The red tent stood in the center of the two armies, the sun shone on it, and the originally warm sunlight suddenly became hot at this moment, which made people extremely bored.

Belisarius played with the hilt of his sword, the sharp tip of the sword gesturing around, and occasionally making a "clanging" sound.

"Be quiet, Belisarius. Mehemus interrupted him suddenly: "Be patient. ”

"I should have gone with him just now!" Belisarius stood up suddenly, and said angrily, "I don't know what the hell those guys will do! And you, Mehimus, and Weishenme don't go with you? Aren't you the most trusted Minister of War?"

"The responsibility of a soldier is to defend the country and kill the enemy, and that is what we have to do. Mehemus said in a deep voice: "You have to believe that the wisdom of Councillor Herodotus and Virgil will get what Rome deserves." ”

"Those politicians......" Belisarius pouted disdainfully, "only deception, flattery, and argument!"

"And that's what we can't understand, but that's what we need to negotiate, isn't it, Belisarius, you should learn to trust others. Mehemus patiently persuaded: "At least, you have to believe Caesar, he will surely find out the so-called 'conspiracy', right?"

"Yes. Belisarius shrugged his shoulders and said with a seeming ease.

"The gods of heaven will bless Rome and bless our Caesar!"

Theodore was now facing this kind-looking old man, and his heart rose with admiration and extreme disgust—this old man could speak too well.

The whole process of discussion was a gushing Greek speech, and most of it was useless nonsense, or is that the common disease of all old people? Theodore was now more and more convinced of this.

As for the knights standing behind him, they hadn't moved since the beginning, as if they had been turned into sculptures, probably a good way they had found to ignore the nagging.

But that alone wasn't enough to bore Theodore, who was half the story at most, and the other half was Herodotus, the equally white-bearded old man, and Virgil, who was "premature" (just Theodore's vicious speculation).

These two groups of people have not drunk a sip of water until now, but their consumption is definitely comparable to two buckets of water - the ancients did not deceive me, and Theodore suddenly felt that the idiom "mouth is like a river" can actually be explained from another angle.

"I now do not think that what I have made is excessive, nor is it a vicious slander or deliberate provocation, but merely a fact. Brenus squinted his eyes, the corners of his mouth curled gently, and brushed his finger over the Caesarea territory on the map: "The castle of Adolphus is not as small and barren as you say, but it is rich in products and fertile land, and it is one of the necessary routes for the northern trade routes, and it is not an exaggeration to be a duke's domain. ”

"Oh how sad you are saying!" Herodotus lamented, and then seemed to be nothing: "You have to pay such a high price for this ruined castle, and it is also a castle that has been plagued by plagues, the land has long been deserted, the trade routes have been buried, there is not even a single farmer, the whole territory is full of bandits and robbers, large and small, and you still have to compare it according to the territory of a duke, it is simply ridiculous!"

"But that still doesn't cover up ......"

"That's enough!!" Theodore suddenly shouted, pulled out his long sword from his waist, stuck it on the table, and shouted coldly, "Eight thousand gold coins?!

"That's what it means!" Brennus the Younger and the Duke's knights suddenly "came to life", drew their swords, and glared angrily at Theodore, but there was still a hint of excitement and ...... in their expressions Grateful?

Probably, they have long been sincerely disgusted by this almost invisible speech, right?

It's really nice to be able to solve problems with the sword! Little Bruns thought to himself, and the eyes that looked at Theodore became less jealous, the other party was the same as himself!

But his sword did not stop, and a bright silver light swept through the table, and with excitement and exuberance, the frightened old duke didn't even have time to stop him, or, he didn't think he needed to stop it?

The only one who didn't move, only Theodore, looked at little Brenus coldly, didn't move, maybe it was too calm appearance that made the young knight have a reckless idea, and the long sword in his hand waved down without hesitation!

"Bell ————!!!!"

Before the young man could come to his senses and realize who it was, his right hand was numb, and the pain made him tremble, and he had to let go a little under the pressure of external forces, and the bright long sword flew out directly.

"Humph——!"

Elendil snorted, and at some point stood in front of Theodore, holding a long sword in his hand, pointing forward slightly, with a jiashi pointing at the country.

"No one can swing a sword in front of Caesar, no one!" Elendil's blood-red eyes made the young man feel cold, and he couldn't help but take half a step back, but he stood there very unwillingly.

"Caesar has no ill intentions, just a little dissatisfaction, and I hope you understand, and in addition, please restrain your knights and don't do anything misleading!" After saying that, Elendil took a half step back, habitually brushed a small sword flower in front of him with the blade of his sword, and then turned the tip of the sword to himself, and slowly retracted it into the sheath.

His small action made Duke Brenus's eyes light up, but the veteran duke covered up the past very much, and said with a smile: "Of course, after all, Caesar is still very young and easily excited, so naturally there is no malicious intent, haha." ”

As he spoke, he waved behind him, and the stubborn young man had to turn his head and turn away, and at the same time glanced at Elendil very unwillingly, but found that the other party didn't even notice him, pouted, and walked out of the tent.

"What a knight who is both loyal and brave, and there are not many knights who can defeat my son with a single sword. Brenus looked at Elendil with appreciative eyes, "May I know your name?" ”

"Elendil. Elendil took a step back slightly, standing behind Theodore, bending slightly, humble but proud: "Lord Theodore's faithful servant." ”

"With such a skillful knight, it seems that you are also a good leader. Brennus was a little over-appreciative.

