In the Name of the Queen

"Of course I brought it. I always carry such important things with me." Roland took out the wordless book from the Moonlight Silver Armor and handed it to Sura.

Seeing that Roland attached so much importance to the wordless book, Sura's face looked better.

He took the wordless book and stroked it gently. After a long time, he slowly said: "This wordless book not only records history, but also has many hidden functions, such as maps."

Sura took Roland to a secluded alley, opened the last page of the wordless book, covered it with his palm, and activated the hidden map.

The territory of the Magic Empire appeared suddenly, but these places are now divided up by various countries.

As the successor of the Magic Empire, the Magic Association can only exist underground.

According to the agreement, they can enter human cities, but they must hide their identities. If they are discovered, they will be fined or even imprisoned.

The existence of the Magic Association itself is a secret, and those who can contact it are all top elites.

There are few opportunities to contact them, so as to prevent civilians who can't make a living from joining the Magic Association.

Human countries cannot completely wipe out the Magic Association, so they choose peace and never hope that they will rise again.

It would be bad if someone like Roland was found out for trading with important figures in the Magic Association.

Sura looked at the territory on the map and the place names that had disappeared in the long river of history, and was silent for a long time.

Roland knew that he was upset, and comforted him softly: "I can understand your feelings."

"No, you can't." Sura, who was always gentle, suddenly became a little excited and couldn't control his emotions.

After a moment, he sighed.

"The era of the Magic Empire is over. Even if we can find the best magic crystal veins, we can only expand our living space and can't restore our former glory."

Roland nodded and said softly: "Although it is a bit cruel, other countries really don't want to see you return to the ground."

"What about you?" Sura asked in a low voice.

Roland didn't answer.

Sometimes silence is also a kind of answer.

He has received the favor of the Magic Association and is willing to give back, but this does not mean that he is willing to support the Magic Association to return to the ground and rebuild the Magic Empire.

After all, Roland is a descendant of the "barbarians" and the descendant of those who buried the Magic Empire.

People miss the Magic Empire and the era when magic civilization was highly developed, but that doesn't mean they want them to come back.

"I understand that when the Magic Empire ruled, they also didn't want the barbarians to enter the core area of ​​the continent. Now the situation is just reversed." Sura said self-deprecatingly.

Even if the magic crystal vein is discovered, the Magic Empire cannot be reborn.

The population of the Magic Association is too small.

Even if there is living space, everyone lives openly, and it will take several generations to fully recover.

The underground city can't accommodate too many people.

If you want to increase the population, you have to return to the ground.

But the barbarian countries on the ground will never allow this to happen.

This is a dead end.

Unless a miracle happens, the people of the Magic Association can only stay underground forever.

The underground city has everything, but no sunlight.

The artificial sun created during the Magic Empire can sustain several large cities, but what if the artificial sun goes out?

Thinking of this, Sura felt desperate.

Seeing Sura's face gradually twisted by pain, Roland asked softly: "Sura, have you ever thought about how you plan to mine even if you find a magic crystal vein? The previous war proved that you can't fight up, and we can't go down."

"There will always be a way."

Roland smiled and asked back: "Are you planning to use special means to open the underground passage and secretly mine magic crystal underground?"

"This does not violate the agreement." Sura did not deny it, but emphasized the treaty between the two parties.

Roland shook his head slowly, "The contract is only valid before it is torn up. Sura, people are willing to abide by the contract not because the cost of tearing up the contract is too high."

"Tearing up the contract will be spurned by civilized society, and will lose reputation, money and even everything."

"If the benefits of tearing up the contract are greater than the damage, there must be people willing to do so."

Roland's meaning is very clear, the contract is not absolute.

The "barbarian" countries are willing to respect the contract based on their own interests.

If the Magic Association thinks that this contract can allow them to safely collect magic crystal veins without being disturbed, it is a bit naive.

Looking at Roland's calm smile, Sura sighed and remembered what the teacher said.

"Sura, don't try to constrain Roland with contracts, feelings, or anything like that. Just offer a price that Roland can't refuse. This is a deal that is at our disadvantage, so we have to raise the price."

The teacher is still good at judging people.

Sura hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "Roland, do you want to make a deal with us?"

"Tell me about it."

"The teacher believes that the largest magic crystal vein is near the Val city-state, and it may even be in the White Mountain. We need your help."

"In return, we can provide you with money and materials of equal value."

Roland shook his head slowly.

"Not enough."

Sura looked at Roland in astonishment, "Is an equal transaction not enough?"

"This is not equal. The supply and demand relationship determines the value of the commodity. Where can you buy magic crystals according to the exchange rate of the Magic Empire?"

This time it was Sura's turn to be silent.

