Leon checked Forcher's body again - his neck was shot through, he was no longer breathing, he was indeed dead.
However, in order to ensure that nothing unexpected would happen, the lord still chopped off Forcher's head with a sword to prevent any disgusting things like resurrection from the dead from happening.
The head and body were separated, and there was nothing unusual.
After all, Forcher is just an ordinary man, without the strange abilities of the three prophets.
Considering Forcher's poor fighting ability, and considering that Frederick said that Forcher had a team of more than 300 people at the beginning - he was probably a smart and charming player, right?
ha……
But what about the players?
In front of the real world, players are nothing.
The lord has long stopped considering things based on the logic in the game. He has long known that it is unreliable!
If you can't integrate into this world and wander around this continent as a player, you are courting death...
How can something written in code be completely consistent with the actual situation?
Each 'partner' has his own things to do and they won't stay in the pub all the time.
There is definitely no need to complete any mission for that relic, and the refugees are not "mission props", they are real people!
Even the elixir of immortality that can be exchanged for dragon tears in the game will have terrible side effects after taking it - Alaric has been driven crazy!
According to what Sarah said before, there were many 'heroes' who called themselves 'Sons of Prophecy' who appeared in the continent of Pendor, but without exception, they all died!
The outlaw knight who did all kinds of bad things and had great sword skills, but was eventually skinned;
The slave trader who relied on his wealth and mercenaries to roam Pendor, but was turned into a palace under the Misty Mountains;
The leader of the snake worship cult who has a knack for witchcraft and even started live streaming to sell goods;
They might all be players...
But in the end, they failed to cause any big waves and only became more topics of ridicule in the tavern.
This Forcher is indeed one of the 'Children of Prophecy'...
But at the same time, he is also a true 'crumb of prophecy'.
Even till the end, he still couldn't have a clear understanding of the world - he probably never encountered a time when he really needed to fight for his life.
Forcher is the so-called "experienced player" who only knows how to play games and uses games as a reference for everything!
He had good initial conditions. He had the Grand Duke's protection when he first appeared. He had no shortage of money or manpower. He also had a wealth of gaming experience...
These are all advantages, but it is probably because of his rich gaming experience that Forcher has a mindset that is deeply ingrained in his bones.
In addition, he had everything he needed beforehand, which meant he never had to face any real danger. The result was that for a long time he didn't realize that what he was facing was no longer a game!
He easily recruited Frederick and obtained the musket bullets from Guangxiao Bay, which undoubtedly deepened his mindset.
It was probably not until he was taught a lesson by the Jatu people that he realized that he could not face the world through gaming.
But now, this veteran player who finally accepted the reality and planned to "farm and develop" was shot to death by Amy with an arrow, and died silently.
This piece of prophecy couldn't make any waves in the continent of Pendor. He was even inferior to those guys who became the laughing stock of the tavern.
Perhaps no one, except the Duke of Alma, would have expressed the slightest regret over his death.
Many people are like this - even if he is treated like a protagonist, he will just fool around.
However, this player did leave some good inheritance to the Lord.
The matchlock gun is certainly a good thing, and it is what the lord is looking for.
In fact, Leon even felt that perhaps the two goddesses Eunomia and Astalia had indeed been taking care of him...
Did the goddess specially arrange for Forcher to deliver the goods to her?
By the way, an old swordsman was also given as a gift?
Oh, and saved a life.
By the way, although Forcher is dead, he is still useful!
Leon looked at Forcher's body, sat there and thought seriously for a long time, then called Frederick again.
"Fredry, you should have met Duke Alma. Does he know what Forcher did?"
Frederick shook his head hesitantly. "The Duke probably only knows a small part. At the end of last year, he asked Forcher to help him do a lot of things. At that time, Forcher had not done so many bad things. But after going to the Fog City, he was injured in the arena and stayed in the Fog City for a while. He was separated from the Duke. Duke Alma probably doesn't know anything about what happened afterwards."
Apparently, when Duke Alma was in charge, Forcher was still relatively normal, probably to maintain his "favorability".
So at that time he just took people to visit taverns and look for treasure chests everywhere, and sent people to complete the "tasks" assigned by Alma - such as building a bridge at the border of Jatu Grassland and sending bandits to seize Changhe Town.
Without Alma's restraint, he probably started to let himself go and started to create refugees...
Although Alma is not a good person, his plans are all for power and he will not do evil at will. If he were by Forcher's side, he would definitely not allow Forcher to do these things.
"Then Duke Alma probably doesn't know about this manor?"
The Lord pointed to the building that was still burning.
"No one here knows that all these murders and arson were done by Forcher himself. In fact, the Duke scolded Forcher for his previous evil act of 'creating refugees'. That's why Forcher has been staying here all this time, saying that the son of prophecy can get by without relying on the Duke."
Frederick shook his head and said, "But now, without the Duke's protection, he will be finished immediately..."
He would definitely be scolded for doing such a thing, as he was also "creating refugees" in a village belonging to the Duke of Alma. The fact that Alma didn't skin him alive was already true love.
