"He agreed?!"

In the Duchy of Boy, in the barracks of the Sacland Crusade Corps, Brandon de Salion took the messenger's "top secret" letterhead with a look of disbelief.

"Yes—the Duke of Byrne's mission and procession had departed ten days ago, and should have just entered the territory of Ellemont. The dusty messenger didn't have time to wipe the sweat off his forehead, and nodded vigorously in a daze:

"At this rate, it will take at most a month to reach the deep forest fort north of Lothair. ”

"A month, so soon?" exclaimed the surprised red-haired boy, his brow furrowed even deeper.

Originally, I thought that even if it was a last resort, Loren Turin would at best deal with the situation, procrastinate for time to find a solution to the problem, but at his current efficiency, I am afraid that he really intends to be an "imperial envoy".

This guy... Is it really Loren Turin, his own wizard advisor - when did he become so loyal to the Empire?!

Or did he have other plans and just didn't plan to discuss them with him for some reason?

The puzzled Brandon shook his head desperately, leaning more towards the latter.

Whatever the reason, Loren Turin has already traveled to Lothair, in other words, the next three months to six months, the support that Byrne can provide to himself will be extremely limited;

This means that he originally wanted to put pressure on East Sackland and lift the blockade on him, and the plan to coordinate the power alliance of Boi and Byrne in the Duchy of Arles had to be cancelled;

This means that if the dear royal brother really has any thoughts about himself, it has been half a year;

And the only one who can be relied on and relied on is the Lord of Boi, the archduchess of the scimitar, the patronage of Salika Jonah - it is conceivable that once she knows about it, the lion will definitely open her mouth.

Thinking of this, the red-haired boy sighed, and his bright eyes flashed with a tangled light.

To think about it, betrayal of hue?

"Your Highness Brandon, Countess Charlotte of Crimson Castle is still waiting for a reply. The messenger who stood up looked cautiously at His Royal Highness the Prince in front of him: "Do you have anything to give her, or the Duke of Loren who is going to the Ancient Wood Forest......"

"Wait a minute!"

The red-haired boy jerked his hand up, interrupting the courier's words, his pupils swaying.

Ancient Wood Forest, why is it Ancient Wood Forest... No, why does it have to be Loren Turin?

The explanation of the Heavenly Dome Palace is that the two sides have a deep friendship... Nonsense, if it comes to deep friendship, Lothair's heir, Leven Fried, has been dealing with the elves there for the past few years, isn't he a better candidate?!

It is possible to break the balance between himself and his brother by supporting his most powerful assistant, but this is not his father's style, and if he is really prepared to die peacefully, he will not easily break the balance after supporting himself.

So... It's not an internal strife, the enemy comes from the outside.

What happened to the Grove of Trees that made my father go so far as to coerce Loren to obey his orders - and decided that only Loren could solve the problem?!

"Ancient Wood Forest... Kingdom of the Azores... What the hell is going on in those places?" Brandon de Salion muttered in a low voice.

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

"I'm surprised... You don't know. ”

Broken Mountain Fortress, Conrad de Salion banged on the table, his eyes staring at the opposite side: "To be honest, this is the first time I've been a little disappointed. ”

"I'm sorry, but the Night's Watch doesn't always know everything. Edward, the night watchman with his hands behind his back, said coldly, "Especially from the Heavenly Dome, His Majesty Eckhart II, your father's direct order. ”

"We can tell you that there is indeed this order, and tell you where His Majesty was at that time, what reading materials were at hand, the view outside the window, what the weather was like, the color of the clothes, the quality of sleep, the dishes for lunch, the small talk of the servants and guards outside the door, the maids who slept with you at night......"

"Only, I can't tell you what Your Majesty was thinking at the time—because our abilities are too limited. ”

Bell ——!

The heavy Sakran sword came out of its sheath and slammed into Edward's thin shoulder with a muffled thud, the edge of his neck pressed against the edge of his neck.

The night watchman's cheeks twitched slightly, and his body did not move.

