The streets are bustling with traffic and people. The cries of vendors, the shouts of Giselle jugglers, the banging of blacksmith shops on the roadside, and the ringing of bells and wheels of passing carriages can be heard all the time, creating a lively and prosperous scene.
The scene of families and families running away when the Fei Lie Empire invaded was no longer there, replaced by a continuous stream of convoys and people coming from the north.
Among them were civilians, nobles, merchants, mercenaries and free knights. They wore different clothes, some were in groups, and some were scattered. They traveled thousands of miles to the south and came to this distance
Demons seek refuge or opportunity in the farthest cities.
"We're here."
After being questioned and inspected by the guards, a knight lifted the hood of his cloak, revealing pale hair and a wrinkled face, and smiled at his companions beside him.
This old knight is clearly Luke.
Following Luke's words, several knights who passed through the city gate one after another also lifted their hoods and looked around.
Except for Luke, there were six other people in total, all of whom were quite young. The youngest one seemed to be over fifty years old.
"Hey, old guy, stay out of the way."
Before Luke and others could stand for a while, a group of knights with bright clothes and angry horses escorted a carriage from the city gate. The leading knight frowned and shouted.
"At this age, you still want to come to Lulian to make a living..."
As Luke and the others moved out of the way, horses' hooves and wheels rolled past them on the muddy road. The guarding knight's disdainful sneers attracted the sideways glances of pedestrians on the roadside.
However, facing this impolite voice, several old knights seemed very indifferent. After the convoy passed, they led the horses and walked slowly.
"Luke, have you stayed here for more than ten years?" someone asked.
Luke led the horse and led the way with a smile: "Yes. When I came here, this street was not as lively as it is now. Look at that area... past the white houses, they are all newly built."
"You guys have much better luck than us," Bai He, an old knight with gray hair but still a burly figure, said: "The damn place I stay in is covered with ice and snow for nine months of the year.
Mountain. There are more than 2,000 people in a small town, and half of them are fugitives."
"That's better than me." Another pale-skinned old knight, Michaud, said, "My place is an underground city. Not only does it not see the light of day, but I also deal with a bunch of foul-smelling bandit goblins every day. It would be someone like you, Baihe."
You're such a fussy person, I'm afraid I won't even be able to pray for one hour."
"Who is so picky? My name is cleanliness. But I haven't seen you for more than ten years, and you are still a sloppy kid, Michao. Look at your beard, it's all knotted."
"I did it on purpose!"
"If you want to say it's miserable, you're not as miserable as me..."
"Okay, okay," Luke waved his hands in a dumbfounded voice, and then quieted down a group of old men whose voices were getting louder, "Why don't you compare with this?"
"Why not compete?" The burly old knight Bai He glared and said, "I found the young master, but you, Luke, take all the credit. Are we not allowed to compete for our hard work?"
"That's right." Michaud sighed: "More than ten years have passed in a flash. If you hadn't found me this time, Luke, I thought I would have stayed in that damn place for the rest of my life."
As he said this, everyone sighed.
Walking along the street, passing through a small square, watching a group of pigeons rising into the sky from under their feet, another thin old knight Leng Jin asked: "By the way, Luke. The young master you told us before
Are all those things true?"
"Of course." Luke said.
"He is worthy of being a member of the Hanshan family." Leng Jin admired, "A child who has nothing to rely on can actually break into such a world. He is much better than us old guys."
"No!" Michaud said: "I heard a lot about Lulian in the dungeon. But I didn't expect that these were all done by our young master. When Luke told me, I couldn't believe it.
.”
"After all, the young master is only ten years old this year, right?" Bai He said, "I used to think that Master Roger's talent was terrifying enough. I didn't expect that the young master's talent is ten times higher than his father! If the old captain knew
I don’t know how happy I am..."
When he said this, Bai He suddenly stopped and his expression darkened.
When everyone heard him mention the group leader, their faces didn't look very good.
Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Lu Ke forced a smile.
"Well, across this street, we will reach the Storm Tavern. I think Ji Feng and the others should have arrived long ago. We old brothers haven't seen each other in more than ten years, so we have to get together today."
"Yes!" Mi Xiao cheered up and said with a smile: "I don't know if that guy Ji Feng has been drinking too much. He used to get drunk and crazy when he drank. Today we have to make him drunk."
Bai He on the side said: "Don't be in a hurry to drink. I just want to meet the young master now."
"Of course," Luke said with a smile, "otherwise, why would I have gone through all the trouble to find you? However, the young master should be at the Grand Duke's Mansion now, and it is not convenient for everyone to go together. Let's drink first, and I will go later.
