In Todd Manor, Joshua was still in a state of excitement because he had comprehended the Earth Elemental Heart during his first Meditation.
However, because the Earth Elemental Heart specialty had a calming effect, Joshua looked very normal on the surface.
Joshua's strength had indeed increased greatly, but to Liang Lidong and the others, it was just so-so. To ordinary professionals, the Earth Elemental Heart was a rare specialty. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe him as a genius. Such a genius would be eye-catching no matter where he was.
But whether it was Liang Lidong, Emma, Alice, or Kail, who had the Hero bloodline, they all had their own special abilities. So, Joshua's Earth Elemental Heart was indeed good to them, but that was all.
Sisilia was almost destroyed, and the entire city was in a state of slumber, so there was a shortage of stones.
Because the large stone mines were too far away from Sisilia City, transporting them here took a lot of time and manpower. Therefore, the few small quarries near Sisilia City suddenly became popular. There was a small quarry behind Todd Manor. In the past, because of the curse, no one went to mine it, but now that the curse had been removed, Liang Lidong hired a dozen miners to mine a pile of stones outside the manor.
This was a living advertisement. The next day, people came to him, and these people had a lot of connections with Joshua.
The Roden family … Joshua's fiancée's family.
The person who came was a middle-aged butler. Usually, such purchases were done by nobles' butlers.
He knocked on the manor's door, and when he saw Joshua come out, he retreated in fear. But when he saw that the abscesses on Joshua's face were gone, he was surprised. "Kid, your curse is gone?"
"Rothschild, long time no see." Seeing the butler of the Roden family, Joshua's expression was not very friendly.
"You're lucky, kid." There was some sympathy on Rothschild's aged face: "You actually survived such a curse. The entire city of Sisilia suffered a disaster, but you didn't have anything happen to you. And you can even mine stones. Looks like your family won't disappear anytime soon. "
Joshua frowned. "Rothschild, did you come here just to mock me? If you have something to say, then say it. If not, then get lost. "
Joshua could not be blamed for his bad attitude. Two years ago, when his family was cursed. It was the Roden Family, once their closest ally, who betrayed them first. That was fine, as it was normal for them to stay away from danger. However, they still hit him when he was down. They even did everything they could to belittle him at the banquets of the nobles. He even slandered the Taute family.
When Joshua saw the Roden Family's people, it was already very magnanimous of him not to kick them.
"His temper is actually rising." Rothschild chuckled and pointed at the stones piled up outside the manor. "We'll take care of all the stones in your quarry. After you've extracted them, send them directly to our Roden family. Since our two families used to be on good terms, 100 gold coins is a bargain for you."
"Scram!"
Joshua cursed loudly and slammed the iron gate of the manor with a gloomy face.
Joshua didn't know much about the business side of things. However, he also knew that his small quarry should be worth at least two hundred gold coins or more.
He had sold it cheaply a few days ago because he and Julie were at their wits' end. Under those circumstances, even if he sold the manor cheaply, nobody would dare to buy it, except for his teacher.
Liang Lidong had told him that if anyone came to buy the stones in the quarry, they had to offer at least 600 gold coins. With this change of hands. Three times the price fell into Liang Lidong's pocket.
This was originally the Todd family's property, but now it had become someone else's. But Joshua had no objections at all. He knew very well that if it wasn't for his teacher. He and Julie would have starved to death a few days ago. If it wasn't for his teacher, the curse on the Todd manor wouldn't have been lifted at all.
Now he understood one thing … In this world, money and status were important, but strength was the most important.
His teacher and his friend were very strong, so they could lift the curse that had almost wiped out the Taute family. So they could make the elves retreat, so that the manor wouldn't be damaged at all.
As long as he had strength, he would have money and status.
As long as he had strength, there would be a day when he could trample the Roden family under his feet, and make his grandfather regret it until he died of old age.
