The dragon's glimpse vanished into the sky, and except for a few, few people knew that a fabled race was watching the land, and the world was running as usual, the sun rising and setting, the weather getting warmer and approaching summer—it seemed that in the blink of an eye, spring was over, and the rush was overwhelming.

The war that had been rekindled in the eastern part of the Plains of the Holy Spirit stopped unconsciously after a while.

Fortifications of large and small fortifications were intertwined at the giant wooden crossings, the fortresses and plains where the two armies confronted, and the whole area was fragmented, and everywhere there were blockades, flags of the Kingdom Army or Easterners, and heavily armed soldiers and knightly officers wandered between these criss-crossed blockades, cautiously inspecting the lands that belonged to them for the time being, and wary of those that were close to them—but it was undeniable that a short and fragile armistice had been established.

Rumors abound, and in this age when it is almost impossible to effectively control information, as soon as a piece of news reaches people's ears and there are bold people walking between regions, it will spread among the crowd, and in the process of spreading, it will divide into countless bizarre versions.

Some people say that the kingdom army has suffered a great defeat, the Silver Castle can no longer withstand the pressure, the royal nobles are negotiating peace with the east, and some people are circulating the completely opposite version, and some people say that the Typhon Empire is preparing to move on the border, and the pressure of foreign enemies has led to a truce between the two armies, and some people have linked the current strange situation with the frequent plagues in the area of the giant wood crossing in recent times......

Of all the versions of the rumors, the most reliable source came from the Horse Breeder who was working for the Eastern Legion, who swore that he had seen the Elven eagle flying from the northwest, that an Elven messenger had entered Prince Edmund's fortress, and that the order for a temporary truce had been handed down shortly thereafter.

On the east side of the giant wooden crossing, in the newly built fortress, a tall guard tower stood on the city wall, and Edmund, dressed in black armor and already bearded? Morn stood at the top of the watchtower, looking out at the scattered flags and large and small wooden camps of the plains, and the wind from the southwest howled across the towers, waving the banners over Prince Moen and hunting.

The sound of iron boots stomping on the ground came from behind him, and Silas, who was dressed in full uniform? Duke Loren came to the tower, and the Duke of the East said in a deep voice, "The elves are gone, Your Highness. ”

"If they're seven days late, the Giant Log Crossing will be ours," Edmund? Moen whispered, "The undisciplined soldiers of the Coalition are no match for us, and even if they put on the new equipment, they will only rush to their deaths." ”

The Duke of the East gave the prince a deep look: "But we must cease the war - this is a matter of righteousness. ”

"Yes, it's a matter of righteousness—we're fighting for the future of Ansu, not just for that position in the Silver Castle," Edmund said lightly, "Grand Duke Loren, what's the order in the rear?" ”

"Everything is going well, Your Highness, no need to worry," Silas? Loren nodded, "Only a letter of concern from Belk - the Cecil people are mining the minerals of the White Sand Hills with astonishing speed and speed, and his description in the letter is exaggerated, and I don't even know whether to believe those claims or not. ”

Edmund was a little curious: "What did he say?" ”

“…… The Cecil are likely to blow up Little Crow's Beak within this year, and they plan to blow up a second one next year. ”

“…… Belk doesn't seem to be a man who likes to exaggerate. ”

"He really doesn't like exaggeration, Your Highness."

"Then I'd like to believe him," said Edmund, "and if the Cecil had the ability to blast through the walls of the Rock Fortress with some kind of magic weapon, there was no reason why they wouldn't use a similar explosion in the mines. ”

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but sigh: "Although we have succeeded in building new factories in the east, the real technological roots of the Cecil people are obviously not in those factories...... We are already lagging behind in this regard. ”

"We are already in talks with immigration officials in the South to send some literate apprentices to their 'schools,' and it doesn't seem to be completely forbidden in the South in this regard."

Edmund nodded slightly: "Please pay more attention to this matter - talent is really important." ”

Moments later, Duke Loren left the tower, leaving only Edmund? Moen stood alone on the platform at the top of the watchtower, standing quietly in the wind.

However, in the next second, a voice came into his ears: "You are really a ruler of the country, Your Royal Highness." ”

Edmund? As if he had been waiting for this voice for a long time, Moen turned his head calmly, looked at the brazier not far behind him, watched a figure gradually condense in the brazier, watched the figure walk to the ground, and transformed into a woman wearing a priest's skirt and a strange and terrifying lower body like a plant root, he nodded coldly: "You are here, Bertila." ”

"You no longer deny the title of ruler?" Bertila moved her rustling roots, a hint of mockery in her voice, "That's mature...... Last year, you were in a hurry to deny this title in front of you. ”

"I don't need to debate with you on this kind of issue, my relationship with you hasn't gone that far," Edmund? Moen's voice grew colder, "If you're here to trouble those elves, all I can say is that you're a step too late—they're already gone, back to St. Sunil." ”

"I'm not interested in those elves," Bertila chuckled, "but you, who were supposed to announce your coronation after the capture of the Giant Tree Crossing, were now torn up by the news that the elves had brought...... Don't you regret it? ”

