The Tiber River is a large river with a wide basin that separates the southwestern princes of the empire from the capital of the empire, the Midur region. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

The only way to communicate between the two places is the Stamford Bridge over the Tabor River, which is the only link between the two sides and the seat of the Duke of Stamford's castle.

Stiff rock and a large amount of steel make this five-kilometer-long bridge impregnable, and the castle built on top of it makes this bridge a fortress that has never been breached.

The castle is more than 30 meters high, cutting the entire river in half, and from a distance, this castle looks like a long black snake, entrenched on both sides of the river.

The Stanford family settled here more than 600 years ago, and they started by building a small wooden bridge here, which was used to collect tolls from passing caravans and travelers.

Six hundred years have passed, and now the bridge is an impregnable castle. The refugee family that had been displaced here had become a powerful family, and the current patriarch, Frey, had become a powerful duke, ruling over a vast area near the Taber River valley.

At all times, the Stanford family believed in the fine tradition of wall-weed, and they had the capital to be the annoying wall-weed, and they had the capital to be the annoying wall-weed.

There were people who tried to break the monopoly of this unstoppable family on transportation, but their good ideas were all dashed by the Stanford family, and not only them, but also the bridges that had been built on the Taber River were forcibly demolished by their family.

Today, the family's monopoly on the Tabor River has been strengthened like never before.

Ten days earlier, Philip's army of 300,000 had come to the city and asked for a crossing, but was sternly rejected by Duke Frey. Duke Frey, who was sitting on the ground for the envelope, made very excessive demands on the young king, and the reason for the other party's confidence was the impregnable defense of the bridge fort and the precedent that it had never been breached.

The more than 10,000 troops gathered in the castle were able to calmly face the 300,000 army in front of them.

But now the duke had to bow his head to the king in front of him, because now the other party was not facing an army of 300,000, but an army of 700,000.

Now there are endless camps on both sides of the fort, encircling the fort tightly.

Ten days ago, there was only one young king sitting in front of Duke Frey for negotiations, but now there are three kings sitting in front of each other.

The unruly Philip was the king of Valois and the king of Burgundy, along with Karl, king of Lorraine, and Eleanor, queen of Ornesia, and the relationship between the three kings was complicated, but all three kings and four kingdoms could be replaced by a family name - Carolingian.

The Stanford family, which has been inherited for six hundred years, is not worth mentioning in front of the Carolingians.

The best embodiment of this is that the current ratio of troops between the two sides is 10,000 to 700,000.

The Capetian family is an offshoot of the Carolingian family, and although the Carolingian branch is no longer closely connected, the kinship that allows them to stand under the banner of the Consent Pole and face the enemy from the north.

"Duke Frey. The charismatic middle-aged man was the first to break the silence of the negotiation scene, and Karl, the contemporary head of the Carolingian family, always wore a smile of unknown meaning.

It's like a viper staring at its prey looking at its prey in a cage.

The Carolingian family, who had dominated the southern part of the empire for thousands of years, did not rely solely on the force of the kingdom under their control, and all kinds of conspiracies and plots were indispensable means.

It is rumored that Carl used a conspiracy to kill his own brother Carlo and then ascended to the position of family head.

"What we are asking now is to join our army, to overthrow one of the northern barbarians of Midool and the alliance he has formed, and then we will give you all the possessions of the entire Tiber Valley, how about it?" The looming smile made Frey, who was sitting in front of Carl, very frightened.

The other two kings are dominated by Karl, because both of them are far inferior to this man, one is a young king who has just debuted for a few years, and the queen who rules a kingdom is Karl's niece.

Ten days earlier, Philip had made such a request to Frey, but the hard-nosed Frey had not taken the other party's proposal to heart.

"I can wait for Bagh and his 300,000 troops to tear you to pieces!" Frey, who had not received the expected promise, threw down only one sentence.

But now, Frey didn't dare to do that, otherwise his 700,000 troops would be able to tear the Stanford family to shreds in a single day.

