Su Yue gently touched Joanna's neck, feeling as if he were choking a little white cat.
The retro-style Baroque painting frame, with its classical oil painting style, creates a dazzling effect at night. Even if Su Yue wanted to ignore the lotus leaves in the pond, he would inevitably be attracted by the lotus flowers in the water.
What interested Su Yue most about Joanna today was that she was wearing a dark red, low-cut velvet, belted aristocratic gown, something he hadn't originally intended to concern himself with.
But she was just too beautiful.
She is more beautiful than the flowers.
In the end, I couldn't resist.
"I should go. Not only do you need me, but Canaan needs me too."
He released Joanna's soft, long hair. Joanna, Countess Barto, nominally Su Yue's superior, looked at him tenderly, also observing her handsome man, and asked him:
"Do you only have me as your woman?"
Why ask that?
Joanna gently stroked his handsome face, seemingly harboring a great hope: "I want to possess you all to myself, but... I saw a castle in the Canaanite territory."
Su Yue laughed and said, "So what if we have a castle? My dear Countess Joanna, if you love me and I love you, why think so much?"
Joanna said, “Your future is that of an Elector, and I know I am not worthy of you. So now I will do everything I can to help you, no matter what your ambitions are; no matter what you want to do now, I only ask that you will not abandon me in the future… Even if it means staying by your side as an ordinary maid, I am willing.”
“How could that be? Don’t you know how noble your status is? Count Bartogol Rivers, the old Earl, has been kind to me. I owe you all this, so of course I would never betray you.”
Su Yue used sweet words to evade the other party's suspicions, and at this moment...
He looked at the messages and contents in the lord's log and suddenly laughed.
"Hmm..."
"I have to go now, honey. I have things to do."
Joanna stared blankly at Su Yue. She always felt that there was a great distance between her and him, but how could she break through this distance?
A lady-in-waiting from the count's court was summoned, and Joanna asked her earnestly:
Am I not pretty enough?
"You are beautiful."
“But if I am so beautiful, why do I feel unable to enter the depths of his heart?” Joanna fell into self-doubt, when a court lady offered an answer, tentatively saying, “Perhaps it is because you are not the chosen one?”
Joanna's eyes suddenly brightened, and she exclaimed in surprise, "That's right, maybe it's because I'm not a Chosen One? There are quite a few Chosen Ones in Canaan, aren't there? The group that came with us before, didn't they also have Chosen Ones? They brought two female Chosen Ones to see me, I guess their worldview is definitely different from the people here..."
He tried to understand Su Yue.
What was Su Yue doing at this time?
"The dwarven troops certainly cannot be mobilized. The problem with Canaan now is that the human forces are too few. If I send a thousand human troops to garrison the Canaan territory, will they be effective in suppressing the people inside Chiwell City? Or will the manpower be insufficient? Or will we have enough manpower, but be unable to withstand the attack from the 'Remir' elven territory?"
Abraham sat leisurely beside the council, sipping a glass of scarlet wine.
Lord's Log: "You enjoyed the Silver Palace wine of the Bottomless Abyss and gained: Strength x3, Insight +1."
This was originally excellent news, but Su Yue didn't pay much attention to it. Instead, looking at Abraham's leisurely movements, he couldn't help but ask, "Ragnar sent a message saying that the Empire's elite rebels are also making moves on the outskirts of Canaan. Don't you think you should give me a strategy?"
Abraham's monocle gleamed coldly, and he paused in wiping it as his master, Su Yue, spoke. "You may send me into the city."
"?"
Abraham said, "After I enter Qiweier, the city will change hands within eight hours, and within ten hours you will have complete control of Qiweier, but..."
"But what? You damned sixth brother."
Abraham laughed and said, "It's just that many people will die."
Su Yue asked, "What exactly do you want to do?"
Abraham: "My esteemed master, please forgive me for withholding information from you, for some things, if known in advance, would not have much value or effect."
Su Yue was caught in a state of hesitation. In fact, this hesitation was caused by Abraham's choice, and also by the fact that the number of soldiers under his command was too limited when divided among three castles.
Regardless, Su Yue was forced to admit that his Canaan territory had only been developing for a mere six days.
As the seventh day approached, he had only a little over three thousand troops at his disposal (12,000 dwarves could not be mobilized to Qiwell City because it would cause panic; Su Yue's reason for sending troops was to obey Joanna's orders to protect Qiwell City from the elves' attack, and sending dwarves would be tantamount to digging his own grave). If we disregard the miscellaneous troops and only count the pure Imperial soldiers, the number of troops was less than 2,000.
