The old man shook his head and saluted Emya's group with a warm smile. "I presume you are Team Emya? Craig once mentioned to me that there is an exceptional and rare mage-craftsman in Elturgard. Unfortunately, the relationship between the two parties has never been good."

The purpose of this meeting with Craig was certainly not to truly desire the Dawn Crystals. Quite the contrary, their goal was to make Craig think they wanted the Dawn Crystals, so they could use them as leverage to gain other bargaining chips. Emiya didn't believe that the devil could really produce a large amount of Dawn Crystals at will.

At the same time, they had to maintain a relatively natural hostility towards Craig.

—Let Craig know that he is not welcome. Emiya and his group came to see him with a pinched nose. But they couldn't let the devil realize that they were on guard.

In short, the atmosphere between the two sides must be kept to the limit of internal discord - this attitude is the most natural one based on previous encounters.

But how should such complex requirements be fulfilled?

Before leaving, the chief director, Ms. Sig, looked Emiya and Mars up and down, then said with a sad face, "...you two, just say whatever comes to your mind without deliberately restraining yourself. You are almost at this level."

What does this mean? Do they usually talk to each other in a rude way?!

Mars chuckled. "Mr. Craig only devotes one-tenth of the energy he devotes to the Church of Oghma. So naturally, our friendship is only one-tenth as well. This is fair and just."

Craig was about to speak when Mars interrupted him again. He took a deep breath, calmed himself, and said, "Please allow me to introduce you. This elder is Tani, the leader of the Enemy of the Abyss sect of the Church of Torm. He and his subordinates were invited here as experts in dealing with demons. Of course, when I extended the invitation, Berdusk hadn't discovered the demon yet. This could be considered a coincidence, or it could be considered Torm's arrangement."

Craig then briefly introduced Emiya and his group. Emiya asked, somewhat puzzled, "...An enemy sect of the Abyss? But from what I understand, the Hell Knights' goal is to descend into Hell, not to reach the Abyss."

"Oh my goodness." Tani stroked his long beard. "Young man! The name of a sect should be concise and eye-catching. We can't be called [Enemy of Baator, the Abyss, the Scorching Hell, the Grey Waste, and the Roaring Sky Tunnel]! The bloody battle is endless, and the two sides fight in almost every lower plane. We can find demons in Hell and devils in the Abyss. Although we are called the Enemies of the Abyss, we don't mind punishing the devils at all."

As he spoke, Tani walked between the two groups of people. "So, what exactly happened? Mr. Craig, with all due respect, credit and reputation are more valuable than money and treasures. If you have made a promise, now is the time to deliver."

"I didn't do anything. They just tried to go back on their word." Craig's face darkened after being repeatedly rebuked by Emiya and her group. "—All I promised was the right to purchase the Sunlight Sword materials."

"We've seen the Elturgard way," Mars said indifferently. "They offered us the recipe for a magic item as payment, but they're withholding the necessary materials. We demanded a deposit, and even threatened our freedom—with all due respect, if this continues, your death in hell won't seem like a punishment for evil, but rather a contribution to Zariel's bloody cause."

"Alright. I personally suggest that both sides compromise." The leader of the enemies of the Abyss shook his head. "After all, many magical items are so scarce because their core materials are difficult to obtain. Craig's desire to purchase them in bulk might simply be due to his inability to do so."

"Indeed," Craig sighed. "We still have two pieces of Elturgard's energy core left, but they're destined for Sunlight Swords, to be given to the Knights of Hell and the Companions of the Sun. Curry simply doesn't have the materials to give you right now... Your speed has truly exceeded our expectations."

"That's the situation. At least my cousin didn't mean to default on his promise—" Tani saw that Craig was trying to cool his temper and rubbed his hands in satisfaction. "Young man, why don't you just ask Craig for some compensation? I bet he's too embarrassed to refuse directly right now."

Emiya looked silently at the Supreme Observer who was about to speak but hesitated and finally kept silent, and narrowed her eyes slightly.

——It’s better to say that their most important goal in coming here to make Craig and the devil relax their vigilance is to force Craig to agree to one of their conditions!

Eltoril's main official forces are the Knights of Hell and the Knights of the Companions of the Sun.

Both organizations are complex, with members drawn from all over Faerûn and possessing a wide variety of professions. However, the core pillar of the Hell Knights is ultimately the Church of Tyr, while the Companions of the Sun are primarily comprised of followers of Torm.

Judging from his interactions with the Hell Knights, regardless of whether there is some kind of unbreakable contract between Eltoril and them, at least the Hell Knight team itself is indeed trustworthy.

