Anloon, United Kingdom.

The capital of the Principality of Yaco, Knightmani.

In the palatial palace, King Tihamoil is sitting on a high throne, caressing the armrests of gold and precious stones, but he is completely devoid of the ease and joy of the past.

The beautiful queen looked at her husband with a worried look in her eyes. During this time, her husband's hair turned much grayer, and his face often inadvertently showed depression and despair, which made the queen feel extremely uneasy.

"King, the Duchy of Cherol has surrendered, and they have sent messengers to persuade ...... You are advised to surrender. ”

Under the throne, a courtier dressed in a purple robe and wearing a dark green melon skin hat bent his waist ninety degrees and said in a deep voice.

"Shameless!"

"Shameless crumbs!"

"Has the Petar royal family degenerated into an imperial lackey?! When they swore together and founded the United Kingdom, they were not this disgusting look of groveling! ”

"Drive their messengers back! It's disgusting that our territory can't be contaminated with the breath of these guys! ”

On both sides of the palace hall, many nobles reprimanded.

They gestured with great force, their fists clenched tightly, and their expressions were hideous, as if some kind of anger naturally flowed between fear and nervousness...... I don't know if I was angry because of the betrayal of my allies, or because of the cowardice in my own heart.

King Yako did not reply, he gripped the armrest so hard that his muscles flared up, and his gaze quietly swept over the seat below his left hand, where there were five fine chairs.

These chairs were reserved for the Principality of Yako for the worship of the Sage, but at the moment there was only one figure sitting on them, and the rest were empty.

Tihamuir sighed secretly.

"What is your opinion on the current situation of Yako? I'd like to hear from you......"

He tried to calm his tone so that others could see his nervousness.

Ibrayin wears pearl jewelry on her head, and her short light gray hair looks quite mysterious and elegant under the decoration of these pearls. If Chen Lun was here, he would have recognized that the incarnation he had fought against on the high wall of the Hercule Bridgehead was from this Sage.

He turned his head slowly, glanced at King Yako in high position, and just shook his head.

"Your Majesty, I can't do anything about it."

As soon as these words came out, the king's heart sank.

Even though he had been mentally prepared, he still felt extremely lost at this moment.

The nobles in the hall were also silent in an instant, no matter how angry they were before, now they were only left with despair. The calm words of the Sage's crown are like giving them a future, pronouncing the darkest of ends.

"The strength of the Trisur Empire cannot be summed up in any words...... From the beginning, fighting was a bad decision, and I warned you. ”

Ibrayin got up from her chair and sighed softly.

"With all due respect, when the Red Apple Church fell, everything was already doomed, and even I couldn't reverse it...... Even if there are no border frictions, there will be a 'assassination' drama directed and acted by the Sun Prince, and even a 'fuse' secretly lit by the Rose Royal Family...... The Principality of Yako, and even the United Kingdom of Anlong, are too weak after all. ”

His words echoed softly in the hall, like an ice chisel, piercing the hearts of the people.

No one dared to contradict Him, perhaps, silently agreed.

Ibrayin looked around the palace and finally at the king and queen in high places.

"Your Majesty, I'm a little tired, and I want to let go of the burden related to the war...... Thirteen years have passed, and the kindness of the family has been repaid, and I will leave when the war is over...... But rest assured, no matter what comes next, I will still fulfill my last promise to protect you and the royal bloodline until a moment before I leave. ”

"Ibra's Crown......"

King Yako's expression tightened, and he even reflexively got up from his throne.

This last straw will also leave, making him deeply hopeless.

Ibrayin stopped looking at him, dragged the long silver-white skirt, and walked towards the outside of the palace until his back was gone.

King Tiha sat down on the throne in some despair, and the queen hurriedly came over and cared for her husband, but the king just shook his head and did not speak.

I don't know how long this dead silence lasted.

A richly dressed courtier suddenly ran up to the palace and said to the king in surprise:

"Your Majesty, your plea for help from the Kingdom of Beelzebub has been answered! They also sent messengers! ”

King Yako suddenly raised his head, as if he had seen the dawn, and his eyes lit up.

"Come, messenger! Fast! ”

Seeing this, the courtier who summoned him didn't even have time to wipe the sweat from his forehead, so he hurriedly turned around and left.

Not for a moment.

The man returned to the main hall with a group of men.

The number of envoys was small, only a dozen people, led by an emaciated middle-aged man, with a mustache, wearing a dark red tight-fitting precious cotton coat, and a little rose pattern printed on it.

The man came to the throne with his head held high, bowed lightly.

