Chapter 480 If You Can’t Defeat Gretel, Let’s Fight the Cowpox First!

A week later, [Viper] Arezzo sat under the desk lamp and silently opened his notebook.

February 15th, playing cards in the tavern.

February 16th, playing cards in the tavern.

February 17th, playing cards in the tavern.

February 18th...You can't be so decadent anymore! cheer up! Find a way!

February 19th, playing cards in the tavern.

On February 20, cards were played in the tavern.

Well……

In fact, it's not that he didn't work at all... At least, Mr. [Viper] was very serious about going out early and coming back late every day to observe the target person's activity patterns.

Hiding outside the mage tower in the morning, watching Gretel riding the Silver Moon Deer, passing through the wilderness like a gust of wind, heading straight to the Oak Grove Medical Research Institute;

Hiding in the woods outside the hospital at night, I watched Gretel ride the Silver Moon Deer, rush into the wilds at a speed that was not slow at all, and rush back to the Mage Tower at full speed;

Or the hospital in the morning, the Mage Tower in the evening; the hospital in the morning, the hospital in the evening...

The big deer, with a shoulder height of more than two meters and an horns spread of nearly four meters, was obviously a mid-level or close to high-level monster. The fighting ability is not weak, and the running ability is stronger.

Arezzo estimated that if it ran with all its strength, even if he could catch up with it, his traces would definitely be exposed...

Although the target is not worthy of this mount at all.

Mr. Arezzo could clearly see that every time he got on and off the mount, Grete would either climb up the deer's back on the steps, be carried up by a barbarian, or be picked up by a silver moon deer... without any external force, he Can't even climb up!

By the way, there's that barbarian!

Every time the target travels, there are either two or three people on the back of the Silver Moon Deer. Barbarians are also close to high-level warriors, full of energy and vigilance. With the close protection of soldiers, it is more than twice as difficult to kill the mage.

And that elf beauty. Although I don't know how strong she is from a distance, but occasionally I glance back at the deer's back, and her eyes shine brightly, which makes me feel chilled in my heart.

Mr. Arezzo felt that it was better to be more careful. It was best to be unaware and kill with one blow, traveling thousands of miles away. He [Viper] Arezzo cannot do that kind of rough work that alarms the whole city before he succeeds, causing a large number of hidden piles to be uprooted...

By the way, what was the name of that idiot who killed half the city's hidden piles before? Forget it, that's not important.

The important thing is that the target is really not easy to get close to. Mr. Arezzo made and overturned plans, overturned and made them again, shaking his head again and again:

A wheel broke while the truck was traveling and it overturned and blocked the road?

The funeral procession passed by carrying a coffin. When it reached the target, the coffin fell over?

A rich man's bodyguard chases a thief and gets closer to his target?

Creating these accidents, blending in with the crowd, sneaking up on them, and killing them with one strike is Mr. Viper's specialty. However, the target only walks in the wilderness, and the speed is fast. Warcraft that are close to high-level cannot be brought down by traps, traps, etc...

Forget it, it's better than staying in the mage tower and not going out for 365 days a year. Mr. Arezzo shook his head and continued playing cards in the tavern.

In the smoke, many half-truths and miscellaneous news quietly spread out.

"One to six."

"One to eight. ...Have you heard that those big guys are trying to steal money from us again?"

"A pair of nine. ...What month doesn't it take for them to do it? Do you want to do business in the city of mages without being robbed of money by magicians?"

"A pair of queens... To be honest, Nevis is a fairly well-behaved place. As long as you pay your taxes on time, there won't usually be any big problems. If it were anywhere else, I could swallow you up in one bite, and you won't have time to reason." go."

"No... This is true. But this time it was scratched too hard. It is said that an additional tax of eight to nine million gold coins will be levied!"

"Eight to nine million!!! What happened? Is the Guanghui Cult calling again?"

"No!... It seems like someone from above said that everyone in the city should be vaccinated against smallpox. You know, for one gold coin, there are so many poor people in the city, and this money must not fall on us? - —Three fours and a pair of threes.”

"Three sevens and one pair of sixes. - That's too many! There are eight people in our family, and I have paid out eighty gold coins. Do you still want to scratch my money? If I had known, I would have waited until one gold coin per person. Go again when the time comes!”

"Three 10s and a pair of 8s. Doesn't this force us to support those poor people? We were asked to pay for public toilets and tap water last time, and we are still asked to pay this time! Nobles do not pay, temples do not pay, they are just squeezed us!"

Mr. Arezzo finished the game and quietly got up with a small profit of two silver coins. He walked into the toilet, turned his coat inside out, put on a fake beard, smeared it on his face and hair a few times, and bent his waist. When I walked out, I had become a different person.