"And have you ever seen Lord Fawcett?"
Li Ang's eyes lit up.
Frederick nodded again. "I met him once. Forcher wanted to invite him to a banquet and establish a good relationship with him, but Lord Fothert didn't like to associate with Forcher, and the two sides didn't have much friendship."
Li Ang smiled: "That's good!"
It was inevitable that Fothergill was unwilling to associate with Foucher.
The Duke of Alma did not shy away from letting people know about Foucher's illegitimate son, but illegitimate children had no inheritance rights, so Fouchet, the legitimate heir, naturally would not care about him.
It is natural that Fothert would be somewhat dissatisfied with his father's love for his illegitimate son and would not want to associate with Foucher.
Moreover, the people of the Horton family certainly have no good feelings towards Forcher - most of them even want him dead because he slaughtered the Horton family's village!
But for Duke Alma, it is a good thing to have a gangster boss in the family, as many dirty jobs that are inconvenient to solve can be done by Foucher.
Alma probably arranged it this way on purpose. The legitimate son is an orthodox noble knight, and the illegitimate son is a gangster, so both sides can play a role. No one in the family likes Foucher, which is a good thing in a sense, because there will be no disputes over inheritance rights in the family.
This is actually much smarter than the way Count Oden operated.
However, precisely because this Grand Duke was extremely cunning, the lord decided to cause him more trouble.
For example, let him know that Forcher died in the jurisdiction of Lion Lake City.
It's a simple matter - just have Frederick take Forcher's body away and dump it near Lion Lake City.
"Fredry, take Forcher's body to Lion Lake City and hand it over to Forset or anyone in the Horton family, and then come to the manor to find me immediately."
After taking a look at Forcher's body, Leon added: "If anyone asks, just tell the truth."
"Tell the truth?!"
All the people of Mettenheim, including Frederick, were shocked: "Sir, are you going to go to war with Duke Alma?"
Li Ang spread his hands: "Why start a war... Don't worry, Alma doesn't want to cause trouble for me..."
Your Excellency the Lord is very certain about this matter.
Only Amy was not surprised. She was probably the only one who could understand the Lord's intentions.
Because Li Ang has been telling her to get used to thinking from other people's perspectives.
Many of those pirates and members of the Red Brotherhood have escaped, and they will definitely report the battle here to Duke Alma, so Leon will let Frederick tell the truth.
The pirates who escaped on the boat must have seen Forcher fall into the lake. They knew that Forcher was either captured or killed, but not burned to death.
Moreover, all the survivors knew that it was a nobleman holding the black and white griffin flag who had a conflict with Forcher, and this nobleman seemed to know Forcher.
So lying is not okay.
Alma knew the black and white griffin flag, so Alma knew that Forcher had a conflict with Leon.
But this obvious truth can sometimes be misleading...
Of course, Grand Duke Alma knew that Leon must know Forcher and knew that Forcher was his son - Alma had watched the athletic competition in the Fog City.
What would Alma think if Forcher was still killed by Leon after his men fled?
How could a small baron deliberately kill the Duke's son after winning the victory if no one instructed him to do so?
But Forcher had no fatal conflict with Leon or Godric, or any other nobles in the eastern region.
Moreover, Forcher died in the jurisdiction of Lion Lake City - so, in the eyes of Duke Alma, who is the most suspicious mastermind behind the scenes?
Who else could it be… Of course it’s the filial son Fothergill!
Anyone in this situation would inevitably suspect this filial son...
You know, the Duke of Alma had just been tricked by Fothergill and was charged with harboring heretics.
The lord often wrote letters to Fosette and led the garrison in Changhe Town to join Fosette.
Moreover, Fawcett had just provided Leon with a large amount of food - anyone would probably suspect that he used the food to instruct Leon to kill people!
Because Alma dotes on her illegitimate son, and Fawcett exposes Mrs. Bella's affairs, the family loses the best chance to obtain Changhe Town, so Fawcett is about to lose Alma's trust.
So he first accused Alma to the king, making it impossible for him to escape.
Then bribe others to kill the favored illegitimate child - since Forcher once ravaged the Houghton family's village, killing Forcher would gain the support of other family members.
And he took advantage of this period to win over the forces within the family, thus using a coercive attitude to protect his inheritance rights...
Isn’t this reasonable?
The motive for murder and the person who made the biggest profit both point to Fawcett, who has everything he needs - on the contrary, it is Leon who has neither the motive for murder nor the biggest profiteer.
With Alma's brain that has been studying conspiracies for a long time, he would definitely think that Leon might just be an executor, and not even necessarily the final executor...
Because Fothert was beheaded after being shot in the neck - if Fother had died after being shot, there would be no need to be beheaded!
In Alma's eyes, the biggest possibility is that Leon did not kill Forcher, but shot and captured him...
Then, the person was handed over to the mastermind behind the scenes.
And what about Fotherg?
He had seldom interacted with Forsert in the first place, and knowing that Forsert was dead, he would probably be secretly happy, but he would definitely think that something was wrong - Forsert died in the north of the kingdom, in the jurisdiction of Lion Lake City!
