“Sir William!”
Lady Emalise, the countess, spoke with a thick, sweet voice, as sweet as cheese and honey: “No! Perhaps I should address you as Baron William… We have met a few times at the Earl’s banquets!”
“I trust you are aware of the unfortunate news about the Earl, my lady. I offer my deepest condolences.”
Wu Ming expressed his apologies, saying, “Fortunately, you managed to escape from the castle, which is truly reassuring!”
Yet, a question had always lingered in his mind.
Under circumstances where the Viscount of Eagle Castle rebelled and highland knights had long plotted and suddenly attacked, the countess had still managed to escape successfully—not only she herself, but she even took several children with her and successfully evaded subsequent pursuits. This was indeed quite incredible.
However, if the countess was a witch with magical abilities and the ruler of the underground black market, then everything made sense.
“Does the Earl know about your affairs, my lady?”
After a brief silence, Wu Ming suddenly asked.
“What affairs?”
Emalise chuckled, her eyes like those of a moonlit night, staring at Wu Ming: “Do you mean the witch business or the black market?”
“So you admit it?”
His suspicions confirmed, Wu Ming’s expression turned solemn.
A witch, and the ruler of the underground black market—she essentially controlled half of Howling City, enough to pose some trouble for him.
Of course, her presence here tonight was already a sign of yielding and seeking cooperation.
But both sides still needed to test each other’s bottom lines.
“Indeed, the operation of the black market is indeed related to me,” Lady Emalise admitted frankly. “The Earl knows nothing about these matters, including my identity as a witch.”
“Poor Blue Mountain Earl…”
Wu Ming silently mourned for his former lord.
“The lady did not seek out the Lionheart family or the Viscount of Eagle Castle, but came to me instead. May I ask what your demands are?”
Emalise hesitated for a moment.
Originally, even though Sir William was a formidable warrior, she was confident that with her charm and some inherited magic, she could make him submit at her feet.
But now, upon seeing him, she realized that everything had changed.
“I represent the merchants. Your curfews and other decrees have seriously harmed their interests!”
Moments later, the lady spoke solemnly.
“I protect all legitimate commercial activities, as long as they pay their taxes obediently!”
Wu Ming replied with a smile.
“Are you going to extend your hand to the black market?”
Emalise’s pupils slightly contracted, though this was understandable. Quickly weighing the pros and cons, she proposed several conditions: “Then… you must guarantee the rights of all black-market merchants, the passage rights of dark mercenaries, and…”
“Wait a moment!”
Wu Ming looked at this woman who kept pushing for more: “I said ‘legal’!”
He emphasized the last two words deliberately: “All activities within the black market must comply with my decrees. If you don’t understand, you can go to Carlos’s territory and take a look!”
“Are you declaring war then?”
Emalise’s expression immediately turned grim.
She had naturally heard of what had happened in Carlos’s territory. The number of free citizens there had even astonished her, not to mention the activities of emancipating serfs. After thoroughly understanding Wu Ming’s policies, she almost thought he was a saint, planning to completely abolish slavery.
A genius leads half a step ahead of his time; one step ahead makes him a madman!
Wu Ming naturally understood the limits and did not rush into sweeping reforms. Even the emancipation of serfs was conditional, through redemption. Only a few could immediately raise enough money to redeem their land and become free citizens.
Moreover, he did not completely abolish slavery but imposed heavy taxes on merchants who kept large numbers of slaves, guiding them gradually.
Even so, at present, Carlos’s territory already bore the title of “Capital of Freedom” in the Windfly Plains, attracting many serfs and slaves.
“If you forcibly implement the decrees of Carlos’s territory, you will be regarded as a provocation by black-market merchants!”
To protect the interests of the black market, the countess said coldly.
“If you say so, then it must be so!”
Wu Ming did not yield an inch. A golden light seemed to flash in his pupils. In the next moment, Emalise shuddered, surrounded by a powerful sense of impending death, as if she were being watched by a group of dragons.
Her face turned pale, and she fell silent again.
After a long pause, Emalise bitterly replied: “I have devoted myself to astrology, possessing a little power to see through the mists of the future… On you, I see no possibility of failure!”
“It’s good that you understand this!”
Compromise did not mean unconditional retreat. If the other party remained stubborn, Wu Ming would not mind expending effort to uproot the entire black market!
With his perception, plus the enhanced perception of the people, and the known location of the black market from last time, the other party had little power to resist.
