At that time, Matthew was lying on the ground, unaware of life and death, and how did the mud send him away? Did Matthew urge his psychic power to manipulate the mud to take him away, or was it ...... He and Ian didn't dare think any further.

After they explained these things to the guild receptionist, the other party also frowned, and then went back upstairs to discuss with the chief. As Ian exits the guild hall, he notices a receptionist who has a portrait of Matthew posted on the bounty wanted column.

Sid hesitated for a long time at the portrait.

"Don't you care about the murderer?" After walking out of the hall, Ian looked at his preoccupied appearance and couldn't help but ask, "The commission is done, isn't it what you want?"

"yes, I don't care," Sid sighed, "but it's not the same if that guy is demonized in front of me." ”

Under the erosion of a certain concentration of magic elements, normal animals and plants will sometimes turn into monsters. This kind of thing rarely happens to humans, but it is not absent from historical records.

Sid's expression was still gloomy. For him, this is probably more difficult to accept than for a ten-year-old child who wants him to kill the murderer with a single sword. Because demonization means that Matthew loses his identity as a human and becomes a type of demonic beast - a demon. Many of the demonization of human beings recorded in historical records did not come from their own will.

If he had been more decisive at the time, maybe this would not have happened, Sid couldn't help but think.

The two barely stayed up all night, so they decided to go back to the hotel and rest for the day before heading back to the oasis.

At the inn in Kush Town, Matthew's room has been thoroughly searched. All his belongings had been left there, and no one had returned since that night, and now they had been taken by the guards. The innkeeper was shocked to learn that Sid was a mercenary investigating the disappearance, and that he had already fought the killer in the middle of the night. But when he heard that the child in his guest was the murderer, he was even more frightened and became afraid.

The boss muttered, "Really...... People can't look ......" while feeling a bottle of good wine from the depths of the wine cabinet behind him, he unsealed it without hesitation. Suppress your own shock, and also pay tribute to Sid's celebration. Ian didn't drink it, but for the first time, he felt the sense of accomplishment and relief of being a mercenary - no one had ever thanked them like this before, after all, it was natural to take money to do things.

Watching Sid drink without the slightest taste of celebration, Ian frowned.

The investigation of the disappearance has come to an end for the time being, and at this time, the heads of state and kings of the Tiwak continent have become hostages of the empire, and the news has been very tacitly blocked by the countries. It's easy to understand this: to stabilize the people's minds and watch the situation change. There were no festivals or major celebrations in the month of Fire, and the king and the head of state did not need to show up to contact the people, so it was not a hassle to block the news.

Except for one country.

Adjacent to the Eastern Ancient Kingdom, the Principality of Maroloc, a small country in the southeastern corner of the mainland, happened to meet their national birth celebration.

How could the king not show up on such a big holiday? The prince was still too young for the young queen to make up her mind. Seeing that the day of the celebration was approaching day by day, the Home Secretary Fabro was in a hurry.

He didn't dare to urge the queen anymore, so he could only keep an eye on the foreign minister every day to contact the Eastern Ancient Kingdom to see what the great power they relied on was going to choose. Even an immediate declaration of war on the Empire would be better than a cover-up. After all, paper can't contain the fire, and if the decision to release the truth to the people at the last minute is not guaranteed, he, the chief home secretary, cannot guarantee that there will be any trouble. He felt as if he was the only one in the kingdom who was anxious about this matter now.

Chief Foreign Minister Kinder didn't really have much to do. Malorock is a small country bordering only the Old Kingdom, with the Endless Sea on the other side of the country. In terms of national strength and historical origin, they were only vassal states of the Old Kingdom - in fact, their country's birth day was Independence Day, and the country became independent from the Old Kingdom. When he first received the invitation of the Emperor of the Hilfa Empire to attend the meeting, the king and several of his ministers had a heated discussion and were flattered. Everyone really thinks that their country now occupies a place in the eyes of the empire, but who knows that it is actually a vicious ambush.

The legations and guards were annihilated, and the king himself was imprisoned, and it is not known whether he is still alive. The spies reported that the kings and heads of state of various countries were detained by the empire, so the ancient kingdom should be in a similar situation, but why haven't they made any moves until now, just blocking the news like other countries.

In the past two days, he has received information that the empire has sent troops to capture the main city of Bordo, the great lord of the northern border. The king is not on the throne, and the royal city is so fragile.

Old Kingdom ...... As one of the three major countries on the mainland, it has a vast territory, a large population, and abundant products. What is this big country, which occupies nearly one-third of the continent's land area, thinking about now?

"Order!" a soldier hurried to the door and knelt down, interrupted the Chief Foreign Secretary's thoughts with an urgent message.

Say. Kinder hurriedly turned around.

"The spy has reported that the Hilfa Empire has captured the three northern counties and expanded its territory to the vicinity of the Ice Sea!"

