Alien Knights

The relic auction of "Muxi Mutual Aid" lasted from ten in the morning to five in the evening. The competition was fierce and the scene was so hot that Todd gritted his teeth and persisted for two hours. He had to find an assistant to continue the auction in his place.

The 220 holy bones were snapped up. The lowest transaction price was 18 silver months, and the highest transaction price even reached 25 silver months. The total amount of funds raised by the auction was 4349 silver months.

In terms of ownership ratio, the new residents of Muxi Town bought about 80% of the sacred bones, and the local merchants only snapped up less than 20%.

The deacon of the church reports to Todd based on the most recent population count. The resident population of Muxi Town (those who own real estate in the town) may exceed one thousand people. Most of the newly immigrated people are not poor peasants, artisans and craftsmen, but some wealthy country gentry and wealthy businessmen.

Todd found it inconceivable that when Muxi Town was established, the population experienced three major increases, but those were poor people who were attracted by land and low taxes. Why did these country gentry and wealthy businessmen voluntarily come to settle in such a remote place as Muxi Town?

After the auction, under the recommendation of Alfonso, Todd met Wilder, the knight who had joined forces with him to fight against the enemy at Fort Watch, in the Interpretation Hall.

Todd was very impressed with this bearded middle-aged man, but he was deeply puzzled by the fact that he left the fort where he was stationed and came to settle in Muxi Town.

"Knight Wilder, after that battle, I always thought that you would become the commander of Fort Watch because of your merits."

Hearing Todd's words, the bearded man shook his head in frustration: "They did give me a promotion—let me manage the stables, a job with little power."

Todd's eyes widened in surprise.

Wilder continued: "My past commander, Sir Adams, who died in battle, was loyal to the Silver Ring royal family, and he was at odds with those nobles in the kingdom who used their power for personal gain. This transfer of personnel in Fort Watch just gave those moths the best chance. They have placed cronies in various key positions in the castle. Most of the old families like us have been given some irrelevant positions."

"So..." Wilder pointed to himself with a thumb: "I quit!"

Todd glanced at Alfonso, who was frowning beside him, and asked again: "These nobles wantonly exclude dissidents and install cronies. Isn't the king going to stop them?"

"Stop it? The royal family is in a state of distress, how can they have the time to take care of them?"

"What?!"

Wilder stroked his beard: "I heard that there was a civil strife in Silver Ring City a few days ago. The cause was that the residents of the city couldn't bear the increasingly complicated taxes. People burned shops and smashed statues. Thousands of people even ran to the gate of the palace to curse loudly, targeting the queen."

Queen Mary?

In Todd's mind, the woman who looked like the flower of Gaoling appeared, and asked strangely: "What does opposing taxes have to do with the queen?"

Wilder also looked a little puzzled: "I heard that the queen loves jewelry and famous paintings, and is keen on dinner parties and balls. She also asked the king to build an expensive antique garden for her. The reason why the kingdom wants to increase taxes is to meet her increasingly rude demands."

"This is a completely fabricated rumor..." Todd shook his head.

When Wilder heard this, he couldn't say anything more, but just echoed a few words with a smile.

Todd thought about it carefully, but froze.

Although this is a rumor, the content is half false and half true. Although it is false to demand gardens and raise taxes, it is true to love jewelry and famous paintings, and it is true to love dinners and dances. Such rumors with mixed truths and falsehoods, which are extremely confusing, are absolutely impossible to be fabricated by the people themselves, and it is very likely that someone spread them on purpose.

But what about the purpose? Why do the rumors point at the Queen?

Shaking his head, Todd laughed at himself. It has nothing to do with him anyway, so why bother to think so much.

However, the wealthy businessmen and gentry in the towns of Yinhuan Kingdom have found the reasons why they chose to settle in Muxi Town. One is that the tax in the town is extremely light, and the other is that the people in the town are stable and the law and order are better.

"My lord, all the coins have been put into the holy treasury. Here is the list..." Huggins knocked on the door and walked in. Seeing that there were still guests in the room, he froze in place.

Wilder knocked down the chair under him and pointed at Hudgens with trembling fingers: "You... aren't you dead?!"

Todd rolled his eyes, left his seat, patted Hudgens on the shoulder, motioned for him to entertain his guests, and left the room.

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That night, Todd held a dinner party for the Raglan couple who hadn't seen each other for a long time, that middle-aged man and woman who were both members of the heterogeneous family but had only met once in the underground assembly.

