In Wohnde, the Sabbath Day marked the end of the year. Both commoners and nobles would gradually reduce their activities after this day. It was as if the hustle and bustle of the year had died down during this month. People began to hold all kinds of celebrations and banquets to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new year. From the northernmost city of Ten Arms to the southern border of Erouine, Silman and Abies Castle, every household began to prepare and pray for the coming year. They prayed that the gods would bless them with peace and prosperity in the coming year.
However, it seemed that ever since the end of the Year of Swords, an insignificant conflict between the border of the Kingdom of Erouine and the Cruz Empire, a farce began to unfold from the southern border of Cruz to the northern border, breaking the peace that should have been there in the past. Since the Month of Frost, people seemed to have gotten used to the breaking news coming from the southern border one after another. First, it was that the Kingdom of Erouine had captured the fortress of the Empire, and a Count from Erouine had tried to challenge the Empire's authority. However, in the subsequent rumors, the Count became the side with justice. What he did in the Black Sword Fortress was just to teach some arrogant nobles a lesson. In this era, the pride of the people of Cruz did not degenerate to the point that they needed to show their superiority over a small country. On the contrary, the magnanimity of a large country made the citizens of the Empire value moral righteousness and legitimacy more. Therefore, they were more willing to stand on Brando's side to fight against the arrogant, stubborn, and arrogant nobles of the Empire. Therefore, every time Brando won a victory, the commoners and even the lower nobles of the Empire would applaud him.
"We should teach those nobles a lesson and make them understand."
This was the common view of the lower class of the Empire. However, it did not mean that the upper class of the Empire had lost the support of the people and that the pyramid structure was on the verge of collapse. As long as Brando raised his arm, the Empire would fall apart. Most of the people had the mentality of being indifferent and gloating over the misfortune of others. This kind of rebellious counterattack was always something that the commoners liked to see. Of course, there was a small number of conspirators who were eager to take action and even planned a few small rebellions. However, these unlucky fellows who misjudged the situation were caught by the Silver Queen and organized several operations to eliminate dissidents. In this respect, the supreme of the Empire indeed had to thank Brando.
Therefore, the southern part of the Empire was unprecedentedly lively, and the center of the Empire was unprecedentedly stable.
In any case, regardless of whether he was willing or not, Brando and his diplomatic group continued to advance to the north. Rumors of the count, big and small, were still converging toward the center of the Empire from all directions.
On the last day of the month of the Winter Harp, Saint-ausol's Sumian Festival, which was known as the Revival Celebration in other regions. After Brando defeated the private army of the Empire's nobles, a famous Knight Order composed of the local gentry's children, the Solstice Knight Order, and the Anzeruta Local Defense Legion led by Count Jean and Count Alcorn, the size of the diplomatic group had expanded from the original medium-sized size of a hundred people to a large convoy of hundreds of people. In addition to the carriages of the diplomatic group, there were also more than a dozen large caravans behind the convoy. Inside were the detained nobles of the Empire, old and young, and most of them were famous in history. At the beginning, this' hostage 'convoy only had one or two carriages. However, after every battle, one or two more carriages would be added to the convoy, and finally, it formed the current long line of carriages.
As for these nobles of the Empire, Brando did not make things difficult for them. At least, he allowed them to maintain a basic level of dignity, and even allowed them to keep their attendants and personal attendants. Of course, these attendants' abilities were limited to running errands, preparing food for their masters, and solving the problems of cold and living. In this way, Brando did not even need to worry about the food of these captives. They could solve the problem by themselves. Of course, he did not exclude the fact that there were some hardliners who wanted to create trouble for him. They would rather starve to death than consume the rations of Brando's diplomatic group. His method of dealing with them was very simple. He just provided these people with basic rations. In the end, after two meals of hard bread, these people went to contact their attendants with tears streaming down their faces.
Brando was not worried that these people would escape. There were magic alarms provided by the wizards around the convoy 24 hours a day. There were also gargoyles patrolling the sky. In this snow-covered wilderness, how far could ordinary people run? At first, there were a few people who tried to escape. Brando did not even stop them. In the end, a few days later, these unlucky people returned to the convoy, cold and hungry. They felt that they wanted to continue being captives. Brando deliberately relaxed the surveillance of these unlucky people in the convoy. As a result, through the mouths of these unlucky people, soon everyone knew what happened to them. For a moment, it was a good deterrent effect.
The second wave of escape came when the diplomatic group passed by a relatively prosperous area near Rusef. The successful 'escape' of a few nobles was like a shot in the arm to the hundreds of captives in the convoy. After that, they began to escape on a large scale. Every evening, there would be an endless stream of people escaping the convoy, but almost all of them were caught without exception. After that, the imperial nobles, who did not give up, began to contact people outside the convoy through their attendants and launched a battle of wits and courage to rescue the hostages again and again.
