Kite Fort, Regent's Chamber.

Standing in front of the wall, holding a slender wooden staff, he pointed to the huge map on the wall and said:

"The Kingdom of Neville opened up the Carchimosen Grand Canyon in the Mist Mountains, and could build a large fortress on the shores of Lake Agate in the Dusk Forest. When the gnolls of the Twilight Forest launch a beast tide to attack the northern borders of the kingdom of Seuss, Neville only needs to send some of the Sword Mantis Knights to attack the gnolls' settlements and kill the gnolls pups and females, which can make them unbearable, weaken their racial potential, and force the gnolls to migrate to the northeast of the Twilight Forest, away from the west near Neville and the south near the kingdom of Seuss. ”

"The northern border of Seuss overlaps with the southern part of the Twilight Forest, and there is no danger to defend, and this kind of military cooperation will put most of the pressure on the kingdom of Seuss in the short term, and the Nevilles will seize the territory around Lake Onyx first. But in the long run, the strategy is in the fundamental interests of the two kingdoms. ”

"Look at the wastelands north of the Boulder Mountains. ”

The wooden staff clicked on the map to mark the location of the megalithic fortress, and the Marquis Ludwig breathed a sigh of relief and continued: "The legions of the Sassan Empire are advancing eastward, gradually moving away from the heart of the Empire, and logistics will become an important factor limiting the progress of the Sassan Empire's development. ”

Combined with the current national strength of the Sassanian Empire, in a five-year cycle, they had to stop when they advanced the empire's border 120 kilometers eastward, and organized tenants to reclaim wasteland, build towns and villages, and absorb the newly expanded territory. Fifteen years later, the borders of the Sassangian Empire were at least 360 kilometers deep into the northern wilderness. However, the army of the Sassangian Empire and the Knights of Radiance had to set up a buffer zone of 50 kilometers in front of the border. If, after 15 years, the Neville troops leave the Boulder Fortress, the armies of both sides will join forces in the northern wilderness, the Sarsan army and the Radiant Knights will receive a steady supply of supplies from the Boulder Fortress, and the Neville will receive military assistance from the Sathiran Empire. ”

"To the south, the Nevilles have opened up the trade route between the Earls of Dekaiser and the Rand Empire, and even if Neovest does not have the ability to open up the Southern Continent, as long as they build a port on Lake Fez, the goods we have obtained in the Southern Continent can flow into Neville through the port and trade routes. Of course, Neville's harvest from the Northern Wilderness and the Twilight Forest can also be transported directly to our Gambis via this trade route, without having to detour through the Kingdom of Dórd. ”

The Ludwig Palace Minister put down his wooden staff and sighed: "In this way, the kingdom of Neville will become the central kingdom connecting the north and the south in twenty years." ”

Regent Williams tapped his fingers on the mahogany desk, turned his gaze to the Marquis of Golon, and sneered: "It is said that Rex has a rough and brave temperament, and I think he is really cunning...... Luckily Victor saw the clue, otherwise we would all have been deceived by his appearance. ”

"The Neville people have always been cunning...... Every time the Sassan cavalry invaded the kingdom of Dodor, Neville always looted the logistics and combat supplies of the Sassan people, and rarely confronted the Sassan cavalry. ”

Marquis Goron shook his head, his voice changed, and he said in a deep voice: "However, this layout is comprehensive and interlocking, and it is not like the handiwork of the Neville people. ”

"His Highness Goron is right. Marquis Ludwig said: "It is not surprising that the priests of the Pope's line have given up the two great dioceses of Gambis and Bore, and they have fully supported the kingdom of Neville, and have advised Rex. As the head of the Holy See, His Majesty Clement has a position to balance and coordinate the cooperation of the various dioceses, which is reflected in the layout of the Kingdom of Neville. ”

"We have confirmed that the military cooperation between Neville and Seuss is the result of a joint push by Clement and Patriarch Tamor. Under the combined pressure of the two Patriarchs, Patriarch Friedus, who was in charge of the affairs of the Sassan Empire, temporarily abandoned his ambitions for the Great Diocese of Neville, and Tournans led the elite of the Templars to help the Saccharians deal with the Centaur bandits, and the Knights of Radiance no longer continued to coerce the Neville to send troops to the Great Stone Fortress. ”

Victor's message from Neville attracted the attention of the kiteburg, and the royal family of Gambis mobilized all aspects of the relationship, and after two months of investigation, the context of the matter has been clarified. With the help of the Pope, Neville reached a tacit agreement with the Souss, the Rand Empire, and the Sassan Empire almost simultaneously. But what Gambis is most concerned about is the movement of the United Kingdom.

