“The turbulent waves of fate always wash over heroes especially heavily. How can you be timid if you want to lead them to do truly great things?”


    Seeing Murphy’s hesitation about using the adorable little yers to test spirit techniques, Tris immediately rolled her eyes and emphasized:


    “Some of their traits are perfectly tailored for exploring the truths of spirit energy, little Murphy. You can’t constrain how your warriors live their lives, that’s what you said yourself.”


    “But you’re already using them as test subjects. I can’t even imagine what you’ll dare to make them do in the future.”


    Murphy grumbled a little.


    He nced at the scroll of return in his hand, which was full of questionable points. In the end, he didn’t give it back to Tris, but put it into his spirit bag. Then he said to Tris:


    “They probably won’t refuse this kind of consumable item. And this time, I need at least 200!”


    “Hmm, that’s more like it.”


    Tris nodded with satisfaction.Her work here was done, so she nodded goodbye to the administrative staff and returned to the Blood Vulture Halls under the escort of the crazy Bonnie.


    Maxim still needed to discuss the defense arrangements in the city with Guildmaster Natalie and Lady Lainnia. Count Andrei also joined in.


    Murphy didn’t disturb them. He returned to the administrative building in the outer city district with Miriam and Professor Malcolm. On the way, he reconnected to Revnor’s perspective to observe the movements of the gnoll vanguards.


    A few minutester, he withdrew his vision and said to the somewhat worried Crimson Regent Miriam:


    “Those chaotic vanguards will reach the vicinity of Mond Vige in 6 hours at most. The Witch Hunters are retreating to the Crimson Citadel, and our subjects who migrated to the collective farms are also retreating to our city.


    Once they all enter the Crimson Citadel, the poption here will exceed 10,000 for the first time.


    Therefore, you need to coordinate the order of the residents well, Miriam. Treat this ‘gnoll siege’ as a drill before the ck Disaster arrives. You can let them hide in the rtively safe sewers. If you need it, the Blood Vulture Halls will also open as a temporary shelter.


    Also, I need you to punish those administrative staff who ‘went rogue’st night!


    Although they did indeed contribute to the fight against the Wolfsbane n, I don’t want this kind of ‘insubordination’ to be a bad tradition in Transia.”


    “You have to look at it from another angle, Murphy. Doesn’t this prove that the people have already epted your rule and the order you’ve brought, my lord?”


    Miriam said in a drawn-out voice:


    “They volunteered to join the battle. You should have seen Grayman and his foremen making impassioned speeches in front of me. As far as I know, such proactive requests for battle have been rare in Transia over the past 400 years.


    I will punish those administrative officials who went rogue by sending them to organize the outpost construction in the collective farms, but I think we can promote this incident from another perspective.


    For example, the bravery of the Transian people is reflected in the fact that even our civil officials are not afraid to fight to the death with invading enemies.


    Trust me, Lord Murphy.


    Our people will like this kind of propaganda.


    Having a group of fearless civil officials will make them proud and see it as something worth boasting about.


    Oh, by the way, one more thing. Knight Shovan has returned. His arms smuggling operation was very sessful. Just this morning, he escorted a batch of old supplies from the Goldflower Kingdom border guards back to the city.


    Not only are there enough soldier firearms and ammunition, but he also brought back 8 cannons for us!


    I’m not an expert on these things.


    But I can tell that they should be small-caliber field guns, well-maintained. Perhaps our soldiers should start learning to use this technological marvel now.”


    “Very good. Even our Transian chefs are so martially inclined.”


    Murphy said quietly:


    “Give Shovan and his brother-inw more funds. After the gnoll disaster is over, I need them to go to the Cato and East Prussia regions again, to bring back more simr items for me. By the way, tell those old soldier scoundrels there that if they want to make a living with their fighting skills, I’d be happy to hire them.”


    “If I may say so, my lord,”


    Professor Malcolm reminded at this point:


    “I’ve traveled to many ces, but no matter where, old soldier scoundrels are not trustworthy fellows. It’s hard for them to serve the purpose you want.”


    “It doesn’t matter. Once theye here, some things will be out of their control,”


    Murphy waved his hand casually, revealing a smile, and said:


    “We are vampires.


    We have many ‘traditional’ old methods to cure their bad habits, and I only need some professionals who know how to operate cannons.


