Now there is only one final between Anna and Acherin, and this unsuspenseful match naturally ends in a landslide victory for Anna. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 But the audience was impressed by the kind of behavior that Echerin showed on the playing field, and they shed tears of emotion.

Even Anna was full of praise for his performance, giving the armor as a prize to Acherin, "appropriately" in exchange for half a year's land revenue.

In this way, the tournament came to an end in another parade of floats. Early the next morning, Salian and his team left the camp and set off with Makminus for the penultimate stop of the trip, the city of Springs, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Altenburg.

Along the way, Max and Salian, dressed as Meier, ride side by side, and taking advantage of this rare opportunity, the little prince has many topics of interest to ask the knowledgeable mercenary. Aphroa, on the other hand, had to travel every day in full heavy gear.

The two-day journey passed in a blink of an eye, and Salian and his party successfully arrived at Clear Spring City without any obstacles on the way. I think that the continuous blows to the competitors some time ago have greatly damaged their vitality, and they are temporarily incapable of hindering operations.

The city of clear springs, as the name suggests, is named after the clear spring, legend has it that during the ancient empire, the daughter of Emperor Severus was hunting in the forest one day, because she was lost and she was far away from her retinue, when the princess was alone and hungry and thirsty, she prayed to the goddess of the forest, and then a clear spring appeared in a clearing in front of the princess, the spring water was so sweet that she regained her strength, and finally found her companion. Later, in order to thank the goddess of the forest for her help, the princess built a temple dedicated to the goddess of the forest in the place where she found the spring water, which is the origin of the castle of clear springs.

At this time, although Qingquan City was already a big city of 150,000 people, it was far from what it would be like when it was an art capital in the future. Even when Archduke Joseph was young, he was captured by the Vanoria rebels, and it took five years to recapture the city.

Salian saw that the entire city of Clear Springs was a huge fortress, and she not only had to guard against attacks from within the empire, but also the threat of the Eastern Sunchaser Cult was increasing day by day.

At this point, we have to mention the current situation in the East. It is rumored that the Türde Empire, which believed in the Cult of the Sun God, had a Ming monarch named Suleiman, who killed all his brothers as soon as he came to power, exiled the original Great Viqi, according to the Empire, and firmly held the power in his own hands. Now they are repeatedly fighting with the Sophie dynasty of the Posa Empire in the middle of the other continent for the rich Five Rivers Valley, and it is said that they have won several large-scale battles in succession, and according to the information received by Itkanria merchants who did business in the Levant, the Suleiman Sultan will raise a million troops to attack the western continent where the Salian are located after completing the war on the other continent.

Therefore, Salian is now so vigorously involved in the struggle for the throne also has this consideration, because the Grand Duchy of Altenburg is the forefront of the Empire's defense against the Cult of the Sun, and in his communication with Max, he also knows that the Grand Duke's father and son are also fully aware of the threat from the east.

After entering the city, Makminus left first, and he was going to Miyagi to meet his father first. He also warmly invited Meyer, hoping that the mercenary could go with him, but Meyer politely refused, it seems that the little prince wants to dig the corner of Salian's wall, but unfortunately how can he let himself be dug up!

On the other hand, everyone also politely rejected the official location prepared for them by the Grand Duke, with Miss Lorana Ise here, the "Kaiserhof" Hotel in Clear Springs City was naturally their first choice, and the most luxurious chain of high-end hotels in the whole empire could be regarded as the secret base of the Han Shea League in various places, and there were all kinds of liaison facilities and meeting places here, of course, outsiders did not know.

After Salian regained his identity, a closed-door meeting was held in a secret conference room in the hotel.

"Manstel, the situation is much better than I expected. Without the financial support of the Ruger family, your 300,000 gold coins are precious to the Rokenhausen family!"

"I see, but this Grand Duke is not too stingy, is he?"

"It shouldn't be too bad according to the child's situation. And it depends on how big your appetite is, dear baron!"

"I don't want much, it's just the viscount title and the interests of Konstanz. ”

Anna and Achelin didn't understand what they were saying, and they didn't need to know, the siblings knew that Salian would arrange everything for them, and they just had to wait for the time to wave their fists.

That night, Salian and Lorana Ise also had an in-depth exchange alone, and although Mansel was smart, he was only a businessman's wisdom, and only two female staff officers could understand Sallian's true thoughts.

"Dear Lorana Ise, it seems that we are going to trouble you again, for our tour is at once over, and as soon as the business here is finished, I will leave to your majesty at once. ”

"Where do you want me to go?" asked the pretty girl, putting her arms around her lover.

