City of a Thousand Tents.

After meeting up with Count Eckert of Castle of Fury, who had arrived from the south, and the dwarves of Silverhelm Mountain, Loren finally returned to the only city on the Great Green Sea.

Looking at the familiar and unfamiliar scene in front of him, the black-haired wizard's gaze was extremely complicated; although the traces of damage on the city wall were still there, there were almost no traces of blood or charring, and the corpses and broken walls were basically cleaned up; the houses in the city had basically been repaired, or temporarily replaced by tents that were most commonly used by the people on horseback.

Bustling with figures, tent camps on the periphery of the city walls, herds of cattle and sheep, and horse-drawn carriages shuttling between the streets and the city gates......

I couldn't believe what a bloody battle had broken out here just a few months ago, and the piles of bones had even blocked the rushing river outside the city.

Of course, there's more to the city than that...... With dark pupils staring at the Iron Crown banner on the city walls, Loren couldn't help but sigh.

The Empire's response was unimaginably swift - if Brandon hadn't lied, the army had only been ordered to officially start around the time of his capture of Silverhelm Mountain, and they would have marched nearly twice as fast as Byrne.

And also on the premise of doubling the number of troops and predominantly infantry... In less than two months, he had already passed through the Little Boi Territory and occupied and controlled one-third of the city defenses of the Thousand Tent City.

This is still because Salika led the army back to the city of a thousand tents in time, and after some negotiations, otherwise it would not be Boi's hussar warriors standing on the city wall now, but the legionnaires of the empire!

In a sense, this is also the capital of Brandon and his "lion's mouth"... Indeed, even the proudest of the Byrne knights had to admit that the quality of the Empire's legions was higher than that of Byrne.

Even if Brandon turned his face and didn't recognize anyone, there was no force in Poi at the moment that could compete with the 50,000 legions and a giant dragon, not to mention that Loren's goal was to win them over and make them truly loyal to Brandon.

This is important for Brandon, and it is important for Loren, especially when Poi is already half-crippled, and whether it is Byrne, who has just been united, or himself who will face Seliol's next round of pursuit at any time, they need a strong enough ally.

By the time the Byrboi coalition and the dwarves arrived, the Duke's Castle in the Thousand Hordes was ready for the coronation of the new Grand Duke, and when all the guests arrived, it was officially announced.

In this respect, the Boi seem to have many similarities with the "natives" of Byrne: the ceremony is very simple, but the banquet is very grand, and the same is true in the drunken aspect, almost no difference.

After the ceremony, the group successfully entered the Duke's Castle in the Thousand Tents, but only Loren, Count Braha, Master Ashamai, and even Brandon were allowed to enter the main hall.

According to the rules of knighthood established at the beginning of the empire, the Grand Dukes of each Duchy were only one rank below the Supreme Emperor and equal to the Prince of East Sakland, and the direct royal family was lower than the Duke but higher than the Earl.

So even if His Royal Highness a certain prince was so angry that he stomped his feet, he could only stand outside helplessly, watching Loren walk in alone with a jealous face, making a certain black-haired wizard keep rolling his eyes.

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

In the solemn atmosphere of the main hall, Loren, who was standing in front of the door, could faintly hear the noise and noise outside;

A few Boi warriors and Imperial officers quarreled, Count Braha was in the middle of the matter as best he could, Master Ashmai said that he, as an elder, must say two words to them, and his collapse caused the small wizard to exclaim, and Brandon seemed to be being mischievoked by the dragon Milassis, making him scream without an image......

Shaking his head and sighing, Loren turned his gaze back to the main hall.

The Iron Knight, the Mithril Blade, which symbolizes the position of Grand Duke of Boi, is placed in front of him.

"Listen to the Braha and they say that a few soldiers of the Varna family dug it out of a grave somewhere. The girl's voice echoed through the walls, with a strong smell of languidness and decadence.

