"Lord Leon, I swear... that was really Igor himself..."
Fother and Granlong looked at each other, their voices visibly trembling.
"I can swear that I really killed him..."
Li Ang frowned and thought for a while, then turned to Granlong and asked, "You just said... he went to prepare the contract? When can he come to Changhe Town again?"
"If nothing unexpected happens, he will come in two or three days... After all, we dare not attack the king without seeing the indemnity contract first..."
Granlong answered quickly. He also saw Leon's expression and realized that Igor should be really dead. In this incomprehensible situation, he seemed quite cooperative.
"Well, regardless of whether Igor is dead or alive, we must catch him anyway..."
Li Ang thought for a while, looked back at the broken pieces of fishing net on the ground behind him, and asked, "Granlong, where is the king's seal?"
"Sir Leon...if I hand over the king's seal, I'm afraid I'll die, right?"
When asked about this, Granlong was not so cooperative. He looked at Li Ang and shook his head: "I want to live..."
"Sigh...Hand over the golden seal, and I promise to give you a chance to live."
Leon sighed. He really didn't want to kill Granlong - there was no hatred or grudge between them. Granlong himself had never done anything against the law of nature, nor had he harmed Leon. There was no need to kill him.
"Lord Leon, I know what my crime is. That's why I have never admitted it and will try every possible way to make up for it... It's not that I don't believe you, I just don't believe that there is any other way for me to survive..."
Granlong smiled bitterly and still shook his head.
"Since you knew the crime, why did you dare to use the king's authority?"
Li Ang replied unhappily.
"Before, Fother planned to eliminate all the hidden dangers in Lion Lake City. In order to save my life, I had to leave Lion Lake City. I had no choice but to trick Lord Godric into giving me Changhe Town. After all, the Lion Lake City Flag Guard could not follow a wanderer, and if I lost this unit, I would definitely die... So I had to find a base. Using the king's seal to control the king's direct territory was my only choice at the time, and I could also have the opportunity to return to Lion Lake City... Fother was willing to exchange territory with me..."
Granlon did not seem to regret his decision, but he looked at Fotherg in the middle of his speech.
Fothert also sighed beside him, "He didn't lie. Of course I'm happy to exchange Lion Lake City for Changhe Town. After all, I've been an administrator here for so long... and at that time I had to surrender to Ursula. I knew that this would likely lead to an attack from the Kingdom of Crow Stern, and it would be safer in Changhe Town. I just didn't expect the Crow Stern army to come so quickly, and I didn't expect that bastard Kaedren asked us to negotiate at Eagle Claw Castle just to trick us over to stop the enemy! I've called him uncle for twenty years!"
Fawcett was indeed caught by Grandron after he held Alma's funeral in Long River Town.
The two reached a consensus in Changhe Town and discussed a deal. Fothert exchanged Lion Lake City for Changhe Town in Granlong's hands.
For Granlong, this could solve the problem of his usurping the king's seal to defraud the city - Granlong would give the golden seal to Fothert, and Fothert would bear the blame. After all, Fothert was guilty of murdering his relatives and had defected to Ursula, so he had already committed treason. With the king's seal in his hand, he could negotiate terms.
For Fothert, he had killed too many brothers and sisters in Lion Lake City, and it was inevitable that his family would seek revenge on him. It would be better for him to take his trusted family members and the army to Changhe Town. He had been in charge of Changhe Town for a period of time and was not unfamiliar with the place.
This is a way that is beneficial to both parties.
But the problem is that the two of them don't trust each other very much - in fact, the feud between the two of them originated from their mutual distrust...
So, they decided to let Kaedren be the middleman - Kaedren had a good relationship with both of them, and with such a middleman, the two would feel at ease about the transaction.
But Kaedren said that the army of the Kingdom of Raven might arrive soon, and he was unable to leave Eagle Claw Keep. He hoped that the two of them would first bring their troops to Eagle Claw Keep to fight the enemy together with him and complete the transaction by the way.
On the one hand, guarding Eagle Claw Castle is equivalent to protecting Lion Lake City - this is the hometown of the two, and they are indeed willing to protect it. Besides, the heavy cavalry of the Lion Lake City Flag Guard will definitely go to defend their hometown.
Granlon couldn't afford to lose this force, so he had to go.
On the other hand, Ursula also expressed her hope that Fother would fight against the Raven Stern army, and Ursula was indeed in Eagle's Claw at that time.
Because they want to fight against the Stern Crows together, Ursula's rebels can form an alliance with the Sarleon Kingdom, and then Fotherg who defected to Ursula will no longer be hunted down by the Sarleon Kingdom.
Fawcett had gone to Ursula for this very reason, so he had to go too.
So the two of them led their troops to Eagle Claw Castle, and while they were engaged in battle with the Stern Crow Kingdom's troops, Kaedren slipped away to Lion Lake City...
They all made the most reasonable judgment under the circumstances at the time, and no one acted stupidly.
And now, they still remain sober - although the golden seal is a scourge to Granlong, it is also his amulet, and he is certainly unwilling to hand it over.
"Gronlon, in fact, for me, if you don't hand over the golden seal, I can kill you... Whether the king has the seal or not has no effect on me..."
