That night, Leon had dinner at Viscount Taric's house and met the current Viscount Taric, who was only fourteen years old, Rickert Taric.
Viscount Taric's family had been rather sparse in recent years. Viscount Layson had left behind two sons and two daughters, which was not a small number in theory. However, before the eldest son could have any children, his horse and he fell off a cliff when he was out hunting. His body was never found intact. After the two daughters married, they did not give birth to any sons. Hence, the youngest son, Rickert, became the only heir to the viscount's title. He was working hard to learn political knowledge and strive to become a qualified noble lord.
But looking at him, Leon was a little worried. Rickert was a little thin and frail, and he did not seem to have much courage. The worst thing was that Leon could tell at a glance that this child's combat ability was … almost zero.
"Uncle Nick, you are so good at magic, why don't you teach him?" Leon asked. "The world is not peaceful, he can protect himself if he has some ability."
"His intelligence is not high, it is better for him to work hard on learning political affairs." Old Nick smiled. "I can still live for another twenty to thirty years. Even when my lifespan is up, with my strength, it is not difficult for me to transform into an undead creature or a construct creature. With me protecting him, he does not need to rush to improve his combat ability. "
"Learning swordsmanship or magic, how much time would it take …"
"Do you think everyone is a genius like you?" Old Nick laughed. "You are an enviable fellow, don't use your standards to measure others!"
Leon thought for a moment and smiled as well.
After laughing, he told Old Nick and Rickert some of the information he had obtained, but found that the two did not seem surprised.
"It seems that we really need to be mentally prepared." Old Nick sighed. "Sir, I am afraid we have to leave."
"Well, let's go." Rickert did not have any reluctance to leave. "We will temporarily stay at the Void Mask amusement park, and wait for this storm to settle down."
Leon heaved a sigh of relief. He was really worried that the two would suddenly have the romantic spirit of "nobles should die in their own territory". That would be terrible!
"… It's one thing for the nobles to die in their own territory, but what's the point of going to another country to fight a bloody battle!?" Baron Krieg Keane jumped to his feet and threw the enlistment order from the Lord of Thunder on the table, cursing aloud, "What a f * cking retard!"
"Perhaps, but although it is an absurd order, you have no reason to refuse." The knight of Devore Owens, who was currently serving as his adjutant, sighed and said, "As a lord directly under the Grand Duke, you must obey his summons."
"Greetings to his ancestors! This old thing just wants me dead! "
"I wholeheartedly agree with your judgment. But now we are faced with the problem of how to deal with the draft. "
Crick sighed deeply and sat down again. He picked up the draft order and looked at it again.
[Baron Keane is hereby ordered to lead his troops to participate in the battle to assist the Eagle Kingdom and be incorporated under Prince Hailwin's banner. He must arrive before December 1st without any delay!]
"By the way, Prince Hairwin is just plain unlucky …"
"Who asked him to believe in the Founding Knight? If he believed in the Master of Mystery, maybe even the Grand Duke would not be willing to hurt him." Devore shook his head. "The situation is very clear now. The Founding Knight is putting up a desperate fight. If he can succeed, then with his prestige among the people, he can slightly regain some faith. If he fails … it will probably be the time for him to fall. "
"The fall of a god, what does it have to do with us!"
"The castle has collapsed. Can the people living in it be fine?" Nicolay said with a sneer. "Lord Baron, don't complain. Let's think about what to do. "
"What do you think we should do?" Crick thought about it and only felt that his mind was a mess. He really could not think of any way, so he asked in distress.
"Give up the title and the fief," Nicolay said. "Go back to the Grand Theater with us. You have a lot of money anyway, and you are a good scholar. In the future, you can concentrate on writing operas, and live a stable life."
"This is almost the most desirable idea," Devore sighed. Divor sighed. "Although it's very shameful and immoral for a retainer to instigate his lord to betray his lord, a person like you really shouldn't die in a conspiracy."
Crick frowned. He admitted that what his subordinates said was very reasonable, but …
"If we want to escape, how should we arrange the route?" He asked. "We can't run all the way to the Void Mask Amusement Park, can we? We must use the portal. But the portal in the capital must be very strict … Do we have to run to the Commonwealth of Mifata? "
"That's the only thing we can do," Devore said. "And it has to be fast. It's better to start tonight, so we can seize the time."
"But what about the people and my officials? I can't take everyone with me, can I? "
"At this time, we can't care so much." The old butler sighed. "The hope of the Keane family is pinned on you. If you die, the Keane family is really finished! You don't think that Miss Anna has the ability to support the family, do you? "
"I'm asking, if I run away, what will happen to the people and my officials?" Crick said in a low voice.
The old butler was silent for a while and replied, "They will probably be deprived of their territory and accused of treason. At that time, the officials will be purged, and the territory will also be taxed. Maybe in a few years, the territory will be conferred to someone else. "
Crick frowned deeply. "What will happen to you and Anna?"
"Don't worry about us, and don't worry about Miss Anna." The old butler smiled. "There is nothing to be afraid of. You are the most important!"
"Sir, now is not the time to hesitate!" Devore advised. "You must go!"
"Yes, the sooner the better!" The old butler also advised.
But at this time, the thief Lafur, who was in charge of intelligence, hurriedly ran in and reported that there were senior adventurers near the City of Keane. A group of knights from the Church of the God of Aristocracy were led by priests and mages into the city. The leader, Priest Maggie, asked to meet the castellan in a few days.
"F * ck!" Even someone as steady as Devore could not help but swear. "They are obviously here to block the way!"
