Even the barbarians who were driven away by them back then, those barbarians who could not even read, would not neglect the maintenance of their weapons!
How dare the royal craftsmen do such a thing
Everyone looked at each other, and finally the knight let his companions go first. He went back to rest alone, and then they rushed towards the monastery in the mountains again.
This time, no one dared to run that fast, because no one knew if they would be the next one to have problems with their boots, and the witch Priscilla simply couldn't run that fast.
Mages are weak in body, not to mention a genius mage like her who is so gifted that she neglects to exercise her body.
They returned to the monastery about half an hour later than the scheduled time. When they stood again at the place where Knight Robert was chopped down, they were surprised to find that the flag of the Elf Kingdom was raised on the monastery.
What is going on
Priscilla's face turned pale. Before she could open her eyes to confirm whether all this was true, an arrow shot from the roof of the monastery forced her to take a half step back.
"Friends of the Roman Empire, this is already the temporary camp of our Elf Kingdom. This is not within the territory of the Roman Empire. It is an unowned land."
An elf holding a longbow descended from the sky in an elegant manner. He was a true elf, handsome and tall from a human's perspective, and indeed had an "abnormal" personality compared to humans.
"If you approach rashly, we will treat you as an enemy and shoot you. In order to avoid unpleasant border frictions between the two countries, please leave first."
The elf's words were neither salty nor bland, and were conveyed to Priscilla in the form of an opera, without any personal feelings, hoping that Priscilla would take her people away quickly.
Priscilla gritted his teeth, knowing that it was impossible for the elves to pass through the dangerous monster forest and come to this unclaimed land thousands of kilometers away from their border...
But she did not dare to forcibly break into the elf camp and risk causing a direct war between the Roman Empire and the Elf Kingdom.
Elves are an abnormal race.
Although they have two eyes, a nose, a lip, and a pair of pointed ears like humans, their "thoughts", "morals", and "worldviews" have turned into complete monsters to humans due to their extremely long lifespans.
It is impossible for humans to go to war with another family or even a country just because a child is bullied outside.
But the elves will...
Not only will they go to war, but before the war they will follow the strict rules of the elves since ancient times and deliver 200 elegant letters of war to humans to clarify the hostile relationship between the two sides.
Humans simply cannot and will not comprehend a child fighting a war that could lead to the destruction of a country, but the elves are accustomed to it.
By the same token, elves are particularly stubborn about rules when it comes to anything related to their "territory".
From a human perspective, it is normal to have to break a piece of grass in order to get somewhere -
Those who step on the grass don't have to apologize for it, and the local owner won't blame them for it. This is the "common sense" of stepping on the territory of others as understood by humans.
But in the elves' cognition - since it is my territory, naturally, that piece of grass also represents the dignity of our elven race.
If you trample down countless green grass on your way to the Elf Kingdom without feeling any apology towards the forest, then it is only natural that you will be expelled from us.
Furthermore, if outsiders were forced to fight wild beasts without the elves' permission and polluted the elves' land with blood, it would not be surprising for them to be directly attacked by the elves.
Elves are such a stubborn, ancient and casual race. They attach great importance to the rules of their race, and the premise of wanting to communicate with the proud but in a sense extremely humble elves is to abide by their rules.
Otherwise, they will be hated or even resented by the elves - just like the stubbornness of their race, the casual elves are also particularly stubborn in their emotions.
When you love someone, that love will last until you die. This love will be passed down from one human to another family, and may even be inherited by the elves' family, thus achieving the reputation of "Millennium Covenant".
To hate a person, given the long lifespan of elves, he may hate a human family for fifty or sixty generations before his own death may sever this inexplicable resentment relationship for humans.
Because of this, no one wants to anger an elf—everyone wants to gain the elf's favor, but no one can afford the cost of the elf's anger.
As a compromise, almost everyone in the Roman Empire, except for the diocese and Yang Hao at the time, reached a consensus: that is, do not have any meaningful contact with the elves.
But right now... the arrow is on the string and has to be shot.
Priscilla tried her best to recall the etiquette of the elves that she had learned in the palace.
She tried her best to avoid trampling the grass in the area that the elves considered to be a temporary camp. She mustered up the courage to look directly into the other party's eyes with the etiquette of the elves, and then asked her question directly in the way of the elves, rather than the cunning words of humans:
"I have no intention of offending the elves' territory. I just want to ask if the elves know where the two humans who previously lived in this monastery are?"
"have no idea."
Before she could describe the other person's appearance, the elf gave an expressionless answer.
"When we came, this place was already emptied. We will not enter the camp of humans who are not our friends while 'humans are still here'. Our presence here means that the people who once lived here have left."
