Pirate Kingship.

Chapter 572: Cleopatra of the Desert and Black Friday
"Byron, what's wrong? What's making you laugh so happily all of a sudden?"

Catherine and Byron gave Atahualpa some advice.

He was also warned not to go back to Cusco, the royal city of Cusco, which is too close to Machu Picchu, the city in the sky, as it is prone to local high temperatures of 4000 degrees Celsius and can be very hot to death if one is not careful.

It was agreed that he would be able to gather enough equipment for ten heavy-armored combined battalions, and a team of banker advisors would also be delivered when the trapdoor was opened at the end of the month.

The latter hung up the phone happily, ready to make a big splash in the Solar Empire.

The brother and sister landed lightly on a small island not far from the east coast.

Byron helped his sister sit on a smooth rock, half-knelt on the ground and pinched her slender ankles, preparing to help her change into a pair of high heels.

The two grew up together in a coastal city, running wildly on the private beach of the prince's territory all day long. Byron followed his sister around since he was a child, holding her shoes like a shoe boy.

As he is now the emperor of two empires, it is natural for him to do such things and he does not feel that there is anything wrong with it.

He took out a pair of spare crystal high heels from his pocket space and took off the remaining shoe on Catherine's left foot.

The five toes are crystal clear and slender, and the curved instep is as white and smooth as a crescent moon.

The toes are painted a bright rose red, which is as stunning as a beautiful rose covered with dew. Holding it in the hand is as delicate and lovely as a work of art. Once you catch it, you won’t want to let it go.

Byron held Catherine's feet, and she felt the scorching heat spreading upward along the white soles of her feet, dyeing her white bare feet, tender calves, and even her beautiful cheeks red.

My breathing became slightly heavier, and my whole body began to emit a sweet fragrance.

Although she had been a child bride and had been married for nearly twenty years, Catherine was never as open-minded as Violet, who was born a pirate princess, and was particularly shy.

Byron found it very interesting and was about to pinch it hard when he suddenly seemed to see something interesting in front of his eyes and was slightly startled.

After waiting for a long time, Catherine found that Byron had not moved. When she couldn't help but wanted to retract her bare feet, Byron came back to his senses and laughed.

The girl immediately realized that Byron must have switched perspectives just now, as his attention was drawn to other incarnations or to what was happening around the two ravens and the two giant wolves.

But in the past, any interesting or important information would be shared with her and Violet through the Golden Triangle as soon as possible. But this time, no one did so, which made her even more curious, so she asked directly.

“No, nothing.

It's just that Wu Ni has already locked onto the 'traitor' [the one whose name cannot be mentioned] and is following him to his core lair."

Byron had just seen through the eyes of Dominic Toulon the "rapist" who had fled from the Elysee Palace in a panic, and who knew how much torture he had suffered from Louis XI, and who was still limping when he walked.

The "rapist" used his own power to seize the identity and existence of the male favorite Nicholas, but his "divine side" was born because of the backlash of the fate of the "Winged Angel".

In the past, when Raven went to Florence to chase him, because of their power, they could not find each other even if they passed each other.

Now, he can clearly observe the other party at a close distance through the "divine side".

As for "human treachery", Raven is still an invisible transparent person.

This time, evil will be punished by evil.

That "traitor" who had killed countless kings and heroes in history and even secretly murdered at least two ancestors of the Lancaster family was obviously having a miserable time when he fell into the hands of Louis XI.

The greater the interference he exerts on fate, the greater the corrective force fate will give him in return.

The "natural disasters" in the past might not have killed him, but now the "man-made disasters" can make his life worse than death!
If Byron didn't want to alert the enemy for the time being, he would have published his experience directly to all the tabloids:
"A young man from the Elysee Palace fled in the middle of the night, covering his buttocks. Is this a moral decline or a distortion of human nature?"

The Story One Man and Another Man Have to Tell

"Shocked! After reading his story, both men and women were silent."

This kind of story is what the romantic Iris people love to hear the most. It is enough to make the "traitor" completely socially dead, and the anchor that has been painstakingly built for many years will be broken in an instant.

It is even possible that he might fall into depravity and lose control on the spot.

But it’s not convenient to tell Catherine the inside story. The relationship between girls is called lily blossoms, but the relationship between men is called chrysanthemums.

It's better for her to know less about this kind of thing.

Although Catherine was a little suspicious, she felt that Byron had received professional training and would not laugh casually no matter how funny it was, unless he couldn't help it. He must have something happy that he didn't share with her.

But he didn't pester her, just said eagerly:

"Since we've caught him by the tail, why don't we take action now?
The two of us together are at least equivalent to five normal level five warriors walking on one leg. It will be no problem to take down a crippled one of them."

