In the wilderness south of Anzeruta and the border between Balta and Anzeruta, most of the undulating ridges only had this kind of dark rock. There was little vegetation, and the higher elevations were covered with white snow all year round. Below, there was only sparse Eurasian heather or similar shrubs that formed a tundra grassland, scattered on the ground like a thin layer of volcanic ash. A majestic fortress stood between the two dark mountains. The walls were more than sixty feet high and were made of square stones. The Empire's flag fluttered on the four watchtowers. From these towering towers, one could easily monitor every valley within a radius of ten miles. The observation room was also equipped with rotating ballistas and wizards. There was also more than a squadron of crossbowmen, who could shoot the enemy from the air through the holes in the towers.
The fortress was also equipped with an air force. The Frontier Legion stationed here had Griffins and Wyverns, as well as elite Pegasus Knight. They would ascend to the sky as soon as possible after confirming the enemy's situation, guarding the airspace above the fortress.
Brando withdrew his gaze from the huge iron cages on the walls. Those were the Griffins cages. The Griffins locked in them were the air force of the early warning unit on the walls. They could be used for reconnaissance and interception. Not far from those iron cages was a towering giant door. This giant door was more than fifty feet high from the ground to the top. It opened in the middle and was completely made of cast iron. In order to cast this iron door, the Cruz craftsmen used pre-cast iron workpieces to assemble it together. The wizards used magic to mix them together. The purpose of casting this iron door was to fully unleash the impact of the Dragon Cavalry inside the fortress. There were two regiments of Dragon Cavalry inside the Black Sword Fortress. When the Cruz needed them, they would let the Dragon Cavalry line up behind the door and open the main door to attack the enemy outside the fortress.
The flat slope outside the Black Sword Fortress was also artificially paved. It was originally a steep valley, but it was filled up by Duke Sempli and turned into what it was now.
Romaine stood beside him, holding his arm tightly with her little hand. She was also looking up at the majestic wall. She slightly opened her mouth and sighed. "It's so high, Brando."
"The outer walls of the Black Sword Fortress were raised during the Year of Glory. Before that, the main wall was no more than thirty-five feet high, not much different from the outer walls of Monsteros. During the Year of Frost, the Highlanders led by the Longblade Lord attacked this place with the support of the Erouine. During the Year of the Tiger-Lizard, the Cruz recaptured this fortress and began to rebuild it. The construction of the Stronghold lasted for 30 years. It wasn't until the Year of Summer when Duke Sempli completed the front ramp that the Stronghold was completed. " Brando explained to her. This knowledge was not rare for a veteran player, but the little Roman was stunned. She had never heard of this before, but after hearing the words of the person beside her, she felt that Brando was the most knowledgeable person in the world. She was a little proud, but also very curious. "Can someone really conquer this place, Brando? This wall is so high, can they climb it? "
"Even though the Black Sword Fortress isn't the strongest fortress in the Empire, it's still one of the best in the southern regions of the Empire. However, this city has indeed been attacked by Aouine's people twice in history. The first time was during the war when King Erik helped the Highlanders capture Anzeruta. The second time was more recently, during the Walnut Rebellion about a hundred years ago. At that time, the Highland Knights of Balta captured this fortress after repelling the invasion of the Empire. Hmph. "Chiara seemed to have heard the conversation between the two and snorted softly." That was the time when the Corvado Dynasty was at its strongest, but unfortunately, it was still too weak. If it were me, I would not return this fortress to the Kirrlutz. I would either give it to the Lion Beastmen or the Wind Elves so that the kingdom would not have to face the threat from the north. "
Brando directly turned a blind eye to the childish talk. He noticed that the other envoys were also curious about this matter. He nodded and replied, "That is indeed the case. The Black Sword Fortress was first built in the Year of Moss of the Chaos Era. It was completed at the beginning of the First Era. In history, it has only been conquered twice, and both times were accomplished by the Erouine."
"That is because other countries would not take a detour to attack the Empire from Erouine's territory." Chiara curled her lips and replied.
The fat man, Effram, asked curiously, "Leader, do you mean that our Erouine actually defeated the Empire?"
"What do you mean?" Brando was stunned.
"What I mean is, leader, how could Erouine defeat the Empire? You must be mistaken, right?" The fat man said loudly as if he had heard a funny joke.
Brando was almost angered to death by his words. He replied snappily, "Why do you think that Erouine has never defeated the Empire?"
He did not even have the strength to look down on this guy's ignorant historical knowledge. Let's not talk about the large and small battles in the past hundreds of years. Although the Cruz Empire was strong, they were not invincible. There were many examples of them being defeated by the Erouine. Less than five months ago, he had beaten the Holy Cathedral of Fire and the Empire's expeditionary fleet in Ampere Seale and taught them a lesson. Yet, this guy ignored this war. He could not help but feel depressed. He could not help but wonder what this guy, as a descendant of nobles, had learned in Karsuk.
