Blood tax

Chapter 45 Winter Camping ([-])

The red leaves on the trees have fallen, and white snowflakes are flying in the air.

"It's going to snow," Griffith got out of the warm bed, came to the balcony to feel the cold air, and immediately ran back into the house to put on his coat, quickly washed his face and brushed his teeth, then put on his helmet, breastplate, Gauntlets, gauntlets, and then carefully donning the sword and dagger, picking up the spear and shield, and running out of the bedroom as lightly as possible.

When he went out, the two roommates rolled over under the covers and went back to sleep without difficulty.

It was still an hour and a half before the ordinary students woke up, and the Shutorals had to rush to the early morning before breakfast.

At this time, the sky is only slightly bright, the sun has not yet risen, and the quiet campus is still shrouded in silence and dim light.

Griffith quickly crossed the quiet corridor and glanced at the girls' dormitory room habitually.Galadia often got up early for morning exercises, but never knew where she went.Sonia, who is used to reading at night, must not have gotten up yet.

Rana and Murat, who were also fully armed, came down from the other building. The three nodded to each other quietly and ran to the cliff to the north together.

Professor Erich of the Military Command Section was well-dressed and as energetic as he had been in the military for decades.He stood upright on the grass on the edge of the cliff, watching the similarly silent Cytolars quickly assemble and line up.

"Why does this uncle get up so early every day?" Ophelia, the apprentice knight in the same team, whispered.Beside her, the stout and sturdy Midianmaia had just buckled her helmet to her blond hair.

Every morning, Griffith maintains the habit of the army, and participates in the early morning joint training with the other Cytolars.They were to make a heavily armed ten-kilometer rush through the hills and ravines near Fort Homonwarts.

Except for the senior students who went out to perform tasks, the remaining 70 Xiutorals lined up in a neat column and quickly crossed the rugged cliffside path into a valley.The scouts on duty in the team were like shadows, quickly distanced themselves from the column, and scattered to a distance for vigilance.

"An enemy scout team appeared on the ridge in the direction of 3 o'clock." Professor Erich sent an imaginary enemy message based on the terrain shortly after the training column set off.

Griffith immediately and the Cytolars in his squad followed a senior student towards the ridge for reinforcements.

"The brigade suffered a long-range attack," Erich didn't let the others idle, and added after a while, "The incoming firepower is a catapult's projection, not a rain of arrows."

The Cytolars, who had just raised their shields, fled like a litter of rabbits, hiding themselves in ditches and puddles.

"Come on!"

Griffith stepped into a muddy pit with one foot, and the cold muddy water made him shudder.Behind him, the beautiful Ophelia von Ishtar apprentice knight stepped on Medenmaia and quickly swept across a low wall.Rana and Mura followed closely, and several pairs of iron boots rushed up on the mud-covered ladder.

"Hurry up! Trolls with a broken leg are better than you!" Erich, who had led the team away from the campus dormitory, shouted, "If the detour is not completed within 5 minutes, the team will be annihilated by long-range firepower, you guys A few poor bastards will be hanged!"

The 3rd graders who led the team gritted their teeth and sprinted towards the high ground against the piercing winds from the coast.Griffith and the others were covered in mud and water, struggling to keep up with the rocks.

……

"Storm configuration 9, surface liquid designation, volatilize," Ms. Marianne waved her wand a few steps away, casting two commonly used small spells, "Storm configuration 30, surface sludge designation, peeling."

The disgraced Cytolars stood in front of the restaurant's entrance, watching the clock strike eight o'clock.The icy water dries and solidifies quickly on their armor and clothes, and then the mud flakes off in great swaths and piles up at their feet.

"Professor Erich, if your cadets are a little later, they will be able to have an additional training called 'starvation tolerance'." Ms. Marianne glanced solemnly and solemnly at the military commander whose boots were covered with mud Professor Section.

"Advice received, ma'am," Erich came to sit comfortably in a chair beside him, summoning a brownie to wipe his boots, "I'll try this subject another day."

"This bastard!" Ophelia, who had cleaned up, placed her armor and weapons in the corner with lightning speed, put on the robes that the Brownie elf had folded in advance, and ran into the restaurant.

Griffith and the others followed, swarming into the hall.

