This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

At Dick's prompting, Dongfeng Wuxi used her ability to launch a "ranged attack" on the monster. The spear that suddenly extended easily pierced through the monster's body from more than ten meters away, and then with a gentle horizontal thrust, the spear cut the monster's body in half like a hot knife cutting butter.

As a master of marksmanship, Dong Ma's movements are steady and precise. Her simple thrusts are like a sudden storm, and combined with her own temperament, she can make even killing elegant. The wielding of the gun brings with it a swift and cold glint, making it impossible for anyone to see her movements.

In just over ten seconds, Dong Ma single-handedly cleared out the enemies on the left, while Dick's speed was only slightly slower. He instantly unleashed several lightning spells, using a dense electric net to electrocute all the monsters attacking from the other side into a pile of smoking charcoal.

Although he has reached the Saint rank, Dick still prioritizes casting speed when using magic in combat. He is accustomed to using basic magic of various elements to gain the upper hand first. With his current mental strength and the secret hard training he has undergone over the past ten years, he can instantly cast more than a dozen low-level spells at the same time.

As the saying goes, in martial arts, speed is the only way to break through. Many mages will be defeated unexpectedly by warriors who are one or even two levels lower than them, simply because they are not fast enough.

The attackers were clearly setting up an ambush using the same tactics as those used against mages. More than a dozen monster eggs were activated simultaneously, launching an attack from all directions in an attempt to quickly close the distance and catch the attackers off guard.

However, when faced with Dick, the "fully automatic magic bullet shooter," the old tricks were destined to fail.

Seeing that the attack was easily dealt with by the lord and the East Instructor, the guards were at a loss and suddenly felt that they were useless and had almost been reduced to just cheering atmosphere.

On a hillside a few hundred meters from the attack site, the three elven assassins stared at the fleeting horde of monsters, exchanging bewildered glances, feeling a lump in their throats, unsure of what to say.

The three were survivors of the previous Tree Sea Elf Assassin Group. After escaping the pursuit, the two older elves knew that they had no chance of completing the mission on their own, so they prepared to give up. However, the younger elf refused to admit defeat and wanted to use the dozen or so alien beast eggs they had to try one more time to assassinate Dick himself.

If these dozen or so alien beast eggs had been launched within the main city, they could have orchestrated a highly successful terrorist attack, causing numerous casualties in a short period. However, the elves' inherent stubbornness led them to want to regain their lost face, so they stubbornly chose the "most valuable target."

The three of them carefully lay in wait in the area for several days, secretly monitoring the movements of the castle. As a result, they finally got a suitable opportunity to make their move.

They discovered that Dick had only taken a small number of guards with him when he left the city, so they followed him and laid an ambush on the way, planning to launch a surprise attack when Dick returned to the city.

However, they clearly overestimated themselves and underestimated their opponents.

Seeing that the assassination attempt had failed, the three elves were filled with despair and were about to retreat when, just as they turned around, a gust of wind came from behind them. A strangely shaped spear flew past the short elf's scalp, and the force of the wind generated by the spear created a sonic boom. The explosive shockwave was like a thunderclap exploding close to their ears, knocking the three unlucky men off their feet.

The overturned elf rolled more than a dozen times before finally stopping after crashing into a large tree. Thanks to her high-level warrior physique, she withstood the blow, but the intense tinnitus almost made her deaf. Looking up at the spot where they had just stood, the tip of the spear was stuck in the ground, while the shaft extended hundreds of meters away.

In other words, this shot wasn't thrown, but rather "stabbed" directly!?

"What the hell! Is this a divine artifact?"

Before the elven assassins could even grasp the situation, the spear suddenly began to shorten. Dongfeng Wuxi arrived almost instantly, and Dick followed in mid-air, unleashing his Saint-level aura, which he rarely displayed. The oppressive feeling, seemingly acting directly on the soul, made it incredibly difficult for the three elven assassins to even breathe.

Dick looked down at the three of them with a sunny and cheerful smile on his face.

"You three, now that you're here, don't rush off!"

Chapter 221: I need to make more friends

Faced with a powerful opponent they were powerless to confront head-on, the three elves reacted differently. One of the smaller elves tried to put up a fight, but Dongfeng Wuxi easily knocked him to the ground with a single blow from her spear, though not killing him. The other two abandoned their companion without hesitation and turned to run, but no matter how fast their legs moved, they couldn't outrun Dick's magic.

For Dick, the three-person attack was just a routine incident. With his current reputation, there were countless people who wanted to kill him, some because of conflicts of interest, some because of national or personal grudges, and some simply because they wanted to become famous.

