To the east of the city of Entle, along the mountain slopes of the Ella Mountains, the Earl River finally joins its source - the Lake of Life of the Trians, Lake Santa Kana, the shore of the Lake of Saint-Kana is the well-known lakeside village at the foot of the Ella Mountains, go straight out of the lakeside village along the dirt road, pass through two low but steep terraces, you can see the small fortress that suddenly appears on the side of the Raif River, the small fortress is the outpost of Yafenburg, through the fortress, all the way to the north, through the Lucy woodland next to the Yafen Mountain, After seeing a Pillar of Arcana, erected in the time of the heroic Sidrion, the ancient domain of House Eastem, Jaffenburg, was revealed behind the dark green taiga.

Due to its geographical proximity, this ancient territory of the Easttim family often had mutual trade and cultural exchanges with the Ain Dynasty established by the dwarves in its northeastern pass. But now there is no busy scene here, and there are no short merchants who come and go to trade, but the atmosphere here is very strange, even the eyes of the soldiers guarding the city are full of vicious and fierce light, they take these peasants who work quietly inside and outside the city as thieves like thieves, these local farmers are also trembling, except for the necessary exchanges, no one is willing to open their voices to say a word, as long as the Earl here does not send people to collect money and grain at the end of three days, That's a lot of luck.

"Well, if the old earl had been here, it wouldn't have been like this." A farmer whispers to his companion.

"Don't mention the old earl, I don't know if you've heard of it, although the current earl is the son of the old earl, he seems to hate others mentioning the old earl." The farmer's companion gagged his friend in a panic. "I heard that now Yafen and Entel are in a stalemate, alas, the hard days are coming again."

"Bah, don't talk about these things, I heard Mr. Matt, the soldier on duty who is quite good to us peasants, say early this morning that the last merchant of Entre is ready to roll away tonight. He had a good Entre short iron bow for sale, and we got out of here as soon as we bought it, and I felt uncomfortable with the soldiers patrolling the streets back and forth. The peasant stopped talking, and went straight to the depressed market of Yafen.

The court of the main castle of Affenburg also looked rather lifeless, and under the coat of arms of the brown striped diagonal stripe hanging above the fireplace, on the antique gray earl's chair sat a proud young man, and in front of him stood dozens of nobles in thick fur coats. The smiles of these nobles seem to be unnatural, and each of them seems to have a ghost in their hearts, they look at me, I look at you, in addition to looking at each other, they still look at each other. Standing at the very end of these courtiers was an old man in an old robe, his wooden expression and slightly twitching lips made him look out of place with the fur-wrapped courtiers.

"You shit, you have learned how to be silent like my dead father, oh, I'm fed up with you. It's good that I'm not my lord, otherwise you'll all be punished, understand? It's a punishment! The Saxons are happy to drag you silent people to torture. The proud young man slammed the armrest of the earl's chair, and he stretched out his right hand and pointed at one courtier after another, "My lord thinks that I rightfully possess the title of Earl of Entle. Am I going to be public or not? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! ”

"Your Excellency, your title should definitely be made public. There is no doubt about it! A small-eyed courtier in a fur coat stood out from the courtiers' team, he rolled his eyes with a grunt, and kept fiddling with the gold ring in his hand, "Our Ryan barracks in Yafenburg have the best infantry regiment in Talk, and it is easy to storm the city. Especially under your leadership, Yafenburg is getting stronger and stronger, and those lowly farmers don't even dare to let out a fart. Our Baron Horton of Difender Fortress is your faithful assistant, guarding the entire perimeter of Lake Santa Cana for us, and erecting a solid barrier outside the heart of our Yafen. There are no internal troubles, only external troubles, and of course we have to eliminate this external trouble. ”

"To be open means to prepare for war, and to have to collect the food of the untouchables again. Ressatt Don, you're really good at making up your own minds, don't think I don't know what you're thinking in your honey-filled belly, and you're ready to make a big profit while you're preparing for battle, right? The corners of the young man's mouth showed a hint of a wicked smile. There's a tough force behind the fat-headed, big-eared guy that's supporting him. ”