In order to avoid leaving any leverage for the invasion of Qiweier City—such as being denounced by the Bato Empire and cursed by the nobles—Su Yue planned to withdraw all the imperial troops and concentrate them in Qiweier City.
At that moment, Abraham asked, "Have you made your choice?"
Su Yue: "I will dispatch 2400+ Imperial troops to assemble and head to Qiweier City."
Abraham said regretfully, "Why not send me? Even if I might cause some minor negative impact, it would still be much easier and less troublesome."
Su Yue said dejectedly, "You are too strong, even stronger than Europa. I'm afraid that if I let you go, you will lose control and sacrifice the entire city of Qiweier."
"..."
Abraham smiled knowingly. Indeed, this proved the old saying: like master, like servant. He said, "Please believe that my loyalty to you is unwavering."
"..."
Su Yue began recruiting large numbers of imperial troops from low-level basic military buildings in the Canaan territory, such as Tier 5 military camps, Tier 3 militia camps, and Tier 2 training grounds.
Lord's Log: "You initiated a global recruitment across the Canaan Territory, obtaining: Tier 1 Imperial Farmer Brutality x735, Tier 2 Breton Imperial Shield Infantry x1245, Tier 3 Breton Imperial Scythe Reaper x425, Tier 3 Breton Imperial Swordsman x534, Tier 4 Breton Imperial Knight x253, Tier 5 Imperial Artillery x6, for a total of: 3186."
"—Your Canaan territory has triggered the Enlistment Enthusiast effect, reducing the cost of recruiting soldiers to -20%."
These troop types, along with Su Yue's 13 Tier 7 top-tier Reik Empire Guards and 2400+ Imperial troops, together constitute a total Imperial force of 5500+ in the Canaan Territory.
This batch of troops formed the first wave of the invasion of Chiwell. Su Yue wanted to personally command this force, or to gather Huntington William Frederick II to control this imperial force.
However, this idea was abandoned because Canaan still needed Su Yue to be stationed there in order to resist possible invasions and attacks by imperial rebels.
"The Imperial Eastern Expeditionary Rebels are now only missing Canaan and Chivel City to completely seize the territory of Kafulwit... so they are gathering military strength, preparing to attack the Canaan territory..."
"Should we leave behind a portion of the Empire's military forces?"
Su Yue pondered... His biggest problem right now is that the Canaan territory is facing the pressure of fighting on two fronts, a situation he has never encountered before.
“In the past, I always faced an entire army unit alone…”
Seeing that they were short-handed, Su Yue decisively took Abraham, the sixth brother, and said, "Come on, come with me to the tavern."
Abraham put on his monocle, and you know what? It actually suited him quite well. He looked every bit the refined scoundrel, or perhaps a treacherous and cunning fellow.
"As you command, my master."
Abraham bowed respectfully, showing no impatience whatsoever; he even seemed to enjoy accompanying Su Yue in doing things.
"That's strange."
Su Yue looked at the sky above Canaan in confusion. As clouds obscured the sky, wisps of thin mist drifted up in the distance. These clouds not only blocked the sun's rays, but also began to snow lightly from above…
Snowflakes fell on his palms and melted from the heat, but Su Yue felt something was strange. Why was it snowing at this time of year?
"Perhaps it's because you've occupied the northern fortress atop the snow-capped peak that the whole world is celebrating for you?"
Abraham was a master of flattery.
Su Yue couldn't help but laugh and said, "Let's go to the tavern."
In the Devil Cult's stronghold in the Canaan territory, shouts echoed. Many wagons and trucks were parked along the roadside, and many Devil Cult merchants were busy even late at night, working hard for trade and striving for a better life for their families. Even when their children were fast asleep, they continued to work diligently.
The fact that Su Yue previously collected over 8 million gold coins in taxes from his territory is sufficient proof of this.
The shrine of the gods still appeared majestic and ancient, but Su Yue had a different feeling when he arrived this time. He gestured for Abraham to wait for him for a while, offered incense to the shrine of the gods, and then led him toward the tavern.
Abraham looked at his master, who was wearing a black cloak, and felt a surge of emotion.
