I will be crowned king

"Before we officially begin, please accept the most sincere apologies from myself and my colleagues; although it was not my intention, some of my colleagues did cause you a lot of trouble - considering that we are all I know what the 'trouble' is, but for the sake of caution and to avoid some accidents, I won't mention it here."

"Please also believe in my sincerity. We don't want to be enemies with you, let alone the Free Confederacy or even Clovis."

"Of course, due to some force majeure, I am afraid that I will still do some behaviors that are considered 'provocative' in your eyes for a period of time in the future; but please understand that this is all out of helplessness, and we do not have many choices."

"But you can rest assured that I am very clear about the red line between 'provocation' and 'crossing the line'; I will try my best to communicate with you before I have to do some 'crossing the line' behavior that affects your interests." .”

"If you are willing to believe in my sincerity, then we can have a decent and suitable meeting at the place where we met before; please send a signal by then that we will definitely come."

"There is no intention of forcing it, but please be sure to make a decision as soon as possible; otherwise, even if you just maintain the status quo, I cannot guarantee how long it will last."

"I wish you good health and success in your career - to those who have tasted your private wine collection."

"Snapped!"

Anson slapped the letter on the table with an expressionless expression, and looked solemnly at Carl Bain, who had been silent from the beginning and kept thinking:

"how do you feel?"

The chief of staff, who was holding his chin and smoking a cigarette, took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes slightly: "I feel a little strange."

"Oh?" Anson raised his eyebrows in surprise:

"What's strange?"

Karl picked up the letter and waved it in front of him: "Is it strange that you would come to ask me about this kind of thing?"

Anson Bach: "..."

"If I remember correctly, in the past, you would try to avoid things like this involving the Old God Sect and gifted people, magic and bloodline power - why are you suddenly so abnormal today? "Karl said matter-of-factly, with a baffled look on his face:

"Are you unable to find anyone to listen to your perfect plan, or have you finally made up your mind to drag us all down?"

"I think this is called trust!" Anson resisted the urge to roll his eyes:

"Trust! No secrets, no matter how big or small - do you think I really have to share my plan with others and say it out loud?!"

"I think you need a mirror." Karl explained seriously:

"Having the desire to talk is not a bad thing. It's normal. It's even an ability that is worthy of others' envy. Don't you... Okay, I won't say it anymore. Can you put the gun away?"

Looking at the hole of the gun that was already pressed against his nose, the upright chief of staff decisively raised his hands above his head and completed the full set of surrender movements smoothly and smoothly, which can be called a textbook-level example.

Anson, who snorted coldly, did not put the "dagger" revolver back on his waist, but casually placed it on the table. At the same time, he stretched out his right hand and rubbed his index and middle fingers back and forth to make a cigarette gesture.

With a reluctant look on his face, Karl hesitated for a long time, then took out the cigarette box and matches as if cutting flesh, and handed over the lit cigarette.

"Although I haven't seen him in person, I guess this guy is probably as afraid of death... and as cautious as you."

Feeling distressed, he put the cigarette case back into his pocket, and Carl sighed and guessed: "The handwriting on the letter is still very new, which proves that it was written not long ago when we arrived; he knew that no one would see the letter except you. It’s almost impossible to have a second one, but he still used all kinds of cryptic and ambiguous terms, obviously very afraid of accidents.”

"As for what he wants to express, it's very obvious - he doesn't want to be a traitor, and he doesn't want to be your enemy, so he hopes to reach a reconciliation in private, provided that you are willing to cooperate with him." Halfway through, Karl suddenly chuckled:

"This is quite the style of the Clovis levies... Most of the levies are deployed on the front line, even close to the enemy's hinterland. They fool their superiors internally, cooperate with the opposing imperial armies, and loot each other's towns and businesses in the areas controlled by the other party. Team, if the conditions are right, I don’t mind being a thug for the opponent, and I usually split the score 64, 50 or 5 afterward.”

