In the extreme west of the continent, the kingdom of Beelzebub.

The royal city of Soridette.

It is the residence of the royal family of roses, and it is also a holy city surrounded by black roses, and the rich sweet floral fragrance can be smelled from every corner.

In the early morning, the representatives and leaders of the top of the kingdom climbed the circular staircase, bathed in the falling petals, looked at each other silently, and silently entered the main hall of the obsidian palace.

Inside, the atmosphere is slightly oppressive.

With the existence of the Red Apple Church in name only, and the heavy damage of the Wandering Knights, the pillars of the royal family, the high-ranking people of the kingdom are now panicking.

As early as half a month ago, there was a rumor circulating among the elite that the strength of the Beelzebub Kingdom had been greatly reduced, and the empire would seize this opportunity and use the Sunset incident as an excuse to launch an all-out war against the kingdom and completely annex this land.

With the wanton spread of the news, countless powerful people were so frightened that they couldn't sleep at night, and even worse, they were evacuated overnight...... Because the high-ranking people of the Beelzebub kingdom are quite familiar with the style of the empire, once the country is destroyed, they will definitely die.

But before the panic boiled completely, Mansfield, the Rose King, curbed the spread of "rumors" with iron and blood, and publicly executed more than a dozen important people who took the lead in "spreading rumors" for three consecutive days, which slightly suppressed the atmosphere of fear......

But the unease still lingered like an indelible shadow over the middle and upper classes of the kingdom.

In the main hall of the Obsidian Palace, as the official shouted an order, many figures wearing high hats and satin robes sat silently.

At the end of the long conference table, Mansfield, the Rose King, sat on the throne.

This is a thin man who doesn't smile.

He was dressed today in a thin black silk shirt with a long dark red waistcoat and a red rose embroidered on the neckline.

A pair of black hair was combed back, clinging to the scalp, and on the pale and beardless face, a pair of indifferent dark golden eyes scanned the leadership.

"Let's start today's meeting."

The Rose King said lightly.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the hall as they flipped through the papers, but no one was willing to speak.

It wasn't until the chief clerk, a stocky man, noticed Mansfield's slightly frowning expression, and quickly coughed twice.

At the conference table, a middle-aged man with short dark brown hair hesitated for a moment, and finally said in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, ladies and gentlemen, I think that the kingdom should beware of the actions of the empire in the future, so as not to suddenly war...... It would be better to tighten the border defenses in the east and send emissaries to the empire for negotiations. ”

Before he could finish his words, several people on the other side of the conference table frowned.

One of the gray-haired old men said coldly:

"Chancellor Short, you also want to be hanged in Garland Square?"

"I'm thinking about the kingdom, not spreading fear!"

Short's face was ugly.

"What is Chancellor's opinion? Speak up and listen! ”

Old man Nikl glanced at a young man beside him, who nodded, and quickly stood up with a stack of papers.

"This is the latest information about the Empire, you might as well take a look at it first."

The clerk took the documents in his hand and distributed them to everyone present, and soon, a burst of exclamations rang out.

Nikkle stood up with his cane.

"The empire first launched an encirclement and pursuit of the 'King of Shirts', but in the end, it returned with a total loss of two demigods, more than 20 saints, and the Church of the Seven Gods suffered heavy losses, among which the upper echelons of the Sun Church were almost wiped out, which is not ......much different from the situation of the Red Apple Church."

The old man looked around, his tone cold and passionate.

"The 'King of Clothes' then retaliated, and large-scale pollution incidents occurred in various regions of the empire, and as of the evening of the day before yesterday, hundreds of millions of imperial residents had died in this disaster......"

"It's overwhelming!"

"Hahaha!"

"Happy!"

"Maybe we can take the opportunity to befriend the 'King of Clothes' and deal with the empire together!"

At the conference table, the participants were full of discussions.

