Heart of the Castle

Chapter 305 King's decree, reward and division
No one knew what kind of agreement was reached between Levi Stern and the shadow assassin Arance Kate in the dense forest that night. Even the White Wolf Knight who had been present could only guess in his heart.Levi didn't make any promises on the surface, but after a while of silence, Arance Kate's eyes showed a smile that got what he wanted.

"Then, that's it, Levi Ston." The shadow assassin said softly, his bloody eyes glanced at the white wolf knight standing aside, causing the latter to immediately swell up from his back. Chill. "Do you want me to take care of this trouble for you?" The shadow assassin lightly wiped his waist, and jumped into his hands with two poisoned daggers glowing with vicious green light.

"He is not a trouble, but my loyal partner." Levi's voice was as cold as ice, "Alans Kate, I sympathize with your experience, but it does not mean that you are allowed to kill innocent people indiscriminately."

"As you wish." The Shadow Assassin lifted his lips teasingly, and then bowed in a pretentious gesture. The next moment, he disappeared into the air while maintaining his bowing posture.The White Wolf Knight widened his eyes and wanted to see any clues, but in the forest, he could only see the shadows of the trees shaken by the wind, the branches of oak trees and oak trees stretched out, like hideous and pale claws wriggling, the thin snow-covered ground was under the moonlight. There was a mottled cold light under it, but not even a suspicious footprint could be seen.

"If the Shadow Assassin was discovered so easily, he wouldn't be called the silent blade in the hands of the demon lord." Li Wei cast a deep glance towards the middle of the jungle, and then sighed softly, "Now that he has left, we let's go."

The White Wolf Knight muttered unwillingly, followed Li Wei and walked out of the forest. The big bobcats were jumping on the branches, as light as if they had no weight.

On the way back to the castle, a group of cavalry with torches came like a whirlwind, and both men and horses were panting.Seeing that Li Wei was safe and sound, the leading knight let out a sigh of relief, his face flushed with sweat.

"Master Li Wei, you really..." Riat Knight shook his head.

Li Wei showed a somewhat embarrassed expression, "Hey Nightmare ran a little crazy just now," he explained while stroking the head of the mount under his crotch. himself.

Liat nodded with half-belief, accepting Li Wei's explanation. After all, Li Wei was the military leader, and Liat was just a knight under him.Then he cast his suspicious eyes on the white wolf knight, "Lord Levi, who is this stranger? He looks a bit like Lord Cedric's white wolf guard."

"A messenger." Li Wei said simply, "We may be in trouble, Liat, go and see if Master Sugard and Lord Wilps have fallen asleep, and if they haven't slept, please ask them to come Come discuss things in my room."

When Wilps yawned and walked into Li Wei's simple reception room, the fire was red, baking the room as warm as spring.Master Sugard has arrived. He didn't wear a red robe like in a formal occasion, but was wrapped in a thick sheepskin with trim. He was sitting on a chair near the fireplace, playing with a quill in his hand.

Levi and a stranger also sat with their backs to the fireplace, and there was an empty chair next to it, which obviously belonged to Wilps.The three of them were talking with each other, and they were pointing at a piece of parchment spread out on the small table in front of them. When Wilps opened the door, the outside wind mixed with the cold air rushed in, making the three people in the room Everyone looked up.

"Master Wilps, come in quickly, you will let out the heat in the room!" Master Sugard greeted with a smile, but the deep worry on his face couldn't be concealed no matter what.

Wilps' heart sank, he closed the door smoothly, and walked over. "Is something wrong?" He glanced at the stranger, "An ominous message from the white wolf?"

"Thanks to these loyal white wolf guards." Li Wei sighed, pointing to the parchment on the table and said, "Master Wilps, please take a look at this, and then we can discuss what we should do."

So Wilps picked up the parchment, sat on the vacant chair and read it hastily.The quality of this parchment is mediocre, and cracks and holes have been exposed in some places due to poor tanning and drying techniques.However, these cannot cover up the golden information recorded on this parchment. Wilps read it hastily, and an expression of surprise and anger appeared on his face immediately.Suppressing the anger in his heart, he read it carefully again, paying attention to every word, and then slammed the parchment on the low table.

"This is really great!" Wilps said in a bad tone, his eyes sparkling against the fire in the fireplace. "The decree from His Majesty the King turned out to be an excuse that Viscount Ryan's family bloodline had been cut off, and the Viscounty was split into two baronies, one of which was given as a reward to the meritorious minister who ended the disaster, and the other was given to a man who was said to have made a contribution to the kingdom. The baron of the royal family who has made outstanding contributions will inherit!"

"This is the result of Earl Ansair, the governor of the northern border county, who wrote to the capital several times and fought hard based on reason." The stranger said in a muffled voice.

