Damon opened his mouth, but didn't speak. He could see that the vampire had asked, but had no intention of getting him to answer.

"Since ancient times, there has been a practice among robbers that has been handed down to this day. If a new person joins a gang, he must complete a crime under the supervision of others. Only in this way can he prove his loyalty and reliability, and can he cut off his desire to step on two boats. In fact, it is not only robbers who take similar measures, everyone has this kind of innate intelligence, and this method should be said to be common. For example, a person who intends to start a rebellion must go through the procedure, which is to kill the officials or nobles appointed by the king with his own hands. Only in this way can he prove to his followers his determination and position, that he has no way back, that he is worthy of the followers of all the rebels. And when a bandit leader intends to surrender to the king for forgiveness, he proves that one of his effective methods is often to kill his own accomplices. Prove your resolve with such an act of self-defeat. And those who do this kind of behavior really don't have a second choice. ”

The eyes of the vampire were fixed on him. "I want you to know where you stand, Damon! I sometimes pretend I don't see it, but don't think I really can't see it!"

"Adult ......"

"I remember you swore allegiance to me. The vampire continued. "And I've always believed that a good monarch should learn to ignore the small mistakes of his men. But this kind of thing is aimed at subordinates who can correct themselves, or at least have self-knowledge. You've been secretly helping your slaves escape all this time, right?"

"My lord, I didn't ......"

"You did not take direct measures and did not give such orders. But that's not a reason! You know these things and you don't stop them, in other words, you're conniving at your subordinates. Is this any different from having you give an order? A leader must be held accountable for the actions of his subordinates, since he enjoys the allegiance of his subordinates. It's true for you and for me!"

Damon didn't know who told the secret, but the vampire knew more than he thought.

"From the perspective of a mere spectator, I remind you of one thing. Now, no matter how much you do for them, they won't be grateful to you at all. All you do is at the cost of increasing the strength of your enemies in exchange for a piece of material that you can deceive yourself. ”

The vampire paused. "This is the first time I have warned you, and the last time I have warned you. I know that your army and your allies are still supportive of you, but I warn you...... I can crush you and everything you have, your soldiers, your army, and your potential or superficial allies if I want to!"

This is by far the most blatant and obvious threat to vampires. Damon believes it's true, though—no matter how much a vampire looks like a human, he's not human at heart. Any of the hidden forces that bind human thought and action, those morals, laws, good and evil concepts, etc., do not exist for vampires, or at least are very different.

"The war is over, and Via does not need to keep so many troops in peacetime. The vampire suddenly changed the subject. "In my opinion, maintaining an army of 2,000 people as a security force is the limit. ”

"This ......," Damon wanted to explain. It has long been expected to have too much military power and be suspicious, but although the Binzu are mainly militia, there are actually a considerable number of professional soldiers inside. These people can't simply be disbanded......

The vampire interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

"While the Undead Legion has many benefits, there are also things they can't handle. Let's say some small-scale, measured battles. So during this time, I'm going to let Eric start to form a legion to take care of all the little troubles in the territory. Of course, your people also have an obligation to obey recruitment. ”

Just when Damon wanted to speak but didn't, the vampire's eyes suddenly widened.

"Damon, I am a generous monarch, but I have a limited amount of compassion for those who dare to go against my will!" the vampire said word for word.

"That's well done, master. I could feel the fear in Damon's heart from the changes in his heartbeat, breathing, and pulse. In this way, after you leave, even if he finds something abnormal, he will not dare to act rashly. After Damon turned and walked away, Carrie said in her head.

"And what about Eric?" asked Ashrufat. Should he threaten every subordinate before leaving, lest they have any bad intentions in his absence?

"Eric is an exception within an exception. In her mind's eye, Carrie replied. "He is the man you can trust the most, the man you can rely on, and who can even tell you the secrets of your travels. ”

"Yes, there are still such trustworthy subordinates. Ashrufat asked with some sarcasm. "Am I lucky?"

