Before he left for the south, Chris's father, Franz Kafka, told him about the life and deeds of Lange Einsk.

And he claims that Lange is the actual head of the Einske family today.

This is not to say that Lange has hollowed out the power of Archbishop Raphael.

Rather, because in the teachings of Vulcan, marriage is autonomous, and will not be imprisoned by secular power, the forced marriage of the Mills royal family forced Lange to give up the woman he loved and accept a wife from Middle-earth, which also aroused his hatred, making him vow to completely eliminate the system of knighthood and nobility from the south during his lifetime, so he also became the mastermind behind the Einsk family's secession from the Holy Empire.

For this reason, he was also talented, and he gave up cultivation and concentrated on handling territorial affairs for Raphael.

Ten years earlier, in the name of his eldest son, he had Raphael pass on the title of Duke to him.

The purpose was to free Raphael to form an apologetic warrior and knightly order that would be absolutely loyal to the Einsk family as a pure archbishop, and prepare for the secession of the Holy Empire by force.

Five years ago, he rushed to the Forest of Whispers alone to talk with the elves, and facilitated the marriage of James to the elven princess, so that the two sides turned the conflict into a jade silk.

Yes, James's marriage was not Raphael's decision, but was brokered by Lange.

On the contrary, Raphael had objections at the time.

He felt that Lange had sacrificed his marital autonomy for the sake of his family, so he should not let Lange's only son, James, be treated equally unfairly. After all, there are many talented people among the descendants of the Einske family, and there is no shortage of marriage candidates who will satisfy the elves, so why should it be James?

But Lange's attitude was resolute.

"I am the eldest son and James is my only child. Since he will inherit the glory of the family in the future, he should also be responsible for paying for the family! ”

This reply made Raphael no longer insist, and completely delegated power, leaving all affairs in the territory to Lange, and concentrating on building up the apologetic army.

Four years ago, in the sixth year of his reign as duke, Lange had cut off seventy percent of his army, leaving only the men who maintained basic order.

This move was tantamount to reducing the Einsk family's constraints on vassals, and also made the lords and nobles born after the establishment of the Holy Empire begin to act unscrupulously, often trampling on the teachings of the Vulcan.

It's just that what these lords don't know is that Lange's self-abolition of martial arts is to intensify the resistance and rebellion of the south against the system of lordship and aristocracy, so that it can be supported by the people when it is abolished in the future.

And disarmament is also to save money for secretly established apologists.

Three years ago, Lange made a pact with the Dwarven Realm through the Elves, making a pact of inviolability against each other.

In other words, under the impetus of Lange, it only took ten years for the Einske family to completely resolve the hidden dangers behind it and prepare to break away from the Holy Empire.

So now, they have to reorganize their ties with the Eaton family.

....................

Tonight's red moon is enchanting, and the silver moon is dim, which envelops the whole world in a curtain of blood.

Chris walked into Lange's yard with James' lead, stepping on the infiltrating red light.

The yard is small, but it looks very empty.

There are no pavilions, stone tables and benches for rest, no rockery flowers and other leisure decorations, only a guard standing under the eaves on duty.

When Chris and the others entered the study, Lange was writing something with a quill on his desk.

Before he was sixty years old, he already had a furrowed and loose face, heavy bags under his eyes, and his temples were stained with the marks of age, and at first glance he felt older than his father Raphael. Hearing the footsteps entering the house, he did not raise his head, but pointed to the chair in the room, and continued to rustle on the papyrus with a quill pen.

James, who was not surprised by this, pulled Chris to sit down very casually.

He also picked up the wine on the table and poured a glass for himself and his cousin, closed his eyes and savored it slowly.

Chris didn't say anything or was busy going to the ceremony.

When he came, James told him not to be polite when he entered the study, and not to speak on his own initiative, unless Lange needed him to answer.

Very long waiting time.

It was probably more than an hour before Lange tapped lightly on the table and beckoned the attendant outside the study to come in.

"These will be sent out tonight."

He picked up several letters with fire paint and the seal of the ring on his hand and handed them to the middle-aged man.

"Yes, Lord Duke."

The attendant replied respectfully, carefully picked up the letter and left as he said.

And Chris quickly stood up, as Lange got up and walked over.

He was not as amiable as Raphael, and walked up to Chris, squinting rudely for a moment before asking, "Are you Avril's son?" ”

"Yes, Lord Duke."

Chris replied respectfully.

