Imperial capital, Heavenly Dome Palace.

After the night of the assassination, the palace was now heavily guarded—at least two legionnaires stood guard in front of every door under almost every column, and at least an entire hundred-man squad was stationed in the main hall of the noble council and the imperial cabinet at all times.

It is completely different from the style of Eckhart II's time when it was loose on the outside and tight on the inside.

This was very painful for the nobles of the imperial capital, and it was true that they themselves had chosen the most "perfect" emperor, but this emperor was too perfect and too industrious, so industrious that he almost had to do everything himself.

Tax increases for the nobility, war contributions, planning of logistical supply routes, the establishment of various supply depot warehouses within the empire, the requisition of granaries of local nobles, negotiations with the Great Chamber of Commerce... Emperor Connad I was a natural emperor, as the nobles had expected at first.

He seemed to be born with the ability to exercise the authority of the emperor, and knew how to maximize the effects of these powers within the law.

The Imperial Diet, which symbolized the authority of the empire, was changed from once a month to once a week, and the Imperial Cabinet was open to discuss and discuss all the "new ideas" proposed by the emperor all the time.

Connad I, as the "expected" emperor, followed the imperial code of laws, allowing any minister or nobleman to disagree with him, and to accept everyone's requests and suggestions.

In the same way, as the emperor, he has the right to put forward "new" ideas for the parliament to continue the "discussion" when his decree has not been passed - and the meeting is not allowed to adjourn until the results of the discussion are reached!

Locked gates, heavily armed guards... Even if a nobleman is bold enough to stand up and resist, he has to weigh whether he can escape from the Heavenly Dome Palace, where an entire legion is stationed.

After three days of "non-violent non-cooperation", looking at Connad I, who was still in good spirits while sitting on the throne, the nobles who had been tortured to the point of severe exhaustion and trance finally had to admit that His Majesty the Emperor was stronger.

As for the coup d'état ... With the legion of the Broken Mountain Fortress and all the dukes, and even the support of the church, Conod is not afraid of any rebellion.

For those nobles who disobeyed him, Emperor Conod gave them two choices - either they would be imprisoned and beheaded, or he would dissolve the parliament and form a new one that would be "more loyal".

After one-fifth of the nobles were imprisoned, one-tenth died in the Parliament, and one-tenth were beheaded, the remaining nobles finally understood what the Emperor called a "more loyal" Parliament looked like:

The emperor is the parliament, the emperor is the empire, and the will of the emperor is the will of the empire... They had to fulfill the emperor's will - to be the most diligent servants and the most faithful rubber stamps.

Under such "spiritual guidance", the Imperial Diet became more efficient than ever, and it became more violent than ever - all the nobles and bureaucrats were doing whatever it took to implement the emperor's ideas.

Only the Holy Cross Church did not take any action from beginning to end—except for handing over the donations and gold and silver utensils of the congregation, neither took to the streets to advocate for the emperor, nor did it stand up for public resistance, and was very quiet from beginning to end.

Connad smelled something strange about the quietness, but in the current situation, he had no spare time to interfere with the decisions and ideas of the church, and could only let it go as long as the other party remained cooperative.

After gathering (looting) all the materials and funds in the imperial capital, employing (forcibly expropriating) all the tools and livestock, and establishing a supply line from the imperial capital to Ebolden, enough to support the squandering of 200,000 troops, the prices of the imperial capital also soared to the point that even the nobles could not afford it.

Conod then began his next plan to hire a large number of poor people in the imperial capital to form the so-called "Golovinian Baggage Army", which became the cornerstone of supply lines and army logistics.

He must do the same, otherwise after looting so many supplies, before the war begins, the imperial capital will be starving and rioting everywhere.

Only Golovin, a large city with a population of one million, could provide Emperor Conod with such a huge amount of materials and manpower to squander.

"Conod, there's news from Ebolden. ”

A tone without the slightest emotion sounded in front of the table of the Imperial Cabinet.

The ministers present looked back silently and looked at the beautiful figure who had just walked in the door and sat down "magnificently" - there was only one person in the whole empire who could appear on such a major occasion without restraint and dared to call the emperor's name.

