There was a long silence.

The howling cold wind, the snow, suddenly came to a standstill above the crater of the abyss—as if time had stood still.

There was no fall, no flight, and the crystal snowflakes just stopped in the air. If you touch it with a gentle hand, you can create a space free of snowflakes in mid-air.

It's like erasing the handwriting on a blackboard.

The Eagle King elegantly hooked the corners of his mouth, as if he had forgotten the purpose of this trip, and "played" in place to play with those motionless snowflakes, feeling the cold touch melt in the palm of his hand.

After a long time, the voice of aging sounded again.

"So how can we be sure that when you have that opportunity, you won't choose to become a second 'Black Cross'?"

The Eagle King chuckled and shook his head, "No, I can't—it's just because I don't believe I can refuse that temptation that I'm sure the stranger won't either." ”

"Hah!"

Diabo, the vitriol "Enderman", sneered: "I'm still an honest scumbag!"

"Lust and greed are in our nature—shouldn't you, as the ancestors of human and elven blood, know better?"

Taking a deep breath, the Eagle King did not flinch: "Confess your sins, face your ugly and despicable self, stand in the abyss and look up to the only light—this is the lesson you have left us, and we will remember it in our hearts." ”

Diabo's voice faded.

"If we believe in you, as you say, we will only create a second Black Cross!" said Govait, the dignified "tyrant":

"Then why don't we trust the strangers who already have the ability to defeat the Black Cross and put an end to this catastrophe?"

"For if you choose him, you are putting your life and death in the hands of a stranger. ”

The Eagle King seemed to have anticipated this question, and said softly with a hint of sarcasm: "Everyone... Let's face it, yall... It's no longer you who were when you destroyed the Dragon Kingdom. ”

"That terrible war has cost you the vast majority of your strength, and you have become scapegoats for the Black Cross Project - if nothing happens, even if this world is saved, your fate will not change in any way. ”

"Under the light of the 'savior' of the new world, he exists on the edge of the world in the image of the 'devil', maintains his own existence with fear, and demonstrates the light and greatness, justice and justice of the 'savior'. ”

The Eagle King said coldly, "That's right, in fact, you have long been desperate - so when the rest of the evil gods have either fallen, or given up, or are struggling to try to rid this world of fate, and fight against the Black Cross Project again and again......"

"You are watching from the sidelines, mechanically manipulating those poor ghosts who are desperate for their fate to become your apostles, using their hands to maintain the last bit of existence. ”

"Because you know that whether the Holy Cross or another savior changes the world, the outcome will be no different to you - except for the Black Cross, who intends to take the world into his hands, your existence is worthless!"

Raising his head suddenly, the Eagle King's eyes flashed with excitement:

"But you still haven't given up - not the kind of determination to rebel against fate, but to try to use this way of 'selling pity' to reduce your sense of existence, begging that in the eyes of the Black Cross, you still have a little bit of existential value!"

"Let's be realistic, it's not me who really needs help, it's you!"

"And I've brought this last chance to you!"

"What if... You really intend to turn a blind eye unless you really feel comfortable entrusting the world you have fought so hard to survive to a stranger who has no dependence, no emotion, and no even care......"

The Eagle King said coldly, "Then so be it." ”

"As a member of this world, I will fight until the last moment for the future in my heart!"

Dead.

Sneering, the level-eyed Eagle King looked at the evil gods "hidden" around him, waiting for their final reply.

"As the leader of the Azorean elves, you have shown your courage. ”

A sad tone came, and the "Unbeliever" whispered in a very difficult tone, "But it also proves one thing, and that is that the consequence of believing in you is only the creation of a second Black Cross." ”

"That's right, so... I don't need you to trust me. The Eagle King raised his head and said in a deep voice, "I just need you to lend me your strength—to make me your common 'apostle', so... My life and death are in your hands!"

"Every thought in my mind, every thought, even a memory of the past, a fragment that flashed through my mind... I will be presented to you without reservation, and if I intend to betray you, we will be destroyed together!"