With the intelligence agencies now guarding Dick, they have no shortage of punching bags to practice on; they're practically coming one after another.

However, compared to those insignificant figures, the attack by these three was of a certain caliber. Those dozen or so alien beast eggs were not something that ordinary assassins could easily produce.

So Dick deliberately spared their lives, at least to ask them a question as a sign of respect.

"You three, are you the ones who escaped from those tree spirits a while ago? Quite loyal! Even in this situation, you still didn't give up on the mission. It's a pity... that's all your skill level can offer."

Faced with Dick's open mockery, the two elves who had tried to escape remained dejected. The smaller one, however, who had been pinned to the ground by Dongfeng Wuxi's gun, seemed defiant, forcefully raising his head and hurling insults at Dick in Elvish with a heavy southern accent. Dick's Elvish was mediocre; his dialect was almost incomprehensible, but judging from his expression, the insults were quite vulgar.

Soon, Ayane arrived at the scene with the other guards. They used ropes and gags (to prevent tongue biting and for occasional personal use) to tie the three of them up like dumplings, preparing to take them back to Tia for interrogation.

Forget-Me-Not has gradually developed a very complete mechanism for dealing with assassins and spies arrested within its borders.

Due to limited conditions in the early days, except for a very few prisoners with certain "collectible value" who were fortunate enough to live in the castle dungeon, the rest of the prisoners were basically executed secretly after interrogation.

Because assassins and spies are unlike ordinary criminals, they usually possess excellent escape skills. Throwing such people into labor camps would likely result in their escape, and they might even incite riots among the prisoners.

Since it cannot be released, the only option is to carry out "harmless disposal".

But now, Lagug has established a special prison for high-risk prisoners, directly managed by Tia. Arrested assassins and spies are sent here for necessary interrogation and screening. Tia will select those with weak wills, turn them against the enemy, and then infiltrate them into the enemy ranks.

It's worth noting that it's not just hostile forces that are "planting spies" in Lagug; even some allies within the Northern Alliance secretly send spies there. They may not necessarily intend to do anything to Dick, but rather they fear that Dick might do something to them on a whim!

Back in the main city, Dick had the three newly captured prisoners sent to Tia, and then summoned Paul, the representative of the Emerald Crown Duchy in Lagug, wanting to ask him some questions.

Paul stayed with the first group of three thousand elven immigrants after they arrived in Ragug. The two sides could be considered to have established diplomatic relations, but in name, they were not countries, but territories.

Today, Laguge can no longer just focus on farming and development; it also needs to engage in diplomacy to ensure that it always has more friends than enemies. The "Negotiation Group" under the Chamber of Commerce is specifically for this purpose, except that it cannot be called diplomats; it must be called "representatives" to the outside world.

Dick didn't know much about the three elven duchies, as they were all quite far from his location, spanning most of the empire. Furthermore, Dick didn't feel a sense of belonging to this race simply because he had a quarter elven blood; deep down, he still considered himself human.

But as Ragug progressed, he no longer actively sought out elves, yet elves continued to come to him.

The Emerald Crown Duchy, which proactively sought refuge, is undoubtedly a quasi-ally at this stage, and relations between the two sides are quite good; the work on the second batch of immigrants has already been put on the agenda. However, the Tree Sea Duchy has clearly shown hostility; their Grand Duke has been flirting with the Dead Tree Party, and his ambition makes it impossible for him to be willing to get along peacefully with Dick.

So only the Xihe Duchy remains, and their attitude is still unclear.

According to Dick, the main ethnic group of the Principality of Creek River is the grassland elves. They mainly live in the southern grasslands and are also known as dark elves because of their naturally wheat-colored skin.

During the Elven Dynasty, the proud elves not only looked down on other races, but also divided themselves into different classes. The grassland elves, due to their skin color and economic status, were at the very bottom of this discriminatory hierarchy, their living conditions comparable to those of Northern Ireland under British rule, and they even faced the tragic situation of being excommunicated as elves.

Therefore, at the end of the dynasty, seeing the Holy Kingdom in turmoil, the grassland elves, who had almost no loyalty to the Holy Kingdom, chose to remain where they were.

I watched the civil war break out, and when the humans came, I knelt down!

They were also the first branch of the Elves to establish an independent kingdom after the fall of the Elven Dynasty, even earlier than the pragmatic Emerald Crown, showing that they had shown signs of independence long ago.

