When the news of the withdrawal of the Frankish Kingdom broke, the pressure suddenly shifted to the Alpha Kingdom.

The troubles in the Cursed Lands have not yet been resolved, and the situation in the Papal States has changed again. Without the Franks sharing the pressure, the kingdom would not have the strength to destroy the Holy See.

The Holy See's army is fighting hard, but it can't stand the large number of masters!

There are more than ten known powerhouses in the Holy Domain alone.

Even if there is a Terran alliance constraints, these people can't take action easily, that's a threat.

Emerald Palace, Council of the Kingdom.

"Why did the Franks suddenly withdraw?"

Hudson asked, confused.

In recent days, he has been busy mending seals and has relaxed his attention to the international situation.

If it weren't for the withdrawal of the Franks, which affected the kingdom's foreign strategy, he would not have hurried over from the Near East.

"Marshal, according to the Franks themselves, the domestic plague has intensified.

Judging from the information transmitted from the embassies stationed abroad, there are indeed signs of this.

Recently, a group of dark creatures have emerged from nowhere, wreaking havoc in their country, catching them off guard.

But the situation quickly stabilized!

Charles III's decision to draw fifteen legions from the Papal States may have had something to do with the progress of their emigration.

Because of their proximity, they are migrating much faster than we are, and they are now two-thirds complete.

The rest of the migration is expected to be completed within two to three months. ”

As soon as the Marquis of Omar, the foreign secretary, explained, Hudson understood in an instant.

What the demonic calamity has intensified is purely an excuse. The real reason is that the meat has been eaten in the stomach, and it is time to withdraw from the scene.

There is nothing strange about it, the people are the most powerful country of the human race, and once they recognize it, the sea transportation capacity that can be mobilized is by no means comparable to that of the Alpha Kingdom.

The two sides were able to tie in front, but the kingdom reacted faster, and Hudson threw money around in the first place.

When the Franks reacted and intervened at the national level, the resources that both sides were able to mobilize were different.

Coupled with the proximity of the distance, it is almost inevitable that the population migration will be completed one step ahead of the kingdom.

The matter of the secret agreement cannot be spread out and said, and a good excuse must be found for the withdrawal.

Charles III's political brain is still very useful, and the reason for the withdrawal of troops in the previous countries is - the devil's disaster, and now it is directly plagiarized.

Everyone is the same, and no one can dispute this.

However, the "dark creatures of the establishment" still caught Hudson's attention.

Subconsciously, he couldn't help but associate these dark creatures with the inner world.

The Cursed Lands has an entrance to the Inner Earth, and the Frankish Empire has another one, which is also very reasonable.

I don't know if the rest of the continent also has an entrance to the Inner World.

It's a pity that not only the Alpha Kingdom does not have this information, but even the Terran Alliance does not necessarily have it.

As an emerging overlord, his understanding of ancient secrets is far inferior to that of those old overlords.

Suddenly, Hudson suddenly understood why the elves dared to take a group of younger brothers and the Terrans to fight hard in a corner of the elves.

As a last resort, that's just one of the reasons, and more hole cards are the core factors that people can be strong.

The Terrans do have signs of unifying the continent, but this process is not irreversible.

If a foreign enemy invades and a war breaks out that affects the whole continent, it is also possible to pull this new hegemon down.

Of course, the use of such extreme measures is also full of risks.

Historically, the elves quelled the rebellion in the center of the earth, but it paid a big price, and it was also one of the reasons for the decline of the elven empire.

The title of "demon" of the inner race of the earth is not a plain slander, in Maxim's words, it is a group of crazy people.

"Crazy" means uncontrollable behavior!

It's okay to use these guys to fight the Terrans, and it will also backfire on itself.

As the winner of the last continental war, the elves are completely unable to go to extremes.

"Prime Minister, the Franks are almost complete their immigration, why are we so slow?"

Caesar IV asked with a frown.

He can not care about how the nobles below are dirty, but he can't be inefficient.

As a poor ghost powerhouse, the core competitiveness of the Alpha Kingdom is - efficiency!

The short-term explosive ability, looking at the whole continent, is the top.

"Your Majesty, the government has done its best to resettle people, but there are still many problems in its implementation.

The number of ocean-going ships in the hands of the royal government was limited, and the amount of booty to help transport was not enough, and the emigration mainly depended on the nobles themselves.

Field Marshal Hudson had the most say in this regard, and the Near East Development Bank's fleet was larger than that of many other countries. ”

The complaint of the Marquis of Delgado directly scolded Caesar IV back.

Inefficiency, not artificially low, in the final analysis, still falls on the money.

Money doesn't necessarily make a ghost grind, but money does make a boat.

Hudson is willing to spend money, but it does not mean that the nobles of the kingdom can also throw money.

Compared to before the war, the cost of sea freight has increased fivefold.