"Put my life and death, everything I have, into your hands, and you will decide - this is my sincerity!"

After speaking, he raised his gaze: "How?"

"We... Have you met the conditions?!"

There was no response to his voice.

Only the restless blizzard roared again above the crater abyss.

..............................

"The army must be withdrawn immediately, and the whole army must retreat behind the walls of the Broken Mountain Fortress, and there can be no further delay!"

Valley of Blood, the halls of Hornfort in the Floating City—almost as soon as the black-haired wizard uttered the shocking news, the legion commander sent by Dresis stepped forward and shouted in an unquestionable tone:

"I don't mean to question the bravery of all of you, but the truth is that we have less than 10,000 troops, and every time the monsters invade, the enemy's strength never falls below 100,000!

The Earls of Byrne who were present frowned and expressed their disapproval of this kind of defeat of "retreating before fighting", but at least they did not stand up and slap the table and criticize loudly.

The reason is also very simple, because the infantry commander who was sent by Conod to serve as the "Duke Aide-de-camp" is one of the few Knights of the Oath in the Fortress of Broken Mountain, and his resume and experience are second only to the fallen Knight Chief Naze.

There may be people in the Sakran Empire who are dissatisfied with the Church, but none of them have dared to come forward and accuse the "Knights of Oath" of desertion.

Loren agrees with the Knight of Oaths - when there are unforeseen circumstances that prevent the plan from proceeding, it may seem "cowardly" to retreat, but at least it can maximize the stop-loss.

If there were no accidents, he would have done the same.

"Could it be that by holding on to the fortress of Broken Boundary Mountain, you can block the invasion of monsters?" said Gerant, Count of the Glorious Tower, abruptly:

"The sixth-generation 'Sage' Brandon, the tenth-generation 'Dragon Queen' Charlotte, the commanders of the two largest monster invasions, they did not choose to defend a fortress, but decisively went north, gathered a large army to confront the empire's mortal enemy, and won the battle!"

"You ......"

Before the Knight of Oath could finish speaking, the Count of the Tower of Glory rushed forward and stood in front of him!

"I propose that the Duke lead us to hold the Valley of Blood, and at the same time send a herald to ask for help from His Majesty Conod in the Broken Mountain Fortress, as well as from Byrne's own country - follow the example of His Majesty the Supreme Emperor of the past dynasties, and decide the victory in one battle!"

"Right now, we occupy the top of the valley of the Valley of Bloodbones, condescending, with projectile weapons and protective walls to fend off the chaotic horde of monsters, and with the Knights of Byrne and Boe's warriors forming a wall charge, it is enough to crush any attack in an instant!"

The Byrne knights present looked at each other, and their hot eyes looked at Loren very "neatly" - the first to go into battle, to defend the enemy alone, and then to destroy the enemy with an irresistible charge......

It's a tailor-made way of fighting for the Byrne.

But to their disappointment, the Duke did not immediately nod in agreement—on the contrary, Loren was surprisingly quiet today, without a flash or hesitation.

"Eckert. The black-haired wizard looked at the Earl of Fort Fury, who bowed his head to his side, and said nothing:

"What do you think?"

Count Eckert, who had just arrived at the castle with three thousand Byrne knights, looked at the map on the table and thought for a while before raising his gaze.

"The key to defending or retreating is how many battles we have to fight. The Earl of Fort Fury said seriously: "Judging from the current situation, I am afraid that the main force of the Azorean elves is still in the western part of the Valley of Bloodbones - the werewolves of the ice fields who attacked our hussars should have been expelled here by them. ”

Everyone present bowed their heads silently, agreeing with the Count of Fury Castle's analysis.

