After a week of long journey, Rhodes finally arrived at Wolfenburg, the capital of the Oster Territory. Unlike other cities on the plains, Wolfenburg is a fortress built on a high mountain.
Surrounded by tall stone walls and defense towers, the forest surrounding the castle has been cleared completely to be used for farmland reclamation. At the same time, it is also to clear open space so that the line of sight can cover every inch of the surrounding land. When an enemy attacks,
At this time, the guards on the tower can be seen immediately. This is a typical castle defense practice.
However, it is not appropriate to call it a castle. Because Wolfenburg has now developed into a large city with a population of tens of thousands. Many buildings have already penetrated the city wall and were built on the outside. At the foot of the mountain and halfway up the mountain
, are all densely packed houses. This is the origin of many cities. They slowly developed from castles and eventually turned into cities.
This can't help but remind Rhodes of his birthplace - Black Hammer Castle. Back then, Black Hammer Castle was just a small border fortress. After nearly ten years of development, it has now become half a city, but it is still unable to reconcile with the evil spirits.
Comparable to Lungrad or Wolfenberg in front of you.
"Sir, we are here. Please wait for a moment at the city gate, and I will inform the great lord."
The envoy stopped the convoy and walked respectfully to Rhodes. Rhodes nodded, and then the envoy rode into the city with two guards.
A few minutes later, under the reception of the envoy and his party, Rhodes and Aliria slowly walked into the city. Bustling crowds, motorcades, and crowds crowded the streets. Even the temperature was a few higher than outside the city.
The scene in front of him made Rhodes feel more friendly. This is what human society should be like, rather than the wasteland north of Kislev or further north, filled with deathly silence and cold. Here, people come
People go by, and the breath of life lingers around them. In the whole of Kislev, only the rebuilt port of Oerengrad has such an atmosphere.
Walking at a slow pace, squeezing through the busy streets, half an hour later, the team arrived at the central city of Wolfenburg, where the residence and office of the great lord, Imperial Elector Maximian were located.
At this time, the Elector himself was already waiting at the castle gate.
Maximian had a smile on his face. He was not physically strong, but he was in good spirits. Rhodes noticed that the guard beside him was wearing heavy plate armor, holding a round shield and battle ax, and his helmet was a black horn helmet.
Under the sunlight, it reflects a shrill metallic luster. This should be the famous Bull Guard. Most of the forces in the old world have their own most powerful troops, such as the Bull Guard of Osterland and Kislev.
The Krem Guards, the Rick Guards of the Rick Territory, and so on. The captains or legion commanders of these elite troops often also have a very high status. Therefore, when leaving Kislev City, Rhodes took the position of Captain of the Krem Guards.
He handed it over to his loyal knight Virgil.
"Lord Rhodes, we haven't seen each other for a long time. I have heard about the experience of you and your men in the north. Come on, come in and chat. I have prepared a dinner..."
After saying the word "dinner", Aliria's thin lips twitched, and her cold eyes showed her boredom. This made Maximian look embarrassed. If it weren't for the fact that she was the emperor's savior,
For his own sake, he would definitely drive her out of the castle. However, the wood elf had a special status after all, and she also brought a group of empire elites - Rick Guards. Rhodes stepped forward and patted Maximian's hand.
shoulder, smiling and following the old lord into the castle to relieve the embarrassment.
…
When Rhodes and his entourage entered the castle, Maximian personally entertained them. He originally did not plan to discuss matters at the banquet, but sat down to talk to Rhodes in detail before the banquet started, and discussed the official matters.
After finishing the meal, this is the style that Rhodes likes. One thing is to say, do things without procrastination. Seeing this scene, Aliria put down her arrogance and indifference a little. She walked over, sat next to Rhodes, and stared at
The leader of the Oster Territory, the Imperial Elector Maximian von Taznik, was on the main seat.
"Lord Rhodes, please allow me to call you a friend. I have heard about the experiences of you and your men. The frost dragon cannot be defeated by anyone. Being able to do this is indeed a legend."
As soon as he sat down, Maximian began to talk about his views and opinions. It can be seen that unlike those imperial nobles, as a great lord, he firmly believed in those deeds and what happened in the northern peninsula.
Rhodes suspected that the imperial elector would take him so seriously, which is also related to this matter. The frost dragon has reappeared in the world, and the Norscan barbarians are active. Anyone who studies history will know that all of this is
A sign that Chaos is active. Rhodes believes that as an elector, Maximian must have more knowledge than ordinary people. The reason why the legend becomes a legend is not because it is fictional, but because generations of people have not seen it.
I have passed it, so I no longer believe it...
"Actually, I didn't kill the ice dragon by myself. Aliria also helped a lot. Without her, my men and I couldn't kill the dragon. She helped us hold down the beast.
, helped us buy time.”
After Rhodes finished speaking, he looked at the wood elf beside him. There was still no expression on Aliria's fair face, but it could be felt that she acquiesced in Rhodes' statement. Otherwise, with her temper and personality, she would have refuted it on the spot.
.
"I believe the invasion of northern barbarians is real."
Maximian got to the point.
"This is also something I hope to discuss with you."
The high lord continued.
Rhodes frowned. What bargaining chips does Kislev have to negotiate cooperation with the Empire? With border conflicts and empty national power, Rhodes had no hope of negotiating a treaty of equal cooperation with the Empire.
"Lord Rhodes, my friend, although we belong to different countries, we live in the same world, and the entire continent is connected together. Two hundred years ago, the Chaos invasion was between the Empire and Keith
Rif joined forces to save the world. Today, we still have such a relationship. When you build the Great Wall, you are not only building a barrier for Kislev, but also building a barrier for the empire. Therefore, I will definitely support it. But...
…”
Maximian paused for a moment——
"However, the defense line is not only on land, the threat from the sea cannot be underestimated. As you said, if the Norscans really invade from the sea, then Port Noden, as well as those living in coastal towns and villages
People will no longer be at peace."
"We need to cooperate, Lord Rhodes, and the Oster Territory will contribute strength, engineering personnel, financial resources, and materials to the Northern Great Wall. Likewise, I hope that the people of Kislev and the Oster Territory will also guard the coastal defense line."
After Maximian finished speaking, Rhodes suddenly realized. This old guy actually has other plans. There is no pie falling from the sky, not to mention that people like the Elector will never be a philanthropist. Kislev
The original navy was not strong, but because of the civil war, the former Queen Catalina invested treasury resources into naval construction, allowing Olengrad to have a large-scale gunboat fleet. The original purpose was to protect the city of Olengrad.
Unable to be broken by the northern coalition forces, this team has now become the most powerful maritime army in the Gulf of Kislev.
Rhodes saw that Maximian took a fancy to this power. If Kislev's navy assisted in defense, he could develop the northern coastal territories of the Oster Territory. These lands are high-quality resources.
The vast plains are not only conducive to the development of agriculture and animal husbandry, but are also a place of convenient transportation. In the past, there was no development because of the threat of the Norse tribe from the north, who would plunder south from time to time, and the entire year's harvest was burned down.
Now, if there are neighboring navies to assist in defense, it would be a good choice to develop production and accumulate strength while developing one's own naval power. Rhodes knows that the maritime power of the Oster Territory is not strong, and this imperial province
The overall strength is not rich either. The truly wealthy provinces and territories of the empire are all in the west, from Marienburg to the capital Altdorf, and then to the industrial town of Nunn in the south. That area is where the empire is truly wealthy.