Imperial Crown

After the collapse of the coalition, most nobles chose to return to Whiterun City for a temporary rest and assembly.

According to Viscount John's personal soldiers, the outside of Whiterun City was full of wounded and defeated soldiers. Due to the lack of medical care and medicine, these people could only slowly wait for death, so that the screams continued day and night, which was simply a living hell.

Of the more than 30 nobles in the five counties, less than 20 returned to Whiterun City alive. Six nobles, including Romney, confirmed their deaths, and their bodies could not be retrieved. There were also eight nobles who were out of contact and their lives were unknown.

These tragic situations made most nobles lose the courage to fight against the Hand of Death.

Some nobles proposed to return to their respective territories and evacuate to the rear to avoid being surrounded and annihilated by the Hand of Death; the other part wanted to use Whiterun City for defensive operations, at least to stop the army of the Hand of Death outside Hippoc County, otherwise the five counties would be rotten.

Viscount Morgan was dead, and the remaining nobles were difficult to convince the public in terms of reputation and title. This led to the two sides arguing fiercely, but they could not come to an accurate conclusion.

Viscount John sighed heavily after hearing the news, and without saying anything, he ordered the troops to set off.

On the other hand, the news of the coalition's defeat and Viscount Morgan's death spread, triggering a new wave of refugees, and the refugees passed the news layer by layer, which became more and more exaggerated.

When it reached the Eagle Territory, it had become "The God of Death sent down a miracle, and five death laws caused the coalition forces of the five counties in the northwest to be annihilated. More than 30 nobles have all become undead creatures, preparing to return to their own territories and turn the five counties in the northwest into a kingdom of death."

The news was placed on Weisdong's desk. The acting lord glanced at it and said sleepily: "I know."

In the more than one month since Raven left, all kinds of rumors have emerged one after another, and there are too many more outrageous than this.

What Raven is actually the son of the Death Hand Cult, and has an engagement with his saint, and this trip is to welcome the bride; the reason why no one in the Griffith family can live past the age of 40 is because they are not really dead, but faked their death and turned into undead creatures, and are still working for the Death Hand Cult.

At first, Weisdong was a little nervous, but after hearing so much, he didn't care anymore, and gave the same old order:

"Tell Link to pay more attention. Once someone is found to be inciting trouble, follow the instructions of the elder brother before, arrest and kill on the spot, don't be lenient."

Due to the increase in refugees, Link was sent to manage the refugees and maintain order. Now Weisdong's personal guard is a young soldier named "Humphrey".

He is only 20 years old this year, but he is quite strong, and with his slightly thin face, he looks smart and capable.

"Understood, I'll go right away." Humphrey lowered his head, looked up at Weston, and asked with a smile: "Lord Weston, do you want to call someone over tonight?"

Weston's face showed a hint of desire, but after touching his neck, he shook his head and refused: "Forget it, let's talk about it in two days."

Just because Weston called two female technicians from the Pink Mansion last night, he was tossed all night, so he was scolded by Denise this morning. Denise scolded him for one and a half hours in the two-hour morning meeting.

He almost pulled out the sword left by Raven.

Looking back now, Weston is still a little scared: "Don't stand there, go quickly."

Humphrey took the order and left. As soon as he went out, the smile on his face disappeared.

He really didn't like Weston, the acting lord, at all. He was naive, childish, lustful, and irresponsible!

During the time when Baron Raven was away, Weisdong first proposed several very unreliable suggestions, including but not limited to - forming an army by himself, opening a hotel in Eagle Town, selecting a group of women from the refugees, and building a club funded by Eagle Castle.

These whimsical proposals were refuted one after another, and Weisdong gave up the idea. He started to lie down every day and make a human head stamp. Every day he was either enjoying himself or on the way to enjoying himself.

Then this morning's incident happened.

After going to the stable to get the warhorse, Humphrey saw the towering statue outside the castle as soon as he drove out of the city gate.

Now this monument has a fairly good degree of completion, and the Eagle Army's brave expressions can be seen from the front and side.

This is Humphrey's favorite building. Every time he passes by, he will stop here and stay for a while. This will make him feel that the comrades who once fought side by side with him have not left.

"Humphrey!" Fiona, wrapped in a cotton robe, came over: "Are you going to Goldshire?"

"Yes, Miss Fiona." Humphrey looked at her with a smile, a trace of longing in his eyes, and his body unconsciously stood straighter.

