"In the name of the honorable and majestic Duke Frid, Guardian of the Duchy of Lothair and Defender of the Holy Cross, I extend my sincerest greetings to all the elders of the Morning Star Forest Elves, and may you live a long life!"

In the longhouse at the top of the cloud canopy tree in the Morning Star Forest, the Duke Emissary, dressed in a delicate dark green robe, wearing a long golden chain and a silver buckle, stood calmly in front of the elven elders, his arrogant eyes almost reaching the beams of the house. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Beside him stood a young priest of the Holy Cross, with a serious and even nervous expression, and even if Loren was standing here, he couldn't recognize that this was the little priest he had helped him when he was in Gumu Town.

"May the Ancient Wood Forest bless you and wish Lord Fried a long life. Elder Born, who was sitting in the center, frowned, obviously very dissatisfied with the attitude of the Duke's envoy.

And this meeting is also the result of an agreement between the two sides - the settlement of Morning Star Forest will reach an alliance with Duke Frid, and the elven caravan can be unhindered throughout the territory of the Duchy of Lothair, and no longer have to be limited to a place like Deep Forest.

The Duke will provide the elves of the Morning Star Forest with all the support they need at every ogre invasion, not only with iron, armor, but even medicine, until the invasion is over - and the elves must ensure that the ogres are kept in the forest and no ogres can escape the Duchy's lands.

In return, Morning Star Forest had to pay Duke Fried an annual tribute of the best mead of the year, half of the new wine of the year, as well as precious animal skins and rare flowers as gifts, and send messengers to the duke's hunting feast to prove the friendship and alliance between the two sides.

In general, the conditions were very favorable to Morning Star Forest, and even better than many noble lords in the principality, proving that Duke Frid did treat them as corresponding allies, not vassals.

This was already something that had been discussed between the two sides, and Elder Born was not worried that the other party would repent. But just by seeing the duke's envoy's extremely arrogant expression, he felt an indescribable disgust.

"I wonder why you're visiting again?" Elder Born tried to make his tone as calm as he could, "I hope our hospitality doesn't disappoint you, and if you need anything, don't hesitate to mention it." ”

"You're so gracious, but I'm not talking about your hospitality. The Duke's envoy smiled a little "reservedly": "But more importantly, some small questions about the covenant between you and the Duke." ”

"Oh, isn't that already what you've said?"

"Of course, the Duke will not go back on what he promised—but there are a few small details to be added to that, and the necessary conditions to make the covenant seem more reasonable. ”

"Don't go too far!"

Another elven elder on the side stood up directly from his position, and glared angrily at the duke's envoy who was still "smiling reservedly": "We still agree to form an alliance with you, but it doesn't mean that we have to bow down to that duke!"

"Yes, but please don't forget that without the support of the Duke, you would not have won this war. The Duke's envoy didn't even bother to look at the elven elder, and was extremely arrogant: "Isn't it?, without the permission of the Duke, not even a piece of iron ingot can appear here!"

"In such a situation, not only did you not express your gratitude to your savior, but even spoke ill of his messenger, is this the courtesy of the elves?!"

"You ......"

"Sit down!"

Elder Born interrupted the elven elder with his mouth, and looked back at the Duke's envoy coldly: "Please also explain clearly, what is this so-called 'small detail'?"

"Of course, this is the premise of the alliance between the two sides - this matter has been put on hold for the time being because of the war, but now that the war is over, it is natural that we should solve the problems that still need to be solved!"

The Duke's envoy bowed slightly, not at all as if he had been interrupted: "As you know, the Duchy of Lothair is a land shrouded in the light of the Holy Cross, and the Duke is also a devout believer, and as a devout believer, one of the most important duties is to spread the faith of the Holy Cross. ”

"And as an important ally of the Duke, the elves of the Morning Star Forest have naturally become the people of the Holy Cross, illuminated by divine glory. The duke's envoy looked intoxicated and danced: "This is not only a request, but also an honor, so that the elves can also bathe in this glory!"

As he spoke, he also dragged the little priest beside him: "And this is a saint of the Holy Cross, a holy priest, he will lead you on the path of true light, no longer have to be shrouded in darkness, no longer have to fear evil gods and terrible monsters, because they will have nothing to hide in front of the Holy Cross!"

"Uh... Yes, yes!" the little priest who was suddenly pulled up looked nervous, trembling and muttering, and his frightened eyes kept dodging: "It is an incomparably glorious thing to be a citizen of the Holy Cross, I, I ......"

"The elves of the Morning Star Forest will never accept a foreign god for no reason!"

Before the little priest could explain clearly, the angry Elder Born spoke directly: "With all due respect, your behavior is simply blackmail, naked blackmail!"

"Maybe the elves in the future will accept the glory of the Holy Cross, maybe never—but that can only be done voluntarily, not by force!" The elder who was trembling with anger only stood up from his position: "Take ten thousand steps back, even if we agree, the elves of the Morning Star Forest and even the entire Eastern Forest will definitely not accept such a result!"

"Then I can only regret it. ”

The Duke's envoy pouted disdainfully and shrugged his shoulders: "If you can't become the people of the Holy Cross, without the witness of the Holy Cross, the Duke will never ally with you - that's the premise of everything!"

"This is blackmail, and we absolutely do not accept any form of blackmail!"

"This is not blackmail, this is just a necessary condition!" the Duke's envoy still did not give up: "This is also the will of the Holy Cross!"

"Let me put it another way, Your Excellency the Honorable Emissary!" Elder Born forcibly suppressed his anger, his aging eyes fixed on the emissary's face, "What will the Supreme Holy Cross do if we abandon the Great Tree Wall on the Border and let the ogres enter the Duchy of Lothair through the forest?!"

"You—How dare you ......"

The Duke's envoy was surprised, he didn't expect that these elves would still have the courage to refuse, and even threaten the Duke in this way?!

"Bang!"

The door behind him was suddenly slammed open, and the half-frightened Duke almost hid behind the little priest. Luca, who led a group of war dancers, strode in and surrounded the "messenger" in the center of the longhouse.

"You, what are you doing here?!" Seeing this posture, the Duke envoy finally panicked, and stared at Elder Boon in front of him with some hysteria: "I am the Duke's messenger, if I hurt me, it is equivalent to hurting the Duke, and hurting the Duke is equivalent to declaring war on the entire Duchy!"

"You can rest assured that we have absolutely no intention of harming you. Luca, who has always been gentle, involuntarily carried a bit of sarcasm in his tone. Looking back at Elder Born in front of him, "The expedition has returned, and has just arrived at the Great Tree Wall. ”

"Coming back?!" Elder Born stood up directly this time, with a serious expression: "How many?!"

"There are only a dozen left, and they are not injured or disabled. Luka's expression was ugly: "Kono sacrificed." Of the war dancers of Morning Star Forest, only Leah returned. ”

"And what about him?!" Elder Born didn't notice Lukka's last words, staring at the wardancer leader.

"Not recovered yet, but should still be alive. "Of course Lukka knows who the elder is talking about.

"That's enough... That's enough......" Elder Born breathed a long sigh of relief, and turned his gaze to the Duke's envoy who was still panicking on the side with a mocking expression: "I'm sorry, Your Excellency the Envoy, this meeting may be coming to an end. ”

"We're going to meet a friend, a hero who ended this invasion!"