Liang Lidong didn't know what Joshua was thinking. He was now in contact with the leader of the Guild of Assassins in the slums. If he wanted information, the Guild of Assassins was the quickest way.
Of course, he didn't put all his hopes on the Guild of Assassins. He even went to a few taverns for commoners, and spread the news that anyone who knew why the two naked elves died would be rewarded with 100 gold coins. If they had some clues, they would be rewarded with 10 gold coins.
Although the people behind the scenes were well hidden, there would always be clues left behind. As long as he caught one, he believed that he could follow the clues and pull the culprit out.
Emma, Kail, and Alice continued to go to the Guild of Mercenaries to take on missions and train their combat abilities.
As the days passed, there was still no progress on the elves' side, but the small quarry had already been rented out by a generous Bishop of Light for 700 gold coins.
This was a big deal … Kail was extremely surprised when he saw the seven chests of gold coins. He was now more and more impressed by his teacher's ability to make money. As expected of the priest of Goddess Woking.
Not long after the Bishop of the Temple of Light left, the Roden family came looking for them again.
This time, it was a woman, a very beautiful woman.
She had a head of fiery red hair, a graceful figure, and a tall figure, as well as a cold temperament.
Most ice-type spellcasters had a cold personality. It was the same for ice-type magic swordsmen.
She led more than 20 people and knocked on the manor's gate. The one responsible for opening the gate was Julie.
Julie looked at the woman in surprise. "Miss Eva, you're here!"
At this time, the abscesses on Julie's body had completely healed. Under the treatment of the hydrotherapy spell, her appearance had returned to normal. She was very beautiful, even more beautiful than Eva.
Eva looked up and down at Julie for a while, then raised his right hand that was wearing a white glove and directly slapped Julie's face, causing the young girl to fall back to the ground.
Her face quickly turned red, and then began to turn black and swollen.
"Where's Joshua? Tell him to come out and see me. " Eva coldly stared at Julie, "I've said it before, this face of yours is very annoying. I'll beat you up every time I see it, or you can destroy it yourself. Either you destroy it, or I will help you destroy it. If your face is still like this the next time I see you, I will break both your legs. "
Julie crawled up and directly ran away. She was a maid. She was naturally weak in front of the nobles.
Not long after, Joshua came out. His face was very black, like the bottom of a pot.
He was dragging a long sword in his hand. The tip of the sword brushed against the ground, occasionally creating a few sparks.
He stopped about ten meters in front of Evan and narrowed his eyes. "Was it you who hit Julie just now?"
"So what if it was me?" Eva looked Joshua up and down. "I heard that you've recovered from your illness, so I came to take a look. I didn't expect that not only have you recovered, but you've also recovered. I didn't expect you to not only recover, but also become stronger. It seems that you really are the source of trouble. Using the lives of your family in exchange for your own strength. What difference is there between this and a sacrifice? "
"I don't understand. Why did the Roden family betray us so quickly? " Joshua looked at the woman in front of him, who was once an unforgettable person. His chest was already full of anger, but the ability of the Earth Elemental Heart made him as calm as a block of wood. "I also don't understand what grudge you have with Julie. Why do you have to target her like this?"
Eva didn't answer Joshua's question. Her eyes fell on Joshua's long sword, and a cold smile appeared on her face. "That's right. You actually dared to bring a long sword to see me. Do you want to fight me? "
"I want justice for Julie."
"No problem, but justice is related to strength."
Eva unsheathed the long sword in her hand. It was a magic weapon with faint silver patterns on it. There were faint silver magic patterns on it, and a layer of white smoke rose from the blade after it was unsheathed.
"You can have a match with me. Don't worry, I won't kill you, but if you lose, I'll kill you. But if you lose, you will give me the quarry for free. "
"The quarry has already been sold to someone else."
"That's your business. I don't care. I'm only responsible for winning against you."
Joshua shook his head. "I can't make the decision, but I will still fight you."