Williams asked, "What about the marriage between the Peter family and the Seuss royal family in the Borui Kingdom?"

According to the outside world, Raymond Peter, the eldest son of Duke Peter, loved Princess Cerene, and did not hesitate to join the royal family of Souss, and offered to ask for marriage. ”

Ludwig paused and said, "Of course, things won't be so simple. Tracing the origins of the two kingdoms of Borui and Seuss, their founders are both from the Eastern Alliance, they are naturally on the same side, and the two sides have been marrying. But there had never been a precedent for the army of the Borui Kingdom to set foot in the territory of Souss, and it can be said that this was the special feature of the marriage between Raymond and Princess Shireen. Regardless of whether the army of the Borui Kingdom goes to the Twilight Forest to help the Seuss defend against the beast tide, someone needs to be vouched for. Otherwise, it would be impossible for the Duke of Madin to convince Queen Cynthia and the other four great families to agree to a Borui nobleman as the future Prince of Seuss. ”

"It must be the Knights of Radiance, Patriarch Tamor came forward to vouch!"

Williams slapped the table, got up from his chair, paced back and forth a few steps, and said in a raised voice:

"The kingdom of Seuss is a diocese belonging to the Patriarchate of Tamor, but the Knights of Radiance have more influence on the nobility of Seuss. Without the support of the Templars, the Seuss would simply not be able to gain a foothold at the forefront of the Dusk Forest and mine the Mithril mines there. Now, with the Sasangan Empire in full swing eastward, the Radiant Knights intend to transfer the 20,000 Templars stationed in the Twilight Forest defensive line...... This gap needs to be filled...... The Knights of Radiance approached Patriarch Tamor and offered to have King Borui's team fill the void in the Dusk Forest defense line in preparation for the complete withdrawal of the Templars. And Tamor has just taken over the teaching affairs of the Borui Kingdom, and he also wants to take this opportunity to expand their influence among the nobles of Suss and Borui. The two hit it off and together led to the marriage of Raymond and Princess Shireen. ”

Speaking of this, Williams couldn't help but wave his hands and complained, "Gambis is also the parish of Patriarch Tamor, why does he favor one over the other and ignore the needs of our Gambis?"

Marquis Goron stirred the coffee with a silver spoon and said in a low voice: "The prince has no real power, and Raymond is not a strong-willed knight, he is too far behind Victor to resist the charm of the purple-eyed noblewoman, and he is particularly easy to be manipulated." It is better to say that Raymond is the future prince of Seuss, but rather that he is a hostage of Borui in the Seuss garrison. The Borui sent troops to help the Seuss Kingdom defend against the gnolls, and also handed over a popular archer as a hostage, so what is their purpose?"

Palace Minister Ludwig was silent for a moment, and then said: "I am inclined to the judgment of Viscount Randall, the Borui people have ideas about the land on the south shore of Lake Seuss...... 90 years ago, the Borui people crossed the river from the seven major islands to the south, but suffered a failure. Their military operations have brought the barbarians on the other side of the Seven Great Coalition Islands into a single force. The barbarians drove out the pioneers of the Borui Kingdom and established a barbarian kingdom based on the defense and production facilities of the Pioneer Fortress. For a long time, the Borui Kingdom has always sent elite attacks to destroy the production facilities of the barbarians on the southern bank, and there is intelligence that the barbarian kingdom has become more and more united under the pressure of the Borui Knight Squad, and even a professional army has appeared. It is very difficult for the Borui people to extinguish the barbarian kingdom......"

"The kingdom of Seuss has teamed up with the Neville people to develop the Twilight Forest. The Borui have a formidable adversary to the south, where should they go?"

Ludwig turned to the wall, paddled his wooden staff along the map along the Jinshui River to the location of Lake Fes, and said: "I can't think of any other place than the landing site on Lake Fez." ”

"The Kingdom of Seuss is very close to Lake Fes, and the army of the Kingdom of Borui is stationed near the Dusk Forest, which can not only train and prepare for war, but also use the Kingdom of Seuss as a springboard to move to the shores of Lake Fes. The Borui people first helped the Seuss Kingdom stabilize the defense line of the Dusk Forest, and then Patriarch Tamor came forward to let us Gambis and the Borui Kingdom cooperate to jointly explore the Southern Continent. Because Tamor is now in charge of the four dioceses of Dodor, Gambis, Seuss, and Borui at the same time, the magic power under his command is too scattered, and if we cooperate with the Borui Kingdom, it will be the most ideal pattern for the clergy of Tamor's lineage to expand south. ”

"Perhaps, this is the condition for the Borui Kingdom to send troops to the Dusk Forest. ”

Williams sneered: "The Borui people have messed up themselves, but they want to come and grab territory with us? ”

"Borui people are also very confident, and they are also unwilling to develop with us, otherwise they will take the initiative to negotiate with us. The Marquis of Goron added, "The Borui are ready to leave the matter of reconciling the contradictions between the two sides to Tamor...... They're here to grab turf!"

