"What? Viscount Laval is in deep sleep?"
After listening to the explanation given by the Mercenary Association branch president Laiton, Sebastian looked surprised.
"Yes, Mr. Sebastian, you know that Viscount Laval is a special race. Beings like them often hibernate for several years or even decades. Viscount Laval felt that his strength was about to break through a few years ago, so he temporarily resigned from the position of honorary president and went to find a place to hibernate."
President Laiton replied.
"A few years ago? When exactly?"
Charlotte's heart moved slightly.
"If I remember correctly, it was seven years ago. I was a little caught off guard at the time. After all, Viscount Laval never said that he would fall into a deep sleep."
President Leighton recalled.
Seven years ago
Charlotte couldn't help but exchange a glance with Sebastian.
The timing is quite delicate, as it was the year when the mining workshop was infiltrated.
"Did LaVar say where he was going?"
Sebastian asked again.
President Laiton shook his head:
"No, the Sleeping Place is extremely important to them, and Viscount Laval did not reveal it before he left."
After that, he asked again:
"Lord Earl, Mr. Sebastian, what do you want to do with Viscount Laval? If you need anything, you can leave a message here in the guild. Before Viscount Laval left, he said that he would come back after he woke up, but... I don't know when exactly. As we all know, their race... has always had a very, um... unique concept of time, comparable to that of dragons."
"No need to leave a message, but... if there is any news about Laval, I hope you can send someone to the Earl's Palace to inform us."
Charlotte shook her head and said.
The vampires' slumber was indeed mysterious, lasting from a few months to dozens or even hundreds of years. Who knew where Viscount Laval slept and when he would wake up... In short, the moment Charlotte knew that he had fallen asleep, she knew that she probably wouldn't be able to meet him.
However, having said that, it wouldn't hurt to ask the Mercenary Association to keep an eye on it.
also…
"Sir Laiton, have any other new vampires appeared in the territory in recent years?"
Charlotte asked again.
I came to see Viscount Laval to learn about the vampires. Since Viscount Laval is not here, maybe I can get some results by asking the Mercenary Association.
Although Castel's Mercenary Guild has declined as the Dark Forest has shrunk, it is still an industry organization with extensive connections.
"Blood clan..."
President Laiton frowned and recalled, then shook his head:
"This... I'm not sure. The activities of the vampires have always been secretive. Someone like Lord Viscount Laval is an exception, but..."
"But what?"
Sebastian's heart moved slightly.
"However, in the past few years, there have indeed been many unfamiliar transcendents in Castel. Most of them are very low-key and mysterious, which is somewhat similar to the style of the vampires."
"As for more, we don't know. The Mercenary Association has always valued the privacy of its clients and will not ask too much about their information, so the information we know is very limited."
President Laiton said.
Are there a lot of unfamiliar people entering the realm of transcendence
Charlotte's eye twitched.
Extraordinary people are not cabbages, especially those who have entered the realm.
Although the Mercenary Association failed to provide accurate intelligence, combined with what happened in the Castel Mining Workshop, Charlotte was able to roughly determine that these so-called strangers who had entered the ranks were probably the vampires of the Ness clan.
She roughly sorted out a thread in her mind:
About seven years ago, the Ness clan set their sights on Castel, successfully infiltrated the Castel silver mine and won over many nobles in the territory in order to plan something, which required a large amount of mithril in the process.
In addition, there may have been a black dragon under the Castel Silver Mine. It is not known what the connection between this black dragon and the Ness Clan is, but the Ness Clan may have mastered the power of the black dragon.
A dragon is born at the star level, and becomes a silver moon after a few years of growth. According to Noah's descriptions, the black dragon in the mine is obviously not a baby dragon, but at least a juvenile or even an adult dragon.
In other words, the Ness clan that infiltrated the Territory of Castel may have reached the highest combat power of Blazing Sun!
Thinking of this, Charlotte's expression became solemn.
She was not afraid of the strength of the vampires behind the scenes, but she thought of something deeper.
