Imperial Crown.

Chapter 434: A SOS Letter Across the Empire
Chapter 439: A SOS Letter Across the Empire

The Heinsilis, a family of imperial marquises, have lived in the province of Ganville for generations.

When he was conferred the title in the capital, Raven met their patriarch, Marquis Duncan, but they did not have a deep exchange.

After all, Ganville Province is in the eastern part of the empire, while Nord Province is in the northwest of the empire. If nothing unexpected happens, the two families will never have any intersection in their lives.

Now that Duncan's letter has arrived on his desk, something must have happened, and it must have been a big one.

what is the problem?

With doubts, Lei Wen cut open the sealing wax and shook out the letter. After reading it, his expression gradually became interesting.

There was an earthquake in Ganville some time ago, which made Duncan very anxious.

Then something even more crazy happened - a bone dragon suddenly appeared in the territory.

This bone dragon, retaining the dragon clan's usual fondness for gold and jewelry, attacked many noble castles.

If it were just this, it wouldn't be a big deal. After all, there aren't many nobles who value gold coins more than their own lives, so the direct loss would be just a little bit of floating wealth.

The indirect impact could be too great.

However, wherever he appeared, the thick death energy would flow, giving birth to many undead creatures and causing great damage.

Marquis Duncan organized his own strong men to encircle and suppress the Skull Dragon and also asked the Mercenary Guild for help. He wanted to kill or at least expel the Skull Dragon.

It’s a pity that bone dragons can fly, and fly very fast.

When he encountered a small group of people who came to wipe him out, he would swallow them up in one gulp; when he encountered a large force that he was no match for, he would simply turn around and flee, completely lacking the self-respect of a dragon.

So Marquis Duncan, who was forced into a corner, had no choice but to send a letter for help to the great nobles of the entire empire.

He is willing to pay 200 million gold coins to anyone who can kill this skull dragon.

"Wow, tsk tsk tsk, 200 million..." Raven showed an expectant smile on his face.

If I could get this gold coin, I would be able to gather all the materials for Heaven's Glory.

And he is also confident that he can get the 200 million.

He was very familiar with bone dragons. After all, when he was fighting against the Hand of Death, he had used the essence of corrupted souls to reach a short-term cooperation with a bone dragon named Gregory.

Regardless of whether this bone dragon is the same one as before, we can always try to solve it in the same way.

It's just too far.

Even if he were to fly over there on Xiaobai, it would still take at least a month, plus the time it takes to find the bone dragon. The round trip could take as little as half a year or as long as one or two years.

There was no way Raven himself would leave the territory for so long just for the gold coins.

And if you really want to run around by yourself and say you are physically weak, you are treating everyone as a fool.

"Margaret." Raven thought of the witch.

It was the witch who helped to reach the cooperation with Gregory, and she can be used this time as well.

But now Margaret's people are still in Eivor.

Then wait until the teleportation array is built and go to Eivor in person.

Anyway, Marquis Duncan has been a victim for a long time, so a few months won’t make a difference...right?

Putting away the letter, Raven grabbed a handful of bird food and began to feed the bird of paradise on the shelf, but his mind was already wandering.

What to do?

The Xuefeng Territory was handed over to Denise, and a large part of the government affairs was handed over to her; the various daily operations in the remaining territories were also under the charge of Prime Ministers Fiona and Hu Xia, and he basically only needed to make the final decision.

With more and more talented people under his command, the earl had less time to spare.

At this moment, in the corner, a crystal ball embedded in the wall suddenly lit up, and strands of green light floated up, outlining a line of words in the air:
"The butterfly has emerged from the chrysalis."

Raven raised his brows in surprise, waved his hand to wipe the words out of the air, and then set off for the Witch Academy.

This academy was established by Raven at the request of the divine blood witch Anno.

Since witches have a very bad reputation on the mainland, this academy was built deep in the mountains and is protected by a magic circle, so it will never be easily discovered by outsiders.

Because of its concealed nature, Raven placed some secrets that were inconvenient to show to the outside world here.

Including the snake head fruit that once shone brightly in the Eivor War, and the pupa of the Spirit Prison Butterfly that was obtained before.

Raven was greeted by a girl named Jessica.

She is 16 years old and is of course a witch, but she is not as ugly and evil as the public imagines. Instead, she is graceful and elegant, like a well-educated aristocratic girl.

The only distinctive feature is his hair, which is a mixture of gray and black and is very organized, as if he had a zebra on his head.

As one of the first witches adopted by An Nuo, she was also the one An Nuo trusted the most. Now that An Nuo was away, the entire academy was handed over to her.

"My Lord Earl!" Jessica saluted crisply: "I will lead the way for you."

Having said that, he turned around and walked ahead.

