“...... So, this is an ultimatum?"

In front of the closed main entrance of the main hall of the Heavenly Dome Palace, the heavily armed Grand Duke of Ellemont had a solemn expression, and there was a trace of forbearance hidden between the corners of his tightly pursed mouth.

As for Earl Angot of Mountain Rock Fort on the side, he was not so polite - clutching the hilt of the great sword behind his back, so that the royal guards on both sides even suspected that he would swing his sword and slash them, and then blood stained the Heavenly Dome Palace.

"I'm sorry, accept my sincerest apologies if I can - it wasn't what I was hoping for, not something I could control, or even something I tried to avoid, but it just happened. Metternich, the unfeared minister of the seals, said calmly:

"After a night of discussion, the Imperial Council rejected your request to send troops, and at the moment the safety of the Imperial Capital is still the most important matter, and we cannot risk dividing our troops in order to rescue the Duke of Byrne, and let the Imperial legions go out of the city to fight. ”

"That's the Duke of Byrne, and we're Byrne!"

"But you are still the legions of the Empire, and the Duke of Byrne is also the Duke of the Empire, a noble member of the Knights of Edgeworth!" Metternich retorted without hesitation, "Just because it is not in your heart, you can dismiss the decisions of the Empire as nothing—this is not the style of the knightly land that I remember!"

The enraged Earl of Mountain Rock Fort was dumbfounded, and he wanted to speak several times, and finally could only stare at the Minister of the Seal in front of him with a murderous eye.

"If nothing else, please allow me to retire for the time being. ”

Despite his short-sightedness and despair of the Imperial Parliament's "colleagues", the Minister of the Seals, who was still obliged to uphold the dignity of the Parliament, bowed slightly to the two legion commanders in front of him, turned around and returned to the council hall.

At such times, any explanation is pale and meaningless.

"Bang ——!"

"When are you going to do it?"

Barely waiting for the door to close, the Earl of Mountain Rock Castle turned his head to look at the Archduke of Ellemont without hesitation, and his straight tone did not hide his anger.

"Wait, at least... It can't be now. Yuli Wirtz frowned, sighed and met the other man's gaze: "Listen, I know you're worried about Loren Turin's safety right now, but we can't go against the decision of the Imperial Parliament - at least not so blatantly. ”

"But ......"

"What's more!"

Yuli Wirtz snapped: "We don't know exactly where he is, let alone what he intends to do, and it is very likely that sending troops in such a situation will ruin his plans, or even lose sight of one or the other." ”

"So what are we going to do, just wait?!"

"Observation is also a very important part - the movements of the Azorean elves, as well as the recent news of the 'Black Duke' boiling outside the imperial capital, can help us make more accurate judgments. ”

The corners of the eyes of the Grand Duke of Ellemont showed a childlike cunning glow: "The Imperial Council does not allow us to send troops, but it does not prohibit scouts from gathering information, so I sent out more than a thousand light infantry outside the city - at this time, someone should have already returned to report the news." ”

"Yes, but... How did you get your light infantry in and out of the city defenses, aren't those places under the control of the Imperial Capital Legion?"

"Yes, it's in their hands. Yuli Wirtz nodded: "But the truth is often different from what it seems, for example, the so-called 'Imperial Capital Legion' was temporarily recruited by the nobles of the Imperial Capital, and they don't care who their soldiers are, so... It's easy to use some hands and feet to empty them. ”

"So you actually have control of the imperial capital's city defense?!"

“...... So to speak. ”

"And the entire imperial capital is under your control?!"

“...... Can't quite say that. ”

"Then why did you come here to ask these scum?!"

Yuri Wirtz felt that it might be really hard for the person in front of him to really understand.

"It's a bit complicated, but I don't think you care - you care about Loren Torino's safety. The Grand Duke of Ellemont turned and walked down the stairs, his gaze swept to Count Angit, who was still standing behind him in a daze:

"Let's go and see the information and decide what to do next?"

