The news of the defeat of the town of Biwest spread throughout the empire through various channels in just two days.

When the news reached the ears of the Archduke of Braderidley in Karen, the newly married young duke was furious, and he immediately ordered the hanging of the two nobles who recommended Viscount Göran, and at the same time, the father of the Viscount of Göran was also implicated, and the title of earl was forcibly withdrawn.

Duke Nick and Duke Eric in Kwyn Town sighed one after another when they got the information.

At this point, there is no need to fight the war in the Crane Territory, and what we need to do now is to withdraw all facilities and materials that may support the enemy in the Crane City area as soon as possible.

Emperor Laubert was also shocked when he received the news, and soon, at the suggestion of Duke Nick, he issued an emergency evacuation order to Duke Ron of Crane City...

The order demanded that all the areas of Klan City, the Fort Montella area, and the Shasterburg area, except for the strategic materials urgently needed for front-line operations, must be evacuated from the Klan territory, including nearly 800,000 people in the Klan territory.

Duke Ron has no problem with this, he has no basis for negotiating with the Central Empire, because, under the meteorite in the town of Beard, the nobles of the Crane Territory have almost been lost, and the Duke of Ron now has nothing to rely on except for the tens of thousands of troops in the Todd Coth Farm.

After the afternoon of July 5th,

Command of the entire Wars was transferred to the Imperial War, and Duke Ron himself locked himself up in Chrysburg and refused to receive anyone.

...

On the afternoon of July 6, Peidi and his party traveled to the town of Benson.

At this moment, the area around Banson Town, because of a fire in Pedi and the ravages of orcs, there is no safe village, and in Banson Town, there are traces of war everywhere, broken walls, blood-stained stone roads, and collapsed houses.

In the ruined center of the town, Pedi unexpectedly sees Perus and the female knight named Judith, as well as more than a dozen veterans who follow Pelus, and next to them are the bodies of a dozen robbers...

After the Fifth Legion of Pedi left the town of Benson, this originally prosperous town was reduced to a stronghold of a group of bandits!

That night, both Pedi and Peyroux chose to stay in the town of Benson.

Pedi and Peruth, who were in a bad mood, had a long talk, the two were old acquaintances, and it was a kind of fate to meet twice in a row in such a place, besides, Pedi was very curious about how Pelos could appear here, and Perus was also curious about the final direction of the case of the military undersecretary.

This time, the two are no longer superiors and subordinates, and they no longer serve in the security department, so they have no scruples to talk about.

During the conversation, Pedi learns the truth about the aftermath of the events in Tyre, and Perus learns about a series of changes at the top of the security service. Now, both men are analysing the events that took place as outsiders, and they have come up with many different opinions.

In the end, Perus tells Pedi that the task of assassinating the leader of the saber-tooth mercenary group did not go well, and that someone had made a substitute for the dead, and to Pedi's surprise, the identity of the substitute was actually the nephew of Count Cizer-Devin of Fort Tulbuk. Then, Peidi also learned a shocking news: His Excellency Yarman, the director of the Empire's most powerful paladin organization, the Radiant Force, actually appeared at the headquarters of the Sabertooth Mercenary Regiment.

The news struck Pedi as incredible, but also suspicious.

Because, the upper nobles of the empire know that the 'Radiant Power' is a dark chess piece held by Emperor Laubert, if they collude with the sabertooth mercenary group, and the sabertooth mercenary group is related to the case of the vice minister of the military department,

So, that is, this series of events orchestrated by Emperor Laubert?

But it's not right, because the saber-toothed mercenaries are clearly on the orc's side this time, and Emperor Laubert won't be stupid enough to help the orcs.

So there's only one possibility...

It was the 'Radiant Power' who was secretly plotting to take advantage of the power given to them by the Emperor!

Of course, there is another possibility, and that is... Perus is lying.

But why should he lie.

The more Pedi thought about it, the more problems he had, but he soon put them behind him, after all, he didn't have to worry about these trivial matters anymore.

Early in the morning of July 7th,

Pedi and Perus parted ways, and before that, Pedi had invited Pelous to accompany him to the imperial capital, but Pelous refused without even thinking about it.