Soon, the two came to a secret room.

This secret room is located underground, with a glass skylight on the ceiling, through which natural sunlight shines, illuminating a small tree made of magic crystal with distinct branches that looks lifelike.

The Lingyu Charm Butterfly was quietly perched on a branch, its dark green wings reflecting scales of green light, shining on the wall like the reflection of a lake.

"Okay, you can get out now." Raven said.

Jessica bowed and left, and the stone door was gently sealed.

The vibration startled the Spiritual Prison Butterfly, which spread its wings and began to fly.

Raven had already mastered the method of controlling the Soul Prison Butterfly. With a slight flash of silver light in his eyes, he activated the mental imprint left in the body of the Soul Prison Butterfly. The butterfly then fluttered and landed on Raven's fingertips.

After hatching, the beautiful face of the Lingyu Meidie became even more gorgeous.

The eyes that were originally closed opened, revealing a lively aura, as if there really was a beauty sealed in the body of the butterfly.

Beautiful and eerie.

The hatching conditions for the pupae of the Spirit Prison Butterfly are not actually very demanding. They only require suitable temperature, humidity, and sufficiently strong magic power.

That's why the tree was made of magic crystal.

But if you want them to reproduce, the conditions are much more harsh and require a huge number of corpses.

It would be best if it were the corpses of intelligent races like humans, elves or dwarves.

Therefore, it often takes at least 30 lives to cultivate a Spirit Prison Butterfly.

This is also the reason why the Archbishop of the Church of Light took the Soul Prison Butterfly and its cultivation method into the grave.

However, Raven did not intend to use corpses to cultivate the Spirit Prison Butterfly.

According to the records on the leather bag, the archbishop at that time did not know the key to the reproduction of the Soul Prison Butterfly. He only vaguely guessed based on the observation results that what it needed was not a corpse, but something produced during the decay of a corpse.

He even speculated that what the Spirit Prison Butterfly needed was corruption itself.

And what could be closer to the essence of corruption than the Essence of Corrupted Souls?
Benedict.

Placing a crystal bottle filled with the essence of corrupted souls in front of him, Raven commanded the Soul Prison Butterfly to fly high, and then used the Eye of Truth to pull the essence of corrupted souls out of the bottle.

Strands of the essence of the corrupt soul wrapped the Spirit Prison Butterfly like silk.

The originally dark green wings gradually turned red, and the beautiful face on the head became more plump, with a hint of red at the corners of the eyebrows and eyes.

When the entire bottle of Corrupted Soul Essence was almost consumed, the butterfly finally flapped its wings and landed back on the rugged magic crystal tree.

Its belly was now bulging high, and its beautiful face opened its lips, spitting tiny eggs onto the branches.

As this process progressed, its stomach gradually shrank.

When it spit out the last egg, the Spirit Prison Butterfly had shriveled up like a dead leaf, and then fell down quietly.

Raven counted silently: "109 eggs..."

From the moment the eggs form, Raven has no control over them and can only wait for them to grow naturally.

After hatching, they turn into caterpillars, then pupate from caterpillars and hatch again. This process takes at least one year.

Moreover, although 109 Spirit Prison Charm Butterflies may seem like a lot, they are not enough to decide the direction of a war. If they are to be effective, more of them are needed.

It seems that at least before departure, it is difficult for these monsters to play a role. "Hmm..." Raven pinched his chin and fell into thought:
"If we want to attack the Orc Empire, this preparation is still insufficient."

……

Chapter 440: Exercise some moderation for the next month

Early in the morning, Simon woke up from the soft big bed, looked at the empty pillow, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Jenny is still so diligent. Even though she is the mistress of the house, she refuses to let herself be idle for a moment.

Rising from the bed, Simon walked to the window and looked out over his territory.

Simon named his territory "Pangbo Territory".

Panbo was his father's name.

As a serf, Simon originally had no surname, so he took his father's name as his own, and also made it the name of the territory.

Although he has been a knight for a long time, Simon still feels a sense of genuine satisfaction every time he sees his territory.

The crops swayed gently in the spring breeze, and the dew on the tender leaves reflected tiny specks of light.

It's not just because he has the right to give himself a surname, but also because he still remembers what kind of life he lived in the past.

After all, 11 years ago, he was still a serf who had no food to eat.

But now, he has become a knight, known as a "noble lord" by others.

Admiring the greenness of the wheat fields and walking into the wheat fields barefoot are two completely different feelings.

He remembered both feelings vividly.

"Master." The maid pushed open the door, bowed, and began to help Simon put on his clothes.

Even now, Simon was not used to being waited on, nor did he feel that he needed a personal maid.

But Jenny always said that this was what a noble should be like.

