87_87643.

City of Watan.

It is an ancient city, even before the founding of the Argus Empire, the city of Watan appeared on the southern coast of the continent, and from the map, it looks like a brilliant diamond, set in the graceful coastline of Victoria Bay like a young girl.

Since its birth, Watan has endured many catastrophes, from murderous sebathal-like hunting attacks, harassment by Southern pirates who see Victoria Bay as their backyard, and hurricanes that blow from the stormy oceans...... But the city of Watan persevered, it was not destroyed by the flames of war, nor was it flooded by the tide, from the small fishing village with only a few dozen families to the current majestic prismatic high walls that stretch for dozens of miles, the straight streets adjacent to the shops, the busy port lined with white sails, and a large number of strong and towering fortresses and mage towers that reach into the clouds like sharp swords, all of which bear witness to the splendor of Watan and the glory of the Argus Mage Empire. This is the city of mages, the city of construction, so that whenever people on the continent talk about magic and magic-related things, one of the images that comes to mind must be the Argus mage who controls all kinds of wonderful creations under the escort of silver-armored soldiers, even more than the red-robed tattooed people who are ubiquitous in almost all major cities and are famous for making and selling magic items and potions.

To the east, the huge gates, made entirely of steel, open day and night to the vast plains of Tanoli, almost never closing. The tranquil River Tanoli is like a beautiful ribbon that turns a bend east of Watan, flowing south into Victoria Bay. The Argus dug artificial channels to bring the water of the Tanori River to the city of Watan, which became a water source and canal, and even used it in the construction of the palace garden, but they did not intend to use it as a moat. Farms and handicraft workshops surrounded the settlements as satellite towns, and the commoners and serfs of the empire toiled on this fertile plain to meet not only the daily basic needs of the city, but also to provide all kinds of luxuries, and every day they could see laden wooden boats sailing down the Tanori River to the city to satisfy the arrogant, almost neurotic nobles and mages.

Although there are more and more Imperial cavalry coming and going on the strange road, there are fewer and fewer caravans coming from afar, and sometimes you can still see the terrible construction machinery and battle mages passing by, but on the whole, the people living in the city of Watan and the plains of Tanori have not been affected too much by the war, as long as they are willing to spend enough, what is the difference between the ice cubes in the northern snowy mountains and the ice cubes made by mages with magic power? Sumptuous banquets were held frequently, and the lives of the prostitutes of the ghetto and the nobles of the aristocracy continued according to their previous trajectory, without the slightest trace of being disturbed.

In the palace at night, a court banquet was underway to celebrate the birthday of Emperor Stanley III - just a pleasure, and the official program had almost been completed in the past few days.

"His Majesty the Emperor seems to be in much better spirits. O'Sullivan stood in the middle of a group of respectful nobles, looking at the young emperor who was walking to the center of the hall a little distance, holding the beautiful queen, and whispered to a lady beside him.

"Shh~" A gorgeously dressed man on the other side signaled O'Sullivan not to talk nonsense, O'Sullivan pursed his lips and stopped talking.

"His Majesty the Emperor has arrived—"

The mage who presided over the celebration ceremony raised the staff in his hand, and the crystal at the front of the staff flashed with a slight white light, and in an instant, all the lights in the hall were grand, illuminating the entire hall brightly.

The men in the sumptuous robes knelt down on one knee, the mages also bent over with their staffs, and the ladies and girls bowed gracefully, and for a moment all eyes were fixed on the shiny floor of the banquet hall, as if they hoped to find some treasure on the ground.

"In the name of the great gods, bless the noble Emperor Xià! Your glory envelops every subject of Argus, and your mercy benefits every land of Argus! The empire will always prosper and be strong under your leadership, God bless the Emperor! God bless Argus!"

"Everyone, please get up, no more formality......"

The mage who led the crowd in reading the prayer lowered his hand, and the emperor smiled and raised the pure gold carved wine glass in his hand.

"There is wine and singing and dancing, there is all the qiē, and we gather in the glorious halls to receive the gift of God to make our vision more ambitious, to fill us with wisdom, to make us stronger, and to make us happy, because you ...... I want to say that the Empire thanks you for what you have done, cheers. ”

"God bless the Emperor! God bless the Argus Empire!" the audience raised their glasses, and the people shouted again, both men and women were full of proud smiles, and the fanatical cries reflected in the cups, touching each other.

After the necessary etiquette and speeches were over, the nobles came alive. The older ones form a small ***, the young aristocrats are looking for their favorite dance partners or playmates who consume the Spring Festival in the crowd, and the ladies and girls are almost constantly exchanging dance partners to dance in the field, falling into a passionate carnival......

