Soul of Burning Steel

Since the conflict between the Northern Empire and the orc tribes living in the northwestern Tatarus plateau more than four hundred years ago, the shadow of war has never escaped from this huge country.

Although the civilization of the orcs is underdeveloped, they are brave and good at fighting, fearless of death and pain. With the encouragement of shamans and ancient ancestors, any orc, even an underage female orc, can become a warrior. Their physique Far superior to humans, so that in the face of these primitive creatures with bone rods and stone spears, human soldiers wearing sophisticated iron armor can't have the slightest advantage.

No one can predict that this primitive tribal extermination war, which was originally optimistically estimated and ended in about three months, actually lasted for nearly 500 years. During this long period of war and truce, the primitive Orcs quickly imitated human civilization. They tried to plow the fields, plant pastures to raise cattle and flocks. They built workshops and simple sacrificial temples. They learned from human craftsmen to build iron armors and fortresses. Even the wise men among them would think about magic. Mystery.

The war completely changed the race of orcs, and it was the same for the Northern Empire.

The nobles in the northwestern part of the empire suffered a severe blow due to the two-year invasion of the orcs. Several families that had existed since the founding of the country completely disappeared. Large tracts of unowned land were left vacant, and the empire’s economy was on the verge of collapse several times. It also swiftly tilted towards the direction of military industry. Numerous large and small workshops and mines were opened in various places, and they were responsible for the supply of military materials.

The outstanding of these workshop owners and mine owners, as well as the fighters who performed extremely well in the army and the orcs, became the new owners of those vacant lands in the Northwest. These emerging noble families became the resistance to the invasion of the orcs. The main force also made his family's industry gradually become part of the economic lifeline of the empire.

The annual beast wave in the south and the endless wars in the northwest have prevented the great empire from developing at ease. It has also caused most of the emerging nobles to decline in just a few decades, until another The family replaced them.

But even so, some families still exist for more than four hundred years. They have now become giants, controlling most of the empire's mining, construction, metallurgy, transportation, textile, and enchanting industries. Economically, the old-school aristocrats who are dominated by agriculture were far away from these later generations, but this is after all a world of vindictiveness and magic. In terms of individual strength, the old-school aristocrats with perfect inheritance experience still have the advantage.

The Radcliffe family where Joshua belongs is also part of the emerging aristocracy. The exploration of the Great Aas Mountains in the north is precisely for the increasingly intensified war to find new mineral veins and resource producing areas.

But now, the orcs are extinct, and the war that has lasted for more than four hundred years is over.

The abnormal economic system of the empire is constantly returning to normal. The most obvious is the sharp decline in demand for minerals and metallurgy. There are rumors that the contemporary emperor Israel even plans to reduce the number of private soldiers of the Northwest aristocracy within a few years and close it. Most dangerous temporary mines and workshops.

Power and money are the lifeblood of a family. Without power, there is no way to protect money, and without money, there is no way to cultivate power.

This move by Israel has undoubtedly touched the core interests of most emerging aristocrats-the arrival of peace means the disappearance of the war policy preference, their importance has rapidly decreased, and the loss of the imperial military, the biggest The closure of purchasers and large-scale production facilities will undoubtedly bring incalculable economic losses.

If it is an empire in the ordinary world, then this time may be the beginning of a civil war, but in Mycroft, no one dares to challenge the majesty of the legendary powerhouse. The emperor said one, and no one dared to say two. Israel was able to conquer the orc court by himself, and he certainly didn't mind trying to smooth out one or two stupid nobles who dared to challenge the majesty of the royal family to kill chickens and monkeys.

The nobles can only accept all this.

It was early in the morning when a knight drove slowly on the outskirts of Seti, not far from the emperor. He passed through a field full of moist water vapor and came to a quiet small town. There was a sparkling river at the entrance of the town, and the knight walked across the flat stone bridge, traversed several streets, and finally stopped at the door of an ordinary manor.

The knight dismounted and reported to the servant of the manor. The gray-haired servant glanced at him, and then on the simple armor, the old man saw the low-key coat of arms.

'iron hand'

The iron fist of the empire, the coat of arms of the Fertau family.

So he nodded politely, and then went back to the house to report to the steward. Soon, a serious butler passed through the manor and took a letter from the knight.

Before long, the door of a room deep in the manor was knocked, and Kleiman Suward woke up from his sleep.

Although he woke up unexpectedly, Kleiman was not angry about it. The middle-aged man with long dark brown hair took two seconds to completely get out of the illusion in the dream, and then began to think calmly.

