The invasion of the demons quickly became the most serious situation at the moment, and everyone knew the weight of this news.
Wood hoped that the princess could first release the captives of the Holy Cathedral of Fire and let the Konolian fleet recover at least some combat power to deal with the coming war with the demons. But Brando did not immediately respond to this request. Time was tight, but it did not mean that he needed to give up the previous victory.
The war took a break, and both sides needed to rest. The demons could not appear in front of them immediately. These creatures from the Sulfur River would also be hindered in the heavy rain. Before that, even in the worst case scenario, he had more than ten hours to negotiate with the Cruz people.
Brando's request was very simple, but it was also a bit of an exorbitant demand.
The Northern Coalition Army should return all the captives belonging to the princess, including His Royal Highness the little prince.
After that, the Holy Cathedral of Fire had to bear all the losses caused by this war because Brando believed that the northern nobles started the war under their instigation. He did not care whether the truth was the case or not.
This included the compensation and trade compensation agreement.
Of course, the compensation was done privately in order to take care of the face of the Cruz people. Brando could still meet this small request. After all, he only focused on the practical benefits.
The trade compensation agreement was a compensation method proposed by Brando. On the surface, it was a trade preference of the Cruz Empire for the Erouine Empire. But in fact, there were many detailed conditions, including two important technology transactions.
The drawings of the magic transmission device and the manufacturing technology of the empire's' Dreadness-class' battleship.
This was simply blackmail.
Seeing these two conditions, the expression on Wood's face was as dark as the dark clouds outside Ampere Seale. He did not say a word and just left.
Then he sent an envoy to negotiate with Brando.
The envoy simply claimed that if Brando did not cooperate, the Holy Cathedral would give up on Erouine, and Cruz people would lose a little face at most. But the best outcome for Erouine was a great loss of vitality, and the worst outcome was undoubtedly the destruction of the country.
If these words were placed in front of other Erouine nobles, it would undoubtedly be a huge bomb. Even the princess would be shaken by these words. However, Brando just smiled and ordered Mephistopheles to throw this guy out of the camp.
What a joke.
He was well aware of the Holy Sanctum's weakness. Cruz's people probably didn't just want to save face, but more importantly, the secret of the Door of Flame must not fall into the hands of All For One. He knew that there were several permanent Doors of Flame in the Cruz Empire. Once the secret of the Doors of Flame was leaked out, the empire would become another gate from the Sulfur River to the surface world.
With this secret in hand, Brando naturally wouldn't compromise easily. However, he also felt uneasy in his heart. If that old fox Wood really dared to bide his time, Brando was afraid that he would have to take the initiative to compromise with him.
This was because only he, Amandina, and Freya knew that the Roman were still in the port of Ampere Seale.
And once Cruz's people took the initiative, he was afraid that Erouine would be skinned alive. Brando gritted his teeth and held on for an hour and a half. Finally, Wood couldn't help but come to the door. After all, the archbishop didn't have any news that was enough to make him feel at ease.
When Wood came, Brando breathed a sigh of relief.
Cruz's people had given in.
In just half an hour, Brando signed a temporary peace agreement with Wood, taking advantage of the momentum of Cruz's people giving in. Brando was not soft-hearted. In addition to the superficial agreement, the two sides signed a temporary secret agreement.
The Holy Cathedral of Fire privately recognized the right of the Royal Family of Covardo to prosecute several major leaders of the northern nobles for usurpation in the future. This included the right to dispose of Duke Seifer, Marquis Balta, Count Vitokin, Marquis Yoakam, and others.
However, this second clause was not brought to the surface. First of all, now was not the time to shake the confidence of the northern nobles. Second, the archbishop had already discovered that Duke Seifer, Marquis Balta, Count Vitokin, and Marquis Yoakam were nowhere to be found. Presumably, His Royal Highness Prince Haruz had also fallen into the hands of All For One.
Therefore, even if the Holy Cathedral wanted to fulfill this clause, they did not have the ability to do so for the time being.
After meeting all the requirements, Brando naturally agreed in principle to return all the captives of the Holy Cathedral of Fire, including the seven Knights of the Holy Cathedral, the White-Winged Knight, and the other captives of the Konolia fleet.
