Lord of Rot

Chapter 482 Swear Allegiance to Me (7400 words)
The preliminary planning of the hussars has already started. Several ravens spread their wings and flew to all the territories under Li Qi's command. They will take Li Qi's order and select the most elite young fighters, led by the extraordinary to meet in the water stream .

It can be used as a supporting force to show Li Qi's attitude to the outside world, and he can also garrison troops to make those who spy on the orphans and widows in the water stream be more honest.

While letting the craftsmen continue to study and modify the wing ornaments, plate armor, and harness of the hussars, Li Qi couldn't be idle.

He went to Ironstone City many times to discuss the iron ore business with Baron Spark.

Iron ore is an important resource that can never be lost in war. Some time ago, Baron Sparks would definitely reject Li Qi's behavior of buying a large amount of iron ore and hoarding a large amount of armor and weapons.

Baron Porcupine also has gunpowder weapons that are purely crushed on the battlefield. Providing him with iron ore support is to offend other lords.

In particular, they also married the first and only baron under the command of the eldest prince.

For some reason, the unhappiness between the eldest prince and Baron Porcupine was also circulated as a story among the nobles.

But now the problem is here, the eldest prince is dead, and the situation of Nenniu Wufang Baron who stood in line early has become very embarrassing.

The only big backer, the future king, died just like that.

Go to the second prince by yourself?

The king has only two sons who have the right to inherit. Knowing that there are countless people who have surrendered to the second prince, the nobles who were waiting to see before have already swarmed up.

Therefore, when Baron Sparks faced Li Qi's idea of ​​buying iron ore, his attitude was not very firm.

The backer's backer has fallen, and he has to find another home.

In the end, Li Qi and Baron Sparks finalized the cooperation contract.

Ironstone City will provide iron ore, but because Porcupine Collar is short of manpower, Ironstone City will be asked to help refine iron ore, and the refined iron ingots will be sent directly to Porcupine Collar.

The porcupine leader has to bear the fire consumption and labor costs during iron ore extraction.

At the gate of Iron Stone Fort, Baron Spark held a sheepskin contract and looked at the figure that was gradually going away.

"Father."

Hearing the sound, he turned his head and looked at the heartthrob who had changed into a dignified long dress and a fur shawl.

Baron Sparks sighed: "I wanted you to marry him at the beginning."

But Baron Sparks invited Li Qi not because he saw the potential in him, but because of the baron's identity.

So after Li Qi showed his disinterest in his daughter, he didn't force it. He was just a little baron in a remote area, and the only way to the outside world was blocked by himself.

Who would have thought that in just two or three years, the other party had become a big shot whom he would laugh at every time he met.

If he insisted on a little bit more at the beginning, such as preferring to spend more money..., he knew that Baron Porcupine was very poor back then, and the other party would definitely not refuse the benefits and lures of tens of thousands of gold days. As for the trivial things about his daughter, she It's just that he is young and a bit playful, which is nothing.

He was very confident that Li Qi at that time would definitely not refuse. A man like him who was not obsessed with female sex would not care about his daughter's fun, because he only thought about power and power in his heart, and taking one would bring a lot of trouble. Come Green Wife, nothing.

I didn't know it earlier in life, what Baron Spark can do now is to get closer to Li Qi as much as possible.

Even without discussing those external factors, Baron Porcupine offered him an offer that he couldn't refuse. The fire consumption of the iron mine was all up to him.

"I will go to East Harbor City tomorrow." Baron Spark moved his eyes upwards, looking at the sky: "I hope the peaceful days can last for a while."

……

Li Qi stood on the deck of the Porcupine, looking into the distance.

Sea Breeze got into his collar and pierced his body like a knife.

After all, there are only a few people like him who can ignore the severe cold and scorching heat. Except for the busy sailors, the vast majority of people still choose to hide in the cabin.

Li Qi turned around and returned to the cabin, and poured himself a special potion cocktail.

