On November 25, 1228, the 40,000-strong army and huge fleet commanded by Lu Xi finally arrived at Orso, the central celestial region of the Federation. During the nearly two-week-long march, it was not that there were no "rebels" and "local princes" from all walks of life who responded en masse, ready to join his invincible counterinsurgency army, but they were all rejected by Lu Xi, and let them temporarily return to their respective localities to protect the territory and the people, and wait for the subsequent orders of the legitimate central government.

Of course, Lu Xi knew that once he opened this opening, by the time he reached Elichar, the total number of troops might have to swell to hundreds of thousands. However, they are all grass on the wall, and they are a rabble of the same grade as the main rebel forces they have just destroyed in the Obtalia and Hillen corridors. Indeed, their joining may give people the courage of being embraced by princes from all walks of life and becoming kings. However, in today's self, do you still need to rely on a group of eagle dogs to shout 666 next to you to add a halo to yourself?

Besides, since you've joined, you're your own person. Should food be provided? Do you want to make a vow again? This protagonist is not charitable, so why spend money on this gang of wall grass?

Of course, it is not right to say that all these people who come to take refuge are grass on the wall, as far as Lu Xi knows, in addition to the local tyrants who take advantage of the situation, there are indeed some hot-blooded men. These people could be of great use in the future, but he didn't have time to tell them all right now.

It's December soon, and since it's said that the country will be left to its own discretion before the end of the year, then even stepping on Elichar with the New Year's bell will be considered a failure. Isn't my dignified protagonist losing face?

So, with this idea, Lu Xi almost drove the whole fleet to the theoretical maximum speed of the march, and finally reached the outskirts of the Orso Tian District in the last week of November. Such a rapid march will certainly not come without a price, except for a few advanced guide ships, the rest of the warships are more or less damaged, and the Tisru nucleus is also in danger of being overloaded.

But in any case, Elichar, who has not been seen for a long time, and the emergency committee has been entrenched in the capital for nearly half a year, is finally under the threat of his troops. Now, if Lu Xi leaves behind the army and only takes the Qiyao Aurora to make a pig assault, maybe he will be able to kill Elichar for dinner that evening.

However, the more you kick in the door, the less you can rush. This is especially true when the sky opposite suddenly rises with thunderclouds that are mostly uncomfortable.

Lu Xi stood on the deck of the white ship, his eyes closed and facing the sky in the distance. He couldn't see the scenery over there now, and could only use his spiritual sense and perception far beyond that of a normal person to extend straight ahead. However, he could see more clearly.

The gloomy dark clouds stretched out on both sides of his front, and for a moment there was no end in sight on either side, and it seemed to reach the sky directly, as if it had turned into a huge city wall. Thunder and lightning loomed in the meantime, like a venomous snake that snaked through the mire, looking for a deadly attack.

However, Lu Xi's spiritual sense told him that all this should be just a performance. His perception had now swept across the front of the thundercloud's ramparts, but he felt a sense of condensation, and a sense of depression that made him rather unpleasant.

A sense of depression that I have been exposed to.

Lu Xi sneered: "I really haven't heard of it, Orso will have this kind of climate in this season. ”

"If this is the climate, it would not be possible to form so many stable and dense floating islands." Sesilek tract.

"Then, let's ask the two masters, Alexon and Hedos, to discuss. They've been here for a few more days and should have more information. Lu Xi said.

The 40,000-strong army and the huge fleet temporarily stopped around the archipelago in the Heavenly District, and the soldiers and junior officers who had worked hard for several days finally had a chance to rest. And the top management is also taking this opportunity to discuss the future strategy.

A few minutes later, in the conference room where dozens of people could be arranged on the white boat, all the generals and generals had arrived, including the two masters of the gate valve family who had just set aside the chaos and raised an army to rebel. The latter is a new little partner, but after all, he is the first "general of our army" to arrive in the capital where the rebels are entrenched, and of course he is qualified to participate in this kind of meeting.

The two heads of the family entered the conference room, and for a while they were a little hesitant to pay their respects, but with their eyes closed, Lu Xi nodded in their direction first, and made a "please sit" posture with his only one arm.

It seems, little Belen...... Oh no, the adult was blind and had a broken hand, which is considered a cripple.

Crippled and crippled Drake Eurentian's army of 100,000, isn't that even more ferocious?

The two heads of the house quickly exchanged meanings with eyes that only they understood, and sat down in their seats. Then I noticed that a huge map of the Elichar Sky Region had been placed on the table, and all the islands, including many large floating reefs that could accommodate at most 100 people, were noted one by one.

On the far left of the map, the fleets and soldiers representing their own side are marked with red flags, densely arranged here.

"Now, let's all talk about it. The wingmen and air cavalry had already gone to investigate, and it was certain that the thunderstorm clouds on the opposite side had formed a barrier at least hundreds of kilometers wide and hundreds of meters high, blocking the path of our fleet's advance to Elichar. It is irresponsible and stupid to rush to let the fleet break through without determining the means of the other side. After everyone sat down, Lu Xi said to everyone.

