From the southern part of the west coast, from the incident that Monroe encountered to the encounter in Thoradin's Highlands, and then why Henry decided to go to the south, this series of things, until this moment, as the sage himself spoke in a calm tone Come on, Mira finally understands.
Together with this incident, the girl also understood why Henry was Henry.
She was also there, the journey was completed by two people, and the Luoan girl also experienced all this personally. But she is far from being able to connect the details and outline the overall situation like a sage to speculate on the undercurrents behind it. This opponent was invisible to Mira, and the young Prince Edward was only vaguely aware of it. Henry was the only one, and after just one brief confrontation, he connected with what had happened before and deduced the whole situation.
Time returned to the beginning of the conversation. When all relevant people were seated, the sage began to narrate unhurriedly in Lamani:
"During the Lamanite schism hundreds of years ago, the defeated Lamanite noble branch left behind the fire of civilization along the way westward, and also left behind the faith of the White Church." He took a sip of spruce tea, After a pause, he continued: "Although the Sivaliya people always think that they are the people with the most inheritance from the Lamanite Empire, and they try their best to imitate the original Lamanites in various aspects of life and even religion, but in fact The church and the bishop of Sivalier are more like their nobles and merchants than true religious people."
"They have no faith, they just use faith as a weapon to fight each other." Henry put down the tea cup, and then continued: "Although similar things have happened countless times in the more than one thousand years of the White Church's history, at least in those At that time, there were still some stupid but devout people who sincerely believed in it. In contrast, the bishop and even the archbishop of Sivalier just regarded it as an alternative title."
The sage said so, and Edward and Isabel, who were deeply aware of Shivalier's situation, nodded silently. After the death of Philip II, the people who made the most fuss in Cervalier and those who wanted to compete for the empty throne were the clergy who appeared to be helping the world and saving people. In a country where the white church belief is very common, the "divine right of kings" " is a concept deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. If the king's enthronement is not solemnized by a bishop, it cannot be truly legitimate. It is closely related to their own interests. If they can control the next generation of kings, the status and quality of life of these clergy will naturally increase.
——This is also the reason why Isabel fled to Avenella, but even if she took refuge in this reliable cousin, she could only hide in the northern area of Avenella under Edward's control all day long, knowing that this Her Highness the Princess only has a very small number of confidants here.
Edward did all this without the knowledge of Ashberon II. The reason is very simple: as the only legitimate heir to the throne of Sivalier, Isabel is a princess, and Ashbourne II has a strong influence on Sivalier. The throne is coveted again. Avenella, who is now allied with Otolo amid the civil strife in Sivalier, has also seen her status rise. The relationship between high and low status in the past has now been reversed, and the best person to obtain the right to inherit the throne of a kingdom is The way is marriage.
Even though there was an age difference of more than forty years, Ahiberne II would not care to marry his niece. Edward knew this, so he hid Isabel in a place he could control to avoid the storm. In addition to a certain degree of chivalry, if his father married his cousin, after obtaining this orthodox title, Edward would no longer be able to resist the order and not move towards Sivalier. Send troops.
After all, Ashbern II is still patient so far because he does not have a reliable chess piece in his hand. In addition, with a large group of people in Sivalier who are eyeing Isabel, the princess can only stay in the nest at the moment. You can't move a step here.
——Returning to the original point, Henry continued on the subject of Sivalier: "So compared to the Sivaliers who are good at intrigues, the place where the White Church has real influence on the west coast is probably in the north of Thoradin. ." He said: "Although they are always at war with each other and are a mess of small countries like many other places on the west coast, these countries in the north of Thoradin all have this in common."
"As the language of the church, Lamani is the common language of the intellectual class in the northern region of Thoradin. Just as the nobles of Avenela speak the same Sivalier language as the Sivaliers, northern Thoradin The top church officials and nobles in the region have more in common with the Lamanites." Henry took another sip of spruce tea: "Many of them even have Lamanite blood, and are known as Lamanites. People think for themselves.”
"" Henry's words made Edward, who was not stupid, frown deeply. He thought of something, but then Henry changed the subject and said another seemingly unrelated thing: "His Royal Highness the Prince knows , is there a place called Monroe in the south of the west coast?" The sage said, and Edward frowned deeply, and Henry then reminded: "It is the dukedom of a small kingdom called Crant - —”
"Ah! There are many people who escaped from Avenella there." This keyword finally made Edward raise his eyebrows. There are so many countries on the west coast, so His Royal Highness only knows some of the larger kingdoms and Lamanite history. It is almost a matter of course that people like this do not know a small country far in the south - after all, some so-called kingdoms actually only have a population of tens of thousands and the territory of a region of Avenella.
Unless he had something to do with Avenella, he might not even remember the name.
"Well." Henry took another sip of spruce tea, and then continued: "It died."