Roland was right. According to the past prices, magic crystals could not be bought at all.

Large-scale mining of the veins will be discovered sooner or later.

With the strength of the Magic Association, it is no match for the barbarian countries on the ground.

Only Roland could cover them, so he certainly had the right to demand a premium.

After a moment of silence, Sura slowly asked, "What do you want?"

"The full support of the association!" Roland said decisively.

He admired Alina's divination more and more.

Sif's fate curve has changed and become unobservable, but this does not mean that she will escape from absolute death.

According to the current trend, Vladimir's army may come before Sif ascends the throne to integrate domestic resources.

Roland needs more power, no matter where this power comes from.

He doesn't care even if it comes from the devil.

Maybe the devil is terrible in the eyes of others, but in Roland's eyes, the devil is an excellent businessman.

They respect contracts, trade at equal value, and don't fool people. They are simply a model of law-abiding businessmen.

He even suspected that the so-called devil was a slander of honest businessmen by literati.

The Magic Association may not be a devilishly cute businessman, but they have no choice.

Compared with the resolute attitude of other countries, Roland's prejudice against the Magic Association is at least not that deep.

Because of Master Anthony, he can even be considered half of his own people.

Of course, it was impossible to expect Roland to lower the price by relying on this relationship.

Roland respected the rules of business very much.

Sura did not answer directly, but pointed to several light spots on the map of the wordless book.

"These places are the suspected locations of magic crystal veins calculated by the teacher based on the fluctuations of the strata."

Roland was a little surprised. There were three locations in total, one of which was located in Baishan, one in Hansa, and one in the Aral Mountains far away in the Vladimir Empire.

The Aral Mountains were too far away and in that woman's country, so they could be ignored. The other two were either in Roland's territory or near where Roland could touch.

Sura explained: "These places were all wild lands during the Magic Empire period and were not included in the rule of the empire. It is normal for there to be unexplored magic crystal veins."

Roland carefully observed the map and found that the location of the magic crystal vein was actually the nameless valley.

The revival of the Holy Spring of Light and the resurrection of the Golden Tree Demon are probably related to the magic crystal veins.

Roland asked in a deep voice: "Fortunately you came to me first. If you were confident to dig tunnels to mine the veins of the White Mountain, you would definitely be discovered."

"There is no benefit for you to expose us, and I don't believe that the Val City-State is capable of discovering it. The White Mountain is a forbidden area for human activities, and no one wants to go there." Sura said calmly.

Roland explained calmly: "Times have changed, Sura. The Val City-State will soon be gone. This place will soon become a shared territory of the five major countries, and the three major religions will also settle here."

Sura's face changed.

The teacher specifically mentioned that other people in the barbarian tribe don't need to be paid too much attention, except Sophia.

You must never provoke this woman.

You have to avoid her if you meet her.

Because of this, they never thought about the veins in the Vladimir Empire.

When the Val City was divided, the woman would definitely send capable people to garrison, and even come to inspect herself.

The mining of the magic crystal veins will produce special fluctuations, which is difficult to hide from the major countries.

Sura sighed and said helplessly: "It seems that there is only one vein left."

"No, there are two."

Roland said calmly: "Val City-State will be my territory sooner or later. If we can control this place, White Mountain will also be ours."

Sura was a little surprised.

"Are you going to drive out all other countries? You are now..."

He didn't say it clearly, but the meaning was obvious, Roland was not strong enough.

"This is the deal I want. You help me win the war, and I will help you mine magic crystals."

"Aren't you afraid that the Magic Association will grow stronger again?" Sura was a little curious.

"As long as it is strong enough, why should I be afraid? If fate really favors the association, then I will be half of my own people, and I will surrender directly."

Roland said with a smile.

Sura felt that he was not joking.

If he returned to the Magic Empire version, Roland would really dare to turn against him.

With the previous cooperation and the optimism of Teacher Anthony, he would not be excluded.

But this idea was extinguished by Sura as soon as it appeared.

The Magic Empire once ruled the best place in the Rodinia continent and created a powerful civilization, but eventually fell under the punishment of God.

The advantages and disadvantages of magic are obvious. Magic alone cannot fight against the God's Punishment Legion.

He sighed and said slowly: "Roland, magicians and extraordinary people cannot fight against God's Punishment alone. We are comrades-in-arms."

Roland remembered the video played by Anthony and nodded in agreement.

"That's why I will trade with you."

Sura smiled and nodded, "Teacher is right, you are really different from them. It seems that there is no need to go to Baishan tomorrow."

"You can not go, I must go tomorrow."

Roland said calmly: "Such a big thing happened, I am nearby but I don't go to see it, isn't it telling others that I have a problem?"