Dick felt that, given the current situation, he should make some contact with the Principality of Creek River, but rumors said they were very xenophobic and always maintained neutrality, keeping their distance from any power. So it wouldn't be appropriate for him to go directly to them; he needed a middleman who could speak on his behalf.

The Dead Tree Party is now stirring up trouble from within and without. They hide themselves and don't participate, but they incite elves from other factions to cause them trouble. The losses they cause are not huge, but they are really annoying.

Moreover, this incident made Dick realize that his opponent was changing tactics, evolving from assassinations targeting him personally to terrorist attacks against ordinary people. After all, ordinary people in the lower and middle classes did not have the Saint-level strength and a group of powerful guards like him.

Paul, who was summoned, immediately understood. Lagug had recently captured a group of tree sea elves, and Paul had been specially invited to observe the interrogation. When he learned that these fellow elves had come to escalate the conflict, just to stir up trouble for their Emerald Crown immigrants, Paul was both shocked and furious, hurling insults at those self-proclaimed noble fellows for not being elves.

"Don't worry, I will personally handle the negotiations with the stream and river. Due to historical reasons, the grassland elves despise the Dead Tree Party and would never associate with those old-timers."

Paul patted his chest and made a guarantee. He immediately went back to pack his bags and prepared to return to the south. Dick also wrote a personal letter and asked him to pass it on to the Duke of Creek River to convey his goodwill and intention to cooperate.

The grassland spirits are highly skilled at herding and possess a magical ability to communicate with animals. They also produce many highly qualified veterinarians. If Laguge wants to develop its animal husbandry industry, it can recruit talent from them.

Chapter 222: Brothers, Brothers

Winter passed and spring arrived. This winter in Lagug was generally peaceful, with only sporadic small groups of orcs crossing the border; there was no large-scale invasion like last year. Meanwhile, their industrial zone successfully began operations, mass-producing various light and heavy industrial goods to boost local productivity and improve the living standards of the people.

It's hard to imagine that until two and a half years ago, Laguge was an extremely backward and cold place, even by northern standards. It couldn't be self-sufficient in food, the people were extremely poor, bandits and outlaws were everywhere, and even the main city of the territory was a cesspool flowing with excrement and urine!

There were hardly any blacksmiths in the entire territory, let alone any industry to develop.

But just two and a half years after Dick arrived, Lagog's industry and agriculture experienced a leap forward. Lagog's corn seeds, improved farm tools, and (corn) syrup were very popular throughout the northern region, and light industrial products such as cloth and soap were sold as far south as possible.

In the past, merchants from all walks of life would bring goods from elsewhere to sell here. They could easily exchange some very low-quality junk for furs, gems, and herbs from the locals—"local specialties" that could be sold at high prices in developed areas—and make huge profits from the price difference.

Many merchants made a fortune but still put on a "take it or leave it" attitude, and didn't even take Dick, who was then the governor, seriously.

These businessmen have become much more obedient now, finally realizing who's in charge!

As long as they can adopt the right attitude, Dick is happy to make money peacefully and let everyone earn money together.

After the start of spring, military reforms targeting the private armies in the territory were carried out simultaneously with spring planting. The number of standing troops in Lagug has now expanded to five thousand, and this is only the publicly stated number.

Each of the sixty-three standard villages within the territory has a 100-man garrison and a non-combat militia of 500-600 men. The former are already better equipped and trained than many old-style noble private armies, while the militia serves as a reserve force, allowing as many able-bodied young men as possible to receive paramilitary training without affecting local production.

In the event of a large-scale war, Dick could assemble an army of 20,000 within 4 hours and arm half of the able-bodied men in his territory within a week.

However, even this level of improvement wasn't enough for Dick.

Just as Dick was methodically implementing a new round of military reforms, two major pieces of news came from the south. First, the imperial family officially declared war on the southern countries, dispatching 150,000 elite imperial guards to the border and recruiting 250,000 local armed forces from the southern lords. After combining their forces, they claimed to have a million-strong army, vowing to completely reclaim the Turquoise Valley, a disputed area.

However, the outbreak of war was expected. There were signs as early as last year. The southern part of the empire is adjacent to the subtropical region. Spring plowing begins in early February, and the busy farming season is largely over by mid-April. It is the perfect time to send troops to fight.

It's worth mentioning that the supreme commander of the Imperial Army this time is none other than the Third Prince Bailey, who gave Dick a free draw back in the capital.

