The capital of the Ansu king, the city of St. Sunil, the Silver Fort.

In the military hall, several royal nobles and knightly lords sat at a large long table made of heavy oak and gold-trimmed, and the two current regents of Ansu and the titular Prince of Wales sat at the head of the long table—a high-level military meeting was taking place.

The glow of the magic crystal lamp illuminated the slightly dreary atmosphere of the hall, and the metal shield hanging on the north wall of the hall reflected the light of the magic crystal lamp, and also vaguely reflected the backs of the two regents and the prince, in that blurred reflection, the bright red coat of the Prince of Wales was as striking as a blood light.

The man, who had only returned to the position of crown prince in middle age, watched quietly as the nobles spoke, discussed, and argued around the long table, his eyes fluctuated occasionally, but he barely said a word, and he sat there like a person who had nothing to do with the meeting, listening to matters that should theoretically be decided by himself.

An old knight with gray hair propped his hands on the table, he was short in stature, but he was unusually strong, although he was not young, his eyes still burned like a young man's fierce light, he looked at the other knight lords and royal nobles around him, and said in a strong voice: "The battle to retake Solinburg has failed, everyone, we must face up to the fact that although the rebels in the east are few in number, it is we who are at the disadvantage. ”

"The good news is that we have dragged the rebels in the hills around Fort Solin," one nobleman began, "and we have our backs to the plains of the Whitsunday, which is wider and more numerous, and it is in our interest to fight for a long time." ”

The old knight couldn't help but knock on the table: "Don't be too optimistic, Count Balin, the premise of a protracted war is that we can really maintain this situation for a long time - the Loren family has been confronting the Typhons for many years, their soldiers are more tenacious and able to withstand pressure, and the morale of our army is declining every day, if we can't achieve any more results, even if there is enough food and soldiers, the first thing that can't hold on can only be our ......"

Duchess Victoria, who was sitting at the head of the long table, suddenly interrupted the old knight's words: "Cromwell, don't get excited. ”

Wales? Moen glanced sideways at the Duke Regent beside him, then withdrew his gaze and looked at Cromwell across the table? White Mountain - He knew this knight lord who looked old, the special surname "White Mountain" was not common in Ansu, but it was a typical dwarven surname, it was because of Cromwell? The ancestor of Baishan was indeed a dwarf: in the exploration journey seven hundred years ago, it was not only the elves who fought side by side with humans, but some dwarves also became the builders of the human kingdom in the process of the great exploration, and some of them eventually chose to integrate into human society, and even became a member of the Ansu nobles, Cromwell? This is where the family of Hakuyama came from.

Perhaps influenced by his ancestral lineage, the knight lord's temperament was too upright among many nobles who valued elegance and etiquette, but Wales? Moen knew that Cromwell was telling the truth, but ...... Now that the Duchess Victoria had spoken, he did not have to speak again.

"I'm sorry, Archduchess, but we have to admit it," Cromwell? Although Bai Shan apologized, his words were still full of momentum, "The rebellion in the East is not as easy to deal with as we thought, we did not drive them out of the Holy Spirit Plains before the end of the Fire Moon, they have already taken root in Solinburg - the harvest moon has arrived, and the rebels will feed themselves with the grain we have grown for half a year." Archduchess Wilder, Duke of Franklin, and His Royal Highness, I am willing to go out with the Knights to help the Count of Thorin retake the fortress, and we cannot allow the rebels to spend the harvest in the Plains of the Holy Spirit......"

"I've never thought the rebels in the East were easy to deal with," Victoria? Wilde said lightly, "But the knights of the royal capital can't move, Count Crowell, our rear is not safe. ”

The old knight glared, and the other knight lords and martial arts nobles next to him exchanged glances with each other and talked in low voices.

Sitting in Wales? Bodwen on Moen's right? Duke Franklin stood up at this moment: "Let me tell you, the news has just reached St. Sunil - the Rock Fortress has fallen. ”

The entire military hall fell silent in an instant.

What the Duke of the West said was very clear, and there was no ambiguity in the short sentence, but perhaps the amount of information in this sentence was too amazing, or perhaps the news was too much beyond everyone's expectations, and every nobleman who heard this sentence did not react, and finally the Earl of Bahrain, who was sitting next to Cromwell, was the first to speak and break the silence: "Your Excellency, you mean the one in the southern part of the Holy Spirit Plain...... Rock Fortress? ”

"Does Ansu have a second Rock Fortress?" Bodewen? Franklin glanced at the slightly chubby Earl of Bahrain and said.

A royal nobleman couldn't help but muttered to himself in astonishment: "It's so far from the eastern border, and there are mountains in the south of the Holy Spirit Plain in between, how can the rebels ...... there?"

Perhaps the rebellion in the East had taken over the nobleman's thoughts, or perhaps the thought that "the many country lords in the South were not worth mentioning" was still entrenched in his mind, and the gentleman thought that the rebels from the East had somehow invaded the South and attacked the Rock Fortress, without even thinking that there was another sleeping beast in the vast and remote land of the South.

