In today's modern language, the word "judging people by their appearance" is often used in a derogatory form in a discourse in most cases.

It appears so often that it goes hand in hand with the context of this negative form that many people consider it a bad habit and thus resist it on many levels.

But there is nothing inherently wrong with this act.

If you go back to the roots, it is actually the animal instinct of human beings as a living being.

In the wild animal world, every step must be taken carefully, and if you make a mistake anywhere, you will definitely pay with your life.

Therefore, the practice of "judging people by their appearance" is actually an important biological instinct to judge at the first time, measure the level of the opponent, and calculate what price they will pay if they have a conflict with them.

And with biological instincts, there will naturally be ways to deal with this instinct.

For example, warm-blooded creatures covered in hair or feathers, such as birds and mammals, including degraded humans and many wurms and dragons, possess the "erector pilos" muscle. As the name suggests, it exists to stand up with its own hair to make it appear larger than it really is, to intimidate rivals during courtship or to intimidate larger predators.

In addition, many smaller dragon lizards also have necks that can open like umbrellas, or crocodiles, which can concussion their throats and make intimidating sounds.

These visual, auditory, and even olfactory senses, which are collectively referred to as "appearances", are very important bases for one organism to make its first impression of another. So even though human beings have detached themselves from nature and begun to build such a thing as civilization.

Sensory information such as physical appearance still plays an extremely important role.

The battlefield of predators and preyers changed from a forest to a court.

There is no smoke of gunpowder, but the tension does not diminish at all.

The stage has changed to social, but the essence has not changed, and on this basis, politics has even been extended.

And the Lamanites about it.

Hand to hand.

Duke Julionde was a small man.

With a height of no more than 1.65 meters and a weight of no more than 50 kilograms, he looks quite thin.

In addition, with the long mustache on his face that was popular among the nobles in the south of the empire, the whole face looked even more narrow and thin. With the pale skin that lives in the castle all year round and lacks sunlight, he looks like a weak scholar.

But the duke himself was clearly not satisfied with this.

There was silence for a few minutes after entering the tent, which was the time they used to "judge people by their appearances" — or, to put it more rigorously, to judge the person they were dealing with in various details.

The tent is large, and the interior space is huge and extremely luxurious.

The inner layer is made entirely of velvet, the outermost layer is made of waterproof canvas, and animal fur is sandwiched in the middle to keep you warm in this weather.

The cost of materials for this area alone is enough to buy 5 sets of full-body armor, not counting the labor and various details of embroidery.

The Duke sat high on a mahogany chair so high that his feet were off the ground, and he even had to kneel on the ground as a step to walk up, and the act that made him look tall and mighty did not stop there, but his helmet and armor with gold and silver and huge feathers were more pompous than all of the above combined.

The term 'Maurpy' Mira came to her mind, and although she had never actually seen it, and had only read about it in books on the islands south of the Extreme Eastern Moon Country, it was clearly in line with the image of the Duke of Julionde.

The three-meter-long bright red cloak, with its exaggerated feather decorations, and the fact that a dozen attendants had to carry the cloak and hold the feathers just by stepping down from the chair, seemed extremely pompous, and although it was ridiculous in the eyes of the soldiers, it was not something that the powerless and the wealthy could afford.

Facing the crowd who had just entered the door of the tent, the dust was still covered with snow, and it was obvious that they wanted to solve this matter quickly.

Julionde, however, deliberately slowed down.

His speech and movements were slow and exquisite, as if he was not in the wilderness of a bloody battlefield a kilometer away, but in the garden of the palace backyard, enjoying afternoon tea and desserts.

It seems like a stupid thing to put on a show and embarrass people, but in connection with the current situation, his calculations about our Luoan girl may not be able to understand it, but Konstantin and Henry know it.

The duke may have been arrogant and inexperienced in combat, but when it came to playing politics, he was a very good Lamanite nobleman.

He knew why he was here, and he deliberately made this gesture of being slow and easy.

Apparently wanted, bargained.

The commander-in-chief of an army of 10,000 people, this position requires a lot of responsibility. Despite being a duke, there are more than one or two dukes in the vast Padrossi Empire. Because of his own haste and misjudgment, the army directly lost half of it, and even if he could win the war after this, a large amount of money such as the bereavement of the families of these fallen soldiers and the retraining of the army would inevitably fall on his head.

If he wins, he will be glorious, but if he loses like this, he will inevitably suffer all kinds of accusations from above, and he needs to take this responsibility.