The eldest princess plus the current leader of the Night's Watch, His Royal Highness Fitlonay de Salion.

"Loren Turin has suppressed the rebellion at Ebolden, and the army of the Azorean elves has arrived in the city?" Although it was an inquiring tone, Conod's expression was very affirmative.

If he can't even do that, then it's not Duke Byrne.

"How many enemies are there?"

"A hundred warships, no less than 100,000 in the whole army, and it is said that there are also powerful alchemy trebuchets with a range of more than 500 paces. ”

After speaking, Her Royal Highness the eldest princess closed her eyes and recuperated without saying a word.

There was a slight movement at the table in front of the Imperial Cabinet, and there was an exclamation that was desperately suppressed.

"One hundred thousand... The army in Loren Turin's hands is about twenty or thirty thousand people, most of them are mercenaries with no fighting spirit, and the elite should be less than 10,000 people. Staring at the map on the table, Conod shook his head: "He can't hold it for too long." ”

"Metternich, how are our army preparations?"

"In accordance with your will, we are continuing to assemble and establish a stable supply depot and garrison camp - the 20,000 troops of the Broken Mountain Fortress, the legionnaires who have been recruited in East Sackland, are also moving south. The Minister of the Seal said respectfully:

"It will take time to complete the assembly. ”

"It will take time...... Conod suddenly sneered: "That means that before the entire army of Loren Turin is destroyed and the city is destroyed, you will not let the army be assembled?"

Metternich looked startled: "Your Majesty......!

"Well, I don't mean to blame. With a wave of his hand, Emperor Conod stopped the Minister of the Seals and the Minister of War, who still wanted to defend themselves: "Since the imperial army is too late, let the other dukes fulfill their promises." ”

"Open the border of East Sackland, and let the hussars of Boi take the Quadripartite Road to Eberden... What about Lothair's army?"

"It's been pulled out, and it's coming from the valley. The Minister of War said in a deep voice, "Eight thousand men in all, mainly light infantry, and one-third of them are the most elite longbow army of Lothair. ”

"Send a church messenger to Lothair to urge the local church not to obstruct it. Conod ordered: "Send another messenger to the Red Blood Fortress to inform them of the battle at Ebolden." ”

"I'll see what the loyal knights of Byrne will do when they know that their duke is in Eberden!"

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

"Boom ——————!!!!"

Pillars of light ejected from the launcher swept through the sky, and blinding firelight exploded over the walls of Ebolden, simultaneously with the sound of an eagle's horn.

After a night of mutual temptation, the real confrontation finally began.

Still maintaining the depth of its wings, the elven fleet of trapezoidal arrays began to approach the harbor, and the warships that took advantage of the rising tide of the early morning sea and the morning wind spread their sails like a horde of giants.

Almost every tower on the walls of Ebuden had at least one heavy ballista, and in the gaps between the towers, large trebuchets were placed in the rear – the only two heavy trebuchets in the city capable of firing at a distance of 500 paces were deployed in the ring fortress.

At the top of the tower, the black-haired wizard with a blank face was still standing where he had been before, looking out at the approaching elven warship, and Lusen, who stood behind him, stared at Loren's raised right hand, his heartstrings tensed to the limit.

It's just an extremely small action, but it seems to weigh a thousand pounds.

Just as the long oars poked out from the sides of the elven battleship, the black-haired wizard's right hand fell gently.

Lu Sien's pupils shrank suddenly, and he burst out excitedly:

"Raise the flag!"

The surrounding Byrne knights were shocked, and as if instinctively, they held the battle flag in their hands high - twenty gold lion flags on a black background, which appeared neatly at the top of the tower, which was extremely eye-catching.

In the next second, the curtain of steel chains suddenly tore through the sea, ending in the ring fortress at both ends and the ancient castle on the other side of the river, blocking the coast of Ebolden.

Although the sailors of the elven fleet noticed the anomaly as soon as the battle flag appeared, it was still a step too late... The first two warships slammed their bows straight into the chains.

"Boom ——!"

In the terrifying loud noise, the planks of the waterline of the two battleships shattered like a devastating sound!