The regent put his hands behind his back, paced a few more steps, looked up and said, "I don't want to see the fleet of the United Kingdom of Borui in Lake Fez!

The corners of Marquis Ludwig's mouth curled into bitter laugh lines, and he said: "The Dusk Forest has an abundance of high-quality wood, and the Borui people are good at building ships...... The key lies in the harbor of Lake Fez...... Neowest once sent someone to test the kiteburg and whether it was willing to cooperate in the construction of a port on the shores of Lake Fez, but we ignored him. Just last month, Neowest traveled with his queen to explore the shores of Lake Fez, and he killed a ferocious fishman as a gift to the queen. ”

The successive queens of the Rand Empire have been the purple-eyed nobles of the Eleano family, and since the fall of the royal family of Neovest, the great nobles of Seuss have gradually fallen to the Knights of Radiance. Due to the binding force of the ancient covenant, the Seuss royal family still intermarried with Neovest, but they only coped with it, sending a low-blooded noble daughter to marry into the Rand royal family. Without the purple-eyed noblewoman to have offspring, the bloodline of the Neovest family was almost devastated, and the relationship between the two sides was completely broken, and they couldn't even talk about their appearance.

This generation of Empress Rand was born in the small family of Souss, and she was not worthy of Emperor Neowest in terms of appearance or blood. She and Neovest had no children, and were locked in the palace for many years, almost imprisoned. The Emperor Rand and Princess Lucretia from Nachtigarh had a deep relationship, and their daughter Princess Elizabeth had been made the first heir by the Rand Emperor.

Neovest's blatant trip to Lake Fes with the Empress does not indicate a change in his relationship with Nakhtigar. But here's a clear signal:

If you Gambis are not willing to give up their hatred, then I will cooperate with the two kingdoms of Seuss and Borui!

Williams spit out two words with an expressionless face: "Advice!"

Ludwig glanced at him cautiously, and said: "I support Viscount Randall's proposal, first, to try to destroy the marriage between Seuss and Bore, and second, to make a gesture of building a port there at the mouth of Lake Fez, and to adopt a strategy of no contact, no statement, and no negotiation with Neowest, so that he has hope for us, but is also suspicious, and tries to delay as much time as possible, and train the navy in advance." ”

Williams thought for a moment, nodded noncommittally, and said, "I'll think about it, Lord Ludwig, you go down first." ”

"Yes, Your Royal Highness the Regent. ”

Ludwig bowed and retired. As his footsteps disappeared at the end of the corridor, the Marquis of Goron walked to the side wall of the council chamber and pushed open the closet to reveal the secret door behind it.

Four sword-wielding maids walked out of the dark passage surrounded by the Wizard Tofowen, and Williams himself stepped forward, helped the old wizard to the sofa, and asked respectfully, "Master, have you listened?"

"I don't have good ears and I don't hear ...... Lisa told me. ”

Tofowen shook his head, leaned back on the sofa, and closed his eyes. The four maids took out the small copper stove, lit the charcoal, and threw in the calming grass, red tendon leaves, golden kites, black husks, and green amber, and the pale blue smoke rose, and a wonderful fragrance filled the chamber with an uplifting spirit. The waitress brought the bronze furnace to Tofowen, he took a deep breath of the light blue smoke, opened his eyes, and said with a smile:

"I just carved the elven stone statue for Victor, and I'm a little tired, but now it's much better...... You have time to take a look, and it is by far the most satisfying work I have ever made. ”

"Be sure to see ......"

Williams presented a cup of fragrant coffee and asked expectantly, "Master, what do you think about what the palace minister just talked about?"

