Quadruple split.

Chapter 2697 Not giving in
"So, you've decided to break ties with my Holy Church?"

With a resounding clang, the flag bearer, who had previously had a gentle expression and a smile, narrowed her vertical pupils, her eyes flashing with a cold and dangerous glint that nearly made Yulia take a step back.

It was blinding and sharp.

“I don’t understand what you mean, Madam Standard-Bearer.”

With both Netani and David remaining silent, the chief strategist under the Deathclaw Queen could only sigh and ask, forcing a smile, "Our cooperation with the Holy Alliance is evident to all. Even when tensions are high and we're at each other's throats, upon learning of the disappearance of your two princes, Bloodfeather Plateau, Headless Cliff, Pale Plains, and the Steelmane Tribe immediately reached a consensus to cooperate with you no matter what. How can this be considered a complete breakdown in relations?"

Hess gazed calmly at Julia and said indifferently, "That was indeed the case until now, but since you have refused our request to pass through this fortress, it means you intend to unite with my Holy Church as an enemy."

“But that’s absurd, Madam Standard-Bearer.”

Knowing full well that the other two would never join her in arguing, Yulia shook her head and said in a deep voice, "If I said I wanted to visit the Sun Chapel in your City of Light, would you agree?"

Hess smiled and said leisurely, "If you insist, I have no objection."

"What if I were to lead the elite forces of Bloodfeather Plateau into your Great Chapel?"

Julia stared intently into Hess's eyes and asked again, "You still have no objections?"

Hess sighed, shook his head somewhat helplessly, and then raised his hand to stroke the Sun Emblem at his collar: "Well, perhaps in your eyes, the people of the Holy Church Union are all much the same except for their faith, but I must tell you, Strategist, the person standing before you is Hess Dongya, the standard-bearer of the Sun Church's Knights of Protection, and you just used the 'Sun Chapel' as an example..."

Richard chuckled softly and turned his head to look elsewhere.

Clara clicked her tongue loudly and exclaimed, "They're fucking fearless!"

“I assure you, strategist, no one will stop you from storming my church’s chapel.”

Hess's eyes gradually began to gleam with gold, but his words were devoid of any warmth: "But I am equally willing to guarantee with my own life that every arrogant disrespecter will be reduced to ashes under the sun's might, whether you, your warrior, or your queen, will be purified equally, leaving not a trace."

While she had never dealt with the Sun Cult before, she wasn't entirely ignorant of them; she was merely testing the waters. Julia took a deep breath and said earnestly, "But we don't want to be your enemy. To be honest, our concerns about Pastor Black Brahma, the two Holy Sons, and the garrison in Dunbua City are probably no less than yours."

Hess snorted lightly, slightly raised his chin, and said coldly, "Worried about the troops stationed in Dunbua City? Strategist, do I need to remind you how many people die each year at the hands of you 'blood barbarians' in Dunbua City and Gospel Mountain City, which belong to my Holy Church?"

"We both know perfectly well that this is not the same thing."

Yulia shook her head and spoke frankly: "No matter how many times we have had friction with those two cities in the northern border of the Holy Domain, it is ultimately just 'friction'. But the fact that the two Holy Princes have disappeared within the territory of my Blood Barbarians is enough to give your side an excuse to send a legendary-level expert to wipe us out."

Hess sneered: "So what?"

"Therefore, the disappearance of the two holy sons and the burning of Dunbua have nothing to do with us, because the only purpose of such actions is to dig our own graves."

Yulia licked her crimson lips and said seriously, "Perhaps we are indeed savage, brutal, ruthless, and crazy, but we are not fools, and there is no reason for us to seek our own death."

However, Clara chuckled and added, "If that's the case, then anything done without a reason can be considered unrealistic, and because it's unrealistic, it can be directly concluded that it wasn't done. Wouldn't that allow us to do whatever we want?"

"Yes."

