Yes, Madam Prime Minister

However, this young marshal, who debuted in his twenties and remained undefeated for twenty years, rose step by step from a low-ranking officer. At the time, he was not yet fifty years old and did not expect that most of the army he used as bait would surrender quickly. Only a small number of student soldiers refused to surrender and instead fought to the death. Adrian, who is now the chief agricultural officer in Xinhai City, was one of those student soldiers.

With the decoy surrendering, the vanguard immediately turned back, while the troops still locked in fierce combat with the enemy's main force were caught in a pincer movement. Upon receiving this news, Marshal Raven had no choice but to abandon his own plans and, after attacking several of the enemy's supply points, head straight for the enemy's main force.

After making many sacrifices, the Kingdom's army withdrew to its original defensive line, returning to a stalemate.

Many people died, but no strategic objectives were achieved. This battle was a defeat without being defeated.

After the war, although the Empire and Weyland withdrew their troops in the end, which could be considered a victory and not enough to make him, the commander of the Eastern Route Army, take the blame, he still suffered a lot of criticism from the people, attacks from the kingdom's officials, and even many people in the army were dissatisfied with him. King Lucien himself was not in a stable position at the time, so it was impossible for him to come forward to protect him.

Ultimately, this marshal, who had only suffered one defeat, went directly to the military academy as a lecturer on the king's advice.

Now, Isabel recommends this person to Ronan.

"Can we persuade this old knight?" Ronan asked.

“Of course you can’t. He dislikes bureaucrats like you the most,” Isabel said. “However, if my dear sister asks him a few more times, it shouldn’t be a problem. Several countries invited him to come back then, but he preferred to be a lecturer rather than go.”

The Western Continent was still in an era that had not completely broken away from feudalism. It was possible for a top nobleman of one country to become a king in another country, let alone for an individual to serve in another country.

The fact that this marshal did not leave the kingdom only shows that he was a very rare person of loyalty and patriotism in this era.

"Alright, I've said everything I needed to say. Remember my payment, dear sister."

After saying that, Isabel left.

Ronan looked at Ambrina, "What's the reward?"

Ambrina replied, "If it works out, she wants three hundred gold eagles and five percent of the stocking sales association's shares; if it doesn't, she'll take one hundred gold eagles."

"That robber." Ronan couldn't find a better word.

Ambrina added, "The main thing is that she promised that if it works out, she can find a few more young officers to go to the New World with you."

This is the main reason why she was willing to agree to Isabel's request. Otherwise, even if she found someone herself, she would be all alone.

“Hmm,” Ronan replied.

Finally, the team for the trip to the New World is complete.

In September, Dinia returned. She left alone, but returned with a pistol and a girl who looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old.

The pistol is shaped like an ordinary flintlock pistol, but with a black barrel, a red body, and two aquamarine gemstones inlaid on both sides of the grip.

The little girl had thick, black hair, fair skin, and rounded eyebrows that pointed at the ends, like a brushstroke on white paper with a pause followed by a quick stroke. She had long, thick, curled eyelashes, large, bright black eyes, a high nose with a slightly hooked tip, and gold earrings. She was wearing a dress that was clearly two sizes too big, yet it was still evident that she was well-developed.

"Suleiman's men?" Ronan asked.

The girl's appearance suggests she could only be a member of the Star Moon Cult.

This world doesn't have the Ottomans, but it does have the Suleimans. Their territory is slightly smaller than that of the Ottomans in Ronan's time, and they lack Algeria in North Africa, probably because France in this world is stronger.

“No.” Dinia denied, then introduced the little girl beside her to Ronan, “Canaan Amdaya, Zoroastrian, from India.”

Ronan was taken aback. The little girl's background was too bizarre: a Zoroastrian born in India. What kind of combination was that?

"It seems there's a long story behind this," Ronan chuckled. "Tell me about it?"

“My story is very short,” the girl Canaan suddenly said, directly contradicting her previous statement. She spoke French with a strange accent, but it was understandable.

“My father was a priest, and I learned to make ritual implements from a young age. When I was ten, my father wanted me to marry my foolish brother to exorcise demons for me. I ran away and went to an Arab merchant’s ship. Then I came to the Mediterranean. At first, I wandered around Suleiman, then I joined the pirates, and then I was captured by her.”

"It is salvation."

Dinya corrected her.

Ronan chuckled to himself, thinking that marrying her own brother was giving off a Zoroastrian vibe.

The young girl Canaan glanced at Dinia. "Yes, you are right."

Dinia ignored Canaan and continued explaining to Ronan, "She's a genius at creating magical artifacts. This pistol is one of her creations. It can hold and compress my magic power, then fire it as a bullet. It consumes very little power, but it can achieve the effect of using pure magic power to disrupt the magic power of low-level mages."