Tuoferwen took a sip of his coffee and said slowly, "Neville, Rand Empire, Seuss, Borui, and Sassan...... Everything is a Clement layout. He took the initiative to abandon the two dioceses of Gambis and Borui, both made concessions and concentrated his forces, while Tamor took over the ecclesiastical affairs of the Kingdom of Gambis and the United Kingdom of Borui, and fully presided over the implementation and coordination of the southern expansion strategy. On this condition, Clement joined forces with Tallor to force the Knights of Radiance to back down on the issue of Neville...... Clement balances all interests and leaves people speechless. ”

"More, on the other hand...... The Knights of Radiance withdrew their troops from the Twilight Forest, and the Kingdom of Seuss was in desperate need of military support, so it was inevitable to turn to Tamor for help. Clement asked Neville to hold the Mist Mountains and relieve the pressure on the kingdom of Seuss, and Tamor owed the Pope a favor. On the other hand, the three patriarchs jointly promoted the United Kingdom of Borui to send troops to the Twilight Forest, assuming that the conditions of the Borui people were to ascend to the southern continent from Lake Fez, bypassing the troops of the barbarian kingdom, and cooperating with our Gambis to open up. This was a good thing for Tamor, as his clergy had to take care of the development plans of the Kingdom of Dordor. However, the shortcomings of the Tamor faction were also revealed, as they were understaffed and needed time to convert the low-level clergy of the new diocese into their own camp. If Tamor lets us sit down and negotiate with the Borui Kingdom in advance, it is impossible for us to agree to the Borui people running over to grab the territory before we are frustrated!"

Tofowen sighed: "So, Tofowen is in a hurry now, and he can only take one step at a time. In the end, if he can't get us to work with the Bore, he can only ask the Pope to intervene, because the Centaur Hill Diocese is still in Clement's hands. ”

"As a result, Clement played a vital role in the strategy of northern, eastern, and southern expansion, and no one could shake his papal throne!"

Marquis Goron nodded and said in a deep voice, "No wonder Neville canonized the southern border to Countess de Caesser...... This is probably also Clement's ploy. ”

Lady Dolly and Sylvia have a delicate relationship, and it is certain that the upper echelons of the York family are generally grateful to Lady Dolly. Sylvia and Neovestre used to use each other, but as the York family and Kite Castle entered their honeymoon period, the tacit understanding between the two legendary knights was gone. If necessary, Sylvia will take action against Neovis, for example, he is determined to bring the Boreites to Lake Fez. However, Lady Dolly intervened to mediate the relationship between Neovester and Sylvia, and Sylvia was unlikely to refute her face.

No one can ignore the power of a legendary knight, not to mention that Neovest is also a fierce legendary knight.

Sylvia doesn't make a move, unless the kite castle is piled up with the lives of high-ranking knights, otherwise, she can only watch the small Rand Empire lead jumping up and down, left and right.

Williams' face was full of gloom, his eyes were fierce, he clenched his fists and released them, released them and clenched them.

Marquis Goron's eyes were like lightning, and he shouted, "Williams, calm down! It's not yet time for you to storm the Golden Realm...... Even if you achieve the Golden Rank, we can't beat Neovest together!"

Williams let out a long sigh and bowed his jaw, "I shouldn't be angry......"

"Child, hatred has blinded you, and the reason for your resentment is that you don't see as high as Clement, nor as far as he sees. ”

Tofowen reprimanded loudly: "I ask you, even if everything goes well for Gambis's southern expansion, in case our southern expansion is blocked, do you want to use the power of the Borui people and Neowest?"

Williams was stunned for a moment, and said with a wry smile: "Master, that's right. I was wrong......"

"From Clement's standpoint, this is not a trap for Gambis at all, but a full preparation for the entire southern expansion strategy. So, we can't resist his layout, and we don't need to deliberately resist it. ”

"I agree with the master. Marquis Goron nodded, and said with a relaxed expression: "I'm afraid Clement didn't expect that Victor would be able to see through his plan from the subtleties and propose effective countermeasures, otherwise, we would not have known the changes in the situation at all." ”

Toferwen's expression became strange, and he said hesitantly, "This ...... Perhaps, the Pope did not despise Victor, and Victor's reaction was expected by him. Victor does not have all the information, and it is inevitable that he will take advantage of it. You see, Clement sent Dietmar to Victor's side, and Victor immediately thought that the Knights of Radiance wanted to make personal contact with him. ”

"yes, why did the Knights of Radiance have a private contact with Victor?" asked Williams, confused.