After so many days, she had never received a single report about the vampires from any nobles. This showed how secretive the infiltration of the Ness clan was and how powerful their control was. They even seemed determined to erode Castel.
Considering this perspective, the Ness clan's infiltration of Castel is most likely not just the action of a high-ranking vampire in the clan, but more like a systematic plan.
In other words, this time she might have to face the entire Ness clan!
This is a bit troublesome.
Although Charlotte has a clear suppression of the power of other vampires, and there is also a bug like the liberation of the True Ancestor, she thinks she is not ready to face an entire clan head-on.
You know, unlike the Blood Demon Cult that was beaten by the Holy Royal Court and had to hide everywhere, the blood clan like the Ness clan is as big as a well-organized secret church.
Their organizational and operational capabilities are by no means comparable to those of the Blood Demon Cult, and they can even challenge the Holy Royal Court in their own territory.
Of course, this is the worst-case scenario.
Considering that the Territory of Castel was nominally within the sphere of influence of the Holy Court, Charlotte estimated that the Ness clan would not make too much of a fuss.
As for Viscount Laval of the Mercenary Guild...
Honestly speaking, the fact that he suddenly chose to fall asleep at this critical juncture made Charlotte feel that this well-known "vampire in the sun" seemed to have known something in advance and chose to sleep and run away in order to avoid trouble.
"Master, it seems... that guy Laval must have heard the news in advance and ran away. I know that guy. Although he is elegant enough, he is quite afraid of trouble. He probably knows the actions of the Nice Clan and is worried that the Nice Clan will target him, so he found an excuse to hide."
Sebastian's solemn voice echoed in Charlotte's mind, and it was obvious that he was thinking the same thing as her.
Charlotte glanced at him and saw that the fire elf looked more solemn than ever before.
"Owner… "
His voice continued to echo in Charlotte's mind:
"The vampires have a strong sense of territory, and in the dark world, Laval is one of the most powerful vampire nobles in the North. If he hadn't felt a huge threat, he probably wouldn't have run away."
"The Ness clan's plan may be bigger than we thought. The banquet the day after tomorrow... may not be so peaceful."
Charlotte nodded slightly.
Sebastian was right.
If the Nice clan has big plans, I'm afraid the banquet she prepared will also become part of the Nice clan's plan.
Charlotte had wanted to use this banquet to distinguish between friends and foes, and preferably get rid of all the rebellious nobles at once.
But now it seems that perhaps the people behind the scenes also see her that way.
Since the Nice clan was able to control the Castell silver mines by infiltrating the Castell nobles.
Well, with her, a little earl, returning to her territory, what could be more convenient than controlling the North by controlling her, the Lord of Castel
Charlotte could almost foresee that if the Nice Clan was really determined to take over the Castel Territory, then... at this banquet, they would probably make a move on her.
"It doesn't matter. If they really intend to attack me at the banquet, this might be a good opportunity."
Charlotte replied in her consciousness.
Since we have to confront the Nice Clan eventually, it is certainly more advantageous to fight on our own turf rather than in the opponent's sphere of influence.
Charlotte and her friend chatted with President Laiton of the Mercenary Association for a few more words, and after confirming that they could not obtain any more information, they decided to leave.
"Mr. Leighton, if there is any useful information recently, Castel is always welcome to provide it. This is our advance payment."
Charlotte said.
As she spoke, she gave Sebastian a look, and Sebastian understood instantly, and immediately took out a bag of shining gems from the storage space and placed it on the table in the guild.
Seeing the gems, President Laiton suddenly became more enthusiastic:
"Of course, the Mercenary Association is happy to serve you!"
After leaving the gem, Charlotte stood up to say goodbye. However, just as they walked out of the VIP room, they suddenly saw the guild receptionist running over in a hurry and whispering something in the ear of President Laiton.
Chairman Lai Dun's expression became visibly strange:
"Consignment auction? That castle? Are you sure?"
The guild's receptionist nodded vigorously.
President Laiton's expression became even more subtle.
