Imperial Crown.

Chapter 279 Unpredictable
Many thanks to Qidian Dad [Book Friend 20170610093211508] for the 5000 reward!

……

In the Eagle City living room, Nancy was sitting on a chair, holding a handkerchief in both hands, her brows slightly furrowed.

Just then, the door opened, Jenny came in and stood at the door, and then Gul'dan walked in.

Nancy stood up and saw Gul'dan's dejected look. Her expression became a little complicated. She took a deep breath and said, "Sit down."

Gul'dan looked at his sister, sat down on the chair, lowered his head, spread his ten fingers together, and stared at his palms in a daze.

"Did you see the news?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah." Gul'dan nodded.

After this sentence was said, the atmosphere fell silent again for a while.

"I'm sorry, Shaq is a very cute kid..." Nancy tried to bring up the topic again, but she realized it was inappropriate as soon as she opened her mouth.

Shek is Gul'dan's child, and mentioning it at this time is undoubtedly like rubbing salt into the wound.

But Nancy couldn't find any other common topics. Apart from their blood relationship, the two had almost no interactions.

On the day Gul'dan arrived, not only he but Nancy also collapsed. Now that the relationship between the two has returned to rationality, it is inevitable that they feel a little awkward when they are in the same room.

Nancy knew she had said the wrong thing and began to explain: "That's not what I meant, it's just..."

"I know, Nancy, I know." Gul'dan waved his hand. "Although it may not be appropriate, the Fox family has come to this end. 60% of the responsibility lies with my father, and 40% is mine. It has nothing to do with you."

After falling from the clouds into the mud, Gul'dan thought a lot after the pain. Many things that he could not understand, could not see, or deliberately avoided seeing before were now stuffed in front of him.

He has now guessed who was the mastermind behind the family's downfall, and also knows why the family suffered such a disaster. Looking back, many things could have been avoided.

Regret filled his heart. If he could go back to the past, he would definitely prevent many of Montreal's decisions.

But regret is useless, he must face the future.

Gul'dan suddenly said: "This is Eagle City."

"Right, so you can stay here safely."

"No, that's not what I meant. I was saying, does Raven know that you asked me to come here?"

"Ah? Oh, of course, I discussed it with him."

Gul'dan breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew how much trouble his identity would bring. If Nancy met him without permission, Raven would inevitably be suspicious and disgusted with her.

He already had no future, and he didn't want to drag down his only relative.

"Since you knew I was coming." Gul'dan rubbed his hands and asked, "What does Raven mean?"

"He said he respects your decision," said Nancy.

In the past, Gul'dan might not be able to taste the taste of it, or he might be able to detect it but would definitely be furious.

It was a threat, a warning.

If he made a decision that satisfied Raven, he would certainly respect it. If not...

But now, Gul'dan was even a little grateful to Revan, because it meant that Revan gave him choices, and his choices were not many.

"The destruction of my family is inevitable." Gul'dan took a deep breath and used all his strength to finish his words calmly: "So, from now on, I plan to stay in Raven's territory, change my appearance, and live with a brand new identity."

"There are always people who covet the heads of Fox family members, but no one cares about a farmer in the borderland."

"There will be no more Gul'dan in the world."

Nancy was a little surprised. She didn't expect that someone as proud as Gul'dan would choose this kind of future. "You don't have to farm. I can ask Raven to give you a knighthood, or you can become a businessman?"

"Thank you, sister." Gul'dan smiled on his pale face. He stood up and walked out: "But... it's not necessary."

Looking at Gul'dan's back, Nancy opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Gul'dan paused at the door. "Take care of yourself."

"Of course, Raven has always been very nice to me." Nancy said.

"Really? Then I'm relieved." Gul'dan smiled, waved his hand, and left the door.

at the same time.

In Anno's Witch Academy, Raven was walking side by side with her.

It was a warm spring day, the sun slanting down on the ground, the mottled shadows of the trees swaying in the breeze, the shadows rustling on the flat grass.

Raven's perspective quietly shifted to Anno's face.

It's strange to say, although Annuo's appearance is so extraordinary, Raven finds it difficult to remember her face when he recalls her. Only when he meets her again will that amazing feeling come back.

Noticing Raven's gaze, Anno smiled slightly: "Baron Raven, if you don't look at the road ahead, it's easy to fall."

"That's okay. After all, I'm walking with you." Raven retracted his gaze: "Even if you fall, I can help you stand up."

"Some roads can only be walked by yourself." An Nuo shook his head and said, "I can only give you some advice, but I will not be your crutch."

Raven shrugged. "Well, then can the honorable Divine Blood Witch Ms. Anno give me some guidance?"

