The wizard starts by trimming the donkey's hooves

Chapter 314 News (two chapters in one)

Ryan smiled at the beautiful woman's teasing, but did not respond. Instead, he asked, "Jennifer, how much do you know about this Duke of Durham?"

Hearing Ryan's question, the beautiful woman shook her head and said:

“I have just taken over the Munster branch and am not familiar with some situations.”

"What's more, although the Duke of Durham is a major shareholder, he has been in the imperial capital all year round and seems to have never appeared at the shareholders' meeting of the Munster branch. He is here and only sent a spokesperson named Sam, who is the leader of the Sam Group."

"I ran into him today during a meeting. He seemed to be a very powerful second-level wizard."

Wizard?
Ren nodded.

"Send someone to investigate this Sam group in the next two days."

"Well, do we need to take the initiative to communicate with them?" The beautiful woman thought for a moment and suggested.

Ryan shook his head and said, "No need. I don't have time to talk to them now."

"Besides, in this matter, they should be the ones looking for me, not the other way around."

In the evening, a sumptuous dinner was held at Ryan's new mansion to welcome Anna back.

The beautiful woman Jennifer took the initiative to ask to sit on the other side of Anna. She frequently introduced delicious food to Anna and kept talking about Ryan's glorious deeds, with words of praise overflowing.

This made Jenny, who was standing by, completely stunned!
She just couldn't understand her mother's mysterious actions!

Are there any who push their loved ones away?
Although it is very common for nobles in the Dragun Empire to have lovers.

She had expected this a long time ago. Even if her mother was with Ryan, it was normal for Ryan to have several lovers outside.

But the problem is, my mother's posture looks like...how should I put it?

It seemed as if he was impatient to push Ryan to Anna.

This scene also confused Agatha who was standing beside her. After a while, she gently nudged her best friend and said:
"Hey, Jenny, did you have a fight with your mother? She didn't even bother to help her own daughter, but she tried to match Lord Ryan with this new girl?"

Jenny also looked confused, not knowing how to answer her best friend's question. She shook her head and said:
"I don't know, but I didn't quarrel with my mother."

In addition, she corrected her best friend's words in her heart, 'This girl is not new, she has known Ryan before her mother.'

The beautiful woman's great enthusiasm for Anna made Anna a little overwhelmed.

She didn't quite understand why this elegant and beautiful lady was so fond of her.

Ryan's mother Emma, ​​who was standing by, couldn't stop smiling!
Originally, with her natural female sensitivity, she had vaguely sensed that there seemed to be an unusual relationship between the beautiful Baroness Crawley and her son.

Because, the way the other person looked at his son was sometimes so gentle that it almost made water drip out.
As someone who has experienced this, Emma naturally knows what that means.

Although the beautiful Baroness Crawley was very capable and quite beautiful, the problem was that she was too old and was a widow.

Even though she was a noble lady, a widow was still a widow, wasn't she?
However, seeing the beautiful woman so enthusiastic about bringing Ryan and Anna together today, Emma's worries were completely dispelled.

It seems that she was too sensitive before. Baroness Crawley should be more adoring of her own son, which is normal.
After all, women all admire strong men.

In fact, for the beautiful woman Jennifer, the reason for doing this is not that complicated at all.

Last time, she wanted Ryan to find a noble lady with extraordinary powers because she, as an ordinary person, couldn't stand it.
Although the noble lady did not get what she wanted, what she got was a rare elf girl.

But as long as we can share the "firepower", that's fine!

But the problem is, when she asked Ryan indirectly about his opinion, he just let it go. Naturally, this made her more anxious than Ryan, so she tried to match them up at the welcome party and create opportunities for Anna and Ryan to be alone.

After dinner, with Jennifer's efforts.

Anna and Ryan finally got some rare time alone.

"Wow! Has the cookie gotten this big?"

You have to know that when Anna left, Cookie was still a little puppy, but now, he is tall and mighty, and his body is exaggeratedly large, comparable to a foal.

"Ryan, what did you feed Cookie? Oh, that's not right. Did Cookie become a ferocious beast?"

"How is this possible?" Anna, who had just bent down, widened her beautiful eyes. After she stroked Cookie's head, she immediately discovered something.

As a formal druid, his perception of plants and animals is far beyond that of ordinary people.

"Wang Wang!"

When Cookie felt the soft and warm little hand stop stroking its head, it barked twice in dissatisfaction, saying "I want more".

