Manfred sat on a wooden chair carved with intricate patterns, looking up to study the various paintings on the roof, while Rui restlessly shifted his posture in the chair. They had arrived at the palace of Deluth, and the king was about to come to receive them in person, and although he had had met and talked with many kings before, Rui was still very nervous, after all, those kings were on his side, and the one he was going to see today, at least for now, seemed to be on two paths.

The Great Sage lowered his head and massaged his neck. "These murals are rare treasures, and Tempe really has a strong national strength, and I use them as decorations, and my neck is sore when I see them, and I haven't finished reading them. ”

Rui didn't bother to talk to him. "You can lie on the ground and watch slowly. ”

Manfred's eyes lit up. "What a good idea, I think you're smarter than Morena now, she can't think of it. As he spoke, the great sage was about to lie down on the floor, and Rui looked at him with wide eyes, obviously not expecting him to take it seriously.

At that moment, the door to the parlor opened, and an old man dressed in splendid clothes staggered in, followed by a minister who looked like a chief and two mighty guards. The old man walked straight to the throne, sat down slowly with his cane, and sank deep into the wide throne, and then looked at the two visitors.

Rui looked at the old man in the throne in amazement, as far as she knew, King Augusta of Tempe was at most about the same age as Botarus, King of Altoona, but the old man in front of him looked almost as old as Manfred. Rui looked at Manfred, and the Great Sage's eyes were obviously full of doubt, but he still didn't forget to get up and salute.

The king coughed for a full ten seconds before he spoke, and then a weak voice slowly came, "Great Sage Manfred, it is indeed an honor for you to set foot in this fortress, I wonder why you are here this time?"

Manfred hesitated for a moment, then replied slowly, "The situation on the Doyle border in the north is critical, the dark tide is about to stir in the north, and Artuna has just experienced a great war not long ago, I wonder if Your Majesty knows about this. ”

The king exhaled hard, his eyelids drooping. "I have heard that I admire the heroic deeds of the border countries. ”

Rui carefully examined the king's appearance, although he looked very old, but his body was actually very strong, but he had been lying on his body before, so he didn't see it right away, which showed that Augusta should indeed be a strong warrior as she knew, at least once.

Manfred nodded politely. "Yes, wise king, the border countries have been defending us against threats from the north for hundreds of years, and they have always done a good job, but this time, unlike usual, the humans of the north have gradually shown signs of decline, and they need help, aid from the south. ”

"Aid?" Augusta's head hung over his chest, and he was almost half-reclined in his chair. "We have Ogden and Dayton to the west and Cumberland and Roanoke to the south, and we have our own things to do, so we don't have any energy to spare. ”

Manfred frowned and stared into Augusta's eyes, and the king looked back at the Great Sage with blank eyes, as if looking at the air. "Your Majesty, I have met with the High Lord of Sigmund of Cumberland, and have spoken with both Ogden and the King of Dayton, and they have agreed that the nations of the South will form an alliance against this dark tide, and that they will never break their promise to attack Tempe. ”

"Oh, is it?" Augusta shook in his chair suddenly, but then regained his composure as if he had been overwhelmed by something. "We can't do anything, Great Sage, everything is doomed, night falls, and everything is over. ”

Ray looked at the king strangely, she didn't know how a human king could know this, but Manfred was still calm. "Your Majesty, I'm afraid your judgment is wrong, the heroes have gone to various places to fight desperately for the survival of Wallis, and as their backing, we should unite and fight the main force of the Dark Tide together. ”

"I said it, Great Sage, everything is doomed. The king looked extremely impatient. "That's it, because you are a great sage, I made an exception to meet you, I have to go back to rest, I am too tired. ”

Rui stood up suddenly. "Your Majesty, are you feeling any ill? We can try to treat you. ”

Augusta suddenly became very resistant, and his voice became sharper. "Who are you? I don't have any problems, you get me out of here right now, go now, don't let me see you again!"

