"I see...... This has happened. I'm still wondering, Martha, how did you get mixed up with the Qiyao Church. ”

"It's true that things happened in a hurry, and I haven't had a chance to explain it to everyone." A smile bloomed on Martha's face, "Brother Boris, you too...... After so many years, not only did he survive that battlefield, but he also became the captain of the "North Hunter". ”

"Hah...... It's nothing. A warm smile bloomed on the scarred face of the hunter known as Boris, "You don't know, the hunter's business...... No matter what kind of genius you are, if you want to survive on the battlefield, you must have the favor of the goddess and fate. I'm just lucky. ”

"What, you two used to know each other before?" Heliga followed the instructions of several other hunters to the vicinity of the shelter, and found that Martha and the captain named Boris were really having a good conversation, and couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Ah...... Heliga, you're back. When Martha saw Heliga, she also smiled happily, "Yes...... When I first came out of my hometown, I knew him and acted together when I was in the regiment. Later, after a large-scale war broke out in the jungles of the northernmost part of Northumbria, the employer of the "North Hunters" and the "Sea Hunters" hired by his rivals, after that, many of the hunting regiments were reorganized due to the heavy casualties - I was still young at the time, and I was not capable of fighting, and the number of places available in the regiment was limited, so they didn't want me......"

"So you went to Erlengem." Heiliga nodded, "And this Mr. Boris next to him, because he is young and strong, coupled with his good strength, has caught up with the Northern Chasseurs and urgently needs new high-level talents to replenish, so he was ordered under special circumstances and has been mixed up until now, right?" ”

"Yes." Boris nodded calmly.

"Well...... Before we get started, I would like to have good news for you. "Your injured team member is out of danger. I've told them about it. Seeing Boris's face happy and about to walk towards his teammates, Heliga hurriedly reminded.

"I see...... Please accept my thanks again. Boris said sincerely, bowing his head.

"No thanks. You probably know why I'm here to help you. Heliga sighed, "I saved him, but I sent you to the battlefield again in every sense of the word. ”

"These are two different things." Boris said, "The way of a huntsman and the heart of wanting to do something for the brothers in his hometown are two completely different things. ”

"That's right." Heliga nodded, "Then I'll just go straight to the point." I wonder if you're interested in the commission I might ask you to do next? ”

"That's what Martha said." Seeing this, Boris also sighed, "I heard everything from her...... And, it stands to reason that we, as hunters, shouldn't be in the business of our employers......"

"I can understand, after all, this time you are not receiving a "commission" in the ordinary sense. There are a few tasks that you should never have experienced before, and you don't have the confidence to do them well, right? ”

"Hmm. If it's just to help you with some operations, that's fine – if you want to strengthen the security of your own territory and avoid another attack, that's also a good deal. However, a squadron was drawn up and stationed in the Duke's palace of Elbare under the command of the Acting Duke, Mr. Jusis Elbardia, and at the same time served as the escort of Her Royal Highness Elfin, the Imperial Princess...... That, even if it's us, we know the noble status of the imperial family, just put us here, do you really think it's appropriate? ”

"Of course I thought about it." Heiliga nodded, indicating that he understood Boris's concerns, "Actually, this matter is a situation that is also beneficial to you after we have discussed it. ”

"How?" Boris asked.

"First of all, after the liberation of Balyahat by the regular army, the two most elite mecha divisions of the empire will be redeployed throughout the state to strictly guard against any attack by the nobles, so in fact, the Duke's Palace, located in the Duke's capital, is the least likely place to have a war. But wouldn't it be a good deal for me not to pay you less commission? As for the question of any of you daring to harm Her Royal Highness, I am even less worried, for I have already thought of a commander who has proven himself trustworthy. ”

“…… It's the "Sword Emperor...... No, it's "Killing War Bears". Boris first instinctively spoke of the young swordsman who had only met him once and was shocked by his astonishing momentum, and then remembered the giant man who always had a blood-devouring smile on his lips.

"Hmm. Now that peace has been restored in Krutchen, I don't have to maintain a lot of security here. The Vault could also be disbanded, and they would each find a way to return to their hometowns, or go to Keldik, who was currently in dire need of manpower, to beg for something to eat—I don't care. Heliga paused, "Well, speaking of Keldik—guess what's it to do with you?" ”

“…… Unexpectedly. Boris admits that he really can't figure out what the possibility is, "but I've heard of it...... It seems that the service of "Nidhogg" was very dissatisfied with the Duke at the time, so he hired us extra. ”

"yes...... The Duke of El Barea will take responsibility for this matter, and accept that there may be a trial in the future. Let's not talk about the minutiae, but you can't deny that you came before the attack on Keldic, can you? ”

"yes. But this is ...... Wait, do you say-"

"Yes—that's a possibility we've come up with after discussing it." Heliga sighed, "The Duke of Elbare is noble, even if he made a big mistake, but fortunately, Jusis led a group of companions to make amends, so he will not let the Elbare family collapse directly." However, leaving the Duke alone with the responsibility is obviously not a situation that a Duke's agent would like to see. ”

"Therefore, part of the destruction of that town will be pushed on us hunters...... Is that so? ”

"yes. And you will find that if you leave the Empire at this point, it will be very difficult for you to prove that it is false. Because first of all, you are Northumbrians - you don't think you understand what the Imperial Government's ambiguity means in its attitude towards the democratic government of Northumbria, and your hunters. ”

