The north gate of the city of Munny. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The streets are full of traffic and people. The cries of hawkers, the shouts of Gysai's jugglers, the beating of roadside blacksmiths, and the bells and wheels of passing carriages are all heard in a bustling scene.

Gone are the scenes of families and families running away during the invasion of the Philaean Empire, replaced by a continuous convoy of people from the north.

Among them were commoners, nobles, merchants, mercenaries and freelancers. They wore different costumes, some in groups, others in scattered ways. They traveled thousands of miles to the south, and came to this city farthest away from the demons to seek refuge or opportunity.

"Here we are. ”

After being questioned and examined by the guards, one of the knights lifted his hood, revealing his pale hair and wrinkled face, and smiled at his companion beside him.

The old knight was Rook.

Following Rook's words, several knights who had passed through the city gate one after another also lifted their hoods and looked around.

Except for Rook, there were six of them, all of whom were not young, and it seemed that the youngest one was probably over fifty years old.

"Hey, old fellow, get out of the way. ”

Before Rook and the others could stand a little longer, a group of knights in fresh clothes and angry horses escorted a carriage through the city gate. The leading knight frowned and shouted.

"At this age, I still want to come to Lulian to eat......"

As Rook and the others dodged, horses' hooves and wheels crushed the muddy road past them. The sneering voice of the guard knight attracted the sideways of the pedestrians on the roadside.

However, in the face of this impolite voice, several old knights seemed very indifferent. After the convoy passed, he led the horse slowly.

"Rook, you've been here for more than ten years?" one asked.

Luke led the horse and led the way with a smile: "Yes." When I first came, the street wasn't as lively as it is now. Look at that one...... From the white houses past, all of them were newly built. ”

"You guy, your luck is much better than ours," Bai Hedao, an old knight with gray hair but still a burly figure, said: "The hell place I stayed in had to be covered with ice and snow for nine months of the year. There are more than 2,000 people in a small town, half of whom are fugitives. ”

"That's better than me. "I'm in a dungeon, not only does it not see the light of day, but I deal with a band of foul-smelling bandits and goblins every day. If you change to Baihe, you stinky and exquisite, I'm afraid you won't be able to stay even a prayer time. ”

"Who's stinky? But I haven't seen you for more than ten years, Michaud, you kid is still a sloppy ghost. Look at your beard, it's all knotted. ”

"I did it on purpose!"

"If you want to say miserable, you are not as miserable as me......"

"Okay, okay," Luke said with a smile waving his hand before quieting down a group of old men who were getting louder, "What are you not like, better than this?"

"Why don't you compare?" the burly old knight Bai He glared and said, "I found the little young master, but you Luke alone took the credit." Are we not allowed to fight and toil hard?"

"That's right. Michaud sighed: "It's been more than ten years, if it weren't for Luke you found me this time, I would have thought I would have stayed in that damn place for the rest of my life." ”

Saying that, everyone sighed.

Walking down the street, through a small square, watching a flock of pigeons rise from under his feet, another thin-looking old knight Leng Jin asked, "By the way, Rook." What you told us about the little young master before, are they all true?"

"Of course. Rook said.

"It's worthy of the Hanshan family. Leng Jin exclaimed, "A child, who has nothing to rely on, has broken out of such a world." It's so much better than our old stuff. ”

"Not really!" said Michaud, "I've heard a lot about Lulian in the dungeon. But I didn't expect that these were actually done by our young master. When Luke told me, I couldn't believe it. ”

"Count, the young master is only eighteen or nineteen years old this year, right?" Bai Hedao, "I used to think that Young Master Roger's talent was terrifying enough. I didn't expect that the young master's talent was ten times higher than his father's! If the old head knew about it, he wouldn't know what it would be like to be happy......

When he said this, Bai He suddenly stopped, and his expression darkened.

And when everyone heard him mention the regiment leader, their faces were not very good-looking.

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Lu Keqiang laughed.

"Alright, cross this street and you'll be at the Storm Tavern. I think the monsoon should have arrived a few years ago. We old brothers haven't seen each other for more than ten years, but we have to get together today. ”

"yes!" Michaud cheered up and said with a smile, "Monsoon, that guy doesn't know if he's been drinking for a long time." In the past, I was drunk when I was drunk, and I went crazy when I got drunk. You'll have to feed him today. ”

Bai He on the side said: "I'm not in a hurry to drink, I want to meet the little master first." ”

"Of course," said Luke, "Otherwise, why would I have gone to all the trouble to get you here?" However, the little young master should be in the Grand Duke's Mansion now, and it is not convenient for everyone to go together. Let's drink first, and I'll get the young master later. Although we don't know much about these old bones, we should pay attention to those who should avoid taboos......"

