From the second day, Siegel began his plan step by step, starting with a map.

Balon perched on his shoulder and followed the mage through the bustling courtyard to the tent where Fezak lived.

"Where's the carrier pigeon?" asked Siegel, "I remember you wrote in your report that you bought two carrier pigeons?"

"My lord, the pigeons can't be used yet, you have to wait for their next generation. The one-eyed father replied: "Pigeons that are not trained by their own hands are likely to have other owners who will reveal the secrets of the letters." ”

"It's okay, I just want them to fly and see. ”

Fezak took Siegel to the stables, which were not yet fully covered, but there was no problem at all in storing a few cages of pigeons. The grey pigeons saw Fezak and fluttered their wings for something to eat, but they all fell silent when they heard the old man's whistle. Siegel said to Fezak in an appreciative tone: "I didn't expect your skills to be really good!"

"It's all the result of years of being a secret agent. Fezak smiled and replied, "The pigeons are all here, fifty in all." Although it is not possible to deliver a letter to the designated place yet, I already know that I will fly back after flying out. ”

"Enough, give them to me. Siegel put the pet down and began to cast the spell. The Mage's Pet can talk to its own kind, thus serving as a bridge between humans and animals. It is said that druids in the forest can talk directly to animals, but Siegel doesn't have time to find a child of the forest right now.

The pigeon's task is to scout the terrain and then tell the raven about the situation, and the raven will reconnoiter the key location. The pet Baron quacked. Following the dove, he flew towards the Antlers of the Uther family. When this flock of birds is released. Siegel has the equivalent of many pairs of eyes on his opponent.

In addition to this, the Eyeliner established through merchants, mercenaries, and miscellaneous servants also keeps transmitting information, most of which is not very important, but can help Siegel sketch out the situation of the Uther family. Their territory was ten times the size of the Heim Domain, consisting of three large castles and two small fortresses, each owned by the Uther family and his vassals. It is said that fifty knights swore an oath to him, which meant that he could mobilize an army of about 1,000 men. That's not a huge number compared to the orc army. But Uther travels extensively, if he wants to deal with the Heim Lord. The Southern Lords would surely unite and stand behind him.

Building an army is a long process, and Siegel knows it, and all the Southern Lords know it very well. Maybe in a year or two, they'll have Heim as an inconspicuous potential adversary, but Siegel won't base his victory on enemy laxity. He searched for useful information in the intelligence pile and, with the help of Raven, began to map the South.

Five days later, all the scouts in the air returned, and it rained heavily in the sky. The rain poured down from the sky, and it was impossible to see anything from ten meters away. The construction of the castle had to be temporarily suspended, and only the interior work could be carried out. The highlands of Mir are flooded. Originally, all the tents in the courtyard could not be inhabited, and all the dwarves, orcs, and humans gathered in the castle hall to live. Avoid this heavy rain for now.

"The situation of the shield river is okay and it has not caused flooding. Manna took off her drenched cloak, took the ginger ale from Mohr, and continued, "The canyon to the east of us is like a bottomless pit that swallows up all the floods. If someone tells me it's the big mouth of the swamp, I'm absolutely convinced. ”

"What is the situation in the village?" asked Siegel.

"The house collapsed a bit, a few people were injured, but the situation was fine. There is no way to help the disaster in this kind of weather, and even the Phantom Pony can't run fast, so he can only wait for the weather to clear before making plans. ”

"Okay, I see, let's get some rest. Siegel said. The knightess nodded, and took the cup in her hand to find the nearest fire, where she needed to warm up.

Janet followed Siegel and asked, "Do you have anything on your mind?" after Manna left, I've been seeing you frowning lately. ”

"I'm still thinking about the lords of the South. "They're not going to give up." ”

"Are you thinking about what to do with them?" said Janet, laughing like a flower, but hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand before Siegel got angry. "I know you're smart, you have a lot of schemes in mind, and a myriad of magic spells are at your disposal. I saw you command the pigeons to fly into the sky that day, and I was still amazed, how nice it would be if I could command my cats the same?"

"I can teach you," Siegel said.

