Chapter 476 The Princess Arrives
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Hobert held the "Earl of the Fallen"'s Beyonder characteristic with mixed feelings. He had once thought that Rex hadn't left his child much at all, and even stopped taking Rex's so-called legacy seriously.
But today was different. Rex first stunned him with gold pounds, and then actually passed on an Beyonder characteristic of Sequence 4.
Beyonder characteristics at the demigod level are already difficult to measure with money.
The reason why Hobert had been hesitant to contact Sharron and the others was because he didn't know what price to set for a demigod-level Beyonder characteristic.
If a partial potion formula is worth 10,000 pounds, then the entire potion formula is worth at least 30,000 pounds, and each main ingredient is normally worth 30,000 to 40,000 pounds.
After all, the extraordinary creatures that provide extraordinary main ingredients are more or less imbued with divinity, and it is difficult to hunt them down with just Sequence 5 without the help of other demigods.
So, selling just the Beyonder characteristic for 60,000 pounds would not be a problem at all, and even an inflated price of 80,000 pounds seemed acceptable.
But Hobert also seemed to remember that the Temperance faction wasn't doing so well financially, otherwise, they wouldn't have hired Klein as a bodyguard.
If it really cost 80,000 pounds, the deal probably wouldn't go through. But if he sold it off for 30,000 to 40,000 pounds, Hobert would feel like he was losing out.
Plus, Hobert's deal with the Sanguine meant that his financial situation was still relatively good, so he wasn't in a hurry to contact the Temperance faction.
Thinking about this deal was enough for Hobert to understand how precious a Sequence 4 Beyonder characteristic was. Even in the extraordinary world where money comes quickly, not many people can advance to Sequence 4 by buying their way up.
Even if they saved up enough money, they might not encounter the Sequence 4 Beyonder characteristic they needed in their lifetime.
The reason is simple: in the orthodox churches, accumulating enough merits can directly get you the potion. For Beyonder family members like Elliot, Beyonder characteristics are basically inherited.
Christian's situation of advancing to Sequence 4 after more than 20 years of effort is an exception, and such exceptions are rare.
This is also why there are still many wild Sequence 5s in the extraordinary world, but wild Sequence 4s are very, very rare.
Here, "wild" refers to Beyonders without even an Beyonder family background.
Originally, Hobert was planning to shatter "1-104" to advance, which actually made him feel a bit heartbroken. After all, a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact is also very precious, and it felt like both the palm and the back of his hand were flesh.
However, if he had the opportunity to advance, Hobert would not hesitate to do so, but he would feel very regretful.
Now, suddenly having a Sequence 4 Beyonder characteristic in front of him made him happier than getting those gold pounds.
Christian, who was beside him, explained, "This was a military demigod that your father hunted down before he died. He didn't have time to prepare the Sequence 3 Beyonder characteristic for you, so you'll have to find a way yourself.
"However, your father left you three clues. One is that he knows that the Tamara family has a 'Frenzied Mage,' another clue is that he knows the whereabouts of a Six-Eyed Abnormality, and the last one is that 'Five Seas King' Nast is a 'Frenzied Mage.'
"If you need it, I can help you hunt down the Tamara family's 'Frenzied Mage' or the Six-Eyed Abnormality together. The Nast option is ranked last. If he were so easy to kill, the angels of Loen or Feynapotter would have taken him down long ago."
The complete brain of a Six-Eyed Abnormality is one of the main ingredients for a "Frenzied Mage." Speaking of this, Hobert thought that he also had a clue in his hand:
The Solomon family actually has two "Raving Augurs." The other "Frenzied Mage" appeared during the Backlund smog event and was likely imprisoned in "Mist Town" along with the Black Hound spirit beast.
"If I need it, I will ask you for help." Hobert then thought, "How did Rex advance to Sequence 3? I mean, how did he complete the ritual?"
Christian smiled. "Your question has once again exceeded my expectations."
Hobert's question showed that he at least knew the ritual for advancing to "Frenzied Mage."
And on this point, Hobert didn't intend to hide it from Christian.
Christian asked back, "Have you heard of Attorney Arthur?"
"Of course I've heard of him. He's a legendary figure in the legal profession. He's in our university textbooks..." Hobert was stunned. "That's, that's Rex's other identity?"
"That's right."
Hobert recalled the ritual for advancing to "Frenzied Mage": Achieve astonishing achievements in a certain field, so that people associate the abstract concept of that field with the actual name of the advancing person. The more people who can associate the two, the greater the probability of successful advancement.