Li Ang started to bluff.
"If you capture Changhe Town but say that you didn't find the seal, everyone will suspect that you hid the golden seal for evil purposes... Lord Li Ang, don't bluff me. I know that as long as you don't hand over the seal, I won't die..."
Leon's bluff failed right at the beginning. Granlong was sober and was not fooled at all.
"Fothert, you're working with him... You should know where that thing is, right? If he keeps it from you, how can you maintain your cooperation..."
Seeing that Granlong was difficult to deal with, Leon changed his target and this time used provocation.
"Lord Leon, I don't need to know this, and I didn't ask. I can only cooperate with him now... However, although I want to kill Ursula immediately, I am still her vassal. She is an ally of the Kingdom of Sarleon, so I will definitely not die if I fall into the hands of the lord of the Kingdom of Sarleon... So please don't scare me."
Fothert also saw it clearly, so he was the first to surrender...
Indeed, Ursula is now an ally of the Sarleon Kingdom. Even if Fothert is a traitor to the Sarleon Kingdom, no one will kill him during the alliance.
After all, Lake Lion City has returned to the hands of the Sarleon Kingdom, and there is no need for the Sarleon Kingdom to force Ursula, an ally, into an enemy.
At most, they will be locked up first and wait for the reckoning later, or they may be released later.
——If Ursula becomes King Ulric’s queen, then Fothert will most likely be pardoned.
"You really don't know? Then why would you take this risk with him? Your life is not in any danger now..."
These two guys are not easy to deal with, and Le Ang is a little troubled. It turns out that every noble is a smart person and no one is dumber than anyone else.
"I want to return to the Kingdom of Sarleon... If Ursula, that sinister woman, can deceive me once, she can deceive me a second time. My declaration of allegiance to her is just a temporary measure... Lord Leon, please don't ask me. I really don't know. I now understand that sometimes knowing less can help you live longer..."
Fawcett shook his head and smiled bitterly, seeming very sincere.
It seems that these days, this former dandy young master has indeed grown up rapidly. Not only has he become ruthless, but he has also really learned a lot of truths.
"How about this? I will give you a way to completely cleanse your sins. I will ensure that you can still be nobles of the Sarleon Kingdom. But you must cooperate with me and hand over the golden seal to me intact..."
Both of them were difficult to deal with, so Li Ang had no choice but to sincerely give them a way out.
"What method?"
Both of them became interested, and this was the goal they were pursuing. If it didn't involve kidnapping the king, that would be even better.
"I have some idea of ​​how Igor came back to life..."
Leon could indeed guess how Igor came back to life. After all, he had seen the three prophets use the body of the Doombringer to revive.
This is probably due to the power of the dark goddess Erida...
According to what Sarah knew back then, probably only those who wholeheartedly believed in the dark goddess Erida could "come back to life" in this way without losing their sanity.
Igor is probably also a senior member of the Dark Goddess heresy...
I recall Igor's appearance - thin and haggard, as if he could be blown down by a gust of wind. He looked weak and powerless, and even his hair was withered.
Igor is only in his forties, but he looks like he is in his seventies.
When Leon first saw him in the throne room, he felt something was wrong.
Now that I think about it, I'm afraid he dedicated all his blood to the Dark Goddess?
After settling in Changhe Town, Li Ang did not hang his own flag in Changhe Town and basically did not show up.
He just kept assigning tasks to the escorts of Changhe Express, and one convoy after another headed to all directions in the west.
Godric once again took up residence in his Eastern Commander's office and did not show up.
Granlong and Fother had been maintaining law and order in the city. After hearing Leon's plan, they cooperated very well.
Li Ang told them the abilities of the three prophets, and of course these two would cooperate.
After all, they really don't want to have anything to do with heresy...
Three days later.
Leon hid in a corner of the city wall and saw Igor's arrival with his own eyes.
This was indeed the Igor from before, with the noble collar tied tightly around his neck - it was early September and the weather was very hot, but this guy had his collar wrapped like it was winter, which must be to cover up the arrow wound on his neck.
Igor now seems very low-key, and only brings five or six followers with him, but those followers look very mysterious.
Those followers were all knights wearing black hoods, and basically every knight was wearing a black robe. The robes looked a bit like the style of Desha, but these people were definitely not Desha people.
Moreover, all these knights rode two horses - the other packhorse should have been carrying their armor.
Of course they wouldn't wear armor when they were traveling, but Leon could tell from these people's expressions and actions that they should all be very skilled.
Granlong came forward to welcome Igor into the city, and then the city gate fell.
A large net also fell at the same time.
Igor saw the net - he subconsciously looked up at the top of his head because the idea was his.
"Gronlon! Don't you want to live?!"
Igor was dancing and shouting, but he was obviously unable to avoid the area covered by the fishing net.
Granlong watched expressionlessly as the fishing net fell and caught Igor.
It's his own idea and he enjoys it himself. Igor was easily caught in the net.
Igor's entourage was also cut off by the city gate, and two of them who were left at the back were unable to enter the city.
This was not an intentional cutoff, after all, Igor only had a few people.
