Lord of War

Black Swan Castle has been very lively in recent months. ⊥ Vertex Fiction,

Because the black swan descended on the black swan lake of this ancient castle again, this ancient castle that had fallen for a long time was finally restored to the ranks of the famous ancient castles in the southern continent. Because of this, the reputation of the already well-known Void Principality once again swept the entire southern continent, especially among the aristocratic circles of the Ryan Kingdom. Many nobles even wanted to visit this ancient castle, which is famous for its ornamental sights, uninvited.

In this regard, Cecilia originally did not agree to allow these unnecessary people to come and go in the castle.

It's just that Diana didn't know how to persuade Cecilia, so the Black Swan Castle has now become a holy place to visit for a limited time in the Principality of the Void. Of course, visiting the interior of the castle is prohibited, so the workload of the Void Shadow Guards has been forced to increase a lot—but this is also part of demonstrating the strength of the Void Principality. In addition, the movement path to the top of the castle is also strictly controlled. Visitors entering the castle must abide by this rule, otherwise they will be triggered by triggering the private property protection decree of the Void Principality.

The private property protection decree, this is an important decree newly issued by the Duchy of the Void.

It clearly announced the privatization of property, that is, nobility should not maliciously occupy the property of civilians. It is seriously contrary to the "property lord ownership" system issued by the lords of other territories-if it is not true that they cannot defeat the Duchy of the Void, the surrounding lords want to declare war on the Duchy of the Void, because the promulgation of this decree makes the territories of other lords There was a large-scale relocation of the people, so Neil had to promulgate a new decree.

At the same time, the identity certificate of the citizens of the Principality of the Void. It is also more difficult to obtain than before - in the Principality of the Void, there is no such nameplate to prove the identity of the subjects. You will not be able to enjoy the protection of the Void Principality, you can only be protected by the Vagabond Protection Law issued by the Void Principality. Although this behavior effectively prevented a large number of foreign residents from relocating. However, there are still many homeless people who are willing to stay in the Void Principality, trying to obtain the official status of the Void Principality's citizens.

Of course, the Void Principality has a lot of job opportunities and favorable treatment, which are also potential factors that attract these homeless people.

Hassas Joanton, the son of a certain noble family from the Millennium Covenant Empire, came to visit the Black Swan Castle because of his reputation, and accidentally ran into Cecilia who was also walking, and was shocked on the spot , so he launched a series of dating requests that he thought were romantic, but Cecilia was extremely irritable. even. Since more than a week ago, this noble son with a very good reputation has formally proposed to Cecilia.

However, Cecilia mercilessly and straightforwardly rejected his self-confessed chic and romantic proposal, without even saying any polite words.

If it is a narrow-minded and powerful nobleman, he will definitely choose revenge because of this. Even if it is an ordinary nobleman,

Being rejected by the other party in this way, most of them will lose face to continue.

As for Hassas, it is not clear whether he is narrow-minded. But the Joanton family behind him, according to William, is indeed powerful. Because this is one of the few veteran nobles who support the new emperor of the Millennium Covenant Empire. The history of inheritance has exceeded a thousand years, and the highest title of the family has been included in the ranks of princes. And there have been two-digit dukes in the entire family history, and this alone is enough to explain everything.

Now the patriarch of the Joanton family is the Duke of Hamson: Pusius Joanton. He is over eighty years old this year. He once served as the marshal of the Millennium Covenant Empire, commanding the Empire's southern frontier army. The most well-known thing is that he has resisted the outbreak of the black soil death tide three times, not to mention his achievements in the wild land - even now. The name of Purseus and his black wolf flag with a green background and a red border with a black wolf head are still the nightmare of many old people in the wild land.

After retiring from the position of Marshal of the Southern Front Army, this legendary duke joined the Blade Council, which has the highest decision-making power in the Millennium Covenant Empire. After that, he sat in this position for a full thirty years. Until two years ago, the civil strife in the Millennium Covenant Empire could not be stopped, and there were even signs of getting worse. The old duke put on his armor again. go to battle.

According to the investigation information of the Void Realm, the civil strife in the Millennium Covenant Empire has finally been suppressed and stopped, and the old duke has made a very strong contribution. However, precisely because of his persistence and truncation tactics, the old duke is said to have suffered a very serious injury—he has never stepped into the sanctuary realm in his life, and after this injury treatment, it is said that he has regressed to the bronze realm.

There are also rumors that the next patriarch of the Joanton family will be selected from among his grandchildren. That is to say, the generation of Hassas, and regardless of offshoots or direct descendants, can participate in the election—and unlike the patriarchs of other families, those who have excellent combat talents cannot run for the patriarch position.

The selection of the heir to the patriarch of the Joanton family is not a test of personal force, but political, military strategy, and even economic talent.

Hassas happens to be the person who has the right to compete in the younger generation of the Joanton family, and the main talents he has shown are concentrated in politics and economics. It's just that he is ranked third in the order of succession, and above him there is an older sister and an older brother. Among these three was born the patriarch of House Joanton.