"Watch the tone of your voice, Your Excellency. A deep and powerful voice came from behind, undisguised threat: "This is the Broken Boundary Mountain Fortress, dare to be disrespectful to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I guarantee you ......"

"Drexis!"

The expressionless Conod opened his mouth to interrupt the "intimidation" of his deputy commander and cavalry captain, and slowly got up: "Don't scare our guests, and I don't think a simple threat means anything to a night watchman. ”

"Unless you're really going to kill him, this sword is nothing more than iron to him—the lack of fear, the best of an Imperial Night's Watchman. Looking into Edward's eyes, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked softly:

"Am I right?"

"You're in for a treat. "Edward remained unmoved, neither humble nor arrogant.

The sword on his shoulder had been withdrawn, leaving only a trail near his collarbone.

"One last thing, Edward, please tell me;" Conod said softly, "This information... Did you send it from Ruth Infinit, or did someone from the Imperial Capital send it to you, or ......"

“...... What does my father mean?"

The cavalry captain Drexis was slightly startled and looked back sharply.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who did not squint, had sharp eyes and wanted to get the answer directly from the eyes of the night watchman.

"Intelligence itself is not a secret, and even if I don't tell it, it's not hard for you to know. Edward, the night watchman, looked at him calmly:

"But it is the will of His Majesty the Emperor that I am ordered to convey this information to you. ”

The air became quiet.

Conrad de Salion, whose face did not change, set off a monstrous wave in his heart.

This is the father... His Majesty the great Eckhart II is warning himself?

The Duke of Byrne's mission was a "compromise" between him and Loren Turin, and he was not allowed to interfere more?

"I see, I'm probably not the only one to be warned, right?" Conod looked at him seriously, "Broken Mountain Fortress... Probably not your last stop, Lord Edward?"

"Brandon de Salion, Poi's crusade camp, is my last stop, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Edward's voice did not pause in the slightest:

"The more capable the person who is responsible, the more necessary it is to be warned and reminded... These are the exact words of His Majesty. ”

"Yes? I see. Conod bowed slightly, his eyes were extremely complicated, and then turned his back.

Edward, who understood what the other party meant, immediately retreated and left the Broken Mountain Fortress.

"Your Highness, do you want me to send someone to investigate?"

The cavalry captain, who was so silent that he couldn't bear it, finally spoke: "The mission team has just arrived in Ellemont, and if we do it now, our sentry should still have time to keep up with the Duke of Byrne......"

Conod, who had his back to him, shook his head and sighed helplessly.

"Forget it, if my father really doesn't want us to interfere, then it's better not to act rashly. Hanging his head, he said word by word:

"Dresis, you have followed my father for many years—what do you remember when he would have easily revealed his thoughts and purposes to others?"

The cavalry captain was stunned for a moment, frowning and silent for a long time.

"Once... Nor did it. ”

Conod sighed again.

"But I'm still curious, what happened to the Kingdom of the Azores, since the shipwreck of the ocean-going fleet three years ago, nothing has been heard from ... No. ”

Conod suddenly turned around and thought to himself, "Even in the past, we still didn't know anything about this elven realm, and we never really knew about them. ”

"The form of government, the strength of the country, the wealth, the people...... We don't know anything about them, we only know that the two countries are separated by a sea of mist, and in any case they can't cross the ocean to invade us, let alone need... And vice versa. ”

"An unsurmountable sea of mist... It is this false sense of security that has allowed each other to live peacefully for twelve generations, and to be confident that this 'peace' will continue......" Connad muttered in a low voice:

"But is it true?"

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

"Of course it's true, it's true. ”

Putting down the flask in his hand, Metternich Leopold, the keeper of the Seals, placed a full glass of Sachran in Victor Hughes's hand, not paying any attention to the frowning brow of the alcoholic judge:

"In the history books of the Empire, it is clearly recorded that three emperors sent emissaries to the Azorean elves, and there are countless exchanges through trade and commerce in private... But all failed. ”

"How is that possible?" the frowning judge lowered his glass, his tone of surprise to the extreme: "Eberden's ocean-going fleet trades with the Kingdom of the Azores at least once a year - you tell me that the Empire still knows nothing about this country?"

