After two days of recuperation, Victoria's condition had apparently recovered a lot, but a trace of weakness and exhaustion still lingered in her eyes, which she had tried to hide, and Gawain glanced at the northern duchess and reminded the other: "Tulip Fort is deep in the polluted area, and it is not in our next attack plan - without purifying the entire area, it is one thing for Sonia to fly over there, and it is another to land there." ”

"But it's not impossible," Victoria stared into Gawain's eyes without evasion, her face still lacking expression change, but her tone revealed a sense of determination, "those monsters are in a state of frenzy now, and on the other hand, it means that they are no longer organized, they no longer support each other, they no longer have units like sentinels, and they are no longer so alert - we can sneak in, and as long as we don't make too much noise and don't alarm too many monsters, I can get the news out quietly." ”

“…… I admit that this seems to be a possibility," Gawain thought for a moment and then nodded, "But are you sure you want to go in person?" ”

"Not every mage can get the word to Saint Sunil with the augmentation of a mage tower alone, it takes a lot of spellcasting skills and a lot of magic power," Victoria said in a nonchalant tone of fact-making, "It's the safest thing for me to go." ”

Then, before Gawain could ask more questions, the duchess continued: "I have heard that Belk of the Loren family lit the first beacon fire.

"I can't do what he did, but as the head of the Wild family, I can't at least shy away from what I could have done."

When a nobleman puts his family's reputation on the table, it usually means that the will has been decided.

"We can give it a try, at least that's a plan," Gawain finally nodded, "but one thing, we need to find a safer way to get you to the Tulip Castle - the giant eagle has a limited capacity to bear, Sonia can only lead the way, and there is no way to fly with you, and the griffon's flight altitude and speed are not good, and it is easy to be shot down by the Crystal Giants after going deep into the contaminated area, and overall, it is not safe to pass through the air." ”

"Is there a safer way?" There was a hint of confusion in Victoria's tone - landing in the Tulip Castle from the air over the polluted area was the most possible solution she could think of, and she couldn't think of a safer way to get through the ground full of crystal giants, right?

Gawain smiled slightly, and his gaze fell on Amber......

Miss Half-Elf was thrilled the moment Gawain began to smile, and then realized that she couldn't avoid it, and she pouted: "It's a good idea to go to the Shadow Realm - but to be clear in advance, my actions in the Shadow Realm also have a cost, it depends on whether there will be unstable shadow rifts and deadly 'big holes' in between, and if there is too much wear and tear on the way, I may not be able to take people as far as Tulip Castle - I still have to consider the strength required to return." ”

"Of course, if you can do your best," Gawain nodded, "I'll send an armored assault force to get you as close to the Tulip Castle as possible, and then you can sneak in and send a message, and in the meantime, I'll send a strong force to move at full speed in the direction of St. Sunil City, making sure not to waste a single moment." ”

The details of the plan were quickly finalized, and the people who received the order left the room one after another, and in the end, only Gawain and Victoria were left in the room.

"Frankly, the situation is very bad," Gawain said unhurriedly, after there was only one Duke of the North left in front of him, "I am always pessimistic about whether Saint-Sunil will be able to hold on - although I have been trying to get there in time. ”

The expression on Victoria's face didn't change, and she just asked quietly, "...... If Saint-Sunil really can't hold it, you have a follow-up plan, right? ”

“…… It's nothing more than abandoning the entire northern region and the plains of the Holy Spirit, keeping the southern and eastern borders, and building a western defense line as much as possible before the contamination enters the western border," Gawain did not hide his alternatives, "The existential pressure will make these regions submit to the new ruling order, and I am confident that I will stabilize the situation after building a new line of defense, and gradually retake those polluted areas." ”

Victoria was silent for a moment, and finally couldn't help but say, "It sounds like you basically don't expect much from the nobles of the kingdom. ”

Gawain smiled and asked rhetorically, "Sounds like your expectations are quite high?" ”

“…… I'll admit that my expectations for them aren't as high as they were a few years ago," Victoria said slowly, "but I believe that the city of Saint-Sunil can be defended—as long as the news of reinforcements arrives at Silver Fort in time." ”

Gawain showed an interested expression: "Can I hear the source of your confidence?" ”

"Archduke Bodwin Franklin, and Welsh Moen," Victoria said, looking into Gawain's eyes, with great seriousness, "they will hold the city—as long as reinforcements are needed." ”

“…… You have a higher opinion of Welsh Moen than I thought. ”

"My mission was to spy on him, so I know him, the Prince of Wales has never lacked talent, he just chose to retreat, but if the kingdom needs it, he will still stand up," Victoria said, "and besides him, in addition to Archduke Padwin, there are many reliable people in the royal capital, we have Earl Cromwell White Mountain, we have the loyal Royal Knights, we have Captain Cohen Loren - maybe half of the royal nobles want to abandon the city and flee, but at least half of them will choose to defend to the end." ”

Gawain looked at Victoria quietly, and the latter also looked at him quietly, and after two seconds of staring at each other, the "Ice and Snow Archduchess" exhaled softly.

"I know that our generation has disappointed you, Duke Cecil, perhaps the current nobility of Ansu is really rotten, but please believe that not everyone is rotten, there are still many people who are looking forward to the revival of this kingdom and the efforts to do so."

