"The strongest walls can't stop the collapse that began within, and even the most powerful dynasty will die with time......"

- Leo's Diary

Some people say that it is the difference in living environment that creates the difference between the imperial capital and the nobles in other parts of the empire, and there is some truth when you think about it......

A long, boring, but far from difficult journey, was finally brought to an end by Leo and his party, and the closer they got to the middle of the imperial capital, the more comfortable the temperature and environment became. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The weather in December is also scattered with snowflakes in the sky, compared to the leaden sky around the northern territory, the cold wind mixed with the harshness of large ice slag, but the snow around the imperial capital gives people a comfortable and leisurely tranquility

Leo couldn't help but reach out and watch the snowflakes that stayed in his palms slowly melt, and the cold that had been cold to the bone marrow before finally disappeared, replaced by an illusion of slight warmth......

The horses that stopped seemed to feel the joy of the masters, and they all snorted and jumped up, and the calm Marquis of Auston couldn't help but feel ecstatic after seeing the quaint and magnificent city walls of the imperial capital again after half a year

Antonis put aside the pretense of the nobles, and could not hold back his horse's constant exclamations of excitement......

"Please, dear Lord Leo, you are officially welcome to the center of the Empire, [Isos], the incomparably great city of the same name as the Empire!"

Leo smiled and bowed slightly to the proud Marquis of Auston, duly expressing his admiration and admiration for the city.

Still a few miles away, Leo and the others could clearly see the full picture of the imperial capital, and after the founding emperor of the empire, Danielle de Bonoir I, unified the entire continent, he did not choose a more comfortable south, but stubbornly established the capital in the location in front of him.

It is bordered by the Red River, the largest river that runs through most of the empire in the east, and the vast plains in the middle of the country on the other three sides, which seems to be unsafe, but the imperial capital has been firmly suppressed here for hundreds of years, during which it has experienced dozens of rebellions and even barbarian invasions, but it has never been really broken by anyone.

This also created a kind of innate arrogance towards the people of the rest of the empire, and although the affluent life made the martial spirit much less than before, this kind of arrogance that penetrated into the bone marrow was not something that could be easily changed in a few generations.

After several generations of royal repairs and expansions, Issos covers a staggering 50 square kilometers, almost twice the size of the current Stormwind City, and counting the endless flow of merchants, the city has nearly a million permanent inhabitants, almost the population of the entire sparsely populated Northern Territory.

Over the years, the ancient vicissitudes of the city wall are up to 20 meters high, and the huge bluestone cannot resist the erosion of nature, and some places of the city wall are covered with traces of moss and potholes, but there is no sense of harmony that brings people a sense of unity.

The main road leading from the main entrance of the city is made entirely of stone strips of stone in length, and its width allows several carriages to run parallel without being crowded

Leo and the others are now traveling on this road, and the closer they get to the city, the more dense the flow of people becomes, the caravans' laden carriages, the noble and luxurious chariots, and the lone knights even make Leo feel like he has returned to the earth for a while......

Fortunately, the family flags of Auston and Antonis fluttered high, followed by the well-armed knights around them, which made the surrounding crowd take the initiative to avoid the line, and after seeing the unique red and black armor of the Glory Knights, there were even small nobles who took the initiative to salute Leo and others on the side of the road.

This also makes Leo, who is extremely looking forward to having people who can't open their eyes to find trouble, and then can happily pretend to be b and slap his face, a little regretful......

Slowly moving forward without panic, after approaching the city gate, the knights and soldiers patrolling nearby gradually increased, and it was natural that Leo's large team also attracted the attention of the patrol officers.

A small group of glorious knights with various colored feathers on their helmets rushed to the front, and the captain led by the captain first carefully observed the heraldic banner representing the family, and his eyes swept over the knight comrades who were guarding the side, and his slightly vigilant heart completely relaxed.

The knights did not dare to greet each other while on horseback, and after greeting their deputy commander and the rest of the group on horseback, they rode back to the patrol route again, but when their foreheads signaled, the feathers on the knight's helmet shook up and down, so that Leo almost couldn't hold back his laughter.

A little weak-hearted peeked at Saru, who was straight-waisted in front of his subordinates, Leo rubbed his face vigorously to return his expression to normal, and then asked the Marquis of Auston beside him

"Your Excellency Marquis, please forgive me for not knowing much about the rules of the imperial capital, do we need to go directly to the city or do we need to report some formalities?"

"Formalities? What are the procedures? Lord Leo, I cannot but once again feel the difference between the Empire and your hometown of Pande, where only inferior people and commoners are required to register, and the coat of arms of our nobility is a passport, and any cross-examination will represent a challenge to the dignity of the entire noble class. ”

Auston shook his head disapprovingly and explained

His eyes lit up, and Leo said with some curiosity, "It's very exciting, but I still have some doubts, if this is the case, if someone pretends to be a nobleman or a nobleman to rebel, wouldn't it be very dangerous for the great imperial capital?" ”

The Marquis smiled smugly, but before he could speak, Saru on the side said to Leo in a high-spirited manner

"Your Excellency, this kind of thing will never happen, imperial law stipulates that except for Your Majesty, no nobleman is allowed to have more than 500 men in the imperial capital, even the prince and the grand duke must abide by it, and an army of less than 500 people wants to rebel internally? IMHO, even if they are all powerful knights, the fire of rebellion will be extinguished in an instant under the strangulation of tens of thousands of soldiers and the Knights of Glory! ”

Nodding, Leo wisely didn't ask more, such as generals or royal children who have military power, what should they do if they have ideas that they shouldn't have, presumably the empire already has a relatively mature method of mutual checks and balances in this regard.

"Uh...... Of course, if it's a knight as strong as Finn and Captain Keys, I'm afraid it can still cause some chaos! ”

Saru, who was straightening next to him, didn't notice a slight change in his face, and continued to himself, the several battles he experienced along the way, the strong combat power of Feinkeyes and the other punishment knights gave this reckless man a great impression.

At first, he was a little unconvinced, but later since Keith couldn't stand this guy's repeated invitations to fight, and cleaned up Saru in the sparring, the deputy captain of the Glory Knight became much closer to several people.

"Watch your words, Captain Saru!"

Seeing that the guy was chattering endlessly, the Marquis of Auston was afraid that he would say something inappropriate again, so he hurriedly interrupted him, and diverted the topic from Leo's apologetic smile

"Your Excellency, I suggest that you rest near the city gate for a while, I have sent someone to inform my family, and someone will come to meet us later, and you and your knights can settle in my mansion for the time being."

"Well, I also cordially invite you, Lord Leo, you don't know, the Marquis's mansion is notoriously dull and boring, and I think my grandfather must have wanted to see you in particular......"

Hearing this, the Marquis was a little crying and laughing, and the horsewhip in his hand pointed at Antonis who jumped out

"I thought your temperament was much calmer along the way, but just after returning to the imperial capital, you have returned to the same state, Antonis, your tattered Earl's Court still dares to invite Leo to be a guest? Don't argue with me, and when you're settled, I'll take him to visit your grandfather, the Duke of Lancaster. ”