"What kind of identity are you, how dare you talk to adults like this"

Teterriggs stood in front of Dale William from the side, one hand held the hilt of the sword at his waist, his tall and strong body was like a wall, and a strong oppressive force spread out of his body, like a sharp sword that suddenly emerged from the darkness, with a sharp edge that people dare not face seriously,

Regardless of the other party's identity, his duty was to protect the safety of Dale William, and as the leader of the knights of the Guards of the Reign Warriors, he was absolutely sure that he would pierce the throat of this fat man before he had any attempts

The other dozen or so knights also stood up in unison, staring at the fat man with vigilant eyes, if it weren't for the guards behind the fat man, they would have rushed up and caught this suspicious fat man

The atmosphere in the tavern suddenly became tense, and the drinkers who were still making noise just now also noticed that a trace of extremely unnatural things were spreading in the tavern, which was the smell of blood, and they all hid far away

"Knight Captain Tetriggs don't need to be so nervous, I believe that this Excellency has no ill will towards us" Dale William walked out from behind Tetriggs with a solemn expression, and waved his hand to the vigilant knights around him, "Everyone sit down, don't forget that this is Vekia, it is rude to draw a sword on someone else's territory"

"Someone else's territory?" is it ......?"

Hearing Dale William's particularly aggravated tone, Tetriggs' strong body trembled slightly, and the momentum that was still powerful just now suddenly stagnated, his gaze stagnated, and even the focus in his pupils was a little scattered,

No wonder even adults are so jealous of this person, in front of this powerful man like the god of war, such a thing as momentum is simply self-inflicted

"Hehe, I'm lucky that Your Excellency still remembers whose territory this is, otherwise, I don't mind letting you stay here for a while" The fat man sat at the table, looking at Dale William with a nervous expression on the other side, like seeing an old friend who had not seen him for many years, rather than a tense opponent

"Forced by the shape, there is a scene of war everywhere, only Vekia is still a little safe in the whole continent, and I ask the Grand Duke to forgive me for this matter" Dale William saluted apologetically, and then sat down respectfully, his hands flat on his thighs, and his body was as tall as a javelin,

"This guy is really a character"

Seeing Dale William's respectful and distanced posture, the fat man sighed slightly in his heart, he knew that at this moment, Dale William had returned from a stowaway to the position of the Minister of War of Rui Erdian, and the other party's sophistication was amazing, and he recovered from the unexpected blow so quickly, so that his plan to use this sudden attack to disrupt the defense line in the other party's heart was frustrated

"Forget it, people who can move forward in the dark will naturally not care about the etiquette of the world," the fat man shrugged his shoulders and said with a leisurely face

"What do you mean by that?" Dale William's expression was solemn, and his two eyebrows were twisted into a Sichuan character in the center of his eyebrows, and the other party's pun undoubtedly touched his heart

Feeling the vibration of Dale William's heart, the corners of the fat man's mouth grinned slightly, knowing that the other party's state of mind had been disrupted by himself, he continued indifferently

"Don't be nervous, I'm waiting for you here tonight, in addition to being entrusted, there is one more thing I want to tell Your Excellency"

"Oh, entrusted?" Dale William's face was slightly stunned, and his eyes swept over Berlant Bonnie behind the fat man, just now, he had already recognized this cold woman, the only daughter of his former companion Duke Berlant, the grudge of the year has passed away with the wind,

The death of Duke Berlant is widely discussed in Ruierdian, and there are various versions of the content, but in the eyes of a seasoned politician like Dale William, it is easy to get the truth of the matter from various channels, and Berlant's death is completely a kind of self-redemption, for the sake of the family, and for Ruierdian,

Only Dale William is best able to understand the true meaning of Duke Berlant proposing before his death, to bait himself

Take your body as bait

Hooked the 30,000 cavalry of the Eastern Court, and also hooked the eyes of all the forces in the country of Ruierdian, if Berant did not die, those generals of the Southern Army who were temporarily transferred back from the south and suppressed by the Roude people would not work as hard as they do now, and now they know how many coveted eyes there are, staring at the title of marshal of the kingdom that is hanging high in the air and representing the highest honor of the soldiers, this invisible incentive is far more important than all kinds of substantive rewards for knights who regard honor as more important than life

"Don't get me wrong, it's the Dongting people who entrusted me" The fat man waved his hand to Dale William, interrupting all kinds of conjectures in his mind, "I don't know where they got the news, the Dongting people sent a messenger to tell us that they are willing to pay 300,000 gold coins to leave your head, but I refused, I will not kill an upright person for money, even if he is my opponent",

"300,000 gold coins, I didn't expect my head to be so valuable"

Dale William responded indifferently, in fact, the hands under the table have been clenched into fists, this time, he has already put life and death aside, but the leak of this news, in addition to shocking him, is more of a heart-wrenching pain,

Knowing about this twin plan, except for the king's majesty, there were only a few core ministers, who first emitted fake smoke to avoid most of the eyes of the outside world on the grounds of injury, and then let the military undersecretary Prais set off from Paravon openly, while he took a shortcut to the border of Vekia, and went straight to the negotiation site Amira non-stop.

