Holy See.

A solemn hall.

The candles scattered all over the place did not bathe everything in light, but instead made it clear, creating a sense of tearing between light and shadow.

A clergyman hurried through the long corridor with a tray of two letters in his hands, bowed down and hurriedly walked in through the door. The steps were so light that they were silent. He hurried to the Pope and fell to his knees.

"My lord, these are two urgent letters from the Eloi Peninsula. ”

The Pope sat quietly with his eyes closed. The cardinal standing next to the Pope saluted the Pope, then turned and walked up to the clergy, reached out and picked up the two letters, opened them, and read them one by one.

The wind gently blew in from outside the temple, blowing the candles inside the temple. The light and shadow in the entire hall seemed to be swaying in the wind. Like the Holy See at this moment.

After reading only one letter, the cardinal's eyes widened and he gasped. Hurriedly opened another letter. After reading it, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"What's wrong?" asked the Pope, with his eyes closed.

"It's a letter from the Church of Fides and the Church of Bert. The cardinal replied respectfully, "Paladin Gray didn't know why, he appeared on the Eloi Peninsula with the Knights of the Silver Moon, and he happened to appear on the battlefield. Now he has intervened in the war between the two countries, ordered a truce between the two countries, and promised to preside over a duel so that the claims of both countries can be resolved justly. ”

After saying this, the other seven cardinals present were stunned.

The letter circulated among the cardinals.

"What is he doing on the Eroy Peninsula, shouldn't he stay in the Duchy of Beshir?"

"Does he feel that he has been defeated at Isaac and wants to fight in the Eloi Peninsula? ”

"It's incredible that King Fides and Archduke Bert actually accepted his terms. ”

"That's because he has the Silver Moon Knights in his hands, and now the entire continent knows about his brilliant achievements in the Lion King Capital. No one is not afraid of him. ”

"It's a big problem. As soon as the crisis of Isaac's royal family was resolved, he extended his hand to the Eloi Peninsula. As long as he is in one day, we will have an inexhaustible fire. Can't we take away his title as a paladin?"

"Archmage Andrew hasn't heard from him yet?"

"No, no news at all. ”

The cardinals began to discuss. Among them was Anthony III, the former Bishop of Isaac who initially recommended Gray to become a paladin. However, he just kept his head down and didn't say anything.

The Pope slowly opened his eyes and held out a hand.

The two letters were quickly assembled and handed over to the Pope.

The Pope lowered his head and half-squinted his eyes, looked carefully, and said softly: "If Andrew is sure that something happened, then his hostility towards us must be beyond doubt. ”

"If we assume that he is strongly hostile to us...... "one of the cardinals hesitates, "then it is understandable that he appeared on the Eloi Peninsula to intervene in the war." He may want to get rid of us altogether and replace the Holy See. ”

The cardinals present were in an uproar.

"In the past, state-to-state arbitration has always been done by us. Of course, the vast majority of them are extinguished in the embryonic stage. We have developed to the point of troop assembly, and we have no choice. He put an end to an ongoing war, which was enough to prove his ambition. This is a message to everyone: his prestige is higher than that of the Pope, higher than that of the Cardinals. ”

"What's the point of him doing that?" someone asked.

"Of course it makes sense, now that our control over countries is rapidly eroding. Why is this war between the Kingdom of Fides and the Duchy of Bert happening? Isn't it because we have lost control of the Eloi Peninsula? He's slapping us in the face. Or rather, to fill the void that has arisen after the decline of the prestige of our Holy See. ”

But he was only a man after all, and there were no clergy loyal to him. No matter how high his prestige is, it is only his prestige alone. ”

"Send a paladin to the Eroi Peninsula. The Pope spoke suddenly.

Suddenly, everyone fell silent and looked at the Pope quietly.

The Pope gently placed the two letters in his hand on the table beside him, stared at the empty ground in front of him with a deep gaze, and said softly: "Whatever his purpose, his every move is causing us great harm. This is something we can't afford. At the same time, we can't completely distance ourselves from him. Since we can't communicate with him, let's try to get the guardian angel to communicate. ”

"Let's ...... Guardian angels to communicate?" The cardinals present were stunned.

"Every paladin has a guardian angel. If I'm not mistaken, his guardian angel, called Catherine. Not a very powerful angel. Even, it can be said that he is the weakest of the five guardian angels. ”

"This ...... How is that possible? Is there something wrong?" interjected one of the cardinals, "His guardian angel is the weakest, but he is clearly the strongest of all paladins. At least that's what we're seeing. At one point, I even felt like the Holy Spirit was pulling the strings. ”

The cardinals present all opened their eyes wide and waited silently for the Pope's statement.

After a moment of silence, the Pope whispered: "It was all his own strength, not the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit doesn't tell me where his power comes from, only reminds us that this is a special paladin unlike any before him. We need to learn to get along with him. Unfortunately, so far, we can't seem to find a way to get along with him. Since we can't communicate with him, we might as well try to communicate between the guardian angels and the guardian angels. This matter cannot be delayed any longer, and there must be a conclusion to whether it is war or peace. ”

"Do you want to start a war between the angels?" someone whispered.

