The docks of Frost City are getting busy again. A large number of reinforcements arriving by ship from the port of Gzesk in Eastern Wikia, as well as merchants, crowded the docks. Merchants haggled with captains, workers skillfully loaded and unloaded their goods, and the recruits of the Order disembarked with excitement at the orders of their commanders. Flocks of seagulls, attracted by the smell of rotting fish, circulate around the harbor, sometimes dropping small chunks of guano and provoking curses from the people on the pier.

Although many citizens in Frost City fled to the west, the immigrants who had been entering from the east for the past two months gradually filled Frost City. Deman slowly descended the long staircase of Castel Sant'Angelo and looked down at the city that woke up the hill.

The traces of the bloody battle had long since been washed away, and at this moment the long-lost morning prayer bell rang in the Cathedral of St. Canaan. A small group of monks presided over the ceremony, praying for the blessing of the Frost City according to the ancient tradition. Deman enters the cathedral through side arcades. The hall of the church was deserted, not a single bishop could be seen, except for a few monks in white robes.

Castel Sant'Angelo, nominally still belonging to Pope Lynch, has in fact become the command of the Order. From the main castle of Castel Sant'Angelo to the front of the church square, the Knights took the place of the Papal Guard all the way.

De Man came to the official residence of the Knights of the Lower Town. It was still the place where the Knights received the envoys of the various princes of Vecchia, and the official residence of the Order was not as luxurious as the official residences of the other dukes in the city, and the structure was similar to that of the merchants in Frost City, but it could accommodate many guests and goods. Before Deputy Commander Lawrence attacked the North Gate, the Knights' equipment was hidden in the basement of the official residence.

Deman sees. In the stables outside the residence, there were more than a dozen horses that were clearly not Knights. A couple of squires, dressed in Wickwood's heraldic smocks, cautiously. Waiting there with hostile eyes. At the stables, a dozen knightly infantrymen with halberds stood around them indifferently. Deman understood that the messengers of the nobles of West Vicchia had arrived.

In the Knights' residence, representatives of the Holy Noble Alliance were foaming at the mouth of the Order's affairs negotiating with the Order's officers. Deman pushed the door open and entered, and the guards bowed their heads. Deman entered the conference room, several dressed in luxurious velvet tunics. At first glance, even the representatives of the nobles were negotiating with the Grand Master. The Grand Master saw Deman returning from his tour and motioned for him to sit down.

“...... The five nobles you imprisoned. We demand immediate release. A fat representative of the head said angrily.

"According to the custom of your nobles, you have to pay the ransom first, and I hope you will be prepared for this trip. ”

"Hmph! The families of these five nobles will take revenge on you, even if you release them. ”

"Originally, they were your allies. I could have left them rotting in the dungeons of Castel Sant'Angelo forever. ”

"We have asked to see the five lords now. You have promised them their health. The fat representative said.

The Grand Master said to Deman, "Deputy Master Deman, you have just made an inspection, give these lords an answer." ”

"Well," Deman cleared his throat, not standing up, "they are very good, we provide them with no less food than our soldiers, and they have rats as they do. Never alone. ”

"You...... Bastard......" The fat representative trembled with anger, and the attendant hurriedly pulled his arm. Signal him to calm down.

"That's it, we have received the paperwork you want to submit, you can go back and settle the ransom issue yourself, and our negotiations are over. The Grand Master said coldly, and walked out of the conference room alone, the guards at the door respectfully letting go of the halberd.

"Hmph! a bunch of savages. The representative stood up from his chair, glared at Deman, and walked out the door with his entourage. Deman got up to check the text they had left behind. It was a fine parchment with fine italics on it. Although a lot was written, most of them were texts condemning the Order, and there were only two useful messages: first, Pope Constance announced the excommunication of Pope Lynch in the Holy See in the city of Uvas, which had already reached the city of Frost, and second, the Holy League of Nobles declared war on the Order and its reigns of Raglan, Gwendania, and Kovat.

Deman walked out of the conference room. The Grand Master was watching the representatives of the League of Nobles leave. The fat representative, with the help of his attendants, struggled to mount his horse. The soldiers of the surrounding knighthood laughed, and some whistled. A young squire in the ranks of the envoys angrily drew his sword and pointed it at our guards. The atmosphere suddenly cooled down, and the guards lowered their halberds one after another and faced the squire.

"Stand down!" the Grand Master suddenly ordered. The soldiers neatly put away their halberds and glared at the ranks of the envoys. One of the attendants patted the young squire on the shoulder, and the squire put away his sword. The group slowly left the mansion under the angry gaze of many eyes.