"Maggie Smith is not an ordinary person. She is very strong and not easy to deal with," Nicolay said with a frown. Nikolay said with a frown. "She alone is hard enough, not to mention that she has a large group of helpers. It will be difficult to break through her obstruction and escape! "
"What about using magic? Isn't there a Teleportation Spell? "Devore asked.
"Divine Teleportation Spell. If it is the Plane Teleportation Spell of the Realm of Planes, or the general Teleportation Spell of the Realm of Travel, but Thomas and I do not have these two domains." Nicolay sighed. "We can only use any door. The teleportation distance is too short …"
"Get Mage Damwade here. Maybe he has a way."
So Mage Damwade, who was in the research room, was quickly found. When he learned about the crisis that the lord was facing, the mage took out a silver scroll.
"I don't know the Teleportation Spell either, but I have this' Return Spell 'scroll, which can allow three people to return to the Highest Tower together," he said. "I, Lord, can also bring one more person."
Crick's subordinates were obviously relieved. The old butler said with a smile, "What a coincidence. We can bring Miss Anna with us."
Nicolay shook his head. "Let's just let Thomas follow. Although this guy is a bastard, he is still very tough."
"We should bring Butler Wade with us," Devore suggested. "If the Keane Family wants to revive in the future, we still need to rely on Butler Wade's experience and wisdom."
"If I run away, what will you do?" Crick interrupted their argument and asked worriedly, "Maggie and her group are obviously not here with good intentions!"
"Haha, as long as you leave, we have a lot of ways," Nicolay said with a smile. Nikolay said with a grin. "With our abilities, if we want to escape, no one should be able to stop us!"
"Yes, this is the only way!" Devore also nodded repeatedly. "Let's take this opportunity to leave!"
Crick was silent for a long time, and then he ordered the senior officials of the territory to be summoned.
His order was quickly carried out. The group of officials, who had been transferred and promoted by him and whose loyalty was generally above 80%, gathered in the City Hall.
He told them about the Grand Duke's conscription order and the arrival of the elites of the Church of the God of Aristocracy, and asked them to express their opinions.
Just like Devore and the others, these highly loyal officials advised him to run away, saying that he should not run to the Eagle Kingdom and fight with the Orc Army for such an absurd order. That was completely suicidal!
"I can run away, but what about you?" Crick asked.
The officials were suddenly speechless. They looked at each other, and then more than one of them said, "There will always be a way," "The big shots will not be discouraged by insignificant pawns like us," "The territory will always need someone to help govern it," and so on.
Crick sighed deeply and shook his head secretly.
Even he himself could not avoid a major internal purge, and a few people had died in the process. If he ran away, his territory would fall into the hands of other nobles, and these officials who were loyal to him would probably have their heads rolled.
Moreover, the people of the territory were already very poor. If taxes were increased, how could they live? He was afraid that many people would not be able to survive this winter!
The young man looked up at the wood grain of the ceiling and could not help but smile bitterly.
"I can't run away," he said. "Go and contact Aunt Lily. I remember that her family lives in a nearby town. I remember that there is a magic instrument that can be used for communication …"
However, after the magic instrument was activated, it only emitted a red light and then there was no response.
"The target of contact has been destroyed," Wizard Damwade said with a frown. Damwade frowned and said, "If I'm not mistaken, I'm afraid your aunt has already met with misfortune. Considering that her house is on the road from Storm County to Keane City, we can assume that it was probably done by Maggie and the others."
Crick gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and took a few deep breaths to suppress his anger.
Now was not the time to be angry, and anger would not solve the problem.
"Go and find Anna!"
Anna was Crick Keane's sister and one of the only two direct heirs of the Keane family. She was only nine years old and still a child who did not know anything. But even a child could feel the heavy atmosphere and could not help but be afraid.
"Brother Crick … what's wrong?" she asked in fear.
Crick looked at her, his heart full of worry.
Would it really work to hand over the family to this little girl?
But … there was no other choice.
He thought for a moment and said, "Anna, are you willing to believe in His Majesty the Void Mask?"
"Void Mask? The big green jellyfish? Brother, didn't you want me to try to believe in the God of Light? "
Crick smiled bitterly. "The God of Light … I'm afraid that only the big green jellyfish is the most reliable at the critical moment. After all, he is a ruthless man who could kill two gods for the death of his believers! "
"Sir, in fact, you can also …" Divor advised.
Crick shook his head. "I can't. Military orders must be obeyed. The conscription order has been issued, and I have to give an explanation. Even His Majesty the Void Mask can't protect a traitor who disobeys orders. "
"Well, prepare the troops." After making the most important decision, he felt his whole body relaxed. "I have to hurry up and write some plans and programs to govern the territory. When I'm not here, please help Anna."
All the officials were silent, and more than one of them began to cry in a low voice.
"Don't cry. I'm just going to fight a war. It's not certain that I'll die." Crick forced a smile. "Maybe I can become famous after the war!"
"When I win the war, I'll come back to marry and have children. I'll give birth to a group of sons … Ai Miwei, are you interested in changing your profession and becoming a baroness?"
In the maid's surprised and shy response, he laughed, waved his hand, and let everyone leave, ending the meeting.
When even Ai Miwei was driven out of the study by him on the grounds that he wanted to write a secret document, he did not rush to start writing. Instead, he looked around the government office and sighed deeply.
"Damn! Why am I so unlucky! "
Tears slowly flowed down his cheeks with a bitter smile.
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