Well, if Eltoril itself is not reliable enough, we must try to cut off the connection between the Hell Knight and Eltoril!

Emiya still didn't know what terms the relationship between Eltoril and Zariel was based on, but it must have been a hidden trap, not some kind of open treaty.

Otherwise, given the sensitivity of the members of the Church of Tyre to the regulations, they would never have been infected in large numbers.

Even if the members of the Companions remain enthusiastic and loyal, if the devil sets a trap in secret, the Companions who are closest to Craig and the Companions will have no chance of survival.

Emilia's time is running out. He can only try to pry back the most effective and fastest ally from the devil.

Thinking of this, Emilia shook her head and said, "Then I want to buy the shell of the burrowing nymph that I found so far at a low price."

"...?" This request was beyond the imagination of the two Bishops of Thom. Tani's smile froze, and Craig couldn't help but shout, "A burrowing nymph's shell? What do you want this for?"

Emilia snorted and refused to answer.

Tani pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled and patted Craig's shoulder. "Didn't you complain to me that the burrowing nymph corpses you acquired earlier were difficult to dispose of and no one wanted them, giving you a headache? Isn't now the perfect time to take action?"

"..." Craig lowered his head and was silent for a moment. He exchanged a glance with Tani and said softly, "If that's the condition, then yes. Elturgard is helping to store these bodies that have nowhere to go. How much do you expect to pay?"

"80 gold coins for a set of shells."

Craig, who had just calmed down, nearly jumped up. "Why don't you just go and rob it?! Do you know how big that thing is? Do you know how many bodies can be stuffed into one warehouse in this camp? And you only want the shells? What about the remaining flesh and bones?"

Emiya scoffed. "I know this all too well. After all, I built every warehouse in this camp. One warehouse can probably hold about fifty bodies."

Sig grinned and said, "The entire camp's warehouse is probably full by now. We're helping you clean up the useless garbage, and you're actually trying to make a profit from it. That's not quite right. I'm helping you clean up the difficult-to-handle corpses, so you should be paying me! If we delay any further and these bodies rot and mold, we won't be able to use them. If we need to build a crematorium, we'll still have to blame Emia.

"If you don't agree to this price, that's fine too." Sig raised his hand maliciously. "If it's a corpse, it will be very troublesome for us to deal with the remaining flesh and bones. A shell costs 80 gold coins, but a corpse is only 30 gold coins."

She turned her back leisurely. "When they ask us to urgently build a crematorium, don't blame us for asking for exorbitant prices. Don't forget, if the government hires a wizard to incinerate the bodies, the cost will be huge, and we won't save much. We're already a rare buyer willing to pay for it. No more waiting."

"You—!" Craig was so angry that he could hardly speak. He waved his hand vigorously, "Okay, okay, I'll sign a certificate for you. If you want, go ahead and buy them! There's no limit to the quantity. If you can, take all the shells off these corpses! You better not go through so much trouble only to buy one!"

Emiya and his group happily left, heading straight for the warehouse. Looking at their backs, Tani's warm smile grew even brighter without him realizing it. "—That arrogant young man, is he the target?"

Craig's anger disappeared in an instant, and he said coldly: "...It's him."

"He only wants the shells, great." Tani whispered. "Originally, we were still considering where to legally obtain a large number of corpses."

"Praise be to the All-Knowing One. All things are within His sight."

The heaviest gift

It has been raining heavily for several days and nights.

The continuous rain curtain hit the ground heavily, making a dull thud. The splashing raindrops covered the soil in front of Asur.

Although the Tyre camp was deliberately kept out of the heavy rain, this world wasn't isolated. The floodwaters that fell from the sky poured into the earth, and sooner or later, they would seep into the surrounding area.

Asur, the leader of the Hell Knights, stomped the ground hard.

Perhaps it was not his illusion, he felt that the ground beneath his feet was gradually becoming soft.

A flood of this magnitude was unheard of in his knowledge.

What frightened him even more was the scale of the devil's underground palace.

The Hell Knights once attempted to place an empty bucket in the area of ​​the torrential downpour to measure the rainfall. However, within a single day, the one-meter-tall bucket was completely filled. They even witnessed the overflowing bucket collapse under the heavy rain. Now, half a decade later, the downpour has not stopped.

The underground palace hadn't even been flooded. The Hell Knights patrolled day and night, yet they hadn't seen a single burrowing worm flushed from the surface.

The Hell Knights, who had been so brave just a few days ago, gradually understood that the underground palace ahead of them was an unimaginable maze. They had now given up the thought of entering the underground palace again and only waited for the demons to be forced out.