Pedi looked at the group of Perus who were fading away on the horizon and asked, "Do you think what Perus said last night can be trusted?"

"What are you referring to?" Hades frowned.

"The Holy Spirit in him is pure and righteous. This is the Knight of Syrah's answer.

Collier thought for a moment and said, "Do you mean 'Radiant Force'? I have dealt with them in the black market before, and if you need this information, I can inquire about it within three days after returning to the Imperial Capital." ”

Pedi couldn't help but smile after hearing the different answers, then shook his head secretly and didn't ask again.

The group scurried along the trade route between Benson Town and Crane City, and the road was almost a mess except for the occasional bandit refugee.

Pedi witnessed firsthand the devastation he had caused in the Banson area with a fire, and didn't say a word along the way.

At 8 p.m., Pedi rushed to the city of Crane, but because the city gate was under martial law and Pedi did not want to bother too much, he was unable to enter the city.

Five days later, during a heavy summer rain, Pedi and his party entered the area of Kwyn town with the fleeing refugees.

In the past few days, his ears have always been filled with all kinds of 'military reports' from the refugees, and there is not a single good news in these 'military reports'.

...

On July 12, when it was almost dark, Pedi and his party arrived in the town of Kwyn.

After entering the town of Kwyn, Duke Nick and the envoys of the military department disappeared, and several of Pedi's retinue and personal guards were asked to stay in the barracks outside the town, and Pedi was the only one who could enter the fortress of Kwyn.

In the reception room next to the gate of the fortress, after the routine questioning of Pedi by the military officials, Pedi waited until almost eleven o'clock before the prime minister's assistant Kerman appeared in front of Pedi.

Pedi looked at Kerman with a somewhat surprised expression, because Kerman at this moment gave Pedi even worse than some of the rich peasants he met on the way to escape.

"Is there a peculiar smell of sweat?" Kerman barely smiled, "Something has been delayed, and I hope it didn't keep you waiting." ”

In an instant, Pei Di felt that the resentment of being neglected was swept away, and at the same time, there was also a trace of guilt, after all, the other party was so busy that he didn't even have time to rest, but he still had to come to receive him.

"Please keep up with me, if you don't want to get lost. Kerman didn't have any extra politeness, so he turned and walked towards the reception room, and Pedi naturally followed.

Inside the sealed fortress, Pedi followed Kerman around and around to an iron door.

As soon as he stood outside, Pedi smelled a familiar aroma that made him feel more energetic, but also hungrier.

"Tuk Tuk"

Kerman knocked softly on the door, his movements cautious.

"Come in. ”

A familiar voice came from inside the room, and it made Peddy want to push the door open at once.

But Kerman moved slowly, and the people in the room slowly appeared in Pedy's eyes as the door opened.

"Come on, come in. Duke Nick didn't look up.

Pedi looked at the familiar figure, and then walked into the room mechanically, the room was very hot, which made Pedi a little uncomfortable when he had just returned from the north.

"You eat first, I still have a few papers to deal with. Duke Nick pointed in one direction, and only then did he look up at his youngest son.

And Pedi also saw his father...

The wrinkles on Duke Nick's face became more and more obvious, the white silk on his head was clearly visible, and a pair of eyes had sunken as if they were sunken into their sockets.

Pedi tried not to look at his father, and he looked in the direction his father was pointing to, and a plate of fragrant barbecue was quietly placed on a small iron table at the bottom right of his desk.

Pedi could tell at a glance that it was a fine beef shank, the roasted meat was golden in oil, which made people have an appetite when they looked at it, and next to the roast meat was a wine glass full of red wine and a wine bottle... Pedi did not refuse his father's kindness.

"Let's chirp"

Pedi was eating happily, but as he ate, he felt a terrible blockage in his heart, and then he was about to suffocate!

So, he gulped down the wine...

However, the more wine I poured, the more uncomfortable it became to have a blocked place in my heart.

At this time, Duke Nick put down the documents in his hand, looked at Pedi and said, "When I was young, after the first battle, my father also prepared my favorite food and wine for me...

Although, at that time, the war was just a rebellion in a small village, and it can't be compared to what you have experienced, but I think, in essence, it should not be much worse. ”

"War is a piece of shit. Pedi took a hard sip of his drink.