Everyone nodded.

As they spoke, the group walked through Avenue of the Brave to the door of the Storm Tavern.

"I don't know if those guys have arrived," everyone led the horses to the tethered stakes, and the impatient Bai He threw the reins directly to Michaud, and walked to the tavern with one arrow by himself.

And at this moment, several men dressed as nobles next to him were also preparing to enter the tavern. Accidentally, Bai He collided with a middle-aged man who was the leader of them.

"What are you doing?" beside the middle-aged man, the two guard knights scolded in unison. One of them had even pressed his hand to the hilt of his sword.

"I'm sorry. Shirakawa hurriedly turned back and apologized, and without stopping, he quickly entered the tavern.

"This old fellow ......," one of the guard knights was unhappy with Shirakawa's apology. He tried to catch up, but just as he moved, a hand grabbed him tightly.

"Lord Ansel......" The guard knight turned his head in surprise and looked at a young knight standing beside the middle-aged nobleman.

"Wait!"

Ansel shook his head at the guards.

At this time, Luke and the others had already tied their horses. While scolding the impatient Bai He, several people walked past Ansel and the others, smiling and apologetic.

It wasn't until Rook and the others walked into the tavern that Anse El breathed a sigh of relief and turned his gaze to his companion beside him.

"What?" the middle-aged nobleman who was accidentally bumped into by Shirakawa frowned and asked, "Ansel, do you know them?"

The middle-aged man is none other than Scott. In addition to him and Ansel, Charles and two other members of the Renault family were also traveled.

This time, Duke Renault and Scott secretly went south to Lulian, and as the head of the family in Lulian, Charles and Anse Air were naturally responsible for greeting and liaison.

Originally, if things were going well, Renault would have stayed in Lulian for two days at most before returning to the imperial capital. However, Leo's disappearance delayed the trip to the south indefinitely.

When he heard the news at Adolf's reception dinner, Scott was very upset. However, since his father, Duke Renault, didn't say anything, he naturally could only wait.

As central members of the family's decision-making, both Charles and Anse El knew that from the very beginning, Scott was strongly opposed to Renault coming to Lulian.

You must know that for more than thirty years, the interests of the Tomahawk Knights and the Renault family have long been firmly tied to Donald and inseparable.

The circle of influence of the nobility of the empire is not the friendship of mercenaries drinking and fighting in taverns, nor is it the entanglement of commoners over one or two silver soles. In a way, it's a complex, intertwined circle. It is connected by power, interests and blood.

Not to mention those families that have been standing for a hundred years and have deep-rooted traditions and allies, even those newly promoted minor nobles have been labeled on the first day they enter the aristocratic world.

Where his territory is, who his backers are, who he is with the same interests, and which camp he stands on, all have been fixed. It's just like who your biological parents are, and it's not something that anyone can change if they want to.

Judging by the rules of the aristocracy, the gap between the different circles far exceeds the trench of the Sea of Death!

Unless they are cornered, no one dares to break this rule easily. Once destroyed, not only does it mean that his original allies will become mortal enemies, but the family will easily fall apart. And more importantly, at that time, he and his family would be labeled as traitors.

Throughout history, no family has ever been labeled a traitor to a good end. If you are lucky, you may be able to prosper for a few years, and then you will decline under the common contempt and vigilance of the aristocratic world, and if you are unlucky, I am afraid that your family will be ruined immediately.

Moreover, the person betrayed by the Renault family is Donald, who has ruled the empire for thirty years!

Scott didn't know what a huge earthquake the empire would cause if word spread, but he knew exactly how much the family would pay for it.

The first is a split within the family.

For thirty years, the Renault family, as one of the most important top nobles of the Donald family, has always been the object of courtship among major families. In order to get in touch with the Renault family, these families have married their own children to the children of the Renault family.

Father Renault's generation was fine, and since Scott's generation, there have been many side branches of the family who have intermarried with other families and had children. And in Ansel's generation, the bloodline inheritance among the children has been inseparable from those families. Three aunts, four uncles, seven aunts and eight aunts, the relationship is complicated.

Just like the banyan trees in the banyan forest, whether it is the branches and leaves or the underground root system, they have long been entangled together.

What happens to these root systems once they switch camps?

All chopped?

Secondly, there is the family business.

A top-level family, with branches and knights loyal to the lord, ranging from hundreds to thousands. A behemoth like the Lanris family numbered as many as thousands of people in the side families alone, not to mention the loyal lord knights and a few disciples and disciples of the Sword Saint Sect.

