The overcast clouds of the sky plunged the whole world into darkness

Just like the mood of the inhabitants who live in the city today

The heavy atmosphere made everyone feel the oppression of the air, it was like covering their mouths and noses, as if they would accidentally fall into deep darkness

The pedestrians on the road were in a hurry, and their faces were frightened, as if they had encountered some catastrophe, and the road ahead was full of gloom.

The decorations that were originally used to cheer for victory were put away at an early age, and by this time they might have been disposed of as garbage and thrown into the stove as fuel for heating.

This is the capital of the United Kingdom, and here it is difficult for you to imagine that this is just on the battlefield, the country has won at the hands of a great power like the Baltic Empire.

The people of the city already knew what was happening in the Rus' region, what was happening in the Ural Mountains, and the whole of the Northlands, with the exception of their Scandinavian Peninsula, was no longer hostile to the Baltic Empire.

The heavy atmosphere also spread in the palace, and everyone in the palace was cautious, even suppressing their breathing, trying not to make a sound as much as possible.

The owner of the palace, King Gohm of the United Kingdom, was in a very bad mood during this time, and they didn't want to bump into Gohm's gun because of a little negligence.

Almost all of them were looking forward to Sigoarney's return, as they had already pinned their hopes on Sigourn, especially after the victory at Upplan.

Gohm was in his room at this time, it was a very modest room, except for the wooden bed in the middle, it was covered with all kinds of papers, the most striking of which was placed on the floor, depicting a map of the whole Northland.

Above, the Ural Mountains, originally depicted in blue, have been eroded by black, and large areas of Scandinavia have also been blackened.

Gorm stood on the side, quietly looking at the map placed on the ground, his hair was messy, and the thick dark circles under his eyes had appeared on the wrinkles on his forehead, making the king look particularly haggard.

"Your Majesty. ”

There was a soft knock on the door, and a maid dressed in black and white pushed the door and entered, holding a piece of paper in her hand, her face pale and her eyes overwhelmed.

"Your Majesty, news from the Channel of England. ”

Gohm didn't turn his head, and a tired voice came.

"Isn't it already a failure? ”

The tone was affirmative, as if he had no hope of success from the beginning.

"Maid, have you ever felt that fate is holding you by the throat, with lava in front and ice in the back, no matter which option you choose, it is extremely bad. ”

Gohm didn't know the maid's name, and as the owner of this palace, he didn't need to remember everyone's names, let alone the maids who were used as consumables.

"No, Your Majesty, I'm sorry, I'm ...... I do not know. ”

The maid lowered her head in fear, and Gorm's sudden question disrupted her thoughts, and her head was like a mess of paste, and she didn't know how to answer, whether she should think seriously about answering.

"This land belongs to us Scandinavians, and I still remember that when I was very young, under the protection of the gods, we only had to worry about the animal tides in the spring. ”

Gohm had a wistful look in his eyes.

He was caught up in the memories of the past, a very hard, but still peaceful day.

"Yes, yes, I've heard of it. ”

The maid catered to the side.

"Here, help me get that bottle out of the wine cabinet. ”

"Yes, that's the bottle. ”

Gorm asked the maid to take out the two-thirds bottle from the wine cabinet, the bottle looked old-fashioned, the cap was mottled and marked, and it had obviously been stored for a long time.

The maid took the glass from the wine cabinet again, placed it on the table, and gently poured Gomm half a glass of wine, and as the bottle was opened, the rich aroma of wine echoed in the air.

Unlike the sake that is popular today, the liquor has a slight cloudiness, which was made many years ago when the winemaking techniques were still very primitive.

Gohm sat down at the table and waved the maid away.

With the door closing, the room was left with Gorm.

He sighed wistfully, picked up the wine glass in front of him, and twisted it gently.

The taste is very bad, the degree is very low, and because the wine has been stored for too long, there is already a little peculiar smell in the wine.

"Sigourney, our attempt failed. ”

Gomm said into the air in front of him, and as he spoke, the light in front of him began to distort, forming a mirror like a blue surface of water, in which Sigoaney's face appeared.

Sigonay's appearance is still the same as it was many years ago, and it is hard to believe that such a beautiful woman has given birth to several children, the youngest of whom are old enough to marry and have children.

"It was expected, wasn't it?"

Sigourney replied coldly, her voice echoing through the room, crisper than a cuckoo in spring.

"And it's not a failure. ”

"Isn't it true that the Baltic Empire has already discovered our intentions, and even if we fail to meet our expectations in the end, we will still be able to get the Baltic Empire to raise its vigilance against the Celtic Isles and make them invest more forces in the Celtic Isles. ”

Gorm sighed, he still couldn't be as ruthless and cold-blooded as Sigoney, in order to achieve strategic goals, he did not hesitate to sacrifice the soldiers in his hands, this kind of temptation that could not see hope and did not play a role, so easily sacrificed hundreds of soldiers.

"Gohm, don't put everything on the head of fate, fate is such a thing, even the gods can't predict it, even the three goddesses can only be used as bystanders who can't interfere, watching a corner of fate. ”

The three goddesses that Sigourney spoke of were the daughters of the Wise Giant, the daughter of the Giant who had been sent to Warner as a hostage to have his head cut off by an enraged Warner for chatter.

The eldest daughter is Ould, who is in charge of the past, the second daughter is Verdante, who is in charge of the present, and the younger daughter, Scotti, who represents the future, these three goddesses are called "sisters who control fate" by the gods, and they also have the nickname of "goddesses of narrative".

