April 12, Hollier.

After a harsh winter, the Duke of Angmar's condition was finally relieved. The old man, who could only wrap himself in a blanket in front of the fireplace, was finally able to go outside and breathe in the so-called "revival of all things".

But for the old man, this may be the last time he feels spring.

The news of Roddy's "total annihilation" was still widely circulated in the territory, but the Duke of Angmar was well aware that after the New Year, the soldiers who had gone to dig at the foot of the mountain quietly sent back the news: under the avalanche, there were no corpses at all.

Then came a secret message from the Sentry of Sora: Roddy's troops were intact, they had participated in the battle against the orcs, and had traveled to Elson to fight to the death against the forces of the undead Belom.

This should have been an exciting thing, but for the next three months, the Duke of Angmar did not receive any news about Roddy, as if he had disappeared from the world.

Don't... He didn't beat Belom after all?

Information about Belom has gradually been collected and made public: "Frost Baron", one of Augustine's most belligerent and powerful death knights, is almost a terrifying character for the kingdom of Cullen, and Roddy...

"Sir, the tax statistics have been completed. ”

The voice of John's butler interrupted the Duke's thoughts, and the afternoon sun shone on the back garden of the Duke's Palace, and the neatly manicured plants and flowers were pleasing to the eye, but the Duke of Angmar had no intention of observing, he just stared into the distance, and said with his hands behind his back: "So fast? I'm afraid the harvest is the worst in years, right?"

This kind of questioning made John hesitate, he wanted to say yes, but he didn't dare... I want to say no, but Angmar guessed correctly: this spring's tax situation is extremely unoptimistic, even half of the level of previous years.

Since the duke's sudden decision to support the border forces last year, the territory's otherwise reasonable financial revenue has immediately fallen into a state of tension. War has always burned money, and even if it is only in the "preparative" stage, the manpower and material resources it consumes are far beyond imagination - if this continues, let alone continue to support the border, I am afraid that if it continues, the Duke's Palace will soon be unable to function normally!

"This year's taxes, probably... Only 50% in previous years. ”

Steward John told the truth, this kind of thing can't be hidden. However, when the words fell, he found that the duke did not show any expression, but nodded slowly, was silent for a moment, and asked, "There are robbing bandits again?"

"Yes, but the Wellington knight reported that he had gone to encircle and suppress him, and the reply from the knight of Titus had not yet arrived. ”

This is the second thing that makes the Duke depressed... The lack of tax revenue, and the fact that some villages were always looted by bandits, made the financial situation worse, and he had to supply several knights at the same time to suppress the bandits, which was a huge cost for the duke.

He rubbed his eyebrows and asked, "No news from Sentry Sola yet?"

Seeing John shake his head, he sighed, a little interested, waved his hand and said, "Say something else, there is no good news?"

"There is one," Steward John thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "Captain Roddy had made a plan for the trade of the Wood Elf Village before leaving, and now the first batch of fruit wine has been sold at sky-high prices in various cities in the territory, and the sales are amazing, and the profit from this... Higher than all previous wines. ”

In such an era, "wine" was basically monopolized by the aristocracy, and the cheap ale in the tavern was no better than horse urine in the eyes of the aristocracy, and the really expensive fruit wine was impossible for the common people to sell - monopoly led to huge profits, and the wine of the wood elves was not surprisingly profitable, and it earned unimaginable returns in two months as soon as it was sold.

"If this supply chain can be done well, its profits can even fill the tax gap, but..." Steward John glanced at Duke Angmar, and said something, but everyone knows: Roddy has not heard from him for three months, and I am afraid that he has already encountered an accident, and if the so-called "profit sharing" is taken away by the duke, no one will stand up against it at all.

"I can hold on to what should be left for him. ”

Angmar waved her hand, not in the slightest bit unmoved.

"Yes, sir. John bowed his head, but then added with some concern: "Those nobles seem to be tracking down the source of the wine, and I think it won't be long before someone notices the wood elves." ”

"Inform Wellington that anyone who dares to do anything to the wood elves will be killed. ”

Duke Angmar squinted his eyes slightly, and waved his hand murderously, "Go down, let me be quiet." ”

He exhaled and instead pulled out the letter that Bishop Rubens had written to him three months earlier... Looking down at the words on it, the old father's eyebrows were full of worry-

"Exterminate the infidels... Sally, don't do anything stupid. ”

The warm wind blew in through the window, the delicate curtain floated slightly, and the flower-scented air brushed Camila's face, and after an unconscious deep breath, she slowly opened her eyes.

It was Camilla's most restful sleep in a long time, with no nightmares, no palpitations, no physical discomfort, but a kind of refreshment after recovering her energy.

But... Where are you?

Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly, and Camilla looked at the wooden ceiling full of hollow carvings in front of her, and the silent memory in her mind was suddenly stirred.

Walls... Spar... Flee...