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

Just when the imperial capital was in chaos, the black-haired wizard who was still "playing hide and seek" with the Azorean elves in the blockade area was extremely entangled.

It's not because the situation in front of him is out of his control, but... Great, good even exceeded his expectations!

The Azorean elves besieging the imperial capital were gradually gathering towards the area of the rebellion according to his intended goal, and after realizing that they were only doing useless work, they began to retreat in great strides, concentrating and shrinking the defensive line to sweep away the survivors of the rebellion.

All this was exactly what Loren Turin expected, to the point where it was exactly the same... It all made him wonder if the enemy on the other side was the little elven prince.

Loren even thought of at least four possibilities, and at worst he even planned to abandon his original plan and "sneak" to the imperial capital.

But now... Being too cooperative with his enemies made him a little entangled.

If it was only to open the way to the imperial capital, he had succeeded now, and if the purpose was to lure the enemy out of touch with the besieging army, so as to fight a vigorous battle of annihilation under the imperial capital, the time was ripe.

This kind of "wish-fulfilling" battle, the black-haired wizard is really the first time to encounter it, and usually this kind of situation that seems good is usually ......

"Trap... Is it possible?"

Russen worried.

Loren hesitated for a second and shook his head: "If he was planning to set a trap, he should have done it a few days ago - or why not just keep chasing and take advantage of the opportunity to surround us when we thought we were out of pursuit?"

"Maybe it's because they know that there is Lord Byrne in this team. Little Yod shrugged his shoulders and couldn't help but speak: "But anyone with a normal brain shouldn't want to be an enemy of the Duke, right?"

"Perhaps their purpose is to let you go and enter the imperial capital calmly, so that you will turn from darkness to light, and those elven greats will no longer have to worry about it. ”

Indeed, there is such a possibility. Loren does not deny:

"If that's the case, then the choice is in our hands - do we take the opportunity to go to the imperial capital, or find a way to fight a war of annihilation with the cooperation of the legions in the imperial capital?"

Looking around at Rusen, Webb, and Yord Jr., the black-haired wizard proposed, "This is an important matter, so I've decided to raise your hands fairly and vote." ”

Almost as soon as the words fell, little Yod immediately rolled his eyes.

"I don't understand war, but if you're not just trying to take advantage of the survivors, then we have to take the initiative!"

"Now that the name of the Black Duke has spread throughout West Sacland, all the survivors who have bravely resisted are singing 'The Black Duke is back' - so answer their cries and give them hope, Loren!"

The black-haired wizard bowed slightly, his gaze turning to the other two.

"Whatever you decide, Lusen is at your disposal. The gray-eyed boy said resolutely, and a raging fire burned in his silver-gray pupils:

"If you want to wield a blade, give the order, Lord Loren!"

The black-haired wizard nodded.

"Although I know that this kind of question is pure nonsense, I still insist on asking ......"

Little Yode had a helpless expression: "If I make it clear that I oppose it, will it be useful?"

"This is a discussion, of course you can object, I respect everyone's opinion, and of course yours is included. ”

"Well, then I'm against it. Little Yod said without hesitation.

Loren nodded again, his expression was very calm: "Very good, it seems that we have reached a consensus - since everyone is on the same page, then let's take the initiative to face the battle, and the next step is the key battle plan......"

Little Yode, who rolled his eyes, had an expression of "I knew it was like this".

"First of all, there is the balance of power between us and the enemy. The black-haired wizard said in a deep voice, "Yes, our plan has been successful so far, but because of this, the enemies we have to face are also very strong. ”

"If the intelligence is correct, they have at least concentrated at least 20,000 to 30,000 troops - with more than 1,000 Byrne knights, we still have a chance of victory, but there is a big difference between crushing the enemy and defeating or even annihilating the enemy. ”

The dark-haired wizard with a deep voice already had a detailed map in his mind.

