But for now, people must continue to walk back on the path assigned to them, and with faith. Of course, you also believe that Hermes will be back before spring and get everything on track. ”

"Filin doesn't know. Filin reluctantly agreed. "He was shocked when he set out on this ridiculous mission.

He should stay here and continue his original plan. But now it seems that when he returns, half of the territory will either be reduced to barren land or ceded to him, if His Majesty deals with it as such. ”

Atro looked at Firin. "'His' kingdom is still Creek's, remember? ”

"Filin can't even think of King Creek from being intrusive, Etro. Have you seen him lately?"

Etro pursed his mouth in a straight line. "Yes. He gritted his teeth and uttered the word, "Film, who sees him when the others are not present, can also tell you that he is not the weak fool you think he is." ”

Filmin shook his head slowly. "If you see him tonight, Etro, you'll know Filin's anxiety. ”

"How can you be sure that Filin isn't?" said Etro, annoyed.

Filin didn't want to anger the old man, but no matter what Filin said, it always messed things up. Filin forced himself to remain silent for a moment, then took a sip of wine and stared at the fire.

"Are the rumors about the Neighboring Islands true?" said Film, finally speaking, resuming his original voice.

Etro sighed, rubbing his eyes with his protruding hands. "There is always a real germ in all rumors. The robbers may have actually established a base there, people don't know for sure, but they didn't cede the neighboring islands to them.

As you said, once they have the neighboring islands, they will raid people's coasts in winter and summer. ”

"But His Majesty Prince seems to believe that these robbers can be bought, and that all they really want is those small islands and part of the coast of Velotru. It was a lot of effort to say this, but Filin did everything he could to make his tone respectful when he spoke of His Majesty.

"Many people think that what they say will come true. Etro said neutrally. "Even if you know it's not like that. ”

He added this mysterious sentence again.

"What do you think the robbers want?" asked Filin.

He stared at the fire behind Filin. Now, it's a mystery. What do the robbers want? Depends on what people think, Katz. People think they're attacking people because they want something, but if they really want something, they're asking for it now.

Since they know what kind of damage they can cause to people, they must also understand that people will at least consider their demands. However, they want nothing but to continue plundering. ”

"There's no point in them doing that. Filmin terminated his thoughts.

"Their way is not something that people can understand. He corrected Film. "But what if people's basic assumptions are wrong?"

Filmin just stared at him.

"What if they don't want anything but what they have at the moment? Looting towns, burning villages, abusing people, if that's their overall goal?"

"That's crazy. Fei Lin said slowly.

"Possibly. But what if that's true?"

"Nothing can stop them, then, unless they are destroyed. ”

He nodded slowly. Continue with this inference. ”

"People's boats simply can't slow them down. Filmin thought for a moment.

"People want the myths of the spirits to be true, because in Filin's view, they, or something like them, are the only hope for people. ”

Etro nodded slowly. "That's right. So, you now know why Filin was in favor of Hermes's plan. ”

"Because that's the only hope people have for survival. ”

People sat down together and spent a long time staring at the fire in silence. That night, when he finally went to bed, he had a terrible nightmare—he stood by and watched Hermes being attacked and fighting for his life.

Fihrin could not kill any of the attackers, just because the king did not say that Fihrin could do so.

Twelve days later, Duke Planck of Velotru arrived. He led a group of retinues along the coastal road, which was impressive, but the whole formation did not pose an overt threat.

He wore all the fine clothes and full armor that a duke could afford, and his daughter rode by his side, except for the eldest daughter, who remained in her hometown to do her best to help the ferry town. Filin spent most of the afternoon in the stables, then went to the guardhouse to listen to his lower-ranking entourage.

Ah Fa behaved well, confirming that the stables had enough space and manpower to take care of their horses;

And, as always, people's kitchens and barracks became great places to receive guests.

However, the people of Vilotlu still made a lot of harsh statements, and they were straight about what they had witnessed in Ferry Town, and how their pleas for help had been ignored. The soldiers of the people ought to be ashamed of their inability to defend what King Creek had apparently done;

And when a soldier can't speak for his leader, he can only agree to such criticism, or find fault elsewhere to oppose it.

