Otherworldly Apprentice Lich and Foot Knight

"I'm so glad to see you again, Master Nick." There are still ice crystals on McCree's goatee, and his face is probably a little stiff from the cold, which makes the smile on his face and even the tone of his speech become very weird, but When you hear him talk, you just know he's genuinely happy for this reunion.And the unhappiness before, after seeing this old friend again, suddenly dissipated a lot.

"Me too!" Zhou Lingke ran out from behind the table and hugged the old mage.No matter how sincere Price was in the conversation just now, it still couldn't change the bad taste of a politician in it. Even if McCree didn't come, he would find an excuse to run away. Now that McCree is here, he doesn't need it at all As an excuse, I can happily see off the guests directly.

Zhou Lingke gave Mike Rui a big hug, and this not-so-young mage smiled even more happily, and at the same time whispered in Zhou Lingke's ear: "You have a very good eye for choosing a partner."

The voice was very low, but Zhou Lingke was sure that Xia En's ears would be able to hear, even though he behaved normally.The words McCree said meant his acceptance of Shane.Although whether they accept it or not, the two travelers who live and die together don't care too much about it, but it also means that their resistance is smaller. What Zhou Lingke didn't expect was that McCree brought him an even bigger surprise next. .

"Lord Price." McCree seemed to know Price. He touched the ring on his left hand (it seems that it was also a storage ring), and took out a small scroll from it, "Her Majesty asked me to hand over For you."

"Your Majesty..."

"No, no, please don't open it here." McCree waved his hand.

Price quickly removed his hand that was already on the wax seal, hurriedly said goodbye to the people in the room, and left as quickly as possible.

"It seems that it really caused you a lot of trouble?"

"..." Zhou Lingke just smiled awkwardly, because he didn't know how to answer these words.

"Price is here, he told you all about Hodget's identity?"

"I know, Xia En is not yet." Zhou Lingke motioned for Mike Rui to sit down, but the only thing that could entertain him at this time was hot water.

"Then it just so happens that I can tell it from the beginning. I'm not very good at this kind of thing. If I don't tell it from the beginning, I might miss a lot of things." McCree took out the silver ball that Zhou Lingke was already familiar with, and set it up around the room. Protected.

It's basically the things of the Queen and Hodgett's status, but in addition to these past things, McCree also brought the present situation.

The king officially recognized Frank's identity and canonized him as the crown prince. Unless Frank also died within a short period of time, it was a foregone conclusion that he would become Mangtan's next monarch.However, the power struggle of Mangtan's upper class did not end because of this, but added more variables.Because everyone knows that the crown prince has not received the education that a prince should have, and he does not understand how to rule a country. The emergence of a regent has also become another necessity.

Both Prince Zoe and the Queen are vying for the titles of Prince Regent and Queen Mother Regent, with the Queen now having the support of the Church and the Prince with the support of officials.The queen is slightly weaker, so the queen is seeking help from the magicians.

"She sent Huo Jiete here, is it actually a kind of favor?" Zhou Lingke's expression was a little strange.

"I can tell from your expression now that he is really a big trouble." McCree smiled, "On the one hand, the queen does have the idea of ​​making him stay away from the vortex of power while getting merit, but on the other hand, he It’s a hostage here, too.”

"Can you change someone? You have received our letter, right?" The so-called letter was about the removal of the first clerk.Hearing this now, Zhou Lingke is not sure whether Mike Rui came here after receiving the letter, or if he didn't receive the letter and just came in the first place.

"I received it halfway, don't worry, why do you think I came here? Now I am your first clerk, Master Nick. This is really a happy thing!" McCree laughed Very happy, although he is more than twice the age of Zhou Lingke, in fact, this is the first time he has completely separated from his parents (Master Bolivi) and worked independently.

"Master McRae, may I ask... How was the battle at Blackstone Fort resolved?" Now the problem they are facing is almost resolved. Although Huojiete still has to stay here, Zhou Lingke's handling method That's enough—keep him an idler.But when things were relieved, Xia En began to consider other situations.We must know that when the political situation falls into chaos, there will often be many associated bad effects, especially those related to foreign wars.The place they are in is very remote, and Xia En and Zhou Lingke have never received any information about the final outcome of that war.You must know that victory on the battlefield does not necessarily mean victory off the battlefield.

"This matter..." McCree hesitated, but finally said with a smile, "I want to tell you that there is no problem. The teacher left for the Chika Empire shortly after you left. What we need is Tranquility, and Chika wants magic spar, so give it to them."

"Give it to them?" Zhou Lingke and Xia En exclaimed at the same time, the feeling that the enemy on the battlefield couldn't get it, but he gave it to him...it's really "subtle".

"When I first heard that the teacher made such a decision, I felt the same as you." McCreeha smiled, "It shows that we are all newcomers to politics."

McCree's explanation to Zhou Lingke and Xia En is also what Plavix once explained to him.

He did this, or Mangtan's upper management decided to do so. The first and most fundamental reason was that if Qika sent troops again, they would not be able to win.

Undoubtedly, they had won a brilliant victory at Blackstone Fort before, but the wall along the north gate of Blackstone Fort has now been destroyed by more than [-]%.Even if the Mangtan Beast can once again fight against two, it is impossible for it to defend the city walls full of loopholes, not to mention that there is a strict limit on the summoning time of the Beast.Especially since the current political situation in their country is indeed unstable.If Qika is angered, Mangtan will die a miserable death-this result is certain, after all, no matter how self-reliant and self-reliant, Mangtan is a small country.The country's background is there, and there is no way to be brave.

