Realm of Power

It's not Xinjing, the towering city walls are blowing with cold wind and rain,

This is the original birthplace of the Gangfei Empire. The city is built along the mountains under the white snow, layer by layer. All the white stone buildings are covered with a layer of frost in winter, like a crystal clear glass cover. The architecture here is very distinctive.

All are made of white limestone as building materials, with pointed roofs, dense rows of earth-cut stone windows, and winding mountain roads.

The large bronze statue standing on the side of the street, surrounded by beautiful noble houses, spreads from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain. Going far away, it looks like a pile of snow.

Baicheng is what other countries call this former imperial center.

This city, which stands tall on the mountains, was already a famous scenic spot when it was the capital of the Gangfei Dynasty. Before the establishment of the Gangfei Empire, war had not spread here for decades. This only requires Just look at the architectural style of Xinjing and you will know that it is flashy and luxurious, and the nobles try to show themselves in the best way possible. With money, status, and identity, there are various colorful paintings on the street walls, which mainly describe the previous victories of the Congolese Empire against its enemies. It expanded over a hundred years, from being an odd place to becoming the dominant hegemon in Central Europe, and finally moving away. , and now it has moved back, it seems that the ups and downs of the Gangfei Empire have evolved in this city.

Adrian, the city guard who had just stopped guarding the east gate of Kyoto, stood alone above the city gate, looking at the vast land in the distance. The afterglow of the setting sun has gradually disappeared, and there is darkness at the end of the line of sight. Nothing can be seen except farmland, wilderness and woods. When the sun has not yet set. The suspension bridge was pulled up high, and every resident who entered and exited the city gate had to undergo multiple inspections even during the day.

It was said that the Istani army was approaching Xinjing. Adrian looked into the distance anxiously this morning. There were faint sounds of fierce fighting coming from the south, which made him feel very uneasy. The two acropolis in the south were the barriers to Xinjing and were located exactly on the route of the Istar people. This group of Istar people The attack was fierce, like a curved knife, bypassing the obstacles of several legions in front and heading directly towards Xinjing.

Because the four major legions are far away, the troops currently in Xinjing are the emperor's most trusted troops. There were about 30,000 people, but the number of Istars who attacked was as many as 110,000, nearly four times the force ratio. Even a soldier like Adrian who firmly believed that Xinjing would never fall was beating a drum in his heart. He was keenly aware that the morale of the troops stationed in Kyoto was very low. Most of the soldiers and nobles were not optimistic about this battle. The city gate below had been packed into the center of the street by carriages of nobles who were eager to escape from the city. It was said that the west gate was still there. Be embarrassed. The city gate has not been closed for two days in a row.

"Sir, I heard that the special envoy of the Falcon Empire has arrived in Xinjing, but I don't know if it is true?" A young officer wearing a military uniform with blond curly hair stopped beside him. A handsome face full of youthful energy. The young man glanced at the setting sun opposite, narrowed his eyes and asked.

"It should be true, although I didn't come in through this door. But I can feel it!"

Adrian frowned slightly and said that he had not seen the patrol team sent by the Ministry of Military Affairs to patrol today. Several deserters escaped and were not caught. In the past, such a situation would never have occurred. If I guessed correctly, it was because the higher-ups did not want the Falcon Empire to see our current predicament. Just at noon today, Adrian received an emergency order from the Ministry of Military Affairs. He was ordered to guard the city gate carefully. But he couldn't make too big a move to avoid disturbing the situation. Adrian knew that he wanted to avoid giving the Falcon Empire envoys the impression that the war was going on, because the Falcon Empire was still essentially the enemy. It is only because of the special situation that we have to stand together.

"I really don't know what the higher-ups are thinking. Using the power of the Falcon Empire is like seeking the skin of a tiger!" the young officer said in an aura. Suddenly he heard footsteps behind him, and the young officer quickly stopped talking.

