Even a dilapidated base is better than a large expanse of scorched earth!
Bolton felt that he was having the worst luck as a marquis. Before the others had even started fighting or even found any trace of the giants, his side had first suffered three giant attacks, and then was bombed by his own people.
The expedition was launched with the combined strength of the kingdom, but all the other battles fought were less than the number fought by him alone…
Marquis Bolton turned and grasped He Jinqiu's hand: "Thanks to your suggestion, otherwise we would all have died in the base. You are as wise as the founding emperor of the Roosevelt Kingdom! That old bastard Duke Storm, I saw through his treasonous intentions a long time ago, he is too despicable!"
He Jinqiu glanced at Qing Chen silently. It was Qing Chen who asked him to make this suggestion. At the time, he didn't know why Qing Chen suddenly wanted to leave the outpost with Bolton. Now he finally understood that the other party had foreseen the Storm Duke's rebellious intentions!
That's strange.
"What do we do now?" asked the Marquis of Bolton.
Qing Chen said, "Marquis Bolton, the first thing you need to do now is report the situation to the kingdom. At least let the Fifth Princess know you're safe, otherwise you'll become an unregistered resident."
“Oh, yes, yes, my wife must be worried sick right now,” said the Marquis of Bolton. “I’ll go make a call.”
As he spoke, he took out his satellite phone and walked away.
He Jinqiu lowered his voice and asked, "Since you guessed that Duke Storm would betray us, you must have guessed what he's going to do next, right?"
Qing Chen thought for a moment and replied, "I guess he's going to open a breach in Outpost 5 and let the beast army of the Giant Dynasty in. I can imagine that tens of thousands of giants will rush out of the Forbidden Forest at that time."
Giants have never been numerous, and their reproduction rate is very slow. They can only give birth once every three years, just like giving birth to Nezha.
In previous years, when Roosevelt's army fought against giants, a saying often circulated: "A giant is no more than ten thousand strong; if it exceeds ten thousand, it is invincible."
In fact, although Roosevelt's army had a technological advantage, the giants were all B-grade and each had unique racial talents. When they fought, they were surrounded by all kinds of rare and exotic beasts, making them exceptionally fierce.
Therefore, if the Giants Dynasty were to join forces with the Storm Army, their fighting power would be far more ferocious than imagined.
At that moment, the Marquis of Bolton returned, his demeanor completely changed from dejected to smug. He said triumphantly, "My wife thought I was dead; she cried until her voice was hoarse. Everyone says my wife and I don't get along, but they're just sour grapes!"
Qing Chen paused for two seconds: "My lord, let's get down to business..."
“Oh, oh,” Bolton hurriedly said, “My wife said there’s a Silver City unit nearby heading to Outpost 5. The kingdom has asked them to come and provide support, so they can pick us up on their way. Isn’t that great?”
Qing Chen was speechless: "My lord, what's so good about this? It would be fine if it were a retreating force, but this kind of force going to support the battle, are they going to take us to our deaths together... The scale of this war will be much larger than we imagine. Everyone will have to rely on luck to survive."
Upon hearing this, Bolton immediately deflated.
However, the airships from Silver City have already arrived.
A small fleet then sped towards them and landed in front of them.
The ship's door opened, and the first young man to jump down was surprisingly of Asian descent, but he wore a marquis's eagle badge on his chest.
Qing Chen asked He Jinqiu in a low voice, "Can Asians also become marquises?"
He Jinqiu clearly knew more about the Roosevelt Kingdom. He explained, "He's one of the twelve knights of the Silver City Black Knights. All twelve knights are Asian, supposedly due to some kind of tradition. That's why Asian citizens and free people in the kingdom like to go to Silver City, because the atmosphere of discrimination there isn't as severe. Do you think the Black Knights might have some connection to you knights?"
Qing Chen remained silent.
At this moment, the Asian marquis walked over with a smile and said to Bolton, "Marquis Bolton, I've heard your name every day since I was at Outpost 2. I'm so tired of hearing it. Hurry up and get on the airship. Fine wine and delicacies have been prepared on my airship."
