"Everyone's here?"

With a straight face, the Marquis de Lois, the Minister of War, handed his cloak and top hat to an attendant who also had a poker face, and the man nodded and gestured to the side of the corridor.

"Please come this way. ”

The other attendant nodded respectfully and led the noble marquis to the depths of the corridor.

This is a suburban estate about an hour's drive from Lüdders, in an elegant and quiet setting, surrounded by a railway. The estate has three meeting rooms, three kitchens, two dining rooms, eleven rooms, a large garden, an underground wine cellar, and a centuries-old watchtower.

On the surface, this is no different from the rich manor houses on the outskirts of Lüdes, and it is a bit shabby compared to those luxurious estates that resemble castles. But there are small benefits, and for those who avoid the crowds and plot some kind of head-killing business, there is no place for them to feel more at ease than the underground of this manor.

"Gentlemen, we must hurry up or it will be too late. ”

As soon as the soundproof door of the darkroom was closed, the Marquis could not wait to shout.

"How's the contact going?"

A group of officers and bureaucrats in civilian clothes looked at each other for a while, and after a long pause, the big men in front of them bowed their heads like a group of schoolchildren who had made mistakes.

There is no need to speak, just look at the posture and know that it is not optimistic.

"What? Are they not happy with our terms, or are they asking us too much for us?"

"This ......"

Colonel Jacob, the chief of the intelligence service, who was in charge of making contact with Alfheim, looked around for a moment, except for the Minister of War, and the eyes of the participants were all looking elsewhere, and there was no intention of helping him share the pressure. The intelligence leader sighed in his heart while cheering himself up.

"The other side has no intention of negotiating with us at all......"

"What did you say?!"

The Marquis's roar almost tore over the entire basement, and the attendees, who had experienced a similar shock just ten minutes earlier, didn't even have the strength to smile bitterly, just stared at the table or their toes, allowing the Marquis's anger to ferment in the suffocating atmosphere.

"Colonel, what the hell is going on? I hope you will give me a reasonable explanation at once. If you can't, or you can't even do your part. I feel that someone else should take over, and quickly, so as not to waste our precious time. ”

As an upper-class nobleman who received a full set of elite education since childhood, even at the moment when he was in a hurry, the Marquis of Loire still maintained a perfect aristocratic demeanor. But anyone could hear the marquis's anger in those cold words, not to mention the last part of the threat that was not much disguised.

As a middle manager who "knows too much", being replaced by someone means a dead end. After all, everyone knows that only the dead can keep a secret completely, and in the current form, an accident of a colonel or the suicide of an entire family is not even news.

Colonel Jacob's face turned pale in an instant, and he desperately suppressed the fear and anxiety in his heart, and reported to the unkind-faced Marquis in the smoothest voice possible:

"Your Excellency, Lord of War, please allow me to report-"

Fast forward to three days ago, Serres, Innsbruck.

"Colonel, do you call this a negotiating condition and good faith?"

Officer Stasi, who was carrying the Major General's star on his shoulder, shook the paper in his hand and raised an eyebrow, making no secret of his sarcasm.

"Retain Charlemagne's army structure, pay an indemnity of 100 million guineas, to be paid in installments over 20 years, with annual interest to be negotiated, and cede three overseas colonies. Agen Toratong was recognized as the territory of Alfheim, the Defence Forces withdrew from Lorraine, Lorraine Tower was a demilitarized zone, not a single soldier was allowed to enter the country, the administration was managed by the officials of both sides, and the ownership of Lorraine Tower was decided by international consultation after 50 years...... I have to say, you Charlemagnes are so cute, you actually treat war as a child's play. Judging from this list of peace talks, it seems that you are the victors in the war. ”

"Your Excellency, we ......"

Smack-

Before Colonel Jacob could utter his words, Reinhard Heydrich threw the document in the poor man's face, and the flying paper scattered along with the pride of the Chief of Army Intelligence.

"Colonel. ”

Heydrich tilted his neck, comfortably buried his back in the velvet-filled sofa, stroked the Iron Cross of the Second Class on his neckline, the corners of his mouth curled into a cruel smile, and his lake-blue eyes looked at the man who had just recovered from his daze, and his whole body trembled with anger, like a cat playing with mice.

"Remember one thing, you are the vanquished, you have no power and no ability to refuse the demands of the victors. ”

"We did lose, and we're aware of that. But if your country thinks that you can annex Charlemagne like this, and let all Charlemagnes become slaves of the elves, is it a little too much to take it for granted?"

Out of nowhere, a surge of courage surged out, and Colonel Jacob straightened up, his backbone, which had been corroded by power and wealth, to revive again, and supported him to retort loudly.

"This is the bottom line that Charlemagne's people can accept, and we cannot accept to give up more on top of that, neither ceding an inch of land nor giving up a stone. ”

Heydrich listened to Colonel Jacob's generous speech without anger or fear. He just glanced at this man who risked his life to save his country one last time, with an almost pitying gaze.

The colonel had no idea that the Army's hole cards had long been in the hands of Yalfheim. Not only that, but all the forces that have private contact with Alfheim have any hole cards, what resources they have behind them, and what kind of privacy and weakness they have are also clearly seen by Alfheim. What is laughable is that this information is not the result of Stasi's efforts, but the various forces that have contacted Alfheim have provided a bunch of black materials to expose each other. Relying on Charlemagne's own demolition of each other, Alfheim didn't have any effort to figure out Charlemagne's last pair of pants to cover his shame.

Colonel Jacob faced a battle with no hope in sight.

It wasn't even a fight, and Heydrich didn't even give him the chance to fight.

"Colonel. ”

The elven major general shrugged, spread his hands, and made a gesture of indifference.

"I think we've talked enough today. Now please go back and tell those behind you that even if your real bottom line is lowered tenfold, we will not accept any so-called peace talks. No, it should be said, we do not accept any negotiations other than unconditional surrender. Finally, please help me convey the kind advice of His Excellency the Dictator to the military and political leaders of your country. ”

Heydrich took up his military cap, put it on his head, looked at the stunned Colonel Jacob with contempt, and said in an eerie tone peculiar to Officer Stassy:

"His Excellency the Dictator said: 'Soon you will know how empty it is to blind enthusiasm and excessive greed, which can neither fill your stomach nor be used as a weapon.' ”