"This matter is sowhat coincidental..." Laine began explaining the course of events.
Grand Duke Van der Gubben-Schultz of Marinburg, the Emperor's Envoy, could easily recognize vampires. He had secretly executed a pile of vampires and rchants conspiring with them outside Marinburg, and along the way, killed a vampire elder. One of those rchants was Hoffman, who traded with the vampires of Musillon. Laine conveniently borrowed this identity to assist his endeavors.
However, this rchant was difficult to disguise. Even though Alia used all her abilities, she couldn't replicate the rchant's physique and tone.
So Laine simply disguised himself as a fat person. Once a person becos fat, there are significant changes in their voice, expressions, and actions, making the vampires less suspicious.
Jerald slowly nodded, and a Kingdom Knight said admiringly, "Everything went according to your plan. Our infiltration was largely successful."
"Now the question is, how do we find where the vampires are building siege weapons?" Ranger Des said, speaking little as a half-elf: "The corruption in Musillon is severe, greatly limiting our senses."
Everyone present nodded. The female sorcerer Teresa moved a bit closer to Laine and whispered, "I agree. The Magic Wind is very unstable, and there are traces of chaos and corruption everywhere. What exactly caused Musillon to beco like this?"
"Musillon, huh?" Laine sighed deeply, pondering for a mont before deciding to start from the beginning: "It all begins with the founding of Brittania."
"Hundreds of years ago, under the leadership of the Knight King Arthur, Brittania was founded. At that ti, the nation had twelve original Holy Grail Knights, among whom was Arthur's close friend, Landuin from Musillon."
"Landuin was a paragon of the Knightly Path. Not only did he receive the personal blessing of the Lake Fairy to beco a Holy Grail Knight, but many signs indicated he was even stronger than Arthur. His sword, the 'Light of the Lake,' had drunk the blood of countless formidable foes, and he valued the Eight Virtues of Chivalry even more than his life."
"But everything changed with Arthur's death. The death dealt a heavy blow to Landuin, this original Holy Grail Knight and Duke of Musillon, plunging him into profound grief. At that ti, Musillon was still a duchy's domain with a long coastline and fertile lands. However, Landuin was so powerful that his grief also contaminated and corrupted his domain, leading to the gradual encroachnt by swamps. This event is known as the 'Great Depression,' and Landuin soon died in grief."
The group lapsed into prolonged silence, as most of them were outsiders and knew little about Musillon's inner details.
However, there was one who knew, and that was Jerald. Seeing Laine remain silent, he continued the story.
Landuin's death did not spell the end of Musillon's tragedy. A massive swamp began to gradually engulf Musillon's duchy. Two hundred years after Landuin's death, another tragedy struck Musillon: the "Mad Duke" rovin incident.
rovin was once a proud warrior. After inheriting the dukedom, he was obsessed with reviving Musillon and restoring the glory of Landuin's era. Yet, this excessive desire led him down a crooked path. Misguided by an advisor, he dabbled in black magic, stepping onto a path of no return.
At that ti, Brittania faced an outbreak of plague orchestrated by the Ratn, who then invaded the Knight Kingdom. The knights, troubled by the plague, were locked in bitter battles, while rovin and his knights, having turned into vampires, remained unaffected. Initially, they aided the Borelion Duchy, then allied with the Wood Elf and Paragon armies to eliminate the Ratn, achieving great military accomplishnts, though their fondness for slaughter and blood had drawn criticism from many.
This deeply saddened rovin, for the duke believed he had reached the status of Landuin. Harboring resentnt, he saw an opportunity to invite all dukes and the king to his castle for a banquet, and they agreed to attend.
The revelations during the banquet left guests bewildered. Corpses hung everywhere inside the castle, with all servants tortured within inches of their lives. rovin unveiled lavish delicacies, mocking the king for envying his accomplishnts.
At the ti, the Knight King flew into a rage, choosing to challenge rovin to a duel. Corrupted and fallen, rovin had gained imnse power. After an intense duel, the Knight King was killed by rovin, who, in an act of humiliation, collected the king's blood in a golden cup and began to vie for the king's throne.
Perhaps it was due to rovin's great rits in repelling the Ratn, or out of fear of his martial valor, but rovin, by a slim margin of votes, indeed crowned himself king, fulfilling his lifelong ambition.
However, his good fortune ended there. Only days into his reign, the Lake God Witch of that generation appeared, declaring that the Lake Fairy refused to recognize rovin as King of Brittania. anwhile, the Holy Grail Knight Order assembled, bringing the Lake Fairy's judgnt. All the dukes, responding to the Lake God Witch's call, opposed rovin, and outnumbered, rovin was defeated and killed. After the battle, the Lake God Witch announced the cancellation of the Duke of Musillon's title, half of the territory was ceded to the Leonais Duchy, and the remaining half, along with Musillon City, beca the Duchy of Connaught, appointing a new Duke of Connaught.
Subsequently, there was the Dor Tower incident, also known as the Fake Holy Grail Incident, which was ntioned earlier. Following the Dor Tower incident, the Duke of Connaught's title was also annulled, and vampires have been illegally occupying Musillon and the Duchy of Connaught to this day.
After reciting this lengthy history, the faces of Jerald and Alfred were filled with indignation. Laine looked sowhat regretful, Veronica's eyes sparkled with unspoken thoughts, and Teresa seed touched by the tales but nothing more.
"So, tomorrow we'll hold the steam sumr sale event in Musillon's town," said Laine, who was playing Gabriel Newell, with a smile: "Building siege weapons requires a vast amount of manpower and resources. By carefully searching, we are bound to find so clues."
Everyone, including Demon Hunter Abel, nodded. Abel imdiately took the floor: "Lord Laine, leave this matter to us Demon Hunters. This is our specialty."
"Alright, we've also brought a batch of Wood Elf goods. These items don't interest the vampires, but there are plenty of people in the city interested in them. Vampires cannot exist independently from other creatures as they need blood," Laine continued, "Estelle, Des, you'll handle selling the goods. Be as arrogant as possible, like a forest dealing with unwelcoming guests but having to diplomatically interact with them."
"Understood." The two half-elves nodded repeatedly.
"Jerald, you'll be on guard. We have a Vampire Lord's permit. If anyone tries to snatch goods, you may act directly," Laine instructed Jerald. The Kingdom Knight indicated his understanding. This cousin of Francois, unlike many other knights, was more resolute and pious, yet also adaptable.
"Veronica, you hide in the carriage with and listen to the commotion outside. Afu, you can hawk over there, with the sa enthusiasm you had when spreading faith."
"Sure!" "Got it, my friend."
Teresa, hearing Laine assigning tasks without ntioning her, was sowhat anxious, "What about , Laine?"
"You can stay in the carriage with ," Laine added, and Veronica with a mischievous smile carried on, "After all, you can't do much, Trovik."
The next day, at Musillon's market, a brand new stall opened right in the center.
"The steam sumr sale has begun! To give back to our esteed custors, Mr. Gabriel Newell from Marinburg highly recomnds!"
"Wood Elf Perfu 51% OFF!"
"Wood Elf Silk 75% OFF!"
"Wood Elf Gemstone Jewelry 60% OFF!"
"Winford Wine 33% OFF!"
The green signs triggered a frenzy among the residents. Alfred, standing in front of the stall, shouted, "Buy, buy, buy!" "Not buying makes you less human!" "Just buy first and think later!"
"Buy! I want this one!" "I want this!" "Wow! Lowest price ever!" The residents of Musillon clogged the streets, waving their money and scrambling for the precious goods.
"Steam sumr sale grabs your heart; you deserve it!" The fat rchant poked his head out from the carriage, smiling slightly, his eyes narrowing to slits exuding a terrifying magic power as he gave a thumbs-up to the residents.
"I'm Gabriel Newell. Welco to the steam sumr sale. I wish you all to have fun."
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