Michel VII sat in front of the campfire, his ornate military uniform covered in dust, and his two-horned hat thrown aside. His gaze was unfocused on the flames, thinking back to the war that had taken a turn for the past few days.

Before encountering a night attack under the command of Marshal Rudolph, the Prince was not able to maintain sufficient vigilance, although Duke Edward had warned him. The other southern princes, led by the mayor of Port Bis, had long since retreated, and did not pay attention to the defense at night, and even the army of Port Biss deliberately moved to the rear of the camp, so as soon as they encountered a night attack, they immediately broke away from the southern army and ran away without a trace.

At first, Michel VII wanted to fight back, but he didn't know that Glamorgan's reinforcements had arrived, and he thought he still had a numerical advantage. However, as the army of Pritown retreated, especially when the news of the death of the Count of Cassonne came, Michel VII immediately lost the confidence to fight any further, leaving a part of the army to break off and leave the battlefield with 10,000 men.

At that time, he could no longer contact Duke Edward, and until now, he did not know the whereabouts of the Duke. And when he returned to Port Leon and found that the city had been taken by the Philip family, he immediately understood that even if Duke Edward on the front line escaped, the back road of the Corgas army was destined to be intercepted, after all, it was necessary to walk from the Lanz River to the peak of Liga, which spanned the entire southern part of the empire, and even if there were no pursuers, such a long road would be enough to drag the Corgas army on the road.

It is not surprising that most of Pritown is now out of control, and almost every city has people who have taken the opportunity to revolt, and the war tax issued by Michel VII is too harsh, especially for the capitalists, who are almost cutting their flesh and drinking their blood, and it is not surprising that these people would oppose the prince.

The only thing that Michel VII can hope for now is to return to his native Nanterre, and rely on the city run by the Cnoille family for hundreds of years to fight a cage war against the Imperial army. But even this last resort is hopeless. There are 40,000 Imperial troops stationed in Port Leon alone, and the 10,000 troops around Michel VII may be able to protect him from returning to Nanterre, but it is almost impossible to defend against the Imperial attack. He didn't have the sophisticated artillery of the Imperial Capital Garrison, and the enemy he faced was not the Southern Army, which was full of internal contradictions, and even if he returned to Nanterley, it would only delay his demise a little.

Singid sat down beside the Prince, he looked almost as embarrassed as Michel VII, but not as decadent as the Prince, although he was hunched back, but different from Michel VII, this was just his usual posture. Moreover, even if both of them are disgraced, Sinjid's appearance makes people not feel like he has suffered a defeat, because he is very sloppy and does not pay attention to grooming at all, unlike the prince, when did Michel VII dress himself up beautifully.

"Are we finished?" asked Michel VII, staring at the campfire and not looking back. His voice sounded like he was ten years old, and he was not at all the same Prince of Pritown as he used to be.

"No," Singid shook his head, and he still looked loyal to Michel VII for now, "we still have a chance." ”

"Chance?" Michel VII smiled bitterly, feeling that Sinjid was comforting himself, "Do we really still have a chance? Even if we surrender to the emperor, we will probably lose our lives in the end, and even the family will suffer with it." ”

"I just got the news that Count Jericho and Princess Caterina went to Midnight Castle. This news came from my secret agent who stayed in Deweide, and it is completely reliable. ”

The prince was stunned for a moment, and his eyes sparkled again. "Are they in Fort Midnight?" Michel VII's brain quickly moved, if he could catch the eldest princess, then he still had a chance to protect himself, at least his life should be saved. However, after that, he will probably have to go into exile, and his current status and property will not be kept.

"This is our last chance. "Even if Count Jericho arrives at Fort Midnight, there are still no troops in that place, and with our ten thousand troops, there is no problem in taking Fort Midnight." ”

His eyes twitched, and the prince was quite moved by the proposal. Still, he was a little hesitant. "We left a company of troops at Fort Midnight, Jericho and Caterina escaped alone, how did they avoid our remaining troops and enter Fort Midnight?"

"With all due respect," Sinjid straightened up slightly, his voice still low, like a whisper of the devil's temptation, "now that the wall is falling down, everyone is pushing, and the people under him see that the situation is not good, and it is normal for them to want to escape." Those who put it in Midnight Fort may have seen us defeated in Lantz, so they only cared about their own lives and abandoned their responsibilities. But the 10,000 people around us are infallible, no matter how bad they are, and my troops, aren't they?"

Sinjid's words were like magic, and the hesitant prince was soon encouraged by these words and made up his mind. "Then march to Fort Midnight!" his palms slammed into his knees, and his eyes re-determined.