"It doesn't matter. I have something else in mind." Eva's smile was somewhat vicious. "If you lose, it's fine if you don't give me the quarry, but I will kill your lover, Julie. You are a noble, so I will be in trouble if I kill you. But if I kill a maid, I will just have to pay a few silver coins. "
"You evil bitch!" Even with the Earth Elemental Heart, Joshua couldn't keep his cool anymore. "I was blind two years ago, so I thought you were a good woman."
"It's not up to you to decide whether I'm a good woman or not." Eva straightened her sword and slowly walked toward Joshua.
Joshua knew that he had no choice but to fight. He knew that he had been forced into a corner.
He raised his sword and charged at Eva with a strong aura.
Unfortunately, the difference in strength between them was too great. No matter how strong his aura was, it was useless. With a light flick, Eva knocked Joshua's sword out of his hand. Then, he kicked Joshua to the ground.
Although Joshua was talented, he hadn't officially learned swordsmanship yet. Although he had learned the Earth Elemental Heart, he hadn't learned a single spell yet.
Liang Lidong planned to let him meditate and learn Agile Movement first. Once he had a solid foundation, he would teach him swordsmanship and magic.
No one had thought that the Roden family would come knocking on their door so quickly.
Eva lightly touched Joshua's throat with the tip of her sword. She looked down at her former fiancé. "You've grown stronger, but you're still trash. I didn't like you from the beginning. If not for the Todd family's power, my father wouldn't have let you become my fiancé! Not only does my ideal husband have to be handsome, he also has to be an expert. "
"You have no strength at all. What's the use of just looks … Oh, you can go sell chrysanthemums. I think it suits a sissy like you."
Eva's sword was pointed at Joshua's throat, and his other foot was on Joshua's chest, speaking in a disgusting language like a queen.
Joshua's face turned red, and his veins popped. He struggled with all his might, but the other party's foot was on his body. It was like a mountain pressing down on him. He used all his strength, but he couldn't move an inch.
"Now it's your turn." Eva looked down at the man under her foot. "Do you want Julie's life or the quarry?"
Joshua was furious, but he was also conflicted. If it were a few days ago, he would have said that he wanted Julie's life without hesitation. After all, the quarry was just a worldly possession. But now, the quarry didn't belong to him anymore. It belonged to his teacher, and he couldn't make the decision to sell it. Moreover, the Church of Light's bishop had already reserved it.
"Looks like you want the quarry," Eva said cheerfully. "So Julie isn't that important in your heart. You love money just like Joshua. No matter how good Julie is to you, you still want to give her up … "
"Bullshit!" Joshua shouted angrily.
Eva smiled and stomped heavily on Joshua's abdomen. The latter was in so much pain that he curled up like a cooked prawn. At the same time, he made choking sounds.
Eva's attack was so heavy that Joshua almost fainted.
After snorting in disdain, Evan stepped over Joshua's head and walked into the manor. She was going to kill the maid named Julie.
But at this moment, a wind blade shot towards her. Eva quickly jumped back to dodge it, then turned to look at the source of the attack.
She saw two women and a man on the left side of the road. One was a handsome young man, one was a beautiful girl, and the last was a beautiful half-elf riding a unicorn.
"This is a private matter. Please don't interfere." Eva didn't know who the three people were and thought that they were just passing by.
The Roden Family's intelligence network wasn't strong. Eva had heard from the butler that the Todd Family had stones here and that Joshua had recovered. She rushed over because she wanted to take down the small quarry. She didn't know what had happened to Joshua's Todd family recently.
The Roden Family had been attacked by the elves a few nights ago. Although the core members of the family didn't die, the manor was almost destroyed and needed a lot of stones to rebuild.
The Roden Family wasn't a big family in Sisilia. The other small quarries were backed by big families that they couldn't afford to offend, but it wasn't a problem to offend the Todd Family.
With such thoughts in mind, Eva showed up at the gate of the manor. Things were going smoothly, but she never expected that someone would meddle in.