He spoke in a strange tone of modulation, slightly different from the common Trisur dialect, and seemed to have a different accent:

"King Yako, Your Majesty Tihamoir, is the head of the Rose Emissary Order, Urbet...... At the behest of the Rose King, come to your aid. ”

"Welcome, Urbet emissary."

King Yako opened his arms with a smile on his face, not showing the slightest hint of his previous despair...... Perhaps he covered it up well, or perhaps the arrival of the messenger gave him hope.

"On behalf of Yako and all the people of Anlong, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Rose King!"

Ulbert curled his mustache and smiled slightly.

Subsequently, King Yako enthusiastically asked the attendants to bring chairs and let the envoys sit down, which was not even treated by the nobles in the palace.

After a brief exchange between the two sides, it took a moment.

The king cautiously asked the envoy of Urbet about the reinforcements.

Unexpectedly, the envoy smiled faintly, saying that the Beelzebub kingdom did not intend to send an army.

"I didn't ...... No army?! ”

King Yako was stunned.

He quickly guessed something, and a look of struggle appeared on his face, but soon, he let out a long sigh of relief, and said to the messenger in a hoarse voice:

"I see...... Messenger of Urbet, please convey to the great Rose King that the Principality of Yako is willing to submit to the Kingdom of Beelzebub and become a part of the Rose Kingdom. ”

Everyone in the hall was stunned, and then looked at the king in shock.

However, the king ignored these gazes, and only looked lonely, he knew that this was the only way out for the Principality of Yako...... To be precise, it was the only way out for the royal family and the nobles present.

After all, it may be a loss of dignity to become a vassal of the Beelzebub Kingdom, but it is better than being trampled on by the imperial army and turned into dry bones. Even if the whole country surrenders, it is not these rulers who will survive in the end.

"Hmmm......"

However, the messenger raised his eyebrows, and after a moment's pause, he spoke:

"Oh, Your Majesty King Tiha, I think you seem to have misunderstood."

He glanced at everyone present with a smirk.

"Although our king has no intention of sending an army, he has prepared some powerful means that will help the Principality of Yako resist the attack of the imperial army."

“……”

King Tiha watched the messenger silently, falling silent.

It wasn't embarrassment, but at this moment, he finally understood the intention of the Rose Royal Family from the other party's words...... The kingdom of Beelzebub will not accept their submission at all, but is willing to provide some so-called "help", using them as gunmen and pushing them to the table to fight a war of attrition with the empire.

The other party has not been at ease from the beginning, and the Principality of Yake and even the entire United Kingdom of Anlong are just pawns in the game between the two great powers.

Tihamoil suppressed the grief and indignation in his heart, squeezed out a smile and said:

"In that case, I am so grateful for the mercy of His Majesty the Rose King, who is willing to support the Principality of Yako......"

"Your Majesty, my king has said that Anlong is a neighbor of Beelzebub, and that he should help each other against the brutality and cruelty of the Trisur Empire...... By helping you, we are helping ourselves. ”

The messenger smiled.

I don't know if it's an illusion, but King Tiha always feels that there is smugness and sarcasm hidden in this smile. But he had no choice but to grit his teeth and swallow it in his stomach.

In the ensuing exchange, the envoy group led by Urbet discussed the next strategic deployment with King Yako...... However, His Majesty the King seemed rather tired and limpously responded to the various arrangements.

“…… Your Majesty Tiha, the most critical fortress in the Principality of Yaco is the Nabil Forest Castle, once it is breached by the Imperial Army, then the whole battle will be useless......"

The strange accent of the messenger of Urbet echoed through the palace.

King Yako propped his head in his hands, and the words came out of his throat:

"According to the messenger's opinion, what should I do?"

"Nature is ...... by the means we bring"

The messenger spoke lightly of the plan.

After hearing this, King Yako fell into a long silence, and the nobles who were listening all had complicated expressions.

Eventually, the king nodded heavily and spat out one word:

"Good ......"

*

*

*

A few days later.

It is a forest area more than 700 kilometers away from the sub-family capital Netmani.

In front of the castle in the Nabil forest.

A shallow stream was filled with tree stumps and boulders thrown at random. Not far away, the Imperial army was already like clouds before heavy rain, and the darkness was approaching.

The Anlong defenders on the castle looked nervous, as if they were facing a great enemy, and the recruits looked at the army under the city, trembling as if they were sick, their legs were weak, and they forcibly held on to the parapet so that they did not fall to the ground. The veterans sat on the ground with their backs to barrels or ammunition boxes, smoking cigarettes with their heads down, and only the hands that kept rubbing the butts of their guns trembled slightly, revealing that their hearts were not at peace.

Soon, the time came to evening.

