Volume 2: Empire Chapter 200 Highlights
Baron Sergei is a smart man. He can't figure out some things because he is blinded by his inherent ideas. Once he is reminded, he can jump out of his original perspective and see things clearly from a macro perspective.
The Celtic Duke began to rely on the human race passively. As long as there was another way, he would not reuse this race that could make money, pay taxes and was easy to bully.
Now most of the human nobles in the Holy Mountain regarded this as the grace of the Duke and regarded the charity given by the barbarians as a reward. However, they did not think too much about why these rewards were not given to other races in the Tedejia Hills?
That’s because the human race is powerful.
The human race has earned its current status!
Once you recognize this, your perspective on the problem and the results you get will be different.
Will the Celtic Duke keep the factory ban in place because the Barbarian lost the strongman contest?
Isn't that just waiting for the empire's butcher knife to chop your neck?
Would the Celtic Duke blame himself for the Barbarian's loss in the strongman contest?
Of course!
But he would never take drastic actions at this critical moment when Tedega Hills is undergoing overall transformation.
He now relies heavily on human merchants to build factories, human craftsmen to arm the barbarian legions, and even human warriors to form an army to fight on the front lines.
If a human wins the championship of the strongman competition, and wins the championship in the Duke's Castle, and receives the gold belt from the Celtic Duke himself.
It can serve as a wake-up call to those humans who are still willing to be second-class people.
If one human could defeat all barbarians in the area of strength where the barbarians are best, then what sense of superiority do the barbarians have over the human race?
Only if they win, the human race of Tedejia can become a large tribe independent of the barbarians.
When the human race of Tedga formed a real group rather than a race affiliated with the barbarians, the leader of the human race could not be kicked away by the Celtic Duke at will.
Baron Sergei looked at Luke with eagerness but also doubt.
"Who are you?"
Sergei doubted Luke's purpose in telling him this, which was too outrageous.
Luke picked up his coffee and drank it again: "I am an adventurer from the City of Raging Waves. I have seen what happened in the City of Raging Waves over the years, and I have some feelings about what is happening in the Holy Mountain.
The reason why Governor Meteorite rose so quickly was because he won the hearts of the people of Raging Waves City. The empire needed Raging Waves City, and it needed Meteorite. As long as Raging Waves City still had its current status, no one could touch Meteorite.
As far as I know, when he came to Raging Waves City, he was just an ordinary detective of the Secret Service Branch, but now he is a marquis. And you, Baron... your starting point is much higher than Meteorite.
By the way, this coffee is Tortoise-Turtle Coffee from Raging Waves City. Mrs. Fickechick must have gone to great lengths to get it. Have a taste, it’s delicious.”
Sergei's brain was a little confused by the stimulation. He almost unconsciously picked up the coffee and took a sip, feeling a variety of flavors in his heart.
He thought of the warning the Duke of Celtic had given him last night, and also of the oath he had made.
Now everyone says that Yunxing is a powerful official who has undermined the imperial power and is a negative example for officials.
But there is a path of becoming a meteor in front of us, who can resist becoming a "meteor"?
To Baron Sergei, it no longer mattered who Luke was.
What he was thinking about now was... what kind of position he could achieve as the leader of the Tedejia Hills tribe. How could he control all the power and wealth in his own hands instead of having them taken away by others at will?
Sergei suddenly said, "It seems that the strongman of the Duke's Castle will have the final say, and winning is in the interests of the people of Tedega Hill."
Luke savored his coffee slowly and said, "I'm just an adventurer. It's my job to accept missions and complete them. Whether it's a win or a loss, it's up to you."
Sergei thought about it for a while, and the cup of hot coffee in his hand was almost cold. He finally made up his mind and said, "Win! Mr. Luke, please win the championship in the strongman finals in the Duke's Castle."
Luke said, "It's all up to you, Baron. As long as the money is in place, I will definitely play according to your wishes."
Baron Sergei was stunned for a moment before he responded: "Do I have to pay for winning?"
"Of course I have to pay." Luke was like a shrewd businessman at this moment: "I just said, losing is easy, but winning is much harder than losing. If I don't pay, what if I lose?"
That's the truth, but...something's not right.
