Odinan returned to the city lord's mansion, summoned his treasurer, and convened an emergency meeting on financial matters. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

After some heated discussions, the meeting ended in nothing, and the young Grand Duke was at a loss with a thick stack of financial statements.

After the meeting was dispersed, the treasurers left the City Lord's Mansion with solemn faces, and their years of financial experience gave them an extremely clear understanding of the current bad situation.

Odinan threw the papers handed in by the treasurers on the table and stared at the ceiling with a dejected expression.

As a result of the war, not only did cities be destroyed, farmland was deserted, and a large number of civilians were displaced, but more importantly, a large number of domestic capital fled------- which directly caused a catastrophic impact on the economy of the principality.

In addition, the imperial governor also made no concessions on the issue of tribute, and pressed step by step.

The extremely desperate situation made Odinan have a painful sense of suffocation.

It's night.

Immersed in the information compiled by the financial officer, Odinand's tired eyes swept over the rows of complicated economic data, and he worked tirelessly, hoping to find a good solution to his predicament.

"Honey, you haven't slept yet~" Caitlyn walked slowly in her nightgown and yawned.

"Hmm...... The problem is a bit serious, I'll see if I can find a good solution. Odinan didn't have time to look up, but looked through the information intently by the dim candlelight.

"I'll see...... It's a financial problem, isn't it?" Caitlyn casually picked up a messy stack of bills on her desk.

"Hmm. Audinan nodded, still staring at the information in his hand with a frown.

"It's really not good...... Catelyn muttered as she flipped through the bill in her hand.

"Caitlin, don't wait for me, you go to bed early, I may have to be busy today......" The word "night" on his lips had not yet spoken, and the Grand Duke couldn't help but be stunned.

A white and flawless hand stretched out, like a snow lotus blooming in the dark night, and in the palm of the hand was a purple crystal half the size of a palm, which radiated colorful colors under the light of the candlelight.

Archduke Odinand's hand trembled slightly, and the paper in his hand fell weakly in the air.

"Honey, take this, I don't need it right now anyway. Caitlyn's gentle words came to her ears, and the hand holding the purple crystal moved forward an inch further.

Odinan looked at the crystal clear purple crystal, but didn't take it.

He looked up at his smiling wife, and couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart.

It was not an ordinary crystal in her hand, it was a high-level magic crystal nucleus containing pure magic power, the only one in the entire principality, and on the day of the wedding, he gave it to his beloved wife as an engagement gift.

"I'm sorry...... My dear, I'm really useless, all these years, let you suffer with me......" Odinan sighed slightly, and lowered his head with great guilt.

"Don't say that, dear. Caitlyn took his arm and comforted, "Being with you is the greatest happiness of my life." She put the magic crystal nucleus in her husband's hand, "You don't have to feel guilty for me, my dear, you are a king, if you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight......"

"Monarch, hehe......" Odinan's face was filled with bitterness, the country was on the verge of collapse, yes, he was the monarch, although he was a monarch on the outside, he was no different from a puppet in substance.

The high-level magic crystal nucleus that was used as an engagement gift was eventually sold at a high price, in exchange for a large amount of money.

The high-level magic crystal core is extremely valuable, and although the funds obtained from the sale of it cannot fundamentally solve the financial problems of the principality, it can also be maintained for a relatively period of time.

With the strong support of the garrison of the St. John's Empire, the Duchy's army successively recaptured some villages near the city of Bilochi, and pushed the battle line forward for dozens of kilometers to the eastern town of Ramadi.

The eastern part of the principality, the town of Ramadi.

Orrenville stared at the map on the wall, anger on his face.

Salian and Norton on the sidelines glanced at each other and stopped their frustrating report.

Although the city of Biloch was lost, most of the elite of the blood clan were well preserved, and Orrenville originally wanted to defend it with the important town of Ramadi, and at the same time occupy the villages near the city of Biloch, so that when the time is ripe, he will counterattack Biloch in one fell swoop. However, the battle for the village has been lost, and the advance of the human army has now advanced to the vicinity of Ramadi.

"Lord Salian, can you explain to me why our supplies have been hijacked by a group of filthy, lowly human civilians?" Orrenville shouted at Salian, who seemed to have a responsibility for defeat as Ramadi's defender, who had served as the main commander in the last few battles.

In a recent battle, the Bloods were quickly defeated in an avalanche of frontal battles due to the cutting off of supplies, and the strategic situation took a sharp turn for the worse.

"Lord Orrenville. Salian gasped, looked nervous, and said: "Those human villagers are extremely numerous, and they are all equipped with crossbows, and the guards responsible for escorting supplies were caught off guard, so ......" Salian quickly couldn't continue, because the battle was really too ugly to lose, and among the team responsible for escorting that batch of supplies, only one magician escaped with the help of levitation, and the remaining eight warriors, five magic apprentices, and dozens of soldiers of the royal army were all killed.