"This guy..." Ryan couldn't help but smile and shook his head.

Anna chuckled and continued to rub Cookie's head, and Cookie narrowed his eyes in comfort.

It remembered the smell of its mistress very clearly, but it seemed to smell even better, giving it a sense of familiarity, which made Cookie rub against Anna's trouser leg to show his affection.

Ryan couldn't help but feel envious when seeing this scene.
Although he is a beast priest, he cannot compare with Anna, a druid, in terms of affinity with beasts.

The two take two completely different paths to taming the beast.

"Remember the diary where we discovered the basic meditation method? It recorded a mutation growth potion. After I prepared it, I used it on Cookie. Now it seems to be very effective."

"By the way, Anna, I also used this potion on horses. I'll take you to see Xiao Hei. I think you will like it very much." Ryan said with a smile.

Facing Anna, Ryan felt a special sense of peace in his heart.

"Okay. Xiao Hei? Is it the name of a black horse?" Anna couldn't help but chuckle.

The two talked and chatted, and soon they arrived near the stable in the backyard.

Seeing the tall body of the wildebeest and the protruding horn on its forehead, Anna's beautiful eyes lit up. She was quite interested and walked forward quickly, saying, "This is not Little Black, it's obviously Big Black."

Just when Ryan was about to remind Anna that the trotting wildebeest had a bad temper, Anna had just stretched out her white little hand, and Xiao Hei took the initiative to stick his head out of the stable fence and let Anna touch it.

This surprised Ryan.

But after a little thought, Ryan realized that this should be the effect of being a druid, which is similar to the affinity with nature.

"By the way, Anna, you said last time that you had an important matter to attend to this time?" Ryan suddenly thought of something and turned to ask.

"Yeah." Anna nodded.

Speaking of this topic, the smile on Anna's face disappeared, and she slowly put down the arm that was stroking Xiao Hei, frowning slightly, as if she was thinking about what to say.

After a long while, Anna finally spoke: "I saw a secret letter in Aunt Delanna's study."

"It said that my mother's disappearance might be related to the Axon Auction House."

"Huh? Axon Auction House? Is the news true?" Ryan raised his eyebrows, quite surprised.

He didn't expect that not only was Anna's incident this time related to the Yaxon Auction House, but even her mother's disappearance was related to the Yaxon Auction House.

"It seems to be news from a special channel of the elves. I don't know the details, but it should be true." Anna nodded and continued, "Ryan, do you know anything about the Axon Auction House?"

"Well, it's a behemoth. Throughout the empire, every larger city has a branch or station." Ryan nodded and said.

“Does that mean I can’t do anything on my own?” Anna’s beautiful eyes darkened.

"No, first of all, you are not alone." Ryan looked at Anna and said seriously.

This made Anna blush.

"Secondly, although the Axon Auction House is a huge company with complex power structures, it is internally divided into multiple interest groups based on shareholders."

"So, as long as we find out which shareholder is involved in this matter, it will be much easier to deal with it later."

"."

Ryan then briefly told Anna what he had learned about the Axon Auction House.

"Ah? So, Ryan, you are also a shareholder of the Axon Auction House now?" Anna blinked her beautiful eyes and looked at Ryan in shock.

Anna didn't expect that Ryan would become a shareholder of the Axon Auction House, although he was only a shareholder of the Münster branch.

"Isn't this a good thing? You can think of me as an undercover agent sent into the Axon Auction House." Ryan smiled and said.

"However, it may take some time to investigate your mother's case." Ryan stopped smiling and said seriously.

Because Jennifer has just become a shareholder of the Munster branch, it will take some time to build up personnel and power.

Moreover, Ryan guessed that if Anna's mother's disappearance was really related to the Axon Auction House, then she was most likely sent to the imperial capital.

Therefore, it will take longer to investigate this matter.

"Well, my mother has been missing for more than two years. I was very worried for a while before, but now, I just hope she can be safe."

"Of course, it would be even better if we could find out where she is."

Anna nodded, without much emotional fluctuation.

"Don't worry! If it's really related to the Axon Auction House, then your mother's life won't be in danger."

This was not just to comfort Anna.

But if this matter is really related to the Axon Auction House, Ryan believes that it is most likely the work of various slave-hunting teams or similar teams under its command.

The other party will definitely capture Anna's mother, a rare pure-blooded elf woman, and sell her for a good price.

Those who can afford this price must be wealthy businessmen or nobles in the empire.

