A cold wind blew the nearby flags, bringing a rattling sound, and Le Penny Gülen raised her head and stared silently at the old castle in the distance.

The two-hundred-year-old Crackstone Fort sits quietly at the top of the hill, the steep cliffs on the side of the castle stand like a blade on the horizon, and the sinking sunset shines on the craggy rocks and high walls of the castle, gilding the lines with a pale golden glow.

It was a stony mountain, steep and treacherous on one side, the Cracked Stone Castle sat at the top of the cliff, as if crouching on a blade, the old castle façade had long been mottled, and many places could see signs of cracking, when the setting sun shone on the castle from just the right angle, part of its outer wall would even shine through the opposite light, showing a bright crack line like a leaf vein on the wall.

There is often a fear that the castle will collapse in the sunset, and that countless tons of heavy boulders will roll down from the top of the cliff, and in an earth-shattering catastrophic roar, the most glorious surname of the land will be buried.

But Penny remembered her husband's words, and remembered the old pact between the castle and the Earth Elemental Spirits, a pact made between the ancestors of the family and the Earth Elemental allies at a time when House Gülen was a marginal vassal of House Cecil: as long as the surname "Glenn" remained in rule the land, Fractured Rock Castle would never collapse naturally......

But the cracks in this fortress have really increased over the years......

"Mistress," the butler's voice interrupted Penny's thoughts, and the steady and reliable middle-aged man handed the baroness a wooden box, "this is the dirt you wanted. ”

Penny looked at the dark dirt in the wooden box, stretched out her fingers and grabbed a little bit and rubbed it gently, and then a little magic light appeared between her fingers, and the soil turned into green smoke drifting in the wind in the magic light.

"The potion has worked," the always gloomy expression on Penny's face seemed to soothe a little, and she nodded slightly to the butler, "Half of the farms in the territory need this druid potion to restore the balance of the land, and it must be done before spring." Negotiate with the Cecil Potion Merchants and see what they will pay. ”

"Yes," said the butler, bowing his head, and then could not help but add, "Mistress, you do not have to leave the castle, and you do not have to come to this filthy country for all the rude and ignorant peasants who are likely to offend you. ”

"You've said enough like that," Penny gave the butler a faint look, "just do your own thing." ”

The butler hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to say anything more.

"Duke Gawain Cecil will be visiting in five days," said Penny after a few seconds, breaking the silence, "and start preparing when you get back." ”

"The Duke is going to visit?" The butler was immediately taken aback, but after seeing the calm and indifferent expression on the hostess's face, he immediately swallowed all the questions and nonsense back into his stomach, "I understand, I will arrange the most appropriate greeting." But I don't know why the Duke is here, do I need to arrange anything extra? ”

"It's just an ordinary meeting," Penny said lightly, "the Kant region has finally become the legal fief of the Cecil family. ”

Immanuel Kant...... I understand. ”

A few days later.

A troika with the crest of the Cecil family drove on the road east of Kant's lead, and in front of this carriage was the place where the Gülen family had ruled for generations.

Except for the driver who drove the carriage and the three soldiers in the back of the carriage, there were only two people in the carriage, Gawain and Amber.

"This is really more than the last time I went to Kant, there is no line-up," Amber sat opposite Gawain, and couldn't help but start muttering, "I said, you are more or less a duke, even if you are going to visit a nobleman lower than yourself, you should pay more attention to your pomp, at least two more cars and a few retinues or something......

Gawain glanced at the half-elf girl opposite quite amusedly, he knew the thoughts in this guy's stomach, Amber didn't care if his platoon was enough, she just felt that she had finally been a follower to the duke, but until now she has not enjoyed going out a convoy, eight hundred followers before and after, walking and drumming to open the way, and entering the city to blow the trumpet so it is a little unbalanced, this guy's yearning for a better life can be said to be simple and straightforward to the extreme, as long as the scenery is glorious and rich - there is no spiritual pursuit at all.

If I have to say, her only spiritual pursuit is probably who can organize a pit and abduction tournament in her lifetime, and then she will go up and come back with a championship......

"You're still laughing!" Amber saw Gawain's smiling expression, and immediately glanced at the other party unhappily, "I saw an earl go out and have seven or eight carriages~"

"Carriages like that...... Sooner or later, you're going to be eliminated," Gawain smiled and shook his head, "I'll let you sit in something more sensual than a carriage when the time comes." ”

"Something more sensual than a carriage?" Amber was suddenly curious, "What new gadgets have you come up with?" ”

"Not yet, it's just an idea at the moment, but the timing and technical conditions are not yet ripe," Gawain waved his hand, "Let's continue to talk about the Glenn family compared to this." What else have you investigated, apart from a few suspicions about the accidental death of Viscount Gülen a few years ago? ”

"Then we have to start from earlier, before the accidental death of the previous Viscount Gülen, he had implemented a series of almost unbelievable 'new laws' in his territory, and at that time, not only his territory, but even the nobles in the surrounding territories were affected to a certain extent......"

