Blood tax

Chapter 344 The Banquet on the Brenhill
Griffith wrote and drew for a while, and felt that the innumerable things were too disturbing, so he took out a stack of documents from the file beside him, lit a fire in the brazier, and burned the documents.

The clues of Odessa's conspiracy and sealed items, as well as the possible interference of other organizations are not information that Griffith can obtain by himself.He had returned to Homewarts shortly after disrupting the Odessa Advent, until Roland sent him a tip.

According to the tip of this intelligence, Griffith carefully arranged his itinerary and headed to the northern border on the grounds of taking over the defensive Storm Squadron.There, he was supported by the Brenhill under the command of Arendelle, who had been arranged earlier, and completed the pursuit of Metigny.

That is to say, from the beginning to the end, he did not receive an official authorization to engage in combat. He was completely waiting for the Metini incident to launch a battle and seize some key personnel and materials.

After Wizard Metini and Naira escaped with the rest of the sealed artifacts, Griffith could not continue to fight in the local area, so he could only retreat to the rear along the established route with the Brenhill.

He scrutinized the papers, then burned any evidence that might reveal his intention to leave alone.

Griffith first burned the materials about the military deployment and hydrological conditions near Metini, and then he looked at the files left in his hand about the social relationship between Naira and Neferti. Draw a circle.

There is something wrong, but it is not clear yet, it must be carefully investigated...

Just as Griffith was about to issue an investigation application, there was another knock on the door.

A waiter asked him to go to the captain's cabin.

The captain's cabin is on the upper deck, below the bridge deck, not far from the quarters of the ship's army commander.

This is a small suite consisting of a reception room and a bedroom, and is elegantly decorated.All the space is fully utilized, and small cabinets and drawers that can be opened and folded are installed to store books and clothes.

The captain, Arendelle of Neopolis, was in the drawing-room.Interestingly, Neferti was there too.She and the captain sat at both ends of the small round table, drinking black tea together.The other party was not a few years older than her, and she was a well-educated noble lady. Neferti, who was worried, relaxed a lot.

"You mean, in your dream, you saw yourself and other girls running away?" Arendelle asked softly.

"Yes, I... Ah!" Neferti saw the knight being led into the room by the waiter, and jumped up like a big dog at the corner.

"Don't worry, you are my guest here," Arendelle touched Neferti's hand, comforted her to sit down, and then said to the knight, "We are talking about her dream. I was frightened during the Sa incident, and I often see you in my dreams, killing."

Trauma syndrome, I've had it too... Griffith salutes the two ladies and sits on a sofa away from them.

"Hommonwatts will help you," Arendelle continued. "The psychic powers of the Ravenel knights are very powerful. The shock of battle will damage your mind, and it is not impossible to lose your memory. Scholars from Medini Have they nursed you?"

"No, um, I mean, I don't remember."

The three spoke a few more words, and Neferti got up to leave and went back to her room to rest.She couldn't remember many things and was depressed.When passing by Griffith who stood up to see him off, the beating heartbeat could be heard throughout the captain's cabin.

Neferti didn't even say goodbye and fled through the door with a screech.

……

In order to carry out this special operation, Griffith was assisted by the supplemented and strengthened Storm Squadron and the latest battlecruiser Brenhill.

The battlecruiser Brenhill is a new product designed by Earl Roland, with sails as the main power and steam engines as auxiliary power.The whole ship uses wind and coal as energy, and like the past warships with mysterious attributes, it is supplemented with specific dust crystals to improve the sail's operating efficiency and speed.Unlike the old warships, the Brenhill was not equipped with ballistas and trebuchets, but creatively deployed 32 of the latest 12-pound guns under the deck on both sides of the battleship.

With a crew of 310 and marines, she is one of the most powerful warships on the Tranquil Seas.

Miss Alandelle, the captain of this expensive new warship, is a commander appointed by the Senate. She is young, but her military rank is not below Griffith.She is from a famous family and has the same authority as Sonia.

If land support operations are to be carried out, the Brenhill will obey the orders of Griffith; if it enters a naval battle, the Storm Squadron will obey the command of the captain.

Arundel sat on the deck chair dignifiedly and looked at him.Her etiquette and temperament are impeccable, and wearing the captain's uniform, her graceful flavor and graceful appearance are even more charming.Before carrying out this mission, Griffith would never have imagined that she would be in command of such an important warship.

"Why you?" Griffith thought for a while, but still asked the question he had been thinking about for a long time.

"I worked hard for it!" Arendelle was rather proud. "First of all, my family has a naval heritage. No one understands tides, reefs and monsoons better than us!"

A family of mermaids?This scene...Griffith imagining the mermaids, big and small, wandering in the deep sea where the sun doesn't shine, couldn't help but feel a little scared.In the darkness that could not be broken free, no sound could be heard, and the distant figure swayed his fish tail, surrounding him.

Griffith felt that his sanity was going to be lost because of this scene, so he pressed his forehead hastily and stopped thinking about it.

