One side is a little serious, and the other side is very lively... Well, the serious side is not very serious.
With Yuan Zhan there, the three of them found an open space casually, and three chairs and a stone table automatically grew on the ground.
Xiao Hei brought the little iron-backed dragon who had grown up quite a bit and happily carried several plates of melons and fruits and freshly grilled meat skewers to the stone table.
The curse witch liked Xiao Hei, and when he saw him, he pulled him into his arms and rubbed him. Xiao Hei screamed strangely, but he broke free, and rode a small iron to the opposite side to watch the fun.
The curse witch laughed and scolded the brat, grabbed the kettle that his apprentice took out, poured a glass of water, and wiped his mouth after drinking, "What did Tucheng and Yincheng say? Tell me first."
Yan Mo recounted in detail what Shedan and Ramona had proposed.
The witch sneered, "It's nothing. I don't want to say everything. If I weren't here, you might be deceived! Hehe, it's such a coincidence that I ran over after I went out. There are no such two sides in the tribe." Do you believe the spies?"
Yuan Zhan knew it well, "Our tribe has developed too fast in the past few years, and the recruits are basically not very selective. There are also many slaves sent by other forces on their own initiative. It would be strange if there were no spies. But according to the time when they came Calculated, those spies are either of low status or marginal figures."
"It's good that you know what you know." He Wu and Yan Mo are similar in some respects, both of them are a bit inclined towards research, and they are not very interested in management and power.
"Master, why do you say that the envoys from the two cities lied to us? What didn't they say?" Yan Mo snatched the plate of barbecue, poured some hot soup, and asked the witch to drink the soup first, and then eat the meat.
The curse witch muttered, but he still drank the hot soup first, and said it was hot again. Yan Mo ignored him. Although the old man was in good spirits, he was still old after all, and he didn't have any concept of health preservation at this time. The old man was often full and hungry, not because he didn't have food, but because he couldn't remember to eat.
Yan Mo saw that Yingzhao was so tired that he was sweating all over, so he knew that the curse witch was probably rushing all the way back. Yingzhao has been taken care of properly, so naturally his master will be taken care of by him.
The curse witch was enjoying the service of the good disciple, his eyes were obviously smiling, but he insisted on muttering something.
Yuan Zhan reminded him again, and the curse witch remembered that the apprentice's question had not been answered yet.
"The tactics of these two city envoys are not surprising. Many new forces were deceived in this way before, but those forces are rarely like our Jiuyuan. Most of them will be crazy about being able to give them a status in the lower city. But Those new forces don't know, often they are the forces that just joined a certain upper city, and they will be the first to be picked up by the upper cities to win the Nine City Gathering."
"How to say?"
"The little girl Ramona told you that the nine upper cities, except Wucheng, and the other eight cities have to participate in the competition, and then the ranking will be determined based on the results of the competition, right?"
Yan Mo nodded.
Curse Wu snorted, "First of all, that girl said something wrong, Wu Cheng also has to participate in the competition, otherwise how will Wu Cheng maintain her transcendent status? It's just that Wu Cheng performs very well every time, and the other eight cities do not." I would like to include Wucheng in the ranking, which is why many forces call Wucheng a holy city."
Understand, this is because you are too strong, we can't play with you, so we simply divide you out and don't take you to play. But I can't ignore you, so I have to make a good name to support you.
"Secondly, since it is a competition, it is natural to pay a corresponding price, because it is the highest competition between the upper cities, of course, it is impossible to satisfy others with only a few crystals and slaves, so usually what everyone takes out is The cost of at least one lower city or even a middle city, and the power that is taken out is naturally the best when you just get it, and you don’t feel bad if you lose it. In the end, the higher the ability of the upper city, the more cities you get, and the worst Of course, the losses are getting bigger and bigger. And considering the location of the Nine Cities, in order to facilitate the rule, at the end of the party, the Eight Cities will exchange the forces they have obtained."
Yuan Zhan had a smile on his face, and his tone was gloomy, "So Tucheng and Yincheng can just give us a location in Midtown, and there are many benefits involved."
The curse witch grabbed the meat skewers and nodded while gnawing, "Yes, anyway, if you lose, you have to see the face of the other upper city. Even if they can make progress in the party competition, they can still go back and clean up You guys, what is the condition you agree to first, as long as they are strong enough to suppress you, and you become their subordinate again, how can they change the condition? If you don’t want to, they will hit you if you are willing.”
Yan Mo pondered, "If Tucheng can estimate Ah Zhan's strength, he probably hopes that Ah Zhan can help them participate in the competition, and also hopes to bet Jiuyuan as a lottery. It would be best if Ah Zhan can make them go further If they can't, they can also hand over their former enemies to other Shangcheng for rectification. If Jiuyuan is unwilling, he will definitely make trouble with that Shangcheng, and Tucheng just needs to watch the fun from the sidelines. As for Yincheng... "
The witch answered, "It's a little strange that Yincheng will find you. After all, there is still a piece of land between Yincheng and Jiuyuan. Huocheng didn't find it, but they did it first, um... have you asked Lara?" Mo Ling?"