"We've been ambushed, my lord!" Seeing Orrenville's displeased face, he immediately added, "Someone has leaked our information to the human army!"

"Who could that be?!" With an angry shout, the temperature of the air around him seemed to drop suddenly, and Norton's face turned pale------- he was mainly responsible for the intelligence work in the army.

"My lord, no suspicious people have been found in the army for the time being, but the villagers of all the nearby villages are dissatisfied with us, and they are very likely to reveal our whereabouts to the enemy. Norton cautiously spoke his thoughts, while staring cautiously at Orrenville, who seemed to be furious at any moment.

"Damn, you should pull out all the suspicious villagers and execute them!" said Orrenville, his forehead throbbing.

"But my lord, if they are all put to death, the food supply will be strained. When the two subordinates heard this, they dissuaded them one after another.

"Then turn them all into obedient zombies!" Orrenville raised his eyebrows and said coldly: "I don't need to teach you this!"

"Yes! Lord Orrenville. ”

Marven on the side heard the conversation between them in the corner, and the muscles on his face twitched violently.

"Knock! knock!" came a crisp knock on the door, interrupting the conversation of the people in the room.

"Come in, please!" muttered Orrenville impatiently, the one who came knew who it was without guessing, he was in a terrible mood right now, and had no intention of getting up to greet him.

The door creaked open, and a dark fragrance spread in the room, Marven raised his eyes and saw Princess Dalys, dressed in a gorgeous dress and wearing a little light makeup, walking gently through the door. Several members of the nobility with stabbing swords at their waists followed her respectfully, and the last one to enter was the blue-robed magician she had seen in Bilodge City.

As if sensing Marven's gaze, the blue-robed magician looked up at Marven, and after only a cursory look, he snorted contemptuously and withdrew his gaze.

After he looked up, Marven could barely see the man's face clearly, it was a middle-aged man with a somewhat pale complexion, the simple milky white staff in his hand seemed mediocre, but Marven could still sensitively catch the fluctuations of the magic elements it contained.

"This man does have some capital for pride. Marven secretly commented in his heart, but seeing that the man's expression was arrogant, he couldn't help but sneer, and then withdrew his gaze.

"Your Royal Highness, your country is really not easy to manage, and there are as many rebels as locusts. Orrenville had a playful smile on his face, and a hint of amusement in his eyes as he stared at the princess and his party.

"Heh, it's just a bunch of stupid people, and I believe that the 'invincible' Lord Orrenville should not be defeated at the hands of civilians. Talis sneered, with a shallow mockery on the corner of her mouth.

Orrenville's face turned dark, and he said coldly: "Your Royal Highness, don't forget that we are grasshoppers on a rope, and if we fail, you will not gain anything." ”

"I understand that, Lord Orrenville. Princess Talis bowed slightly, and then explained to Orrenville the purpose of her trip.

Due to the intervention of the St. John's Empire, the originally good strategic situation deteriorated rapidly, and seeing the successive defeats of the Blood Clan, Talis planned to make a secret visit to the Governor's Palace to persuade the Imperial army to remain neutral.

"Lord Orrenville, we are very grateful for the outstanding contribution of the Bloods to the restoration of royal legitimacy and the stability of Morowing, and now that we are facing common difficulties, it is time for the royal family to make a contribution. A faint smile appeared on Dalyse's face, and her eyes looked slyly at Orrenville.

Orrenville stroked his palm and smiled: "Her Royal Highness the princess is really touching, but this trip to the tiger's den is extremely dangerous, and your safety is very worrying." ”

He groaned for a moment, then stretched out his hand to Marven, "It's better to let this Mr. Magician go with you, Your Royal Highness the Princess, so that your safety can be guaranteed." ”

Marven was stunned for a moment, then understood, immediately stepped forward, bowed down and said: "I very much look forward to walking with Her Royal Highness the beautiful princess, it will be a great honor for me, I will do my best to ensure the safety of Her Royal Highness......" The corners of Marven's mouth twitched slightly, he already fully understood Orenville's intentions, the blood clan did not fully trust the Morowing royal family, Orenville sent him over, in the name of protection, in fact, he wanted him to monitor Princess Morowing's every move.

Before Dai Lisi could speak, a yin and yang voice suddenly sounded, "Lord Orrenville is really unsend, and it is simply an insult to us to let a lowly Xia clan protect our Royal Highness the Princess!"

Everyone looked up, and saw that the person who spoke was the blue-robed magician who followed behind Princess Dalys.