Canaan couldn't help but retort again, "Actually, the reason you couldn't bear it was because you cast a spell to assimilate the gun."

Dinia glared at Canaan. "Adults speak, children shut up. Also, don't just call someone 'you'."

“Hahaha.” Ronan laughed. “Now I’m starting to understand the father in that story. This kid might really need an exorcism. It’s really not Indian at all.”

“I am not Indian!” Canaan shouted, then pointed to his head and clenched his fist. “And only this person or someone stronger than me can call me a child.”

Ronan looked at Dinia and asked, "Is it okay if I beat her up?"

Canaan wasn't afraid at all. "Oh? I heard from Lady Egis that you're a smart person."

"It's faster to act." Ronan finished speaking and swung his sword.

Canaan was instantly surrounded by raging flames. Ronan's sword pierced into the flames, but he didn't feel any impact on anything. However, it didn't matter.

"No, uh." Canaan was about to say it was useless, but before he could finish speaking, a sharp pain struck him, and he quickly raised his hands. "I surrender, I surrender."

After saying that, Canaan withdrew the flames, a fake smile on his face, and continued to hold his hands up.

Ronan looked at her, a playful smile playing on his lips. He thought to himself that this child was really asking for trouble, and Elena would probably be very willing to take her under her wing.

Chapter 196 Education, Country People, Very Spirited

Ronan sighed and said to Dinia, "We don't have time to discipline this child."

Dinia responded, "Some indigenous tribes in the New World might find her useful."

Canaan's curiosity was piqued, and he asked eagerly, "What is it?"

“I’m not telling you,” Ronan said.

Dinia smiled, then patted Ronan's hand. "I'm leaving this child with you. I'm going back. I haven't had a proper night's sleep in the last six months. I need to get some rest." With that, Dinia vanished in an instant.

Ronan didn't even have a chance to refuse; he had no choice but to accept this brat.

Upon arriving home, Elena saw Ronan and the little girl, and deliberately adopted a sarcastic maid's tone, "Young master, is this the illegitimate daughter of one of your friends? God above, he shouldn't have had a child with a heretic woman. And why wasn't this little bastard who smells like sheep killed by stones?"

"You, you..." Canaan was shocked. She thought she had been in a pirate crew and was immune to profanity, but this blonde woman's insults were really vicious.

"What do you mean, 'you'? Don't you know how to address people respectfully? Don't you have a mother?" Elena continued, "Oh, I know, your mother was a prostitute. When she was about to give birth, she defecated you into the toilet, intending for you to drown in it, but you actually survived."

"I, I..." Canaan wanted to retort, but couldn't find the words. Enraged, he turned on his own and pounced on Elena.

"Moon Tide." Elena raised her hand, sending the flames off along with the people on their bodies.

If we're talking about cultivation level, Canaan could be considered a first-tier master, since she can cast spells. However, the intensity and level of her magic might not even be as good as a novice magician.

Before she even landed, Elena was already in front of her, delivering a powerful ground punch that sent her sprawling to the ground, unable to get up again.

Ronan made no attempt to stop her; Elena was a sensible person.

Just then, Alice, who had heard the noise, came over with a dark expression on her face.

Ronan ignored Elena's side and looked at Alice, "Have Chloe and Lutas made arrangements?"

“It’s done. If they can pass the written test, they should be able to pass,” Alice replied.

Chloe and Lutas had recently become junior mages. Ronan was leaving next year, so he proposed dismissing them and having them take the civil service exam. He even arranged some preferential treatment for them, but of course, if they couldn't even pass the written exam, it wouldn't work.

Alice asked Canaan, "Who is this little girl on the ground?"

"...That's about it." Ronan recounted how he went to pick up Dinia, and how Dinia brought back this little girl.

"So what are you going to do?" Alice asked, adding, "I'm not sure I'll have the time to take care of her."

Ronan smiled. "No need. Didn't you see? There's a perfect one over here." As he spoke, Ronan's gaze moved toward Elena.

Alice wanted to laugh but didn't. "Barbarians and heretics, ha, they're quite a match."

Ronan nodded, then went over and helped Canaan up, saying to Elena, "From now on, this child will be in your care."

Elena gave a witch-like smile. "Oh, then I'll have to go buy a boar bristle brush first to get rid of the sheep smell on her."

“I don’t want to!” Canaan shouted.

Ronan ignored her completely and beckoned to Alice, "Come on, I have something important to tell you."

Then Ronan and Alice left.

A new life began in Canaan.

She had never really suffered much hardship growing up. From the time she could remember, she showed extraordinary talent in making ritual artifacts, which were magical tools. She also somehow acquired magic. Her parents treated her like a treasure and allowed her to read books. Although she became increasingly unruly after reading "The Adventures of Sinbad of Seris" and was considered to be possessed by evil spirits, her parents only planned to marry her off to her own brother to exorcise the evil spirits. They did not really discipline her strictly.

