Night fell.

Snowflakes flutter wildly over the Tirisfal glades, and the first snow of the winter season always falls on time in all corners of the land.

Dressed in thick white bear fur, Locke roamed the streets of Iva under the escort of several elves and humans.

Although there are still more than two months to go before the Winter Veil Festival, the good life of this year has already made the Iva people who have enough food and clothing have already begun to prepare the necessary items for the Winter Veil Festival early.

They cut down silver pine trees of moderate height from the woods and planted them outside their houses, wrapping some colorful ribbons around them, and some of them built snowmen in front of their houses to dress them up for the Winter Veil Festival. There are also those who are anxious who have bought inferior colored bulbs from the goblins and installed them on the pine trees, which glow red, green, and blue through the power lines provided by the goblins.

It seems that the Winter Veil Festival is really coming. Of course, it would be more like it if there were no light bulbs that exploded because of poor quality, or because of electricity, and the curses of the owner.

"Time flies," Locke sighed as he walked around, "I remember this time last year, there were only simple wooden houses here. ”

Most of the wooden houses have been demolished and replaced by thick, detached buildings made of stone.

"Yes, High Lord. In the year you have been away, we have not been idle. Shiloh smiled, but his face was full of irrepressible pride. She strode to Locke's side and stopped, her bright red prosecutor's uniform outlined her, protruding where it shouldn't be.

Locke didn't reply to her, and he strode forward, feeling the respect of all the passers-by around him. To be exact, this kind of homage is to Shiloh next to him, not to him. They were more surprised by their presence.

Locke smacked his lips, feeling a little resentful, but quickly relieved.

I didn't stay in Iva this year, humans are forgetful, maybe in their eyes, they have become a pot-bellied aristocrat? A person who is high up in the sky and detached from their lives. Someone they may never see in their lifetime.

"You are still the greatest lord in their hearts, my lord." As if to see what Locke was thinking, Shiloh brushed the snow on her forehead, and she smiled and said to Locke, "Many people have compared you to the embodiment of the Holy Light, a savior......

Locke stopped, and he turned to look at Shiloh, who was still looking at him with a grin.

Shaking his head helplessly, Locke smiled wryly, but he didn't know how to explain to her that he had no ambition to be king.

I just want to be a powerful minister, at least for now.

"How has Berg been doing in my absence?" Locke pondered for a moment, then asked what was on his mind.

He was not very comfortable with the aristocracy, but Berg was the first nobleman to defect to him. The reason why he didn't reject Berg in the first place is that the order of this world is still controlled by the aristocracy. Not to mention that his strength was not enough at the beginning, even if it was enough, he would not have made this decision. After all, Lordaeron under his own occupation still needs to be managed by nobles in the end.

Because this is the way this is the world, the nobles run the country, the farmers work in the fields, the merchants trade, the lords protect everything in their domains, everyone has their own duties, and few can break this rule. Even if there were, Locke believed it wouldn't be himself.

Because you will be the biggest beneficiary of this set of rules, why should you overthrow yourself?

Just as Locke was in a trance about the scene where he had just met Berg, Shiloh shrugged his shoulders casually, "You should ask your security officer, Miss Morningstar, or your follower, Major Mario, who are in charge of this, you ask me, I can only say I'm sorry." ”

"Oh?" Locke smiled, and he pulled a gold coin from his purse and rubbed it in his hand. By the light of the magic street lamps on both sides, Locke vaguely saw the head of Dassault Khan.

"You're my treasurer in Iva, and I think you've always gotten to know each other a little bit. It allowed me to see from a different perspective whether he was trustworthy or not. ”

"Well, but," Shiloh replied, with a reluctant expression, "he's still pretty good as your consul here. Although we have some philosophical differences, we can reach a consensus on the issue of building Eva. ”

"We'll talk about it in detail when we have time. Oh yes. Have you seen the year's earnings that I have on your desk? Shiloh said with some embarrassment, "After all, I'm still the archbishop of Iva, and my daily work is much busier than before. I can't waste my time every day over taxes between a gold coin or a few silver coins, so I've asked a lot of people to help me, and I hope you understand. ”

Locke waved his hand casually, finding capable subordinates to share his workload was not a big deal, as long as he took care of the last pass, it would be fine. It's not surprising, but it's a good thing to find the right talent from there.

