Sunlight falls on the earth.

A lone few seagulls hovered in the sky, making incomprehensible calls from time to time.

Although the sun was still shining, the city itself had changed much from when Henry and Mira arrived.

The busy fishing and commercial ports all stopped, and the seagulls, unable to take advantage of the fishermen's nets, stood listlessly on the high reefs and small islands outside the harbor, and only a few hovered above the sky, desperate to see if humans had resumed fishing. Many of the young birds born in the cold winter froze to death and starved to death, and those who still survived were all sickly, and even the strength to "whoop" and ask their parents to feed them no longer had the strength to do so.

In the spring, Parnila, the most prosperous port city on the East Coast, should be vibrant.

It was lifeless.

The market was deserted, littered with discarded rags of clothing and broken crockpots, and occasionally in some corners you could see large dark red stains of blood and a few weapons that were too damaged to be repaired.

Everything that can be closed in the store is closed, but it may not be useful to close it. The four-sided ventilated wooden doors preferred by the Padrosi were cool and comfortable, but they were so vulnerable to violence.

Broken pieces of wood, glass, and all sorts of debris littered the floor.

The Imperial fleet, with its domineering black flag, was no longer there, and they were supposed to have withdrawn to protect themselves before the situation became uncontrollable. Because two huge merchant ships ran aground in the harbor, blocking all the ships that came and went. The sails were burned away, leaving only the bare mast sticking out of the water diagonally, standing on the waterline like someone's tombstone.

There are a large number of wooden crates and barrels floating on the clear blue sea, which are basically materials that cannot be used in daily life. Occasionally, a swollen body can be seen – sharks commonly found in the southern part of the Mobigas Inland Sea are too small to eat a drowning person. Carcasses are often left to the surface after the internal gases have expanded to the surface, and then wait for them to decay and explode, sink back to the depths of the seabed, and then be wiped out by benthic animals such as crabs.

The ground is full of messes, and the businessmen with a keen sense of smell have long since run away. Except for some of the people who went south with the fleet, the rest of the inhabitants ran as far as they could. Only the remaining part of the mob remained in the city.

But is it just that simple?

After the cold wave cleared and the clouds no longer hung over the sky, the empire finally had the energy to start paying attention to this land that had been battered for months.

And when our Sage and Miss Loan returned to the town of Scotty with a little sense of loss and the reality that something untouchable was over, what awaited them was not any cheer of victory, nor mourning for the deceased.

After arriving in the town for a brief rest, they were notified to arrive at the mayor's mansion, which was used as a meeting room.

Everyone was waiting for them, and most of the faces they knew were there, including Minnadu, who was the special envoy of Avenella, and even Miss Margaret, who had been in charge of logistics, was among them this time. She was dressed in a military uniform, wearing a close-fitting mercenary-style costume with a puff shoulder design, and a one-handed sword at her waist.

"Welcome back, it's a blessing that things are all settled, but unfortunately saving the world isn't just enough to do one thing. Konstantin, who had long curly hair cut off and turned into a short inch, said in a simple linen shirt: "Para, you also listened to the brief report of the attendant on the way over, right?"

"Hmm. Henry nodded, and there was another sound of footsteps behind him, and Captain Stephen and Adolphus joined the group.

"Hmm...... Due to the previous weather and the influence of the witch, the land route of the Bao Forest was impassable. So all we have about Parnira is word of mouth for the last fleet. Konstantin's hair seemed to have just been cut, and he subconsciously reached out to wipe his hair as he spoke, and then noticed that it had become short, and was stunned for a moment—the chief knight continued: "We know very little information. ”

"There are only some one-sided and general statements, such as people's dissatisfaction with the looting and transportation of materials that have affected their lives, and then turned into riots. ”

"But this is a very ambiguous and very subjective point of view, and it is basically zero to help with the actual response plan. ”

"We haven't paid much attention to it, after all, Parnira has an Imperial naval fleet and a decent number of soldiers defending the city, so we have always thought that there is no problem. Konstantin continued: "Until the other day. ”

"The moment you settled it all, almost everyone noticed the change in the sky. ”

"It's all over, the roads blocked by the weather are back in pass, and at the risk of still being attacked by the remaining ghouls and undead, they sent messengers. ”

"The news that the messenger brought to Scotti with the whip. ”

Konstantin said word for word: "It's a call for help." ”

"It's worse than all of us imagined. Konstantin's expression became serious, and Margaret on the side also frowned tightly, as if she was suppressing her emotions.