She only suffered briefly on the Arab merchant's ship. Later, whether she was a wanderer or a pirate, she did well by relying on her own strength. Ordinary people couldn't do anything to her even if they had muskets. In the pirate crew, she became an important figure relied on by the captain because of her ability to make magical artifacts. Apart from not being allowed to disembark, she was the second freest person on the ship.

But she didn't fare so well in Elena's hands.

They had to undergo intense physical training every day and memorize the Seven Saints Sect's scriptures. If they didn't meet the standards, they weren't allowed to eat. If they dared to resist, they would be locked in a cramped, dark room where they couldn't even lie down.

This continued for a month.

That morning, Elena suddenly came over.

Before she could be called, Canaan, who was taking a nap in a chair, woke up instantly and reflexively emphasized loudly, "No, I didn't slack off."

“Is it really necessary?” Elena questioned.

"I was wrong, I will reflect on my mistake." Canaan immediately admitted his mistake.

"Alright, come with me. The time has come to see if you're any good." With that, Elena opened the door and walked out.

Canaan reached the door but stopped. Over the past month, she had thought of escaping more than once, but she knew very well that this was Ronan's territory and she couldn't escape. If she did escape, the consequences would be severe.

At this moment, she could go out openly and honestly, but she hesitated to take that step, as if what lay ahead was not a free street, but a terrifying hell. After a long while, Canaan took a deep breath before closing her eyes and forcing herself to walk out.

Nothing happened.

"Can you hurry up?" Elena urged.

"Coming right away," Canaan replied hastily, quickly following after him.

On the way, Elena said, "The kind of pistol you made is pretty useless."

"Chicken ribs?" Canaan didn't understand Elena's meaning.

"The story of Seris is about something that looks useful but is actually useless," Elena explained, though she herself was only a dabbler.

“Yes.” Canaan agreed, not faking it, but because she genuinely believed it. In the past month, she had learned a lot and realized that she was just a clever country girl.

Guns that extract magic power to form magic bullets and then fire them were invented on this continent decades ago, but few people use them.

For most novice mages, this is too mana-intensive, and its physical damage is similar to that of a flintlock pistol. Its only advantage is slightly better accuracy, but considering its high cost, it is really not worth it.

It does deal magical damage, but even a novice mage wouldn't find it very powerful.

Most upright mages wouldn't use this kind of magic gun, because their magic is faster and stronger than this gun.

Only those with abundant magic power but lacking offensive means might consider using magic-powered firearms; for them, it would be perfectly acceptable to purchase more expensive and powerful magic items.

Dinia took a liking to this thing because she already had a special move: a pure magical surge that caused low-rank mages to have their magic disordered and unable to cast spells. Using this specially crafted magic pistol to perform this move slightly reduced the speed, but it was more mana-efficient.

At this moment, Elena changed the subject, "Young Master has an idea, and he wants you to give it a try."

"I will definitely work hard," Canaan shouted energetically.

Chapter 197 Feigning a Change of Heart, Mission Accomplished, Magic Revolver

Canaan never expected that Elena would lead her on a journey that would last for most of the day, until dusk, when the two arrived at a place called the White Star Cathedral.

“You must first convert to the Seven Saints Church,” Elena said.

Canaan's small face instantly fell. She mustered her courage and said to the blond demon in front of her, "I... I won't convert." Her tribe had fled from their homeland to the West Indies because they didn't want to convert to Islam. Although she had never been a devout believer, she didn't want to convert.

Elena ruffled Canaan's hair. "You're supposed to be pretty smart, aren't you? You pretended to convert, but you didn't even realize you regretted it?"

"You can do that?" Canaan was surprised. She was smart and precocious, but her knowledge was still lacking.

“Many people do this,” Elena said, after all, she did it herself.

“Alright,” Canaan agreed. She finally understood why Elena had forced her to memorize the Seven Saints’ scriptures a month earlier.

The two arrived at the church, where Elliot, having become friends with Ronan and reached an agreement with him, led them to the place where the ceremony would be held.

Elliott was not the one who presided over the ceremony; he was an assistant who handled the church's secular affairs. A real clergyman was needed to preside over the conversion ceremony.

Soon, the two met a bald bishop of the district, with several priests standing beside him.

Originally, White Star City, a special city, did not have a bishop. After all, a district bishop is not a cheap commodity. Does a small city of tens of thousands of people deserve one?

But after the seven special cities merge, with a population of several hundred thousand, that would be a good match.

The bishop asked Canaan a few questions. Canaan was clever enough to simply quote directly from the second half of the canon as his answers. The bishop remained expressionless and began the ceremony; after all, he had been paid.

The conversion ceremony was completed quickly.

Elena breathed a sigh of relief; this was a task Ronan had given her, and thankfully she hadn't messed it up.