By sunset, the "truth" finally came out.

An evil god known as the "Black Cross" seized and took control of the imperial capital of Golovin while the Empire was fighting the Azorean elves, tearing open the borders of hell and pouring evil into the world in an attempt to destroy the Sakran Empire.

and even further, to destroy the world.

As for why it was aimed at the imperial capital of Golovin... Of course, because this is the capital of the empire, and it is also the holy place of the Holy Cross, the Golovin Cathedral, as a symbol of the Holy Cross, must be a thorn in the side of the evil gods, a thorn in the flesh, and naturally must be the first to be destroyed.

In addition, Golovin, as the hub of the Empire, was a transportation artery connecting the north and the south, and occupying it allowed one to attack any part of the empire at will - as for the rest, it was not much different from the reason why the Azorean elves attacked the imperial capital.

All in all, whether it is for the glory of the empire or the survival of the world, it is necessary to go south as soon as possible, destroy the evil gods, and retake the imperial capital... This is basically the consensus of everyone.

However, the question of how the imperial capital should be recovered and when to march was greatly disputed at the Legion Council.

However, this statement is not accurate, because the situation is basically that Loren Turin, Duke of Byrne, is bent on doing his thing, and the rest of the people are constantly refuting his ideas.

As the greatest contributor to the Battle of Ebolden, Duke Byrne insisted that the empire must immediately go south with all its might, reach the imperial capital within ten days, complete the siege within ten days, and capture the city within ten days—to end the war before the midsummer festival.

The crazy plan is rightfully unsupported by anyone.

His Majesty Brandon, who has always been crazy, is also on the opposite side of Duke Byrne, and the reason could not be simpler: the Empire was severely damaged in the Battle of Ebotden, the elite was almost dead and wounded, and most of the remaining troops were reserves and recruits who had not fought much, counting on them to fight against the evil gods and the monsters of the evil gods......

Not only that, but the camps of hundreds of thousands of legions were almost all over the small half of the Duke of Eberden; it was simply impossible for such a huge army to be mobilized immediately without planning in advance and making adequate preparations; it would take a lot of time, manpower, and material resources just to change the current plan.

Even the Byrnes, led by the Countess of the Red Blood Castle, took a clear stand against their duke - even with the size of the Duchy of Byrne, they also suffered heavy losses in the Battle of the Azores.

More than half of the Earls were killed, nearly two-thirds of the most elite knight legions were killed, and the Witcher Legion of the Wings of the Sky had less than a hundred survivors... Today's Byrne is not only unable to fight anymore, but has reached the point where he has no fighting spirit.

The battle had been fought for too long, too many dead robes, and when everyone thought that they had defeated the last of their strong enemies and could finally usher in peace, they were suddenly told that the battle was not over, or even just begun......

This kind of truth that is extremely shattering, even if it is as strong as the Byrne Knights, is completely unacceptable for a while.

Duke Byrne, who experienced the "rebellion of the people" for the first time, still rushed to the imperial capital "bent on going his own way" - even if the only person who went was himself.

An atmosphere of unease and confusion began to spread in the barracks.

From the Grand Duke to the lowest soldiers, everyone vaguely felt that a history that had happened in the past might be about to be "staged" again.

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

"How is that possible?!"

Looking at Peter, whose expression was nervous and worry was about to be written on his face, Edward waved his hand very disdainfully: "Loren Turin is not the Black Duke, and His Majesty Brandon is not the Dragon Empress, the relationship between the two of them is completely different from those two, what do you think?"

"But you can't deny that the situation is very similar, isn't it?" Peter stared at the leader of the Night's Watch, not giving up on his thoughts at all:

"The same two people who fought side by side and once trusted each other, the same emergencies, the same people who couldn't understand each other's thoughts at all, and the same one of them who insisted on going his own way......"

"No matter how you look at it, it's exactly what happened in the 10th generation!"

The leader of the Night's Watch rolled his eyes, completely unoblivious.