Maybe it's because the title is not uncle but duke, his eyes flashed, and he suddenly smiled, "Very good, sit down." James, take out the third block of fruit stuffed under the cabinet. ”

Hearing this, James' eyes lit up, and he got up and walked quickly to the wine cabinet, "Is it the fruit brew of the elf clan?" ”

"It's not promising!"

Lange scolded with a smile, the wrinkles in the corners of his eyes were much less, and he turned his head to look at Chris, "Little Chris, how have you been these two days?" Are you still used to the weather in the south? ”

"It's good, and I'm used to it."

"That's good."

He took the glass of fruit brew that James handed him, closed his eyes and savored it slowly, which made the room quiet again.

After a while, he put down his wine glass, lowered his head and rubbed the roots of his eyes, and his voice was faint, "Little Chris, you have to listen carefully to what you say next, because you are now representing the Eton family." ”

Without waiting for Chris to answer, he began a long narrative-

You must know the relationship between the Einske family and the Eton family, so I won't go into details.

For more than 100 years, our two families have been mutually beneficial.

My clan has helped you stabilize your territory, and your change of faith has helped our family to have a say in the Vulcan.

But now that the situation has changed, the Holy Empire is about to usher in turmoil.

Under the crown of the human demigod Uther Brundor, the time interval between appearing in front of all beings has begun to grow longer and longer in the past hundred years. From once a year at the beginning, it has slowly become once every three years, once every five years, and once every ten years......

And now, since he brought back the heads of two centaur khans from the northern steppes, he has not been seen in front of people for twenty years.

This also means that his power is dying, and it is about to be lost!

He is the only demigod in the world and the guardian of the Holy Empire, so when he falls, the Holy Empire will fall apart, and all the races that have been expelled by humans will also sound the horn of revenge.

The demigods have fallen, and strife has resumed.

This is the secret and expectation of all lords and all races.

The Einske family is also looking forward to this moment.

For this reason, I asked James to marry the eldest princess of the elven clan so that there would be no worries; Deign has been friends with the dwarves for so many years, and he doesn't want these greedy dwarves to be stabbed in the back by others. But the weakness of our family, not in the south, but in the northwest, is your Eton family!

At this point, Lange paused and looked sideways at Chris.

After seeing Chris's expression as usual, he continued to narrate with an approving expression.

As I said earlier, our two families were mutually beneficial in the early days.

But your family is too weak, with a shallow foundation and no strong man, and there is no ability to protect itself in the troubled times that are about to begin. Whether it's the subhuman tribes of the Blood Rock in the north or the Earl of Mykonoki in the Northwest Plains, you can easily make you the dust of history.

The Einske family can't save you.

The Eton's territory is too far from the south for my family to grow, for my family has its own wars; My clan is also powerless, because at that time, the snake people of the terrifying Ze will also launch a war of revenge, cutting off the connection between you and me.

So, there are only three endings for your clan in the future.

Either be wiped out by the Ice Goddess Cult of the North, or by the Sub-Humans, or migrate to the south before the Great Rebellion.

But no matter what kind of outcome your family ends, it will have a negative impact on our family.

Because you have lost your territory, it also means that the Einsk family has not been able to keep the northern diocese.

This negative impact will make the Einsk family be criticized and lose some support in the war to unify the south and take up the Pope's scepter.

Moreover, when your family moves to the south, it will be very difficult.

Einsk is a very large family, and we need to take into account the interests of many people, and we cannot give preference to a family that cannot keep the parish and cause others to be dissatisfied.

Of course, for the sake of my poor sister, my family will also do what they can to help.

For example, after your family comes to the south, the old man will make you eligible to enter the Knights of the Cathar as the only child of Avril, and the warriors of your family can also become apologetic warriors, giving you the opportunity to fight with your sword to gain a foothold in the south. However, little Chris, I need to warn you that the South will no longer be ruled by knighthoods, and your family will have to start from scratch.

In general, none of the above futures are good for your family or mine.

So, dear little Chris, I prefer you to be strong before the demigods fall.

If you become a strong man, the Eton Territory will have the ability to protect itself and the strength to talk to the sub-human tribes on an equal footing, and our family will not fall into the criticism of losing the northern diocese. As for how our two families will seek mutual benefit after your family territory is preserved, there is no need to discuss it now.

No one can predict what will happen until the future comes.

All we can do is do what is foreseeable at the moment and wait for time to answer.

Lange, who finished speaking intermittently, picked up the elf fruit brew and poured himself a glass, and asked slowly, "So, Chris Eaton, do you want to become a member of the Knights of the Cathars, or chase the path of the strong who will die for a hundred lives, the Einske family is waiting for you to make a choice." ”