Chapter 240: The Noble Alliance and Dumbledore

Eastern border of Kantadar.

Western part of Bardim County.

The military camp stretched, with countless flags fluttering in the cold wind, and soldiers carrying spears patrolling back and forth.

A meeting uniting many lord families in the east is taking place in the castle behind.

Located behind the moat, in the fortress belonging to Count Runave, lords of all sizes from the eastern territories gathered here.

On the long table in the hall, the nobles were having a heated debate with each other.

At a glance, there are many young lords under the age of thirty in the hall, and a considerable number of them are around the age of twenty. Behind them are the coats of arms of the big families.

Even though there are a few middle-aged nobles, the older ones seem to have little say in the matter and are just a few minor lords.

"Why didn't you respond to Border Count's invitation? Who among us has an army more powerful than Count Mamol's?" asked the young lord further north of the Eastern Border.

Across the long table, another young baron snorted: "Half of Mamore County has been lost. He called us over because he just wanted our soldiers to help him regain the territory. How could he be so kind as to send troops to help us fight against the undead?"

At this time, a southeastern lord who was leaning on a chair said quietly: "In terms of the strength of the army, it is better to go to Duke Abel in the south. I say, maybe soon, we will call him His Majesty Abel. "

"Just because of that treacherous dog thief, there are so many Eastern Expedition soldiers in the army of corpses in the east. Maybe he is the devil who coveted the throne. He must have used witchcraft to kill His Majesty Aviut and the generals. , otherwise how could the Eastern Expedition army listen to him? He must pay for my father's life!" The young lord who spoke first was filled with anger.

"That's your business, what does it have to do with us? Besides, if these living dead created by Duke Abel really surrender to him, wouldn't it mean that we no longer have to worry about being attacked by those devils." The nobles from the further south sneered. road.

Listening to the quarrel that had been going on for several days, Ivan, who was sitting in the corner, rubbed his forehead and felt a headache.

After the withdrawal of troops from the Eastern Expedition, a large number of prestigious nobles from the eastern territories disappeared for a long time. Without their leaders, the already conflicting families were constantly at odds. Now, many young new lords have hurriedly succeeded to the throne and are facing... Despite the approaching disaster, it has been impossible to reach any decent consensus and strategy.

The door opened, and a travel-worn noble messenger rushed into the hall, finally delivering news from Usato.

The envoy who had previously asked for help from Abel's army told everyone present the story of the battle between the North and the South in Usato, and the lords became even more quarrelsome.

"I just said that the despicable old guy can't do anything! His Highness Kasuo ascended the throne and defeated Abel's rebels. The kingdom can finally bring order to the chaos." Hearing that Abel's army suffered a disastrous defeat, he withdrew from Usato Territory In the principality of Shannan, the young lord whose family had been loyal to the royal family for generations could not help but rejoice in his misfortune.

But there are also naysayers on the table: "Oh! His Highness Kasuo sent the Orlander army south. He abandoned his glory and joined the foreign enemies. What qualifications do he have to become the king of Kantadar?"

"It's just an expedient to control the tiger to devour the wolf. Without the help of the Orlanders' soldiers, His Highness Kasuo is isolated and trapped in the Usato Mountain Pass. How can he repel Abel's rebels? You are so courageous. , why didn’t I see you fight off Ledwin’s army?”

"You will excuse His Highness Ka Suo, but I didn't see you, a loyal dog, leading the army west to King Qin?"

"There is no news about my father and his soldiers. I am afraid they will be killed at the hands of Abel. Where will the army come from to lead Usato?"

The original discussion turned into tit-for-tat abuse, and the boiling sound became more and more intense. Several middle-aged lords raised their foreheads, unaware that these young people in high positions were particularly agitated.

A silver cup was hit hard on the long table, rolled across with a clang, and the wine spilled all over the table.

"It's been so many days, haven't you guys argued enough?"

The new Count Runave, who was also less than thirty years old, glanced at the people arguing: "Look at yourselves, do you look like a group of drunkards and wild men? I have called everyone here to defend us together. Territory, two-thirds of Bardim County has become a land of the dead in eternal night, and internal strife continues, that is the future of the territory under your rule! Do you want to continue to fight among the dead? "

Several young people with grudges were still angry, but they still calmed down a little, did not speak, and sat back in their chairs heavily.

Being in the territory of the Runav family, they would not fall out with their hosts.