"Not only the dukedom, but the entire country was destroyed, and other surrounding countries were also severely affected." The sage said, they also witnessed it from a distance on their way back to Avenella, not to mention the Klan. Especially the entire Five Kingdoms region is now in a mess, and this influence is still expanding under the impetus of some kind of force - Edward frowned, and his respect for Henry made it impossible for His Highness the Prince to do what others might do. He asked like: "Why are you bringing this up now? This kind of thing happens every day on the West Coast——", but even without asking, Edward's question was conveyed to Henry through his expression.
"We were there at the time. The initial reason for all this was that the Duke's son signed a contract with a high-level devil." He put down the tea cup, and these words immediately made Edward's expression become more serious: "High-level devil Devil? Sir, are you serious?"
"Well, it controlled the Duke's son in turn and killed both the Duke and the Lady. The demon hounds that followed spread to various places, which must have caused great panic." Henry said this, and Edward Then he immediately said: "But a high-level demon, that's not——"
"It requires an extremely powerful wizard and professional knowledge to be able to contact it. Ordinary people have no way to achieve all this easily. You want to say this, right." Henry put down the teacup in his hand, then turned his head and looked around Situation: "This is indeed true. It is not such a simple matter for ordinary people to be able to get in touch with powerful higher demons without anyone's secret help."
He obviously had something in his words, but he continued to speak before Edward asked Henry. So His Royal Highness, like everyone else, just continued to listen quietly: "Then we came to the Thoradin area and encountered some things," the sage said There was silence for a while, and Mingna, who was sitting next to Mira, noticed that the girl who was like her sister was a little depressed, and reached out to hold her.
"Thank you," the white-haired Luoan girl leaned against her and said softly, and the sage changed the topic and asked Edward a question.
"Does Your Highness the Prince still remember the disaster that Wavasika suffered before?" He said this, and Edward nodded matter-of-factly: "Sir, do you want to say that the Padrosi people were behind this incident? I know it. They will definitely not settle down, but what’s the point of doing this?”
"It just plunged the Five Kingdoms region into chaos and internal strife - ah -" Edward connected with what Henry had said before and immediately reacted and looked at him in shock.
"Could it be -" The expression on his face became quite complicated, changing for a long time but he couldn't say a word. Henry nodded and continued: "You guessed it right."
"The art of political struggle among the Lamanites far exceeds that of you or the emperor of Otolo. The accumulation of history over thousands of years means that all they need is a great genius to see clearly the rest of the situation. It's just a matter of course." Henry drank the last sip of spruce tea, and then continued: "It is not the time to have a head-on conflict with the Otolo Empire. Both sides are holding back, and Otolo should have already had considerable strength. There is no time for war with the Lamanite countries such as Rumanatol in the south."
"Both the two great empires are in a state of reticence, but compared to the slightly immature Otolo people, the Lamanites are just like the proverb, 'The essence of Lamanite civilization lies in the underground rivers'," They always make lots of tricks where you can't see them." Henry looked at Edward seriously and said word by word: "The nobles from the Lamanites in the religious countries north of Thoradin have always longed to return to the land of their ancestors. Although the struggle between the White Church and the Yetinas still exists in the homeland where they live, in the final analysis the struggle between them is just a civil war among the Lamanites.”
"This expectation and the commonality that is not irreconcilable in religion but actually still exists. All it takes is a wise and noble Padrosi noble to notice this and go to Thoradin, and everything will be completed smoothly. ." Henry said seriously, while Edward and everyone else listened carefully: "Speaking a common language, believing in a common god, and even having a common history, these countries in the north of Thoradin saw Padre When the high-ranking nobles from the Rossi Empire came, not giving him a warm welcome would have been quite restrained."
"And that's not all, we also encountered many new religious knights there, new knights led by young knights from low backgrounds who are usually neglected - the same is true for knights, Presumably the same is true for the top leaders of the religion - does this remind you of something, Your Highness the Prince?" Henry said, and Edward nodded: "Reuse the neglected collaterals and cultivate confidants."
"Yes, they are doing the same thing as you. Any change of government will inevitably involve this step. The original religious personnel in Thoradin who still have longing for the birthplace of Lamani civilization on the east coast are Lingpa It was a port through which the Derosi people could intervene, but these cunning guys were not easy to exploit, so after they took root firmly, they were quickly eliminated and replaced with low-level people who were originally discriminated against and neglected, and they were trained to become absolute confidant."
"Using the common belief in the White Church to closely connect the originally divided northern countries of Thoradin."
"As for what this has to do with the Monroe incident? Who is the person with the most professional knowledge related to demons? The White Church, which has been fighting against them for thousands of years, would not dare to say that it is the first. After being persecuted by demons and causing the entire country and region to fall into chaos, the unified northern Thoradin became an entire religious country. Its extremely powerful religious army marched towards the Five Kingdoms region in the name of eradicating demons, and it was also with absolute justice. The name will be welcomed by the people along the way with their food, pots and pulp, right?"
