The hall was silent, and the pins could be heard.

The nobles watched the confrontation between the female grand duke and the envoy from Qiyuan City with different expressions.

Ian stared in amazement, as if he couldn't understand the Grand Duke's words.

Almost the entire hall was staring at him with unkind expressions.

Ian took a deep breath and looked up with a puzzled expression: "But...... The war of the Free Alliance is just around the corner. ”

Thelma, who was in her seat, tugged at the corners of her mouth slightly.

I saw her nod slowly: "Yes." ”

Ian raised his hand in confusion and ambivalence, as if trying to express something, but dropped it halfway through.

The heir of Qiyuan City gritted his teeth and frowned deeply: "You know, this is a war that means a lot to you and your family—especially after the loss of the king in Longxiao City. ”

His words were slightly anxious: "Do you still know that the person sitting at the other end of the chessboard is His Majesty Chaman, who hates you to the bone?"

The vassals' faces tightened.

Thelma lowered her head a little weakly, sighed and spat out the next sentence, "yes, I know." ”

Her voice was faint, like a whimper.

As if encouraged, Ian's eyes came alive, and he looked left and right a few times as if he was looking for support, and smiled quite relaxedly, "Good." ”

"Then you should know where you are now, and you know that your prestige is far from enough to support you, especially ......"

Ian paused, he looked around the room, and sighed as if regretful: "Especially, you are still a woman—a female archduke. ”

At that moment, the prince felt that the nobles in the hall adjusted their expressions unnaturally.

In the seat of the six counts, Linna tilted his head, grinding his teeth slightly, while Kierkegaard stared intently at the Grand Duchess.

Hearst's eyes seemed to erupt with fire, and Earl Curtson's eyebrows were almost tangled.

Both the Counts of Lisbane and Nazaire looked at the Grand Duchess with complicated expressions, and the meaning in their eyes was hard to find.

The Grand Duchess looked up.

Tails' heart tightened.

The girl let out a sigh of relief and showed a relieved expression.

Her eyes were calm: "Yes, I know that, too." ”

The tone is ordinary.

It seems that what the other party said was just "the weather is good today", "this bowl of soup is good", "read books patiently", "don't rush to change" and other trivial things.

Ian frowned: "Then you'll ......"

The Archduchess interrupted him.

"However, I am a Walton after all. ”

Her voice was still small.

But there is an unmistakable firmness.

The eyes of the six vassals under her seat moved in unison.

Ian was slightly stunned: "What?"

"Walton. ”

"Walton, the successor of King Nekaru, Walton of the Dragon Lance in the Clouds, Walton of Dragonsky City," Thelma looked at Ian indifferently, "Do you know what this surname represents?"

Ian narrowed his eyes, then looked incredulous.

"Walton?"

He exhaled impatiently, "Selma, wake up! Think about what happened just now, think about the attitude of your vassals. ”

"And then think about my proposal," Ian waved his hand in frustration, "This is the only way for you to salvage the situation!"

The Viscount's words echoed through the hall.

The vassals' expressions became unnatural again.

Thelma smiled.

Her and Ian's gaze met in the air.

"No," said the Grand Duchess softly, "it is not. ”

"Walton is Walton," Thelma said, turning her gaze to each of the vassals with different looks, "because the Dragonlance in the Clouds has never fought alone: seven hundred years ago, Nekaru stood in the sky with a spear, and young Walton was close behind......"

"And under the clouds that were separated by the dragon's wings, after the eight knights on the ground......"

"Lisbane, Nazaire, Kierkegaard, Hearst...... Countless Northland knights, famous and unknown, did not hesitate to charge. ”

"Together, they forged a battle to reverse the cold wind, tear through the darkness shrouded in calamity, and win a future for the world. ”

Under her seat, Earl Hearst's expression moved: "Ma'am......"

The faces of the other vassals grew solemn.

Seven hundred years ago.

Tails sighed.

He couldn't help but think of the portrait of Tormund in the Mindith Hall: the mournful Revival King also charged with a gun, and the scarred Six Knights at his side attacked without complaint.

He remembered the madness of Giza's duel with Ashida.

