Seeing the majestic walls of the royal city of Padea for the first time in a few months, the mood of the Baroque was completely different. The last time I was looking for the people to be rescued with trepidation and a heavy heart, but this time, it can even be said that I came in the posture of a conqueror.

After all, Lind still had some royal demeanor, he followed Baroque's advice, took only a dozen warriors with him, and then rushed alone with Baroque to the garrison of the Golden Horn Legion under the city of Padeja, asking to see the legion commander Thomas and the envoy Count Tipton. Behind them, of course, General Schaumberg followed closely with a mighty army of 10,000 men......!

In the camp of the commander of the Golden Horn, the commander of the Legion of Thomas was arguing with the Earl of Tipton at this time, and they had a serious disagreement about the next military strategy!

As the commander of the Golden Horn Legion, one of the ten legions of the Empire, Thomas is undoubtedly the most iron-blooded soldier. He doesn't understand...... Or even aversion to politics. The assassination of Prince Alwyn in the Kingdom of Paddington made the warlike soldiers of the entire empire furious, and if it were not for the emperor suppressing his grief and pacifying the rioting soldiers, I am afraid that at this time it would not be just one legion, but ten legions that came to Paddington at this time, completely crushing this poor little country to dust. When Thomas was finally sent by the Emperor to conquer Paddington, Thomas showed great ruthlessness...... In the eastern frontier of the kingdom of Paddington, which he conquered, few prisoners were collected, and every place he passed, often left behind a corpse, which is why a large number of Paddingtons abandoned their homes and fled.

The Earl of Tipton, on the other hand, was young, in his thirties, and his reputation for wisdom and strategy had long since spread throughout the Empire. Although he was only a small earl, he was one of the emperor's most important confidants! There were even secret rumors that the earl of Tipton was the emperor's illegitimate son............ Of course, under the ** prodigal atmosphere of the upper class of mankind, it is really possible that His Majesty the Emperor had something to do with the old Tipton's wife when he was young, and then accidentally left a seed in the stomach of the famous lady.

Even if he didn't care about this connection, the Earl of Tipton himself was indeed a rare young handsome, and when he was only in his twenties, when he was the sheriff of a certain province, he completely eliminated the thieves there who had been cured for a long time. It didn't even cause too many casualties, just a cunning trick to lure the thieves to a so-called treasure ruin, and then catch them all.

Although those who were jealous ridiculed Tipton for his cunning and lack of aristocratic demeanor, all who knew the nature of politics saw his talent, and even the scheming Imperial Prime Minister, Duke Theodore, privately admired him.

There is no conclusive evidence that Prince Alvin was assassinated by the people of the Samoan Empire, and the price of the war between the two empires can only be a defeat in the end, not a last resort, everyone has some scruples, so Odria can only retaliate by private means. As for the conquest of the Kingdom of Paddington, it was entirely out of the need to guide public opinion. Audria's people are so angry that they must have a scapegoat to bear their wrath.

It was in this situation that the Golden Horn Legion was sent to conquer Paddington, and Tipton served as the Emperor's envoy to handle all affairs. It's just that the situation has been a little out of control recently, and the crazy attacks of Captain Thomas and the Hanseatic ** team that helped him make Paddington lose one-third of its territory in just half a month, which is not a good thing.

The original intention of the upper echelons of the Audria Empire was only to teach Paddington a lesson, and there was no intention to completely destroy the kingdom. After all, there is a need for a buffer between the two empires of Audria and Samoa, and if the Paddington people are completely forced to fall to Samoa, then the two empires are completely bordered, and sooner or later they will really have to fight each other! No one will be happy.

Having attacked the royal capital of Paddington, the Earl of Tipton decided that his goal had been achieved, and that there was no need for the next military action, and that the next step could be discussed at the negotiating table. However, Captain Thomas stubbornly insisted on taking the city of Padja before negotiating with them, believing that this was the only way to completely convince the Paddingtons.

"General Thomas, don't you know what the city of Padya means to the people of Paddington?Just like our imperial capital [Dulon], if it is captured, will you, as a soldier of the Empire, still negotiate with the enemy?" said the Earl of Tipton, patiently persuading the stubborn Thomas............ Although his patience has reached the limit.

"No...... The proud Adria military talent will not negotiate. Thomas looked up proudly and said, "Only the Odelian soldiers who died in battle, and not the cowards who negotiated surrender in humiliation, that is the only thing that the courtiers can do." ”

"Yes, honorable General Thomas, that's what you think, and I think the entire empire of the military will think so too. So why wouldn't the Paddingtons think so?Do you think their warriors would be willing to endure this humiliation if you captured their capital?" Tipton waved his hand to stop Thomas's words of defense, and continued, "Well, even if you destroy all the Paddington soldiers, they will no longer have the strength to resist. So what does the empire get out of this? If we don't border Paddington, will their lands be included in the empire? And if we don't take Paddington's land, who will get the most benefit in the end? At that time, the power of the Duchy of Hanseasa will swell several times, do you think they will still obey us as they do now?Do you think that His Majesty the Emperor will be happy if we return to the Imperial City of Duron with this result?"

"What should I do?" asked Thomas, who was dazed by Tipton's words, who hated to think about these intrigues the most, but he listened to them, softened his attitude, and asked.

