The Royal Palace, in front of the round table in the Imperial Conference Room.

Arthur sat there silently with his arms folded. Under the flickering dim candlelight, the light of his eyes set off a faint wave.

At this time, except for Arthur, there were already four people sitting on the round table.

As the Hand of the King, he was in charge of the court during Arthur's absence from the capital, and Lancelot, the leader of the courtiers, sat respectfully on the right.

As the leader of the Secret Guard, Cohen, who coordinates the collection of intelligence, assassination, transmission of information, and so on, sits on the left.

Opposite them, near the doorway, sat two unfamiliar faces. One is a middle-aged man with a pale complexion, a two-handed, figure-of-eight mustache, and a businessman's dress. His name was Lucas, and he had traveled thousands of miles from the kingdom of Ryan as a Polly merchant to form an alliance.

At this time, Lucas, who had deep-set eye sockets, well-defined contours, and short brown and yellow hair, stroked Polly, who was full of golden particles like stars in his arms, and said as if unintentionally.

"When are we going to wait until we can actually talk? I always thought that the most exalted Celtic was you, Lord Arthur. I didn't expect that you would have to rely on others to make decisions about such an important matter. ”

The two people sitting on Arthur's left and right changed their faces when they heard this, and they were about to scold, but they heard Arthur's gentle voice.

"Lucas, it's useless for me to provoke you. I am indeed a king, but I am also a human being, and there are places I can't imagine. So I'm willing to listen to others. It is my right and duty to decide what to do. ”

"Snort~ boring trick."

The other was a man with a thick beard. Concealed by a coarse linen coat and a slightly curved beard, he looked far more mature than his actual age. His name is Quinta and he is from the kingdom of Ronan. The purpose of the trip was the same as Lucas's.

"What do you say? Quinta. ”

"What's wrong? Am I wrong? If you want to seek an alliance, be sincere. Don't even have the patience to wait a little longer? ”

Seeing that the two of them were about to fight on the territory of himself and the others, Cohen, who was a secret guard, frowned. However, before he could stop it, a lazy voice sounded, and then the door opened.

"What happened? Call me here so late? Who are these two guys? ”

Before the two of them could turn around with angry eyes, Zheng Ming, who was the last to arrive, had already appeared behind them silently and pressed their shoulders.

"I'm sorry I'm late. Is it making you impatient to wait? Are you so irritated that you want to dissipate energy fluctuations in someone else's palace, do you need me to help you dissipate your anger? ”

Sensing Zheng Ming's sudden approach, the two of them turned pale and rushed to both sides one left and one right.

To be honest, the two of them are not weak, whether it is Kunta, who touched the threshold of the Sword Master, or Lucas, a lightning mage who is known for his destructive power, they are all strong men who have made a name for themselves on the battlefield in recent years. This is evident from their quick reflexes and outstretched hands.

Seeing the bearded man dressed as a civilian, he escaped without regard to his image, and grasped the hilt of the sword in his right hand. Another middle-aged man who looked like a businessman was even more electric in front of him. Zheng Ming's eyes narrowed slightly, and a pitch-black flame ignited in his hand.

When the battle was about to break out and the atmosphere was tense, Arthur, who was sitting in the main seat, finally stood up.

"Alright, Naru. Don't scare them. They are from the kingdoms of Ronan and Ryan, respectively, and have come to seek an alliance. ”

"Oh, what kind of person would dare to be so arrogant in the palace. It turned out to be an envoy, ....... ”

Hearing Zheng Ming's elongated tone, he suddenly realized, and a trace of arrogance flashed in the eyes of the two who maintained an offensive posture. However, Zheng Ming's next words made the smugness on their faces disappear.

"Since he is an envoy, he should be like an envoy. Now it is they who are anxious about the alliance, and I think that if their heads are sent to their king, there will be wise people who know how to be polite next time. ”

Zheng's nonchalant proposal was not refuted, and in fact Cohen and Lancelot were annoyed by their actions.

Seeing the eyes of the other four people in the room, wandering on the two of them, Lucas, who was dressed as a businessman, took the lead in reining in his energy and chose to bow his head first.

"I'm sorry. It's me who was rude. Our king sincerely wants to cooperate with you. I am sure you do not want a rift to arise before the negotiations even begin. ”

"Hmph."

As he spoke, the thunderball in front of Lucas, which was almost condensed and formed, slowly dissipated, and Quinta also restrained his momentum and put down the hilt of his sword.

Seeing that Arthur and the others' eyes turned to him, Zheng Ming shrugged his shoulders, and the black flame on his hand disappeared without a trace.

