Chapter 596 Conspiracy

"I don't know, Lord Lord, how do you think about my previous proposal?" The speaker was a tall man, nearly 1.8 meters tall, wearing silver tight breeches, red pointed leather shoes, and silver locks. A, wearing a sky blue pirate cloak, with a silver raven spreading its wings embroidered on the cloak.

This man's name is Mikros Selkirk, the son of Sambia businessman Councilor Candrick and the founder of the Silver Raven Guild. This trip was ordered by his father to serve as Sambia's special envoy to lobby the Zhentarim. The Dark Fortress, join forces with them to deal with the army of conquerors, and let the swamps of the Goblin Border completely engulf them.

I just didn't expect that this mission would be much more difficult than expected. The Chairman of the Dark Castle, Meng Meng, was far more difficult to deal with than imagined. He had no access to oil and salt, and showed a lack of interest in the conqueror's army. Our Dark Fortress poses no threat, so why should we wade through this muddy water?

When he received the news that the conqueror army had left the Dragon Coast and penetrated deep into the Goblin Borderlands, Mikros couldn't sit still and wanted to make a final attempt. This was the last chance. If he still couldn't convince the Goblin Borderlands of this The biggest local snake, Sambia's plan to snipe the conqueror army in the goblin frontier is about to go to waste. On their own, they don't have that much influence here at all, even if they use benefits to lure some local monster tribes to unite. Standing up, there is no way to pose a threat to the extremely large army of conquerors.

"The special envoy is a smart man. He should know that our Zhentarim creed is that everything is about interests. The greater the risk, the greater the reward. However, in your plan, I only saw huge risks, but not matching them." Return, why should we join you?”

The person who answered was a handsome middle-aged man with long black shawl hair and short sideburns. He was meticulously groomed. When he spoke, he was slow and orderly, as if every sentence and word passed by before he was spoken. Consider carefully.

Sitting on a huge throne that is completely inconsistent with his tall and thin body, there is no sense of disobedience like a child sitting on a dragon chair. On the contrary, it feels like it should be like this, because the powerful magic power fluctuations emanating from his body are enough to match this throne. match.

This person is none other than Archmage Ximanmeng, the controller of the Dark Castle. He has taken refuge in Cyric. Although he has a direct sexual relationship with his political rival Bozor, the high priest of the god of tyranny, his own temperament is also an important factor. He has always been He doesn't like tyranny, nor unnecessary violence and cruelty. He prefers to use the erosion and binding of dark interests to silently tie his former enemies to his chariot.

This is also the reason why the Darkhold can still thrive under his leadership despite the notorious reputation of the Zhentarim. Many forces are enjoying the dark benefits he brings when fighting against them. Therefore, this kind of resistance It was never that deadly and intense.

Letting the conqueror's army sink in the swamps of the goblin frontier and receiving their huge inheritance seems to be a very good idea.

In fact, it's so bad that only those who are stupid for profit will be fooled. Once the plan fails, they will have to face a crazy counterattack by the conqueror's army.

This is a planned, organized, and god-protected immigrant army. They have proven their strength in the Giant Plains and their strategy in the Dragon Coast.

He rashly provokes such an opponent because he feels uncomfortable living.

The businessmen in Sambia underestimated him too much. Ximanmeng was not someone who could be used as a gun so easily.

"Lord Lord, you seem to have overlooked another identity of the commander of the conqueror's army. He is not only the knight of Battle Valley, but also the owner of the rockland kobold territory. Once he leads the conqueror's army through the goblin border wilderness and reaches Cormyr Rockland, what do you think the greedy old dragon from the Kingdom of Cormyr will do?”

Miklos asked and answered his own question: "If it were me, I would definitely have conferred him the title of Baron of the Rock before the conqueror's army officially entered the Cormyr Rock, because once this was done, the conqueror's army would not be as simple as It is not as simple as crossing the rocky land, but starting to build villages and towns along the high road in the rocky land. By then, this army will not take away the population from Cormyr, but will increase their population.

As a result, your Zhentarim's plan to expand a new trade route in the south will be in vain, and the land connection between the Lord's Darkhold and the Zhentarim will be completely severed. "

Xi Manmeng remained unmoved, and even his body posture did not change much. He nodded and said: "What you said is indeed very likely to happen, but you seem to have forgotten what our Zhentarim is best at. , benefit sharing, corruption and corruption. Our previous progress on the Rockland High Road was slow because there was no real ruler here. All decision-making power was controlled by the royal family and in the hands of the old dragon. We had no one to corrode and win over.

When there is a baron of our own here, it is equivalent to establishing a target for us to start with. When the baron joins our ranks, it is also the time for us to open up the high road. "

The Lord of Dark Castle was not making excuses, but stating a fact. He could naturally analyze the situation that Miklos could see.

It's just that they are not afraid of facing this situation. Many former enemies of the Zhentarim were unable to resist the temptation of profit in the end and joined their huge dark intelligence network and became an important part of it.

