Civilization Guardian Front

Chios waggled his index finger from side to side, expressing disapproval of the chief knight's statement.

"The Duke of Miche is located in the north of the alliance of nobles. Thinking about it, the Duke of Oludana must not want to divide his troops to take care of the rear when he needs to concentrate his forces and confront the archbishop. If His Royal Highness Medina is sincere, If he does not show hostility, or even reveals his intention to join the noble alliance, he has no reason to urgently resolve the threat. In the eyes of you insiders, Her Highness Medina has already made a choice, but in the eyes of Duke Oludana, the secret The faction affiliation of the Duchy of Xie is just the most reasonable judgment based on intelligence."

"Imagine another situation. Suppose Her Highness Medina has not yet decided to join the archbishop, and she came to the central capital purely for the purpose of strengthening her personal prestige, but she was ambushed and killed by the noble alliance on the way back, and she was under the protection of personal guards. After escaping, what will you think of the noble alliance?"

"This is one of the possibilities Duke Oludana needs to consider after receiving the letter."

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

The degree of control over the direct-controlled territories and personnel, including courtiers and vassals, basically determines the strength of a nobleman.

The resources and troops that can be mobilized by the same title may vary greatly depending on the length of the rule and personal ability of the holder.

Even with the legal right to rule a place, taxes still had to be collected through officials, and the army still had to be led by knights.

How to ensure the loyalty of his subordinates and not to lie to himself is a compulsory lifelong lesson for every lord.

Otherwise, even if you stare at the books and official documents day and night, you will not be able to substantially improve any problems.

Especially a new successor like Medina.

She is still figuring out the secrets of governance, and she can't even guarantee whether the tax revenue can maintain last year's level, let alone gather vassals to form an army to compete with the noble alliance whose strength is several times her own.

It is undoubtedly unwise to turn against Duke Oludana now.

On the contrary, you should take advantage of the growing tension between the archbishop's support faction and the noble alliance, and the two sides will send more troops to defend the south, so as to buy yourself more time to familiarize yourself with domestic affairs.

Joining a faction does not mean that you have to give up your diplomatic flexibility immediately.

Considering that the Duke of Michigan is different from other nobles who joined the archbishop's side, the territory does not border any allies, and it is difficult to obtain reinforcements at all times, and there is no reason to act recklessly.

Chios speaks eloquently...

Medina, who was taught a lesson not long ago, listened very seriously.

In order to avoid forgetting afterwards, she even took out a notepad to record the key points.

Facing this weird scene, Lyfa couldn't help turning her head, and asked Asuna in a low voice:

"Who is the nobleman..."

"Used to it."

Asuna stared forward with out-of-focus eyes that were indifferent to everything, and her tone was unusually calm.

"It's going to be a hard day to be surprised by everything about teachers."

"..."

It seems to make sense.

"It's good that you have this kind of mentality. After all, it's not uncommon for a Supreme Master of the Knights Templar branch to have more things."

Hearing Ryan's words inadvertently, Alice's attention was immediately attracted.

"Templar, Grand Master? What's that?"

"Well, how should I say~"

Ren held his chin in deep thought.

"It's a bit similar to the Knights Templar that Alice's sister belongs to, except that it has branches in many countries. Brother Chios once managed a branch of a country before, and was awarded the title of "Supreme Master". In terms of identity , is very close to sister Alice. "

"...he never mentioned it."

"Sister Alice, don't be angry with your big brother, okay?" Ryan put on a pitiful expression, shook the hem of Alice's armor with her little hand, and began to behave:

"When the Knights Templar joined the club, it was stipulated that members should not share the secrets of the organization with anyone. Although the Knights are no longer there, it is not easy for the big brother to change the habits of many years. Besides, the big brother has lost the past. With everything I have, I am definitely embarrassed to take the initiative to bring this up."

"Well, I see."

Alice responded with a smile.

She is not angry at all.

Because, after listening to Ryan's explanation, she can be sure that what Chios said to Selka at the beginning, now it seems that it is just a lie fabricated to please her sister.

Why did Chios want to have a good relationship with Selka?

The answer is of course...

"Sister Alice, why do you seem very happy?"

"Yes, yes? It must be your illusion!"

Alice immediately scrunched up her face.

Not noticing it at all, Ren's eyes flashed with a look of success.

...

After staying in the Earl's mansion until the evening, after having a not-so-luxurious but rich enough dinner, Chios took his leave.

Before returning to the hotel, he found an excuse to separate from the team members.