"Mr. Sura, you can go back tomorrow and discuss a cooperation plan with Master Anthony that both sides can be satisfied with. We can see whether you are sincere or not, I believe you."

Roland's meaning is very clear, you can give it to me if you can, but don't fool me.

Sura pondered for a moment and said slowly: "As a descendant of the Magic Empire, I definitely can't help you directly, but I can provide equipment."

Roland smiled and extended his right hand to Sura, and Sura shook hands with Roland without hesitation.

"Happy cooperation."

After determining the general direction of cooperation, Sura hesitated for a moment, but still gritted his teeth and said, "There is something that Teacher Anthony didn't have time to tell you. We are only a part of the Magic Association, not all of it."

"After the Magic Association was forced to go underground, it established underground city circles with three artificial suns as the core. During the war, the three city circles communicated with each other and cooperated with each other, and the cooperation was quite pleasant."

"But after the war, there were some subtle changes in our relationship."

Sura stammered, "The people in the other two city circles are gradually not in the same mind as us. I'm worried that they will also go to other countries for cooperation, so you have to be careful."

Sura briefly mentioned the locations of the other two branches.

One of them is located on the outskirts of St. Rurik and has contacts with the Vladimir Empire. Another one is hidden in the southern continent. The association has set up entrances near the capitals of various countries to facilitate communication

After listening to Sura's story, Roland smiled and said, "This is not surprising. Where there are people, there are conflicts of interest, and where there are conflicts of interest, there are fights. Thank you for your frankness."

After talking with Sura for a long time, Roland looked up to the south, and the volcanic eruption became more and more obvious.

However, with the stable eruption of the volcano, the earthquake gradually eased.

Fortunately, it was just an earthquake associated with the volcanic eruption, and the intensity was not great.

Only a few houses were destroyed in the earthquake.

They set up tents again in the open space near the dock and camped for one night, finally making it to dawn.

Sura did not stay for long, and took a boat directly north to prepare to return to the association.

Although he was seasick, he could only grit his teeth and persevere.

Roland and Lisa set off for Baishan again.

This time they did not hide their identities, but directly changed to horses.

More than an hour later, Roland arrived outside the entrance of Baishan.

He looked up and saw that the volcanic ash was constantly erupting and rolling, and the magma was also constantly pouring out from the newly emerged crater.

He saw several groups of people in his peripheral vision.

Judging from their clothing, they were all representatives sent to Val City by major forces from various countries.

Since they were here, Roland did not avoid them, and walked up to meet these representatives openly.

Representatives from other countries did not attract Roland's attention. Only the representative from the Vladimir Empire made Roland look at him more.

Facing Roland's gaze, the representative was not at all nervous, but took the initiative to greet him.

"I am Camille Yang, the chief representative of the Vladimir Empire in Val City. Governor Roland, I have heard of your reputation, but I didn't expect you to be more impressive than the rumors said. It's an honor to meet you."

"Hello, Mr. Camille."

Roland looked at Camille and asked with a smile: "I wonder what seat you are in the Shadow Temple?"

"Have you also heard of the Shadow Temple? Thanks to your majesty's promotion, I am the second seat, the Winter Blade."

"Not only have I heard of it, I also met the fifth seat, Miss Angelina, in the imperial capital. I thought I could meet an old acquaintance, but I didn't expect it to be a new face." Roland said with a smile.

Angelina's temperament and mentality are obviously much worse than Mr. Camille.

It seems that the ranking of the Shadow Temple is mostly based on strength and ability.

It makes sense when you think about it.

Since there is a queen who believes in strength above all else, it is reasonable for the Shadow Temple to use strength to rank.

After a few insignificant conversations, Roland asked tentatively: "Mr. Camille, what do you think of this volcano?"

"Mr. Roland, are you testing me?"

Camille smiled and said: "Although I don't like reasoning, based on the clues and intelligence currently known, this should be the beginning of a series of events."

"What do you mean?"

"The holy spring revived and the volcano erupted. If these two things are viewed in isolation, it's nothing. But these two things happened one after another in a short period of time, so there must be a connection."

Camille's eyes were full of confidence, and he said calmly:

"I must go into the mountains to look for clues. Mr. Roland, do you want to come with me?"

"I'm not used to teaming up with strangers." Roland smiled and refused.

Roland didn't know Camille's true strength, but it was definitely above Angelina.

He should be a strong man who has been in [Rank Eight] for a long time, and there is a big gap in strength between him and Angelina, who has just entered Rank Eight.

The odds of winning against Lisa are very high, but the opponent must have a trump card, and there is a danger of backlash.

You can't act arbitrarily without knowing the opponent's intelligence.

Roland's refusal did not surprise Camille. He took out a special flare and handed it to Roland.

