There are many ways to practice yourself. A common way for elves to meditate over the years is to sense the winds of magic and harness their effects. Another way is to explore knowledge and power from ancient mystical scrolls, but very few elves have chosen martial arts as their lifelong pursuit. And the Tower of Hoff is the gathering place of these elves.

Elven books vary about this situation. Some books say that the tower was the result of a spontaneous assembly of swordsmen (and the support of those in power). Other books have explicit references to the fact that this is simply because the tower was used as a gathering place for magical knowledge, and that the arch/mage had summoned these swordsmen to serve as guards.

In any case, the tower now has two sides, on the one hand, it produces the most skilled warriors of the elves, who have excelled in countless battles. On the other hand, it is a well-known temple of magical knowledge, where the elves have accumulated a lot of valuable knowledge over the years.

However, Ashruphat was not interested in knowledge for the time being.

He looked at the towers that stood in the distance—looking at the building, he couldn't help but think of his dark castle. If you look at it purely in appearance, in fact, the difference between the two is not very big, both are in the shape of a tower, but this white tower is much larger than the dark castle - not so much a tower, but a column that supports heaven and earth. Around the tower, there was a distinct city, almost as large as the city of Tyrion.

Although the city is also made by elves, it is also gorgeous, beautiful and exquisite, but it is overshadowed by the white tower. The most conservative estimates, including the city, are that there should be tens of thousands of inhabitants.

"Really nice building. In her mind, even Carrie was amazed. "With this level of civilization, this is almost a miracle. ”

They were now on the main road, or more specifically, on a small hill. This path is recommended by Aracet, as it offers a clear view of the White Pagoda.

After leaving the Emerald Queen's palace that day, Ashruphat immediately followed Kaye's advice. The army lent to him by the Emerald Queen, led by a subordinate recommended by Garth, set out for Ireber. The four emissaries, including Ashrufat, immediately set out to seek support from all sides. Ashruphat himself was accompanied by Allasset to the Tower of Hov, just as he had planned. In fact, Carrie thought that it would be more appropriate to directly appoint this elven nobleman named Aracet as an emissary, but after the latter heard Ashrufat's request, she tactfully and embarrassedly said that she could not bear this responsibility - she could only be a guide, not a messenger.

"Aracet, how should we get in?" Ashuruphat asked Aracet, who was beside him.

"There are a few great sages in charge here. His Royal Highness, if you want to enter the library area, you must either be one of the Arch/Mages, or you must have special permission from these sages. Aracet replied. "It's much easier to get to the Juggernauts, though, as they usually train on the lower floors of the tower, where there is no strict entry system. We won't have any problem getting in. ”

"This should be the jurisdiction of the Emerald Queen, right?" Ashrufat remembered that the so-called Emerald Court was the ruler of history, knowledge and technology among the elves, and the Emerald Queen's ruling field concentrated the best scholars, craftsmen, and recorders of the elves, and had the most comprehensive and complete technical materials, history books, and so on. In other words, since this is a collection of magical knowledge, it should be under the rule of the Queen.

"Your Royal Highness, you should be here for the first time. Allasset did not doubt the prince's ignorance, for he already knew that the prince had grown up in seclusion, and that it was not surprising that he lacked knowledge. "Theoretically, this should be the case. But these Juggernauts ...... is self-contained. This is a subtle contradiction formed by historical inheritance. Aracet explained. "Actually, the Juggernauts are independent, and they don't belong to the rule of any royal court. Although they also obeyed the orders of the Phoenix King and were willing to fight for him, even the Phoenix King himself could not interfere in the internal affairs of the Sword Masters. ”

"Can such a thing be tolerated?" asked Ashrufat, skeptically. Aren't the Shenwu Elves a very conservative race?

"Even if it wasn't allowed, the Sword Masters used their swords to earn themselves the qualifications to be allowed. Aracet replied with some emotion. "If you've ever seen the Juggernauts on the battlefield, I'm sure you'll understand that it's important to be lenient with them. As long as they are willing to join the Phoenix King's army, then many things can be overlooked. ”

"But," said Aracet, pleased with the prince's expression, showed that he had led the way. I believe that the prince will be able to impress him with this service. "Your Royal Highness, I suggest we hurry up and get to the tower. It's getting late. ”

At dusk, they came to the entrance of the White Tower. Alasset played a great role at this time, because under his liaison and coordination, the administrators of the White Tower soon allowed Ashrufat and his retinue to stay as guests. However, the request to meet with the leaders of the Sword Saint was subtly declined by the other party, and the manager who received it excused himself by saying that it was too late at this time, and that the request could only be reported tomorrow.

