On the evening of February 26, a fire broke out in the silent castle of Norma.

The shrill sound of alarm bells pierced the sky in the fire, and the town beneath the castle slowly became noisy.

Tongues of fire burst through the sky, illuminating the town as bright as day, and the townspeople walked out of their houses and gathered on the streets or squares. They were ignorant of the sudden disaster, and they could only pray to the goddess in the face of the castle's apocalyptic scene.

"It's the elves calling!"

"The Felds are crazy, they're attacking our soldiers!"

"The Felds have attacked our castle!"

"Those damn bandits, they're not just stealing our jobs, they're going to kill us now. ”

News spread among the crowd, and while most of the townspeople expressed indignation at what was happening, in fact even the most cheerful people did not take up arms to resist.

As the Stag Banner appears in the night lights, the townsfolk begin to retreat... Half an hour later, all the townspeople in the square on the streets of the town retreated and were replaced by whole teams of armored soldiers!

Mondstadt-Jean looked at Fort Norma with mixed feelings, and the hateful gaze coming from the windows of the surrounding houses made the young man feel embarrassed.

He could not have been here, but he came anyway.

He needed to see for himself what he had done!

"His Highness Mondstadt. With the sound of heavy footsteps, Rue-Eze and his personal guard appeared in front of Mondstadt Jean, who looked at the fire over Fort Norma and said in a complicated tone: "The year before, as the New Year approached, I thought that I would have a good New Year with my wife and children..."

"I had no choice, Sir. Mondstadt-Jean's tone was filled with indifference.

"Yes, we all have no choice, reality sets us against each other and makes us allies. Rue-Ize's face looked very open-minded, "Your Highness, please call me Ruai Sentinel, I have long abandoned the knighthood of the Empire. ”

Mondstadt-Jean nodded, and after a few seconds of silence, he said, "There is no Highness here, there are just a bunch of homeless people. ”

"We are all homeless people. The look of loneliness in Rue-Ize's eyes flashed, "Now, I'm going to find my way home, do you want to go with me?"

Mondstadt-Jean was stunned for a moment, and immediately understood the meaning of the other party's words, he shook his head and said, "I am only in charge of this, and the Felds have no interest in participating in the war against the Central Empire. ”

"Don't worry," Rue-Ize shrugged, "and while I don't like to be around elves, they are indeed more trustworthy than the Imperial nobles, so you can take your people to hide here and quietly lick your 'wounds'." ”

Rue-Ize, both in tone and on the expression on his face, was marked with sarcasm.

However, Rue-Ize's unbridled taunts did not make Mondstadt Jean angry, but instead gave him a sense of relief. Not only Mondstadt Jean himself, but even the rebellious Imperial generals who accompanied him surprisingly did not refute Rue-Ize's unbridled taunts, nor did he offer any explanation for what they had done.

"Haha!" Rue-Izezer laughed as he walked down the street next to him, his hair and skin slowly being molten under the blazing fire. His hair was turning gray and dead, and his skin, which was about to age, was regaining the fineness it had when he was younger.

He received the natural blessing of the elves. Lob Reggie, who was beside Mondstadt Jean, whispered, "He's going to be a real half-elf." ”

"It takes courage to spurn one's own beliefs," Mondstadt Jean whispered, "and we are not qualified to judge him. ”

...

On the morning of February 27.

Emperor Sinda, who was on an expedition, led his cabinet and finally arrived at the imperial capital of Suke after three days and nights.

However, it was not a grand welcome ceremony, but a shocking piece of bad news.

The Jean family actually rebelled at a critical time!

Woz Pedro's battle plan for Tyre was extremely sophisticated, but it was precisely because his plan was so sophisticated that the rest of the world did not know what was going on in Tyre. He never dreamed that his defeat would only be the last bargaining chip to crush Mondstadt-Jean because his government had failed to inform the localities of the war in a timely manner.

Emperor Sinda, who was waiting for victory, was also overwhelmed by the sudden news, and Madame Dibernar in the back garden of Lion Castle was even more shocked by the news and almost collapsed.

In the Lion Castle Emperor's office, the members of the Imperial Cabinet who had arrived in a hurry sat around the round red lacquered wooden table, greeted each other and fell into an eerie silence.

It was already noon when Emperor Sinda, who had finished comforting his mother, entered the conference room.

"Marquis of Woz—" The Emperor walked straight to the Marquis of Wolds' place after leaving the room, and threw one of the several parchment documents in his hand on the table in front of the Imperial Prime Minister, "This is what you call foolproof? Didn't you promise me that the Jean family would never rebel?"