Baron Sergei, whose brain was overloaded by the stimulation just now, felt dizzy.
He went over the course of the transaction.
"We started talking about...if you lose, I'll pay you 50 million Reichsmarks."
“That’s right!”
"Now that I've changed from obeying your wishes to winning, why should I give you money?"
"Because winning or losing is uncertain before the game starts. If you don't pay, you may lose; but if you pay, you will definitely win."
“You said the championship was very important to you!”
"I can lose the game for 50 million Reichsmarks. Which do you think is more important to me, money or the championship?"
The fifty million allowed Baron Sergei to see clearly the adventurer in front of him.
No matter whether you win or lose , you have to cut this piece of meat yourself.
Baron Sergei looked at Luke and felt that it was fortunate that he was an adventurer. If he was a businessman... he would probably be stripped of everything today.
There is no point in talking more!
This sudden enlightenment gave people a sudden realization, and it could influence the Sergei family for generations to come. Isn't it worth 50 million Reichsmarks?
Baron Sergei could only comfort himself in this way. He asked Luke, "Fifty million, are you sure to win?"
Luke said: "Lord Baron has seen my competition and my opponent's competition in the Hercules Arena. It is difficult to upset in this kind of pure strength competition. I have the advantage in both absolute strength and endurance.
The Duke asked you to persuade me to fix the match, isn't it because I have a big advantage?
Sir, the coffee is cold!"
Baron Sergei drank all the remaining coffee in the cup in one gulp and said, "I will prepare 50 million Reichsmarks as soon as possible. Mr. Luke, please stay in good shape in the next few days and make sure to win the championship of the strongman competition."
Luke smiled and said, "Thank you for the reward, Lord Baron."
Luke clinked his empty cup with the empty cup in Baron Sergei's hand, and the porcelain cup made a pleasant sound.
Luke then returned to the dinner with Baron Sergei, where Mrs. Fekochik had changed into an evening gown.
She warmly invited the two to return to the table and asked, "What did you two talk about?"
Luke replied, “Baron Sergei wanted to invite me to join the city militia human brigade, but I will continue my adventure after I finish dealing with the affairs of the Holy Mountain and will not stay here for long.
Therefore, I will take up a sinecure position in the Canglang Militia Brigade."
Baron Sergei expressed regret and said, "Mr. Luke is now a star in the entire Holy Mountain. It is our loss that he cannot join the Gray Wolf Militia Battalion. Fortunately, Mr. Luke is willing to serve as the Inspector General of the Battalion, which is the best result."
When Mrs. Fecochek heard about this, she immediately lost interest: "The barbarians are not short of brave soldiers, but they lack wise men with brains. My husband is one of the few smart barbarians, and he has done very well in business in Raging Wave City.
I wanted his brothers from the Stone Family to go to Raging Tide City to help and learn how to do business and make money. But their heads were made of stone and they had no interest in what smart people do. They all joined the city militia and waited to be added to the Barbarian Legion.
Mr. Luke... they are all in awe of you. Please help me persuade them that they will die if they go to the battlefield. The blood of the Stone Family has been shed enough. Only going to the City of Raging Waves has a future."
It must be said that Mrs. Fekochik, who was at the forefront of fashion in the Holy Mountain, had a much broader vision than most barbarians.
Luke replied, "Yes, Mrs. Fecochek, I will persuade them."
At the dinner party, everyone got what they wanted, everyone ate happily, and the atmosphere was extremely harmonious.
Luke was the person who benefited the most. Not only did he acquire an iron workshop of great value without spending a penny, he also successfully divided the barbarians and humans in the Tedega Hills.
Luke didn't know if Baron Sergei could become the Tedega Hills version of "Meteor", as long as he was willing to work towards that goal.
Baron Sergei also felt that he was the one who benefited the most.
What is an ironworks?
By the time the steel mill is built, all the blacksmith shops will be rubbish!
What is fifty million Reichsmarks?
When he became the leader of the Tedegar people and the Celtic Duke had to rely on him, all this money was just a drop in the bucket.
As a rising star in Tedga's political arena, he can no longer look at things from a businessman's perspective as he did before.
You have to stand high to overlook the mountains.
Meteorites are my role models and the goals I strive for!
