Richie's camp in Mungis is an old castle. It was abandoned more than 100 years ago, and it was not until after the Battle of Salted Fish Harbor that Gray decided to go on a northern expedition and rebuilt it.

It's said to be repaired, but in fact, it's just a little tidying up. After all, the undead, including the commander-in-chief, do not have high requirements for stationing.

The black castle standing on the hill is like an old giant, with towers, walls, and countless broken dots everywhere. In some places, the walls even collapsed in one piece, and they were only slightly repaired with wood.

However, even so, the former glory can still be seen through the outline.

On the mountainside, at the foot of the mountain, is a dense sea of undead. The area is so large that it looks like an island in the middle of the **.

In a non-combat state, and without orders, the undead either stand motionless or sit motionless, like sculptures. So, again, it's a sea of silence.

The windswept woods on one side and the sea of the dead on the other side seem to be frozen, and the picture looks so eerie.

When the sky was gray, Irene, dressed in military uniform, had already taken Abby Robles to the Sea of the Dead on horseback. In the distance, she saw the other lords gathered on the hill opposite the castle. Benedict II was among them.

Not only Benedict II, but also King Barnett III of Allen, King Arthur of Fides, Camilla's father, Archduke Bert II, and many other great lords of the South. All of them were members of the Confederate Federation.

Turning her horse's head, Irene rode her horse toward the hill.

Seeing Irene's arrival, several of the lords greeted him at once, and they didn't care about any image, so they directly reached out and grabbed Irene's reins. Among them is King Barnett III of Allen, who has a slap in the face: "Have you seen His Royal Highness the Lich King?"

Irene was a little confused: "What...... What's wrong?"

"Have you seen him?" the obese Barnett III asked after running a few steps, already panting, but still frowning.

"Not yet, did anything happen?" Irene dismounted.

Benedict II also came over, holding on to the hilt of his sword, and said with a worried expression: "They will not let us in. I've never tried this before. When His Highness the Lich King first arrived last night, I had already asked to see him, but I was denied. Today we came straight and still wouldn't let us in. ”

"I've never tried this before. Jean II interjected.

Arthur, with a gloomy expression, spoke, "According to the previous plan, they should have arrived here in at least ten days. But now they are ahead of schedule, without informing us. Previously, these legions of the undead were stationed elsewhere, maintaining pressure on Gustav. Now it's all here. I think something must have happened. ”

Barnett III muttered, "Don't let anything happen to your Highness the Lich King, he hasn't turned me into a lich yet." ”

Glancing around at the anxious lords around him, Benedict II looked at Irene.

To be precise, at this moment, all the lords are staring at Irene.

In terms of strength, the Duchy of Belsil is not very strong in the south, but Ireen is the only one among all the human beings who has directly received the oath of allegiance from Gray. The oath is still valid. This is not even comparable to Benedict II, who is the speaker of the Southern Federation.

Aside from Gray's wife, Shelley, Irene should be the closest human to Gray.

However, at this moment, Irene was at a loss, even more dazed than the many lords present.

"Did you get any news?" asked Benedict II.

"I didn't ...... No. Irene could only reply hesitantly, "I only found out early this morning that Gray had arrived at Mangis. ”

"He didn't even notify you?"

"Maybe it's just that he suddenly changed his mind? Or maybe he negotiated with the Golden Dragons and made a strategic adjustment? You don't need to worry so much, isn't this kind of thing normal? Gray didn't notify everyone, it must have been because he didn't think it was necessary to notify everyone so early. There was no reception, it must have been because there was something more important to do. The Lich King has a lot of things to do, and it's not like he's waiting to see us every day, is he?"

Having said that, however, the lords still looked at Irene with an anxious expression.

Smiling awkwardly, Irene got on her horse and whispered, "I'll take you into the castle, go to the castle and wait." Gray is done and will meet us. Don't stay here, there's no place to sit. ”

"That's really great. Barnett III deliberately came over, took Irene's hand, kissed the back of Irene's hand, and then said seriously: "You know, what has happened in the past few years is amazing. Even our ancestors never experienced it. It's good to have you here, and you're the best bond between us and the Lich King. ”

The other lords also breathed a sigh of relief.

With a group of lords and their retinue, Irene rode slowly along the winding road in the direction of the castle.

Soon, they came to the outermost outpost of the Legion of the Undead.

Two ghosts floated out of the sentry. Judging by the style of their "clothing", these two seem to be human soldiers during their lifetimes.

Irene stopped her horses, waited for them to float in front of her, and said with a smile, "Hello, I would like to meet His Highness the Lich King. ”

"I'm sorry, His Highness the Lich King can't see you just yet. One of the ghosts replied.

"Can't see him for a while, is he busy? Then let's go to the castle and wait for him to finish. ”

"Sorry, we didn't get an order to let people into the castle. ”

The scene suddenly froze, the lords looked at each other with wide eyes, and Ireen was also extremely embarrassed.

After a pause, Irene asked in a low voice, "You guys...... Do you know who I am?"

"Yes. The other ghost shrugged his shoulders and said, "You're Irene Besher." His Royal Highness the Duke of Beshir. A human lord who the Lich King has sworn allegiance. As a competent sentinel, we should at least be able to discern the identity of the other party. ”

This answer is more embarrassing than saying "I don't know". Ireen was stunned.

After a moment's hesitation, Irene then asked, "Since you know, won't you let us in?"

"Yes, we didn't receive orders. ”

"Can you inform me then? I'm sure Gray won't stop me at the door. ”

"I'm sorry, but the order we received doesn't have a distinction between the Latter, and it doesn't make a difference just because you're His Royal Highness the Duke of Beshir. So, we won't help you with the briefing either. ”

The two ghosts looked at Irene with wide eyes, as if they didn't think there was anything wrong with the answer.

