"This is Rodri's budget for this year, and they have increased their expenses by a full 20 percent, according to them, because of the impact of the Magic Empire's war, and the loss of income in many areas such as business and consumption......"

"Xifeng County is still fighting against the Magic Empire, and they are inexplicably affected thousands of miles away? Can the county lords of these states and counties use their brains a little and not even find a decent reason? ”

"This is a request for support from Etta County, and they want to get more troops, otherwise...... With the number of troops stationed in that place by the Restorationists, they are likely to become the next Xifeng County. ”

"We have enough men left at Karon Pass to defend ourselves against the attack from the east, and we have no strength left to push on...... Send someone to tell the Chief Kang to figure it out on their own, or - withdraw from the realm of Etta County and fight more enemies with us. ”

"It's harder to get these county lords to give up their territories than to ascend to the sky."

Under the sky surrounded by the constantly falling rain curtain, the council hall belonging to the center of Tania City was also in a busy and lively situation at this time, and a sneer of disdain sounded next to His Excellency a certain speaker who was constantly dealing with something, and a cold voice belonging to another councilor sitting not far from him also sounded at this time: "Compared with the city lords of the empire, these so-called county lords have much more real power, they have the power to do things, they have private soldiers, and they control all their income every day, But they still have to find all kinds of reasons and excuses to divide the money from the principality's side—"

"We should have thrown them into battle! Let them all die with the Magic Empire! Another nobleman who was sitting on the spot angrily slapped the table in front of him: "What's the use of raising this group of white-eyed wolves every day!" ”

"Don't forget how the Duchy came to be." A calm-faced councillor then mercilessly interrupted the angry voice: "If we give up the support of these states and counties, can we still be called the Duchy of Elnifia?" ”

"So what? Now this situation is no different from a broken principality! The voice of opposition rang out from somewhere in the council hall: "Since everyone does not want to join forces against foreign enemies, let everyone fend for themselves!" Let them know how long they can hold out in this cruel world without the support of the principality! ”

"I'd love for them to get to know each other, but obviously we can't do that." A deep voice then appeared beside Speaker Pamir, the comment of an old man named Fortson after clearing his throat: "There is no difference between giving up cooperation in such a situation and committing suicide." ”

"Most of them are also aware of this, which is why they are so reckless." Carlos, who was sitting on the other side, also frowned: "This problem has been around us for a long time, and now it has only been magnified a little. ”

"They are consuming the health and trust of our entire principality! This swarm of pests! The congressman named Vincent shouted and shook his fist: "When the Anderson Independent State waited for them to come to their rescue, they found all kinds of excuses to shirk responsibility, and now, they have found the same reason to ask for help?" ”

"In the absence of absolute strength, we can only choose compromise and cooperation." Old Fortson's tone remained unchanged: "And-"

"Everyone should know the situation we are facing now." He pointed to the rain curtain outside, and his gaze seemed to pass through the rudimentary and ancient walls of the council hall and land far southwest: "Under such harsh conditions, there are so few options before us. ”

“……”

As if to get the topic to the point, the parliament of the principality sitting around it fell silent for a while, until the uneasy swaying began to appear on everyone's faces, and some people's expressions even began to become a little unnatural, and the speaker sitting in the center finally raised his head buried in the middle of the copy: "Go and tell Nosriggs that the principality can squeeze out twenty percent of the treasury to help them realize their wishes, but if one day the principality launches a counteroffensive, They must charge forward and put their troops at the front. ”

"If they can accept this condition, then I will agree to give money." His expression did not change in the slightest, and at the same time he waved his hand: "As for Etta County...... I hereby make a proposal. ”

"Given the pressure on the Duchy at Karon Pass and the Magic Empire's recent build-up, should we abandon that pass and reposition our front on the edge of County Talon?" He looked at the others calmly, as if what he was saying had nothing to do with him: "As long as you can shrink the line and reorganize your forces at the same time—"

"This, how is this possible?"

Before he could finish his words, the entire council exploded into a pot of porridge: "Give up Karon Pass? Isn't this self-digging grave? ”

"Although most of the territory of Xifeng County has fallen into the hands of that damned Empire, at least we still have Karon Pass, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack! If you just retreat—"

"The border area of Talom County is vast, and there is nothing to be found except the plains, and it seems that we have reduced our forces, but I am afraid that the actual number of troops needed is much more than now."

"That's right! We simply can't hold the whole of Talonshire! If they were allowed to pass through that pass like this, they would be able to drive straight in, and there would be several routes to attack Tania......"

"I know, I know all of this."

Quietly waiting for the excited voices of these councillors to gradually fall silent, Pamir, who slowly pressed his hands down, then replied in a low voice: "The pressure on the principality will suddenly increase as the battle line tightens, and the territory will be ceded in vain, and we will even lose that important pass because of this, and thus lose the connection with the northern states and counties such as Etta and Rodri." ”

"But that's the only way to get these states to really get involved in this war." His voice paused, and at the same time looked at the others present with serious eyes: "In the past, we have always independently borne the attack pressure of the left and right, and these pressures have never really fallen on those irrelevant states and counties, although this is the obligation of our principality, but only by putting the problem on the surface and letting everyone work together to bear these obligations, these states and counties that feel the pain will really wake up." ”

“…… They will definitely oppose it. Shaking his head deeply, Fortson's voice then echoed in a low voice in the ears of the others: "Not to mention the other states and counties in the north, Etta County is already plagued by the Restorationists, and their personnel loss has reached the limit, if you face the army of Restorationists at this time......