An Nuo asked: "For example?"

Lei Wen was just chatting along the lines of the topic, but when he heard these words, his mind became active.

Anno's divination had left a very deep impression on him.

After careful consideration, Raven asked, "Anno, who do you think will win in this war between the Empire and Insa?"

Those who do not consider the overall situation are not qualified to plan for a single region. The course of the war will inevitably affect the entire empire, and thus affect the Nordic province of which it is a part.

An Nuo said, "If everything can be predicted, how can there be war in the world?"

"I hate answering questions with questions." Raven sighed, but he also knew what Anno meant.

If the outcome of a war could be clearly predicted, wouldn't it be nice if we could just ask two prophets to sit together and determine the winners and losers based on the divination results?
Hearing Raven's complaint, Anno smiled and said, "But I would like to know, as a noble, Baron Raven, what do you think the war will go like?"

Raven frowned and said seriously, "I am just a noble living in a remote corner of the empire. I don't even know the situation on the front line. How can I predict the trend of the war?"

Having said that, Raven began to think seriously.

The map of Middles Continent that I had seen before came to my mind again.

This war took place in the northeastern part of the empire bordering Insa, with the unknown variable of the Fitun city-states nearby.

Its origin lies in the magic crystal mine in the city of Majik. If the Empire chooses to defend and wait for Insa to attack, and both sides are prepared, then with the advantage of geographical location, the Empire will have a greater chance of winning.

But the problem is that the empire chose to take the initiative to attack, which makes it difficult to say what will happen.

Military strength, logistics, commanders' on-the-spot judgment, and even local terrain, climate, and weather can have unpredictable effects on the outcome of a war.

Thinking of this, Raven shook his head gently, clearing his mind of excessive thoughts.

Just as he said before, he knew nothing about the situation on the front line. He only knew that the empire was commanded by Duke Ferdinand, and he didn't even know who the opponent's commander was. If he wanted to judge the direction, he could only start from the big picture.

"Is this a difficult question?" An Nuo suddenly asked. "It is indeed somewhat so." Raven was aroused by his competitive spirit: "But now I am gradually thinking it through."

An Nuo was a little curious: "Oh? Then what conclusion did you come to?"

"The Empire will win." Raven began to analyze in an orderly manner: "The Empire occupies the most fertile land in the continent, Middle-earth. Whether it is financial resources, manpower, or logistical supply capabilities, they are much greater than Insa, and wars are fought with financial resources."

"What's more, the city of Majik is still in the hands of the Empire. Its output can be exchanged for the help of the Mage Guild. Although the Mage Guild never directly participates in the war, various materials, including powerful weapons such as the Magic Crystal Cannon, can be continuously provided to the Empire."

An Nuo did not comment and asked, "So according to you, Insa has no choice but to fail?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, yes." Raven said.

"But that doesn't mean this war will be smooth sailing."

"Although I don't know much about Insa, I know that they have been fighting the Dwarf Kingdom in the northeast of the continent. This is a very effective way to train troops. On the other hand, the Empire has not had a major war in recent years."

"So in the early stages of the war, the Imperial Army, the Extraordinary, and the commanders will inevitably suffer some losses due to their lack of war experience. However, our strong national strength is our advantage. Once we survive the most difficult period, the continuous replenishment of troops and the gradual increase in experience will make up for all the losses we suffered before."

"That's why I said that the Empire will win."

After hearing this, Annuo smiled playfully and nodded slowly.

Raven was a little puzzled: "Is there something wrong with my judgment?"

"No, not really. It's a very logical judgment." An Nuo chuckled and said, "But you have to know that many times, the world may not operate according to logic."

A trace of doubt crept into Raven's heart. Could it be that Annuo had already predicted the result, or knew some information that he didn't know?

"The Empire will lose?" Raven asked.

An Nuo did not answer directly, but stroked her hair gently: "The goddess of fate is always abominable. She will occasionally lift the hem of her skirt to show a little bit of the scenery under the skirt. When you think you can see clearly, she will run away mischievously."

Without waiting for Raven to ask, An Nuo said, "We have arrived at the Demonic Field. I hate the smell here, so I won't keep you company any longer."

As he said this, he swayed and returned to the academy.

Raven shook his head and sighed. An Nuo's words were just like her, like flowers in the fog, but it was hard to see clearly.

Focusing his attention on what is in front of him, the thick green plant in front of Raven that looked like smoke was exactly the first-level magic plant, the Twin Snake Face Fruit.

Now, after a reversion to their ancestral form, these calf-high magical plants are more like their names, with their rhizomes resembling snake bodies and their branches resembling snake necks.

The snake head fruit is green like green orange, while the snake tongue fruit is pink like cherry.