The Pope did not answer.

The wind blew gently, and the candle flame flickered, leaving a furrow on the old face. That's a sign of time.

......

On a starry night, the wind on the plains blew slowly, blowing flags and hunting.

Gray and his party set up camp on the hillside.

Across the street from their camp is a small town called Buck. A very ordinary town, however, it is the focus of this war. At this moment, the whole town seems to be only sporadic lights. I think most of them have already fallen asleep.

Gray's camp was to the east, the town to the west, and to the north and south were the camps of the armies of Luson V and Jean II, respectively. The two camps looked even bigger than the towns, and even at night, they were on high alert and brightly lit.

In the tent, Shelley, who had been tired all day, had fallen asleep. It was piled up with the "loot" she brought back from taking Jones and Dora to Buck in the afternoon. Of course, it's just some ordinary things, Buck is just an ordinary town, no better than White City, and no better than the Lion King.

Gray stood on the hillside with his sword in his hand, and watched silently, and Karl stood behind him with the silver moon banner that sounded like a hunt. The red moonlight that represents blood swayed on them.

Behind him, the dwarves were singing and dancing around the campfire.

The mallet had to pull a knight of the silver moon and gush.

"Our ...... Our Lord Gray is so powerful, one of only five paladins on the continent, God, no wonder he can stop a war directly. Damn, we seem to be following great people. I used to think he was mysterious. Well, you're actually very mysterious, you never take off your armor and don't have to sleep. However, if it is a paladin who is favored by the gods, then these are children, aren't they? We dwarves generally believe in the dwarven god of war, as a subordinate of the paladin, do we need to convert to the Holy Spirit?"

"Boss, the dwarven god of war is our faith, how can we change it casually?

Turning his head, the mallet casually gave the front teeth a brain, and said viciously: "What's the use of believing in the god of war? We can't even go back to the dwarf valley, but the Holy Spirit can bless them to win the battle." Isn't it awesome enough to win a war?

The front teeth covered the back of his head with a helpless face, and the mallet was full of intoxication, as if he had found the true meaning of life. Jones, who knew the truth well, looked at him expressionlessly and did not poke it.

Gray continued to stand quietly in front of the camp and watch.

There are no trees, no buildings, no shelter on the vast plains. Everything at a glance. Gray was looking at the two barracks in the distance, and there was no doubt that there must have been people in the two barracks in the distance looking at him. This plainness adds a strange atmosphere. It's as if three heavily armed swordsmen are looking at each other to see who draws their swords first.

......

"Father. Arthur, who had changed into civilian clothes, came behind Lu Sien V, who was looking out at Camp Gray, and whispered, "The news has all been delivered, and they are coming." But time is running out. Even if they make it to the deadline, they won't have enough time to rest. This means that when it comes to dueling the day after tomorrow, they won't be in particularly good shape. ”

Turning around, Lu Sien V looked at his son and said with a twinkle in his eyes: "It seems that he is really ready for us to have a fair duel." Replacing war with a duel is simply ridiculous. But such a ridiculous thing, it just happened, and we didn't have a choice. Think about it, apart from bringing in the best mercenaries to represent us, what other ways can we increase our chances of winning. ”

Glancing in the direction of Camp Gray from a distance, Arthur whispered, "I think I can start with the paladin, he's the referee." ”

"him? He doesn't seem to be in the right place. ”

"No, it's just that we haven't found the real crack. There is no one in this world who is not allowed to eat oil and salt. He always has a purpose when he comes to the Eloi Peninsula, doesn't he? I can bring a gift to visit him. As long as he is willing to speak out, then we have a way. ”

Lu Sien V gently patted Arthur on the shoulder: "Okay, you go and try it." ”

"Yes!"

......

At the same time, Jean II was also looking in the direction of Camp Gray.

A woman in a cloak, whose face could not be seen clearly, came up behind him and saluted him with the hem of her skirt.

"Father. ”

"Coming here?"

"Yes. After receiving your father's order, the daughter immediately arrived. "It was a silver bell-like sound, but it was warm, like a natural sound.

Pointing in Gray's direction from afar, Jean II said, "See, the man standing under the flagpole." ”

"See. ”

"That's the paladin Gray who is famous on the continent and gives the Holy See a headache. I don't know why he's here, but he's here anyway. Maybe it's an opportunity. I have always disliked your association with those little nobles, because I do not think they are worthy of my daughter, even if they are princes. You are a gift from heaven to the Duchy of Bert, a treasure to Bert. Now I want you to settle him for me, in any way you can think of. ”

The woman glanced at Gray from afar, lowered her head, and did not speak.

Under the moonlight, Gray's figure was blurry and he couldn't see clearly. However, the silver moon banner behind him is very conspicuous.

Jean II took a deep breath and continued: "As long as he can be completely on our side, then, not only this town. We will hopefully swallow the entire Fides Kingdom, the White Fox Family, and will become the masters of the Eloi Peninsula. So, this matter is very important, even more important than your life and mine. See what I mean?"

After hesitating for a long time, the woman replied softly, "Understood." ”

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