Lion's Roar Fort, study.
The young maid gently served two cups of coffee, put a plate of dessert and a plate of fresh fruit on the table, and then quickly bowed out.
Colin stirred the coffee with a silver spoon, his eyes resting on an oil painting hanging to the left of the fireplace.
He remembered that this painting did not exist before.
The content of the painting is of a heroic knight holding a **** long sword and stepping on the corpse of a white wolf.
The knight's entire body was shrouded in armor, and his face could not be seen clearly, but the badge on his breastplate was a roaring bear head.
Moreover, the style of the armor is clearly the same as the armor that Colin himself wears most often.
Obviously, the knight in this painting should be Colin.
The white wolf is the incarnation of the **** of war believed in by the troll family.
So, the meaning of this painting is a bit interesting.
What's even more interesting is that Vera chose to hang this very provocative oil painting in the study when the troll emperor visited the Lion's Roar Castle...
But immediately, a doubt arose in Colin's heart - with Vera's peaceful personality, she shouldn't be able to do such a thing.
If it wasn't Vera, who would hang it?
Could it be that you want to deliberately provoke the relationship between the North and the trolls?
…
Just as Colin was thinking about it, Okamoto should have noticed Colin's gaze, and asked with a smile:
"Count Angele, do you like this painting?"
Colin took a sip of coffee and took this opportunity to carefully observe Okamoto's face, but he didn't find anything unusual, so he said lightly:
"I came from a humble background and didn't know much about these artistic appreciations."
Okamoto smiled slightly and said:
"Count Angele, you are too modest. In fact, this painting is a visiting gift from me to the Duke of St. Hilde. I wonder if it suits your liking?"
Collin was stunned.
He looked at the smirking troll emperor in front of him, and the words "shameless" stuck in his throat, so he didn't say it out.
In the previous few exchanges, Colin had already experienced the "bend and stretch" of the troll emperor, but now he realized that he still underestimated the other party's spirit.
It was not enough to send a prince as a hostage, yet he even handed over such a handle to the Saint Hilde family.
With such a humble attitude, Ke Lin felt that even if he wanted to send troops to the sky, he couldn't find a suitable reason.
You know, as a troll emperor, sending such a blasphemous oil painting, once the news leaks out and spreads back to the troll empire, it is estimated that the angry trolls will tear up Okamoto.
"Cough cough." Colin put down the coffee cup and said with a pretense of restraint, "This painting is not bad. Although I don't know much about art, I can see that this should be a masterpiece handed down from generation to generation. Otherwise, in Vera's eyes, Wouldn't hang it in such a position."
"As long as you like it." Okamoto said with a smile, and then changed the topic and said, "Lord Earl, in fact, this time I came to Winter City, mainly to ask you for help."
Colin's face turned straight, knowing that the drama was finally here.
"Do you need help?"
The expression on Okamoto's face also became extraordinarily solemn, and he said solemnly:
"Count Angele, I want to ask you to help me kill someone!"
"Who?"
"White Wolf Witch King, Squinn!"
The so-called White Wolf Witch King is probably equivalent to the Pope of the Radiance Church, the religious leader of the Troll Empire.
Colin was slightly startled and asked, "Why did you kill Squinn?"
Okamoto smiled bitterly and said, "Lord Count, I think you can understand my motives best. After all, you almost led your army to kill the holy mountain before."
"What did he do?"
"He wants to murder Gondwala!" Okamoto said through gritted teeth.
Colin nodded knowingly, not surprised by this.
As the religious leader of a troll empire, it makes sense that the first heir of the empire should be a half-troll.
Colin touched his chin and asked again: "Plan to murder a White Wolf Witch King, Your Majesty Okamoto, don't you worry about being punished by God?"
"God's condemnation?" Okamoto said with a disdainful smile, "Lord Count, do you know? The God of War has not absorbed the power of belief of the troll family for thousands of years. I suspect that the eyes of the gods have long stopped paying attention to this world. ."
Hearing this, Colin's eyes flashed.
The **** of war that trolls believe in is actually the same as the Lord of Glory that humans believe in, and has lost contact.
why is that?
What happened to these gods?
What about the gods that other races believe in?
Are they all lost?
…
Seemingly seeing what Colin was thinking, Okamoto asked, "Lord Count, if I guessed correctly, the Lord of Glory should no longer absorb the power of human faith, right?"
Colin hesitated for a moment, but nodded.
Okamoto smiled slightly, with such an expression as expected, and then said:
"Lord Count, I guess that the God of Destruction believed by orcs and the Goddess of Destiny believed by elves are probably in a similar situation.
Therefore, the orc clan has been divided for a long time, fighting with each other endlessly, and it is rare to have a unified period.
However, the belief of the elves has collapsed, and they are world-weary and secluded, hiding in the Huiyue Forest and cannot come out.
It can be seen that there are no longer miracles in this world!
So why do we still fear those high-ranking clergymen and allow them to point fingers at us in the name of the gods? "
Colin looked at Okamoto, whose face was flushed with excitement, and finally understood why the other party sent such a blasphemous oil painting.
I originally thought that this was a letter of submission to win the trust of the Northern Territory, but now it looks more like a letter of war.
A war book to declare war on the White Wolf Church!
Ke Lin himself had just had a fight with the Glorious Church, and he was still full of anger. To say that Okamoto had the right timing, Ke Lin really wanted to find someone to vent his anger.
But Colin did not agree immediately, but asked calmly:
"Your Majesty Okamoto, why should I help you?"
Okamoto immediately showed a sincere smile and said, "Sir Count, the Volkin family is willing to invest 1.5 million gold coins as your reward.
In addition, the Troll Empire will provide 300,000 young slaves to the North as free labor in the next three years! "
After pondering for a moment, Colin added: "I want the Troll Empire to completely exempt the merchants from the northern border from tariffs, and also allow the Church of Glory to freely preach on the ice field in the sky."
Okamoto glanced at Colin suspiciously, and said, "Lord Earl, I actually have no problem with the Church of Light preaching on the ice field in the sky, but are you sure you want to do this?"
"Of course." Colin nodded affirmatively.
Of course he knew that this would increase the power of the Radiance Church, but this religious infiltration was the best way to assimilate another race.
However, this religious assimilation will not take effect in the short term.
It will take a long time, and at the same time have to face the **** resistance of the infidels.
If the Church of Radiance wants to successfully spread the gospel of the Lord of Radiance to the ice field in the sky, it must obtain strong support from the north.
This also gave Colin the opportunity to infiltrate the Radiance Church.
Colin is confident that he can completely subdue the Radiance Church in this process, and make them an auxiliary tool to help the human nobles strengthen their rule, rather than an aloof coronation.
Seeing Colin's resolute attitude, Okamoto finally nodded and said after pondering for a while:
"good!"