Light and dark two lines, no matter which side encounters an accident, there will be a person to reach Amira, this plan can be described as perfect, but in this remote town, he was blocked by the Vekia Falcon, the route, the time card is just right, to say that there is no mole, then it is really hell,

At this moment, Prais, who is only afraid of another route, will not be much better, and all kinds of conspiracies must be with him.

The two people who are advancing in the same darkness are risking all kinds of dangers to move forward, and those in power in Parabun have not forgotten to dump each other for the sake of interests, and this kind of behavior of doing nothing and pulling back their backs is not only hateful but also pitiful

"With this lord here, I'm safe, you guys go outside to guard first" Dale William looked at the knights around him, waved his hand without saying anything, and waited until all the knights retreated outside the tavern before turning his head to look at the fat man and said, "The Grand Duke came in person, I'm afraid that I didn't just come to tell me how much my head is worth."

"Haha, it's funny" The fat man waved his hand and whispered a few times to a follower behind him, "The environment here is a bit messy, you guys clean it up, and wait outside"

"Yes, my lord" the captain of the guard nodded, waved his hand to several guards, and soon, the entire tavern was cleared, and the captain of the guard placed a dozen cups of hot ale on the long table between the two, and gently closed the wooden door of the tavern,

In the empty tavern, the sweet smell of ale is rippling,

Fat Man and Dale William sat opposite each other at a long table

"This is the sweetest ale in Molhaus, but I specially let someone transport it from the city of Murhausk as a landlord, so such a treat is not rude," the fat man raised the hot rye wine in his hand, took a sip, wiped the ale foam from the corner of his mouth with his hand, and continued

"I am waiting for you this time, in addition to being entrusted by others, there is another reason, I want to see if, as your creed is, your loyalty belongs only to the state, not to the so-called king"

"I don't understand what you mean?" Dale William's face did not fluctuate, and in his gray pupils, his eyes were as bright as two sharp blades, which seemed to be able to penetrate people's hearts, but this was obviously useless to the fat man opposite,

Dipping his hand in the beer in the wine glass, the fat man drew a curve on the long table between the two, and at the end of the curve, the word "Amira" was written.

"Even if you are willing to brave such a heavy snowstorm, this should be your destination, right?"

The fat man looked at the other party's surprised gaze, and after a while he continued, "If I sue you that someone has just purchased a large number of weapons in my Wiki and asked to be shipped to the three northern counties of your Ruierdian, I wonder how Your Excellency will react?"

"What, you said the three northern counties are procuring weapons?" Dale William's face was full of shock, and he slammed his fist on the long table in front of him, and his angry voice almost squeezed out of his nose

"These bastards, do they know what they're doing? What's the difference between expanding the army without authorization and rebellion?"

The news even made Dale William get up from his seat and paced back and forth in front of the table, his face was pale, and the composure he had just now was gone.

Obviously, the three northern counties have received the news in advance, and in order to protect their own interests, the lords of the three northern counties, without the authorization of the kingdom's military department, have privately expanded their armies on a large scale.

This is no less than an ominous omen before a storm,

Although Rui Erdian is a feudal lord country, but the power limit of local lords has always been the most important policy of the royal family, in the past, it can still rely on prestige and powerful knights to control these local lords who are about to move, but now in this situation of insufficient troops, once someone first raises the banner of rebellion, it will be disastrous for the entire Rui Erdian,

Floating ambition is far more terrible than a burning fire

Once the internal strife erupts, it will inevitably lead to a complete collapse of the front, and the brutal Kujit cavalry will likely completely erase the kingdom of Ruierdian from the map, just like the Ikadiwa Empire back then, and become a victim of the nomadic cavalry.

"You and I both know very well that the matter of the three northern counties is a foregone conclusion, and in a month at most, this rebellion will ruin Rui Erdian," the fat man said in a muffled voice with a gloomy expression beside him

"If you want to make amends, there is only one way, not to go to Amira and sign the treaty that ruined you, but immediately turn back to Parabun, let Prais sign this treaty, and then you declare Prais a traitor in the name of the Minister of War and the treaty he signed is null and void."

The fat man's voice paused, and he looked at Dale William, who was pale, before continuing

"You will become the hero of Rui Erdian, you will prevent a traitorous incident in time, the three northern counties will think that you are their backer, will treat you as their best friend, you only need a letter of appointment, they will come to Kyoto with all their hearts, when the time comes, what to do with it is not your word"

"You're making me betray my partner"

Dale William turned his head angrily, and looked at the fat man with puffed eyes for a long time, before he sat back in his seat like a deflated ball, and Dale William, who vowed not to drink again, picked up the rye wine on the table, poured a deep sip, and the cloudy eyeballs were ignited by red bloodshots, as if burning

Although he didn't want to admit it in his heart, Dale William knew that what the fat man said was right, when he was thinking about the whole situation, he forgot the reaction of the three northern counties, no one wants to sit still, as long as there is a glimmer of opportunity, someone will fight for it,

The three northern counties have been important areas for iron ore production for generations, but they are also the areas with the strictest weapons control.

