"No, the sword has to go up."

"Again."

"Raise it up, Lord Onte, it's not enough."

Far away on the other side of the Endless Star Road, the Celestial Empire of Balgaon begins to usher in the coldest season of the year. Due to the unique geographical location of this kingdom, the cold winter time is very short. But because of this, people are not used to the winter weather. Yesterday there was already a first snowfall, and even the southern part of the empire could see the snow-capped scenery.

A layer of ice floe has formed in Lake Porttiri, and in a month's time, the ice will increase to a thickness of tens of centimeters. Winters are shorter, but colder.

The unicorn castle has been covered with a silvery coat of snow.

On the castle, which has been completely restored, Snow White visited the pavilions, domes, and squares. They paint the castle's exterior walls, giving it a little less toughness and more softness that it doesn't usually have. In one of the castle's small squares, the ground is paved with square masonry, and the snow has been cleared. The two stone statues of women with broken arms on the left and right were silently watching the battle between the two people in the field.

The sound of a metal clash was heard.

Although it is an iron sword, it does not have a blade, so it is just a tool for combat practice. During the second engagement, one of the swords was wrenched and flew away, falling to the ground a few meters away. The owner of the castle, Ante, who had inherited the entire viscountdom, sat on the ground, he was dressed in sackcloth and armor, the armor was welded with light iron sheets, the flexibility was good, and the defense was not much better than leather armor.

However, when used in practice, it is enough to protect Ant.

Onte gasped, sweat already drenching the Mai under his armor. He had grown a little taller, and he had some muscles, and he was no longer the skinny boy he used to be. After the death of his father Daniel and the old butler one after another, the boy is growing up rapidly, and at this moment he has a little less green between his eyebrows, more heroic energy, and he has begun to have some of the bearing that a lord should have.

To make himself stronger, he asked Dalon, the current leader of the Unicorn Legion, to train himself. But even so, he still couldn't defeat the person in front of him. Standing in the bright sunlight of early winter, the eyes on his face seemed to change color with his mood. Onte remembers that during martial arts, his eyes were red. And now, the flush is fading, and the eyes are as blue as the sea.

Delusion, right? Onte thought, and then he stood up. The new steward ordered the maid to bring Onte a cloak with a black fur cover, so that the young knight would not be attacked by the cold. Ante put on the fur cloak and said to the man in front of him, "Sir Edward, everyone says you are a smart man, but I didn't expect you to use your sword so well. ”

Edward smiled slightly, and also took the cloak handed by the guard. After putting it on, he replied, "It's over, Lord Onte." I'm just a layman when it comes to sword dancing. Lord Allen is the real master. ”

"By the way, Sir Alan seems to have been gone for a long time, and he doesn't plan to come back yet?"

"It seems that something important has happened on Lord Allen's family's side, and he has to stay and deal with it, so the return time has been delayed. No, Lord Allen is not here, but there are many people who beat his idea. Edward smiled slightly.

Ante invited him to a corner of the square, where tables and chairs were set up, and the butler had ordered hot dishes to be served. The two sat down, and Onte blinked, "I heard that Sir Allen has been recognized by the Empire, as if he has been promoted to viscount. ”

"The Viscount is just the beginning, Lord Allen will go further."

Ant's heart suddenly chuckled, Edward saw it in his eyes, and said lightly: "On this road, Lord Allen will make countless enemies. But at the same time, you will also gain many friends. Adults are always merciless to their enemies. But for friends, it's wonderful. It's a pity that some people don't want to be friends with adults, and would rather be his enemies. Do you think they're stupid, Lord Onte? ”

The young viscount's face changed again, and he smiled dryly: "No matter how good Sir Alan is, I don't think he can win like this forever. So Edward, are you exaggerating a bit? ”

"Maybe you're right, but at least, in the southern borders of the Empire, I can't really find anyone who can be a match for Lord Allen."

"If you say that, the Marquis of Iron Spear will be unhappy." Onte smiled reluctantly.

Within the empire, the north is respected and the south is humble. The north is more powerful, while the south is relatively mediocre. Although there are many knights in the territory, most of the knights who are really important and can obtain titles are in the north. Within the northern border, not to mention that the four major dukes are all in the north, there are dozens of powerful marquis and earls. In contrast, there are only a dozen or so knights in the south, among whom the Marquis of Iron Spear Hoy is the most famous. But except for Huo Yi, the remaining dozen powerful knights are not ranked in the north at all.

For example, a powerful viscount like Daniel is only more well-known in the area of Ark Harbor. When he got to the north, people didn't know who he was at all. But there was at least one Marquis of Iron Spear in the South, and Hoy's name was well known even in the North. Therefore, Edward's words just now seemed to not even take Huo Yi into account, and Onte was a little unconvinced.

