Alien Knights

Contrary to the conservative style of clothing, the woman's words and deeds are more like a vulgar mercenary.

She walked to the front of the chair, and first made a nondescript greeting to the interviewers. Then, he sat down on the seat, leaned his upper body forward, and faced the king: "I guess the part of self-introduction can be omitted?"

Brother Joe was the first to speak: "The daughter of Barbarossa, the heretics of the Abbasid Empire, the pirates that haunt the golden sea, any one of them can send you to the stake!"

This level of threat can't shake Aisha's will in the slightest. She said confrontationally: "What about the Muxi Kingdom? Atheists, North Island pirates, and demon aliens. If all these people are really to be sentenced to the stake, I am afraid that the entire Moon Creek Plain will be cut down. The forests are not enough to gather so much wood."

Todd looked at the pair of different pupils, and suddenly asked: "You could have used a fake name to apply for this exam, why did you use your real name?"

"There is a proverb in the south, 'The closer the sinner is to the devil, the more conspicuous his soul will be'." Aisha made a scale shape with her hands: "Respected King Muxi, if I am just an ordinary woman, can you allow me to become an official of the kingdom?"

Todd thought, what's wrong with this? Age and gender have never been used as criteria for judging ability.

Just as he was about to say this, he saw Emerson and Qiao beside him, facing Aisha's question, they shook their heads slightly in unison.

Todd also realized in an instant that this is the Middle Ages, and the set of values ​​from the previous life has no place here.

"Youth represents recklessness and ignorance, and women represent weakness and submission. People are like this, and no one can escape." Aisha raised her right hand, pressed it to her heart, and said slowly: "But the name of Barbarossa will allow me to attract the king's attention, and I will have the opportunity to walk into this room and get a chance to show myself."

Todd rubbed his temples: "Miss Hayreddin..."

The woman frowned: "King of Muxi, you can call me Aisha."

Seeing Todd's puzzled face, Aisha said again: "Just because I use my father's name doesn't mean I like that name."

Todd nodded and said, "Okay, Aisha, let's talk about the exam. I've seen your exam paper. You have excellent arithmetic skills and detailed market data. The only thing I don't understand is that in the expansion of Muxi Harbor, your answer is to create hidden reefs and shrink the mouth of the sea. Can you explain?"

The midday sun shines on Aisha's face through the wooden window sill, and the water-blue and amber pupils show two completely different colors.

"That was done to protect the port."

Looking at the interviewers, Aisha explained: "The population of Muxi City exceeds 30,000. A large part of the kingdom's daily supplies, including food, cloth, and spices, needs to be transported by sea. But there are two big problems. First, the coastline of Muxi City exceeds three kilometers, which is difficult to defend; 2. The kingdom's navy is almost non-existent, unable to defend against the enemy. Under such circumstances, if I am the commander of the enemy fleet, I only need to cut off the maritime supply line of Muxi City, and then use kerosene bombs to attack the coast Buildings can achieve the strategic goal of besieging the city.”

For the first time, a serious expression appeared on Emerson's face.

This 22-year-old female pirate actually had the same views as him on the strategic significance of sea passages.

Aisha continued: "In the past, no one paid attention to this area of ​​Muxi Harbor. Because there are few ships sailing here, there are no suitable supply points. But now, the situation has changed."

"The idiots in the North Island who don't know how to make money in a low-key way have obtained the fresh-keeping technology of seafood from Muxi City, allowing those worthless rotten fish and smelly shrimp to be sold at sky-high prices in the south. The nobles in the court and the rich merchants in the market have been jealous for a long time. They have already offered a high price among the pirates to capture a North Island cargo ship."

Todd frowned, thinking about the countermeasures against the attack on the North Island trade route.

Emerson said to Aisha: "You did not take this exam for the official position of the kingdom, did you?"

The latter nodded and said, "That's right, an official position is just a dispensable thing for me."

Emerson stroked his mustache and said, "Your purpose is to get funding from the Muxi Kingdom for you to recruit sailors and build a fleet."

