Heart of the Castle

Chapter 662 Abraham's Alliance Conditions

The architectural style of the lobby of the main building of the Greencastle belongs to the rough and tough style of the early Arthur Kingdom. There are no exquisite carvings on the walls, let alone luxurious decorations inlaid with precious metals.Except for a huge tapestry with golden griffins flying in the deepest part, the hall looks deserted, with flickering torches as the only decoration.The whole wall made of chlorite glowed with a soft dark green luster under the light of the fire, but it still had a chilling feeling of indifference.

The guardian of Arthur's kingdom, Leviston, was wearing a delicate handmade light steel armor, sitting on an ordinary high-backed chair in front of the giant tapestry, with a half cloak woven of gold silk slanted on one side.The powerful Lord Regent has just turned 16 years old this year. His face is full of youthful vigor, and there is only a faint shadow of a beard on his lips, which greatly eases the chill brought by the armor and sword.However, if you can look directly into his eyes, you will find the sharpness, courage and calmness that belonged to the real battle of life and death, and there is no doubt that in the next moment, this famous Griffon Lord will Huo Ran stood up and issued orders with a voice like thunder.

Beside Li Weiston, there is a taller and more exquisite seat, although the position is more biased. This is the throne of Princess Fleischer, the only bloodline of the royal family.Her Royal Highness is also dressed in military uniform with a long sword on her waist, but unlike the stern expression on the face of the Griffin Lord, Princess Fleischer always has a warm smile on her upright and beautiful face. When he seldom expresses his opinion, he always listens carefully, but every time he speaks, everyone including Levi Stern will obey with awe.

Since the Marquis Osiris, the head of the Knights of the Iron Guard, is currently recuperating in the Moon Whispering Forest, four newly promoted Knights of the Iron Guard are guarding the side of the throne. Holding the giant sword out of its sheath, if it weren't for the sharp and cold eyes projected from the viewing hole on the top of the visor, it would be like four cast iron statues.

Standing opposite the iron guard knights are four equally heavily armed griffin knights. The blue and white armor and the golden griffin mane fluttering on the full-face helmet make their image extraordinarily mighty and vivid.These eight knights all had a faint but incomparably clear vindictive radiance, which fluctuated with their breathing as if they had life. This is a manifestation of the vindictive power reaching the peak of Sanhua, and it also proves that they all possess terrifying strength above that of a great knight. .

These eight powerful knights are more than enough to serve as the guards of any king on the mainland, but the real guard force in the hall of the Green Castle does not belong to them.Sir Rodriguez stood beside Li Wei, wearing a set of black armor that could absorb all light, and pressed his right hand on the hilt of the star iron giant sword.At the feet of this condemned knight, a shadow is unfolding in a strange posture, as if it is completely unaffected by the flickering flames. Occasionally, two blood-red sharp lights will flash in the shadow, bringing enough blood to make people feel excited. The condensed Senhan killing intent.

Any assassin who wants to attack Princess Fleischer and Levi Stone must pass the siege of eight powerful knights, and then repel the extraordinary power of the condemned knight Sir Rodriguez and the shadow assassin Aya who lurks in the shadows. Lanskate, such a task is almost impossible to complete even if it is performed by a legendary powerhouse.

Next is the seats for the important ministers of the kingdom. Eight conference tables are arranged in a half-moon shape around the two thrones. The important ministers attending the court meeting have already sat behind the tables. Only the one on the far right belonging to the court chief Bamilyan is empty. , because the chief steward, under the order of Li Wei, personally led the envoys from Abraham to meet him.

Many noble lords stood on the left and right corridors of the hall. The nobles from the northern county were on the left, while the nobles from the royal capital Fermeyer occupied the right, forming two mutually exclusive groups with a huge gap.In terms of numbers, the two sides are on par, but in terms of titles, the nobles of the royal capital have the absolute upper hand.The family coats of arms of viscounts, earls, and marqueses were shining brightly, overshadowing those of knights, knights, and barons on the opposite side.

However, this situation is gradually improving. Many royal nobles with empty titles are very envious of the northern nobles who have real power and territory. There are signs of exchanges and intermarriage between the two parties.Just a few days ago, Countess Daniel from Fairmeyer married Sir Nissan, who owned a small castle and two manors in Northern County. You can hardly find anything decent outside of it, but for the nobles from Northern County, the title alone is enough to make them pay a lot.

"Ambassador of the Abraham Tribal Alliance, Lion Slayer Taldan Kositi has an audience!"

Following the announcement of the high-pitched voice of Bamilyan, the head of the palace, two oak doors covered with ancient bronze patterns slowly opened, and a group of messengers from Abraham entered. These people's skin was as black as ebony, and they wore Loose robes painted with dazzling colorful markings in exaggerated strokes.As they stepped forward, the sound of metal rubbing came from under the robes, and the metal light of chain mail and scimitars gleamed under the lifted corners of the robes.

It can be seen that it was not a smooth journey for them to come to the northern border from Abraham. All of their robes were covered with smoky charred black and cracks cut by sharp knives, and some places were stained with dried blood. Two of them even needed Only with the support of your companions can you keep up with the pace of the team.

