Heart of the Castle

Chapter 290 Rejection and Lord's True Identity
After hearing Lord Cedric's proposal, Levi frowned hesitantly.This covenant binds the interests of the lords north of the Dusk Forest together, forming an organization similar to an offensive and defensive alliance. Obviously, this organization is definitely not what the Northern County and even the capital of the kingdom, Fermeyer, would like to see. violate the laws of the kingdom.However, because the Dusk Forest cut off the traffic, both the Northern County and the Kingdom of Arthur feel that this piece of land on the northern border is somewhat out of reach.

This is probably why Lord Cedric was able to call himself the Great Commander of the Northern Territory without being suppressed by Dirk City or the capital of King Firmeyer.

But what if the Viscounty Land also joins in?
Li Wei subconsciously twirled the silver cup in his hand. Because he was too focused on thinking, he didn't notice that there was a silver-white vindictive light leaking from his fingers, and he twisted the tall stem of the silver cup thinner and thinner.

Compared with the territories of the southern counties, the Viscount Land is absolutely barren and desolate, but north of the Dusk Forest, it can be called the most fertile and easy-to-cultivate land.Before the catastrophe came, there used to be nearly [-] people, more than a dozen villages and towns, and hundreds of manors.Even after being ravaged by the evil disaster now, there are still more than ten thousand people, and more than half of them are young and hardworking.Compared with the more than ten surrounding lands with only one or two thousand people, it can be called mouth-wateringly rich.

If the Viscount Land also joins this covenant of mutual help, the power of the lords north of the Dusk Forest will be completely integrated, and the fertile land of the Viscount Land can provide sufficient food, greatly enhancing the strength of these lords, and At that time...

Li Wei suddenly shuddered. He didn't think that the overexpansion of the strength of the lords north of the Dusk Forest was a good thing. Instead, it might attract the attention of Dirk City and even the capital of Fermeyer.

"Your Excellency, Lord Cedric, your proposal is very good." Levi said after deliberation, "If the Viscounty can join this covenant, it will definitely get a lot of benefits, and at the same time, it will also allow your territories to obtain some valuable food. It’s a choice that benefits both of us.”

Lord Cedric narrowed his eyes slightly, and turned the horn cup a few times on his fingers, "Master Levi, so you agree to join our covenant?"

"Only the real master of the Viscounty has the right to decide whether to form an alliance." Li Wei shook his head and said, "The temporary military leader only has the power to defend the territory."

"The real master..." Lord Cedric put the cup on the table angrily and made a dull sound. "Master Li Wei, are you perfunctory me?" His voice was deep and powerful, full of deterrence, "Now in this land, you are the real master! You are the hero who ended the evil disaster, and now the military power is firmly held In your hands, the loyalty of the knights under you is beyond doubt, and they can even challenge me, the Lord with a Sword, for your safety!"

When Lord Cedric's furious voice echoed in the hall, everyone involuntarily stopped talking, even the cook who was serving the dishes and the waiter who was serving the wine stopped and held their breath. Among them, only in the large fireplaces on both sides, the flames crackled.

In addition, there are noisy sounds from outside. In the square in front of the main building of the Green Castle, soldiers belonging to the three parties are eating and drinking, while making a noise of joy. It sounds like the tide is rising. higher.

"Even now, if Your Excellency wants to force Lord Levi, I will still challenge you." Wilps interrupted suddenly and coldly. "Even if my sword breaks because of it, I won't hesitate."

"And my sword!" Knight Dickway slapped his big sword with its sheath on the table, his eyes widened.

"Add mine!" Another sword was placed on the table, and Knight Hall stood up to speak, and then Knight Templeton also stood up, the scar on his forehead glistening red. "And so is my sword!" he screamed.

Sir Grace was the only one who didn't express his opinion, but his posture with one shoulder shrunk slightly and his hand stroking the silver fir longbow was more threatening than any expression.Baroque, the captain of the White Wolf Guard, hurriedly jumped to Lord Cedric's side, ready to use his body to block the deadly bow and arrow for him at any time.

The stiff atmosphere in the air almost reached its peak. A knight wanted to take a sip of wine from the cup to cover it up, but his trembling fingers couldn't hold the cup steady. Instead, he knocked it over, and the brown mead inside flowed out. The tables are full.

The sound made by the overturned silver cup was actually clear and pleasant, but it made the bodies of several knights beside them tremble, as if they had been whipped.

This voice seemed to wake up Lord Cedric from his rage. He took a deep look at Levi with trembling eyes, and then turned around. His voice was calm, but with An iceberg-like terrifying feeling.

"If this is the case, that's fine." He said, "Anyway, we have not been able to convince Viscount Ryan in the past, and it seems that we can't convince Lord Li Wei now... I hope Lord Li Wei will think about it, how did Viscount Ryan die? Yes!" After saying this, Lord Cedric strode towards the door of the hall, his iron boots hitting the floor with a series of angry footsteps.