"I asked, and he said that Ramona is very ambitious, and Her Royal Highness also told Ah Zhanming that she wants to be a queen."
"It seems that Jiuyuan's Highness the princess wants something." The witch cast down the bamboo stick and mentioned one thing, "This princess almost died when she was young, and their priests in Yincheng couldn't cure her. Their high priest, Lan Yin, sent her to Wucheng, I remember that fat elephant has seen this little girl before."
Fat elephant? Yan Mo's mind flashed, "Is that the high priest of Wucheng who has the ability to predict?"
Curse Witch nodded, "I don't know what Fat Elephant said to her, but that little girl did not hesitate to risk offending me by concealing another very important matter of the Ninetowns Gathering, that is, she wanted Jiuyuan to join Yincheng, then Something or someone must be very important to her."
After Ju Wu's analysis, Tucheng and Yincheng's real intentions were like stripped slaves, and there was no cover for them.
Yan Mo and Yuan Zhan made eye contact. In fact, no matter what the intention of Tucheng and Yincheng came, they never thought of joining a certain force. Opinion, there is indeed the idea that the two cities will join forces to cause trouble for Jiuyuan.
As Ramona said, no matter how strong they are in Jiuyuan, can they be stronger than Jiucheng's joint suppression? Not to mention Nine Cities teaming up, even if a Tucheng force is completely against them, they will have a headache for a long time.
"Master, if we reject Tucheng and Yincheng..."
"It's okay to refuse them, but in this way, you have to go to the Nine Cities Party."
"Why? What will happen if you don't participate?" Yuan Zhan asked.
The curse witch rolled his eyes, "Jiuyuan has already fallen into the eyes of the three upper cities of Tucheng, Huocheng, and Yincheng. The other six cities may also receive various news about Jiuyuan. If the priests of Tucheng and Yincheng The princess personally came to invite us to join their strength, and after we refused, not to mention Tucheng and Yincheng, other upper cities would not allow us to continue to grow, to put it bluntly, no one wants to have another upper city.”
Yan Mo seemed to understand something, "That's why Ninetowns gather once every ten years, not twenty, thirty or even longer, because they simply don't want to give other forces time to grow."
The witch's oil paw pointed at him, "That's right, no matter how powerful the forces that can grow in ten years will not exceed an upper city, many of them will be absorbed by a certain city construction force before they reach a large scale. Jiuyuan is a special case." , at least in the hundreds of years since I can remember, I haven’t seen a tribe rising so fast.”
The witch knows that his beloved disciple has secrets, but he is a good master, and he doesn't tell all the secrets to his disciples. Yan Mo's mystery and miraculousness, he only considers his disciples to be loved by the gods.
Yan Mo frowned, "Master, we don't want to join any faction in the upper city, but we don't want the upper city to take action against us, what should we do? What do you mean you have to attend the Nine Cities gathering?"
"This is what those two cities have concealed from you, and it is also Jiuyuan's only chance of survival."
The curse witch suddenly put on a straight face, "Don't think I'm joking, if you don't go to the Jiucheng party this time, Jiuyuan will really be in disaster. Red salt, mermaids, dwarves, paper, porcelain, these are already It is enough to arouse the greed of other powerful forces, not to mention that we have better medicines and bone artifacts than other forces. If these cannot attract the coveted eyes of other upper cities, don’t forget that Jiuyuan also has the most deadly armed fighters And the training method of the blood warriors, this is the treasure that makes the hearts of the nine upper cities, including Wucheng!"
Yan Mo wiped his sweat, thinking that the old man didn't mention the fruit of witch luck probably because he was afraid that someone who cared would hear it. Although there is a powerful soul barrier of the curse witch, other people who want to eavesdrop will not be able to hear it, but just in case.
Yuan Zhan reached out to touch his stomach, a small bag bulged and pressed against his palm, Yuan Zhan gently stroked the small bag.
Yan Mo: ... Is it interesting to have a father-son relationship through my belly
Yuan Zhan and Wu Guo: Interesting!
The witch saw that the two were distracted, so he grabbed the fruit on the plate and gave it to each of them.
"Listen to me, although the highest masters of the Nine Cities are not as brilliant as they were in the Three Cities period, after thousands of years of development, their background is beyond your imagination. This time you go to Wu City to participate in the Nine Cities Gathering, we must win a ranking as a challenger, only in this way can Jiuyuan continue to survive and develop."
"Take the ranking?" The two said in unison, Yan Mo then asked: "Could it be possible to replace the city lord of the Nine Upper Cities?"
"It's not just about changing people, as long as you have enough strength, it's okay to swallow all the power of a certain upper city, as long as you can get the consent of more than five cities in the Nine Cities." An important decision arranged by the new forces told the two of them.
"Whether you say Ninetowns is cunning, or that they want to preserve their strength, in order to avoid major wars, from the day the Three Cities became Ninetowns, Ninetowns has set a rule, that is, if there is a very powerful When they are unwilling to submit to any upper city forces, they must accept the challenge of the forces that want them to submit. The content of this challenge is the same as that of the Nine Cities competition. If they lose, they must submit If the opponent wins, that new force can replace the upper city force that challenged him. Similarly, the new force can also challenge a certain upper city force he likes."