His Majesty the Emperor just danced a few songs with several of the most noble ladies in courtesy, and then left the stage, probably to meet the ministers in the side hall next to him, the young emperor has always been not very keen on this kind of luxurious ball activities, everyone is used to it, and the young nobles even have some irrepressible excitement - who wants to pay attention to salute the emperor next to him when dancing with a soft waist, or humbly give away his favorite dance partner?

O'Sullivan entered the elegant side hall after receiving permission from the audience. On the walls hung precious and ornate tapestries, which had been transported from the far east after an unimaginable long journey, the intricate and exquisite embroidery was ingenious, and the noise next door was almost completely inaudible, and several mages and ministers surrounded the emperor, but it was slightly strange that the white-bearded and white-haired old mage standing beside the emperor looked inconspicuous, and he was only dressed in an ordinary white robe, and there were not even decent runes, but everyone who saw this scene for the first time would have the illusion that this white-bearded old man was the center of these people-- Maybe not a delusion.

The young Count stepped forward quickly, kneeling on one leg in front of the young Emperor.

"Yuri•O'Sullivan see Emperor Majesty. O'Sullivan raised his head and looked up at the holy face.

"Count O'Sullivan, please be even. The emperor's young and handsome face was as calm as a pool of water, and there was majesty in his tone.

"Negotiations have been made with regard to trade between the Empire and the Pearl Islands in accordance with the edict of His Majesty the Emperor, and the Sea Tribes living there, fearing the strength and majesty of the great Agus Empire, have expressed their willingness to provide us with all kinds of deep-sea minerals that we urgently need for a long time. ”

"The ignorant and primitive inhabitants of the sea have also felt the majesty of His Majesty the Emperor! If the material problem is solved, the research and development of super constructed weapons will be a big step forward! Long live the Great Emperor Majesty!" A court mage who could tell from the golden light on his robe that his rank was fanatical and a little out of shape said, could it be that he had drunk a lot of wine like those people outside?

"Quiet...... Your words are too much. The old mage's voice was slow and old, and his thick, slender white eyebrows covered his deep eye sockets, but they could not hide his gaze as clear as that of a young man.

"I beg your pardon, I ...... because I was happy" The court mage, who was still full of confidence just now, shivered as if he had been blown by the north wind, and immediately retreated and lowered his head, as if he had been sentenced to death.

In addition, most of the mages who looked about the same rank as him had a gloating expression.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being presumptuous. The old mage continued to speak slowly.

"How so, Speaker Singh. I understand that the development of the Construct Weapon is a top secret, and that the Imperial Family has given sole responsibility to the Mage Council. The emperor waved his hand absently.

"Your magnanimity is a blessing to the Empire. Singh lowered his eyes.

"Then Earl, what do you personally want from this commendation?"

"Once again, I beg the Emperor to allow me to participate in the crusade against the Night Elves, as a warrior, there is no better way to be loyal to the Empire and His Majesty than to fight on the battlefield. O'Sullivan's humble and confident tone seemed to anger some people.

"Pay attention to your wording, Count O'Sullivan, are you accusing the Emperor of not letting you play to your strengths?" The court mage, who had almost fallen out of favor, planned to fight against the water, and he understood his master's thoughts, Singh's eyebrows did slightly **, but you can't find out until you stare at it.

"You are still in the period of introspection, and His Majesty the Emperor did not punish you out of mercy, but don't forget it!" Justice Lucas, a recent member of the cabinet, went mad as he held the code in his hand.

"His Majesty the Emperor will naturally make the right decision on the matter of crusade!" Who is the person who said this, who seems to have never seen the court jester with his makeup removed, or the Chancellor of the Exchequer?

"I lost my words, please forgive me. O'Sullivan let go of the clenched fist that was pressing against his knee.

"It doesn't matter. This time, you went to the Pearl Islands single-handedly to negotiate with those barbarians, and resolved the incident smoothly, and the royal family will grant you the corresponding commendation. You can take a break first, you've been out a lot over the years, and I should give you a few days off. The Emperor himself was unimpressed, and smiled gently.

"Thank you. "I've missed the opportunity to say anything more.

"Earl O'Sullivan's commendation was submitted to the Council for the elders to consider...... I'm a little tired and I'm going back to the dormitory. The young emperor stopped the meeting just in time.

The heads of the empire left the side hall with the emperor and empress, and O'Sullivan followed behind with his head down—

It seemed that there was a gaze that could perceive a qiē on his body, and he could see through O'Sullivan's boiling heart under his seemingly calm appearance.

O'Sullivan raised his head, only to see the old mage's slightly stiff back.

Singh - he gritted his teeth silently.

