This is a cemetery somewhere in the hinterland of Okad.

Even though he had witnessed death countless times, General Joel was still in awe of it.

Walking on the path in the middle of the cemetery, there are dense cold tombstones as far as the eye can see. It's been a year since the brutal civil war ended, but the nightmare of that war still haunts Joel. Every month, Joel visits the cemetery, where the Civil War dead are buried, to lay a bouquet of flowers for those who died in the war.

Joel had no idea how many innocent lives had died in that war. But the ashes buried in this mountainside cemetery alone are more than 8,000 people.

The elderly general walked up to a white tombstone. He placed a bouquet of yellow carnations there, a lonely smile on his weather-beaten face.

"I've come to see you, my brother. You know? My unsuccessful daughter has been with you lately...... If you see her, you will have to give her a good training on my behalf," said the general, his eyes growing with sorrow, "and I will come to you soon." Wait for me a little longer. ”

For millennia, the kingdom called Okad has been forever torn between civil war and unification. Occasionally, a strong leader emerges who is unable to keep order alive after his death. It is said that a united Okad is enough to sweep the world, but the Okadians have never been united. This may be the fate of the country of Okade.

"You're too pessimistic, General." A middle-aged man's voice sounded from behind the general, "The country needs you for a long time. ”

The general's body shuddered. By his voice alone, he was enough to identify the person standing behind him. After all, there are only a handful of people in the entire Okad who can come behind the general without a word.

The general turned and bowed deeply.

"Commander-in-chief. …… Speaker. ”

However, the supreme leader of the Okad Federation, Nicholas Best, accepted the title of general calmly. He was still dressed in a simple gray cloth robe, and his eyes were like torches.

"Just call me Nicholas, Joel. I don't like it when you old friends call me Speaker. ”

"Yes." With Nicholas's permission, the general straightened up.

Nicholas looked at the white hair on the general's head: "Joel, you are really old. In the past two years, you have really aged a lot. His gaze drifted to the tombstone behind the general, "I understand your sadness. It is my responsibility not to end that senseless war a little faster. ”

Joel shook his head, "You are our savior, Lord Nicholas. Without you, this war doesn't know how long it will last. ”

Nicholas shook his head: "However, in the eyes of people, this is just a stage of a longer cycle. My lifespan is limited after all, and once I am gone......"

Joel opened his mouth to comfort the commander-in-chief he admired, but said nothing. What's the use of polite words between the two of them? There are some things that cannot be changed by human beings.

The two walked along the path of the cemetery.

"This isn't the first time you've been here alone, Joel." After a while, Nicholas asked.

"It's quiet, a good place for the dead to rest, Lord Nicholas," said Joel, heartily, "and when I die, I hope your lordship will allow me to be buried here." Sleep with my brothers. ”

Hidden in the shadow of the mountainside, this huge cemetery is secluded away from the city and villages. It was suggested that it would be inconvenient for the grave keepers, but Speaker Nicholas Best insisted that only such a secluded place was suitable for the final refuge of the dead.

Sure enough, listening to Joel's words, Nicholas nodded slightly.

"You will get your wish, General. In the name of Nicholas Best, I assure you. ”

"Thank you very much, Mr. Nicholas."

The two looked at each other speechlessly.

"By the way, Lord Nicholas," Joel frowned suddenly, as if remembering something, "I remember that you need to preside over today's council meeting...... You need to ...... it quickly."

"I've sent my trusted subordinates to convene it on my behalf," Nicholas laughed, "and I've given them a more suitable place to hold a meeting than to stay in the House." ”

"Is that good?" Joel was taken aback, "You're not there for such an important occasion...... The parliamentarians will be unhappy. ”

Okard had nearly eighty franchises — more than a hundred and fifty before Nicholas quelled the last civil war. Each region has its own councillors.

"Whatever they think," said Nicholas nonchalantly, "what?" If you're worried, why don't you take a look over there? ”

Without waiting for Joel to reply, Nicholas Best, the great legendary mage Lord of Falcon, volleyed a little-

In the air, a blue circular light curtain suddenly appeared. Then, the light and shadow in the light curtain changed, and distant images appeared, with sound.

