In the corridor outside the conference room, Franco and Gram walked out side by side.
Although the afternoon sun shone in through the glass windows, filling the entire corridor with warm colors, the continuous sound of gunfire outside made the people walking inside feel heavy-hearted, and naturally spread a gloomy atmosphere. Count Duan and Master Edel followed them for a while, and then went their separate ways.
Gram sensed that no one was watching and sneered, "Brother, did you see that? This is what our emperor looks like when he is furious. He is always wise and right, and all problems come from others. I saved my soldiers, but I was considered to be at a disadvantage in the battle. Do I have to lose both arms as well?"
"At this time, he is just an angry child." Franco's face looked equally ugly.
"Our family has never done anything wrong to the empire. My father is still alive and dead for the empire, and he treats us like this." Gram hit his left palm with his right fist. "Why don't we go and negotiate with the Chinese and get my father back?"
"You want to do business directly with the Chinese?" Franco said, "Then at least we need to know whether my father is dead or alive."
"Perhaps we should talk to the Chinese regardless of whether my father is dead or alive." Gram said, "I have a reason to say this. Do you know who I met before? Morlet! The Black Guard commander Morlet, who we thought was doomed, was rescued by the Chinese. Now he can lead a team in the Chinese army. The greatswordsman who fought against me before was him."
Franco asked, "The Chinese actually cured him of the plague?"
"Rather than saying he was cured, it's more like he was resurrected for some reason. I've felt it, and there's absolutely no trace of negative energy from him," Gram said.
"That means he can't be an undead either."
Gram said: "Yes. It is a state we are not very clear about, but it retains all its previous strength. But more importantly, I can feel that he is willing to serve the Chinese, and the Chinese trust him so much. Can you imagine that our emperor would do the same thing
"Molett once asked me who is our family's real enemy right now. If the empire loses, who will be responsible for those failures? Is it the 'wise and mighty' Majesty, or the 'foolish and cowardly' you and me?"
"This is provocation, a very cheap tactic to sow discord," Franco said.
Gram said: "If the vassal and the monarch can be alienated, it only means that there is such soil between them."
Franco remained silent as the two of them reached the palace's gate. He pushed open the gate and walked outside. The sound of artillery fire not far ahead became more obvious.
The two walked a little further, avoiding the surrounding sentries. Franco then said, "I didn't expect you to have such an idea."
"Do you remember the scene when father was knocked off the roof by the emperor? If Gandas hadn't come in just now, what do you think would have happened to me? Would I have been better than father? Humph!" Gram snorted coldly, "Brother, think about it carefully."
The two walked to the bottom of the hillside and happened to meet two black guards and an elite guard of their family coming over.
Gram held out his hand to stop them and said, "Aniceto? Weren't you captured by the Chinese?"
"Master Gram, Master Franco, I am now a messenger released by the Chinese. They are taking me to see His Majesty the Emperor." The guard named Aniceto said. He glanced at the black guard beside him and said, "My lords, I have a few words that the Duke asked me to bring to you. I hope to tell you in private."
"Father is alive? What's his current situation?" Gram asked.
"The Duke was captured by the Chinese and suffered some injuries, but when I saw him, he looked in good spirits. However, Duke Marcus died in the battle, Master Cynthia was seriously injured and captured, and Duke Stuart was cast under a spell and fell into a deep sleep from which he could not wake up. In short, none of the masters who participated in the duel on the front battlefield escaped." said Aniceto.
"Stop! Stop talking." The black guard who was escorting him interrupted Aniceto, "You are a messenger from the Tower of China. You cannot tell anyone what you know before you meet His Majesty."
A golden light flashed on Gram's right hand, and he pressed the black guard. He flew over and fell down seven or eight stone steps.
"My people want to talk to me, and no one can interfere." Gram opened a barrier of light, covering Franco and Aniceto. He said to Aniceto, "Go on."
"The Duke didn't tell me much, he just asked me to bring a letter. He said that after you read the letter, you will know what to do. He asked you to read the letter using the fourth set of secret codes and then make your own decision." Aniceto bent down, tore open the upper of his boots, and took out a letter from it.
After the Black Guards took Aniceto away again, Franco and Gram walked into an unnoticed house and opened the Duke's letter.
Franco looked at the new letter and said, "There are actually two sets of codes embedded in it. According to the first set of codes, this is a letter of persuasion for us to surrender to the Chinese, but if we read it through the fourth set of codes, it will be very different... What!"
"Father actually has such an idea?" Gram checked the contents of the secret message again and again, and looked at his brother in shock. "Do you think this is what he really meant?"
"That should be the case. No one can force him to write such a letter. I guess the first set of codes is used to fool the Chinese, and the second set of riddles is what he really wants to tell us." Franco said in a deep voice.
Seeing Gram lowering his head in deep thought, he said, "Are you really going to do what he wants?"
Gram raised his head and said, "Huh, I've had this idea in my mind for a long time, don't you? How about, brother, how about we work together to realize our father's expectations
He is in China now and should know the overall situation better than us. Maybe, as he said, this is an opportunity for our entire family. "
Before Franco could answer, they both felt a strong spatial fluctuation coming from behind them. The two looked towards the emperor's palace together, and then a strong pressure appeared in the palace. It was the power released when someone who had surpassed their realm tore through space.
"This kind of power, could it be..."
"Saint Morales?" (To be continued)