The Thunder Gem on his chest is not working all the time. Fortunately, he found a more elegant way to take drugs. Otherwise, he would eat Haisai for several meals every day. Eating, cheeks are also tired.

"How's the new ship?" Li Qi looked at Peary.

After the old captain brought out a group of apprentices, he gradually retired to the second line, and finally he was able to happily sit on the deck and drink wine every day.

It was only because the lord was on board today that Peary had to restrain his urge to drink.

Looking at the wine glass in Li Qi's hand, he swallowed dryly, moistened his lips with his tongue, and then replied: "My lord, I have consulted with a familiar shipbuilder, and we will be able to settle it soon."

"Just take him back to the porcupine collar." Li Qi said, "I can pay double, um... triple the salary."

Piri nodded quickly: "Yes! They will definitely agree."

No one can live with money.

The place where I got stuck before was the price issue.

"When building the ship, I will ask some people to follow along and study the loading of the artillery together. Remember to tell them well."

Before that, the combination of artillery and ships was too blunt, the effect was not good, and the battleship needed to be redesigned.

Li Qi finished drinking the cocktail in his hand and put down his glass: "I'm going to rest for a while, and remind me when East Harbor City is here."

"Yes, my lord."

……

East Point City, Roaring Castle.

The atmosphere of the entire castle became very heavy, and the funeral was held in a huge open space by the sea in Donggang City.

The waves wash over the sand.

The heir, the 'Golden Stallion' Pine Leopold, picked up the firewood and placed it on the tall firewood stand.

Red Qiangwei sniffled, also picked up a firewood and walked over, and put it on the firewood rack.

As an illegitimate child, Xiduo Haishui was not qualified to collect firewood, so he could only stand in the corner of the crowd and watch quietly. When Li Qi looked at him, he found that Xiduo Haishui had tears in his eyes.

"He was born strong and has always been great." Tyler Ross was standing beside Li Qi, the undefeated veteran who was not good at talking, and his eyes were red at this time.

"Yes." Li Qi nodded: "I still remember the gleam in my father's eyes when he mentioned the Duke before his death. It is the proudest thing in his life to be able to fight for the Duke."

Ahead, when Red Rose came back, the tears on her face had already burst into tears. It was Miss Golden Daisy from the Cavendish family who stood on tiptoe in time, pulled Red Rose and hugged her in her arms. The little girl's eyes were also red. She stopped sniffling and sniffling, and when she noticed Li Qi's gaze looking over, she gave her a glare.

Li Qi was a little confused, last time I gave you a present on your birthday, okay?

It's not that he's not emotional enough, it's just that he doesn't have that much fear of death. It's true that he doesn't want to die because he has too much nostalgia in this world.

But in Li Qi's mind, death may not be a new journey, just like he came here from the earth.

Maybe Duke Yaori also has a brand new trip waiting for him.

For a brave and powerful person like him, the new journey must be equally exciting.

The bishop was already reciting scriptures aloud, praising the life of the Duke of Sunday, and it was the first time that Li Qi listened seriously to his experiences during his lifetime.

When he was young, the kingdom was torn apart. As the eldest son of a great nobleman, Duke Yaori was unwilling to hide in the castle, so he put on his armor and joined the marching team. root cause.

In a battle, because of his bravery, Drew Leopold was summoned to the commander of the legion. When he took off his helmet, his father, who was the commander of the legion, knew that his son had sneaked in. Fighting with the army for several months!
In this way, Drew Leopold became famous.

In the next ten years, he first held down all the restless nobles in the entire East Gorge, showing a strong commanding power, and in the next ten years, he helped Boer II to stabilize his kingship.

To the north, the invasion of Varian de Tempest, the famous evening lion in the north, was hindered, and he could not go south.

To the south, the beating giant lost its armor and armor, like a mess of ants.

