It was a thin blond young man with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses who looked very elegant. He was standing in a daze at the back door of a pub. He turned his head subconsciously when he heard the footsteps, and then he saw Joshua, he was a little confused at first, but after he realized what he was doing, he laughed excitedly - but before the blond young man could say hello, a hand like a pair of iron pincers grabbed his throat.
"Chris, I didn't expect to see you here."
He picked up the blond young man with one hand and pressed it heavily against the wall of the alley. Joshua turned his right hand, inserted the spear into the ground, and showed a kind smile: "It's been a long time, how have you been lately?" ?”
"Uh-ahem-"
"Oh, I forgot that you can't speak like this." Joshua relaxed his hand slightly.
"Ahem...cousin, what are you doing?"
The blond young man named Chris's suppressed red face returned to normal a little. Although he was choked by someone, he didn't look very scared: "There's no need to treat me like this as soon as we meet, right?"
"Based on the word cousin, if I didn't kill you on the spot, it would count as a good relationship between us." Joshua was not moved at all: "I don't want to think about what your father did."
As the dialogue said, the blond young man Joshua met in the alley was his cheap uncle's son, his cousin, Chris Radcliffe.
It was such good luck that he even doubted whether it was a trap.
"Even so, our relationship is not that bad."
The blond young man tried to argue: "At least you shouldn't have acted like you were going to kill me when we met."
After hearing this, Joshua couldn't help but nodded. In fact, this cousin and Joshua had a good relationship. When they were children, they played together in the snowfield, and they had quite a brotherly relationship.
But even so, he still didn't let go.
"No matter what the previous relationship was like, Chris, since your father planned to seize the title, there has been no friendship between us." He said very simply, and Joshua didn't bother to care about why Chris was here. He gave two requests straightforwardly: "Exactly, now you must tell me how many guards there are in the lord's mansion, and who is the backer behind your father. I will give you ten seconds. If you don't know, you will be killed by me." "
After he finished speaking, he stared into the eyes of his cousin and began to count down: "10."
Looking at Joshua, Chris's cyan pupils behind his glasses tightened, and his head was covered in cold sweat. He was not stupid, and he could see that Joshua was serious - if he didn't get the answer he wanted in ten seconds, this ruthless There is no doubt that this guy will disregard his past friendship and decisively break his neck bones.
"There are twenty-four guards in the Lord's Mansion, fifteen are low in silver, six are medium in silver, and three are high in silver." He decisively reported the news he knew. The blond young man remained calm in the face of danger, and said quickly with cold sweat: "Behind the I don’t know who helped him, but I have a guess—by the way, in fact, I don’t support seizing the title at all, I sneaked out!”
At this point, Chris spoke very fast, fearing to be interrupted by Joshua: "Look, my brother, I was very happy when I met you at the beginning. I believe you can also see that I am indeed related to you." They are not in the same group!"
"… makes sense."
No one would lie in this situation. Joshua's expression softened a little, but his hand still did not loosen: "But even so, it is more convenient for me to take you as a hostage than to force my way in. If you are accidentally injured, I will Blame your father."
"Wait a minute! The mastermind behind this attempt to seize the title is not my father at all. He is just a pawn. Those real gangsters cannot take my life seriously!"
Realizing that Joshua did not immediately break his neck, Chris breathed a sigh of relief, but after hearing the next sentence, he suddenly became anxious: "Think about it carefully, my father was not a nobleman that time. , how could it be possible to learn the news of uncle’s death so quickly?”
Speaking of this, the blond young man's eyes were very serious: "The day after my uncle passed away, a large group of people suddenly appeared and surrounded my house. They negotiated with my father for a long time, and then they set off together - but neither I nor I My father doesn't believe these people. There is no good thing in this world that helps in vain. My escape last night was also because of my father's hint and connivance. Otherwise, with my black iron level strength, how could I leave quietly? "
"But no matter what, there is no doubt that he wants to be an earl."
