Thanks to the efforts of the seven members of the War Wolves, the 'Divine Wine' quickly spread throughout the city. There were all kinds of rumors, and as it spread, the stories became more and more exaggerated, to the point where people were saying that drinking the Divine Wine could grant immortality.
Count George also received the news. After hearing it, he remained silent, furrowing his brow in deep thought. Clearly, he was very surprised by this information.
"What is that old miser Hudson up to? Is he trying to ride the wave of interest from Amos' notes and make another fortune with this so-called Divine Wine?" Count George muttered to himself.
He turned and looked at the two knights kneeling beside him, coldly saying, "Didn't you bring back the person who spread this information?"
"This..." The two knights exchanged a glance, shaking their heads bitterly. They had wanted to bring the person back to see Count George, but by the time they realized what had happened, the person had already disappeared.
"Hmph, utterly useless." Count George snorted coldly. "Get out of here, take five lashes, and for gods' sake, how could you be on duty and go off drinking?"
"Understood." The two knights, regretful to the core, were dragged away to receive their punishment.
"Interesting, seems like this auction is going to be quite lively, even the Divine Wine is making an appearance." Count George sneered.
He was skeptical about this Divine Wine. The appearance of Amos' notes had already been exaggerated enough, and now this so-called Divine Wine felt like an attempt to cash in on the hype surrounding Amos' notes.
A black glass bottle for the wine? Was that even possible? He had rarely seen black glass, and the largest piece he had come across was only about the size of a thumb. And now they were saying they had made a wine bottle out of it? A bottle the size of a thumb?
Moreover, as far as he knew, the largest piece of glass in the Kingdom of Siacan was still white. That piece was about the size of a human head, and it was stored in the royal palace's treasury, worth a fortune. He had heard that the King wanted to carve that glass into a crown, but had not yet found the best sculptor for the task.
Would anyone be foolish enough to use such a large piece of glass to make a wine bottle? And to top it off, there were three bottles appearing all at once. In Count George's opinion, this was clearly just bragging. It might fool some small merchants or low-ranking nobles who hadn't seen much of the world, but trying to deceive a noble like him? He thought they should save their efforts.
However, the red liquid inside the bottle—he was familiar with that. He had heard that some high-ranking nobles secretly liked to use virgin blood, mixed with ale, to brew a red wine, claiming that it could strengthen the body.
He suspected that the "Divine Wine" was exactly this kind of brew. As for the black glass bottle, it was most likely just a decorative black porcelain bottle. If that was the case, he might be tempted to bid on a bottle to try it out. A few gold coins were something he could afford to spend.
In contrast to Count George's skeptical and objective attitude, on the other side, Count Hudson's mindset was starting to crack.
"What? Divine Wine?" Hudson was stunned. After receiving the news about the 'Divine Wine' being leaked, he felt a deep sense of unease.
Was this some kind of disruption? How could items from 'Divine Heavenly Kingdom' be revealed so easily? And a Divine Wine, no less! Why not claim a divine goddess appeared instead?
"Find out who spread this news!" Count Hudson shouted angrily. "Once you find them, bring them to me immediately! I want to see who has the guts to spread rumors in my territory!"
"Yes, my lord." Several knights quickly ran off.
"Damn it, is that bastard trying to take advantage of me?" Hudson was so angry that his legs were cramping, sitting in his chair while shaking his legs.
Once the rumors about the Divine Wine spread, it would call into question the authenticity of the Amos Notes. After all, the Amos Notes had just emerged, and now there was a Divine Wine? Was a divine medicine or divine weapon next?
This would give people the wrong impression—when did items from 'Divine Wine' become so widespread? It would definitely affect the auction price of the Amos Notes.
"I hope this doesn't affect the master's plans... otherwise..." Hudson continued shaking his leg, his face showing a hint of fear.
The Amos Notes were not something Hudson had the ability to acquire. They had been entrusted to him by a mysterious organization. All he had to do was help auction them off, and in return, he would receive a large sum of money and support from powerful factions.
Just how mysterious this organization was, Hudson had only seen the tip of the iceberg, and it already terrified him. A duke within the Kingdom of Siacan was also working for this organization, and it was rumored that the duke's position had been supported all the way up by this very group.
If they could elevate a duke, Hudson was genuinely frightened. He also longed to be elevated to a duke's position, but the appearance of this "Divine Wine" today deeply irritated him—it felt like someone was deliberately causing trouble.
As for the Divine Wine? Hudson's view was similar to that of Count George; he thought it was all just exaggeration. He believed anyone who had seen the world would know that a wine bottle made of black glass simply could not exist.
As midnight arrived, the night sky sparkled with countless stars, each carrying the hopes and wishes of some.
The tavern, the one Chris had visited earlier, was already closed for the night. A single candle flickered in the room, and the tavern attendant was polishing wine glasses behind the bar.
"Divine Wine? Which noble or merchant spread this rumor?" asked a man in a red robe, his face concealed by the shadows of the candlelight.
The tavern attendant quickly replied, "Sir, we lost them. They moved very quickly and were quite experienced. We... we couldn't keep up."
"Hmm? Even you couldn't keep up?" The man in the shadows sounded surprised and puzzled. "Could it be someone from another organization? The Black Iris Organization?"
"Sir, their actions don't resemble the Black Iris's style. They were faster, more efficient, and more ruthless. A few of our men even had their throats slit." The tavern attendant said bitterly.
After hearing about Chris's conversation with the knights, he had sent men to capture him. However, he hadn't anticipated such a loss. The other side's short knives were far too lethal.
He ran into a few more people afterward, but again suffered heavy losses. By the time he brought in reinforcements, that group had mysteriously vanished—none of the spies saw them come or go, as if they had simply disappeared into thin air.
"Could it be… the divine wine really exists? Has some organization already found 'Divine Heavenly Kingdom'? No… that's impossible." The figure in the shadows murmured to himself. The organization had been searching for 'Divine Heavenly Kingdom' for centuries without success—how could it suddenly be discovered so easily?
"Keep a tight watch on the gates of Pentos City. Arrest anyone suspicious on sight. I'll have Hudson assist with the operation."
"Yes, sir!"
The candle flickered out. The shadowy figure stepped into the darkness.
This news… was anything but good.
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