"Resar Don is your faithful servant, Your Excellency the Earl, and since the King has recognized your rightful possession of the Entle, we certainly cannot afford to watch your claims be thrown away in vain. The king's brother is nothing but a prince, and the king has not yet killed him only because he is inextricably linked with the power of Entre, and if the power of Entre is destroyed by our mighty Yafen, His Majesty will surely send his dear brother to the executioner's axe with his own hands. "My esteemed Earl, I can assure you that I will do my duty to you, and as soon as you decide to prepare for war, I will make sure that our granaries and money will be full in one night!" Not to mention, the warriors we came out of Ryan's camp were all as strong as oxen, and the mechanics who had learned the dwarven technique - real materials could provide us with powerful siege equipment. ”

"Well, it seems that you are a person who does things, don't let me catch you and swallow too much. Those are pariahs' finances anyway, aren't they? You're right. I was hesitating. But now I think I have a vote in my heart. The proud young man played with the wine glass in his hand. My spy-chief, Lord Spiket, have you seen or heard. ”

"There is some truth to what Lord Ressatt said, my spies have received a letter from Baron Sherlock Woodbank, whom we have bribed, and say that they are ready to mutiny. But I have bad news that the Red Boar of Entre has killed all the Assassins we sent and the court servants who have been bribed, and declared that you are an infidel and that your title is illegitimate. "The head of the spy is red-faced.

"Maybe his dead dad never told him what our Easttim people were." The proud young man snorted. "If he knew, he would have buried his head in his crotch."

"So, the sword is already in our throats, and instead of letting him invade our territory, we should hit his house in advance and make him a roast boar." Ressatt Don seemed to be quite dissatisfied with Spitcot's words, and his two small eyes kept glaring at Spiket, who retreated to the side in amusement and stopped talking.

"Oh, Mr. Ressat's reasoning is good, so that the sword in my hand is ready to move. Don't other people have any opinions and suggestions on this? The proud young man glanced arrogantly at the courtiers who had expressed their agreement. It seems that everyone is in agreement with Mr. Resart. It seems that I have to make the right decision. ”

"I am against the right to make this claim public! What we need in Jarfenburg now is recuperation, and if I could still call you my student, Lord Earl, although the king does value you now, your opponent, the red boar of Entle, has long been prepared, didn't Spiket say? Not long ago, the Red Boar of Entre had publicly slaughtered all the Assassins we sent and the court servants we sent to buy off in the square, and the situation has begun to turn against us, poisoning is tantamount to heresy in the teachings of Arcana, and I think that the Red Boar will not let go of the real disadvantage of our war, and they will definitely make a big deal of it, and induce the people of Entre to die for him. What we have to do now is to hide the signs of our attempt to seize Entre, and let these unfavorable conditions be diluted by time, not to mention that now that the Red Boar has completely cut off our trade routes on the western front, if we rashly open the claim of Entre now to conduct a war that is actually unfavorable, and mobilize soldiers to prepare for war and large-scale expropriation of grain and grass, it will definitely make the people of our territory even worse! In the end, the proud young man's gaze fell on an old courtier with gray hair and wrinkles on his face, only to see this old courtier take a deep breath, and finally stood up from the courtier's team with a solemn face, and then fell to the ground on his knees, "What's more, this red boar is also a smart person, he must have been prepared for the next plan you have prepared!" If we take the liberty of raising our troops to invade the country, we may be hit head-on! Now that the king claims our own rights to the Entle, we can only use it as a shield instead of a spear, and now is definitely not the best time to take the county of Entle! In addition, Sherlock's reply is also difficult to distinguish between authenticity and falsity! War is based on the premise of having the initiative. ”

"Damn old man, your tirade is too presumptuous! Are you here to give our enemies a boost and demoralize yourself? Resat Don frowned, his eyes squinted, and he looked at Lawrence viciously, "What a big crow's mouth!" The breath of the breath is like rotting wood, and I sometimes really feel like you're an undercover agent sent by the Red Boar. I still remember that last time you opposed the increase in the tax rate in front of the court, oh, do you want our lord to pay a tribute to His Majesty with his own gold and grain? Eat the old stuff inside and out! ”