The people standing between Lord Cedric and the gate backed away in a hurry, and the movements were so great that even the seats behind their feet fell over.The captain of the White Wolf Guard followed closely behind His Excellency, and most of the lords got up immediately, and followed Lord Cedric to the door without hesitation.

After pushing the door open with both hands, Lord Cedric finally paused and said without looking back: "Lord Levi, if you change your mind, you can send an envoy to Winterwind City at any time. My proposal will always be valid." .”

The end of this sentence was still echoing in the air, and Lord Cedric did not wait for Levi's reply, the burly figure disappeared outside the gate, followed by footsteps, and soon the hall returned to silence.

Only two lords did not go with Lord Cedric, one was the old knight of the Sherwood house, and the other was the exiled Sir Chillavala of the Meristers.

"Senior lords, is there anything else?" Li Wei glanced at the re-closed door for the last time, and sat down in his seat again.

Hearing Li Wei's words, the former showed hesitation and embarrassment, but the latter looked at Wilpus eagerly, "I hope I can sign a covenant with Mr. Li Wei alone." Chilawa said Ser Ra, and he drew an ancient scroll from within his bronze breastplate and laid it on the table.An attendant came over to take the parchment and put it in front of Li Wei.

Li Wei knew what it was without opening it to look in detail. "Sir Chirawala, what do you mean?" asked the young knight, frowning.

"My territory is not big, and I don't have many people, but these are the only things I can take out." Sir Chirawala's eyes shone brightly, "I am willing to be loyal to you and exchange all my property for An opportunity to follow Lord Wilps."

"Follow me?" Wilps shrugged and said to Levi, "I have no problem, Master Levi, if you agree."

"You probably want to break through your flame fighting spirit?" Li Wei asked softly. "That's not a simple matter. The experience of every knight who breaks through the shackles of battle qi is different. Master Wilps' experience may not be applicable to you."

"I am very clear, but this is the only thing I want to do, and I will do it at all costs." Sir Chirawala nodded without hesitation, and replied: "Wealth, status and power, I can do without, I just want to let those guys who drove me away from the family take a look, flame battle qi is not waste battle qi, it can also reach the stage of battle qi Tianhua!"

Looking at Sir Chirawala's shining eyes, Levi knew that refusing his request would be tantamount to cutting off all hope in his heart.

As for the old knight of the Sherwood family, his affairs were much simpler.The Sherwood family was originally an aristocratic family with a long history in the southern part of the Kingdom of Arthur. The family had successively produced two earls, five viscounts, and several times the baron. He was uprooted due to his mistake, and only the old knight survived because of his lack of participation, and was transferred to this desolate border area north of the Dusk Forest.

His request was simpler, but the price he paid was not as decisive as Sir Chirawala's.The old knight hoped that Li Wei or other high-level knights could accept his two grandsons as attendants, and then, if possible, obtain knight qualifications and corresponding fiefdoms for them.For this reason, what the Sherwood family can pay is a fairly effective archer unit, and everything except the fiefdom and the people.

Li Wei didn't think for long before agreeing to their request, leaving expressions of relief on the faces of both of them.Then the young knight stood up and walked towards the gate.

Night fell, and all the flags were dyed black.The feast in Greencastle Square was over, and the soldiers had already returned to their camps to sleep. Only the embers of the bonfire still glowed dark red.Li Wei walked over the smoky square, walked out of the broken gate of the Green Castle, and looked into the distance.The camp of the Lord's United Army and the camp of the Viscount's Castle Crusade Army stood next to each other. A small group of sentries on duty walked between the camps with torches in their hands. From a distance, they looked like shooting stars; dozens of campfires were burning outside the camp. The sky moved, reflecting the surrounding area red, and the corners that the bonfire could not illuminate appeared even darker, as if some ominous evil was gestating.

Li Wei sighed silently.

Although he has already returned to the Viscount Land, and the main purpose of this trip has been achieved, but during the disaster, the hidden problems have gradually been exposed.The ambitions and thoughts of the surrounding lords, as well as the attitudes of the northern county and the capital of Fermeyer, are still unclear, which makes Li Wei feel worried.

Wilps' familiar footsteps sounded behind him, and Li Wei turned around and saw him walking out of the gloomy gate of Green Castle with a bit of joy on his face.

"Lord Li Wei, the special envoy of the Kingdom is out of danger." Wilps said, "The ranger Hua Lun and a few other people with some medical skills are taking care of him, and it is estimated that he will wake up tomorrow morning."

Li Wei nodded, but there was no smile on his face, and his brows were still tightly locked.

"Of course it's good that the envoy is fine, but what worries me more now is whether the refusal of Lord Cedric, the headstrong commander of the northern border, will cause more trouble this time."