"It's unimaginable, this is the decision made by our wise majesty the king!" Wilps angrily thumped the low table in front of him, and the plates and bowls on it jingled and jumped up. . "It's just... just..."

"It's like something only those guys in robes can do, isn't it?" Master Sugard finished the sentence for him.

Wilps was silent for a moment, the only thing that hindered him from nodding was his admiration for the king, but the anger quickly suppressed this feeling. "That's right." He nodded heavily, and at the same time heard something shattered in his chest.

"When I read this letter just now, Lord Li Wei felt the same as you." Master Sugard pointed to Li Wei who had a gloomy face, "But I can tell you very responsibly that this decision is indeed not Fidel's. ?Adams, that is, made by our Majesty the King."

"Could it be that someone blinded His Majesty the King and issued an order privately?" Wilps' eyes widened in disbelief, and his clenched fists trembled.

"That's not true." Master Sujiade twirled his white beard, with subtle disdain in his voice, "Those important ministers don't have the guts yet, but our King loves chivalry and beauties, and hates the so-called complicated government affairs. He has always left things to the Unsullied and the Grand Master."

"The Unsullied and the Astrologer?" Li Wei repeated the two names, "It doesn't sound like the name of an important minister, but more like a nickname."

"The Unsullied, the two members of the Kingdom's Nine Pillars family, is the nickname given to His Excellency Reinhard Bamilian, the head of the court, because he has given up his lifeblood in order to show his infinite loyalty to His Majesty the King." Master Sugard He said, "As for the astrologer, it is His Excellency Satsien Hull, who is generally recognized as the highest authority on astrology in the kingdom. He is also His Majesty's most trusted state advisor."

"It turned out to be a eunuch and a liar." Wilps said sharply.

"Master Wilps, what you are mocking are all important ministers of the kingdom, who need us to look up to." Master Sugard dissuaded, but there was no respect in his voice, and then he tapped the table with a quill pen, "For Let those people’s complaints stop here, what we have to study now is how to deal with the current situation.”

Master Sugard took out an old rolled-horned map from his sleeve and spread it out on the table. This map was carefully tanned with soft calfskin and soaked in magic potion, so although it has gone through many vicissitudes, it is still nothing wrong. Big breakage.Li Wei, Wilpus, and the white wolf knight all moved their heads together, looking at the place Master Sugard pointed out on the map.

"We are here," the quill pointed to a small castle figure, and then drew a circle nearby, "Most of the good fields that are well cultivated are also located nearby, but here, here and the villages here, have all been destroyed. It was destroyed by the demon, and it has not been able to recover so far." The quill made a cross from the three cottage graphics, indicating that these places no longer exist.

"These damned demons!" Wilps cursed in a low voice, recalling the miserable scene he had seen.

"However, because of the two adults, Wilps and Herbert, the situation in the south is not bad, at least a few villages between the Viscount's Castle and the Dusk Forest are still there. As for the north, most of the villages are It turned into ruins, only Dayan Village and here..." Master Sujiad pointed to a place near the dark green color block.

"This seems to be... a refugee camp?" Li Wei said with some uncertainty. The education that Knight Ston gave him did not include the item of identifying maps.

"That's right, Master Li Wei, it's the refugee camp you created alone." Master Sugard nodded, then picked up a quill and drew a line on the map.This line winds its way across, enclosing the Viscount's Castle and a nearby village, leaving behind a northern part that is relatively vast, but mostly occupied by dark green patches representing the forest.

"Judging from the information in the letter, the division method of the important ministers of the kingdom this time is to separate the southern part of the territory that is less affected by the evil disaster from the northern part of the territory that has almost become barren, forming two baronies." Sugard The master put down the quill, and frowned nervously, "Now you can see that if the Viscounty is divided into two parts like this, the northern part will suffer completely."

"Then we will choose the south!" Wilps said in a stiff tone.

"It's very difficult, very difficult." Master Sugard's brows did not relax at all, "Although I can't think of what those important ministers of the kingdom will do, it is obvious that they want to leave the rich and fertile south to their own people and leave the land barren. , and the north that still needs to defend against the barbarian bandits is left to us, or... Lord Li Wei."

"Master, I don't understand what you said. Why do you say that the Northern Territory is reserved for Lord Li Wei?" the White Wolf Knight asked in confusion.

"If some of us are willing to serve the new baron, I'm afraid he is very welcome. After all, he is just a nobleman in robes living in the capital, and he probably doesn't have many real knights under his command." Master Sugard explained .

"I'd like to see who will go under his command!" Wilps smiled sullenly.

"This is not a problem." Li Wei, who had been looking at the map in silence, said suddenly, covering the vast north with his hand, "I created the refugee camp, and I can't give up here. If they want to give the north Me, then I'll go north!"

(End of this chapter)