If there is nothing important, his deputy will not disturb his sleep. Since it disturbs, then the representative must have important things. A middle-aged man with such a logic in his mind quickly put on his clothes and walked out of the room. He immediately saw his deputy waiting for him. As the largest ore supplier in the northwestern region of the empire, Kleiman, the spokesperson of the Suward family in the imperial capital and the second son of the family, believed very much in this deputy who had assisted him for many years. He did not pretend to be serious, but yawned. Complained: "What's the matter? I haven't slept well for almost two months."

"Letter from the Feltau family." The deputy who seemed to be about fifty years old immediately replied: "The great knight Nak personally sent it. It should be related to ‘that matter’."

"They haven't tested it yet?" Kleiman took out an amethyst vial from his pocket and sniffed it. An extremely refreshing scent poured into his nasal cavity, allowing him to completely enter the working state: "This is already half of the time. Months, is there no result yet?"

Having said this, Kleiman frowned, and he said angrily: "They didn't make a move?"

"No, it's a shot. It's just that the situation is a bit weird. Nake thinks something is a bit wrong. He said his master is also uncertain about the situation."

"Except for the eldest son who has some ability, the new generation of the Feltaou family is a waste." Kleiman said with disdain. Although he is only the second son of the family and cannot inherit the title of the Suward family, he is a family. The spokesperson in the imperial capital controls most of the secrets of the industry, and even his elder brother will have to rely on him in the future to manage the entire family smoothly.

Having said that, Kleiman still took the envelope from his deputy, and he opened it and roughly scanned the contents, then his expression became distorted.

"What did they do?!"

The second person in the Suward family's future let out a low roar, with a hint of fear in his anger: "All killed?! These **** dwarves, idiots mixed with dwarves, their heads are made of stone. Is it?!"

The ancestors of the Fertau family once mixed with dwarves, so most of the family members are not tall. It is precisely because of the blood of dwarves and human wisdom that they can become one of the largest weapon suppliers in the empire.

Upon seeing this, the deputy took the letter paper from Kleiman's hand. He also glanced roughly at it, and then took a breath: "Oh my god-this is not according to the rules!"

"Of course." Kleiman subconsciously took out the vial of amethyst, which contained a high-concentration refreshing potion, which is the favorite of wizards who like to stay up late to study. He inhaled and calmed down: "Radke The Reeve family is not abiding by the rules, trying to grab the cake of the weapon market at this time when everyone is very difficult. It is normal for the group of dwarves to want to threaten, but they did too much this time."

Now, it is the long-lost peace time of the empire. After the war with the orcs is over, the empire’s weapons and ore markets are shrinking as a whole, and many workshops are unable to receive orders and are on the verge of bankruptcy. The Suward family is okay. The ore industry they manage is in high demand even in peacetime. Although it is a bit uncomfortable, it is not a major difficulty. However, nobles like the Feltao family who started with forged weapons are different. Now, they are in an unprecedented moment of crisis.

But the Radcliffe family got worse at this time. The Northland family was licensed by the royal family and was one of the special ore suppliers of the five direct legions. Even after the war, it could not affect their business much, but the new earl It seemed that he was still not satisfied. He actually started production abruptly when all the new nobles were extremely difficult, selling finished weapons and armors, and grabbing business from other families that were already very difficult.

To cut people’s wealth is an enemy of life and death. This sentence is the same all over the world. The Ferta'ao family that has been most affected must be almost mad. This can be seen from the actions of their imperial capital’s spokesperson. It can be concluded that he has been trying to harass the Radcliffe's shops and properties during the recent period.

"One, two, three... six people."

Kleiman rubbed his forehead fiercely, and he looked very distressed: "The seven gods are on the top, he killed more than half of the spokesperson of the Radcliffe family in the imperial capital...This is no longer a temptation or a threat. , Is a naked provocation!"

For the unruly Radcliffe family, Kleiman also dislikes it very much, but he is more cautious by nature to find a time to settle all this at the negotiating table-of course, he does not think that Fair What's wrong with the Ta'ao family's behavior, it's just that too many people have been killed, and they are also not in compliance with the rules.

Assassination, threats and bribery against rival spokespersons were originally part of the struggle of the nobility. If it is said that near the frontiers of the empire, such as the northern or southern fortresses, the struggle of the nobles is likely to develop into a **** battle, but this is not the case around the imperial capital. However, generally speaking, the assassination of a spokesperson is the fiercest warning and provocation. Killing six at a time is basically equivalent to a war in the border area.

