The main city of chaos is not like other villages and towns attached to the city of chaos. Its proud banner flutters high www.biquge.info the top of the central hill of the tundra between the three lakes south of the Dwarven Valley. Not a single boat on the lake bears its flag, nor does it have a pier on any of the lakes, but it is indisputably the geographical center of the region and the center of all kinds of activities.

It was the residence of the main caravans from afar, the dwarves who came to trade, and the majority of the artisans, handicraft makers, and appraisers.

The main city of Chaos is not as good as the other towns in terms of catch. On the south shore of the glacier lake, the Xiling Alliance and Dongling Town, as well as the salt mountains and redstone on the west shore of the lake, are the overlords on the lake. High walls surround the main city of Chaos, keeping out the cold winds as well as the invasion of demons and barbarians.

The buildings inside are similar to those of other villages and towns in the area: low wooden buildings. It's just that the houses in the main city of Mayhem are close together, and there are usually several families crammed into the same small room. Although it was crowded, there was a certain level of comfort and safety in the city, the largest civilization in the uninhabited four hundred miles.

As Buzz walked through the iron-rimmed wooden door of the north wall, he always enjoyed the sound and smell of welcoming him. Although the city was much smaller than the big cities in the south, the noise of the public market in the chaotic main city and the clusters of vendors in the streets reminded him of his days spent in the city by the sea. And just like in the seaside city, every race in the Forgotten Realm seems to have sent a representative to the main city of Chaos.

Tall, dark-skinned desert races, white-skinned travelers from northern tundra, bragging swarthy southerners, and sturdy alpine dwellers exchange legends of love or war in the taverns on every street corner.

Buzz couldn't quite tell what race they belonged to, but he could probably tell what area they were living in, it was his instinct, and although he wasn't a knowledgeable and wise man, he still had a sensitive and cunning sense of perception, which was a thief's gift.

Buzz worked hard to gather intel in the tavern and take all the conversations as they were, because the noises were the same except for the location. If he closes his eyes as he walks briskly through the narrow streets, he seems to have regained the taste of life he had tasted in the seaside city all those years ago.

Now, however, his task is too serious for him to be happy. He was frightened by Mu Qingyang's bad news, and he was quite uneasy about being the messenger who passed the news to the council.

Bass left the noisy market area and passed in front of the house of Balzac, the spokesman of the main city of chaos. It is the largest and most extravagant house in the City of Chaos, with many pillars on the front and reliefs on all four walls. It was supposed to be built for the Parliament, but when the speakers' interest in holding the meeting faded, Balzac, who was skilled in diplomacy and soft-witted, took over the place as his official residence.

The council chamber was moved to an empty warehouse in a far corner of the city. Several speakers have complained about the change, but while these fishing villages can often exert influence on the main city in public affairs, they do not receive much support for issues that are not important to most people.

Balzac knew his city's position well and knew how to control most of the other towns.

The militia of the main city of chaos was strong enough to defeat the coalition of five of the nine towns, and Balzac's officials monopolized the links with the necessary markets in the south.

Other speakers may have had a problem with changing the venue, but their dependence on the main city kept them from taking any action against Balzac.

Buzz was the last to enter the little chamber. He looked at the other nine people who were already sitting at the table, and realized how unfit he was for the position.

He was chosen as the speaker only because no one else in the town of Three Lakes wanted to attend the meeting, but the other speakers earned their seats by their heroic deeds. They are the leaders of their own villages and towns, and they organize their own construction and defense. Each speaker had fought at least twenty battles, as demons and barbarians had attacked the City of Chaos for more days than there were sunny days here.

There is a very simple rule of survival in the Forgotten Valley, which is that if you don't fight, you can't survive. And the speakers in the council are some of the most seasoned warriors in the entire city of chaos.

But Bass never felt oppressed by the speakers, because he usually didn't speak in meetings.

The town of Three Lakes is isolated in a small, dense fir forest and has nothing to ask for from others. Due to the size of their fishing fleet, it is not required of the other three towns on the frozen lake.

Bass never spoke unless he was forced to do so, and every time he voted, he was careful to follow in the footsteps of the majority. If the meeting was divided on an issue, he would have listened to Balzac.

In the City of Chaos, there will be no major problems with the main city of Chaos.

On this day, however, Bath found himself in a bit of trouble in Parliament. The bad news he brings will expose him to the tactics of bullying the weak and the angry revenge.

He focused his attention on two of his most powerful speakers, Balzac and Zandon, who were chattering at the front of the rectangular conference table.

Zandong looked like a sturdy pioneer; Although it is not very tall, its chest is strong, and the muscles in its arms are tangled, and at the same time, it has a murderous aura that would be feared by friends and foes.

Balzac, on the other hand, didn't look much like a warrior. He had a small skeleton, well-trimmed gray hair, and cheeks without a trace of stubble. His large, bright blue eyes always give the feeling of contentment in his heart. But anyone who ever saw the Spokesperson of the Chaos City raise his sword in battle or lead his troops in a charge would not doubt his martial prowess or courage.

