With a "bell", the wooden sword in Joel's hand fell to the ground.

Elsa's swordsmanship has improved by leaps and bounds recently, and Shicai's continuous sharp moves actually knocked the sword in Joel's hand directly away, and then turned gracefully, and the wooden sword in his hand was pointed directly at Joel's throat.

"Miss, you won. Joel raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and smiled wryly.

"Joel, you're letting the water out too obvious, aren't you? Aisha flicked her head to the side in dissatisfaction and squinted at Joel in front of her, her long ponytail tied behind her head flying.

"Miss, I did my best......" Although Joel secretly released water according to Edta's instructions in advance every time he practiced his sword, it was not what he originally intended to be shot down by Aisha just now.

Joel wanted to end the competition in a more dignified way, but the recent frequent attacks of headaches, the failure to assassinate Lino, and the mystery of the Alien Gate disturbed him, and his mind was not focused on the practice of swordsmanship, and Elsha's last sword was so fast that even he couldn't react in time.

He couldn't help but secretly admire Elsa's swordsmanship talent in his heart. He remembered that when he first started to practice swords with Aisha a year ago, her foundation was still very poor, and many simple movements were very jerky. And now, only a year later, she can make movements that she can't even see, and such a talent is definitely rare among women.

"Hahaha! Aisha, I don't think Joel let you, your swordsmanship has indeed improved!" At this time, Edta, who was watching the two of them practicing swords, clapped his hands and laughed and walked over, "It's worthy of being my daughter, she inherited my intelligence, and she can learn anything quickly!"

Aisha was still pouting, but a smile was already on her face, and she was probably happy with her progress.

"That's all for today, Elsa, you go back to your room and rest. Joel, you stay. Edetta smiled and touched Elsa's head, then said to the two.

"Daddy, you talk to Joel, why do you have to let me leave? I want to stay too, I like to rest here. Aisha said.

"You girl, we want to talk about business, and you don't understand. Go back to your own room and rest, okay?" Edta's face sank after hearing Elsa's words, but immediately became kind again, and persuaded her.

Aisha rolled her eyes and reluctantly said, "Oh, got it." Then he turned and left the main hall of the tower where they were.

Aisha walked out of the temple door and closed it with her backhand. Edetta didn't speak immediately, but after a pause, he said to Joel, "You go and have a look outside the door." ”

Joel nodded, tiptoed to the door, listened intently, and then opened the door and looked out. Then he returned to the door, closed the door, and said to Edta, "It's okay." ”

Edetta nodded, reaching out for Joel to come closer.

"How did it feel about the mission you were asked to do two days ago?" asked Edetta in a thoughtful tone.

"Except for the last goal, as in the previous missions, nothing special. Joel's demeanor was light.

"I think this is the first time you've missed your goal. Edetta straightened up, put her hands behind her back, and turned to walk slowly towards the floor-to-ceiling windows of the main hall.

"Hmm...... That's right. Edta asked such a question, and Joel could only answer in embarrassment.

"So, don't you want to erase the stain?" Edetta turned back again, his eyes sly.

Joel knew what Edetta meant, and he raised his hand to smooth the messy bangs on his forehead and said, "Of course." ”

Joel was surprised by Edta's words. He saw that Edetta wanted him to continue the assassination of Lino, but was afraid that he would not go, so he provoked him in this way. However, he knew that he had always been a very competitive person who would never admit defeat, and Edetta should know his character very well after working with him for so many years, and at this time, just mentioning Lino's name would ignite his fighting spirit, so why would he use such a way to provoke him?

Joel's momentary look of seriousness as he thought about it was seen by Edta. Edetta took two steps forward, patted Joel on the shoulder vigorously, and smiled: "I know your character, and I will never let any target slip out of your hands! ”

Edetta took a scroll from a nearby gold-plated drawer and handed it to Joel. Joel opened it, and it was still a portrait of Joel, but this time the map and annotations were significantly more detailed than before.

"Leo came back?" asked Joel.

"That's right. ”

"I want to meet Leo. ”

Edetta didn't seem to expect Joel to make this request, and blinked, "Leo has already set off for a new mission this morning. ”

"I see. Joel looked unexpected, then looked down at the scroll in his hand and asked, "Is there a time limit?"

"The sooner the better, no more than fifteen days at most, and this guy must be eradicated for me. Edetta looked serious.

"Yes, sir. Then I'll go right away. Joel clenched his fists and turned away.

"Wait a minute...... Joel shouted from behind him as Joel took two steps.

"What's the matter, sir?"