"Don't the Radcliffe family have anything to say?" Thinking of this, Kleiman turned his head and asked his deputy. He said in a somewhat unbelievable way: "Can those people from the North have a temper? "

He knew that the young lord of the North Land was known as the youngest Jiyi, and was even called the legend of the future by His Majesty. It was unimaginable that his character could endure such a loss.

"The strange thing is here." The deputy quickly replied. At this time, he had read the contents of the letter paper: "The shop is operating normally. Although people die one by one, there is no counterattack. You know, many people are We were ready to be assassinated, and we also temporarily hid in the outskirts-this is why the Feltao family asked us about it. They wanted to know what was going on."

This attack undoubtedly received Kleiman’s acquiescence. To be precise, if it were not for several mineral and metallurgical nobles to jointly target the Radcliffe family, the Feltao family would not dare to provoke it so easily. An extremely strong person, but Joshua's reaction made the other party extremely puzzled.

"They think that Lord Earl is scared?"

Taking the letter paper from his deputy again, Kleiman saw the end. He grinned his teeth and even laughed angrily: "The arrogant dwarf...that's an extremely powerful man! He just got from the holy mountain and the crazy dragon Come back from the battlefield, the number of dragons killed may be more than the weapons you forged in your lifetime!"

Before, the nobles of the empire learned some news from the palace. They knew that Joshua had left the empire, so the Feltao family dared to attack Alfonso Carlos, but almost a week ago, The news from Yuannan shocked everyone-the warrior's departure was actually invited by the Church of the Seven Gods. During this time, he had been fighting against the mad dragon on the sacred mountain of the distant sea, and he had won countless battles.

Although I didn’t believe that Joshua was afraid that he would not react to the deaths of his spokesperson, but the middle-aged man actually didn’t know what was going on. He leaned against the wall in anguish, his brain kept tumbling. Running.

Is it possible that you are really scared? He thought this way, of course, not because he was afraid of the Felta's family, but because he was afraid of some big figures at a higher level.

The attack on the Radcliffe family this time was not entirely a revenge for the unruly grabbing business. Kleiman himself was signaled by the patriarch of the family, the old Marquis of Suward, to cooperate with the group of dwarves to provide poison. . He vaguely guessed from the scattered information from his father's mouth that it seemed to be an instruction from a great figure in the royal court, but Kleiman couldn't figure out who would target Joshua in the royal court.

The Radcliffe family has always been a clear-cut royal party. This can be seen from the fact that they can get orders from the five major legions. Joshua himself has a personal relationship with Brandon, the heir of another royal party, the Kaos family. Mi, the emperor's former teacher, Master Nostradamus also opened a mage academy in the Northland, not to mention that His Majesty Israel himself admired Joshua very much.

It is impossible for him to be involved in the internal struggle of the palace, unless...

Kleiman took a deep breath. He had been reluctant to think deeply in this direction, but now he felt a chill spread across his spine.

Unless, this matter involves the issue of the empire's heirs.

From beginning to end, no matter whether it was Kleiman, his deputy, or the group of Feltauers, no one felt that assassinating an ordinary businessman was a big deal. They were afraid, but they were only afraid of themselves. Shooting too much, killing too many at once will make the Radcliffe family lose face, which is regarded as a provocation for a formal war.

Money is more important than everything. They want to solve all this at the negotiating table. Assassinating the spokesperson is just a fierce notice. This is how the nobles fight-Kleiman is very comfortable with all this. For so many years, he has been It's all over here, and I think it will continue like this, but there are always some accidents in my life.

For example, now.

Outside the manor ~www.novelmtl.com~ there was a sudden thunder, Kleiman didn't care too much, but the next moment, he suddenly felt a shock all over his body, all the pores above and below his body were tightened with fear.

The space seemed to be distorted, and the entire manor immediately tilted-a fast dark red ripple traversed the entire corridor from top to bottom, breaking a crack, and the crunching, twisting and cracking sound became a piece, the middle-aged man and his own The deputy hurriedly leaned against the more stable side of the corridor, and they looked at all this blankly.

The manor is divided into two.

The building on the other side collapsed, and Kleiman saw the sun in the early morning and breathed the air full of dew.

And a figure, floating in the air, holding a big silver sword in his hand, his eyes red as fire, looking down at the crowd.

The high temperature enough to burn steel spread from his whole body. The middle-aged man looked at everything beside him in terror-the broken corridors, broken walls, furniture, and potted plants were all turned into dust in the sky under the high temperature, and the air was covered. The high temperature distorted and rushed high into the sky with these red sparks.

The shadow of despair spread.