The two of them looked in the direction of the footsteps, and a thin figure came into their eyes. They were stunned for a moment at the same time, and quickly turned to an invisible angle while the people in the distance were not paying attention. It was the figure who had just arrived in Xinjing under orders. His Royal Highness Prince Danad, who is forty years old and wearing a military uniform decorated with various medals,

Even though he has never been on the battlefield for a day, it doesn't matter. His royal bloodline allows him to carry all levels of merit medals in the empire. As the cousin of the former emperor and the cousin of the current emperor, he was recruited to Xinjing. Needless to say, you can guess the meaning. The emperor is still too young. If something unexpected happens, the prince may become the new emperor.

"What is he here for?" The young officer muttered dissatisfiedly. The first successor of the empire was alone without any followers. It was too abnormal. If there were any assassins or assassinations, this man was of vital importance to Gang Fei. The status of reserve personnel is considered to be sold.

The two of them were wondering why the prince came here alone. There was another sound of footsteps in the distance, and a panic-looking General Gangfei appeared behind Prince Dunard.

"You're here! It's a little later than I expected!" Dunard looked at the other person's face inadvertently, then looked down at the city gate below. The city gate was blocked by hundreds of meters of horse-drawn carriages. It was hard to tell on ordinary days that there had been such a large group of people escaping in such a short period of time! In the fields outside the city gate, there are no patrols or checkpoints.

The prince's pupils narrowed, he smiled slightly, and said very gracefully, "Are you still struggling, or have you already made a decision? Time waits for no one. This is an issue that involves the rise and fall of the entire family for hundreds of years. You also See, you are not the only one who has lost confidence, the whole Xinjing People are rushing to escape from this shipwrecked city! After the arrival of the Istani army, everything will be destroyed! So you don’t need to be ashamed of your decision. As a soldier, you have done your best! It’s a soldier’s duty, and the rest is just chosen by the times!”

"Tangled? Decision? What do you mean!" The young officer hiding in the distance vaguely heard some words, and his face was blank.

"It's Ferva, the city guard."

Adrian seemed to be much more experienced. He looked at the general with a troubled face, and said in a low voice with a touch of disdain, I have worked with him before, he is a man who can betray anyone as long as there is benefit. He is a villain, and nothing good will happen wherever he is! I don’t know if you’ve heard of it. What His Royal Highness the Prince is advocating this time is the Lord and "

"Peace? How?" the young officer asked again

"Of course we have to cede territory and pay compensation! You know, not only the special envoys of the Falcon Empire arrived in Kyoto, but also the Istani people. Among them, the military advocated uniting the Falcon Empire to fight against the Istani people, and His Royal Highness the Prince believed that the Falcon Empire's The threat is greater than the people of Istanbul, one is just seeking Some interests compensate, and the other has the ambition and power to annex Gangfei, so the prince believes that the empire agrees to the conditions of the Istan people and is the right way to deal with the Falcon Empire wholeheartedly, and the reason why the empire has become like this is the empire. The result of the Falcon Empire’s blind tolerance”

"The conditions of the Istani people? Are you talking about the partition plan with the Baishadi River as the dividing line?"

The young officer gasped when he heard that. He had heard about the treaty. The Istani people requested to use the Baishati River as the boundary to redraw the dividing line between the two countries. Baishati is a large river in the central part of Congo. If the Baishati River is used as the boundary, The Di River is the boundary, which is almost equivalent to half of Gangfei being allocated to the Istani people.

"Yes, that's it!" Adrian nodded and said, "It's more than that." We also want to support the Istani rule in Barro, Central Europe! In other words, we are actually a vassal state of the Istan people, and we want to help them fight! They also have to pay astronomical tribute taxes every year! "

"You bastard, agree to such a condition! We soldiers might as well die." The young officer gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. The veins on his forehead popped out. At this moment, he saw Ferva standing in front of the prince in the distance and nodded with difficulty. The prince extended his hand with a friendly look. He patted Ferva heavily on the shoulder, whispered a few words, and turned to leave. Fevar waited until the prince disappeared on the road below, looked around, and left after confirming that no one was there.