"It's going to leave us on our own, and it's just too risky." Another councillor also bowed his head deeply: "If they can't be connected to each other, the three northern counties may become an enclave, and if the army of the Restorationists moves north, it will be possible to annex the entire north." ”

"The Restorationists have been building the so-called Magic Empire for almost a few months, and they are still on their feet."

Gesturing to the northeast in the distance, Pamir's voice echoed in the small council chamber again: "If they still maintain their current rhythm, they will still not expand their territory easily, otherwise, with our own strength and the defense ability of Karon Pass, we will probably be breached a long time ago." ”

"You mean that even if we give up Karon Pass, they won't take the initiative to attack?" Carlos's gaze became confused: "What is the reason?" ”

"Look at what this group of people are doing now." Spreading his hands around, Pamir's mouth brought a slight smile: "They sent people to stir up trouble in Talong County even earlier than the incident in Xifeng County, and now they have sent more people to fan the flames in various states and counties in our territory...... Why is it that the Magic Empire, which claims to be much stronger than us, is now using all these inferior methods? ”

"Because they lack manpower, they lack the foundation to be a nation." The voice paused slightly, and then Pamir's voice echoed in everyone's ears again: "The premise of continuing to expand the territory is to expand their influence, if there is no one in this world to support them, no matter how powerful they are, they are just a group of bandits and bandits who are a little stronger than others." ”

"So what they need now is influence." Fortson nodded deeply, "They want the citizens of the principality under their rule to have faith in the Magic Empire, and then become a real nation." ”

"Working in the shadows of the principality is also paving the way for such a purpose." Pamir replied calmly, "The early demonstrations have passed, and what they need now is grace, as long as more and more people are willing to become subjects of the Magic Empire, then the Magic Empire will truly become an independent state." ”

"But due to several failures in the early stage, the starting line of this 'country' is currently very low." Vincent, who seemed to understand something, also exclaimed: "So not only do they not dare to easily invade other territories, but they also want to establish a glorious image of their own country......"

"Unless they can have a justified reason." Pamir's voice gradually became lower: "For example, put the blame on our principality, or the head of the Frei Empire, and then take the righteousness into your own arms......"

"Report!"

A voice interrupted the discussion, and at the same time, a Duchy soldier broke into the place with an extremely standard salute: "We have found those two Imperials!" ”

"Oh? Where did they go? ”

"They claim to have gone to Tania's underground waterways and seem to be interested in our city's drainage network......"

"What the hell is this reason?" A disdainful voice belonging to a certain councillor then interrupted the soldier's reply: "It's an excuse to hear it!" They must have done some shady work in that underground world! ”

"We have taken them to the Hall of Heroes and are currently on trial." The soldier cautiously replied, "There should be a result now." ”

"Don't be so rude to our imperial envoys." In the silence around them, Pamir was the first to shake his head and deny: "Just drive them out of this place to disturb the order of Tania." ”

"But, but......" did not immediately delight in the order, and the soldier finally hesitated to speak: "The two of them still made a request. ”

"They want to meet with you, Speaker, but I wonder if you agree?"

***************************************

"So we're out of the show, aren't we?"

After a while, inside the Hall of Heroes, Duan Qing, who was surrounded by a group of imperial soldiers, sighed deeply, stopped the secret whisper Ning Lan behind him, and then wiped the blood from his forehead, and at the same time moved the hand covering the bruises on his face to the side: "Have you conveyed our intention to meet to the Pamir?" ”

"Don't call us by your name!"

The merciless fist then landed on the gray-robed magician again, accompanied by an angry expression on the face of one of the duchy soldiers who was facing him: "I can't even explain my whereabouts, and you still want to meet our Lord?" Are you still dreaming because you didn't wake up last night? ”

"We'd like to tell us where we're going, but you don't believe it." Slowly recovering from the pain of being beaten again, Duan Qing replied in a difficult voice: "The communiqué personal vendetta will not help solve the problem, it will only increase the hatred between us-"

"Shut up!" Another sound of punching echoed in the sky above the entire Hall of Heroes, knocking back the second half of the sentence that Duan Qing wanted to say with a smile: "Until now, you still want to provoke and insult our principality?" Don't look at whose territory it is now! ”

"Since we can't see the speaker, we might as well die here."

Spit out the last mouthful of blood from the corner of his mouth, and Duan Qing, who stopped the secret word Ning Lan who wanted to rush up again, showed a helpless expression on his face: "Remember to leave a message for the investigation team left outside, just say that we were killed by you." ”

"You're deliberately seeking death." Glaring at his bloodshot eyes, the duchy soldier waved his fist fiercely: "Don't think that your news can get out smoothly, you will just die here silently." ”

"Come on, if you have the ability, you can resist." He took another step forward, and defiantly pressed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist: "If you don't even have the guts—"

"Wait a minute."

An indifferent voice then sounded on the periphery of this encirclement, accompanied by the scene of a middle-aged figure belonging to Pamir gradually emerging on the periphery of this hall: "Please wait. ”

"Although I know this is not appropriate, but are you 'loyal' soldiers a little too willful?"