The towering walls were covered with dark blue flags, the edges of which were neatly embroidered with golden threads, and the crests of swords and shields were stamped in the center, almost all of which fluttered slightly in the chilly morning breeze.

The six gates of Canrito had been opened, but they still couldn't satisfy the steady stream of people who wanted to enter the city. Ever since he was trapped by the demons a few months ago, Sigmund, the High Lord of Canrito, had ordered all gates to be closed every evening before it was almost dark, and although the siege of the demons had now been lifted, the High Lord was careful to keep martial law under guard, for some unknown reason.

The crowd lined up in an orderly manner at the gates of the city, and even the unruly people on weekdays, in Canrito, they all clamped their tails, and did not dare to do anything illegal.

Today is the beginning of the summer knighthood ceremony, and every quarter, a grand knighthood ceremony is held in Canrito to open the door to knighthood for those who aspire to become knights from all regions of Wallis. The ceremony will last for ten days, during which all those who want to try it will be able to submit applications to the Knights' Guild in Canrito, which will then review them. No one will try to cheat on an application, because honesty is one of the most basic rules of being a knight, and if the censor finds out, the cheater will not only be disqualified from applying forever, but even more so, Canrito will post the hometown and name of the counterfeiter on the bulletin board in every kingdom city, making him pay a heavy price for cheating. In addition to the examination of character and prestige, applicants are required to conduct a simple joust to prove that their strength has met the minimum requirements of a knight. Compared with force, the knights' guild pays more attention to character, so as long as a swordsman with a few years of soldier or mercenary career can generally meet the requirements of force. On the other hand, the character review can be said to be almost harsh, and the vast majority of applicants are rejected on the character basis, after which they can only go back to more rigorous standards to demand themselves, in the hope that they can make up for the shortcomings of the past in future applications.

A few days before the ceremony began, a large number of merchants and bustling travelers began to pour into the city of knights, which was famous throughout the continent, and the merchants did not miss this good opportunity to make money, and there was hardly a single inn with spare rooms in the whole of Canrito. Today, however, the applicants are about to start fighting each other, with many nearby villages and travelers from afar gathering here in anticipation of a few exciting fights.

The unusual weather overwhelms people and disrupts their daily routines, so this kind of activity that allows people to forget their worries for a while is more appealing than usual. This time there was a greater influx of people into Canrito than in the past, including nobles from other kingdoms.

The sun rose up in the sky, spreading a hint of warmth into the crowd in the cold wind, and a few people who had nothing to do in the line spotted a raven flapping its wings desperately in the wind and flying into the walls of Canrito. "Look at that raven, it must be a lot of money to fly so fast in this cold wind. A merchant stared at the ravens that were gradually out of sight, shaking his head in thought.

"That must have been a message to the Great Lord, ordinary people simply can't afford to raise such an expensive raven. A traveler chimed in.

As soon as he finished speaking, another raven flapped its wings and flew over the crowd from another path, quickly heading towards the city.

The merchant nodded thoughtfully, and said to the traveler beside him, "It seems that there is an emergency, I can't even imagine what it is, it's already summer now, you see that the weather is still so cold." ”

The traveler shrugged helplessly. "It's not something we can solve, the Great Lord will have a countermeasure, besides, the weather won't be so cold all the time. ”

"It's hard to say, have you heard? Much of the White River is frozen in the north, and the boats can't get through, and now the only way to Doyle is through the Borderlands. Another tall traveler with a buckskin hat joined the conversation. "And the destruction of Sarah, and the large number of ghouls encountered by the Doyle army in Sarah, and recently there were rumors that the Dark Tide attacked the fortress of Magnus in Altuna, and the three western kingdoms had to join forces to barely defend it, but most of them died, anyway, I don't think this ghost weather is a good sign. As he spoke, he shuddered and tucked his neck into his raised collar.

"The Great Lord will have a way. The merchant looked at the gadgets in his cart, but he couldn't hide the worry on his face.

"If he had a way, would he have been trapped by the demon for so long?" I think ......" The tall traveler tried to comment, but when he saw the look on his face when the merchant and another traveler were about to throw him out of the group, he kept his mouth shut. "Well, we'll find out......"

Without making any detours, the raven flew straight into the castle's tallest tower, where the soldiers who had been standing guard handed over the raven to Silas, a scholar who was responsible for delivering letters. The old master took the parchment from the raven's paws, which had been tied several times with special knots, and handed it to the lord with his own hands.