These three goddesses have a very high status in the entire Aesir god race, not only Odin, but also those giants who are hostile to the gods, they have great respect for them, and dare not have the slightest contempt.

"The strength of the Baltic Empire has nothing to do with fate, their rise is never accidental, they made the right choice at the right time, and it has nothing to do with luck. ”

"If the only thing they can call fortunate is, it is that they have grasped the key of this age, when the gods have left the land, when we are still intoxicated with the gifts of the gods. ”

Speaking of this, Sigourney showed a rare expression of helplessness, when Siegel established Scandinavia, it was precisely because of the support of the gods that he was able to carry out those dangerous attempts again and again, and now after losing the support of the gods, the entire Scandinavia is unhealthy and vulnerable.

"In the face of the invaders of the Baltic Empire and the Attila Empire, the Scandinavians have never lacked courage, but fate ......"

"There's no fate, Gorm. ”

"It's just that we haven't worked hard enough, it's just that we're still optimistic that we can resist the invasion of the Baltic Empire. ”

Sigourney interrupted Gorm's self-pity very rudely.

Even in this world, there is no such thing as regret medicine, even if Sigourney has paid enough attention to the Baltic Empire a long time ago, but when it comes to the real need to face this enemy, she finds that this attention is still insufficient.

"Don't expect any more help from the Ural Mountains, they have lost the courage to continue their rebellion against the Baltic Empire after Golia's death. ”

"They will only focus on the immediate benefits, and they will only think about how to get through the difficulties that are close at hand, and when they get through the difficulties, they will find that they have unknowingly become part of the Baltic Empire. ”

Sigourney once again punctured Gohm's naïve thoughts, and made him realize what a terrible situation he needed to face now, which neither Beowulf nor Siegel had ever faced.

"Or do you already believe what Sigurud said?Do you bow to the Baltic Empire for the sake of the people not suffering from the war? Do you think that the Baltic Empire is saving the Scandinavians? Don't be naïve, Gorm, these are all lies embellished with flowery rhetoric, if you can be saved by going to the side of the strong, then why did Beowulf stand up against the invasion of the Attila Empire so many years ago? Why would you lead an army against Siegel's rule in the face of the murderous Attila army in the face of extreme disadvantage?"

"You haven't been to the Baltic Empire, you don't know how terrible that country is, if you give up resistance now, what awaits us is not as simple as death. ”

"In many years' time, the word Scandinavian will become the words of the history books, our words, our language will be forgotten, even our stories, our legends will be forgotten, nothing will be recorded, you can imagine that terrible future, Gauhm. ”

"Even Beowulf's deeds have been misinterpreted in the Baltic population, what do you think we will be called in the future? evil or stupid?"

Sigoarney's voice grew cold, without the slightest heaving, as if to tell the truth of what was about to happen.

"Do you think you really have any other choice? Is there any other possibility for you to choose other than to resist to the end and survive?"

"If you are still the same Gom who killed Siegel and destroyed the Scandinavian Empire, then give me a good sense of sobering up and take my responsibilities as a king seriously. ”

"Don't expect help from others, don't hope for the gods, don't have any illusions that we can reconcile with the Baltic Empire, we Scandinavians have always relied on ourselves, we have always been, never changed. ”

Gohm fell silent, knowing that Sigourney was not just speaking to him, but to herself, and not to think of relying on diplomatic, political, and economic means to alleviate the current crisis.

"Don't be coincidental, don't you say so much in the hope that I will continue to give your brother Siegmund the opportunity to continue to lead the army into battle? ”

Gohm put down his glass, he stood up, his hair standing on end, and retorted angrily.

Sigonay's words seem to say that he has become a coward who relies on fantasy to solve the crisis at hand, an insult that every Scandinavian cannot accept.

"Ha, your brother Zigmund has lost not my trust, but the trust of the whole country, I can give him the right and position to continue to lead the army, but those soldiers will not listen to him. ”

Gohm said with a sneer.

Siegmund's defeat had completely messed up his plans and put the United Kingdom at a political disadvantage, with some of the tribal chieftains beginning to privately question the legitimacy of his position.

"Do you have any other options? ”

"Or do you want to lead the army on the battlefield yourself, or do you think it's more reliable to hand over the army to the Attila Empire?"

Sigoarney's cold voice made Gohm shut up.

As the king of the United Kingdom, it is impossible for him to leave the kingdom and appear on the battlefield at this stage, and the generals under him, whether in terms of ability or loyalty, are not enough to assume the duties of commander-in-chief.

As for giving the Attila Empire to lead the army, he would not think about it, and if he dared to do so, the troops under his command would question it and refuse to obey his order.

For the king, he can lose a lot of things, but he must not lose the support from the army, especially when his own strength is not outstanding, losing the support of the army is equivalent to voluntarily giving up the throne and giving his life to others.

"Yes, I admit that my brother Zigmund proposed to me has my own selfish motives, but other than that, Gorm, can you find someone who is capable and will not betray?"

Sigourney then directly admitted her selfishness, and her question left Gorm with no answer to answer.

There was no choice in the first place, and no matter how unwilling he was, he could only put this important task in the hands of Siegmund and maintain the military independence of the United Kingdom as much as possible.

In the case of union with the Attila Empire, Sigourney alone was not enough to show their sincerity, and the United Kingdom had to show their strength in the western part of Scandinavia, and needed to show their strength to the Baltic Empire and share the pressure on the Attila Empire.