"Yes. Duke Nick walked over to Pedi and sat down, "We all know the dangers of war, and the orcs know that they may hate war more than we do, but sometimes, we don't have a choice. ”

Pedi put the glass down and asked, "I just want to know how my brother is doing, and if the Seventh Combined Army has successfully withdrawn from the Kemir River." ”

"The 7th Combined Army cannot withdraw from the Kemir River line. Duke Nick's tone was resolute, but there was also a hint of reluctance.

"Why?" Pedi stood up, but then sat down again.

Duke Nick said: "The evacuation of Crane City and the town of Kwen will take time. ”

"So, you chose to sacrifice your son?" said Pedy, who seemed to see his future in his brother.

Duke Nick's muscles tightened when he heard this, and he trembled violently for a few seconds before regaining his composure, "This is the decision of the military department and His Majesty the Emperor, and this is not something I can change." ”

"They should know that it's your son!"

"That's why you're here!"

Pedy's face turned pale all of a sudden, but the next moment it turned red...

After a long while, Pei Di forcibly suppressed the bitter feeling in his heart that was difficult to vent, and whispered, "How is the battle situation in the Klan Territory now?"

Duke Nick stared at Pedi and said, "Defeat is a matter of time... But the Seventh Combined Army cannot be withdrawn, and as the former commander of the Fifth Army, you should know the consequences of evacuating the Seventh Combined Army now... Moreover, because of the blockage of the roads caused by the refugees, the armaments and materials we support cannot be transported to the Kemir River at all, so now the Klan Territory can only rely on themselves for the war. ”

Peidi's expression changed and changed after hearing this, and finally he couldn't help but ask, "You really can't order the Seventh Combined Legion to withdraw from the defensive line?"

"No!" Duke Nick said in a low tone, "I've asked myself this question countless times, but I can't!"

Pedy's eyes darkened: "If it were me in the Camille River right now, you would do the same, wouldn't you?"

Duke Nick was not surprised by Pedy's question, and he exhaled heavily, "So, let me ask you, if you knew that it would be dangerous to go to the Kemill River line, would you refuse to go?... Also, if it were your brother standing in front of me right now, he wouldn't have asked that question. ”

Pedi froze, then fell silent.

In the end, neither father nor son answered each other's questions.

"This is the nobility, this is our duty, our honor?"

It's Pedy's whisper...

"Yes, but nobles are not heroes. Duke Nick said: "Especially as a ruler, you must know how to balance good and evil, you must have the courage to raise the butcher's knife, because you will face countless conspiracies, so only if you can raise the butcher's knife, can you split the haze of those countless conspiracies." ”

"You didn't educate me that way before. Pedi looked at her father in a daze.

"That was before... I used to ask you to be a worthy courtier to assist your brother, but now I ask you to be a good ruler..."

"My brother is not dead yet!"

"That's what I was hoping for, too, but right now, it's slim," Duke Nick let out a cloudy breath as he stood up and pulled out an encrypted document from his desk and threw it on the desk in front of Peedy.

Pei Di subconsciously followed his father's movements, staring at the eye-catching red words on the document, and his heart was beating uncontrollably.

The file was opened quickly,

The content made Pedy's heart beat faster.

Because, in the document, it is recorded that the Count of Omar had fallen into the Kemill River in battle three days earlier and lost his trace.

"How so?" Pedi was a little distracted.

Duke Nick's face was also sad, and his two fists clenched and rubbed on his thighs to make a "click" sound.

Pedi couldn't help but look up, he saw his father's old face...

He suddenly reacted that his brother was the son of the old man, his favorite son, and the heir whom he had spent countless efforts cultivating.

And now, the person who needs comfort the most is not himself, it should be this old man!

But Pedi is not a man who is good at comforting.

So, the two of them just stared at the documents in a daze.

"What should I do next?" asked Pedi.

Duke Nick thought for a while and said: "Duke Eric wants you to stay in the military department and serve as the chief of staff of the military department, but I refused, what you have to do now is to return to the Kru territory to manage our family territory and fight back the orcs in the territory... Tomorrow you will leave the town of Kwyn and take Phyllis from the imperial capital, and as for Penny, you will leave it alone, she knows how to take care of herself. ”