It was only at this time that the tense atmosphere eased slightly, Zheng Ming walked to the round table, pulled up the wooden chair and sat down lazily.

"Okay, what exactly do you want to do here? You can talk about it. Wouldn't it happen that the emissaries of your two kingdoms would appear at the same time? ”

After everyone was seated in turn, Arthur looked at the two envoys who had hidden their traces along the way, and did not reveal their whereabouts until the royal capital.

After hearing this, the two looked at each other, and Lucas stood up and began to talk.

"I'm sure you've already guessed the alliance between our Lai Ai Alliance and the Ronan Kingdom. That's right. We've been in touch since the Dornes invaded Lonan. Otherwise, we wouldn't have taken the trouble to attack the Dornites at a time when the Dornists and Ronan were fighting fiercely. ”

"Hmph. If you hadn't deliberately delayed, how could the Dornish have had a chance to leave unharmed? ”

Lucas ignored Quinta's sarcasm, and after being interrupted, he only paused before continuing the narrative.

"It was true that we were a little bit later than expected. But that's also because we underestimated the dangers of the Dorn. The land ravaged by the green dragon Abpheus was far more dangerous than we expected. There was poisonous smoke and poison. The originally beautiful and rich land has become a forbidden area for life after they plundered it. ”

Thinking of this, Lucas seemed to remember something, and a heavy look of hatred flashed across his face.

"Unlike us, the Dorn's purpose is only to loot and kill. They will not care if they can live there after the war, and they will not accept the tradition of exchanging ransom for prisoners. For them, submission is equivalent to slavery, and recalcitrant is equivalent to death. They will not accept tribute from their subjects because they will rob themselves. ”

After talking about the different war concepts and dangers of the Kingdom of Dorne and the other kingdoms, Lucas changed his mind and began to talk about the dangers of the Green Dragon.

"Now the Dornites are becoming more and more arrogant and arrogant. This is because when we pacify and pacify the subjugated kingdoms, they are driving the surrender of troops to be cannon fodder. And their strength is also inseparable from the green dragon.

As you all know, each dragon has its own abilities. And what Green Dragons are good at is toxins. Not only polluting the environment and dwellings, but also the harm on the battlefield is terrifying.

Think about it. If your army is plagued by a terrible disease, it can infect the whole army overnight if left unchecked. And with these soldiers, all you can do is isolate them and let them die in pain and despair. ”

Speaking of this, Lucas exhaled a long breath and gave Zheng Ming more time to think.

"If it is not contained. It doesn't take long for the habitable land to be contaminated with the poison. And our people may gradually die out under the plague virus. Our king is aware of this, so that we humans will not disappear in the future. That's why I thought of uniting all the forces to kill and kick the other side out of the game before they were mad enough to drop the plague virus among the civilians. ”

And so our king willed. So I have been sent to communicate with you and to express his intentions. ”

Seeing that the two of them were singing and harmonizing until now, only describing the dangers of the Green Dragon and the Dorns, but not saying the purpose, Zheng Ming yawned.

"Hah~~~. We understand what you're saying. But how to kill? Who will kill? That's the problem. If it was so easy to kill them, we would have done it a long time ago. Since you've come here in secret and haven't heard anything about you before, you must have a plan, right? ”

Hearing Zheng Ming's question, the two of them who glanced at each other flashed slightly. I saw Lucas smile quite brightly and nodded again and again.

"Of course. At this time, our two forces are facing off in the realm of the Kingdom of Dorne. We hope that you can secretly gather a group of elite troops and go straight to their base camp. We'll try to hold them back and drive away the Dornish army. When the time comes, we will meet in three directions, surround the Dornites in the middle, and exterminate them all.

I believe that with the strength and number of strong men of our tripartite forces, which far exceed the number of troops and strong men of the Dorne Kingdom, we will definitely be able to eradicate them in one fell swoop. As for the spoils of war, the prisoners, and the territorial issues, we can discuss the division in detail afterwards according to the specific performance on the battlefield. ”

Zheng Ming watched Lucas, who was impassionedly gesturing his hands, unmoved. Although the vision is good, it is like a cake in a painting, revealing a false one.

"You mean let's take advantage of the raid on their lair? And you can't leak the news beforehand? ”

Looking at Zheng Ming's eyes that seemed to be smiling, Lucas couldn't say the words that had reached his mouth.

"If you don't leak the news, you definitely can't make a big move. It is necessary to form an elite force that only has the strong. At that time, if there is a slight obstacle, no, even if we succeed, the Dorn army that heard the news will surely rush back like crazy. The two of you have almost a national strength to fight the Dornes for so long. How do you want us to block their backs? ”

"Rest assured, both of us will hold them back and follow them closely. You just need to stop them for a moment......"