Find the young master. Although we don’t know many old bones, we should pay attention to things we should avoid..."
Everyone nodded.
Talking all the way, everyone walked through the Brave Street and arrived in front of the Storm Tavern.
"I wonder if those guys are here yet," everyone led the horses to the hitch posts. An impatient Bai He threw the reins to Michaud and walked into the tavern in one stride.
At this moment, several men dressed as nobles were preparing to enter the tavern. By accident, Bai He bumped into the leading middle-aged man.
"What are you doing?" Beside the middle-aged man, two guard knights shouted at the same time. One of them even put his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"I'm sorry." Bai He hurriedly turned around to express his apology, and quickly entered the tavern without stopping.
"This old guy..." A guard knight was not satisfied with Bai He's apology. He tried to catch up, but just when he moved, a hand held him tightly.
"Lord Ansel..." The guard knight turned back in surprise and looked at a young knight standing next to the middle-aged noble.
"etc!"
Ansel shook his head at the guard.
At this time, Luke and the others had also tied up their horses. While scolding the impatient Shirakawa, they walked past Ansel and the others, smiling and giving apologetic looks.
It wasn't until Luke and others entered the tavern that Ansiel breathed a sigh of relief and turned his eyes to his companions.
"What?" The middle-aged nobleman who was accidentally bumped into by Bai He frowned and asked, "Ans El, do you know them?"
The middle-aged man was Scott. In addition to him and Ans Ayer, Charles and two other Renault family members were also traveling with him.
This time Duke Renault and Scott secretly went south to Lullian. As the family leaders in Lullian, Charles and Ansel were naturally responsible for various matters such as reception and liaison.
If things had gone smoothly, Renault would have stayed in Lulian for at most two days before returning to the imperial capital. However, Leo's disappearance delayed this trip to the south indefinitely.
When he heard the news at Adolf's reception dinner, Scott was very dissatisfied. However, since his father, Duke Renault, didn't say anything, he naturally could only suppress his temper and wait.
As core members of the family's decision-making, both Charles and Ansel knew that from the beginning, Scott had strongly opposed Renault's coming to Lulian.
You must know that for more than thirty years, the interests of the Tomahawk Knights and the Renault family have been firmly tied to Donald and are inseparable.
The aristocratic circle of influence in the empire is not the friendship between mercenaries drinking and fighting in the tavern, nor is it the entanglement between civilians over one or two silver soles. To a certain extent, these are complex and intricate circles.
They are connected by power, interests and blood.
Not to mention those families that have been standing for hundreds of years and have deep-rooted traditions and allies, even those newly promoted minor nobles have already been labeled on the first day they enter the world of nobles.
Where his territory is, who his backers are, who he shares interests with, and which camp he stands in, have all been fixed. It's just like who your biological parents are, it's not who wants to change
It can be changed.
Judging from the rules of the nobility, the barriers between different circles far exceed the trench of the Sea of Death!
Unless he is forced into a desperate situation, no one would dare to break this rule easily. Once broken, it will not only mean that his original allies will become mortal enemies, but the family will also easily fall apart. And more importantly, he and his family will be labeled as enemies.
Labeled as a traitor.
Throughout history, no family that has been labeled as a traitor has ever had a good ending. Those who are lucky may be able to thrive for a few years before declining under the common contempt and caution of the aristocratic world. Those who are unlucky may
, I am afraid that the family will be ruined immediately.
Moreover, the person betrayed by the Renault family was Donald, who had ruled the empire for thirty years!
Scott didn't know what kind of huge earthquake the empire would cause once the news spread, but he knew very well the heavy price his family would pay for it.
The first is the division within the family.
For thirty years, the Renault family, as one of the most important top aristocrats of the Donald family, has always been the target of major families vying for goodwill. In order to establish relations with the Renault family, these families have arranged for their children to marry the children of the Renault family.
marriage.
My father Renault's generation was fine. Starting from Scott's generation, there have been many branch children of the family who have intermarried with other families and had children. But by Ans Ayre's generation, the blood inheritance among the children has already merged with those of those families.
Inseparable. Three aunts, four uncles, seven aunts and eight aunts, the relationship is complicated.
Just like the banyan trees in the banyan forest, both the branches and leaves as well as the underground roots have long been entangled together.
What happens to these roots once the camps are switched?
All beheaded?
Secondly, it is the family industry.
A top family, branches, collateral families, and knights loyal to the lord can range from hundreds to thousands. For a behemoth like the Lanrith family, the collateral families alone have thousands of people, not to mention the loyal lords.
The knight and several disciples of the Sword Master started to spread out.
And these people, either directly or indirectly, are supported by the family industry, otherwise they would have fallen apart long ago.
