I will be crowned king

The members of the joint delegation regretted it very much.

Originally, their idea was very simple: to suffer a slight misfortune, and then use the small "threat" of famine and refugees to the powerful Clovis people in exchange for the right to resume the beast slave trade - if they could take the opportunity to ask for some assistance, of course Even better.

But they never expected that the Clovis people would take the opportunity to interfere in their own internal affairs, and even forcibly tied themselves to their and the Free Confederacy's chariots.

This is bad!

Although the five colonies located in the eastern part of the New World, which are remote and relatively desolate and do not have good harbors, have little information, it has been several months since the Imperial Colonial Rebellion War. They have obtained some relevant information to some extent, and they are not completely without information. known.

After excluding all kinds of messy information, this is a conflict between the Empire and Clovis. These orphans of the Three Kingdoms of the North Sea are not at the same level as their opponents, and they have never considered the "treasonous" idea of ​​independence—— So what does it have to do with them?

The five colonies thought so, but unfortunately the others didn't.

Ice Dragon Fjord is eager to expand its sphere of influence, and the Free Confederacy is trying to fight for independence... When the two most powerful colonial regimes in the New World try to change the situation, the remaining people have no power to stop it, whether the colonists or the indigenous people; equal freedom or Being enslaved and oppressed is not something they can decide on their own.

So although they were reluctant, the five colonies did not refuse this "goodwill" - and of course they did not dare to refuse.

On the one hand, Anson is telling the truth. A thousand animal slaves cannot change anything. There is no trade and a lack of production tools. No matter how hard we work to reclaim the wasteland, we can only struggle on the line of life and death, and our blood will be drawn by the locals... Read as colonization, write In exile, life is even more miserable than in prison.

People who are really thirsty can only drink it bravely, even if they know that the wine in front of them is poisonous wine.

Among the five colonies controlled by the three countries in the North Sea, Straw Town and Slave Port belong to the Naxir Kingdom. The former is close to the river and has fertile land, not far from Gray Snow Town; the latter is a small fishing port, but it relies on transporting animals to the mainland. Slave, life is not too bad.

But compared with these two colonies, the remaining three are very miserable - either the nearby ports are remote, the land is highly saline, and they can only survive by fishing; or there are rivers but the water volume is not high, and the surrounding Wasteland has nothing to do with fertility; or although the land is fertile and has water sources, it is overgrown with trees. Not only is it difficult to reclaim wasteland, but it also often encounters various unexpected attacks by indigenous people, wild beasts, diseases, unknown poisonous plants...

In fact, this is the normal state of colonization. Lands such as Beluga Port, Changhu Town, and Sail City have excellent geographical locations, rich resources, not particularly harsh climates and are easy to discover. They are absolutely rare and high-quality; ordinary The colonists were extremely lucky if they could find places like Gray Pigeon Castle, Red Hand Bay, and Gray Snow Town.

Precisely because they still have a little wealth, Straw Town and Slave Port are very resistant to signing a trade agreement with Ice Dragon Fjord and allowing the New World Company's banks and chambers of commerce to settle in; but they can't stand it and the other three colonies have starved to death in the distance. People are just on the verge of getting there, and they are impatient for assistance even before negotiations have begun.

Under pressure, the head of the joint delegation, the Speaker of Straw Town, had to agree to the request. After receiving the news, Anson immediately sent a clerk to contact Paulina Frey; coincidentally, when he arrived at Gray Pigeon Castle and his party When he arrived at his temporary residence, he happened to meet Reinhard Roland who came to visit his "fiancée".

"Blessed by the Order, this is a perfect opportunity!"

Surprised words sounded in the living room, and Reinhard, who was slightly excited, looked at the girl who was walking towards him with coffee: "If everything goes well, this is likely to be the first diplomatic incident successfully handled by the Free Confederation after its independence! "

"This is another good opportunity for New World Company to expand its business and market." Polina smiled and handed him the scalding hot coffee: "One sugar and two small spoons of milk. Am I remembering correctly?"