Having said that, Locke agreed, but there were still some necessary precautions to be taken, so he said, "It's understandable, just like when I was busy with Iva's affairs in the past, I thought of imposing responsibility on you. ”

Shiloh spread his hands outstretched, looking helpless.

Looking at Shiloh's movements, Locke also smiled casually, but what he said made Shiloh secretly refreshed.

"My territory has grown, and I need more places to use money, so I have unconsciously changed from a noble paladin to a greedy person. No, look, my eyes! Locke pointed to his eyes for Shiloh to look, who looked at him inexplicably.

"It's a miser-like dragon's eyes, do you know the guardian dragon? They will turn anyone who tries to enter their lair, peep and steal their money to ashes. ”

Shiloh didn't say anything about Locke's understatement, she turned her head to look at the shallow snow on the ground and didn't say a word.

Locke continued to walk unappreciatively. It is necessary to put some pressure on her subordinates, although she is not strictly speaking. But who has made himself the highest status today?

There was a boiling laughter from the front, and he looked up. There was a square in front of us, where a group of people were bouncing and dancing with singing and dancing.

Yes, it is necessary.

Now that the stall is bigger, what moths will appear in the future. In order to prevent anything bad from happening, these words must be said in advance.

Looking at the bustling crowd and the endless houses, Locke suddenly felt a little reluctant in his heart......

A wave of worry arose.

Everything here should belong to me, right?

Although the current crusaders seem to be walking towards collectivism, everything is for the sake of the crusades. But strictly speaking, they were serving my ideals.

Yes.

It was I who was directing them forward, and my thoughts, even a single thought, determined the direction of their attack!

Locke turned his head to look around, thinking of how barren the land had been......

I won this territory, and they belong to me, right? I've invested a lot of money here to support its development, so the output is mine, right? That is to say, I am feeding the crusaders with everything that belongs to me. In other words, it's me Rock Harvey who is raising the army of the Crusaders?!

Full of thoughts drifting away, Locke slowly grabbed the gold coin in his hand, and an irrepressible question came to his heart!

So, why should I give up the position of king? I don't owe the Minehir family anything, do I? But why do you keep letting yourself do it in your heart?

If you really give up the position of king?

Waiver?

And what about the crusaders?

What king would allow such a powerful force to be out of his control?

How should the problem of the crusaders be properly arranged? In the name of the armed forces of the Church of the Light? What does the Holy Light Church think? What will the rest of the Kingdom Church of Light think? Where do I fit in?

To whom should the Crusaders obey? It's mine? Or is it the Queen's? Or is it someone else's?

What should I do then? Not to the army? Then someone else will take advantage of the problem, right? Hand over the Lordaeron Avengers? Forget it, everyone knows it's just a fig leaf for the kingdom......

Wait for that day to come, no! Yes, that day will definitely come! And all this is still a trouble for yourself! He will definitely be restrained by the future queen. At that time, will you still feel that it is a wise decision to give up the position of king?

No, no, no, for now, do you still think it was a wise decision?

Locke was momentarily lost in thought, not knowing what to choose, and his once seemingly unbreakable belief suddenly cracked under the bait of power.

Right! Right! Right...... Locke shook his head bitterly, why don't you turn back now?

Return......?

Locke unconsciously clenched the gold coin in his hand, and the sudden stinging pain brought Locke back to his senses, and they had come to the lively square.

Locke suddenly turned his head to Shiloh beside him and said, "In the future, the portrait of Commander Dassault Khan should not be printed." ”

........

Shirna carefully held the basket in her arms as she dodged the crowd that was squeezing in.

Just half a month ago, a circus came to Eva. Although they are not as well-known as the Circus of the Night, their presence is no less than a feast of entertainment in this era of poor entertainment.

