Half an hour later,

Buck returned to the conference hall on time, his apparently calm as a pool of stagnant water, and when he walked into the conference room, all eyes were on him.

But Buck only had Pedi in his eyes, and he walked straight in front of Pedi a few meters away and bowed.

Pedi was pleased with Barker's courteous but graceful performance, and when the strong smell of blood on the other party's body reached his nostrils, he said, "I have proposed to Duke Ake that you form the command of the Combined Fleet at Danmore Military Port, and that you take the position of Chief of Staff of the Combined Fleet this time...

The official appointment will be delivered to you from both Fort Kawal and the Hoko Islands, and you are now a Commodore of the Imperial Navy in the archives of the Imperial War Department... General Barker, isn't that a wonderful name?"

Pedi could imagine what had happened in the half-hour that had just begun, and while it wouldn't have caused Buck to break with his former pirate men, the rift was still growing.

Therefore, Pedi will not be stingy with his reward.

"Thank you very much, my lord. Buck's face grew more respectful.

The performance of everyone in the conference room varied, and the officers of the third detachment couldn't help but look at the blood stains that appeared in the Uchisugi under Barker's white naval uniform, and some of the young officers tried to come forward to question, but were pressed by their companions to the left and right.

"Commodore Barker, congratulations, you will be the first Chief of Staff of the first Combined Fleet in the history of the Empire. Sir Befit, the mayor of Seka, rose from his seat in congratulations, his face full of sincerity.

Buck bowed down again when he heard this, and subconsciously tugged at the corners of the white navy uniform on his body to hide the bloodstains inside.

...

At one p.m. on August 28,

On the main street of Karen City, the emissary of the Earl of Coric - Dana of Fort Zekora galloped on a fast horse.

Twenty minutes later,

The messenger of the Earl of Corridge met the Duke of Brady Dryley in the main hall of the Château de Eli.

The messenger brought bad news:

The dwarven 20,000 hoplites at Fort Zekora began to retreat towards the Lordan Mountains and refused to carry out all orders from the Supreme Commander of the Fort Zekora Theater, Count Corridge!

The young Duke of Braderidley's heart sank when he saw the news, and he confirmed it five times to the messenger, but the answer was the same.

Sir Hilbert, the castle steward, advised the young duke when he was at a loss, "Your Excellency, you should summon the dwarven representative of Karen, your best friend, the seventeenth son of the dwarven king Novat, Chelt Copperbeard, who may know the exact reason for the retreat of the dwarves of Fort Zecora. ”

An hour later,

Also in the main hall of Château d'Eli, the young Duke met his dwarven friend whom he hadn't seen for half a month.

"My friend, since you took your father's scepter, you have hardly come to me. But Chert sat down casually on a chair in the hall, and with his hands full of soot, he straightened his long beard on his chest and said, "Why is there no wine, my friend?" ”

Braderidley stepped down from his throne as a duke on top of his throne and said to Sir Hilbert beside him, "Give our dwarven friend a cask of the best ale." ”

"You're always so generous. The dwarven prince said heartily.

"The friendship between the Cliff family and the dwarven kingdom has lasted for nearly five hundred years, and the Cullen Leader has always been generous to the dwarven kingdom, not to mention, you are also a close friend of Duke Cliff..."The young duke sat down next to the dwarven prince, "But, Kechert, I think you should explain to your allies why the dwarven army at Fort Zecora suddenly withdrew?"

"Fort Zecora," the dwarven prince Kochert was stunned, muttering to himself as he repeated the words of Duke Bradidley, "Oh damn it, I forgot, oh my God, I forgot!"

But Chert jumped out of his chair as he spoke, his eyes changed as he stared at Bradidley, and after a few seconds of silence, he said, "About six or seven days ago, I received a message from the royal court, and they asked me to inform you that the troops of Fort Zekora would be withdrawn in the near future... You know, sometimes it's easy for me to forget things when I'm busy, and I'm going crazy with the damn orders..."

"Why?" interrupted his friend's chatter, the young duke "The Dwarven Court has not interfered in the affairs of the Karen Territory for more than a hundred years, besides, according to our alliance agreement, you are obliged to send troops to assist when the orcs attack the Karen Territory, don't forget, the Karen Territory is our common territory, and in the past three hundred years, the Cliff family has never forgotten the oath made by their ancestors, do you want to break the oath now?"