"After I die, how will I record my life?" Li Qi felt that those people would definitely be biased, so he had to continue writing his autobiography to leave a correct record for future generations.

A flame ignited a high stack of firewood racks, and the flames engulfed the peacefully sleeping corpse above.

Li Qi bowed his head along with everyone.

"Glory is the sword!"

Pine Leopold yelled.

The descendants of the Leopold family joined him in shouting: "Glory is the sword!"

That was the motto of the Leopold family.

On the flag with a red background, a long golden thorn sword fluttered and fluttered with the sea breeze.

However, Li Qi thought again, when one day after his death, a group of heirs shouted "the whole body is full of thorns" in front of his body, is it not too powerful?

Pine's whole person seemed to be different, he no longer looked like he was taken away by wine, he became mature, and his handsome cheek still had some charm of the old duke when he was alive.

"A person's growth may happen overnight"

However, Li Qi looked at the group of people who looked at the theater in the distance. Li Qi did not know every nobleman in the East Gorge, but he knew one of the people who watched the theater.

The yellow-haired knight, who was responsible for transporting the orc armor for Prince George.

The appearance of the other party here, does it mean that Prince One Ear wants to intervene?
"Payne shouldn't be that stupid, right?" Li Qi frowned slightly. With the power of Dongxia, a mere prince can't even count as a fart.

His brother is king, but he is not.

After the funeral, there will be a dinner party, and the nobles are very worried.

Small circles of people gather to chat.

Li Qi's posture was much more relaxed. There was food in the warehouse and a gun in his hand, so he didn't panic at all.

He held the wine glass in one hand, tasted it elegantly and calmly, and stuffed the chicken leg into his mouth with the other hand.

Grace and rudeness go hand in hand.

"Hey hey hey~"

A small hand stretched out from the side, gently poking Li Qi's arm.

Li Qi turned his head to look at the golden head approaching, and reluctantly put down the chicken leg in his hand: "Miss Cavendish, what can I do for you?"

She wrinkled her nose: "Thank you for your birthday present, I like it very much."

"Looking at your expression, I thought you didn't like it."

Li Qi grabbed a small chicken leg, and in front of Tiya Cavendish, performed a chicken leg bite by bite.

Swallowing the chicken legs into the mouth like swallowing a light bulb, and pulling gently, only the chicken bones.

If he wasn't afraid of scaring the lady in front of him, he might not spit out his bones.

Gudong~
Li Qi felt much better after swallowing the food.

Tiya looked at Li Qi's mouth curiously, and her hands were also eager to try, as if planning to open his mouth to see what structure was inside and why it was so edible.

"Ahh!" Li Qi suddenly opened his mouth to her.

"Ah!" She shrank back in fright, and accidentally bumped into a certain lady. The other party was taken aback, but when she found out that the person who hit her was Tiya, and there was Baron Li Qi, the expression on her face was terrified. The anger was immediately suppressed, and he squeezed out a smile and nodded at the two of them.

The two moved very lightly, and they were in the corner, at the noisy buffet banquet, no one cared about them.

"Hahaha" Li Qi laughed softly, thinking it would be interesting to tease her.

She hatedly wanted to step on Li Qi's instep, but as if she remembered something, her cheeks suddenly turned red.

"I want to ask you for help, the eldest prince is dead, you know Evangeline is engaged to him" she whispered.

Li Qi nodded and replied: "Of course, but the fiancé has passed away, so the marriage contract doesn't count."

The laws of the kingdom have also promulgated relevant regulations long ago. Let alone fiancés, even married women are eligible to remarry if they are widowed, and they can remarry with a part of their inheritance.

Although the name is a bit unpleasant, Red Rose is still one of the most popular marriage partners in the entire East Gorge, and even in Lurea Continent.

"That's why you need to help!" She leaned close to Li Qi and whispered into his ear, Li Qi's ear was itching slightly because of the heat: "Pine plans to marry her to the second prince, George Kein."