Wilps laughed lowly, "Master Li Wei." He walked behind Li Wei, and also looked towards the camp under the dark night, his eyes especially stayed on the white wolf's flag for a while. "Will Lord Cedric's dissatisfaction be more troublesome than the disaster?"

Wilps' words made Li Wei's frown slightly relaxed. "Of course not. You are right. Is there any greater trouble than the disaster?"

A hint of surprise suddenly appeared in Li Wei's eyes, and then his eyebrows were knit together, "Merciful Father God!" He suddenly said loudly, startling Wilpus who was following him.

"Master Li Wei, what happened?"

"I came here riding the King of Griffins, Mengmeng the Big Bobcat was with me, and Mr. Wilps, you came here riding the Dark Nightmare of the Northern Territory..."

"Yes, I am."

"And where are Babrupa and Grunworm?"

Wilps' face became stiff immediately, obviously he had already thought of the problem Levi had discovered.Those two unfortunate guys have been completely forgotten, and now they are walking slowly from the Dusk Forest, except for three mounts, is...

The Silver Phantom of the Dusk Forest, and its night howling wolves subordinates!

"But it's too late to send people to pick them up now, may the merciful Father God bless..." Wilps prayed sincerely.

"Maybe I hope that the Silver Phantom's loyalty to me can prevent it from having a good meal with its subordinates." Li Wei grumbled with a wry smile, and then cast a deep glance at the camp of the Lord's United Army.

Of course, Levi and Wilps would not know that Lord Cedric did not rest in the camp of the lord's coalition army, but was writing at his desk under the light of candlelight, and the parchment was densely filled with more than half of it.

Not every knight or noble lord can read and write fluently, and many lords even have to rely on scholars or priests around them to draft documents or issue their own orders.At least half of the twelve lords of the combined lords could barely read books this time, and even fewer could express their intentions in words. However, the rough-looking Lord Cedric was able to write fluently. The next series of words is enough to make everyone who sees it turn pale with shock.

Lord Cedric suddenly stopped writing, read the parchment from beginning to end, then showed a satisfied smile, and shouted outside, "Who is on duty?"

The leather curtain at the door of the tent moved, and then the captain of the White Wolf Guard walked in silently, bowed to Lord Cedric and said, "It's me, Baroque. Your Excellency, what do you want?"

"I wanted them to look for you, and you came just in time." Lord Cedric stood up, rolled the parchment in his hand into a thin roll, then took a piece of wax from the small tin box on the table, and lit the candle The flame slowly roasted it until soft. "There is a letter that I want to send to Dirk City in Northern County."

"Yes, I'll arrange someone to do it immediately." Captain Baroque nodded.

"No, don't arrange for other people. You go and deliver it yourself, and deliver it to that person, understand?" Lord Cedric's voice was not loud, but it made Captain Baroque's body tremble like a thunderbolt.

"Your Excellency, I don't understand what you mean..." Captain Baroque's voice was forced to be calm, "Send it to that person... Who is that person?"

"Need I be more clear?" Lord Cedric played with the ball of wax that had become soft and muddy, "Baroque, I didn't want to use your line, but this information is very important. It's also very urgent. I'm worried that whether it's not delivered in time, or there are other problems, that person's judgment will be wrong, and I can't let other people deliver this letter..."

Lord Cedric stuck the wax to the place where the parchment was rolled up, then took off the signet ring on the finger of his right hand, and pressed the mark on it. "Put away the dagger in your sleeve, Baroque, in front of me, do you think that poisoned toy will be useful?"

Captain Baroque's body trembled again, and large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, "Your Excellency...I..." He wanted to explain, but the words froze as soon as he spoke, because in front of him, Lord Cedric took out a small metal round plate from under his armor, and spread it out in the palm of his hand for him to see. On it was the sword ring badge of the Ansair family, and on it was the ring of steel. Among the twelve long swords, eleven were dyed as bright red as blood!
"With your life, you must deliver this letter to Earl Ansair himself, understand?" Lord Cedric's words made Baroque's eyes widen. "My lord, how could you be..."

"Otherwise, why don't you think that the covenant of mutual help in the north of the Dusk Forest will not be suppressed by Dirk City? Just relying on the surveillance of your eyes?" Lord Cedric smiled at the corner of his mouth , it was a cunning taste that was different from his usual rough and bold image, and then he walked past the dumbfounded Baroque captain, lifted the leather curtain of the tent and looked in the direction of the Green Castle.

"Levi? Ston... Whether you are loyal to the kingdom or have a keen sense of smell, since you have passed the test, then Earl Ansair has no reason to prevent you from obtaining the status of nobleman. I hope you I can continue to make the right choices..." Lord Cedric's voice gradually sank, and finally only a raving voice remained. "Just like me..."

(End of this chapter)