When the light of dawn shines on the balcony of Haringos Castle, the centuries-old city opens its doors to all the knights from all over the north.

The legionnaires of the First Wing lined up on both sides of the central avenue early, and for this feast, Theodore even dressed all of them in ring armor, and nearly a thousand heavily armed legionnaires guarded the gates with bright silver spears and Roman shields, which was at least visually stunning.

The knights of the Knights of the Dawn were also heavily armed to defend Haringos Castle, and together with the Imperial Guard led by Valens, they formed a "human wall passage" outside the castle gates, waiting for the arrival of those guests. Citizens who like to watch the excitement crowd on both sides of the road, blocked by the "shield wall" and fence formed by the legionnaires, and the central avenue is blocked.

As the blood of the Pendragon family Zuihou, the only heir to the empire. Terenus struggled to convince Helena not to go to the city gates to meet the lords from all directions, but the attitude of the other party was not clear, and if they were too enthusiastic, they would give the impression that they were important, and those lords who were loyal to the empire would not feel that they were being neglected because of such a trivial matter.

In fact, if the Emperor himself were here, even if he didn't say that Terenus would arrange for Bixia's personal reception, no one would refuse. The problem is that Helena is a princess after all, a woman, who is inherently weak. If you don't deliberately be tough, it's easy to be underestimated, not to mention that Helena's purpose is to unite these lords who have been independent for too long, and they need to be more dignified.

On the other hand, Aaron and Salald seemed to know in advance, that the armies of Salion and Mithmeer were all assembled and ready to be deployed, and with the deployment of the Roman legions, the armies of the entire western part could converge in just two weeks, giving the impression that they were ready to send troops at any time.

The information of this era is extremely unsmooth, even if you prepare in advance, it will take a long time to assemble all the troops in the territory, such as the Roman legions have the habit of building roads while marching, everything is for the integrity of the army, as well as the support of logistics. On the flip side, as long as he's not stupid, no lord can be ignorant of the mobilization of troops by one of his "neighbors." Therefore, many countries in ancient times held military parades, which also had a certain demonstrative nature.

Therefore, many large-scale wars in ancient times were often left unfought, and a single battle lasted for years or even decades. In fact, it was not that long at all, and most of the time was spent preparing for war and marching on the road - the human lords of the north and the orc tribes of the south can be seen as such. In fact, the two sides have been in a state of war, and the war has never stopped, but now the orcs who have the upper hand are also in turmoil themselves.

The trumpeters standing on the tower blew the sound of greeting music. The lords from all over the world entered Haringos through the city gates almost at the same time, as if they had agreed in advance. Colorful heraldic flags swayed in the air, rectangular, dovetail-shaped, triangular, and so on. The knights straddled the tall horses, looking at the crowds on both sides of the avenue with great energy, and the long tassels on their helmets kept fluttering, just like the tails of horses, very lively.

The people who saw such a "spectacular scene" were also very excited, and the cheers and noises resounded in the sky, and the atmosphere became more cheerful. The legionnaires tried their best to keep them out, not only to maintain their form, but also to guard against someone behind them from "sneaking up" on them and inexplicably taking a punch.

Terenus stood on the tower of the castle and watched the knights on the central avenue from afar, his face calm and unwavering, and there was a slight disdain in the corners of his eyes.

"They entered the city like warriors returning victoriously and enjoyed the hospitality of His Highness. Terenus said, "But what have they won that make them so angry?"

"Probably because of their different identities, right?" Elendil behind him walked over with a smile: "After all, they are nobles, and they always have to show some pride and superiority in front of the commoners." ”

"Raising a broken flag can be considered a nobleman?" Terenus's voice was even more disdainful: "When did the aristocracy become so cheap, not by ability and virtue, but by so many colorful colored cloths?"

"But those who carry the flag can make His Highness the true ruler of the north and give the empire a chance to revivenation. Elendil said, "Isn't that so?"