Sigmund's eyes quickly swept over the parchment, then handed it to the scholar, and paced himself to the window.

The scholar's face was almost on the parchment, his head slowly moving with the handwriting, and after a laborious reading, Silas looked up. "They won, and that's Wallis's luck, my lord. ”

"Yes, they won, but the losses were too great, and we can't afford to win too much. Sigmund looked out the window at the bustling street. "Right now, it's going to be our turn. ”

"I don't think it's so fast, Doyle is much stronger than Artuna, and we're far from there than Dayton and Ogdon, and the Great Sage won't let us go to Doyle's aid easily. Silas walked over to the High Lord's desk and held the end of the parchment close to the flame of the oil lamp. The parchment slowly burned, and a foul smell was emanating from it.

Sigmund was silent for a moment, then looked back at the scholar. "Have the other lords arrived?"

"Not yet, sir, but it should be soon, I've told the chief to prepare lunch, and I guess they'll be there by noon. Silas nodded slightly, respectfully in response.

The Grand Lord nodded, and looked out the window again. "We need to discuss it carefully, Cumberland's position is too delicate, and if one wrong step is taken, not only will it not help Doyle, but it may also plunge the South into war. ”

"You're right, my lord, Tempe has been eyeing Roanoke for a long time, and if our military wasn't stronger than theirs, I'm afraid Tempe would have sent troops to invade Roanoke. The scholar became excited, and the old man's voice trembled a little. "And Cerendra hasn't been at peace lately, and the scouts have noticed that they have recently increased their forces on the border near Macon. ”

Sigmund let out a long sigh. "At least Lucius of Dayton was sober, and instead of posing a threat to his neighbors, he sent troops to help Artuna. The High Lord paced back to his desk. "Wallis is at stake, but there are still people who want to take advantage of the chaos, and Cumberland must not sit idly by. ”

"But what if Doyle is no longer able to withstand the tide on his own, and the Great Sage asks us to come to their aid?" Silas seemed tired from standing for too long, one hand propped up on his desk.

Sigmund motioned for him to sit down, and the scholar thanked him and sat down in his chair tremblingly. "Then I will ask the Great Sage to lobby Tempe to send troops north to aid Doyle as well, and I believe that the Great Sage can understand my concerns. ”

Silas nodded. "Of course it would be best if it did, my lord, with all due respect, do you think Wallis will survive this crisis?"

"If the Western Front wins, the Eastern Front will definitely win too, not to mention that we still have ...... Hallows. The Grand Lord stared solemnly into Silas' eyes, his face twitching unobtrusively.

"Yes, Hallow!" the scholar's lowered eyelids lifted, and his cloudy eyes suddenly filled with light. "The Sacred Weapon that terrifies the Dark Tide will surely help us achieve victory!"

Sigmund was not as excited as the scholar, and the Grand Lord looked thoughtfully at the banner of the sword and shield hanging on the wall, as if there was something unspeakable. "It's a lot more complicated than we thought, Silas, it's not just the dark tide that we need to guard against, but also the villains who want to stab you in the back, as mentioned in the Great Sage's letter, we must be careful. ”

Silas came to his senses from his self-absorption. "Ah...... Yes, my lord, I will send twice as many guards to guard the tower where the holy artifact is kept, no, three times. ”

Sigmund thoughtfully touched the beard on his chin. "Well, it's not just that more people need to be sent there, this canonization ceremony is just the right opportunity for those people to take advantage of, and the castle guards should also strengthen their precautions and not allow strangers to approach. ”

"I'll make arrangements, my lord. Silas stood up, bowed slightly, and prepared to leave.

"Wait, there's one more thing. Sigmund raised his right hand and motioned for the scholar to hold off. "There are also several men mentioned in the letter, whom the Great Sage says have played a vital role in the battle of Artuna, and that they will also come to Canrito, and that you should inform the guards to bring them to me at once if they encounter those described in the letter. ”

"As you wish, my lord. Silas bowed again. "Any other commands?"

"No, you can arrange it. Sigmund turned and walked to the window again, and the scholar slowly exited the room, the door closed behind him.

The Great Lord rested his shoulders against the wall, his right hand clenched into a fist on the windowsill, his loose robes blown up by the wind, and the chill penetrated his body. The hustle and bustle outside the window seems to have nothing to do with him, the crisis is approaching, and he has nowhere to escape but to face the crisis.