After all, these people would also play their role in the war and could be regarded as Brando's coolies. Although Cruz's people might not think so.
At the same time, in exchange for a second, more important agreement. Brando also took a step back on the original technology transfer agreement and changed the latest type of magical transmission device to a blueprint that was not more than ten years behind, and the battleship manufacturing technology was also changed to frigate manufacturing technology.
But even so, Brando still left a trap. Because his original target, the Knight, was the design of the Cruz Empire's new frigate. The Cruz battleship pursued firepower and armor, which was cumbersome and unpleasant. He preferred the Wind Elves' new type of battleship, but the Cruz's new frigate was a design stolen from their old enemy, the Hazel people, but it was extremely brilliant. After all, the Hazel people were one of the best magicians in the world of Wohnde.
Unfortunately, although Wood was a respected archbishop and the most talented senior of the Holy Cathedral of Fire, he was not a technocrat. Most of the nobles who followed the army of the Holy Cathedral of Fire were unlikely to bring along master craftsmen. So in the case where everyone was unaware of the trap, Brando naturally tricked them cleanly and ruthlessly.
In the end, the two sides exchanged captives and reached a preliminary settlement. Brando did not intend to let the two armies that had just killed each other a few hours ago merge together to fight against the demons. This was undoubtedly a fantasy. So he simply let the Northern Coalition Army stay in the Bunuo area, while the princess's army and Anthony's army were directly stationed in the Mar Highlands.
This proposal was also approved by everyone. Anyway, the northern nobles were not necessarily willing to stand in the same trench as Her Royal Highness.
Then Brando blocked the news of the demon invasion and did not let any rumors spread among the ordinary soldiers. He only told them that there might be a foreign army from Jorgendy Ridge invading Ampere Seale. Although it was frustrating to have to go back to the battle before they could celebrate after winning a big battle, it was better than having a large number of deserters immediately.
He had seen similar scenes before, during the second and third War of the Black Rose. Both Austin and the nobles of the Royal Faction agreed. They knew the virtue of their men.
Although the Royal Faction had parted ways with Her Royal Highness earlier, the princess had said that she would let bygones be bygones and the two sides were temporarily back on the same chariot. Due to the presence of Brando and Eke, Princess Gryphine's status had improved a lot.
But the morale of the soldiers was still a problem. Brando threw this problem to Cruz and asked Wood to persuade the nobles of the Northern Coalition Army to mobilize supplies from the vicinity of Bunuo, at least to let Anthony and Count Austin's army celebrate a victory.
"As long as there is hot meat soup, even in this terrible weather, the ordinary soldiers will still be satisfied." Before evening, Brando had begun to send scouts to the periphery to get information about the vicinity of the port, as well as whether the port had fallen into the hands of the demons and the number of demons.
But considering that the residents of the surface world knew little about the situation in the underground world, Brando decided to go in person and explore the vicinity of Ampere Seale. His risky action was naturally strongly opposed by Amandina, and even Princess Gryphine did not quite agree with it. But he still decided to go ahead.
It was just that he did not expect that Her Royal Highness could not stop him from taking the risk and insisted on going with him. She ordered Oberwei to stay behind to pacify the soldiers, then changed into a Knight's uniform, mounted a horse, and joined his team. Count Austin went with her.
Brando was naturally powerless to stop what Her Royal Highness wanted to do. Fortunately, he did not intend to fight with the demons. He just wanted to investigate the situation at the front line, so he let her be.
Brando naturally would not think that Her Royal Highness was particularly concerned about him. Perhaps it was also because of this. But there were a few times when he saw the half-elf girl's bright silver eyes reflecting the rain, and he thought to himself that she must not be satisfied with her identity as a woman.
Indeed, she was far more suitable for the throne than her brother.
"I just don't know if those cavemen will give us a night to rest." Count Austin replied with some uneasiness.
Brando could understand Austin's uneasiness. Events like the demon invasion could be big or small, and it happened in the surface world all the time. For example, an evil sorcerer summoning a demon and forming a contract with it, or occasionally, a ferocious beast from the Sulfur River escaped to the surface. These events were not important.
But once a situation like this happened, where the demons controlled one or more large teleportation portals, it would be a serious matter. Because the demons themselves also had the technology to create teleportation portals, if the local lords did not react quickly and destroy the teleportation portals, the army of creatures in the lower world would snowball rapidly.
