May 17, morning, Royal Palace.

Charles II sat on the throne with a tired face, and the ministers in front of him were silent. Unlike in the past, today there is an elaborate sand table in the center of the chamber - the proportions are not accurate, but it is an indisputable fact that the flag representing Efuta is planted on three-quarters of the country.

And now they can know such a result, it is still thanks to Charles II... If it weren't for the fact that he lowered his face the day before yesterday to invite Iskar to a family dinner, and if it weren't for Iskar's final agreement to fly around to "observe the battle situation", I'm afraid the news of the complete rout of the front-line army would have to wait a day or two to know!

If you try to redeem it at that time, I'm afraid the enemy has already hit the doorstep!

Everyone in the chamber knows that the most critical moment has come, and every decision that follows could mean the difference between life and death.

"Viscount Boragon has tried his best, but the enemy has easily taken the city of Layena, and his efforts have been completely wasted..."

Charles II's tone was flat, but his eyes flashed with anger: "The city of tens of thousands of people has been inexplicably conquered by the enemy, who can tell me how this happened?!"

No one knows, and all of you don't have such a rich imagination - even if someone had said about the fact of the Airborne Forces, I'm afraid Charles II would not have believed such a ridiculous thing.

A week ago, he sat here in high spirits, as if he could take the temple with a smile and a sword against Evta. But now, the enemy's offensive is even more terrifying than the magic of the dragons, hundreds of kilometers in depth, a week directly bulldozing... Are they all dragons? not only able to fly, but also breathe fire, able to let their noble forces crush without a fight?

"Your Majesty... Dragons now if they're willing to help—"

Before Du Weiden finished speaking, Charles II waved his hand and interrupted: "The dragons are not the thugs and bodyguards of the Karen Kingdom, we can solve our own problems! Let the dragons help with everything, why don't they go to Evta?"

That being said, in fact, Charles II had already asked Iskar for help, but the latter's answer was very clear: it's okay to help you sneak around to investigate, but let me go to the battlefield, it's impossible.

Charles II almost knelt down and wept bitterly, but Iskar still said this. It wasn't until the end that the red dragon couldn't stand it anymore and said, "I'll tell the lord, but as for how to make a decision, I can't give you any guarantees." ”

This is already the limit of what Charles II can do. But what the dragon clan wants to do, he has no way at all - any marriage, any cooperation is bullshit. After the territory of the Imperial City was bulldozed. Will Quiao still pull him to talk about how to unify Cullen?

Therefore, he did not calm down at all about Du Weiden's proposal now, and after a reprimand, his voice was lowered: "The only one who can save us is himself." So guys, how many troops are left now, we all have to pull on - next, I will also put on armor and fight side by side with you!"

"Your Majesty!?"

Charles II's decision frightened them, and it was not uncommon for the monarch to go to war in person, as was how Emperor Conn the Great brought his army to the kingdom's territory. But in these seventy years, none of the monarchs sitting in the imperial city have actually been on the battlefield.

No one would have thought that after only seventy years, the descendants of Emperor Conn would have to defend their last dignity in this way...

"Your Majesty, we still have room to fight back! There are now more than a hundred magicians in the Dragon Tower, and the food of all the cities in the south is mobilized, which is enough for us to defend the city and fight a protracted battle!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, we still have ports, and we can trade by sea with the kingdoms in the east—as long as we can keep bringing in food, we can drag this war on..."

"As long as it drags on, there is hope of winning!"

Charles II was a little relieved by these words, but there were so many things to consider in real battle, and he had to have a competent general to help him coordinate these affairs, so he asked: "Harrison has already thrown in, Viscount Borragon has no news, who else can gather the army now?"

The nobles below looked at each other, none of them were fodder for war, they could really fight... In fact, everyone knows the best candidate, but since the battle of the orcs last year, no one has mentioned this name anymore.

"Say, don't dwell on it. Count Duveden, who do you think is suitable?"

"Your Majesty... If you really want to say that the strongest military ability, I'm afraid that the only one is Count Moore..."

Charles II's expression was stunned, last year the orc Sauron ravaged the hinterland of the kingdom, and it was this earl who urgently commanded tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to drive the other party away, but afterwards he wanted to take advantage of the situation to attack, but the other party disobeyed his orders - in a fit of anger, Charles II directly canceled his position and threw him into his own territory to retire...