"He agreed!" The young officer gritted his teeth with hatred.

"It seems so, but I don't know what it is!" Adrian looked solemn. He could feel that the prince must be setting up some conspiracy, rebellion? It doesn't look like it. Fevar is the guard officer of the outer city, and his troops have no authority to enter the inner city. Moreover, although Fevar is a profit-seeking person, he is actually not very courageous. If he fails in rebellion and rebellion, he will kill the entire clan. I will never agree to anything. If it’s not rebellion, then what is it? "Adrian couldn't figure it out either. He walked down the city wall with the young officer.

"Sir, I have just received an order. The chief guards of each city gate must go to the city guard post for a meeting immediately!" A messenger cavalry rode up from the lower city road.

"Meeting?" Adrian looked at the messenger cavalry

"It's an order from Lord Fevar, the outer city guard officer." The cavalryman ordered the horse to rein in his horse tightly, took out a scrawled order from his arms and handed it over.

"Lord Fevar?" Adrian took the letter and was deeply surprised. If he hadn't seen the scene just now, he would have thought it was a routine meeting, but after seeing the scene just now, it showed that this was Meeting for the first time is definitely not easy.

"Please hurry up. Your Majesty's request is very urgent. If you arrive late within half an hour, the latecomer will be whipped ten times!" the cavalryman urged. After speaking, he turned around and left, leaving Adrian alone. puzzling back view

"Jerome, can you do me a favor?" Adrian looked at the young officer with an eager look. Thinking of the scene just now, he felt very uneasy. He felt like he was standing on the edge of a huge invisible trap. I smell the scent, but I don’t know the specific location.

"Go ahead, I'll guard here!" the young officer known as Jerome said with a solemn expression. "Well, we can only hope so!"

Adrian frowned doubtfully, still feeling something was wrong. But since Jerome is willing to temporarily take over his command, he has nothing to worry about. Jerome is a soldier who has been on the battlefield, and he will never be ambiguous at critical moments.

"All thanks here!" Adrian gave a military salute to Jerome, got on his horse and rushed to the city guard station. The outer city guard station of Xinjing is located in a dark place on the south wall of Xinjing. If he runs with all his strength on horseback, It can be reached in twenty minutes, in the city Outside the gate of the guardhouse, he handed the reins of the war horse to the guard at the door. Adrian walked into the city guardhouse. An officer was already waiting at the end of the corridor. He was Fevar's adjutant. When he saw Adrian coming, he hurriedly walked over and took Adrian Derian leads to another corridor

"Isn't this the road leading to the conference room?" Adrian followed the adjutant and looked up and down.

"This is the way to the banquet hall!" the adjutant said with a smile, "There is no meeting today. Lord Fevar is so lucky to see you all. We are specially hosting a banquet for you all in the banquet hall!"

"Banquet? The enemy may arrive at the city at any time. Are you still interested in holding a banquet?" A flash of anger flashed in Adrian's eyes, he stopped, turned and walked towards the door. "If it is a banquet, I will not attend. Please inform Fevar. Sir, I understand what he means!"

"Why should Sir Adrian be so impatient!"

A loud voice came. Surrounded by several city guards, Fevar was wearing a dark blue military uniform and holding a glass of red wine in his hand. Walking over from the banquet hall not far away, "It's okay. Even if the two acropolis are captured by the Istani people, there will always be messengers. No matter how powerful the Istani forwards are, they can't capture them all." Fifteen thousand garrison dumplings. Haha, maybe it will be here soon, maybe it will be the victory report."

"Lord Fevar!" Adrian saluted with an ugly face. After all, Fevar was also his boss. As for the good news Fevar said, that is absolutely impossible. It would be lucky if the entire army was not wiped out.

"Come! Come! It's rare for everyone to get together today. We won't go home until we get drunk!"

Fevar took Adrian's hand enthusiastically.

