The current emperor of the Violet Empire, Baru Barres Grey St. Violet, has had some headaches in recent days. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

That's about how plans never keep up with change. It's been nearly a month since the Empire declared war on the Kingdom of Elders, but the situation has turned out quite differently than he had expected.

The Oron Empire, which was the first to declare war, did not put enough pressure on the southern frontier of the Elna, allowing the kingdom to still organize an army to defend against invasions from the north. The Violet Empire's most famous light cavalry was not able to exert its full power in the dense forests, and the Thatchi were too reckless, causing the Elna sentinels, who were extremely adept at lurking and guerrilla in the forests, causing a lot of trouble for the coalition forces on both sides.

In fact, even now, when the enemy has almost completely retreated, they do not dare to quickly advance into the interior of the forest. A small number of elite Elna guards remained in the forest, constantly harassing the coalition forces in guerrilla attacks. A reckless encampment without backup is bound to lead to dishonorable results - such a mistake is enough to be made once.

As for the Fritzians, he admits that he had not counted on them from the beginning, but he was still a little annoyed by the negative attitude of the other side. It seems that the inhabitants of the sea only need to have a small piece of land on the shore. He sent a messenger to propose that the two sides join forces to fight, but the letter was lost and never heard from again.

If none of this was a big deal, when the Saatchi coalition came to give up on the offensive and take the initiative to make peace with the Elnars, Barubares could no longer sit still.

"-- these useless guys." He muttered to himself in his study, "I'm afraid San Leon can't count on it, and in that case, it's better to take those hateful Fritzians—"

A soft female voice suddenly sounded, looking particularly strange in the empty study, "I advise you not to do this, Your Highness Barbares. ”

"Who!" The Emperor suddenly stood up, reached out and grabbed the long sword hanging on the side, "Who trespassed here!" ”

"Windwhispering Jill, a traveler who has left his homeland." The woman replied softly, slowly revealing herself from the other side of the desk, "The Fritzians have already achieved what they want, so don't use your subjective will to deprive them of the right to live on the mainland." ”

It was ridiculous, Barubares wondered, when it was his turn to be taught by someone else, or in his palace. He glared angrily at the dark-haired woman, but the other party was unmoved.

"I am the Emperor of the Empire." He said, "And not you." He clenched his fists and slammed the desk with a loud thud, "Arrest this invading woman!" ”

His roar echoed in the air, but no one responded.

"Don't expect your guards." Jill chuckled, "This room is currently shrouded in my magic. She said something Barubares had never heard of, "From the outside, you can't detect anything that's going on here." ”

The Emperor of the Empire suddenly found himself unable to hear anything from the corridors, whether it was the footsteps of the guards or the whispered chatter of the maids.

"Oh?" He frowned, slowly stood up, and his gaze became cold, "Then the only way to kill you is here." ”

Without hesitation, he walked around the desk and swung his sword at the woman opposite. Barubares was confident enough to outwit his opponent - he had never abandoned his swordsmanship for decades, and he still claimed to be one of the best swordsmen in the Empire; And the other party is just a woman who likes to pretend to be a ghost.

The blade sliced through the air, causing a slight humming sound. The woman stepped back, and he stepped in to follow, swinging another sword.

Although the woman didn't look flustered at all, he was sure he had the tempo of the battle. In less than ten seconds, he forced the other man back to the edge of the window, and then slammed his sword down—

The blade easily sliced through the woman's body, and she disappeared from his sight. He quickly turned around, and sure enough, he saw another identical woman standing by the door, smiling at him.

"Sure enough, as rumored, he was a grumpy child." The woman chuckled, as if she didn't pay attention to him at all, and then her expression turned cold, "I'm still not very suitable for preaching, so hurry up and solve it." ”

But it's you who come to provoke you—Barubares thought angrily. As the supreme ruler of the empire, neither his dignity nor his position allowed him to bow down to a woman of unknown origin.