Li Qi immediately thought of a line: "Anyway, I just want to be the county magistrate's wife, and I don't care who the county magistrate is."

"Now Pine is the heir of the Leopold family." Li Qi said, "If he agrees, no one can refuse."

Tiya was so angry that she wanted to bite Li Qi's ear: "You said the same!"

"Philip said that too?" Li Qi was not surprised, and knew why Tiya was angry.

It must be because her brother was unwilling to disobey orders, or even give blessings against his will, which made Tiya very upset.

She hates iron for being weak, but at the same time wants to help her good friend.

"It's okay for him to do this," Li Qi said, "His identity is firstly the heir of Cavendish, a knight loyal to Leopold, you can't let him betray his lord."

Tiya bit her lip and looked at him with red eyes: "But Evangeline married the first prince, and after the first prince died, she married the second prince. People outside said that she only wanted to be a queen, and the entire kingdom Everyone knows that the second prince likes men, she must have married..."

She started sniffling.

"Hey, hey, be careful with your crystal pendant, don't drip it on my chicken leg!" Li Qi quickly grabbed a hand towel on the table and pressed it in front of her nose.

She was also polite, "humming" angrily.

Then her cheeks became even redder. Maybe she didn't understand why she was so close to Li Qi, since the two sides hadn't met several times.

Maybe it's character?Li Qi always made her feel very kind, like someone of the same age, instead of an aristocratic youth who put on airs and was actually a dirty mind.

"I can't betray my lord either." Li Qi threw the towel on the table in disgust.

But as soon as he turned his head, he found that the hand towel had been taken away by a nobleman to wipe his mouth.

hiss--

Li Qi saw that the other party was drinking too much and didn't know it, so he ate a bite of the chicken leg with a little nausea. This time he only bit off half of the chicken leg, which really affected his appetite.

Looking at Tiya who burst into tears, he said, "However, I haven't sworn allegiance to Pyne yet, if Miss Evangeline is willing to come with me..."

He picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and said in Tiya's expectant eyes, "I can take her away."

"Are you serious?!" She wept with joy, raised her hand and wiped her face twice: "You wait, I'll go find her now!"

She ran away with small steps.

Li Qi turned his head and continued cooking.

He secretly said: "This shouldn't be considered lying to a child. I can really take her away, but she will definitely not follow me."

Li Qi knew the answer a long time ago. As a lady of a noble family, she enjoys everything that ordinary people cannot enjoy in her life. Similarly, she must pay the price, which is freedom.

After a long time, Tiya came back with small steps, and it could be seen from her expression that the persuasion failed this time.

Li Qi secretly said: "Everyone says it's the same thing again and again, I've already invited Red Rose to elope with me twice, there probably won't be a third time."

Halfway through the banquet, Pyne began to speak.

It's time for the show!

"This is Sir Garthrush from the Royal Capital." He looked excitedly at the yellow-haired man, who nodded and said, "I'm sorry because the eldest prince passed away unexpectedly, so I can only come here with orders."

He took out a piece of parchment: "The king expresses his condolences for the death of Duke Dulu, and at the same time asked me to come and canonize Pine Leopold as Duke of East Gorge."

Garthrush began to read the contents on the parchment, but Li Qi frowned slightly, as did many people present.

When did the duke need the canonization of the king?
The nobles are very sensitive to regions. Long before the Golden Bear family ruled the land of Lurea, Leopold was the Duke of East Gorge. At this time, Pine Leopold was happily waiting to be canonized by the king, but instead It made many nobles present feel uncomfortable, and they became shorter for no reason.

Pine himself didn't feel that way, and Garthrush's words made him very excited.

As an heir with little talent, he desperately needs approval from the outside world, otherwise he will feel guilty inside.

Pyne gave an impassioned speech, but it was blunt, without any atmosphere, and directly exposed his purpose: "You! You have sworn allegiance to Leopold!"

"I think you will allegiance to Leopold from now on!"