"......I don't know," the old wizard shook his head and said, "We must remind Victor that the Knights of Radiance are not without divisions, and the Paladins have been fighting for rankings...... Tell Victor to be careful and don't use Clement as a swordman. ”

In addition, Rex's queen tells Victor that the Eleano family is not satisfied with Princess Shireen's marriage offer...... This is both a fact and a trap...... Clement deliberately stumbled on Tamor, and we came forward to sabotage the marriage between Seuss and Borui, which played into Clement's hands!"

Williams nodded, and said: "Our discord with the Borui Kingdom will only give Tamor a headache, and he can't solve the contradictions between the two sides, so he can only ask the Pope to mediate." ”

"There's one more thing that even Clement doesn't know. ”

Toferwen took a sip of coffee, waited for the waitress to wipe the corners of his mouth for him, and continued: "Touching Lake Fes is not the main purpose of the Borui people to send troops to the Dusk Forest!"

Williams had an idea and said, "You mean, the Golden Recovery Potion?"

Marquis Golon also said suddenly: "This is reasonable, they can't just have the golden potion, they must have enough refining potion, and the Sus Kingdom has the raw materials for refining the potion." Raymond Peter atoneted his sin and joined the family of Eleano as a hostage of the Borui kingdom so that the Borui people could obtain medicinal herbs from the Dusk Forest. ”

Gambis has made a pact with the Kingdom of Borui to keep the secret of the Golden Elixir together. The five major families of Borui also didn't know how the gold elixir formula was leaked, so they conducted a strict self-examination. As a result of the self-examination, Raymond Peter was stripped of his territory and the leadership of the Favonius Chamber of Commerce, and eventually became a tool for marriage.

"It's not just a refining potion. ”

Tofowen shook his head and said, "I optimized its formula based on the sample of the Boiling Blood Elixir. But no matter how I deduce, the main ingredient of the boiling blood potion must be the spinal cord of the gnolls. ”

"Boiling Blood Elixir?" Williams frowned and said, "This time, the Sassan Empire defeated the Blackhoof Centaur, and the Boiling Blood Elixir shined, and all the major forces placed orders to the Borui Kingdom...... If the Boiling Blood Elixir does not use the spinal cord of the Jackals, then the Dusk Forest is indeed very important to the Borui people......"

The corners of Tofowen's mouth drooped, his expression became extremely solemn, and he shook his head and said, "Regarding the Boiling Blood Elixir, I found that it is toxic and will be deposited in the body of the user, and it can also be passed on to the next generation......"

Williams was startled and asked urgently, "What kind of consequences will it cause?"

"As far as the current trial is concerned, newborns contaminated with toxicity have a stronger boiling effect after taking the drug......

The old wizard wrinkled, shook his head and sighed, "My current lifespan is not enough to continue to observe the effects of the boiling blood poison on the third generation...... I have developed an antidote specifically for boiling blood elixir, which can be taken after the boiling effect is over, but it cannot completely remove the residue of boiling blood poison in the soldier's body...... It seems to be rooted in the blood......"

"That's amazing!"

Marquis Golon couldn't help but be moved, he knew too much about the ability of the Boiling Blood Potion, and even the Tuo Buddha Script could not clear the poison of the boiling blood medicine, which showed that the pharmacy of the inventor of the Boiling Blood Potion was extremely profound.

Tofowen glanced at Goron angrily and said coldly, "If that bastard really had the ability, he wouldn't have invented a potion with such strong side effects...... I'm concocting a new potion of strength, and when the time comes, you'll know who's really powerful!"

"In short, it's better to use less boiling blood potion!"

"Yes, yes. Marquis Goron tugged at the corners of his mouth and respectfully agreed, glaring at the regent who couldn't help but laugh by the way.

The old wizard regained his usual calm and wisdom, picked up the coffee cup, and said calmly: "Victor is extremely intelligent, let him go and play with Clement...... We provide intelligence support and inform him of the contents of today's conversation...... There is no need to mention the boiling blood potion, I have a hunch that he will take the initiative to find me. ”

"I agreed, and I immediately signed the paperwork to send troops and craftsmen to the mouth of Lake Fez. Williams said with a smile.

Tofowen suddenly raised his dim old eyes and said cautiously: "By the way, let the Yeliu City side do it as soon as possible, drive Judy out of the Buryat family, send her to the Silver Moon Manor, and deprive her of her surname." The interests of Victor and Yeliu City must be severed before the Southern Lord reacts, otherwise, the Southern Lords will become followers of His Highness Randall, and the rest will be troublesome. ”

"Sylvia won't be willing either, His Highness Randall's will is influenced by the Southern Lord, but this wicked man is the only one to do!"