Yunzhou.

Morwin leaned on his oak throne and looked at the stranger his son had brought to the White Wolf King's palace. He tried to suppress his hostility towards the man. Whatever the intentions of this self-proclaimed nobleman, he has already inadvertently put his son in danger. Even if Moth defended that he had deceived the knight into taking such a risk, no one would believe such a lowly lie. Adults know not to succumb to the whims of a child, no matter how noble his status.

He wanted to agree to the audience at all, and instead immediately send the knight to quarantine - or, as the other lords did, urge the knight to be executed immediately. His fanaticism for power has not yet reached the point where he cannot forgive a man who defies his orders to advance some noble cause.

But the fear of the plague outbreak in Yunzhou was too strong to ignore. Even in front of the crowd, he ordered that burning braziers be placed on either side of where the knight stood, hoping that the acrid smoke would drown out any harmful substances that the Randers might bring.

To his credit, Osmar discovered and helped destroy this terrible plot. The Plague Cult could have brought destruction to the entire Yunzhou - in fact, it might have been their only purpose. Murwin knew he owed him a favor because Osmar had stopped the cult. In fact, it was the only reason he agreed to meet with this person.

"Say it while I still want to hear it," Mowen's deep voice echoed through the narrow hall. Much smaller than the council chambers and halls of the royal palace, this vault-like room was used to receive dignitaries and visiting royals, in a more intimate and less public setting. Rich tapestries and magical hunting trophies line the walls, designed to create an informal feel while reminding guests of Yunzhou's former glory.

Osmar bowed respectfully to the throne and carefully kept himself between the two braziers. Three heavily armed guards watched his every move. If he takes the wrong step, he will be banished from the palace - and if he is lucky, he will still be alive.

"Your Majesty, I have had a long and dangerous journey to find you." The knight began. "You already know the difficulties of just entering the city."

"Please pay attention to your title, I am now the Yunzhou City Lord of Daliang, and I am no longer the Khan of the White Wolf Court."

"I'm sorry, please forgive me for being rude."

"We are familiar with your blatant violation of the City Lord's decrees," Waltz growled. The Great Grandmaster's face was full of disgust, but there was terrible fear in his eyes. He had a large copper incense ball hanging from his neck, and whenever he glanced in the direction of the knight, he would raise it to his nose and sniff deeply at the spices locked inside.

Murwin motioned for the frightened attendant to be quiet. The past is gone. Now that he had agreed to meet the stranger, he would be willing to hear what Osmar had to say.

Osmar bowed his head in remorse. Seeing the mood of the several advisors brought by Mo Wen, the knight quickly gave up the topic of travel.

"I don't know how much you know about what happened in Nanyu, as far as the current situation is concerned, I can imagine that news from the outside world is scarce, and a lot of the news you hear may be dismissed as rumors or fantasies. My host sent me to make sure that Yunzhou had a clear and accurate understanding of what was happening and what we wanted to do. ”

"Xiao Guang has proven himself to be a greedy tyrant, he is not worthy of being the emperor of the southern kingdom at all, and the southern kingdom should be restored to the era of the juxtaposition of kings. In his relentless expansion of his wealth and power, he increasingly committed atrocities against his imperial subjects. ”

"The imposition of taxes on those impoverished regions, the merciless slaughter of the starving on the streets of Nanyu, the humiliation of the nobility, the abandonment of virtue, these are just his latest crimes. If the emperor's tyranny is allowed to continue, it will divide the empire. ”

"We've heard that the Forbidden Army has taken up arms against the Emperor," Mo Wen said with a blank face. "Your organization is illegal, the lives of all knights are determined by the imperial power, and knights and nobles who have lost the grace of the emperor will no longer be honored."

"You're only half right, Your Highness. Isn't it a blatant contempt for all traditions of chivalry and honor that the Praetorian Army was ordered to slaughter unarmed people? General Xue's refusal to participate in such a crime was that he did not want to tarnish the reputation of the forbidden army. Because of his position, the authorities issued an arrest warrant for his arrest, ordering all the forbidden troops to lay down their arms, which we refused. ”

"But you are now plotting against the Emperor," Waltz scoffed. "A hundred knights against the entire empire!"