It is true that the current emperor of the empire has a weak temperament and can be bullied, and even a young nobleman like Julionde, who has just inherited the title, is not afraid at all. But there was also no unity within the aristocratic circles, and there were not a few princes who were like jackals, tigers and leopards and dukes in other regions who had all kinds of minor struggles with his family, and if they were given a voice, these people would certainly not let go of this opportunity.

There is a popular saying among combat professionals.

Excellent swordsman, the master of martial arts, was already thinking about the next step or even several steps when carrying out this attack.

In politics, the urgent and bloody war continues, and Julionde has begun to think about how to find a step down.

Without words, Henry understood why Konstantin and his party were waiting for them at the door of the battalion commander.

Although His Excellency seemed ruthless at times, he was essentially a perennial soldier and a leader in a high position. He is bent on solving the current incident, so he pursues the very military, orderly and purposeful creed of "make use of everything that can be used, don't care about the process, as long as the result is good".

Politicians tend to be left and right, and their own interests are the first thing to think about rather than how things are resolved. Unless they are able to get out of the way, they are rarely very focused and desperate about something.

The typical military thinking is to achieve the purpose of the mission, vigorously and resolutely, in order to achieve the goal of the moment everything can be put down.

Konstantin belongs to the latter, and when he encounters a guy like Julionde, who clearly belongs to the former, he will not be helpless, but at least he will find it very difficult to deal with.

A good negotiator, a first-class politician knows how to get away with it.

When they know that they have what the other person wants, no matter how their hearts fluctuate, they will also make a comfortable appearance and wait for the other person to speak first.

This is to grasp the initiative to make the opponent fall into their own rhythm, in a negotiation the first to open the party will inevitably become the "demanding" party, so in the aura and requirements and so on these aspects become passive, often by the latter side of the end of the various unfavorable demands, and can not resist.

What Julionde was planning, Constantine understood, and Henry understood very well.

The silence and the opulent tent in an eerie and peaceful atmosphere formed an extreme contrast with the heavy snow and bloody rain outside.

Just as the Sivaliers always had a way of describing everything as a woman, the Lamanites had the gift of being able to turn anything into a political struggle just by putting them together.

Intrigue is the norm for them, and as long as it is profitable, then they will start fighting. Even if it seems unprofitable, it's just that you don't have enough skills to see it.

What Julionde wants to do.

It is nothing more than passing the buck.

In layman's terms, he needs a role with enough status to take on all this to help him carry this black cauldron of failure.

Because of his own stupidity and arrogance, he did not accept Edvarin's advice, which led to the army being taken by surprise. Moreover, because of his shallow experience, he acted and lacked a sense of the overall situation, and after taking the first blow, he did not let the army stay where he was put and sort out the chaos of order and control, but directly threw the follow-up troops into this war of attrition that was bound to be defeated.

The army of more than 10,000 people has lost more than half of it in just a few hours, and it is still being consumed at this point in time when the two sides are negotiating.

Konstantin came to take command, change the battle plan to stop the loss, and try to get everything back on track.

This is the card that Julionde has in his hand.

To be sure, he would have liked to cede this position, which has now become a hot potato, to Konstantin, but what if he didn't negotiate at this step, what if he won?

Yes, the situation is very unoptimistic.

But what if there is a victory?

This guy will be saddled with all kinds of glorious names like the savior and the reincarnation of the god of war, and he will face huge indemnities, other nobles taking advantage of the fire, and most importantly, the loss of face for a nobleman.

So if you negotiate here, the status of the two sides will be reversed. Konstantin did not "take over" the command halfway, but "commanded from the beginning", and it was himself who joined halfway and saved the defeat -

In this way, if he fails, there is no problem in withdrawing his own troops, as long as he puts all the blame on the other party.

Although he was the one who took command in the first place, he could have found all sorts of ways to justify himself.

For example –

"For example, what means did the other party use to coerce you into relinquishing your command, right—" Henry shrugged, and Julionde stayed where he was, and the hot wine that the servant was about to pour into his cup did not catch it, and poured it all over the ground.

But before Julionde could scold his servant, everyone listened to the sage speak in a calm tone.

"As you wish. ”

"Qiang—"

Kramer drew two perfect diagonal lines.

Duke Julionde's feathers and cloak fell, and the servants clung to half of the ornament in shock, and the guards hurried to rush up, but many of them had stood in the doorway a few minutes earlier and witnessed the almost one-sided torture of the giant ghouls by Henry and Orno.