Although subsequent retaliation might bring trouble, that would be the problem of the Night Watch.
Initially, from the wealth accumulated by these black-market merchants, he could gain enough resources for the time being.
It was just that this witch also had some power of prophecy, which slightly surprised Wu Ming.
“It’s a pity… True great prophecies that can see fate are not something a little witch like you can glimpse…”
True prophecy should be able to see the general trend of the world and grasp the will of heaven, at least possessing a world-level status.
Other forms of prophecy, such as astrology or crystal ball gazing, were not only shrouded in mists, but when encountering someone powerful like Wu Ming, if he did not want her to see, she would see nothing at all. He could even deliberately release false futures to confuse the prophet.
Therefore, most prophets met tragic ends, many suffering from mental breakdowns and becoming insane.
Emalise bit her luscious, red lips, as if hesitating and weighing the pros and cons. Finally, she glanced at the Dragon Heart Sword hanging at Wu Ming’s waist and made her decision: “You can get what you want, but you must fulfill one condition—only one condition!”
“Please speak!”
Wu Ming replied indifferently.
“I have a daughter named Eda, who is already sixteen years old!”
Emalise looked into Wu Ming’s eyes: “I want you to marry her and make her your wife!”
“If you do this, I guarantee that all black-market merchants will spare no effort to support you in achieving final victory in the war, along with other unimaginable benefits!”
Her voice was enchanting, like paralyzing poison: “I can tell you, the Earl’s eldest son has already died with him in battle, and several other sons also perished in the chaos. If you marry little Eda, you can inherit the Earl’s title!”
Wu Ming couldn’t help narrowing his eyes: “This woman…”
As the third wife of the Earl, Emalise had not given birth to any sons, only several daughters—perhaps related to her witch bloodline.
The eldest son’s death in battle was an accident, but for several other sons to also die in the chaos, leaving only this countess and her biological daughter to escape, was too coincidental.
If one further considered the seemingly normal deaths of the Earl’s previous wives…
Wu Ming felt that this beautiful witch before him had changed, like a honey-coated poison pill.
“Of course, I won’t refuse such an offer.”
Wu Ming had initially used the Dragon Heart Sword, pretending to be a blue-blooded noble, with the intention of uniting the blue-blooded nobles of the Windfly Plains.
To achieve this goal, he needed to marry a noble daughter of high rank and pure bloodline.
Undoubtedly, the legitimate daughter of the Blue Mountain Earl most fulfilled this requirement!
“Kikiki…”
Seeing Baron William agree, Lady Emalise’s face lit up with excitement: “Which of the Earl’s other sons-in-law could possibly rival you?”
Her eyes flashed with ambition, clearly revealing a woman with strong ambitions.
Wu Ming remained inwardly alert but smiled outwardly: “I have no further issues… You may rest here tonight, and tomorrow we can go fetch your daughters. I will officially announce that I found you in Howling City and will become engaged to Miss Eda!”
“Rest here tonight? Of course!”
Emalise was momentarily surprised, then her face broke into an enchanting smile…
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several days later, over Howling City, more than ten wooden cannons roared with terrifying fury.
Giant iron cannonballs slammed into the center of the army, and under the tremendous impact, even knights struck head-on were flattened into meat paste.
Inside the wooden cannons, fragments of iron and nails were packed, serving as deadly weapons against ordinary infantry.
Their cloth and leather armor could not withstand such spreading attacks. Within the fan-shaped attack range of the shrapnel shells, soldiers fell in droves.
“No, we must retreat!”
In the center of the formation, Viscount Garcia, mounted on horseback, watched the scene and the blue tiger banner atop Howling City, saying gloomily.
After the allied forces, he had fewer than 5,000 troops left, and Sir Smith was quite rebellious and refused to obey orders.
Opposing him, Baron William had as many as 4,000 soldiers, with the advantage of defending the city and possessing such terrifying weapons.
“Retreat? Why retreat?”
Sure enough, as soon as the order was given, the infantry retreated like a tide, while Sir Smith angrily approached: “Have you forgotten the mission of our family?”
“Mind your words, Sir Smith!”
Garcia’s face was stern: “Baron William’s strength is no less than ours. And look… Militia have already appeared on the city walls! What does that mean? It means he has already gained the support of the entire Howling City! Even if only one-tenth of the citizens are willing to fight for him, we would still face over ten thousand opponents!”
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