109: Open the champagne

The sound of splashing water from not far away first reached Flora's ears, and a moment later, Arthur also caught the movement.

They had been in the swamp for half an hour, and in the wetlands beneath their feet, many areas had accumulated water several feet deep, with tangled plant roots underwater forming an invisible net.

Those seemingly stable grounds often hid bottomless pits underneath.

Fortunately, Flora was born a mountain dweller and was quite knowledgeable about deep mountains, old forests, and wild swamps.

So, along the way, apart from occasionally stepping into puddles or encountering some poisonous ants, nothing major went wrong.

The four followed the sound of water and soon saw an alligator struggling in the water.

The poor little guy was trapped by an underwater snare, a sturdy noose tightly constricting its body.

"Release it," Arthur ordered.

Drax drew his dagger and stepped forward, holding the alligator's mouth with one hand and skillfully cutting the rope with the other.

He only released his hand from the alligator's mouth after retreating to a safe distance.

The alligator twisted its body and submerged, disappearing in an instant.

Just then, the intelligence report showed a new development.

Blue Intelligence (Follow-up): Please continue to explore deeper into the swamp; you will discover a moonshiner's den.

Inside, there's about one hundred gold coins worth of red wine, and a bottle of valuable Red Fern Wine. Be careful of that large toad.

"Just to save an alligator?" Old Joe asked, his face full of confusion, as he nervously scanned their surroundings.

Night was slowly falling, casting shadows over the nearby low shrubs, the water surface became murky and indistinguishable, and mist began to gather quietly.

The dwarf withdrew his gaze and asked again, "Alright, we've already saved that poor little thing, can we go back now?"

"This place gives me the creeps; I think we should go back to the carriage."

Arthur, however, insisted, "No, we'll continue deeper. Get ready for a fight, fellows."

After listening to Jonah and Ilay's accounts, Isaiah's face showed an expression of disbelief.

"I told you, don't underestimate Arthur Glamorgan," the masked man said, "My master and I have both suffered at his hands."

"I didn't expect you all to be played by him so quickly."

The word "played" sounded particularly harsh to Ilay's ears.

He remembered this person was named Ingabado, an important strategist under Henry.

However, as a loser, he couldn't say much.

"They also stole our grain transport business!" Isaiah grasped the key point, "Doesn't that ruin our entire plan with Itmar?

"If the soldiers have abundant and rich rations, will they still follow Itmar?

"Damn it, could this kid named Arthur be able to foresee the future?"

"Perhaps he really does have that ability," Jonah interjected, "The Mother Earth Church regards him as a saint."

"The local priests respect him greatly, and the believers even say he is blessed by Mother Earth."

Alfred, who had been silent, suddenly laughed: "If deities truly had so much leisure, there wouldn't be so many tragedies in the world."

"Even if he is truly blessed by the Goddess, there must be a weakness.

"However, he certainly played this hand beautifully."

His words attracted everyone's attention.

The Son of Falcon continued, "People are always fearful of what they don't know, which is why they believe in deities and pray for protection."

"The strange and unstoppable Night Mist has plunged everyone into panic."

"And that kid from the Evil Wolf Family dispelled the Night Mist, bringing hope to everyone."

"His foundation here is already difficult to shake. Jafar, personally appointed by him, naturally saw his prestige greatly increase."

"But the most crucial thing is those grains; they made the soldiers believe that hope is not an illusion, but a real existence."

After Alfred's analysis, everyone fell silent.

Finally, he concluded, "The Lookout Fort plan has failed. There's no need to blame each other; it's useless."

"Let's think carefully about our next step."

Ingabado then spoke, "My master suspects that these ideas actually came from Godwin Ernst."

Alfred frowned and pondered for a moment, then asked, "I've never heard of this person."

Isaiah beside him asked Ingabado, "Ernst? Was he once with the Falcon Family?"

Ingabado nodded.

"What, you know him?" the Son of Falcon asked.

Isaiah replied, "Ernst was once a Baron under the Falcon Family."

"Old Ernst was a rather excellent minister; he served as your grandfather's secretary."

"Later, he became your father's Lord of the Seal, and then was promoted to Minister of Finance."

"How come I've never heard of this person?" Alfred asked, perplexed.

"Because before you were born, he was exiled for offending your father, and then his entire family defected to the Evil Wolf Family."

"Your father could not tolerate such betrayal, so he ordered the destruction of all information related to the Ernst Family and forbade anyone from mentioning this family."

"I used to work under Old Ernst, which is why I know so much."

Ingabado took over, "After the Ernst family went to the Evil Wolf Family, they were not given important positions."

"Old Ernst's son was also very talented, and his grandson, Godwin, was even more outstanding than his predecessors."

Alfred stroked his beard, "Is this person really that smart?"

"Yes, My Lord. My master once worked with him and praised him as resourceful and capable of great responsibility."

Upon hearing this, Alfred laughed, "Such a talent, yet he is willing to follow a playboy like Arthur to Qingfeng Valley."

"Didn't your master ever wonder why?"

Without waiting for a reply, he continued, "No matter, no matter how smart he is, he probably couldn't have predicted that we would buy that piece of land."

"Your master's scheme is truly vicious; as long as that land falls into our hands, it's like choking the Baron of Qingfeng Valley."

"Arthur is your master's own younger brother; can he really be so ruthless?"

"Those who achieve great things cannot be bound by emotions," Ingabado said, "My Lord, there shouldn't be any problems with the land acquisition, right?"

Isaiah replied confidently, "Only we know about this matter. It's handled by our specialists, and I'm personally supervising it."

"Most of the basic terms have been agreed upon, and the contract signing is in the next few days. What problems could there be?"

"However, Your Excellency, you promised to dispel the evil forces on that land. Don't tell me you're deceiving us."

Ingabado was not annoyed, "My master sent me to help you, and he will certainly deliver."

"Once the land is acquired, give me three months and enough manpower, and I guarantee that the land will be habitable again, free from evil disturbances."

"Excellent," Alfred nodded in satisfaction, "Alright, let's discuss the rest over dinner."