Zheng Ming interrupted Lucas's explanation rather rudely, he stood up and supported the table, leaning forward slightly, and the expression on his face was also full of aggression.

"You mean you want us to believe you? At the risk of being frantically fought back by the Dorn, I believe you will keep your promises? ”

The impression that Zheng Ming was strong when there was a conflict before played a role at this time. Lucas saw Zheng Ming's eyes staring at him with a dangerous light, and his momentum suddenly weakened by a few points.

"This ...... It is indeed risky. We can make vows and make some concessions when we distribute the spoils afterwards. ”

"Don't you understand? You are not your king, and even if your king made an oath, it was only one life. It's nothing in war, and what if you break your oath without regard for your life? ”

Just when the two of them were arguing repeatedly about the risks and the problem of mutual distrust, but they couldn't get any results, Arthur finally spoke.

"I've heard you all think. I agree to the union. ”

Seeing that Arthur was about to agree easily, Zheng Ming was so angry that he almost smashed the table. He looked at Arthur in disbelief.

"Did you listen? What am I wasting my lips and tongue for? Anyway, the three of them are struggling, and there will always be a winner or a loser. Isn't it just right for us to ignore it? ”

"Naru, I'm responsible for my people. No one knows what Drogo Ryan will do before he is defeated. What if he frantically threw the plague virus and wanted to drag everyone to the funeral? I think with his character, when he realizes he's about to lose, it's very likely that he will do that. ”

"But ......"

"Needless to say. This is an opportunity, only to block his retreat on the battlefield and kill him on the spot, there is no escape. Only then can those tragedies that may happen be strangled in the cradle. Moreover, there are also large areas of territory in my territory that have been destroyed by the green dragon and become a forbidden area for life. I promised to get justice for those who survived. ”

Arthur's unwavering eyes and categorical attitude made Zheng Ming understand that nothing could change his mind. So he had to make a compromise.

"Okay. You are the king. I've really convinced your stubbornness. ”

Immediately after that, Zheng Ming changed his words and continued: "However, the alliance can, but we can't put ourselves in danger. What if they have an 'accident' that causes us to face a counterattack from all the Dornes? I have a way to avoid this. ”

Speaking of this, Zheng Ming, who attracted everyone's attention, turned his head to look at the two messengers.

"It's okay to be an alliance. If you want us to raid the rear of the Dorn, and block their retreat. However, I am afraid that when the time comes, we will not be able to stop it alone. So I want you to launch a full-scale general offensive beforehand. When the Dorn's forces were almost depleted, we led an elite force from the border to their lair at full speed. The troops behind slowly advanced.

I believe that the Dornites who have endured your onslaught will no longer have time to care about the movement of troops in our kingdom. When the Dornians come back, we'll do our best to resist. I believe that by then, we should still be able to stop the tired soldiers who have been fighting for several days and have been constantly harassed by you along the way. Of course, if the other party is in good condition and there are many people, we can't be blamed for evacuating. ”

Then everyone talked in detail about the specific date and the interval of harassment, etc., until the first morning dawned and the oil lamps burned out, and then they came to a plan that the three parties were satisfied with, and they left separately.

Lucas and Quinta are led by Cohen to hide from the eyes of the people and quietly disappear through the secret passage. Zheng Ming, who watched them gradually move away, looked at Lancelot, who was standing side by side.

"You didn't talk much before. Is there something on your mind? ”

Lancelot, who was looking into the distance, was slightly stunned when he heard this, and involuntarily asked in a low voice: "Is there one?" ”

"Hmm. You sat there all night without saying a word, without mentioning a word of advice. It's not like you. Any different opinions? Or is it something that happened? ”

"I didn't ...... No. I'm just a little uncomfortable and a little dizzy. I'll go first. ”

Zheng Ming looked deeply at Lancelot, who wanted to say goodbye and leave, until the other party turned his head with an unnatural expression, and then said softly.

"Really? Then go back and get some rest. Arthur and we have been fighting abroad for many years, and the burden of the royal capital is all on you. You are indeed working too hard, pay attention to your body. ”

"It's not hard. These are the things I should do. Then I'll go back and rest first. Good bye. ”

"Hmm. Good bye. ”

Looking at Lancelot's back as he left in a hurry, Zheng Ming sighed lightly.

"Gwynna, you, Arthur, Cohen. What happened to you all these years? ”

Under the eaves of the palace, carved with hideous beasts, a voice full of doubts and worries lingered for a long time.

(End of chapter)