So, the people of Velotru and the soldiers of Fort Buck would fight each other over small differences of opinion, but fortunately it was mostly a single incident.

However, these things don't usually happen in the disciplined Fort Bucks, so it's more worrying, and for me, it reinforces that the people's army is also confused.

Film's choice of clothes for the dinner was unsure of who he might meet or what others would expect Filmin to do. Filmin caught a glimpse of Hermione twice that day, each time slipping away before she even noticed.

Fihrin thought that she might be his dinner party partner, and was terrified of it. At this moment, one cannot openly offend anyone from Vilotru, but I don't want to give her any positive response. In fact, he didn't need to worry at all, because Filin found himself sitting far away at the end of the table, sitting with a group of young nobles of lower rank.

Filmin became an insignificant bauble on this difficult night. There were a number of girls at the table trying to flirt, and the new experience was not to Filin's appetite, but Filin realized how many people were flocking to the Buck Castle court during the winter season.

Most of them came from landlocked principalities, and they were eager to befriend His Majesty, and as the young women had said, they would be happy to make friends with politically influential figures. Filming took the trouble to respond politely to their witty banter, barely paying attention to the situation at the main table.

There, King Crick sat between Princess Floya and His Majesty's Prince, Duke Planck and his daughters Hermione and Nian sat closest to them, and the others were His Majesty's favorites.

The Duke of the Ram of Tilth and his Lady Tranquility, as well as their two sons, are the most noteworthy. His Majesty's cousin, Sir Mingliang, the young duke's heir from Phalo, made his first appearance at Fort Bucks.

Filin sat there, with a bad view and no hearing.

Filin felt Hermes's panic about the situation rising, but he couldn't do anything about it. The king did not look very dazed that night, but was very tired, which made Filin think it was a good sign.

Floya sat beside him, looking almost pale except for the microinfrared on her cheeks.

She didn't seem to eat much, and was more serious and silent than usual. His Majesty, on the other hand, was very happy with the social skills, and although he was surrounded by the Duke of Ram and Madame Jingning, and their two sons, he did not ignore Duke Planck and his daughters.

His pleasure, however, apparently upset the visitor.

Duke Planck was a large man, strong even in his age, white in his black warrior braid as evidence of old war wounds, and a hand that was missing a few fingers. His daughters sat just below him, their indigo eyes and high cheekbones suggesting their late mother's archipelago roots.

Lady and Hermione, with their short, northern-style haircuts, quickly turned their heads to observe the appearance of everyone at the table, and Filin couldn't help but think of the eagle that had stopped on his wrist.

These were not the mild-mannered nobles of the Great Duchy of the Interior that His Majesty was accustomed to dealing with, for among the five principalities, the people of Velotru still had the most warrior blood.

His Majesty seemed indifferent to their complaints, which could bring disaster upon himself. Fihrin knew they weren't going to talk about the robbers at the dinner table, but his celebratory tone was completely at odds with their mission here, and Filin wondered if he knew how angry he was for them.

Floya was visibly enraged, and on more than one occasion he had seen her bite her lower lip or glance disdainfully at the ground as Her Majesty said witty things.

He had drunk too much, and his drunkenness began to show when he began to make exaggerated gestures and laugh loudly, and Filin really wanted to hear his self-confessed witty remarks.

The dinner seemed to be endless, but Hermione soon saw Filmin from the table, and from that moment on, it was hard for him to avoid the scrutinizing gaze she cast at Film.

Filyn nodded to her kindly, and when the eyes met, he could see that she was puzzled by where Fihrin was sitting, and I did not dare to ignore every glance she gave Firin, and His Majesty was also annoyed that Filyn had not dared to snub the daughter of the Duke of Velotrupranck, and made Filyn feel as if he was standing on a fence and staggering.

He was truly grateful when he saw that Princess Floya insisted on holding King Creek and taking him back to his room to rest when he got up.

His Majesty frowned drunken and contemptuous, and was glad to see the banquet end so quickly, and had not persuaded Duke Planck and his daughters to stay.

After Creek left, they also took their leave.