenly asked, "You just said that the Monrovians have something to deal with. It sounds like they have something difficult to deal with. What is it?"
Wang: "We can't control this. Beyond the eastern border of the Monrovia Empire, there are huge grasslands and hills. You know? The orcs are the rulers here, and the orcs have just created a new generation of grassland overlords.
"According to tradition, after the orcs ended their civil war, they would soon begin to plunder human cities in order to solve the problem of bloated population and lack of wars to fight."
Nini frowned: "What do you mean there is no war to fight?"
Flint: "It seems that the elf girl has never encountered orcs and does not understand the racial characteristics of orcs. Orcs are basically a species born for war. If there is no war to fight, they will soon start fighting among themselves.
"The grassland east of Monrovia - it's a bit of a stretch to call it grassland, it's actually a large piece of wasteland. The orcs living here are almost the initiators of all the wars in Monrovia's history. Whenever the orcs produce a tribal leader that all the tribes can trust, they will start looting.
"The people of Solace in the north are also deeply troubled by the wild orcs. A large number of orcs in both countries have been sold as slaves. That is the masterpiece left behind when the orcs looted human villages."
The king continued the dwarf's words and added, "Fortunately, the orc tribes have been in an endless civil war. Only when a strong man who can conquer all the tribes emerges will a unified tribal alliance be formed.
"This kind of tribal alliance has never lasted, because the children of powerful orcs are rarely strong enough to inherit their father's mantle, and are often killed by challengers. In fact, powerful overlords will be killed by challengers when they get old."
Nini was shocked: "What a barbaric race. What's the point of them doing this?"
"It's meaningless. Or rather, the act of showing one's strength itself is meaningful to orcs."
Elizabeth asked in confusion: "Then why not assassinate the orc overlord?"