The pursuers of the Asuna did not strike them as hard as they had expected. After the breakout, the knights are always faced with an endless grassland, the same, full of monotonous green.

After three days of this, the shadow of a human appeared for the first time on the distant horizon. It was a small patrol with a bull flying on its flag.

The knights forcibly suppressed their excitement, and one of them shouted, "God forbid, that's the banner of His Royal Highness Duke Clarke, Crovis!" The patrol got closer and closer, and they clearly saw the embarrassed knights of the Holy City, the original defensive formation was relaxed, and the cavalry was not far away from the reins.

"This is the Duchy of Clark, what are the Knights of the Holy City doing here?" the leader asked aloud. The knights of the Holy City all looked at Jean Jacques, who stepped forward with unmistakable majesty and command in his tone: "Soldiers, guide and protect us to Fort Clark, we have brought important information, quickly!

The soldier did not have any reason to refuse an order from one of the knights.

A day later, they set foot on the land of Fort Clark.

None of the knights paid attention to the majesty and exuberance of Fort Clark. "Duke Clark has been arming up for war. Jean Jacques' gaze was worried. Fort Clark was originally a thriving place for commercial trade, but now most of the people walking the streets are soldiers. The baron looked back at Bishop Eugene, the old man was wearing a hood, but the somewhat shaky figure made the baron start to worry.

They did not delay for any time, and the group entered the Duke's castle with the fatigue of the journey and the smell of war. The guards looked at them with a little puzzlement, and it was rare for anyone to meet the Duke so uncourteously.

If it was Jean Jacques or Baron Lillera, Duke Clark would have laughed at it, and then left these inconsequential little people behind. But the sudden arrival of Cardinal Eugene Quint allowed the Duke to gather his important courtiers and the lords who happened to be around him to meet with the esteemed bishop.

When the knights entered the simple but military-like hall, His Royal Highness the Duke and his men were already waiting here. Crowe Byron, Duke of Clark, was a handsome, middle-aged man with a mustache, who was tall and energetic, and that was also a sign of trouble.

The bishop took off his hood, and his face was not pretty. The Duke bent down to kiss his ring and let out a hearty laugh: "Your Excellency Cardinal, I'm sorry for such a faux pas and didn't even go to greet you. Bishop Eugene smiled, and he gestured to the baron, who knowingly took out a scroll and handed it to the bishop.

"Your Royal Highness, I appreciate your kindness, and if it weren't for your patrol, I would probably have been summoned by the Lord. There's an edict here, so take a look at it first. “

The Duke opened the scroll in confusion, frowning at the sight of the familiar coat of arms on his head. The courtiers and lords who were observant next to them looked curiously at the short scroll. "Is that what the king meant?" said the little white-faced arrogance?" the Duke glanced at him in a hurry, and his words stirred up a stir among all the Clarkes present. "This is the will of the King of Mongiza, not the will of others, my duke. The bishop replied calmly.

"What about you? Your Excellency, the Bishop. The Duke ignored the voice coming from behind him, he squinted at Bishop Eugene, while the old man owed slightly: "We can't afford to lose the Holy Land, I hope you can unite with Duke Ramonard under the royal banner." The duke, perceiving something, asked again: "Is it the king?" "Of course, my Highness, the supreme ruler of the kingdom and the patron of the Church in the Holy Land, His Majesty Mongisa V. ”

"This is a tricky choice, Your Excellency. Duke Clark looked at the Knights of the Holy City behind the Bishop with a smirk, "But I guess I don't have a choice, right?"

"The Holy See will support you in the right choice, Your Highness. The bishop replied.

"That's for the best. The Duke shrugged, "Quite a few tribes have been forcibly relocated to the border by their ridiculous sultans lately, have you encountered these damn heretics on your journey?"

"In fact, they are now besieging Rothdorf, where there are almost ten thousand people. The baron interjected at this point. The duke's mouth opened wide. His face flushed with rage, "This means war, isn't it, Your Excellency?" he turned to Bishop Eugene, his voice impassioned, "It's time for a decisive battle! Whether I want to continue attacking the infidels or not, we need to rescue Rothdorf first!"