Buzz really liked this guy, but he was also careful not to let himself be taken advantage of. Balzac was known for sacrificing others for his own sake.

"The meeting begins," Balzac declared, knocking it on the table with the deliberative air. The chairman of the meeting had always started the meeting with a ritual, and he would read out the planned proposal to add to the aura of importance of the meeting, which impressed some of the thugs who occasionally came to the meeting on behalf of a distant town.

But now, due to the deterioration of the functioning of the Parliament, the procedural ceremonies are used only to delay the end of the meeting, to the regret of all 10 speakers. As a result, more procedural ceremonies were cut with each rally, and some people had mentioned that they should be cut out entirely. When the whole list was finished, Balzac moved on to the important topics.

"The first thing on the agenda," he said, glancing at the record in front of him, "was about the territorial dispute between Salt Mountain, a sister town on the lake, and Redstone." I saw that Tutu had already brought the documents that he had said he had agreed to bring at the last meeting, so I gave him the floor to speak. Tutu, I have the floor. ”

Tutu was a scrawny, dark-skinned man whose eyes had been looking around uneasily, and he almost jumped out of his chair when the chairman mentioned him. "It's in my hands now," he shouted, holding the old parchment in his raised hand, "the original agreement between Salt Mountain and Redstone, signed by the leaders of both sides," he pointed his accusatory finger at Redstone's spokesman, "including your signature, Jadges!" ”

"It was signed in a spirit of goodwill when we were friendly with each other," Jadges retorted, a younger, blonde man whose childish face often led people to think he was naïve.

"Open the parchment, Speaker Tutu, and let everyone in the council take a look. They will see that there is no provision for the Eastern Exile at all. He glanced around at the other speakers. The Eastern Exile was not even a small village when the Entente stipulated that the lake should be divided in half," he explained, and not for the first time. "They didn't even have a fishing boat."

"Speakers," Tutu shouted, waking up some of the people who were already dozing off.

The same quarrel took up the time of the first four meetings, but neither side had the upper hand in the slightest. With the exception of the speakers of the Two Towns and the Eastern Exile, the topic was neither important nor interesting to anyone else.

"We certainly can't blame Salt Mountain for the rise of the Eastern Exiles," Tutu defended. "Who could have foreseen the emergence of the Eastern Road?" He asked, referring to the straight, smooth road that had been built in the Eastern Exile to the main city of Chaos. It is well designed and a great gift to the small villages and towns in the southeast corner of the lake. Its combination of distant communities and easy access to the main city of Chaos makes it the fastest growing place in the city of Chaos, with the fishing fleet swelling to the point of being on par with redstone.

"Who would have thought?" Jajes retorted, a hint of panic now on his calm face. "It is clear that the growth of the Eastern Exile forced Redstone to compete harshly with them in the southern waters of the lake, while the ships of Salt Mountain sailed freely in the northern half of the lake. But Shioyama coldly refused to renegotiate the conditions to compensate for this imbalance! We can't prosper under these conditions! ”

Bass knew he had to act before Brandt's argument with Tutu got out of hand. The first two meetings had dragged on until now because of their disputes, and Bass could not let them dissolve before telling them that the barbarians were about to invade. He hesitated, he had to admit to himself once again that there was no other choice, and that he could not retreat from this urgent task; If he doesn't say anything, his shelter will be destroyed.

Even though Mu Qingyang assured him of the power he had, he still doubted that the gem really had magic. But due to his own insecurities, Buzz found himself blindly trusting Mu Qingyang's judgment.

Mu Qingyang was the most knowledgeable of the people he knew, and he had more experience than Bass could tell legendary stories. Now it's time to act, and the dwarf is determined to try Mu Qingyang's plan.

He grabbed the small gavel on the table in front of him. He felt very unfamiliar, it was the first time he had used this thing. He knocked lightly on the wooden table, but the others were watching intently at the mutual shouting between Tutu and Brandt. Buzz reminded himself again that Mu Qingyang's news was important, and then knocked it down with a hammer.

The other speakers all turned to the gnome with blank expressions on their faces. Bass rarely spoke in meetings unless cornered by a straightforward question. Balzac of the chaotic main city knocked down his heavy gavel.

"Now the meeting has shifted to... Belch... A statement was made by the representative of the town of Three Lakes. He said that from his pitched pitch, Bass guessed that he was struggling to take the gnome's request to speak seriously.

"Speakers," Bass began tentatively, his voice sharpened with fear. "While I respect the importance of the debate between the Redstone and Salt Mountain speakers, I'm sure we have more pressing issues to discuss."

Jajes and Tutu turned blue from being interrupted, but the others looked at the gnome curiously. It's a good start, Bass thought, and I've caught everyone's attention. He cleared his throat, trying to stabilize his voice and make it more impressive. "I have no doubt that the barbarian tribes are going to unite in an attack on the City of Chaos!"