"Like the Thunder Castle levy force and our Storm Division, they are all cases among cases. Unless they are new arrivals and are followed by standing armies, no troops stationed on remote fronts for a long time are willing to go head-to-head with the opponent; they are using their reputation as a robber. It is more common for bandits to join forces with robbers.”

As an experienced scapegoat, Karl has an undisputed right to speak in this regard. In the entire Storm Division, only Fabian's resume can barely compare with him.

Anson nodded slightly, chewed a cigarette and wrote lightly: "Actually, you have met him."

"What?"

"When the Promise Keepers Alliance was first established, didn't you help train the militia they organized for a period of time?"

"There is such a thing, then this guy..."

"It's the white gloves of the previous alliance."

"White gloves?"

"Well, you can also call them the Faithless Knights - the guy who wrote the letter is the leader of the Faithless Knights."

"hiss----"

Karl took a breath: "You mean those guys live in Beluga Harbor City and...are still with us?!"

"He has also been to the headquarters, at least twice if I remember correctly." Anson looked at his chief of staff calmly, not nervous: "During the big warehouse incident, he should have been nearby; and then he attacked Changhu Town. , which is also the information obtained from them.”

"So you have been cooperating with them for a long time?!"

"I think there's something wrong with this statement because we had worked together once until recently - so it would be more accurate to say that we had just ended our partnership and turned against each other."

"..."

He was shocked, but after such a long time, he was no longer surprised; even if he said tomorrow that he knew an apostle and the leader of the rebellion during the Clovis riots, Major General Ludwig Franz was actually a woman, Karl wouldn't be that surprised.

"My suggestion is that you'd better agree to him." After a brief absence, Karl blew out a perfect smoke ring:

"It's said to be a 'compromise', but it's actually an ultimatum; if you don't respond, I'm afraid the situation will still get out of control - according to you, this guy's understanding of Beluga Port and Storm Division is not that deep; don't talk about assassinating officers , even if it’s just to destroy the factory, it’s easy to destroy a few machines.”

Anson nodded slightly. This was exactly what he was worried about; the development of Beluga Port had just begun to get on track and could not withstand the assassination and destruction of a group of spellcasters and talents who were proficient in assassination.

On the contrary, he is not too worried about the officer corps. Each of these people has special skills, and ordinary assassinations and sneak attacks should not be able to do anything to them.

"Since we have to negotiate with them, the Storm Division will be stationed in Beluga Port and a series of other tasks, which must be entrusted to you." Anson looked at him helplessly:

"In order to put pressure on the opponent, there must be no show of weakness; under reasonable conditions, the strength of the Storm Division after the war must be shown to the opponent and even the mixed forces in Beluga Port City."

"Is this your real purpose?"

Karl snorted, exposing someone's wishful thinking on the spot: "With Fabian's absence, there is only one adjutant left who can help you handle this pile of chores. That's why you have such...trust in me today."

"This is only one aspect at most." Anson smiled extremely falsely:

"Since you actually already know many things, there is no point in continuing to hide them; and if you have thoughts in this regard, I can..."

"No!"

Before Anson could finish speaking, Karl directly intercepted and said: "No need."

"real?"

"Absolutely true!"

"Aren't you curious at all?"

"Not only am I curious, I'm also envious and jealous!"

Karl shrugged: "Which boy didn't think that he could become a genius when he was a child? When he grew up, he didn't covet such deviant things as magic; I still envy my former boss who knew black magic and made a lot of money by reading minds. The dish is full, and there is not even a trace left.”

"That……"

"But envy doesn't mean you have to have it." Karl interrupted again:

"If you ask me, magic is similar to tobacco, alcohol, and laudanum, and even more dangerous. Once you start, you can't get rid of it, and you will become dependent on it little by little, and even be driven by it to do certain things that you originally wanted to do. Things you wouldn’t think about.”

"I am a guy with very little self-control. I picked up a discarded cigarette butt when I was ten years old. I will never be able to quit it in my life - there is no need for another similar thing."

"Besides... I think it's good to be a human being."