Rejuvenated, Michel VII regrouped his forces, and the remnants of Prytown's defeated army marched toward the same destination that Princess Swain had taken a few days earlier when Princess Swain had fled. This army was now in disarray, they only dared to challenge opponents who were much weaker than themselves, and they had no power to fight back, the courage and willpower of these soldiers had long since been scattered in front of the Lantes, and even if they were still in the instinct of obedience to Michel VII, the day of the collapse of this army was not far off.

Michel VII did not see the numbness and self-abandonment in the eyes of his soldiers, or rather, he deliberately chose to ignore it. There are so many such eyes in this team, so many that even the prince himself will show such eyes from time to time.

However, there are still some people who still maintain full self-confidence and do not hang their heads for the defeat of a battle. This was the case with Sinjid and his troops, his soldiers had no fear in their eyes, and he, in the corners that no one could see, quietly bared his fangs.

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The quiet and peaceful afternoon at Midnight Fort, with the bright spring sunshine and warm spring breeze caressing on the body, always makes people feel a little tired. The fields in the distance were already green, and the Midnight County still maintained the pastoral style of the previous era, with no large cities, only scattered villages and fields.

Swain sat on the loft on the second floor, yesterday's newspaper in hand. Because there were no developed cities around Midnight Fort, and even the railroad was far away, the morning newspaper would not arrive until the evening, although the Jericho family had always had a newspaper.

The news of Michel VII's defeat at Lanztown had been widely reported in the newspapers, and even the southern newspapers began to quietly sing the praises of the greatness of the empire and to denounce the rebellion of Michel VII and the southern princes. It is not difficult to see that now that the South has begun to abandon their lords, some people are fully prepared to change their courts.

There was a sound of footsteps on the wooden platform, and Baron Deniz approached, still holding a telegram in his hand. "Your Excellency, the telegram from De Wei. ”

Swain put down the newspaper and took the telegram from Baron Deniz. "From Lesson Thirteen?" Swain raised his eyebrows at the signature on the telegram, seemingly surprised.

Reading through the text, this telegram was written by the Earl of Hecate himself, and the Earl, whom Swain had not seen for a long time, said that he would send someone to pick up the eldest princess back to the imperial capital in the near future, so he specially notified him so that he could prepare in advance.

"Looks like it's time to move again. Swain tossed the message on the table. He clasped his hands and tilted his gaze to the lower right corner, as if thinking about something.

"Do you need me to accompany you this time?" Baron Deniz bowed slightly, he knew about the steward of the Jericho family who stayed in the imperial capital, and now that the mansion was also destroyed by the previous attack, Swain should need someone to help him if he returned to Deweide.

"It's fine. Sven nodded and stood up, "You can prepare first." ”

"Yes. The baron bowed again and prepared to retreat.

"Sinjid's side, is there any news?" Just as the baron was about to go down, Swain suddenly stopped him.

"Earlier he had informed that Michel VII was marching on Fort Midnight, and there was no new news after that. The baron paused, turned around, and looked at Swain.

Walking to the railing, Swain leaned against the wooden railing, looking out at the fields in the distance. "At the pace of the march of the Pritown army, it should be almost there. ”

"Yes, at the time of Sinjid's briefing, the army of Pritown had already arrived in Konue, and should have passed through Nanteret by now, and was on its way to us, and if they had divided their forces in Nanteret and sent small troops lightly, they might have arrived tomorrow. ”

"That's a good hospitality, the last time I let His Royal Highness go in such a hurry, but it lost our Jericho's hospitality. Swain slapped the railing, for there was a vast field that would not be obstructed when the wind blew. The spring breeze swept Swain's drooping hair and the hem of his coat, and although it was already spring, Swain still wore a long trench coat, only slightly thinner, not as heavy as he wore in March in Dewei.

"Yes, I'll arrange it. But do you need to tell that lady about this?"

"No, not necessarily. Swain waved his hand, now the value of the eldest princess to him is not worth revealing all his secrets, "Don't let her know about Sinjid's affairs, this is a very important chess piece for us now, and we can't expose it too quickly." ”

"Yes......" Baron Deniz was slightly skeptical, but his dedication to duty had made the old gentleman choose to obey the lord's orders.

From the baron's hesitant tone, Swain could roughly guess what he was thinking. "Do you still have doubts?" he turned around and looked at Baron Deniz, an old man who had served the Jericho family for decades since Swain was a child, and even when Ernest was a child, he had been deeply trusted by two generations of Jericho's lords, even Ernest, who didn't like Midnight Castle, respected this old man.

