Ampel, in the Norse dialect, means authoritative and powerful.

Since the establishment of the country by the Byrd family more than 700 years ago, the term has become the exclusive domain of the imperial capital.

The city of Ampel symbolizes the majesty and strength of the Norse royal family, and is the absolute center of the economy, politics and culture of the entire empire.

And the Bird family, as the royal family of the Norse Empire, is the supreme ruler of the city.

The supreme power and glory of the empire is now held by Emperor George Bird, also known as George III.

He is nearly 60 years old this year, but he is still energetic, and he takes care of political affairs late into the night.

During his more than 30 years of reign, the vast empire had hardly gone wrong, but had become more prosperous, with faint signs of re-prosperity.

For example, it was almost early in the morning, and the soft optical fibers of the magic ceiling lamp still appeared in the office room where he was frequent.

George III held a crumpled letter like an old monk, and did not move or speak for a long time.

But suddenly, he looked quickly towards the doorway, and saw the embarrassed expression of the court governor.

Although the sound of the court steward's footsteps was not visible in the soft velvet blanket, his keen sense still gave it a hint.

Seeing that it was the head of the palace, he couldn't help but smile with the serious expression he had been maintaining, and asked him gently, "Do you have anything to tell him?"

The steward bowed slightly, and respectfully handed the two small rolled notes to George III.

George III frowned, and took the note with some confusion, he knew that this style of secret letter was brought by the flying demonic beast that he had specially trained the secret guard to domesticate using a special method.

Since it was difficult to maintain the high cost of even the wealth of the imperial family, this transmission channel was only used every time when the situation was serious enough to have to ask the emperor to make a move or decision.

Thinking of the recent frequent transfers of cultists and neighboring countries, his heart couldn't help but tighten, and he hurriedly unfolded the first secret letter and interpreted the information above with a unique password.

He quickly read the first letter, then the second with eagerness, then frowned even more, got up and walked to the windowsill behind him.

Seeing the emperor's reaction after reading the secret letter, the palace governor hurriedly followed forward and asked tentatively, "Your Majesty, is there an accident in the north?"

Ever since he received these two secret letters from the north, he had had a guess in his heart, and now that he saw the emperor's sad look, his thoughts were even more certain.

"Still haven't you found those things in the North?"

Instead of returning head-on to the Steward's question, George III asked a seemingly unrelated question.

"No, there's no trace of those things in all the northern territories we have now. And......" The court governor paused before continuing, "None of the materials and notes kept by the nobles who originally lived in the north mention the existence of these things. ”

The figure in front of the window seemed to be a little stiff after hearing the news, and he didn't say anything for a long time.

After a long time, George III sighed, handed the secret letter in his hand to the chief steward to check, and said: "I really didn't expect that the Dukedom of the North, which has declined to such an extent, can still resist the invasion of the beast tide, and even now actually control the Connaughton region. ”

"And because of the news of the suspected erosion, the eyes of the church and other countries will be drawn there, so that we will not be able to do anything else."

After reading the secret letter, the palace steward said with some hesitation: "Your Majesty, do we really want to do this for the sake of an ethereal legend? It has been nearly a hundred years since the beginning of the ancestors, and this is ......?"

"Enough!" interrupted the court steward with a furious shout, and then continued to sigh.

"I can't help it, finding those treasures is the key to breaking the current situation, although the Norse Empire is still so powerful now, but it is like a high-rise building with an unstable foundation, and the hidden worries will make this edifice collapse sooner or later. ”

"Look at this, the nobles on the border are doing stupid things with their neighbors!"

He handed the crumpled piece of information he had held earlier to the manager, and said with some anger and some sadness.

The chief manager took a look at it, and saw that it was recorded in detail that in order to maintain their luxurious life, the nobles on the border did not hesitate to sell the iron ore, armor, weapons and other materials in the territory to the empire using the checkpoints they guarded, and even sometimes sold citizens and secret technology.

The owner of this secret letter was sent by an unsightly border guard who risked his life, and the letter was even stained with dried blood.

"This ......" he couldn't believe his eyes, the nobles whose territories were distributed on the border did not mean exile in the Norse Empire, and even a symbol of honor.

Because according to the tradition of the Norse Empire, the border nobles were divided into feudal feuds for the founding heroes, so that they could guard the borders of the empire for generations, and they were the fortresses and guardians of the empire.

But now the descendants of these former imperial heroes have begun to betray the country and its people for their own interests, becoming abusers and local emperors, completely leaving the emperor and morality aside.

"That's why I say that the hidden dangers of the empire cannot be ignored for a long time, and we need a strong purge to ensure the health of the empire. George III waved his hand a little excitedly, completely unable to see the sleepiness of the almost sixty-year-old, "Of course, we need to have enough strength before that, and the treasure of the Duke of the North will be the key." ”

"But this is an external force after all, and we can't continue to investigate the current situation. The palace steward said stubbornly.

He did not want any more conflicts within the empire in this eventful season, which was not in line with the original intention of the emperor and all the ministers.

"It's going to be soon, isn't there only one northern fortress left?"

George III laughed, and then added: "Of course, not now, you should prepare a decree of canonization, and issue it to the little fellow in the north after his letter of request arrives!"

Duke is now the de facto ruler of Connaughton, and previous reports have revealed that there is nothing he is looking for other than a sizable amount of iron ore.

Although I have to compromise because of the erosion now, it will not last long.

When the turmoil of this matter passes, whether the title of Duke of the North exists or not, it is only the last mercy of the empire.

George III believed that in his lifetime he would be able to obtain the legendary treasure and lead the empire to greatness once again.

The governor of the palace bowed down and retreated.

"As you wish. ”