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The next day, Onte stood in the small open-air square of the castle. The stone statues of women with broken arms on both sides looked at him silently, and the little jazz shivered slightly in the cold wind, and every breath he exhaled was white. But he still stood here, and when he saw a group of cars and horses leaving on the castle's lakefront avenue, he waved goodbye in the direction of the convoy. The distance was too far, and Onte's eyesight was not as sharp as that of the strong, and he could only see the outline of the convoy. As for the knights on horseback, or the infantry following behind, they were all black spots in the eyes of the little knight.

But he knew that Edward must be able to see it. And he wants to convey goodwill.

It wasn't until the convoy came ashore that Ante walked back to the castle. It was hot in the castle, and he took off his fur cloak, and his legs were weak and he almost sat down on the ground, but fortunately the butler helped him. The new butler was a middle-aged man in his forties, who had been working under the old butler and was familiar with the affairs of the castle. After the death of the old housekeeper, Onte promoted him, which indirectly improved the quality of life of a family.

Therefore, the new butler was very dedicated to Onte, and hurriedly asked, "My lord, are you okay?" ”

"It's nothing, I'm still the same Ante after all. Although I desperately want to be like my father, I probably can't do it with such a weak person, right? Onte kept his head down, lest anyone see the splash in his eyes.

The butler muttered, "My father said so, he said I don't have to be like him. As long as I live my life on my own terms and feel happy, it is a successful life. My father was a carpenter, but I had no interest in the wood as a child. As you can see, today I am not a carpenter either, but your steward. Also, I think it's a good life. ”

Onte looked up, as if he understood something.

The butler smiled, "Lord Daniel is indeed a respectable lord, but many of the respects people respect him come from his strength. So I guess it's more accurate to say it's not so much respect as fear. Ant-sama does not have the same force as your father, but during this time, I can feel that he is a gentle man at heart. You may not be a mighty warrior like Lord Daniel, but you can bring a rich life to your lords and earn their respect. ”

"It's a real tribute."

Onte blinked: "Really? But if I'm not strong enough, the territory will be deceived, my father always said. ”

"My lord, not all animals in the forest are so powerful. Like deer, they are vulnerable. But they know how to rely on each other, and they are each other's eyes, ears and horns. And you have also seen that for thousands of years, even if there are many fierce beasts in the forest, have those lives as docile as deer ever disappeared? The butler smiled, "No matter what kind of animal, they have their own way of survival." And the way to survive is not necessarily to rely on strong force. ”

"In other words, there is a way to survive without strong force...... "Onte smiled slightly, "Thank you, I feel much better now." ”

"It's nothing, it's my responsibility to assist you." The butler bowed.

In the carriage, Edward looked at Lance on the other side, in a happy mood.

After the day of the canon, Gilles, who sensed that his position was threatened, began to put aside all scruples. Using Lanza as a bridge, ask for help from Count Rycde. How could Edward, who was keeping an eye on the situation on both sides of Ark Harbor and Mount Dorne City, not notice this. Giles and Rykerd can be said to be a perfect match, the former has lost his reputation, and the betrayal of his relatives in Ark Harbor has reached the point where it is difficult to move forward. If Edward is replaced by him, he can only take the chess piece of Rykerd after all, so that he can hope to break through the encirclement.

As for the pacification of the people or violent repression, that is after retaining power.

As for Luckard, he coveted the riches of Ark Harbor more than once during his lifetime. Dorne Hill City is a city no smaller than Ark Harbor, but after all, due to geographical restrictions, trade is inconvenient. Recked has the name of an earl, but he does not have the financial resources to match it. Otherwise, he would not have peeked into the Ark Harbor by supporting Daniel.

The death of Daniel and Orban couldn't be better news for Laked. He can dominate the unicorn territory in the near future, and infiltrate the Ark Harbor through various means, and the Earl's ultimate goal is naturally to take these two territories into his pocket. At that time, his wealth will skyrocket at a geometric rate.

It's a pity that between these two territories, there is an Allen inserted. The eyes and ears of the hill town of Dorne had told Edward more than once how much he hated and had a headache for their hard bones. Because of this, many of Reced's plans have failed so far.

This time was no exception.

His wishful thinking was a good one, and he won over Onte and took the opportunity to seize military power. In turn, to support Giles, in this way, Earl Rykerd has very little power to mobilize his own strength, and even if there is an accident, it will only be the unicorn leader who will suffer heavy losses. Lance had thought so before yesterday, but now he was so depressed that he didn't even have the strength to speak.

