"I want to hear your point of view."
Similar questions have occurred many times in the past.
Sometimes it's on the lawn of the manor, sometimes it's on the balcony of the mansion or in the study...
The most profound impression on Yerevan occurred in the palace of the Walter royal family. At that time, his father was waiting for Princess Sophia to meet, but suddenly he talked about the situation on the plateau over a map...
Both Old Zeke and Yerevan have long been accustomed to this form of dialogue. In the past few decades, similar questions and answers have never been less. Although Zeke Ernst is very old, his mind is very bright. Extremely flexible, conversations and discussions between father and son often start with a small topic, ranging from people's livelihood, to military affairs, and finally to nation and country.
At this time, Yerevan will be full of fear, jealousy and admiration for his father.
As far as he knew, among the nobles of Walter, few people could still maintain such terrifying sobriety and wisdom at such an age like his father.
However, death always lingers one step away from Old Zeke.
This feeling of being far away is really driving people crazy.
"good."
"Only those in power and their successors need to bear the pressure exerted by the association and the secrets of the family's past."
His eyes finally moved from the portrait of General Ludwig to the magic clock aside. Looking at the constantly beating hands, Zeke Ernst suddenly asked a question.
The last bullet was loaded into the cylinder, and Zeke Ernst pressed his fingers on the side of the pistol to reset the cylinder.
The wheelchair turned slowly, and under the gaze of General Ludwig, Zeke Ernst looked at his only son again.
The old man seemed to smile: "Very good."
Old Zeke responded softly, his eyes still fixed on the portrait of General Ludwig: "So, what do you think they should do now?"
His speaking speed was still very slow, but his tone began to become sharp: "Our ally, St. Steele in the north, was already in trouble before the war started. The crystallized mines they were proud of are now in trouble. It has become a hotbed of dissatisfaction and resistance. Without the support of the people, their logistics, transportation, and replenishment of troops will be challenged... And according to your approach, those farms and land on the Rowe Plateau are nothing more than another piece of crystallization. It’s just a mine.”
He looked at the son in front of him seriously and read out the prophecy that had been successfully passed to his ears word by word.
Old Zek looked at his child sadly: "Yerevan, the biggest mistake you have made is to regard a group of believers who place their hope in inhuman things as our masters... I'm afraid you won't You know? To this day, the association has still not been able to completely control the Ernst family, and the leaders of the past generations have never succumbed to their beliefs."
"Adjust the strategy, stop investment in business, and adjust the focus back to the land east of the Duolun River."
So Weilin also became alert. She held up the magic book, and her magic power jumped rapidly with her thoughts. She directly turned the thick magic book to a specific position for her, and a page was torn off with a crisp sound.
….
"A rebel will eventually become a tree-eating moth, and a rootless tree will sprout new shoots..."
"Very well, but how do you plan to use these lands to achieve a balance with the royal family?"
Yerevan expressed his thoughts: "Once the war breaks out completely, the country's demand for agriculture and logistical supplies will expand endlessly. Under such circumstances, the large farms and land in our hands will definitely become the most important One of the resources.”
In fact, Yerevan didn't want to have a long conversation with his father today, but when the question was thrown in front of him again, he still chose to give in.
Yerevan managed to gain some sense and sobriety from the predicament, and he argued hard: "The prophecies have never been wrong, and every person in power and successor will be screened and approved by the family's will!"
Old Zek didn't speak, so Yerevan answered
He said: "The pillar industries of most families have been transferred to the fields of business and new technologies, but I think these two fields are not as solid as imagined - the combination of steam and magic technology is about to face the most severe test. , and commerce will definitely suffer the most terrible impact in the war."
"So, Yerevan... do these opinions you mentioned come from yourself, or do they come from the association?"
He seemed to have become a stone sculpture staring at the portrait, breathing so slowly that it was difficult to notice.
The moment Shuge discovered that the stone statue of Ludwig Ernst on the bed had undergone obvious changes, he quickly raised his revolver rifle and pointed the muzzle directly at the open mouth of the stone statue. Wei Lin was startled by Xiuge's movements, but then she also felt a strange movement.
After hearing what Yerevan said, Zeke Ernst fell into a long test.
"Father?"
The fear of his father that was deeply rooted in his heart burst out at this moment. Yerevan instinctively wanted to retreat, but the old man in front of him gently twisted the sculpture on the top of the cane.
"I know those guys who live in Leyland better than you do. They are a bunch of greedy, arrogant pigs."
"So this time, old man, I am also going to take a gamble. Maybe those prophecies can also be used by ordinary people like me?"
"The Nova family and the Schwartz family control the kingdom's market, and the Schwartz family is mainly responsible for the import and export of livestock and grain... If we can further control import tariffs, we can effectively limit the amount of agricultural products imported. , then the royal family will definitely rely more on domestic land and output. At the same time, we can also reduce our presence in sensitive areas such as the military and commerce as much as possible, and this is the result that the royal family wants."
When he said this, the old man's tone was no different from usual, but Yerevan, who was standing behind him, felt an inexplicable coldness. He instinctively let go of the armrest of the wheelchair in front of him, and slightly He took half a step back.
What happened in front of Yerevan had completely exceeded his expectations, and the cold smile on the old man's face made his mind go blank.
"In fact, quite a few of today's topics are related to this. These topics were all added last night, so there was no time to notify everyone."
….
Yerevan stared at the pistol, and he saw his father slowly loading bullets into the cylinder.