This method only has no effect on one kind of person, King Asan. He is the leader of a country, and allowing the Zhentarim to expand in his kingdom's territory is the greatest erosion of his own interests.

But the lords he canonized were different. Part of the profits they reaped were taken from the Kingdom of Cormyr.

"I'm afraid it's not easy to assimilate and corrode this young knight. I heard that your Zhentarim lost a sum of goods in the Rockland six months ago, and the whereabouts of this young knight are still unknown. And the young knight's The kobold territory is not far away. You didn't suspect him at first, maybe it was because he was too weak to take in the goods.

Now it seems that it is not that his strength is weak, but that he has deep roots from beginning to end.

It was after your goods were lost that he suddenly gave up the rapidly developing kobold territory and moved to the valley. "

Miklos gave another dose of harsh medicine. From the beginning to the end, he had no evidence to prove that it was Gavin who led the kobolds to rob the goods that the Zhentarim would transport to the Dark Fortress. Some of them were just far-fetched guesses.

But many times, these association guesses are enough.

Sure enough, Ximanmeng, who had always been calm and calm, suddenly sat up straight and said with a serious expression: "It is absolutely impossible to send troops to the conqueror's army. Please leave the Dark Castle immediately. From now on, you are no longer welcome here. Visit, come, see off guests.”

The decision made by the Lord of the Dark Castle was completely opposite to what Miklos expected. He did not leave any room for maneuver at all. With a wave of his robe sleeves, a magical light flashed and he teleported away directly, sending the stunned Mick away. Ross stayed put.

Although the other party did not agree with his proposal before, at least his attitude was not very tough. He was allowed to live in the Dark Castle as a guest. There was still room for easing this matter. Now it would be impossible to directly drive him out of the Dark Castle. .

"Chichi..." A muscular man wearing black armor next to him couldn't help but laugh.

"General, did I just say the wrong thing?" Mikros did not appear annoyed because of the other party's ridicule, but instead looked to him humbly for advice.

This warrior's name is Gaust, the military commander of the Dark Castle, and his status is only lower than Ximanmeng.

Different from Ximanmeng's attitude, Gost showed a strong interest in the proposal of the Sambian businessman. Recently, he got very close to Miklos and secretly provided him with a lot of information about Ximanmeng's temperament. A lot of information on the Internet has been promoting this matter.

"I have warned you before. The last thing the Lord of the Castle will not allow is for him to be controlled by jealousy. You actually try to use this to control him. Isn't it adding mistake to mistake and stupidity to stupidity?"

Gost looks like he hates iron for not becoming steel. In this matter, he naturally has his own interests.

The Zhentarim has never been monolithic. It is normal for people to fight against each other and find ways to climb up.

Gost is no exception. He has been the commander of the Dark Fortress for a long time. If there are no changes, it is basically impossible for him to replace Ximanmeng. The army of conquerors is his chance. Regardless of success or failure, it will bring huge benefits to yourself.

If it fails, Ximanmeng's position in the Dark Castle will naturally no longer be so stable, and he will have the opportunity to take advantage of it.

Even if he succeeds, it doesn't matter. He is a military commander and will definitely intervene in this war. He will naturally gain massive wealth and benefits from it. As long as he has sufficient wealth in Zhentarim, he will not be far from a high status.

If you don't think that the old cunning guy Xi Manmeng is not involved at all, there will naturally be nothing you can do.

"Is there any chance of recovery?" A trace of regret flashed in Miklos's heart, and he actively tried to find a way to remedy the situation.

"Yes." Gost said expressionlessly.

"What method? Please let the general know." Mikros asked hurriedly.

"In this world, there is only one person who can change the decision of the castle owner." Gost's face bloomed with more intense ridicule, "That is the master of the Zhentarim, Archmage Mansong. You only need to convince him, and this matter will be done. ”

Miklos's face suddenly fell. If he could get on Manson's line, would he need to grind his teeth here?

"But..." Gost changed the topic and gave a twist in a long drawl.

"But what?" Mikros seemed to have grabbed the last straw and refused to let go.

Gaust gestured towards the door and then walked out.

Miklos understood and followed closely. He was obviously worried that the walls had ears, and wanted to say some news that he only wanted two people to know.

The two of them left the Dark Castle one after another, and Gaust walked to an open space and stopped.

Miklos bowed again and saluted: "General, do you have any other good strategies? As long as I can ensure that I complete the mission, we Sembia will never forget this kindness, and our Selkirk family will definitely give it a gift." A generous gift.”

"Do you think I owe you that little money?" Gost glanced sideways at Miklos.

"Then I wonder what the general is lacking? As long as our Selkirk family can do it, we will do our best." Miklos was a little confused about Gaust's thoughts.

