"Ahh

The blanket-wrapped hat sneezed hard and squatted by the fireplace shivering, still holding a bowl of hot soup in his hand. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Hat, who had just returned to the castle from the outside shack, was reporting to the black-haired wizard what he had discovered during this time.

"Are you really sure?"

Loren's eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was in deep thought: "I mean, it's not just some rumors and troublemakers, but someone behind it?"

"Absolutely. As if sensing that the other party was doubting himself, the hat quickly defended: "You have to believe me, I definitely didn't tell half a lie!"

"It wasn't even half a day after the granary caught fire that night, and it was already spread all over the outside! Everywhere people were talking about the castle running out of food, everything. If someone hadn't done it on purpose, the news wouldn't have spread so quickly. ”

"Isn't it because I halved the bread and potatoes for relief?"

"My wizard lord, you certainly haven't received the food for relief. The hat sighed like an adult, and replied with a wry smile: "Now in this weather, it is already good for those poor people to have food, who is more picky?"

"Of course, there are pickers everywhere, but there are certainly not many. But if it weren't for the organization, this kind of rebellion would never have become the climate, let alone the way it is now. ”

"And you may not know that every time the patrolling castle guards leave, a group of fellows will sneak into the shacks and stir up the old and the young people who are left, and not only that, but I've heard that even many of the castle guards are spreading rumors that there is no food in the granaries for a long time!"

"Are even the guards spreading rumors?"

"It's not just that, the guys who sneak in seem to have been prepared, and anyone who joins them will be given a dagger and a couple of potatoes or something. The hat took a handful out of his pocket and handed it to Loren: "I got it from another fellow." ”

Loren took it and looked at it carefully. The texture of the dagger was rough, and it was even covered in rust - but it could be used as a weapon anyway.

"How many daggers are there?" asked Loren, "How many have they had?"

"I don't know, but there must be hundreds. "Although the cover is very good, I can still see at a glance that it doesn't look like I've been hungry at all!"

Loren groaned. Whether it is distributing food and weapons, instigating and co-opting refugees, or even bribing the castle's guards, it takes a lot of money to do it.

Standing behind these people can only be the Senna family and their dogs - and they are the only ones in the whole of Deepwoodburg who have the financial resources to do all this in a hidden way.

The castle guards would be bought, something Loren had long anticipated. After all, these people were originally soldiers of the Senna family, and it was only because of the change of the Earl of Deep Limburg that they switched to loyalty to Leven Fried, and it was normal for them to be co-opted.

On the contrary, those soldiers recruited from the refugees have even higher credible loyalty, but they may only be used as guards. If they were to stick to the castle, the results would be disappointing.

The rebel castle guards, the bewitched refugees, and the private soldiers of the Senna family and their cronies...... The walls of the Deep Forest Fort would definitely not be able to hold back so many enemies, and with only a small number of guards and knights of the guard, I am afraid that they could only hold out for less than a day.

Even this is Loren's most optimistic forecast.

Of course, if it really came to that point, it would be a matter of the entire nobles of Deepwoodburg openly rebelling, and Duke Lothair would definitely not let them go - even if it was just for the sake of their own lives, these nobles would not be stupid enough to go this far.

They will certainly mobilize their own private troops as well, but there will definitely not be a lot of them. The only things to worry about are the refugees and the bribed castle guards.

Even so, there are so many enemies that a castle alone won't last long. Sir Aaron had at least ten days left before he could return to Fort Deepwood, and the Senna family would certainly not wait until the tenth day.

Within ten days, they'll be in action!

Until then, he must solve the dilemma of lack of manpower as soon as possible - the knights in the castle can protect the castle from the front, but the enemy will definitely instigate a few guards to sneak up on him, or even open the side door to let the rebels in, and then take advantage of the chaos to kill Leuen Fried.

If it's a raid, Loren may be better at it, but this time it's to protect the Earl, and the people in front of him are really pitiful, and it is impossible to take care of everything by himself.

As for the little wizards...... She was glad she was able to protect herself, Loren. I'm afraid that when the time comes, I will be distracted by the safety of Ain, and I will not be able to free my hands and take this opportunity to wipe out Barry Senna and his cronies who are hiding behind him!

How, exactly...... Do you want Asrael to do it again?

No, the granary could also be explained as having prepared for it, but if a group of nobles were attacked by vampires in their own homes...... Even the slightest chance that he and Ain would be hunted down by the church.

Asrael can only be a choice in desperation, and it is also his last hole card. And now what I need is a conventional force, reinforcements that can appear in front of the public.

The brooding black-haired wizard was silent and his hat hiding by the fireplace was silent, drinking the hot soup quietly, and the only sound in the room was the crackling of firewood in the flames.

There was a knock on the door outside the room, and a panting knight of the guard walked in and handed a letter to the black-haired wizard: "Your Excellency Loren Turin, this is from the border tower of the Ancient Wood Forest, and it only arrived this afternoon!"

"Good work. Nodding, Loren took the envelope from the other's hand. After Sir Aaron's departure, Loren temporarily took over as military governor and became the nominal head of the county's defense.

Although it is too strange for a wizard to hold this position, if it were in normal times, those nobles would have been in turmoil. But now that everyone's attention is on the cold and the Count's reforms, no one will pay attention to these inconsequential little things.

What's more, there were far fewer people spying on Loren in this castle than on Ruwen, and the young earl, who knew it, naturally handed over power to him, so as to ensure that news would not leak out.

After opening it, he only glanced at it, and his dark pupils immediately contracted, and Loren, who had changed his expression, immediately looked at the guard knight: "When did this happen?!"

"Yesterday. The knight of the guard hurriedly replied, "They have been waiting for a night, but they did not enter the county directly due to the agreement, otherwise the news would have been delivered last night." ”

"Tell the guards at the border tower at once to arrange a meeting—I will leave for tomorrow morning, and let these distinguished guests wait patiently for an extra night. ”

"Yes, Lord Loren Turin!" the knight of the guard immediately turned to leave, and even forgot to close the door of his room in such a hurry that he forgot to close it.

The courteous hat quickly stood up and closed the door, and looked curiously at Loren, who had a smile on his lips: "Uh...... What's going on?"

"Uh... If it's too important, you don't need to tell me!" Immediately realized his mouthy hat, and quickly waved his hand: "I'm just curious, I don't really want to inquire!"

"It's a secret, and it's not to be known. Quite playfully smiled, Loren, who raised his head slightly, looked at the boy's panicked appearance: "But you are not 'someone else', you are a 'hat', so of course I can tell you." ”

"A group of elves appeared from the direction of the Ancient Wood Forest, and they seemed to be the messengers of the Ancient Wood Forest settlement, who had come to ask for help from the Duchy of Lothair. ”

"Elf...... "I've never seen what kind of hat an elf looks like in my life, and I just sighed: "But why are you so happy?"

"That's because they're the reinforcements I've been looking for for a long time. ”

Loren, who smiled, said something without a beginning or end under the bewildered gaze of the hat.