"So, the rebels probably want to use this kind of thing to keep us out. Although they are all a group of gutless turtles with shrunken heads, I have to admit that they did succeed in disgusting me. Of course, we can send a fleet to bypass this barrier, but we can't be sure that the other side can continue to expand this barrier. So, if anyone here has anything to say about this, feel free to say so. ”

"The problem now is that the situation is unclear, and we don't quite know exactly what this thundercloud is capable of and what danger it will do to our warships and fighters. So we can only wait for the scouts to return...... Also, this must be made by magic, right? Colonel Grimmar looked at the affirmative looks of several fellow spellcasters and continued, "Then, we still need to find out how long this thundercloud can last, and whether it will affect our original plan to march. ”

Speaking of this, Colonel Grimmar pondered for a moment and said to Lu Xi: "Your Excellency, if you can, you should appoint a team of elite warriors and spellcasters to investigate, it is difficult for ordinary scouts to find out the truth in the face of such a powerful magical creation." ”

The butcher-like Hedos looked at Alexon, and saw that the latter was completely sitting with a precarious expression and staring ahead and didn't know anything, so he couldn't help but hesitate for a moment, and then raised his hand and said, "Your Excellency, commander, maybe your subordinates know something." ”

Everyone turned their eyes to it.

"Well, my honorable Excellency, in fact, the wall formed by this thundercloud actually appeared a hundred years ago, during the Meg Rebellion. Marshal Nahibia led the Fourth Army Corps to quell the rebellion, and after defeating the rebel fleet, it was time to prepare to enter the Orso Sky Zone. Meg Lorraine also unfolded such a wall...... "Hedos Dao."

"Meg's Cloud Fortress? No, the so-called fortress in the clouds didn't have that scale, and it didn't contain those terrifying thunderstorms. Major General Pascal, the mature sister, said.

She is a spellcaster with a complete history education, and of course has systematically studied the beginning and end of the "Merlot Rebellion" a hundred years ago. The so-called "fortress in the clouds" is one of the allusions that took place in that short-lived, but extremely fierce civil war in the Federation. After Nahibia defeated Merlot's navy four times his size with a small fleet of less than ten ships, he arrived at Orso with 30,000 men of his Fourth Legion. At this time, Merlot, having lost all her fleet, seemed to have run out of donkey skills, so she unfurled a wall of clouds hundreds of meters high in front of Nahibia, blocking the path of the floating ship. Alive, let the Federation's god of war, Nahibia, and his warriors ...... Well, three more hours of delay.

Well, because for these three hours, "Meg's fortress in the clouds" is actually a curse in the federal proverb, used to satirize the actions of those who stir up the crowd but have no eggs.

However, the "fortress in the clouds" recorded in history is only a cloud wall with a height of more than 100 meters and a width of 3,000 meters. When the floating ship enters it, it will indeed be affected by the disorderly magical elements in the clouds, and the operation of the Tisru core will be greatly infected, and there is a high probability that the ship will be destroyed and people will die. In addition, the caster's spirit, mana pool, and even soul will also be badly affected, and a rookie with poor mental power may even explode on the spot to show you.

But that's about it.

But now it's a "fortress in the clouds" — let's call it that. According to the return of the winged scouts in front, it was at least more than five hundred meters, and the width was definitely more than 100 kilometers. The thunderstorm inside it was by no means a trick, because a stunned air cavalry wanted to get closer to observe, but was directly scorched by the thunderstorm and his mount.

If this thing is a "fortress", the Merlot version of a hundred years ago would be a small dirt fence at best, and if it weren't for the proverb, it would probably be ignored.

However, compared to Pascal's questioning, the red thunder light frowned and thought for a moment, and asked: "A hundred years ago, the fortress in the clouds, the official version, Meg Lorraine was created with an atmospheric infection circle and a large cloud condensation technique, but, looking at the meaning of the master, there should be something else, right?" ”

"He's using ...... The family treasure of the Merlot family, the power of the Ancient Lord's battle banner. ”

"The Ancient Lord's Battle Banner in the Brilliant Artifact?" Lu Xi frowned slightly, which was a bit unexpected for him.

This is one of the most brilliant artifacts in the mortal world, and it is also one of the strongest magic artifacts in the world. According to the records in the book, it is said to be a battle flag, but it is actually more like a staff, and because of its shape and length, it can also make a cameo appearance as a spear or something. In short, we don't need to go into detail about its power as a staff, anyway, no matter how strong it is, it's like that. However, the reason why it is called the "Ancient Lord Battle Banner" is a special function.

The so-called "Ancient Lords" are not the princes and sons of the knights, nor are they the crown color of the Arcane Lords that may appear in the future, but refer to the ancient gods who represent the authority and dominance of the elements, the four elemental lords.

During the War of the Gods, the god queen Yavana and the goddess of magic Mistra fell one after another, and the four elemental lords changed from order to disorder, which greatly contributed to the destruction of the world in the Age of Annihilation. We also know the later story that in the second creation of the twelve goddesses, Miss Nadia, the goddess of the sky, educated the four elemental lords in a way that persuaded people, so that they could recover from the chaotic and crazy state and ascend to the position of the goddess of magic.