The whole process was full of the wisdom and whimsy of the nobles. For example, a passing circus invited Brando, the Count, to visit, or a distressed noble daughter asked for help from a foreigner. It was full of the romanticism of the Knight. Some of them even made Brando laugh and cry. As for the result, after Brando severely taught a few nobles who pretended to be bandits, merchants, prostitutes, mercenaries, noble family members, and even circus members, the caravans behind the diplomatic group increased.
After a month of back and forth, the imperial nobles finally realized that their futile escape plan would not work in the eyes of Brando. Although the Count looked no more than 20 years old, he was as shrewd as a veteran mercenary group leader who had walked the continent for a lifetime. The disguises and tricks that adventurers, mercenaries, and Nightingales were used to were almost non-existent in front of him. Of course, what they did not expect was that while teaching these whimsical fellows a lesson, Brando was also secretly laughing at these people for playing these tricks with him. These were things that he had played too many times in his previous life. In the later half of the world, the player adventurers played much more interesting games than these childish nobles. Some of the things they did not even think of.
In the Second Era, there was a famous case where a player, in order to ambush the Mountain King Sharyfang, used an illusion to create an identical Stone Mountain Fortress less than five miles away from Alice. Then, he used a barrier spell to hide the entire Alice from the map and make it disappear. No one would have thought that someone would play such a big trick under the eyes of so many people. Even a famous NPC like the Mountain King Sharyfang was the same. If not for the player's guild making a mistake at that time, perhaps the great cause of killing Sharyfang would have been completed by them. It was obvious that the tricks of these nobles were really boring in Brando's eyes.
He, Sophie, had been a leader for almost 30 years in the game in his previous life. This was not a particularly outstanding experience among the players, but it was very impressive among the NPCs. Even old mercenaries like Raban and Jutta might not be able to achieve this kind of experience.
Not to mention that he had an even older leader, Maynild, by his side. Although the female Knight was not willing to admit her identity, this did not prevent her from using her experience.
The two often stayed in the carriage all night to study the tricks of these nobles, and the result was naturally that some unlucky bastards would be completely taken advantage of.
After leaving Rusef, the diplomatic party began to gradually leave Anzeruta's territory. At this time, some of the small noble families in the long convoy finally could not take it anymore. They began to ask for ransom one after another. Brando was not particularly difficult for these people. After receiving the money, he generously released them. This kind of generosity won him a reputation among some of the small nobles. The rumors about the Sword Saint and the Mad Earl were not as bad as they were at the beginning. Of course, this was only one part of the reason. On the other hand, the nobles that Miss Eugenie released under his instructions finally began to play their role. Under their exaggerated propaganda, Brando's identity successfully evolved into the image of a foreigner who had different rules and regulations, evolving into the image of a great demon king.
In fact, there was nothing wrong with their propaganda. After all, if they did not describe Brando as sinister and cunning, and how good at playing with people's hearts, wouldn't it seem that the people who were caught by him were very incompetent? After all, losing to a powerful opponent may mean that you are weak and incompetent. Losing to an intelligent opponent may mean that you are a complete fool. Losing to an experienced opponent may mean that you are naive and childish. But if your opponent is despicable and shameless, at least you can win the sympathy of the audience. After all, kindness is not sinful, isn't it?
So in their description, the treatment and dignity that Brando gave to the nobles disappeared. The nobles who were caught by Brando lived a life worse than hell every day. They were poorly dressed and had no food to eat. Although people probably wondered why a dignified Count Erouine would rob them of their clothes and rations, such a description was in line with the speculation of the people of the Empire about foreign barbarians. So these nobles' statements successfully aroused the indignation of almost all the nobles of the Empire in Anzeruta.
Of course, this indignation had existed from the beginning, but Count Jean and Count Alcorn had not figured out how to stand on moral and justice so that they could continue to attack Erouine's envoys. Now, under the 'hands-on' guidance of the Duchess of Viero, they finally found a reason to start a war. Although this reason sounded ridiculous and unbelievable, it should be enough to convince Her Majesty the Queen.
So, under the watchful eyes of the entire Empire, the two counts began to regain their dignity.
As described at the beginning, this farce that started from the border of the Empire all the way to the hinterland of the Empire was once again staged. This was obviously the second season of this farce. As for whether there would be a third and fourth season, it was hard to say.
Erouine's envoys finally passed through the last barrier of the Anzeruta Mountains. They were now at a location called Floating Cloud Hills on the Empire's map. For the Empire, it was quite a famous place. In the War of the Holy Saints, this was the starting point of the Great Plains. Looking east from here, there was an endless wilderness, which was the most southwest of the Wilderness of Four Territories. And north of here, through a long and narrow corridor called the Evergreen Corridor, it was connected to the famous Flower Ridge in the north. And east of here, close to the Broken Sword Mountains, was the Rokezi Highland, which was the closest place to the Great Plains of Toquinin. At the intersection of the mountains, there were countless fortresses and ramparts that blocked the attacks from the Lion Beastmen.
