Although Deacon Sylwick always said that "this is just a suggestion", the threat in the other party's words has reached the level of nakedness, and it is almost straightforward.

It is really difficult for Loren to believe that this sentence came from the mouth of His Majesty the Emperor in the Heavenly Dome Palace - the imperial trial three years ago, and the various pasts in the past three years, made Loren really impressed by His Majesty.

This is a ruler who is very good at controlling the situation and making it work for him, he knows what everyone wants, but no one can guess what he wants... Or maybe it's too late to guess.

Three years ago, in the Imperial Trial, he took advantage of the situation to defeat the conservative aristocratic leaders of the Imperial Cabinet, and completed the rebalancing of the power of the church and wizards.

Such an emperor could not imagine that he would use such direct coercion methods.

"There's nothing hard to imagine, it's blackmail. ”

In the dean's room of the Wizarding Academy of Turin, Dalton Kand, who was disturbed to prepare for class, spoke indifferently, and there was no expression on his stiff face as always:

"It's also a trap that aims to get you out of Byrne for three months to six months. ”

"yes, I know it's a trap. Facing his tutor, Loren sat on the chair very "well-behaved" and said in the tone of a student asking a question from the teacher: "But the whole thing, isn't there anything strange about you?"

Dalton stopped the quill in his hand and looked up as if in contemplation for a second.

"Yes, I feel it. Dalton said with a blank face, "I am amazed that my apprentice would make such a fuss about such a thing, and even discuss it with his mentor instead of his courtiers. ”

"......" Loren Turin.

With a soft "snap!", the book on the table was closed.

"Some sorcerers who advocate the 'theory of blood' believe that an increase in status will change one's mind—a fallacy, that an increase in status will only change the eyes of those around them, and that a bond printed with 10 million gold coins will not change the fact that it is a piece of parchment. ”

Dalton raised his head, his sharp gaze and the quill in his hand, and stabbed Loren in the chest: "You, you are making this kind of mistake. ”

"You mean......" The black-haired wizard came to his senses a little and gently took the tip of his pen, "I'm the parchment of the 10 million bonds?"

"You've become a duke, but you're stuck in the state of a wizard, and you think that your enemies will be the same as they used to be, but you don't take into account the advancement of status, so that many of their methods are no longer effective against you. ”

"Even His Majesty the Emperor wants to blackmail a duke with real power, and the means are extremely limited. Gently pressing the edge of the table, Dalton calmly and meticulously analyzed: "Overestimating the enemy is just as harmful as underestimating the opponent." ”

Loren took a deep breath and nodded slightly.

The instructor is right, it's not three years ago... If Eckhart II really wanted to rectify himself, it was impossible to use the means of borrowing and intrigue.

When the comparison of each other's strength reaches a certain level, except for the most direct way, there is no "trick" at all.

"But... Since we talk about the relationship between thinking style and status, we might as well talk about it a few more words. Dalton raised his head and raised his eyebrows very naturally:

"When are you going to get married?"

Smack——!

The quill that slipped off was firmly attached to the blanket on the ground.

Loren, whose expression froze, stared at his mentor with constricted pupils.

Struck dumb!

Dalton's gaze didn't pay attention to his apprentice, but shook his head slightly at the drop of the quill on the ground—a pretty good pen.

"Dao, Mentor Dalton, you... cough cough cough ......" Loren, who had an embarrassed smile on his face, opened his mouth, and stopped talking for a long time before he finally couldn't help but ask: "Why did you suddenly remember that it was related to me... Belch... It's mine... Love life?"

"I don't have any interest in your primitive desires and physical needs. Dalton looked up and looked impatiently at the black-haired wizard:

"In the same way, your marriage and your... Emotional life has nothing to do with it. ”

The corners of the black-haired wizard's mouth twitched, and he didn't know what to say.

This is evidence that you have not recognized your change in status. Dalton said coldly: "I still haven't recognized the difference between my past and present self." ”

"For a ruler, he... Or her marriage will generate great energy and form a strong alliance, and having an heir will be the key to the ruler's own power. ”

"With your stupid and inflexible mind, think hard... Why did Eckhart II dare to threaten you with such direct means, and why would you be so frightened by such blatant means that you would disturb your mentor?"

Loren was slightly stunned.

He finally realized that the key to the teacher's words was not marriage, but the crux of the problem......

"Your power, your alliances, your wealth... It's all tied to you. ”

Dalton's words were still as sharp as in the past: "Any accident, even a little accident, will put this seemingly powerful, but in fact fragile, 'Duchy of Byrne' on the brink of destruction. ”

"Cooperation with Ebolden, alliance with Boi, support for the Crown Prince ......"

"The controlled chamber of commerce, the subjugated thirteen lords of Byrne, the gradual reduction of vassal dwarven city-states, the thriving wizard guilds......"

"Even the Wings of the Firmament, the legion of witchers, and the Bishop of Byrne, who has just been propped up by you, who vowed to transform the Church......"

"Think about it for a moment. The mentor's gaze grew colder and his voice deeper: "If something happens to you and you die... Missing ......"

"These people, all of them... Can even I, even with the same close cohesiveness and loyalty to someone as I am now?"

"Or... Quickly falling apart and falling into chaos......"

“...... Cannibalism?"

There was a brief dead silence.

The cold and piercing touch was like an appendage climbing up from the back and piercing into the mind.

That's right, it's my own lack of consideration.

Fear quickly enveloped his heart, and the feeling of coldness from head to foot made Loren shiver all over his body.

I only saw the most superficial things, and realized that it was a trap, but I did not really understand the true purpose of Eckhart II.

Now, three years later... He still did not give up his plan to get rid of himself, and even prepared to go one step further and regain the Empire's control of Byrne, especially the south.