Count Runav looked at the Baron of Shatai City who had lost his family territory and came to seek refuge with all his soldiers, civilians and wealth, and hinted: "Your Excellency Ivan, you were the first to send a message to warn everyone that Shatai City is also the only city that has attacked Why should the city remain silent after retreating from the undead army? "Tell me what you think."

When Ivan heard this, he had to frown and stand up, looking at the lords with different expressions on the long table.

The rear nobles whose territory has not yet encountered the undead army have serious expressions, but they obviously still do not feel the imminent disaster.

But at this moment on the table, there are now many border lords who, like him, have lost the land that their families have ruled for many years, as well as nobles who have glimpsed the approaching dark clouds.

"Count Mamor is unwilling to send troops, and Duke Abel's principality is in the southeast. He will also soon face the undead army pressing the border. Now he has suffered a big defeat in Usator, losing his troops and losing his generals. He will not and has no spare strength to send troops. Support us.

Prince Kasuo is unable to protect himself, and the Falcon family and the western nobles are too far away to rely on.

So I have an idea. If we are facing a powerful enemy, we might as well put aside our grievances with the Orlanders for the time being, and follow the example of His Highness Kasuo and ask for help from the Northern Kingdom to send troops. They are now occupying the Northern Territory, and the spread of the undead disaster will also threaten them. As long as the road is open to ensure the safe arrival of their troops, Ivan followed the words discussed with the earl and proposed the third plan.

But before he finished speaking, there was a disdainful snort on the table: "You want us to follow His Highness Ka Suo's example and betray the country and surrender to the enemy?"

"Your Excellency, I can't wait to see Wang Ying now. The land is in turmoil, with internal and external troubles, and the situation is precarious. Why talk about treason?" After Yi Wen finished speaking, he smiled bitterly.

"Besides, whose country was rebelled against? Who is in the hands of Kantadar now? Who is our monarch?

Is it the Duke of Arborough?

Or Count Marmor?

Or Prince Kasuo?

Or even that Count Fercamp of the far west?

Now, who can represent Kantadar and gather strength to rescue the east? "

Following Ivan's question, the nobles at the table fell silent.

"Everyone, since the great changes in the Eastern Expedition and the disappearance of His Majesty Aviut and the princes, the kingdom has been torn apart! Now there is no king who can help us, and we must unite to find a way out.

What about asking for help from the Orlanders? Are they more vicious than the Uriahites? Not long ago, how many of you had territories that were not plundered by Urians crossing the border?

If we could hire Urians before, why can't we hire Orlanders? "

Seeing that many people at the table still couldn't let go of their prejudices, Ivan urged again: "Prince Kasuo ascended the throne as king, which is in line with the law. Since our king can now invite the northern army to help, why can't we? Who can? Are you saying we are betraying you?”

"That's easy to say. Why do the Orlanders send troops?"

"Based on the reward we gave." Ivan said loudly: "When I turn into a corpse, what's the use of keeping those gold and jewelry in my pocket? The treasures looted from Serian, plus Shatai The family has accumulated all the wealth! My family can spend 40,000 gold coins to hire an army of Orlanders to fight."

Such wealth caused a sudden gasp on the table.

Everyone present knew that Baron Shatai had lost all his territory, but they did not expect that he still had such a large amount of money in his hands.

It’s even more inconceivable that he would actually be willing to risk everything.

Since there is still huge wealth, it is better to take the guards to the west of the kingdom. As long as you take refuge with a big lord, such a large sum of money can obviously buy you a new territory immediately.

After losing all the land, why are you still squatting in the east and fighting with those dead people?

"Your Excellency Ivan, how can you guarantee that the Orlanders will not take the opportunity to stab us in the back and annex our land?" asked an older lord.

"They still need to go out of their way to stab us in the back? Do you think the Northern Kingdom doesn't know the situation we are facing? I have told you many times that Shatai City was saved by a griffon lord from Orland. If he can inform everyone, won't he inform the northern lords of the news?" Ivan asked.

"While we still have the power to choose, it is better to negotiate with the northern lords who are worthy of establishing diplomatic relations as soon as possible, rather than being attacked from both sides and having nowhere to retreat."

"Who said that there is nowhere to retreat, even if we retreat to the Usato Territory, the undead can still break through the Shanguan Fortress?" A young eastern lord retorted.

Another lord sneered: "Are you stupid? Isn't the Usato Territory already controlled by the Orlanders?"

"Hiss." The eastern lord frowned in annoyance and patted his head. The kingdom that was prosperous a year ago was suddenly so precarious.