"Your observation and memory of details are so impeccable, dear Miss Polina." Reinhard smiled slightly:

"Obviously, Lord Ansen Bach hopes to hold this year's first Supreme Council in Ice Dragon Fjord. Since we want to establish trade relations with these five colonies, it must be a confederation rather than an individual colony. Come forward.”

"This is one of your great advantages, Miss Polina; Pigeon Castle is not rich, but as the proclaimer of the Declaration of Resistance, the banner of freedom and equality within the Confederacy, with the help of the New World Company, use your influence It will not be difficult to convince the Congress; and the five colonies that have received assistance will definitely be grateful to you, and their support can in turn strengthen your status and strength within the Confederacy."

Compared with other colonies of the Confederacy, the only advantage of the weakest Gray Dove Castle is the influence of Polina Frey herself; as the first to stand up against the rule of the Empire, she is even the incarnation of the Free Confederacy in a sense.

Of course, on the other hand, she and Gray Pigeon Castle are the only ones who cannot surrender to the empire; either independence or destruction, there is no third way.

"So what are we going to do - support an aid operation to the five colonies and propose a trade agreement with them?"

Putting the coffee on the coffee table, Polina sat upright opposite Reinhard: "I have publicly expressed my support for Mr. Anson Bach to treat the indigenous people as equals. If I add another proposal, will it affect the influence of Gray Pigeon Castle? Cause weakening?”

"That's right, so you can't do that."

Reinhard nodded slightly and showed an expression of appreciation: "Gray Pigeon Castle must not look like a vassal of Beluga Port. It must have a more independent slogan, so that every move you make seems to be for this slogan, and The purpose symbolized behind it is in action so that your impact is not diluted by too many proposals.”

"Slogan? You mean...freedom and equality?"

"Equality and freedom!"

Reinhard's eyes flashed: "All the colonists who came to the New World after all the hardships, and all the indigenous people who originally lived on this continent, everyone should equally enjoy the beautiful life given by this land!"

“A slave who is oppressed and becomes the property of others without his consent cannot be free; nor should a person who does not own any property of his own, whose health is seriously threatened, and who is hungry for a long time, be considered free. It’s free to work!”

“When a group of people have the right to do anything, squander wealth that is unimaginable to ordinary people, and enjoy all-round security, while another group of people are forced to accept the servitude of others and cannot even satisfy and realize their food. How can you call it equality?!”

The impassioned president made the girl stunned for a moment, and her expression became very exciting: "You mean... I should use this as a slogan to seize the initiative on this matter?"

"No, no, no... Dear Polina, your appetite is too small." Reinhard waved his hand and couldn't help but sneer:

"What I'm saying is that you should seize control of the Free Confederacy by leading this aid to the five colonies."

"This is a good opportunity that fell from the sky - you need to show a certain amount of courage, ask, threaten or even order the representatives of each colony to agree to complete the aid plan and sign the trade agreement according to your ideas; you need to let They are accustomed to obeying your orders, or... the decisions of the High Council."

"It should not be an institution used to mediate conflicts between colonies. It should be... it is... the Holy See, the Round Table Council of Snapdragon City, and the Privy Council of the Clovis people!"

"And you...you are the embodiment of the parliament and their leader; you can be tolerant, but when decisions should be made, you must be tough."

"As for how to provide assistance, the New World Company has made complete preparations. Whether it is animal slaves, loans, medicines, food and various necessities - all were saved when rebuilding Beluga Port." Reinha De smiled proudly:

"So you don't have to have any worries. It is impossible and must not fail in this matter. It is no exaggeration to say that if everything goes well, the scale of the Free Confederation will be far larger than it is now, reaching as many as thirteen colonies!"

The girl nodded slightly, and her originally calm expression showed a bit of excitement: "Equality and freedom... this will be a new life for the entire Free Federation."