Byron was not in a hurry to take action. Instead, he took a look at the multiple timelines presented in the [Sunstone Calendar] and determined the opponent's most likely subsequent actions based on the details.

"Don't rush into it, a person's behavior patterns are usually hard to predict.

But when he was injured, he would have to return to the base camp, which he believed to be the safest and most secretive, to lick his wounds.

We take this opportunity to find out his identity, origin, all the forces under his command, the source of forbidden knowledge, and his motives for betraying humanity.

Moreover, the 'traitor' and the forces under his command are the important support of the [Life-threatening Clown] in the material world.

Killing him alone is not enough. It would be best if I could eradicate this force before I leave for the East Continent so that I can set off with peace of mind."

And there is one more thing Byron didn't say.

Both his aunt and cousin hope that he can inherit the throne of the Iris Kingdom.

It would be hypocritical for Byron to say that he cared about the feelings of his relatives and did not want this rich land and its 20 million people who could be converted into believers and strength.

For an offshore country like the Kingdom of Hastings, which has inherent deficiencies and lacks strategic depth and resource endowment, it actually has no other choice but to be a "troublemaker".

If one wants to become the world hegemon, vast land that will not rebel and a large population are necessary prerequisites.

Only in this way can we ensure that once new technology emerges, we can immediately turn the technology into reality with the help of the huge domestic market, complete industrial chain, and industrial structure without shortcomings.

They may even sell the product at a rock-bottom price, leaving other competitors with no way out.

Otherwise, no matter how much it develops, there will be a limit, and it can only watch itself being replaced by the second or third "world factory".

Therefore, within the core ruling area, the more territories that can bring positive returns, the better.

The North Sea Empire in a narrow sense is the five Gulf countries, but the countries along the North Sea coast also include regional powers Iris and the Netherlands.

"It's not that I want to have my feet on multiple boats, I just want to give every country and its citizens a warm home.

What’s wrong with that?”

However, it is impossible for Byron to restart the war at this critical juncture and use military means to continue the love-hate relationship between Hastings and Iris, thus wasting the limited strength of mankind.

However, he would also be happy to see the "traitor" and Louis XI "turn love into hatred" and start a fight to the death, or even die together.

As long as Iris has no legal heir, then his chance will come.

As for the affection between distant relatives?
What is that? I have never heard of it.

The reason why the throne was regained without relying on external aid from the Valois royal family was not so that the king could be independent and not be interfered with by any external factors when making important decisions.

As for the issue of old revolutionary areas loving to chop off kings’ heads?

Am I afraid of being beheaded? What a joke!

“I always feel that the throne of Iris is more suitable for the dreamy title of [Sun King].

Conquering an empire where the sun never sets and becoming the Sun King is the beginning of 'I am the state'."

Byron was thinking this in his mind as he deftly helped his sister put on her crystal high heels and helped her stand up.

Just as Byron was about to inspect the production base of the Standard Whale Oil Company before returning home, his [Divine Vision], which could cover an area of ​​dozens of kilometers, suddenly discovered a noise coming from the other end of the island.

With just a glance, you can take in the entire scene over there.

A group of the old gods' followers, with skin of white, brown, and black, and with a very complex ethnicity, pushed a young man who looked like a mixed-race child to the foot of a pointed pyramid.

Each of these clansmen was blind in one eye. The remaining eye was gleaming with pale golden light. They stared at the "prisoner" and asked sternly:

"Tell me quickly, where did your accomplice take the things?"

A huge fourth-order mythical creature with a human face, a lion body, eagle wings, but no eyes, was circling around the young man, as if choosing where to attack him.

Seeing their appearance, Byron and Catherine couldn't help but frowned:

"What a coincidence, it's actually the Blind Church that believes in the Eagle-Headed God and the Lion-Headed Goddess and the clan that loves to self-mutilate the most, the Blind?"

As the Luoyan Era approaches, secrets are revealed one after another, and they learn more and more about the various old god churches.

The core duty of the old god Horus, the Blind One and the Falcon-Headed God, is that of a sky god, so his eyes represent the sun and the moon respectively.

Whenever a new moon appears, he will become a blind man and become the "Blind Man".

In order to express their worship to the gods, the Blind Church likes to dig out the eyeballs of their enemies after defeating them, or sacrifice the [Blind Man] or [Eagle-Headed God] in a bloody slaughter.

Finally, all the enemies' eyeballs will be dug out as sacrifices and food, some will be offered to the gods, and some will be enjoyed by themselves.