Marquis Bolton's eyes widened: "Weren't you supposed to be heading to the battlefield at Outpost 5? You still have the mind to drink?"
The Black Knight laughed and said, "Don't worry, our fleet will just patrol the perimeter and won't enter the battlefield."
"What if the king blames you for avoiding war? How will you explain that?"
"I'm lost!"
Qing Chen and He Jinqiu were stunned. This Silver City's style is a bit unbelievable!
Chapter 865, Short Life and Long Life
The Black Knights were somewhat different from what Qing Chen had imagined.
He had originally assumed that the four ducal powers under the Roosevelt family were completely subservient to the kingdom. If the royal family pointed east, they wouldn't dare to attack west.
It turns out that the Black Knights of Silver City are a bit different. The royal family ordered you to participate in the war, but you said you got lost?
Is it okay if you get lost?
Qing Chen was certain that this was a branch of the Knights in the Western Continent, but out of caution, he did not reveal his identity.
The black knight greeted everyone with a smile as they boarded the ship. Bolton whispered to himself, "It's normal that you lower-ranking people don't know this. Actually, Silver City's status is rather special..."
"What do you mean?" Qingchen asked, puzzled.
Bolton thought for a moment and explained, "In the entire kingdom, only the 11 marquises of Silver City have hereditary titles. Marquises like me cannot inherit their titles."
Qing Chen asked in confusion, "I've read some rumors about Silver City. It seems that each generation's successor is not related to the previous generation by blood, right? It's not a father-to-son succession."
Bolton explained, “It’s normal that you don’t know this. The royal family doesn’t allow it to be spread: the Black Knights have their own method for selecting successors. Once a marquis dies, a new Black Knight will take his place. These people don’t need merit; they only need to be appointed or dismissed by the Silver Duke. The royal family will help them with the formalities.”
Qing Chen and He Jinqiu were both shocked.
A duke can appoint and dismiss marquises at his own discretion? Isn't that a power reserved for the king?
Bolton continued, "None of these people have names. The one in front is the Eleventh Knight. People who are close to him usually call him Old Eleven."
Qing Chen suddenly asked, "Does the Black Knight live a long time?"
Bolton lowered his voice and said, "Don't mention lifespan. Members of the Black Knights generally have short lifespans. Most of them die before the age of 40, and the longest seems to be only 52. Some say it's because they overuse potions, while others say it's their fate."
Qing Chen was stunned for a moment. Such a short lifespan couldn't possibly be a knight's legacy, could it? The difference was too great!
Knights don't die so young.
However, at that moment, the eleventh Black Knight in front turned around and laughed, "There's no need to be so concerned about our lifespan; we ourselves don't care. But it's precisely because our lifespan is relatively short that we especially respect the joy in life."
Speaking of which, we saw a grill set up in the airship's command room, and two beautiful female soldiers standing in front of the grill flipping steaks. The fat from the tender beef shoulder dripped onto the charcoal fire, sparking and looking extremely tempting.
This isn't a war, it's a vacation!
Old Eleven laughed and said, "Beef steak tastes best when grilled over charcoal. By the way, how well-done would you like it? I suggest medium-rare."
Bolton: "I want it medium-rare."
This eleventh man looked to be around thirty-one or thirty-two years old. If most Black Knights don't live past 40, then his life was nearing its end.
As they were talking, a young Asian man walked into the command room from inside the ship's hold: "Master, when is dinner?"
The eleventh prince smiled and said to Bolton, "Let me introduce you. This is my apprentice, currently codenamed Twenty-Nine. He might take over my title someday."
Qing Chen thought to himself, "So the Black Knights are also a master-apprentice system, with the apprentice inheriting the title."
The more I look at this thing, the more it resembles a knight organization. Except for the lifespan, it's similar in every way!
However, this twenty-nine was someone Qing Chen actually knew.
But he did not acknowledge her.
Upon seeing outsiders, Twenty-Nine quickly greeted them: "Hello everyone... Isn't this Marquis Bolton? What brings you to our airship?"
Old Eleven said with a smile, "The Marquis of Bolton has lost his house and is now all alone, so he's come to stay with us for a while."