--------------------

"Where is the Speaker? Is it a waste of our time to invite us to such a place? ”

The pot-bellied MP whined discontentedly. However, although most of his faces were displeased, he was the only one who protested loudly among the more than fifty councillors here. Some looked at the fat councillor with pity, many remained silent, and some muttered about their dire situation.

The soldiers sent by the Speaker took the councillors who were preparing for the meeting to the abandoned armory in a half-forced, half-invited manner. Less than halfway through autumn, the air in the armory was already filled with cold. This was difficult for unprepared parliamentarians to accept.

"The Speaker's attitude towards us is getting more and more high," one of the younger lawmakers whispered, "and we have obviously never vetoed his proposals." ”

"It's just a little colder here," a gray-haired middle-aged councillor sighed to himself, looking around beside the young councilor, "You're also a person who has experienced war." You know what to do. ”

After listening to the words of the middle-aged councilor, the young councilor nodded slightly. Members of Parliament are nominally the leaders of the member states, but in reality, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who quells troubled times by force, is more than capable of dealing with any one in the Parliament. All parliamentarians can do is do as much as possible for themselves and their hometowns.

Although most of the people here have been approved by the Speaker to sit in this position, there are still many members who have not completely erased the last trace of arrogance in their hearts. It is true that the Speaker of the House of Representatives quelled the civil war by force, but to rebuild the post-war country, the Speaker of the House of Representatives must also rely on the power of the Parliament...... This is the thought of many parliamentarians.

Suddenly, the door to the armory, which had just been closed, opened. Parliamentarians are looking at it. At first, they thought it was the Speaker who had arrived, but ......

"Is that him?" Many lawmakers frowned.

It was a young man with black hair and black eyes. The silvery-white mask obscured him below his eyes. He was dressed in spotless white priest's robes, and his whole body exuded an outstanding nobility.

Of course, the members of parliament know about this person. The mysterious masked man is now the Speaker's henchman. No one knows his name, but his power grows with each passing day.

A few years ago, when this man suddenly appeared next to the Speaker, lawmakers found it difficult to understand why the Speaker would appoint such an unknown person. Later, as he appeared in a priest's robe, the suspicion seemed to be solved—he was presumably the resident pastor of Okad sent by the Church on the Cloud.

I have not heard of any position this young man held within the church, but perhaps the Speaker intends to improve his relationship with the church by reusing such a person. I really don't know how he got appreciated by the Speaker.

The sudden appearance of the masked man caused various punishments in the minds of the councilors. However, when they saw the figures following him, their expressions changed.

The two men and two women in full armor are undoubtedly generals from the military.

At the end of the war, Speaker Nicholas gave the losers the territory to the generals who supported him, and gave him new "military ranks". They ruled over the lands for the life of their Speakers, but had no hereditary aristocratic powers, and the lands were disposed of again after their deaths by the then-incumbent Speaker of the Bundestag.

Thirty-seven men and eight women were awarded, headed by General Joel, who had worked hard: five generals, seven lieutenant generals, twelve major generals, and twenty-one brigadier generals. However, the titles of these "generals" and "lieutenant generals" are not linked to the troops, but are more of a sign of dignity and the size of the territory like the titles of hereditary nobles. There are, of course, exceptions.

If the girl was here, she would definitely complain that "it is not easy for the fourth-level military nobles to find common modern Chinese words to strictly correspond to, and as a result, in the language knowledge instilled by the bald people, they are directly and forcibly translated into the fourth-level military rank" and so on.

"Lieutenant General Armstrong, Major General Hoffman, Major General Lijie, Brigadier General Melia." Someone immediately called out the names of the four.

Actually let these four generals guard behind the masked man like bodyguards?

Lieutenant General Armstrong and Major General Lijie were stationed in the capital after the war and won the trust of the Speaker. After the end of the Civil War, Major General Hoffmann and Brigadier General Melia barely appeared in front of Parliament, but they also appeared here.

Why them? Why are they needed? Many lawmakers have doubts in their minds.

Only a few of the most well-informed people know how special these four are. They all had a close relationship with the Church, especially the youngest Brigadier Meria, the youngest of all the female generals, who had the closest ties to the Church, and in addition to the "exceptional" size of the territory, he was almost outside the system of the Okad Federation.

Melia has always been the first beauty in the Okad army, and in recent years, she has gradually been called the first beauty in the whole Okad, but unfortunately she has never seen a man who can get her favor.