"Well, in my opinion, a subordinate like Eric is hard to come by. A person entrusts the meaning of life to justice and honor...... No matter how you look at it, it's a maverick example. For the most part, Damon is a common talent. They entrust the meaning of fighting to their families, relatives, tribes, nations, and the like. In other words, when the conditions are right, such people will betray, and when the timing is unfavorable, they need to lift the dagger that stabs them in the back. The correct way to do this is to tighten the chain around the dog's neck so that it only growls at your enemies. This is also known as 'power magic', and it must be reminded and hammered from time to time, and at the same time, it must also provide appropriate rewards. ”

"Look," Carrie's voice was a little helpless. "All the kings of the world are trying to promote chivalry, and to cultivate obedience and dedication in their subordinates. But even so, when there is a crisis in the country, there is never a shortage of betrayers and people who step on two boats. But, my lord, I have a great track record in this area. At the time of the fall of Callean, all the nobles fought to the bottom for Kotoshin-sama. ”

Ashrufat sighed. These things really don't match his nature, and he can only follow Carrie's advice. The so-called "puppet" is what it feels like.

"Have I done everything I have to do here?" said Ashrufat, looking around. It was already dark at this time, but through his dark vision, he could clearly see his dark castle towering in the distance.

"Well, there's not much more to do. It's time for us to leave. ”

There was no one else around, because he had already let the dark mages go with the grave guards when Damon arrived. With a spiritual command unleashed in black magic, the Nightmare Pony stepped out of a nearby hideout.

"Don't you need even instructions to the dark mages?" Ashruphat asked in his head.

"Not at all, host. Didn't you give them the zombie dragon to be repaired? I'm sure it would take them years just to decipher the dark magic tricks on the zombie dragon. So the Dark Mages don't need special care, you've given them enough of it. ”

"Scarlet and Léa......"

"Don't worry, master, my doppelganger will take good care of the two of them. With their abilities, they should be able to handle everything that happens during your absence. Master," Carrie said with some excitement. "It's too little time for you to see anything. By the end of our journey, you'll be able to see the fruits of what we've done. It must be said that Sivania is a land far more fertile than you might think. ”

In front of Ashrufat's eyes, the same map that had appeared before, like a painting, appeared again. The map he had obtained from Dr. Oliveira had reached the pinnacle of maps drawn by humans, and was stunningly detailed. And this map is completely beyond human capabilities. It is not so much a map as it is a condensation of the world into a painting.

Before his eyes, the map was rapidly getting bigger, and every detail of Sivania, which was no bigger than bird droppings, became clear.

"You see, there are so many mineral resources in the mountains here. Iron, copper, tin, ...... There are even silver and gold mines. Coupled with climate, soil, hydrology and other factors, as long as they are used well, it can be said that there is unlimited development potential here. ”

The map is gone. The Nightmare Pony came to him. Ashrufat rolled over and jumped on his horse. All sorts of things related to the trip were already packed in the saddlebag - while Ashrufat didn't strictly need most of them, Carrie thought that taking things on the road would be an effective disguise.

Thomas's harp was also placed in a saddlebag. Because the harp is too long, a small half is exposed in the bag, which is particularly conspicuous.

"Why should I take this piano with me?"

"Because you're about to start learning. It's not just a casual learning as a pastime for travel, as in the past, but a real need to learn the art of music. In fact, I think you're going to have a very busy trip. ”

"For what?" asked Ashrufat, puzzled.

"Because elves don't just stretch their ears a little bit to impersonate. Carrie explained. With these words, Ashruphat subconsciously touched his head. His ears were hidden behind his hair, so they didn't attract anyone's attention. But if someone lifts his hair, they will find that the contours of his ears have completely changed.

"The main difference between elves and humans in appearance is in body and ears, but the difference is not just a matter of appearance. In fact, there are even greater differences in the details of habits, conversations, etiquette, customs, and so on. Someone must have done it to infiltrate the elven realm with fake ears, but it seems that no one has ever succeeded, and here's why. During your three-month trip, you'll have to start learning the elven language, then learn some music, poetry, and more. If you don't want to make a difference, you'll have to rely on these abilities in the future to impersonate an elf and get a ship and the corresponding crew from the elves!"

"Ah......" Ashrufat didn't think about it at all. He thought that using the sink to deform his ears would be pretty much the same.

"Although it is said that the most violent in the latter can meet your requirements, I think it is better to seek for it than to take evil. Grabbing a ship by force is the last choice of necessity. Carrie explained in a serious manner. "But because of that, we won't be lonely on this trip, right?"