"Your Excellency, please don't be blinded by Resart Don's words, Resart Don is just a vicious dog in the court, he only thinks about his own interests, he doesn't even think that preparing for war at the moment will cause our agriculture to suffer a heavy blow! Lord, this is just a manoeuvre of the king, and he can benefit from it! Entre and Yafen are now at loggerheads on the table, and even the dwarf stones who do business in our realm have sniffed the smell of blood in the air of Yafen and reduced their trade with us. Lawrence just glanced at Resart Don, "What's more, you are the new lord of this vast Easttim family's domain, and you should revitalize the agriculture and money here, rather than go to the extremely risky pursuit of the most adventurous expansion of the territory." Although the territory of the current Easttim family seems to be peaceful, it is only on the surface. Can't you see that Baron Houghton of Diefender Fortress is only acting against you, and that your cousins in Knights' Valley only superficially identify with you as their lord, but they don't take you to heart at all? If our rash march this time suffered a heavy blow, although these wolf-like fellows will not usurp power, but their intentions are by no means you can imagine, once the strength of Yafenburg is lost by the war, will the horse trade and belonging of the Hoth Ranch, Knight Ranch, and the Eastern and Western Cavalry Ranch not be usurped by these pretenders? At that time, there would never be peace in the land of Yafen! ”

"You don't have to question the loyalty of my relatives and assistants, my teacher! I think you're getting old and starting to get a fuzzy mind, and I'm talking about something other than what you can talk about, and I ask you to step back from me before I can express my own solution to the topic you've posted. The proud young man's face showed a hint of displeasure, he sneered, and waved his hand arrogantly at Lawrence, who turned his head away from looking at Lawrence.

"For your father's sake, for the sake of your father's governance of your Easttim family's lands, I don't think even your father would choose to confront the forces of Entel at this time! On the contrary, he will first settle the guys in the inner court who lurk around you like poisonous snakes, and strive to be strong, he will never be on anyone's side, he will only stand on his own side, even if he wants to fall to which side! ”

"Enough, you abominable Lawrence! Don't rely on the old and sell the old in front of me, and dare to mention in front of me the people I hate all my life. The proud young man was furious, and he jumped up from the earl's chair tremblingly, and his face became hideous, "Father? What a good father! Isn't it!? Even the most vicious snake in the world would not throw away its eggs for its own survival! And he was able to do it. Oh, it seems that you are also the teacher assigned to me by the abominable man, and I suppose he is still your count, and now that he has gone to the temple of Arcana to be punished, I suppose you should go there with him and enjoy it? ”

"Yes, Lawrence is a malevolent being by your side, Lord Count. I don't think our courtiers have any affection for this vicious man. Resat Don was on the side, he squinted his eyes and looked at Lawrence with a smug face, and the courtiers beside him shook their heads helplessly, but they still echoed Ressart Don's words.

"Your lord, you have misunderstood your father, who has protected your safety and the peace of the entire Easttim family with all the dignity he possesses." Lawrence's eyes were blazing, and he pointed at Ressatt Don and yelled, "Ressat! You self-interested villain, I don't know how many shady things you have done behind the back of the lord, and now you are gambling on the safety of the entire county as your own vested interests! I regret why the old earl didn't put you to death! ”

"Smack!" The proud young man's face was already red, and he walked up to Lawrence and slapped his teacher with his hand, and he felt his palms tremble violently. "You've lost your mind, you've gone completely insane!"

"Spiket! Spitcot! This man has gone mad, he has disturbed the lord, insulted the lord's courtiers, according to the law of Yafen, you are also the chief spy, you should always be proficient in these clauses, this old immortal fellow, what kind of criminal law should be used? Resat Don screamed, his innocent face crying as he asked Spiket beside him.

"Returning to His Excellency the Earl and Mr. Resat. Disturbing the lord and insulting the courtiers should be imprisoned in the dungeon. Spichett pressed the bridge of his nose into a grim gaze.

"Throw him into a dungeon, I don't want to see this hateful crazy old man again!" The proud young man turned, and two guards strode through the door, grabbed Lawrence's thin arms, and dragged him out of the door. A triumphant smile appeared on Ressatt Don's face. He finally winked at Spitcot, who turned his face without saying a word, as if there was inner worry hidden in his face.