"Listen to what you said, you already have a suitable person to ask for help?" Count Runav sang a double act with Ivan at the right time.

"Yes, Baron Avalon, who once saved Shatai City, and the Thornflower family he is loyal to, have exchanged many letters with me. They now occupy Glade County in the north of the kingdom. Once the undead army invades the west, They are the ones who suffer." Ivan nodded.

"You can try it. You talk to them. If the Thorn Flower family is willing to send troops, I can provide another 20,000 gold coins to help you negotiate." Count Runav took the lead in expressing his conative tendency.

Seeing the largest lord in Bardim County speaking, many eastern nobles in the hall once again fell into whispering.

"But Count Mamore hates northerners. If he sends someone to ask us why we colluded with the Orlanders, how should we explain it?" One person asked Count Runaf.

Runav patted the arm of the chair and said with an angry eyebrow: "If Lord Mamol can send troops to save us, do we still need to do this? What can we explain to him?"

In the end, except for a few lords from the southern region who were more inclined to seek help from the Duke of Arborough, they withdrew from the meeting and took their people away.

Most of the eastern nobles accepted this proposal.

Naturally, Runav took advantage of the situation and proposed a military alliance to unite all the families in the East. Then he raised huge sums of money to hire reinforcements, assembled troops and supplies from various families, and discussed each issue much more smoothly than before. Invisibly, he Gradually he became the leader of the people.

After the long meeting ended, the lords temporarily dispersed, and Ivan walked out of the castle hall.

Ron, who was wearing plate armor and had been canonized as a knight, followed the footsteps of his master and handed a clean kettle to Ivan.

Ivan took it to moisten his throat and let out a long sigh of relief in the courtyard behind the castle.

He had never experienced an occasion like this before, especially when he had to cooperate with Count Runave and persuade the disobedient lords to unite. For a pure warrior not long ago, his performance was inevitably jerky.

Fortunately, most of the people he faced were nobles of about the same age, so Ivan was not too stage frightened.

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He had already had to leave behind the land that his ancestors had ruled for hundreds of years, and now he could never let down the tens of thousands of people who had lost their homes.

"From now on, the eastern part will be united as a whole." Runav, who had successfully taken over the power to lead the coalition forces, walked towards them. It seemed that his expression had finally relaxed a little amid the constant bad news of losing ground.

"But even so, our strength alone is not enough to fight against the disaster." Ivan sighed.

Count Runav nodded to the trustworthy ally in front of him: "I hope that the Thorn Flower family that you are contacting can keep their word. We have no other hope."

Mount Usator.

In addition to Ledwin's army, the lords of Orland who were recruited and assembled gradually led their respective troops to withdraw from the Kantadar Kingdom from the northern pass, disbanded and returned.

The Battle of Usato did not exceed the forty-day service obligation of the lords. The king did not need to pay money and salaries to his ministers, but the rewards and spoils that returned home were still very profitable for each family.

If we really want to talk about the side that suffered the heavy price, the losses borne by Kasuo and Usato were actually far greater than those of the defeated Abel.

Including the additional "consumption" after the war. Expecting the northern army to do nothing against Qiu, a rich town in the territory of Usato, is obviously nonsense. The Orlanders are not here to do charity for Kasuo.

But Ledwin also did not want the royal court of Cantadar in his hands to turn into a white ground, at least he did not allow the Orland army to burn, kill and loot like the Urians.

However, money, grain, and countless other goods were naturally not all captured from the Confederate army.

The huge reward extorted from Kasuo was enough to make the leader of Usato suffer a lot of pain.

The food, wealth, ordnance, etc. that had been accumulated for many years in the royal city and various warehouses in the royal territory were lost. The two thousand royal palace guards were also wiped out after the war. For a long time to come, the new king of Kantadar, Ka Suo will become a puppet in Ledwin's hands, a veritable vassal with no qualifications to negotiate terms.

Is it worth it for a crown? Leon didn't know, but after knowing the bloodshed caused by the Uriya people in the south, he felt that Kasuo was evil and doing good things. The extortion and robbery of the Olanders was nothing compared to the Uriya people. In the light of civilization, this world is in a bad state after all.

As the Thorn Flower family's army slowly left the Usato Mountains, Leon, protected by his knights, sat on the carriage and looked at the sky, remembering the "cooperation" he had reached with Ledwin not long ago.

Agreeing to serve as a court mage, to a certain extent, although not as glorious as the title of Twilight Blood Guard, it still has similar political significance.

After all, they are all close ministers around the king.

