After a week's long journey, Rhodes finally arrived in Wolfenburg, the capital of Osterling. Unlike other cities on the plains, Wolfenburg is a fortress built on a high mountain.

Surrounded by tall stone walls and towers, the forest surrounding the castle has been cut down to clear for farmland, and to clear the clearing, so that the eye can cover every inch of the surrounding land, and the tower's guards can be seen when an enemy is attacking. This is typical castle defense practice.

However, it is not appropriate to call it a castle. Because, today, Wolfenburg has developed into a large city with a population of tens of thousands. Many of the buildings were built on the perimeter long beyond the city walls. At the foot of the mountain, halfway up the mountainside, there are dense houses. This is the origin of many cities, which grew from castles to cities.

This can't help but remind Rhodes of his birthplace - Blackhammer Castle. At that time, the Black Hammer Fort was just a small fortress at the border, and after nearly ten years of development, it has now become half a city, but it is not comparable to Errengrad or the Wolfenburg in front of it.

"My lord, we have arrived, you wait at the city gate for a while, and I will inform the Great Lord. ”

The messenger stopped the motorcade and walked respectfully in front of Rod. Rhodes nodded yes, and the messenger rode into the city with two escorts.

A few minutes later, under the hospitality of the messenger and his party, Rhodes and Elleria slowly walked into the city. Bustling crowds rushed in, convoys, crowds crowded the streets. Even the temperature is a few points more than outside the city. The sight in front of him made Rhodes feel more intimate, this is what human society should be, not like the northern part of Kislev, or the wilderness further north, full of dead silence and cold. Here, people come and go, the breath of life lingers around us, and the whole of Kislev, only the rebuilt port of Erengrad has such an atmosphere.

After half an hour of slow pace and through the busy streets, the procession arrived at the heart of Wolfenburg, the residence and office of the Grand Lord and Elector of the Reich, Maximian.

At this time, the Elector himself was already waiting at the gate of the castle.

Maximian had a smile on his face, not physically strong, but in good spirits. Rhodes noticed the guards beside him, dressed in heavy plate armor and armed with round shields and battle axes, and their helmets were black horned helmets, reflecting a terrible metallic sheen in the sunlight. This should be the famous Bull Guard. Most of the factions in the Old World had their own strongest troops, such as the Bull Guards of Oster, the Krem Guards of Kislev, and the Ryk Forbidden Army of Rick. And the captains or corps commanders of these elite units often have a high status. So when he left the city of Kislev, Rhodes handed over the position of captain of the Krem Forbidden Army to his loyal knight Virgil.

"Lord Rhodes, we haven't seen each other in a long time. I've heard about you and your men's experiences in the North, so come on, come in and talk. I prepared a dinner party......"

After saying the word dinner, Aryria's thin lips twitched, and her indifferent gaze had revealed her disgust. This made Maximian look embarrassed, and if it weren't for the fact that she was the emperor's savior, he would have driven her out of the castle. However, after all, the Wood Elves have a special identity, and she also carries a group of Imperial elites - Rick Guard. Rhodes stepped forward, patted Maximian on the shoulder, and smiled as he followed the old lord into the castle to ease the embarrassment.

......

When Rhodes and his party entered the castle, Maximian personally entertained them. He didn't plan to talk about things at the banquet, but sat down to talk to Rhodes before the banquet began, and finished talking about business before eating. This is Rode's favorite style, there is one thing to say, and he does not procrastinate. Seeing this scene, Aryria let go of her arrogance and indifference a little. She walked over and sat down beside Rhodes, gazing at the head of the Oster Lords, Maximian von Taznik, Elector of the Reich.

"Lord Rhodes, please allow me to call you a friend, I have heard about you and your men's experiences, the Frost Dragon can never be defeated, and being able to do this is indeed a legend. ”

As soon as he sat down, Maximian began to speak of his views and opinions. It can be seen that unlike those imperial nobles, as a great lord, he is convinced of those deeds and what happened in the Northern Peninsula. Rhodes' suspicion that the Elector of the Empire would take him so seriously also had something to do with it. The reappearance of the Frost Dragons and the frequent activity of the Norscan Barbarians are a sign of the activity of Chaos. Rhodes believed that Maximian, as the Elector, must have been more knowledgeable than ordinary people. A legend is a legend not because it is fictional, but because generations of people have not seen it and thus no longer believe it......

"Actually, I didn't do it alone, and Aryria helped a lot, and without her, my men and I wouldn't have been able to kill the dragon. She helped us hold the beast back and helped us buy time. ”

After Rhodes finished speaking, he looked at the wood elves beside him. There was still no expression on Aryria's white face, but it could be felt that she had acquiesced to Rod's statement, otherwise, with her temper and personality, she would have already refuted it on the spot.

"I believe that the invasion of the northern barbarians is real. ”

Maximian gets to the point.

"That's what I want to negotiate with you. ”

The Grand Lord continued.

Rhodes frowned, what other bargaining chips did Kislev have to negotiate cooperation with the Empire? Border conflicts, empty national strength, Rhodes originally did not expect to negotiate any treaty of equal cooperation with the Empire.

"Lord Rhodes, my friend, although we belong to different countries, we live in the same world, the whole continent is connected, two hundred years ago, the Chaos invasion, it was the Empire and Kislev who joined forces to save this world. Today, we still have this relationship. You are building the Great Wall, not only for Kislev, but also for the Empire. So, I'm bound to support it. But ......"

Maximian paused for a moment—

"But the line of defense is not just on land, the threat at sea is also not to be underestimated. As you say, if the Norscans do invade from the sea, then the port of Norden, and those who live in coastal towns and villages, will no longer be at peace. ”

"We need to cooperate, Lord Rhodes, Lord Oster will contribute to the Great Wall of the North, engineering personnel, financial resources and materials. In the same way, I hope that the people of Kislev and Oster will also guard the coastal line. ”

After Maximian finished speaking, Rhodes suddenly realized. This old guy actually has other plans, there is no pie falling from the sky, not to mention that a person like the Elector will never be a philanthropist. Kislev's original navy was not strong, but because of the civil war, the former queen Caterina invested the treasury resources in naval construction, so that Erengrad had a sizable gunboat fleet, the original purpose was to protect the city of Erlengrad from being breached by the northern coalition forces, and now, this team has become the most powerful maritime army in Kislev Bay.

Rhodes could see that Maximian had taken a fancy to this force, and if Kislev's navy was used as an assistant defense, then he could develop the northern coastal territory of the Oster Territory. These lands are high-quality resources, with vast plains, which are not only conducive to the development of agriculture and animal husbandry, but also convenient for transportation. In the past, it was not developed because of the threat of the Norsca tribes in the north, who from time to time plundered southward, and the harvest of the whole year was burned. Now, with the assistance of the navies of neighboring countries, it is a good choice to develop their own naval forces while developing production and accumulating strength. What Rhodes knows, the sea power of the Oster Territory is not strong, and the overall strength of this imperial province is not rich, and the really rich provinces and territories of the empire are in the west, from Marienburg to the capital Aldolph, and then to the southern industrial town of Nune, that area is the real wealth of the empire.