After ending the battle of bishop Byrne, Loren deliberately delayed for more than ten days in Charlotte''s scolding voice before officially receiving the envoy representing the Holy Cross Church and the heavenly palace, Deacon hilwick.
The messenger and confidant of the Archbishop of innoson was a man who could drill camp very well; Although he is only a deacon and at most a priest''s deputy in the church clergy, he is very good at making money by his position. There are two coffers under the name of yode chamber of Commerce alone, with a savings of no less than 3 million gold coins, and he also holds the bonds of more than a dozen chambers of Commerce, large and small.
According to little Yoder, Loren''s "treasurer" and head of the intelligence network and President of the United Chamber of Commerce, if it weren''t for the priest''s robe worth 600000 gold coins and the cross worth 400000 gold coins, he thought it was a colleague.
On the one hand, it is to buy time for the little priest - now bishop Byrne - Weber. It is easier to take over the Byrne church with the trusted deacon next to the archbishop.
In a sense, it can also create an illusion for the Holy Cross Church that the young priest is very simple and easy to control.
Being ignored by his enemies bodes well for an "idealist".
On the other hand, it is to wait for the horn castle at the peak of the "expedition" cloud to return.
On an open ground outside the city of red blood castle, he looked up at the floating city slowly approaching from the sky like a dark cloud. Deacon hilvik looked pale, his eyes were almost distracted and his breath was short.
The oppressive feeling of covering the clouds and blocking the sun made the clergy who despised wizards for most of his life feel the shock like the collapse of the world!
One side of Loren stood silently behind him, contentedly appreciating each other''s expression at the moment.
It doesn''t matter when the horn Castle returns, but it''s important for him to let the messengers of the heavenly palace and the church see this scene.
Although Charlotte won the negotiation table, she relied on the distrust between Arles and the church and the information provided by the demon hunter.
Although such "flexible means" can win the greatest interests, it is also easy to cause the contempt of the other party. He believes that Byrne can only sow discord and does not have enough strength, so he does not dare to face up with the heavenly palace and the church.
What Lauren has to do is to dispel the "wrong view" of the other party, expose her fangs and let the other party see clearly that she is a carnivore, not a grass eater.
"It''s unbelievable, it''s really..." the stunned deacon hilwick took half a minute to recover from the shock, and his forehead was covered with cold sweat:
"It''s really a miracle. It''s a miracle that only the Holy Cross can descend!"
"Deacon hilwick, you''re flattered." the dark haired wizard smiled back at the other side with a look of disapproval: "this is just an experiment, and it''s still a long way from being officially put into use."
"Of course, thanks to the blessing of the Holy Cross, Bain''s wizards have mastered the key technology of the floating city, and can completely turn her into a real floating fortress in a few years at most. By then..."
"Er... We''d better wait until the future." deacon hilwick, who wiped away the cold sweat, quickly turned the conversation: "now we should pay more attention to the present."
"Of course, you''re right." Lauren took over the topic happily. "We should all focus on the present. After all, who is right about the future?"
Deacon hilwick was slightly stunned.
"Duke Loren, what you said..." after a moment of surprise, the expression of the messenger of the church and the sky palace was obviously a little bad:
"With all due respect, does that mean something?"
"Oh, yes?" Lauren raised his eyebrows and looked at him strangely: "weren''t we talking about the floating city just now? So look forward to the future a little... I don''t quite understand. What''s easy to cause misunderstanding in this sentence?"
Yes, there is no misunderstanding in this sentence - provided that you, the Duke of Byrne, do not stand in the camp of his highness Brandon de sallion, and the church does not support today''s crown prince, Prince Conrad de sallion!
Deacon hilwick''s expression was extremely difficult to see.
At this moment, the joy of victory brought by Byrne''s concession in the Bishops'' dispute was completely washed away... Loren Turin, who can force the church to compromise in the pre imperial trial, is still a difficult enemy.
At least for now.
"Nothing... It''s just that I haven''t seen you for three years. I feel a little sad to see you again - the wizard who visited the imperial capital at the beginning is now the Duke with real power in Byrne''s hands, which inevitably makes people feel that time flies."
The next second, Deacon hilwick tactfully shifted the topic: "to tell you the truth, when you came, your majesty Eckhart II told me to send you his greetings."
Eckhart II
Loren recognized the meaning of each other''s words.
In other words, although the other party is a member of the church, it actually represents the heavenly palace, or the Emperor himself?
"I really don''t know that I can be worthy of your Majesty''s greetings?" Lauren showed a somewhat "humble" look, quite flattered:
"I thought the troubles caused by the heavenly palace in the past three years had made your majesty want to rack his brains and depose me, the incompetent Duke of Byrne."
So you know how much trouble you have caused to Tianqiong palace!
"Where, Duke, are you worried too much... How could your majesty depose his brachial minister so easily?" with a polite and implicit smile, Deacon hilwick waved his hand:
"What''s more, the current empire is in a troubled time, and there is no peace in all places. It''s time for a young and promising noble like you to show their skills - for the safety of the Empire, even if there are many differences, we must unite closely in order to make this country ride out all difficulties and obstacles safely."
"Like... Right now."
Right now?
The dark haired wizard''s expression moved slightly - hilwick, he had something to say.
"Duke Loren, what do you know about the Yasur elf kingdom ruled by the eagle king in the west of the misty sea?"
Deacon hilwick stared at Loren''s expression and said slowly, word by word.
"I don''t know much except some rumors." Lauren looked at him expressionless and didn''t touch him. "To be honest, I''m not interested in such a distant country."
Hilwick frowned slightly and almost wrote the word "don''t believe" on his face: "really?"