In other words, although Anna's mother lost her freedom, her life is unlikely to be in danger.

At this time, the two of them were walking and had slowly come to a corner of the backyard of the new mansion.

The original owner planted seven or eight beech trees here, which grew quite tall and lush.

The moonlight poured down from the mottled shadows of the trees, illuminating the outline of Anna's delicate body. Anna at this moment was no longer the skinny girl she was when Lei first met her, but had a curvaceous female figure.

Although not as plump and petite as the beautiful woman Jennifer, it is just right.

The girl's face still retained the hint of shyness she had when she was alone with Ryan.

But at this moment, she heard Ryan's words of comfort, and she said 'hmm', raised her head, looked at her face seriously with her big eyes, and said:

"Thank you, Ryan."

Ryan smiled slightly and was about to say something when suddenly, he felt a fresh and fragrant breeze approaching.

Anna moved closer like a butterfly, and stood on tiptoes, kissing Ryan's cheek quickly with her soft and warm lips.

Then, like a panicked deer, she quickly jumped away, lowered her head, and said:
"Then I'll go back first."

Anna said this while shyly leaving immediately without waiting for Ryan's answer.

But she never expected that as soon as she turned around, a strong hand would hold her slender waist.

Following an irresistible force, Anna's slender body was immediately pulled back, and then pressed against a strong and hot chest.

Suddenly, Anna was in a panic, raising and lowering her hands, at a loss as to what to do.
And the next second, she could only make a 'woohoo' sound.

The cherry mouth has been covered.
Anna had no idea how much time had passed. She just felt like she was floating in the clouds. Only when she became a little breathless did she get the right to breathe fresh air.

At this moment, her pretty face was flushed, as if she was drunk, and her whole body was dizzy.
-
Two days passed in a row.
Ryan, who was practicing the 'Lance of Longilo' in the training room, still hadn't waited for the official negotiation from the 'Sam Group'.

Instead, many people approached the beautiful woman to try to establish connections, asking if Dixon could be released.

The beautiful woman stated that she could make the decision on business matters, but for matters like this, it would be more appropriate for you to communicate directly with Lord Ryan.

Now she no longer needs to compromise.

As one of the shareholders of the Munster branch, she has Ryan behind her, which is her confidence.

In addition, from the latest intelligence from the Sword Bearer, Ryan discovered that the situation in the province was becoming increasingly turbulent.

Almost every day, small towns and county cities are attacked by cults or behemoths, resulting in heavy casualties.

More information was that there was only one report of casualties, and as for the attackers, they were all described as "unknown" and "unknown".

The reason why he was able to learn these confidential information first was also due to the changes brought about by Ryan's promotion to a diamond-level swordsman.

In terms of identity, a Diamond-level swordsman is no longer just a combatant or a combat captain.

In terms of importance, any Diamond-level Sword Bearer Captain is the backbone of a Sword Bearer branch and, to some extent, is also involved in decision-making.

For example, this time, Admiral Edward would seek Ryan's opinion.

Obviously, the branch will also listen to the opinions of several other Diamond-level sword-wielding captains.

To put it another way, the diamond star rank represents Ryan's contribution to the empire. If he chooses to go to the Duke of Munster, that is, to be transferred to the administrative system of the empire, the corresponding position will definitely not be low.

If he is a governor in charge of a county town, like Count Habsburg, the information may be a little shallow.

But there is absolutely no problem in serving as deputy chief of police in the provincial capital of Münster.

Even if he joins the Griffin Guard, he will at least be a captain. If there are vacancies above, he will most likely be assigned a higher position.

Ryan was very clear about these changes. The most fundamental reason was his own growing strength.

Otherwise, not to mention whether he can continue to be promoted smoothly in the next step, it is very likely that he will fall in a dangerous mission.

Therefore, in the past few days, he did not spend too much time accompanying Anna, nor did he go out to attend the party invitations that were sent like snowflakes, but continued to stay at home.

Most of Ryan's time was spent in the training room, where he was trying to improve his lance-type extraordinary combat skill 'Lance of Longilo' as quickly as possible.

After two days, I have now reached level 8 (122/7000), and am only one step away from level 9.

At the same time, he is also urging other members of the team to improve their combat effectiveness.

In the study of Rennes' new mansion.

"Dong dong dong!" There was a knock on the door.

"Please come in!"

The person who came in was the capable young woman named Olena.