Hess nodded in agreement and said to the strategist in front of him, who had a helpless expression, "This kind of seemingly reasonable but actually unrealistic rhetoric is meaningless to me. Ms. Julia, what you need to do now is very simple: hurry up and open this fortress so that our survey team can pass through to the other side of Eagle Claw Gorge. I am willing to swear in the name of my lord that as long as you are willing to cooperate, we will absolutely not attack you."

"It can't be done."

Despite her mild tone, Yulia's stance was surprisingly firm, and she gave a resolute answer: "In any case, we cannot let you pass. Even if I agree, Captain Netanya and His Highness David will absolutely not allow such a thing to happen."

"..."

Despite trying to distance herself, Netanya had somehow managed to tie her down with him. She sighed but made no argument, clearly acknowledging Yulia's version of events.

Prince David, though somewhat displeased, remained silent, expressing his shared stance with Julia.

"it is good."

Hess nodded slightly and asked directly, "So there's nothing to talk about, right? In that case, then we'll..."

"Hold on."

Just then, David, who could no longer remain uninvolved because of Julia, interrupted Hess and slowly said, "Give me a reason."

Hess frowned slightly, displeased, and asked, "What reason?"

"The reason why you must pass through Eagle Claw Gorge."

David Ashcool Steelmane, who was almost predetermined to be the heir to the Steelmane Tribal Kingdom, was on equal footing with the other two here, but was destined to become the next emperor of the tribal kingdom in principle. Therefore, his status was probably slightly higher. He raised his head and met Hess's gaze without backing down: "Before resolving the issue, both sides should state their views separately so as not to exacerbate the misunderstanding."

Hess's lips curled slightly as he asked, "Can I take this to mean that if my reasons are convincing enough, you will allow the Holy Church's investigation team to pass through Eaglehorn Gorge?"

"Sure, but I must clarify one point: theoretically, there is no reason that would allow your entire survey team to pass through Eaglehorn Gorge."

David calmly said, fiddling with the iron chain wrapped around his wrist, "For example, I would never agree without my father's order, but even so... I still maintain that there is still room for dialogue between us."

Hess frowned slightly and asked in a cold voice, "What makes you think that?"

"Because you are not unaware of the importance of Eagle Claw Gorge at this very moment."

David answered without hesitation, calmly saying, "So no matter what your attitude is when you come here, we will eventually enter into a 'dialogue' phase, won't we?"

Clara whistled loudly and said in a serious tone, "You're not like the boarman I remember, little piglet."

“This is a regrettable misunderstanding.” David turned to Clara and said politely, “In fact, my tribe is not stupid. It’s just that most of us don’t like to think. Satisfying our many desires for food and reproduction is more tempting to most boar people than the hard work of studying. But when the tribe is threatened, someone always has to step up and do more and think more.”

Clara made a face, then hugged the crucifix and returned to her observer mode, remaining silent.

"Okay, I'll keep it short."

Seeing that His Highness David had chosen a simpler and more direct approach, Hess followed suit and said bluntly, "Not long ago, we sensed a pure and intense divine power from the west. Although there is no direct evidence, we have reason to suspect that the power belongs to His Highness Avery, the Holy Son of the Church of Justice and the chosen one of Heimer, the God of Justice and Courage."

Upon hearing this, Netanya, Julia, and David immediately exchanged a glance. In fact, according to the information they had heard, the initial stage of the battle at Eagle Claw Gorge tonight was a long-range slash carrying surging divine power.

That undeniably epic strike left a gaping hole in the eastern wall of the fortress, wide enough for anyone to climb over without any tools. It was precisely because this gaping hole was so shocking that the [Slaughter Together] fortress, which had no epic-ranked soldiers guarding it, mobilized all its forces, attempting to keep the enemy outside the walls at all costs.

At this very moment, the person in charge of the Holy Church's joint investigation team actually voiced this conjecture, which truly surprised the three of them.

