The sweet and lovely Veronica quickly walked into the reception room. Her eyes were shining, and she shouted in a pitiful tone, "You're finally here. Uncle Norman, Auntie Sally, Ryan bullied me!"
"Oh! So it's Veronica. How did Laing bully you? " Norman's wife, the white-haired Old Lady Sally said kindly. Veronica's delicate face was full of smiles. She sat beside the old lady and hugged her arm. She pouted and complained, "He's going to marry another woman behind my back!"
"???" Clayon was dumbfounded. He didn't understand what was going on.
"Hmph! I may be old, but I'm not stupid. If Laing dares to bully you, I'll be the first to disagree. " Norman, the shrewd little old man, knew what was going on. He deliberately pulled a long face and said, "Come find me! I don't believe I can't teach him a lesson! "
There was no doubt that among the women around Laing, Veronica was the closest to the Norman couple. After Wizard Garland and Laing became partners, she would often follow Laing back to Otne's territory to celebrate holidays (and also to fool around with him) and stay for a few days.
Veronica was a very clever person. She had always been very obedient and considerate in front of the Norman couple, and she was deeply loved by them.
"Veronica …" Laing knew he was in the wrong and could only lower his head in embarrassment.
Garland took the opportunity to knock Laing down a peg, meaning that she had someone to rely on and he couldn't abandon her. She didn't really want to do anything.
"Veronica, that tall wizard tower we saw when we came over, is it yours?" Mrs. Norman's eyes were fixed on Veronica. The old lady took Garland's hand and smiled.
"Hmph! At least Laing has a conscience. That's right, that tower is mine. Laing helped me build it. " Veronica heard the Norman couple talking about her wizard tower and immediately showed a sweet smile. "Wait a moment, I'll take you to see it."
"Okay, okay."
"Hello, uncle, auntie." Teresa also appeared. She immediately saw Laing's parents, and the female Warlock politely stepped forward to greet them. The female Warlock was also quite familiar with Laing's adoptive parents. During her time at the Marvel Blue Council, she had visited the Norman couple many times.
After Norman grew old, he suffered from rheumatism and many other illnesses. It was Aurora who refined a lot of medicine to help him cure his illness. Because of this, Norman was very grateful. Laing also remembered this kindness very much.
"Oh, it's Miss Teresa. You're at Laing's place too. Laing, that rascal …" Norman immediately understood what was going on. The little old man smiled. "Did Laing bully you too?"
"Oh, yes … a little." Teresa didn't know whether she should complain or protect Laing's face. In the end, she could only give a vague answer with a blushing face. She didn't know that her expression had completely exposed her.
"Hahahahaha …" Everyone in the reception room laughed loudly. The room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Laing could only smile bitterly.
… …
With the arrival of the Norman couple and Boris, more distinguished guests arrived one after another. However, some of them didn't come to Laing's territory. Instead, they were stationed in other places. For example, the Great Alchemist of the Alchemy Academy of the Empire's Royal Alchemy Academy, Galt, arrived at the capital of Culona. Another example was Laing's Godfather, Griffin Duke Ivan, who directly arrived at Helenhilde. Most of the distinguished guests didn't come directly to Laing's territory.
The reason was simple. Laing had already received Tegris's elite army, the King of Eight Peaks Mountain, Boris, and Axel, the Great Commander of the White Wolf Knights. He couldn't accommodate any more guests.
Although many people wanted to visit Tegris, the Great Mage still announced to the public that he was declining all visitors. He said that he had something to do at the moment (teach the two witches at Laing's request), and he would talk about it after Laing's wedding.
Hearing that Bellegar, the King of Eight Peaks Mountain, had come to his territory, Laing also requested to meet with him. However, Bellegar didn't want to meet with Laing right now. He purposely put on airs and refused to meet with Laing. The King of Eight Peaks Mountain also knew that it was impolite, so he asked Dugan to give Laing a few exquisite dwarven guns produced by the Angrand Clan and sent a message saying that it was not the right time to meet with him. Laing didn't have any objections. The King of Eight Peaks Mountain gave these guns to his two maids, two Gallan Witches, and the merchant Oliver. If he could get a few exquisite dwarven guns by being rejected once, he would go there every day.
