I will be crowned king

Although due to various conflicts such as unfamiliarity, lack of understanding, ideas and positions, etc., a little bit of unhappiness and petty conflicts occurred between the Holy War Army and the Holy See, both countries (organizations) that believe in the Ring of Order. There was a dispute, but with the mediation of all parties, the two parties finally sat down at the negotiating table and began to work together to resolve the conflict.

Of course, due to the huge gap between the situation and strength of the two sides, and the subtlety of each other's positions, the process and atmosphere have absolutely nothing to do with the word "pleasure".

First of all, in terms of strength, the Holy War Army is definitely at a crushing level - regardless of Arthur and Ed's two armies, more than half of the casualties were lost, and Fernando's army was simply captured collectively, but the strength of the Holy War Army is still sufficient, regardless of quantity or quality. Far beyond the whole new world.

However, the stronger Jihadi Army has now broken through the last line of defense. The central brain headquarters of the entire army may be directly defeated by the New World Army at any time; even if it can successfully break through, the large-scale Jihadi Army will be at a disadvantage in the short term. A state of loose sand without a core.

To put it bluntly, it probably means that you have to be prepared to lose your head and body.

At the moment, the New World Legion, which seems to have seized the enemy's fatal vital point and even has the opportunity to kill it with one blow, is actually in an equally worrying situation... After all, the strength comparison between the two sides is still very different. What the Free Confederacy desires is independence, not endless jihad. In fact, a desperate attack Instead, they hope to use war to promote peace, because they really can't go on fighting.

Even now, the advantage of the New World Legion is not that great... The Naxir rebel fleet is willing to join, but no one can guarantee that once the Jihadi Army appears, they will not immediately rebel.

At the same time, the nearly 60,000 jihadist troops led by Leon Francois have cut off their retreat. The 45,000-strong New World Army has essentially become a lone army with no retreat, logistics and reinforcements.

One is a strong man who is worried that the enemy will flip the table and die together at any time; the other is a weak man who strives for independence and longs for recognition so he directly puts the knife on others' necks, but dares not to swing it... The two parties are extremely contradictory, If nothing goes wrong, that's really the biggest problem.

So something went wrong.

The attitude of the Jihadi Army is very clear: the Holy See can pardon all rebels, and even allow the existence of the "Free Confederacy" as a political entity. It can even return the Beluga Harbor and Sailing City colonies to the Free Confederacy, and even allow certain organizations - -For example, New World Company - or family - such as Luen - continue to become a powerful force in the New World in the way they want.

but! The Faith Keepers League must be disbanded and the Universalists must give up their heretical teachings! Then, although the Free Confederation can exist, it cannot be completely independent, but follows the model of a republic that is a vassal of the empire.

It's just that you can have greater autonomy according to the situation, even if you don't pay taxes, and according to tradition, you can only make offerings and perform pilgrimages to the emperor himself.

It should be said that the Holy War Army has already made major concessions because the situation is really unfavorable to itself, and has given the Free Confederacy full benefits on various substantive levels... sacrificing some fame and frivolous things in exchange for the recognition and protection of the empire. Look, no matter how you look at it, you are taking advantage of everything.

Then, as the marshal of the New World Army and the plenipotentiary representative of the Free Confederacy, Anson Bach said with a smile that he would never accept it.

Apart from the fact that the Holy See is basically just being generous, and not talking about the empire's sheep, giving up the Faithful Alliance is tantamount to accepting the invasion from the church. The Luen family cannot agree in the first place, and at the same time, it establishes an alliance based on the Universal Sect. The New World Legion is even less likely to agree.

As for "recognizing and protecting the empire"... it sounds nice, but in fact it directly eliminates the possibility of the independence of the Free Confederation, and it is still under the imperial system; it seems to have ensured the security of the external environment, but It also left the empire an opportunity to intervene in the future.

All the conditions were completely rejected, so the two sides broke up with each other very simply, announced that the negotiations were over, and the war continued.

The Free Confederacy panicked immediately after receiving the news... The retreat here has been cut off. If they cannot seize the current opportunity to win peace, this war may have to continue endlessly.

