Today is March 2, 911 in the Green Leaf Calendar.

It was an ordinary day for most of the commoners in Heidelberg, but many of the low-ranking officials began to whisper when they went to work, and the nobles, who had always been active in the upper classes, were talking about the seventy-ninth birthday of His Majesty Fivinlie XVIII.

The preparations for the Hermes Palace were already in a state of countdown, and it was now half past one o'clock in the morning, and there was still an hour and a half before the opening time of the Emperor's birthday reception.

"Your Majesty, these medals have been packed." A court maid brought the neatly arranged gold medals and waited for the eighteenth Emperor Fei Wenlie to put them on.

"These ......" The old emperor's eyes showed a look of remembrance, and his withered fingers rubbed lightly against these cold metals.

"Today's young people no longer have the ambition and iron will to pursue honor."

Refusing the help of his maid, he personally wore these medals for himself...... They were the rewards he received for his military exploits when he was young in the army, and he had not worn them for a long time except after he had worn them in the first few years of his ascension to the throne.

He put on the last one and went to the dressing mirror.

These medals are still shiny, and they are still cold. It's he...... The once young and enthusiastic crown prince has become an emperor who is now drooping and decrepit, with white hair, wrinkles, and cloudy eyes, which look incompatible with those metallic medals.

A sudden feeling of annoyance swelled in the heart of Fei Wenlie XVIII, and he stretched out his hand to tear off these medals...... But he stopped anyway and puffed out his chest.

Yes, this skin has indeed changed, but the bones inside have not changed, it is still so hard, and the heart inside has not changed, it is still beating vigorously!

"Honey, we can go out and smell it." The queen also walked in dressed up, although the difference between the two was less than nine years, but the queen's appearance was obviously better than that of the emperor's majesty, and she looked like a woman in her fifties, which made the old emperor feel excited.

"Okay!" The XVIII drew his bow tie one last time, then turned and walked to the door.

"Happy Birthday! 陛xià! ”

"Happy birthday to you!"

He smiled and bowed to his ministers, who were just outside the room, and instead of dealing with the nobles downstairs, he was more accustomed to spending this time with the courtiers who had followed him for a long time, and he was very happy to receive the congratulations of the ministers one by one.

Then there are the ladies, dressed in their brightest festive costumes, to send their blessings to the aging Emperor.

Just after ten o'clock, the Hermes Palace ushered in the peak of passenger flow, and the carriages parked in front of the palace gate were lined up to the far end of the street, and the continuous flow of people led to the corridor inside the guò tree wall, which made the birthday reception of His Majesty the Emperor undoubtedly more like a grand festival. The reception attracted almost all the top nobles in the metropolitan area, and the palace made more than a thousand invitations for this purpose, and the nobles who did not receive the invitations could also use their own family name to pay a visit, of course, such people need to bring gifts of sufficient weight to attract the attention of the host, otherwise their behavior will be regarded as extremely impolite.

The Palace of Hermes had been arranged, and the servants had opened the floor-to-ceiling windows that surrounded the hall, so that people could use them as windows or portals, so that guests outside the living room could participate in the activities of the hall without feeling isolated. A long table covered with a white tablecloth was placed at the edge of the garden near the living room, and hundreds of food and drinks were already placed on top of it. Next to the dining table is a half-height stage, on which is a court band composed of more than 20 musicians. In fact, there were fifteen such bands, scattered throughout the palace, and they guaranteed that the guests would be able to hear the music from all corners.

The 18th Emperor of the Hundred and Eighteenth Dynasty admired the use of force, but did not indulge in the color of wine, and the purpose of holding this grand birthday party at this very sensitive time was not for pleasure, but to make a gesture for the people...... Especially to give a confidence to the huge aristocracy.

Those who can enter this hall are naturally nobles with roots in the empire. However, as time passed, some people began to feel uneasy - His Majesty the Emperor had not shown up for a long time, and several important ministers had not shown up, had something happened?

Some people even wondered irreverently, could it be that the old emperor died in bed due to overwork at night?

Just when some people were thinking nonsense, a court attendant walked through the door and said loudly: "His Majesty the Emperor has arrived!" ”

The sound of music and noise stopped abruptly, and everyone's eyes looked at the door, only to see the elderly emperor His Majesty walking in with brisk steps, his face was bright, as if he was more than ten years younger, and everyone was stunned for a while.