“…… Oh, yes. My uncle was an official of the government of the autonomous region of Northumbria, and he mentioned this...... The empire refused to recognize the legitimacy of the autonomous states, insisting that the discredited Grand Duke take power, but did little to prop up the fallen Grand Duke. At the same time, they also issued some laws that allowed the Chasseurs to be legal, and the nobles of the empire hired a large number of "Northern Chasseurs", and made it difficult for the government to trade directly with the government. ”

"Now that you know, it's much easier for me to explain. In fact, the only possibility I can think of, and the result of this, is that the reformist government of the Empire, the late "Iron Prime Minister", seems to have always had an ambition to annex Northumbria. ”

"What!" Boris was taken aback, although he understood the facts just now, he did not understand what it meant, "Why do you say that? ”

"That should be obvious." Heiliga pursed her lips, "After Prime Minister Osborne came to power, the general strategic policy was to strengthen the power of the reformers, in addition to snatching those ready-made cakes from the hands of the aristocratic faction, that is, to find a way to get more resources from outside the empire to fight against them. Heli paused for a moment, he noticed that at this moment, Fei and Laura and others seemed to notice the conversation on their side and came over, so they simply spread out the question, "The nobles control sixty percent of the empire's tax revenue, and he uses various methods to annex various small autonomous prefectures and establish special economic zones without direct invasion, so as to transfuse blood for his plan." He used various methods to gradually transform the empire from a country ruled by the aristocracy into the current situation...... But even so, he still had something he didn't get. Macchias, do you know what it is? ”

"......" Macchias was quietly handed over the microphone by Helica, and he was stunned at first - he just chatted with Elliot, Fey, Laura and Emma, and when he came out, he saw Helliga Martha and the two, and wanted to come over to say hello, but he didn't expect that they were talking about this, and he was thrown a topic, but after only a few seconds of stunned, the college tyrant Marcchias still easily figured out the answer to this question: "That is natural resources, especially Qiyao Stone Mine and Iron Ore." ”

"Yes. Lamar lacked nothing, but it was the territory of the Duke of Kane, and even the prime minister had never been able to penetrate there. Sasharante is the old capital of the empire and the earliest old industrial area, and there are no resources that can be exploited on a large scale; Kruchen has vast forests and fisheries, but it doesn't have the minerals they need. ”

"But...... Isn't there a lure in the canton of Notia? Elliot asked, "And the Zaxon Iron Mine is also ......"

"yes...... However, although the Marquis of Rogner was a staunch royalist, this only meant that the benefit of Luret as an important industrial town was that the royal family supervised the Marquis of Rogner, and then went into his own hands, and there were many problems in between, and it would inevitably be very inconvenient after a long time. Besides, even if it is directly operated by the royal family, it is not insured...... Isn't the iron ore used by the mecha soldiers created by the rebellion of the noble alliance transported out little by little under the nose of the Marquis of Rogner? ”

"This ......," Elliot scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Indeed...... In this way, the Northumbria region is rich in mineral deposits. Extensions of the Eichingott Mountains, as well as the mountains near the coast, seem to have detected large amounts of minerals? "Emma's level of knowledge is no less than that of Macchias.

"Yes...... In addition, Northumbrilla is rich in coniferous forests, which are worth more than the cork of Krutchen as a timber. Heliga nodded, "Originally, Northumbrilla was a wealthy country that exported these primary industrial goods to the surrounding areas...... Although the natural disasters brought by the "Salt Pile" destroyed the industrial base in the northwestern part of Northumbria, the remaining areas that were the source of raw materials were still relatively intact. If it can get the support of neighboring countries after that, it should not be like this now. ”

However, the Imperial Government has been blocking trade between the new government of the Autonomous Region and the surrounding areas, and the Prime Minister's expansionist policies have forced many Autonomous Regions to be incorporated into the Empire, so that the number of trading partners in the Autonomous Region of Northumbria-Bria has been repeatedly reduced...... Eventually, the "Chasseurs of the North" will be sent out as a last resort. Faye nodded with a heavy face, this is what she had heard Martha say during this time, and of course there was a little bit of her own search in it.

"In short, all this has been said, just to make you understand - Boris, the attitude of the empire towards the autonomous states is like this. If the responsibility is not given to you and Nidhogg, how will the Duke of Elbarea fight for leniency? ”

"......" Boris frowned, then figured out something, and suddenly realized: "I see...... That's what you mean. If we accept this commission, it means that the client after this is you and the acting duke of the Elbare family - plus the fact that the members of the royal family are guarded, we can get the guarantee of both of you to get out of this black cauldron that may have fallen. ”

"yes...... Very smart. "That's it. ”

"But......" Marchias glanced at Heliga, and stopped talking—Heliga knew what he was trying to say, so the two of them only made eye contact with each other, but did not say anything.

The Empire's ambitions for Northumbria, Macchias were not unexpected. Both he and Hyliga understood that if this incident was alone, it would not be able to prevent the relevant war from happening, at most, it would only make the empire that wanted to start this war bother to change the pretext for war.

"As for the other commission...... This is a bit dangerous. So, in order to avoid unnecessary casualties, I only want the most elite soldiers under your command, only about fifty, preferably those with a lot of physical strength and good at using melee weapons - if you accept, I'll let Levi determine the right person. After all...... He is the one who cooperates with you. ”