During the month and a half Zhang Tie had spent in secluded cultivation, Phyllis, the Crown Prince of the Norman Empire, had sent Colonel Leibniz twice to invite Zhang Tie to Tai'an City as a guest. But because Zhang Tie had yet to emerge from seclusion, Colonel Leibniz returned empty-handed both times.
On December 31st, Zhang Tie had someone summon Colonel Leibniz and took the initiative to visit Tai'an City, where he met with Phyllis, the Crown Prince of the Norman Empire. It was a courtesy return visit in response to the lavish gift the Norman Empire had presented at his Wheel-Turning Ceremony.
Zhang Tie's arrival delighted Phyllis, and the two shared lunch together.
This second private meeting brought Zhang Tie and Phyllis, the Crown Prince of the Norman Empire, another step closer.
Phyllis also introduced Zhang Tie to his teacher, a Knight retained by the Norman imperial family.
That Norman Empire Knight, Leo, was currently stationed at Hope Fortress. He was the strongest fighting force the Norman Empire had deployed there, as well as both Phyllis's teacher and bodyguard.
The Norman Empire had already accelerated the evacuation of its domestic elite to Hope Fortress.
Zhang Tie did not know what the Norman imperial family was planning, but from the situation before him, he seemed to grasp some of their thinking. The Norman imperial family had no intention of staying in the northern Blakerson Human Corridor to fight the Devil Race to the bitter end. Nor did the Norman Empire as a whole possess such strength. Yet giving up just like that was clearly hard to accept. Could a royal family that had lost its territory still be called a royal family? Even if it could, the word "exiled" would probably have to be added before it.
At present, the