Quadruple split

Game time AM10:43

When the balance of the battlefield finally began to slowly tilt towards the coalition of lords, Mercury City dispatched the last batch of reserves, including a small number of loyal autonomous army elites, remnants of the First Slave Catching Regiment, and all the Whispering Cult members in the city, totaling 15,000 Thousands of people.

This is not the trump card of the Marshall family, it is just the last bit of power that Buffy can squeeze out of a team whose average combat power is far lower than the three main battle groups. Their mission is very simple, that is to help the main force on the front line who are fighting bloody battles with the lord coalition forces. The troops fought for time and delayed the doomed defeat as much as possible until the assassination team led by Gavin and Quinn completed their mission.

As of today, neither Buffy Marshall nor the entire Marshall family has a way out, so even if he knows that the last round proposed by Gavin will be doomed if he fails, he still has to gamble. Don’t do what the other person wants.

He had already lost. He had lost the moment he walked into the Purple Nine Hall for the last time and was judged as 'guilty'. From that moment on, as long as Buffy Marshall wanted to save his life, the situation was bound to evolve. In such a situation, this kind of thing is what Buffy wants, Gawen wants, and Xiu also wants.

From an objective point of view, death is the best way to deal with it. After all, as long as Buffy voluntarily sacrifices and severs her relationship with the family, even if the Marshall family declines in recent decades, it will never be destroyed. Speaking of others, even Archduke Simon, who had a close personal relationship with Buffy when he was young, would never sit idly by and watch others get into trouble if they were too explicit, so at first glance, accepting death with peace of mind seemed to be the only right choice.

But...no!

Although there seems to be no problem at first glance about voluntarily being tortured after getting rid of the relationship between the slave trade incident and the family, this is a choice that Buffy would never make. This is not because he is afraid of death. To be honest, what do you think? Buffy Marshall, who is considered a hero, is not afraid of death at all. On the contrary, if it only takes one death to solve the future troubles for the family, Buffy will definitely go to the gallows happily and end her magnificent life with a smile.

But the problem is, he knows very well that even if he dies, the Marshall family will never be safe, because in addition to the slave trade, there is another bad problem...

In addition to the Grand Duke of the Violet Empire, Buffy Marshall also has another identity, that is, the honorary patriarch of the Whispering Sect. Although his authority is insufficient, he does not receive less "gifts" than other high-level members, and he The whole family also believes in the God of Whispers. The eldest son received the rank of 'Faceless Knight' a few years ago, and both daughters are 'Whispering Priests'. They secretly became believers of the Whispering God many years ago. Under their subtle influence, Mercury City has completely turned into the nest of the Whispering Sect. Moreover, in view of the strange characteristics of the "Whispering" evil god, even the people in the city have become followers of the Whispering God. Neither the Thieves Guild nor Wanderers Inn found any clues.

In terms of city power, scheming and wisdom, no one, whether it is Buffy's future heir or anyone else in the family, can compare with him. Even with the help of Fudge, Quinn and others, there is no guarantee that he will not succeed. There was no mistake at all, so Buffy Marshall, who secretly calculated the score in his mind, came to the conclusion that if he accepted the trial and let the family distance themselves from the slave trade incident, it would take as short as ten days and a half, or as long as three years. In five years, the Marshall family's collusion with the cult will definitely be exposed, and by then there will be no room for maneuver...

What does a great ducal family that believes in evil gods mean to the Violet Empire? The answer is simply not easy to guess.

If everything is revealed, not only will the Marshall family have no chance of survival, but even the Violet Empire will face criticism from all sides. The forced intervention of the Holy Alliance, and the denunciation and pressure of major neutral organizations are almost certain. By that time, the Marshalls will have to face It's not just the tens of thousands of lords' coalition in front of them. It's not a joke to be wiped out in ashes while talking and laughing.

So he can't afford to die!

So he must struggle!