Baron Sergei repeatedly invited Luke to drink, and by the end of the dinner, he was already drunk and unconscious, and was carried into a carriage by the servants who came with him.
There was nothing urgent to do the next day.
Luke first went to the Black Magic Potion to collect some information about the Abyss Temple, and then changed into the Abyss Wizard robe to report to Priest Egbert.
Egbert was busy studying the Nirvana Egg, and he didn't treat Luke as a test subject, so he didn't treat him well. He just said that the Abyss would not come today, and sent Luke away.
This time, Luke did not stay in the Abyss Temple for too long, and the erosion of the Abyss energy he suffered was far less serious than the first time. Without accepting Qingkong's help, Luke successfully resolved the invading Abyss energy with his own strength.
The abyss did not seem invincible, so Luke became less afraid of it.
It turns out that fear comes from the unknown!
Next comes training.
The Fekochik family had a very professional underground training ground, and the training equipment was purchased from Raging Tide City. What surprised Luke was that there was even a gravity training room here.
The Gravity Training Room is a special room that uses magic alchemy to create a room that can adjust the gravity. In addition to increasing gravity to train strength, lowering gravity is helpful for the training of spiritual magic.
After asking around, Luke found out that the gravity training room and the entire training ground were gifts from Fechik to the Stone Family.
The barbarians of the Stone Family all like to come here and sweat.
When Luke arrived at the underground training ground, he found that all the training equipment was occupied by barbarians, and there was a queue outside the square gravity training room.
The barbarians showed off their strong muscles while exercising and boasted about their achievements in the strongman arena.
When Luke appeared, the entire underground training ground immediately became quiet.
The barbarians of the Stone Family do not like humans, but they are conservative and traditional and they also respect absolute power. They have all competed with Luke in strength and have seen the performance of this human strongman in the Holy Mountain Strongman Arena.
Absolute power has absolute status.
"Mr. Luke!" Coconut, who was also here, saw Luke and immediately ran over and asked with concern: "Have you recovered?"
Luke felt his physical condition. Because he controlled the amount of abyssal energy he absorbed today, he did not suffer from physical exhaustion like yesterday. Moreover, after consuming the abyssal energy, the power and energy of his rebirth seemed to have been refined, making his entire body indescribably clear inside and out.
This feeling gave Luke another level of understanding of power.
This is why Luke came to the training ground immediately after he finished clearing the abyss energy. He wanted to gain a deeper understanding of that vague feeling through training, because he felt that it was a level of power that had never been mastered by players in the game.
As a veteran game UP host, Luke collected a lot of information and communicated with other players, and they all agreed that the stage of the game they were in at the time was just the beginning of an era.
It is the process of players becoming familiar with the era system.
Six stars is the basis for welcoming the next version update.
Based on various signs, senior game analysts predicted that the next version of Epoch would be the return of the five ancient civilizations. Based on what Luke knew now, this prediction was very likely to be accurate. The return of the five ancient civilizations would definitely represent the return of the artifacts, and the power level of the entire Epoch world would be raised by an order of magnitude.
Like the Demon Tyrant, its current overall strength is five and a half stars. Once it has the assistance of a magic weapon, it will be like a slave turning over and singing.
Since the artifacts of the five ancient civilizations are now in the abyss, the abyss will definitely play a very large role in the return of the artifacts to the plot.
The player has no definition of what the Abyss is, and Luke doesn't know it now.
The natives of the Anno game generally define this inexplicable power as a god and then worship it.
The Temple of the Abyss is an obvious deification of the Abyss.
There are many similarly deified powers in this world. For example, Qingkong's special bloodline, the Wings of Space and Time, was obtained through the Elf Lord.
The so-called Elf God is just a well that is worshiped and deified by the elves. The well water has a special power that can make the elves evolve.
evolution!
Abyss!
The same purpose.
Luke touched his forehead and the cool feeling remained.
The body and strength are changing with the process of being infected by and clearing the abyss energy.
After a storm, there will surely be clear skies.
Is this what she wanted to express?
Luke couldn't help but smile.
Seeing that Luke didn't answer her, but was smiling stupidly while touching his forehead, Coconut reached out and pressed his forehead: "Are you sick?"
