I will be crowned king

December 31, the hundredth year of the Saint's Calendar, Franz's house in the inner city of Clovis.

Under the gloomy dome, this luxurious mansion covered in silver is hosting a grand New Year's banquet.

Brisk notes played under the fingertips of the pianist in a tuxedo, and melodious tunes accompanied the dancing strings under the crystal chandelier; in the sweet voice of the female singer who sang on the stage, the glamorous male and female guests In the warm spring hall, people were holding ice-cold wine, enjoying various delicacies presented by the servants, and talking and laughing on the dance floor.

The person who was discussed the most among the guests was naturally the host of tonight's banquet - and the absolute protagonist, Ludwig Franz.

In fact, because the battle between the Western Front and the Empire was still in a very unfavorable stalemate, the atmosphere in Clovis City at the end of the 100th year of the Saint's Calendar was actually quite low.

On the one hand, the empire did not stop its losses in time after being unable to achieve results as most people expected, and ended this meaningless war in a way that was more acceptable to both sides.

On the other hand, although Clovis did not lose territory, he also gained nothing; in addition, the total military strength was far less than that of the Empire, but the material consumption was almost the same, and various expenses gradually failed to make ends meet.

Without the timely replenishment of blood through the victory in the Vast Earth War and the Punishment War against the Yser Elf, the Clovis Royal Army, known as the "elite", would have suffered a disastrous performance throughout the year.

In order to support the frontline war effort and express his dissatisfaction with the army's performance, Carlos II even stopped the palace's customary New Year's banquet and "suggested" that the wealthy families in Clovis should also reduce extravagant and wasteful expenditures.

The Franz family became the only exception. In order to welcome Major General Ludwig after his return, Carlos II even spent his own money to hire an entire theater orchestra for the New Year's dinner at Franz's residence, and also put himself in the theater. My favorite cook also borrowed it.

So on this snowy night, Franz's mansion, which was not very eye-catching at first, became the most brightly lit corner of Clovis City on New Year's Eve, shrouded in laughter and laughter.

"I repeat, this was not my idea at all!"

In the quiet smoking room, Ludwig looked at his sister who was dressed in fine clothes and pushed the door open, explaining helplessly.

To be fair, he has never liked a particularly lively environment, and he even hates spending time with a group of duplicitous, glib-tongued guys pretending to be "decent" during the time he should be enjoying.

But he knew better that in doing so, His Majesty Carlos II was using himself to defeat the Royal Army, which was disadvantaged in the frontline war. After all, the Franz family was at odds with the Army, and it was well known that he had been marginalized all year round.

"First of all, I did not take away any of Anson Bach's achievements in Hantu; secondly, although it is a bit boastful to say this, I also voluntarily gave up the Ysel Elf King's Court to him - otherwise it would be difficult for both of us and the king to do so. The distance between the court and the court is too far for him to conquer!"

"Also, it was the Army's order to immediately transfer him to the colonies. I have no right to interfere - by the way, he is also one of my subordinates. Do you think I didn't resist?!"

Ludwig is quite depressed. If possible, he certainly hopes that Anson can stay, so that he can at least be responsible for the work of Hantu, and he can negotiate with the Yisel elves with peace of mind; instead of being like now, it seems that he is intervening. , snatched away the honor that originally belonged to him.

But Sophia, who was sitting aside, seemed not to hear his explanation. The girl holding a cup of hot coffee raised her head and looked blankly at her extremely respected brother:

"What are you talking about? I just think it's too noisy outside and I just come here to relax. Isn't this okay?"

Ludwig rolled his eyes, he was really too familiar with his "cute" sister - the more he deliberately pretended not to care, the more it proved that there was something wrong.

"Okay, whatever you think, I just want to tell you that this matter has nothing to do with me." Ludwig sighed helplessly: "By the way, I just got the news from North Port, Anson... Bach set off two months ago; if we calculate the time, he should have arrived at Ice Dragon Fjord by now."

Picking up the cigarette case on the table and a glass of champagne, Ludwig stood up and left without forgetting to close the door to the smoking room.

"boom."