"That's perfect. I ordered some things in Goldshire. You can bring them back for me." Fiona took out her purse and poured out three silver coins: "Go to the 'Goblin Ear' pharmacy, mention my name, and the rest of the money will buy you a drink."

This is not the first time Fiona has made such a request. Humphrey knows that this ointment is for Mr. Gordon, whose bones will hurt in winter.

As usual, Humphrey blushed and waved his hand to refuse, but Fiona stuffed the silver coins into his horse bag without saying anything, and then turned around and left to continue supervising.

With a smile on his face, Humphrey rode towards Goldshire.

If you want to reach Goldshire, you must pass through Eagle Town.

The Eagle Town is now very different from what it was half a year ago. No one will throw dirt outside the door anymore, but they will pile it up outside the field.

In a while, it will be time to reclaim the land, and everyone is preparing for that moment.

Occasionally, there will be snowmen on the street, which is a sight that was never seen in previous years. Most of the snowmen are shaped into soldiers, holding branches as weapons.

Children run back and forth, playing snowball fights. One side plays the Eagle Army, and the other side plays the horse thieves. The fight is fierce. The Eagle Army is in high spirits, and the horse thieves, even if they are tall and strong, can't show any strength and are suppressed.

After leaving Eagle Town, the state of Shining Gold Town is much worse. Due to the severance of trade routes, most taverns have no customers and goods, and closed down. The few that are open are also doing poorly.

Moreover, due to the large number of refugees received, the environment on the street became dirty and muddy. Every passerby had a vigilant look on his face when walking, and patrolmen would occasionally cross the streets and alleys to maintain law and order.

Soon, Humphrey arrived at the western outskirts of the town of Shining Gold. This was the temporary stop for the refugees. There were tents of all sizes, and a row of sheds were open, with hot smoke rising from them.

In the sheds, "wheat porridge" with scattered wheat grains was cooked. The refugees lined up, holding broken bowls, and came up to get a bowl of porridge with clear soup and water, and then a fist-sized piece of gray bread. Many people would eat it up after getting it, and then continue to line up at the end of the line.

More than a dozen sheds and dozens of stalls can allow six or seven thousand refugees to line up three or four times a day. They will not starve to death, but they will not have extra energy to do other things.

If it were a noble from the city, or a young man who was inexperienced and full of sympathy, they might criticize this treatment, but Humphrey envied them a little.

You know, in previous winters, it was difficult for people like him in Eagle Town to even have enough food and clothing every day.

Otherwise, these refugees would not have spontaneously begun to thank Baron Raven for his kindness without anyone urging them to do so.

Link was sitting in the shed. As the only extraordinary person in Eagle Territory, he was the only one who could control the situation.

After giving Link Visdon's orders, the two chatted for a while, and then Humphrey said goodbye and left.

When he returned to the study on the third floor of Eagle Castle to report, Visdon was lying on the table to catch up on his sleep.

Hearing the footsteps, Weisdong straightened up in a daze, wiped the saliva from his mouth, and looked at the sky outside: "Why did it take so long?"

"I brought a dose of ointment for Ms. Fiona to Mr. Gordon."

"Oh, okay, I see." Weisdong stretched: "You go down, I still need to, uh... read a book."

Humphrey did not move his feet, and whispered: "Lord Weisdong, do you really not have to arrange anything tonight?"

This sentence immediately reminded Weisdong of the happiness of last night. He smacked his lips and felt a little itchy in his heart: "But you also know what happened this morning. My mother almost drew her sword and cut me. If she knew..."

"We can go to Gray Mountain Town, quietly, no one will know." Humphrey gave a suggestion.

Gray Mountain Town, located at the junction of Iron Furnace Territory and Eagle Territory, is the territory of Baron Angel.

"This..." Weisdong sat up straight: "After all, I am the acting lord. It would not be good to cross the border without permission. And I heard that the cost of living there is also very high."

"You don't have to worry about these." Humphrey said: "...In fact, Baron Angel has long wanted to meet with you in private, but he has never found a suitable opportunity. This time, Baron Angel will book the venue and all entertainment expenses will be provided by him."

"Angel?" Weisdong frowned slightly: "He invited me? There will be no conspiracy here, right?"

"Don't worry, safety can be guaranteed." Humphrey continued: "He has heard of your reputation, Lord Weisdong, and knows that you have made great achievements in the process of conquering Heleti. He admires you very much."

"And now The Eagle Territory is becoming more and more prosperous, and he also intends to ease the relationship with us. If Baron Donald's funeral had not been so unpleasant, he would definitely invite you in person. "

"I heard that they seem to be interested in learning from Viscount John and returning Eagle Beak Mountain and Thousand Needles Jungle."