Mr. [Viper] squeezed through the crowd and ordered a glass of Dunbar wine at the bar. While drinking, he naturally stepped aside and joined the chat of another group of drinkers:

"By the way, have you ever heard that...the stuff injected into our bodies is made from cows?"

"What? On a cow?!"

"Why don't you know? It's written above the "Ordinary Magician..." thing!"

"Those magicians are so abominable, they bully us without being able to see, and they wantonly squeeze money out of us!"

"Forget about the money! - My maid has a cousin, and her sister-in-law was sown. It is said that starting from the punctured place on her arm, a thick layer has grown, like cowhide! Now it has It’s grown up to my entire arm!”

"Is it so scary?"

"Do you think those magicians will trick us into planting this, and then ask us to pay a ransom when we are about to turn into cows?"

"...Isn't that true? The great mages are still reasonable. Besides, there are legendary mages watching!"

"But I heard that the person who came up with this thing is a necromancer! He's from the Plague School!"

"The Necromancer..." The drinkers collectively shuddered, and even those who were originally drunk were frightened to wake up. Then, Mr. Arezzo saw several drunkards staggering around, each looking for a reason to leave the tavern, probably to think of something to do.

...Are you so afraid of the Necromancer?

Mr. Arezzo burst into laughter. He wandered along, left the tavern, and returned to his residence. Not long after, he changed his appearance and appearance, got on the carriage, and went to the club to play cards and chat.

Even without him fanning the flames, some undercurrents of worry are quietly spreading in the city of Nevis. Real money speaks loudest. Who will pay for the additional cost of eight to nine million gold coins?

Even if the council could reduce the cost by half, it would still cost four to five million, right? Lower it by half, two to three hundred thousand?

That's a gold coin! Not copper! And it’s an additional levy on top of normal taxes! You know, with two to three thousand gold coins, you can buy a good set of knight armor, or a manor in the outskirts of Nevis!

The knife will hurt anyone who cuts it!

In a high-end villa in the Garden District, a dozen gentlemen in silk coats passed around a drawing and laughed lowly from time to time:

In the drawing, a woman is rolling up her sleeves to receive a vaccination against cowpox. Around her, five or six people have grown bull noses, horns, heads, and even calves sprouting from various parts of their bodies...

"Mr. Donders is a wonderful writer."

"That woman's expression is so vivid."

"If it's published in the tabloid tomorrow, it will spread to every pub, right?"

"I don't know how many people can be scared..."

"...So, we have to stop this." A gentleman with wool curly hair and a dark blue velvet coat slammed the table. He stood up high, waved his hands, and tried to increase his momentum:

"Even the mages can't do whatever they want... Nevis City is Nevis City for everyone, not just the mages! We can't let them rob money whenever they want, and want to use strange things Inject it into our bodies and pass a bill on the head!”

"Not even if Legend speaks?"

Someone asked quietly below. The speaker's momentum was suffocated, and the white wool curls on his head seemed to turn a little gray. He paused and struggled to answer:

"Legend can't ignore the opinions of all citizens! Nevis City has a population of millions, and he is not the one who has the final say! Mages, temples, nobles, and citizens jointly rule this city. This is the agreement made when the city was founded. It’s written on the first stone tablet at the foot of Igor Peak and at the beginning of the mountain road!”

"The goddess teaches us to be kind and compassionate, and to take care of the poor who have no food or clothing and are sick." Next to the long oval table, another person spoke in a low voice:

"It doesn't make sense to refuse to pay to rid the poor of smallpox just because 'we can resist this' - at the very least, it doesn't make sense to say it to everyone in public."

"You object to my opinion?"

"No. I just wish there was a better reason."

“How about cowpox growing cowhide and horns?”

"It has been confirmed. The horns are a rumor, and they were disguised as clowns in a circus for fun. As for the cowhide, the servants of the God of Nature, the priests of the goddess, and a pharmacist have confirmed that it is just simple dermatitis. Use It’s easily cured with herbs.”

"..."

"It's okay to secretly incite citizens with such flimsy reasons. It's not okay to openly oppose the Parliament. The rules of this world are ultimately in the hands of those with power - attacking the Parliament with fabricated reasons is not a legend. Mage, can’t you kill people?”

The original speaker was speechless and sat silently. On the contrary, the person who refuted him stood up from the shadows, looked around, and raised his voice:

"Gentlemen, ordinary citizens can say that they don't want to pay, and they don't want to pay for the poor. We cannot say this. We need stronger reasons in newspapers, in the square, and in meetings in the city hall. ——”

He paused and looked around. The surrounding audience raised their heads and looked at him with respect:

"To be more specific, we need a more noble reason to support our purpose! Gentlemen, we must be morally impeccable at all times!"

****

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