"Now there are two Holy Sees in Vicchia. Deman said to Grand Master.

The Grand Master clasped his hands around his chest and said, "In this way, the Holy See on both sides will slowly lose the support of the faithful. Wikibians will be more interested in their own interests than on the interests of the nihilistic masters. ”

"Pope Lynch is furious in Castel Sant'Angelo. ”

"She also had her share in the results. The Grand Master paused, "How's the army preparing?"

"Reinforcements are arriving. Including the newly recruited infantry from Eastern Vekia and the volunteer knights from Nord, Frost City has a total of 11,000 Knights troops. However, our food and ordnance are running out of sight. The price of food in Frost City is also skyrocketing, and the remaining citizens are complaining about the hoarding of food by merchants in Eastern Wiki. ”

"We should go west. The Knights have been delayed for too long in this rotten city. Grand Master said.

In the midst of the bloody war that has embroiled Vecchia, Gwendania has been as calm as it has been for a long time. Early spring is approaching, and there is no snow left on the endless plains of Gwendania. Hibernating animals woke up, in the woods, in the grass, there were signs of activity of deer and rabbits. The snow that melts from Mount Viklaveni flows into the Marca River, which runs through Gwendania to the east bank of Vicchia.

However, these days, the peasants along the Marca River often see riders from the west, hurrying all the way to the east. Needless to say, naturally went to Peslav City. It was the city of Grand Duke Ogra Kosatsky, lord of Gwendania. Naturally, the peasants did not care about the riders, and in the calm land of Gwendania, the peasants were only concerned with their fields, the sheep on the plains, and the eternal taxes.

Grand Duke Ogra was now anxiously dealing with the orders of the Knights. In the ancient palace of Platida, the messengers of the Order constantly repeated the orders of the Grand Master: conscription, supply, conscription, supply. The wooden beams and floors of the palace seem to be rattling with constant visitors.

"The peasants have to grow food, it takes time to recruit soldiers, and we don't have much food. Archduke Ogra said to the representatives of the Order. In the presence of the lords of Gwendania, Grand Duke Ogra could command them and reward them as he pleased. However, in front of the representatives of the Order, Grand Duke Ogra felt depressed.

Morissky, the representative of the Knights, was as cunning as a fox, and he kept knocking on the side, trying to figure out the situation of the Grand Duke of Ogra's territory, so that the Grand Duke could not shirk it. From time to time, he threatened the Grand Duke.

"Without the protection of the Knights, your lovely Gwendania would have been annexed to Nord two hundred years ago. This time, as long as you help a small number of troops, it is not an excessive request. Moriskey said with a smile.

"But......" said Archduke Ogra, nervously pinching his cocked beard, "I said that most of our soldiers in Gwendania were conscripts, and that the conscripted peasants were more concerned with their crops than with the demands of the lords. ”

"Don't you still have knights? Forty days of service is a must, and Gwendania has not fought for nearly a hundred years, and this is a good opportunity for them to exercise. ”

"Oh......" Grand Duke Ogra was not afraid of war, the instinct to fight in the blood of his ancestors did not die in peace. However, he, like most people in Gwendania, instinctively loathed the war brought about by the Knights.

A blazing bonfire in the center of the house illuminates Moriskey's side face in the dimly lit wooden hall. The Grand Duke felt that it was the last thing the wolf looked at before devouring its prey. Grand Duke Ogra shuddered and slowly rose from his fur-covered seat.

"I will do my best to meet the Order's requests. ”

"Please, you mobilize Gwendania's forces within a month, we need at least three thousand infantry and two hundred knights. ”

With a satisfied smile, Morischi walked out of the Pratsda Palace. The soldiers of the Order walked loudly, and without looking at the soldiers of Gwendania, followed the deputy commander to the city of Peslav in search of merry.

Grand Duke Ogra sighed and sat down. He looked up at the beams of the house, which were empty, but there was a huge deer head hanging from it. It was the head of an old deer hunted by the ancestors of the Kosatsky family long before the Knights entered Vecchia, and the family always hung it in the palace as a talisman. When the Knights came, they declared that these were pagan cults, whether they were the worship of the sun, the worship of water, or the worship of living beings. When Ogra was a child, he heard his grandfather tell him that the Knights had slaughtered the sacrificial order. It was a dragon worship, and it was extremely dangerous for both the Knights and the Holy See who believed in the same Lord.

Lady Juanna came from the palace quarters. When she saw her husband's look, she knew what was going on. (To be continued......)