Chapter 1351 The Road to Freedom

Just as Carl guessed, this palace was not as luxurious as expected. It was a huge complex of buildings that combined governance, fortresses, assembly, command, and sacrifices, but it lacked a bit of the enjoyment that the royal family should have.

Of course, it was not to say that the complex looked like a shabby brick house gnawed out by rats, but the atmosphere.

The hall was as dull as a mountain. The light that penetrated from the 100-meter dome pierced my cheeks. I moved my vision along the light, and I could only see the stone sculpture of a proportional dragon at the blurred edge. The fist-sized gems were inlaid in the eye sockets, turning into pupils to watch every person who entered.

Exquisite tapestries fell from the sky, and the incomprehensible elven runes were all glimmering. The different colors and patterns showed that this might be a sacred hall where the flag of the Caledor nobles was hung.

What Carl noticed most was the throne placed in the center of the hall. The throne was shaped like a dragon claw, and there were still many burrs on the surface that had not been dealt with. The extremely cold steel throne had no decorations. If you sat on it, you would definitely experience some torture.

The throne was high, more than ten meters from the floor of the hall. Anyone who tried to get close to the prince had to raise his head to express respect and fear for Caledor.

Fortunately, Carl did not need to stand in front of the steps and look up at Draknir.

Although the Rick Guards who were traveling with him were well-trained, each of them was a noble colleague trusted by Carl. They tried to keep quiet as much as possible when they were moving, but the occasional chaotic footsteps and trembling shoulders showed that these people who visited the ancient palace for the first time were definitely not calm on the surface.

Those dragon sculptures... Kurt squinted his eyes and looked at the gray dragon stone sculptures a hundred meters away. He had a vague feeling that as long as he showed hostility here, these huge objects that seemed to be just decorations would instantly come alive and defend the owner of the palace with claws and flames.

"Your Highness, why haven't you seen the palace guards so far?" Kurt asked with pretended curiosity. He wanted to test how much Caledor had prepared for the war, whether even the palace guards were embedded in the army, and whether he was going all out to the old world.

"The dragons you saw on the tower just now are the guards of the palace... Compared to sleeping in the cave, they may be more useful if they take a breath occasionally."

Once again, Caledor broke the empire's perception of dragons. This is like letting a group of griffins guard the Altdorf Palace. Although there is a sense of security in the heart, is it reliable? Kurt is skeptical.

Dracnir obviously didn't want to elaborate on the guards. He called a few maids who had been waiting for a long time: "The palace you are staying in is ready for you. The maid will inform you of the dinner time. Please be on time."

The prince left, leaving only the maid to receive the emperor. Carl was obviously not a person who could stay. It was only noon, and he still had a strong interest in this palace.

The emperor winked and asked Kurt to change the subject. He didn't want to sleep.

Kurt reacted immediately, but was a little distressed about finding a reason. The outspoken marshal didn't think too much and immediately said what he was most concerned about.

"We don't want to rest yet, can you take us to visit the military camp?"

What?

Carl just wanted to cover his forehead. My Lord Marshal, everyone knows that you are very concerned about the military strength of Caledor, but asking the maid about such state secrets is too obvious.

Kurt also knew that he said the wrong thing and wanted to change his words immediately. His original intention was to see the security of the Dragon Palace and use it as a reference for the Altdorf Palace.

But Miranda had obviously been instructed. The slightly older white-haired maid nodded to show that she understood.

"Dear guests, the prince has ordered that visitors from the empire will have unimpeded access in Tal Kalede, and except for some relevant areas, they can enjoy the tour.

Do you want to go to the garrison camp or the palace-controlled army?"

"Does it make a difference?" Kurt, who was a little vague about the military system of Calede, thought that it was better to ask directly than to pretend to know, because the elves regarded humans as monkeys anyway.

"The garrison only recruits local residents of Tal Kalede, and part-time security work. Except for the order of the prince himself, it will not be dispatched in any form.

The direct-controlled army is a professional force affiliated with the palace, and the recruitment conditions are relatively loose..."

In short, one is the capital defense army, which will not leave Tal Kalede in any form except when necessary, and the other is the foreign expedition army.

Kurt thought for a moment and whispered a few words in the emperor's ear. In Carl's shocked and helpless eyes, the marshal slowly asked the maid.

"I want to go to the prison."

"Prison? This..." Miranda was confused for a moment. She had never heard of such an outrageous request.

The maid didn't know the details of who was imprisoned in Tal Kaled Prison and what their specific composition was, but some rumors always showed that those who could be sent to prison and survived were all talents without exception.

The kind of talents that the court wanted to kill but was reluctant to kill.

"I need to ask the prince for instructions."

"Please."

The maid bowed and left, leaving only Carl who was a little confused. He didn't guess what Kurt wanted to do.

"My Marshal, you should have an explanation."

"Your Majesty, have you heard of the laws of Caledor?"

"It's not harsh, but as long as it touches the bottom line, it will not follow the usual principle of mercy in Ulthuan, and still retain a large number of death penalty and exile punishments."

"Can we consider elves who can touch the bottom line but not die and cannot move normally in Ulthuan?"

Karl narrowed his eyes and thought, this seems to be interesting. There are many things that Caledor prohibits, among which treason and escape are the most severe.

In a society that advocates bravery and honor, being infected with these two means social death. Civilians are better, but if nobles commit treason or escape, the family will completely remove them from the family. It is common in any place with aristocratic traditions to die without honor.

"You judge for yourself, but the most important thing is to depend on the attitude of this dragon prince..."

While the two were talking, the maid returned quickly, and Miranda brought a person, an elf wrapped in a black robe, without revealing half an inch of skin.

"Your Highness has agreed to the Empire's request. Except for some unforgivable sinners, you two can decide to recruit capable people on your own.

But Your Highness also hopes that Emperor Franz will not set foot in the prison in person. It is...very dangerous there."

"Of course, this request is a disrespectful act of the Empire. It would be great if Caledor could understand it. I also understand Prince Draknir's difficulties. Marshal Kurt will visit the prison in person...

I hope to absorb a group of talents valuable to the Empire. Maybe they have made mistakes, but Sigmar will forgive their sins and make contributions to the world."

If it were in public, Karl would never make such a request. If the guys in the prison were innocent, wouldn't it mean that there was something wrong with Caledor's judicial system and the Empire needed to uphold justice.

But he also saw that the Empire could take away the people it liked from the prison, but it might have to make some concessions in the subsequent exchanges...

And the Emperor had vaguely guessed what Draknir's theme was, and was also ready to get more benefits from the elves on this matter.

"Kurt, I'm going to visit the garrison camp. You have to carefully examine those people who deserve Sigmar's forgiveness..."

"I will definitely carry out Sigmar's will." (End of this chapter)