"Yes, just like us. Terenus smiled, a bit self-deprecating, "To protect the oath, but betrayed it." What are we protecting? Sometimes I don't dare to think about these things, because I'm afraid that it will make those sacrifices worthless and honorable. ”

"Knight, it's such a ridiculous thing, we have too many oaths to keep. There are so many ways to defend your family, protect the weak, protect your monarch and obey orders. The old man's voice became tired: "So there will always be one or two violations." ”

"Just as now, I should have died in the south with the Grand Master a long time ago, but I survived by the lives of my brethren. Terenus looked at Elendil wearing eagle armor beside him, and said lightly: "The youngest Knight of the Dawn who was personally promoted by Bixia joined the Imperial Guard Knights of the Romans. ”

"If I had to choose again, I wouldn't regret it. Elendil shook her head: "Bixiazuihou's order is for me to protect the princess with all my might, and anything can be sacrificed for this purpose, including my personal reputation." Although, I still care a lot about what other people think. ”

"Especially what you think, Terenus...... My lord. Elendil hesitated for a moment and uttered the title: "For the sake of loyalty to Bixia, I offer my loyalty to Caesar." ”

"You don't have to care about the opinion of an old thing, and those worldly eyes can't change the soul of a knight, just be yourself. Terenus patted Elendil on the back: "But speaking of which, I'm curious about this 'Caesar', can you talk about it?"

"Caesar? he's a ...... Very peculiar people, sometimes very mature and insightful, sometimes, hehe, no different from a child. Elendil smiled, "As far as I know, Caesar is not against certain conspiracies, and also admits that those things are indeed useful and necessary, and if everything is revealed, then this shijie will be plunged into never-ending chaos." But he himself was disgusted with intrigues, and he insisted on keeping everything above board, as stubborn as a child!"

Theodore Julian, Sarard Urtok, Aaron Brennus are also said to be on the verge of succession, as well as Jim Best who has died tragically, and Bran Elfwan of Larria. Terenus "counted" one by one: "Look, even our princess, Her Royal Highness, Her Royal Highness Helena Pendragon, isn't she also a child?!"

"They have a lot of power, they are self-righteous, and they set the future of the North with a few 'good words', and then they hand over a lot of trouble to everyone else. Terenus said, "When I was their age, I was beaten and rolled on the dirt floor of the training ground!"

"Lord Terenus! Lord Terenus!" Adjutant Will hurried up the tower, walked behind the two and said, "I report to you that all the magnates of the North have arrived. ”

"I've seen it from here. Terenus pouted, "What's the matter, who's here?" I only saw the family flags of the princes along the Kwyn River just now, and there are many triangular flags that I have never heard of!"

"Those are the knights from Marions. Will replied with a smile, "There are at least ten princes of the East who have come from the Emerald Grassland to attend the banquet, and the princes of the Kwyn River have basically come. The Duke of Allama himself did not come, and it seems that a messenger had come on his behalf. ”

"It's not normal for that guy to come!" Terenus waved his hand: "No, there are actually a lot of people who seem to be abnormal here, and compared to Alama, that Lord Julian is really too enthusiastic!"

This is a representation of Caesar's support for Her Royal Highness. Elendil took the opportunity to interject: "And what Duke Allama has done is also a manifestation of his attitude. ”

"Also, there's one more thing. Adjutant Will looked at Elendil, who was interjecting, and then turned his gaze back to Terenus and continued: "Duke Elvwan of Laria did not come either, but only sent a messenger. Claiming to be a squire of the former duke, he is now the chief of guard of the duke, and his name is Lorraine. ”

Terenus was visibly stunned for a moment, he had the impression that Duke Laria would almost certainly come, and now he had only sent a chief of guard?

Despite the ongoing war in the Laria area, Terenus also learned about the current situation in the area from some gossip - although the conflict has not stopped, the intensity has decreased significantly, and from the eyes of him, the flag bearer of the Knights of the Dawn, the current conflict in the Laria region is at most a weapon fight, and it cannot affect the safety of the town of Laria at all.

"Maybe it's not very stable there, and the current Lord Duke Bran is just a child, so it's normal for him to be reluctant to come. Terenus found a reason for himself: "In any case, it is now the most critical moment, whether the north can be unified or not, it is this time!"