Gavin's plan is Buffy's last life-saving straw. As long as Clairvaux dies, Crown Prince Ribo, who has temporarily reached a cooperative relationship with him, will definitely buy some valuable time for the Marshall family, and then things may return to normal again. On the negotiating table, there is still room for that.

On the contrary, if it fails, even if the lord coalition forces conquer Mercury City today, it will only be an immediate execution instead of a reprieve of death.

"Sylvia..."

Buffy Marshall drank all the red wine in his hand and turned his attention to the elf sitting opposite him, playing with his nails.

"Um?"

The charming and sexy blood seeker responded casually, and after a while, she lazily raised her eyes and asked in her unique, sweet voice: "What's the matter, boss?"

Buffy poured herself another glass of wine, smiled and toasted to the former: "I have worked hard for you for so many years."

"It's just a deal. If you are willing to let a prodigal like me stay here, I should help you."

Sylvia Shuang Rui played with her long aqua hair carelessly and yawned lazily: "Besides, I am still a blood seeker with a bad reputation... Well, but after knowing what evil god you believe in, After that, it seemed like there was nothing left to say thanks for not hiding my identity.”

Although the nominal deputy leader of the Mages knew many of Buffy's secrets, and was involved in things like catching and selling slaves, killing people, etc., until last night, she didn't know that Buffy Marshall was not only involved with the evil The believers cooperated, and even he himself was a cultist, and his status was not low.

"The reason why you are angry..."

Buffy stared intensely at the slender white neck of the Elf Blood Seeker, and asked softly: "Is it because I have been hiding this from you? Sylvia."

The latter smiled casually, waved his hand and said: "You are overthinking, boss, I just don't have a good impression of the evil god. Even if you don't hide it from me and tell me this little secret from the beginning, I will still not happy."

"To tell you the truth, I'm a little disappointed."

Buffy blinked and drank the second glass of red wine.

Sylvia was stunned for a moment, and then she looked at her boss with a half-smile and said, "Isn't it?"

"If I had met you before I married Nadel..."

Buffy shrugged, leaning back on the chair as if she was a little tipsy, with a bitter smile on her lips: "Maybe you are a human lady with a lifespan similar to mine, instead of someone who can live at every turn. To be an elf for thousands of years, or perhaps, Buffy Marshall did not take the path he is on now, but became an upright lord with a clear conscience like what he pursued when he was young..."

Sylvia sighed, bent her finger and popped out a cold blue light, sealing the wine bottle Buffy had just picked up in a thin layer of ice, shook her head and said, "You're drunk."

"You think you're frozen, but you're not."

Buffy said something serious to the wine bottle in her hand, and then the ice layer on it fell off. Not only that, the third glass of wine he poured was even warm.

"Again or again...haha..."

He drank a whole glass of red wine in one gulp and smiled at Sylvia with a clear flush on his face: "If you don't only like to sleep with women and only drink the blood of children, ha... as long as you attack a normal man , I can also have reasons to convince myself..."

Sylvia frowned slightly: "Buffy!"

"Convince myself to confess to you, even if I don't hesitate to use the power of the evil god to get you... Haha, don't be surprised. The teachings of our sect are quite loose. There is no need to keep talking about words like 'my lord' all day long. In fact, , He doesn’t even mind if we insult Him as long as we still believe in Him.”

Buffy laughed, then closed her eyes dejectedly, and whispered: "Unfortunately, I have never found a reason to convince myself."

"I'm glad about that, Buffy."

Sylvia looked away from the other person's face and asked calmly: "Are you done?"

"Last question, Sylvia."

Buffy shook her head and was silent for a while before speaking again: "What would happen if I found a reason to convince myself one day after I met you and launched a strong pursuit of you?"

"In that case, I would have left the Marshall Territory long ago."

Sylvia answered without thinking.

"Expected."

Buffy clapped her hands hard, then stood up suddenly, picked up the half bottle of wine in front of her, drank it all in one breath before the other party could stop her, slammed the empty bottle on the table, opened her hands and laughed. : "Haha, praise Buffy Marshall, thank him for his restraint and self-discipline."