"Secondly, someone speaks for me." Miss Mermaid pretended not to see it. "Several elders have been serving in the Byerland Navy. It is not difficult for them to decide on a captain. Isn't Sonia also the commander of the army?" ? She is so beautiful and cute~"

Griffith said these few words can not refute.His eyes returned to Arendelle.The tight white uniform with silver trim and slender waist line beautifully set off the outline of her chest, and her straight long legs were slightly tilted to one side, making her look even more slender.Such a figure and beauty, if it is associated with the heroic demeanor when commanding the bombardment of the battleship, it is really irresistible.

Griffith suddenly felt much better.

"Finally, my judgment on you has proved my overall view and judgment, hehe! My family members, those old stubborn people believed that you were just a pawn at first, and they had no choice but to recognize me until the iron-like facts were in front of them. There are always people who don’t believe it, but I do have extraordinary foresight, discerning eyes, blazing eyes, and foresight~ It’s really unfair not to classify people as unreliable just because they are good-looking.”

Griffith couldn't help tilting his head and glanced at the bookshelf in the captain's room.Illusion and magic couldn't hide it from him, and he soon discovered that there were light novels that girls only read carefully hidden among professional books.

Arendelle didn't care at all, and she went on to express her opinion:
"After the events in Odessa, the mysterious powers increased.

"The Extraordinary is more powerful, and the promotion of the Extraordinary is much easier. The strength of spiritual power is increasing, and the forms are more diverse. The distance between mystery and us is getting closer.

"We think this is the psionic energy left after the power of the ancient gods was broken. The mysterious world seems to be sharing the benefits from the failure of the outer gods.

"Although we have not been able to capture the first target, Naila, and the sealed item he controls, there must be a reason why Neferti will be brought by the wizards. We must pay attention to her."

Griffith nodded.The life of the virtual world revived Christa, and the saint who disguised herself as the Church of the Holy Light started the summoning ceremony.During this process, some members of the Church of the Holy Light and the mysterious world in Odessa participated in the large-scale conspiracy of the cult.It would be ridiculous for the Holy See of Holy Light to be unaware.

The two chatted for a while, and the waiter came to invite them to dinner.

……

Even in wartime, dinner on a warship was an important social event.

The mistress of the Brunhill was the beautiful Mademoiselle Arendelle de Valenille, and the formal dinner held every evening in the officers' mess was obligatory for all honorable persons on board to attend.

Griffith sat on the left hand of the captain's seat, which is the seat of the most honored guests on the battleship, and he was honored to open the chair for Miss Captain when she took her seat.If there is a big man with a higher military rank and title than Arendelle, he should also sit in this seat.Next to Griffith were the lieutenant of the Marine Corps and several officers of the Storm Squadron on board.

To the right of the captain's bench were her adjutants, the artillery lieutenant, and the medical officer.The captured Miss Neferty was also brought here.Although she is a prisoner, she is also the eldest daughter of the Marquis, and she will be treated politely along the way.

A 5-member small band selected from the Brune Hill cadets, sailors and marines played cheerful music, and the guests at the banquet chatted in a soft and calm tone while eating.

After a day of fierce fighting, although Griffith was full of worries, he still had to eat dinner, which could also give his nervous brain a rest.He pulled out a chair for the captain and asked her to sit down before all the officers and guests could sit down.

The waiter brings appetizers to everyone.

"Today's appetizer is wheatgrass, tuna and cheese mushroom soup. The table wine is pacha wine."

After the waiters brought appetizers and drinks to everyone, Captain Arendelle raised his wine glass with his slender white fingers and said to everyone: "Knight Ravenel, in the name of Captain Brenhill, I greet you and Congratulations to your soldiers for their unquestionable victory and honor during the day that has just passed."

Griffith raised his glass and returned the salute with a smile.Compared with the captain's charming smile, his smile is like sawing wood with a saw.

Everyone present drank a glass of sweet wine, and the banquet officially began.

Probably in order to maintain etiquette and not neglect every guest, Alandelle ate very little.The officers in the operations department ate quickly so that they could stop and talk if necessary.

This dinner was really good. The vegetables and fish were tender and delicious. The steak was delicate and grilled with vines. The wine paired with the meal was really memorable.Everyone present has a small aperitif with the meal and a glass of wine, coffee and juice at their disposal.Griffith secretly marveled in his heart, such a dinner could even be compared to the banquet at the Earl La Moore's residence, and it was too extravagant for a warship sailing in battle.

A few days before the voyage, in order not to leak information and complete emergency combat deployment, Griffith and his troops ate casually in the cabin. This was the first time they attended such a banquet tonight.

"The dinner is too rich, and the salmon from the Broken Sea is so delicious~" Griffith felt that Alandelle was too enthusiastic, which made him a little embarrassed.

"I am really ashamed," the army officers expressed their thanks one after another, "I have troubled you so much during the battle."

As long as it is not deployed in a big city, the supplies of an elite unit like the Storm Squadron are limited.Even Sonia wanted to eat raw cucumbers and carrots with everyone. The bread was so hard that it could be used as a shield. If you couldn't finish a meal, the half piece left over could even be emptied and used as a teacup.Such horrible bread was only eaten when it softened in the soup, which was a stew of carrots, cabbages, potatoes, and all the vegetables that could be gathered around the camp, with a terrible amount of butter and salt.

Arundel looked at Griffith, and said with an unchanged expression:
"This is our usual dinner, and there is no special treat."

(End of this chapter)