The flames dissipated, and the snow melted.

Only the sea breeze that swept with the tide blew on Ebolden, where only the ruins remained.

Because of Corona's last "backtracking" spell before dying, all of Ebolden's anomalies—all of which were infected with the slightest bit by the power of the Void—were restored to their original state one hundred and thirty years ago.

One hundred and thirty years ago... Not to mention humans, even elves can't have been born!

The blood sacrifice that had just been completed was also completely dissipated under Corona's "correction", and there was nothing left, but fortunately, there were no more people left in the city, so there was no one involved.

The only unlucky ones were a small group of elven armies that didn't have time to withdraw from the city - because almost every elven warrior had some Void Reflexes, at least at the level of a wizard's apprentice.

As a result, they were regarded as "anomalies", and they went back to 130 years ago along with the evil god shell......

So now Ebolden is a veritable "empty city" - there is nothing left but ruins and ruins.

After experiencing the "dragon attack", "blood sacrifice", and "regression spell", the elven army with lingering fears was always stationed outside the city and did not dare to approach, and it was not until the moonlight fell that the remnants of the army were gathered and officially stationed in Ebolden.

After some cleaning, the elven warriors cleaned the ruins of the Nine-Pointed Star Wizard Tower, and cleared the direct road from the port gate to the wizard tower, finally taking control of the port and the city of Ebolden.

But that's about it.

The Ebolden defenders retreated with great cleanliness, leaving no excess baggage, and what could not be taken with them was charred by the previous bombardment.

Booty... There really is only one port and a dilapidated city.

The bloodless little prince woke up from a coma, wrapped tightly in a blanket for warmth, barely opened his bloodshot eyes, and looked up at the starry sky.

Lost too much blood, was sleepy and tired, and had to spend the night in such a cold and broken place......

All of them are thanks to the Duke of Byrne, Loren Turin.

I don't know how he's doing now, he should be a little worse than himself when he's tired like that, right?

Twenty days of game, from the very beginning of contact to the most fierce confrontation, the two sides continue to play their own hole cards, come up with unexpected tricks to the other side, one after another beyond each other's expectations, again and again push each other to the brink of death......

It's true, obviously he already wants the other party to die, but he can't help but want to care about him, for fear that something will happen to him.

This is probably... Is it the tacit understanding and bond between the "old enemies"?

The little prince couldn't help but smile, his eyebrows frowning.

No... It's not that you care, it's that you can't bear it.

Such enemies and opponents can only be defeated by their own hands and watch him fall into the abyss of despair with their own eyes in order to exert the greatest value and reap the greatest surprises.

In case, if he was careless, he died in an accident, or he was killed by other stupid people and stupid teammates, and fell into the hands of one of his brothers......

Isn't that a slap in the face?!

Just by flashing this possibility in his mind, the little prince couldn't help but shiver all over, as if he had eaten something disgusting.

"His Highness ...... Rodria"

The embarrassed chief wizard of the Imperial Court, Anson Zade, approached with his broken arm covered, a little hesitant and a little nervous looking at the little prince who seemed to be thinking about something, and looked like he wanted to say something.

"Say whatever you want. ”

The little prince was still looking up at the starry sky, and his lazy expression was very impatient.

"Imperial Garden... And all the samurai under your command......" twitching his throat, the white-haired elf boy with a broken arm carefully considered and chose words that would not anger His Royal Highness: "Everyone's emotions... Somewhat depressed. ”

Depression?

Slightly stunned, the little prince slowly lowered his gaze and looked at the elven boy in front of him with a smile, and the strange look made Anson Zade fall to one knee in a panic, lowering his head and not daring to look again.

"I'm feeling a little depressed... Of course. Smiling indifferently, the little prince said softly:

"That's right, we won the battle of Ebolden, fought three dragons, and managed to kill one of them... Write this as a war report to my father, and I dare say that none of my brothers will believe it. ”

"It is we who win, and the winner is us - with less than a tenth of the casualties, in the siege battle almost defeated and annihilated four times the enemy, so why ......"