While he tried to make the announcement sound more dramatic, Bass found himself confronted by an apathetic and confused crowd.

"Unless we form an alliance," continued Bass in an anxious tone, "that group will break down our towns and kill anyone who dares to resist them!" ”

"Indeed, the Bass spokesperson of Three Lakes." Balzac said in a deliberately calm, but in fact mocking Bass voice. "We've been attacked by barbarians before. There is no need to ...... here."

"This time is different!" Bas shouted. "All the tribes are united. Previous raids were a clan against a city, and usually we handled it well. But how could the West Ridge Alliance or the Salt Mountain, or even the Chaos Main City, be able to confront the combined forces of all the barbarians in the Forgotten Valley? Some of the speakers leaned back in their chairs to ponder what the gnomes had said; The rest began to whisper in private, some worried, others angry and unbelieving.

Finally Balzac struck the gavel again and silenced the chamber. Then, Zandong of Dongling Town slowly stood up from his chair with his familiar bluff. "May I speak, friendly Balzac?" He asked with unnecessary politeness.

"Maybe I can give you a more appropriate look at this big announcement."

Both Bas and Mu Qingyang made some assumptions when planning the gnomes' actions in the council. They knew that the Eastern Exiles, whose foundations had been laid and prospered under the principle of mutual assistance in the City of Chaos, would openly support the idea of fighting together against the barbarians. Similarly, the most vulnerable and plundered cities in the City of Chaos, the Westridge Alliance and Three Lakes will gladly accept any help they may have.

But if Zandong of Eastridge refuses to accept this plan, even Denton, the spokesman of the Westridge Alliance, who can benefit the most from such an alliance, will avoid the matter and remain silent.

Dongling is the largest and strongest of the nine fishing villages, and its fleet is a full double the size of the second-largest Xiling League.

"Members of the Council," Zandon began, leaning forward to make him look bigger in the eyes of the others.

"Let's know more details about the story told by the gnomes before we get worried. We've fought off barbarian invaders too many times to be confident that even our smallest towns are well defended. ”

As Zandon continued his argument to destroy the gnome's credibility, Buzz felt himself nervous.

Mu Qingyang had long decided that Zandong in Dongling Town was the key to their plan, but Buzz knew better than Mu Qingyang that this Zandong was not easy to deal with. Zandong's personal traits are very clear about the style of the big town of Dongling.

He was tall and bulliful, and even when confronted by Balzac, he was often full of menacing anger.

Buzz had tried to change this part of the plan before, but Mu Qingyang was very persistent.

"If Dongling Town agrees to accept the alliance with Sanhu Town," Mu Qingyang reasoned, "then the Xiling Alliance will gladly join, and the only remaining Brimen Town on this lake will have no choice but to agree." The main city of Chaos will not oppose the alliance of the four towns on the lake, the largest and most abundant, and the Eastern Exile will be the sixth to join the convention. That's a clear majority. "The rest of the towns will have to join the common alliance and there is no other choice. Mu Qingyang believed that Redstone and Salt Mountain were afraid that the Eastern Exile would receive special treatment in the future council, so they would exaggerate their loyalty, hoping that they would make an impression in Balzac's eyes.

The two towns on the lake, Sweetwater and Saltwater, were relatively safe from invasion due to their remote edges, but they did not dare to oppose the other eight towns.

But when Buzz saw Zandon's eyes glaring across the table, he realized that it was all just an optimistic idea.

Mu Qingyang admitted that the biggest obstacle in the process of forming an alliance was Dongling Town.

This mighty town is too arrogant to believe it can survive any barbarian attack. And if it survives, the damage to its competitors will be good for it.

"You said you knew about someone invading," Zandon began. "How did you get this valuable and hard-to-get information?"

Buzz found himself sweating in his temples. He knew where Zandon's problem would lead, but he couldn't avoid it. "I learned it from a friend who travels a lot on the tundra." He replied frankly.

"That Mu Qingyang?" Zandong asked. With Bass's neck bent upwards and Zandon looking at him condescendingly, Buzz soon found himself on the defensive.

The dwarf's father had warned him that he would often be at a disadvantage when dealing with the Shura, because the big men had to bow their heads in the flesh to talk to the dwarfs as if they were their own children. In such a situation, Dad's words made Buzz feel heartbroken and real.

He wiped a drop of sweat from his upper lip. "I can't speak for the rest of you," Zandon continued, and then laughed, looking at the gnome's grave warning with a ridiculous eye, "but I have too many more important things to do, and I don't want to run and hide in the city because of outsiders' words!" The burly spokesman laughed again, this time not alone.

Denton of the Westridge Alliance provided some unexpected help to the gnomes' failed intentions. "Maybe we should let the spokesperson for Three Lakes continue. If his words are true..."

"His words are nothing but an echo of lies!" Zandong roared. "Ignore him, we've fought off the barbarians before, and ......" But then Zandon stopped abruptly as Buzz jumped onto the table. (To be continued.) )