"New law?" Gawain frowned, "I'll talk about this part carefully. ”

"Oh, then we have to start with the serfs and slaves he liberated all the territory of the territory......"

……

As Duke Cecil's carriage drove towards Glenard, a messenger in a red and blue burqa and carrying a passing flag was riding fast horses along the avenue in the middle of Saint-Sunil.

The flag was a token of the king, no one dared to stop the messenger holding the token, and the pedestrians on the road all panicked and feared to avoid the galloping horse, and the people of the royal capital, who had long been accustomed to a peaceful life, were broken on this day, but at this moment, they did not know what was going to happen next - they just hid on the side of the road, looking in amazement and curiosity in the direction of the messenger all the way, guessing what kind of news this man was carrying.

The messenger ran across King's Street, ran through the arc square in front of the Silver Castle, and then turned over and dismounted in front of the castle, holding the flag high all the way to the king's place.

Just a few minutes later, a piece of information from the western region of the plain of the Holy Spirit reached Francis II.

This urgent news made Francis II quite unhappy, because today was a rare day when Veronica left the cathedral and came to the Silver Castle to join him, which was a very special and precious time for the father of the king and the daughter of the saint, but this good time was disturbed.

Veronica looked at the information that had just been sent, and she showed a reassuring gentle smile and said softly, "Father, government affairs are important. ”

"I know," Francis II sighed, picking up the information on the table, "but I don't want to hear anything about the 'unexpected' at all...... Those greedy nobles will never be fed, they will not think about this kingdom at all, but will only make trouble for me. ”

Veronica smiled lightly: "Maybe this is not news about the nobility?" ”

Francis II barely smiled and unwrapped the information.

Over the next half minute, the smile on his face faded.

Veronica noticed the change in her father's expression: "Father, this is ......"

"See for yourself," Francis II handed the secret letter to his daughter, "and this is something you can see—for it will probably soon reach the Basilica of the Light." ”

Veronica frowned and took the letter curiously, and the contents on it jumped into view:

“…… The contradiction between the believers of the Holy Light and the followers of the Blood God in the Plains of the Holy Spirit is becoming more and more serious...... On the XX day of the XX month, armed clashes broke out between the two believers in the Boulder City, and the radical Blood God cultists smashed the idol in front of the Holy Light Church...... The next day, the Cult of Light retaliated and the Church of the Blood God was burned down.

"Lord......" Veronica sighed in amazement and sorrow, and drew the emblem of the Holy Light on her chest with her hand, "even if you have to defend your faith, why do you need to do this? ”

Francis II glanced at his daughter, shook his head and said, "Keep looking." ”

Veronica looked at the second half of MeSign and couldn't help but gasp:

“…… The Regional Bishop of the Blood God Sect led the followers to fight back, and was severely injured by a dark arrow on the way to the Church of Light, and broke out as he was dying...... Mutated into a flesh-and-blood monster with a large number of witnesses at the scene......

"The Lord of Boulder City and the Bishop of the Holy Light Church region work together to kill monsters...... Later, a search was launched on the Church of the Blood God, and a secret room was found under the church, and a large number of traces of bloody sacrifices were found...... There are also emblems of the end of all things and notes that record all kinds of blasphemous knowledge and evil speeches......

“…… All Blood God churches in Boulder City have been sealed off...... Half of the believers have been expelled from ......"

"Is it true that a person at the level of a bishop in a region is a believer in the Church of the End......" Veronica muttered to herself with an incredulous expression, "they have infiltrated this ......"

"So you should understand, my daughter," said Francis II with a very bad face, "and understand why I have been saying that Ansu is not ready for war with Typhon at all...... Especially this year. ”

Veronica was silent for a moment, then returned the letter in her hand to the old king: "Father, what are you going to do with this matter?" ”

"It has always been the rule that the royal power does not interfere with the divine right, and the divine right does not interfere with the royal power, but now that there is blood being shed for this, the king must do something," said Francis II in a low voice, "We have been searching for the whereabouts of those cultists, and even beginning to investigate every nobleman, and to investigate the transcendents registered by the royal family, but we have neglected the Holy See...... The Holy See, which was thought to be the least likely to be corrupted by cultists, is also becoming a breeding ground for evil. ”

Francis II clenched his fists and couldn't help but knock on the table: "Veronica, the church must be checked, but ...... I can't let this further affect the stability of the kingdom. ”

"Father, I can guarantee the cooperation of the Holy Light Church, any sane follower of the Holy Light will understand this - it is good for everyone to find out the cultists who are hiding around her," Veronica said with a solemn expression, the power of the Holy Light stirred around her, rippling a halo of holiness, "I believe that the other sects will also actively cooperate after learning about what happened in Boulder City...... No one wants a cultist to lurk in their home. ”