The corners of the old man's mouth raised slightly, and then he said loudly:

"This is a perfect opportunity, and I propose that we might as well take advantage of the chaos of the empire and send troops eastward to reoccupy the territory of the new state of the empire, that is, the former United Kingdom of Anlong, and then use this to plan for the desolate states and insect states in the western part of the empire...... The Kingdom of Byron and the City of Celestial Rites will not miss such an opportunity, and the possibility of forming an alliance to attack the Empire is extremely high, when the Age of the Sun, which has ruled for more than 4,000 years, will finally bloom on the corpses of the Empire! ”

"Seconded!"

"Seconded!!"

Many of the Kingdom's radical ministers chimed in.

The atmosphere became lively for a while.

However, the conservatives, led by Schott, are worried.

"Everyone, please calm down, the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, even if the empire is now in great trouble and the territory is in chaos, but the high-level armed forces of our waiting are not as good as before, rashly starting a war, I am afraid that there will be a catastrophe."

Short raised his hands and tried to cool the atmosphere down a little.

However, most of the participants had been aroused by Chancellor's words, and for a while there was some commotion in the hall, and Schott's words were almost overshadowed and difficult to hear.

Seeing this, Short couldn't help but put his eyes on the main seat.

"Your Majesty......"

Mansfield, the Rose King, groaned.

At this time, the radical leader Nikl shouted again:

"For a long time, the Church of the Seven Gods has not been united, and after several great tribulations, the relationship between them has reached a freezing point...... I propose that an envoy be sent to the City of Celebrity to hold secret talks on the same day, and strive to win over the Star Sect, and the inside and outside should be united! ”

"Your Majesty!"

Short couldn't help but call again.

This time, seven or eight conservatives got up one after another, and looked solemnly at the Rose King together, waiting for His Majesty's reply.

"That's it for today, and we'll talk about it tomorrow."

Mansfield's eyes were deep, and he said lightly.

Nikel's old face froze, and the rest of the radicals and others suddenly quieted down.

The conservatives, led by Schott, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and a smile spread across their faces.

"Your Majesty, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

Nickel's expression was sincere, and his voice trembled slightly.

The Rose King ignored it, stood up on his own, and left the hall with the help of the clerk, and walked outside.

Seeing this, Nikkor hurriedly chased after him with the radicals.

The scene was silent for a long time.

Some of the neutral ministers discussed in low voices.

"What's going on with that old Nikkle guy? This meeting is even more exciting than ever, seeing him like that, I'm afraid that even if he is dozens of years younger, he will have to carry a gun to the battlefield by himself......"

"I heard that it was his favorite second son, whose identity was exposed in the empire, and was arrested and executed by the authorities for espionage."

"Second son? Garwan? Didn't you say doing business at the border? ”

"It's all fake, Nikkor had already arranged a back road, let the second son get in touch with a duke of the Sun Royal Family, and buy the sophisticated weapons and equipment of the Imperial Workshop...... Later, the duke died inexplicably, and the Sun Royal Family used this as an excuse to launch a war against the United Kingdom of Anlong. ”

"Shhh...... I see, it's no wonder that Nikkor is obsessed with the main battle. ”

Short and other conservative ministers looked at each other.

"The kingdom must not be swept into battle rashly, the Church of the Red Apple has fallen, and the Wandering Knights have been wounded, and we should do our best to exhort Your Majesty to recuperate...... No matter how the empire is in turmoil, it is best for us to wait and see what happens. ”

Short said in a low voice with a solemn face.

Conservative ministers nodded their heads.

*

*

*

It's night.

Screams erupted from Chancellor's mansion.

When the patrol arrived, they only found Short in his pajamas, lying at his desk and dead for a long time.

It clutched a revolver in his hand, an eye-catching revolver on his temple, blood splattered all over his desk and carpet.

On the table, a blood-stained suicide note recorded Short's own mental journey, and expressed his shame on the kingdom and His Majesty Mansfield, his own powerlessness to prevent the coming war, and hoped that his death would be a wake-up call to everyone.

"It's murder!"

At the palace meeting the next morning, the conservative ministers were indignant.

"Chancellor Short will never commit suicide! He had repeatedly told him yesterday not to let the kingdom be drawn into war! ”

"Doesn't this confirm the contents of the suicide note he left behind?"

