High Above

  Chapter 31 Maze

  The governor of Harrison Port is served by the imperial aristocrat Viscount Grant, who was directly appointed by the former emperor. This used to be the glory of the Grant family in the past, but after the new emperor ascended the throne, things became more delicate.

  Since the Dark Moon turmoil decades ago until now, Port Harrison and the entire southern immigration area have been forgotten, even deliberately ignored.

Even eight years ago, Port Harrison was hit by a terrible storm that was almost a natural disaster. The imperial capital and the Governor of the Southern Province did not say anything about it. Theoretically, all kinds of aid equipment and construction funds have not been allocated for a long time. As a result, until now, the city wall fortifications and some marginal streets in the port have not been repaired.

   But this does not affect that the Viscount's mansion is the most luxurious and luxurious building in the entire port.

Elder Purdue walked through a garden decorated with various brightly colored plants. In the courtyard built of marble, there were also a few sublimated plants with special functions. With a refreshing fragrance.

  Elder Pude turned a blind eye to this. The short but strong old Bai Zhimin came to the inner side of the courtyard under the guidance of his attendants.

   At noon, the aroma of fumigated wine could be smelled, and Viscount Grant was setting up a banquet again. Elder Purdue could even see the flickering of the candle flames. Those pale yellow candles were mixed with frankincense and meditation ash. They were meditation candles that could assist in sublimation practice, and one was worth more than seventeen thalers.

   "Here we come... Ah, Elder Purdue."

  Holding a slender red-haired beauty in his arms, Viscount Grant obviously drank too much.

  This dark brown-haired, red-faced noble looks young, with no wrinkles on his face. In fact, he is nearly sixty years old. It's just that being a sublimator allows him to maintain his prime for a longer period of time.

At this moment, he pushed the beauty beside him away, causing the other party to groan. The viscount patted the other party with a smile, then waved to Elder Purdue, and called the civil affairs adjutant to sit down: "Sit down, come and drink, just waiting for you to arrive .”

   "But it's disrespectful."

  Elder Purdue bowed slightly, and then sat opposite him.

  Harrison Port does not have a civil affairs officer. His civil affairs adjutant is mainly because he is responsible for the maintenance of Viscount Grant's private army and the status of the elder of Bai Zhimin. While working for the Viscount, he is also responsible for governing the Bai Zhimin community.

Elder Pudd glanced at it. In addition to the stewed fish chowder and seafood that are common in coastal cities, there are also a lot of pork chops and venison on the wine table in the middle of the courtyard. There is also a plate of lamb chops in front of the Viscount. The bread in it is even the best whole wheat brown bread, which exudes a fragrant wheat fragrance.

   But it's actually a bit shabby.

Theoretically speaking, the luncheon of an imperial viscount, port governor and sublimator should have high-quality sea fruit oil, wine and refined white bread, and the staple food should also be beef and mutton, so as to provide enough nutrients .

   But who called Port Harrison special? The new immigrant area has no imperial support for development and construction, and the material capital is poor. Except for enough fish, there are not many pastures to provide fat and meat. All livestock meat is a rare resource.

  Viscount Grant is also unable to make further progress in the future due to political reasons. Naturally, he has no energy to work hard and practice hard. He just muddle along and enjoy his semi-retirement time.

   "Lamar and Yam have seen me."

  Viscount Grant picked up a glass of mead—mixed with a lot of high-strength distilled liquor—and downed it in one gulp. Although he was already drunk, the sublimator's physique allowed him to sober up quickly when he wanted.

He turned his head, looked at Elder Purdue with light blue eyes, and said in an official tone: "Those lowly redwood savages are lurking into the city to attack the citizens of the empire and offend the majesty of the empire. This is intolerable. But the situation at the port you I also know that we don't have the money to drive away the pests, and the port guards are not at full strength now, so we can only strengthen our defenses to prevent them from sneaking into the city again."

  "What to do really, we have to wait until the aid arrives at the end of the year."

  Lamar is the port finance officer, and Yam is the city defense officer and sheriff.

There was originally a judge in Port Harrison, but eight years ago he was unfortunately killed by an ironclad shark that fell from the sky during a storm, and his successor waited for three years for the imperial appointment document, but he never issued it. Five years ago He left the city angrily, his whereabouts are unknown, probably eaten by a native or a wild beast, and now he has no choice but to be appointed by Viscount Grant.