"I haven't been back for almost thirty years, how do I know why? Maybe my father is sleeping, or maybe the people of the royal court have other plans...", but Chert shrugged, "This is the first time I have received a letter from the royal court in ten years. ”

Duke Braderidley frowned at Kochert's indifferent expression, "Karen Ling needs the help of allies now, Kechert, you should know that on the opposite side of Zecora Fort, there are nearly 100,000 orcs in the army, they can attack Karen Ling at any time, you should write to your father to tell your father the real situation here, instead of staying in that useless workshop all day and wielding your blacksmith hammer!"

The more the young duke spoke, the more excited he became, and by the last sentence he had uttered utterly.

"You shouldn't question the work of the dwarves, especially their blacksmith hammers!" said Chert, with a look of displeasure on his face, "because that's our honor and dignity." ”

"It's just the two of us here, to hell with honor and dignity!" Duke Bradidley spoke in a fierce voice, but spoke in a calm tone, "So, I have no intention of offending you, you must understand that the current Cullen Territory is not stable, my uncles are coveting the title of Duke above my head all the time, the vassals are beginning to doubt my leadership skills after the Battle of Klan Territory, and I now need the support of the dwarven army." ”

But Chert rubbed his long beard with his dark hands and said, "I warned you a long time ago that you can't marry Ferrola, that will put you in a passive situation, if you like her, you can make her your lover and canonize her a corresponding title... The nobility of the empire and even the emperor did this. ”

In the Karen, only this dwarven prince dares to say these things now, and he is telling the truth, because Bradidley pushed down the marriage he had already negotiated with the Anto family of Berdingburg in order to get engaged to Ferrora, which made the Anto family laugh at the entire empire for a time.

If the Duke of Chester is in power, this is not a problem, he can make all the different voices disappear, but the problem is that the Duke of Chester has died, so the attitude of the Anto family began to become ambiguous after the defeat of the war in the Crane Territory.

At the same time, the Duke of Bradidley married Ferrola, and almost destroyed all the royal family's support for him!

"You should understand my attitude on this very well, so I hope you don't say such things again in the future. "Braderidley has the same attitude towards anyone on this issue.

"Well... All right. The dwarven prince shrugged, "I will write to the Dwarven Court to tell you about the difficulties you are experiencing, but I can't guarantee that I will be able to convince my father, however, I will call up an army of dwarves for you to support Fort Zecora, in accordance with our ancient covenant, but you should know that I can only use the dwarves in Karen territory, so I will support you with at most one legion." ”

"It's a bonus, so please hurry up. Duke Braderidley's face looked a little better.

"I'll do my best, but before we do, let's have a drink. But Prince Chert saw the ale in the hands of the servants behind the castle steward.

...

Hammer Bunker Court,

Under the throne of the dwarven king Nuat, the two generals of the Thunderspear family and the gray iron family were staring at a map that had just been prepared.

Because, King Novat told them that now, the unsuspecting Western Continent was waiting for their conquest.

"Novat, have you decided?" General Yakrot of the Thunderspear clan had a worried look on his face, "It's not a trivial matter to take the initiative to provoke a war, and once a war starts, it's not something we can stop if we want to." ”

King Novat had confidence on his face, "Humans and orcs are fighting for dominance on the continent, and the orcs on the western continent can barely come up with a decent army, I believe that with the strength in our hands, we can settle the battle within a month... I don't need much success, the territory of the Ice Maple Clan is enough, and I believe that if the resources in this land can be owned by our people, we will definitely become a kingdom side by side with the Human Empire. ”

"I heard you've withdrawn the Cullen's army?" said the Grey Iron Clan's Branding General, "That's not a good idea, Nuvat, the dwarves and the Cullen are interdependent, and the Karen Lords need our support now. ”

"Attacking the orc's lair is the best help for Karen Collar. King Nowat's eyes were bright.

General Branding shook his head and said, "I'm afraid they won't hold out until then... As far as I know, there are less than 30,000 human defenders in Zecora Fort, the largest number of troops that the Cullens can assemble right now, and they are facing an army of nearly 100,000 orcs. ”

King Novat retorted, "In the town of Kwyn, the human race has gathered an army of nearly 200,000 men. ”

General Akrot shrugged, "Karen led the young duke to lose the support of their emperor because of a woman. ”

"Don't underestimate the wisdom of an emperor, my friend. ”

"But emperors are generally very stubborn. ”

"Are you talking about me?"

"If you think so!"

King Novat looked directly at General Alokette: "Well, my friends, if you don't want me to forcibly use the king's power, then follow my orders and gather our warriors, and, as soon as possible." ”

After the two generals looked at each other, General Branding replied: "You are the king, of course, you have the final say..."