The scenes flashed quickly, and Camilla suddenly recalled the last fragment of her memory: at the moment when she wanted to cross the city wall but was hit hard, countless huge runes flashed out of thin air in the sky!

What's that?

Camilla sat up suddenly, and found that she was still wearing the red robe that Roddy had given her—and when she looked to her left and right, she realized that this was the bedroom where she had changed her clothes.

How did I get back?

The memory after the coma is completely blank, and no matter how Camila recalls, her mind is always in chaos... She clenched her fingers slightly, feeling the powerful arcane power of her fingertips, exhaled slightly, and then prepared to flee from here again.

Getting up and walking to the window, she closed her eyes slightly.

The feeling of seeing everything came back to me, and everything around me came to mind: the soldiers patrolling not far away, Sodrol reading a map in another mansion, Akasha flipping through books in the room on the second floor, but...

What about Roddy?

"Knock knock. ”

The sudden knock on the wooden door startled Camilla. Instinctively, she raised her hand to condense the elementals, ready to attack - but when the wooden door slowly pushed open and Roddy's figure appeared in her field of vision, the elements between Camilla's palms trembled suddenly, and then "crackled" and disappeared without a trace...

Her lips pursed, but she still couldn't attack Roddy ruthlessly.

Roddy noticed this, and somehow felt a little warm in his heart, but the two were still on opposite sides at this time, so he had to maintain an indifferent expression, pushed the door into the room with a very aggressive attitude, looked up at the elegant and exquisite tall elf wooden chair, and sat down straight.

"Do you have time to talk about it now?"

Camilla didn't move, even if she felt indebted, it didn't mean that she would give in. Camila has the same strength in her bones, so she didn't lose half of her momentum, looked down at Roddy, frowned, and said, "I have my reasons for doing these things, there's nothing to talk about." ”

She is uncompromising.

Roddy just looked at her, Camilla's expression was so similar to the Nefi in his memory, it invisibly touched the few emotional thoughts hidden in his heart... However, such emotions were quickly suppressed, and he knew very well that he was not here to reason with human feelings.

Tapping his fingers on the armrest regularly, he spoke slowly, "You should be aware of it, and now you can feel everything about the city, and have a power that you have never experienced before—right?"

As soon as he opened his mouth, he grasped the initiative of the conversation, and Camila secretly had some bad premonitions in her heart, but immediately shook her head and said: "Khadgar left something at the top of the tower that should have been given to you, but I got it by coincidence, so it's not uncommon for me to become stronger, speaking of... I should have said sorry to you. ”

said she was sorry, but Camilla diverted the topic in disguise.

But Roddy didn't eat this at all, he leaned forward slightly, narrowed his eyes and said, "Do you know what Turing was before he got out of control? ”

"It controls all of the city's defenses, and its power is with the city. ”

"And now... It's gone, and Elson's defenses have lost their guardians - I don't know exactly why, but I have reason to believe that you... has become a second Turing!"

The second Turing.

Camila's heart skipped half a beat in an instant, and she took a step back uncontrollably, but her heart was numb, and she retorted weakly: "Impossible... You're talking nonsense!"

Roddy shook his head and stood up, but this time he looked down at Camilla, who was already a little distracted, and whispered, "Why didn't I stop you at the city walls?

"The Guardian will be imprisoned in this city forever, do you understand?"

Although these words were cruel, in order to make Camilla understand the situation, Roddy still said it word by word-

"You, Camilla, can't get out of here anymore!"

"Your mission is no longer possible! For those behind you, you've lost the last usefulness, you know?"

These words were like a bucket of ice water, pouring Camila on her heart.

Her lips were pursed, she wanted to speak but couldn't, and there were countless elements condensed in her clenched hands—thinking of what happened to Pachar's Magic Tower, Camilla had to admit...

Nine times out of ten, Roddy's words are true!

If she is really imprisoned here, the mission of the Holy Congregation can no longer be completed, so what will Nephie do?

Camila couldn't think about it anymore, and the cruel reality that Roddy spoke out of made her completely unable to calm down - Nephie was all the motivation for her life, and if she could, she would rather trade her life for Nefi's chance to live!

She took a deep breath, resisted the panic and helplessness in her heart, and said in a trembling voice, "What evidence do you have to prove all this?"

Roddy didn't answer her immediately, but sighed and sat back in his chair, while whispering to Camilla, "Sit down." ”

Is he commanding himself? Is he crazy?

As soon as such a thought popped into her mind, Camila found herself sitting uncontrollably on the bed behind her...

"How... It's—"

She was so frightened that she wanted to get up, but she found that her body was a little uncontrollable!

"I'm the lord of Elson City, according to Khadgar's original design for the circle... I have absolute control over the 'center' of the 'defense system'. ”

He sighed again, but his voice was calm, "So—if I want to keep you, just say a word." ”

Camila wanted to ask something, but then she was stunned by Roddy's seemingly bland words, and she couldn't speak for a long time.