The griffon, wandering in the air, was warning him with its own hissing and flapping wings, and Karl's sharp gaze silently conveyed the consequences of refusal.

"We have very little time, don't test our patience. Philip, who shook his head slightly, gave an ultimatum to the other party.

The winter temperature could not stop the cold sweat of this duke, and the attributes of the wall grass made him waver in the competition between the two forces.

Although the 700,000 troops in front of him were very terrifying, Bagh's side also received support from the north, and according to legend, the empress also persuaded Bagh's brother-in-law, Grand Duke Chud, to go south; as emperor, he also received the allegiance of various neutral legions, and the Habsburgs, the big family in the Midour region, also stood in the emperor's line.

Now the forces of the two sides are barely evenly matched, and the five-to-five victory makes it difficult for Frey to make a choice.

However, after a little thought, the other party understood which side he should join, far water could not save the near fire, and allegiance to the other party was Frey's only choice.

"Your Majesty, now I'm on my way to Maurice. Having received a satisfactory answer, Philip did not want to linger too much in this disgusting place.

If it weren't for this obnoxious duke, Philip would have been on his way to Maurice by now.

A large army needs to be well funded, and the alliance with 700,000 troops still lacks a comrade who can provide it, and the rich but war-torn Morris has become the choice of this alliance.

―――――――― Dividing Line ――――――――――-

Frowning, Alicia threw a letter that had just been delivered to Shilinya, and the complexity of the situation was a headache for the mother of the newly promoted god.

Alicia's current state also worries Leander and Turis, who are sitting across from her, although they don't know what the content of the letter is, but seeing Alicia's current movements, they know that it is not a good thing.

"Philip—" After a slight pause, Alicia didn't seem to like the name, "Philip, who is known as Hermes and is also known as Lord Syphilis, is now asking us for an alliance. ”

"He wants us to join their military alliance, and their 700,000 troops will put down the holy war before us, and in exchange we must fully support their rebellion against the Emperor - we need to provide funds to sustain their army. The harsh request made everyone present frown.

Although the cost of the 700,000 army will not all fall on Anjitan's head, this burden will also make Anjitan's vitality a big hit.

"If successful, they will also support us in rebuilding the kingdom of Maurice, and the Duke of Anjitan will be crowned King of Maurice. "The negligible remuneration left everyone present without the slightest interest.

"Mom, why don't we support him?" Shilinya asked, puzzled, as she could gather more allies to deal with the approaching army of the undead.

Shilinya thought that this was a good deal, and that she would only be able to consider future plans if she had solved her immediate needs.

The fiasco at the front has caused a great stir in the city, and now the army of all the vassals of Ankitan is stationed around the city, and they are now ready to put up a stubborn resistance in Anjitan, intending to hold out here until more reinforcements arrive.

Alain's life and death are now unknown, which makes Shilinya want to agree to the other party's conditions.

Anjitan is now in a life-or-death situation, and everything needs to make way for survival.

"Because cooperation is based on equal strength, we don't care about his alliance, Philip's 300,000 troops alone can swallow us. ”

"Now we need to find a way to avoid luring wolves into the house. ”

The future is always so dark, but the situation is even more desperate.

"But now we're going to face an army of the undead with dragons!" Shirinya reminded her mother to stop worrying about what the future holds, and that it would be better to deal with the immediate threat now.

Shilinya's opinion, Alicia did not listen to it, and Alicia, who reached out and stroked the other party's head, agreed with Shilinya's statement.

"Mom, Dragon, will take care of it, it's not like we don't have enough troops to fight the undead army and the pirates. ”

"The assembled vassals, the lords of Maurice who have taken refuge in us, and the armies brought by the nearby lords are all powerful and powerful forces for us, and the three thousand northern soldiers who are now stranded in the city, the quiet Astania Church, and the six thousand Kunari who have been displaced here are all forces that can help us. ”

"We're not as weak as you think, and the enemy can't merge pirates and the undead into one army forever, and the gap between the dead and the living isn't so easy to bridge. ”

"Moreover, we are very weak now, and it is very unwise to join the civil war. ”