Closing the city gate was just to be on the safe side. No one was sure whether this guy who came back from the dead could escape from the fishing net, so his escape route had to be cut off.
Then, a group of soldiers emerged from various corners and began to close the net.
The purpose of using a net to capture Igor was, of course, to prevent him from causing any trouble. After all, Leon was not sure what strange abilities these heretics might possess.
However, Igor doesn't seem to have any special abilities...
On the contrary, the knights he brought showed extremely strong fighting ability.
There were four knights following Igor into the city, who were several meters away from Igor and out of the range of the fishing net.
These men were indeed very skilled. They reacted immediately to the unexpected situation and rushed towards Igor with their swords drawn!
It looks like you want to save people?
The soldiers in charge of collecting the net were all under Fothert. When they saw this situation, they immediately dragged the net and started running back to avoid the net being cut into pieces and Igor being let out and made things difficult.
But no one expected that the followers brought by Igor did not seem to intend to cut through the net - the knight running in the front directly threw away the sword in his hand!
Throw it at Igor!
Damn it, this is to silence me...
This situation of killing each other caught Leon, Granlong and others off guard...
They had not originally planned to kill these people. They did not expect Igor's guards to react like this!
Did you plan to kill Igor when you saw him being caught in the net?
That certainly won’t let them get what they want!
Fortunately, the thrown sword was bounced by the tough fishing net rope and only caused a cut on Igor, which should not be fatal, but Igor seemed to have no reaction all of a sudden and stopped struggling.
Igor did not faint and his eyes were still open, but he did not cry out in pain at all, and he did not even have an instinctive contraction reaction - it seemed that he no longer felt pain.
But his eyes still retained a look of fear, and it seemed that he himself did not expect those knights to kill him.
The soldiers had surrounded them, but the black knights were still chasing Igor. It seemed that they would rather die than kill Igor first.
Li Ang had originally planned to watch the show on the city wall, but when faced with this situation, he could only run down quickly, but it seemed that it might be too late...
The soldiers in charge of collecting the net were pulling the ropes, and were several meters away from Igor in the net, so they were too late to stop the black knights.
But they were all elite veterans under Fothert, and they ran backwards quite fast, dragging the net, which prevented Igor from being hacked to death on the spot.
Everyone knows that if someone is captured alive with a net, it is for questioning, so of course he cannot be allowed to die.
Although Igor was dragged for more than ten meters on the bumpy stone-paved road and must have been badly rubbed, he at least saved his life. The black knights were now stopped.
However, surprisingly, the one who stopped the other black knights was not any warrior in Changhe Town, but one of the black knights...
He was a middle-aged knight with a full beard. He looked very skilled and he was able to block three other knights by himself.
"Jocelyn! What are you going to do!?"
The other knights brought by Igor did not seem to expect that the bearded man would stop them at this critical moment. They all looked shocked and angry.
"What are you doing? You do these shameful things every day! And you're dying for these shameful things! How can I possibly go along with you guys?!"
The bearded man called Jocelyn roared loudly and swept the broadsword in his hand, forcing back the three black knights.
Jocelyn was already standing in front of Igor.
"Traitor! You will regret this!"
The three black knights attacked Jocelyn together, but there was obviously a big gap in martial arts between them and Jocelyn, and three against one still could not break through Jocelyn's obstacles.
Meanwhile, Fothert's other men had finally surrounded them.
At this time, Li Ang had already run down the stairs inside the city wall, sword in hand.
"Put down your weapons! I won't kill you!"
Leon was shouting at those knights.
He felt that the matter was becoming complicated and wanted to get a few more people alive.
"I surrender... I am not in the same group with them!"
Jocelyn readily dropped his sword and raised his hands, with no intention of resisting. He even stepped back a few steps to make it easier for the soldiers to surround the other three knights.
Outside the city gate, the other two black knights who had been left unattended have now started to run away.
It would be difficult to chase them for a while since the city gates were closed, and the archers on the city wall were shooting arrows at them.
However, since it is not convenient for the Noldor Rangers to appear here, the archers on the city wall are all Fothert's men - if Leon's men appeared near the city gate, Igor would definitely not enter the city, and might even turn around and run away when he saw them from a distance...
Therefore, there were only a few Fierce Lion Realm archers on the city wall. Their skills were rather crude, and although they shot and injured two black knights, they still managed to escape.
After all, they were riding horses and running quite fast, and archery was not a traditional advantage of the Sarleon Kingdom. The level of these Sarleon archers under Fothert was really hard to describe...
"Jocelyn! Traitors don't end well!"
The three black knights seemed very determined. They ignored Leon and rushed towards Jocelyn resolutely - they couldn't kill Igor to silence him, so they wanted to kill Jocelyn who had dropped his sword.
But such an action was tantamount to suicide. The soldiers stabbed with their spears and the three black knights fell down.
There was no way out. They were determined to fight to the death and the soldiers did not dare to stop.
"Those are the Twilight Knights, right?"
Leon glanced at Jocelyn, who was spreading his hands and acting very honest, then frowned and walked to Igor, poking him with his toes: "Who are you, Igor? Why did the Dusk Knight want to kill you to silence you?"