It was almost night, and it was already dark from the windows on the side of the hall, but the hall was brightly lit, dozens of oil lamps and candlesticks hung on the walls and roof, and firewood was burning in the fireplaces on both sides, reflecting the shadows of the people walking towards the end of the hall on the wall.

High Lord Sigmund Oswid sat upright in a large but modest chair, his neatly dressed silver-gray armor glittering in the light of the fire. On the first chair to the right of the Great Lord sat an old man, whose age could only be judged by the beard that hung down to his chest in the dim light of the fire. Morena looked at the old man's slightly rickety figure suspiciously, and her steps slowed down unconsciously.

As the group walked in front of the High Lord, Stan stopped and was about to salute when the old man laughed coldly. "Fern, we're meeting again. ”

Everyone was startled by the old man's sudden voice, and Fern narrowed his eyes even more, carefully looking at the old man who raised his head. Under the flickering firelight, the old man's calm eyes were like a lake without waves, making everyone's hearts seem to be immersed in ice water, and the nervous emotions that had been in place since just now disappeared.

"You...... Is it the bard, oh no, Manfred?" those eyes Fern could not forget.

The old man chuckled softly. "Looks like Adeline has already told you who I am, and yes, Manfred is my name. ”

Fern wanted to ask him other questions, but he didn't expect Jarena to suddenly cry out behind him, and the archmage's voice was full of surprise and excitement. "Master, it's really you! I just felt like you, but I didn't expect it to be you!"

"Master?" the companions all looked at Morena in surprise.

Manfred smiled at his protégé. "Jarena, it's been a long time, since we last met in Durham, today we finally have the chance to meet again. ”

"So you're the one Adeline said was replacing her?" said Morena, thinking of the contents of Adeline's letter.

"I wouldn't dare to replace her, but it was she who asked me to come to Canrito. Manfred nodded slightly, then looked at the Grand Lord. "Now that the greetings are over, it's time to hear what the Lord has to say. ”

The group then remembered the Great Lord sitting in front of them, and Stan quickly took the lead in bowing and saluting, while placing his left hand on his chest. "Dear High Lord, we have come from Durham and have been instructed by Adeline to meet you in Canrito. ”

Fern saluted as Stan, Ness and Morena each bent their knees and lifted their skirts slightly to give a simple salute to the High Lord, and Ray and Nellfi followed their example.

The majestic voice of the Great Lord came from the front, echoing through the hall. "Welcome, friends from afar, Adeline has already sent me a letter to inform you that you are coming, please forgive me for not having a welcome ceremony, and not letting you have dinner first, I am anxious to tell you something, and it is full of ears and eyes all around us, and the less people notice you, the better. ”

"Your Excellency. Stan responds first, "I don't know if the Great Sage mentioned in his letter the purpose of our coming to Canrito, in fact, we only know that we are here, but we don't know why we are here. ”

"She's right, Stan. "The High Lord saw the insignia on Stan's breastplate. "We have very important things to talk about, and before you meet me, you don't know these things are the best protection for you. ”

Sigmund was flattered to say Stan's name, and for a moment he stood still, not answering the High Lord's words.

Fern raised his eyebrows and nodded thoughtfully. "Excuse me, my lord, what is it that would endanger our safety?"

"Something very important...... Yes, Fern, very important, and now, listen carefully. Sigmund's tone was flat and without any twist, not at all like the tone of a southerner. First of all, Adeline mentions that after the Battle of Magnus Fortress, Doyle will also have a big war, a war that will be even harsher than Magnus. ”

"Harsher than Magnus?" Stan frowned, the battle of Magnus had been more brutal than he had expected. "We've lost at least two-thirds of our forces in Magnus, and it's even harsher than that......" Stan didn't dare to think about it anymore.

Sigmund's tone didn't change at all, as if it made no difference to him no matter how harsh the war was. "I'm very sorry, but I don't have any doubts about Adeline's foresight, so Cumberland must go north to support Doyle, and not only Cumberland, but also Tempe's and Alesia's armies must go north together to participate in this war. ”

"Alesia......" Ness muttered to herself, and Ray hugged Ness's shoulder and patted her lightly.

Fern shook his head and snorted. "Alesia may be fine, but I don't think there's much hope that Tempe will come to Doyle's rescue as well. ”

Sigmund looked at Fern approvingly. "I didn't expect you to understand the current situation, yes, Tempe, relying on his vast territory and strong troops, has been trying to annex Roanoke in the south, if it weren't for the power of Cumberland, I'm afraid they would have done it a long time ago, and now it is not easy for them to risk losing a large number of troops to resist the dark tide, let alone fight with Cumberland, who is on the opposite side. ”

"But in the face of the dark tide, all of humanity should put aside their own interests, shouldn't they?" Stan couldn't help but get excited when he heard about the politics between the kingdoms. "Dayton and Ogden can do it, why can't Cumberland and Tempe?"

Manfred coughed twice and interjected. "Each kingdom has its own interests, you can't apply the experience of any one kingdom to other kingdoms, Lucius, the king of Dayton, has been friends with Adeline for many years, and Ogden and Altoona are allies for generations, so it is not surprising to me that they will go to help Artuna, but Tempe has almost no intersection with Doyle, and ......" The Great Sage coughed again, and Fern thought it would be better to let him have a cup of tea. "This time, it's a little different. ”

"What's the difference?" asked Jasmine.

Manfred looked at his student with pity. In order to put an end to the situation in which the southern states are playing their own small roles, Adeline proposes that the southern states must elect a commander to direct the operations to aid the border states, otherwise the kingdoms will be destroyed before the dark tide defeats the border countries and threatens the south. ”

Fern couldn't stop nodding. "And Cumberland has always been the most just and respected kingdom of Wallis, so the High Lord of Cumberland is the best person to lead it. ”

"That's right, Fern. The Great Sage stroked his beard and looked at the mercenary with admiration.

"But how can we convince the other kingdoms of this arrangement? Not to mention that the other kingdoms may superficially agree but not do anything behind the scenes, especially Tempe, I guess they will not even agree on the surface. Fern still had a sad look on his face.

Manfred nodded in satisfaction. "You're right, Fern, so that's why I'm here, and for some time to come, I'll be going to Derluth to try to convince King Auguste of Tampe, and we'll have other arrangements for Alesia, as we'll tell you later. ”

"Are you sure to convince Tempe?Even though you are a great sage, but you don't have any benefits, why would Tempe be willing to sacrifice the lives of his soldiers to help Doyle?" Fern almost walked up to the great sage, and kept asking him.

Manfred raised his hands and motioned for Fern not to be in a hurry. "Although there is no immediate benefit, once Doyle is captured, then Tempe will become the next kingdom to face the gloom directly, I believe that although King Auguste is very ambitious, this truth should still be understood, and ...... We still have a trump card, it's just ......" The Great Sage hesitated and looked at the Great Lord. "Let Lord Sigmund tell you personally. ”

"Ace?" Fern walked back to his companion.

Rito held his chin and looked at Fern. "Is it a holy artifact?"

Hearing Rui's speculation, Sigmund's face was surprised. "I didn't expect you to know that Kanrito has a holy artifact. ”

Rui hurriedly stepped forward and explained to the Great Lord, "We only guessed that there must be something here that made the Dark Tide very jealous from the demon besieging Kanrito before, so we boldly deduced whether it was a holy weapon or not. ”

"Hmm......" Sigmund nodded appreciatively. "You're right, Canrito does possess the only artifact in Wallis, but ......" The High Lord took a deep breath, his gaze losing his gaze. "That's a thing of the past, the Hallows are no longer in Canrito, the Hallows...... Missing. ”