And these people, directly or indirectly, are supported by the family property, otherwise they would have fallen apart long ago.

In the Renault family's estate, the revenue from the territory was only a small part, and more came from the trade in ores, weapons, cotton, timber and other commodities. And most of these industries are in cooperation with people.

As for the collaborators, there is no doubt that most of them are members of the Donald line. For example, the Barnes & Nobles have a cooperation with the Renault family in the arms deal. Some of the ore of the Renault family was sold to the Barnes and Noeu, and some of the weapons produced by the Bano family were sold by the Renault family.

With the death of Old Barnes and Noble this time, the family's arms trade chain was suddenly cut off. The deacons at home were busy for more than a week before they could barely make up the goods to be delivered, and the next business could be expected to drop by 20%.

This is not comparable to the blow suffered by the family's defection.

Once they get the news, those cooperative families who follow Donald will not hesitate to swallow the share that originally belonged to the Renault family, and will not give a single copper Sani. At the same time, Donald will issue orders to the cities in his sphere of influence, and anyone who dares to make a deal with the Renault family will suffer his wrath.

Among the five major knights of the empire, the Tomahawk Knights are not very wealthy. If such a catastrophe were to befall again, Scott could hardly imagine how bleak the future of the Knights would be.

And thirdly, and most importantly, Scott never thought there was any good fruit to eat with the royal family.

For thirty years, the reason why Donald has been able to cover the sky in the Solan Empire is because he is ruthless enough. Whether it is politics or interests, the families that dare to be his enemies have all been destroyed, without exception.

The burned castles, the corpses hanging from the trees and the gallows, the women and children lying in pools of blood, the gold and silver treasures that were taken away by wagons, the flags that were trampled on the muddy ground, all warned those who tried to fight him.

Don't look at the recent period, the royal family seems to have the upper hand in the battle with Donald, but Scott knows that it is only because Donald has not yet found a chance to make a move.

And the more he forbears, the more poisonous his attack becomes.

It was better for Edward I not to make any mistakes and not give Donald any chance, otherwise Scott could have imagined his fate.

Scott didn't like Donald, and in a way, he hated the man.

However, if he had to choose between Edward and Donald, he would not hesitate to choose Donald from the position of the family.

Few people know what a powerful force hides in Donald's vast shadow. Few people understand how ruthless his methods are. Under such circumstances, his father decided to defect to the royal family, and to say something rebellious, he really suspected that his father's brain had been burned out.

Didn't my father know about Donald's efforts to get Watts and his gang to mix sand into the Knights over the years?

If that's the case, why is it time to change course?

And in Scott's view, the reason why the Renault family was able to stand at the top of the imperial aristocracy was not by intrigue and intrigues, but by elite knights, excellent commanders, one victory after another and countless military exploits.

The Tomahawk Order is the foundation of the family.

Only by constantly winning victories can we stand on our feet and speak up. This is how the Renault family has risen, and it is bound to follow the same path in the future. If the Knights are injured because of this switch of factions, there is no need for more, as long as they lose a battle, the family may collapse.

This is absolutely unacceptable to Scott, who has regarded his father as an idol since he was a child and is determined to make a name for himself in history.

Especially now that a great war with the demons is about to begin!

Therefore, this Scott came very reluctantly, and the three days of training were also forced by his father's authority.

Privately, he was dismissive not only of Lulian's army, but also of the newly recruited mercenaries. He did not think that a rabble would be able to play any role in the impending big war. Especially the Knights of the Southern Cross, an army that is entirely based on mercenaries, is even more of a joke.

It might be better to break them up and insert them into the regular army, and it would be fanciful to let them group themselves together and try to go into battle on the fly with a few days of improvised training. If you have such time, it is better to train your own knights and prepare for war.

Originally, Scott could still endure it. But day by day, it has been three full days now, and there is still no trace of that damn boy, and this time, Scott can't suppress his anger.

Seeing that Scott's face was getting more and more ugly, Charles and Ansel simply pulled him out to visit Muni City today, drink alcohol, and get rid of the boredom in his heart.

What I didn't expect was that at the door of the Storm Tavern, I encountered such an incident.

Being bumped in by someone is a completely trivial thing for Scott, who has a strict upbringing. Even if Anse Air didn't hold his guard knight, he would stop it.

But he didn't expect that Ansel seemed to know one of the other party, and looking at his expression, he was extremely awe-inspiring. This is not common for three generations of the Renault family.

Under the gaze of Scott and Charles, Anse El said, "Uncle Scott, do you remember Roy that I told you about earlier?"

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。 I'll finish writing the verdict, but it's slower. Anyway, you don't expect it, do you?

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