Wesdon's eyes lit up, and he touched his chin: "So that's the case. If I can get these two pieces of land back, my brother will definitely look at me with new eyes!"

"Well... very good, tonight, when the cooks have all left, you wait for me in the kitchen, and we will set off together!"

Humphrey bowed his head and saluted: "Yes, Lord Weisdon!"

The sun sets and the moon rises, the night slowly deepens, and the last cook cleans up the kitchen and leaves, and Humphrey's figure appears in the kitchen.

He sat on a bench, staring at the ashes in the stove pit in a daze.

As time passed, Humphrey's mood began to become more and more anxious.

At this moment, the door suddenly opened and Humphrey stood up: "Weiss...Brother, why are you here?"

The man who came in was named Humpherson, one of Raven's personal soldiers and Humphrey's biological brother.

"I'm hungry, come and get something to eat." Humpherson walked around his brother, walked to the shelf, grabbed two pieces of white bread, took out two pieces of pickled meat, poked the ashes in the stove and started a fire.

Finding a clean pot and brushing it with butter, Humpherson put the bread and bacon in and began to fry them. The aroma immediately spread.

While turning the bread, Humpherson sighed: "It's better to follow Baron Raven!"

"Yes." Humphrey also sighed, crossing his arms and looking at the table: "When Baron Donald was in charge, we couldn't eat white bread."

With a bang, Humpherson placed the plate in front of his younger brother and sat across from him with his share: "White bread? Ha, we couldn't even eat gray bread at that time."

"Do you still remember that incident? It seems to have been five years ago. It was also winter at this time. The two of us went to Thousand Needles Forest to work for a long time, trying to get some firewood back."

Humphrey smiled bitterly: "How could you not remember? At that time, we were both barefoot and wore all the clothes we had at home, but we were still shivering from the cold and our ears were about to fall off."

"Since I didn't have an axe, I could only pick up some scattered branches in the forest. After working for a long time, I only had a bundle of firewood that was not enough to hold my arms. When I wanted to go back, I got caught in a snowstorm."

"The two of us ran into the cave to hide from the snow. Who knew that was where brown bears hibernated? We stayed with the bears for more than two hours."

"You could have escaped by yourself at that time." Humpherson took a deep look at his brother: "I was so scared that my legs were weak and I couldn't move. I asked you to leave, but you refused to leave. I hit you with firewood, but you responded. Come hit me and almost wake up the bear!"

"Fortunately, the bear was fast asleep and we both survived."

At this point, Humpherson changed the topic: "Actually, for a long time after that, I was thinking, if the bear really ate us."

Hearing his brother's words, Humphrey's expression became a little sad: "...Me too."

His thoughts seemed to go back to that day.

The two brothers wanted to go to Thousand Needles Jungle because their mother was ill and never recovered. They wanted to get some firewood in exchange for some money to buy medicine for their mother.

After escaping from the bear's mouth, the two of them went home with the remaining firewood. In fact, it was not much, only about fifty kilograms in total. However, no one cared when they went there. When they came back, they met the "forest guard" "Commander" and told them that they must keep the firewood because it was the property of Baron Ingres.

"That damn old thing!" Humphrey spat bitterly: "He has seen us a long time ago. He is just waiting for us to collect firewood for him. He is simply a beast!"

At that time, they tried their best to say good things, but it was of no use. The two brothers had to return home empty-handed.

Then the two brothers saw a scene that they would never forget.

The door of the house was broken and blood was spilled all over the floor. Their mother's arm was holding on to the door frame and was cut off by the roots. Her stiff body was dragged to the street. Her naked body was covered with messes and bloodstains, and was trampled by horse hooves. of scars.

Horse thieves are usually only active in the summer, but if they fail to save enough food for the winter in the summer, they will also attack villages and towns from up and down the bloody highlands.

The two brothers were lucky enough to escape the horse thieves who came to rob the house, but neither of them wanted this luck. They wished they were at home at the time and could protect their mother.

Or, simply be eaten by the hibernating bear and meet their mother in another world.

Because of this, they enthusiastically joined the army when Raven recruited troops, and they never wavered in the expedition to the Bloody Highlands after that.

They want to avenge their mother with their own hands!

Led by Baron Raven, they succeeded.

Especially when the kidnapped women were rescued, the nightmare that had been lingering in their hearts finally subsided, and they finally had reason to live.

Step out of the past and into the future.