The moment the door was closed, Sophia's expression immediately turned gloomy.

Of course she knew that Anson Bach had left the mainland and gone to the colony - in fact, the garrison commander wrote a letter as soon as he arrived in Beigang and sent people to send it over non-stop.

Sophia felt quite conflicted about this Old God sect member; on the one hand, she was ashamed that the other party had deceived her for so long; but on a certain level, he had never deceived her from beginning to end.

If the identity of the spell caster hadn't been exposed and my father had intervened to break his original plan, the entire plan would have been flawless.

The Storm Master became the biggest contributor to the Hantu War and the Punishment War against the Yser Elves. As the founder of this "heroic army" and a rising star in the newspaper industry, he will occupy a firm position in the entire Clovis City. a place.

At the very least, it must have the same influence as Lady Catalina, the behind-the-scenes controller of the Railway Commission.

But now...all the plans have turned into a dream.

Having lost Stormcaster as the largest news source, the newspaper that he had pushed up with his own hands was once again exposed to its decline as a street tabloid, and the "territory" that had been taken away was re-encroached on by "Morning News" and "Kingdom Loyal News".

And without the help of himself, an important investor, Anson Bach, who was alone overseas and helpless in the colony, would probably be like himself now, helpless to deal with the current situation in a world of ice and snow, right?

The frowning girl's face became increasingly ugly, and the cheerful singing outside the door sounded so harsh, as if it was mocking herself over and over again.

The next second, the coffee cup she was holding tightly in her hand suddenly threw it towards the burning fireplace.

"boom!"

……………………

With the crisp sound of clinking glasses, the atmosphere of the New Year's banquet in Beluga Harbor gradually reached its peak; as the host, Speaker Harold stepped forward and excitedly raised his glass to the many guests in the hall:

"Gentlemen, and ladies! Let us raise a toast together and welcome the brave Commander-in-Chief Colonel Anson Bach and his noble and beautiful fiancée Miss Talia August Luhn to the White Whale Harbor Parliament !”

Under the gaze of hundreds of pairs of eager eyes, Anson, still wearing a gray military coat and a three-cornered hat, held the hand of Thalia, who was dressed up, and stepped onto the red carpet into the hall of the White Whale Harbor Parliament.

Despite its unimpressive appearance, the structure inside the parliament hall is extremely gorgeous - thirty-two marble columns and huge stained glass windows form the walls on both sides, and a total of nine lamps are hung from the ceiling depicting the myth of the Ring of Order. The large crystal chandelier extends from the door to the podium, and combined with the reflection of the metal decoration on the left and right walls, the entire hall is filled with golden light.

Even the floor under your feet is paved with high-quality masonry, not only engraved with reliefs, but you can actually hear crisp echoes when you step on it; the wooden benches on both sides don't seem to be unusual, but it is not difficult to find as long as you observe carefully. They are all made of high-quality wood, and they are directly cut out from the entire century-old wood, without any trace of splicing.

"The Ring of Order is above. Isn't this too exaggerated?" Karl, who was following Anson, raised his neck and looked around, and he was shocked:

"Am I in the city council of a small port at the end of the world, or am I in the Privy Council of Clovis?"

"In fact, this city council should be modeled after the Clovis Privy Council." The young clerk held the document package and raised his head and said.

"Ah?" Karl was even more surprised.

"Yes, to be more precise, it is not the entire Privy Council, but the Carlos Hall - also known as the Crystal Hall by many. It is a public place where regular meetings are held three times a week and where His Majesty holds Parliament once a month."

The little secretary looked around: "And although it should be imitated, it seems to be more luxurious than the original Crystal Hall - if I remember correctly, there were only seven large chandeliers in that hall, and here There are actually nine... Oh, the chairs here are actually made of cedar wood. I have never seen a long back chair made of cedar wood... and it is pure logs?!"

While the two of them were stunned, Anson had already walked to the front of the hall and walked to the VIP seat under the spotlight. Speaker Harold, who was holding a wine glass, was the first to stand up and took the initiative to greet him.

