"Here they are. ”

In the hall of the Knights of Edgeworth, Conrad... Or Connad I casually threw the letter on the table, looked at the dukes with different expressions and the uninvited Brandon, and said lightly.

There is no superfluous explanation.

But everyone understood what was going on—or rather, at this time, it was only possible for the Emperor to summon all the dukes for one thing.

"In what direction?" the black-haired wizard looked up, his expression a little surprised: "How many?"

Neither the Corona masters, nor the night watchmen of Ebolden, received information, where did Conod get the news about the Azorean elves?

In the next second, the mystery was revealed.

"I don't know. ”

Conrad, who was slowly seated, propped his elbows on the table, and looked at Loren through his crossed fingers: "This letter... It was a letter received a few days ago by the Church of the Holy Cross in Ebolden, and because the messenger was so special, the Church immediately sent a cavalry to a military camp in West Sacraland in the early morning and then to me. ”

"There was only one sentence in the letter... They're coming. ”

The dukes looked at each other, but Corona thought as if she remembered something.

"So, the key is the identity of the sender. Yuri Wirtz was the first to react, looking at Conod with burning eyes: "This person... Special?"

Conod nodded heavily, and his meaningful gaze turned to the black-haired wizard: "A... An old friend of the Duke of Loren Turin, a devout member of the Holy Cross. ”

"Oh?" Duke Nolan Ode of Arles curled the corners of his mouth and glanced at the black-haired wizard with his right eye, "What's his name?"

"He has long since abandoned his identity, and is still the last remaining 'Sword of Oath' knight in the Empire. ”

Corona sighed and took over the topic: "Almost three years ago, this pious knight took over a mission from me from the former emperor - to go to the Kingdom of the Azores to find out. ”

"Three years ago?!" Lu Wen burst out, his face shocked.

"That's right, just three years ago. Corona nodded calmly: "The year the ocean-going fleet was shipwrecked." ”

The voice fell, and the entire hall fell silent.

The dukes with different expressions, whether it was Salika, who liked to mess around, and Yuli, who was always calm, including Brandon, who had not spoken, had expressions no better than those of the shocked Ruwen.

Three years ago... Could it be that His Majesty Eckhart II had anticipated today's situation three years ago?!

This... Even if it was true, it didn't make sense - if he had expected it, why would he wait until three years later, and why would he be killed by the Azorean elven assassins in his own dormitory and rob him of the Iron Crown?!

Or was it all part of his plan, even his own death......

This terrifying thought, which once hovered in the minds of the dark-haired wizards, now surfaced in everyone's minds at the same time, manifesting itself on their faces.

Brandon, who was silent, remained silent, as if the meeting and the event had nothing to do with him.

"We must do something about it, or we will let this important piece of information go to waste, and it will make three years of hard work by a brave Knight of Oaths go to waste. Conod said in a deep voice:

"The most important thing... If you can't keep them out of the country, you will have to fight them within the country. ”

The black-haired wizard who didn't move at all looked at Conod's extremely serious expression.

Within the borders? For Conod and the royal family de Salion, the results were far more terrible than that.

Once they can't stop the invasion of the Azorean elves "outside the gates", regardless of whether the opponent's main attack direction is Lothair or Ebolden, the next direction of their invasion will definitely be West Sakland, the emperor's direct territory where the imperial capital is located, and the transportation center that maintains the normal operation of the Sakrand Empire.

Taking advantage of the important communication roads between the Gem River and the Empire, the Azorean elves can calmly gather troops to launch the next offensive against Ellement, East Sackland and even Poi on the premise of maintaining a siege on the imperial capital.

Even more terrifying... Because of the advantages of transportation and troops, they can not only calmly divide the armies of each principality, but also wantonly plunder, destroy, and massacre... Further weaken the resistance of the principalities to the point where they can only huddle in the castle to protect themselves.

The best result would be a split of the empire in two, barely able to keep a small part of East Sackland in the south.