The black-haired wizard frowned slightly, and Salika, who was full of alcohol, sat on the stone steps next to the knife holder, still holding the pot of unfinished mare's milk wine in her hand, and looked at herself with a pair of trance-like eyes:

"They also said that when the knife was 'dug up', it was impossible to tell which was which, because there were so many corpses and piled on top of each other, that in the end they didn't even know where the bones of the old thing Laszló Varna were. ”

"Probably... Belch... It's already swollen, and it's no different from stinky meat and mud, right?"

With that, she picked up the flask again and poured it hard, and before she could put it down, Loren stepped forward and snatched it down.

The girl who was robbed of the wine jug didn't resist, just pouted and stared at him, snorting unhappily.

"Not happy?" casually put the flask on the table, and Loren, who was silent, sat beside her silently.

"How so?!"

Salika, who was full of alcohol, retorted without thinking about it, and puffed up her neck arrogantly: "I'm about to become the Archduke of Boi! In hundreds of years, the female archduke of the whole empire can count on two hands!"

"Big and small boys, Thousand Tent City, and the horseback people of the entire Great Green Sea are all my people; with an order, there will be another 100,000 hussars to respond tomorrow; fight whoever you want, and go wherever you want!"

The braided girl with her teeth and claws was breathing rapidly, and the more impatient she was, the more flushed her face became, and even the freckles on her cheeks turned pink.

"The Jonah family has been looking forward to the stars and the moon for so many years, from my grandfather to my father, my uncles have not been able to have this good luck, and before I can do anything, that Laszló Varna himself died of his own initiative and gave up the position of Grand Duke!"

"Yes, and Laszló Varna... I hate that old thing to death, you can't imagine how happy I know when he dies!"

"So what can I be unhappy about? I became a duke, got revenge, and won a centaur war, and those barbarians didn't dare to come here for a hundred years, I'm happy! I'm so happy! No one is happy for me!"

Salika screamed hysterically, snorted in anger, and fell headlong on the stairs behind her, gasping for breath, her chest rising and falling, her eyes fixed on the ceiling.

There was a long silence, and only the girl's panting could be heard.

The wine and anger on her face gradually dissipated, and Salika's expression gradually calmed down.

"You traitor......"

Well?

A surprised Loren turned his face to see Salika lying on the steps with a pair of cold eyes, like a hungry wolf staring at his prey.

"What, you still want to pretend to be stupid?" the girl snorted angrily: "Braha told me before I came in, you and His Royal Highness the prince have already hooked up in private, and you want the imperial army to be stationed in Boi. ”

The black-haired wizard stopped talking.

"For such a big thing, you actually agreed to come down without saying a word to me in advance......" Salika became more and more angry, and the corners of her mouth kept trembling:

"My Lord Duke of Byrne... In your eyes, are the Boi people the doglegs of your benefactors, who come and go when they are called, and can be betrayed if they want to?!"

"What did you take me for, what did you take Boi for?!"

Looking at those resentful eyes and the trembling corners of his mouth, Loren was stunned, and the words he had thought of were blocked in his throat.

I could only lower my head and not look at those eyes.

He wanted to explain to Salica the benefits of having Brandon garrison Boe, and he wanted to tell her that there was no way to do it, but ......

It is always her who is hurt, not herself, and this kind of words can only be used to comfort and comfort herself.

As the Grand Duke of a country, controlling the entire Great Green Sea, holding the power of life and death, but having to accept that his capital and territory are garrisoned, supervised, and even monitored, how uncomfortable is this feeling... It's not inconceivable.

At this time, it is too ...... for the other party to be considerate of herself, understand how significant her sacrifice is, and how critical it is to herself and even the "overall situation

“...... I actually know. ”

The girl who spoke silently suddenly interrupted the black-haired wizard's contemplation, with a sullen expression: "The empire has long been against Boi, but in the past, because of the Black Duke and Laszló Varna, they never had a chance. ”

"Since it is already a doomed thing, it is much better to let Brandon, who has a good relationship with him and has a weak power, to garrison the army than the emperor himself or the crown prince of Conod... You must think so, right?"

Loren's face changed, and he looked at her in disbelief.

"But don't think that I don't hate you anymore, there's more you owe me than that!" Salika suddenly looked up and glared at the black-haired wizard angrily:

"You promised me that you would leave to me the man who killed my warrior with what potion, and what about the last man?!"