Without a cloak or concealment of their identity, these ordinary citizens of Canaan would undoubtedly discover that their great lord is traveling incognito, thus interfering with their activities. This would gradually disrupt their rest and sleep at night, causing them to become overly excited and affecting their work efficiency the next day.
Gregory was also brought over by Su Yue, the reason being to discuss which new hero to recruit.
Gregory yawned, but Su Yue said, "I heard you have a new girlfriend and are preparing to settle down. If you're sleepy, go back to sleep."
Gregory Samsa fell silent for a moment. How could he dare to go home and sleep with his girlfriend while his superior was with him? Would he give up his job?
Before entering the world of Turin, he was an ordinary office worker at a travel agency, and essentially, Pope Gregory VII had nothing to do with him.
In another world, Gregory works as a traveling salesman, constantly on the go, struggling to support his entire family. Now, he has a girlfriend, a girl from the human Bato Empire, and naturally, he doesn't want to lose his job.
"My lord, I'm not sleepy..."
Su Yue shook his head: "Go back and rest. I don't need an excellent employee here who has a girlfriend and is newly married and worried about his family..."
Gregory: "My lord, I really can accompany you."
Su Yue said, "In your past life, you were exploited like a corporate slave, and you single-handedly supported your family. After becoming an alien insect, you were starved to death by your family. They all hated you. But Gregory, you need to understand one thing: Canaan is not only mine, but also yours. We came together to create the whole of Canaan. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"
Lord's Log: "Gregory is inspired and moved by you, and his favorability towards you has increased by 20. Current favorability: 89 (Unwavering)."
Su Yue laughed and said, "It's nothing serious here. I'll go back and spend time with my wife."
Gregory knelt down, kissed Su Yue's shoes, and then left.
Su Yue shook his head. What a good subordinate!
What a noble person he is...
He even doubted that even if he treated Gregory like a beast of burden and exploited him relentlessly, the man would most likely not be able to resist. But would that make any sense? What about his heart?
"The most terrifying thing for a person is to lose their heart, especially their true heart... This may seem meaningless, but it is actually related to everything... The development of Canaan's territory is something I am doing with my heart. I hope no one will hinder my development plan, otherwise we can only become enemies with them."
Abraham said respectfully, "Rest assured, I will always stand by your side."
Su Yue smiled and walked towards the glowing tavern.
"What did you say? The lord of Canaan is arriving tonight? Does he finally need to recruit heroes again?"
Descartes, who wasn't recruited last time, now sits in the tavern, finding himself growing fond of the Canaan region. He spends his days and nights there, and witnessing Canaan's terrifying rate of development makes him desperately want to stay...
“My lord… I am willing to cut 70% of the military budget and remain in Canaan.”
Lord Chris, male, Tier 4 Human Hero. Lord Skills: Leadership, Artillery. Troops: 23 Tier 2 Imperial Shield Warriors, 1 Catapult, 12 Tier 4 Griffins. Hero Trait: C-Rank Logistics Lord (Logistics Speed +20%, Increased Logistics Support Speed).
“…Damn it, those damned rivals!” Descartes glared angrily at the hero not far away…
Many heroes who had just arrived at the tavern looked somewhat bewildered. What was going on? Shouldn't they be the ones arrogantly raising prices and being courted by the lords? How come after arriving in Canaan, it was a scene of heroes actively seeking out lords for a living? This was just too absurd!
Josephine looked at the group of tavern heroes with a surprised expression.
He came to the Canaanite lands from the plane of stars.
His race is the Protoss, a race that possesses the ability to travel around various planes and is also known as the "traveling race".
Josephine, male, Tier 5 Protoss hero. Lord skill: Advanced Scholar. Troops: 53 Tier 2 Ghouls, 8 Tier 4 Astral Travelers. Hero specialization: A-rank Traveler: Increases dimensional travel speed and map guidance by 30%, allowing the hero to lead troops across dimensions for interdimensional travel.
Recruitment fee: 140,000 gold coins per week.
Su Yue looked at the hero attributes in front of him with some surprise, because after the tavern was upgraded to level 5 under Jin Xiuer's influence, the quality of the heroes in the tavern had even become higher.
"Astral, male, Tier 5 Demon Lord. Lord Skills: Intermediate Tactics, Intermediate Pathfinding. Troops: Tier 2 Lesser Demons x43, Tier 3 Tali Demons x12, Tier 5 Eight-Armed Serpent Demons x6. Hero Trait: B-Rank Berserker: Increases the probability of the demon troops going berserk by 7%. When the troops enter a berserk and bloodthirsty state, it can increase the morale of the entire army and double their strength."
