In recent times, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of guards in the city of New Rome. On the main streets of the city, you can always see groups of soldiers hurrying by. There was a tense atmosphere in the air, which was only brought to a high by the curfew announced the other day. Even the most sluggish person can smell a different flavor from this atmosphere.

That is, the chief of the Knights of the Holy Seal, the true master of the city of New Rome, is in a bad mood right now.

That's for sure.

Representing the majesty of the Papal Chamber, the mighty force of the city of Rome, the combined army of the three legions of the Knights of the Holy Seal was defeated in the Roaring Bay!

Whoever sits in Zoro's position is probably not indifferent.

This was news that shocked the whole city of New Rome, considering the following decades since the end of the bloody battle against the alien race and the high mutant beasts. There were rebels in the past, pirates in the back, and hundreds of battles with the Knights. There have been wins and losses between each other, but none of them have lost so completely and so tragically.

After all, behind this fiasco, it means that nearly 3,000 lives have been left on that bay forever, and there are as many as two legionnaires killed in battle! This is absolutely the first time in the history of the Papal Chamber, and the significance of these two legionnaires alone is greater than that of the soldiers who died in battle. After all, soldiers can be reborn through recruitment and training, but the ability of the eighth order is one less than one.

The Western Continent is different from the Central Continent, and the number of capable people is small, and the level is generally not high. So like Carromon and Habeth, it's definitely a valuable asset to the Order. Two died at once, and the other legion commander Mamilo was missing, so it was strange that Sauron didn't feel heartache.

But when it comes to heartache, no matter how painful Sauron is, there is no family pain behind these two legion leaders.

Carlomon's family, Odson, and Habeth's family, Calchi, were among the wealthy families of the city of Rome. The former was a family of generals in the old era, with royal blood, and was an important minister in any era, while the latter was an old nobleman, and there have been many cardinals in the history of the family. Habeth's grandfather was the only cardinal to survive the cataclysm, and was attacked by aliens and mutant beasts. His father was one of the few behind-the-scenes supporters of Sauron, who was Habeth's teacher and the former head of the 7th Division, Lambonis.

It can be said that these two legionnaires, whether they are themselves or their families, are inextricably linked to the Pope's Chamber.

After receiving the bad news, both Odson and Kalki reacted violently, and repeatedly petitioned the Papal Chamber to send troops, which caused Sauron quite a headache.

It's just that when these two families are thunderous, there are also some people who are secretly happy. After all, the Odson family and the Kalki family are both supporters of Sauron, and they rely on their support for Sauron to gain political power today. At the same time, how many pairs of eyes are silently watching them behind their backs. Where there is light, there will be shadows, and the brighter the light, the thicker the shadow behind it.

So while these two families are angry, naturally there will be people who are happy. Of course, this cannot be shown on the face.

Half a month after the Battle of Roaring Bay, on this day, Sauron came out of his palace with a gloomy face. Accompanied by Wessel, the commander of the guards, he went to the conference room, and in all this time, Sauron had not had a smile on his face, and Wessel could only carefully touch the mind of his superiors. But the limit of what he could think of was the defeat of Roaring Bay and the fall of the two legionnaires, which made Zoro feel bad.

Of course, he wouldn't have thought of it. The death of the two legion commanders certainly made Sauron feel bad, but Sauron cared most about Franklin, and this war was ostensibly for the sake of the pirate, but most of the reason was only for the Beast who escaped from his hands.

Sauron's original intention was to crusade against pirates, so that Franklin would feel that there was no place to live at sea, and that as long as he could force the beast ashore, Sauron would be sure to catch him. Unfortunately, it was not only a failure in the battle, but also the lives of thousands of soldiers and two corps commanders.

Failing to catch Franklin meant that the demons who still occupied his palace would be unhappy. If the silver demon is not happy, Sauron will have no hope of progressing, and if he doesn't get it, he will attract some punishment or something. Fortunately, Gaia has been in a deep sleep when he went to the palace for the past few days, so Zoro knew that he still had a chance. As long as Franklin is caught before Gaia wakes up, then he will still be able to get a glimpse of the tenth-order realm.

God knows how eager he is to advance to the ranks, it's the instinct of almost every capable person. And the higher the level, the stronger this desire becomes. In the same way, the higher the level, the more difficult it is to go further.

While pondering what to do next, the conference room arrived. Today is the quarterly summary meeting in March, and Zoro can already expect that the two big families will definitely take this opportunity to send troops, and whether it is the Odson family or the Kalki family, they have been in contact with him many times in private. Every contact, without exception, is to point the topic to revenge.

This gave Sauron a headache.

He has never liked to let people point fingers at him, and he is not afraid to kick these two giants out of the political circle, even if they were once his supporters!

