"How's the Scout's probing going, Clond?" Dick asked Crad.

Still in the luxurious study of the Governor's Mansion, in front of Dick stood five men, Crand, Sna, Landas, Gold, and Varnay.

"My lord, things are going in the direction of the most sloppy cake......" Clond frowned.

"It doesn't hurt to be straight. Dick said lightly.

"Yes, according to the scouts sent by the Demon Hunter Knights and the investigation of the Horned Eagle Knights, the more than 200,000 invading demon clans did not scatter and plunder, but gathered together to kill the hinterland of the empire, and their troops pointed to the provinces of Gut, Korin, and our Otto. If things get any worse...... "Crad's finger ran a straight line across the map on the table, "they're coming all the way at the current rate, and they're likely to cross the Gullijus Mountains before Imperial reinforcements arrive, threatening the city of Varks and the hinterland of the Empire." ”

Dick immediately felt his head grow several times, he wasn't worried about the demon army threatening the heart of the empire like Cralender.

Because things are really like what Dimichra said, it is very likely that this abyssal demon attack is aimed at it. But he made a pact with this demon, and it was impossible to abandon it. In fact, even if it were not bound by the contract, Dick would not have abandoned it with the teacher-friend relationship between Dick and Dimihera.

"Sna. Dick called.

"The subordinates are here. ”

"How's the rout at the front gathered?" asked Dick.

"My lord, in the past few days, my subordinates have gathered twenty or thirty thousand front-line defeated soldiers and integrated them into the Demon Hunting Knights. ”

Dick said lightly: "Gather all available troops to Otto City, and prepare to fight to the death with the demon clan!"

"My lord, how can this be done?" said Sna, "who can guarantee that the Demon Clan will come to attack our Otto City, and what if they attack the hinterland of the empire from other directions?"

"Don't worry about the reason, I'm ninety percent sure that the demon army will come to attack our Otto City. Dick said.

"Really?" At this moment, it was not just Sna, but the officers in the whole room were moved. There's nothing worse than fighting the demons on the plains, but if it's defending the city, it's much better.

"Gold, and Landas, how are the civilians evacuated?"

"The civilians in Otto's province are almost evacuated, but the refugees who have fled from the southwest are innumerable, and it will take a few days to settle them. Landas reported.

"Good. Dick laughed, "Take advantage of the two days before the demon army arrives, clear the walls of Otto City and prepare for battle." ”

"Yes, as you commanded!" the five saluted in unison.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Then a court envoy walked in and said aloud, "Is Lord Earl Dick here?"

"What's the matter?" said Dick.

"Emperor Bixia wants to summon you. The palace envoy said.

"Okay, I'll go to meet Bixia right away. ”

Dick came to his room and stepped into the teleportation magic circle leading to the imperial capital Mirrok, and as the light of the magic circle lit up, Dick's figure gradually blurred until Zuihou disappeared completely.

In the Earl's Court in the imperial capital, Dick appeared out of thin air in the light of the magic circle, and he immediately ordered his servants to prepare a magnificent carriage for himself and drive to the palace to meet Edward VII.

This time, the knight of Edward did not summon him in the main hall, and the court envoy waiting at the palace gate led him to a study.

The study is not large, nor does it look luxurious, but it is exquisitely arranged, with oak ceilings, nanmu cabinets, and rosewood desks, all of which set off an elegant atmosphere. There are a few trinkets hanging on the wall that adorn the room just right.

In the center of the study was a large sand table, and Dick only glanced at it and determined that it was the terrain of the Twelve Provinces in the Southwest. Edward VII was standing in front of the sand table with a frown, and beside him, there were two more people. One was Prime Minister Macaulon, and the other was Imperial Marshal Lupsas.

These two were both first-class ministers, and Dick couldn't help but wonder why there was a place for a little earl of his own in a meeting of this level.

"Bixia, Lord Earl Dick has brought it. The palace envoy said softly.

Edward VII, who was frowning and looking at the sand table, raised his head and glanced at Dick, and ordered: "You stand down, Dick, come here" The former sentence was addressed to the court envoy, and the latter sentence was addressed to Dick.

Dick strode forward.

"Look at this sand table. Prime Minister McCallan commanded.

Macaullan was an unattractive old man, with a bald crown on his head, and the fine clothes did not add any imposing effect to his short stature, and the only thing noteworthy about his whole body was the eyes that sparkled with wisdom.

Dick looked down and saw that there were a large number of red flags planted in the southwestern province of Gut and most of the province of Korin, and the source of the red banner was in an abyssal rift in the southwest of the empire. If the red banner follows its path, the next target will be the province of Otto, followed by the mountains of Gulitius and the prosperous city of Valkx on the other side of the mountain.