After all, what the Blood Barbarians hope for most right now is that the Holy Church Alliance can find their Holy Son as soon as possible and take those huge troubles back with them. So if things can progress steadily, it would be an absolutely wonderful thing.

However, things are naturally not that simple. After all, the Blood Barbarians, who know they are innocent, are well aware that there is definitely something fishy going on behind the scenes, and the possibility that this fishy thing is the result of Dunbuya City acting arbitrarily is very low.

The biggest and most ominous possibility is that the Holy Church alliance has ulterior motives, such as—

"We need to verify the authenticity of this matter."

Hess remained calm and said matter-of-factly, "According to the scouts sent here, this fortress was previously engaged in battle with some unidentified individuals. This simplifies things. Since we haven't seen Prince Avery here, it means that if he was indeed fighting here, his identity can only be that of your—enemy."

Yulia's expression changed, and she said in a deep voice, "Absolutely impossible!"

"Is it impossible?"

Hess sneered and said with a cold expression, "A fierce battle broke out here a few hours ago, which only stopped just before we arrived. Almost at the same time the battle broke out, we sensed a power that strongly resembled His Highness Avery, and he is not on your side. Isn't that clear enough?"

Just as His Majesty predicted...

Netanyahu, who had been unusually silent since earlier, sighed inwardly before asking directly, "So what do you want to do?"

"Pass through this fortress and search for the whereabouts of the two Holy Princes."

Hess turned to look at the west side of the fortress and said softly, "If Prince Avery is really nearby, then there is a high probability that Prince Philip is also acting with him. They might even be able to find the Black Brahma priest whose body has not been found. In that case, unless you have a guilty conscience, once the truth comes out, the suspicion against the Blood Barbarians will be cleared immediately."

"inappropriate."

Netanyahu shook his head in rejection without hesitation.

Why is it inappropriate?

Hess pressed on, demanding sharply, "If you weren't hiding something and didn't want to expose that you were pursuing and besieging Prince Avery and his men, why wouldn't you let us go find them?"

Netanya met Hess's gaze without backing down, and said, word by word, "Because we cannot be sure whether you are going to find your own companions or dismember us after you pass through this fortress."

Hess smiled slightly and shook his head, saying, "I don't understand what you're talking about, Captain."

“You know exactly what I’m talking about, Madam Standard-Bearer.”

Netanya laughed and calmly explained, "Perhaps with the forces in this fortress at this moment, we are not afraid of your investigation team. As for top-tier combat power, Prince David and I are confident that we can prevent Sister Clara from gaining too much of an advantage. But what if we add Skork? What if we add the garrison in Dombua City? What if we add two other Epic-rank Holy Sons?"

Hess shook his head and said seriously, "I don't know what you're talking about, Captain. Our purpose is simple: we just want to confirm the safety of our partner. Believe me, even if you let us pass, the Evil Eye King won't say anything."

"What I have just described is precisely what Your Majesty is concerned about."

"It seems that the Evil Eye King's ambitions are nothing more than this."

"Please understand, if it were only a few people going, we could let them pass, but if it's the entire investigation team, then we're afraid we can't do anything about it."

"You've got a clever plan. If you all swarm in and kill us all, then lie and say we got lost while searching for our companions, wouldn't there be no way to prove it?"

"We have no reason to do so."

"But Dunbuya City was burned to the ground, and the fate of our two princes is unknown, their whereabouts are unknown."

"This is also the truth we most want to find out."

"What you say is unfounded."

"It is my duty, and I cannot back down. Please forgive me."

"Alright, since you're unwilling to let us pass, then we'll just set up camp next to your fortress and wait."

"This……"

"Farewell. Please send some supplies over later. We left in a hurry and didn't prepare anything. We'll have to rely on you for supplies during this time."

"..."

"If you don't want to, you can let us pass."

"Take care, gentlemen. We won't see you off."

Chapter 2688: The End