For many aristocrats, Hasass was an ideal marriage partner, regardless of whether he succeeded in winning the position of patriarch of the Joanton family. And if he is lucky enough to become the next patriarch of the Joanton family, then unless Sean can upgrade the Void Principality to an empire, otherwise, even if it becomes a first-class Void Principality, the power possessed by Hasass Joanton will not be seen. It must be much weaker than Sean.

Of course, the level of the super-first-class kingdom is another matter.

This is the glory and power brought by the family heritage.

And this is also what Diana will try her best to dissuade Cecilia, so that she will not have conflicts and conflicts with Hassas because of her temper. However, the future fourth giant of the Void Principality is obviously not a kind person. She is also making arrangements in private at the same time, if Cecilia and Hassas are really quarreling. Then she had to make sure that this genius would never be able to return to the Millennium Covenant.

The flow of people in Black Swan Castle has been increasing recently.

Many of them are frequent visitors who have been here several times - although the opening hours of Black Swan Castle are only four hours from 2 pm to 6 pm every day. But every time I will carefully prepare some food - the visit to the Black Swan Castle is of course not free, but the nobles who can come here from thousands of miles will naturally not lack this little money, so it is natural to prepare exquisite food for these nobles. very necessary.

So far, Black Swan Castle has not held any dinners or banquets. Some nobles who came here once proposed to Cecilia, but Cecilia declined with a smile.

If it wasn't for the fly of Hassas to block it, perhaps many people would come to express their wishes to Cecilia.

This can be seen when Cecilia walks out of the study to the conference room - she has to pass a public staircase leading to the Black Swan Castle. Therefore, it took her about twenty minutes longer to greet many people with a smile before she was finally able to escape from this impatient hell.

"I think the castle must be remodeled. We need to build a new staircase, external!" Cecilia complained in a low voice.

"I think, if Master Xiao En comes back, I'm afraid there won't be so many people visiting." Diana replied with a smile, "Maybe. If Master Xiao En thinks it's too noisy and troublesome, he will close it." Visiting day now."

"If it's Sean, it's really possible." Cecilia thought for a while, then smiled. The impatient look on his face quickly disappeared, "However, you must have a way to convince him. Just like you persuaded me back then."

Seeing Cecilia's sincere and sweet smile, Diana smiled. Then he said: "I don't dare....Master Xiao En doesn't care about these superficial images, what he decides. I don't dare to raise any objections. Only Mrs. Cecilia, you dare to speak to Mrs. Xiao En." Say these words in front of you."

"You are wrong about this." Cecilia said very seriously, "Sean is not the kind of unreasonable person... But, he really hates trouble. Although you have already stayed in the Duchy of the Void It's been more than a year, but you haven't been in contact with Xiao En a few times, so it's normal not to know him, and you will know when you have the opportunity to work together in the future, he is probably the least lord in the world."

Diana just kept smiling and didn't answer.

She knew that Cecilia couldn't understand how terrible Sean was in her mind. Because when she met Sean for the first time, she had already been severely intimidated by Sean, and I am afraid that she would never forget the feeling of fear and suffocation that made her feel terrified and suffocated. As long as she is in front of Sean, she feels as if she is naked, and everything will be seen through. This is one of the main reasons why she never thought of betrayal after she took refuge in Sean.

Soon, Cecilia and Diana came to the door of the meeting room amidst a burst of joking.

Perhaps it was because she was used to being casual in Black Swan Castle, so Cecilia pushed open the door of the meeting room without thinking, and stepped in.

"Oh, my dear Miss Cecilia, your smile today is like the light emanating from the brightest pearl in the world." A melodious male voice suddenly sounded with a bit of exclamation, " In front of you, even the pearl of Tifran is eclipsed."

Hearing the sound, Cecilia's face darkened instantly, and her smile disappeared completely: "Who did you kiss? We don't know each other that well."

The one who can say these words of praise so naturally is Cecilia's number one suitor, Hasass Zoan. He has brown hair, blue eyes, and very handsome facial features. He is a rare handsome man, especially the clothes on his body are obviously tailored by the hands of famous teachers. This kind of elite temperament is unparalleled.

At this time, he was showing a sad look, looking at Cecilia, and then said: "Oh, we have met so many times, and even had dinner together several times, isn't this considered familiar?" ?"

"It doesn't count." Cecilia said mercilessly, "And in the future, I won't dine with you again. You should die."

Probably because she is used to the dialogue between Cecilia and Hassas, so Diana just showed a helpless wry smile. Did not interrupt to say anything. As for the several guards brought by Hassas, they would not interrupt like this. Because they served the family knights of Hasass Joanton, even Hassas didn't speak, so of course they wouldn't be bored.

"Oh, beautiful Your Highness Cecilia, to you..."

"I came here because I heard that you had something important to discuss with me. If it is still this kind of nonsense, then I have no time to waste here." Cecilia interrupted this mercilessly. In her opinion It was obviously the nonsense of someone with a "crazy brain", and said indifferently, "Diana, you must remind me to make a sign later, suitors and dogs are not allowed inside! I will put it outside the castle!"

