I will be crowned king

"Hey, why are you the only one out?"

Outside the cellar door of the farm, Carl Bain, who was leaning against the wall and smoking, watched Fabian push the door open with a stiff expression, poked his head behind him and said:

"Where is the militia leader and... him?"

"For safety reasons, the Commander-in-Chief plans to visit the mine in person, and Captain Joseph will be responsible for accompanying him. You..." The familiar words shocked the former Guards officer. He turned his head and looked at the Chief of Staff with a slight frown. :

"When did you start smoking a pipe?"

"From the day I used up all the cigarette paper." Carl, holding a pipe in his mouth, rolled his eyes: "The local supplies are so pitiful that a piece of paper can only be used for a day... Hey, have you ever tried using Beluga? Hong Kong’s straw paper cigarettes?”

"no, what happened?"

"You should really try it—if you're going to make yourself miserable all day long and not be afraid of your collar being burned off."

"Oh." Fabian said with dazed eyes.

"You haven't answered my question yet."

"what is the problem?"

"Why did you come out alone?" Karl looked confused:

"He doesn't want you to follow, or do you finally understand how boring this thing is?"

"No, it's just that we have other jobs."

Fabian finally came to his senses and returned to his usual smiling appearance: "It would be best if the Commander-in-Chief was distracted by some trivial matters, and it would be irrelevant to him when investigated afterwards."

This time it was Carl Bain's turn to frown. After a long silence, he took off the pipe from the corner of his mouth and slowly said:

"Although I think it's unlikely, I still have to ask, are you... not going to rebel?"

"How is it possible? How could I inform... Chief of Staff Carl Bain, I need your help."

Fabian said extremely sincerely.

"Me? This is quite new. If I remember correctly, this should be the first time you have asked me for help..." Karl raised his eyebrows in surprise:

"What's up?"

"Red Hand Bay, there are loyalists from other colonies." Fabian said concisely:

"Black Lagoon Port, Winter Torch City...except for Long Lake Town, all other colonies have sent representatives to Sailing City. The empire will definitely start to support them and purge the liberals who want independence."

"And you're worried that they know the situation in each colony better than we do, and they might get ahead of us?" Carl Bain immediately understood what he meant, and nodded thoughtfully:

"Well... this is indeed difficult to handle. On the one hand, we have to protect these guys from being purged, but now they are still wary of us. Interfering rashly may cause counter-effects and push them towards the empire."

"So we still have to wait for the empire to take action first." After listening to Karl's analysis quietly, Fabian said in a deep voice:

"It just so happens that Gray Pigeon Castle is the closest to Sailing City and has not sent any representatives to our side. This proves that the loyalists there should be very strong - let Gray Pigeon Castle serve as a 'good example' to the liberals in other colonies, and it will be easier to persuade them." .”

"That makes sense, what do you need me to do?"

"It's very simple." A meaningful smile suddenly appeared on the former Guards officer's face:

"While the Commander-in-Chief is away, cooperate with me in a play."

"acting?"

Karl looked at the charming smile on his face and couldn't help but tremble.

……………………

Feeling the cold and rugged "artificial stone steps" under his feet, Anson followed the militia leader into the mine, heading deep underground.

The mine is very narrow, with an almost irregular arc-shaped tunnel. Even the young man who is still growing has to bend his waist to move forward. The wooden beams supported above his head are almost integrated with the rock wall, and the cracked parts are filled with cracks. of gravel.

The mine is dark, so dark that there is no "light" at all, enough to make anyone who considers himself brave become claustrophobic and scare himself out of his mind within five minutes.

However, this problem does not exist for Anson - he activated his "superpower" as soon as he entered the mine. If the militia leader turns around, he will be surprised to find that this "Commander-in-Chief" is a closed Followed behind him with eyes closed.

The disadvantage is that he can see too clearly, and even the cracks of every rock and wooden beam around him can be clearly seen; in Anson's field of vision, this mine that seems to be able to hold up will almost collapse at any time. It collapsed, burying the two alive in the tunnel where they never saw the light of day.