He might cover it up, or he might take the initiative to tell Alma that it had nothing to do with him...
But no matter what he did, it would only deepen the suspicion.
Yes, many things are like this, in fact everyone sees the truth, but everyone will doubt the 'real truth'!
The key is - everything is told truthfully.
Don't spread rumors, don't lie, everything is true, but this can make these people doubt the truth.
This kind of simple but quick-acting thing can of course be done quickly.
Frederick took the body to Lion Lake City, and the round trip took only three days. When he returned to the manor, he happened to see Leon loading grain onto the ship.
After returning Forcher's body and terminating this unpleasant employment relationship, Frederick felt as if a burden had been unloaded and felt much more relaxed.
But at this moment, he looked hesitant again.
His previous uneasiness was due to the fact that he had helped Forcher do evil in order to complete his mission.
And now, the food here is about to change hands... and he still hasn't completed his mission.
Li Ang dispatched the fleet from Changhe Town to transport grain to the manor. By crossing this flat lake, the grain can be directly sent back to Maixiangling.
The manor has a large cellar, which stores the freshly harvested wheat.
"Sir, there are more than 400,000 pounds of food here. I..."
Frederick looked at the lord and seemed to want to ask for food, but he couldn't open his mouth - his current status was equivalent to that of a forgiven prisoner, and it would be unreasonable to make any requests.
Li Ang could see what he was thinking and shook his head. "Of course I'm willing to help you, but Mettenheim is across the ocean and we can't transport the food. We have to transport it to the port by carriage first, and then transport it back to Mettenheim by ship. But this manor is 2,000 miles away from any port on the mainland. I'm afraid there will only be empty carriages left after we transport it there!"
Freddy, Klose and others sighed in unison.
Indeed, the grain from this estate could not be transported to Mettenheim.
Long-distance land transportation is too time-consuming and too slow.
Mettenheim is too far away. How much food can be successfully transported after two thousand miles of land transportation and then thousands of miles of ocean transportation...
"Sir, can you help me think of a solution? Our hometown is in trouble, and we can't just sit there and watch..."
It was Klose who spoke, and the other Mettenheim people nodded together, indicating that they all wanted to contribute to their motherland.
After all, Mettenheim is a country that has only been independent for a few decades, and the patriotic enthusiasm of its people is indeed unmatched by other countries.
But Li Ang is just a small lord now, and he wants to help a county...
This is really not easy...
So the people of Mettenheim did not hold out much hope, and Klose just wanted his boss to help him with some ideas.
The lord naturally could not remain indifferent to the request of his own capable subordinate.
"This is a difficult matter. Let me think about it..."
He is indeed thinking of a solution seriously.
But the Lord is not trying to be a good guy, nor is he trying to win over his subordinates.
He wanted to take advantage of the metallurgical technology of the Mettenheim people!
The small island nation of Mettenheim is not very large and has a small population, said to be only 50,000 to 60,000 people.
The entire country itself is just a larger earldom. The volcanic islands have little arable land but are rich in minerals.
Although it is a small country with a small population, their metal smelting technology can be regarded as the world's leading. It is said that the Mettenheim Plate Armor and Dueling Sword can make the Noldor elves amazed - the actual combat ability is comparable to the enchanted equipment of the Noldor.
Leon's Griffin Sword was considered by Klose to be the highest quality weapon he had ever seen, but Frederick's duel sword had clashed with the Griffin Sword twice but was not hurt at all by the Griffin Sword.
This was enough to illustrate their forging level - the dueling sword was merely the standard weapon of the Mettenheim Death Squad, but this griffin sword was clearly an heirloom of the royal family of the ancient Pendor Kingdom.
Moreover, in the confrontation with the Barclay Empire, the Mettenheim people also built ironclad ships!
Of course, in the era without steam power, ironclad ships powered by sails and oars could only operate in the near seas and could not sail on the oceans, but this was enough for them to continue to defeat Barclay's powerful navy.
You know, the navy of the Barclay Empire is now starting their great voyage of colonization!
If a nation that can create the Mettenheim duel sword and ironclad ships is given the technical structure and samples, perhaps they will be able to mass-produce muskets!
Li Ang told Amy that the standard for looking at profit and loss nowadays is not whether or not money is made, but whether it is possible to achieve the goal.
That matchlock gun is the most precious legacy that Forcher, the "crumb of prophecy", left to the lord.
According to Frederick, this was Buckley's latest model of matchlock gun.
This veteran who had long fought against Buckley's army had seen this weapon before. A year ago, Buckley's army was equipped with this kind of musket.
The people of Mettenheim actually also attach great importance to this epoch-making weapon. The class consciousness of this emerging county is not so stubborn, and they are willing to use any weapon to strengthen themselves.
But they did not have time to start imitating - Mettenheim's biggest problem at the moment was famine, and they also had to find a way to repel powerful enemies, leaving them with no time to spare.
Therefore, the Lord is of course willing to help them.
Although what he can do is limited, maybe his help can just solve Mettenheim's urgent problem?
This is timely help!