As the sky grew darker, a loud trumpet sounded over the forest, startling a large number of birds.

Woo –

Immediately after, there was a loud cry in unison.

"Imperial Army, charge!!"

With a sharp and rapid whistle, the Imperial army began to charge. The deafening sound of rushing and killing, and the galloping footsteps of thousands of horses, made the defenders of the castle seem to hallucinate, and the surrounding environment is like their own violently beating heart, constantly shaking.

I don't know how many castle defenders were stunned at this moment, the sound in their ears seemed to be gradually moving away, and they were like being in ice and snow, and their blood was frozen.

They were intimidated by the might of the Imperial Army, and it was difficult for them to raise even the slightest desire to resist.

Wheels, wheels!

The sound of heavy wheels rolling was heard in the rear of the battlefield.

A giant catapult more than ten meters tall was pushed to the front line by a small group of Imperial troops, and its structure was beautiful, with cube-shaped iron plates clinging to its surface, like the scales of a cold-blooded animal, and the main parts were linked and supported by rivets and gears.

At the base, there are even steam boilers and giant springs, which look like retro siege machines, combined with the product of "modern" black technology.

Chen Lun had already gotten out of the carriage and stood in the rear to watch such a catapult, he knew in his heart that the reason why the Imperial Transcendent Workshop chose to develop this old-fashioned siege machine was because of a special cannonball!

Its raw material is a rare ore called "Sun Stone", which, once burned, will produce terrifying high temperatures and spread wantonly! A fist-sized "sun stone" can burn for more than ten hours, and is powerful enough to burn several reinforced concrete buildings into ruins.

Regular cannons cannot use shells made of "Sunstone", as even steel will begin to melt after a few fires...... Only instruments such as catapults can be disassembled and used frequently.

I saw a group of Imperial troops, carefully carrying sealed wooden boxes, and taking out "golden" shells wrapped in special oiled paper, which were very dazzling with a jewel-like luster.

Under the command of the officers of the catapult brigade, in front of more than a dozen catapults, one soldier from each was allowed to drip some kind of gelatinous liquid on the surface of the shell, and then the four soldiers operating the catapult turned the rocker lever and switch.

Boom!

There was a dull loud thud, and golden fireballs filled the sky, falling like meteorites on the walls of the castle of the Nabil Forest, as well as in the castle.

Suddenly, a violent firelight lit up the sky.

The faint screams came and went, composing purgatory-like tunes. The stone walls were gradually spread by the flames, and in the burning they collapsed like weathered sand, and huge pits appeared.

The defenders were tainted with flames and instantly became moving pillars of fire, struggling to fall, and in a few breaths they turned into ashes, leaving in place a cloud of unquenchable flames and a pool of black shadows.

"It's a one-sided massacre ......"

Behind Chen Lun, all the hands who witnessed this scene showed emotion, and Golov shook his head and muttered softly.

Chen Lun didn't speak, just calmly looked into the distance.

The eyes reflected the burning flames.

He had long known the strength of the Imperial Army, and even in his previous life, defeats like the Battle of Hercule's Bridgehead were only a handful of cases...... The war in the West was almost all the way to the ground.

"Don't take it lightly, this battle is not as simple as it seems......

Chen Lun pestle the silver cane and said without looking back.

When the subordinates heard the regiment commander say this, they couldn't help but look at each other.

Sure enough, a deafening thunderclap suddenly sounded overhead-

Thundered!

Chen Lun's subordinates and the soldiers on both sides of the battlefield were immediately attracted by the sound, and when they looked up, they didn't know when, in the sky above the castle of Nabil Forest, a swirling dark red cloud had condensed, and a strange blue-purple lightning flashed inside.

Drain ......

Immediately afterward, it rained blood in the sky.

The view is shrouded in a red mist, and it is like purgatory.

In the originally burning castle, the unquenchable fire smashed by the catapult was strangely extinguished, but the countless screams did not stop, but intensified, even more hysterical and full of madness......

"This rain is like a measure of the Red Apple Church."

Floy held up a black umbrella for Chen Lun and whispered behind him.

All his subordinates also held up their umbrellas, looking at the back of the regiment commander suspiciously, expecting him to answer for themselves and others.

"To be precise, it's the ...... of the Rose Family"

Chen Lun stretched out his hand, stretched out his umbrella, and followed the rain of blood falling from the sky.

The sound was incessant, and the blood rained down on his hands, and green smoke came out, but his smooth and white palms were unscathed.

"It's like some kind of ritual...... Somehow, a ritual even more drastic than the Red Plague. ”

Chen Lun's calm face, his eyes narrowed slightly.

(End of chapter)