In previous years, 90% of the iron ore had to be transported to Parabun, now this chaotic situation, Paraven has no energy to take care of the arms control of the three northern counties, the rebellion is imminent, it is very likely that when he signs his name on the treaty, the banner of the rebellion will be erected in the three northern counties at the same time, once this fire is ignited in the north, it will soon spread to the entire Rui Erdian with the momentum of the prairie fire, at that time, I am afraid that even if there is the power to return to the sky, I can only face the dilapidated Rui Erdian

"Okay, let's not talk about this, let everyone in, let's have a good drink tonight" The fat man stood up and patted the annoyed Dale William, I have to admit that this old nobleman of Ruier has a kind of human brilliance shining on him,

In the early morning, the heavy snow stopped, and the golden morning light filtered out from behind the dense clouds, illuminating the sky of Bate Town.

Dale William's body swayed slightly, and he walked into the carriage with the help of the knight chief Tetriggs, and at the moment when the carriage started, Dale William lifted the curtain of the carriage and glanced at the wooden door of the tavern with a complicated expression, before letting the knight in front start the carriage

"My lord, don't you want to keep him?

In the tavern, Berlant Bonnie looked at the fat man with a puzzled expression, this slut drank more than a dozen glasses of rye wine last night, and his face was still crimson, and he was full of wine.

"I've already kept it, but you don't know" The fat man raised his head, glanced at it drunkly, and twitched his nose, the breath of the pretty female knight Rulan was more intoxicating than rye wine,

Berant Bonnie, who felt that she had been taken advantage of, looked at the fat man with a slightly red face, suspecting that this guy was talking drunk at all, and couldn't help chuckling and said, "My lord, I'm afraid I haven't woken up yet, but I watched the Marquis William of Dale get into the car with my own eyes."

"When people leave, it's the same if the heart stays here" The fat man smiled in reply, and his face was drunk and hazy

"What do you mean?" Blante Bonnie looked dazed, talking nonsense early in the morning, this dead fat man can't be drinking stupidly

"The wind is sluggish and the water is cold, and the strong man will never return" The fat man shook his head, muttered something in a low voice that no one could understand, turned around, and pushed open the small wooden door of the tavern,

The cold wind blew in his face, and when he raised his head, his eyes were white

Three days later, a message came from Amira that shocked the entire continent,

Marquis William Dale, Minister of War of Raldian, was stabbed to death in his room by the Marquis de Prais, the Under-Secretary of War of Réven, who came to stop him from signing a secret treaty with the Kugits.

With the news that shocked the mainland, the content of the treaty that shocked the whole country also came out from internal channels, and the Marquis William of Dale, who was deeply loved by the nobles, actually wanted to secretly sign an agreement with the bloody Kugit people to cede the three northern counties.

For a time, the whole country was in an uproar, and countless Raldian nobles rushed to the streets of Paravon, extremely angry and demanded that the royal family be punished by the Dale family, and as for Prais, who was imprisoned for assassinating his boss, he became a nationally acclaimed hero, and was unanimously recommended by many generals from the front line to succeed Dale William as the new Minister of War

When this information reached Berlant Bonnie,

Bonnie, who was boiling blue crushed grass juice for the fat man, dropped the precious snow ivory carved crushed snow cup in her hand on the ground, and the snow-like texture was immediately smashed, making the fat man tremble in distress

That was a precious gift that Nilai gave to the fat man before he left Salander,

It is said to come from a kingdom called Snow Island on a different continent, which is a vast land of glaciers, rich in a huge beast of prey, this animal is called the snow elephant by the local residents.

Their teeth were as bright as light and extremely strong, and the inhabitants of Snow Island gathered the teeth of these beasts, took the smoothest and whitest tooth roots, and carved them into this crushed snow cup.

Strange to say, once the originally strong teeth leave the body of the snow elephant, they will become extremely brittle and fine, and they will be broken into pieces with a little force, which also makes this kind of snow cup particularly cherished.

According to Nilai, even in Salander, there were no more than three such snow cups, one in the hands of the royal family, one in the hands of her mentor, and one in the hands of his father, which was later left to her as an inheritance

"Didn't you already know about this result?"

Thinking of the fat man's inexplicable words, Berlant Bonnie's eyes flashed with adoration, and now she finally knew the meaning of the fat man's phrase "The strong man is gone".

For Bonnie's question, the fat man's rare face was solemn, and he didn't answer,

Although he had long guessed that this would be the result, when he really heard it, the fat man felt a little sorry in his heart, if he hadn't broken it himself, maybe Dale William would not have made this cruel choice

"A nobleman who walks in the dark"

The fat man sighed slightly in his heart, this nobleman who buried himself forever under the dark and ugly reputation was much brighter than the filthy powers of Paraven, and on his spine was the real responsibility of the aristocratic elite of a kingdom.