"From the beginning of this project many years ago, I was aware of it and willing to serve the Jericho family. This is Mr. Winston's last wish, and I will not hesitate in any way. Baron Deniz raised his head, and his face showed a look that was different from what he had ever been, in the past the old baron had a professional elegance, that kind of leisurely and unfazed was deliberately expressed, but now, his face showed some of his own looks.

The wrinkled face didn't look much different from the face Swain had seen when he was a child, and although Baron Deniz had gotten older over the years, the old man looked pretty much the same, only with a lot of wrinkles. Unlike young people, where one or two wrinkles can make a big difference, this group of experienced people has long learned to get used to it, to adapt, and to respond to the ever-changing world with the same attitude.

"It's just that we really need to hide it from the royal family? This rebellion is too, will it go too far?" This time there was no hesitation on the baron's face, he looked at Swain with a firm gaze, and said his question unreservedly.

"Don't forget what we're fighting against. Swain leaned his back against the railing and stroked the ring on his finger, "In this era, order has slowly been fixed, and if in the last era, we could still unscrupulously chant the virtues of knighthood, and then use all kinds of real or false excuses to wage war to achieve our goals, now, this practice is no longer feasible." Look at Hadrian, at what cost they instigated the desert people and Michelle to make them enemies of the Empire, and what about the Hadrians themselves? These self-proclaimed noble and holy fellows are the most sophisticated conspirators, who were the first to attack the Empire on the question of Silesia, but until now, they have not made a move, and the Empire is ready to beg for mercy from them. This is the standard of conduct in this era, simple war will only bring endless chaos, and those who can achieve their goals without violence will be favored by Lady Luck in this era. ”

Baron Deniz bowed his head again, although he did not like Swain's statement, but this reason was enough to convince him. He had long known that his new lord and the previous earl were completely different people, and the personal charm of old Winston was enough to impress the people around him, and Baron Denise was also deeply attracted by the personality of the previous earl, so he was willing to spend the last days of his life for his last wish. But Swain was very different from his grandfather, a young man with a kind of arrogance that was not superficial but deep in his nature, he liked to use others as pawns, and he did not care about the concept of man, whether it was human life or dignity. The old baron knew very well that even he was only slightly more important than ordinary people in the heart of His Excellency the Earl, and His Excellency the Earl didn't care about anyone at all except for the young lady.

"I see. The baron replied hastily, "I'll go and check the situation of Michel VII again." ”

"Hmm. Swain nodded, then watched Baron Deniz leave. He had already seen that Baron Deniz, as well as the old men of the imperial capital such as Wood and the Marquis of Metternich, their attention to the surname Jericho was only the memory of the previous counts. Especially Baron Deniz, how much of his allegiance to himself is to the modern earl and how much is to the previous count, the difference is very thought-provoking.

"It's all the same. Swain picked up the black tea on the coffee table and took a sip, "Whether it's my retainers, my allies, my lords, or my enemies, it's all the same. These people were whispering in the shadows, but I had heard them for a long time. It's all too easy to understand, but you have to hide your thoughts in front ......of me, hum, hum, hum, hum, hum, hum, hum, hum, hum, hum,

Standing alone on the attic, Sven suddenly sneered, and his uncontrollable laughter was like the waving claws of a mad demon, bringing a hint of gloom to the bright weather.

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After Michel VII stepped off the train, and after cleaning up in Nantes, at least he looked less disgraced now, and his splendid attire concealed the gloom of the prince's recent defeat, making him still look quite glamorous.

Looking at the end of the tracks, the prince had been here not long ago, and he had never thought that he would one day end up like this.

Sinjid walked up behind Michel VII and whispered to the Prince, "Your Highness, my troops have been assembled, and they should be able to reach Midnight Fort today." ”

"Hmm. The Prince nodded, and he accepted Sinjid's suggestion in Nanterley, this time in order to reach Midnight Fort as soon as possible, and capture the eldest princess before she fled, the prince only brought Sinjid's carefully cultivated troops, and the large army remained in Nanterre. Until now, Michel VII still had a glimmer of hope in his heart, and he still counted on Nanterley to withstand the attack of the imperial army, so that he might be able to hold the territory, even if it was only as a count, and not lose the land left by his ancestors.

"Let's go. "The prince was able to mount his horse and walk at the head of the line. Singid, who was also on his horse, waved at his subordinates, and the special soldiers who had greeted Princess Celestia in Porto Leon immediately took a step.

Seeing this, Michel VII faintly felt a little uncomfortable, and these soldiers heard Sinjid's orders more than he did. He glanced at Sinjid, but trust in Sinjid immediately suppressed his thoughts.

There shouldn't be a problem, Sinjid is so loyal......

Michel VII thought so and looked back again.

But the moment he withdrew his gaze, he failed to see the terrible smile on Sinjid's face.