Bolton: "That hit me where it hurts."
At this moment, the eleventh elder said, "There's something wrong with this Duke of Storms."
"What's wrong?" Qingchen asked.
"Too fast," the eleventh elder said with a smile. "The reaction was too quick. As far as I know, a Jester overheard the giants' conversation on the battlefield, saying that the Giant Dynasty had made a deal with the Duke of Storms. But the royal family only sent two regiments to Outpost 9, and the Duke of Storms didn't even say a word in defense before rebelling on the spot. Don't you find it strange? At least clarify things with His Majesty, or make some more preparations. How could they rebel so suddenly and dramatically, like at a market?"
The eleventh elder continued, "I've met Duke Storm several times. When I went to Storm City, I invited his daughter out for drinks in front of him, and he didn't react at all. He was incredibly patient. Why is he so impatient this time? I suspect something's up. So let's stay away from the battlefield and just have some drinks and steak on the airship. That would be nice!"
Qingchen felt that the eleventh brother was right; this rebellion had indeed come too quickly.
Burton suddenly asked, "So, did you manage to get a date with his daughter?"
Qing Chen and He Jinqiu silently turned to look at Bolton, whose thought process was clearly not quite normal either.
It's like your girlfriend telling you, "I cried until midnight listening to music yesterday."
You ask her, "What song were you listening to? Were you crying until midnight?"
These are not questions that a normal person would ask.
At this moment, the eleventh elder asked curiously, "Marquis Bolton, when you were at Outpost 9, how did you manage to detect the giants' attack in advance and adjust the position of the airship beforehand?"
Marquis Bolton said, "Nothing was found; it's just a normal adjustment."
“I don’t believe it. There’s no such thing as a coincidence,” the eleventh brother chuckled. “It must be that Marquis Bolton was wise and made a judgment in advance. I’m just curious about what details you used to make that judgment. Tell me about it.”
Upon hearing this, Marquis Bolton subconsciously glanced at Qing Chen.
The eleventh brother was extremely perceptive, and he subconsciously glanced at Qing Chen, as if he had already noticed something.
Just as he was pondering this, 'Twenty-Nine' walked into the command room again and said to Old Eleven, "Master, it's time to take your medicine."
The eleventh brother smiled at everyone and said, "Excuse me for a moment."
Chapter 866, The Eternal Spear! Falling from the Heavens!
The eleventh Black Knight went out for twenty minutes and returned looking radiant, as if he had drunk a bowl of deer blood.
Qing Chen made a judgment in his mind: the Black Knights might have relied too much on potions to enhance their strength, which was why they died young.
The saying goes that every medicine has some degree of toxicity, and taking medicine every day can indeed be extremely harmful.
If we assume that the Black Knights are indeed the legacy left behind by Ren Xiaosu or Ren He on the Western Continent, then they would also face the same crisis of being unable to complete the final life-or-death trial after the appearance of the Forbidden Sea.
Therefore, these Black Knights took a completely different path from that of the Eastern Continent. The Eastern Continent relied on breathing techniques to achieve a higher ceiling and a more authentic lineage, while these Black Knights began to use potions to assist in life-or-death trials and forcibly unlock their genetic locks. However, this caused the potions to backfire on them, shortening their lifespan.
Qing Chen asked curiously, "I heard that your titles are passed down from master to disciple?"
The eleventh brother laughed and said, "The Black Knights don't care about bloodlines. We are destined to have no descendants since we have embarked on this path."
"Why are only Asians chosen as heirs? Is there some restriction on cultivation lineage?" Qing Chen asked curiously.
“No, we just have a preference for Asians,” the eleventh explained.
At this moment, the eleventh brother guessed that Qing Chen was the mastermind behind Bolton and became interested: "Why don't you come to Silver City? Although you can't cultivate our inheritance, we can give you high-ranking positions and a lifetime of wealth, honor, and beautiful women and fine wine."
The Marquis of Bolton, who was eating steak, felt uneasy after a while and said quietly, "I can give that too."
The eleventh brother was amused; Bolton's reaction confirmed his suspicions.