Irene was stunned, so she could only look back at the lords in embarrassment, and then said softly, "That...... We're waiting outside?"

"I think you'd better go back first. ”

As he spoke, the two ghosts had drifted away gently.

Irene's face was hot.

Wiping her sweat, Irene rode away.

......

It's still that hillside, it's still that green space, the difference is that this time, the lords are even more anxious, and they are restless one by one.

"Oh my God, he didn't even see Irene anyway, doesn't that mean something happened?"

"If someone else had this condition, I would have thought he must be critically ill. Of course, we all know that the Lich King can't be critically ill, but it's scary enough. ”

"I seem to feel something bad. ”

"What's that?"

"I can't tell, but it's definitely not good. The Lich King has never refused to see us, and now he has turned them all away. Such a large-scale transfer was carried out without notifying us in advance. Last night my soldiers thought it was an enemy attack. If it weren't for the fact that there was no legion of the undead on the other side, they might have all run away. ”

"What do you think can happen?"

"I don't know. They are not in the same dimension as us. Magic, Space, Plane...... There are so many things we can't understand. ”

"That'...... Are we going to lose?"

"Uh...... what do you mean?"

"What else can you refer to? Gustav, the Black Dragons, what else can you mean?"

A large group of lords gathered together, muttering and chattering, and the more they talked, the more anxious they became. Some kind of panic is spreading.

There is no doubt that Gray is the backbone, and without Gray, many things can be very variable. Even, most things change. It was a change that everyone feared enough.

Irene listened quietly, not knowing what to say. After all, she had just been slapped in the face.

After hesitating for a while, Irene suddenly got on her horse and ran in the direction of the castle.

This time, the lords just craned their necks to look and didn't follow directly.

......

"I want to see Carl, can I?"

"No, you can't. The two ghosts replied bluntly.

"And what if I want to see the mallet?"

"No, you can't. ”

"Then I see Richie, I remember this time to envoy the Golden Dragon, and he went with him. ”

The two ghosts hesitated. This momentary hesitation was keenly captured by Irene . Irene's eyes widened slowly.

After a moment, the two ghosts smiled and replied, "No, we didn't receive orders. I'm sorry. ”

"Okay, I see. Irene, smiling, turned her horse's head around and walked back the way she had come. His eyes couldn't help but start flickering.

"Miss Irene...... Do you think there's really something wrong?" Abby Robles, who was walking beside him, whispered.

"I hope not, but I'm afraid, something really happened. From what I know of Gray, he wouldn't give such an order, and he couldn't have turned me away. And there was clearly something wrong with those two ghosts. The undead are different from other races, they cannot resist the summoner, and must obey with all their hearts. So, this shows that there is something wrong with their summoners. ”

"That ......"

"Don't say anything, don't ask anything. Just pretend we didn't find anything and just wait. Gray will definitely be able to fix it, just like he has done any time before. ”

"Good ......"

Time passed little by little, until late in the evening, an undead knight rode out of the castle. galloped all the way until on the hillside, in front of the lords, he saluted respectfully.

"His Highness the Lich King invites you in. ”

The lords all looked at him in amazement, including Irene.

Gray ...... Invite us into the castle?"

"Yes. The Undead Knight said respectfully, "His Highness the Lich King invites you to enter the castle. I'm getting some things going on today, so I'm really busy. Especially His Royal Highness the Duke of Beshir. I'm sorry to keep you waiting. ”

All of a sudden, the lords breathed a sigh of relief and even laughed.

"It's okay, hahahaha, it's okay. I said that nothing could have happened to His Highness the Lich King, and that he is not a human being. ”

"You said that? That's not what you just said. ”

"Did I just say something?"

"You've been talking a lot, and you've been babbling all day. ”

"Alright, let's go meet His Highness the Lich King. "Benedict II mounted his horse.

Everyone was laughing, but Ireen didn't smile, her face was still full of gloom.

......

The fiery red sunset shone obliquely.

Led by the Undead Knights, they walked through winding roads, passing by undead sentry posts, and passing by dense and crowded sea of the undead. Despite more than a year, these lords are more or less afraid of the undead. This is especially true in the face of such a large number of undead.

This time, there were no more undead to stop them. Silently, the undead acted as if they didn't exist.

The drawbridge of the castle slowly lowered, and the lords dismounted and walked into the gloomy castle one by one.

The undead knight who walked in front casually picked up a torch hanging from the iron frame on the wall, lit it, used it for lighting, and then led them inside little by little.

The undead don't need lighting, and they don't even need torches if it weren't for the arrival of the lords.

The whole castle is quiet, and there is a dilapidated atmosphere everywhere.

By the light of the fire, the lords could clearly see that there were undead soldiers guarding almost every corner, but they were also like the undead outside.

Following the circular staircase, they walked up the main building of the castle step by step, until they reached the heights, through the windows, and saw the sun again.

Led by the undead knights, the lords finally came to a huge wooden door on the top floor.

Turning sideways, the undead knight holding the torch stepped aside: "Please come in." ”

After saying that, the undead knight stopped moving, just like the other undead, standing quietly. He didn't even open the door.

The lords looked at each other one by one.

Irene's brow furrowed even tighter.

Hesitating, Benedict II stepped forward and pushed open the door.

A dilapidated, gloomy hall appeared before them.

There is no decoration, and there is even gravel on the ground. The only source of light in the entire hall is the basin in the center.

The light of the fire flickered so that the shadows reflected on the stone pillars were filled with a certain terrifying aura.

All of a sudden, the lords couldn't help but hold their breath.

In the middle of the throne sat the Lich King, "Gray", whom they were about to meet.