"That's right, I just don't know anything. The Minister of the Seal calmly drank his glass: "All the contents of 'the Eagle King's hospitality to the Imperial Mission and friendly exchanges with the ocean-going fleet' that you have seen in the history books are all fabricated by the historians for the sake of the Empire's face. ”

"The truth is that our ocean-going fleets and missions have never really come close to this country, and generally stop at a port on the border; More akin to some kind of reward. ”

"Reward?" the justice's brow furrowed even deeper.

"That's right, just like the 'Sage' Brandon I gave the centaur tribe a lot of gold and iron to keep them from harassing the Duchy of Boy, so that he could mobilize tens of thousands of hussars to the north and accomplish his great feat in the Valley of Blood. The Minister of the Seals sighed:

"Although I don't want to make such a comparison, this is the case - in the eyes of the Azorean elves, the Sakran Empire, which also inherited the bloodline of the Dragon Kingdom, may be a trouble like a 'distant barbarian'. ”

"Of course, this is just wishful thinking on my part, and only the Azorean elves themselves know. ”

"I see. Justice Victor bowed his head slightly: "That's why when I heard the news that the Azorean elves appeared in the Ancient Wood Forest, Your Majesty will feel like a great enemy... An enemy who is completely unaware of it is indeed unsettling. ”

"No, not exactly. ”

"Huh?"

"If I really didn't understand it at all, I wouldn't have specially appointed Duke Byrne as a plenipotentiary envoy. Leopold shook his head: "Your Majesty must have sensed something, or had a premonition, so he will not hesitate to use coercion to reunite the empire that is gradually divided due to the issue of inheritance. ”

"What he needs is no longer a divided alliance of principalities where factions fight each other to keep a balance so that no one can threaten their authority, but a close union that will intimidate the empire from all sides!"

"What do you mean?" Victor asked rhetorically, "Didn't you just say... Have the Empire and the Azorean elves never come into direct contact?"

"That's right, we don't know, there are almost zero records of Azorean elves in the historical records of the Empire. Leopold looked up and looked out the window meaningfully:

But that doesn't mean that some people are equally ignorant of them. ”

After a moment of silence, Justice Victor suddenly came to his senses: "You mean ......"

"Is there anything hidden in the shipwreck of the ocean-going fleet three years ago?" Leopold, who muttered in a low voice, was still shrewd under his frowning brows:

"I don't want to think so, but... During the Ebolden turmoil, His Majesty insisted on supporting the Corona family and putting the Wizard Tower in power as the ruler of Ebolden......"

"Perhaps, it wasn't an accident?"

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

"There are no accidents in this world, only information that we don't know. ”

Standing on the balcony of the Nine-Pointed Star Wizard Tower, Corona, who was getting older, stared at the harbor in the distance and muttered to herself.

"And our Supreme Emperor, His Majesty, he can always know what we don't know, so his gaze is farther than His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and more than all of us. ”

But these long-term visions have always served a great but selfish purpose, actively making innovations while rejecting any change—the continuation of the royal family of de Salion, the strength of the Sakran Empire. ”

"Loren Turin once mentioned a word called... Well... Limitations, yes, that's it, describe the sadness of being able to see one's own flaws and inadequacies, but not being able to make any changes because of one's position and the ego itself. ”

"But we are different, and the most dynamic side we represent is the intellectual curiosity and self-motivation of the Empire and our race as a whole;

No matter how much we are denounced as evil and depraved, we who have inherited the legacy of 'Rogan in the Hat' and are committed to exploring the nature of the power of the void, using knowledge to change and serve ourselves, while not succumbing to the power of the void, will always be progressive. ”

"It will be us who will dominate the next era!"

Talking to himself, Corona slowly looked back - behind him, the portrait of Freswalker with a pipe in his mouth and a funny expression was looking at him with his eyes that were bent into crescents.

"It's because you're aware of this that you're able to walk so comfortably and leave such a mess to me... Right, old friend?"