The black-haired wizard's expression froze.

"And that Chakar... In the past two days, I have heard that my ears are about to grind out calluses, and Lord Byrne, who has descended from the sky, has slain a monster that even a dragon can't help with a sword... It's amazing, it's majestic!"

Looking at the eyes that really wanted to kill him, Loren faintly remembered that Lu Sien had asked something similar before, and his expression was extremely embarrassed.

He was stared at by the girl for five seconds before he could hold back a sentence.

"I'm sorry. ”

"I'm sorry......" and finally he could only say this: "I broke my promise." ”

He really didn't know what else he could say.

At this moment, Salica, who was staring at the black-haired wizard, grabbed his wrist with a "snap!"

Loren was slightly startled, and subconsciously wanted to withdraw his hand.

"Why, still don't agree?"

As she spoke, Salika pulled him in front of her with a strong palm, and looked up and down with a pair of extremely aggressive eyes: "How many people want it, but they don't have a chance!"

"Or... You've made me pay so much that you can't even agree to this little request?"

"It's okay with the request, right?" the black-haired wizard's eyes widened, "And I think... It doesn't seem like it's going to compensate you for anything!"

"I just say yes!"

The girl was categorical, and the girl's wrist exerted force again, and there was only an inch of distance left between the two people, almost the tip of the nose against the tip of the nose.

Salika, whose cheeks were flushed, closed her eyes slightly, and slowly approached with a shudder.

Loren, who had a stunned expression, had an extremely complicated gaze.

In my mind, a cliché "dilemma" from my previous life came to mind.

Well, since she insisted on doing it, then ......

In the next second, Salika suddenly opened her eyes.

And a bite on Loren's lower lip!

"Hmmm——?!"

The sharp pain came, and Loren, who shrank his head suddenly, immediately covered his mouth and saw the red mark on his hand.

"You, you ......"

"Pss......!!!!ss

She was answered by Salika's unabashed laughter.

"How about it, surprised, surprised?! I'll tell you, when you go back, whoever asks you what's going on, you have to answer truthfully, and then we'll be even!"

Loren didn't know what his expression should be, and Salika was still laughing uncontrollably, rolling back and forth on the stairs with her stomach clutched.

"Knock ————!"

Just then, the door opened.

With those vigorous, slow, heavy, and light steps, the guests outside the main hall door rushed in.

Oops......

The black-haired wizard, who suddenly noticed that something was wrong, immediately turned around, and then his eyes widened in surprise - Salika, who was rolling on the ground with a smile just now, was already standing in the center of the main hall with a solemn face, with her hands behind her back.

When did she walk over?

Loren, with an inexplicable expression, thought crankily as he stood aside and moved out of the way of the central road, and before he could figure it out, he was gently patted on the shoulder by Brandon on his side, looking himself up and down in surprise.

However, when those surprised eyes stopped on his lips, they immediately turned into a smile of understanding, and the corners of his mouth grinned behind the roots of his ears, and he nodded incessantly there.

Loren had to roll his eyes at him and ignore him.

"Bang, bang, bang——!"

A heavy footstep came from outside the door.

Following everyone's gaze, a man who was surrounded by two old men in clerical robes slowly entered the hall behind everyone, holding a sculpture of the Holy Cross and the heraldic banner of the Jonah family that was covered on it.

Bishop Calvin of Boi is also one of the oldest living bishops of the Holy Cross.

Seeing the old man slowly walking towards him, even Salika, who had never been afraid of heaven and earth, obviously showed a nervous expression, and the corners of her mouth tightened as if she had stopped breathing.

"In the presence of you, in the name of the Holy Cross, I would like to inform Boi, and indeed of the principalities of the Empire, Grand Duke Laszló Varna, who has died in battle with honor, and has ascended to heaven!"

For a moment, there was a dead silence in the main hall, and only the voice of Bishop Calvin could be heard:

"In the presence of all of you and the Holy Cross, the coronation of the new Grand Duke of Boi has officially begun!"