"It's a mystery." He snorted coldly, pointed his sword at the woman by the door, and approached quickly. This time, the woman didn't dodge any longer, she drew a short curved knife with a blade less than a foot in it, held it in her left hand, and met the sharp blade he swung with only one hand.

Barubarez soon discovers that the woman in front of him is clearly capable of more than just illusions. Her fighting skills are unbelievably high, and even her reaction speed and strength are far above his current ones.

He had a great talent for swordsmanship since he was a child, and when he was a teenager, he was able to defeat his father's knights, and at the age of thirty, he won the sword art at the knights' conference. Now, however, he couldn't help but feel that he was starting to grow old. It was only a few minutes of fighting, and his legs had become heavy, and his arms seemed to be filled with lead. Sweat was left on his forehead, blurring his vision, but he couldn't be distracted to wipe it off.

He gasped and swung his sword again. The woman in sight suddenly approached with a short lean, her right hand easily grabbing his sword-wielding wrist. Barubarez felt a numb wrist and involuntarily let go of his hand, letting the blade crash to the ground. He still tried to resist, but the women's hand-to-hand combat skills were also much better than his, and they easily overwhelmed him.

Barubares struggled to catch his breath. After several minutes of fierce fighting, it seemed that no attention had been paid to the outside, and even the guard who was supposed to come to inquire about his lunch preferences was nowhere to be seen.

By this time, the emperor of the empire had calmed down. After all, he is a swordsman, and he has experienced many battles between life and death, and he will not panic about it. He closed his eyes and asked coldly, "What exactly do you need?" ”

"It's simple." The woman chuckled, "I need you to recognize the partial sovereignty of the Fritzians and accept them as vassals of the Empire." In addition, I would like to ask you to send a messenger to inform the Church to stop fighting with the Fritzians - of course, I will talk to them as well. ”

Truth be told, it's not too much, Barubares thought to himself. Not long ago, his grandfather, the Archduke of Egmonton, had accepted a group of Fritzian pirates as citizens of the Empire - it seems that the daughter who had been disregarded by him had played a role in this. As an overlord, the empire can benefit the Fritzians in many ways, and the 'fishmen' who live on the sea are indeed capable in some ways.

In contrast, trying to drive the Fritzians back to sea would indeed allow the empire to gain more territory, but it would also mean more war and uncertainty.

Spring is approaching, and even the empire needs a lot of labor to complete the cultivation to ensure the food reserves. The Fritzians seem to be weak, but the giant monsters under their control may not be easy to deal with - not to mention the woman on the other side, who is presumably on the side of the Fritzians.

It seems that it is not difficult to distinguish the advantages and disadvantages, except for a certain obsession deeply rooted in his heart.

"You don't need to rush either." Jill seemed to see his thoughts, and said lightly, "The Oron Empire is no longer strong, their monarch is killing itself, as long as you wait, a better opportunity will inevitably appear." ”

The woman loosened her grip on his hand. Barubares took two steps back, pressed the desk with one hand, and looked at each other with blazing eyes. He mentally went over what the woman had said and made a decision.

"Well, I agree with you." He said coldly, "It's not because of your threat, but in my opinion, it's indeed a good proposition for the Empire." ”

"Naturally." Jill bowed slightly, "Then, I will bring the specific paperwork later, and I will leave for the time being." ”

Her form faded silently, and then, once again, Barubares heard a faint but chaotic sound from the hallway and outside the window.

There were a few soft knocks on the wooden door, and his personal guard stepped into the study and saluted him, "Your Majesty, what do you want to eat at noon today?" ”

Barubares's gaze swept over the hourglass on the table—the guard had come in a full quarter of an hour later than scheduled, but he didn't seem to be aware of it at all. This is enough to prove that everything that has just happened is not his hallucination.

"Fish steak with lime juice." The monarch of the empire glanced out the window and replied softly.