Edmund silently raised the sheathed one-handed sword in his hand, the tip of the sword pointed at Bertila's throat, and in the air between the sword and the throat, black cracks spread as if they were alive: "If you die here, will anyone feel sorry for you?" ”

"Put this toy away, it's better to play with it on the battlefield than to use it here to threaten women," Berthira said lightly, swaying away the one-handed sword in front of her with her hand, "I'm here just to remind you, Your Highness, time is running out - if you want to leave a place for the people of Ansu in the new era, you'd better make a decision as soon as possible." ”

Edmund? Moen stared into Bertila's eyes: "I have no interest in your so-called 'Great Evolution', and I don't care about your doomsday theory, even if the so-called New Era really exists, the Ansu people will have their own way of living, so you don't need to worry about it." ”

Bertila looked at Edmund quietly for a moment, then shook her head and walked slowly back to the blazing brazier: "What an impressive statement, but it doesn't matter, we still have a little time, you still have time...... Make a choice. ”

……

In many cases, the so-called "choice" is just an illusion, a carefully disguised established fact, placed in front of the person making the choice, so that the person who chooses it has the illusion that the situation is under his control, or that the person who is already powerless can hide his embarrassment a little.

In the Golden Oak Hall, the most powerful nobles of Ansu were still discussing enthusiastically, these famous families expressed their opinions on the situation of the kingdom, using all kinds of theories, allusions and arguments to prove the accuracy of their judgment of the situation, and proved that their every word was for the bright future of the kingdom, but Victoria, who was sitting at the head of the long table, knew very well that these discussions and words were only paving the way for a conclusion that could be reached without discussion at all.

“…… The eastern border has accepted the conditions of a temporary truce, this is only the most basic sanity, they are not qualified to represent the Ansu ......"

"The orthodoxy of the royal family is in Silver Castle, and the people who can represent Ansu are also in Silver Castle!"

"But we have to take into account the tension in the Plains of the Holy Spirit, and we have to deal with a group of thieves who are on the verge of losing their minds......"

"Think long-term, think ...... long-term"

The earl, the marquis, the prime minister of the kingdom, the military minister, they spoke one after another, speaking the facts that a discerning person could see at a glance, Victoria looked at this scene with a cold expression, she looked to the left, and saw that the Prince of Wales was as indifferent as herself, and the Duke of Bardwin yawned greatly, and she looked to the right again, and saw several elven envoys sitting in a special seat not far away looking at her with a confused and bored expression.

- Due to the special situation, the Golden Oak Hall allowed foreigners to enter the scene to observe the aristocratic meeting for the first time, but now it seems that the friends from the Silver Empire really do not understand some of the "rules" of human society.

The one named Sonya? The elf of Frost Leaf blinked in Victoria's direction, her lips moved a few times, and Victoria heard the other party's voice ringing in her ears: "Why do they have to repeat this question for so long?" ”

Victoria reluctantly summoned her magic and sent her voice over: "Because there are some words that come with a great responsibility. ”

We understand that, but they've been talking about it for too long, "Sonia? Frostleaf's voice was still confused, "We elves can live for thousands of years, but this kind of meeting of yours is still too much of a waste of time in my opinion...... Aren't these speakers living differently than ordinary human beings? ”

Victoria: "......"

This question is a bit beyond her knowledge.

She shook her head, deciding to end the time-wasting discussion, and tapped lightly on the table, "Gentlemen, ladies—it's time for us to draw conclusions." ”

The buzzing discussion immediately stopped, and a pair of eyes fell almost unanimously on Victoria, Wales, and Baldwin.

The Duchess of the North sighed secretly: in the end, no one dared to say the only option.

Anyway, the Wild family has been privately called "usurpers" for the past century, and isn't the image of himself, the Duke of the North, in everyone's hearts authoritarian and arbitrary?

"There is no need to argue about royal orthodoxy, but the fact is that for now we have to put this issue aside for the time being - the rebels in the east do not represent Ansu, we ...... Not at the moment. The only person who can come forward now is not in Silver Castle, he is in the South. ”

A middle-aged nobleman with a slightly fat figure and meticulous hair groomed spoke at the right time, with a solemn expression on his face: "Duchess, what you said makes sense, but the southern border has not expressed any attitude towards the ownership of Ansu's royal power so far, and now he will hand over the responsibility of representing Ansu to Duke Cecil, then ......"

Victoria glanced at the other party: "Count of Bahrain, you can nominate the person you think is suitable." ”

“…… I mean, it's fitting that this is to be handed over to the Duke of Cecil! ”

"Very well, this matter is settled."

In the special seats at the long table, the elven envoys watched the whole long and boring meeting with bewilderment, until Victoria? Wilde suddenly brought out the results of the meeting, and several envoys exhaled.

Sonia? Frost Leaf couldn't help but shake his head and whispered to his companion beside him, "In comparison, the efficiency of the Gaoling Kingdom is much higher than theirs. ”

"Meetings of humanity are always like this."

"In total, they can live for a hundred years and dare to make such waves, they are really powerful......"