So he asked again, "Is it okay not to use your own name?"
"Yes!" Christian replied with certainty. "I remember Rex talked about this ritual. Its main function is to neutralize the damage caused by the potion's abstract modification of oneself during advancement.
"According to Rex's guess, the primary problem for the 'Lawyer' pathway at high sequences may be dealing with the relationship between the real world and abstract authority."
Hobert nodded slightly, marveling at Rex's genius. Although the authority of each pathway became abstract after Sequence 2, the Uniqueness of the "Black Emperor" pathway seemed a bit different.
For example, the "Black Emperor"'s godhood ritual emphasizes the changes the "Black Emperor" brings to the rules and culture of the entire world, and it also emphasizes people's recognition of the "Black Emperor" concept.
Both of these are actually emphasizing the issue of "abstraction," and Rex was able to guess many of the key issues of high sequences without knowing the godhood ritual of the "Black Emperor" pathway. Isn't that genius?
Christian continued to explain, "Even if a pseudonym is used, as long as the operations related to the advancement ritual are closely linked to this pseudonym, the ritual can still have its effect."
Hobert nodded. "I understand."
"In addition, I want to tell you another piece of information. Rex has reserved a clue for you to become the 'Duke of Entropy,' which is also his important legacy," Christian said:
"But according to his will, I can only tell you that clue after you become a 'Frenzied Mage.'"
Hobert felt the benefits of an Beyonder family for the first time. Before, when he said he was a member of an Beyonder family, no one believed him, let alone himself.
But at this moment, he realized that the benefits of an Beyonder family are the clues or advancement methods and experiences of demigod and above Beyonder characteristics.
This is completely incomparable to wild Beyonders.
After saying these things, Christian gave Hobert a dozen seconds to digest them, and then walked out in front.
Hobert glanced at the gold and pounds again and followed closely.
"By the way." Christian, who was about to leave the cave, seemed to suddenly remember something, so he stopped. "In a while, a major event will happen in Feynapotter City.
"If you plan to continue investing in the territory, you must protect your property. We may have to abandon our current title at any time!"
Hobert was slightly surprised: Could it be that the current title and status are not what Christian really wants?
However, Christian didn't mean to elaborate, so Hobert didn't ask, because he knew that Christian wouldn't say even if he asked. He would just listen to the arrangements. Anyway, he had already planned to get on Christian's "boat" before, and there was no reason to get off halfway.
The two left the cave, and the arched stone door closed on its own.
Hobert used "Travel" to take Christian back to the lord's mansion in Jeffrey Territory. Christian took out a leather bag: "The income of the law firm over the years is all inside. I also gave you three magical items as wedding gifts.
"The leather bag is also a magical item. It is connected to a space that needs to be reinforced every two years. There is still a year and a half before the next reinforcement.
"If you don't have relevant channels, you can come to me. I have a Sealed Artifact that can do this."
Hobert nodded. "Okay."
It is estimated that Fors would be close to advancing to "Magician" by then, but of course Hobert wouldn't reveal this.
Carrying the leather bag back to his room, Hobert locked the door and opened the leather bag.
Looking inside, the leather bag seemed to be leaking, with a bottomless feeling.
Then Hobert discovered that although the mouth of the leather bag was not big, his upper body could fit into the leather bag.
He stretched in and saw that the leather bag was connected to a space the size of a basement, with a pile of gold pounds neatly stacked on one side and three small wooden boxes on the other.
As long as Hobert's hand reached into the leather bag, it could appear anywhere in this space.
Closing the leather bag, Hobert sat on the chair and calmed down. He originally thought that he should be numb after seeing so many gold pounds in the cave.
But that wasn't the case!
Hobert smiled, sacrificed the leather bag to the "Nation of Disorder," and then neatly piled the gold pounds next to the Iron Throne, lying on it comfortably and rolling around.
Awesome!
It felt like life had reached its climax!
After rolling around on it a few times, Hobert went to see the three magical items.
The negative effects of the magical items carefully selected by Christian were of course not very high.
They were magical items of the "Reader," "Hunter," and "Warrior" pathways respectively. Hobert classified and put them away, and then his eyes couldn't help but look at the gold pounds again.
Looking at them, Hobert gradually realized that this money should be used as a reserve fund, and the funds for territory construction should still be raised according to the original plan.
During this period, ships traveling from Granada Port downstream to Jeffrey Port have continued, completing the acquisition and storage of the second batch of building materials.