The banquet venue was arranged in the side hall of the church, and Karin, Edgar, and Jerry Jerry were also invited to attend.

Todd sat at the head of the long table, with Mrs. Raglan and Karin on the left, and Mr. Raglan, Edgar and Jerry on the right.

Karin, who was talking to Mrs. Raglan, inadvertently glanced at Todd, and the former quickly turned away with a blushing face. The latter was a little surprised. The girl who had been with Rachel for several months was different from the past, but he couldn't say exactly what it was.

Seeing everyone gathered together to laugh and laugh, Todd looked into the emptiness in the distance, recalling the underground gathering when he had just traveled to a different world, and seemed to hear that old and warm voice again.

"I declare that, as an alien, he is now officially a member of our family..."

"Father? My lord?"

A female voice brought Todd back from his memory.

Looking at Mrs. Raglan with a reserved face, Todd smiled and signaled to her not to be nervous.

"What should I call you? My lord priest? My lord chief commander?"

Listening to the other party's inquiry, Todd didn't even have to think about it. It must be Edgar's big mouth who told them about the Muxi Knights.

"The title is not important, Mrs. Raglan."

The Raglans were visibly relieved to hear this.

The chubby middle-aged woman sat on a chair, slightly bowed her body, and said in a low voice: "I'd better call you Lord Todd. I still remember the first time I met you. When I saw you, I only had one thought in my mind. This is the first time I saw someone who survived after touching the "Sutherland Relic"..."

Todd laughed, recalling the scene at that time, while parting his lower lip with his right index finger: "Look, my teeth are still white, they haven't turned into gold."

Everyone remembered the scene at that time and laughed.

Edgar stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth, and said vaguely: "Mr. Raglan, Mrs. Raglan, tell me about your experiences during this time."

Mrs. Raglan nodded, and said: "At the beginning, my husband and I heard from others that there were many business opportunities in the south. Half of it was for making money, and the other half was for traveling. We sold the bakery and traveled all the way to the kingdom of the south in a carriage..."

Karin asked the middle-aged woman beside her, "The Southern Kingdom? Is it Lone Rock City?"

"No, it's still further south. We finally arrived at a place with a dry climate and a boundless desert. There is a wide river in the desert. On the plain formed by the river, there is a huge city. Hundreds of thousands of people live in this city, and its edge can't be seen as far as the eye can see. In that place, everything you can think of is sold in the market, and ships taller than the ancient trees are moored in the port. Houses are everywhere like flowers and plants on the earth. White or colorful turbans, the most talked about on the streets are business, learning and philosophy."

Mrs. Raglan suddenly remembered something, she clapped her hands and smiled, "By the way, I brought you gifts from the far south."

Karin was presented with a bright silk scarf, Edgar received a wide-brimmed felt hat, and Jerry received a pile of candied fruit.

As for Todd, Mrs. Raglan gave him a small tin box full of powder.

"Master Todd, my husband and I know that you like alchemy. This is a box of alchemy materials that we bought at a high price."

Todd thanked him and took the tin box.

On the surface of the iron box is an Arabic sentence. After questioning, Todd read that sentence slowly.

"All praise is to Allah. 』

Using his fingers to remove the sealing wax, the sealed box lid was opened, and Todd opened the layers of oilcloth paper inside. When he saw the things inside, his pupils shrank and his fingers trembled slightly.

Dip some powder with your fingers and smell it. After a while, Todd sighed heavily.

Black powder.

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next morning.

Aiden Kom, who walked out of the church, was somewhat excited and somewhat apprehensive. Excitedly, he did not expect that after such a long time, the Holy Son would still think of himself; disturbedly, the other party wanted the equipment he made. Judging from the complexity of the drawing, I have never done it before, and there are many places where the parameters are not accurate, and even used the words "maybe" and "maybe"...

Rachel sat on one side of the table, watching the person across from him write and draw on the paper, hesitated for a long time, and finally asked, "Todd, you look a little tired, and a little... restless?"

Todd raised his head, his eyes were bloodshot, and he smiled wryly: "Rachel, sometimes I keep thinking, if only I knew everything..."

The woman also laughed: "Even the heavenly father in the Bible dare not say that he knows everything. In my opinion, the things you know are already beyond the reach of common sense."

Todd picked up the paper and suddenly said to the nun, "Rachel, I need your help."

The woman saw the content on the paper, aside from the numbers and calculations that were like a bible, she only vaguely recognized the top line of Latin.

It says "Movable type printing machine" on it.