Among the Renault family's industries, territorial tax revenue is only a small part, and more comes from the trade of ores, weapons, cotton, timber and other commodities. And most of these industries are cooperative with others.
As for the collaborators, there is no doubt that most of them are the Donald family. For example, the Banaud family has arms trading cooperation with the Renault family. Some of the Renault family’s ores are sold to the Banaud family, and the weapons produced by the Banaud family
, some are also sold by the Renault family.
With the death of old Barno, the family's arms trade chain was suddenly broken. The deacons in the family were busy for more than a week before they could barely replenish the agreed goods.
Business can be expected to drop by 20%.
This is incomparable to the blow suffered by a family that rebelled against the camp.
Once they get the news, those cooperative families who follow Donald will not hesitate to swallow up the share that originally belonged to the Renault family, and will not give a copper sani. At the same time, Donald will issue instructions to the cities within his sphere of influence,
Anyone who dares to deal with the Renault family will suffer his wrath.
Among the five major knights in the empire, the Tomahawk Knights do not have strong financial resources. If they suffer another disaster like this, it is difficult for Scott to imagine how dim the prospects of the knights will be in the future.
And thirdly, and most importantly, Scott has never believed that there are any good fruits to be gained by following the royal family.
In the past thirty years, the reason why Donald has been able to dominate the Solan Empire is because he is ruthless. Regardless of politics or interests, any family that dared to be his enemy has been destroyed without exception.
Those burned castles, those corpses hung on trees and gallows, those women and children lying in pools of blood, those gold and silver treasures that were pulled away by carriages, those that were trampled on the muddy ground
The flag is a warning to those who try to make enemies of him.
Regardless of the recent period, the royal family seems to have the upper hand in the fight with Donald, but Scott knows that it is just because Donald has not yet found an opportunity to strike.
And the more he forbears, the more vicious his attacks become.
Edward I had better not make any mistakes or give Donald any chance, otherwise, Scott could fully imagine his end.
Scott doesn't like Donald, and even from a certain perspective, he hates this man.
However, if he had to choose between Edward and Donald, from the standpoint of his family, he would choose Donald without hesitation.
Few people know what a powerful force hides in Donald's huge shadow. And few people understand how ruthless his methods are. Under such circumstances, his father decided to join the royal family. To put it bluntly, he really doubted his father.
His brain has been burned.
Over the years, doesn’t his father know that Donald has asked Watts and his gang to infiltrate the Knights? Isn’t this the result of his deliberate laissez-faire in order to avoid suspicion?
If that's the case, then why are you changing your tune now?
And in Scott's view, the reason why the Renault family is able to stand at the top of the imperial nobility is not because of conspiracy, but because of elite knights, excellent commanders, victories one after another and countless victories.
of military exploits.
The Order of the Tomahawk is the foundation of the family.
Only by constantly winning can we stand up and speak. The Renault family has risen like this, and it will inevitably follow the same path in the future. If the Knights are injured due to this change of camp, there is no need to
If there are too many, as long as one defeat is needed, the family may be in ruins.
This is absolutely unacceptable to Scott, who has regarded his father as his idol since he was a child and is determined to make achievements and make a name for himself in history.
Especially now that we are about to start an unprecedented battle with the demons!
Therefore, Scott came here very reluctantly, and the three days of training were all due to his father's authority.
Privately, he not only disdained Lulian's army, but also despised the newly recruited mercenaries. He did not think that a group of ragtag people could play any role in the upcoming war. Especially the Knights of the Southern Cross.
An army entirely staffed by mercenaries is even more of a joke.
It might be better to break them up and add them to the regular army. Let them group together and try to go to the battlefield with a few days of improvised training. That is simply a fantasy. If you have such time, it is better to train your own knights.
Regiment, hurry up and prepare for war.
Originally, Scott could still endure it. But day by day passed, and it had been three full days now, and there was still no trace of that damn boy. Now, Scott could no longer suppress his anger.
Seeing that Scott's face was getting more and more ugly, Charles and Ansel simply took him out to walk around Munich today, have a drink, and relieve their worries.
What I didn't expect was that I encountered such a thing at the door of the Storm Tavern.
Being hit by someone is a trivial matter for Scott, who has a strict upbringing. Even if Ansel doesn't hold back his guard knight, he will stop him.
But he didn't expect that Ansel seemed to know someone on the other side, and his expression was extremely awed. This was not common for a third-generation descendant of the Renault family.
Under the gaze of Scott and Charles, Ansel said: "Uncle Scott, do you remember Roy I mentioned to you before?"
.
.I will finish writing the ruling, but the speed will be slower. Anyway, no one can expect it, right?