"Then, the next question is whether this sudden 'monster invasion' has anything to do with the Azorean elves - if not, I actually prefer to evacuate the Valley of Bloodbones as soon as possible and rely on the Broken Mountain Fortress to defend it. ”

As he spoke, Eckert glanced at the Knight of Oath:

"Most importantly, because the Azorean elves must take the fortress as soon as possible, they will inevitably clash with the army of monsters heading south, and the empire can inflict heavy damage on two enemies without a single soldier. ”

"We don't even have to worry about the Azorean elves retreating, hiding in the ice and waiting for the Broken Mountain fortress to be taken by monsters - they have traveled long distances and have little baggage, and the only fate for daring to do so is to starve to death and freeze to death in the ice fields. ”

Hearing this, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became a lot more eager, and even many Byrne knights showed a bit of a "maliciously" smile on their faces.

"But... If this monster invasion had something to do with them, the situation would have been very different. Eckert changed his words:

"I've consulted the materials and classics of the past empires about the invasion of monsters, and I have found something insignificant—that is, all the monster invasions that are so large that they need to be resisted by the strength of the entire empire have not been survived by relying on the fortress of Broken Boundary Mountain. ”

"Whether it's the sixth generation or the tenth generation, it's not that the emperors don't want to wait for work, but the Broken Mountain Fortress on the open plain that can't get any support from other directions, the width of the battlefield is too narrow, and if you want to defeat the monsters, it will definitely become a war of attrition stacked with numbers. ”

"Compared to consumption, the empire will definitely not be able to compare to the monsters and evil gods!"

The atmosphere that had just been a little eager suddenly began to turn cold.

Does this monster invasion have anything to do with the Azorean elves? No one present has any evidence, but in fact, anyone who is a little rational and knows how to think already knows it.

Never mind... That's impossible.

If not, why would the Eagle King of the Azorean elves risk death by crossing the Far North Ice Sheet in the dead of winter and attacking the Broken Mountain Fortress from the north?

There's no need for it!

He has already captured the westernmost fortress of the Broken Mountain Fortress Greywater Bay, and he can take the opportunity to go south and break into the hinterland of the empire from the Ebotden border - East Sacraland, which is currently in a civil war, is definitely no match for these 40,000 Azorean elves!

Then the enemy's purpose is clear.

Perhaps it was foreseen, or perhaps it was their collusion with the evil gods that caused this monster invasion without warning - breaking through the fortress of Broken Mountain, invading East Sackland from north to south, sweeping Boi, and finally besieging the imperial capital of Golovin with two other Azorean elven armies.

Now it seems that this possibility is not only there, but very large!

"What about the others... Is there anything else?" Loren said softly, his gaze turning to Grenwell, Earl of Stormcastle, who had been silent.

"I think... The plan to take control of the Valley of Bloodbones must not be abandoned. ”

Sensing Loren's attention, Grenwell smiled, "Since the enemy wants us to hide behind the fortress, it should be the best choice to prevent them from satisfying us." ”

"In addition, I think it is appropriate to send reinforcements to His Highness Brandon in East Sacraland, to Boi and Byrne himself, and even to Arles, and to send reinforcements to the fortress of Broken Hill as soon as possible. ”

"Whether it is to defeat the Azorean elves under the Broken Mountain Fortress first, or after blocking the invasion of monsters, the Byrne army goes south and attacks the elven warriors in the Broken Mountain Fortress, our current forces are far from enough to hold these two areas at the same time, but we can't let it go easily. ”

As he spoke, Grenwell looked at the black-haired wizard solemnly: "Please lead us to fight to the death against the evil gods of the north in the Valley of Blood!"

His words were resolute.

A very solemn atmosphere filled the hall like substance, and even Count Eckert of Fury Castle couldn't help frowning slightly, his expression complicated.

This is no longer a gamble - with less than 10,000 elites facing tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of monsters, unless there is absolute confidence and certainty, adequate and detailed planning, otherwise......

It's to die.

Eckert was convinced that Loren Turin was not the kind of person who was keen to die, that he might take risks, that he might try again and again to solve a war at the least cost, but that he would never put himself in danger if he was unprepared, especially if he didn't have to.

So......

"Ladies and gentlemen, I've decided. The black-haired wizard spoke slowly, and said in a categorical tone:

"We're in the Valley of the Blood, we're fighting them, and we're ......"

"Destroy them!"