"Yes, there are warlike Knights of the Holy City, and we can't afford to watch them die!" "Let those heretic lunatics taste the power of our Clark army!" "Only dead heretics are the best heretics!"

As if deaf to the voices of the lords beside him who were roaring for battle, the bishop endured his physical discomfort and said softly to the red-faced duke, "I think we need a quiet little room. ”

The room was quickly ready, and the Duke looked with some surprise at Jean Jacques and Baron Lilera, who had walked in with the bishop. "I thought it was just Jean Jacques, the old guy. Duke Clark's words were direct.

"After all, the world belongs to young people. The bishop did not intend to dwell on this question, he sat down in the thickly cushioned chair and exhaled deeply: "The Duke of Luncion will be punished, I know you have a bad time with him. "Lunicion is about to agree to my request to send troops, what does the little king want to do?" the Duke squinted at the expressionless old knight. "Lunicion will only lead the kingdom into the abyss. In all fairness, you want to be surrounded by Luncion or Duke Ramonard when you fight. Jean Jacques replied.

The Duke paused for a moment: "Okay." But don't you want unity? Lunicion has a lot of cronies, and if you can't stabilize the situation in the Holy City, I don't think the king can do anything?"

"He's a king after all. Lunicion is simply relying on the authority of the royal family to do mischief. "An orthodox king will be embraced by all." ”

"Including the old fellow Augsig (Duke Ramonard's name). The Duke stood up. He had neglected the little king who lived behind the walls of the castle for so long that he was now passive. The sudden arrival of the cardinal caused the duke's mind to be a little confused, and he could not go against the wishes of the royal family and the Holy See at the same time.

After all, Mongisa V was the king of the Holy Grace.

"What is the king going to do next after dealing with his ridiculous brother-in-law?"

"Gather the lords from all over the place, collect the shield tax if they don't want to come, wait for reinforcements from all over the place, and ・・・・・・" "So he's waiting for the attack of the Arsuna?" the Duke interrupted Jean Jacques impatiently.

The old knight paused and replied with one word: "Yes." ”

The Duke showed a wry smile as he pointed to the window, and the sound of the army outside was heard clearly: "The Asuna are also consolidating their army. As you all know, their infighting is our greatest ally. And the information that came me told me that the Sultan was dealing with the tribes that did not obey him one by one. The siege of Rothdorf was not a war, but nothing more than a means for him to eliminate dissidents. ”

The Duke paused, his eyes swept around the baron's tattered white burqa, the proud double-headed eagle coat of arms faintly visible. "A knight of the Holy City with excellent swordsmanship can deal with ten Asuna cavalry. But when that sultan gathers all the forces of the infidels in the name of their so-called holy war, how many men can you kill, knight, answer me, a hundred, or a thousand?"

The baron did not think about it, and looked blankly at Jean-Jacques, who also had a thoughtful expression. The Duke breathed a sigh of relief: "So I'm going to provoke a war, so I'm going to take the initiative, we have invincible knights, we have loyalty to the Father, as long as we capture the symbol of their empire, Izrmi, the infidels of infighting will help me solve all the remaining problems." ”

Jean Jacques stood up, and he tried to contradict the Duke: "We don't have that much strength, we need to wait for help from our allies. ”

"Assistance?" the Duke sneered, he turned to the map behind him, "If the heretics complete their integration, who will stop them, the kingdom of Bamholm or Carinthia?"

"You're thinking too well, Your Highness the Duke. And you don't have any exact data on the infidel army. The baron also stood up, and he pointed to the east of the map, "Rosdorf alone has a tribe of nearly 10,000 people. We have too many infantry, and as long as the enemy cuts off our supply lines, we will wait for death in the desolate steppe. ”

The duke looked at the young nobleman carefully: "We have no choice. ”

"No, you have to obey the king's commands. The kingdom only needs a will. Jean Jacques took a step forward. The baron looked at the duke's face and added softly: "Even if this will is wrong." It is better to die in unity than to be broken by each in a dispute. ”