His eyes swept over many noble lords, including Li Qi, but his eyes moved away in an instant.

"Baron Simon!"

Baron Sparks who was named came out.

As No.1, Baron Sparks immediately drew his long sword and leaned it on the ground, half kneeling and shouting: "Marvin Simon, Baron of Ironstone Castle, is willing to dedicate his loyalty to you until death!"

Payne nodded: "Of course I believe in your loyalty! A loyal and brave man from Iron Stone City in the Pig Ridge Valley!"

"Then, Baron Linsen!"

Hawkwood, who was named, also came out: "Fort Three Forks will always be your loyal vassal, witnessed by the four gods!"

"Of course, I'm a knight from Three Forks Castle!"

One drives the other, swearing allegiance is definitely not going to escape, even Li Qi himself, after swearing allegiance, he is not willing to break his oath easily.

Those who break their oaths can easily create estrangement in the hearts of their subordinates, and a lord who does not trust his words cannot convince the crowd.

If you want to turn the tables, you must occupy righteousness.

In this group of people, there is no Linta Bay, and there is no water stream.

Lin Tawan's abandonment is well known to everyone, and the baron of Shuijian is less than one year old, and everyone knows who Shuijian really listens to.

This also made Li Qi's bargaining chip on the bright side astonishingly large.

Lord of the Four Lands!

He is also the son-in-law of Lin Tawan, a veteran aristocrat. He is united in five places, and no one dares to ignore him.

Pine looked at Li Qi again, this time he did not move away in a panic, but looked at Li Qi seriously, maybe he thought that there were enough nobles standing behind him now.

It is really because Li Qi's reputation in recent years has been too great, and he often did things like slaughtering people's families, which caused the golden stallion who became a duke to feel a little weak when he saw Li Qi.

The crowd automatically parted a path, and Li Qi stepped forward.

Several knights even looked at Li Qi with some fear, fearing that if Li Qi refused to swear allegiance, would he draw his sword or not?

Baron Porcupine is the champion of the East Gorge Tournament, and his combat effectiveness is also one-on-one.

Gathrush in the distance also looked cautiously at the most popular young nobleman in the East Gorge recently. He knew that the group of half-orcs failed to break through the defense line of the desert. Now, the desert belongs to Princess Sophia in name, but actually belongs to the young nobleman in front of him. the lord.

That was a force that the prince valued extremely, yet it disappeared so silently.

This person definitely possesses a power that is stronger than the five places on the surface.

Li Qi pulled out his long sword, and said under Paine's expectant eyes: "Where your heart is going, my sword is pointing!"

He didn't half kneel, but no one cared.

Pyne was overjoyed: "Baron Porcupine Collar, Baron Iron Valley, Conqueror of Fire, Fearless, God's Favourite, Rich Clarence, my most loyal knight!"

With Li Qi speaking, some swinging nobles also chose to swear. They are not afraid of Paine, but they are afraid of Li Qi.

Others crusade, if they can't beat them, they will be captured and taken as prisoners, and they can be redeemed for a little money.

But Li Qi is different. He killed your whole family, and then bulldozed your castle. If you don’t believe me, ask the Bill family, the grass on the grave is three feet high.

And based on historical experience, the Clarence family, starting with their son Leard, has been a staunch ducal knight, and Li Qi's choice did not exceed expectations.

In fact, Li Qi just wanted to develop steadily. His goal this year was to completely conquer the desert, and he didn't plan to open up a battlefield in the East Gorge.

"There is another piece of good news."

Pine was like a webcast anchor in his previous life, clapping his hands: "My sister will marry the future king! Your Highness George Kein Jr.!"

Most of the people got the news, and they looked calm on the surface.

But it's really not very pleasant for a girl to marry her brother and then marry her brother.

"In March, she will go to the capital to hold a wedding ceremony with His Royal Highness George Kein!"

No one knows the news.