Who would have thought that Edward would get the information in advance, and make arrangements just to wait for them to deliver it to the door. As a result, Glenn's army was wiped out, and even he became a prisoner of the other side. Even if Rykerd eventually ransomes them back, Lance is ready to be the joke of Mount Dorne.

"Mr. Lance, I wonder how deep your relationship with Earl Rykerd is?" Edward smiled, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of inquisitions, I just want to get you a decent ransom. ”

Lance snorted and said, "The Earl is willing to pay me at least 100,000 gold coins, if it is more, then I don't know." Coupled with Glenn's words, I think I should be able to get 150,000 gold coins. ”

Edward snorted and said, "I see, Captain Glenn and those captives will be given away by us." But for you, Mr. Lance, I think Earl Rykerd should pay a ransom of a million to show his sincerity. ”

Lance opened his mouth wide before he said, "Are you crazy?" The Count could not have paid so much ransom for me. ”

"On weekdays, probably not. But in this situation, I think he'll pay. Because if he didn't come up with the money, the people of Mount Dorne would know the next day how their proud Blood Wolf Knights and Blue Wolf Infantry had been lost in a small country place. I suppose the Earl can't afford to lose this man, right? ”

Lance was silent, he knew well his uncle's temperament. As Edward said, Raked is a man who cares a lot about face. The Blood Wolf Knight and the Blue Wolf Infantry are the Count's living signs, and between smashing the signboard and a million gold coins, it is really possible that Reckerd will choose the latter.

Seeing that Lance did not answer, Edward was even more certain that Rykerd would come up with the money, after all, Lance knew the Earl better than he did. Now that the Count's plan is half ruined, Ante is also on their side because of the reason for handing over Lance, and there is no room for a turnaround. The Unicorn Territory should be a gentle neighbor in the foreseeable future, which will be a problem for the development of Allen's territory.

In fact, according to Edward's thoughts, he would have preferred Onte not to hand over Lance. Then he would have enough reason to occupy the territory, in fact, while arranging for a hundred-strong force of Bloy to go to the border post. Another army of several hundred men, led by Udi, lay dormant on the border line of the Emerald Mountains. If Edward wanted to, the unicorn castle would change hands in one day.

Of course, since Onte made the right choice, he was unwilling to destroy this hard-won "friendship". As for now, Gilles, who has broken the back road, it is time to deal with him. Edward smiled and looked out the window, thinking that the ironback vulture that was released in the morning should be able to bring the news of this place to Vera in the afternoon, right?

When the time comes, Vera will naturally know what to do.

Vera received the news earlier than Edward had expected, and before she received the news, she had just met one of the directors of the Emerald Pearl's Chamber of Commerce. Now that the church has taken root in Ark Harbor and now has more than 10,000 believers, Father Miró is planning to add another church. At the same time, three other churches were built in the Castle of Dawn and the Bauhinia Collar. The Church has embarked on a major civil engineering project, and as the number of priests, nuns, and other clergy has increased, especially the Crusaders have recently expanded their capacity. With so many people combined, their living expenses, food, clothing, housing, and even armor and weapons are all very huge. To this end, the church has signed a long-term contract with the Emerald Chamber of Commerce. The church was built in Ark Harbor and several other territories, and the personnel and other needs were all taken care of by the Jade Chamber of Commerce.

Of course, in order to take on such a huge and ten-year contract, the Jade Chamber of Commerce also made a big concession, and in the end it was only the two that benefited. Through the development of faith, commerce, and force, the Church has become inseparable from the lives of the people in this territory.

Because of this, the influence of the church and Vera, Miró and others has also grown. So when the church took its side with Jora, the effect was enormous. Today, with the exception of a small number of people who remain neutral, the vast majority of people are on the side of the church. In particular, the Jade Chamber of Commerce, which was painstakingly run by Oban, completely broke with Gilles without hesitation. Several directors of the chamber, as well as the current chairman, have made it clear that they support Jora. Today, the situation is very bad for Gilles.

When a Crusader swordsman delivers information from the Ironback Vulture to Vera, the girl smiles sweetly. Edward has eradicated the external troubles, so the next time is the time to settle the internal worries.

She looked up and said to her guards, "Go and get Miss Jora." ”