Many of the people of the Northern Silver Pine Forest rushed to Iva City from the towns and strongholds that dotted the Silver Pine Forest, and they booked cheap family inns early, drinking the inferior beer brought by the circus from other places, while watching all kinds of tricks and magic.

For merchants and small families who need to support their families, the huge crowds that gather here are undoubtedly potential gold coins.

As a result, all sorts of objects were haphazardly placed in the streets outside the circus. The merchants happily negotiated the price with the Iwa people, while selling goods worth dozens of copper coins for a few silver coins to those who had never left the place.

But compared to the merchants, Shirnai was much quieter.

In the basket she held in her arms, covered with a white linen, she weaved through the screaming crowd as she shouted her wares across the blue.

"Bread, fresh bread. Sweet, spicy, and salty! ”

"Bread, fresh bread. Steaming bread, rectangular, round, whatever you want! ”

Although she is sometimes attracted by people's exclamations and focuses her eyes on the table, she always takes her gaze back and then hides the crowd while selling her wares.

This kind of life began not long after the establishment of Eva. Although he was not skilled at first, he even dared not go out for a while. But here everyone is the same, everyone has a tragic past, and no one will deliberately ask about other people's past.

People worked hard to live here, from digging ditches, cutting down trees, transporting wood, and building houses. then to cooking for the Crusaders, weaving clothes, and crafting ordnance, until the port of Iva was completely completed. The hard-working people are only to find out that they have single-handedly built a new city!!

In addition to the excitement, these people love the city they have built single-handedly, and they organize and protect the health of the city; Every Ewa person consciously cleans the garbage around their home. Excavate and clean the canals that run through all parts of the city, rebuke those who dump and defecate at will, and dig public toilets in all parts of the city. This is clearly different from other cities on this continent.

As a result, everyone who comes to Iva for the first time will feel overwhelmed by the cleanliness of the city. Soon, they will even be proud to live in the city.

So, he chose to forget his past and live a new life as an Iwa.

As she walked, Shirna looked at the people around her. They are always forgetful, or rather, they really want to live a life that they can't look back on.

Soon, Shirnay saw a group of gnolwolf druids in the crowd who had learned to wear human clothes. They stood at the outskirts of the crowd, watching the circus performance on stage, whimpering out of their mouths, and Shirnay knew they were laughing.

Not far from them, there were always some people in mage robes, as well as some guards watching them, consciously or unconsciously.

Shirna knew that it was an order from the Grand Prosecutor of the Holy Light Church of Hilo. In order to reduce the resistance of the gnolls to the enslavement of humans, a compromise was deliberately made so that they could take care of the food in the fields with peace of mind.

On the outskirts of the city, Shirnay often sees groups of small tree people walking around the fields. She also saw druids with Night Elves instructing them.

In return, they can live as normal human beings. The premise is that the performance must be good, and I don't know how to screen her.

Shirna knew that while these gnolls also wanted to try to fit into human city life, people didn't want to see them. People always think of them as inferior creatures, and even speak ill of them. Maybe it's because they've been enslaved for so long that their wildness has vanished, or maybe it's because they're afraid of the terrible punishment they once received. They don't dare to be resentful of humanity's rudeness toward them.

More sympathetic than some humans, Shirnay felt more sympathy for the kobold druids who were kept to work in the heavens and the earth every day. But at the thought of the sins they had committed, that little bit of affection quickly disappeared from Shirnai's heart.

After a few rounds, Shirnay's bread didn't sell a few. On this occasion, it is not appropriate to sell bread, but she will not make anything else. In fact, most of her bread is sold in the morning, and she comes here in the evening just to soak up the lively atmosphere.

Her home was too quiet, not like a human family, but there was no way to ......

Shaking her head, Shirnay took one last look at the lively circus and turned to leave. On the pot table at her house, the next batch of bread is being grilled, and it will go bad if she doesn't go back.

But soon, she sees someone she didn't expect on the street corner.

She knew the man, the red-haired Great Lord!

She couldn't help but squeeze through.