Of course, the process of convincing people with reason is always a bit exciting. In this process, there are still a lot of broken bones of the Four Elemental Lords, blood spilled, intestines torn out, brains bursting out, and so on. The goddess Nadia fused these scattered things together, washed away its fierce and violent aura with the endless holy light of the Heavenly Palace, and made the ancient lord's battle banner and gave it to mortals. This is the so-called "Ancient (Elemental) Lord's Banner".

It is precisely because this artifact is condensed from the fragments of the bodies and even souls of the elemental lords that it has the divine power to call and edict the earth, water, wind and fire. An artifact wielder who can completely subdue the "Ancient Lord's Battle Banner" is the embodiment of the Elemental Lords, the King of the Elements, and naturally the King of Magic of the present day.

That's why it's called the "Battle Flag".

In the Qiming War, this glorious artifact actually fell into the hands of the current Ryurhuo sect leader Innoldt.

It turns out that a weapon is a weapon, and it can't be said that because it was created by the gods, it will definitely help the protagonist and his friends.

And the facts have also proved that whether it is a "call" or a "decree", there is still a limit after all. After all, this world can't even guarantee the position of the true god, let alone the artifact?

Innolt, who can command the earth, water, wind and fire, and can be called the king of modern magic, led eight of the twelve high priests of the Flame Sect in its heyday, but was finally killed by the Grand Sage of Laxis and the Phoenix Holy Maiden Elena, and the eight high priests were also killed or maimed. This is an epic battle that will go down in history, and the only pity is that the ancient lord's battle flag was stolen in the battle.

I really didn't expect this glorious artifact to fall into the hands of Meg Lorraine. Of course, it is not clear how he got it, whether it was obtained by the ancestors of the Lorraine family or by himself. Anyway, Meg, the biggest national thief in the history of the Federation, was also a proper protagonist template in her life before being defeated by Nahibia, and it is not surprising that she fell from a cliff and was thrown to her death but saw an artifact.

"However, the Ancient Lord's Banner is actually one of the most difficult and glorious artifacts to control, and even Meg Lorraine back then could not control its most important power, which is the power of the Command Element. He was able to control only a limited amount of the elements, creating a cloud wall that could disrupt the magical order in order to block Marshal Nahibia's army. This is called Meg's fortress in the clouds. Alexon added.

Lu Xi nodded and asked with a smile, "...... These things were all passed down before your wealthy families, but they were not officially recorded, right? ”

Alexon showed an appropriately ashamed expression, and said embarrassedly: "After Meg Lorraine was defeated, the Lorraine family decided to hand over the Ancient Lord's Battle Banner to the Academic Alliance in order not to be liquidated. It's just that several of the Alliance's Commentators at the time, Helisas Wielambat, Bertna Eurentian, and Salfoss Dandillane, as well as my ancestor Master Termia, withheld the news and made it a secret for the Alliance's top brass, but they didn't have time to inform Master Themiste Webb, who arrived after the incident...... So, so I don't know why, it became a secret that was only passed down by word of mouth among a few of our family heads. ”

Themist Webb is Lu Xi's grandfather and the teacher of Marshal Nahibia, the hero of national salvation. After Nahibia was forced to humiliate himself from the world, he made a big fuss in Elichar, and it was at that time that the Rainbow Rose completely faded out of the central politics of the Federation.

Thinking of this, the two heads of the family couldn't help but glance at Lu Xi and swallowed their saliva.

"It's understandable, back then, my old master was busy killing people and beating people, and the few people you listed were all beaten up by his old man, everyone was very busy, so naturally there was a lack of communication." Lu Xi smiled lightly.

As a result, the cold sweat of the two ancestors who were the parties back then suddenly came down.

"And then? The existence of this thing is not documented, and I have also been to the treasure library of the Knowledge Alliance, and the scale is not bad, but the average quality is not as good as that of the Colorful Rose Island, and the best is two pieces of dark gold...... So, where has this artifact been there all along? ”

"Yes, it's in the vault of the head office of Ils Sky Bank......"

Everyone present almost didn't know what expression to show, thinking that these people were simply the most vivid representatives of the national beetle.

The so-called Ils Sky Bank, as the name suggests, is actually the banking property of the Ils family, but in fact, several wealthy families own its shares. Its scale is not large, and it is a younger brother in front of the St. Mullins Bank, which is backed by the Waujin Chamber of Commerce, and the Marine Credit Bank with the Standard Shipping Association as the background, but it is also a powerful snake in the federal area.

Perhaps, in the eyes of these gatekeepers, the brilliant artifact is their own private property, and of course it can't be placed in the public treasure library of the Academic Alliance.

"It's just that none of us have the power to monopolize this artifact, and each family has such an agreement, whoever can really control the ancient lord's battle banner can become everyone's recognized leader. It's just that, after Meg Lorraine, no such figure appeared. No matter how good a person holds it in his hand, it is only a very powerful staff, and its most powerful power has never been able to awaken it...... Until now.