The acquisition of the third batch of materials has also begun. The new construction project in Jeffrey Town, which started the earliest, has already entered the second phase of construction.
The second and third batches of materials used for repairing the railway in the original list have also been acquired and used in advance. Now even the railway has been repaired.
Recently, the lord's mansion has been spending money like water. The gold Lire that Hobert had earned before has long been spent.
He asked Philip to go to a bank in another port to exchange 10,000 gold pounds for 12,000 gold Lire, which was enough for the wages of the workers and the daily expenses of the lord's mansion during this period.
This was still the financial situation of the lord's mansion when Christian was responsible for all the wedding expenses.
Even so, Hobert had to give Philip 10,000 pounds a few days ago and ask him to exchange them for gold Lire again.
Because now Hobert has gold pounds left in his hand, and the gold pounds he has worked so hard to earn recently are only about 32,000 pounds, which may be barely enough for the payment of the third batch of materials.
Hobert also plans to visit Miss Sharron after the wedding, and also "visit" "Rear Admiral Dusk" and "Rear Admiral Blood."
For Hobert, there are many ways to make money, so there is no need to spend this "deposit."
The key is that Christian's last words in the cave today made Hobert feel that he should leave some money to deal with possible changes in the future.
As for the protection of property in the territory, Hobert has already had such plans, and can bind interests with the Church of the Earth Mother.
But now Hobert feels that he should change his plan. He may not have time to slowly bind interests, but must pay more interests at one time and ask the Church of the Earth Mother to protect his interests.
Hobert also has some ideas about this, but now is not the time to do something.
After thinking about these issues, Hobert returned to the real world. He still has a lot to do today.
The most important thing is to go to Tingen to pick up Selena.
Originally, Hobert would have thought that he would see a scene like a life-and-death farewell, but Selena had already packed her luggage alone and waited in her room. She just put a letter on the desk.
Selena didn't cry this time, and smiled, "In the letter, I told them that I went to pursue my dream and would come back to see them often."
Hobert nodded. The experience in Boklun Manor made Selena grow a lot.
Returning to the lord's mansion in Jeffrey Territory, Hobert asked Selena to live in the same room with Freya. Freya was very happy that she finally had a companion.
Selena was also relieved. She didn't expect that she would still have classmates, and she also saw the cheerful Donna and the always shy Tyron, two familiar faces.
This made Selena, who was already prepared to face a completely unfamiliar environment, feel a lot more at ease.
...
As the wedding date approached, more and more nobles and wealthy people arrived in Jeffrey Territory in advance.
Hobert greeted them one by one according to the previous rehearsal. Christian's family came three days in advance, that is, on the 25th. Some nobles and wealthy people who had a good relationship with Christian, or thought they had a good relationship with Christian, arrived on the 26th.
The 27th reached the climax of the arrival of guests, because in addition to most of the nobles and wealthy people arriving on this day, it was also because Princess Ethel's naval fleet arrived at about ten o'clock in the morning on this day.
That's right, this girl actually came to attend Hobert's wedding with three warships.
If it were in a certain country in the "Western Continent", doing so would be very rude and would be like showing off their power.
But in Feynapotter, everyone felt that the royal family gave Christian enough face.
According to common sense, for the wedding of a baron, the royal family would send a court viscount to the wedding to bestow rewards.
No one expected that the royal family would send a princess, or Princess Ethel, who held great power in the court! This was even more shocking than the arrival of a prince.
Hobert naturally greeted her with the highest etiquette, including music, cannon salutes, and a review of the honor guard, with children from the territory presenting flowers.
What kind of honor guard did Jeffery have? Hobert had to make do with the fifty-odd soldiers like Seel dressed up smartly.
Ethel wasn't wearing a court dress today but a military uniform.
Short hair, neat and tidy. Although her pretty face carried a smile, it made people afraid to meet her eyes.
Although the military uniform concealed many of her feminine features, it enhanced her unique feminine charm.
Not only the nobles attending the wedding came to the dock to greet her, but also the surrounding nobles, Teuton, Eugene, Felix, and others came to welcome her.
Since they came, of course, they would also attend the neighbor's wedding.
The Teuton Viscount among them was a little confused at this time, not understanding whether the royal family supported him or Hobert.
Ethel spoke a few simple words with Christian and his son, then inspected the honor guard with a serious expression, and accepted the children's flowers with a smile.