It's just that after kicking them out, for a while, Zoro couldn't find another family that could replace them, whether it was background or financial resources. Just take it a step further, though. As long as you can step through the threshold of the tenth order, you can shock anyone with absolute force. When the time comes, kicking some self-righteous guys out of this circle, and then directly confiscating their property, will not have much impact on Romon City.

On the pyramid of power, Sauron never intended to make room for others at the top of the tower. On the pyramid, he alone is enough!

As Wisel pushed open the side door to the conference room, a tumult poured out, causing the Captain of the Guards to frown. Sneaking a glance at Zoro, he didn't have any expression, and the iron-blue face just now gradually receded. But having served Sauron for so long, Wisel knew that the calmer he was, the more terrifying he became.

The meeting room is different from the war room, which is a vast hall with a polished marble floor. The gray and white beryls embraced by five great men are arranged on two sides, and each pillar is mostly decorated with angel sculptures. The vaulted dome is adorned with ornate crystal lamps, and when the lights are fully turned on, the dome looks as beautiful as a galaxy of stars.

On either side of the wall is a row of stained glass windows, and the mosaics on the windows are mostly based on stories from the Bible. In the middle of the conference room hall is a scarlet carpet that extends to the abutment at the end. On the abutment there are two ornate seats adorned with precious stones, which were reserved for the Pope and Sauron. The Pope is still the spiritual leader of the new city of Rome, but just by looking at Sauron's seat and Qi side by side, you can see that Sauron has power in the city of Rome.

Two banners hung from the wall behind the abutment, one on the left for the Papal Hall and the other for the Battle Flag of the Knights of the Holy Seal.

Zoro strode over to the throne in front of the knights' banner and sat down, then glanced at the blank chair next to him, and said lightly, "Where has the Pope gone?"

After Wisser's whisper in his ear, Sauron was expressionless, just nodded, and then looked at the ministers in the hall and said, "Then, let's start our meeting." ”

The factions among the ministers were also clearly divided, and the officials belonging to the Order and several legionnaires were rightfully on the side of Sauron. On the opposite side, of course, are the bishops and civil officials of the Pope's Chamber. After Zoro announced the start of the meeting, a man with a beautiful mustache and a gorgeous costume walked out. He was the Chancellor of the Exchequer of Rome, Utus, a long-sleeved dancer who belonged to a lord who could not be offended. He first saluted Sauron before saying, "Lord Sauron, the total income of our city of Rome has increased by 15% this quarter. In my opinion, this figure could have been increased by another 5 to 10 percent, and the reason why it is lower than I expected is that some of the taxes paid by several of our colonies seem to be lost for no apparent reason."

As soon as Utus opened his chatterbox, he gushed his opinions. This man does have his own way of managing money, otherwise Sauron would not have made him the Chancellor of the Exchequer. But Utus's verbosity is well known, and it can be relegated to verbose. What can be clearly expressed in one sentence, he can explain it in ten sentences, and without repetition, which has to be said that he is equally good at eloquence and his financial management.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer started with the taxes of the colonies, and through various explicit and implicit declarations, Zuihou faintly talked about the bodies of several big people in the hall. Suddenly, the faces of several noble lords changed color faintly, and Zoro was also a little crying and laughing at this minister. Utus had no connection between the Church and the Order, and sometimes he was so uplifted that he often pointed the finger at some big man. In this, people from both the church and the knights will give him an order, and neither of them can take advantage.

But because Utus is this kind of personality that no one is afraid of offending, Zoro secretly protects him, or this old boy would have died on the belly of a certain woman on a drunken night. Of course, Sauron didn't value him, he just needed a neutral person to make some inconvenient noise.

Seeing that Utus was speaking with great interest, Zoro was afraid that if he continued to speak, the whole meeting would not be able to take place. So he glared at him fiercely, and Utus was also alert, knowing that his performance time was almost up. But in the end, he couldn't help but say, "Lord Zoro, you should discipline His Royal Highness the Pope." His Highness's financial subsidy has increased by another 10% this quarter, which is enough to feed a hundred civilians for a year. ”

Zoro nodded and said, "Indeed. I have heard that His Highness the Pope has been very keen on speaking lately, and I will persuade him well when he returns. ”

Utus was so overjoyed that this time even the Pope named him. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has done his job, and it can be said that he has died without regrets. Utus bowed to Sauron contentedly before retreating to his place.

Then another minister wanted to report something, and suddenly he was pulled back. The minister's face was suddenly full of anger, but he saw that his colleagues kept glancing at him. Only then did he notice that in the precedent of the team, a red shadow came out of the crowd. The minister hurriedly retreated, it was a cardinal, and it was Bishop Mendrissa. In addition to being the head of the Kalki family, he is also the father of Habeth, the commander of the 7th Regiment who died in battle.