Nikkor said calmly.

"I deeply understand the ideals and ambitions of Chancellor Short, but those who escape from the facts are not worthy to share His Majesty's worries."

"Nikkle! You insulted a dead minister?! ”

The conservative ministers stood up, their faces full of anger.

And the radicals and others were not to be outdone, and they rose up to confront each other.

The two sides had a heated discussion about the death of Chancellor Short, and even put the suspicion on the radicals and others.

"Could this be the Empire?"

At this time, a neutral minister said in a deep voice.

The crowd fell silent.

"If, as Chancellor Short suggests, the Empire intends to start a war, then in a sense, assassination is an extremely convenient way to do so...... Without leadership, our defenses will be slowed down, and it will be difficult to resist a sudden invasion. ”

The minister analyzed.

"Right now, the Red Apple Church has collapsed, the Wandering Knights have been severely damaged, and these ministers such as us lack protection, and in the Church of the Seven Gods of the Empire, the Council of Generosity is especially good at assassinating ......"

"I propose, from today onwards, all the ministers present here to be vigilant and beware of the small tricks of the Empire!"

Nikkor said solemnly.

"Nikkle! A warning to stop spreading fear! That's definitely what you did, and then throw the black cauldron on the head of the empire to create antagonism and start a war! ”

The conservative ministers pointed at Nikl and scolded.

"Slander!"

The radicals retorted.

For a while, there was another noise in the hall of the Rose Palace.

Knock knock!

Mansfield, the Rose King, slammed the table twice.

"Sit down."

Seeing this, everyone hurriedly kept quiet and obediently sat back on their chairs.

Mansfield was expressionless.

He looked around and said indifferently:

"Short's death has been ascertained, and it was indeed a disguised suicide, but in fact the work of a conspiracy of transcendental people...... The strength of the murderer is not low, and the knight chief of Fairclaw has personally checked it, and he said that the other party is at least a high-ranking person. ”

“？！”

The ministers present only felt that their scalps were numb and their backs were cold.

"Really...... It's really the Empire that did it! ”

"The Killer of the Generous Council?!"

They began to feel anxious and nervous, fearing that they would be the next to be assassinated.

The Rose King frowned as he watched his ministers sweat profusely.

"Don't jump to conclusions, there are still many mysteries in this matter, not necessarily the actions of the Empire, but also those with ulterior motives to sow discord...... Rest assured, the Wandering Knights will work at full strength to protect your safety. ”

Mansfield thought for a moment.

"Nikkor, yesterday your proposal can be tried to be implemented, you will personally write the list of missions and go to the capital of shimmering rites as soon as possible......"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The old man looked delighted, and hurriedly got up and saluted the Rose King.

Outside the Palace of the Rose King, the sky is shining.

Through the void, it seems that you can see a grassland suspended in the sky.

The gray-robed man was standing under the golden sacred tree, looking up at the black-clad figure on the white throne who was leaning on the armrest and writing hard.

Rustling......

The ivory pen lays beautiful characters on the manuscript paper.

As the last full stop became a circle, like a circle of fate, the gentleman slowly put on the cap of the pen.

Click.

"Thank you for being willing to be a pawn, Speaker Azgilro."

The gentleman took off his hat and said to the gray-robed man under the throne.

"All for my king."

Azgilro's expression was calm, and after taking a deep breath, he slowly bowed his head towards the other party's chest.

"If you are sent, please command the king of the garments."

Wow –

Chen Lun threw out the manuscript paper and landed it precisely in Azgilro's hands.

"Next stop, the City of Celestial Rites."

The gray-robed man swept the contents of the manuscript paper with a slightly stunned expression.

He bowed his head in silence, and then disappeared into a shadow in his place.

A breeze blows.

Blowing the hair of the gentleman in black.

His gaze was far-reaching, looking through the void and looking down at the Rose Palace, a smile on his lips.

'Step 2......'

Chapter 2 is a little later

(End of chapter)