Yerevan stared blankly ahead, his father's words turning his thoughts into a mess.
As he spoke, Zeke Ernst gently moved his fingers under the armrest of the wheelchair, and then a hidden secret compartment quietly opened. The old man stretched out his hand and took out a new-style rotating wheel from the secret compartment with some unfamiliarity. revolver and several rounds of ammunition.
He raised his head, as if he had finally lost his last patience with his child: "Perhaps you haven't realized that even the association itself has no way of controlling their so-called prophecies... Everything they did was just making things worse. The prophecy is just getting closer.”
"Um……"
"It seems that the people in the association did tell you a lot..."
The old man shook his head: "But I can tell you that the reason why the Ernst family's bloodline can continue to this day has never relied on those empty prophecies, but on the correct decisions and sacrifices made by every family member."
"The royal family is not a fool. Those giant-eared goblins can't hide any secrets at all. What's more, almost everyone knows that the goblins are just our gloves. Once they want to pursue the investigation in depth, a large number of people will be implicated or liquidated."
Just like a huge glass ball being smashed to the ground, the power that originally formed the whole was split into countless tiny individuals in an instant. Then Xiuge, who had always maintained the vision of the messenger in the mirror, saw, Something black came out of the mouth of the stone statue of General Ludwig.
…
He raised the corners of his mouth and tapped the top of his cane with his thin fingers.
"Princess Sophia is about to become a real princess, and her decisions will actually
It represents the attitude of the royal family. "
"Whether those ideas come from yourself or from the association, they are very good, very feasible, and the probability of achieving results is not low."
At this moment, Yerevan felt as if his heart stopped for half a beat.
Amidst a large number of rapidly flashing complex magic patterns, the thick pages of the "Snow and Rain Needle" imprinted with lake-level magic turned into powder on the spot. Following Wei Lin's light movements, a ray of ice-blue light was like a ribbon. She was "pulled" out of the darkness, and as Wei Lin's wrist shook, this solid magical light quickly wrapped around her wrist, looking mysterious and elegant.
With that said, Walter's three-clawed falcon raised its gun.
Amidst the crisp sound, the secret ritual carefully engraved and hidden in the wooden cane was successfully activated. An invisible magic chain bypassed the detection magic in the lounge and wrapped around Yerevan's body, fixing him in In situ.
"Perhaps at this moment, leaving Bolden and returning to the banks of the Doron River is what we should do best - those new steam equipment and improved alchemical fertilizers will surely be able to quickly transform those lands."
At this moment, Xiuge discovered that the originally weak and vague magic wave had undergone further changes. It became clearer and clearer, and gradually converged with the force he had encountered before. The next second , the magic wave suddenly began to split at an alarming speed.
….
Zeke Ernst said slowly: "However, you have not thought about these issues... In the following wars and turmoil, can our family, which is connected by blood, continue to exist? Can our country continue to exist? To survive?"
A few minutes passed, and the old man finally woke up from his thoughts. He breathed a long sigh of relief, and then said: "Yerevan, how many of the things you mentioned are already being done?"
"Answer my question, Yerevan."
In this dim room with almost no light, she caught a faint fluctuation of magic power, and its source was in this black stone statue.
In this secluded lounge, Yerevan whispered his opinion: "In the past hundred years, the kingdom's decision-making has always been biased in favor of the Leland nobles. This has made many people relax their vigilance. Many families All their properties are placed in the 'Leyland's Kiss', and the actions of the 5th Jäger Regiment yesterday had a great impact on them."
"Yerevan, guess who is the insect eating away at the tree? Is it the child you don't want to admit at all? Or is it actually you?"
"Because we hope that everyone in the family can forget the existence of that power. They should work hard for themselves and the survival of the family lineage... instead of pinning their hopes and energy on those prophecies and beliefs."
"Yerevan, since the association has told you about the family's will, you must also know that all the losers of the selection ceremony and those who leave midway will have their relevant memories completely erased by the family mage. You Do you know why we do this?"
His voice hit the ground in the lounge. For a moment, Yerevan almost thought that his father had completely fallen into madness, but in Zeke Ernst's eyes, all he could see was reason. and calm.
"Once they smell the smell of profit, they will definitely invest in it at all costs. Bolden's prosperity and development in recent years have fascinated your eyes... Children, have any of you really inspected the current kingdom? The farm?"
With these quiet words, the giant eagle carved out of the top of the cane seemed to have come to life. The old man's body was leaning steadily on the back of the wheelchair, but Yerevan clearly felt that the crumbling mountain seemed to be Two legs grew out and walked towards him unsteadily.
"No, father, this is not right!"
But he still answered truthfully: "They are all here."
"Of course, these things are no longer important to you now."
One, two...and then like a fountain, driven by an invisible force, countless black people with bodies only half the length of a finger
The colored rats spurted out from the open mouth of the stone figure. Their momentum was so fierce that they even hit the ceiling!
It started to rain in the room.
And it’s raining rats.
Even without the use of magic perception, just by sight, Xiuge knew that the number of rats he encountered this time was probably far greater than the last time!
Under this strong visual impact, Wei Lin's face turned pale, but she did not scream or run away. Instead, she started killing with the instinct of a spell caster. The "Rain and Snow" summoned by her "The Needle" is like a soft blade that is extremely flexible and has its own will. It quickly sweeps and spins around Weilin, killing all the black rats that try to get close to her.
(End of chapter)
Doctor Zero