If the war had gone to that point, it would have been no different from the death of the empire and the royal family of de Salion.

As for whether the Azorean elves will be able to do this ... At this point, at least no one here will doubt whether the Azorean elves will be able to show enough strength to compete with the Empire, or even stronger.

At this point, Loren can finally understand why Conod would win over Nolan Ode, use almost "Brandon-style" means to force the dukes to submit to him, and then make a deal with him so happily.

From beginning to end, he was the only one who didn't hide and lie.

All... All for the Sakran Empire.

For the benefit of de Salion.

"The enemy can invade at any time, and we can't determine the exact direction and time. Yuli Wirtz frowned, and his expression became more and more solemn: "Don't you even have any means of countermeasures?"

"But it's not just that, it's much more serious than that. Nolan Ode grinned, his expression was very playful: "It's not that there is no means of countermeasures, but there is no power to counteract!"

"I believe that all of you here... I've almost been assassinated, right? I don't know what's going on in your family, but Arles is a mess, rebellions are rampant, thieves are rampant, and I cut down two uncles last month to keep my castle steady and keep the rebellion down. ”

Salika hugged her shoulders and snorted coldly: "Boi is almost the same, there are still many traitors in Little Boi's who disobey our Jonah family, if you don't put them down, the hussars of the Great Green Sea won't even be able to enter East Sakland!"

'The situation in Ellemans is a bit better, we have been less affected. Yuli raised his head and looked at Conod with a serious expression: "But the troops are relatively scattered, and it will take at least three months to assemble them." ”

"The army of Lothair has been assembled, and the mobilization can be completed at any time!"

Lu Wen raised his head heroically, and slapped the table with a "bang!"

"The 30,000 army is gathered in Eagle Hunt Castle, your logistics pressure should be heavy, right?" Yuri looked at him worriedly, "This should be a big burden for Lothair." ”

"It's okay, it's okay! This year's harvest in the river valley is very good, and grain or anything is not a problem for the time being!" Lu Wen waved his hand nonchalantly:

"Besides, even if there is not enough food to eat, having Loren and his joint chamber of commerce is absolutely ...... in such a trivial matter."

"Ahem, ahem, ahem, ahem, ——!!!!"

The black-haired wizard coughed violently, and finally overshadowed the second half of his sentence - this guy Ruwen... How can Lothair and Byrne privately agree to say such a thing in front of the emperor?!

"So... At the moment, the only ones who can really gather enough troops are Sackland, Lothair, and Byrne. ”

Conod, who pretended not to hear, just looked coldly at Loren, who no longer spoke: "The rest... It will take at least three months. ”

The dukes with different expressions pondered for a long time, and finally nodded very tacitly.

As for the mercenary regiments at Ebolden ... The kind of army that "looks at money in everything" is not on everyone's mind at all.

"In that case, we need to develop a detailed defense plan to gather enough forces for the Empire to buy time, and at the same time prevent the Azorean elves from invading the Empire's hinterland as much as possible. ”

Conod, whose face was expressionless, said in a firm and calm voice: "On the one hand, we need to mobilize enough supplies and deploy them to support this war, and on the other hand, we also need to tap our respective war potentials as soon as possible." ”

"As the Emperor and the leader of the Edgeworth Knights, I ask all of you here to work together and contribute all your strength to this war, and ...... for this."

"Bang ——!"

A screeching sound interrupted Emperor Conod's words.

The dukes, all stunned, looked in the direction of the source of the sound - the silent Brandon de Salion, who had risen from his seat.

His Royal Highness... Or the current crown prince and prince of East Sackland... looked at Emperor Conod indifferently, with deep impatience in his blood-red eyes:

"The 30,000 men of the Crusade Legion are already on their way, and they will arrive in the imperial capital in two months at the latest, fighting for you and your empire;"

"Until then, I'll head to Torch Peak Mountain and make an alliance request to the dragons there - if I can come back alive in three months, or be whole... All that wasn't eaten by the dragons was a pile of excrement and bone residue... You'll know I've made it. ”

"Now... Please allow me to retire first, after all, time waits for no one, let alone the dragon, and I will take my leave, Your Majesty!"

