At dusk, the water ripples on Lake Porttiri, and the wind blows through the lake, bringing ripples in circles from time to time. It reflects the glow of the setting sun, leaving behind strings of sparkling sparkles like jewels. In the middle of this beautiful and quiet lake, there is a castle that looks like a fairy tale. The castle is surrounded by a ring of defensive walls, and the buildings inside are tall round towers, spired watchtowers, lookouts, shooting bunkers, etc. As for the main building, there are buildings with vaults of various shapes, columns carved with intricate patterns, terraces that stretch in different directions, and domed pavilions with green vines.

Connecting the castle to the shores of the lake is a road that has been built. The road can accommodate three horse-drawn carriages side by side, and the road surface is wide and clean. It leads straight to the castle's gates, and it also serves to limit the direction of the enemy's attack from a certain distance. Now, horse-drawn carriages are driving along the road above the lake into the castle and through the layers of Guò fortifications to a cobblestone fountain square.

The people who got out of the carriage were all dressed in luxurious and decent clothes, and even the position of each hair was carefully groomed. As for the emblems on the costumes that indicate their status, it means that most of these people are barons.

It was a rare sight for five or six knights to come together, especially when they were summoned to this castle. On the highest bell tower of the castle, on the flag that was blown by the wind, the last rays of the evening light quietly slid down the unicorn with endless majesty on the flag, and finally jumped into the night.

In an empty room in the castle, the walls were dimly lit, but the electric lights were not bright enough. So in the middle of the dome of the hall, a candlestick was lit with candles as thick as a child's arm. The candlelight compensated for the lack of light, illuminating the hall, especially the table below.

On either side of the rectangular table, the chairs cushioned by copper velvet were already full, and several barons greeted each other after meeting, and everyone seemed polite. But among these people, there were two people with gloomy faces.

The door to the hall opened, and someone strode in. When he came in, all the knights kept their mouths shut as a sign of their respect.

"Good evening, gentlemen." The man was wearing a white shirt and a lace scarf. A pair of linen-colored breeches with a pair of black riding boots. There were still sweat stains on his forehead, and he looked like he had just returned from horseback.

And a servant brought a brass basin filled with light water. The man washed his hands and face with water, took a clean towel and wiped it before sitting down in the middle of the table. He is nearly middle-aged, but he looks very young. He has a delicate appearance and a very gentle temperament. His well-groomed beard added a bit of majesty to him, and his sparkling eyes made him stand out from the crowd of barons.

He is the owner of this castle, Viscount Daniel. Although they are now called friends, in reality, these barons are attached to Viscount Daniel. In the aristocracy of the empire, the name of strength before the title usually means that the knight's comprehensive strength has met the requirements after promotion, but due to lack of military merit or other reasons, and cannot be promoted temporarily, the word strength will be added before the title to show the difference. This special title is just as it literally implies, and such lords are often very powerful, much more powerful than their peers.

Just like Viscount Daniel, his unicorn army has a regular structure of more than 3,000 people. If you include cannon fodder troops, logistics and other related personnel, the number of troops will be as high as 5,000. With such an army, Daniel is naturally qualified to add the word strength in front of his title. What's more, his own source power is not bad, and his level 24 strength has almost touched the threshold of the earl. Because of this, the barons around his territory chose to submit to him.

Viscount Daniel sat down, swept his eyes over the knights, and smiled: "It seems that your mood is a little low, and you have lost a battle." My unicorn has also lost a squadron of knights, and he doesn't have to be as sad as you. Where you lose, you win again, what do you think? ”

A knight with redbuds and snakes embroidered on his clothes snorted, "Lord Daniel, this time it's not as simple as losing. At the same time as Ser Bea, I received a letter from Stormtown, in which the lord in charge of Stormtown demanded a ransom payment from us before we could release our two commanders. And ......"

"And what?" The Viscount sat up slightly straighter and asked.

"And ask us to make reparations for this matter, the war reparations he listed are simply astronomical!" The baron slapped the table vigorously and said, "This is simply unreasonable, not just winning a battle, and being too arrogant." ”

Daniel showed a surprised expression before smiling, "It looks like there's an interesting guy on the other side of the border, what's his name?" ”

"It's called Alan, my lord."