In addition, what Master Bolivi did was not to use reckless national interests in exchange for temporary peace.Qika wants the magic crystal, but there are several small countries between Qika and Mangtan, and more than half of them are its affiliated countries.It is impossible for Mangtan to become its own territory directly under its jurisdiction. This is an enclave of great value, but Qika finds it inconvenient in every way.Qika's original plan was to let Mangtan be divided equally between two small countries that were close to Chika. It doesn't even matter if Mangtan's royal family swears loyalty and allows Mangtan to continue to be ruled by the original royal family.

Qika's idea, even if Mang Tan hadn't investigated it beforehand, he could still have imagined it.But this is the difference between Western and Eastern concepts, because Zhou Lingke and Xia En are incomprehensible on the contrary, because if the other party thinks this way, why did they send the army instead of the negotiating envoy?They thought so, and they asked the same question.

"Oh! I forgot to say that the first thing you came into contact with was Mangtan, so you probably thought that other places are the same as Mangtan?"

"??"

"There is no enfeoffment system in Mangtan." Mark Rui continued to explain, "Other countries are enfeoffment systems. Every village has a lord (usually the lowest knight). The lord has a big lord, and the big lord has a duke. , the duke is above the super grand duke, or prince. The regimes of other countries have changed, even if one country completely occupies another country, but when you revisit the old place, you will find that the small village and the city used to be The current rulers are still the people from the old country. Because generally as long as the old owner’s family is dead and the new owner shows his strength, the nobles will swear allegiance to the new owner, and they may pay some fines, but Property and territory generally will not be affected."

"So...they thought it would be easier to kill Mangtan's royal family than to find an envoy to negotiate peace?" Zhou Lingke felt that he probably understood a little bit.

"That's what it means."

"But Mangtan's situation is different from other countries." Xia En also nodded, and Mangtan's fundamental system is different from those countries. The stable rule under this system reflects the Chinese proverb "Once the emperor, one man Courtier", Qika didn't understand this point, it can be said that they were doomed to stumble from the very beginning, but Zhou Lingke's appearance made the stumble even bigger.

"So, now we offer our allegiance, return the captives, and send the magic spar, and Qika will happily accept all of this. Mangtan is also safer, because we are both Qika's vassal state, and we It is impossible for neighboring countries to attack us without Chika's permission. What if Kados and Chika are related by marriage? The crown prince will always be the first in line of succession, not the king. We will have At least four to five years of peace, that's going to be very important and valuable."

The following things are more complicated. It is related to the political connection between the surrounding countries. Zhou Lingke and Xia En, two people who have just figured out the southeast, northwest, and north of the small town of Sopota, can understand it at once.

In short, the matter of Huojiete was resolved, and they had a very good, capable, and highly prestigious first clerk, and everyone was happy.

They had dinner with McCree that night, and after enjoying the delicious food, the mage went back to his room to rest early—the journey in the cold winter also made the mage full of fatigue. After a short rest, this kind of Instead of reducing fatigue, it became more obvious.

Therefore, he did not politely stop him, and said goodbye to Mike Rui, Zhou Lingke and Xia En returned to their room.

"Relieved?" Xia En hugged Zhou Lingke from behind.

"It would be even better if we could get rid of that unwelcome tenant."

"Don't overdo it." Shane smiled, "By the way, there is another big box in the room. Master McCree brought it to you?"

"Well, I was in a hurry when I came out, and I only had time to bring clothes and a few books." Master Bolivi was afraid that Zhou Lingke would be left behind with an excuse, so he acted very fast, and Zhou Lingke didn't even have time to tidy up his things. , "There should be the salute I left behind."

"Can I take a look?" Xia En was instantly full of curiosity, just as Zhou Lingke wanted to know how he lived in the army, he also wanted to know how Zhou Lingke lived among a group of magicians.

"Of course!" Zhou Lingke touched his body and took out a key.

When the box was opened, the first thing Sean saw was the book, that kind of thick tome, parchment paper, with a strange smell.There were also some Zhou Lingke's clothes in the box, but they only occupied a very corner. Compared with the neatly stacked secretary, they were pitifully few.

"What books are they?" Sean took out one by one, and then put the one that seemed to be read most often in his hand, and opened it to read.There's no name on the cover, and on the first page it says "magic" in plain letters, just a word.

"Basic books on magic." Zhou Lingke scratched his head, "I think these basic things are the most important for me, a mushroom."

"Mushroom? Why do you call yourself a mushroom?"

"Big name but small body." Zhou Lingke shrugged and explained seriously.

"Pfft!" Xia En laughed wildly while holding the book.

"By the way, there is still a novel here!" The alchemy in this world is very developed, but there is no printing, but it is not that no one has thought of it, but because printing is useless, because the paper here is like the ancient Western world. Made of sheepskin or cowhide through special tanning, it is extremely expensive.A special kind of leaf is used for wiping buttocks. Mangtan's children learn to write with a sand table.Although printing can be printed in large quantities, there is not so much paper for it to be printed, so all books are still copied by hand. It should be said that each book is a unique copy, "very interesting!"

Two people, wrapped in blankets, pulled the cushions off the chairs, sat on the floor, and read a novel by an oil lamp.This made them all vaguely realize the feeling of watching a horror movie in the middle of the night with the lights off and candles in their hands, until someone knocked on their door suddenly.

"Lord Mayor! A snowstorm is coming! We need you to declare everyone to evacuate!"

"Boom!" Just as this person finished speaking, the wooden window of their room suddenly opened, and large groups of snowflakes poured in from outside the window, instantly taking away all the light and temperature in the room.