When getting into the carriage, she made a few remarks, which was equivalent to collectively receiving the nobles who came to greet her, and only Hobert and his father accompanied the princess to the villa area on the hillside.
The princess's large number of servants had already arrived yesterday and had cleaned up a villa according to some of Ethel's habits, and even replaced all the furniture and furnishings in the princess's bedroom, dining room, and living room.
When entering the door, Ethel glanced at the villa's decoration and frowned slightly.
But her eyebrows quickly relaxed, and she warmly received Hobert and his son in the living room.
After chatting for a few words, Ethel asked Hobert as if casually, "I heard that there are still a small number of troops in your territory? Are they the ones who were inspected at the port just now?"
Hobert smiled gently, "Thank you for your reminder, Your Highness. When I first came to the South Colson area, bandits were rampant here, and the security was very poor."
"In order to protect myself and the safety of the people, I had to form the Lord's Mansion Guard. They are members of the security team, not an army."
Since the royal families of various countries in the Northern Continent began to centralize power, it has gradually become illegal for nobles with fiefs to have their own private armies.
But in order to ensure their own safety, small-scale guards are allowed.
The reason why Hobert thanked Ethel for reminding him was because he heard Ethel's implication: someone said you formed a private army, give me a reasonable explanation!
So after thanking Ethel, Hobert gave a reasonable explanation.
Ethel looked at the decoration in the living room, "I have never seen this kind of decoration style before. At first, I felt a little uncomfortable, but after looking at it a few times, I felt it became more and more dignified. What style is this from?"
These decorations already look very mature and are not temporary works.
Hobert said vaguely, "This comes from the gift of a great man."
Christian also felt that the decoration in the villa was very distinctive, but when he heard Hobert say this, he thought he was fooling Ethel.
He didn't plan to ask in detail. This was the way his father and son got along. They each had their own secrets, and they could silently support each other when needed.
Ethel immediately thought of the "Creator": "I understand."
Then she said as if casually, "Your huge investment in the South Colson area has made many people jealous. Be careful to protect yourself and your property."
Christian looked at Ethel and Hobert with a somewhat strange expression. He didn't know through what channels Hobert had invited Princess Ethel.
However, Christian thought that Princess Ethel must have come to attend the wedding for the sake of a certain great man.
But Princess Ethel's reminder had exceeded the enthusiasm of attending a wedding as a formality and was more like a friend's reminder.
This made Christian wonder when Hobert had a private relationship with Ethel.
Hobert thanked Ethel again for her reminder, saying that he would definitely pay attention to this.
Then Ethel ended the conversation on the grounds that she was tired.
On the way back, Christian invited Hobert to ride in the same carriage with him.
After the carriage drove out of the villa area, Christian said, "Princess Ethel is a special existence in the royal family. Her mother is the current queen."
"This queen is not in good health and has only given birth to one son and one daughter for the king. That prince had the first legal right to inherit the throne from birth."
"Unfortunately, that little prince died at the age of three. Some say he died in a court conspiracy, and some say he died in an assassination by an enemy country."
"In short, after the little prince died, Ethel and the sons of several concubines had the legal right to inherit in order."
"I heard that this battle for the crown prince lasted for more than half a year before the current crown prince was determined. This is because Ethel withdrew from the battle for the crown prince early, and things were resolved so quickly."
"According to a well-known political compromise, Ethel will inherit the title of her maternal grandfather, Duke Charles."
"Because, coincidentally, this Duke Charles only has one daughter, the queen. The royal family originally wanted to annex Duke Charles's territory, wealth, and power by marrying Charles's daughter."
"As a result, the little prince died, and Ferdinand II had to compromise and let Ethel inherit her maternal grandfather's title and status."
"But even now, many ministers still hope that Ethel will become the crown prince because of their vested interests."
Hobert listened quietly to Christian's explanation. He didn't expect that this was a very special and powerful princess!
Christian only stated the facts without making any comments. He believed that Hobert should be able to handle the relationship with Princess Ethel well.
Hobert continued to go to the dock to welcome the nobles who came to attend the wedding, or the stewards sent by the nobles to offer congratulations. In just one day, Jeffery Town was already packed.
A baron or a wealthy man with assets of less than 300,000 gold Reals could only be assigned to a relatively spacious suite with a servant's room, and the large number of servants they brought, except for personal valets or personal maids, could only stay in cheap hotels.
But such accommodation conditions had exceeded their expectations. Originally, they thought they would have to live in tents in a remote place like South Colson.
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