Enraged by the Grand Master's ridicule, Osmar clenched his fists beside him. He quickly turned his gaze away from Waltz and back to Morwin. He doesn't need to win the support of anyone else. The only person he needed help in this room was the one in the upper seat.

"We are not without allies," Osmar said. "You understand that I can't reveal their names, but I can tell you that they represent the most powerful people in the empire. Xiao Guang's tyranny must be ended. Osmar looked around the room, carefully observing the faces of the advisors present, noticing the look of disgust on their faces. If you knew that I was not sent by my lord, but by your own Count of Sosi, would there be any change of attitude towards you, he said that the men of Yunzhou would never sacrifice their freedom, and they would oppose the oppression of the Southern Emperor and the royal family in any way. ”

"One city against an entire empire?" Tanadin scoffed. "We'll be swatted to death like flies."

"More than one city!" Osmar protested. "There are others who will support us! All you need is someone to show them the way, and all the territories will rise up against this tyrant!"

"So you're counting on Yunzhou to be the one who leads the way?" Murwin asked, his voice cold as steel.

Mo Si could feel the boiling anger inside Yunzhou. He limped to the throne, "You know Sir Osmar is a man of courage and integrity, father. You can trust what he says. ”

Murwin squinted at his son. "A liar can also be a brave man." He said coldly, the meaning of this sentence made Mo Si cover his face in shame. Morwin leaned back on his throne and turned his icy gaze back to Osmar.

"It just so happened that I chose to trust you, though," he announced. "I believe you are telling the truth. But tell me, will this noble cause make my enemies forget their plot to wrest control of Zhongshan from me? Can my enemies stop stealing wood from my forest? Can the robber tycoons stop attacking my people? Will we forget all our differences and unite against the only thing that unites us?"

"Xiao Guang has long tried to stir up neighborhoods," Mr. Osmar said. "He knew that by separating the places, he would be able to secure his rule."

Murwin nodded. "Then you will understand that your request is impossible to achieve."

At that moment, Moth suddenly turned around and walked towards the throne. "But father, you yourself said that Yunzhou must be prepared for the emperor's army to attack us!"

Hearing Mo Si's words, Mo Wen let out a painful sigh helplessly. "If the Emperor attacks us, we will rebel against him. He stared at his son's face. "Don't you understand? What this man asks us to do is treason! Betraying our oath to the Empire! Whether it's a saint or a tyrant, Xiao Guang is our emperor!"

"I'm sorry," Murwin said, turning to Osmar, "but there's no way I'm going to grant your request. If Yunzhou is attacked, we will fight back, but we are not traitors. As soon as he waved his hand, an attendant in a crimson uniform blew a piece of music with a curly hunting trumpet, announcing the end of the meeting.

"Take Sir Osmar to the Cliff Tower." Waltz ordered. Morwin's guards motioned for the knight to follow them, but tried not to get too close to the man. Osmar bowed again to the seated Morwin, and followed the guards out of the room.

"Is it necessary to lock him up like an enemy?" Moth asked.

Waltz said to the prince, "Until we are sure that he is not carrying the plague, he is the enemy."

"He's going to be well taken care of," Murwin assured.

Hearing his father's words, Mo Si shook his head. "And what about the people who live at the foot of the mountain?" He asked. "Will they be well taken care of?"

"The beast will solve this problem soon." Waltz said, but when he spotted Moth glaring at him, he immediately regretted his sarcastic remarks.

"What does that mean?" The prince roared.

"Our sentinels have spotted wild beasts gathering in the forest." Mo Wen knew that he couldn't hide it, so he chose to tell Mo Si as soon as possible. Unlike Waltz, the monarch's tone was full of sympathy. "When they feel they have enough of them, they will undoubtedly attack."

"So what are we going to do?" Moth asked.

"The only thing we can do," Morwin replied. "The only way to ensure the safety of Yunzhou is to burn everything ...... outside"