"We are truly honored to have you two here!" Speaker Harold beamed with joy, as excitedly as if it was the first time the two parties had met:

"To be honest, when my dear nephew told me that you two accepted the invitation, I almost wondered if there was something wrong with my ears!"

"You are so polite, Mr. Speaker." Anson said calmly, pretending that he really accepted the other party's invitation temporarily, rather than the two parties had already agreed:

"It is also an honor for us to be accepted by Beluga Harbor. To make this great city shine, we need the joint efforts of the garrison and the Beluga Harbor Council."

"Exactly!"

Harold's eyes lit up and he quickly agreed.

In his eyes, this should be the most direct manifestation of Anson Bach letting go of his pride and choosing to cooperate with the Beluga Harbor Council.

He and many of his supporters in the White Whale Port Council had been worried before, worried that the commander who was too young would be stubborn and completely refuse to cooperate with them - after all, the other party was really young.

If he really had his own way, Harold had countless ways to make all his "grand visions" unfulfilled, but that would be tantamount to provoking conflict; in any case, it would be unwise to anger an officer who has an army in his hands. .

At least... until he divided the officer corps and lured him away.

"This is Miss Thalia August Rune, the current head of the Rune family."

Just when Harold said proudly and was a little distracted, Anson took the opportunity to step forward and introduce: "Also, she is also my fiancée."

"Dear Miss Thalia, your arrival makes the entire Beluga Harbor feel honored!" Harold, who was a little panicked, quickly saluted, and at the same time raised his head cautiously and said:

"I apologize for my crudeness and ignorance, but... Luen... I don't think I've heard of such a wealthy family in Clovis?"

"That's natural." Thalia smiled lightly, raised her skirt and curtsied:

"It's just a small nobleman from the countryside, not a wealthy family with a long history...Don't worry, it's completely normal that you haven't heard of it."

A little nobleman from the countryside... Although he knew that the girl must have done it on purpose, the corner of Anson's mouth still twitched.

If even the Luen family, a millennium-old family, cannot be considered "historical", then doesn't the Osteria family, the Clovis royal family, only deserve to be called a nouveau riche?

Uh...but then again, there do seem to be a lot of people saying that.

"The Luen family operates arms and steel trade in Clovis City, and has many contacts with the military." Anson continued to introduce to the other party with a smile:

"They own a military-industrial enterprise that has just emerged in Clovis and is very famous in the southern army. All the soldiers in my army are equipped with weapons produced by them. From rifles to artillery, they are all from the August Arms Factory of the Rune family. The product."

"I see!"

Harold suddenly understood, and looked at Thalia with a little more awe in his eyes.

You must know that the three industries of coal, steel and arms are almost the lifeblood of the Kingdom of Clovis and are firmly controlled by the Osteria royal family; this Rune family, which has never been heard of, can actually intervene in two of them. Xiang, it would be impossible if he had no connection with the royal family.

Harold has even begun to imagine the relationship between the two people in front of him: the young commander probably relied on his fiancée's family connections to get the "fat job" as the garrison commander of Beluga Port, and the price was to help the family expand. business, using cheap raw materials from the colonies to expand their arms business.

Thinking about it this way, the other party's so-called "great journey" is very reasonable - is there anyone in the world who desires war more than arms dealers?

"If a beautiful girl like Miss Talia wants to contribute to the future of Beluga Port, the entire Ice Dragon Fjord will be moved to tears!" Harold boasted unabashedly:

"Please rest assured that the Beluga Port Council will fully support the construction plan of the new factory. In terms of manpower, material resources and raw materials, we can provide them at the lowest price!"

As the Speaker of the Colonial Assembly, Harold immediately realized the huge profits hidden in this-land acquisition, hiring workers, transportation of raw materials, production and sale of products...

Arms is one of the most profitable industries in the world. Even if you can only grasp one or two links, it will be an unimaginably rich reward!

"That's great. We're looking forward to our future cooperation." Seeing the other party taking the bait, Anson, who smiled without changing his face, began to reveal his true purpose:

"Speaking of cooperation, I also plan to organize the army to find a few places outside the city for reclamation. I wonder if the Speaker can provide some help in this regard?"