The officers of the New World Army were panicked. Although the colonial army leaders were very grateful to Anson for adhering to principles despite being an outsider, they were more afraid that the Jihadi Army would really break the pot and carry the war to the end.

At worst, we have to retreat to Winter Torch City... This kind of statement is very powerful, but as long as it is possible, everyone knows that it can only be the last resort; as long as there is still a chance, no one wants this result even if they suffer a little loss. .

Even the Storm Legion began to feel uneasy in the restlessness... Although everyone was loyal to Commander-in-Chief Anson Bach, it did not mean that they were really prepared to become enemies of the Holy See, or to abandon their identity in Clovis and join the Free Confederacy... This It kind of touches everyone's bottom line.

When the atmosphere was at its most tense, even Fabian, who was always the calmest, couldn't sit still and was about to talk to Anson, but was stopped by Carl Bain.

Having encountered all kinds of deceitful bosses all year round, the experienced chief of staff can see through some people's little thoughts at a glance... He is not really planning to start a war, he is clearly putting pressure on other guys who are particularly enthusiastic about this negotiation!

You must know that it is not just the Holy See and the Free Confederacy that care about this negotiation. The Kingdom of Clovis, Hantu, the Bernard family, the Roland family, the Dukaski family... all do not want the emperor to continue to have influence on the new world, let alone I hope that the Holy See will have the authority to intervene in the secular world.

Now Anson's attitude is very obvious...I have done everything I should do, and the interests that should be protected have also been protected. What about you?

Isn’t it a bit too fanciful to think that you can easily take away the cake from the new world without exerting any effort?

That's right, you can pretend that nothing happened, or continue to pretend to be loyal to the Holy See, then continue to fight. As for the results and fate after the fight, only the Ring of Order knows.

In addition to putting pressure on these guys watching the show, Anson really needs their stance. After all, he and the entire Storm Legion are still wearing the title of "rebel". If he doesn't resolve this matter, he will be free to muddle through. The Confederacy has become a vassal of the Empire, so don't they really turn from loyalty to rebels?

The actual results were basically in line with his expectations... Just as the negotiations broke down, not only the New World Legion panicked, but the Jihadi Army was also in chaos. The degree of division between the Four and Five was no less than that of the cowardly Free Confederacy.

First of all, Pawel Dukaski, the Marquis of the Palace, took the initiative and joined forces with Fernando Herred to publicly appeal that since the contradictions and misunderstandings have been eliminated, more peaceful "non-violent" means should be used to solve the problem instead of rekindling the war. , and stated that the holy warriors of the empire will never become an accomplice of any evil war.

Since the Empire accounts for one-half or even two-thirds of the Jihadi Army, the proposal of these two men was immediately responded to by almost all leaders - even the dignified Marquis of the Palace and His Majesty the Emperor's most trusted generals were not allowed to fight. What are they doing to join in the fun?

Sir Ferrers, who was originally planning to threaten the other side with war, was slapped by one of his own as soon as he finished speaking. He was unable to use any means to punish this "traitor" behavior - after all, he himself proposed the negotiation, and the other side It can be said that this is supporting his own plan.

But that's not the worst part... Léon Francois, who has captured the Supreme Council, the Auguste Factory and other strongholds, completely cutting off the New World Legion's retreat, also expressed the hope that the two sides can resolve conflicts peacefully, the noble Hantu Knight Never wield a sword against a companion who shares the same faith.

What's the meaning? It means that Hantu's obligations have been fulfilled in this battle. If the next battle is to be fought, it will be the responsibility of your headquarters. You and your ideas, please don't come to us.

This act of expressing his position at the speed of light is directly equivalent to taking away Philus' biggest trump card; if a fight really breaks out, the Hantu Army will not attack the New World Army from behind, and even if they want to retreat, they will not will block.

Of course, everyone knows that the so-called "war" of the colonial rebels is definitely a pretense, but even if everyone knows that it is impossible, as long as there is still a probability of happening, then it is a card that can be played; on the contrary, the Jihadi Army's Bian has no cards now - they all ran away on their own.