"Of course, I'm lucky to have his allegiance. Seeing Elendil behind him so cooperative, Theodore was naturally very happy.

"Well, it seems that you do not accept my terms, Lord Theodore Julian. Brenus said in a deep voice, "Then tell me about your conditions." ”

"Open our borders, our caravans may pass freely, we can decide together on matters of taxation, and I need your banner as proof of the indisputable dominion of the Romans over this place. Theodore paused, twitching his Adam's apple: "In return, when you need help, just send someone to me, and Rome will go all out and send an army to fight alongside you!"

"Caesar, this is too ......," Herodotus exclaimed.

"Very generous terms, it seems that I can get unimaginable rewards without having to pay much, which is attractive, but ......" Brenus smiled a little mischievously, "what do you use to guarantee what you have said, or are you using your credibility as a guarantee?"

"Who do you think I am?" Theodore took a step forward, standing in front of the tip of Brenus's nose, his figure at a distance of one meter and seventy-seven meters allowed him to be basically equal to the tall old man: "I am Caesar, Caesar of the Romans, I said, I will do it." ”

He was no longer angry, dissatisfied, or smiling, and his tone was as calm as a pool of clear water, but there was a fire burning underneath the water.

Brenus didn't speak, but quietly looked at Theodore, as if both were trying to find something in each other's eyes, and as if deciding Zuihou's answer.

"Well, that's it. Brenus smiled and saluted Theodore: "May you live a long and healthy life, young Caesar!"

"I wish you a long and healthy life, duke. Theodore smiled back and nodded very casually.

————————————————————————————————————

The desolate sound of trumpets and loud bugles echoed across the ground, and the two armies, not even facing each other, ended the "battle" and left the place, but the soldiers on both sides breathed a sigh of relief, neither of them was ready to fight the other.

It's not about fear of death, it's about being a human being, if they can't choose how to be born, but at least they can choose how to face death, and if they have a choice, they don't want to see their brothers screaming desperately in the dirty mire covered in blood, or fighting each other with people they don't know for something unworthy.

Brenus rode on his horse, watching the sea of red in the distance gradually depart, burying little by little under the horizon, and the middle-aged knight and little Brenus stood beside him, standing together and looking into the distance.

"The army has withdrawn, my lord. The middle-aged knight reminded, "It's time to go." ”

"Theodore Julian. The old duke muttered in his mouth, smiling and looking at the red laurel flag in the distance: "What kind of person is it?" ”

"Father. The boy walked over slowly: "You care about that person very much?"

"No, it's a hunch. Brenus shook his head, but nodded again: "Yes, it's a hunch, but it's unbelievable. ”

"Okay, let's not talk about that, for an old man like me, this kind of problem is too much trouble. Brenus shook his cloak with a smile: "Let's go." ”

"Understood. The young man nodded with a smile, turned over on his horse, looked at the old duke, and hesitated: "By the way, there is something ...... that"

"If you want to ask, weishenme I'll agree, right!"

"Yes, that's it. The boy didn't deny it, and admitted it very frankly.

"The knight's name is Elendil, I remember it right, yes, Elendil, Elendil Orsser. The old duke muttered a few words.

"What's wrong with him?" the boy frowned slightly, though he was very unwilling, but it was impossible for his father to pay attention to him because this knight had defeated him.

"The act of retracting his sword is unique to the Knight of Dawn. The old duke replied with great certainty: "Only if you use that action often will you do it so subconsciously, the Knights of the Dawn, the premier knights of the empire, only they will do this, because they often have to serve as the honor guard of the imperial capital to be reviewed, but they are sent out to carry out tasks, so there will be such a slightly fancy but very practical action." ”

"And the knight named Elendil, if he hadn't said it, I would have forgotten about it. Brenus sighed: "Known as the youngest Knight of the Dawn, he defeated three knights who had served for more than ten years in a row, and at the age of sixteen, he was exceptionally admitted to join the Knights, and he also participated in a battle against the orcs. ”

"Did you win?!"

"No, lost. Brenus's words made the boy's heart sink, but the next sentence was surprising: "But he was one of the only ten knights who survived that battle!"

"I heard about it when I was returning from Severcro, and I heard it from the Rangers who had come from the Imperial Capital to ask for help. Brenus's tone was so low that it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or sad: "It's sad!"

Little Brenus and the middle-aged knight lowered their heads one after another, although they didn't get news about the fall of the imperial capital, they didn't need to get news anymore.

In any case, when the emperor sent out a plea for help, as vassals, they could still stay in their territory with peace of mind, even if it was not an exaggeration to call it a betrayal - even if there was a reason!

"That lord has received the allegiance of Elendil, and must already know the situation of the orcs very well, so in this case, other conditions are not necessary. Brenus turned his horse's head: "At this time when every liliang is extremely precious, as long as he is willing to help us fight against the orcs, even if he doesn't say it, I will bring it up!"

"We have lost our dignity and spirit for once, including the minimum of our rules as a knight, and now it is time to defend ourselves, if we are separated from morality again, and fail to understand the meaning and importance of unity, the day when the orcs invade will surely be the day of the end of humanity!"