After the sudden death of the eldest prince, Wales, Bailey, as the only surviving adult prince, has always been considered the only candidate to become the new crown prince. Even Bailey himself felt that this was a foregone conclusion, so he began to take action long ago, recruiting talents in the capital and taking in many of the eldest prince's former staff.

However, things have dragged on until now, and the old emperor Hessen VII has not mentioned the matter of establishing a crown prince. Bailey appears calm on the surface, but in reality, he is getting more and more anxious. Until this time, when the capital announced that the old emperor had appointed the third prince as the commander-in-chief of the imperial army in the south, Bailey was overjoyed. He felt that this was definitely going to be a sure thing. The old emperor must want him to win a great victory and then make him the crown prince.

When Dick received the news, 400,000 Imperial troops had already crossed the Line of Actual Control in a grand procession. Such a large-scale military mobilization could not have gone unnoticed by the southern countries, who must have been prepared for it. This battle was destined to be fierce, but given the outcome, it was too early to make any predictions.

Another piece of news was that the capital had dispatched an inspection team to the north, with Prince Heinz replacing the elderly emperor and the young fifth prince to inspect the northern border.

This marks the first time in eight years that the empire has dispatched an inspection team to the northern border. The team was originally scheduled to arrive in the autumn of the year before last, but the eldest prince died en route, causing the matter to be dropped.

Perhaps the imperial central government also felt that it had been too inhumane last year, choosing to turn a blind eye to the suffering in the north, providing neither reinforcements nor relief supplies. The northerners had to rely solely on their own strength to withstand the orc invasion, and they must harbor resentment towards the central government.

Therefore, this mission brought quite a lot of things. It was announced in advance that the mission would represent the Emperor to bestow due honors and rewards upon the loyal and brave men of the North, and incidentally deal with some territorial issues.

After the Winter War ended, some noble families in the fiefdoms were exterminated by the orcs, and their direct relatives were slaughtered. Even if some collateral relatives were lucky enough to survive, they still needed the royal family's approval to inherit the territory. Therefore, the inspection team came here specifically to deal with this matter.

In addition, local powerful figures like Dick, who distinguished themselves in the war, would usually be granted titles, with those who could be promoted receiving a higher rank, and those who could not be promoted receiving some land.

In short, it seems that the higher-ups wanted to use "belated love" to gain the understanding of the northerners, and everyone just let the matter rest.

But are scars really that easy to erase? Dick doesn't think so.

Regardless, the delegation was already on its way, and unlike the Crown Prince, Prince Heinz, who was fond of sightseeing and sleeping with the wives and daughters of local nobles, was leading the delegation. The entire delegation was genuinely on its way, heading directly north with a clear purpose. According to the news Dick received yesterday, the delegation had already landed in the Marquisate of Ulen four days ago, and if they were moving quickly enough, they might already be crossing the Central Mountain Range by now.

Dick himself did not want to contact the Central Committee, nor did he want people from the Central Committee to come to the North at this time.

It should be noted that although Dick did not openly advocate for division after the Winter War, he made full use of the disloyalty of the northern people to the Empire, established the Northern Union, a military alliance, and instilled the idea of ​​"northern autonomy" in the hearts of many people.

Dick had no loyalty to the Empire whatsoever. Like many Earthlings who were forcibly summoned, he lacked a sense of belonging to this corrupt empire that hadn't even figured out how to operate a feudal system.

However, even if Dick harbored rebellious intentions, it was far from the time to turn against them. So Dick couldn't help but ponder how to deal with this delegation in a way that would allow them to make a wasted trip without any direct conflict.

Meanwhile, in the Central Mountains, the grand central delegation had arrived at the pass fortress. The fortress commander personally led his generals to the gate to welcome the Prince's arrival.

At the very front of the procession, Prince Heinz, with his black hair and vertical pupils, rode a tall and mighty Nightmare, also known as the "Black Unicorn" in folklore. Unlike the lecherous White Unicorn who only loved virgins, the Nightmare only obeyed those stronger or of higher bloodlines. Prince Heinz, being a sub-dragon with dragon blood, was able to gain the Nightmare's approval.

Facing the group of fortress garrison officers who bowed to him, Heinz simply nodded slightly, then looked into the distance with anticipation in his eyes.

"brother……"

Chapter 223: A Play

The northern border of the empire has always been synonymous with "poverty and backwardness." After all, in ancient times, due to its harsh climate, it had been used as a place of exile by the empire. Unless they were truly desperate, ordinary people would rather sell themselves into slavery and beg in the south than risk their lives to become settlers in the north.

