With the heavy sound of the door, the royal guards guarding the door slowly closed the door.

There were only two lonely figures left in the empty Imperial Cabinet, sitting at one end of the long table, looking at each other at the other end of the table.

Brandon looked around in the chair, his eyes kept rolling, and he hummed a small tune in a low tone pretending to be relaxed, trying to calm his breathing with the tension and uneasiness in his heart.

Even after all this time, Brandon, who was in the same room with his father again, still walked on thin ice, not daring to indulge in the slightest, and the inexplicable pressure even surpassed the first time he met the dragon Milasis.

Being devoured by the dragon is only a moment of pain, watched by Eckhart de Salion... You will feel naked, stripped of everything from your inner secrets to the last shred of dignity.

It's like a fish on a board, ready to be slaughtered.

Just sitting in this room, ten steps away from his father, Brandon could feel a chill to the bone, and a strong smell of blood.

"You're right about Loren Torino, he's really good at surprising us. ”

A heavy voice sounded, and Eckhart II stared at his youngest son: "If it weren't for him, maybe Gaspar would really be able to completely overthrow the Turin family - at least he could get us more bargaining chips and negotiate with the thirteen lords of Byrne." ”

"In this way, we will have time to mobilize the forces of the entire southern principality, settle the war with the centaurs once and for all, and reproduce the 'great conquest' of the second generation of Eckhart I, and now ......"

Eckhart's jaw, his piercing gaze giving Brandon the illusion of suffocation, he could only look at the table and listen quietly.

"As you said, the entire Heavenly Dome Palace is currently discussing sanctions against Byrne, and it is just arguing about an impossible thing - we need them, we don't have a choice, it's as simple as that. ”

"I guess... You must regret it now?" Taking a deep breath, Brandon tried his best to smile easily, "If it weren't for the agreement you made with me, maybe you would have had a chance to completely sweep away the scourge of Loren Turin." ”

"Regrets?"

Eckhart II had no emotion on his face:

"Let me teach you this lesson, Brandon, the most important lesson of being a de Salion. Eckhart II's voice was extremely harsh:

"Just never think about what would have happened in the first place!"

Brandon was slightly startled, but still managed to squeeze out a smile: "Yes, but just now, father, you were still saying, 'If' there is no Loren Turin, maybe we can reproduce the great conquest of the second generation, how to barabala......"

Before he could finish speaking, Eckhart II burst out laughing.

The sneer lasted for several seconds, making Brandon's heart tingle and creepy.

His blood-red eyes exuded a majesty that seemed to be substantial, and he looked at another De Salion, who had the same red hair and red eyes as him, without a trace of emotion:

"Connod... He won't say that, and even if he thinks the same thing as you, he will keep it in his heart instead of saying it to your face. ”

"This kind of unrewarded, extremely high-risk speculation will give you nothing but a momentary addiction, and it will also cause the other party to feel bad... Your brother would never take such a risk. ”

"And I'm never going to be like my brother... I'm Brandon De Salion. Hard-headed, Brandon shrugged self-deprecatingly:

"Be cautious, look at others to live, calculate risks and benefits... That's not me, I'm not going to follow anyone's heart, look at anyone's eyes. ”

"More importantly, what else do I have to lose?" Brandon's voice was never short of self-deprecation:

"The favor of the father, the eyes of the sister-in-law, the trust of the nobles, the support of the ministers, the vassals and their own domains?"

"You see, I am a real beggar prince, a man who has nothing, and is never afraid to lose anything!"

Eckhart frowned slightly, revealing a meaningful expression:

"Even after the person you trust the most abandoned you and took the Duchy of Byrne from you?"

"On the contrary, I think he's cuter now. A childlike smile appeared on the face of His Royal Highness the Prince: "Loren Turin in the past, like... How should I describe it... It's like a saint who has no desires, and he doesn't like it at all. ”

"You know he's going to really help you, you know he's not going to let you down, but you don't know what he wants, and he knows exactly what you want... It's a very unpleasant feeling. ”

"As for the Duchy of Byrne... Yes, the satrapy is completely bankrupt, but it does not mean that the situation has completely fallen into a point of no return, at least Byrne under Loren Turin is still willing to make friendly gestures to the Empire, and a duke without a territory will need a lot of support from the Celestial Dome if he wants to write his position. ”

"This is our real strength, and the best situation that my dear wizard advisor has ever fought for the Empire!"

Eckhart II did not interrupt him, and listened quietly.

"Even this centaur war is far from being irretrievable. Brandon shrugged: "It's true that if you don't expand the army, you won't be able to draw legion support at the moment, but the Empire's hole card will never be just the elite 'black wall'." ”

"Even now, we can still recruit archers, light cavalry, and light infantry from Ellemont and Lothair, and then bring the legion back from Eberten, hire two or three thousand mercenaries, plus half a Guards legion, and march to Poi in the name of the Empire. ”

"Such a 'mixed army' of 10,000 or 20,000 people... Great conquests are certainly not enough, but they are enough to save the face of the empire. ”

"If so, the Imperial Cabinet can't agree to it, I think it's too expensive...... Brandon spread his hands: "We still have dragons after all, when the demon dragon spreads its wings, I believe the centaurs will remember what a miserable fate their ancestors had hundreds of years ago." ”

The unscrupulous words echoed in the Imperial Cabinet, and Eckhart suddenly showed a meaningful look:

"You want to be in power... To put an end to this centaur war?"

"Of course!"

Brandon didn't hide it at all, and nodded very "barely": "Of course I want to, but this is simply impossible, right? You will not hand over the command of the Guards Regiment to me, and the cabinet and the House of Representatives will not agree." ”

"Even if I were to go, at most it would be the same as at Ebolden - I came quietly, went quietly, waved my sleeves, and ...... without saying a word."

"Why?" Eckhart interrupted abruptly.

"Huh?"

"Why is it impossible?" the Supreme Emperor looked at him intently, his eyes sharp:

"Yes, I can't hand over the Guards Legion to you, but the three legions guarding Torch Peak Mountain are almost in turn, and I can hand over their command to you to put down the Centaur War. ”

"Really?!"

Brandon was agitated and stood directly on the long table:

"Y-You're not lying to me?!"

"You don't deserve to be done by me, Brandon de Salion. Eckhart II's gaze became fierce again: "There is no one in this world who is worthy of my need to deceive. ”

Resisting the urge and desire to refute again, Brandon obediently jumped off the table and sat back in his chair, trying to calm his heartbeat that was about to burst through his chest, and a huge ugly smile tugged at the corner of his mouth:

"I guess... It's not for nothing, is it?"

"Of course, if you want to get something, you have to prove that you deserve it... This is true of loyalty, and so is power. His Majesty the Emperor said in a deep voice: "You have to use your performance to win this rare opportunity." ”

"How...... Win?"

In Brandon's extremely nervous heartbeat, Eckhart II's gaze became deep again:

"I remember, you were very confident in your chess skills?"

"Uh, sort of?"

"Very well, then let's take three months. I saw His Majesty the Emperor raise his right hand and stretch out three fingers: "Within three months, if you win me, I will give you this opportunity." ”

"Otherwise... I'll drive the expedition and level the big green sea!"