Duke didn't believe that Hera was just such a simple intention, but he couldn't refuse either, after all, Hera said that bringing more witches almost caught Duke's death, before science developed, magic in this world represented the most advanced productivity, and if he could, Duke even planned to make the legendary magic power device.

In addition to Hera herself going, she also brought in an escort, and this person was Rose. In her words, none of the swordsmen of the Storm Army can really do the security work, and if a magical assassin wants to assassinate Duke, it is almost a sure thing.

But any magical assassin who uses magic to sneak in will not be able to evade Rose's magical talent. Even Hera proudly said that even the Pope could not escape Rose's eyes.

Duke was skeptical of this, after all, Gandalf was so convinced of the Pope and listed him as a superman of the Holy Order. However, there is one thing that Duke still agrees with, that is, the group of big men of the Storm Army, as simple generals, have no problem protecting themselves on the battlefield, and high-level swordsmen are honestly one-on-one, and high-level magicians may not be able to defeat those powerful high-level swordsmen.

However, they have almost no defensive skills against the secret methods of magic, just like when Mirana used the concealment technique of the Night Elves to sneak in, all the guards of the Storm Army were unaware of it, and only Rose was able to sense the changes.

So for Rose to join, Duke is happy and welcoming in his heart, even if she doesn't have the skills to guard, it is also beautiful to have a light and soft little Lori by her side.

In addition to Hera and Rose, in order to ensure Duke's safety in the imperial capital, Alan still selected ten elite storm knights and ten storm swordsmen to go to the imperial capital with Duke as a guardian group.

These twenty guards were all carefully selected by Allen, and in his words, even if they encountered the Great Sword Master, they had the strength to fight and ensure that Duke could break out of the encirclement safely.

Everything was ready for the departure, and Duke also gave the city hall a plan for his departure for a while. Basically, it is to ensure the spread of the Storm Merchant in the territory of the Princely Kingdom of Andorra, even if the price is lowered, it must ensure that it seizes the market, because its own goods are basically windfall profits, and it is completely possible to make up for profits with quantity.

Another point is to prevent Takayama Castle from causing trouble, but basically a big war is impossible, and at most it will interrupt all trade. But Duke doesn't care about this now, anyway, the Storm Wagon has accumulated to a certain amount, and it is a big deal to buy it directly from Andorra City, which is nothing more than a little time-consuming.

There is basically no movement in the Monster Valley in the summer, so you just need to send a sentry rider to pay attention. Another thing that worries Duke is the Sea Clan in the Sea of Death.

There hasn't been any news since the last time Fasqi's Wave tribe left with the Stormkeep's armor. Even in the past half month, even in the open trade ports, no people from the Fasqi tribe have appeared to exchange materials.

There are only two possibilities in this situation, one is that the war between the Wave Tribe and the Shark Tribe is in a critical period, and they no longer have enough manpower to trade with the territory fishing. Another possibility is that the Wave Tribe was wiped out, which is why this sudden disappearance occurred.

Either possibility is not a good thing for Stormcastle, and if the Tide Tribe is destroyed, it means that Stormcastle will be under pressure from the sea. In particular, the hydroelectric factories built on the banks of the Seine River will face a great threat, after all, the sea tribe has a great sneak attack advantage in the water.

However, Duke only focused on guarding against it, and with the current strength of Storm Castle, Duke didn't feel that any mad shark tribe could defeat the Storm Army. Because the weapons and equipment of the human race are about to form a cross-era crush in the face of the sea tribe, so strengthen the patrol of the river to prevent sneak attacks and sabotage, and face the first regiment of the storm army led by Allen, basically there is no problem.

Everything had been arranged, and Duke headed for the imperial capital with double the tithes of Stormcastle and an indemnity of 50,000 gold coins. In fact, there is not only this money, but there is also the dispersal money that Carsmail is going to sacrifice in the convoy, which is actually deducted from the Storm Castle treasury.

The thought that the money would soon belong to the Holy See made Duke feel an incomparable pain in his flesh. But he has no choice but to have a relationship with Leonard, only in this way can he pull the banner of Tiger Pila, and get through this fragile period of development, so he should spend money to buy peace.

While Duke was preparing closely at Stormcastle, the second brother Tok was standing in front of Duke Otto in the tent of the northern army camp of the empire on the other side, listening to his father's lecture.

"Teucer, this time Princess Ji Na failed to lead the army and was recalled to the imperial capital by His Majesty the Emperor, so it is unlikely that she will be sent abroad in a short time. And Princess Jina has reached the age of marriage at sixteen this year, it is said that His Majesty the Emperor intends to help her choose a husband, and many nobles of appropriate age plan to compete, I hope you can also go to the imperial capital to try. ”

"Father, shouldn't this kind of thing have been booked a long time ago?"

Teucer replied puzzled, this kind of marriage of a royal princess has basically been set by the emperor a long time ago, and any choice of husband is a formality, and the ending is doomed.

It stands to reason that even if my father wants to marry the princess, he should discuss the marriage with His Majesty the Emperor, rather than let himself try.

Hearing Teucer's question, Duke Otto just shook his head and replied: "Many great lords of the empire have asked for marriage, but His Majesty the Emperor only has this one daughter, which makes it difficult for him to make a choice. And Princess Ji Na has a relatively independent and stubborn personality, if she is forcibly assigned to be engaged, it may cause her to rebel, His Majesty the Emperor has been more fond of Ji Na since she was a child, and she is not willing to go against her wishes too much. So release the news and let the young people of the empire go to win the heart of Her Royal Highness the princess by themselves. ”

After saying this, Duke Otto changed his tone to a more serious tone and said: "Teucer, now that I have a heavy army, His Majesty the Emperor has developed a certain estrangement from me, and even began to be wary of the lion army. So it is important that the marriage strengthens the relationship between the two of us, and I hope that you will succeed and live up to my expectations of you. ”

When Tork heard this, his expression was very respectful and obedient to Duke Otto's wishes, but his heart was full of disgust and disdain!

"Father, you are already old, and you are just thinking about strengthening your relationship with the emperor by marriage. With the strength of the Northern Legion now controlled by the Lion Army, do you still need to submit to Henry VII? As long as you give an order, soon the royal family of the French Empire will be our Otto family!"