Just as Asul was lost in thought, a calm and familiar young man's voice came into his ears.

"Lord Asur, I haven't seen you for a few days. How are the Hell Knights preparing for battle?"

Asul was stunned for a moment, patted his brain which was a little dizzy from the sound of rain, and turned around with a surprised expression.

Naturally, the ones who came to visit were Emiya and his group and Metatron.

Asul took a deep breath and said, "I didn't expect you would have time to come to the front line?"

"I have to come," Emiya snorted coldly. "After all, I just delivered a batch of horse armor to our Supreme Observer. But the Supreme Observer said that he was only responsible for placing the order, and tracking this equipment was the responsibility of his subordinates. In that case, I might as well go to the front line and ask in person."

"...Horse armor?" Asul blinked in surprise. "What horse armor?"

Emilia replied, "A batch of horse armor that only covers the horse's body, leaving the horse's neck exposed. What, you don't know? Perhaps it was given to the Knights of the Sun?"

"You're joking. I'm the commander of the Hell Knights, but I also serve in the Knights of the Sun. I haven't heard of any new equipment being delivered in the past few days." Asul's eyebrows rose as he spoke. "—And, horse armor without neck protection? That's outrageous. The powerful enemies the Hell Knights face are almost as big as warhorses. If you ask me, even if we want to control the quality of the horse armor, we should only keep the front half. How can we divide it into two parts?!"

Perhaps this topic seriously irritated Asur, and the paladin's voice immediately rose. "A horse's neck is closest to the enemy, and it's also the most vulnerable to attacks from larger foes! Skipping the armor in this area is sheer disregard for human life!"

However, Emiya did understand the reason for the design of this batch of horse armor—as Zariel had said, the true users of this armor were the Iron Horse Demons of Hell. Simply put, these were a group of four-hoofed demons, like centaurs. The neck of a horse corresponded to the abdomen of a human body for these creatures.

But there were no centaurs in Elturgard! Craig couldn't explain why he had to create armor that no one could use, so he simply cut the armor in half.

However, this kind of speculation is not something that can be said to a paladin right now.

A paladin's respect for order is absolute. The Knights of Hell have sworn fealty to Elturgard. If Emya had told Asur about these events, it would only create a dilemma for them and alarm Zariel.

Wanting to help them, Emilia chose a more roundabout way.

He coughed lightly. "That's what I thought, too. But I'm not a bureaucrat. After realizing this problem, I chose to solve it in a more direct way. Lord Asur, do you have the physical data of the Hell Knight? I mean, the chest, waist, and hip circumferences for making clothes...?"

Asur was stunned for a moment, then realized something and looked incredulous: "You want to make brand new armor for us?"

"Of course." Emiya pointed at the abdomen of a nearby Hell Knight. "Your armor has already started to rust from the moisture of the rainstorm. If the devil continues to hide like this, you will have to fight him in your glowing steel armor."

Yes, this is the most serious problem that Hell Knight is currently facing.

They hadn't known the demons would launch a surprise attack, so they had to take turns standing guard. However, their manpower was limited, so they didn't have enough time to maintain their equipment. The protective layer on their equipment was beginning to wear off.

As a result, their armor had begun to be damaged in the mist.

Emiya clapped her hands. "So, is this data confidential? You were the one who persuaded me to work for Elturgard. Now that I'm here, I shouldn't be turned away."

"No, no, no." Azul's face showed confusion. "Of course I'm happy about this. But... this is armor."

It takes at least ten days to make a set of armor.

The Hell Knights numbered several thousand, including an incredible two thousand heavily armored warrior priests!

The warriors clad in expensive and luxurious magical armor didn't have this worry. However, these individuals probably numbered only a few hundred or so. The rest of the members needed to replace their armor, or at least acquire spares.

There are nearly two thousand sets of armor, and they are only starting to produce them now. How can we have enough time?

The devil is watching closely, and the battle may break out within a few days or even a month. How can such a short time be enough to make armor?

Not to mention, Emiya actually wanted detailed physical data - that is, he even planned to tailor it for each person.

If Asur had not witnessed Emilia's previous exaggerated feats of using supernatural powers, he would have almost thought Emilia was joking.

But Emiya didn't smile. "How to make it is my business. My paladin teammates will oversee the production process to ensure fairness and openness. You only need to tell me whether Elturgard has such documents."

"Of course there are," Asur sighed. "All Hell Knights, after taking the oath under the Companion Sun, must report their physical data to Elturgard. They will receive armor, weapons, and clothing from Elturgard within a few months. As long as they serve Elturgard and the Hell Knights, the weapons and armor will belong to them.