Simon would not argue with his wife over such details, so he agreed silently.

After getting dressed, Simon went downstairs.

His castle is not very big, only 3 stories high. The restaurant is on the side of the 2nd floor, which is big enough for a family of 5 to sit down without feeling crowded.

My grandmother is already 60 years old. The marks left on her face by the scorching sun and cold wind in her early years have gradually faded due to her current affluent life. However, the clean teeth that fell out due to overwork can never grow back, but she can still take big gulps of white bread softened by broth.

My mother gradually got used to being served. She no longer felt the embarrassment of not daring to retort when the maids mocked her in her early years. She now looked like a noble lady.

My sister is no longer as skinny and thin as she used to be. She has grown into a graceful adult.

"That guy from a while ago, didn't you like him?" Jenny whispered to her sister.

The younger sister blushed and nodded slightly: "But he is the son of a knight after all. If I refuse rashly, will he..."

"So what if he's a knight? Your brother is also a knight." Simon's mother said with pride, "And his territory is three times the size of an ordinary knight's!"

"Now it's not others who are picking on us, it's us who are picking on others."

She has every right to be proud.

Simon's father died early, and she single-handedly raised the two children and the elderly in the family.

When she was poor in her early years, she saw many families selling their daughters at low prices because they could not afford to raise them. Someone once came to her door and offered five silver coins to buy Simon's sister.

At that time, 5 silver coins were a huge sum of money for their family.

But she didn't agree.

Now? Not to mention 5 silver coins, even if it was 500 gold coins, she would not let her daughter suffer the slightest injustice!

Simon watched all this quietly and ate his breakfast with a smile on his face.

He never gets tired of watching this kind of scene because it means his efforts are meaningful.

After finishing breakfast, Simon changed into formal clothes and prepared to go out: "I'm leaving first."

"Have a safe trip." Jenny walked him to the door, stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek: "Come back soon!"

Simon smiled, mounted his horse, and rushed to Eagle City.

Yesterday afternoon, the Earl sent him an order, asking him to arrive at Eagle City as early as possible today.

This made Simon both expectant and curious.

The undead incident in the Mountain Territory has been resolved. Why did the Earl find him?

Arriving at Eagle City, Raven's personal guard leader Hyena was guarding the door. When he saw Simon coming, he immediately smiled:

"You're finally here. If this works, remember to buy us a drink!"

Simon was stunned: "Drinking is fine, but why did the Earl call me here?"

"It's a good thing anyway." The hyena kept it a secret: "Come with me."

Simon had no choice but to follow the hyena into Raven's meditation room.

Watching Simon walk in, the hyena sighed, then shook his head sourly, feeling very complicated.

He himself did not meet the requirements, and now he both hopes that Simon can succeed and is not so eager to see him be selected.

After all, this is an opportunity to reach great heights overnight.

"My Lord Earl!" Simon bowed respectfully after entering the room, feeling a little heavy in his heart.

Whenever he saw Raven’s aging face, he would feel that “God is unfair”.

Why did this blood curse have to haunt the young and promising Earl?
"Sit down." Raven pointed to the chair in front of him.

Simon sat down respectfully, and then saw Raven take out a potion and hand it to him.

This medicine is milky white in color and has a texture similar to milk, but is much thicker than milk.

Simon opened the potion at Raven's signal and smelled a strong scent of heather.

"Drink it," Raven said.

Simon poured the potion down his throat without hesitation.

The taste was extremely bad, just like chewing red dates and then taking a bite of a banana, a specialty of the southern empire.

But after drinking it, I didn't feel anything special.

"My Lord Earl, this is...?"

"Close your eyes," Raven continued to order.

Seeing Simon's eyes closed, Raven activated the Eye of Truth, a hint of joy gradually appeared in his eyes, and he stood up from the chair:

"Haha...Okay, okay! Simon, you really are my lucky star!"

"It has to be you!"

"Ask someone to take a message to Jenny. From today on, you cannot leave Eagle City for at least one month. I will find someone to take over your duties regarding military matters."

Simon opened his eyes and stared at Raven blankly, completely unaware of what was going on.

The hyena's voice sounded outside the room:

"Sir, I have received news that Priest Lacus is on the way and will be back in Eagle Town by this afternoon at the latest."

"I understand." Raven replied loudly, standing up and patting Simon on the shoulder: "Go find Hu Xia to arrange a place for you to live - but you will need to endure your physiological needs during this period."

With that, he grabbed his coat and rushed out the door without waiting for Simon to ask.

Simon was left alone, his head full of questions.

Simon had two questions in his mind at this time.

First of all, the Earl doesn’t seem as old as he looks.

Secondly, why did the Earl ask me to stay and abstain from sex?

……

(End of this chapter)