"Alan? If I had the chance, I would have liked to meet him. Daniel changed his comfortable position and said, "It seems that this time you kicked the iron plate, so be it." The ransom of the two commanders still had to be paid, after all, soldiers could be recruited, but those who could lead troops to fight were not said to have them. As for the war reparations, I will give him a formal written warning in my personal name. If he still wants reparations, then I'll give him a war. ”

"A real war!" Daniel said with a smile.

Alan suddenly sneezed.

Father Miro looked at him strangely: "You have a cold?" ”

He shook his head and said, "Go on, where did we talk about just now?" ”

"One qiē is ready, the renovation of the temple has been completed, and we have our own church. Now the difference is to pick a time to officially start the flag. During this period of development, we already had the first parishioners, including some officials. Just wait for the church to officially open, and I will be able to admit believers. When it came to excitement, the priest almost danced.

Looking at his appearance as a god, it is difficult for Alan to imagine what Father Miró, the first pope, would be like if Christianity grew on this planet. He couldn't help but laugh and nodded, "I have already asked Roger to come to Storm City, and it is expected that next month, I will go to sea to the hinterland of the empire." So the church has to open before I leave, just next Monday, and you have time to get ready. ”

"That's it." Father Miró agreed.

Then looking at Alan, Miró tried to ask, "So today, do you want to talk about your father?" ”

"Huh?" Alan raised his head, but unexpectedly shook his head and said, "No, there are still many things to be busy with next." Let's talk about that man later, I'm going back, and I still have some text to see. ”

He stood up, took his leave, and left.

Father Miró looked at his figure disappearing into the night, and after a moment said, "This little guy seems to have grown up." ”

Over the weekend, an army visited Storm City. It was the army of Black Iron Castle, and Hagus arrived in Storm City with ten Black Cloud Knights and a hundred infantry. The army was taken to the barracks by Regg for recuperation, and Hagus himself was entertained by Allen.

"What a rarity, Captain Hagus. Last time I said goodbye, I thought it would be a long time before I saw you again. ”

In the study of the City Lord's Mansion, Alan and Hagus sat on the sofa. Hagus smiled, "Since the last time I had a long conversation with Lord Allen, I've often wanted to see you again. Helpless to be entangled in official duties, until recently, I heard about the siege of Storm City. Although I knew that this little thing would not bother Lord Allen, I couldn't help but come and see if there was anything I could do to help. ”

"There is a lot of work. How's Black Iron Castle doing? ”

"It's still the same, but Sir Sirloin is not willing to be lonely, and will probably try to develop inland in the next year or two."

Alan nodded and said, "Sir Sirloin is ambitious, so naturally he will not be willing to condescend to a small frontier land. ”

"yes, what about Lord Allen?" Hagus was moved: "I saw your workshop when I entered the city just now, and how long has it been, and Lord Allen's efficiency really can't be said. I am glad that Sir Sirloin listened to my advice and did not make an enemy of you. Otherwise, we're probably going to have quite a headache. ”

Alan smiled faintly: "The resources of the border land are limited, and the two of us are fighting for each other, and in the end, in the eyes of the real nobles of the empire, it is just a dog bone." I'm also glad that Black Iron Castle is not an enemy, so we can save the time we spend fighting and use it to develop our own careers. ”

"Looks like Lord Allen is preparing to leave the Borderlands as well."

"That's the plan."

The two tested each other again, and after getting the information he wanted, Alan asked Hagus to go down to rest and invited him to the church opening tomorrow. Hagus readily agreed, and did not ask what a church was. In his mind, it should be about the same thing as a temple.

After Hagus left, Belmode knocked on the door and came in, handing Alan a note. The note was sent from the border station, and the information on it showed that the people of Black Iron Castle had arrived at the border five days earlier, and that there were more than just a few people who had come with Hagus. However, after hearing that the predicament of Storm City had been resolved, the Black Iron Castle's troops withdrew from the border, and only Hagus came to visit with a hundred or so men.

Alan smiled and crumpled the note into powder. Black Iron Castle will naturally not be the kind of loyal ally with a knife in both sides, if Storm City falls that day, Alan can be sure that Black Iron Castle will never come to the rescue, but will only take the opportunity to get a piece of the pie. This was expected, but this information made Alan temporarily decide to slightly modify the procedure for the opening of the church tomorrow. R1058