"I can teach you too. Janet tugged at the mage's arm and said softly, "You rarely deal with nobles, and you don't know their temperament. The more you try to deal with them, the happier they will be, because they have finally found something to do to pass the boring time. It's not like a duel between warriors, sword against sword, only this monotonous method. You don't have to take the initiative, you just need to get stronger, and they'll naturally tame. ”

"Janet, they won't. "They won't sit idly by and watch a new lord rise from Heim Territory," Siegel said. You may not know, but recently I was sorting out a map of the entire South and suddenly I noticed something. The backwater swamp has been stretching eastward and is already wider than it was a few decades ago. Maybe this year, maybe next year, it will cut off the path of the southern lords from the land to the north. As I knew when I was a sailor, there was no harbor in the South, and the rocky cliffs made most of their trade dependent on Brook Town, and the two-story dock was the best harbor in the whole South. It won't be long before the lords of the south will discover that their only safe path to the north is the Ore Avenue, and my Heim Lords are standing on this path, and they will be a battleground. ”

"Then you'll be safer. Janet had a different opinion, and she said, "Have you been thinking that the nobles will unite against you?" and believe me, if it were just that, as long as you don't take the initiative, there will be no danger in this life. They can allow a new lord to occupy a stronghold, as they believe they will not be at your mercy. But a powerful aristocrat occupies an important place, which they will not tolerate. In order to avoid this, they will instead restrain each other, drag the great nobles, and do not give them a reason for conflict. Siegel, you already have a myriad of natural allies, you just don't know it. ”

The mage frowned, and it took a great deal of effort to understand Janet's words. "Everything you say makes sense, but why can't I think of it?"

"You live on the sea, and you see the world. Janet comforted him, "I live in the middle of the walls and alleys of the Kingdom of Stars, and there is a shadow of intrigue and deceit everywhere. I have seen a lot in one area, and it has become my ability and specialty. ”

"I trust your advice, Janet," said Siegel, "what should I do?"

"Do what you do best. Janet said, "You want to use all kinds of tricks against those nobles, and you have given up what you are best at." You're a mage, and when you can fly into the sky, the cavalry won't work against you, and when you can dive underground, the frontier won't work against you. When you're strong enough, the nobility you do doesn't work against you. ”

When Siegel heard this, he slapped his forehead hard, and then hugged Janet tightly. "I see, kitten, my mind is at a dead end. No matter how much knowledge I use to analyze and come up with a good plan, it will only be operated by the means of the lord. What Master Franisbo taught me was still the skills that a mage needs to assist a lord, not the means of a mage lord. ”

He unfolded the map in his hand to Janet, outlining all the terrain around Heim Territory with clear strokes. You can see the curved shield river, the three villages in the shape of the finished glyph, and the rift valley of the backwater swamp. To the south of Heim's Territory was a chasm-infused rift where earthquakes still occurred frequently, and large chunks of the land collapsed into bottomless dark caverns. The Rift Valley is uninhabited and serves as a border between the Heim Lords and the Southern Lords. Further south is the fertile county of Wane, a small territory dominated by barley and sugar beet, where the Hugel family has lived for two hundred years. Lake Lapu is just southeast of Wane County, but it belongs to the powerful Hray family and is part of Ka Mei Province. Even though he had an intermarriage with the Hugel family in Vane, he still monopolized the production of the lake. There was also friction between the Hray and Uthers, mainly over the iron ore that they bordered. The two sides accused each other of stealing their own mineral deposits, but there was never a real conflict.

"The situation in the south is complicated, and I can't think of a safe way, so I've been having a headache lately. But I now understand that these are not things I'm good at. Siegel pointed his finger at the location of Mir City and rubbed it gently, "I just need to do what I am good at, and focus on making this place the strongest in the south." As for the means between those nobles......"

Siegel looked at Janet and smiled at her, "I think you'll be willing to do me this favor and do it for yourself." ”

"Yes, Siegel. Janet said, "I'm going to be your wife, and I'm going to face the future together." I don't want to be kept as a pet in your castle. ”

"I'll admit I was wrong," said Siegel, "that although you are called a kitten, you actually have sharper claws than a tiger. I always think of the timid little finger and the little slave girl who was bullied, forgetting that it was nothing more than your disguise. ”

"Can you stop talking about it, I finally got out of being a spy. Janet slapped Siegel lightly: "I'm going to be the lord's wife, and this time it's real, it's not a disguise." ”

"I heard that you have named every one of your kittens, using the same fake name you used to use?" Siegel said to her, "Why don't you see them in such a heavy rain?"

Janet's face changed, but she still said in a calm tone, "They run around, sometimes they avoid me, and I don't know where they go." (To be continued......)