However, Effram was still stubborn. He spread out his hands and asked, "But the Empire is so big. Erouine is just a small country at the border. It can't even compare to a province of the Empire. How can we defeat them? Commander, I don't believe you when you say that we, the people of Aouine, have defeated the Kirrlutz before. There are many such examples in history. In fact, it's just a small conflict, and they claim it as a great victory. I've seen this kind of thing many times in Karsuk. My friends in the patrol team often do this kind of thing. The glory that the royal family preaches must not be fully believed. It's just to maintain the legitimacy of their rule. "
Comparing the patrol cavalry of this era to the Highland Knight of the War of Walnut, this idea was very avant-garde. Brando could not help but marvel at this guy's way of thinking. He could not help but answer, "In that case, why do you think we are standing here today, representing Erouine to the Empire? The Kirrlutzians would never ask their provinces to send envoys to pay tribute to His Majesty. "
Effram obviously did not consider this question. He was stunned by Brando's question and could not help but frown and think hard. At this time, Duke Viero's daughter, the seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, spoke up: "I think it's because the Empire doesn't need a remote place like Aouine. Other than our kingdom, aren't there many other kingdoms and duchies under the Holy Cathedral of Fire, and the Empire hasn't made a move against them either. My teacher often told me that if the Empire had the heart, Erouine would have become an autonomous region like Anzeruta. By then, we would all be nobles of the Empire. Am I right, Count? "
"Yes, my foot. That damn teacher of yours better not let me meet him." Brando said in his heart. But when he looked at the expressions of the other people in the diplomatic group, he found that except for outsiders like the Roman, Metisha, and Hipamira, most of them seemed to agree with this statement. Of course, those who truly understood the history of the kingdom were excluded. For example, The Shire and Chiyara, both of them had a look of disdain on their faces. What made Brando curious was that he saw a similar look on Jutta's face.
At this time, Chiyara finally could not hold it in anymore. After all, she was a former member of the royal family. Upholding the legitimacy of the kingdom was also upholding the reputation of her family. She coldly sneered: "The war between the Empire and the Erouine Empire since the end of the Dragon Age was also a good show. It was so that the Erouine Empire could become independent from the Empire and establish our own kingdom. The nobles of the Cruz Empire are rich in the spirit of helping others. They sent the late King Erouine Empire out of the Wilderness of the Four Realms. We really should thank them properly, right?"
Her sharp sarcasm startled everyone. Only then did Avram realize that he had somehow offended this young lady. Duke Viero's daughter opened her mouth and finally answered: "Isn't that because the Wind Elves are helping us?"
Brando saw Chiyara's little face as dark as the bottom of a pot and could not help but shake his head. He did not know when the nobles of the kingdom had lost their backbone. During the era when the Highland Knight of Balta still existed, during the Year of the Walnut, the Empire was never a problem for the Erouine. The problem was whether the people of Erouine still dared to fight. That was all. He could not help but think of Ebdon. The White Knight's predecessor was a Highland Knight of Balta. Since then, for nearly a hundred years, the nobles of Erouine seemed to have suddenly lost their spirit. They could no longer raise their heads in front of the people of Cruz.
But he did not expect the nobles' imagination of the Cruz Empire to be so absurd. When Avram first spoke, he thought that he was just an exception. After all, this guy looked like a scion of a rich family. He was the typical example of an ignorant and incompetent person. But when Duke Viero's daughter opened her mouth to speak, he sensed that something was wrong. Although this little girl usually behaved normally, he could tell that she was a well-educated person. She also knew a lot about foreign affairs and etiquette. She obviously knew about the history of the kingdom, but like Avram, she didn't agree with this history.
There were too many differences between this history and what they saw now.
He shook his head for the second time and answered his nominal subordinates, "Although the Empire is strong, it is not without enemies. Although Erouine is small, the Empire cannot spare all its energy to deal with us. The Empire has Fanzin in the North, Saint-ausol and Madara in the East, and Hazel and Toquinin in the West. In the face of so many enemies, it is impossible for the Empire to spare the strength of a province to deal with us. Moreover, in the South, there is Anzeruta. Since the time of the Longblade Lord, the Highlanders have dreamed of independence for nearly seven centuries. The Empire should be thankful that we do not make trouble for them. How would they dare to make a move in the South? Therefore, the Empire actually wants to maintain this relationship with us. On the one hand, they are still unwilling to acknowledge the establishment of Erouine because of the honor of the Empire. On the other hand, they are unable to really make a move in the South. Even in the War of Walnut, our opponent was only the Duke of Walnut. In the end, we were actually helping the Empire to quell the rebellion. "
"Erouine's position is so sensitive and special that the Wind Elves and the Empire do not dare to act rashly. Relying on this delicate balance, the late King Erik found his own path that belonged to Erouine." At this point, he glanced at Chiyara. "Anson the First has obviously understood the secret between them. That is why he returned the Black Sword Fortress to Cruz after the War of Walnut. Because once the balance is broken, it may not be a good thing for Erouine."