Aisha glanced at the unremarkable old man and said nothing, which meant she acquiesced to Emerson's statement.

"Why should we believe a pirate's words?" Brother Joe didn't seem to have a good impression of the woman.

"Your Majesty, your knights have plundered many lords of the Silver Ring Kingdom, and also occupied the Northern Stone Silver Mine, not to mention the high-priced trade items sold to the south, such as 'Evening primrose', colored glaze, etc. It is no exaggeration to say that you may be the richest king in the northern diocese." Aisha looks like an experienced negotiator: "Now all you have to do is drop a copper coin through your fingers to fund a potential ally. If you succeed, you will gain a loyal and humble one." My humble friend; if you fail, you will just lose some property."

Looking at the expressionless Emerson, the skeptical Joe, and Todd who didn't say anything from the beginning to the end, Aisha lowered her head slightly and said respectfully: "Of course, anyone can do things like talking, and success is the best proof of ability. I will ambush a group of pirates who intend to rob the North Island caravan in the near future. Their blood and heads will prove to you that the investment in me must be worthwhile!"

Todd looked at the girl with different eyes, and gently closed the roster in his hand: "Aisha, if you can prove your worth to me, I can also assure you that I am definitely not a stingy person."

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In the north of Muxi City, "Liliel" Textile Factory.

Mary is sitting in the studio at the back of the factory, with a newly completed oil painting beside her, and concept sketches of many accessories, clothing, shoes and bags scattered on the ground.

Cathy walked into the studio, put a cup of brewed herbal tea on the work table, looked at the woman's thin figure, and persuaded in a low voice: "Master, you haven't closed your eyes for 22 hours, take a rest."

After finishing the sketch of a newly completed fringed dress, Mary with two dark circles under her eyes turned her body to Cathy, shook her head and said, "Inspiration is like the rain in spring. When you don't grasp it, it will quietly disappear into the air, and you can never find it again."

Cathy glanced secretly at the oil painting behind Mary, and said in a low voice, "Master Terrence and Lord Elijah, they are here."

Without turning her head, Mary continued to wave the paintbrush in her hand: "Please come in."

Terrence, who escaped from the capital city of Tyro, has basically recovered his health after recuperating in Muxi City for a period of time. His dedication to academics and desire for truth make this old man's spirit better day by day.

He brought his favorite student—Elijah—to visit Mary today, just for one thing.

Walking into the door of the studio, Terrence didn't notice Mary's existence at all, walked straight to the oil painting, and whispered the name under the painting.

"Sleeping Venus", "Susanna in the Bath", "Danae"...

Elijah walked to the teacher's side and asked in a low voice, "In your opinion..."

"A perfect masterpiece!" Terrence turned his head to Mary and asked, "I heard that these are His Majesty's collections?"

Mary put down the paintbrush in her hand, took a sip of the vanilla tea, then spit the tea back into the cup, put down the cup with disgust, and said to Master Terrence, "That's right, but Your Majesty doesn't want them to be made public."

Terrence opened his eyes: "Why?! Look at these paintings! They not only have elements of the Renaissance, but also are full of ideas of artistic innovation. Isn't it more meaningful for more people to see them than to hide them here?!"

Mary shook her head and said, "Your Majesty said that these paintings do not belong to this world."

Terrence looked at the design sketches full of rooms, and his tone was also a little angry: "But I saw that some people got inspiration shortcuts from these paintings, but refused to share them with others!"

Mary's face darkened, her lips were tightened, and she remained silent.

Seeing this, Elijah quickly acted as a mediator in the middle: "Miss Mary, since Master Terrence proposed the concept of "literary copying", whether it is painting or sculpture in Muxi City, more of them have stayed at the imitation stage of Taylor's period. And these paintings, composition, color, and lines have pointed out a new path for the progress of art."

Terrence turned and walked towards the door of the studio, and said to the people in the room: "Since that incident, I have become a skeptic. But if Your Majesty can prove that he really came from that world, I will be happy to become a devout believer and re-brand my faith in my soul!"