Ray was embarrassed by the king's reaction and stood there not knowing what to do, but Manfred was well-informed and not in a hurry at all. "Your Majesty, I beg your pardon, this is my disciple, she is also well-intentioned, please don't care, please Your Majesty, let's retreat, but we have traveled all the way to get here, day and night, you see that my old bones are about to fall apart, I ask that we can be arranged to stay in the castle for a few days, and when I am relieved, we will leave Deluth immediately. ”

"Just three days, after three days, whether you recover or not, you must leave, and besides, I won't see you again for three days. Augusta stood up with his cane on his hand.

"Of course, we won't be asking for any more. Manfred bowed his head and sent the king out of the drawing-room.

Rui's stomach has nowhere to vent his doubts and complaints. "What's going on, the king seems to be a little ......"

Manfred interrupted her with a raised hand. "Don't say anything, go back to your room first. So saying, the great sage walked towards the door, where an attendant was already waiting for them.

Rui sat upright in the chair, it was a very soft and comfortable chair, and the velvet cushions and backrest made people feel uncomfortable when they sat down. The room prepared by the chief manager for them is quite luxurious, after all, there is the name of a great sage, and ordinary people dare not slack off. Manfred was casting a spell with his eyes closed, and soon, he opened his eyes and let out a long exhale. "There's a colleague here with very strong mana, we need to be careful, this barrier needs to be set up carefully. ”

"Companion, you mean there are mages here, too?" Rui looked at the door suspiciously. "But I didn't feel any magic fluctuations. ”

"The other party hides very well, it is really not easy to fool you, which also shows the strength of the other party, especially when you can hide yourself so well while exercising mind control, it is really not simple. Manfred put his hands on his knees and relaxed.

"You mean......" Rhett leaned forward in surprise. "The king is mind controlled?"

Manfred raised his hand and pressed down slightly. "Calm down, Rui, I'm glad I set up the barrier first, otherwise we probably wouldn't have been able to get out of this castle. ”

Rui shrank back in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Great Sage, I just didn't expect that the king of a kingdom would dare to mind control. ”

"What's not to dare to do, some people are trying to control even the Dark Lord, what's wrong with a mere human being?" a disdainful smile flashed across Manfred's face. "Human beings, they always think about things that are beyond their capabilities, but they don't know that in the end, they just let themselves fall into an endless abyss. ”

"Do you know who it is?" asked Rui cautiously.

"When I first saw Augusta, I suspected it was Aetiyès, or some senior archmage in the Mage's Tower, and to be honest, Rui, it was Moses who I was most suspicious of just now, because he had studied dark magic, and mind control was a type of dark magic. Manfred smiled at Ray, who was restlessly moving in his chair. But then I heard his eschatology, and I thought that the people who controlled him were members of the Twilight Sect, because they were the tenets they believed in. ”

Hearing that his master had been ruled out of suspicion, Rui finally felt better. "Why do the Twilight Cult mind-control Augusta, is it to prevent them from coming to Doyle's aid and annihilating Doyle in the attack of the Dark Tide?"

"On the surface, this is indeed the case, but this matter does not seem to be so simple, we need the intelligence of the other two teams, and all of this must have some kind of connection. Manfred stroked his long white beard. "But don't think about it for now, we need to find a way to get Augusta out of control within three days, and promise to help Doyle, so that at least we can stop some of the Twilight Cult's plans and buy some time for Fern and Stan. “

"What should we do, Great Sage?" Rui, who had always been very thoughtful, found that he was still so immature in front of the Great Sage.

Manfred stretched, smacking his lips. "Let's go find a tavern for a good meal, I can't think without wine, and when I'm full, I'll have an idea. ”

Rui smiled helplessly, these days of traveling with the Great Sage had given her a deeper understanding of the old man and learned a lot from him. "Well, even I think drinking some wine helps me think, so I'll drink a little with you today. ”

"That's great, it's so boring to always drink alone. Manfred laughed and slowly walked out of the room, infected by the Great Sage, Rui also felt that her mood was better, and she caught up with the Great Sage and walked side by side with him towards the outside of the castle.