As night fell, the lights of the city of Saint-Sunil lit up again and again.

This ancient city, which had experienced the danger of destruction, was remarkably quiet in the night, and after many days, it finally ushered in a night without shouts and explosions, and Saint Sunil was like a scarred beast, licking its wounds in this rare quiet night.

The city was much less lit than Cecil, and the bright magic crystal lights were mostly kept in the castle and inner city areas, and beyond that, the streets were lit up by not-so-bright candles and faint flickering braziers, but the lack of bright light created a sense of peace and tranquility in the night.

Victoria stood in front of the window, looking out into the distance, before turning around: "When do you plan to have your coronation?" Or rather...... What else was used to announce the founding of the Empire? ”

"Tomorrow, the news of the establishment of the empire will be sent to the whole territory to stabilize the situation in various places, as for the so-called coronation......" Gawain shook his head, "Don't worry about it yet, let's wait until we solve the biggest crisis." ”

"Do you mean the remnants of the Crystal Cluster Monsters in the southeast of the Holy Spirit Plains?" Victoria blinked, "A large number of their main forces have been dealt a heavy blow, and they don't seem to be able to launch another general attack...... What else are you referring to? ”

Gawain nodded, here, at this moment, he felt that he could let the two guardian dukes know about the existence of that "time bomb".

"I suspect that the end of all things activates an ancient god legacy, and that those crystalline monsters went into a frenzy because of the sudden loss of control of this ancient legacy. I have relatively conclusive evidence that this divine heritage is 'alive' and that it lies deep in the eastern part of the Plains of the Holy Spirit...... Near the eastern borders. Now my legion is trying to gather information on the relevant area, but so far it has not been able to find a clue. Its energy response is increasing day by day, and it is only a matter of time before it erupts...... And it won't be for long. ”

Victoria and Bai Dewen subconsciously glanced at each other, and both saw the consternation in each other's eyes.

The catastrophe...... This disaster, which has already destroyed Ansu, is even more dangerous?!

"I know what you're trying to say - the soldiers have done their best to save St. Sunil in the midst of the disaster, and they have sacrificed so much to stop the first wave of this disaster, and now they suddenly know that it is far from over, and there is even a bigger crisis, which is certainly not acceptable, but fate never caters to our ability to accept it," Gawain said before the two guardian dukes could speak, "We are about to face a challenge that may affect the fate of humanity - and this is not just the crisis that the death of all things will create, This also includes the situation for a long time to come.

"The shadows of the Gondor wasteland are stirring, the harbingers of the demon tide have loomed, the figure of the dragon has appeared in the world, and two of the three dark sects are still active in the shadows......

"Our neighbor, Typhon, has risen and is a great threat. In the future, in order to survive, to survive disasters, to survive competition, we must also rise, and we must become the most powerful one......

"I can confess to you here that building an empire is not the best plan for reform, it will leave many hidden dangers and remnants of reform, and I can still think of more radical ways of change and a more advanced social system, but time is too late, we have no time to choose the best, we can only choose the most suitable for the time being.

"We have to survive – I'm ready, and I hope you'll be ready."

Faced with Gawain's sudden words, the two guardian dukes fell into a brief silence.

It wasn't the first time they'd heard similar words from Gawain, as he had warned about the tide of demons in the early days of the Founding Hero's resurrection, and he had drawn attention to the crisis in every way - but at the time, no one took these warnings seriously.

Today, no one thinks these things are alarmist.

"We need to restart the study of the Tides and the Wasteland, and the old libraries and archives," said Whitevine, "and it's time to wake up from our numbness—we've slept too long compared to the world." ”

"The crisis of the Death Society is a matter of urgency," Victoria said, "but now the Kingdom Army and the Northern and Western Legions have little strength to fight, relying on the words of the Cecil Legion...... Can you solve the crisis you mentioned? ”

"I've made arrangements, there won't be too many surprises," Gawain said, "what I need you to do is to maintain stability, no matter what method is used, until the dust settles, the western part of the plains and St. Sunil must not be in chaos—this year is more than halfway over, and the next harvest month will be the key to whether we can survive this winter, we have lost half of our grain production area, we have lost a lot of grain reserves, if there are bandits and mass displacement in the western part of the plains...... Even if the Cecil Legion solves the cult crisis, we will still face a winter crisis. ”

The two guardian dukes nodded solemnly, and Gawain then looked at Victoria: "How many reserve troops are there in the north?" ”

"The mountain legion has been badly damaged, even if you count the reserves who stayed in the north and did not enter the battle, there are only four or five thousand people left, and if you add the conscripts, private soldiers, and mercenaries from all over the country, there are about 10,000 to 15,000 people."

"Have you gotten rid of the army guarding the border?"

"Removed—the corps of the northern nations will not be transferred out of the north under any circumstances."

"More than 10,000 people...... Not enough, but not too much," Gawain sighed, "You send reliable men to the east, from the hills north of Fort Solin, where Cecil's legions have forged a safe passage - to take over the Eastern Stronghold of the Wind and guard against Typhon before the end of summer." In addition, I will also send my Second Army Corps near the border to defend together. The reorganization and modernization of the Mountain Legion is taking place in the East, we have limited time, and every second counts. ”

Victoria nodded lightly, "I understand." ”

"The Legion of the Westfrontier will stay on the plain of the Holy Spirit to recuperate and maintain order in the grain-producing areas," Gawain looked at Duke Bodwin again, "The reorganization and modernization of the Legion of the Westfrontier is also going on in the plains. ”

Bai Dewen lowered his head: "This arrangement is very appropriate. ”

Gawain looked at the two of them, and when they talked about the reorganization and modernization of the troops, the expressions on the faces of the two guardian dukes were indifferent.