They are ruthless to their enemies and to themselves as well.

All believers will dig out one of their eyes when they join the religion, just as everyone here has only one eye, and the other eye socket is empty.

When they are promoted to the fourth level, they will sacrifice their last eye, completely abandoning their sense of sight, allowing them to gain the ability to peek into the future.

In addition to the most common humanoid [Eyeless], there are two main types of fourth-tier mythical creatures:

A type of creature with a human face, lion body, and eagle wings, usually a male.
The other type is the Griffin, which has an eagle's head, wings and claws, and a lion's body, and includes both male and female characters.

What they have in common is that they all have no eyes. This should be a forbidden route that combines the God King [Falcon-headed God] Horus and the God Queen [Lion-headed Goddess] Hathor.

Just like [Leviathan, the Rift Whale] has both mythical forms of the Witch of Disaster and Tidehunter.

The Sphinx stared at the captive with its eyeless eyes and asked coldly:

"Do you know that the Blind Church serving our Lord [Hawk-Headed God] and the Rotten Swamp Tombs serving [Jackal God] are both looking for you and your accomplices?

Tell me, where did you hide the crystal skull that contains the "power of the underworld" of the Beast Paradise of the Southern Continent?

Speaking out can save you some pain.”

Hearing this, Byron raised his eyebrows.

While Atahualpa was searching for the remaining three crystal skulls, he discovered that Skull Number Nine [Death] had disappeared from the east coast and immediately reported the situation to him.

Unexpectedly, I found a clue here by accident.

I can't help but sigh that although others don't know the epic that the crystal skull corresponds to and cannot use the power of the relic, there are still people who recognize its value.

Especially for the god of death [Jackal God] who has regained his sanity, the holy relics are unimportant, but the authority inside is the key to prying open the natives of the southern continent.

Its significance is far more important than a single second-level relic.

However, the plan of the Old God Church obviously went wrong, as an unknown force intervened and stole the things and took them to the East Continent.

Byron guessed that the one most likely to do bad things to the old gods was a human kingdom on the Eastern Continent that was the first to be hit by the Luan Dynasty.

Only they have the motivation and ability.

Seeing the prisoner pursed his lips and remained unmoved, the Sphinx grinned maliciously and continued:
“According to the rules, as long as you can guess my riddle correctly, I will not harm you, but if you answer incorrectly, your flesh, blood and wisdom will belong to me.

Now please listen to the question.

What animal walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?
When his legs are most active, that is also when he walks the slowest and has the weakest physical strength.

As our Sphinx's secret riddle, no one has been able to answer this question so far. I sincerely hope that you can be the lucky one. "

The young man obviously also knew the Sphinx's killing rules. He pondered for a while, gritted his teeth, and finally spoke out a tentative answer:
"A lame lion?"

The Sphinx opened its mouth and showed a creepy smile:

"wrong answer!"

Just wave your claws.

"what--!"

Accompanied by the young man's howl, the Sphinx gouged out his two eyes in an instant and stuffed them into its mouth with great satisfaction.

Then he ate it till he had a good chew, and everything that this eye had ever seen came into his mind.

After searching carefully for a while, he suddenly turned his head to look in the direction of the East Continent and muttered:
“The things were actually sent to the Desert Empire, the largest desert in the world that is beyond the reach of even the deep sea.

And the mastermind behind the scenes is [Sedge River Flower Snake] and [Queen] Cleopatra VII?
Is she also the "most beautiful woman in the world" who is recognized by the collective subconscious of mankind, possesses infinite charm, and has captured countless admirers?

Things are a bit troublesome."

When Byron and Catherine accidentally learned a secret of the Eastern Continent, another raven, Fukuin, also swaggered into the Palace of Vermillion.

Standing outside the window, I saw my bedridden "great uncle" [King Victorious] Charles VII.

Long-term illness and torture made him emaciated and pale. Not only did he lose the bearing of a king, but he looked like a dried corpse.

As the King of Iris, he is not without the conditions to seek help from black magic.

But the root of his illness was simply because he was too old. It was rare for a person to live to be seventy years old. His life was coming to an end and his energy was running out. Ordinary black witchcraft from overseas could not save him at all.

At this moment, it seemed to have sensed the presence of the raven. It opened its hazy eyes and looked out the window without any focus, murmuring softly and dryly from its throat:
"Joan. You. Are you here to pick me up?"

Although the famous saying: "Irises can only win battles under the leadership of women, foreigners, and dwarfs" is not objective.

But without Joan of Arc's support, the "King of Victory" might never have been able to sit on the throne of Iris in his entire life.

Until now, the land of Iris has been the private property of Lancaster.