Although this was reasonable, Ashrufat had already smelled the subtle coldness in the other party's attitude. He remembered what Kaye had said earlier, and that the Juggernauts were most likely not interested in the expedition he had organized. He didn't know much about his lieutenants, but what he encountered here seemed to indicate that the guy named Kaye had great foresight.

Once the group had settled down, Ashruphat called Araset. He could sense that this elven nobleman named Aracet seemed to be very familiar with all aspects of history.

"Arazyet, do you think the Juggernauts will approve of my plan and be willing to help us?"

Aracet hesitated, but before he could speak, his expression had already answered the question.

"Your Royal Highness, I must say that if you do nothing but rely on those magical communications of the Queen...... The Juggernauts will most likely find a reason to be perfunctory, and they won't take the initiative to join. ”

"What is this for?"

"There are two reasons for this. Aracet replied. "The first is the question of status...... You know, the Sword Saints sometimes even appear as the personal guards of the Phoenix King, comparable to the Phoenix Guards. With the exception of the Phoenix King, the Juggernauts rarely take orders from others. They are independent and are not subject to the jurisdiction of any prince. In fact, even the Emerald Queen has limited influence over them. Only a few high-ranking princes were able to use their personal influence and friendship to gain the support of the Swordmasters. Your lineage is noble, but you don't have that influence yet. ”

"The second is the current situation...... You know, because of this massive invasion by our evil cousins, the situation on the front line is very tense and it is all a tug-of-war. In other words, our front line is in dire need of good infantry like Juggernaut, and the cavalry is not so eager. The Phoenix King has taken away a large number of Sword Saints, and now there are too few Sword Saints left. They are now having difficulty maintaining the day-to-day operations of the place, and are naturally reluctant to take on additional responsibilities. ”

"Allaset...... Truth be told, I'm not the type to beat around the bush...... Let's put it this way, I wonder if there is any feasible strategy for the current situation in the Dao if you want to get the Sword Saints to join the expedition?"

"Actually, there's nothing particularly good about it. Aracet replied. "If there's one thing that works, it's that you have to be one of them. ”

"Am I going to become a sword master?" Ashrufat was stunned.

"The Tower of Hof is open to all of Azul, from commoners to nobles and even princes, to join them and be trained to seek the ultimate way to weapons. I know a thing or two about the training of the Juggernauts, starting with a new member with no experience with weapons, it takes twenty years for an average cadet to master the use of weapons, in fact, many nobles and even princes have been trained here at this stage. ”

"But the next stage is more difficult. Trainees usually have to spend several times as much time learning the art of fighting until they pass the test of battle, and then they can be called Hofu swordsman. Allasette explained in detail. "But the last and hardest part is that they have to defeat an instructor with the title of Juggernaut in an open battle in order to become a Juggernaut. ”

"So you know, it's hard. Aracet said. "In fact, on the battlefield, an elven nobleman may be far more powerful than a sword master, because they have expensive and sophisticated magical equipment. With these equipment, a nobleman may be able to defeat three, five, or even more Juggernauts on his own. So on the surface, the gate of the Tower of Hover is open, and all volunteers who are interested in becoming a Sword Saint can enter, but in fact, there are not too many cultivators who choose the path of the Sword Master. Many of the cadets are actually just here for a period of weapons training. So do I. ”

When he said these words, Aracet was actually emotional, but Ashrufat didn't care about it.

"Aaraset, you mean that if I can defeat a Juggernaut, I will be one of them, and then they will support my expedition?"

"Theoretically, it only takes three days. Allasset smiled, knowing that the prince was confident in his skills, but he didn't try to remind him how hard it was. Prince Ashrufat would not be the first to make such an attempt, and was not destined to be the last. Few were willing to heed counsel until they failed. "Complete the weapon test on the first day, complete the combat test on the second day, and defeat a Juggernaut on the third day, and then you will be able to become a Juggernaut and be able to serve as an instructor in the Tower of Hof. ”

"Three days......" Ashruphat nodded. Does it only take three days? It's not a lot of time, but three or five days can always be drawn. In fact, seven or eight days is no problem.

"Very well, Allaset, I decided to do it. I'm going to be a cadet and train with Juggernaut. ”