Students from the four colleges were gathered around the dining table like a large family, chatting about last night's homework and enjoying breakfast of milk cereal, butter bread, bacon and yogurt.

"Good morning, Griffith!" Sonia greeted the apprentice knight with a smile.Her face was more beautiful than the dawn Griffith had just seen in the muddy water on the edge of the cliff.

"Good morning, Sonia," Griffith quickly sat down on the seat reserved for him beside Sonia, and said hello to the elf lying on the table, "Morning, Galadia."

The elf buried his head in his arms and moved his long pointed ears twice to say "good morning".

"You have less than 15 minutes to eat." Sonia put down the yogurt in her hand, and watched with a smile as the trainee knight grabbed a large piece of bread and stuffed it into his stomach with milk. Be graceful, such is the way of chivalry in the House of Larmor."

"Yes." Griffith, who had already stuffed a piece of bread to his stomach, dignifiedly forked six pieces of bacon and ate them gracefully in three bites.

At the table next to him, Rana took the plate that Fiona had prepared, put the baguette with sausage, bacon and vegetables upright in his mouth, then moved his upper and lower jaws at high speed, like a saw smashed food like wood.

"Hahahaha!" Sonia covered her mouth and laughed, "No matter how many times Lana eats, you'll die of laughter... Griffith, don't try it!"

Griffith regretfully put down the bread with lots of bacon and sausage, and ate it carefully.

"Any news?" Lana stammered like a hamster with his mouth full.

"Don't talk while eating," Fiona criticized him, then picked up the morning paper that had just been delivered, "I'll take a look~
"The Grand Triumph is in Bayeran!

"Hey, you all missed it."

"Ah-hey~" All the Shutorals on the long table sighed together.

Ophelia patted the table from a distance and asked, "What about the bonus? What about the bonus after the big win!? Did anyone get it? Why didn't I get a penny!"

Fiona went on to read:
"The Department of Justice has suspended proceedings against military evaders in Eastern Province, where young people of school age can apply for citizenship.

"The latest survey by the Bureau of Statistics shows that after the Grand Triumph is held, the government support +20, the people's belligerence -50, the available manpower +100, long live the wise Senate. Ah, here, the parliament is formulating the bonus distribution rules. The bonuses of local legions and auxiliary legions will be distributed by the Ministry of Finance to the lords of various places, and the local governments will make overall arrangements, and the bonuses of directly affiliated legions will still be distributed uniformly by the central government.”

There was a sigh of relief from the long table.Including Griffith, most of the repairers can directly receive bonuses from the emperor.

Fiona flipped through the other pages and read on:

"The trade volume between Bayeran and the southern provinces has increased by 1500% in the past three months, grain and commodity futures have fluctuated wildly, and the Arcane Council and the Senate are discussing the latest trade and tariff bills.

"The BI50 index has risen by 59.17% compared with the previous [-] trading days. Sonia Sonia, do we want to invest a little with private money?"

There's no intuitive feeling... Griffith listened hard for a while, and couldn't think for a moment how anything other than the bonus policy would affect it.

"Look! The messenger is here!"

A beautiful flock of ravens and owls deftly passed through the skylights of the hall, hovering above the dining table.Fiona, who was reading the newspaper, also stopped.

"Come on, Palulu," Sonia stretched out her white hands towards one of them.The fat bird who was called ignored her, flapped its wings and landed on the fruit plate at hand, pecking at the nuts on its plate.

"You're still the same~" Sonia sighed, scratching the little thing's head while taking a small package from it.

The moment the girl opened the package, Griffith noticed a bright red vial inside.The pure bright red was purer than the reds of roses, lava, and fire, and even a quick glance made the apprentice knight's heart boil.

The small crystal bottle seems to have life, and it is sending out invisible fluctuations and temptations.Imperceptible whispers echoed in the air.

"What is this?" Galadia seemed to sense something, raised her head and asked, "Is it a potion?"

"Well, the potion, and a letter from our family to Griffith, which Sauron wrote to you," Sonia said, flipping through the small package. "You can actually communicate."

"Who is Sauron?" Fiona asked.

"My father's secretary, the apprentice friar Armence Sauron," Sonia thought for a while, and said in a language that her friend could understand, "the one with beautiful and melancholy eyes, pale and serious."