But when Joan of Arc was captured at Hastings, then tried and burned at the stake, Charles VII did not rescue her.

When he was dying, he seemed to still find it hard to let go of this matter.

Byron thought of Joan of Arc, who was resurrected in the form of a legend in the Corridor of Truth by the Jackal God, and found it difficult to judge the grievances and hatreds of the older generation.

In the end, he just collected a strand of "great uncle's" hair and flapped his wings and flew to the meeting room.

Louis XI had been conspiring here with his trusted ministers for some time.

"Everyone, the intelligence personnel I have planted inside the Poor Knights have reported that the Knights have determined that the legendary Paladin Grand Master [Holy Fist] Grover will never return.

The Knights Templar were about to convene a meeting at their headquarters in the coastal town of Tulip Castle to elect a new Grand Master.

We will be here when the time comes to capture all the Knights in one fell swoop!"

The ministers had no objection.

All the countries have more or less secretly controlled ghost ships, which have obtained passes to travel to the edge of the world.

Even if Byron didn't say it, the whereabouts of Noah's Ark and the legends of various countries have gradually spread.

Many ghost ships have seen the orange-red patch next to the "bottomless pit" when entering and exiting the edge of the world.

Even though the source of the undead blessing on the [Holy Fist] is the top-level zero-level holy relic [Golden Ark of the Covenant].

It contains the foundation of the Silver Law and the [Slate of the Holy Word] engraved with the Ten Commandments of God and Man, which even a demigod would find difficult to break.

But they were very sure that even if the church held the power over the "earth", there would be no saint who was afraid of death and would save him.

Falling to the edge of the world and unable to come back is no different from being dead.

So when the final vote came, everyone agreed.

"Seconded!"

"Seconded."

Everyone's face was filled with excitement.

The Poor Knights are the Iris Kingdom's biggest creditor. Coincidentally, their headquarters is located within the Iris Kingdom.

Even including [Holy Fist] Grover, most of the members of the Poor Knights are Iris people.

The Order of the Holy Poor owns more than 870 castles and manors or territories in the church countries. It also opened up the earliest financial industry and is one of the most financially powerful international organizations.

The annual net income is close to 10 million pounds, far exceeding the fiscal revenue of many kingdoms.

While occupying a large amount of Iris's commercial interests and enjoying tax exemption rights, the Knights have become a huge destabilizing factor that has shaken the royal power.

No matter who sits on the throne, it is impossible to tolerate the continuous growth of this huge economic, political, religious and military organization complex.

Moreover, the Knights not only have their own money, but also the money of countless depositors and the loan contracts of loan customers.

This time, by using the trick of making the creditor disappear, Iris will not only not have to pay back the debt, but will also gain a huge fortune that is enough to rival a country.

When the time comes, I will use a fire dragon to burn the deposit certificates of those savings customers. What do you want to find about the Poor Knights? What does it have to do with me, Iris?

Then take the loan contract to find those loan customers, and don’t pay a penny less!
This means that deposits can disappear, but loans must be repaid.

Louis XI made the final decision:
“The election meeting will begin next Friday, and the action will also be on that day.

Codenamed 'Black Friday Project.'"

The Chancellor of the Exchequer added with a smile:
“Once the news gets out, the financial sector in the online financial street’s stock market will surely suffer a horrible fall.

Everyone, don’t forget to sell your shares in advance, hahaha.”

This caused the ministers to burst into laughter.

The top three stocks in the financial sector are:

The "United Bank of the Netherlands" controlled by the Remites, the "Pioneer Bank" managed by Catherine, and the only one left is the "International Bank of the Holy Cross" under the name of the Poor Knights, which is also the earliest multinational bank in the world.

By then, even the Knights Templar and the bank’s money will be gone, won’t the situation be very bad?

However, the Bay God King Woden is the root source of "Wednesday", while the Queen of Gods Frigga is the root source of "Friday".

Byron and Catherine's code names on the online financial street are Mr. Wednesday and Ms. Friday.

Choosing such a code name is no different from pointing at "Ms. Friday"'s nose and yelling, "Cuckold! Cuckold!"

After hearing their arrangement through the raven's ears, Ms. Friday didn't know whether she would be cuckolded, but her fist was already hardened.

Start sharpening your knives and get ready to unplug the "network cable" of the Iris Kingdom at any time!
This is the power of being both an athlete and a referee.

But before that, a piece of good news made the two of them put all the mess behind them and return to the industrial center, Torrent Fortress, as soon as possible.

——The Difference Engine and Analytical Engine are about to complete their final assembly and roll off the production line successfully!

(End of this chapter)