Just like that, another two weeks passed. It was now less than a month before Laing's wedding.
Today, there was an extra hunting team in the Chalon Forest.
The fully-armed Kurfürst Boris, Axel, Count Laing, and Morgiana, the Lake Goddess Witch, were all moving in the forest on their mounts. Among them, Laing was riding the pure-blooded elven warhorse Grape with his little griffin Impris. Morgiana was riding the unicorn Hillfain. Both Kurfürst Boris and Axel were riding half-blooded elven warhorses, which were undoubtedly "stolen" from Laing's stable. These two rogues directly broke into Laing's stable to look at his half-blooded elven warhorses and then picked one each. Laing had no choice but to give it to them.
After drinking the magic potion given by Tegris, Morgiana quickly recovered part of her spellcasting ability. She was now almost as strong as an intermediate legendary spellcaster. Seeing that Laing and the others were going out to hunt, the Lake Goddess Witch offered to go out with them. She didn't speak much on the way and just listened to Laing and the others talk in silence most of the time.
They hunted two deer, a wild boar, a few pheasants, and hares in the forest, but their main focus was not on hunting. On the contrary, they came out to hunt mainly to talk about what had happened recently.
"… So, the threat of the barbarians in the north of the Empire and Nord has been greatly reduced?" Laing's boots stepped on the soft forest ground. The dead branches and leaves were crushed by the count, making cracking sounds.
"You've done us a great favor, Laing. General Helberg of the Empire has just led the army to a great victory in Nord that will go down in history. They wiped out more than 20,000 barbarians who went south to plunder. This time, not a single barbarian escaped." Boris stared with his only eye and shook his head. "Now, the barbarians won't be able to recover for at least three to five years."
Laing was not surprised at all. With Egil's death, the barbarians in the north were bound to fall into chaos.
The barbarian tribes who believed in Chaos were the representatives of chaos and disorder. These tribes fought and killed each other in the northern wasteland all year round. No one was willing to submit to anyone. No barbarian obeyed the rules. They bullied the weak and challenged the strong. They were always fighting with each other for a glimpse of the Four Gods of Chaos.
Therefore, even the barbarian army that went south to plunder had poor discipline and fighting strength. They were in chaos and attacked each other. Although the barbarians had strong individual fighting strength, it was difficult for them to gain an advantage when fighting against the well-trained army of the Empire.
At this time, only the powerful Chaos Champion and the Chosen of Chaos Champion could unite the entire tribe with bloody and iron-fisted methods, making the barbarians listen to them and gather them into a powerful fighting force. Therefore, after Egil's death, the northern barbarians lost a powerful leader, especially the Skalinth tribe near Nord. This tribe lost all of its elites and its leader, and fell into endless internal strife. The small chieftains under Egil's command did not submit to anyone, and they hurriedly went south to plunder resources. It was not surprising that these disorganized mobs were completely wiped out by the well-trained imperial army.
"That's good news." Laing nodded silently. The barbarians were hurt. They would be quiet for at least a few years.
"I'm just not too happy. Karl-franz, that little dog, refused to let the White Wolf Knights fight again. They rely more on their own Rik Guards and the Gryphon Knights. Our brave and powerful White Wolf Knights can only stay in White Wolf City and wait for the right opportunity." Axel's big bald head reflected the sparse sunlight in the forest. Laing noticed that Axel was not bald. He just took care of his bald head. Both Boris and Axel had a full face of beard, which was a symbol of masculinity in the Urick Sect.
Laing also wanted to grow a beard, but his maid, the two witches, and even the fairy in the lake made it clear that they did not want him to grow a beard. In Brittany, goatees and mustaches were more popular. In the end, Laing did not grow a beard.
"You're asking the obvious. Boris, you know why." Laing complained helplessly, "Karl-franz could narrowly defeat you and become the Emperor. You know why."