In other words, this place was probably the closest place to the war for the Empire at this moment, except for the Wilderness of Four Territories and the eastern foot of the Broken Sword Mountains. Since July, this place had entered a state of alert. Today, there were no signs of festivities in other places. Between towns and cities, and between commercial stations, there were few pedestrians. Instead, patrols began to appear more frequently.
This place was currently a military depot for the two battlefields, and also one of the weakest links of the Empire. If it was a normal day, Brando was really worried that the two counts of Anzeruta would find a way to persuade some of the great imperialists from the two legions in the north and south to pursue and intercept him. But now, the Empire's soldiers were fighting a bloody battle, and obviously, it was impossible for them to participate in the petty games of these nobles.
At this time, Brando had finally contacted some of the imperial nobles who were biased towards him through Lenarette's forces in the Empire. But these nobles he first contacted were not the hardcore supporters of the eldest son of the Emperor. After all, the military nobles' sphere of influence was mostly in the north and south, which was the traditional sphere of influence of the local nobles and the Holy Cathedral. And these nobles that Brando contacted happened to be some of the local forces who were emotionally biased towards the eldest son of the Emperor. They had a common characteristic, which was that their stance was wavering, and their strength was far from enough to affect the situation of the Empire. To be more precise, they were just there for show.
But these nobles were very important to Brando at this moment. Through them, Brando finally learned some of the internal situation of the Empire at this time, especially what happened after Veronica and Mangrove returned to the Empire. After the changes in the history of the Empire, although Brando still had a forward-looking judgment of the customs and customs of the Empire and the habits of the nobles in handling affairs, he was rarely in the dark about the specific direction of the Empire after the big explosion and before the Holy War. In fact, since he returned to this era, this was the first time he encountered such a situation.
And after contacting these small families, he finally understood what happened after that. Just as Veronica expected, she was stripped of her military power as soon as she returned to the Empire. However, the Silver Queen did not punish the Iris Family because of this. Instead, she let Veronica's brother succeed as the head of the legion and take over the position of the head of the Iris Family. On the surface, she did this to appease the military forces and not offend the people she would need. But Brando knew that there was a deeper reason. He knew very well that Lady Veronica was actually just a scapegoat in the whole incident. In the eyes of those who did not know the truth, this incident was a punishment for Veronica's careless carelessness. But in fact, this was just a cover. The Silver Queen was well aware of her role in this incident, and it was inevitable that she would feel guilty for appeasing the Iris Family.
But what puzzled Brando was that Veronica was not released back to her own territory. Instead, she was placed under house arrest in the Imperial Capital. Could it be that the Silver Queen was so heartless that she wanted to punish the head of the legion? No matter how he thought about it, he did not think it was necessary. The Silver Queen knew Veronica's ability, and it seemed like there was no need for her to offend Veronica.
But when Brando heard the news, he did not think too much about it. It was not until Maynild reminded him that there might be a conspiracy behind this that he realized that something was wrong.
After Maynild learned the truth, she told him, "Her Majesty the Emperor of the Cruz people will make a big move."
"What's going on?" Brando knew that his political experience was not much better than the righteous Knight Eike, so he did not feel that anything was wrong and asked directly.
Maynild glanced at him with a rare look of disappointment in her eyes. This gaze was very similar to the one Maynild used to look at him. "Think about it. What kind of person is Veronica? How can her brother be so successful? Since you and I both know this, how can the Silver Queen not know? Her actions are equivalent to leaving the Azure Army empty. What kind of forces are in the central region of the Empire? Without the Azure Army, the balance of power will be easily broken. A mature politician will not make such a risky move. But since she has done so, it means that she has ulterior motives. Based on the logic of risk and reward, her actions will not be small. "
The female Knight paused for a moment before replying indifferently, "It's just that we have too little information to deduce what she wants."
Brando's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. He looked at the Knight who was usually quiet and only spoke a few words when they were discussing tactics to deal with the nobles. For a moment, he felt a sense of familiarity with her. When she said those words, it was just like the scene when Maynild analyzed the mission for them. It was just that at that time, Maynild Allium Japonicum was much gentler.
He pursed his lips and seriously considered Maynild's words in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was possible.
However, whether the Supreme One's actions were good or bad for them was just like what Maynild said. Due to the lack of information, it was impossible to deduce in a short period of time.
"This matter is getting more and more complicated," Brando couldn't help but mutter to himself, "But His Majesty's actions probably won't have anything to do with what we're going to do next. What we need to do now is to deal with the two Counts. Only by doing this will we be able to take the initiative in the upcoming trip to the Empire."
The female Knight did not comment, but Metisha answered, "Sir Overlord, I think it's a good thing to focus on one thing, but it's best that we find out more information in this area."
Brando nodded this time. In fact, he already had a suitable candidate in mind.
Speaking of which, she was the only person he knew in the Empire.
Coincidentally, they were very close to each other in terms of geographical distance.
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