"This red banner should represent the army of the Demon Clan. Dick said.

"That's right, according to the latest information, the province of Gut has completely fallen, and the defenders of the province of Cologne have been completely routed. The Demon Clan is operating in an organized and purposeful manner this time, and I fear that their goal will be to cross the Gullytius Mountains to attack the heart of the Empire," Marshal Lupsas said.

Lupsas is a typical military image, with a tall and straight figure, a square and resolute face, a sword-sharp eyes, and a confident and calm bearing.

Edward VII spoke: "I have ordered the Frontier Legion, the Southern Legion and the Miro Legion to send 400,000 troops to the southwest to support, but it will take at least a week for the army to arrive, and at the speed of the Demon Army, it will definitely be able to cross the Gultius Mountains before the reinforcements arrive." ”

Dick knew of course that the Demon Clan's goal this time was not to climb over the Gullys, but he didn't say anything.

Edward VII continued: "Count Dick, I know that you have implemented a series of reforms in your domain, and I also know that you have recently recruited a large number of troops, and you have also collected elves and dwarves under your command, and even you are still absorbing the rout of the former Southwest Legion. ”

"Bixia Mingjian, his subordinates gathered the rout of the former Southwest Army just to defend against the approaching demon army, and he didn't think about anything else. Dick immediately explained that he didn't want to misunderstand Edward VII.

Edward VII waved his hand: "Okay, I don't mean to blame you, you are the only person who can stop the demon army from invading the hinterland of the empire, as long as you can stop the attack of the demon clan, you will be rewarded." ”

"The reorganization of the Southwestern Corps will be a very troublesome task. Now that you've incorporated the defeated army of the Southwest Legion, it's up to you to form a legion to fill the void when the matter is done. ”

Reforming a legion was an absolute temptation for Dick. In the past, the Demon Hunter Knights were just the private soldiers of the nobles, and they could only fight with low-level demons who occasionally wandered through the border. But being able to form a regular army is completely different, which means that you can have a say in the military later.

"Bixia, think twice, this is a whole legion. Before Dick could rejoice, Prime Minister McCallan spoke.

Fortunately, his old opponent, Marshal Lupsas, immediately sneered: "Why, when did the prime minister take charge of the affairs of the army, aren't you afraid of overstepping your authority?"

"Lupsas, you're talking nonsense, I'm overstepping my authority, I'm just reminding Bixia to think twice!" McAllan replied immediately.

"Okay, okay, stop me, this matter has been decided!" said Edward VII impatiently, apparently not once or twice in such an argument.

Later, Edward VII had a conversation with Dick for a while, which was nothing more than to win over Dick, the young winner of the survival race, and persuade him to protect the province of Otto. Dick could only smile and respond to Emperor Bixia's questions one by one.

Edward VII then ordered Dick to prepare for war. Dick walked out of the palace, relieved, it was really not easy to fight for power, it was even more physically and mentally exhausting than fighting a strong enemy. Dick rubbed his temples vigorously with both hands and walked to the carriage parked at the entrance of the palace. In the province of Otto, another battle awaits him.

The city of Otto was a huge city with a population of hundreds of thousands, and of course, the inhabitants of the city had been evacuated by Gold to the northeastern part of the province of Otto. On the walls of the city, dozens of arrow towers and pillboxes were built, and a moat was dug out by hand, like a jade belt around the city.

Clond had already led all the demon hunters to gather in Otto, and Sna had also transferred all the defenders of the entire province of Otto to Otto, leaving only the forces to maintain order in the cities. Combined with the warriors of the elves and dwarves, the strength of Otto reached 120,000.

Dick stood at the gates of Otto and personally directed the work of the magicians. The earth mages were gathered together to unleash reinforcement spells on the walls and gates.

The elven mages sprinkled seeds around the city, and then with the gestures of the mystical and the low chanting of incantations, the seeds burst out of the ground.

Some of the seeds turned into vines, clinging to the city wall and growing wildly, covering the city wall in a blink of an eye, adding another layer of solid protection to the city wall. Sharp spikes began to grow on the outer sides of the vines, which carried paralyzing toxins.

Some of the seeds are transformed into War Trees, which have blurred faces on their trunks and automatically attack any enemy that comes close.

Some of the seeds turned into man-eating flowers with hideous fangs.

Some of the seeds have turned into thorny-like plants, but this plant is not very tall, and it grows close to the ground, covering a large area, and those who accidentally step on it will definitely not feel good

As for the magicians of other departments, they drew magic arrays all over Otto City, and blessed Otto City with layers of magical defense covers. These magical defense shields are mainly used to counter attacks from the air.

Everything was going on in an orderly manner, and under Dick's leadership, the city of Otto was ready for war.