Edward smiled faintly, but he finally argued with Onte on this point, he only said: "Lord Allen's eyes are on the north, and the south is just a cornerstone of his journey to the north. Soon, Master Onte will understand. Speaking of the Marquis of the Iron Spear, yes, he is the number one strongman in the South today. But I have to warn you, Master Onte. Sir Hoy was old, but Lord Allen was young. ”

Onte was speechless.

"Alright, sir." Edward sat up slightly straight: "Don't waste your time, I'm here this time mainly to ask you to hand over Lance, I know he's in the Unicorn Castle now." ”

Onte finally changed color.

Lance was the nephew of Earl Rycke, and shortly after Daniel's death, he and Barre, the commander of the legion at the time, planned to take over the unicorn as a viscount. If it weren't for Allen's appearance, their plan would have actually succeeded. But Alan came and personally put Onte in his current position. Not long ago, Lance invaded with the Knights of Rycde, and the army of Allen, who also called it, fought back.

At this point, Onte should see Rykerd as an enemy. In fact, even he thought so, but a few days ago, Lance had suddenly come to visit in secret, and he had brought an invitation from Count Ryced. Inviting Onte and his viscount to return to the Earl of Rectord's banner, Lance's argument was simple, Daniel was also a vassal of Earl Reckerd before, so why should Onte break away from the Earl and ally with Allen, who had just been promoted to Viscount.

Moreover, Eren is still his father's killer, and if Onte returns to the Earl's command, then Rechd will be the enemy for him. Ante thought of his father, thought of the deceased old butler, and finally moved. Lance struck while the iron was hot, and promised many benefits, and finally said that Dynamic cooperated with him. And the first item of cooperation is to support the current lord of Ark Harbor, Earl Gilles.

Gilles' reputation has plummeted since the night of the canon, when he was kicked out in public. Now the lords of Ark Harbor want to be managed by the former earl's sister Jora, who is both the sister of Oban and the head of the Deep Sea Scale, both in terms of identity and combat power, she is the best choice for the lord. She was considered much more suitable than Gilles, and after that night, many prominent figures in Ark Harbor also publicly supported Jora, especially Vera, a new Christian sect, who also used her influence to build momentum for Jora, and in this case, Gilles's Earl's chair was not secure.

The Imperial Inspectorate in Ark Harbor has also joined the investigation, and if it is confirmed that Gilles is indeed intent on violating Jora, it will be a devastating blow to his power. In normal times, ugly things like this are not interested in the old men of the Supervision Yuan to pay attention to. But now that the trouble is well known, they can't turn a deaf ear. The Imperial Inspectorate is responsible for supervising the words and deeds of the lord, but if it is not necessary, no one will offend an earl.

Now Gilles locked himself up in the White Castle almost every day, and used his own personal guards to defend the White Castle. But in the face of increasingly serious public opinion, as well as the rising momentum of Jora on the other side, as long as you are not a fool, you can see that Gilles will be replaced is almost certain, and it is only a matter of time.

Although Rakde had the heart to give Lagiels a hand, he couldn't help the near fire from far water, so Lance found Onte. Let Onte help Giles at this time, Onte is thinking about it. But today, Edward's surprise visit caught him off guard.

Now Edward directly demanded that he hand over Lance, which made the young viscount even more confused. Looking back at what Edward had just said, Ant, instead of feeling warm from the cloak, felt cold from head to toe as if he had fallen into the icy waters of Lake Portteli at this moment.

Looking at Edward's deep gaze, Onte smiled bitterly, "You know? ”

"How could I miss such an important role as Lord Reims." Edward smiled and said, "I hope Sir Onte can cherish his friendship with us, and don't make the wrong choice." ”

Choose? Friend or foe? Ante only felt extremely bitter, and at the same time a wave of anger filled his chest, he clapped his hands and said, "What friendship! Alan killed my father, is this called friendship? No, there is only hatred between me and him! ”

"Sir Oss of the Hungry Wolf Leader, his father also died at the hands of Lord Allen. But now, he was grateful to Master Allen for all he had done for that territory. ”

"That's Oss, and I'm Onte!"

Edward said lightly, "Sir Onte, I want you to calm down. When two armies are at war, there will naturally be winners and losers. You want revenge, of course, and there is nothing wrong with that. But when you do all this, you have to think clearly, once you step out, you can't take it back. You teamed up with Lance to make your enemies against Lord Allen, and it was you who were the first to be hit, but your territory, not Count Rykerd. ”

"At the end of the day, Lance or Rykerd. They're just taking advantage of you, and they don't have to lose anything to lose whether they win or lose. Because you're the only one who loses. So even so, do you want to do it? Edward smiled, "Rykerd already has an army on the way, so why don't you do it." Let's see if this army can reach the city, and when the results are in, it's not too late for Lord Onte to make a decision. ”

"As for me, I have plenty of time today." Edward took a sip of hot tea and said with a smile on his face.