"Mr. Roland, this flare can indicate the direction even in thick fog and volcanic smoke. If you are in trouble, you can launch it."

Roland took the flare and asked casually: "What if Mr. Camille encounters an accident?"

"I will also launch a flare. If it is convenient, please help me, Mr. Roland."

"You are so humorous."

Roland smiled and teased: "I am a little surprised. You have never concealed your vigilance against me, but there is no obvious murderous intention. What's the matter?"

"Your country and my country have fought openly and secretly many times. It is normal for me to be vigilant against you. As for the murderous intention, I came to Val City to work for the empire to seek benefits, not to cause trouble. Are you satisfied with this answer?"

Looking at Camille's gentle eyes, Roland was very sure that this guy was not telling the truth.

But it's normal. They don't know each other well, so who will tell you the truth?

After Roland and Camille separated, they each chose a direction to go into the mountain.

The volcanic magma has not spread yet. This is the last chance to explore, and they have to seize the time.

The distance between the two is very far.

As we all know, humans are the natural enemy of humans. Compared to volcanoes, humans are obviously more dangerous.

Although Camille's killing intent could not be felt, killing intent could come at any time. Who can guarantee that Camille would not take action if he had an absolute chance?

Looking at Camille's back, Lisa, who had never spoken, finally couldn't help asking:

"Roland, do you really plan to ask him for help when you are in danger?"

Roland laughed, "Am I that stupid?"

It was just a danger, and asking Camille for help might mean a desperate situation.

"Even if he didn't intend to kill me at first, could he hold back when he saw us in danger?"

Lisa hesitated, but still asked softly: "What if we really encounter danger?"

"How is it possible?"

Roland said calmly: "I know what secrets there are here, I just pretended to come here to explore, and I won't really go deep. Let's go, we will walk around the periphery and go back in a few hours. Representatives from other countries have also entered the mountain, let's go."

Lisa was almost sprained by Roland.

She wanted to ask what the secret was, but she held back.

Since Roland refused to tell, it must be a big secret.

Alas, her position in Roland's heart is indeed declining.

If Sif is here, will he hide it?

Just as Lisa was thinking about it, Roland leaned close to her ear and whispered softly: "There is a magic crystal vein hidden here."

"Ah?!"

Lisa covered her mouth suddenly, not daring to make a sound.

After walking for a while with Roland and confirming that the strong men from other countries were far away, Lisa lowered her head and said faintly:

"Roland, in fact, there is no need to tell me such a big thing. I am not Miss Sif and don't understand these."

"It doesn't matter, I just don't want to hide it from you."

Roland said calmly: "You can't hide things in your heart, so there are some things I don't tell you, just because I'm afraid that someone will find clues from your behavior and expression."

Although she was a little unconvinced, Lisa knew that this was the fact, and her pretty face collapsed instantly.

"What should I do? I know that this will be leaked sooner or later, right?"

"It doesn't matter. I was planning to announce this to the world."

"Ah?!" Lisa opened her eyes wide, not understanding what Roland was talking about.

"Think about it, what does the magic crystal vein mean?"

"More powerful magic!" Lisa didn't get such a simple question wrong.

"Not only that, it also means benefits. The existence of the Magic Association is not a secret. As long as you want to trade with them, you can always find a channel."

Roland said calmly: "Magic crystal is a rigid demand of the Magic Association. If a certain force discovers the magic crystal vein, it will definitely find a way to monopolize the benefits."

"If everyone knows, then no one will move. It's that simple."

There is another sentence Roland didn't say. After he made the information about the magic crystal vein public, everyone's attention was attracted, and the nameless valley could be opened for mining.

The mining of magic crystals cannot have any stubble, so the tree monsters can only suffer and work all night.

The benefits of the magic crystal veins on the Baishan side are difficult to distribute?

Then don't divide them all, don't mine them!

After Roland took Lisa to the outskirts of Baishan pretending to look for clues, he turned and left.

What dangers there were in Baishan had nothing to do with him.

Seeing that the time was almost up, Roland casually threw the flare at an angle where no one could see it, and took Lisa away from Baishan.

Just as he left, Camille, who was heading into the valley, stopped and looked at the place where Roland threw the flare with some surprise.

It was indeed a flare, but it was equipped with a hidden magic signal to mark the location.

If Roland was in danger, he could go to rescue him as long as he sent a signal.

Unfortunately, Roland did not trust him.

Roland's caution made Camille's lips slightly raised, thinking secretly:

"What a cautious guy. It's a pity that Her Majesty the Queen has ordered not to be hostile to you."

Although Her Majesty the Queen has always had a good eye, he really didn't see how powerful Roland was.

He could beat Roland without the Queen making a move.

I hope it's my own mistake, not the Queen's mistake.