After speaking, Brandon, who took a deep breath, turned around and left without looking back, striding towards the door.

"Brandon!"

The majestic and loud voice stopped His Royal Highness the "new" crown prince who was about to walk out of the door.

"It's not 'my empire,' it's 'our empire.'" The expressionless Conod said in a deep voice, staring meaningfully at Brandon's back:

"Don't forget, you're also the son of Eckhart, and you're also a de Salion. ”

Brandon, who was slightly stunned, rushed out of the hall in a hurry.

The atmosphere has become more awkward......

In the silence, Corona, who had always been quiet, turned her gaze to the black-haired wizard, and Loren looked a little hairy.

"Ahem, ahem... Although it is not clear at the moment the exact time and direction of the enemy's attack, the general situation can be determined. The black-haired wizard had no choice but to stand up and ease the atmosphere for Brandon's actions:

"The first is the direction of attack - there are only two ports and coasts along the Imperial coastline that can provide a large fleet landing, one is Ebolden, and the other is the Misty Moon Court in the Ancient Wood Forest... At most, the rest can only moor fishing boats and small merchant ships, so there is nothing to worry about. ”

"The former is well known to be the most important coastal port of the Empire, and is well connected to the Gem River, an important waterway, and Ebden itself is not a large fortress, so it is a weak point in attack;"

"The Misty Moon Court is deep in the Ancient Wood Forest, although it can provide a large number of warships to moor, but if you want to cross the forest to attack Lothair, the only exit is the Deep Forest Fort, and it is difficult to make the army unfold and launch a full-line attack - it can be said that it is a one-man pass, and ten thousand people cannot open it. ”

"Therefore, the easiest way is to concentrate all the main forces that can be found at the moment to assemble at Ebolden to defend against the landing operation of the Azorean fleet, and then gather a small number of elite and large reserves in the deep forest fort, and build the entire county into a fortress group and defensive position with the castle as the core to resist the attack of the elves. ”

"Finally... Although the ocean-going fleet has been completely wiped out, the empire still has a small number of warships and ocean-going ships, which can be used to carry a small number of elite... For example, the troll hunters of Arles, who are harassing their logistics by attacking the rear lines of the invading Azores. ”

"In this way, you will be able to accomplish Your Majesty's basic goals... Defend against the enemy outside the borders of the country. ”

Clear and precise characters, echoing through the halls.

Yuli Wirtz had a solemn expression, and Ruben had a natural expression;

Salika curled the corners of her mouth, unconsciously straightening her waist and puffing up her chest, and Nolan Ode raised her eyebrows, smiling playfully.

Corona, who was smiling, turned her gaze to the expressionless Conrad beside her.

Everyone was waiting for His Majesty's reply.

"The only problem... Ebolden. Conod narrowed his eyes and asked coldly, "Ebolden's defense system is not enough to withstand a large-scale landing raid. ”

"If I were the commander of the Azorean elves, I could have blocked the city with a small number of troops, and then the remaining main force bypassed your walls and defenses... If so, what are you supposed to do?"

"First of all, Ebolden is the city they have to take. ”

"Secondly, it is impossible for them to blockade Ebolden with a small number of troops, this is a port city, and the only port city around;" The black-haired wizard shook his head, "As long as they don't capture Ebolden for a day, their fleet will not be able to land on a large scale on the borders of the Empire." ”

"As for the very few who forcibly landed ... Believing that with the impregnable 'black walls' of the Empire, this kind of problem is not a problem at all. ”

"In other words, the army attacking Eberden will be unprecedentedly large, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands?" said Yuli Wirtz.

"With such troops, how can we hold the city?"

"It's simple. Loren shrugged:

"We can't hold it. ”