   It's not spec-compliant, but there's no better way. However, it is said that the situation in the imperial capital has changed. Perhaps it is because of the trade needs of Whale Song Cliff and Canaan Moore. The center of the empire has once again set its sights on the south. Harrison Port will also usher in the first time in 30 years at the end of this year. An imperial aid.

   "The natives attacked because of pure sacrifices." Elder Pudd said, and also drank a glass of mead mixed with high-concentration distilled wine. The dwarf blood made him appreciate this pure stimulation even more.

After putting down the glass, he breathed out the smell of alcohol, Elder Pude's dark blue eyes became brighter, and he said to the Viscount: "Osenna, I know very well, he is not clean, this brat often sneaks out of the city to make deals with those savages, Sucking black mushrooms, I can see it."

"He is a bad breed, there is no doubt about it. But those savages are really too much. They sneaked into the city on purpose this time, and the purpose is to ask Oceana to give them two children in the family as sacrifices. We, the white people, can't stand this. For loved ones, even a **** will die, and that is the truth of this attack."

"My lord, I implore you to look at his bravery against the Sequoia natives this time, not to punish him for overstepping the rules, and whether you can grant some incense and potions to heal mental damage? In this attack, there are young The child was affected by the aboriginal sleep powder, and the sequelae were quite serious."

  He asked with formal etiquette: "The people of Bai will remember your generosity."

   Summing up the information of the night, Elder Purdue is very close to the truth. He doesn't know Ossena's real thoughts, but it is his job to show the unity and friendship among the Bai people in front of outsiders.

   "The matter between Osenna and Yao is easy to talk about. He has distortions, and it's not uncommon for him to be immersed in dreams. I also sympathize with what happened to that child."

   "But a pure sacrifice..."

  Nodding his head, he casually agreed to the request. In fact, Viscount Grant had no intention of punishing 'Ossena' at all—he himself occasionally smoked black mushrooms, which was nothing in the circle of imperial aristocrats.

  As for the medicine, it is not worth a few dollars to him, and it is even more insignificant compared to the value that Elder Pude provided for his work.

The people of Bai account for one-seventh of the population of Port Harrison, second only to the people of the plains, the main ethnic group of the empire. Elder Pude is not only his good friend, but also an elder of the clan. He has a good relationship both at work and personally. Very cooperative, but I still have to give face.

   Only the word pure sacrifice, Viscount Grant immediately frowned when he heard it: "Really, the situation is so serious? Do you need to notify the bishop?"

His face quickly turned from red to white, and the physique of the sublime metabolized the alcohol. The viscount breathed out a long mouthful of alcohol, and murmured with some gratitude: "Fortunately, the help is coming, otherwise, we will be powerless, and the strength of those natives is still Not to be underestimated."

   But then, he shook his head in annoyance and muttered: "Recently, the Huaiguang Church has not been easy. It's really troublesome."

Everyone in Nanling knows that the sacrifice of purity is one of the major ceremonies common to all the aboriginals in Nanling. Only the blood of children and the soul of warriors can be used for rituals. It is second only to the sacrifice of ancestors at the highest level. There must be great events and changes.

  The Bishop of Huaiguang Church in Port Harrison is a powerful second-level sublimator who has reached the Condensed Level. A truly poor ascetic monk, his strength is stronger than that of Viscount Grant who does not focus on cultivation.

  Just recently, the bishop is inspecting many coastal villages, and even went to the northwest colony to expel the sea beasts and monsters that became active due to the typhoon season, often disappearing for a month or two.

   "You decide everything." Viscount Grant was still thinking, Elder Pudd would not be so stupid as to think that he really needed to give an opinion.

He just emphasized one point: "Before the storm eight years ago, those wildlings also performed a pure sacrifice in exchange for the spirit of the mountain tide to protect them. Their shamans are more sensitive than us in this regard, and they will not take risks for no reason Unfold the sacrifice."

   "One more thing, my lord. There are more and more magical beasts and sublimation plants around the port recently. If there is another big storm like eight years ago..."

   Speaking of this, Elder Pude emphasized his tone: "It means that these phenomena are most likely related to the 'labyrinth'!"

  (end of this chapter)