Priscilla felt dizzy and said something stupid subconsciously:
"You are taking over the nest..."
"Are you questioning our race?"
Priscilla bit her tongue hard and tried to calm herself down.
Elves will not lie, at most they will hide something - because of this, many doubts that are only useful when facing humans will be particularly dangerous when facing elves combined with their violent temper.
When the elves began to raise doubts, they were actually on the verge of declaring war—
In order to prevent the barrel from exploding, Priscilla had to bow his head and apologize, then carefully stepped back two steps to avoid stepping on any grass:
"No, I'm not questioning... Let's leave now."
"Uh..." Under the gaze of the elves, they left in shame.
It was only after they left that the elf returned to the roof where he was before and looked at his companions:
"The regent that Finn asked us to protect has safely left the border of the Roman Empire. Our efforts over the past year have not been in vain."
An elf seemed somewhat relaxed. He prayed devoutly from the bottom of his heart to the wood that was about to be used as firewood. After planting the tree species found on the wood on the spot, he lamented the hard work he had put in over the past year.
"The Regent is a capable man who has accomplished a feat that several generations of mankind have failed to accomplish. I respect him from the bottom of my heart.
Why did humans send countless assassins to kill him? Is this how humans treat the Son of Destiny of their own race? "
One elf seemed very confused. He was a young man only over two hundred years old and obviously didn't know much about the rise of the Roman Empire and the peculiarities of the people from the outside world.
"This is not a problem of the human race as a whole, but a stupidity that only humans in the Roman Empire have—we continue to act as planned. Finn's reforms require this regent."
Another, older elf, gave a pointed explanation that went straight to the heart of the matter and reiterated the purpose of their trip.
Finn needs them to protect the Regent of the Roman Empire because Finn wants to carry out a "great reform" in his elven kingdom.
This reform will affect the future of the entire elf population. Finn is impressed by the ability of the human regent and admires him from the bottom of his heart.
For this reason, after hearing the rumor that the human regent had been exiled, Finn immediately dispatched the elite elves to protect the regent's safety all the way until the day he completely left the Roman Empire.
"But how can we ensure that he will go to our kingdom instead of passing through the Monster Forest and entering the steppes of the Great Khan, or the ruins of the Byzantine Empire?"
However, the confusion of one of the elves made his companions fall into deep thought. Yes, the Regent has left the Roman Empire, but who can guarantee that he will go in the direction of the Elf Kingdom instead of going somewhere else
The elves looked at each other, and with the crackling of firewood, the elf who spoke first shook his head:
"Finn is confident that the Regent will come to our kingdom because the elves are willing to lend a helping hand to the Regent and give him the trust he never received in the human empire."
"Are all humans a bunch of idiots? Even the great Finn showed respect to them. Aren't they too stupid? Are these really intelligent creatures who share this continent with us?"
"Kid, please add the adjective [The people of the Roman Empire are a bunch of idiots]. This is correct. After all, we can't slander the brave and loyal people of the Bayerzans Empire."
"I remember that the Double-Headed Eagle Empire had disappeared when I was born. I heard that its remnants are still fighting against the demonic disaster underground... By the way, is that rumor true? I heard that there is a powerful human empire across the sea..."
"Uh..." Chirp, chirp.
The elves talked about the important things that mattered to them.
And leave from the mountains.
Priscilla and his companions found the lone knight—or rather, part of the knight.
A group of villagers holding torches and various weapons were scrambling for something on the ground.
They approached slowly under the cover of night. When they were close enough, they took a closer look and found that they were their companions who had been killed by the villagers.
The villagers of the Roman Empire brutally killed the lone knight, stripped him of all valuables, and cut off his head, intending to hand him over to the militia in exchange for a bounty as if he were a mountain robber. However, they fell into internal strife due to possible uneven distribution of the spoils.
Dozens of people were divided into three or four small groups fighting for a bloody head. Several of them stood in the front, still wearing the knights' former armor or holding the knights' weapons.
This scene was like a group of pigs fighting over pig food, and the passers-by were shocked to find that the things being treated as pig food were actually their own comrades.
The witches and knights looked on with stiff faces as they watched the people they had sworn to protect frantically snatch the heads of their companions.
Unconsciously, they clenched their fists.
Chapter 13: “A Rich Country and a Strong People”
…
February 17th.
When Priscilla's action to win back the Regent failed and the news that scouts from the Elf Kingdom were found at the place where the Regent was last seen reached the Roman capital.
Although the representatives at the round table meeting looked upset, they actually had their own ulterior motives.