Mendrissa is over 50 years old this year, and it is the year of the sixtieth year. But the power of the seventh-order light element made him look like a middle-aged man in his forties, and his face was similar to that of Habeth, but with a little more vicissitudes that Habeth did not have. As soon as Mendrissa stood up, Sauron knew what he was going to say, and preemptively said, "Honorable Bishop Mendrissa, for the death of Habeth in battle. I am deeply struck by this. At the same time, you can be assured that the crusade against pirates is imperative, but not rushed. After all, the stakes are high, and I think the bishop can understand that. ”

Mendrissa raised his head, looked at Sauron in four eyes, and said, "Habeth is the most outstanding of my five children, and he has always contributed his liliang without regrets to the Pope's Hall and Lord Sauron. But now, he died at the hands of those filthy pirates, and his body was nowhere to be found. As a father, I can't bury my favorite son in the family cemetery. As a bishop, I cannot lead the soul of a believer through the path of Zuihou. In any case, I'm ashamed of Habeth. If even my wish to avenge him cannot be fulfilled, what face will I have to face my clansmen and my followers?"

"Bishop Mendrissa, I think I've made it clear enough. It's not that this revenge is not avenged, but that now is not the time. Sauron said impatiently.

"Then may I ask Lord Zoro, what is the right time?" Mendrissa pressed step by step.

Sauron was about to get angry when the door opened and a knight of the Silver Hand trotted in. After whispering something next to Wessel, the Commander of the Guards whispered next to Sauron, "Lord Lambonis is here, and he seems to have brought a group of retired officers of the Order. ”

Zoro snorted before saying, "Let him in." ”

Wisel gestured, and the knight quickly stepped back. Then the gate opened again, and an old man in armor entered through it. Although this person is already a sixtieth birthday, his whole body aura is condensed, and the murderous intent that bursts out of his body is like substance. Obviously, his whole body was very clean, but since he walked in, there seemed to be a wisp of blood wafting in the hall.

"Lambonis, it's the Blood Knight, why is he here?"

Discussions like this suddenly resounded quietly in the hall, and Lambonis could be said to be a veteran of the Knights. Now the thirteen captains of the Order, most of them, including Sauron, were his students. In the dark history of the Papal Hall and the interracial confrontation, Lambonis was always active on the front lines. And the blood-stained road that leads through the Eternal Mountain Range was forced out of blood and fire by his leader.

It can be said that Lambonis's exploits are all made, hence the name of the Bloody Knight.

Now he is here, no doubt for the sake of Habeth. After all, Habbers was a student of his Zuihou and one of his favorites.

Seeing Lambonis, Zoro also had to stand up and frowned, "Teacher, I thought you were on Sequoia Island. ”

"Fart! my student is dead, what are you leaving me in the mood to stay on Sequoia Island!" roared Lambonis, like a mad lion.

"I'm your student too, not just me, but several others here. Zoro reminded.

"But Habis is different from you, he is the purest of all, my ideal successor. Rambonis emphasized.

"He's also a Legion Commander, and there are twelve Legion Commanders including me. We can sacrifice ourselves for the Papal Hall at any time, and Habeth will be no exception!" Zoro said-for-tat.

Lambonis snorted heavily, a slight sound that slammed into everyone's chest like a hammer. The officers on the Knights' side basically accepted it calmly, but there were many ordinary people on the civilian minister's side. Suddenly more than a dozen fell, including Chancellor of the Exchequer Utus.

Zoro's face sank, and he said loudly: "Lambonis, this is the conference room!"

He called the Blood Knight by name, but it made Lambonis suddenly wake up. The student in front of him was no longer the young man of the day, but the real master of the city of Rome who held great power. At the moment, he lowered his voice slightly, and said, "It's me who is presumptuous, please forgive Lord Zoro." ”

Seeing that Lambonis had finally given himself face, Zoro's face softened, and he said, "Teacher, I understand the feelings of both you and Bishop Mendrissa. Yes"

"I know!" Rambonis nodded, "I understand your concerns, the Knights have lost two of their captains, and the other is dead. You can't afford the same loss, so here I am. I've brought some old subordinates, and as long as you allocate me enough soldiers and ships, we'll fight this battle for you!"

At this time, Utus, who had been waking up for a long time, happened to hear this sentence and immediately shouted: "No, the soldier's pension will exceed the budget!"

Lambonis glared at him fiercely, and Utus rolled his eyes and fainted again.

Zoro's face was gloomy, and Lambonis was violating his taboo. For him, the teacher could gather a group of old subordinates for Habeth's sake, even though they were not as strong as they used to be. But force is force, and Sauron doesn't want to have another force under his nose besides the Knights. In particular, this force is not yet under its control.

Almost instantly, Sauron didn't plan to let Lambonis and his old subordinates go back. But how to solve them was a problem, and suddenly it occurred to Sauron that Gaia had said that no one but him was allowed to enter the palace. If Lambonis and the others accidentally break in, then Sauron can be pushed clean if anything happens.

So Zoro smiled and said, "Teacher, the matter is important, why don't you go to our palace for a while." When the meeting is over, I'll discuss it with you?"