Be, be an individual?

Anson's cheeks twitched slightly, although he knew that this guy didn't mean that.

He sighed and slumped in the chair as if he had given up completely.

Quietly in the living room, the two smokers looked at each other.

"So...what are you going to do about this?"

Knocking on the letter on the table, Karl asked: "The place where we met before...if I remember correctly, it should be the tavern in that port, right?"

"Pushing forward, it should be in the carriage - what do you think?"

"I don't think anything, but if it's a tavern, I don't recommend you do this." Karl stared at Anson and said in a low voice:

"Now is not the time when we have just arrived and not many people know you yet. Everyone's eyes are on you, the commander-in-chief who has returned to Beluga Harbor. Unless it is absolutely necessary, it is best not to go out in disguise yourself. matter."

"What should we do?"

"What should I do? How do I know what to do? Anyway, it's best to find a very appropriate excuse, such as giving them a chance to meet you privately in a public place..."

"Meeting with the leader of the Faithless Knights in private? How can there be such a public place... Wait, I seem to have thought of a good way..."

With the corners of his mouth gradually rising, a new plan began to brew in Anson's mind.

Looking at his extremely proud expression, Karl suddenly had a bad feeling.

……………………

"banquet?!"

Mason Wetzler thought there was something wrong with his ears, and he was stunned.

"Exactly, dear Speaker, my master, the Commander-in-Chief of the Garrison, would like to host a small, semi-public dinner at your home."

Allen Dawn, the young clerk standing in front of him, nodded slightly and told him with the clearest words and a spring breeze smile that he heard correctly:

"This is to compensate for the regret of rejecting the hospitality of the five-hundred-person parliament when the army returned in triumph; it was specially chosen at your home to make this dinner look more like a simple gathering of friends."

"Of course, if I really have to force myself, I won't force you too much..."

"No, no, no! Don't force it! I really don't force it, really!"

Before the little clerk could finish speaking, Mason blurted out instantly: "It is my personal honor to be able to host this dinner, and it is also an honor for the entire Wetzler family!"

He still vividly remembers Anson's "beating" when he was at the port, and he is afraid that like Harold, he will become "the hard-fought yesterday".

"That's great." A formulaic smile appeared on the little secretary's face:

"If you don't mind, please allow me to take my leave and go to Luen Mansion to inform the Lord of this high-profile news."

"Uh, wait...please wait a moment!"

Mason quickly raised his hand to stop Alan Dawn, who was about to leave immediately: "You only told me the time and place of the banquet, but you didn't tell me the specific guests!"

"This is a semi-public, party-like dinner, and the identity of the guests is not very important." The little secretary blinked:

"You can invite some colleagues in the parliament, surrounding neighbors, familiar friends... You can even send invitations to passers-by."

"The Commander-in-Chief hopes that this warm dinner can include all groups and classes in Beluga Port and become an extraordinary gathering, allowing everyone to put aside their usual identities and negotiate on an equal footing."

"Think about it, what a great opportunity this will be to unite the entire Beluga Port; if it can be successfully held, your image as the speaker will also be greatly improved."

Indeed... if Anson Bach can be used as an excuse to hold such a dinner, it will indeed be easy for some bastards who usually refuse to bow their heads to give up their useless disputes and willingly accept their own rule.

Moreover, this kind of banquet is different from a triumphal feast. It has the nature of a "family banquet" like a private gathering. The atmosphere is naturally much more relaxed than a large public ceremony. Even if there is a dispute, the faces of each other will not be too ugly.

After thinking about this, Mason Wetzler took a deep breath, raised his head, and looked solemnly at the little clerk with his hands behind his back: "Please tell the Commander-in-Chief that the Wetzler family will prepare an unforgettable dinner for him. "

Alan Dawn raised the corner of his mouth slightly, put his right hand behind his back and his left hand to touch his chest, stepped back slightly with his right foot, bent his knees and touched his chest in salute:

"Then we'll wait for the good news."