Recruitment fee: 190,000 gold coins per week.
—Demonic lords are always greedy and prone to betraying and turning against their masters.
Su Yue looked up at the attributes of a demon lord. At this moment, the demon lord was also curiously examining Su Yue. The moment he sensed Su Yue's aura, the demon lord felt an extreme sense of danger. In particular, the man with the monocle following behind the Canaanite lord made him feel infinite shock and fear.
"It's...it's him??????"
Astral immediately recognized Abraham following behind Su Yue, and his expression changed drastically. His proud and cold demeanor immediately subsided, and he even behaved like a docile lamb.
Lord's Log: "Astral has reduced the hero's military expenses. Weekly salary: 90,000 gold coins. Please refresh to view the new recruitment information."
"???"
Su Yue looked at Abraham with a surprised expression, but Abraham shrugged, indicating that he hadn't done anything.
Su Yue was shocked. Good heavens, look at how you, a level 9 demon, have scared those demons so much that they've even voluntarily reduced their military spending. Abraham's deterrent effect on them is just too high, isn't it?
Su Yue couldn't help but think to himself.
He then looked at the lords inside the tavern and began to observe them carefully...
Many heroes gathered in the Canaanite territory, excitedly saying:
“Lord Su Yue, I am a human lord of the Bato Empire... Please accept me.”
“I am willing to offer my heart and my absolute loyalty to the Canaanite lands.”
"My lord... I wish to join Canaan."
"..." The bartender and the shrine maiden beside him elegantly gathered to the side, curiously watching the lively atmosphere of the tavern. "Are they recruiting heroes again?"
"Yes, they've been waiting for a long time, many have been waiting for almost a week."
"...The potential of the Canaanite territory is too high, too terrifying."
Are there any other reasons?
"I think that human lord is a nobleman who came with Countess Joanna, isn't he?"
"Elector... Now the Tier 6 great building, the Rick Empire Fortress, has been built. Look at that huge building to the east, that magnificent, ancient, and luxurious building. Only an Elector could complete such a construction. The reason why the human heroes are so crazy is because of the Rick Guard."
"Having the Imperial Guard of the Rick Empire means that His Excellency Su Yue may become His Majesty Emperor Barto in the future."
"??? Emperor Batho?"
"Yes, there are only seven electors in the entire Bato Empire, and two of them are already dead."
"Faced with a lord who has the power to become emperor, as a hero, aren't you tempted?"
The temple maidens fell silent...
Inside the tavern, Su Yue scrutinized the heroes' attributes: "No, they're too generic, not distinctive enough..."
He wasn't looking for the kind of nobody who would be lost in the crowd, but someone with unique characteristics who could help Su Yue's territory... Even if these "characteristics" weren't reflected in strength, they would be like the overall territorial buffs brought by a noble person like Gregory.
—Rank A Noble: The probability of the host's territory's citizens rebelling is reduced by 5%, the fatigue of the territory's residents is reduced by 10%, and the endurance of the territory's residents is increased by 10%;
Zerg: This hero can transform into two forms: a beetle form and a human form (changing forms will consume a lot of stamina).
But it has to have that flavor...
This time, Su Yue was somewhat disappointed. "They're all the same Tier 4 and Tier 5 heroes... If it were Zhou Zhuo, the players from the Longqing Guild would probably be ecstatic... These aren't Tier 1 or Tier 2 trash heroes, and they even frequently have B-rank and A-rank talents... But why didn't I see any S-rank talents?"
The tavern heroes, whom other players regard as top-tier heroes, appear exceptionally mediocre in Su Yue's eyes... Different perceptions, different statuses, even if they are all together, they are unlikely to have the same thoughts.
These heroes, who are considered top-tier by players, are only considered average by Su Yue.
"My lord, I can warm your bed, be your hero by day, and your companion by night." An elven lord blushed, her long ears were very fair and charming, and her neck and figure were particularly tall and slender.
Su Yue was almost tempted, but his condition was that he would rather have none than something of poor quality.
Therefore, they did not recruit them.
Moreover, she has no shortage of women. She had just gone crazy with Joanna for a while, and at this moment Su Yue was like a saint, completely unresponsive to the temptation of beauty and even wanted to laugh.