"Parnilla, who was supposed to have an Imperial naval fleet and a small number of troops, was able to control the situation completely, but was reduced to the point of secretly sending messengers to ask for help, and the reason naturally could not be a simple popular uprising. ”

"People want to make ends meet, and it's normal to see supplies being taken away to support the rear and not understand in the short term. But all this will come to an end, and they are just unarmed ordinary citizens, and it is impossible for them to carry out a truly lasting and bloody uprising. ”

"That's what the Empire thinks, and it's not the case that everybody, including us, doesn't pay attention to. ”

"That's not a Rausch mob at all. ”

"That's a well-trained mercenary. Konstantin crossed his hands: "Someone." ”

"Fishing in troubled waters. ”

"What's the benefit of doing this kind of thing at a time like this?" The people in front are fighting to the death, but there are people in the rear who are doing things like stealing chickens and dogs, which everyone will hate. The one who spoke was Adolphus, and although the Church should not theoretically interfere too much with the world, the paladin had already sided with them through this battle.

"I'll explain that. This time it was Margaret who stepped forward, then cleared her throat and began to speak.

"The manager of Parnira, our family. The noble lady paused, as if to sort out her words.

"It's been quite a long time since I was in this position. Throughout the ages, there have been many people who have been dissatisfied with our monopoly on the largest port city, both outside and within the empire. ”

"Parnila's geographical location and abundant monetary exchange have always earned Parnira the reputation of 'the heart of the empire', and although the political center is not here, it is like the heart that pumps goods, talents, and wealth to the places that matter to keep them running. ”

"So naturally, Parnilla has always been very valued by successive emperors, and the local defense has also been very attentive, and there has never been anything like this in the past. ”

"This time...... What a coincidence. Margaret hung her head and clenched her fists.

Mira looked at her from behind, and the noble lady was obviously worried about her family, but she didn't say a word about it, but explained the reason in a professional and sincere manner.

As she said, the port city was very important to the empire. Therefore, if anyone wants to inflict a heavy blow on the Empire or use it to blackmail certain conditions, it is reasonable to choose Parnira to attack. Konstantin no longer forced Margaret to take over the conversation. The noble lady stepped aside, and Mira immediately went to his side, while Henry stepped forward.

The sage who was only dressed lightly didn't even bring Kramer, he crossed his arms and hit the nail on the head: "Let's just say it, who is the attacker?"

"I don't know. Konstantin spread his hands without hesitation for a second, and the sage's eyebrows twitched.

"But I have some guesses. The chief knight stood up, then put his hands behind his back. He and Henry, two guys who are nearly two meters tall, stood in the room, and suddenly stood out from the crowd, even giving the illusion that the two were facing each other.

"Do you know anything like a hand cannon?" he asked.

"It's the kind of thing that makes a lot of noise and smoke, and we occasionally use that to scare our prey into a trap. Stephen said in his loud voice, but West Coast Mila and Minna were still confused.

"Yes, it's a weapon that ignites gunpowder and shoots out a projectile. ”

"Although the main thing is the intimidation effect. Konstantin added.

"Gunpowder was first created in this country, but we have always only used it as a fireworks. It has only been a matter of the last decade that it has been used in weapons. ”

"If you fill a sealed container with gunpowder, it can release a large amount of gas when it ignites instantly, propelling the projectile to fly. That's the basic principle of it, but it's far more difficult to make than to say. ”

"First of all, gunpowder is a very cumbersome thing, and it has to be made in large quantities in advance. Secondly, it was not easy to forge a smooth and straight barrel. In addition, the fire rope used for ignition is likely to be very unreliable due to the weather. There is also the weight of the weapon itself, if the forged steel is uneven, it will explode in the hands of the shooter, so it must be made as thick as possible. ”

"Because of these actual combat shortcomings, their equipment is quite scarce. Basically, it is used as a scare weapon to make a lot of noise and smoke to frighten horses. ”

"Of course, the most important factor is their lethality. Konstantin said: "The excellent longbowmen of the Avenella and Maximilian regions are very popular even on the east coast, and the skilled archers can hit targets the size of a human head at more than thirty meters. But the hand cannon does not work, beyond a distance of ten meters, and even the launcher himself does not know where the projectile will fly. ”

"So in order to compensate for the problem of accuracy, the infantry men and gunners of the empire would often fill a large amount of sand and gravel as a projectile to compensate for the accuracy with area. ”

But it's not as serious as its second problem – power. ”

"Despite the smoke and noise, the cannon could not penetrate even the shield, and the knight was even more powerless in the face of the armor. It cost almost as much as a steel-armed crossbow, weighed at least three to four times, damp gunpowder, and was pathetic in accuracy and power, so it was only used as a temporary infantry anti-cavalry weapon. ”

"Anyway—" "So it's a dwarf?" the sage interrupted him as the others were still focused on Constantine's explanation of the weapon.