Seven months have passed since the last harvest and this batch is about to mature.

Some of the fruits harvested last time were made into seeds with the help of Petty. Now there are a total of 702 twin snake-faced fruits in this magic field.

Last year, 1933 snakehead fruits were harvested, of which 400 were used for seed production.

When this batch matures, based on a yield of 3.5 fruits per plant, Raven will have about 4000 snake head fruits, equivalent to a one-time poison cloud spell, and an equal amount of snake tongue fruits for detoxification.

If all goes well, this number will swell to around 6600 by the end of the year.

"Hmm..." Raven rubbed his nose and took out a handkerchief from his pocket to cover his mouth and nose.

As the twin snake fruits successfully reverted to their original form and approached maturity, they began to emit an odor similar to a mixture of onions and green peppers, but three to five times stronger. It was pungent and eye-irritating, so it was no wonder that An Nuo was unwilling to stay here any longer.

But Raven still walked around the yard patiently, observing the growth of these magic plants. After making sure that no one was spying nearby, he took out the magic cores and replenished them with elements using the Eye of Truth.

After doing all this, it was already noon and Raven did not stay in the academy for long.

Before leaving, Raven asked Annuo to take care of the magic field where the twin snake-faced fruits were planted.

A locust plague is about to come. If they are eaten by locusts, Raven’s hard work over the past two years will be wasted.

Riding Xiaobai, who had grown to the size of a horse, back to Eagle City, Raven and Nancy had lunch together.

Nancy took just two bites of food, put down her knife and fork, and stared at Raven intently.

Noticing Nancy's gaze, Raven felt a little uncomfortable and wiped his lips with a silk scarf: "Is there something on my face?"

"No, nothing." Nancy pursed her lips and stared into Raven's eyes: "I just want to say something about Gul'dan, thank you..."

Raven was slightly stunned, then held her soft little hand: "It's nothing, we are a family, aren't we?"

"Yeah!" Nancy nodded vigorously and held Raven's hand tightly with her backhand.

After dealing with Gul'dan's matter, Nancy seemed to have let go of her worries. Over the next period of time, she slowly regained her former vitality and began to organize social activities that had been interrupted for a long time.

Spring passed quickly, and the cicadas' calls replaced those of the cicadas, becoming the lingering melody in people's ears, making the hot summer even more unbearable.

Because from the heavy rain in March until the end of June, a full four months, there was not a drop of rain in the entire Nord province.

Serfs had to carry water on their shoulders and in their hands to bring it to the fields.

The width of Liujing River has been greatly reduced, the riverbed is exposed, and the narrowest part is less than 5 meters.

On this day, Raven was enjoying the cool air in his study, thinking about whether he should organize people to build some canals, when he heard a slightly forceful knock on the door.

"Come in!"

The door opened and Hoyaz, dressed in leather armor, walked in. His hair was stuck to his forehead and the fuzz on his chin was matted together by sweat.

As an orphan who was personally mentored by Raven and one of the first people to obtain the Wind King title, Hoyaz once raised funds at the orphanage with Banks and Lennon and carved a "Father's Sword" for Raven.

Now that the Wind King is growing into adulthood, Hoyaz has officially joined the flight brigade and is responsible for monitoring possible locust movements.

Although extremely tired, Hojaz still straightened his back, put his left hand on his thigh, beat his chest with his right hand, and gave an impeccable military salute:

"Father!"

"I was patrolling in Essex County before and noticed some strange movements, so I explored a little further to the south."

"Locust swarms have appeared in Hampshire!"

Raven was stunned: "Hampshire, are you sure?"

"Confirmed!" Hoyaz took off the cloth bag from his waist and placed it in front of Raven: "These are the locusts I caught myself."

Raven untied the bag and a strong smell of grass hit him in the face. The black cat Sikoret, which was lying on the table, let out a cry of disgust and jumped onto the windowsill.

"Is this a locust?" Raven's pupils shrank slightly.

Right inside the bag lay the bodies of three insects.

With its round head, prominent compound eyes, fat belly, short and wide wings, and thick, serrated thighs, it undoubtedly looks like a locust.

But each bug is the size of a fist!

It is no exaggeration to say that these three are enough to stir-fry a dish.

Although Hampshire is also adjacent to the province of Molinier, there is a mountain range between it and Molinier. The fact that locusts appeared there means that there is probably no clean land in the border area between the province of Nord and Molinier.

"Well done, you get the credit this time!" Raven said, but he didn't look at Hoyaz. Instead, he immediately contacted Denise through the Sky Eagle platform.

"The scale of the locust plague has exceeded expectations. Return to Eagle Territory immediately!"

……

(End of this chapter)