"The only ones left are the weak and barren small kingdoms in the barren Ridela Wetland area that are always at war with each other. Once this unstoppable army unified under the banner of fanatical religion continues to conquer this wetland to the north." Henry paused There was a pause, and all the people who had successfully constructed a blueprint of power under his words were stunned as they listened to the sage spit out those words one by one: "They arrived at Avenella's Doorstep."
"The Padrosi people have no way to conquer Avenella. They won't do it openly because of the threat of Otolo, so they use religion as a weapon and play politics to assemble the army in a place that you can't see. He has carved out a niche for himself on the West Coast.”
"This threat is terrible, Your Highness, because it is so close." "Pa-" Edward slumped down on the chair. He was sweating profusely just by describing the scene in his mind. With his forehead pressed, he couldn't say a word for a while.
"I originally thought that Mr. brought only good news, but I didn't expect it." Edward rubbed his messy blond hair, because the original radiant image no longer existed on him because he hadn't gone to take care of it for a long time.
"What a formidable enemy Padrosi, who is a person with such scheming and skill-"
"Royal family." Henry gave the answer simply and clearly: "Paderosi's royal family, people of the Seksiyutu family." He said, and Edward raised his head with wide eyes: "Seksiyutu Picture, that's not Mr.——" The sage raised two fingers to stop his next words, then shook his head and continued: "It should be the same as the original attempt to cause a second round of conflict between Avenella and Silvalier. The same person who directed the attack on Wawasika."
He said this, and Mingna, who also understood a lot of Laman language, immediately frowned at the side.
"I don't know when another genius like this was born in Padrosi, and this is what worries me." Henry said, this is the first time he has used the word "worry" in so long , so anyone who is a little familiar with the Sage can clearly understand the seriousness of the matter.
"There is no shortage of talented people in the world, but those who are talented and know how to play tricks are not well-known. This proves that this person knows how to protect himself from a very early age."
"Just like poisonous snakes, the most terrifying enemies are those who hide in places where you can't see them and are waiting for an opportunity to attack -" Henry said: "But fortunately we are not without countermeasures, but this requires you, Your Highness. Go take action.”
"First of all, when I was doing all this, I had contact with a family from the Southern City-State Alliance. Your Highness the Prince must also know that the most important thing for those businessmen is profit, and as someone who has just signed a covenant with Otolo, The Grigori Gap is a prosperous trade route and a country rich in mineral resources. If Avenella had not been single-handedly controlled by the Sivaliers before, it would still be difficult to intervene in the country in the south. Businessmen would also want to get involved."
"So that's it -" Edward nodded: "I will write to them right now. The skill and business operation ability of the people from the south are exactly what Avenella needs urgently at the moment. Then -" His Royal Highness the Prince turned his head. Looking at Lina next to Mira, even though the white-haired Luoan girl explained, the princess still looked confused and didn't know what the situation was.
"Are the countermeasures you are talking about referring to the exiled Luoan people in the country? Indeed, if they, who are already good at fighting, can come under the command of Avenella, they will not only solve a series of problems caused by the rogue bandits, but also be able to Afterwards, the threat from the south greatly enhanced our country's national strength, but -" Edward glanced at Lina, and then at the blond lady sitting next to her and Mira, who seemed a little hesitant, and our Mr. Sage He spoke again at the right time: "Ah - I didn't want you to do that."
"The proud Luoan people will not accept a princess who becomes a vassal of the royal family of Avenella. Even if His Highness the Prince marries Princess Lina, they will not buy it."
"Uh" Edward was stunned for a moment, his expression was worried but also a little relaxed: "So what do you mean, sir?"
"No one stipulates that a country can only have one royal family."
He was as sharp as ever. Edward instantly understood what Henry was trying to do, and after translating all this to Lena, Mira was also stunned.
She turned her head and stared blankly at her teacher. Her Royal Highness the Luoan Princess next to her didn't finally react until this moment.
"Luoan is a proud nation. What they have been seeking for so many years in exile is a place to return to. But if they just get a peaceful life as a vassal, there will not be so many people after the conquest of Otolo. I chose to leave my hometown.”
"What they need is glory and self-esteem as human beings. Your Highness, give them what you once gave to the people of Avenella."
"Give them their dignity as human beings and let them understand that there is still a country in the world that is willing to accept them."
"Let this become another hometown for Luoan people."
"If you do all this, the rewards these warriors who once swore to fight against the Otolo Empire will never disappoint you." He said this, with a hint of laughter at the end of his mouth. Smile: "Just look at them and you will know."
Henry said, while Edward turned his head and looked at the two Luoan girls who had clearly experienced pain but whose stubborn expressions belonged to Luoan remained undiminished. After a period of silence, they stood up.
"Here comes -" he shouted loudly, and the guard not far from the door heard the sound and ran over and opened the door.
"Saddle my horse."
"Uh, where are you going, Your Highness?" Some of the guards who couldn't react subconsciously asked.
"Go south."
"Meet my father." Edward's tone was calm and his expression was firm.