"Why?"

Sylvia raised her eyebrows and said helplessly: "By the way, you are really drunk."

"Because of this restraint and self-discipline, you have stayed with me for so many years."

Buffy muttered something incoherently, then raised her hand to cover her forehead: "I... am not drunk."

Sylvia rolled her eyes: "Hey, even self-deception has to have a limit."

"No, there is no need to limit self-deception, at least for me, there is no need."

As a result, in the next second, Buffy Marshall, who had a flushed face, slurred speech, and swaying body, sat back firmly on the chair and replied in an extremely calm and indifferent manner. , even the smell of alcohol on Buffy's body had completely disappeared, as if his previous appearance was just made up out of thin air.

"you……"

"You go out of the city now, hide your strength and follow the reserve team into the battlefield."

Buffy interrupted Sylvia's words lightly and said slowly: "Then meet Gawen and the others. If there is a chance, help them assassinate Clairvaux. If we are in doom and gloom... just leave. , because the Marshall family can no longer protect you after that, so the deal is over."

Sylvia gritted her teeth and hummed softly: "I will do this without you having to tell me."

"There is a little money here. I personally suggest that you go to the Free City to live for a while after you leave."

Buffy took out a universal magic crystal card issued by the Steam Consortium from her pocket, threw it to Sylvia, and said with a smile: "The corresponding password for this non-identification card is: Mercury Stamen, but if we succeed Yes, you have to return it to me when you come back."

"It's a beautiful thought."

Sylvia casually caught the crystal card, then took out a large gray robe from the storage ring and draped it on her delicate body with very little fabric. She smiled and said, "Then I'll set off now."

"be safe."

"Would you like a goodbye hug?"

"Heh...I've already sobered up."

"That's really a pity~"

Sylvia shrugged, then put on her hood and left with brisk steps.

…

"Yeah, what a shame."

After a while, Buffy sighed deeply, then raised her voice slightly and said, "Come in, Fudge."

Two seconds later, the old goblin opened the door respectfully and walked in. He bowed to Buffy and said, "Master."

For some reason, he changed his title to the latter to 'Master' as he had called him decades ago before Buffy took over as the head of the family.

Buffy nodded slightly and asked calmly: "Have Nadel, Tim, Dorothy, Minter left?"

"Not yet, Master."

Fudge shook his head and said with a bad look on his face: "None of the people who went to confirm the escape route came back. I was afraid it was not safe, so..."

"There is no time. If the plan fails, this place will soon become the most unsafe place."

Buffy frowned and said in a deep voice: "Whether it's those trash who have been suppressed for too long because they couldn't help but want to kill people, or they were killed by bad guys because their beliefs were exposed, we can't wait any longer, you Now arrange for them to leave immediately, and be careful not to take any of the believers with you. The Mercury Guards who still don’t know the truth should have two teams left in the city and let them serve as guards."

Fudge leaned over and saluted: "I will comply with the arrangement, Master. I will come back as soon as I can."

"No."

But Buffy waved her hand vigorously, stood up and walked to the cabinet at the back, took out a bottle of red wine and a glass, then returned to the table, filled the two glasses with wine, and pushed one of them to Fudge: "Have a drink with me, old Fudge."

"Master, you..."

"You go with Nadel and the others, and then come back after everything settles, or go further away, that's it."

Buffy smiled and touched the trembling cup in Fudge's hand, patted his shoulder: "Without further delay, let's set off immediately."

"But, Master..."

"You taught me to settle the score, old Fudge."

"...I will comply with the arrangement, Master."

The old goblin nodded with difficulty and drank the wine in his hand with red eyes.

…

a moment later

Buffy Marshall was the only one left in the room.

He drank glass after glass, bottle after bottle of red wine that he usually didn't like very much. His eyes were sometimes blurred and sometimes clear. Every once in a while, he would murmur something...

"I'm not drunk."

Chapter 549: End