“...... You're so quick to react. Konstantin shook his head, then returned to his seat.

"After talking about how unreliable this kind of weapon is for a long time, it is obviously just to pave the way and give a counterexample later. The sage said in a calm tone, as if there was nothing in the world that could surprise him, "And since its problems exist on a technical level, such as a series of problems such as forged barrels. In order to improve this, the crafter must have more powerful metal smelting and forging skills than the Empire. ”

"And the only ones who can be stronger than the Eastern Laman Empire, which is at the pinnacle of mankind, are the dwarves in the southern mountains. ”

"I lost to you, that's exactly what I inferred, but I guessed at least after listening to their detailed reports. Konstantin spread his hands again.

"The barrel has been lengthened, and the barrel of the Empire's small arm length has been changed to one arm length, and then made it thinner, so the weight has been reduced. Although it was still difficult to penetrate plate armor and thick enough shields, it was powerful enough to deal a powerful blow to the limbs of soldiers wearing cuirass helmets. ”

"It can't be lethal, but given the scarcity of supplies in Parnila. The impact of the trouble that a wounded soldier can cause is actually even greater. ”

"It was too late for the top brass to realise this, the wounded were in need of manpower and supplies to take care of, and with the impact on morale, they had to hide in government buildings and commercial buildings, not even on the streets. ”

"But the most important thing is ......."

"This weapon requires no training, and unlike bows and crossbows, it needs to be strong enough to pull out. Whether it is a woman or a child, as long as you know how to put gunpowder in it and ignite it, you can attack. ”

"If you preload multiple hand cannons, you can even change them to another one immediately after firing and repeat the attack. ”

"And these guys have prepared more than 2,000 long-barreled hand cannons for this purpose. ”

"The small, idle, Lamanid countries of the South, although culturally and linguistically similar to ours, often have immigrants from there working in the big cities. But he has always harbored hatred for the Empire. Coupled with the persecution of other races by the Yatina sect in the early years, the supreme human race is the only God's people, and the relationship between the country and the elves and dwarves has always been very delicate. ”

"At some point, they joined forces, and the immigrants from the small southern countries who spoke the same language as us did it, while the dwarves provided weapons and equipment and smuggled them in and hid them. Seize the moment and slam a blow at the heart of the Empire—"

"It's a long-planned attack, they're like sharks with a keen sense of smell—" Konstantin said, and the corpse floating in the harbor of Parnilla was suddenly dragged by something, and then the water began to roll violently, and the whole body was pulled underwater.

"The empire is no longer what it used to be. ”

After a while, the half of the corpse, which had been bitten off by a large mouth, resurfaced.

"The high-ranking nobles have eyes but don't see and ears but don't listen, they only know how to fight in the nest. The Emperor was immersed in the dream of invincibility on the east coast of the great Lamanite orthodox lineage, and he did not want to wake up, nor did he notice these undercurrents. ”

"The country has become a place where anyone can be bullied. ”

"The glorious Padrossi Empire. ”

In front of everyone, Konstantin bluntly stated:

"I'm terminally ill. ”

"So we've got to take over—" Konstantin tilted his head, his eyes as cold as a blade. And Henry glanced around, the officers were not bad, and the army outside the window was lined up, but the Duke of Julionde was nowhere to be seen.

There is one more thing that should not be investigated, and one more thing that should not be known.

The Sage's eyes narrowed half-narrowed, which was the reason why he was reluctant to return to the East Coast and would rather be a wandering mercenary on the West Coast. But no matter what, he was clearly caught up in the matter.

"The Emperor is far away, and we are the only ones who can save Palnira and solve all this. ”

"These guys who are stealing behind their backs when others are struggling with the crisis. ”

Konstantin propped his hands on the table and said in a tone as cold as ice.

"Don't show mercy. ”