A moment of hesitation allowed the sage to successfully hold the Duke hostage.

Juliand, who was in the tent, did not know, because he did not see it.

But compared to this practice of impressing the other party through outward behavior, our Sage is several notches above a guy like him who only relies on his clothes.

Henry glanced at Konstantin, while Mira watched the silent exchange between the two very god-like men.

His own teacher was asking the knight chief with those gray-blue eyes.

It is clearly written on the face.

"Are you satisfied?"

- She suddenly realized something, but then everyone's attention was interrupted again by Henry's voice.

"Ahh ”

"You are thinking that I am a dignified duke, sitting on power and people, and even other nobles must give me a little more face, what is wrong in this person's brain to draw a sword and intimidate me. ”

"But, Lord Duke, lo and behold. He flashed the badge on his body: "I'm not a knight who can't run away with a fief and a name, and needs to take care of your nobles' fancy intestines, and needs to pay attention to political struggles." ”

"I'm just a mercenary. Henry smiled calmly, but none of the Lamanite nobles standing across from him could smile.

"What you may not realize is that we're not in a safe area where you can bargain. ”

"It's that anyone can die at any time, facing a witch, facing a battlefield of a group of undead. ”

"Got it?"

"Anyone. He reiterated the word.

"Mercenaries are paid to do things, and unfortunately I prefer to trust the knight next to me than you who likes to play politics and is still thinking about how to protect your interests at such a critical juncture. ”

"So if I survive, I'd rather deal with him than with you. ”

"You see, I'm not like you, my life isn't that valuable. ”

"I know you're probably already thinking about how to get revenge on me right now, but I'd suggest you'd better take a look at your guards and see if any of them have the guts to rush up now. ”

"If they really had the courage to save you, they would have rushed up early in the morning, didn't they? Henry said, and Julionde turned his head and glared viciously at the timid guards.

"So, do you want to try your luck now, and see what a worthless mercenary who is likely to die in this battle will do in a state of extreme irritability. ”

"Do you think your life is worth as much as this mercenary?"

It's a plain narrative, but it hits the frailty of Julionde's heart.

He looked at Konstantin, but the knight chief just pretended not to know anything.

In this game of identity in order to obtain an identity, in the end, the party with the least identity has the greatest freedom of action to change the situation.

There was a class struggle between the aristocracy and the nobility, and Constantine could not do so, but Henry was different.

He's just a free mercenary, a free mercenary everywhere in the world.

As a traditional Lamanite nobleman and upstream, Juliond naturally had a contempt for such individual mercenaries.

And the sage took a fancy to this, so he rebuked him.

Ask this man who values his life and interests more than anything else, whether his life is equivalent to this lowly mercenary.

Sure enough, it ended, Julionde.

Hung his head.

"I see, I'll do as you ask. ”

"Ahh

“......”

The silent transfer of power lasted a little over a minute, adding up to their goal in less than ten minutes after the Sage and his party had entered the tent.

"Thank you. Konstantin whispered as he passed by Henry, then raised his voice and began to quickly deploy and direct various personnel.

Frightened into a cold sweat, Julionde, who was in a very complicated mood, sat down in his huge chair with a sluggish face, and no one paid attention to him.

"You're being taken advantage of by him. The girl said to the sage.

"I know. And Henry shrugged: "But in this case, our interests are aligned." ”

"So it's ...... to deliberately bring in ghouls all the way," Mira looked at Orno, who shrugged his shoulders as Henry did, "Do the drama well." ”

"But then he retaliated—" The girl was still a little worried.

"Don't be afraid, he used cognitive interference. Again, the elf spat out a word she didn't quite understand, but felt she ought to know.

"Cognitive...... Interference?" she asked rhetorically in a blunt pronunciation.

"A type of witchcraft that uses words and deeds to induce the other person's mind in order to leave a false impression that the other person cannot remember—" "She will know later, it's too early to learn." Henry held out his hand to stop Horno from proceeding, and Mira, somewhat confused, turned her gaze back to her teacher, who reached out and ruffled her hair.

“...... Bad grown-in-law. Miss Luo An rolled her eyes.

“...... It's coming. Horno's expression became serious.

"Hmm. ”

And in the snow, Henry exhaled a white breath and said lightly.

"It's like—"

"And the view of Aurora that day. ”