"teacher..."

Asuna called him suddenly.

"?" Chios turned his head and found that the other party's eyes were dodging, and he seemed hesitant to speak.

"What's wrong, Asuna?"

"It's...it's okay, you should come back early."

He obviously didn't mention any ambiguous words, but his cheeks were flushed, and his demeanor couldn't help becoming awkward.

Oh...

Chios understood.

So he replied:

"Don't worry, I'll be back by midnight."

"Um."

The fingers gripping the left wrist relaxed slightly, and Asuna nodded as if relieved.

?

The companions were puzzled.

Look back at the direction where the youth is.

However, the figure of Chios has long gone.

After half an hour...

In the "Four Knuckles" tavern in Xicheng District, Chios, who occupied a corner table by himself and just drank his sixth glass of beer, finally waited for Ryan and Sharon.

"I kept you waiting."

"I'm sorry, big brother, it took a while to slip out."

"Never mind, just order a drink and find a seat."

Chios summoned the waitress, handed the empty ceramic cup to the other party, said "one more cup", and gestured to the two people next to him.

After ordering their favorite drinks, the two executors took the vacant seats on both sides of Chios.

A blue glow suddenly lit up on the opposite side...

The light spots formed by the condensed blue magic power converged, outlining the graceful figure of a woman.

The customers and waiters in the tavern were unaware of such an eye-catching supernatural phenomenon and did not respond.

Most likely, it blocked the perception of others in advance, or manipulated the light so that its projection can only be seen by specific people.

The woman sitting on the opposite chair raised her feet gracefully, staring at Chios with a pair of purple eyes.

"How did you feel after meeting the Archbishop?"

"Feel the deep malice of your apostles."

"Hehe~"

Vita held up the folding fan to shield her lips from the sweet laughter.

"It was Liana's idea, and she said that although you will complain afterwards, at least you won't regret it."

"..."

"Liana should be the person who knows you best besides Your Highness and Sister Tifa?"

"indeed."

Chios had to admit.

At this time...

"Sorry to bother, here's your drink order."

The waitresses who came and went brought drinks.

Even standing at the table, she was still unaware of Vita's presence.

But if you look closely, you will find that the movement of her handing out the wine glass avoids the empty space very naturally, as if she thinks there is something there.

Consciousness interference can achieve such delicate control...

Chios admired him.

Take a sip from your own wine glass and wait until the waitress leaves.

"The archbishop is very strong, stronger than me and Ryan before the weakening of the soul. Fortunately, her current affection for me has not lost control, and she can communicate rationally."

"If Sister Tifa is here, she might not be able to bear it..." Vita continued to ask:

"Are you confident to take it?"

"At this stage, it's hard to say who will win."

Hearing this, Weita frowned.

Ren and Sharon couldn't hide their surprise.

"Big brother, are you going to change your mind?"

"Oh, oh, I can't explain to Miss Tifa now..."

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

"Don't jump to conclusions."

Snapped!Snapped!

Chios flicked his index finger, and flicked two walnuts on the snack plate into the mouth of his colleague, one on the left and one on the right.

umm~

kaz kaz...

The two were busy chewing and swallowing walnuts, unable to speak for a while.

"What I want to express is that the gap in strength and status has made me very passive. The archbishop can decide how to treat me according to his preferences, but I have to protect myself and the overall situation. Many times I have to choose to tolerate or even Catering, this is a very unfavorable situation in terms of getting along with each other."

"This is also one of the reasons why you don't want to be canonized, and you ask yourself to be dispatched to Oludana?"

"Yes, if you want to maintain your independence without being affected, keeping a distance is the easiest and most effective way..." Chios admitted that Weita was right.

He took a sip of the slightly bitter beer, which smelled faintly of elderflower.

"I need time to develop my influence and let the archbishop realize that I am not a toy to be manipulated by her. Oludana City is a good place, and the volunteers there are not like our "players" who are almost all novice, There are many veterans with excellent qualifications or many years of combat experience that are worth recruiting. "

"It will take at least half a year for the first batch of players to grow up. If you want a quick battle group, going to Oludana City is indeed a better choice."

Ryan picked up the ceramic cup and found a hair of unknown origin floating on the surface of the light brown mead, and immediately lost interest in tasting it.

She put the glass down and gently pushed it aside.

"However, are we really going to help the Archbishop deal with the nobles? Or is this just an excuse to confuse her and buy time?"

"Based on the current situation..." Sharon continued: