Blood tax

Chapter 27 Griffith and the Bone Ring
The fallen mage's clear eyes became wild, she decisively pulled out the dagger from Griffith's waist and stabbed him hard in the back.

"Clang!" The dagger hit the sturdy breastplate without causing any damage.The female mage was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly raised the dagger and slashed at the back of the apprentice knight's neck.

"Crack!" Griffith suddenly reached out and grabbed the female mage's wrist.Although he was still dizzy and weak, the strength was enough to control the equally weak female mage.

"It seems... your state is not very good..." Griffith, who was sore and numb, turned around slowly, stretched out his hand and grabbed the neck of the female mage, a little bit in front of the anxious and desperate female mage. Twisted the dagger and pressed it towards the female mage's throat.

"Damn it, let go! Let go of me! Lag..."

The dagger pierced the female mage's soft neck, and a large group of blood foam poured out of her mouth.

Griffith stirred the dagger twice, and then wearily pushed away the dead female mage's corpse, and stood up from the ground panting.

In his hand lay a pale bone ring, and the indecipherable babble had disappeared.

Griffith put away the ring and was about to blow his whistle in the direction of the sewer to call for reinforcements.Suddenly, a shattered memory flooded into his brain.

A man hidden under a black robe and hood was handing a pale bone ring, and the only recognizable words said: "After I leave, you will report the progress directly to my disciple."

"Yes, mentor." This sentence seems to come from a fallen female mage.

One after another, the memory fragments poured into the brain, almost tearing Griffith's mind.In the chaos, he suddenly saw the figure of the mage apprentice Isis among the figures that flashed by. He was talking about vague plans with the fallen female mage, and his attitude was decisive.At the end of this memory, Isis pulled on his hood and seemed to nod his farewell to the people around him.He said:

"I will make sure to destroy her, whatever the cost, for a holy cause."

The spirit of the apprentice knight could not hold a large number of memory fragments, and soon, these messy information dissipated like a cloud of smoke, leaving only a clear sentence lingering in his ears.

"Fear brings desire, desire demands strength,

"Strength breaks through the shackles, and we will eventually be free."

Why did I gain partial memories of this woman?

Griffith twisted his body, feeling nothing but very weak.

According to the general knowledge of mysticism, when absorbing Beyonder characteristics, there is a certain chance of obtaining memory fragments left by the former Beyonder.But I'm the Breaker pathway, how can I absorb the Beyonder characteristics of a fallen female mage?Moreover, I don't have the feeling that I have acquired Beyonder characteristics!
What exactly is this ring?
……

"Director Heinz, the enemy fallen mages have been eliminated," Griffith handed the icy corpse to the soldiers present and reported to the armored cavalry director.

"Well, it's not too embarrassing," Heinz Wilhelm watched the city defenders lift Ophelia, who had been stripped of her armor, out of the sewers, "Be careful, your habits are good."

"Sir, the investigators are here," a soldier trotted forward and saluted Heinz, "They have taken over the investigation of the captives and corpses."

Not far from the two, the little gangster who had been captured alive in the battle before was taken aside and handed over to two men in black.

"Woman? This is a woman," the head man in black looked at the little man for a while, then turned to the officer next to him and said, "I don't think she can know anything about a little minion like her, let's go and see if there are any other prisoners. ."

His companion reached out to the struggling little man, and the moment he touched her forehead, she lost her mind.

……

"The only survivor is Lahuana, 12 years old, female, with deceased parents, no experience worth mentioning, no knowledge of valuable information, just a thief from the sewer gang," Heiyi, who completed the investigation People came to Heinz and simply reported the situation, "The fallen mage who was killed was named Camilla, and we also channeled her and Cook's corpses, but their souls were banned and dissipated. already."

The investigation came to nothing... Griffith watched quietly as the CIA agent reported to Captain Flag.

"The people in the Bureau of Investigation seem to have some kind of spiritual spell or ability, and they can directly enter the brain of the person under investigation to find information," Rana, who had returned from the sewers, was also listening and whispered to Griffith, "No one cares whether the person whose head was opened by them survives or not."

"This little bastard is released on the spot. Our detention center is already overcrowded." The man in black suddenly turned around and looked at the trainee knights who surrounded him. "I don't know what twisted hobbies you soldiers from the Eastern Legion have. But please remember, this is Bayeran, the capital of the world, and civil servants like me will watch your every move."

Is this reminding us?Griffith took a few seconds to realize what the investigator was saying.

Is the Bureau of Investigation reminding us not to do anything to this little girl named Lahuana?

……

After returning to Larmor House, Griffith was caught by several servants before entering the gate and washed well.Then Mr. Ashford called him into the parlour.

On the table in the reception room was a stack of documents, a small money bag and a small box.Mr. Steward pointed to the two items, then stepped aside, motioning for Griffith to pick them up.

Griffith came to the table and sat down, first opened the file and found that it was a partially completed report - "The Cook Gang Incident on Tussock Street".

The report details the attacks carried out by Cook's gangster Gerlos over the past few days from a third-party perspective, as well as limited information on Cook himself, the Fallen Mage, and his henchmen.

The report is accompanied by a scene drawn in pencil. The main suspect in the incident, the crime scene and the surrounding environment are all vividly portrayed. I don't know if it is the artist's superb skills or the result of using magic.

After going through the incident report and pencil drawings, Griffith saw a blank report.

"Mr. Apprentice Knight, in Bayeran, where procedures and rules are important, it is very important to submit a detailed and accurate report," said Mr. Ashford slowly, in his characteristic high-pitched voice, "this is your An important part of the job, if you have any questions about writing, you can ask me.”

Griffith was also familiar with the fact that he was often required to submit reports to the commanding officer on the battle during his time in the army.He nodded immediately and agreed, then flipped through the pages and found a notice.

"For the performance of the apprentice knight Griffith Brandon in this mission, the following rewards will be given after approval:

"50 silver francs and one day of paid vacation.

"The merit is worth 1 point.

"Because this mission is the first mission that Mr. Apprentice Knight performs under Count Larmor, an additional reward of 1 unit of Potential Enhancement Potion will be given."

award!The reward was issued so quickly!

Griffith's eyes almost glowed. Needless to say, 50 Yinlang is equivalent to half a month's salary, which is very helpful for him who is tight on money.

As for merit, he was also very familiar with it, which was the only indicator for non-commissioned officers and mid-level and low-ranking officers to upgrade their ranks.Moreover, after serving a certain number of years, the excess merit value can be exchanged for land or annuity.

When he was promoted to the second-level squad leader, Griffith's existing merit points had been used up. If he wants to be promoted to the first-level squad leader, he needs to have 10 merit points, and the higher-ranked Assault Squad Leader will need extra. 20 merit points.Once he has crossed the threshold of the assault squad leader, he even has the hope of becoming an officer and a nobleman and establishing his own small family.

Mr. Ashford watched the apprentice knight quietly, closed his eager eyes, and said, "Mr. apprentice knight, have you ever been in contact with potential potions before?"

By the way, what is this... Griffith shook his head immediately.

Ashford explained: "You naturally don't need this kind of potion in the army, but if you want to quickly improve your extraordinary abilities, the potential potion is very useful.

"There is information about potential potion in the library, you can study it slowly. For more basic extraordinary abilities, 1 unit of potential potion can already be upgraded by one rank.

"However, the more powerful the ability, the more resources it consumes. I suggest you consider carefully before using it."

……

Griffith gets one day off a week, usually on Sunday, or if he wishes, on days when he is not on urgent business.

Today is August 1443, 8 of the Second Age.

Griffith's room was in the attic of the Earl's Court, a single room not much bigger than a stagecoach carriage.The hard wooden bed was next to a desk, a chair and a small bookshelf, and luggage was tucked under the bed.The rising sun shone through the window and onto the sheets, making Griffiths, who had just woken up, very comfortable.

The apprentice knight got up from the bed early, washed his face in a hurry, put on a full set of heavy armor and weapons, and ran his own morning exercises along the wide and beautiful boulevard in the upper city.

Today is a holiday, and Griffith has important arrangements.

Along the way, he met Rana and Murat, who were also fully armed, nodded to each other and continued his training.

"Morning - Griffith!" The tall and light Ophelia was wearing comfortable casual clothes, tied her long blond hair into a ponytail, and tossed it as she ran, "Don't ask, there's no more smell! I'll call you."

The tidy streets are paved with cobblestones or square bricks, and it is very clean and refreshing whether it is windy or raining.Griffith's first few days of exercising according to military habits and distances, only to find that the warm-up was over.

The most luxurious residences in Upper Bayeran are built on gentle slopes with unobstructed views in the mid-levels.From time to time, the sound of the training of fully-armed apprentice knights or attendants could be heard from the winding long street, but it did not wake up the nobles in the nearby mansion.The bedrooms of the nobles living here are all deep in the quiet garden, and they don't care about the noise of their subordinates.

When it was still light, Griffith returned to Larmor House.The kitchen in the mansion was kept on fire day and night, serving four main meals and two supper for the servants and guards in shifts, as well as meeting the occasional demands of the host and guests.Griffith received milk, oatmeal, fresh bread and bacon from the cook, and two fried eggs that the other servants did not have.Although these days have been going on for a while, Griffith is still as happy as a dream every time he has breakfast.

After breakfast, Griffith went back to his room and changed into the starched maid's hot coat, and walked briskly to Avon Forest in the upper city.

The embassy of the Elf Kingdom is located in the most leafy place in the entire Bayeran.Surrounded by giant trees in the sky, towering spires and dancing figures can be vaguely seen.

Griffith was stopped for questioning at the fence at the edge of the embassy district.Human soldiers are responsible for guarding here. If they ignore their obstacles and continue to advance or break in rashly, they may be shot into a sieve by feather arrows shot from nowhere.

The guarding human soldier looked at the application submitted by Griffith and pointed to a hut beside him, motioning him to wait there.Griffith walked in obediently, finding it unexpectedly comfortable.

There are countless types of wood spliced ​​together into beautiful wooden floors and furniture.There are also delicate white porcelain teapots and dim sum trays on small tables beside the seats.

The apprentice knight opened the teapot curiously and smelled it.Although there are not many dim sums on the side, they are very delicate, and the entrance brings a cool sweetness.

"Why did you eat it yourself!" A familiar voice sounded from behind.Griffith hurriedly stuffed half of the snack into his mouth and clapped his hands to say hello to his elf friend whom he hadn't seen in a few days.

Since coming to Bayeran, Griffith has written several letters to the elf girl asking her to have lunch together, and today is the only one that has succeeded.

"I'm sorry, I'm not very familiar with this city. It's a small gift that is not worth mentioning at all. Happy birthday!" Griffith took out a small exquisite box and handed it over according to the etiquette of visiting.

"Since it's a trivial gift, then I don't want it," Galadia looked at the apprentice knight solemnly.

uh... huh?Is the etiquette of elves different from that of us humans?How can this be done!Griffith didn't know how to answer.

"Hahaha! Just kidding!" Galadia shook her long, smooth black hair, "What's in it?"

"Scented tea made from peaches and passion fruit with honey can be stored at room temperature, and you can drink it by adding hot water when traveling in the field," Griffith said like a nervous examinee waiting for the test results. Tea made with herbs, I think it would have been nice to have this at the time.”

The good-looking scented tea is packed in a crystal clear bottle, sparkling in the sun.

"Hoho, it tastes good, and it looks good too!" The elf girl gently picked up the brightly colored flower tea, raised her nose and sniffed, stretched her thin eyebrows and nodded.

"Hey! You understand quite well! As expected, human boys are more interesting!" Galadia patted the apprentice knight's shoulder twice with satisfaction, "When we elf men give small gifts, we just don't know where to pick them up. A broken stone statue, and then chat with me about historical stories for two hours. Is it because I can’t read books by myself or I’m in a hurry!”

"Oh~" Griffith thought for a while, and thought this seemed interesting too.

"And do you know? Sometimes these stone statues will call in curses or evil spirits to watch. It's a ghost! It's because of this that the annual fertility rate drops~" Galadia put the flower tea beside the wall In a small cupboard of his house, he was sent back to his residence by a servant later, "This kind of life really makes me dizzy!"

"Speaking of this, Bayeran's population is really large!" Griffith opened the wooden door leading to the outside of the reception room, "Would you like to go out for a walk?"

……

"So, you and Miss Lamor were attacked by a gangster with supernatural powers very coincidentally," Galadia said, "and the gangster attacked you because he didn't know where the three young nobles were The travel plan. Did the investigation bureau pry open the gangster's brain and go in to see?"

It is said that the Extraordinary of a certain path has the power to channel and invade thoughts and dreams, and privacy and secrets are invisible under their power.

However, the Bureau of Investigation did not submit any relevant information and reports to Earls Court, at least not known to Griffith.

"I haven't heard of any progress," Griffith replied. "Is it possible that there are magic and extraordinary powers that can block the brain and memory and hinder the investigation."

"Of course there is, the power of the mysterious side is unfathomable~" said the elf, "and then, because of the first incident, you participated in the battle to encircle the gang, encountered a fallen mage and annihilated her and her minions. ."

"Um……"

"The clues that attacked Miss Larmor and the others should be broken," Galadia said. "The people behind the scenes are very thoughtful. Don't expect too much from the investigation results of the minions called Geros and Lavanna."

The apprentice knight and the pretty elf girl walked slowly along the long trestle on the bank of the secluded river.Galadia picked off the branches and petals by the roadside, and started to weave:

"But the Fallen Mage is a real person. Starting from the traces and objects of her life, maybe you can investigate something. Do you have any clues?"

"Yes," Griffith took the pale bone ring from his finger and handed it to the elf, "I didn't report this clue to the authorities."

"Is this material... what kind of bone is it? It looks a bit scary. From the shape, it looks like a curly snake biting its own tail, and the setting is missing the gemstone," Galadia picked up The ring scrutinized for a while, "It's breath is blocked, it would be very dangerous to rashly lift the seal. With your magical attainments, it's impossible to come up with a result. Well, by the way, I seem to have seen this style there, I will investigate."

After saying this, the elf threw the ring to the apprentice knight: "I don't like this curious style."

"When I put this ring on, I felt like I was surrounded by endless whispers, almost lost consciousness, and my body lost strength," Griffith carefully took the ring and brought it back to his finger, "The already very weak The Fallen Mage almost took the opportunity to turn around and almost killed me."

"Be careful!" Galadia muttered reproachfully, glaring at him with concern, "So this is an unusual magical item, and it has a connection with a powerful soul. I just listened to it. That said, such whispers often imply a great deal of cryptic information and knowledge, and are very dangerous to the unprepared."

(End of this chapter)