Boom!

At this moment, Thelma slapped her chair and stood up unexpectedly!

The entire hall was slightly startled.

But nothing could be more shocking than the next move of the Grand Duchess.

"Gentlemen, today, at this time, here, I, the Grand Duchess of Longxiao City, Thelma Walton," the girl's light and clear voice resounded in the Hall of Heroes, echoing among the heavy stone bricks: "The wartime conscription order for Longxiao City has been officially issued!"

"Dragon Sky City, declare war on the Freedom Alliance!"

Tails' breath faltered.

Here it comes.

Under the shock and shock that everyone had no time to react, I saw the female grand duke take a step forward with a resolute expression.

Her voice was cold and harsh, but it was full of a sense of strength that she had never seen before: "In the near future, the Walton family will take the initiative to send troops to the west to aid Qiyuan City and go to the Freedom Alliance!"

"With the blood of repeated traitors, with the heads of insidious villains, re-prove the honor of Longxiao City!"

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Ian stared at Selma with his mouth wide open, as if he couldn't close it anymore.

The vassals were no better, their eyes staring at the archduke in shock, and the six counts were much more steady, but their movements were enough to show the anomaly: Hearst almost scratched the chair, Kirtson clenched his fists, and Kierkegaard's severed arm was firmly against the chair arm.

The most senior Regent of Lisbane and the Count of Nazaire stared at each other intently, not saying a word.

No one seemed to be able to react appropriately to the words of the Grand Duchess.

Until Ian gasped for a breath, as if a drowning man had finally surfaced.

He wiped his chin and spoke anxiously:

"Ms. Selma, as I said...... We don't need you to send troops to help us, all we value is a posture and a position......"

He was greeted by Selma's sharp response:

"It's none of your business, Lord Viscount!"

Ian's words were cut off from his lips, and he opened his hands in disbelief and stared blankly at the Grand Duchess.

"It's just my decision. ”

I only heard the female eldest duke say coldly: "It is also something that Longxiao City must do." ”

The whole audience was stunned by the girl's sudden toughness.

Only Tails in the corner gently curled the corners of his mouth, looking at his six-year-old companion, and only he habitually noticed: the outline of the girl's fist under the left sleeve was trembling slightly.

Well done, Selma, go ahead.

He said silently in his heart.

"And I need the response of you—the twenty-three noble families here," the Grand Duchess slowly turned her gaze to all of you in the hall, "just as twenty years ago, just as six hundred years ago, you and your ancestors stood at the side of the two Nune kings without complaint or regret for countless times. ”

Her voice was still clear, with a hint of reckless determination.

But there was no response as it should be.

No one spoke.

All the vassals looked at her quietly, and after the shock, suspicion and caution gradually appeared on their faces, which slowly deepened as they looked at each other.

The hall remained quiet.

Even Lisbane was silent.

Thelma's face turned pale.

Tails, who was in his seat, closed his eyes.

Inadequate.

Selma.

That's not enough!

The Grand Duchess glanced at the audience with an ugly expression—every vassaler she swept away turned their gaze unnaturally.

"Everyone!" Selma gritted her teeth and said, "The battle horn has sounded, Longxiao City needs you!"

But still no one responded.

Tails poked Ian on tiptoe and invisibly.

Viscount Qiyuan City moved slightly.

Ian spun around in fear.

After seeing the general situation of no one on the field, he let out a breath of relief and showed a calm smile.

"Ms. Selma, I hate to interrupt you......"

Ian turned his head and shrugged.

"But your vassals have just made it clear that if you want their response, then give them the right to give a marriage," His Excellency the Viscount bowed slightly, his eyes shining, "You can't ask for a deal that doesn't return." ”

Many of the vassals turned pale, and some looked at His Excellency the Viscount coldly.

"And since it's a deal, you might as well choose the most affordable ......"

Thelma gritted her teeth and looked up in dismay.

The girl spoke again, interrupting Ian, "Everyone!"

"It's not going to be a deal, it's not a compromise, it's not about my marriage. ”

"And just my will!"