The Hilfa Empire, located in the center of the entire continent, has been sandwiched between the Western Confederation and the Eastern Old Kingdoms for thousands of years. To the north are the three northern counties with natural snow-capped mountains as barriers, and to the south are high-density demonic flooding areas that are not suitable for human habitation. It is directly bordered by three countries, two of which are among the most powerful countries on the continent.

Now, it actually used the triennial peace council to detain the leaders of various countries, and also annexed the three northern counties in one fell swoop, extending the empire's territory to the sea.

Kinder couldn't help but worry: being close to the sea meant that they didn't have to stick to the land march, and could attack other countries from any coast. But now, he did not have time to think about diplomatic countermeasures, and the words of the pro-soldier were not finished.

“...... When the envoy of the Eastern Old Kingdom arrived, the queen invited her to the council chamber to receive her. ”

Seeing that the soldiers seemed to be hesitant, he couldn't help but scold: "If you have anything else, just say it." ”

"Yes!" replied the soldier, "the subordinate just thinks it's strange, the envoy is wearing a colorful robe, which is the costume of the celebration ambassador......"

When Jinde heard this, he was also stunned, and immediately didn't think about it, and immediately left for the council hall.

Outside the council chamber, he met Fabro, the chief home secretary, and Faustin, the chief military secretary, who also came in a hurry. Several people looked at each other, did not say much, and walked straight into the hall together. The princes and ministers were arranged according to their ranks, and the queen dressed up in a crown and led the young prince to the edge of the throne. She let the little prince sit on the throne, but the child was too young, where was he willing to sit on this huge cold seat alone, and he didn't play coquettish because of royal etiquette.

The queen had no choice but to sit on the throne with the prince.

Outside the council hall, musicians and sergeants lined up and drums sounded in unison to welcome the ambassadors of the celebration.

In the brightly lit council hall, citi curtains were raised on both sides, and the red carpet on the ground took on a new look.

The celebratory messengers, dressed in colorful robes, strolled to the steps under the throne and bowed.

The Old Eastern Kingdom has a long history and is inhabited by many groups and tribes, making it an ancient kingdom with deep faith. They used the colors to express their joy, and the colorful robes have become the exclusive clothing of the celebratory messengers, especially when attending important celebrations and spreading the news of the celebrations.

At this time, it is really strange for the Old Kingdom to send such a celebratory messenger.

The queen bowed slightly, which was considered a return salute. She spoke: "Your Excellency is dressed in a multicolored robe, and according to my knowledge of your country, this is the meaning of the celebration news. Have you had any recent celebrations in your country?"

"Exactly. The person who came looked calm, but said amazingly, "Our new king, Homener, is about to ascend to the throne." ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone around them suddenly stirred, and the princes and nobles couldn't help but whisper.

The queen raised her head slightly, her chin raised haughtily, and glanced around. As far as the eye could see, there was a sudden silence.

She said tentatively, "Old King Navi ......"

"The first king, Navi, has passed away. As he spoke, the messenger bowed his head respectfully, "According to the laws of the Old Kingdom, if the king has been absent for more than seven days, he can have a state mourning according to his death, and the new king must ascend the throne within three days after the state mourning. ”

The queen could not help but secretly admire that she was worthy of being one of the three great powers on the mainland. This means that the king is dead after he has been missing for more than seven days, which is impossible in any country.

Perhaps seeing the change in the queen's countenance, the messenger added: "It is not possible to live without a king, especially now that we are at the turn of the times of the continent of Tihuak, and therefore our new king earnestly advises the queen to make a decision sooner rather than later." ”

The queen nodded slightly, noncommittal.

The messenger smiled and said, "There is a custom in the Old Kingdom, which the queen must also know—it is a tradition in our country to report good news but not bad news. Only good news is worth sharing with friends, so I did not inform you of the king's funeral, but asked me to pass it on when the new king ascended the throne. ”

The queen got up and pulled the little prince up with her. She said aloud: "The new king of the Eastern Old Kingdom, Homena, will receive my most sincere congratulations and respects, please bring back our blessings." Tonight, I've prepared a dinner in the ballroom, and you can share more details about the celebration with us. ”

"Thank you, Queen," said the messenger, taking a few steps back and bowing in thanks, "but I hope that the Queen will forgive me for my offense, for I have other tasks to do, and I cannot linger here for long." ”

"Oh?" said the Queen's two willow eyebrows, raising slightly, imperceptibly, "and you want to go somewhere else to preach the good news?"

"Yes, Queen. The messenger said calmly, "I will also go to the Western Federation to deliver the news. ”

The queen and all the subordinates all changed their faces. The queen asked incredulously, "Do you want to do this...... Straight through the Hilfa Empire to the Federation?"

The envoy smiled: "Of course not, I will go directly through the no-man's land in the south of the empire. ”

When the people heard this, they were even more surprised.