The wry smile on Diana's face became more apparent, and she might be able to discuss something with Cecilia in the study. But now in this conference room, especially in front of the person who was listed by Cecilia as one of the three masters of Joanton next to the dog, of course she would not speak so ignorantly. Because Cecilia would be fine if she said so, but if she followed suit, she might become the target of revenge by this noble boy.

"Okay, okay." Hassas looked extremely sad and lost, and he said helplessly. "Then, let's get down to business."

Cecilia then sat down at one side of the meeting room, Diana quickly closed the door of the meeting room, and several void shadow guards stepped forward quickly. Guarded in front of the door.

"Tell me about the project you want to cooperate with the Principality of the Void." Cecilia said lightly, although she had already read the general information sent by Diana. Knowing what Hassas wants to cooperate with, but she knows that she can't mention this kind of thing first. Otherwise, you will fall into a disadvantage.

Hassas glanced at Diana from the corner of his eye, but saw her expression was calm and normal. Hassas sighed slightly in his heart, and then quickly restrained his expression, turning to a serious look. He cleared his throat, and then said: "I think Miss Cecilia should know the current situation of my family, the Joanton family, right?"

Hassas, who has restrained his attitude of a sex-seeker, does possess an unparalleled elite temperament and charm. When talking about official affairs, he looked serious and solemn, and his words were clear, and even contained a lot of tentative confrontational words. It can be said that Hassas at this moment is the third pick of the Joanton family. The real gesture of the heir, not the romantic man that Cecilia has seen recently.

However, Hassas was testing Cecilia's information, and Cecilia was evaluating Hassas.

The information between the two sides is not equal, or even incomplete. Therefore, mutual assessment, review, and testing are very normal diplomatic means. It's just that Hassas is used to a strong attack, so the first step is to spy on the Joanton family information that Cecilia now has, which feels a bit aggressive. Of course, Cecilia is not a fledgling novice, her expression has remained calm and indifferent from the beginning to the end.

Just like the attitude towards Hassas' proposal before.

"I heard a little bit." Cecilia said softly.

The content of the discourse is not much, only four words, but the derivative content that can be guessed is extremely extensive. Of course, this also tests the thinking ability and savvy of the interlocutor, because different people naturally have different understandings of these four words. Some people will think it is a bluff, some people will think it is also an intelligence espionage tactic, and some people will think it is a modest statement.

But Hassas knew that what Cecilia said was not modesty or bluff, but an attitude.

Not blindly, nor conceited, but a sincere statement of position.

"If I say, if I never thought about competition, then I'm afraid I wouldn't even believe this kind of thing." Hassas smiled wryly.

However, Cecilia was still indifferent, but quietly waiting for Hassas' next words.

This attitude and reaction made Hassas make a helpless gesture of reaching out and stroking his forehead—but those who are familiar with Hassas' temperament and behavior know that this is a small gesture that Hassas only appears when he feels that things are difficult . He was observing his opponent by stroking his forehead, thinking about the rhythm and content of the next negotiation, and at the same time, he could conceal some of the expression in his eyes.

"This time, I encountered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Soon, Hassas decided on the strategy for the next negotiation tactics, because he found that Cecilia had given him enough hints that if he didn't If you are sure, then this negotiation may end in failure, "As we all know, the Millennium Empire was caught in a political civil strife before. This war has lasted for a long time. It was not until a few days ago that the war finally entered However, the rebel party is still stubbornly resisting, so the final clean-up operation is not going smoothly, of course, whether it goes smoothly or not, the final victory is only a matter of time."

"I received news earlier that a group of secret support from the rebel party is entering the empire from the barren land, and the marching route has been identified." Hassas saw Cecilia beckoning him to continue, so he continued Said, "But unfortunately, I'm not good at military strategy and tactics, and I don't have enough troops under my command... Or, I don't have any troops under my command that can carry out offensive operations."

"So you mean, you want to borrow someone from me?" Cecilia finally said.

"Yes." Hassas did not deny it, "I have heard that the Grand Duke of the Void has three ace armies. The Thunder Lion who is best at offensive battles, the Iron Wings who are best at defensive battles, and the army that belongs to Cecilia Your Royal Highness claims to be able to meet all tactical requirements of the guards... I don't expect to be able to invite Commander William to take charge of this opportunity, but as long as I can invite the Thunder Lion or your Royal Highness, your guards will be enough .”

"This appetite is not small." Cecilia chuckled, although there was no sarcasm or contempt, but the meaning in the words was obvious: where is your bargaining chip?

"I will give half of all the supplies of that secret army to you, Your Highness." Hassas said in a deep voice without thinking, obviously he had already thought about the reward, "Also, you can choose first, There is no quota limit... According to my information, this batch of supplies is enough for the rebel army in the southern part of the empire to persist for more than half a year, so the supplies are extremely rich."

"But if this attack plan is successful, you will gain a lot." Cecilia smiled, her voice was very soft, but the content of her words made Hassas a little bored, "At least, your future He is destined to become the Patriarch of the Joanton family.... On the other hand, it is our Void Principality who is the enemy. Generally speaking, our loss is far greater than the gain this time. So if it is only this kind of reward, then please forgive me I refuse." (To be continued...)