And at a time like this, is he still willing to come out and help him?

Charles II narrowed his eyes, and after a few seconds finally made up his mind: "I will write to him personally, and he will not refuse at such times." ”

"For the rest, the collection and transportation of grain, the clearing of the walls and the preparations, all the same—Pavlo, Meganon, don't let me down!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"This time... There is no way back. ”

Charles II sat upright: "The Royal Guard will join this war in three days, and I will lead the troops who obey my orders to defend the city of Ririk." ”

With that said, he ended the meeting for the day—a race against time, and the sooner enough men were assembled, the more likely it would be to drag out the battle. Charles II did not cultivate these nobles in vain all these years, and most of them remained loyal at critical moments.

After all, Roddy's series of reforms in Ivota let them know that if they submit to Ivta, they may not be able to continue to have their current wealth as before.

Interests brought them together, and together they aimed at the army assembled in the north.

Charles II stood in the corridor outside the council chamber, looking at everything in front of him, and suddenly felt that everything was in such a trance—a few years ago, the name "Roddy" was only a small character in Angmar's newspaper that needed to be knighted, and there were so many such knight barons in the kingdom that he didn't even remember the name.

However, now, the other party is like a sharp sword, cutting through the mountains that are blocked, cutting off the nobles under his command who claim to have tens of thousands of soldiers, and directly pressing the blade of the sword against his throat...

"Why... Will it be?"

He staggered a little and was about to walk back to the study, but found a figure in a black robe standing halfway through.

Charles II stepped back and said, "Roddy is coming over with the army of the Rosicrucisse, are you going to sit idly by?"

"Of course not, Your Majesty. The Pit Viper Cross will never be soft on the infidels. ”

The Overseer of the Viper Cross whispered, "The 'Saint Army' has been assembled, and with your army, it will definitely tear any enemy to shreds. ”

"How much does it cost the royal family?"

"We only hope that in the future there will be no more 'Rosicrucies' in the land. ”

Charles II nodded without hesitation, but the other party did not finish speaking, and continued: "At the same time... The Viper Cross became the state religion, and the Pope had an independent territory. ”

This requirement is definitely an inch, but now where can Charles II care about so much? The enemy has reached the doorstep, and the only thing he can do is to grasp all possible life-saving straws - these things can only be sure if he wins the battle, and if he can't win the battle, then he will say everything in vain.

Therefore, he finally agreed to this condition, and the other party did not talk nonsense and directly retreated. Charles II, on the other hand, tried to expel his inner turmoil and returned to his study to sit down.

The wide armchair didn't give him the warmth and comfort he used to have, and it wasn't too hot, but he found that his back was soaked with sweat at some point.

These days, the old state of the monarch who was originally high-spirited is fully revealed. The long period of mental exhaustion had made him so sleepy that he planned to just sit in the armchair and sleep for a while—but before he could close his eyes, his daughter Rowling appeared in front of him.

"Well, I see you're in a good mood today. ”

Charles II did not tell his daughter about the deterioration of the situation, so he tried to act as if he was usually enthusiastic. And Rowling was indeed in a good mood, she sat on the chair next to her, and said, "Father, today there is a dragon in the Dragon Tower that I haven't seen before!"

"Oh, the Red Dragons?"

"No, it's Lord Kardashian of the Ice Dragons. Rowling said to her father with some excitement: "She held me and talked for a long time, this Excellency is not as cold as other dragons, she seems to be very interested in our country, and at the same time has a certain understanding." ”

"Kardashian... Oh, she was supposed to be the one who was doing a magic exchange in Elson City before. ”

Charles II remembered the name, of course, but he didn't think Kardashian would side with Elson just because she had worked with Elson - Iskar's performance had made him realize that true dragons would not side with humans, they only cared about their own interests. War? People don't care about these things...

So Rowling's words didn't make his mood any better, he just smiled: "Then you have a good relationship with her, there is a dragon friend, if she is really willing to be friends with you, that's a good thing." ”

Rowling's expression darkened a little, as she thought of the Iskar who didn't even want to say more... Can such a marriage really have a good result?

However, the father and daughter in the study will not know that Kardashian is talking about the same topic with Iskar at this time.

(End of chapter)