Whispering was heard everywhere, but the group of people kept their eyes on each other, passed between the northern lord and the nobles of the royal capital, and didn't stop until they were more than ten meters away from the two thrones.These people performed a set of complicated and funny foreign etiquette to Li Wei and Princess Fleischer, raised their foreheads with their hands, patted their faces, stroked their chests, and bowed deeply every time, and then the tall and tall man in the head The messenger spoke.

"The son of the great true God, the most powerful imam on the continent, the invincible commander, the wise leader Usa Masailian Alyosha's messenger, the lion slayer Taldan Kositi, Greetings to Her Royal Highness Princess Fleischer of the Kingdom of Arthur and His Excellency Prince Regent Leviston, may the Kingdom of Arthur prosper and its glory last forever."

This tall envoy spoke a lingua franca with a strong desert accent, his tone was blunt and unrestrained, with a condescending taste that could not be concealed, which made people uncomfortable to hear, and the content was full of sarcasm.The discussion in the hall suddenly rose like a tide. Both the nobles of the capital and the lords of the northern border showed expressions of dissatisfaction, disgust, and even anger. Many knights with reckless personalities were already shaking their cloaks. Holding the sword hilt in his hand, he glared angrily, as if he wanted to rush forward and tear these dark-skinned guys to pieces.

Li Wei's expression was very calm, and he didn't even show any offended anger in his eyes, he just looked at the messenger as cold as ice.Being able to be named Lion Slayer and the leader of Abraham's mission, Taldan Kositi is certainly not a cowardly person. He himself has the strength of a sword-wielding count and is the personal guard of the Great Imam of Usama." One of the three leaders of the "Undead Hundreds", he has accompanied him to many high-level meetings.However, under Li Wei's gaze, his expression tensed up involuntarily, sweat dripped from his dark forehead, and then rolled down his cheeks.

"Is the Usama Imam of Abraham sending you here just to say these provocative words?" Li Wei said suddenly, with a heavy and straightforward tone, "Then I have heard it now. For the sake of face, I can keep your head on the neck."

"Of course not. I apologize if what I just said offended you." Taldan took a deep breath, and the unruly taste in his tone became much weaker. "I came to your kingdom this time to serve you. On the order of the Great Imam of Usama, I convey to you the request to conclude a joint covenant, so as to gather all the power of the human kingdoms and fight against the evil disaster together."

"Thundermaster, may you throw your spear through the heads of those demons!" The archbishop of the Temple of Storms, Povava, who attended the court meeting, said with a gloomy face, "Has the desert country Abraham also been invaded by demons?"

"Thanks to the blessing of the true God and the great blessing of the great imam of Usama, who was illuminated by the auspicious star, although Abraham was threatened by the evil disaster, he had completely defeated it. The brave desert warriors fought bloody battles and were not afraid of sacrifice. Pile up into mountains, no less than ten thousand!" Taldan proudly announced.He originally expected to hear the sounds of surprise and admiration coming from all around, but what filled his ears was a burst of mocking laughter.

The hall of the Green Castle was filled with laughter, and everyone laughed together, whether it was the nobles of the capital, the lords of the northern border, or the important ministers of the kingdom, even Princess Fleisher who was sitting on the throne covered her face with her right hand, and smiled with trembling shoulders , as if what Taldan just said was a joke that made people laugh.

Taldan was surprised at first, and then an unstoppable anger filled his chest, his dark face was faintly red, like a piece of iron being heated in a blacksmith's furnace. "Masters of Arthur's Kingdom!" He suddenly shouted sharply, his voice amplified by fighting spirit like a howling hot wind, suppressing all the laughter in the hall, "Dare to ask me what I just said is ridiculous?"

"It's not funny, it's just surprise, surprise." Li Wei took a deep breath to suppress his smile, and then waved his hand to signal everyone to pay attention to their manners, "Abraham's messenger, the conclusion of a joint covenant to fight against evil disasters is not empty talk. It is inconvenient to support each other because of the great distance between them, what proposal does the Grand Imam of Usama have for this?"

"Of course our wise and wise leader has already considered this point. There is no direct passage between Abraham and the Kingdom of Arthur. There are two duchies of Spykhov and Machiko in between. However, the strength of these two duchies is too weak. When the disaster came, it had already suffered a devastating blow. Grand Duke Spyhov had died in battle, and his family blood had been cut off; and although Grand Duke Machiko also died in battle, fortunately, his youngest son survived and swore an oath to our great leader of Abraham. Allegiance. Now access is no longer a problem, the only problem is that Abraham must learn from the famous."

Taldan Kositi resumed his proud tone while speaking, "Now your kingdom is suffering from the invasion of demons, and the Imam Usama is deeply worried about the future of your kingdom. In order to save your kingdom as soon as possible, you are in dire straits. Among them, as long as a covenant is signed, Abraham is willing to send troops to help the Kingdom of Arthur fight against the evil disaster."

"With all due respect, Master Taldan Kositi, this assistance is probably not free, right?" The old red-robed scholar Master Sugard raised his eyes and asked slowly.