"We can't let the tragedy of the past happen again, Edward, we can't go on like this. With his hands propped up on the table, Peter looked anxiously at Edward, who was still not taking it seriously:

"The only people who can save the Empire, and indeed the world, are Loren Turin and His Majesty Brandon right now—only if the two of them join forces, and if they fight side by side, the Empire... to get a glimmer of hope, isn't it?!"

The more Peter Fasa spoke, the more excited his expression became, and there was indescribable trepidation in his eyes.

When Eckhart II told him all the secrets before he died, he made it clear that he was not allowed to tell anyone, and that he would keep it until his death, or decide not to keep it a secret anymore.

That's why he's so scared at this moment... He was afraid, afraid that the real spearhead who caused the discord between the two was himself, and that he who originally wanted to save everything would become the culprit of the destruction of the world.

What if he hadn't made up his mind at the time, if he had the patience to wait for Loren Turin and Brandon to explain everything before telling them these secrets? If I hadn't opened my mouth at all, wouldn't things have changed......

"I repeat, it's not the tenth generation anymore, and the relationship between Loren and His Majesty Brandon is definitely not the relationship between the Black Duke and the Dragon Empress!"

Edward, who spoke coldly, interrupted Peter Fasa's thoughts: "Whatever happens next will never be a repeat of history - at least, it will never be exactly the same!"

"Besides, even if you want to persuade, don't you think there are too many people who are more suitable than the two of us? Charlotte Turin, Dalton Kander, Yuri Wirtz, and the Grand Dukes and Counts, aren't they the ones who should stand up and persuade these two men?"

"But this time, even the Countess Charlotte is clearly against Loren!"

"yes, what's the point of us two standing up?"

Edward's eyes widened, staring at Peter's face and rhetorically.

Peter Fasa was silent for a moment and took a deep breath: "That... Edward, what do you think makes sense?"

"The most meaningful thing for us right now is for you and Vera to get away as soon as possible. ”

Although he knew that he was talking nonsense, Edward couldn't help but speak: "The biggest thing in the camp at the moment is the dispute between Loren Turin and His Majesty Brandon, and everyone's attention is on it; ”

"Of course... Even if I repeat this sentence a thousand more times, you still won't listen. ”

Looking at Peter's face that did not change at all, Edward secretly sighed that the other party had wasted such a good opportunity: "If you really plan to do something more, go to Charlotte and Dalton Kander." ”

"Charlotte?"

Peter was stunned when he heard the name: "However, the Countess of Crimson Castle and Byrne have made it clear that they want to oppose ......"

So I say that things today are completely different from the 10th generation a hundred years ago. Edward interrupted:

"Think about it seriously, how could the Byrinthians who had experienced the bitter fruits of the Black Duke's era betray their Duke again - let's put it this way, even if Loren now says that he is going to hell, the remaining tens of thousands of Byrnes outside will still rush forward without hesitation and accompany their Duke to his death!"

"And Your Majesty Brandon... The Imperial Capital occupied by that 'Black Cross' is Golovin, the base camp of the royal family of the Heavenly Dome Palace-the Imperial Capital is occupied by evil gods, and His Majesty Brandon, as the Emperor, can still keep calm, but Duke Byrne is the first to sit still, don't you notice that there is a 'slightest' abnormality in it?"

Edward, who had a stiff expression, finally breathed a long sigh of relief after a "hint" of "seriousness".

He was really worried that this friend who was too innocent would be impulsive and do something stupid.

Peter Fasa suddenly realized: "So... The discord between the two is actually part of the plan, pretended?"

"Not exactly, but you can understand it that way. Edward said with a stiff expression.

It was more of a compromise to reality than a plan in Edward's eyes.

Whether they want to admit it or not, the legions that have just finished the Azorean Elven War are not prepared and capable of continuing to march and fight, and it is impossible to let them immediately go south to retake the imperial capital from the Black Cross.