Forced to have no choice but to slap himself, Philus took the initiative to stand up and announce the negotiations. Everyone was a little excited. The so-called "declaration of war" was just a tacit statement of anger, and there was no intention to suspend the negotiations.

Not only that, he personally, as the commander-in-chief of the Jihad Army, invited negotiator Anson Bach to start the next round of negotiations to have a deeper discussion on some issues that everyone was in dispute with.

Obviously, at this time, the first person to stand up and defend and point out the steps, fools know that they are ready to give in.

So Anson was not polite and simply presented his negotiation conditions to the other party as a courtesy.

The first is the so-called "Imperial vassal" issue. It is impossible to even think about it. The Free Confederacy should, will and must be independent. This is the only goal fought for by countless people who sacrificed their lives for the 11-star-ringed flag. It is also a prerequisite for the establishment of negotiations.

To be more precise, this is not a negotiation between the suzerain and its vassals, but a fair and reciprocal negotiation between the Holy War Army and the Free Confederation. It will be meaningless after losing this basis.

Secondly, the League of Faith Keepers cannot be disbanded, but the Free Confederation is willing to revoke their status as the only legal religious organization, and the church can also build cathedrals and send missionaries to any land in the New World - in other words, to treat any order world country attitude towards the new Free Confederacy.

That is, technology dissemination, church banks, these things that are available in the world of order, the Holy See must also have if it wants to preach.

In short, the Holy See must recognize that the Free Confederacy is a country that belongs to the world of order, is not a heretic or an outsider, and is the same and equal as the Empire, Clovis, and the Land of the Earth.

Then, everyone has something to talk about.

After reading this, Philus' first reaction was, what else is there to talk about? Let's fight!

The problem is that now he has no capital to fight. The only ones who have not publicly expressed their stance are Ludwig Franz and the Clovis Crusade behind him. But what kind of attitude would such a person have? He is really using his toes. I can't even imagine it.

So Philus could only agree to start new negotiations on this basis, but there was no guarantee that he would accept them all - this was his bottom line. If the Free Confederacy was still dissatisfied, even if he was the only one left in the Jihadist Army, he would fight until Last minute.

Anson naturally agreed happily without any surprise.

So less than four hours after the talks collapsed, the two sides who had once been at odds sat down at the same table again and started the second round of negotiations calmly and happily.

It's just that this time both sides have no way out... No one can leave this battle without a result that satisfies everyone.

With this preparation, the two tacitly dismissed all other irrelevant personnel, leaving only a clerk responsible for recording each, plus a novelist who was a witness, and started a war without smoke.

On the other side of Beluga Harbor, Louis Bernard, who abandoned all his entourage and work, came alone to a deserted beach; listening to the sound of the tide, waiting for the arrival of the appointments.

"As expected, you're here. I knew you wouldn't break the promise!"

Incomparably hearty words ran over from a distance, and the excitement could be clearly felt even without looking; Louis, who chuckled lightly, stood up and looked back with a smile:

"Yes, I'm here - just as promised."

Looking at his best friend quietly, the smile on Arthur Herred's face suddenly disappeared, replaced by something unprecedentedly serious and serious.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing... no, yes." He first denied and then affirmed, and Arthur, who pursed his lips tightly, shook his head heavily: "You have changed, you are different from before - I am talking about the time when you were in Hantu. "

The young knight, who was slightly startled, laughed out loud: "Of course, people will change, and no one stays the same forever... Of course, you may be the exception."

"Yeah, I think it's best to stay the same." Dragon Roar Knight stared into his eyes: "Friends will always be friends, enemies...well, maybe one day I will become friends with an enemy. , this can change.”

"Including now, I hope your swordsmanship and bloodline power can improve a bit... I hope it won't happen if you accidentally kill your companion with a knife."

"You should tell yourself this, Arthur." Louis' expression was calm: "You just rely too much on the power of blood. The last time I met you, your swordsmanship didn't seem to have improved much."

"Before you talk big, it's best not to underestimate your enemy too much...but you don't have to worry about that." Arthur grinned, showing his neat and smooth white teeth:

"I will be careful, lest I kill you with a knife!"