Brando looked at the others and said word by word, "So, Erouine does not necessarily need to defeat the entire Empire, but this does not mean that Erouine has no chance of winning. Big countries have the power of big countries, and small countries have the wisdom of small countries. I am telling you all this because I want you to understand that the Kingdom of Erouine has its own unique advantages. Its nobles and people do not need to be enemies in front of the Empire."
After hearing this, Chiyara could not help but snort softly. Obviously, she already knew this knowledge and did not need Brando to repeat it.
As for the others, including Avram and Duke Viero's youngest daughter, most of them were hearing this for the first time, so they were skeptical.
However, Brando did not need them to believe him completely. He just wanted to give these nobles a heads up in advance so that they would not lose face when they saw the Empire's nobles.
As the group was talking, they gradually approached the Black Sword Fortress. It was at this time that a loud noise came from the front, attracting everyone's attention. The noise started with a row of neat footsteps, followed by the sound of heavy horse hooves. Then, everyone saw a small group of Empire's soldiers appear in their field of vision. This small group of Empire's soldiers was led by three or four Knights. They opened the small wooden gate beside the huge Black Sword Fortress gate, lowered the drawbridge, and rushed out. The few Knights shouted and suddenly ordered their men to rush towards a caravan outside the fortress.
It was worth mentioning that at this time of the year, other than Brando's eye-catching group of nobles, there were also many caravans of various sizes gathered outside the fortress. As one of the only two gateways between the Empire and Erouine, the Black Sword Fortress was not only a strategic military point, but also an important transportation route between the two countries. Throughout the year, except for the one or two months after the winter harp month when the mountain path was completely frozen, there would be caravans passing through the fortress most of the time. At this moment, the target of the Empire's soldiers was obviously the Erouine caravan.
They quickly rushed into the middle of the caravan and first knocked down the armed guards. Then, they chased the merchants out of the caravan, tied their hands behind their backs, and pushed them to the ground. After that, the Empire's soldiers returned to the middle of the caravan and used their field swords to cut the ropes on the carriages and threw the goods on the ground one by one. Not long after, they found a lot of people from the carriages. There were men and women, old and young. The Empire's soldiers herded these people together. Most of these people were dressed in ragged clothes, shivering in the cold wind. The women and children among them were so scared that they cried loudly. However, the Empire's soldiers were still indifferent, and a few of them even had a sneer on their faces.
At first, Brando thought that he had encountered a melodramatic scene, but he soon realized that it was not the case. But before he could say anything, the Count's daughter behind him was already scared out of her wits. Miss Ynide looked at the scene with a pale face and couldn't help but ask in fear, "What the hell is going on?"
Seeing this scene, Chiara pursed her lips, but was unwilling to speak.
Among all of them, Duke Viero's daughter was more knowledgeable. She explained to the others in a low voice, "These people are refugees."
So that's how it is. Brando finally understood. Ever since Erouine's Royal Faction lost power in the Frost Upheaval, the kingdom had been in turmoil. This turmoil in the entire kingdom was manifested in the chaos of war. The struggle between the royal family and the local nobles was only a small part of it. When the central government gradually lost its binding power, the conflicts between the local lords became the first to become acute. Whether it was for the sake of competing for territory, population, or support, large and small wars always continued. This situation was not so intense in the South. On one hand, it was because of Madara. On the other hand, after the Battle of Ampere Seale, the North was temporarily assigned to the eldest son of the king. North of Seifer, the nobles seemed to have lost their order for a while. In these areas that were under the influence of the Royal Family of Covardo, the Royal Family of Seifer, the Wind Elves, and the Holy Cathedral of Fire, war seemed to have become a daily necessity.
And with the war came a large number of refugees. A small number of these refugees were accepted by Tónigel, but more of them flowed to the North, to the Empire. For the Empire, this was not a big deal. The refugees needed to find a place to provide them with a livelihood, and the Empire was happy to accept this labor force. But the problem was, with the increasing number of refugees, not only did it bring benefits to the Empire, but it also brought troubles and burdens. The direction where the refugees migrated to originally had residents, and the nobles of the Empire could not accept all the laborers. The remaining idle people gradually became a hidden danger to the local public security. Coupled with the fact that the arrival of these refugees harmed the interests of the local residents, over time, these refugees became synonymous with unwelcome in the Empire. Since then, the people of Cruz began to refuse to accept these refugees into the country.
What was happening in front of them was obviously such a scene.
"Sister, what will happen to them?" Among all of them, the youngest loli of the Grinoires family looked at the scene with some fear and asked.
"They will be treated as thieves and vagabonds, tied to a pillar here and shown to the public, and then driven back …"
The descendants of the Erouine nobles showed some embarrassment on their faces.
"What a disgrace, the face of the Kingdom has been lost by these lowly people." Avram could not help but mutter angrily, "No wonder the nobles of the Empire always act superior in front of us."
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