"Please follow closely and don't look back."

In the darkness, the militia leader holding a kerosene lamp moved forward cautiously, his voice trembling slightly: "It is said that there is an unwritten rule in the mines of the New World - unless it is time to go back, no matter what, There’s no turning back.”

"If you really do this, the Shadow Demon's eyes will be on you. Once you see His eyes, it will be useless no matter where you run!"

Shadow Demon?

Anson raised his eyebrows.

"He... is an evil god believed by the indigenous people, just like the Three Old Gods over there, but a little different." Before he could ask, Joseph introduced him while leading the way, just like people walking together. When walking at night, I always like to talk about something to strengthen my courage:

"It is said that He is everywhere, and every place shrouded in shadow is his kingdom. When immigrants dig mines in the new world, they are stealing treasures from His kingdom, and they are most likely to be targeted by the Shadow Demon."

"Everyone who looks directly into the eyes of the Shadow Demon will have their souls taken away by him bit by bit, lose their memory, and eventually turn into a walking zombie that knows nothing, but they will not die easily... until they are completely decomposed, even if they are Without a life, the soul will still be enslaved for a hundred years, becoming a pawn of the Shadow Demon, cursing every outsider who accumulates wealth from this land, and eventually disappears, and the rotting corpse will become a mine in the ground."

Curses, memories and manipulations sound very consistent with the characteristics of black magic, but when explained from the perspective of relying on shadows, they also seem to have certain characteristics of a conjurer. As long as they are within their own casting range, they can control everything and even distort reality. ...Ansen said silently in his heart.

This is not the first time he has encountered a similar existence. When crossing the turbulent sea storm, Thalia encountered the same situation when confronting the Lord of the Abyss: at first she thought the other party was a blood mage similar to herself. , it was only after the fight that he discovered that he was actually a deeply hidden black magic caster.

Could it be that spellcasters in the new world are different from those in the old world, and there is some way to master two or even more than two kinds at the same time... huh? !

Anson suddenly thought of what was mentioned in Saint Isaac's notes. Could the "evolution" path of jumping between different magics be related to the Old God Sect in the New World?

From the notes, it seems that he encountered a bottleneck, but he finally mastered the three major magics at the same time... although it did not change the outcome of being assassinated.

If the ability acquired last time was to pave the way for the next evolution, would there be a connection between the two?

For example, if you want to gain a stronger ability to distort reality, you need greater mental strength; then should you complete the strengthening of black magic first, and then jump to the level of curse magic?

If this is the case, then St. Isaac's method should not be original, but should be earlier... No, the New World is for the belief in the Ring of Order compared to the Old World, and for the Old Gods, it is the Three Old Gods. The land of rest, the true birthplace of faith.

The three major magics blend with each other and rely on each other to climb the evolutionary tree... It may be the earliest system of the Old Gods!

But judging from the old god sects in the New World that we are encountering now, this system seems to have certain flaws: both the Shadow Demon and the Lord of the Abyss, the conditions for the emergence and use of power seem to be very harsh, with various restrictions. It seems too obvious: the former must be deep under the sea, and the latter has no shape at all, hiding in the shadows...

Is it because "the greater the ability, the greater the limitations"? Or has it evolved to be too distinctive, causing it to be even more rejected by the world?

"What?"

Just when he was speculating on whether there was some kind of connection between Saint Isaac and the New World Old God Sect, Joseph, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped and spoke without looking back.

"What's wrong?"

Anson stood behind him, with the stunned expression of the militia leader reflected in his mind. His rapidly contracting pupils revealed an unexpected look, as if he had noticed something.

"No...nothing...I mean...I didn't see anything...I...I..." Joseph opened his mouth hesitatingly, but he hesitated as if he didn't know how to explain, trembling. froze in place.

"Don't be nervous, relax."

