"The Gnoscans are invading? Oh, damn it, why are you lords so much going on? Yesterday the Beastmen invaded, today the Norscans went south, and tomorrow? Is it just a Chaos invasion?"

Heidelberg, when Lawrence arrived in the dust, Lord Varel was dining with his daughter, and he went out to greet him, and as soon as he went out, he heard the news. When Lawrence asked for a soldier, Varrell couldn't help but curse.

"Last winter, Rhodes said that the beastmen were invading, so I sent more than fifty soldiers to reinforce Blackhammer Fort, and he swore that Blackhammer would not be captured, and that these soldiers would return intact, but what happened? They were all warriors of Heidelberg, they both had wives and children, and they had parents. Now, Rhodes has asked me for reinforcements again, how many more will I need this time?How can the Norscans go south, and the scale is greater than that of the Beastmen, and why does he want me to lend him all the strength of Heidelberg?"

Standing in front of the castle gates, Varel cursed and complained that it had been a bad decision to support Blackhammer in the first place. Lawrence couldn't pick up a word on the sidelines.

Just as the atmosphere was extremely awkward, Varrel's daughter Caroline walked out from behind the city gates.

She wore a fine plush robe, and her fair skin was soft and charming in the sun. The soldiers made way for her, after all, the daughter of the castle lord and the Frost Witch, Caroline's status in Heidelberg was second only to her father. A week earlier, she had come to live in Heidelberg, and as soon as she had left on her front foot, Rhodes' messenger had arrived.

"When did the Norscans go south?"

As for the Black Hammer Castle, the Frost Witch is very concerned. After all, there are her iced peppers and there are free hot springs. Rhodes had promised her that one-third of the proceeds of the Ice Pepper would be hers. Coupled with the relationship she cultivated by fighting side by side with Rhodes all the way, she is always very concerned about the affairs of Blackhammer Castle.

"We also just got the information that Lord Rhodes has returned from the north, and on the way back to Blackhammer Castle, we got acquainted with the rangers of the Troll Country, and the news of the Gnoscans' journey south was brought by these rangers. ”

Lawrence replied sincerely.

"Father, we should go and support them. ”

"You've been at Blackhammer Castle long enough. The Frost Witch shouldn't run around, the Queen taught you. ”

A look of displeasure appeared on Varrel's face. The diametrically opposed attitudes of father and daughter embarrassed Lawrence again. He knew that with Caroline's friendship with his lord, she would help him convince Lord Varel to send an army. But Varrell seems to have reached the limit of his patience with Rod. Originally, Blackhammer and Heidelberg were safe and did not disturb each other, but since the invasion of the Evil Moon Beastmen, there have been more and more exchanges between the two places, and although the laying of the trade road has increased the trade income to a certain extent, it has actually connected the two places more closely. Varill didn't say anything on the surface, but in his heart he already knew that his old neighbor was calculating.

"But she also taught me that when the kingdom is in trouble, the Frost Witch is duty-bound. ”

Caroline retorted. Varreel's face turned blue with anger.

"The Norscans are heading south, but I've heard that Rhodes also has Norscan warriors on hand?"

Varrell turned to Lawrence.

"Yes, there are probably more than a hundred Norscans stationed at Blackhammer Castle right now. More than a hundred others roamed the forest hunting. But this manpower is no match for the invaders at all. ”

Lawrence replied.

"How many of them came?"

"Thousands...... Or more...... I don't have accurate information at the moment. I only know that the whole tribe has gone south. Except for women and children. ”

Lawrence replied in 1510 that, in fact, he was not fit to be an envoy, and he would not be flamboyant like a diplomat, but would only convey his meaning. Rhodes knew, but there was no other way, Black Hammer Castle lacked talent, and the only administrative talent was the old butler Muros. But the old guy has to stay in the castle to manage the day-to-day affairs, finances, housekeeping, etc. Moreover, Muros was very old, and it was not appropriate for him to go out of the city again and run on the road. Therefore, in desperation, Rhodes could only let his cavalry and rangers act as messengers.

"It looks like there's a lot of people, it's a real fight. It can be reported to the queen and let the regular army solve it. ”

Caroline said.

"There is no time, the Norscans are marching fast, and Lord Rhodes estimates that in half a month, they will reach the border. ”

Lawrence replied.

"That's a real problem. ”

"Father, we should do something. ”

"Do something? want me to reinforce Rhodes, help him defend the castle?"

"Lord Lord's meaning is that we will take the initiative and fight the invasion of the Norscans head-on......"

"Hahaha, should I praise your lord for his courage, or laugh at his stupidity? For thousands of years, no lord has taken the initiative to go out of the city to fight the barbarians. ”

After Lawrence finished speaking, Varrell couldn't help but laugh out loud. He was even more determined in his principle of not sending troops, guarding Blackhammer Fort before would kill people, not to mention that this time the madman had to take the initiative to go out of the city to meet the barbarians. Anyway, Varel will not send troops to support his "neighbor" again.

"Father's ......"

"Say no more, I won't send troops, and you can't go. I've indulged you for too long, and you must stay in Heidelberg until the Norscans retreat. ”

Varrell said fiercely. The hardness of his attitude made the atmosphere suddenly go wrong.

Despite Caroline's intention to help, she is not the Lord of Heidelberg and has no right to mobilize troops.

As the two looked at each other, Lawrence remembered the second alternative that Rhodes had given him before leaving......

"Your Excellency...... My lord...... You see, Blackhammer is isolated, there are no reinforcements within a radius of several kilometers, and you are the only ally. If you are not worried about the safety of your soldiers, Lord Rhodes has another suggestion. He would pay a certain amount of gold as insurance money for the soldiers' expeditions, which would be used as a reward if they returned safely after the battle, and for their wives and children if they died in battle. ”

Lawrence said euphemistically. Give both sides a step, on the surface, it sounds good, it is an insurance money, it is a pension. In fact, fools know that no matter whether these soldiers come back alive after the war or not, the gold coins will flow into the pockets of the lords of Heidelberg. It's the equivalent of hiring Heidelberg soldiers to fight, but it's just not said on the surface.

I saw Varel's eyebrows furrowed, and then he said to the messenger sent by Rhodes—

"Come on, come in and say. ”