But thinking about the conditions for cultivating a mage for Ledwin, Leon suddenly realized that he was eager to obtain the Moonfall Silver and still missed some details in the conversation.

From the beginning to the end, the old dragon never asked himself how to find an apprentice with magical talents.

But since he agreed to this condition, it meant that he admitted that he had a way to find an apprentice without asking.

I have Laura to help me identify people with talents, but in this world, other people are far less capable than witnessing the magical phenomena unintentionally revealed by gifted people.

The Northern Association used magic equipment to find the needle in the haystack, and he used Miss Laura's "Prosthetic Eye Dingzhen".

Ledwin has been silent and has not spoken to explore, but Leon understands that this guy wants to have a team of mage loyal to him, and he must have tried it in private before, so he cannot understand what this means.

However, the Northern Association, which has been passed down for hundreds of years, and the professional warlocks seeking apprentices in the Western Continent are just lucky, and it is even more difficult to train them. It is certainly impossible for Ledwin, who has only been king for more than ten years. What progress has been made in this regard.

Leon touched his chin. He had to be more careful when talking to this old man in the future. If he didn't pay attention, he would touch a bit of his underwear.

To avoid exposing Laura's existence to outsiders, he felt that he had to build a device in Avalon as soon as possible, similar to the equipment used to detect magic talents in the Northern Warlock Fortress as a cover.

Fortunately, although that thing is a high-end magic device in this world, with Lorelite's knowledge and Laura's guidance, it shouldn't be difficult to build one with simple functions by yourself. As long as it doesn't require any key materials that are difficult to obtain.

If you can't make it, you can just make a crystal ball like in the novel of the previous life, and make some sound and light effects to show off. Anyway, Laura will come to see it.

Demonic energy, third stage

Thinking that some classic scene might be recreated, Leon smiled slightly.

He was actually not in a hurry. Although he agreed to Ledwin's conditions, cultivating spellcasters did not happen overnight. There were still crises in the east that needed to be faced, and the other party did not rush him.

What's more, the resources promised by the king are far from being available. At least we need to get the Moon Meteor Silver first.

When this matter turned into accepting the task of establishing a "magic institution" for the royal family, his original reward for military exploits was also changed by Ledwin.

The stipend became an investment in education, and the royal fief became a future support for magic materials and other manpower and material resources.

Leon didn't feel that he was at a disadvantage. Not only did he get the Moonfall Silver, but the King's reward would only be in a different form in the future.

When the resources are in hand, as the future Minister of Magic and Headmaster of Magic of the Kingdom of Orland, he can get some wool from it and fill his pockets a little. It seems that no one can control it?

This is all Commissioner Leon's consumption of magic research and education!

And if Ledwin really helps him organize the official wizard group of Orland, the other party seems to be at a disadvantage.

This old dragon is so anxious to get rid of his dependence on the Northern Warlock Association in magic matters. Leon also understands it a little.

As a monarch, he naturally hates powerful forces that are not under his control. Although there are few wizards in the world, as long as the conditions are right, the damage caused is still unimaginable, especially after hearing from other nobles that after the civil war more than ten years ago, after promising victory, the restrictions and constraints on the association were lifted and the support of the warlocks was obtained.

Plague, undead, assassination, countless cruel and bloody blows to the army under the command of the former "tyrant" with the help of the magic of the warlocks deeply shocked the lords of various places.

This is also the reason why Ledwin later issued the "Anti-Witchcraft Decree" to prohibit warlocks from intervening in the internal struggles of the nobles.

Unsurprisingly, he broke his promise to the northern warlocks, and the restrictions on spellcasters in the new dynasty were no less than those in the previous dynasty.

On this issue, except for the three counties of the Northern Kingdom of Bleden, all other lords had surprisingly consistent attitudes.

The nobles of the kingdom have never been so united on one thing.

The Warlock Association was of course angry at the nobles' inconsistency.

However, the warlocks had no choice.

Because if they did not abide by the restrictions, what awaited them was destruction.

No matter what the cost, it was not only Orland's huge army and powerful knights who could destroy the Warlock Association on this land.

As long as the kingdom is a little more relaxed and allows it, Leon knows that the Holy Sun Church will most likely be very happy to go to Orland to capture people and send all these unmonitored spellcasters to the church's magic circle to chant.

Despite such restrictions and suppression, it seems that Redwin is still unwilling to have only the Warlock Association as an option when it comes to magic.

Leon feels that he may not expect much loyalty from himself, but at least he can give him another basket to put his eggs in.