"I have an impression!" Fiona thumped the table, "He's handsome."

"This place is far from Bayeran, and I ask Mr. Soren to help me investigate some things." Griffith replied.

The investigation of Isis and the Cook gang is not known whether there is any progress.Griffith carefully put the letter in his close pocket, ready to check it later.

Sonia nodded, lifted the bright red medicine bottle with her slender fingers, and checked it with the light:
"This is a bottle of holy knight pathway Sequence 8 promotion potion. It has been prepared. I originally wanted to send the raw materials. While comprehensively improving physical and mental abilities, the user will also obtain several extraordinary abilities. .For Griffith.

"However, it's up to you to decide whether to take it or not."

The girl's soft words gathered the eyes of everyone nearby.This is an expensive potion worth more than 4000 silver langs, and it is not something that money can buy.Sequence 8 is the minimum requirement to become a knight. It may be the end point of many people's life growth. It takes many years of hard work to reach the threshold.However, Griffith can be promoted as long as he drinks, and everything will change.He was destined to be a nobleman and a knight, unlike most.

Curious, envious, greedy glances floated from the nearby long table and projected on the faces of Little Package and Griffith.

Sonia handed the potion to Griffith, and the bright red sheen immediately caught his eyes.The potion that was more crystal clear than blood seemed to contain life, calling the apprentice knight's heart with a vague voice.

Fiona, who was sitting not far away, looked at the small sequence potion with great interest, and patted Rana, who was sitting beside him, on the shoulder and said:

"The spellbreaker, paladin, and witcher pathways are very interesting, the rank of Sequence 9 is all 'recruiters', and you can choose the direction of growth in the process of promotion.

"Although each path has its own advantages and disadvantages, but for people like you who are interested in becoming army commanders, Paladins are generally considered to be the best solution, taking into account both combat and protection, and you can pray to the gods for gifts, team battles Also strong."

Rana disagrees with this statement:

"Both Griffith and I have shown the talent of a spellbreaker. If I say, it's a man's battle to pierce the enemy head on. The way a paladin wants to ride a wall between a warrior and a spellcaster, mother. The gun is the choice."

Fiona, who has the inheritance of the Paladin family, grabbed Rana's face and pulled it to both sides: "You say it again! Say it again!"

Sonia smiled and explained to Griffith:

"This potion comes from a sacrificial knight, El de Noir, Sequence 8 'Deputy',
"Like most advanced potions, this potion also carries part of the memory and knowledge of the previous generation. When taking this potion, you may be able to hear the voice of the El Knight.

"The knight El de Noir has the ability to pray to the Light and receive blessings, inheriting some of his power and knowledge will make you a paladin, which is why I hesitate to give him to you The reason. The theoretical research on the inheritance of Extraordinary characteristics is not complete.”

"Thank you, Sonia, this potion far exceeds my meager contribution. In my current state, I should be able to break through on my own in the spring of next year," Griffith used great perseverance to put this little boy full of temptation and magic. The small crystal bottle was returned to the girl's hand, and she tried her best to withdraw her eyes from the light of the potion.

"I know," the blonde girl smiled sweetly and put the small package into her pocket seriously, "this potion has something special. I want to prepare it for you first, and I don't want you to drink it now. ."

The gorgeous luster was blocked by the package, and the strange aura that was vaguely disappeared also disappeared.Griffith seemed to hear sighs of regret and jealousy all around him.

Galadia rubbed her sleepy eyes, thought for a while and said:
"The number, type and intensity of the unique abilities acquired during the promotion process vary from person to person. Sometimes, even if you have an extraordinary talent, you may acquire some strange extraordinary abilities due to bad luck. Relatively speaking, the potions that have been identified are. The improvement brought by it is predictable and more secure.

"However, having said that, why do you have to prepare the potion now?"

"A few days ago, the provost informed that the first graders are going to the edge of the Whispering Forest for this semester's staff trip!" Sonia suddenly remembered a big event, "I heard that it is a good place for research on alchemy and black magic countermeasures. But I've always had a vague sense of what's going to happen lately, so I made this potion ready at home just in case."

　OK, here we go.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)