"It doesn't matter whether I become the Emperor or not." Kurfürst Boris said impatiently, "I'm just fed up with that little dog Karl-franz's prejudice! Ever since he became the Emperor, I've been doing my job well and listening to his commands. But he would rather let the soldiers of Rik Territory cross my territory to help Nord than send troops from White Wolf City, which is close at hand! "
"Hahaha …" Laing kept laughing. "There will be a time when you have to send troops. Boris, you're not doing nothing. There are countless Orc tribes in the Drakoward Forest waiting for you to exterminate."
"Orc, Orc, that damned Orc 'One-eyed' Kazik, I must kill him." Boris became angry at the mention of Orcs. "I led the White Wolf Knights into the Drakoward Forest to exterminate the Orcs, but we didn't find any trace of One-eyed Kazik. After wandering in the forest for more than a month, we only exterminated a few small Orc tribes."
"… Other than that, is there any other news about the North?" Laing continued to ask.
"Helberg is in the limelight this time. According to the rumors, Karl-franz will make him the Marshal of Rik." Axel, the Grand Commander of the White Wolf Knights, took over the topic and said straightforwardly, "The Empire's Royal Wizard Academy will elect a new Grand Wizard in three years. The current Grand Wizard Thernus Gehrman, the Supreme Light Wizard Ordo of the Luminous Society, and the Great Alchemist of the Alchemy College, Bayershazer Gelt, have all confirmed their participation."
"Hey, Laing, do you know? Bayershazer Gelt is Karl-franz's favorite. The Emperor consults with him on almost every matter. This sneaky guy with a golden mask … is indeed powerful. I still can't figure out how he turned hundreds of Orcs and Minotaurs into gold-plated statues with a wave of his staff. " Boris walked on the forest path and said in a rough voice, "Although I don't like him, I have to admit that Karl-franz is indeed capable. The Grand Duke of Hocke and Elector of Herzig, Edbrand Rudolph, has sent his son, Conrad Rudolph, to Nur for education. The King of Nur, Frank, has also decided to send his grandson, Baron Theodrickson, who came to attend your wedding, to serve in the Rik Guards."
This was actually a hostage. The Kurfürst in the North of the Empire sent their children to the army or college in the South of the Empire. On one hand, it was to let their children receive the best education, and on the other hand, it was to show their obedience.
The Rik Guards gathered the strongest knights in the Empire. The children of the richest and most powerful nobles in the Empire were also among them, including the sons of several Kurfürst and local nobles. It was a great honor for someone in the family to become a Rik Guard. It was similar to becoming a Knight of the Holy Grail in Brittany.
"Is the title of the Grand Duke of Nur still vacant?" Laing's eyes flashed as he asked casually.
"Yes, this title should have been inherited by the Grand Duke of Wesen and Elector of Brescia, Gianni Bernardino. However, Gianni is only a teenager and is not a direct descendant of the Bernardino family. Emmanuel, who is most qualified to inherit this title, is missing. The archmages of the Sky Academy have used the Astrology Instrument and the Compass many times to divine that Emmanuel is still alive. Therefore, Emperor Karl-franz refused to let Gianni be the Grand Duke of Nur. Gianni himself is not interested in being an Elector. He is now being taught by a Knight Commander of the Scorching Sun Knights from Tarabheim. He wants to become an official Scorching Sun Knight."
"When do you plan to send your child to Emperor Karl-franz for training?" Laing asked deliberately.
"No!!! My child will only be taught in front of Rik's Holy Fire! " Boris immediately roared. "God knows how my son will be trained if he is sent to the Empire. I only believe in the power that Rik brings to me! Only in the White Wolf Knights will my son not be led astray! "
Morgiana, who was riding on Hillfain, rolled her eyes. The Knight of the Holy Grail was the most powerful knight.
"By the way, Laing, my Lord Rik has prepared a gift for your wife on this trip to Brittany." Boris came back to his senses and realized that he was teased by Laing. He did not mind and laughed. He whispered in Laing's ear, "A priceless gift. We have decided to give it to your wife."
"What gift?"
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