"This is also the beginning of the rise of the Frey family." Reinhard raised the coffee cup in his hand and touched it to her as a joke:

"In the not-too-distant future, this surname will be seen as a symbol of freedom and equality."

Polina also smiled: "A flag."

"Yes, a flag." Reinhard nodded, and then suddenly changed the subject:

"But remember, the flag is used to wave, and it itself does not have much meaning; it is the hands waving the flag that give it meaning; of course outsiders can only focus on the flag, but the flag itself The attention should never leave the hands that wave it.”

The room suddenly became quiet. Reinhard took a sip of coffee and stared at the smiling girl meaningfully with unblinking eyes.

As if thinking for a moment, Polina took a deep breath and said with a deliberation expression:

"Eleven."

"Um?"

"You just said that maybe the Free Confederation will be much larger than it is now, controlling thirteen colonies... But even if you count all five colonies, there will only be eleven."

"Really?" Reinhard raised his eyebrows: "Maybe I remembered it wrong."

"Maybe." Polina smiled and picked up the coffee cup, which happened to cover her face, revealing only a pair of cunning eyes:

"maybe?"

……………………

Sailing City, Governor's Mansion.

Beside the warm fireplace, the young knight looked at the elf girl lying quietly on the bed with his eyes in trance.

Since that night, although Freya still had a heartbeat, her breathing had not been interrupted, and her body was very healthy from head to toe, she had always remained in a coma and never woke up again.

As the heir of the Bernard family, Louis has some understanding of spell casters. The caster who has become a blasphemous mage is essentially no longer an ordinary elf or human, and the intensity of her vitality is beyond the imagination of ordinary people; even in her current state , it is only a matter of time before she wakes up again; and Anson, who has become a blasphemous mage and has a close relationship with the Rune family, must know how to wake her up.

But that's the problem.

After experiencing that night, he couldn't imagine how he would face this guy who was both his enemy and his friend. In the past, he could still use the excuses of "having no choice" and "being forced to have no choice" to defend him, but now... it has become blasphemy. Mage, is he also forced to have no choice?

"What should I do, Freya?" the young knight murmured to himself:

"Yes, I know that I seem rigid and even a little unhuman. If it weren't for him, I might not be able to leave Beluga Harbor alive."

"But the education I received since childhood, those classics, family, friends... the whole world, they all told me that the Old Gods are evil, the spell casters are evil, and those heretical evil gods... are unforgivable!"

"Why? No one told me why, maybe because I never asked?" Louis laughed at himself, very bitterly:

"Unlike him, I never wanted to know the answer to the question or what the truth was. I was too lazy... I just wanted my father and brother to tell me what I should do, and then make them proud of me."

"The truth, maybe this is what makes us different people, but we can still be friends." Louis frowned slightly:

"No, that's not the case. The reason is much simpler and...much crueler than this."

"The truth is, I actually know what the truth is, but I always pretend not to know or don't care, and stubbornly stick to what others tell me about how the world is; because it is much simpler and easier to live like this. "

"I hope that my father, mother, brother, all relatives and friends... I hope that they will be proud of me, instead of looking at me as an alien, I hope... that they deceive me, and then I pretend to believe their lies. "

"Because then I don't have to bear the pain of the truth."

"This is...I, Louis Bernard." The young knight murmured: "I know, Freya, if you were awake now, you would definitely say all kinds of words to comfort me; but this is the fact - I love you, But I don’t dare challenge my family, the emperor, and the Holy See for you.”

"I am a coward. I only dare to take you to hide in a corner at the edge of the world..."

The words stopped abruptly.

The expressionless Governor of Sail City slowly looked back and saw his herald hiding behind the door shivering, covering his ears with both hands and shaking his head crazily.

"...is something wrong?"

"Your letter, Lord Governor!" The herald quickly explained: "Besides, I didn't mean to eavesdrop or anything, but this letter is extremely urgent because it is..."

"What is it?"

"It's from your father, Grand Duke Adlan!"