But the huge Hall of Heroes, on both sides of the Oval Stone Hall, still no one answered.

It was as if someone had cut off the sound.

Ian frowned.

On the top of the steps, Selma looked at the silent hall with difficulty as if under the weight of a thousand pounds.

A pair of eyes mixed with confusion, suspicion, calculation, and dissatisfaction shot at her.

But there was no response.

As if it was just her one-man show.

Thelma felt her legs tremble slightly.

No.

She unconsciously clenched her teeth, her heart racing.

No......

A sense of panic hit my heart.

This......

What to do......

At this moment, Thelma suddenly noticed: among those eyes, only one pair of eyes was still unwavering, calm as before.

Just looking at her from afar, quietly, as always.

Like the last six years.

The owner of the eyes smiled at her, raised his left hand, and nodded his thumb.

Thelma shuddered slightly: her thumb under her left sleeve suddenly felt weighty in her nervous trance.

It was a ring.

The ring that the guy put on for her six years ago.

The eyes blinked slightly, then turned away.

But just this blink seems to give the girl strength.

Thelma's cheeks trembled slightly, and she took a deep breath.

The girl did not look aimlessly, but turned to the most senior earl below.

"Thank you, Dear Count Nazaire, for your statement. ”

The Count of Nazaire had been staring at Lisbane closely, and when he heard this, he slowly turned his gaze: "Ma'am......"

Selma's face was grim, and she said the following words with difficulty: "You have shown me what kind of predicament Longxiao City is in now: we can no longer indulge in lamenting the regrets and misfortunes of the past. ”

"But this also makes me even more convinced: the future of Longxiao City cannot be guarded by suspicion and calculation among monarchs and ministers, within vassals. ”

At that moment, Count Nazaire's eyes moved.

"So I won't trade my marriage for your compromise - Longxiao City has not yet been divided and weakened to the point that it has to rely on internal marriages to free up your hands and unite with the outside world. ”

Nazaire slowly leaned back in the seat behind him, still silent.

"The honor and victory behind my grandfather and father can only be maintained by our own hands and won by ourselves!"

The six earls at the top had different reactions and different expressions.

The Grand Duchess glanced at Ian, and then looked back at her vassals: "Only in this way can we truly prevent external forces from interfering in Longxiao City, no matter what way it is. ”

Ian was slightly embarrassed: "That's a little too much, Selma......"

But Thelma didn't give him another chance to speak.

"So, no matter what," the girl took a deep breath, "the Walton family will go to the west, take the remnants of King Nunn, follow in the footsteps of Prince Suriel, and take back what belongs to us with our own hands!"

Thelma stood in front of her seat, in front of the Soul Lance, looking around the room, clenched fists and pale.

"Even if it's ......"

The Grand Duchess gritted her teeth: "Even if no family responds to me." ”

The quiet hall was filled with the sound of inhalations at varying rates.

"Even if it's just us going out on a single flag. ”

Faced with the fluctuating tone of the female archduke, the expressions of many vassals became strange.

Even the guards, who had no right to speak, couldn't help but look at it frequently.

Ian sighed.

"You know, Selma, you don't have to. ”

"It's going to be ugly," the Viscount's eyes began to appear solemn and vigilant, "whether it's now, or when it's time to go on an expedition." ”

"Forcing troops will only push everyone to the brink of tearing their faces, damaging your already precarious prestige even more, and only receiving greater humiliation. ”

"There's no way back for you. ”

The stagnant atmosphere seemed to be pierced by this sentence.

The vassals' faces changed more and more rapidly, and they became more and more difficult to read.

"yes," Thelma said with a wry smile, "I know." ”

The Grand Duchess then looked at her complicated-looking vassals, her eyes misty.

"I know that I am far inferior to the former Majesty of Nunn, and perhaps not in the rest of my life—you may not look down on me, on the little girl in the Grand Duke's seat, and you may have resentment, or you may have your own plans. ”

Earl Curtson tilted his mouth, as if in deep thought.

The Grand Duke sighed: "But I still hope that at this moment, you can stand with me and Longxiao City with your warriors and glory." ”

The Earl of Hearst's beard trembled slightly.