"Sir Ryan, the mission has arrived. However, this is the latest intelligence summarized today. I think you can take a look at it first." Olena's face was serious. She took out a document and handed it to Ryan.

Because the situation in the empire changed suddenly, the Sword Bearers' Münster branch also kept pace with the times and established a temporary coordination organization. Its main purpose, of course, was to complete the two tasks assigned by the empire.

Specifically, it means that multiple deputy ministers in each department will be responsible for one-on-one contact with a Diamond-level swordsman captain to improve communication efficiency.

Therefore, Olena, who was most familiar with Ryan, continued to serve as the Deputy Minister of Mission Hall Affairs while also taking part-time responsibility for communication and coordination with Ryan.

Ryan took the materials and read through them carefully.

The intelligence from the Sword Bearer is mainly divided into two parts. One is about some cult activities in the two counties of Meister and Rossby.

What caught his attention was a piece of writing that said, "A suspected member of the Secret Snake Cult has appeared again in Mayster County."

Saw this message.

Ryan's gaze paused for a moment.

After thinking about it, Ryan believed that the other party was most likely here to look for the legendary land snake.

Because the message showed that after the other party appeared, he quickly hid, as if he was looking for something.

Of course, it is not ruled out that after they find the ground snake, they will launch revenge or attack.

Ryan was quite impressed by the Secret Snake Cult's combat effectiveness. Compared with the Black Flame Cult, the other party paid more attention to physical training and possessed more secret skills related to it.

From a certain perspective, it is very similar to his situation of being both a knight and a wizard, but the methods are more bizarre.

"The people from the Secret Snake Cult have appeared again?" Ryan looked up and confirmed.

"Yes, Lord Ryan. And unlike last time, the members of the Secret Snake Cult that appeared this time are a small team. At least seven or eight people have been discovered so far." Olena nodded and said.

"Ms. Olena, please convey this message to Miss Claire of Meister as soon as possible and ask her to be on guard."

"Is it the one from the Habsburg family?" Olena was impressed by the beautiful young lady who returned from the Imperial Royal Academy.

"Yes."

"Okay, Sir Ren."

After processing one message, Ryan quickly started reading the next one.

The next piece of information is about the underground cave of the Blood Curse Naga on the coastline of the Fishing Port Town.

"The silver-level sword-wielding team stationed there is missing? And the gold-level team sent to investigate, the Rock Team, has not received any news for a day?"

Seeing this, Ryan frowned and looked thoughtful.

As Admiral Edward said, Rossby County and Mayester County are currently at war with the sea tribe, so there will be more tasks involved and they will be more troublesome.

Ever since the forbidden gate was unsealed and Her Highness the 'Red Queen' Menia severely damaged the three-headed sea dragon with a magic tail, this area has been completely abandoned by the sea people.

If there is any change now, Ryan feels that it is very likely that the sea people will return.

They must have noticed that His Highness Menia, the Guardian of the Empire, had left, so they were planning to take action?

Ryan saw Admiral Edward's comments, which was also his mission this time.

"Is there any more information about the Blood Curse Naga Cave?"

"No. We have stopped sending teams because the Rock Team is very strong. Even they..." Olena shook her head and said.

Ren nodded.

The rest of the news is not so important or urgent.

For example, 'The sea tribes are becoming more active in Rosby County, and the sea giants are launching attacks more frequently.'

Anything that won't cause too much trouble in the short term can be put aside for now.

The second part of the intelligence is a summary of some important intelligence within the entire province of Münster.

When Ryan turned to this part, his eyes suddenly fixed.

One piece of news immediately caught his attention:

"At the Longya Pass in the north of the province, a forbidden door is suspected to have been found in the Adachi Mine. Currently, the Diamond-level swordsman team 'Black Sword' responsible for the area has gone to investigate."

Longya Pass.
After joining the Sword Bearers, Ryan gradually came to know some important mountain passes in the province.

He knew that Longya Pass was very close to the neighboring Savoie Province to the north.

It is a very long way from Munster. You have to cross the Howling Bastion and the Breitsing Pass to reach the Dragon's Tooth Pass.

"Has the news from Longya Pass been confirmed?"

"Not yet." Olena shook her head, looking worried when she heard Ryan mention this.

Because if it really is a new and undiscovered forbidden door, then we will be in big trouble.

"Well, if it's confirmed, remember to notify me as soon as possible." Ryan nodded and said.

(End of this chapter)