The straight and slender chains in front of the battleship were like long knives raised horizontally—after a burst of "wailing" sounds, the bow pillar of the keel, which was completely deformed, was finally broken in two.

The sound of the deck breaking, the sound of the sails breaking, the panicked sailors, the samurai who have fallen overboard... The curtain of steel chains not only completely destroyed the two battleships, but even the battleships with the back row that had no time to retreat were trapped and in a dilemma.

Almost at the same time, the ring fortress roared at the same time as all the trebuchets on the front of the coast - the long rocker arm dragged the leather bag full of ammunition and canisters of fire oil and threw it in the direction of the chain.

There was no need to aim at all, because two days ago all the trebuchets and ballistas had been fixed at a distance of twenty paces before and after the chains!

"Boom ——————!!!!"

The loud thunderous sound came and went as one black shadow after another rushed to the surface of the sea, and many canisters filled with hot oil and ignition agent shattered in the air before they fell, and golden-red "rain" poured down.

Decks, sails, masts... The collapsed and sunken battleship gradually turned the originally scattered flames into soaring flames, and the entire sea surface was swallowed with golden-red tongues of fire.

The elven warriors who did not have time to evacuate were so dense that they were almost blocked in groups in the cabin, and before they could escape, they were already engulfed in flames, or gradually sank underwater along with the battleship......

The elven sailors who managed to escape were either roasted alive on the surface of the sea or turned into targets for trebuchets and ballistas—the ammunition was of course difficult to aim at at a distance of nearly five hundred paces, but the waves of water that exploded from the stone balls were enough to shoot the dying elves back to the bottom of the sea.

The soldiers on the walls were silent at the sight of the cruelty of hell on earth, but the baggage soldiers behind the walls and towers could see nothing, and could only follow the orders given by the duke and the prefect - continue to throw until the order is heard or the ammunition is empty.

And Loren had no intention of stopping at all.

If you want to lure the enemy to attack the castle, you must take advantage of the moment to hurt the opponent so hard that he no longer dares to attack Eberden in such a frontal way, and it hurts so much that it hurts their muscles and bones.

Two or three warships, far from the point of breaking the muscles and bones.

"Let the projection troops of the rear line gradually slow down the offensive and let the enemy's boats into the harbor. Loren ordered: "All the city defense troops immediately enter the fortified positions and prepare for defense. ”

"We're going to be under the walls and beat them hard!"

"Yes!"

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

The crystal lenses of the single-pass telescope accurately present the scene of a sea of fire in the distance, and the elven warriors struggling and wailing in the sea in front of the eyes of the elven little prince.

On the silent deck, the elven warriors all frowned, their expressions pained or fierce, or they couldn't bear to turn their heads away.

None of them noticed the corners of the little prince's mouth that were inadvertently and quietly hooked.

"His Royal Highness Rodria, do you want to order the withdrawal... Gather the remnants and reorganize the army?" Alexandra, the chief adjutant of the Overseer, was about to say "retreat" when she was gently knocked on her calf with the hilt of a knife by Lori, a keen elf girl on the side, and quickly changed her words:

"If Your Highness needs it, I will take the lead in the charge and take the enemy chieftain's port for you!"

"Don't be so serious, Miss Alexandra, the enemy is just bluffing—the more they stop us in this way, the more vulnerable their army is to the elven warriors. ”

The little prince smiled lightly: "Let the battleship in front of you retract the wreckage as soon as possible and make room for it, and then put down the dinghy and land for a strong attack." ”

"Oh, by the way! Tell the Oversee's Chief Eugen, and say... It's time for him to behave. ”

"Yes!"

Alexandra nodded vigorously and turned to look at the deck: "I am willing to serve His Highness Rodria and go with me!"

Amid the chaotic footsteps and uniform responses, the samurai on the entire flagship's deck were nearly half less.

Only the blindfolded elven girl Lori was still standing in place with a group of court warriors.

"Oh, the noisy guys are gone, it's much quieter. The little prince, who chuckled and looked triumphant, picked up the monocular again with satisfaction, and the transparent lens was re-aimed in the direction of the tower, and the corners of his mouth were hooked:

"The beginning... Always full of surprises!"