"I want you to understand that the process of reorganizing and transforming the Legions of the North and the West is a process of reclaiming your military power," Gawain said, "I will replace their chain of command, rebuild their discipline, and they will change from being loyal to you to being loyal to the Cecil Empire - of course, given the stability of the military and your personal abilities, the reorganized legion will still be under your command, but then it will no longer be a private army......"

There are some things he must say more clearly, even if the content of the military reform has been clarified during the previous discussions, and now it is specific to the two guardian dukes, he must emphasize it again, because this issue is both sensitive and important, and limited by the actual situation, he cannot completely deprive the two guardian dukes of the right to command their original corps - on the one hand, because he really can't find a capable person to replace these two dukes, and on the other hand, he has to take into account the stability of the original two corps??。

If it was in peacetime, of course, he would choose a restructuring plan that left no hidden dangers, but now that there are internal and external troubles, the empire has not many available troops, and he must try to avoid a decline in the combat effectiveness of the existing legions, even if it is a temporary decline.

After all, the weakest stage of a country is not before the change, but during the change.

And on the premise of retaining this huge hidden danger, he must ensure that Victoria and Berdwin are reliable and cooperative, at least within the constraints of the rules.

After all, he didn't want to see such a thing as a warlord in his nascent empire.

"Of course we do," Duke Bardwin laughed, "and we'll make sure every family in the North and West understands that." ”

Gawain nodded slightly, and then before the end of today's long conversation, he mentioned one last thing.

"Finally, about the capital of the empire - when the dust settles, the ruling center of this country will be moved to the city of Cecil."

Victoria and Bertwin glanced at each other, but neither of them was too surprised.

"We want to cut off the roots of the old forces more thoroughly, right?" Victoria's expression was indifferent, and she said in a cold voice.

"Not only that, but there are several other factors," Gawain said, "that Saint-Sunil has been badly damaged, and its function as a capital has now ceased to function – the old aristocracy has collapsed, the military power has almost disappeared, and a large number of major transportation arteries have been covered by polluted areas that cannot be restored in a short time, and it is no longer meaningful to continue to regard it as a capital;

"Secondly, the new order of the empire is based on the magic industry, and the high production capacity provided by the magic industry is the key to ensuring the rapid recovery of social functioning, and the foundation of our rise, while the industrial base of Saint-Sunil can be said to be a blank - although there are some new factories, they have all been shut down, and there are several magic nets, but they are not systematic. Cecil City is already a mature industrial center, but also a developed commercial and cultural center, and it is surrounded by a large number of new and functional cities, which are more suitable as the capital of the new empire than Saint-Sunil.

"Finally, Victoria, what you just mentioned, it is necessary to completely cut off the foundation of the old forces."

The various families of Saint-Sunil have been in business for many years, and their genealogy is intertwined, and the network of influence has even penetrated into the gangsters and scoundrels in the streets and alleys, and this intertwined mess will not dissipate in a short time, Gawain has no time to guard a dilapidated ancient city and fight wits and courage with this mess, and moving the capital directly is obviously the most time-saving and labor-saving plan.

"But if the capital is set in the south, will it be too far south geographically?" He thought for a moment and asked his question, "On the one hand, it is far from the population center in the north, and on the other hand, it is too close to the wasteland......

"Proximity to the wasteland is not a problem, for I have already expanded the frontier further south, building a multi-layered progressive line of defense, and one day we will reclaim the land in the southern foothills of the Dark Mountains, and to tell the truth, the southern region itself is more suitable for survival than the north—the land is fertile, the climate is relatively mild, and if it were not deserted, it should have been a better grain producing land than the plains of the Whitsunday, and the north ...... It's too cold.

"On the other hand, if you know about the new means of transportation in the south, you won't have any worries. From the map, Saint-Sunil is located in the center of the intersection of Ansu, which is limited by the situation of the year and the subsequent technological decline, without convenient transportation, the capital can of course only be located in the middle of the territory, but if the transportation problem is solved, the geographical location is not so important. ”

Duke Bai Dewen thought for a moment and nodded slightly: "If this is indeed the case, then I have no worries." ”

As the night deepened, a cool breeze blew through the study, Gao Wen rubbed his eyebrows, and then breathed a long sigh of relief: "The things we discussed today cannot be completed overnight, and in addition to the big frame, the details are still to be discussed, let's stop here today, and rest early......"

"When...... While...... When ......"

A melodious bell with a hint of holiness suddenly came from a distance, interrupting the second half of Gawain's sentence.

It was the bell ringing from the direction of the Cathedral of the Holy Light.

The three people in the room (Hetty had already hung up) looked up at the same time and looked in the direction the bell was coming from.

"The blockade of the Cathedral of the Light has been lifted," said Bardwin, "...... Looks like we'll have to rest for a while. ”

"Let's go and have a look," Gawain said, looking out the window, and couldn't help but think a little divergently, "I wonder how the people in the cathedral will feel after learning about the changes in the outside world......

After the end of the Divine Descent Technique, probably in order to calm the turbulent Holy Light energy, or perhaps the severely depleted Divine Officers needed to recuperate, the Holy Light Cathedral has maintained a lockdown until now, and the lockdown state has not been lifted.

This situation made Gawain can't help but make some interesting associations-

Before the gates were closed, the king of Ansu was still commanding the defense of the city.

After opening the door, let alone the king, Ansu is gone.

I'm afraid the people in the cathedral will be surprised.