"Such a victory, but it tastes like a defeat?"

The white-haired elf boy didn't dare to answer, let alone refute, but lowered his head and pursed his lips tightly.

"Because our enemy is a man who can turn things around in the face of adversity—because our enemy did not think about how to defeat us and stop us from the beginning, but how to inflict more casualties on us while delaying our capture as much as possible. ”

Rubbing his eyes tiredly, the little prince whispered to himself: "Because we have seen again and again that the hope of capturing the city is close at hand, but in fact, it is a trap laid by the other party, which makes us experience the pain of being frustrated again and again. ”

"In this way, he saved the lives of most of his soldiers and civilians while keeping us out of the city for twenty days... Ha. ”

"Let's put it this way, if you don't count the dragon I fought so hard to kill at the end—it would have been an accident, at least for Loren Turin—and our victory might not be worth much compared to his. ”

"Because the goal from the beginning was completely different, we and he were the victors in this siege battle, but... His victory may have been even more dazzling. ”

The silent white-haired elf boy couldn't help but bow slightly.

It's understandable that everyone's mood is a little depressed, after all, when they see the enemy's success, anyone will feel depressed. Exhaling softly, the little prince said disapprehantly:

"But that's okay, because the enemy will be silent for the time being, and we will not be afraid to attack us, and we will have time to rest and survive the rest of the winter—and then march along the Gem River to the enemy's capital in the spring of the next year. ”

Alas?

The little prince's reply stunned Anson Zade.

The enemy will not attack ... Why?

Obviously, the morale is low at the moment, and the weak elven army is simply unable to fight anymore, and it is impossible to hold this port city.

But he didn't dare to say anything, so he could only bow his head.

The exhausted little prince didn't seem to want to explain, so he immediately shifted the topic to another matter: "By the way, the second seat of the Imperial Court, Xuela... Has anyone found her where?"

"Nope. Anson Zadeh, bowing his head, replied, "We sent two teams of samurai to search - wizard towers, fortresses, walls, ruins, sewers... I've searched everywhere I can, but I still haven't found it. ”

While answering, the elf boy was still secretly paying attention to the little prince's expression.

To be fair, the last thing he wants to see Shera back is ... This elf girl, who always pretends to be "simple and cute", is actually a hundred times more terrifying than the former Imperial Court Second Seat Middel.

This is not to say that she is inferior to her, but Middlel has a bottom line and scruples in doing things, and prefers to use non-violent means to solve problems; On the contrary, there is no lower limit at all.

Such a guy is a huge threat even if he is his own person.

"Oh, forget it. The little prince waved his hand very indifferently, as if to say something worthless: "Anyway, our lovely Miss Sheila is very good at hide-and-seek, and she may be hiding somewhere, ready to scare us." ”

Hide-and-seek? probably......

Anson Zadeh couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth.

Thinking of the "high-level curse" that detonated the entire Ebolden before and even the blood sacrifice was wiped out, it was really hard to imagine that the sinister and vicious girl could have any way to hide.

"So, before Miss Sheila returns to join us, let's get busy with something more meaningful. With a yawn, the little prince pointed in the direction of the Jewel River ferry in the distance:

"For example... Catch a dragon that I killed. ”

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

"Got it, let's go down... Well, send two more people to stay behind, and be sure to take care of him. ”

"Yes——!"

Standing outside the door of the black-haired wizard's room, His Royal Highness the frowning prince pinched the bridge of his nose to keep himself awake.

By the time Grumtor was brought back by the crimson dragon, Loren had already passed out and was unconscious—twenty days of hard fighting, physically and mentally exhausted, and Brandon didn't even dare to imagine that he would be able to hold out for so long if he had to change to himself.

As soon as Loren fell unconscious, Brandon took over the retreating Ebolden defenders and civilians, an outcome that neither Count Eckert of Castle Fury nor the wizards of the Wizarding Tower had any objections to.

It is better to say that after losing their only commander, His Royal Highness the Prince of East Sakran, who saved them as a dragon rider, is already their only hope.