Therefore, over time, the development of the empire became extremely unbalanced between the north and south. The wealthy in the south looked down on the poor in the north, and the court nobles who controlled the government ignored the political demands of the northerners for a long time. They were even unwilling to provide relief when the north was invaded by orcs.

Ultimately, the main reason is that the northern forces are too weak. The south completely outclasses the northern forces in terms of population, technology, and economy. This makes the officials in the capital very confident. They believe that the north cannot cause trouble, and even if it does, they can easily suppress it. So why do they care about these northern bumpkins?

Of course! One can't say what's on one's mind openly; on the surface, one has to put on a show. Therefore, the capital specially dispatched an inspection team to the north to offer condolences, intending to silence the northern nobles with some flashy but impractical rewards.

Most of the officials in the mission were not very enthusiastic, because in their view, this was an absolutely arduous task.

As they traveled from south to north, they could clearly feel that the further they got from the capital, the worse the living conditions became. In particular, after the group passed the pass of the Central Mountain Range, the sudden drop in temperature made these pampered southerners complain bitterly, and the desolate scenery dampened their hopes of making a quick buck.

The entire northern region is known for its harsh and cold climate. The counts and viscounts here are not necessarily as wealthy as some of the small merchants in the empire, so they probably can't afford to arrange any decent hospitality for these nobles from the capital.

The group continued their journey north with a sense of unease, as if they were visiting a grave. Only Prince Heinz, as the head of the delegation, remained enthusiastic, pulling the guide arranged by the fortress commander to introduce him to the local customs and culture of the north, as well as the war that had swept across the northern border the previous year.

The battle was generally referred to as the "Winter War" in the northern regions, while newspapers in the capital city commonly called it the "War Between Man and Beast," which caused quite a stir at the time.

However, the shock was only temporary. The higher-ups simply read the message but didn't reply, the wealthy and powerful were indifferent, and the common people were powerless to help. In the end, the northerners themselves resolved the problem.

The guide was from the north and had personally experienced that catastrophe. He barely escaped to the pass fortress after a near-death experience. Although he survived, he was conscripted by the fortress garrison during the orc siege.

When the orcs were mentioned, the guide couldn't help but show a hint of fear in his eyes just by uttering the word. However, he said that he had only participated in the fierce battle for the pass, so he had only heard about the Battle of Niehe and the Northern Alliance Expedition on other fronts and did not know the specific details.

"Your Highness, if you are interested, why not go to Lagug and meet Earl Best? He is the greatest mage in the North, and he spearheaded the formation of the Northern Alliance."

"Lagug? I am indeed planning to go and take a look."

However, the group had not gone far when they encountered a troop of light cavalry on the main road. They were carrying the banners of Lagug and the insignia of messengers. As they passed the delegation, the leading knight quickly slowed down and stopped, glanced at the imperial insignia hanging on the delegation's banners, and asked them a question.

"Gentlemen, are you from the capital? If you intend to continue north, I advise you to turn back or head east towards Marquis Richard's territory."

What happened to the north?

"It's orcs. Those bastards are back again. They've gathered tens of thousands of them on the other side of the fjord. They could attack at any moment. I've been ordered to send out the message so everyone can prepare."

After the knight finished speaking, he rode off towards the pass without stopping, clearly to deliver the message. The members of the delegation who received the news were immediately thrown into chaos.

Despite the fact that the entire delegation consisted of more than two hundred people, including a hundred-strong Royal Guard and several top-notch experts dedicated to protecting Prince Heinz, the guards might not be able to protect everyone in the face of a large group of orcs. How could they not be afraid?

Many officials had attended gladiatorial games in the capital. To maximize the sensory stimulation of bloodshed and violence, the arena often required orc gladiators to devour their opponents on the ring after winning a duel. The officials enjoyed this grotesque spectacle, but this didn't mean they were willing to face the terrifying cannibalistic orcs and become their prey.

So before the prince could speak, a group of accompanying officials hurriedly stepped forward to advise him, saying that the prince was of great importance and it was really not appropriate for him to put himself in danger. In any case, there was no rush to inspect the northern border, and they could go to a safer place first, such as the Marquis of Richard's territory, which was a good choice.

Looking at these bureaucrats who were trying their best to hide their inner fear, Prince Heinz smiled without saying a word. However, after thinking about it, he agreed to their wishes and led the team eastward first. Then he glanced meaningfully to the north.

With numerous messengers issuing urgent notices, news of the orc attack quickly spread, causing panic once again throughout the north. Fortunately, the alert level was only raised, and unlike last year, there was no large-scale exodus due to panic.