In such a hurry?February is almost over.

The eagerness to sell girls is really shocking.

The nobles also started talking, the noise was like a swarm of flies flying around their ears.

Pine looked at Li Qi: "Sir Li Qi, I think you should be entrusted with the task of escorting Ewen Jielin to the capital. What do you think?"

He is asking.

"My honor, my lord!" Li Qi nodded without refusing.

He has long wanted to go to the royal capital. There is a large royal library there, which is said to record infinite knowledge. Scholar Thomas has always said that the key knowledge needed for his rune circuit armor may be in the large library. Scholar Tonks It has also been shown several times that, apart from the scholar center in Stormwind City in the north, the Great Library must have the most knowledge.

There are also fertile land, rich aristocrats, and brand-new commodity customer groups.

Clothes, soaps, perfumes, etc., are all brand-new sales outlets. After spending a lot of money on hussars, Li Qi's money began to be tight again. He didn't want to delay in education, so he could only keep spending money.

So, he was short of money again.

The earning is not as much as the spending, and when the deposit is exhausted, the territory collapses only in an instant.

As for why Pine sent Li Qi to escort him, the reason is simpler, because Li Qi is the only powerful nobleman who can obey his orders.

Back then, when Pine was not the Duke, Li Qi would go to attack the Pebble Castle with a single piece of paper, and today he clearly expressed his allegiance. Who else could be more loyal than Li Qi?
It just so happened that Li Qi was still at odds with the dead eldest prince, and if he wasn't at odds with the first prince, he was at odds with the second prince. He was the perfect candidate!
The banquet continued, and the crowd was still talking quietly.

Some people looked at Li Qi hesitating to speak, as if they were saying, how stupid and loyal you are, don't know if you don't swear, will we benefit a lot in the future.

Others nodded to Li Qi, everyone is on the same front now, please take care of them.

There are those who toast, and there are also those who chat about homework.

Li Qi unified his head, smiled, overwhelmed with alcohol, and refused three times in a row.

He once again refused a toast from a nobleman, and then walked aside with his glass.

"What's your plan?" Miss Golden Daisy with golden hair ran over from nowhere, she blinked her eyes and looked up at Li Qi: "Could it be that you plan to elope with Evangeline on the way?"

"Of course not." Li Qi glared at her, "I'm going to escort Miss Ewen Jielin to the capital, it's a one and a half month journey, it's hard work, you should read less messy books, and listen to bards singing nonsense. "

He felt that he wanted to dispel the little girl's wild thoughts.

The elopement of noble ladies is just a poor farmer's dream. The main customer groups of those bards are farmers in the fields, craftsmen, and housewives. Of course, the stories are also oriented towards them, and they love to listen to them.

Aristocratic ladies have received all kinds of education since childhood, have all kinds of etiquette, and behave elegantly. Even if they are poor, they will not fall behind in education.

And you, a farmer, are full of dirty words, can't read a single word, dig dung today, dig soil tomorrow, and are all dirty.

She talks about elegant paintings, perfume dresses, you talk about the wheat harvest, or the chickens that are raised at home. There is no common language, so how could they elope?
Aristocratic ladies eat peacocks for meals, and their teeth can't chew black bread.

She was a little anxious: "Hmph! I thought you were different from Philip, but you two are the same! I heard from Lola and the others that Evangeline married to have children."

In this day and age, apart from people like Prince Hoffmann, is there any woman who is not used to bear children?

The stomach is the steel gun of the ladies, and the horse with iron hoofs.

Pregnancy is the clarion call to charge.

A successful childbirth is a victory, a triumphal song.

"We all know that little George doesn't like women at all..." She could guess how miserable her good friend's life would be in the future.

Li Qi said: "Then I can assure you that if she is really abused, I will do my best to help her."

"You promise?" She looked at Li Qi suspiciously.

Li Qi nodded: "I am a knight, I promise!"

(End of this chapter)