    After all, we Transians don’t like these fire-spitting things.


    In the face of the ck Disaster, I can’t refuse these advanced weapons. I must make good use of halfling technology to arm my subjects and my soldiers.


    But learning also needs a process.


    If you two have no doubts about the tasks you will be taking on next, then let’s all take action. The next 3 days will determine the future direction of thisnd.


    I can’t promise you that once we get through this, the sea will be wide open for fish to leap and the sky will be high for birds to fly.


    But I can promise that as long as we survive, many things that could only be nned before can now be put into practice.”


    Miriam and Professor Malcolm nodded. They actually faced many problems but they were smart enough not to bring them up at this time.


    With the gnolls already pressing their forces and arriving at the city gates in at most half a day, bringing up all sorts of problems now would only be asking for trouble.


    And Murphy’s small but elite administrative staff were all very smart.


    After the two left, Murphy also stretched his body and returned to the Blood Vulture Halls toplete today’s fencing training with Necessary Evil as usual, then returned to his office.


    The Count of Kadman, who had appeared full of confidence outside, now had a fallen expression on his face.


    He sat back in his chairining softly, poured himself a ss of wine, and unbuttoned the first button under his neck. But before the wine could reach his mouth, a familiar voice sounded from the shadows in the corner of the room:


    “Are you already under so much pressure? I rarely see you needing wine to relieve stress.”


    Tris walked out of the shadows, ying with her grand duchess scepter. She was carrying a bag of freshly made return scrolls. Murphy put down his wine ss andy on the desk, saying to Tris in front of him:


    “I’m actually not as nervous as you think, just a bit irritated. There’s still no response from the Count of Seicob, which is a pity.


    I was hoping to see the legendary Seicob winged cavalry in action during this war.


    If we had such an imposing and powerful mobile force, we would surely have more advantages when facing the gnoll bandits.”


    “Well, they didn’te indeed, but look on the bright side, at least they didn’t cause any trouble either.”


    Tris tossed the scrolls on the table and took out her delicate elf sk. She sat rather rxed on the edge of the desk, unscrewed the cap and took a swig.


    Then she stopped and looked down. Murphy’s mischievous hand was on her calf.


    “Are you looking for some courage?”


    The Blood Vulture Grand Duchess asked softly, and Murphy answered with his eyes closed:


    “If you’re willing to give me some courage.”


    He felt the smooth and slightly cold skin’s beautiful curves with his fingers. After a few seconds, he said:


    “I have a doubt, unrted to Transia’s current situation. I don’t think I should be pondering other things under these circumstances, but this question keeps lingering in my mind.


    Tris, what do you think Lord Payne is up to?


    I can understand that he reprimanded old Edward and demanded that bastard send us gifts as a symbol of reconciliation. This means that the Lord used his authority to provide us with a little protection. At least before the ck Disaster breaks out, we don’t have to worry about the threat of small actions from the Wolfsbane n.


    But why did Lord Payne send the Blood Dread pirates, who have nothing to do with us, to support us as well?


    The Blood Vulture and Blood Dread ns don’t have much history together, do they?”


    “Hmph, you’re overthinking it. The Lord just wanted to give those exiles a chance to return to the maind, and the Blood Dread n has probably been waiting for this opportunity.”


    Tris leaned down and stroked Murphy’s hair.


    She said softly:


    “Don’t worry, little Murphy. You don’t need to think about these things. This is vampire internal affairs, within my jurisdiction, so I’ll help you deal with those guys.


    And if your hand goes any further into my skirt, I’m going to hit you.


    Be a gentleman, kid!”


    “Who was it that just said she’d give me some courage? nning to y the goddess of victory but only getting started? You’re really a cunning witch, Tris.”


    Murphy pouted and rxed back into his chair.


    He closed his eyes and pointed at his lips, seemingly expecting something. Tris looked around and showed a helpless expression as she leaned down and pecked him lightly on the corner of his mouth. But when she tried to withdraw, she found Murphy’s hand had already encircled her slender waist.


    That force was restraining her.


    “Just stay here with me for a while.”


    Murphy said softly, pretending to be pitiful:


    “Look, I’m about to go to war, and I don’t know if I’lle back alive this time. If you deviate a little when casting spells on the night 3 dayster,


    I might also be thrown into the Astral Realm.