Even if you want to gather 10,000 or 20,000 elites to go south in the name of the empire, it is also completely impossible... First of all, it is a question of who to send, and secondly, it is also a big trouble for these mobilized elites to listen to whom.

If this "elite" is dominated by the Byrne Legion, the Sakrians will definitely not agree, and if the Arles are allowed to be the main force, then they must worry about whether this "bandit army" will not be able to work hard.

Not to mention whether it will further weaken the Empire's control over the legions under its command and drain all the elites, who will command them?

Brandon never considered himself a good battlefield commander, and the rest of the Grand Dukes were already struggling to maintain the morale and order of their duchy legions, and Loren Turin ......

"Loren Torino, that guy... He refused His Majesty Brandon's request to lead the troops. Edward said in a deep voice, "He told your majesty a story. ”

"Story?"

"It's... A few years ago, when the Duke of Byrne was a small, wizard advisor to Lord Earl, he once ventured to take a group of elves from the ancient wood forest to stop the invasion of ogres led by an evil god. ”

The leader of the Night's Watch sighed and said quietly, "It's complicated, but it's simple - they fought all the way to the lair of the evil god, Loren Turin dealt with the evil god, and the elves were out there to keep the ogre at bay for him. ”

"They won, but the hundred or so war dancers of the Ancient Wood Forest are almost dead... This is the story told by Loren Turin. ”

"Oh, by the way, that Lady of Lothair... Or the former baroness, one of the more than a hundred ancient wood forest war dancers, the only survivor. Edward lifted his gaze and met Peter's eyes:

"Any idea why he's telling this story?"

Peter shook his head, blankly waiting for an answer.

"It's very simple, if he leads the army this time, then the fate of these people will be the same as those ancient wood forest war dancers at the beginning - Loren Turin, he may be the person who knows the key points of the Black Cross in the world, in other words, every time he moves, he will be attacked by the fiercest enemy counterattack!"

"Even if there are 100,000 troops, there must be very few who survive in the end. ”

"At least they deserved to die!"

Peter Fasa said in a deep voice.

"But Loren doesn't think so!" Edward's expression became gloomy:

"I... I don't think so - if there is any way to reduce casualties, if it is possible not to make more unfortunate people fight a war that they don't understand, against an enemy they don't understand and can't understand, even if it's unlikely, it's worth trying. ”

"They'll understand. Peter couldn't help but retort.

"Do you think the soldiers who can't even write can really understand what the Black Cross means to the world?" Edward asked, "Honestly, how many wizards and how many knights do you think can really understand what it would cost to lose this battle?"

"Peter, man... Even if they are destined to die, and if they are not allowed to die, at least... Let them die a more valuable death like those elves of the Ancient Wood Forest!"

Edward paused and continued: "Your Majesty and Loren Turin already have a comprehensive plan for the Black Cross Serol, and there is no need for you and me to worry about anything at all, it is pointless. ”

"As for whether Loren Turin, who is fighting alone, will repeat the mistakes of the Black Duke, you don't have to worry about this - firstly, he will not go alone, and secondly, after His Majesty has finished reorganizing his legions, he will still lead an elite army to the south, and join the battle when necessary to aid him. ”

"I see......"

Looking at Edward's helpless expression, Peter finally nodded reassuringly.

What he was most worried about... Things evolved into the situation of the Black Duke and the Dragon Empress in the past, and finally it didn't happen - think about it, although the situation is very similar, but compared to the dreamy tenth generation in the past, Loren and Brandon are much calmer and more rational than their predecessors.

Maybe it's really like Brandon said, desperate to change the world with all your might, regardless of what others think... The era of heroes and knights has come to an end.

"By the way, what about Vera, why isn't she with you?"

After finally convincing Peter's leader of the Night's Watch, he remembered to ask.

"Not good!" Peter Fasa, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly changed his expression, and looked at Edward with a look of horror:

"Vera, she... She thought you wanted her to hide again, so she went after the Oath Knight who went to the imperial capital!"

"What?!"