Add in all the expenses and transport a serf back, and the cost of transporting a serf back is almost half the value of a serf.

Except for a few big nobles on the coast, because they have their own fleets, they have a good life, and the rest of the nobles are under great pressure.

The situation of the big nobles is okay, and they can directly charter the entire fleet, except for the cost of nothing.

The small and medium-sized nobles were miserable, their loot was limited to a fleet, and it was not economically cost-effective to hire a fleet alone.

In order to reduce costs, they can only choose to join a group.

Compared with the former, this group mode is much less efficient.

Not to mention the difficulty of finding a boat, there is still a need to wait.

Many small nobles couldn't stand it, so they simply sold the loot directly, and spent the waiting time on robbery.

"Prime Minister, you can't say that!

The fact that the Development Bank of the Near East was able to find enough ships was entirely due to the contribution of its shareholders, and it was not my fault alone, in fact, the Snow Moon Collar lacked capacity.

The kingdom is no bigger than the Franks, and it is actually very efficient to have the current speed of immigration.

Ships cannot be built in a day or two, and the sea capacity has been exerted to the limit.

We have already hired all the ocean-going ships that can be hired on the whole continent, and there is not much room for growth in a short period of time.

Instead of dwelling on this question, why did the Rankers suddenly withdraw their troops? ”

Hudson picked out the topic, and everyone's faces were not very good-looking.

Because of the geographical distance between the two countries and the common enemy to deal with, the relationship between the kingdom and the Franks has always been relatively good.

Secretly, the two sides have also signed an alliance!

Under normal circumstances, even if the Franks wanted to withdraw their troops, they should have informed the Alpha Kingdom in advance.

Apparently, the Franks did not think so.

The common enemy has declined, and the Alpha Kingdom, an ally, has grown too fast in recent years, so fast that it is frightening!

Ten years ago, the Alpha Kingdom was still trembling under the iron hooves of the orcs, and now it can blast the orcs.

The geopolitical barrier has prevented the two countries from moving towards confrontation, but the potential threat still exists.

Affected by the increase in strength, the kingdom's voice in international politics has also become louder and louder in recent years.

A series of manifestations of the kingdom became a manifestation of restlessness in the eyes of the Franks.

This withdrawal is a silent beating.

Fortunately, the Franks did not do anything desperately, but only reduced part of their troops, and did not withdraw all the troops in one go.

Otherwise, the kingdom will not face pressure, but must withdraw its troops.

Smart people don't need to say everything, just look at each other, and everyone has the answer in their hearts.

"Inform the expeditionary force to prepare for withdrawal, and withdraw from the Papal States as soon as the situation is found to have deteriorated!"

Caesar IV said ruthlessly.

The kingdom needs the wealth of the Papal States, but it needs an expeditionary force to retreat in its entirety.

It is impossible to verify how much wealth has been plundered since the expedition, but this expedition has brought the Alpha Kingdom back from the brink of bankruptcy.

The kingdom's population has exploded by 8 million, which is of great significance for the development of new territories.

What is needed next is to digest the results of the battle, not to take strategic risks.

Of course, this fear is for the worst-case scenario, and the reality is not necessarily that bad.

For political reasons, countries withdrew their troops from the Papal States, but not completely.

What the Holy See needs is to send everyone out of the country, not to provoke a new round of war.

If they really play with force to expel them, it is still unknown whether they can defeat the expeditionary legion.

At this moment, the situation in the Holy See is much more dangerous than that of the Alpha Kingdom. If it suffers another big defeat, it will be completely powerless.

If it weren't for the orcs on the side first, and now the threat of the geocentric race has been added, the permanent occupation of the Papal States by the feudal nobles is what everyone wants most.

Running to the deserted orc prairie to reclaim the wasteland, where can it compare to picking up ripe land?

It's just that the upper echelons are sensible and well aware of the situation of the kingdom, and it is not suitable to disperse forces.

……

Rutsia.

"Have you figured out the origins of those dark creature armies?"

Charles III asked with concern.

Suddenly a group of enemies popped up, or a formed army, which was obviously abnormal.

If it is a visitor from the other world, there is only one explanation, and the spatial rift happens to appear in the military camp opposite.

However, under normal circumstances, in this case, everyone's first reaction is to figure out the situation first, rather than rushing directly into it with the army.

"Your Majesty, judging from the information gathered during the interrogation of the captives, it is suspected that it is a legendary creature from the center of the earth.

Some dark creatures don't even have eyes, and they rely on their sense of smell and mental power to determine the direction, which is completely in line with the characteristics of underground creatures. ”

The answer given by the War Secretary, Earl Fils, made Charles III frown.

There are few legendary creatures that are easy to deal with. Otherwise, it would not have been passed down from ancient times to the present.

"How much do you know about the creatures in the center of the earth?"

Charles III asked.

Knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent is the most basic element of making decisions.

He is only a king, not a historian, and being able to know the term creature in the center of the earth is a reflection of the breadth of knowledge.

"Your Majesty, let me answer this question!"

Archbishop Edward spoke.

"You haven't heard much of the creatures in the center of the earth, but there's a term you're familiar with - demons!

In the operas and literary works handed down by the elves, the word evil appears very frequently.

There are many versions of the legend of the demons, and the elves are gritting their teeth at this mysterious race.

According to my personal research, it is very likely that the demon played an important role, or even the main character, in a certain 10,000-year tribulation! ”

As a history buff, Archbishop Edward dabbled in a wide range of things.

He has a strong interest in not only the history of the human race, but also the history of other races.

Especially in the past few years, when the catastrophe of 10,000 years was boiling, he was even more crazy to find answers from history.

There is no record in the history books of the human race, so he has his eyes on the alien race. It's a pity that it's too old, and these have long been hidden secrets.

However, no matter how tightly it is hidden, it is still found in Edward's literary works.

Perhaps these artistically processed contents are 108,000 miles away from real history, but at least they prove the existence of the Great Tribulation.

"Your Excellency, the literary and artistic works of the elves are too exaggerated.

In some operas, they are demons on their feet, angels with blades, and dragons bow their heads when they see them, and they have to slaughter a god from time to time! ”

The Marquis of Jesús couldn't help but complain.

The elves have a glorious history, which is widely recognized.

But there is a limit to bragging, but the elves in literary and artistic works have blown themselves to the sky, and by the way, they have also belittled the races on the mainland.

This kind of artistic processing is actually understandable.

There are similar works in the Terran world, but everyone is a little restrained, and they don't use the gods of each race as a background board.

Slaughtering the gods is only slaughtering evil gods.

Occasionally hack a few demons to death, slaughter an evil dragon that doesn't have long eyes, and stage a trick to save the princess.

"Marquis, what if the elves don't brag?"

Archbishop Edward asked with a smile, which directly amused everyone.

This is also too exaggerated, the elves are really so awesome, where is the opportunity for orcs to take the position?

However, some people still believe it, because the modern literary works of the elves rarely use exaggeration.

Even if it is artistic processing, it is also in line with modern history, and there are few YY who have stepped on the human race and re-ascended to the top of the continent.

"If there is a plane law suppression, gathering a group of Sacred Domain powerhouses to slaughter gods, in fact, there is no small success.

As for the demons and angels, the Holy See has blown them up, and their real strength is not as exaggerated as people expected.

Weak demons are stronger than ordinary people, similar to low-cost knights.

The situation of the angels is estimated to be similar. It's just that every time they come, they are the elite of the clan, and they look stronger.

A few days ago, we exterminated a thousand-person Fallen Angel Clan, and the leader barely reached the Holy Domain, and the weakest was only comparable to the Great Knight.

If there was really such a powerful blow from the Holy See, they would have swept across the continent by descending angels, where would they fall to the current field! ”

As a clergyman, such an unbridled comment angel will definitely cause an uproar when it spreads.

However, the Frankish Empire has completed the reform of religious secularization, and the Lord of the Dawn will not be burned at the stake, let alone the bottom of the angels.

As soon as they remembered that the angel they once worshipped was weaker than themselves, everyone only felt that their faith had collapsed.

Fortunately, everyone is not a fanatic, except for the fact that they like to talk about the Lord of the Dawn, they rarely even go to church.

"You can discuss this in private. Now let's continue to talk about the Inner Race, or the Demons.

There are three main tasks:

1. Exterminate the dark creatures that have entered the empire;

2. Find the entrance to the inner world and scan it in the empire to see if there are any other entrances;

3. Find out the strength of the various races in the heart world, as well as the division of forces within them. ”

Charles III said with a wave of his hand.

Of the three main quests, except for the first one, which is relatively easy to complete, the other two are troublesome.

But there is no way, the more troublesome the task, the more timely it must be completed.

……

Papal States.

Affected by the plundering of various countries, the city of Augustus, located on the shore of Lake Ruixin, has become a ghost town at the moment.

Suddenly, the earth trembled, and the calm surface of the lake rose to the sky.

There are no people in a radius of 100 miles, and the earth-shattering vision is only witnessed by birds and beasts.

The animal's instinct to avoid evil caused the nearby birds and beasts to flee frantically, as if something terrifying was about to come out.

As time passed, an earth-shattering noise was heard, and the water level of Ruixin Lake suddenly began to drop.

"Oops, it's another ocean, is there also a sea above this entrance!"

The round dwarf old man complained, and hurriedly ordered his subordinates to take emergency measures.

While summoning the powerful men in the kingdom to close the gap, and on the other hand, activating drainage measures.

"Something is wrong, there is light!"

"Lord Governor, it's not the sea up there!"