But the others had already reacted, and Cromwell, who was the first to read a glimmer of information from the gloomy and serious expressions of the two Grand Regents after a brief moment of astonishment, asked incredulously, "Yes...... Cecil? ”

"That's right, it's not the rebels from the East, it's the Cecil family," Badwin? Franklin said calmly, "Founding Grand Duke Gawain? Fifteen days earlier, on the 58th of the month of Fire, Cecil had destroyed the defenses of the Rock Fortress, captured it, and seized all the soldiers and civilians in the fortress. ”

Cromwell? White Mountain's beard trembled, and he seemed to want to speak, but Victoria? Archduchess Wilder followed the Duke of Franklin and spoke, "I know what you want to ask - but all information has been interrupted at the moment. Cecil's army breached the fortress in a very short time, reportedly in a matter of days, and then they sealed off the entire fortress, leaving the defenders without having time to send any useful information.

"Only two griffon messengers who braved their lives to break through sent the situation on the day of the fall of the fortress to the royal capital, and the information that can be obtained now is, Gawain? Duke Cecil created a large number of extraordinary weapons of incredible power in some unknown way, and built up an extremely powerful army in a short period of time......

"The knight lord of the fortress, Maryland? Onal's fate is unknown, and before the fall of the fortress, Sir Maryland led the last of the knights out of the city to meet it, but the fortress's barrier was destroyed by the magic of the Cecil.

"The Count of Pompeii has also sent a magical message, confirming the news of the fall of the fortress."

Wait until the Duchess of Victoria has finished all this known information, Cromwell? Bai Shan finally found a chance to speak, and the knight lord with a part of the dwarven blood frowned: "Cecil...... Is the Cecil family the same as the East......"

"At present, Cecil's army has not continued to move north, and after occupying the Rock Fortress, they closed the northern gate of the fortress, and seemed to intend to hold on," Franklin? "According to the information from the Count of Pompeii, they did not even bother with the granaries and manors that were readily available outside the northern walls of the fortress, nor did they plunder any of the undefended border villages. ”

It was obviously a very abnormal situation to occupy the fortress but not loot the villages and manors around the fortress, and the nobles on the scene couldn't help but talk in a low voice, Cromwell? Seeing this, Bai Shan couldn't help coughing: "Ahem, they haven't gone north now, it doesn't mean that they will never go north." ”

"That's exactly what we're worried about," said Bertwin? Franklin said, "The Cecil family...... Their current head of the house is Gawain? Cecil. ”

The nobles at the scene fell silent again, they exchanged glances, and at the same time, they finally remembered the urgent letters sent by Sir Maryland, who guarded the fortress, long before the fall of Rock Fortress—

More than forty families in the south joined forces to conquer Cecil, which was quickly swept away......

This astonishing news also caused waves among them and caused another military meeting, but no one expected the Cecil family to move so quickly, let alone the fall of Rock Fortress.

They also thought that it would take more than a year to say anything before the situation in the south developed to the point where they had to face it squarely.

Wales that has never spoken? Moen sighed softly.

He remembered the warning Veronica had given him not long ago, and he remembered that when Veronica had warned himself, Gawain? Cecil was unleashing a beast, but now it seemed ...... The nobles of the royal capital may have lost their last chance to put the beast back in its cage.

"We used to think that there was only a civil war of lords in the South, and that it was the lords outside of the Cecil family who took the initiative to start the war, but now it seems that everything that happens in the South is under the control of our founding hero—he has been planning for a long time," Badwin? "Now that the fall of Rock Fortress has become a fact," said the Duke of Franklin, "no matter how Cecil's army managed to capture a fortress in such a short time, they have already taken it and are ready to defend it. Earl Cromwell, do you think we have what it takes to take the fortress back? ”

Cromwell? Bai Shan shook his head almost without thinking and said, "It's impossible—unless we withdraw at least half of the army east of the Holy Spirit Plains, and even if we withdraw half of the army, we won't necessarily be able to knock down the Rock Fortress. Maryland? I know Sir Onar, he is a very powerful knight lord, and his army is no worse than the knights of the royal capital, and even he is not Gawain? The opponent of the Duke of Cecil, the strength of the Cecil people can be imagined. ”

After saying that, the old knight lord shook his head: "What I am most curious about now is how the founding hero built such an army...... Less than two years, less than two years! He could have knocked down the Rock Fortress? ”

"Every ancient family has hidden secrets, not to mention that this ancient family has an ancestor who has risen from the dead," said Bai Dewen. Franklin said in a joking tone, "Maybe seven hundred years ago, Gawain? Duke Cecil planted an undead army of the Gondor era in the mountains of the South? ”

Cromwell? Bai Shan shook his head and said in a rough voice: "This is not funny at all......

"Ladies and gentlemen, now think of what to do," said Bertwin? Franklin restrained his smile and tapped his finger lightly on the table, "I'm afraid this is no less dangerous than the Eastern Rebellion - the Ancestor is above, and this time the Ancestor is really here." ”