"I just said that Duke Eric wouldn't betray us, but I didn't expect..."Woz-Pedro explained with a bitter face, but halfway through the explanation, he stopped in the emperor's gaze as if he was about to eat people, "It's my responsibility, I'm very sorry!"

He bowed his head and apologized to everyone present...

"The disposition of Feld Collar is a resolution passed by the Cabinet and the Council of Nobles. Stu Garra frowned, "No one could have predicted that something like this would happen, and no one could have imagined that Mondstadt Jean would do such a thing, and we didn't even pay attention to him before today. ”

"Behind this matter is the Chamber of Commerce Alliance. Bailly, the governor of Lion Castle, looked at Viscount Temple-Bob, "You promised the Cabinet that the Chamber of Commerce would not have the eyes and ears of the rebels. ”

"I'm very sorry. Dempto-Bob didn't shirk his responsibilities, he got up from his seat and took two steps back to bow and apologize to the crowd.

"You should apologize to the citizens of the entire city of Suke. Dean of the Grace Academy, Scholar Bolt frowned and glanced at everyone present, "We will be sinners in the history of the Empire...", he stood up and saluted Emperor Sinda, "Please forgive me for my rudeness, Your Majesty, I will not participate in this meeting today." ”

Emperor Sinda waved his hand indifferently, and as Bao Te walked slowly towards the door, the chief magician of the court, Boya Shu, also stood up, "Your Majesty, I won't waste any time in today's meeting... I think you should need more mages to deal with the war that follows, and I will summon the mages of the empire in my name to assemble in Sukh City. ”

"Thank you very much, Your Excellency Boya. Emperor Sinda struggled to squeeze out a smile.

When Boya Tree got up to leave, the War Minister Nepdo Quint immediately said, "Now, there are seven days left for us at most, and in seven days, the elven army of 100,000 and the rebel army of more than 50,000 troops led by Felder will meet in the Suke Plain... The city of Sukh is about to be besieged. ”

"Because of the rebellion of the Jeans, the western gate of the Suke Plains is now like the back garden of the elves... In this case, we can only defend the city of Suke. Woz-Pedro then offered his opinion, "If we ignore the rest of the plains, the reserves in Souk City will be enough for us to hold out for a year." ”

"What about a year from now?" Nepdo-Quint shook his head, "It's better to fight to the death!"

"We still have Kru and Twak and the new troops that are training in Kwyn. Stu Garra folded his hands on the edge of the table to ease his nerves, "We should immediately give orders to Duke Andy and Duke Nick to send their troops to the city of Suke. ”

"Only now do you remember that there are still Kru and Twak Orders in the Empire?" Nepdo-Quint's cold gaze swept over all the cabinet members, including Emperor Sinda, "Think about where we are now, haven't you woken up from your dreams?" He stood up and looked at the young emperor above the first seat, "Hmph, Empire! Cabinet! It's all a pile of shit!" he pulled back his chair and walked towards the office door.

Emperor Sinda's face was red from Nepdo Quint's insults, and he got up from his seat with a 'swoop', pointed to Nepdo Quint's departing back with a trembling finger, gritted his teeth and roared, "You..."

"Your Majesty!" the Emperor's rebuke was interrupted by Woz Pedro's shout, and he then stood up to block the Emperor's view of Nepdo Quint, "The 150,000-strong army is about to arrive in Suke City, so let's think about how to retreat from the enemy." As he spoke, Nepdo Quint had already left the office.

When the door closed, Woz-Pedro continued: "Count Stu is right, now we can only ask for reinforcements from Crewe and Twak. His voice became quieter and quieter, "Queen Penny is the sister of Baron Pedy and the eldest daughter of Duke Nick, and I don't think Kru will sit idly by and watch the elves attack Suke City." ”

"As long as Crewe leads the army, the Mage Tower will definitely be impatient, plus the 160,000 army in the hands of Count Devin Pompo... Then, the rebels led by Elok can be wiped out in the blink of an eye. "That is, we only need to hold out in the city of Suke for three to six months before the army that comes to our rescue arrives." ”

"Wouldn't it be too risky to let Suk City face the elven army of 150,000 alone?" "Stu-Gala immediately said, "I think we should let Devin Pampo's army come back quickly, and with the Paladin Legion plus the 150,000 army, maybe we can defeat the elven invasion on the Suk Plain." As he spoke, he looked at Dempdor-Bob, "We're now home to war, and the nearly 10 million people of the Suker Plains will be on our side..."