"--Even this set of documents, which records tens of thousands of Hell Knights over the years, is kept with me." Asur pinched his brow. "If the Hell Knights hadn't decided to relocate, it would have been stored in Eltoril."

"But..." Asul's common sense was still struggling. "Actually, you only need to provide weapons."

A well-made weapon can perform well without adjusting the center of gravity specifically for personal preference, unlike ill-fitting armor which can cause various problems.

Crafting hundreds of weapons of varying quality in a matter of days was more or less within Asur's comprehension. Weapons with varying centers of gravity, not being comfortable in the hand—in the final analysis, this was commonplace, not even a major flaw.

"Weapons...?" Emilia repeated the word, and then a look of sudden realization appeared on her face.

He patted his head, then took off the dimensional bag from his waist: "Oh, this, I already brought it."

"...Huh?" Asul was stunned for a moment, "...What? What did you bring?"

Emilia slowly pulled out a small cylinder from her dimensional bag, a hint of apology on her face. "Sorry, I gave our teammates adamantium hilts. But my personal financial resources and inventory simply don't allow me to equip every Hell Knight with this level of material..."

This time, Asur took the Moonlight Sword with some doubt, muttering, "This looks very similar to the Sunlight Sword that Elturgard is currently researching...?"

Then his eyes widened.

——The paladin finally remembered that just a few days ago, it was he himself who successfully persuaded Metatron and Emya to work for Elturgard's logistics department by using the crafting method of the Sun Sword as a reward.

But, it’s only been a few days?!

The Sun Sword had been Elturgard's primary research project for years, a true treasure among treasures. If it weren't for Emya's exceptional talent, and the need to keep Metatron, a fortuitously passing powerful mage, within Elturgard's ranks at this critical juncture, not only would Craig, but even Asur himself would not have agreed to hand over the Sun Sword's crafting methods.

Even so, Asur was still somewhat confident—even if he handed over the recipe, Emya wouldn't be able to learn it so quickly. Even if he did, he would still be indebted to Elturgard.

——But what does it mean that Emiya so calmly took out a Sunlight Sword? !

As far as he knew, the cost of the Sun Sword was extremely high, and it was intended to be used as a symbol of the leaders of various forces in Elturgard, and as a prize for recognition in the future!

Even the leader of the Hell Knights, Asur himself, had not yet had time to get the Sun Sword that belonged to him.

Such a treasure just appeared here? !

Asur shook his head. "Is this the specimen Elturgard gave you? My own sword is none other than Elturgard's only Holy Avenger. I have no need of the Sunblade myself. I do not believe such a precious weapon should be used for ornamental purposes..."

"Oh, you're overthinking it." Emiya shook her head. "This isn't the Sunlight Sword. The value of the Sunlight Sword I used as a sample was too high, so I returned it immediately after I learned how to use it. If anything were to happen to it, I wouldn't be able to afford the compensation."

"Oh, that's good, that's good... Wait, you learned it? You learned what?!"

Emiya shrugged, gripped the Moonlight Sword in her hand, and pressed the slide switch on the side of the hilt.

hum.

Amidst a long humming sound and the shocked gazes of Asur and dozens of Hell Knights around him, Emiya revealed the sharp edge of the Moonlight Sword.

The clear light shone on the rain curtain not far away, as if it was the first ray of light breaking through the rain clouds.

"That's right," Emya replied. "I've learned it. This is an improved version of the Moonlight Sword, crafted using the same principles. Its energy recharge allows it to maintain its sharpness for ten hours a day, while overloading with fire consumes one-tenth of the energy, so use it with caution. As for the specific material of the Moonlight Sword? Because Elturgard has been secretive, I still don't know what substance Elturgard used for the Sunlight Sword. So please forgive me for keeping it a secret."

"No... no." Asur hesitated, then took a step back. "Let me repeat myself. My sword, the Holy Avenger, is one of the most powerful holy swords in Faerun. I have a backup weapon myself. It's my subordinates who need a more powerful magical weapon. I understand your kindness."

"No, what are you talking about?" Emilia's eyes were full of confusion, as if she didn't understand what Asur said. "Didn't you say that the Hell Knights wanted to be equipped with some spare weapons? You need a weapon, so I'll give you one first. Of course, every Hell Knight gets a share."

"……what?"

Asul began to doubt whether his speech and hearing centers were still functioning properly. His voice trembled as a completely unbelievable thought flooded his mind: "...What do you mean, give me a hand first...?"

Emiya said as she walked over to the Hell Knight who was watching the fun nearby.

This is a temporary camp of the Hell Knights. All those here are Asur's personal guards, about twenty people in total.

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