"Your Excellency Andrea, you are late. When an angry lion in a blood-red cloak arrogantly lifted the curtain of the tent and naturally sat down on the first seat on the right hand of the long table, Atticus couldn't help but frown. As soon as the Iron Knight spoke, Marcus, who was sitting in the first place, raised an eyebrow, but he didn't react otherwise, just continued to bow his head and pretend to study the paper on the table.

"I'm sorry, Grand Knight Chief, for being delayed by some trivial matters. You know, in addition to the Kroger family's affairs, I have to mediate some small things. Andrea smiled apologetically. But what he said didn't mean to be half sorry, and he called Atticus by his official position, although it seemed that there was nothing wrong with it, but in fact, all the nobles understood that this was to remind the latter of his identity, and the patriarch of the Kroger family, who was a duke, was not something that the leader of the knights could reprimand. At the same time, the second half of his sentence points out his current power, and the nobles who left his tent before Andrea secretly bowed their heads and sneered, happy that they had taken refuge in such a strong dependence.

The Iron Knight wasn't apolitical, more often than not, he just didn't want to get involved and lost his absolute loyalty to the royal family, so he knew well the demonstration in Andrea's words, and the slightly drooping eyes opened with anger, and the edge of them was chilling. "Ahem. Marcus coughed lightly, seemingly unintentionally after reading the document. He straightened through the file in front of him and looked up, his face indifferent as if he hadn't heard the conversation at all.

"Now that everyone is here, let's start the military meeting. The Hand of the King said as it was written, and his gaze skipped over Andrea and Atticus to the other nobles. He was observing the faces of these people, and although he couldn't judge their camp from this, Marcus was not willing to give up any possible opportunity. Neither the Angry Lion nor the Iron Knight wanted to really tear their faces apart, so they stopped and looked at Marcus. The difference between them is that Atticus's gaze is rather calm, while Andrea's eyes are full of disdain as he looks at Marcus.

Having acquired the wisdom of the devil, Marcus was of course not affected by what others thought of him, so he picked up the scepter that symbolized his status from his hand and pointed to the sand table in the middle of the long table. "This is our current situation, and I believe you already know it. "On the sand table, the chess pieces with the banners of each lord are used to represent their camps, and the number of chess pieces is also used to indicate the difference in the strength of each faction.

"Lord Marcus, this force doesn't seem right, our family's strength needs to be more. A nobleman spoke, pointing to the chess pieces on the sand table that symbolized his family, and was unhappy that the hand of the king had miscalculated the strength of his family. Hearing his questioning, many family leaders made soft comments, and judging from their glances at Marcus, it was obvious that a commander who couldn't even coordinate his forces could not be trusted.

In the face of doubt, the fat sirr did not react in particular, he stared at the nobleman, then at the strength on the sand table, and nodded, "Indeed, your family's troops are more than this." Marcus's abrupt admission made the other men's chatter even louder, and some of the nobles hurried to compare their own forces, fearing that the same mistake would happen, but soon the King's Hand made them stop doing so, "for the chess pieces on this are not determined by numbers." ”

Marcus said lazily, tapping the bottom of his scepter on the table, "It is well known that the contemptible man did the financial work before he took office as the king. Therefore, the contemptible people have a different view of the matter of troops than the average commander. ”

"A force is a force, one is a man, ten is ten, what would be the opinion there? Andrea sneered at the corners of his mouth, the stronger he behaved at the meeting, the more families who were waiting to see would join him. However, before the nobles who had already taken refuge in the Kroger family could say yes, Marcus answered.

"Archduke Kroger couldn't have said that. Troops, that's not how they are counted. The King's Hand shook his head, like a teacher teaching a child, "It is true that one is one, and two is two, when all the soldiers who go to war are equally trained. However, our current situation is not, and I believe you are well aware that a large part of the soldiers under your current account are civilians who have joined temporarily. I don't mean to dismiss their fighting spirit, which is the same for the whole of the Blue Lion, but I must point out that the combat power of these civilians is not comparable to that of the regular army of the Kingdom, so to express it in terms of numbers alone would make us overly optimistic about our own combat power. I hope you understand. ”

If Andrea's previous remarks were a sign of his confidence, Marcus's remarks were a gentle exhortation. The latter's actions were more easily appreciated by the sane, and many neutral nobles were approving to Marcus, who agreed with the Hand of the King.

However, not everyone recognized this, and another nobleman who included a large number of militia in his army said dissatisfiedly, "It is true, how can you determine the difference in combat ability between ordinary soldiers and civilians?

"Bold!" "Bastard!" Andrea and Atticus shouted at the same time, and the momentum of the two directly frightened the yin and yang nobleman and hugged his head.

The two stood up and looked at each other for a few seconds, and after reaching some kind of tacit understanding, the Raging Lion sat down and handed over the right to speak to the Iron Knight. Atticus nodded in greeting and then spoke, "This is the time for the survival of my blue lion, and besides, the former king is gone, and my country should be united in killing all the nezumi people to avenge the death of the former king and his compatriots who died in this catastrophe! Your Excellency Marcus is the hand of the king appointed by the previous king, and your loyalty to the kingdom is beyond doubt! You dare to speak out and slander him at this time, is it possible that you are dissatisfied with the decision of the previous king?"

"I... Can't. The nobleman rolled over from his chair, and he apologized hastily as he got up, and a large drop of cold sweat ran down his forehead. He originally wanted to win Andrea's favor by provoking Marcus's authority, but who knew that he would cause such a big trouble.

"Alright, Lord Knight, I'm not angry, so don't say anything. The King's Hand said leisurely, "I believe he doesn't have a heart either, so I won't pursue it this time." However, I would like to advise you that the current situation in the Kingdom is indeed not optimistic. The nezumi are not extinct, and seeing that the nomads on the steppe may attack at any time after the winter has passed, and the Hammer Leader has been severely damaged, and the molten iron city has been reduced to ruins, the Grand Duke of the Hammer will not be able to provide us with protection this time. Therefore, I hope that you will still put the Kingdom first, and that you should not take credit for these things too seriously. ”

"Lord Telleriel is right! Now is the time for us to dedicate ourselves to the lion, and personal interests are not important! I, Andrea, on behalf of the Kroger family, am willing to be the vanguard of the extermination of the nezumi for the survival of the kingdom, and I hope your lord will agree!"