"Stop the attack, negotiate with the Paddingtonians and get what we want. Tipton said.

"But you drove away the envoy of the King of Paddington only yesterday, and did not meet the man sent privately by the Duke of Jean in Paddington in the evening, why do you now say that you want to negotiate?" asked Thomas, puzzled.

"We're negotiating, but we're not talking to them. Tipton said leisurely: "After all, Paddington has offended the Empire, they need to pay the price, the current King Corek can no longer occupy the throne, he must give up." And the old Duke Jean came to me for a secret talk, and I could guess his intentions............ I have heard of this old fellow's cunning, and he may agree to our terms and go back to force King Corek to abdicate, but do not forget that his daughter is the queen, and his grandson is the prince of Paddington. It is not in our interest that he would have to push his grandson to become the new king, and then he would naturally take control of Paddington's government himself. ”

"Who exactly are you going to talk to?" asked Thomas, dryly.

Tipton was about to speak, when suddenly the herald came in and reported: "General, military envoy, there is someone outside the camp who asks to see him, and he says his name is Linde." ”

Tipton immediately smiled and stood up: "Look, dear General Thomas, the man who is going to negotiate with us is here!"

........................ Dividing line ........................

On the way to the garrison of the Golden Horn Corps, a herald suddenly came after him and handed a secret letter from General Schumberg to Lind.

Lin De opened the secret letter for some reason, and after just one glance, his face immediately turned red, revealing a look of surprise. Baroque curiously looked sideways at the contents of the letter, and was also stunned, and then his mind turned around!

More and more nobles have taken refuge in Linde, and even many people in the city of Padea have secret news with him. The letter said two major events - the death of Butters, the director of the Magic Academy, and the abdication of King Corek!

Under the panic of the people, the palace is now a sieve, and no news can be hidden, and the matter of the king hiding in the study to write the edict of abdication spreads almost at the speed of the wind throughout the aristocratic circle. And Dean Butters's death made a lot of noise, and there was even a master of the Apocalypse Holy See, and the matter about the Phantom Crystal Armor finally became known to everyone.

For Linde, this is good news that she wakes up laughing even if she dreams about it. Butters is dead, Corek is about to abdicate, and the kingdom is in fear, and if he can get the Odria to retreat and come to Padya as a savior, no one can stop him from sitting on the throne.

Baroque was thinking about another piece of news, Phantom Crystal Armor, the Lord of the Apocalypse Holy See............ Butters secretly crafts the Illusion Crystal Armor, though he fails and dies in the process. But the letter says...... Most likely, there are other illusion crystals in the Academy of Magic!

The Hebrewonian wolf family is able to feed on phantom crystals, and Baroque is looking forward to their growth, even if it is a little bit. After all, this is his killer weapon to save his life, you must know that just the immature silver wolf can assassinate the Sky Knight in the case of a sneak attack, if he grows up, then even if he really encounters the Phantom Armor Warrior in the future, he will have some self-preservation power! Baroque suddenly had a premonition that the so-called Lord of the Apocalypse Sect would be his biggest threat.

Baroque secretly decided that when he had helped Duke Linde negotiate with the Odrians, he would immediately find a way to sneak back to the academy to find out. Celine's gentle and elegant figure involuntarily appeared in his mind, and Baroque's heart was on fire.

"Baroque, there is such a change, what should we do? Do we want to change the bottom line of the negotiation?" Lind asked Baroque, things have become much easier, and when negotiating with Audria, he naturally wants to pay less and earn a little more.

"Take a long-term view and don't be negligent for that little profit. Let's not forget that we are not very sure of the support of the Adrians, they have another option...... If they support Corek's youngest son as a puppet king, that's much better than if you were to be king. Baroque smiled and shook his head. "We're going to start by saying what makes Odrya's heart tick, so that they don't have any reason to go back. ”

Linde thought about it, too, he was a little impatient.

Sure enough, as predicted by the Baroque, Duke Linde was a little rude and only sent a messenger to ask for an audience with the Audrians, which naturally did not end well. And when he himself arrived, this kind of sincerity that could be said to be risky was full, and a handsome nobleman in his thirties walked out of the barracks, and greeted Linde with a gentle smile: "Welcome guests from afar, you are the Duke of Linde, right? I have heard of your wise and benevolent reputation when I was in the imperial capital of Dulong, it is a pity that we have not met before, but now there are no regrets." “

"I am ashamed of your praise, Lord Earl Tipton. Wisdom and wisdom refer to a man like you, and even people in a remote place like me know that you are a talent valued by His Majesty the Emperor and a future pillar of the Adria Empire, please accept my respect. Linde's compliments came as soon as he opened his mouth, which belonged to the instinct of the nobles.

Baroque pretended to be a servant and followed Linde, quietly observing the Earl of Tipton. Suddenly, the little wolf tattoo on his arm moved, and the greedy and eager cry of the little wolf came from his head: "Phantom crystal, Phantom crystal, Odin Thunder Eagle's phantom crystal, I want to eat ............!"

Tipton also has a set of illusion crystal armor on his body? And it is also cast by the same Odin Thunder Eagle illusion crystal as the royal family? Baroque was taken aback, and suddenly realized that the rumor that Tipton was the emperor's illegitimate son could really be true............!