In history, there were a few incidents where a country was destroyed. The earliest example was in the Year of the Golden Hoof. Then it happened again in the Year of Glory. That unlucky duchy was very close to Erouine, near the Duchy of Antoburo.
"I'm afraid not." Brando replied. The demons were not like Erouine's Wyvern Cavalry. They could march well at night, but the heavy rain would also hinder their movements.
The hillsides in the Black Pine Forest became slippery and difficult to walk on under the heavy rain, and the sky became a line at the end of the horizon. Fortunately, Brando was very familiar with the terrain in this area. The group bypassed a few short hills, and then a mountain peak appeared in their sight.
This was Brando's goal.
Under the protection of the Knight, he, the princess, and Count Austin climbed up the highest mountain closest to Ampere Seale in the rain. Then they looked down from the top of the mountain. The direction of the port was dark, which was one of the worst signs. He looked up and saw a few dark clouds floating from the north. Then he found that they were all harpies. They were close relatives of the Sirens, but they were expelled in the Battle of Kairano and later hid in the underground world.
Brando put down the binoculars in his hand and could not help but take a breath of cold air. He looked back and saw that Her Royal Highness was pale. As Wood had expected, there was already an army from Jorgendy Ridge in the port of Ampere Seale.
The three of them were silent for a while.
"Those don't seem to be demons?" Her Royal Highness asked.
Brando nodded. He glanced at the other two, but found that they did not seem to realize that there was a problem. The army of Jorgendy Ridge was mixed in with the demons, which was not a good sign.
There were not only cavemen in the underground world, but most of the surface residents were called cavemen. Few of them could distinguish the relationship between the demons and the other forces in Jorgendy Ridge, so it was understandable that they showed such an attitude.
But Brando knew that Jorgendy Ridge was actually a general term. The underground world was crisscrossed and connected to many areas, such as the Mushroom Field and the Eternal Dark Abyss. The Sulfur River where the demons lived was actually the lowest level of the core world, isolated by the Elemental Boundary of Wohnde. The first to discover them were the Dark Elves. The Dark Elves built a city on the Lava Plains, Scorching Tip. Due to the influence of the dark magic, the high-ranking nobles of the city quickly corrupted and destroyed the seal of the Elemental Boundary. The demons broke out of the box, and the Dark Elven Empire disappeared.
After that, the Dark Elves retreated into the Eternal Dark Abyss, and the demons quickly occupied a piece of land and became one of the original inhabitants of the underground world. However, the residents of the underground world were hostile to each other. The Jorgendy Ridge Empire, which was controlled by the Black Dragon, would never surrender to the demons. How did the two races mix together?
Brando remembered that the first time Jorgendy Ridge invaded the surface world in history was at the beginning of the Second Era, after the Second War of the Black Rose. That was the fourth chapter of the game, 'Eternal Dark'.
Could it be that there were some unknown changes in the underground world? It couldn't be. Brando didn't think that the history he changed would affect Jorgendy Ridge so quickly. The Halran Gaia was already a coincidence among coincidences.
But in any case, the real problem still needed to be solved.
"Mr. Brando, what should we do now?" Princess Gryphine asked. There were so many Harpies in the sky that they looked like a dark cloud. She never dreamed that such a large army would gather near Ampere Seale in just one day. The number of demons on the ground could be imagined. This was a force that even Anthony's army and the Northern Coalition Army together could not resist.
Brando also looked at this scene and was silent for a moment.
"I don't have any good ideas."
"Mr. Brando, you don't have any ideas …?" Princess Gryphine was almost speechless.
Brando nodded. All for One's move was indeed beyond his expectations. The demon army now was almost more than the previous Holy Cathedral of Fire and the Northern Coalition Army combined, and he no longer had the ability to start the cycle of the Paradise of Adversity again in a short time.
Summoning the Holy Cathedral of Life, the Adversity Trojan Horse, and all the pre-cycles, he had to accumulate elements for a long time. At least he didn't have to think about it for a week.
He pursed his lips tightly, and for a moment his mind was full of thoughts about the current situation.
… … (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to qidian.com to vote for me. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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