"Prove to the outside world, to this guest of Qiyuan City who claims that as long as a marriage can save me from the predicament, prove that Longxiao City is still strong and united, and I don't need to bend my knees to outsiders to protect myself. ”

Count Lynne clenched his fists unnaturally, twisting his knuckles back and forth.

In the next second, Selma raised her left hand with a solemn expression, letting the sleeve slide off her forearm, revealing her white wrist.

The ring on the thumb is exposed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that there is no one in this world who is more qualified and capable of fighting for me and winning for me than you, my vassals. ”

"Because I'm Longxiao City. ”

At the sight of that ring, everyone in the hall frowned!

It's like remembering something.

"But Longxiao City is not only me, but also all of you here. ”

In front of everyone's eyes, the Grand Duchess gently took off the large ring inlaid with black stone and held it high.

"Guys, in Walton's name, I'm going to war!"

The female archduke's eyes were cold, and she shouted:

"Are you coming?"

Tails shook slightly!

You guys...... Are you coming?

The girl's voice echoed through the hall again, but this time, the vassals were staring at the black ring.

Look at the people and things represented behind it.

Lisbane had a complicated look.

The one-armed Count closed his eyes.

Count Nazaire's face tensed unusually tightened.

The vassals looked left and right in disbelief, and exchanged heads and ears.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I still believe," Selma took a step forward and said coldly, "as vassals, you will not allow a foreign guest to gladly snatch away your responsibilities and obligations, and then show off your power in front of you." ”

Ian was stunned.

The girl held the ring in her hand flat towards the dragon spear stone carving in the clouds above her head in the hall.

"The Waltons' most loyal vassals, His Majesty Nunn's siblings!"

The girl's voice sounded again: "Are you coming?"

Listening to the words of the Grand Duchess, Tails was slightly in a trance.

He seemed to have gone back six years, to the days of desperate escape, and in the vault of the Temple of the Bright Moon, he was the same, desperately shouting similar words at Nicolai as he prepared to flee.

[But that's what I decided......]

【Northlanders?】

【Are you coming?】

The buzz of the vassals began to grow.

Tails' gaze met Nicolais on the steps, and the prince saw a similar surprise in the eyes of the Meteorite.

She......

Selma......

You......

Small slippery ......

Indescribable emotions poured out of his heart, and it was difficult to suppress them.

He could only recall six years ago over and over again.

[That's right, we're going to kill ourselves.] 】

[Northlanders, are you coming?]

【Are you coming......】

"Longxiao City!"

In the hall, Selma's voice raised the limits of what could be reached, and the young girl's high voice fluttered in the ancient palace: "Are you coming?"

The hall fell silent.

Many of the vassals had finished their restless conversations, and their eyes were all looking upwards at the most important ones.

Waiting for their decision.

The Grand Duke gritted her teeth, her arm holding the ring trembled slightly, and her eyes were slightly red.

"Northlanders!"

She was yelling at almost everyone in the hall, "Are you coming?"

Clang!

A guard who was holding back his emotions accidentally pressed the hilt of his sword, and the blade collided with the wall with a piercing and sharp sound.

This sharp sound made everyone's mood more tense and the atmosphere more depressing.

But there was still no response in the hall.

Only the female Grand Duke gritted her teeth, trembled her eyes, held the triumphant ring that symbolized the Grand Duke of Longxiao City, and stood alone in front of the Soul Killing Spear, facing the restless men in the entire hall.

Among the six earls, the anomalies of Curtson, Hearst, and Linner could hardly be concealed, and they exchanged anxious glances with each other, as if they could not reach an agreement for a long time.

One second.

The one-armed Count remained silent with his eyes closed.

Two seconds.

Ian narrowed his eyes and let out a somewhat somber breath.

Three seconds.

The silent confrontation between Lisbane and Nazaire seemed to have come to an end, but they remained silent and waited for the situation to unfold.

Time is getting longer.

The atmosphere in the hall was getting more and more uncomfortable.

Until......

Until a suppressed laugh, low but piercing, rang out from the crowd and spread throughout the hall.

(End of chapter)