Charlotte's heart moved slightly:
"President Laiton, what happened?"
"My Lord Count..."
Laiton looked at Charlotte strangely:
"It seems that you are really the favorite of the Divine Lord Juan Gu. As soon as you finished speaking, we received news that is suspected to be related to the blood clan."
"Oh? What information?"
Charlotte was immediately interested.
"Have you ever heard of Pointed Castle?"
President Laiton asked.
"Pointed Castle?"
"Yes, Pointed Castle. It is an old castle on the southwestern border of Castel Territory. It has been abandoned for a long time, so few people know about it now. It is said to be controlled by a poor noble family."
"Because it is located at the border of Violet and Castel, the ownership there has never been very clear. It is said that the nobles who lived there in the past were loyal to both Violet and Bolder."
"However, it is rumored that a long, long time ago, there lived a very ancient blood clan there..."
As he spoke, President Laiton's expression looked a little strange:
"Just now, a client came to the door and asked the association to auction the Pointed Castle and the surrounding land..."
"By the way, the other party is a vampire mercenary registered with our guild, and like you, he is also trying to find out about other vampires..."
Vampire mercenary
Charlotte's heart moved, and two figures, one big and one small, suddenly appeared in her mind.
She kept asking about other things and forgot about this: there are vampires among the mercenaries registered in the Mercenary Association!
Unlike other places in the Crescent Kingdom, in the more open North, the vampires dared to register as underground mercenaries directly with their real race.
Charlotte suddenly became interested:
"Interesting... President Laiton, what kind of person is the client?"
President Laiton bowed and said apologetically:
"This... Lord Earl, although we have just accepted your commission, the association has its own principles. If the client does not want to reveal his identity, we cannot disclose the client's information at will."
"Honestly speaking... being able to tell you that the other party is a vampire is already a step beyond our reach."
Charlotte's heart moved slightly:
"Oh? So what do you mean?"
President Laiton smiled and said:
"Although we cannot leak information, we can make connections. There is no one richer than you in Castel. If you are interested in buying the castle..."
Charlotte looked at the old president strangely and thought to herself that he was truly a talented person.
Advise yourself to buy a castle
Not only did he provide me with information, he also placed an order, and he could possibly make a profit by being a middleman, it was really killing three birds with one stone...
However, she did develop some interest.
"Sir Laiton, how much is the Pointed Castle worth?"
She asked.
President Laiton took the information from the receptionist, pushed his monocle and glanced at it, then replied respectfully:
"The castle plus the 50 hectares of forest land that comes with it is estimated to be worth about one million quintanas, considering its remote location and the extent of its damage. But the exact value depends on the other party's psychological price and how urgent the sale is."
"Is there some territorial dispute between Castel and Violet? Sure, there's no need for an auction. Let the other party name a price. The prerequisite is that we can meet and talk. After all, a castle is not a small amount of money."
Charlotte said.
One million quintana is not a small amount of money.
To be honest... Charlotte didn't have much of an urge to buy the castle, the key point was that she wanted to meet the seller.
Anyway, I'm here. Since the other party is also asking about the vampires, what if I can really find some new information
Not to mention... a vampire mercenary, this identity always reminded her of the two guys who attacked her that day.
"By the way, don't tell them my identity."
Charlotte added.
…
Mercenary Association front desk.
The vampire girl Agnes paced back and forth nervously.
It was not until she saw the receptionist coming back that she went to greet her expectantly:
"How is it? What does President Laiton say?"
The receptionist smiled and replied:
"Ms. Agnes, you are so lucky. A VIP client of the association is meeting with the president. After learning about your commission, he is very interested and hopes to meet you to have a chat."
"Do you... want to meet?"
Anyone willing to buy it directly
Agnes' eyes lit up.
She was in a hurry to sell the castle, and the purpose of the auction was to sell it as quickly as possible, but it would be even better if she could meet a seller and sell it directly.
"Yes! Of course!"
She answered without hesitation.
The money man!
This time she met a wealthy sponsor!