"Including Edmund Morn and Silas Loren?"

“…… Including them. ”

"But they still failed, and you also failed, and there were so many enterprising factions in the royal capital, and the nobles who you said were not rotten and tried to revive this kingdom have failed, why do you think they have failed?" Gawain stared into Victoria's eyes, "Is it just because there's a dead thing that suddenly comes in and stirs things up?" ”

The gaze from the founding duke was under indescribable pressure, and those dark brown eyes were deep and sharp, far greater than the wind and snow and mountains in the north, Victoria couldn't help but hold her breath - for many years, she had used her majesty to intimidate others, she had almost forgotten what it was like to face such a shock, and in a trance, she seemed to have returned to many years ago, back to when she was a child, back to the time when she faced the stern eyes of the previous duke.

My father pointed to the poor grass and trees in the courtyard and asked her a question: "What do you do if pruning, fertilizing, watering, and applying pesticides don't work?" ”

Flashes of memories came and went, and Victoria came back to her senses, still in front of her with Gawain's deep, sharp eyes.

"Actually, you know the answer," Gawain said, "but you can't help yourself." ”

Victoria was silent.

"We shouldn't be discussing this at this time," Gawain retracted his gaze and sat in a more relaxed position, "Victoria, you are very good, even in the pioneer generation, you will be a good nobleman, after this war is over, we can slowly think about how to revitalize the country, but before that, our most important task is to end this war." ”

"As you say," Victoria exhaled softly, then bowed her head with a slightly solemn expression, "no matter what, you saved me and the Mountain Legion, and I can't repay this favor, so no matter what happens, at least I will be your loyal ally personally." ”

When he was the only one left in the room, Gawain couldn't help but lean back in his chair and exhale silently.

"In my name...... It's really not easy for anyone. ”

With a sigh, he sat up straight, ready to begin drawing up a viable plan for the main force to move north—the situation had taken a turn for the worse and he could no longer move on to his previous schedule, and given the importance of the city of Saint-Sunil as a gateway fortress, he had to send a group of combatable troops north faster than he had originally planned.

It may be a good idea to use the Gorgon River with the converted civilian cargo ships......

And just as his plan was beginning to be drawn up, the magic web communication terminal on his desk suddenly emitted a buzzing sound.

Gawain glanced up at the identifying character on the holographic projection—a special channel from Cecil City.

The magic web terminal was activated, and after a brief shake in the projection, Gawain saw Hetty's face appear before his eyes.

"What happened?"

"Miss Tyre said she had something important to contact." With a few words, Hurty turned to the side - Gawain saw a long snake tail dangling in the background behind Hetty, the snake tail arched twice, and Tyr's upper body swayed from one side to the center of the frame.

"I feel it again," Miss Kraken glared at the holographic projection in front of her, "it's the smell of food!" Suddenly it became very intense! ”

Gawain's heart suddenly tightened - although he had already anticipated and prepared for this, when Tyr suddenly came out with this news, he still felt his nerves tense: "Direction, strength, can you roughly determine the situation or state of the target?" ”

"The location is supposed to be deep in the eastern part of the Whitsunday Plains, but the exact location is not clear, it seems to be suppressed or sealed off by something, or deep underground," Tyr said quickly, "as for the strength...... I don't know how to describe it, it feels subtle. It should be 'alive', which is stronger than the big squid, but its aura is not stable or pure, as if a lot of chaotic aura is fused together, and it is sometimes strong and sometimes weak. ”

Gawain took a light breath.

Is it the "divine power" in the hands of the Society of the Death of All Things? Is it the "energy source" they use to create and activate the gods? This energy source is out of control? Something like a god is awakening?

So the sudden mutation of the Crystal Cluster Legion has something to do with this out-of-control "divine power"?

All kinds of conjectures came to his mind, and Gawain controlled his thoughts and asked the kraken in front of him, "What is your queen's attitude?" ”

"She's interested in both the cookies and your arcane energy technology, and she's willing to help, and she's already preparing the Elemental Leaping Tower, but how to coordinate the action will have to be agreed upon," Tyr shook the tip of his tail and said with a serious expression, "In addition, I would like to convey the words of Her Majesty on behalf of the Queen - the Kraken can only help you deal with the 'inhuman' and will not intervene in the internal war of the human race, and we hope that this cooperation will be pure and restrained, which is a guarantee that the long-term cooperation can be maintained in the future." ”

"That's enough," Gawain nodded sincerely, "Thank you very much for your assistance. ”

"Don't care, it's mutually beneficial," Tyre waved his hand and tail tip, and then staggered away from the communication screen, only a voice came from outside the screen, "How did you guys shut this up?" Oh, then you come and close, I'll go first. ”

Two seconds later, Hetty reappeared in front of Gawain: "Ancestor, the engineering team sent to the edge of the wasteland has begun to return, and the replenishment of the Great Wall has been successfully completed. ”

"Finally, there is good news," Gawain breathed a sigh of relief, "Very well, let these personnel rest well first, and then arrange for them to go to the second phase of the tank factory and arsenal, and let that elven magister go to the Magic Energy Technology Research Institute to assist Rebecca in completing the translation and optimization of the anti-gravity runes." ”

"Yes."