At this time, an officer from the city guard came to Fevar and whispered a few words. Adrian saw a chilling light flashing through Fevar's slightly drunken eyes. At such a close distance, Adrian could tell from the other person's mouth shape, "Have you started yet?"

At this time, there was already a noise of people from the south of New Kyoto.

Many soldiers wearing the uniforms of the Gallic Guards appeared scattered in the wilderness. The young officer Jerome, who was temporarily taking command, suddenly raised his eyebrows slightly, but his expression looked very strange. Could it be so fast? Has the Acropolis been defeated by the Istani forward?

More and more Praetorian Guards soldiers appeared, and Jerome was convinced that the Acropolis had really been defeated. The stragglers he saw did not have the aura of Imperial Guardsmen at all. It's not neat and the weapons are in a mess. But they seemed to be filled with righteous indignation, and some people were gnashing their teeth and shouting slogans, as if they were clamoring for blood debt to be paid with blood.

"Come here, close the city gate immediately!"

Jerome shouted, seeing thousands of stragglers approaching the city gate, the sensitive soldiers immediately pulled up the drawbridge and blocked the defeated army below from the city, "Open the door! Open the door! We are going to see His Majesty the Emperor! We want to Kill the Istani envoy! "The roars of thousands of people below shook the city wall. The Gangfei soldiers on the city wall suddenly looked at each other and were at a loss for a moment.

When Jerome heard the shouts of the defeated troops below, he quickly realized something was wrong. Even he didn't know until he knew that the Istantians had sent a special envoy. How did the defenders of the city know? The uneasiness in his heart became even stronger, and he sternly ordered, "Everyone, pay attention, no one is allowed to open the city without an order!"

"Asshole, I'm risking my life in front, and you guys are having sex in the back. Open the door! If you don't open the door, I'll risk my life with you!" The soldiers below were densely packed in darkness, and many of them had already drawn their weapons.

"Come here! Archers are ready..."

Jerome's face changed color slightly. If these thousands of defeated troops rushed into Kyoto, it would be impossible to rebel. There are too few people. There are 30,000 troops in Kyoto, but under the guidance of someone with ulterior motives, to kill one The Istani envoy, that was too simple. Although Jerome wished that he had killed the Istani envoy, he couldn't help but feel a little scared when he thought of the bloody revenge of the Istani people.

"Don't move, or you will die!" Suddenly, Jerome felt a coldness on his neck. The second half of the words could not be conveyed immediately, and he felt as if someone had stuck his neck. He struggled hard but didn't move at all. A cold dagger was placed on his neck,

"You bastard, you should have thought that this is Fevard's city guard. How could there not be one or two informants mixed in!" Jerome suddenly felt deeply regretful. In that moment, thousands of thoughts went through his mind, but Not a single thought is clear. He seemed to feel something subconsciously, but he couldn't describe it clearly.

"Let them enter the capital, otherwise, you will die!" The voice of the person behind was low, but very clear, and it had an irresistible meaning.

"What exactly do you want to do..." Jerome seemed to understand something and said coldly.

"Don't worry, what we are doing is absolutely right. There are too many people at both ends of this country. The only way is to completely cut off unnecessary thoughts and kill the special envoys of Istan and the Falcon Empire so that there is no way back for everyone. This country has a chance to revive! "

"You are crazy! Do you want to start a war with two empires at the same time?" Jerome was also frightened by this plan.

"On the contrary, if we don't show toughness, we will put ourselves on the table of the two empires! Only by killing them can the empire be reborn!" The voice behind was still very low, but there was a hint of fanaticism. "Sincere"

"Madmen, you madmen! What bullshit freshmen, you are just a group of rebels who want to fish in troubled waters! Your target is His Majesty..." Jerome cursed with a ferocious face, and his voice suddenly stopped, because Feng Han's The dagger cut open his trachea, and blood spurted out. Under the opponent's strong arm, Jerome's struggle became weaker and weaker like a fish that landed on the beach, and finally there was no movement at all.

The city gate opened, and the defeated troops swarmed in (To be continued...)