"Hmm...... Forget it, it's nothing, you go back and prepare. Edetta seemed to want to say something, but after hesitating, he sent Joel away.

After leaving the main hall, Joel walked down the high dome corridor, his head thinking about Leo.

Leo is Edta's scout. He doesn't have much combat ability, but he has a set when it comes to detectives. Usually, when Edetta has something urgent to investigate, he will send Leo to complete the mission, and he is also a close confidant of Edta.

However, Joel and Leo, although they live in the same streamer castle and have little status in the city, rarely see each other. In Joel's impression, he seemed to have only met Leo once, to be precise, once in the two years that Joel could vividly recall. He remembered that Leo was a short, thin-looking man, probably a few years older than himself, with a dirty face and a characteristic head of unkempt hair.

Joel believes that the reason why the two rarely meet is not because of a coincidence, but because Edetta is intentional. The two of them always went out on missions at staggered times, with Leo going out every time Joel returned, and only returning to the city when Joel left the castle.

For Joel, Leo is like a figure living in a legend. He had either heard from Edetta that Leo had found out something important about him, or the rest of the city had heard that he and he were known as Edetta's right-hand man, but he had almost never seen each other.

The only time they met was more than a year ago. On that day, Leo returned to the castle after completing his reconnaissance ahead of schedule during a mission, and happened to meet Joel, who was about to go out to carry out an assassination, and they met by chance in front of the city gates. At the time, Joel didn't know Leo, but somehow, Leo did.

"Hey, Joel. Leo greeted him directly that day.

Just as Joel looked at him with a puzzled expression, Leo immediately added, "I'm Leo." ”

Hearing the name, Joel was skeptical: "You are Leo?"

"Of course, I have something to say to you......" Leo patted his horse closer, as if to talk to Joel about something.

"Leo!

Leo was about to speak, but was interrupted by the loud voice of Edetta behind him.

Joel and Leo looked back together, only to see Edetta standing in front of the castle's stone arch, smiling at Leo, the golden crown on his head glistening in the sunlight.

"Thank you for your hard work this time, Leo. Come, accompany me back to the city for a cup of tea. Edetta stood still, beckoning Leo with his arm, but there was an irresistible momentum in his easy-going tone.

"Your Excellency calls me, then I'll go in first. Leo seemed to show a hint of disappointment in his eyes, paused, and said, "Joel, fortunately." Then he turned his horse's head and rode towards Edta.

Edetta waited for Leo to come to him, and Edetta shouted to Joel again, "Joel, I'll make you a good pot of tea when you come back!"

"Yes, sir. Joel answered and rode away.

Now that I think about it, it seems that Mistress Edetta really deliberately made us avoid each other, why is that...... Joel was in the hallway, thinking as he went.

At that moment, there was a sudden rush of footsteps ahead, and Joel saw one of Edta's retinues hurrying towards the area.

"What are you doing!

Joe ...... Mistress Joel, I'm ...... I'm sending a message to Lord Edta. The attendant stammered, and I don't know if it was because of nervousness or out of breath.

Joel frowned and said, "Why are you in such a hurry?" and snatched the scroll from the hand of his attendant. "That's it, right?" Joel said as he opened the scroll.

Joel was taken aback by the contents, only to see that it read: "Dear Edta, I invite you to the Imperial Palace of the Ice City for a month to attend my son's Cretan wedding. Written by King Muhe himself. ”

It's a wedding invitation from the king!And it's that hateful Crete! Joel clenched his fists with a rush of blood rushing to his brain at the sight of the name. This Crete was the only one who had defeated him by strength, and at the same time, he missed the only assassination target. Joel had always held a grudge against this man.

Joel continued to look down, and there were two hand-painted portraits of the king underneath the text. One of them was Crete, not much different from Joel's impression. The other is a beautiful woman, but her eyes in the portrait seem to be full of melancholy, I don't know if it is the painter's casual rendering or the woman herself.

When he saw this melancholy look, Joel always felt familiar, but he couldn't say why.

Underneath the portrait, there are also a few lines of ancient words from the Kingdom of Nit written in floral script. Joel didn't know enough about the old Nit language to fully read it, but he knew it was a blessing. This is a custom in the kingdom of Nit, and good wishes are usually written in ancient words to show sincerity.

Joel finished reading the scroll. In the last line of the letter, two names appear that Joel can read, one is Crete, and the other is written as Lena.

"Go get it to your lords. After confirming that the invitation was okay, Joel returned the scroll to his entourage.

"Yes, Mistress Joel. ”

After the entourage left, Joel held his forehead. His headache flared up again, and it was more intense than ever.