What surprised everyone even more was that His Majesty the Emperor broke the cumbersome etiquette of previous banquets, and after standing in front of everyone, he announced to everyone the good news in a very proud and happy tone - the great victory of Gettysburg.

Although the number of Hulks annihilated this time is not worth mentioning compared to the total number of troops used by the underground race, compared to the rout and stalemate in several other battlefields, it is indeed inspiring, and many people immediately think of Hathaway and have a further evaluation of her.

"Let's toast to the warriors of the Empire!" The old emperor raised his glass high, and it turned out that he was unquestionable in employing people.

"Cheers!" The whole palace resounded with the same voice, and then the cheerful music played, and the red men and green women in the palace were divided into one-on-one pairs as if they had made an appointment!

The reception officially began, and everyone was somewhat relieved, and this time His Majesty the Emperor ended his speech unexpectedly and succinctly.

The centuries-old tradition of the O&D aristocracy is best reflected in the receptions, where the boundaries of hierarchy and system are observed, with powerful ministers gathering in remote corners and brightly dressed young men and women from wealthy backgrounds occupying the dance floor and the most prominent positions. Some of the guests were invited, but their rank and position were not yet on par with those of the top people in the drawing-room, so they chose the garden as a place to live, and they had their own circle of friends.

In another place, after receiving some congratulations to the emperor, he finally felt tired and took His Majesty the Emperor to rest.

……

March 3rd.

At dawn, two groups of unicorn knights and a thousand cavalry of the Cordillera City Defense followed closely behind Hathaway and set off from Gettysburg Fortress.

On the part of the natural church, Bishop Savico accompanied him with a small chaplaincy group; On the Lord's Mansion, in addition to the special combat team that set off in the first place, Bi Lin. Hegel succeeded Bowen. Captain Courtney Guard, leading the Guards entourage, Stilwell. Ponson is still secretly protecting.

In this battle, Hathaway did not mobilize the Barbarian warriors. She couldn't put her safety entirely on the barbarians, and she didn't want the barbarians to mistakenly think that she was using her own people as cannon fodder...... Human beings, if they want to be strong, always have to rely on themselves.

Hathaway knew that time was precious, and if she could eliminate the Hulk's reinforcements, at least for a short time, the Cordillera Collar should be able to hold on.

Steven. Kennett was with his team, but Hathaway could be seen riding a unicorn beside the army. The young lord made him more and more incomprehensible.

He had heard of the new weapon developed by the Cordillera Collar before, but the battle the night before had made him truly feel the horror of it. It is said that the Church is also working on those weapons, but they are far less powerful than the legends.

Bishop Savico and Pastor Tadev followed Steven. Not far behind Kennett, although the two of them are not pampered, their riding skills are indeed not very good, and they can even be said to be quite poor. They had ridden horses before, but they had never been galloping like this before, and in less than half a day, Steven. Kennett could see that they couldn't support it, and even Hathaway in front of him found out.

"You two, do you need a break?" Hathaway paused and asked.

"No, time is precious." Bishop Savico gritted his teeth and said, riding a horse is actually a very tiring thing, this is something he didn't expect, when he used to ride a horse, he felt very good, but the horses under his crotch were generally not very willing to cooperate with him.

Bishop Savico's remarks made Hathaway evaluate him differently, and the relatively obese Reverend Tadev gritted his teeth and insisted, which made Hathaway's impression of these people in the Natural Church slightly better.

In four days, they had covered almost half the distance, which was a day ahead of their plans.

Every day, in addition to rushing, Hathaway had to receive Cecia on time. Hughes sent all kinds of information to understand the situation in order to make decisions.

Steven. Kennett and Savico's faces are very bad, they also have their own news channels, as far as the current situation is concerned, the surface race is already deep in the quagmire on the battlefield, this time the underground race has changed its strategy, and it is fully prepared, the big nobles of many countries have launched a rebellion, and the surface forces are under attack, like the Cordillera Leader, which is already good.

Hathaway didn't feel anything, and her sense of belonging was still not strong. But one thing she knew was that if the surface race was completely defeated, the Cordillera Territory would inevitably be affected, even if it was for the safety of herself and her territory, she would have to give it her all this time.

"Report, fifty miles ahead, I found a team of Hulk warriors." A scout reported that from the beginning of the departure, the special combat team was responsible for the responsibility of the scouts, and now it seems that it has finally worked, and ordinary scouts are afraid that they will be discovered by the Hulk without waiting for the report. R1152