    To be honest, Tris, I think we’re really crazy, trying to seek a difficult victory by bombing our own territory, and even if we get this victory, it won’t help our situation much.


    On the contrary, if we lose, everything we’ve worked so hard to build will vanish in an instant.


    I don’t know if other lords had such a hard time developing their territories, but I can be sure that none of them had it as dramatically difficult as I do.


    Sigh, this damn game is really too hardcore.”


    “There has never been a legend casually shaped, nor a country easily established. You’ve already done very well, Murphy.”


    Tris whispered in his ear:


    “Do you need more courage, little Murphy? Open your heart, let me hear what you’re thinking now.”


    “You’ll get angry.”


    “I won’t, trust me. I’ve decided to y your goddess of victory, and I won’t just get started and leave you here. Come on.”


    “Alright.”


    Murphy removed the protection from his mind, exposing his inner voice to Tris.


    The Blood Vulture Grand Duchess allowed Murphy to embrace her, making it convenient for her to rest her head on Murphy’s chest. She listened to those voicesing from his heart, those scattered thoughts jumping on Murphy’s mind.


    The good news was that the lord wasn’t under as much pressure as she had imagined. The bad news was that the part of Murphy’s imagination about her was indeed embarrassing.


    “Too indecent!”


    Tris red at Murphy, and the lord shrugged.


    He had said earlier that Tris would definitely get angry, so he was about to give a small exnation.


    But in the next moment, this 450-year-old vampiredy in his arms flipped over and straddled Murphy’s legs. She looked down at him from above.


    Murphy was a bit startled.


    Then he saw Tris flip her long hair, grip his face with both hands to lift up that handsome face, and lean down to kiss those lips so proactively for the first time.


    This sudden passion startled the vampire.


    But this wasn’t a bad thing for him. Tris said she wanted to y the goddess of victory for a while, and Murphy finally understood what Tris meant.


    Emmmm.


    It seems he really needs some “courage” now.


    And greedily craving for more, as always, the clever Tris always knows clearly how to encourage the young man at home.


    The count’s hands also became less gentlemanly under this vague “encouragement”, like a bold adventurer crossing snowy mountains, walking across ins, and advancing towards the legendary forest along the dim path.


    Such exploration was obviously not allowed in the past.


    But this time it seemed the goddess of victory made a small exception for him, able to caress that smooth porcin-like skin when not stopped.


    This was the first time Murphy knew that vampires could also tremble and breathe heavily from such caresses.


    “Stop!”


    5 minutester, Tris pressed down Murphy’s hand that had an overly strong desire to explore. She straightened up and tidied her disheveled clothes, looking down at him again, saying:


    “Greedy little devil! Are you willing to go get that victory you must have for your grand duchess now?”


    “I feel like you’re some legendary subus, tempting me to do something dangerous, but it’s not like we can’t negotiate. If this is a trade about courage,


    If you’re willing to give me a little more…”


    Murphy shrugged.


    His handsome face once again wore that mischievous smile that only appeared when he was alone with Tris. He held Tris’s waist and rather flippantly and boldly flicked the cor of her top, making the ck garment open before his eyes. Then he lightly kissed the exquisite corbone that was like a work of art.


    But he didn’t continue further.


    The force transmitted from Tris’s fingers tightly gripping his wrist indicated that she was clearly not ready yet.


    Murphy seemed to have regained his gentlemanly demeanor. He said softly:


    “I will conquer the whole world for you, my Tris.”


    “Huh, men.”


    Tris pursed her lips, but she didn’t push him away. She just opened her arms and gently hugged his head, saying softly:


    “I’ll stay in the Crimson Citadel waiting for your triumphant return. As you said, we still have an eternal life to understand each other and enjoy thatpanionship and embrace.


    I know deep down that you won’t stop here, let alone be defeated by a bunch of stupid barbaric gnolls. I know that Transia is just your starting point.


    And I will apany you to the very end.


    Murphy,


    I swear, I will apany you.”


    “So, you finally admit that you’ve fallen for me too, cowardly witch?”


    “Hmm, it’s just like for now. To win the witch’s love, you might need to work a bit harder, little Murphy.”