Eckhart de Salion, as in the past, still has the gaze of hitting the nail on the head.

"You're afraid, you're still thinking with the way you used to think. ”

The indifferent Dalton interrupted the apprentice's thinking with unceremonious words once again: "I repeat, don't overestimate your enemies, just as you shouldn't underestimate your opponents. ”

"And this time, you are not only making the mistakes of the past, but at the same time underestimating the heart and courage of His Majesty the Emperor. ”

Well?

The black-haired wizard looked puzzled.

"Your strength lies in everything around you, and there is hardly anything that you have inherited, but that you have created with your own hands, a fragile but powerful force, and the advantage of the new thing is that it has not yet been corrupted by time, and the disadvantage is that it is too dependent on you personally. ”

Dalton said in a low voice: "But with the right use, shortcomings can also become advantages." ”

Frowning slightly, Loren, who hesitated for a moment, looked up at his mentor's gaze and said tentatively: "It's because... All of this has to do with me?"

"This is a very simple truth, once something happens to you, these new forces and interest groups created by you will lose their allegiance and fall apart, and they will only be loyal to themselves. Dalton bowed:

"But before that, they will first retaliate madly and at all costs against the Empire – the balance will be quickly upset, the apparent peace and prosperity will quickly come to naught, and the Empire will become the kingdom of the careerist. ”

For Eckhart II, who was committed to the balance of power in the Empire, this was contrary to his original intentions. ”

"Eckhart knows that, and he makes you feel threatened. Dalton paused, his familiar tone as if returning to the days of mentors and apprentices:

"Urge your stupid and inflexible mind to think about this question seriously, and then answer me... What's your answer?"

The black-haired wizard with a frown began to think seriously about his mentor's words.

That's right, why?

If Eckhart's purpose was not to kill himself and seize the South, then what was his intention?

While borrowing the church and acquiescence to his expanding power to win him over, he unabashedly aimed his goals at himself and threatened himself with the most direct means.

If he wanted to deal with someone, would he use such undisguised means, or even if his goal was to kill himself and regain control of the South, shouldn't he try to minimize his influence on the Empire?

If these are just part of his plans, if all of this is just serving some purpose for him, then what exactly is he really thinking?

Wait a minute......

Loren, who was deep in thought, suddenly remembered the words of Deacon Sylvik before.

a close-knit empire;

Overcome hardships and obstacles together;

Throw away all strife and deal with the eventful season of the present;

"I seem to get it. ”

Loren raised his head and met his mentor's eyes with a calm gaze: "His Majesty Eckhart II threatens me in the most direct way, not in order to kill me, or to annex the south and cause rebellion and turmoil. ”

"He's forcing me to take a stand. ”

Dalton Kande's eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't make any comments.

"We... His Wise Emperor, apparently sensing something from the turmoil of the last three years and the anomalies of the distant Azorean elven kingdoms, urgently needed his vassals to rally around him, rather than wallow in power struggles, as he had done in the past. ”

"He was giving me an ultimatum in the most direct way possible - either be a loyal servant of the Empire, a sinner of the Empire, and a traitor. ”

"If I refuse, what awaits me is the death of the country, the destruction of me and the people behind me with a stormy attack, to ensure that he can deal with the next enemy with all his strength - in short, the outside and the inside. ”

Dalton opened his eyes slightly, picked up a new quill, and got busy preparing for the lesson again.

"The era of hypocrisy and peace is coming to an end, and the age of the storm is coming. The black-haired wizard who muttered under his voice couldn't help but sigh.

Long-sighted, unpredictable prophets take advantage of the situation, always know the purpose of others, but no one can guess his thoughts;

His courtiers are all strong, his sons are more talented than the other, none of his opponents can fight before him, and those who dare to be his enemies are either finished or are about to be finished;

In the year of the weak crown, he resisted the invasion of monsters, surrendered to the four seas within the empire, and ruled for the longest period of the empire, known as the "natural ruler", during his reign, he vigorously developed commerce and trade, alchemy, committed to various new reforms, suppressed the old forces and cultivated new forces;

This mysterious, bizarre, "incomparably wise" Supreme Emperor, His Majesty Eckhart II......

himself or him, which one is the real traverser - is he pretending to be a Long Aotian template?!

"So... What's your answer?" Dalton Candle didn't look up: "Eckhart II has put on his attitude and given you an ultimatum, how do you decide to reply to him?"

"What do you think, Mentor?"

Taking a deep breath, Loren raised his head and looked at Dalton sincerely: "Judging from your point of view, which option is the most beneficial?"

"Me?"

In his indifferent voice, Dalton, with a hint of sarcasm, raised his head: "My judgment is insignificant. ”

"No, I'm not asking you to make decisions for me, I mean ......"

"If you can't make decisions on your own volition, unswervingly implement the plan you envisioned, can't independently judge the right and wrong of something, and can't find the best choice for your position......

"Then all I can say is that my apprentice... It's a loser. ”

The black-haired wizard was stunned for a moment.

"As I said, it was a very serious mistake for you to come to me today. Dalton put down the pen in his hand again, and every sentence was as sharp as a blade:

"You're not here to ask me for answers, you're here to be confident — you want me to tell you that you're making the right choice, even if you don't admit it. ”

"I'm ......," Loren opened his mouth when he heard a knock on the door behind him.

"Don't look back, it's Lusen—the one I asked to find him when you came to the Academy. Dalton interrupted his apprentice again:

"There's a meeting in the Hall of the Round Table, Charlotte Turin is waiting for you, you probably won't want her to wait too long... She, and your courtiers, are the ones you should be asking for. ”

"But remember, the ruler seeks advice in order to know what his courtiers think. Dalton said coldly:

"Forever... Never let others dictate your thoughts!"