"Go to the Novomak Krai again, now any means of communication are unreliable, I only trust you. ”

"Go back to the north, ah! I see. This time, the Ruger family's actions have given us a chance for the Hansa Alliance. ”

"Hehe, it's still your sharpest eye. ”

"Well, as long as you support the opponent of the Ruger family to ascend to the throne, the alliance can at least seize the Ruger family's sphere of influence in the north!"

"I don't think Estfaria can object to such generous conditions, right?!"

Of course, although she doesn't want to get involved in politics, she will never let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for expansion. ”

"Yes, and in fact you are not directly helping the Rokenhausen family, you are just trying to compete with the Ruger family for the market, and it is not politically involved at all!"

"You're so bad, Salian, you're using our Hansa League as your own tool!" Miss Chenek looked sharply into Salian's eyes.

"The Han Xie Alliance will one day be fully integrated into my sphere of influence, and when Estofalia becomes the president and you become the vice president, our interests will be one!"

"Hehe, your calculation is really ingenious, then I want to hurry up and give birth to an heir, he will not be a baron in the future, and he may become an earl!"

The next day, Lorana Ise set out on her way back north, this time with a heavy task for Miss Schönek, but Salian had full confidence in him.

The well-dressed people, accompanied by Maxinus, entered the heavily guarded palace of Springs City, where Grand Convention Cerf met with Salian, Manstel, Anna, and Acherin.

This was the first time Salian had met the Grand Duke of Altenburg himself, and Josef von Rokenhausen, about forty-five years of age, could be called a beautiful man, well-dressed and courteous.

The host and the guest first had a cordial exchange on the topics of interest and expressed their views on some interesting events at present.

Naturally, the conversation turned to the aspect of imperial succession.

"You are the only legitimate heir to the current emperor, and I and the lords of Schwartenen are absolutely behind you!"

"I am very grateful to you and you for your support, Your Excellency the Count of the Frontier, you have already shown your attitude in Veralburg, and Max has spoken to me. ”

"Hehe, I, the House of Hohenstelingen, deserve to serve the Empire, and in my opinion you are the Crown Prince. ”

"And Baron Barenberg, Count Altmannshofen, and Miss Countess Celine Fisher, I thank you as well. ”

At this time, Manstel seized the opportunity and said: "Dear Highness, originally my background was not suitable to appear here, but I also hope that the empire can be peaceful for a long time and the people can live and work in peace and contentment, so in order to let you ascend the throne, I am willing to give you 300,000 Gur dong gold coins as a gift free of charge." The originally calm and majestic Grand Duke also looked at Baron Barenberg with surprise at this time, and he was also shocked by Markminus on the side.

After losing the support of the Ruger family, the Archduke Joseph and his son have been worried about the lack of funds, and it is not enough to ascend to the throne by blood, edicts, and friendships, and it is necessary to deal with the insatiable princes of the church and the fierce secular princes, but the continuous war has consumed too much power for the Grand Duchy of Aldenburg. Although 300,000 gold coins is still too little for the cause of the emperor, at this critical moment, Manster's funds can definitely be called a relief in the snow.

"Haha, thank you so much, Baron, I don't want to say more if you make a wish, just ask for anything, right?"

Manstel blushed in embarrassment, and Salian said as he didn't want to answer.

"The Baron's family has been serving the Empire since three hundred years ago, the Baron's father has served His Majesty and participated in many wars, and the Baron's ideal is to contribute more to the Empire, so all he needs is a title, and his fief is close to Constance, which is vital to the control of the Mars Mountains under your Royal Highness's name. ”

"Oh, I see, so what kind of person is Bishop Constance?"

"He was the godfather of Baron Barenberg, and it was he who baptized the baron. ”

"Oh, if the bishop himself does not object, I think it is feasible to annex the imperial church city of Constance to the Barondelord of Barenberg, and with a fief of this magnitude I think the title of barony should be elevated to the rank of viscount. Of course, this will not be implemented until after the end of the Imperial Electoral. ”

"Yes, Your Highness, we know that. ”

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Now that he had received the Archduke's assurance, the rest of the matter went very smoothly, and half of the gold coins that Manstel had brought with him were cash, and two large boxes were brought in at once, and the other half were deeds, which could be of special use. Looking at these things, the Grand Duke felt that Baron Barenberg was really a rare talent, and he might be able to reuse it in the future.

In this way, the meeting ended in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

Don't think that Anna and Achelin are only here to accompany them, they and Salian are even more important to the Grand Duke, and in order to ascend to the throne, they will inevitably use their swords in the end.