As a legendary warrior, Joshua can clearly tell whether the other person is telling the truth or a lie by relying on the blood flow and the micro-movement of the muscles. Upon hearing this, he let go of his hand, put Chris down, and then kissed the blond The young man coughed and shook his head and said: "If he doesn't want to be a player, no one will come over. Even if he is used as a pawn, he must be willing to be used."
Having said this, he pulled up Chris who was sitting on the ground and asked seriously: "You said you have some guesses about the origins of that group of people, then tell them all."
"The Wilsons."
He touched his neck with obvious pinch marks and straightened his glasses. Chris' tone was a little scared but very clear. He said decisively: "Among the four major earls in the North, only the Wilson Territory has the motive to attack you. , they are a forging family that deals in high-quality weapons and magic accessories. However, due to the lava pool, there are more and more dwarves in Moldavia. Although the magic accessories are not affected, the weapons are being suppressed in all aspects. This is direct Interest disputes."
"For what a boring reason."
Joshua felt that the reason was closely connected. Moldavia had always had good relations with the dwarves, so refining ore was its main industry. However, recently, as the number of dwarf blacksmiths willing to accept employment has increased, they have also begun to try to enter the business of forging and selling weapons and armor. field, which undoubtedly affected the Wilson family's business.
There are not many ways to make money in the North. Although it is boring, this is enough for the Wilson family to take action - speaking of which, only earl-level nobles can provide dozens of silver knights and hundreds of soldiers.
If Moldavia had not faced the Black Tide, and the main forces were in the Black Forest Fortress, Joshua would have been able to pull out hundreds of Silver Knights, but now, he could only face the enemy alone.
Thinking of this, Joshua suddenly asked curiously: "Chris, you seem to dislike your father's decision very much. You know, even if you are used as a pawn, it is still an earl title. When your father really succeeds to the throne, Success, even the Wilson family cannot really control it, the most it can do is regain market share—don’t you want to be an earl in the future?”
"Not everyone wants to be a noble, Joshua." With a sigh, the blond young man pushed up his glasses, shook his head helplessly and said, "Everyone has their own pursuits."
"I like alchemy, I like doing business, and I like a relaxed and leisurely life - life in the North is too hard, and it is different from the peaceful South. It is cold and uninhabited, and there is a black tide every winter, and I Neither I nor my father are strong enough to lead a team to kill powerful monsters. It is better to be a commoner in the south than to be a noble here."
Speaking of this, Chris's expression was very serious. He sighed to Joshua: "Listen, I have a fiancée in the south and my own alchemy laboratory. Here, I have nothing but a hometown. Nobility is a privilege, and Responsibility—I’m just crazy to want to be a noble in a place where I have to fight the black tide before I come here, and explore the mountains after that, and there’s nothing to do, and it’s so cold in the winter that bears can die!”
Joshua: "... After hearing what you said, I suddenly no longer want to compete with your father for the title."
What Chris said was true. For Joshua, who grew up here, the Northland Mountains were indeed a beautiful scenery. But for Chris, who had lived in the prosperous south of the empire since he was a child, no matter where he was, The atmosphere and the humanities here were really at odds with him—a coming-of-age ceremony was to kill a bear with bare hands, and he was too embarrassed to say hello to anyone in a fighting race territory. How could he, an elegant alchemist, survive
"In short, cousin, I fully support you in this matter." Chris pretended not to hear Joshua's words, his expression was cold: "If you succeed, then my father will be at your disposal."
"It doesn't matter if I kill you?"
"I wasn't the one who killed him. In fact, he betrayed my mother, but he only had a son of mine. Our relationship is nothing more than that." Chris didn't seem to be joking: "Of course, it would be best to have the same bloodline. Leave him alive."
"You treat your father like this? He is indeed his biological son..."
While joking, Joshua's eyes were extremely cold. During the questions and answers that Chris just answered, he silently pulled out the short knife he had snatched from his waist, then turned around and swung towards the end of the alley. Throw it around a corner shadow!