Not only that, but on the way to the south, there were constantly routs around the town, and refugees fleeing the war joined in, further expanding the size of the team, which had reached nearly 100,000 in just one afternoon.

Originally, Brandon was worried about whether so many people would attract the pursuit of the elves, but in the end he found that he was too worried - the elven army was also exhausted, and its morale had fallen to the bottom, and he was unable to fight again.

Next, as long as he took the 100,000 people out of the Duchy of Ebolden step by step, the retreat would be considered a success, and it would not be difficult to do so with the army led by Count Eckert of the Castle of Fury, and the wizarding family of the Wizard Tower, to pacify the people.

The real trouble is the price paid in this battle for Ebroden.

The Nine-Pointed Star Wizard Tower is shattered;

Lorenz Corona died unexpectedly;

The Ink Blue Dragon Iolet... Turned into a trophy of the Azorean elves.

This kind of thing, if it were Brandon, I am afraid that Brandon would not even dare to think about it before.

The good thing is that the death of Iolet will definitely anger the dragons of Torch Peak Mountain, so that they will join this all-out war of elven invasion next;

Dragons are very cautious, especially if they hurt their members, it can easily provoke a strong revenge from the whole clan.

The downside is that they will also hate themselves to death - just like the sixth-generation "Sage" Brandon I, because he sacrificed his dragon in the Battle of the Valley of Blood, causing the dragons of Jufeng Mountain to hate him to the core, and the two grandsons lost their qualification as dragon riders and almost lost the throne.

Myself... Well, and his own sons and grandsons (if they really exist), they will probably become persona non grata in Jufeng Mountain, right?

As soon as he thought of this, Brandon couldn't help but sigh, approached the edge of the Floating City Parapet, and looked down, his lonely expression suddenly softened a lot.

The retreating camp was already full of sparks at midnight, and the people spontaneously set up their own makeshift camp around the barracks, and the Poi hussars on horseback and the few remaining defenders patrolled the area, searching for any supplies they could find.

Although there were many sacrifices and heavy casualties, at least it was not that nothing was gained... If you want to get it, you have to pay first, don't you?

Become an emperor who is the "polar opposite" of Connad... Whenever he thought of this, Brandon couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Is... After getting along for so long, this guy is still as cautious as ever, for fear that he will abandon him as soon as he becomes emperor.

Obviously they're friends... What is there to worry about among friends?

"Your Highness. ”

Just as Brandon was stealing the fun alone, the observer in the floating city suddenly interrupted him: "The hussars below have heard the news that they have encountered the outpost light cavalry of the Empire and are rushing towards this side. ”

Oh, so fast?

Brandon's expression was a little surprised, he had thought that the Emperor Conod didn't care about the life or death of the Eberdens - it seemed, he was still a little human.

"How many people... I mean, the total strength, and where are their main forces?"

"This... The other party did not say anything, but ordered us to stop immediately and prepare to respond, and wait for the arrival of the legion. As he spoke, the expression of the observer suddenly changed, and he paused as if he was mustering up courage:

"Also... His Majesty Connad I, he... Also among the sentinels!"

Brother Huang is also there?!

His Royal Highness the Prince, who was stunned, couldn't help but glance back at the direction where the cavalry had arrived - at the forefront of the temporary camp under the banner of the Iron Crown, those soldiers and civilians could already be heard, cheering for the arrival of His Majesty the Emperor.

"This is really ......" Brandon couldn't help laughing all of a sudden, but he sneered: "The shouting and killing on the battlefield has not stopped, and the peach pickers can't wait." ”

The observer on the side lowered his head, desperately pretending that he didn't hear.

"Now that you are here, let the soldiers clear the way and welcome our great Majesty Connad I. Brandon shrugged his shoulders and added, as if suddenly remembered:

"Oh, let's just say that Your Highness... The Prince of East Sacland was too busy with business to greet him personally, and he hoped that His Majesty Haihan would ......"

"Please come up to me himself!"