"Of course it''s true - if you''re a little more informed, you should know that in the past two years, my attention has been focused on the Yunling kingdom in the south." Loren replied directly:
"As for an overseas elf country that has nothing to do with Byrne, I have no interest in her."
"Really?"
Deacon hilwick showed a slightly disappointed expression, but his deep eyes were still fixed on the black haired wizard''s eyes: "then from now on, you should start to understand this country."
Loren''s expression froze, but his heart tightened.
Good... Finally stop beating around the Bush?
"What I''m going to tell you next is the information from the sky Palace - and it''s a top secret." hilwick raised his chest and looked solemn:
"To tell you the truth, there are not more than five people in the Empire who know about this matter except your majesty... Because your majesty takes special care of you, you are among these five people."
The dark haired wizard nodded seriously, and the corners of his mouth held back a smile.
Secret... If it''s really a secret, it''s LUT infinite, not you, who''s standing in front of him now.
In Golovin, the capital of Timor, where various forces are mixed, the more "secrets" are leaked, the faster - "top secrets" are kept secret for up to three days, "internal news" is often sent out in the morning and spread all over the streets in the afternoon; The "imperial parliament", which nominally should keep the contents of the meeting confidential, is leaking like a sieve.
Of course, Byrne is not qualified to laugh at the sky palace, because the round table parliament is similar; The Earls from the thirteen leaders also have no sense of confidentiality
"Intelligence from eboden and lottel - three months ago, a cargo ship on the open sea accidentally encountered an ocean going ship with completely different sails and shapes from the Empire; according to the description of afterwards witnesses, it is speculated that the ship is likely to come from the yasul kingdom."
Deacon hilwick, who did not notice Loren''s expression, looked serious and said in a deep voice: "according to their route, the final destination should be the boundary of ancient wood forest!"
Ancient wood forest?
Loren, who heard the term, was slightly stunned. He was really surprised: "what do you mean..."
"Although they have been separated for hundreds of years, the elves of the ancient wood forest and the so-called ''Assur people'' are indeed of the same origin." hilwick continued: "this time they suddenly visited the ancient wood forest for no reason."
"You know, the ancient wood forest borders the two principalities of Lotel and Arle at the same time. It is difficult for the imperial army to go deep into it, but these elves can attack from the dense forest and disturb our villages and towns at any time."
"Although in the past ten generations, the elves almost never harassed US, and even carried out trade with the imperial caravan to fight side by side with us against the invasion of Ogres, they once occupied most of lottel''s territory and spread throughout the ancient wood forest as far as the ancient kingdom!"
"The Yasur Kingdom, which is now estranged from us and completely lost contact because of the death of the ocean fleet, has set its eyes on their ''distant relative'' - the sky palace. It will inevitably worry that the eagle king on the other side of the sea is no longer satisfied with his territory and will reach out to us."
When the voice fell, Deacon hilwick stopped talking and waited quietly for the black haired wizard''s response.
Lauren frowned slightly. He probably guessed what the other party thought, but he was not ready to follow the other party''s meaning: "sorry, but what does this have to do with Byrne?"
"You just mentioned that the ancient wood forest borders the two principalities of Lotel and Arles. Is this more closely related to them?"
"Yes, the ancient wood forest and the elves have nothing to do with Byrne." sylvik threw a meaningful look at Loren: "but it has something to do with you."
"Me?" Lauren continued to play silly.
"A long time ago... About a few years ago, when you just became a wizard, you visited an elf settlement in the ancient wood forest as the Earl of shenlinbao and the messenger of the heir of the Principality of lottel."
Like telling a story, hilwick said: "there, you fought with them against the ogre invasion and forged a deep friendship, even... Beyond the feelings of friendship."
Lifting up the corners of his mouth, hilwick''s eyes were covered with a smile: "someone told me that when you were in eboden, you were accompanied by a brave and skilled Female Elf Warrior wielding a long gun. Really?"
"Cough... That was many years ago; what''s more, I only came into contact with the elves near the East, and what you mentioned seems to be the northern settlements."
After two awkward coughs, Lauren retorted, "after such a long time and no contact, I''m afraid they can''t recognize me when they see me."
"Even so, you are one of the few people who have had contact with the elves and are familiar with how to contact them - and your identity as Duke Byrne and past friendship can help you win each other''s respect more easily." hilwick accentuated his tone a little, and his voice was thick:
"Therefore, under the influence of many factors, his majesty Eckhardt II ordered me to greet you face to face. Would you like to become the Plenipotentiary of the sakran Empire, visit the ancient wood forest, negotiate with the elves there, and obtain all the information about the Azores kingdom?"
Hilwick, who finally stopped circling, quite frankly stated the purpose of his trip.
In an increasingly serious atmosphere, the black haired wizard didn''t answer immediately, meditated and said nothing.
"Of course, your majesty also takes into account that Duke Byrne is busy and has a lot of opportunities every day. He may not have time to perform such a long official mission."
"But correspondingly, please pay attention to another thing." hilwick''s expression suddenly became indifferent before his voice fell:
"More than three years have passed since you were crowned. In these three years, you have never visited the imperial capital to report to your majesty. Don''t you think it''s a little impolite?"
"Indeed, your majesty, considering the reunification of Byrne, you must be too busy to tolerate... But Duke, you should give your majesty a little face and give him a reasonable reason to convince others that Byrne is loyal to the Empire!"
Loren pondered for a moment: "so, your majesty means..."
"I''m just a deacon. I don''t dare to speculate Your Majesty''s ideas. I can only tell you a little about my own superficial opinions." hilwick suddenly changed his face and smiled, humbly stroked his chest and bowed his head, but his eyes always looked at the dark haired Wizard:
"Send an envoy to the ancient wood forest, or report to the imperial capital... Choose one of the two!"