"I owe this favor first, and your proposal was rejected by the fort master. It is impossible for me to go against his old man and send troops to help you, but I can show you a clear way. Whether you can succeed or not depends on you. "Gost will naturally not tell Mikros that all he needs to do is muddy the situation in the Goblin Borderlands, which is something that is extremely beneficial to him. The real time for the general to come on stage is when the situation is turbulent, not when there is peace and harmony. .

It doesn't make much difference to him whether the conqueror's army was defeated in the goblin frontier, or whether the conqueror's army uprooted those local forces.

"General, please speak." Miklos' mind moved involuntarily, as if he had guessed what the other party wanted to do.

"Our Dark Castle is not the only force in the goblin wilderness. There is a black dragon named Kurgor in the Thun Swamp. She gathered all the swamp intelligent races there, formed her own royal court and army, and called herself the Lizard Queen. , I believe she will be very interested in your proposal, and the Thun Swamp is the only way for the conqueror's army to pass." Gost does not need to say more, just point out that this is a force controlled by a giant dragon. That’s it.

Mikros suddenly understood. There was no need for any high-sounding reasons to convince such forces. He only needed to show them the wealth carried by the conqueror's army, and the greed of the dragon would dominate everything.

For hundreds of thousands or even tens of thousands of gold coins, many dragons can kill villages and towns, not to mention that the conqueror's army has wealth starting from tens of millions.

"I wonder what age this black dragon is? How many troops does she have?" What Miklos is worried about now is not the problem of persuading the other party, but whether they have the ability to eat the conqueror's army.

"She is at least in her old age. Several centuries ago, she was seen active in the Thun Swamp. As for how many troops she can muster, it is unknown, because there is no force in the entire goblin frontier worthy of her summoning all the troops. At least It has been determined that a large group of barbarians and three tribes of lizardmen have sworn allegiance to her. As for more detailed information, you need to go to the Lizard Queen's Court in Thun Swamp to confirm." Gost said at the end, emphasizing. He said again, "When you arrive at the Lizard Queen's Court, don't tell me that you arrived at the Dark Castle first and then went there after being blocked here. Doing so will most likely cause you to miss the mark."

The implication of his words was obvious, the relationship between the Dark Castle and the Lizard Queen's Court was not that friendly.

Thinking about it, if both forces want to gain dominance in the goblin frontier, the relationship will definitely be very tense.

Miklos' eyes flashed involuntarily. He came from Sambia, a business alliance filled with a lot of internal strife. He had been surrounded by countless conspiracies since he was a child. He couldn't help but make a bold guess in his heart. , the pair of kings and ministers in the Dark Castle were not acting for him, the purpose was to guide him to the Lizard Queen's Court in Thun Swamp.

The purpose is self-evident, which is to let the Lizard Queen's court and the army of conquerors fight to the death, and they will reap the benefits from behind. No matter who wins or loses, the Dark Castle will not suffer any losses.

However, the relationship between the Dark Castle and the Lizard Queen's Court is tense. It is impossible for them to trust the envoy they sent, and this envoy from Sembia is the perfect candidate.

The more he thought about it, the closer Miklos felt that he was getting closer to the truth. These Cyric believers in the Dark Castle were preparing to use themselves as guns. They were worthy of being believers of the God of Conspiracy. All kinds of conspiracies and conspiracies were immersed in them. in the bones.

But he had no choice. Even if he knew the other party's plot, he had to go to the Lizard Queen's Court in person, because this mission could not be missed, which not only involved the huge interests of the Kingdom of Sambia, but also their relationship with Ser. The Coker family's century-old layout in the Kingdom of Sambia is closely related.

If they can successfully inflict heavy losses on the conqueror's army, the Selkirk family can take advantage of the situation, suppress the Yamast family, and push their father Candrick to the position of leader of Sembia.

On the contrary, if it fails, the Yamast family will definitely take the opportunity to launch an attack. Even if they do not uproot the Selkirk family, they will severely suppress or even split them up to slow down their rise. This is Odus The old fox’s real intention in forcing this task onto Councilor Candrick.

Miklos's mind was full of thoughts, but his words were extremely respectful. He humbly asked for advice: "General, besides this, is there anything else I need to pay attention to?"

"Indeed." Gost told the truth without hesitation, "First of all, you must treat her and her royal court with the true courtesy of a queen. It is said that she only accepts the titles of queen and majesty. Any other name is considered an insult, and anyone who offends Kurgol becomes her meal.

Secondly, prepare a lot of property and food, especially the latter, because doing so will buy you a buffer for a period of time and prevent you from being eaten immediately.

Finally, prepare a large amount of extra property and bribe the officials of the Lizard Queen's court, large and small, to ensure that you can go to the Lizard Queen and state your request, instead of being turned away and then being robbed as a victim. .

Also, don’t try to fly directly into the Thun Swamp to find the Lizard Queen. This is regarded as the most serious humiliation. There may be no room for relief at that time. As for the reason, you will know when you meet the Lizard Queen. .

This is all the information I know. Whether you can meet the Lizard Queen and make her work for you depends on your own ability. "