Henry the Griffon soared above the Falling Star Mountains, where the steep ridges, treacherous swamps, and towering snow-capped peaks were all unobstructed flat land beneath its clouds.

Listening to the sound of the wind whistling in his ears and feeling the pressure on his face, Todd lay on Henry's back, and wanted to sing happily.

This indescribable feeling belongs to those wanderers who have traveled for ten years and embarked on the journey home, and the closer they get to their hometown, the stronger it becomes.

This high-altitude journey lasted eleven hours, stopping for two rests, and with the third takeoff, one man and one bird soon approached the border of the Dusk Kingdom.

The Watchtower, the Silver Ring, and the North Stone Fortress, all of which Todd was familiar with, passed by one by one, and finally, in his vision, a dense array of villages and houses appeared.

Todd patted Henry's neck and shouted happily, "This is the Kingdom of Twilight!

The latter let out a loud chirp, flapped its wings a little faster, and sped towards the distant city.

Sitting on the back of the griffin, Todd looked down at the endless buildings on the ground, and he was secretly frightened.

It's only been half a year since I left, and so many immigrants have gathered around it, flying all the way from the border, almost a dozen kilometers, and the city has not yet arrived, but the housing clusters in the migrant areas outside the city are becoming more and more dense, and occasionally you can see open-air theaters, parks, entertainment streets, markets, and other functional buildings that can only be seen in ordinary towns.

After another minute or so, the buildings grew taller and taller, the facades became more luxurious, and the densely packed residents shuttled through the streets, like a bubbling river.

The city of Twilight City is in sight.

A huge castle under renovation stands on the hills of the royal city, and countless luxurious buildings are scattered in the center of the city.

Todd tells Henry in the soul space that it's time to lower the height.

The griffin folded its wings slightly, tilted its body, and flew towards the city below.

Suddenly, a deafening alarm bell rang out in Twilight, and people looked at the figures swooping down in the sky, screaming and noisily hiding in the nearest building.

The heavily armed soldiers, marching out of the outpost, set up shields, raised their spears, and tightened their bowstrings in the direction where the griffons had landed.

Todd, who swooped down to the ground on a griffin, suddenly realized that he had forgotten something extremely important.

Before leaving, he actually forgot to inform the officials of Dusk West City that he would return today......

Hurriedly ordered Henry to stop the dive, spread his wings, and raise the altitude, and a man and a bird began to hover in the air.

Todd immediately entered the soul space and called Cumberland and Huggins, asking them to order the army to immediately disarm and withdraw their weapons.

A few minutes later, a frenzied Cumberland rode his horse from the headquarters of the Order to the Plaza de Dusk, brandishing his whip and shouting orders for all his soldiers to line up to meet him.

Huggins arrived second, and he was unable to ride a horse due to a spinal injury, so he asked his subordinates to drive the carriage and rush to the square as fast as he could. As soon as he got off the bus, he hurriedly arranged for the government affairs personnel to clear the scene as soon as possible, and transferred the kingdom honor guard.

The residents who were hiding around saw this strange scene in front of them, and they were curious and discussed. There are those who are bold, and even run out of the building, hide at the edge of the square, and look up at the monster in the sky.

Ten minutes later, Todd, hovering in the air on a griffin, saw that everything was ready below, and only then did Henry slowly descend and finally land in the middle of the square.

The sharp-eyed man recognized Todd's identity and shouted excitedly: "It's the Holy Son!

After confirming the identity of the visitor, the residents of Twilight City rushed to tell each other, and the news suddenly spread through the city as if it had grown wings.

The whole royal city was boiling, docks, workshops, bazaars, taverns...... People walked out of the various places and gathered into a huge stream of people, flocking to the Dusk West Plaza.

Watching Todd roll over and get off the griffin, Cumberland looked first at the legendary beast of war, and then at the tanned, fur-clad king, and was momentarily speechless, not knowing what to say.

Huggins was busy directing his soldiers and subordinates, trying to maintain order in the square.

Todd looked around at the familiar and unfamiliar scene, laughed and said, "I'm back!"

Two hours later, the large public baths.

Soak in the vast bath and enjoy the temperature of the hot water, and the fatigue of the whole body seems to overflow with the pores.

Todd let out a sigh of enjoyment: "A long time ago, I wanted to take a bath by myself, and today I finally got my wish." ”

An abrupt voice ruined his rare wonderful moment: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid I still have to remind you that there are hundreds of officials waiting for you outside the door. ”

Todd glanced at Huggins sitting on the bench and yelled angrily, "You can also go outside and wait for me, do you have to sit here and watch me take a shower?!"

"Those officials in the kingdom, I'm worried that you're silent again...... ...... stinging "Huggins gestured with his hand to make a 'run' motion, tilted his head and smiled, "You know." ”

Todd shook his head helplessly, turned his face to the ceiling, and said softly, "Say, what happened to the kingdom during the time I was away?"

"Well, I think about it, your royal palace is almost complete, the structure of the Twilight Cathedral is in the process of topping out the structure, the farmland in the settlement area has received a bumper harvest, the official examination has recruited nearly a thousand administrators, and the Twilight Academy has made great progress in the field of ability and technological research......"

Todd interrupted Huggins with a wave of his hand, "You should know that that's not what I want to hear. ”

Huggins sighed: "Just last month, a civil war broke out among the North Islanders, which began over the distribution of trade profits between tribes, and then turned into an all-out war for dominance. Hundreds of North Island tribes, including the Talon tribe and the blackhead tribe, participated in the battle, and some of the North Island Knights broke away from the army and returned to their respective tribes. The Successor Scout is currently investigating the specifics of the situation, so the matter has not been discussed. ”

Todd frowned and asked, "What are the opinions within the kingdom?"

"The military faction, led by Lord Cumberland, hopes to intervene in this civil strife by force, with the ultimate goal of conquering the North Island tribes and incorporating them into the Twilight Kingdom, while Lord Emerson's Privy Council hopes to use diplomacy to ease the contradictions between the various tribes of the North Island and bring about a compromise and agreement among the various forces. Within the kingdom, the number of supporters of these two options is about fifty to fifty. ”

Todd closed his eyes: "Both of these methods are problematic in terms of feasibility...... Anything else?"

"In the process of cleaning up and rebuilding Silver Circle, we have discovered something that may be important that you should visit if you have a chance. ”

With a lazy hum, Todd snorted through his nose, "If I have time, I'll go, that's all?"

"Just the day before yesterday, Pope Alexandria sent a public letter......

Todd snapped his eyes open, sat up from the water, looked at Huggins and said in a deep voice, "What did he say?!"

"The Church claims to have initiated a mediation to order the Kingdom of Twilight to cede the Silver Ring and allow it to be incorporated into the territory of the Holy Acropolis as a reward for the latter's heroic resistance to the northern barbarians. ”

"A bunch of shameless bastards!"

Huggins shrugged, "The envoys of the Holy Acropolis arrived in Twilight City a week ago. ”

With a look of anger on his face, Todd sneered, "Are you in such a hurry to take over the territory?"

A strange look appeared on Huggins' face, and Todd was puzzled by what he said.

"The envoys of the Holy Acropolis have come to ask for your help. 』