Anson spoke to comfort him, his right hand stopped behind the militia leader to prevent him from falling, but he did not really touch him: "Now...think carefully, did you see something?"

"see?!"

Joseph's body suddenly trembled, his eyes widened significantly, and the muscles in his cheeks also trembled slightly: "No...I...I didn't see anything!"

"I just...just seemed...as if...heard something not quite right...a sound!"

"sound?"

"sound!"

The frightened Joseph repeated it, taking deep breaths quickly.

Perhaps because of the thin oxygen in the mine, this did not make him relax. Instead, his expression became even more painful, and he looked forward in fear:

"I've been here...twice...never heard that sound...that..."

"Are you sure that's the sound?"

Anson's questioning voice came from behind him again.

"I'm sure!" Joseph suddenly became hysterical, and his cheeks began to flush abnormally:

"I heard it, I really heard it!"

"Did you really hear it?"

"I really heard it!"

"Then what did it say?"

"it says……"

"boom!"

Before he could speak, the cold gun butt hit him hard on the back of the head.

The trembling militia leader was like a puppet with its strings cut off. "Plop!" he collapsed to the ground.

After turning the gun slightly, Anson, who squinted his eyes, did not put away the "Dagger" revolver, but pointed the muzzle straight ahead:

"Should you come out on your own, or should I go over and invite you?"

In the dark tunnel, the only sound was his voice.

When the echo ends, silence returns.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

Crisp applause came from the tunnel behind Anson.

Anson's face was expressionless, and he still maintained his gun-raising posture, his narrowed pupils staring intently at the darkness directly ahead.

"Commander-in-Chief Anson Bach, you are truly worthy of your reputation."

A slightly brisk voice came from the darkness, approaching from behind him step by step: "As expected of the first time I was attacked, I was able to escape the ambush and even counterattack of the Faithless Knights."

He stood seven steps behind Anson. His face, which was covered by his hood and hair, could be vaguely seen as being in his thirties or forties. He wore exquisite clothes and only wore local products with the finest local leather. The rich man who always wears a silk top hat is no different.

If he walked out wearing this outfit, maybe everyone would think that he was the owner of this mine and farm, and it would not arouse any suspicion.

"Originally, I thought Ian and the others might be exaggerating, but now it seems that I should trust his judgment... If I guessed correctly, you may have noticed me when you first entered the mine, right?"

No, just now, "superpowers" consume a lot of energy. I don't have that much time to pay attention to someone who likes to follow... Ansen paused slightly and said indifferently:

"What do you want to do?"

"Meet you."

The man chuckled lightly: "I gave you a precious meeting gift. In return, I really want to find an opportunity to meet you."

"It's just...due to various reasons, and you seem to have been very busy recently, I didn't even have the chance to have a drink or chat with you in private."

"What are you talking about?" Anson continued to ask.

"cooperate."

It was still a simple and clear answer, and the voice laughed and said: "Changhu Town is just the beginning. We hope to have deeper cooperation with you... and the Luen family behind you. Both parties will hunt together and each will get what they need."

"Our power is not large, but we have friends in almost all the colonies. They can provide you with the most timely first-hand information, or some little-known secrets, for your "Moby Dick Port Good Guy News", and... …”

"If you need to attack a strong fortress one day, a city gate key may be helpful to you."

The other party's voice was faintly proud.

"I guess...this kind of help comes at a price." Anson asked, still not looking behind him.

"We need shelter, a safe enough shelter... Ian Clemens should have made it very clear to you on this point, and I don't need to repeat it again." The voice continued to smile:

"The colonial rebellion has broken the balance of the new world, and the empire will invest more power here; even to avoid them, a weak existence like us must find a suitable force to join as soon as possible."

"Then you found me?"

"There is no other force that can defeat the empire in the new world except Clovis - except the Old Gods." The other party said without concealment:

"Introduce yourself, my name is Phil."

"Fair Cressey."