The hall is still drunk. The aristocrats danced in pairs on the dance floor or stood by with their glasses in hand, and there was an atmosphere of lazy and cozy pleasure at this lavish banquet, which did not feel at all that it was still at war, as if it were another country attacking the Sleeping Forest.

O'Sullivan walked past the dancing people with some rudeness and walked towards the door. He didn't want to stay in this place for a moment.

"Isn't this Lord O'Sullivan, it's really rare!" a sweet and cold voice floated into O'Sullivan's ears, and he turned his head to find the source of the sound, as if the sound was not coming from nearby.

O'Sullivan looked to the corner of the hall. In a slightly gloomy corner obscured by the scarlet curtain, a noble lady sat alone on a tiger-skin sofa as ornate as the court dress she was wearing, with a black veil hanging from the wide brim, and a small and delicate folding fan in her white elbow-length gloves in her hand, which was inlaid with jewels or magic, and under the cover of the glittering folding fan, it was even more difficult to see the other person's face.

"Hello, Lady Isabella!" O'Sullivan paused imperceptibly, then stepped forward and bowed slightly.

"It's a pleasure to see you, Lord O'Sullivan!" Isabella withdrew from the glove in her right hand, revealing an arm that was whiter than a pure white silk glove.

O'Sullivan carefully took Isabella's hand and kissed it lightly on the back of her hand.

Isabella retracted her arms and raised her head slightly, and through the tulle, O'Sullivan saw a face with a faint bewitching face in nobility. In addition to a pair of beautiful and bewitching eyes, the glow of the blood-red Io stone on Isabella's forehead stared at the young earl like a third gaze, and there was a strange charm hidden under the dignified magnanimity—terrifying.

"I heard that Mr. Earl has just returned from the Pearl Islands, and it is a chaotic place!"

"Yes, the vagaries of the weather and the currents - what a hard voyage. O'Sullivan sat down on the sofa, waved his fingers casually, and soon a palace servant came over with a plate, O'Sullivan randomly chose a glass from the plate full of various spirits, he didn't mean to drink it, this kind of thing that makes people lose their will and is easy to indulge, he never touches.

"Hehe, that's terrible...... Only a strong man like you, Earl, can adapt, I've been a little seasick since I was a child. Isabella covered her chin and mouth with a folding fan, her body trembled and smiled, except for some strange eyes and voices, no matter how you look at it, this is an elegant noble woman, O'Sullivan can hardly connect her with the one who is one of the eight elders of the Red Robe Mage Society, and is also the representative of the Red Robe Mage Society in the Argus Empire - Isabella.

"It's nothing, ma'am, you're joking. A qiē is all for the empire. ”

"Are you really a loyal warrior - would you like to invite me to dance?" Isabella changed her words, but O'Sullivan was cold for no reason, as if this invitation was a ticket to hell.

"I'm very honored, but unfortunately I'm not good at dancing, and I'm really tired after a long journey - it's my sin to hurt your foot. O'Sullivan politely excused himself and prepared to retire.

"You are really good at talking, so I want to have a good talk with the Earl. Isabella put down the fan and seemed to inadvertently pick up O'Sullivan's untouched wine glass.

"By the way, your student, Moriel, seems to have done a good job in these large-scale attacks of the Empire, and has been officially appointed commander of the Northern Theater of Operations, do you already know?" O'Sullivan, who stood up and walked a few steps, suddenly turned back to Isabella, who took a sip of red wine.

"Oh, Mr. Earl is really well-informed, Morriel is just a fledgling little girl, and that position should have been yours, if it weren't for—" Isabella laughed meaningfully.

"Madame is strict. "Wasn't provoked?" O'Sullivan thought to himself.

This cunning and tricky terrible woman.

Back at Earl O'Sullivan's mansion, O'Sullivan immediately entered his room, where the red-robed mage Alai should have been waiting in the past.

"What's the good news?" O'Sullivan muttered to himself, flipping through the file on the table.

Soon after he betrayed O'Sullivan and directly contacted Singh, the archmage in charge of the Supreme Council, O'Sullivan was almost imprisoned, staying at home for a long time and not going out, and then he was sent to distant overseas to patrol Maztika, the largest colony of the empire on another continent, and at the same time visit the island tribes who are either attached to the wings of the empire or always disobey the empire or even ignore it, and during this period, Mishima got what he wanted with the support of the council, and now Rain City can almost be said to be Mishima's private castle, and Alai is more unlucky, He didn't get Morriel as he wished, let alone return to the Red Robe Mage Society, as a traitor, even if he went back, what was the point? Alai didn't insist, but naturally entered the Imperial Mage class of Argus to play a small role under the Great Elder Singh, and Singh accepted him for some reason-certainly not for the sake of the O'Sullivan family's face--readily accepted him.

Not with good intentions.