"The Azorean elves retreated in great stride from the blockade to the west and south, and the army began to move closer to the army that was besieging and besieging the city—it must have been a force that stretched for miles, and probably even carried a large number of prisoners and baggage. ”

"In order to shrink the forces from the various strongholds, the main route of the march must be along the Imperial Boulevard, but large and small troops will fill all the paths and roads that can be passed, like a stream flowing into a great river. ”

"So we have to cut off, block or rear-end this huge team in a more critical position, forcing the Azorean elves to turn around and start a battle with us, or even pounce on us desperately. ”

Speaking of this, Loren simply opened the map directly, and casually pulled out the bright silver sword and nailed it to the location of the southern gate of the imperial capital Golovin.

"Rodria Azores' siege camp was south of the imperial capital, near the River of Jewels, which was supposed to be his logistics base, and the enemy would certainly move south if he wanted to shrink the blockade. ”

"What we have to do is to intercept this retreating army before they have a chance to get closer to the siege army, and then wait for the reaction from the direction of the imperial capital. ”

"Waiting for the reaction of the imperial capital... What's next?"

"Then it's just a matter of improvisation. The black-haired wizard looked at little Yod: "This is just a rough plan, is there anything to ask?"

"Yes, but I think even if I asked, it would be just a bunch of nonsense. Little Yod said angrily: "But I still have to say, how can you be sure that the enemy will come according to your ideas?"

"They don't need to do what I want, they just have to go on with what they want. Loren shook his head: "Of course, there will be some risks, but ......"

"But for the sake of the Empire, for the sake of those who believe in the Empire, for the sake of the survivors who have courageously stood up against us, any risk is worth it!" Weber said solemnly.

"If we can win a battle, the annihilation of this enemy army outside the city will definitely deal a heavy blow to the Azorean elves besieging the imperial capital, the safety of the imperial capital will be alleviated, and the originally desperate imperial people will be able to see the hope of victory, which is very important!"

"No matter how important it is, it doesn't matter as much as we - of course, especially Duke Byrne's life!"

Little Yode, who snorted coldly, said disdainfully, looking at the black-haired wizard's gaze in a final dying struggle: "Lord Loren, I know what you plan to do. ”

"But with all due respect, the Empire... Or that the nobles of the Imperial Capital don't have the slightest affection for the name 'Black Duke', nor do they have any affection for the Byrnes or any Sakrans who are not in the Imperial Capital, and even if you do win, don't expect to be recognized by them. ”

"It's even possible that the opposite is true, because you've won such a brilliant victory, and they'll start targeting and even persecuting you – and if you still want their cooperation, it's definitely not a good choice!"

"Believe me, it's not even possible, that's for sure!" Jr. Yod asserted.

As the words fell, the black-haired wizard quietly looked at little Yode, who was breathing a little shortly, as if he had guessed that he would say this.

"You're right, if you want to get the assistance and approval of the nobles of the imperial capital, this is actually the worst option. After a pause, Loren changed his words:

"But... Who said they were going to get their approval?"

"But you're not going to ......."

"To gain control of the imperial capital's defenses... Yes, but not according to their will, let alone with their acquiescence or control. The corners of Loren's mouth gradually showed a sneer:

"I'm going to make them scared, scared, and understand who they should be thankful for still breathing, and then again, I don't really care about fighting a civil war in the imperial capital when there are Azorean elves outside the imperial capital. ”

"As for Brandon... Well, I guess he'll be happy to see it happen, after all, this kind of 'dirty work' is always bad for his reputation, and it's better for me to do it. ”

Looking at the black-haired wizard's indifferent face, little Yod couldn't help but shudder.

Is... Could it be that it's because it's been too long since I've forgotten that the Duke of Byrne in front of me has never been a "good-hearted" person!

Little Yod seriously suspected that Loren's purpose in bringing him in was not to ease his relationship with the nobles of the imperial capital, but because his status as the head of the Chamber of Commerce could help him better blackmail threats and make some guys obediently shut up.

"Send out the Demon Hunters and inform Lanmalos and Rigrel that they can lead their troops to assemble at the designated location after completing their mission. Loren looked at Lusen on the side:

"The layout is complete, and it's time to close the net. ”