"Abraham aids the friendly nations for the sake of light and justice, and will not take advantage of the fire. We will only snatch the fruits of victory from the hands of the devil, and will never touch any land in the northern border county." Taldan Kositi said lightly, "and Once the king's capital, Fermeyer, is conquered, the Great Imam of Usama will generously return it to your kingdom, and only need to charge a small amount of military compensation."

"Father God, the Great Imam of Osama is really generous." Bamilian, the court chief, patted his fat hands with a smile, "Taking advantage of the opportunity of the catastrophe, we will help those allies who are too busy to take care of themselves to regain their lost land. , if you can still return those lands to the owners, then you can be regarded as a flawless and wise leader."

Li Weiston stood up from his seat, cleared his throat and said: "Master Taldan Kositi Messenger, thank you for bringing us the alliance conditions of Abraham's Usama Imam. But unfortunately, so The harsh conditions have exceeded acceptable limits, and we can only express our rejection."

Taldan's cheeks twitched twice suddenly, "Masters of the Kingdom of Arthur," he reminded arrogantly, "Please don't rashly reject the kind assistance of the Great Imam of Usama, your country has been torn apart, not only the four counties in the south , West Wind County, and King Capital Fermeyer have all been taken over by the demon army, and even the eastern and small Sai Lei County, which is still holding on, seem to no longer obey the orders of the Arthur royal family, right?"

The nobles of the royal capital and the lords of the northern border looked at each other in blank dismay. This was the first time they heard news about the two eastern counties of the kingdom after the fall of the capital of Fermeyer, but it was actually from a foreign envoy.

"If the two eastern counties publicly announce that they will no longer obey the royal order, then the Griffin Knights will naturally destroy these rebels and use their blood to wash away their stigma." Cedric, the Earl of the White Wolf, stood up and spoke, his tone was as His mustache standing upright on his chin is as tough.

"Oh, Earl Cedric, your words are terrible." Bamilian, the court steward, said tremblingly, "but it seems too early to conclude that the two eastern counties have betrayed."

"Master Taldan Kositi, your news is very useful. Since the capital of Fermeyer fell to the hands of the devil, the news between us and the two eastern counties has been cut off. All the important ministers of the kingdom think that Thomas De Jansen The rest of the Reaper Knights led by your lord can't stand alone, I'm afraid they have been defeated by the demon army, and now it seems that he is still able to hold his ground, which is really worthy of commendation." Master Sujiad poked his neck with his fingers thoughtfully The metal necklace on it, "Her Royal Highness, Princess Fleischer, I suggest that we should send a messenger immediately to contact Sir Tomad Jansen."

"This suggestion is very good." Princess Fleischer's voice sounded later, "Master Sugard, please, in the name of me and His Excellency Regent Li Weiston, please draft a letter to the governors of the two eastern counties and the Knights of Death A letter from acting head Thomas Jansen."

Seeing that his threatening words were so ignored, Taldan Kositi's eyes quickly flashed a hint of anger, but he quickly suppressed it.Before coming to the Kingdom of Arthur, the Great Imam of Usama once taught him the opportunity and told him the real intention of proposing the alliance conditions.

Abraham's purpose is not just to annex the four southern counties of the Kingdom of Arthur. In fact, the appetite of the Great Imam of Usama is much larger than his size. This short and lame "Son of God" wants to get What he wants is the hegemony of the entire continent, and in order to achieve this goal, he must take seriously the Kingdom of Arthur, which dominates the north of the continent.

According to Usa Masailian Alyosha's idea, this alliance condition is actually a test for the remaining forces of the Kingdom of Arthur. If those people have been forced by the demon army to the point where it is difficult to breathe, then seeing the life-saving straw thrown by Abraham, I will definitely grab it without hesitation, after all, only by surviving can we talk about territorial integrity; but if those people refuse to accept the conditions of alliance, it means that they have not been forced to the point of desperation, so if they want to annex this northern power, they will It's more troublesome than imagined.

Before coming to Northern County, this mission had already visited Great Serre County in the east of the Kingdom of Arthur, and met Earl James, the sheriff of Great Serre County, but the real master there was the Death Knights The chief, Tomad Jansen, refused to meet with the mission on the grounds of military affairs, let alone give Taldan the opportunity to propose an alliance.

And here in North Border County, Taldan also didn't get an ideal answer. This kind of result made him, who is known as the lion slayer, feel a burst of anger that he couldn't vent from the bottom of his heart. "It seems that the adults in the Kingdom of Arthur are very confident, and they don't appreciate the kindness expressed by the Great Imam of Usama." As he spoke, he glanced at many important officials of the kingdom with gloomy eyes, especially around Li Wei. Sir Rodriguez stayed on the sword for a few more seconds, as if he was assessing the true strength of the black armored knight.

Sir Rodriguez let him observe indifferently, but at the moment when Taldan was about to look away, the Scourge Knight suddenly snorted coldly, and the two stone-like eyes suddenly looked back at the past. As soon as the line of sight touched, there was a clang like a clash of swords!
(End of this chapter)