The O'Sullivan family was indeed humiliated by this, but the young earl could not do anything about it.

The conflict between the Empire and the Elves lasted for hundreds of years, and there were many wars of expansion, large and small, during which the O'Sullivans had always been the lions on the battlefield, but in exchange for a lonely and dead manor.

Now there are no real family males here except for themselves. This made him, Yuri•O'Sullivan, feel desolate.

And he must spare no effort to maintain the glory of the family, even if it is only the afterglow that is about to fade into the memories of the past.

Just because he overstepped his authority to mobilize the garrison near Rain City, and lost several silver-armored heavy armorers and mages because of the Iron Skins, the Empire took back all the important military positions he held and left him at home, and even worse, sent him to Maztika, a tropical region full of poisonous miasma and barbarians, to conduct so-called inspections, and to play so-called diplomacy with those sea-people who exuded a fishy smell...... And this qiē is actually a despicable trick of the Mage Council - everyone knows what it means to send a military general to take charge of such superficial diplomatic affairs.

Even so, O'Sullivan obeyed the order, and he went into battle alone, running from island to island, eating half-cooked fish fillets all day long, dealing with endless difficulties and criticisms, and even thwarting an assassination planned by a sea elf...... He finally lived up to the name of the lion of the O'Sullivan family, a non-royal family that had won the title of earl for his outstanding military exploits.

After instructing the butler to prepare the carriage early tomorrow morning, Yuri went to the top floor of the mansion alone.

The unfurnished hall is filled with portraits of ancestors. The first O'Sullivan, Rebitli•O'Sullivan was once the commander of the empire, and his troops conquered most of the west, accumulating capital for the establishment of the empire, but at the same time, the process of capital accumulation also cast a disgraceful shadow on his descendants.

In any case, O'Sullivan was given the title of earl by the royal family at the time, and no successor after him had the right to deprive him of it, which could be described as an iron coupon and a gold medal for avoiding death—as a small compensation for the Demon Marshal Rebitli, and he was even allowed to bring a certain amount of royal blood into his home thereafter, although both of these were actually as unsafe as building a house in the hustle and bustle of the desert.

Yuri's great-grandmother is an orthodox royal princess.

And then, because of the stability of the empire, there was no longer a need for so many generals - and Rebitelli was very disdainful of mages from the beginning, believing that those who hid behind his strong body and played with power and strange spells were not real warriors at all, but just despicable villains - so the former demon marshal spent much more time at home fiddling with the garden than on the battlefield.

In fact, Yuri thinks so, and his ancestors are absolutely right in this regard.

So based on this prejudice that is not a prejudice, the O'Sullivan family and the mages often make trouble with each other, which has almost become a tradition of their family, so after the mages gradually grasped the authority, the disgrace of the ancestors of the O'Sullivan family became a magic weapon to expel them from the upper echelons of power, and finally the royal family acquiesced to this matter under pressure.

It reminded him of his father, Count Feet•Earl O'Sullivan.

Soon his portrait will be placed alongside that of his sons, and as part of the gallery, the pages of the O'Sullivan family chronicles, will be remembered by their descendants, if there are ever descendants.

Yuri grinded one of the portraits, his white gloves slid across the canvas containing grains, the young man in it smiled heartily, his dark face and black pupils revealed a different kind of vigor, and his sturdy and strong body could not be concealed under the gorgeous court dress, he was the most formidable warrior Yuri had ever seen, and his childhood idol, Julian•O'Sullivan, the most suitable heir to the earl.

Now he has become an earl, and he, the respected eldest brother, can only freeze his smile in the painting, and he can't even add the word earl to the nameplate.

He was sent to the battlefield by the mages, who had cornered him - the eldest brother killed every enemy who came at him, but he could not defend himself against the cold arrows that had been quenched.

In the dark room, Yuri wandered slowly, his brother, grandfather, and earlier ancestors in the portrait watching him silently, waiting for the young man who would join them at some point.

"Your Excellency, the car is ready. The old butler carefully interrupted O'Sullivan's thoughts.

"Thanks, I'll be right away. ”

Nafu bowed slightly, except for him, the old man who almost brought O'Sullivan from childhood to adulthood, no one dared to disturb Yuri in this place.

Yuri took one last look at Julian, his brother still smiling at him.

"Someday ......" ended with almost a full night of memories of Yuri•O'Sullivan resolutely turned around and walked out of the corridor, and the door to O'Sullivan's family history slammed shut.

"Where are you going? On the four-wheeled carriage, which was not much decorated, the coachman Wright raised his long whip.

"Prison. O'Sullivan lowered the curtain of the carriage to block out the cold morning fog on the avenue.

Chapter 4 has begun, please continue to vote for it~.