"So... why?" Humpherson looked into his brother's eyes: "Why did you betray Baron Raven?"

In fact, the moment his brother entered the room, Humphrey realized that he had been discovered, but when he heard these words, he immediately raised his voice: "I didn't!"

"I have never, will not now, and will never betray Lord Raven!"

Humpherson responded tit for tat: "Then why did you ask Master Weston to meet Angel!?"

"Because he is not Lord Raven!" Humphrey raised his voice: "Brother, when we came down from the bloody heights, you said that everything has passed, but that's not right. In my opinion, many things will never pass. !”

"I will never forget what that bastard Donald did!"

"If Donald hadn't been so profligate and wasteful, the Eagle Leader's army would not have been demobilized, and our mother would not have died; if he hadn't handed over Thousand Needles to Angel, we wouldn't have had to face the troubles from the ranger. , maybe we can protect mom! If Goldsmith Town hadn’t been excluded, we wouldn’t have to pay the damn city gate tax, and we would have money to buy mom medicine!”

Humpherson shouted, "Donald is dead!"

"But Vesdon is still alive!" Humphrey stood up and stared at his brother: "Look at his appearance, look at his behavior, what is the difference between him and the original Donald!?"

"Since acting as the lord, all his decisions, apart from eating, drinking and having fun, all the right things he did were all arranged by Lord Raven!"

"Lord Raven doesn't have any children yet. Even if he does, if Lord Raven dies in the future and leaves such an elder behind, it will be a disaster to the Griffith family! It's better to kill him now!"

"And once Vesdon dies in Angel's hands, the Baron will have even more reason to take back Thousand Needles Jungle and Eagle Beak Mountain! Push the defense line to Eagle Beak Mountain instead of Eagle Town. Then Eagle Town will be I won’t be harassed by horse thieves again!”

Hearing these words, Humpherson's eyes showed a complicated look. It turned out that his brother had grown so much when he wasn't paying attention.

But the more this happened, the more distressed he became: "Humphrey, couldn't the Baron have thought of the things you can think of?"

"The reason why I am here now is because Lord Baron has anticipated this moment. He said that anyone who wants Master Weston to meet Angel and guarantee his safety is a traitor!"

Humphrey looked startled, then slumped down on the chair, with a relaxed smile on his face: "Is that so... It turns out that's the case, then I have nothing to worry about."

"Bow your head and plead guilty." Humpherson said sadly: "The Baron can even forgive Bent, and he will definitely be able to forgive you too!"

but

Humphrey pulled out the enchanted sword at this time: "It's too late, brother."

"If the Baron has not left now, then I can indeed still live, but now the entire Nord province is in chaos. If I live, Vesdon's little majesty will be gone, and then the entire Eagle Everyone’s hearts will be filled with excitement.”

"So, I must die!"

With the tip of the sword on the ground, Humphrey stood up, raised the edge of the sword and pointed it at his brother: "Brother, I haven't been able to beat you since I was a child. Don't show your cowardice today!"

As he said that, he had already slashed forward with his sword.

Humphrey felt his brother's determination to die. He also drew the enchanted sword and knocked Humphrey's sword away with just one move.

But when the blade of the sword was placed on his brother's shoulder, he couldn't move his hand anyway, so he could only throw the long sword to the ground with a clang.

Humphrey picked up the enchanted sword, walked to his brother's side, put the hilt of the sword into his brother's hand, and put his forehead against his forehead:

"Brother, I'm sorry..."

As he said that, he had already grasped Humpherson's hand, exerted great force, pushed the sword edge into his belly, and twisted it hard!

Hot blood splashed on Humphrey's hand. Humphrey's body gave out and he leaned against his brother.

Humpherson stood there blankly, tears streaming down his eyes.

Until my brother's palms started to become cold.

Ten minutes later, the kitchen door opened, and Humpherson walked into the hall in despair.

At this time, old Gordon, Denise, Weston, Link and other soldiers were all there. When they saw Humpherson covered in blood, they all understood what had happened.

"Humpherson..." Vesdon's expression was complicated.

Although he was a young master, he had fought side by side with these people and developed deep feelings. It was because of his hard work that Humpherson was allowed to persuade Humphrey instead of arresting him directly.

"I'm sorry..." Humpherson's steps were shaky and his face was pale.

Weston's pupils suddenly tightened: "Link, stop him!"

Too late.

Humpherson suddenly reversed the edge of the sword, held the blade with both hands, pointed it at his lower abdomen, and knelt down straight.

"No--"

…