"That's a shame—"
The representatives of the nobles and landowners disguised their sadness and despair vividly, but they were secretly ecstatic: as long as the regent did not come back, the things that rightfully belonged to them would naturally not be taken away!
As for the drought that killed a few stubborn people, what did it matter to them? At worst, they could just pretend to convert, join the elves, or simply become independent. It was just a few stubborn people, wasn't it? Let them starve to death!
They never cared about the lives of the underground people. When the people could still bring value, as masters, they naturally needed to maintain their tools.
But when the subjects not only fail to bring value, but also consume the value that was once produced, what they naturally have to do is to throw these tools away.
There is no need for everyone to waste their own interests on such trivial matters, right
Even more so than the nobles and landlords, His Majesty the Leader sighed—Yes, it’s such a pity... ah.
A huge anger surged in his heart: Over the past year, he had sent out countless batches of assassins to assassinate the lonely regent! But until now, none of them had succeeded? What on earth were the assassins he sent out for
As expected, we cannot trust those money-hungry bastards! Archbishop Peter muttered to himself, but he was also secretly happy that the "bankbooks" of those bastards were kept in the parish.
This is an institution whose full name is "The Redemption Bank of the Church of the God of Light". It is used to store the funds and important financial matters of believers in the parish - of course, after the death of the person concerned and related family members, these financial matters will naturally belong to the leader.
Back then, the leader used the gold coins in the savings book to bribe the regent's army, and then two months after the normal gold coin salary was paid, he sent them to the dangerous monster forest a week before the third month's payday.
Afterwards, only one in ten of these traitors survived, and the gold coins they had stored in their savings accounts naturally returned to the leader's wallet.
The leader has conducted this kind of no-cost business many times. Naturally, the money obtained by the assassins was also delivered in this way.
But after the assassin's money flowed back into his own pocket, the leader still couldn't feel happy - because he just wanted the regent to die.
As long as the regent is alive, the saint who has locked herself in the secret room of the shrine in the basement of St. Peter's Basilica to pray may one day "apostatize".
Now in the Saint's heart, the proportions of "religion" and "Regent" are almost the same.
In order to allow the Saint to return to the embrace of the God of Light as soon as possible, Patriarch Peter must let the Regent die here no matter what... This is not only for the benefit of tens of millions of believers, but also for a bright future!
(But if you go to the Monster Forest or even the Elf Kingdom, it will be a problem... You must send more assassins.)
The leader was muttering in his heart. At this moment, General Dreshuka, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke:
"In this case, we must prepare for the former regent to embrace the Elven Kingdom and use this as a basis to launch an attack on the Roman Empire."
His words caused an uproar at the round table. Except for the royal representative who remained silent, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
The ability of the regent is obvious to all. His ability to integrate the originally divided tribes into an empire is enough to prove his ability.
Although this man finally fell under the attack from within the Roman Empire, which had no unified enemy after peace, if he were really allowed to go to the Elf Kingdom and become an advisor to the Elf Kingdom...
It is hard to imagine that the elves in the north would only keep their own small piece of land as they did in the past... After all, if they really have the ability, who wouldn't want more territory
With the help of the Regent, the elves will surely launch a war of aggression.
What’s worse is that when the elves launched the war, the Roman Empire might not have recovered from the drought yet…
In other words... In order to cope with the next possible war, the Roman Empire needs to increase the output of the army in this chaotic situation... right
This is not something that is logically unacceptable, but on an objective material level, the Roman Empire really cannot afford the cost of continuing to increase its army.
Not to mention, the craftsmen employed by the royal family are almost starving to death, and the royal family itself has no money to support its own craftsmen, let alone continue to increase the army
Everyone looked at each other, and finally the royal representative put an end to the incident with a heavy sigh:
"General Dreshuka, please find a solution in your military district, or please communicate with Patriarch Peter about the "money" issue, and increase the number of troops and train them without causing chaos."
"Uh..." General Dreshuka didn't say a word, but frowned: Asking the Cult for money? Why don't you let me make money out of thin air
Although the expression of the Patriarch Peter did not change, he still glared at the royal representative secretly: You want money from me? I'm already giving you face by not taking your money! You actually let me pay for it
Both sides had their own agenda, but seeing as the Roman Empire was really going to fall, they calmed down a bit and politely said they would "communicate privately"...
The military issue was over, but the impending drought was still a pressing issue.
I guess no one has a good solution. Some people say to leave it to fate, some say to rebuild the Regent's facilities but that would require a lot of money, and some say to simply implement a rationing system and wait for two or three years until the drought ends and things will get better.
But the royal representative said - since the drought in the central region is so severe, we should concentrate our resources on Drake Harbor to create the illusion that the country is rich and the people are strong!