"Not bad!" Dempto-Bob immediately added, "Two years ago, during the Crewe-led Orc War, Sir Fred's guerrilla warfare was quite successful. He and Count Stu nodded to each other and looked at the first emperor, "The Chamber of Commerce Alliance can organize resistance forces in various regions... At the same time, the nobles who have been newly canonized in the past year of the Empire certainly do not want their titles of nobility to be invalidated, these people have extremely large forces everywhere, and if we give them enough power, they can organize a large army on their own. ”

"By doing so, you're simply giving up local administrative power. Woz-Pedro immediately objected, "As the Prime Minister of the Empire, I am categorically opposed to such a proposal. ”

"Let the Kru and Twak armies enter the Suke Plains, and will they be safe and sound?"

"Two years ago, Crewe sent nearly 40,000 troops into the Suk Plain, what did they do?" Woz-Pedro scolded, "The people of Crewe still know at least a little bit of nobility, while the new local nobility you call only knows profit... In doing so, you will divide up all the rights that the empire has managed to bring together for two hundred years to the Lion Castle. ”

"Because of your plans, the Empire is now facing a life-and-death showdown. Stu Garra coldly retorted, "Now we should consider how to make the empire win in this decisive battle, not the division of power." ”

"You're shaking the foundations of the Empire..."

"Marquis of Wrights... In fact, our plan is the same, but the object is different. Temple-Bob spoke in a respectful tone, with a modest smile on his face, "But I think the emerging aristocracy must be better controlled than the Reagan or Barretts." ”

"However, if you do so, you will plunge the Empire into a permanent war!" Woz Pedro looked at the first Emperor Sinda, "Your Majesty, the Empire needs to be determined to eliminate all threats as quickly as possible, and the only way to do this is to unite the Crewe Realms, the Mage Towers, and the Twak Realms!" he pointed to Stu Garra, "They may be able to buy temporary stability, but the Empire will spend the next five to ten years in war... Don't forget, the orcs of the north are watching us too. ”

"Why don't you do that?" Emperor Sindar finally spoke, "let Dewen Pampo lead the army of Tyre to return to Suk City first." "The Emperor's most important thing at the moment is whether Suk City can hold on to the next decisive battle," and then, I will ask Empress Penny to personally write a letter to Duke Nick, asking him to send troops to rescue Suk City, as for Twak Lord... Forget it, we have just negotiated with the orcs because of the establishment of the Sharptown Trade Zone, and it is not appropriate to break the previous agreement. ”

"Your Majesty, without the army in the hands of Devin Pampo, it would have been impossible for the army of the Kru Leader to break through the defense line of the Iruk Leader rebels in a short period of time. Woz-Pedro frowned and said, "I'm talking about a short period of time within a year to three years, and Duke Nick will think that you are using the rebels led by Elok to drain his strength, and the Mage Tower will refuse to send troops because of this." At this point, the Imperial Prime Minister paused for half a beat, and when Stu Gala wanted to continue talking, he hurriedly added: "Even Duke Nick will delay the speed of sending troops because of this, or directly refuse to help us... Legally, Duke Nick has such a right!"

"Keeping Sukh City independent for three to six months is theoretically possible, but it's too dangerous. Stu Gara looked at Woz Pedro, "Why can't you take our opinion into account, besides, the nobles of the empire have a duty to defend against foreign enemies." ”

"Is it okay to carry out the two plans at the same time?" Dempto-Bob took over, "while having Count Devon-Pompo and Duke Nick exterminate the rebels led by Elok, he ordered the Suke Plains to allow the local nobles to freely form an army to defend against the invasion of the Elven Alliance." ”

"This will turn the nobles of the empire into legitimate bandits. Woz Pedro was immediately against it.

"If you have a better way, please speak up!" Stu-Gala frowned, clearly disgusted by the Reich's remarks.

"With the defense system of Suke City, it can completely resist the attack of the elves for three to half a year independently. ”

"Well, we're back to square one. ”

"Tuk Tuk" The young Emperor Sinda tapped lightly on the edge of the table to attract the attention of everyone present, and when everyone raised their eyes to look at him, the Emperor said in a very impatient tone: "No one can challenge the authority of the Empire, not Duke Nick, not Duke Andy, not even the local nobles..."

The emperor's words made the hearts of everyone present sink,

Then, as if angry, the emperor said: "Give Dewen Pang Po an order to return to Suke City with his army." ”

./9_

.。 m.