"Daremyth, female, a Tier 5 High Elf hero..."
"Alita, female, Tier 5 Chaos Hero..."
...
"???"
Suddenly, Su Yue noticed a hero's special skill, which was actually S-rank, and his strength was at the 6th tier level. This outstanding and exceptional individual immediately caught Su Yue's attention...
The elegant dark elf hero wore a full-face gold mask, the gold worn smooth by the wind and sand, giving it an ancient, sandy yellow hue. His slender fingers touched a cup, conveying a melancholy expression.
The cold and domineering style and the elven gauntlet sword worn at the waist,
They appeared to be very elite.
It's not that the other Tier 5 lords aren't impressive, but his demeanor clearly stands out from the crowd...
"Malekith???"
"It's...it's him???"
"Damn it, isn't this the Witch-King from Warhammer, the greedy, ruthless plunderer—the supreme ruler of the Dark Elves?"
"He... he actually showed up in my tavern?"
Su Yue immediately opened Malekith's attribute panel, which was jokingly called "Spicy Chicken Shreds" in his previous life, and was immediately taken aback by the luxurious attribute panel.
Malekith, male, Tier 6 Dark Elf Lord. Lord skills: Advanced Tactics, Master-level Leadership. Troops: Tier 2 Fear Spearmen x77, Tier 3 Dark Elf Assassins x12, Tier 5 Hal Gansey Executioners x23, Tier 6 Nagaron Dark Guards x17, Tier 6 Cold Lizard Chariots x5, Catapults x3, Tier 7 Raven Dragon x1 (mount).
Hero Specialty: S-Rank Nagalos Dark Elf Witch King: Dark Elf troops under Malekith's command gain +85% attack power.
Tier A King of Naga Lund: Dark Elf diplomacy +20%, Naga Lund Blackguard, Dreadspearmen, Darkblademasters and Darkblade Crossbowmen maintenance costs -25%.
—Midnight Armor: Malekith's entire body has merged with the Dark Armor of Midnight, becoming one with it; no one has ever seen the true face behind his armor.
Su Yue's mouth formed an "o" shape.
He felt it would be a complete sin not to recruit such an S-rank hero who also had global buff attributes and dual lord talents.
Besides, what the hell are advanced tactics and master-level leadership skills? He has only seen one or two heroes with high-level lord skills so far... This means that Malekith is also a commander of the same level as William, and he can stand alone in the future.
At this moment, Abraham also turned his attention to Malekith's face.
Su Yue said, "Marekis, are you willing to stay and serve Canaan?"
He also commands a large number of dark elf troops.
Malekith said calmly, "No problem."
The heroes in the tavern, witnessing that scene, were filled with horror and wailed: "My lord, I'll forgo the first month's and the first three months' military expenses, please recruit me!"
"My lord... I also want to stay in Canaan."
"My lord, you're so biased! As the lord of the dark elves, you should at least look at me! I can sleep with you." A female dark elf hero looked at Su Yue resentfully.
Little did anyone know, Su Yue's eyes were only on "Spicy Chicken Shreds," the top-tier Dark Elf Witch King. He was similar in character to the Witch King of Angmar in "The Lord of the Rings," who was an important force under Sauron and possessed terrifying strength. Su Yue had a great desire to see a top-tier hero like Malekith.
Moreover, he is about to break through the issue of naval supremacy in the Qiweier territory and establish trade relations with the Dark Elf pirate forces outside. With this 20% favorability bonus from the Dark Elves, Su Yue will be able to obtain more benefits, control greater wealth in the trade routes, and enhance his trump cards.
The main point is that Malekith is handsome...
"Now that you've agreed, let's sign the contract."
Malekith said, "No, I do have high hopes for the future development of the Canaanite territory, but there is one condition..."
"What are the conditions?"
The master of these powerful species—the Black-Eyed Crossbowmen, the Cold Lizard Chariots, the Fear Spearmen, the Dark Swordsmen, the Black Guardians of Naga Lund… Malekith, as the emperor (Witch King) of the entire Dark Elf dynasty in his previous life, naturally possessed a proud spirit.
"You need to defeat me in a duel, otherwise I cannot obey a lord who is weaker than me."
"?"
Su Yue's expression was somewhat amused.
"A martial arts contest?"
He laughed.
Having just ascended to become an Old One of Kshira, he feared he might accidentally unlock the second stage and be killed by Malekith...
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