When Yuan Zhan heard that there was such a method, his eyes were very bright. This kind of challenge rules is perfect for him. If someone really uses the power of the city to deal with Jiuyuan, he can even kill all the masters of the invaders. Jiuyuan will be almost destroyed.
"It's fair." Yan Mo said sincerely.
In this world where the weak prey on the strong, having such a challenge system is already an opportunity for the strong to give the weak. Otherwise, Ninetowns will be more domineering, regardless of your level of god warrior, and Ninetowns will go together, and the group rounds will also kill you. When a powerful fighter is defeated, the power and territory under his command will be divided up with Nine Cities.
Hearing the apprentice's evaluation, the curse witch smiled sarcastically, "It's not because of their good intentions. Without the suppression of Wucheng and the challenge rules passed down from ancient times, everyone in the other eight cities would want to take advantage of it. Believe it or not , if I were not in Jiuyuan, the development of Jiuyuan in the past five years would definitely not be so smooth."
Neither Yuan Zhan nor Yan Mo refuted. Although the wild land is remote enough and wild enough, they have already been in contact with the forces of the three cities of Tu, Huo, and Yin. Except for the fact that Tucheng has been too busy to take care of itself in the past five years, if the other two cities really It is not difficult to find trouble for them. But in the past five years, neither of those two cities reached out.
Before they knew Yuan Zhan's strength, of course it wasn't because they were afraid of Jiu Yuan, they didn't do anything because they were afraid of the curse witch.
"Master, it's lucky to have you here." Yan Mo flattered his master by pouring water and playing the fan.
The curse witch raised his head proudly. Although the apprentice and the guardian warrior of the apprentice are also very powerful, he is also very important as a master!
Yuan Zhan looked at the old and the young with a smile in his eyes.
"Originally, when I came back this time, I planned to tell you about the Ninetowns gathering in detail. I didn't expect someone to come to deceive you first. The challenger of Ninetowns who challenged the rules, if it is a new force, it must not be affiliated to any upper city. Otherwise, there is no qualification to challenge and accept the challenge. Usually, Wucheng will send people to pick up the unowned and powerful new forces before the Nine Cities Gathering, but they will not be too long in advance. In order to facilitate the other Eight Cities to recruit new forces, Wucheng The city waits until ten days before the meeting to bring people to the meeting place."
Yan Mo was surprised, "How does Wucheng know where there are new forces? And can they find them accurately?"
"That's Wucheng. If it's not powerful and mysterious enough, how can it be called a holy city by the forces of the city?" The expression and voice of the curse witch are full of pride for Wucheng, even if It's kind of annoying to see her now.
After that, I don’t know if it was because of the return of the witch, both Shedan and Ramona felt that it was impossible to absorb Jiuyuan, and neither of them lobbied Yuanzhan anymore, but proposed to take a good look at Jiuyuan City.
Yuan Zhan was stingy, and only opened the trading market and farmland outside the city. Later, under Yan Mo's suggestion, a hospital was added, and other important places such as schools, military camps, breeding farms, training camps, and production workshops were absent. Let people see.
Both Shedan and Ramona are very interested in mermaids and dwarves, and they actively want to establish diplomatic relations with them. Unfortunately, mermaids and dwarves only recognize Jiuyuan people, not these two important figures in the upper city. Girls, mermaids and dwarves treat her fairly well, but there is only one word to describe her: indifference.
The more Miaoxiang knows about Jiuyuan, the less she wants to go back to Tucheng like this. She used to watch Yuanzhan, and she only felt that the opponent's figure and appearance were full of threats, making people dare not look directly at him. Looking at it now, she only thinks that men should So powerful, even Yuan Zhan's not-so-beautiful face was full of masculinity.
Miao Xiang sometimes fantasizes about Yuan Zhan being with her, often thinking about it, her face will turn red.
In the end, Shedan and Ramona didn't come in vain. They and Jiuyuan preliminarily negotiated the trading volume of paper, pen and ink, porcelain and red salt, and ordered a batch on the spot. After all, they returned empty-handed.
When the people of Tucheng were about to leave, Princess Miaoxiang suddenly fell ill. She dared to keep Miaoxiang in Jiuyuan to recuperate, and said that she could ask Jiuyuan to bring Princess Miaoxiang there again when the Jiucheng party was held—they are not stupid, the curse is here, Yuan Zhan is likely to reach the tenth level again, and Jiu Yuan is bound to participate in the Nine City Gathering.
Yuan Zhan really wanted to pick up Princess Miaoxiang and throw it to the people of Tucheng to take him back. Yan Mo stopped him, and told Shedan with a smile that the princess is noble and she can stay in Jiuyuan for cultivation, but life or death does not matter, and she needs to pay for accommodation, medical care and companionship. Various expenses such as playing.
Snake Gallbladder... paid a full ten eighth-level Yuanjing coins for this.
The people from the two cities finally left, and twenty days later, Wucheng sent an envoy to welcome them.