Your war hammer is too fake

"Great!" Gustav cursed as he pulled out a spring-loaded pistol from his belt, pointed it at a rebel who was rushing towards him with a pitchfork, and pulled the trigger: "Now we can go home early, ha!!"

"We should retreat, boss!" The bald mercenary swung his sword to chop down a rebel, shouting without looking back: "These Bretonnians are finished, we must immediately seek refuge with the high elves!"

"High elves... huh?!" Gustav was about to reply when he was stunned. Some of the suspicions that had arisen long ago suddenly became a thread, and after a brief hesitation and weighing, the former explorer shouted at the top of his voice: "Yes, we retreat!"

After a pause, he added: "We retreat to the high elves!"

Chapter 413: Soul Contract

Bretonnia, Duchy of Bastogne, Castle of Bastogne.

In a way, Bastogne can be said to be the most special of the fourteen duchies in the Kingdom of Knights, because it is the territory of the founding monarch of Bretonnia, Gilles le Batto, the "Unifier". In addition, unlike Sigmar, who has no descendants, Gilles not only has offspring, but his bloodline has been passed down to this day.

Duke Bohemond the Beast Slayer, ruler of the Duchy of Bastogne, a direct descendant of Gilles, and a renowned Holy Grail Knight. For some reason, the royal family that now rules Bretonnia is from the Duchy of Conroigne, but Bohemond doesn't care about the throne: after completing his own Holy Grail Trial, this knight, who was much like his ancestors and preferred to hunt dangerous monsters rather than manage his territory, wanted to follow the ancient traditions of the Holy Grail Knights and become a glorious guardian of the Holy Land.

Unfortunately, this plan did not work out in the end, because the King of Bretonnia at the time personally came forward and asked Bohemond to inherit the territory of the Duchy of Bastogne. If he did not do so, Bastogne would not have any other strong claims, and the ownership of the Duchy would inevitably cause a series of troubles, which the king must do his best to avoid.

Although Duke Bohemond obeyed the king's order and became a duke, the territory and title could not stop him from pursuing honor and ideals. This Holy Grail Knight entrusted all the affairs of the territory to officials, and rode his warhorse to hunt monsters everywhere. Over time, he was nicknamed "Beast Butcher".

Compared to other duchies, the knights of Bastogne are more idealistic. The good news is that the knights here are more committed to chivalry and the Lady of the Lake than other places in Bretonnia, and they treat the old farmers under their rule more humanely; the bad news is that the administrative officials and noble knights of Bastogne are almost the opposite. The former are known for their extreme corruption, and their existence effectively ensures that the farmers of Bastogne will not live better than other places.

In addition, Bastogne is most famous for its abnormal number of Holy Grail Knights. For some reason, Bastogne is rich in Holy Grail Knights, and it has been like this since the founding of the country. This phenomenon has contributed to the arrogance of the people of Bastogne: geographically speaking, Bastogne is located in the center of Bretonnia, and the Bastogne Castle built by Gilles is located in the center of the principality, which makes the people of Bastogne always think highly of themselves.

"It is said that the knights of Bastogne not only look down on foreigners, such as the empire in the north, but also other principalities," An Jiyue put his hands behind his back and looked up at the huge banner hanging on the wall. "They always give me a feeling of being the Caledor of Barto, arrogant, but with the capital to be arrogant."

"Pride is the original sin," a hollow, deep voice said. "It blinds people and prevents them from seeing the truth."

"Then do you think Lilith is arrogant?" The governor did not turn around, and she did not even take her eyes off the banner depicting the deeds of the Dukes of Bastogne. "She firmly believes that mortals will be defeated and the end of the world is inevitable. All her actions are based on this. She does not care about the thoughts of mortals, and she does not bother to understand the efforts made by mortals to protect their homes. She regards herself as a great sacrifice, a person who has done a necessary evil..."

The girl paused, then continued, "Isn't this just disgusting arrogance?"

"What about you, unknown outsider?" the voice asked. "Perhaps you will become a protector, the embodiment of hope, the savior of this world that is about to be destroyed. Mortals will survive, and the world will continue. What is the price of all this, a new contract, a re-enactment of the ancient past?"

"Sure enough, you knew the truth from the beginning, or at least guessed the truth," An Jiyue turned around slowly, the torch stuck on the wall flickered, and the swaying flames outlined changing shadows in the corners of the wall, "Go ahead."

The silver-haired, red-eyed Outer God raised his head slightly, his expression looking like a smile and a bit of contempt: "Since you asked your descendants to send this invitation, it means you have made your choice. Tell me, Gilles, what do you want?"

"...Lilith," the green translucent shadow said after a long silence, and then gave the conditions it had considered long ago, "After everything is settled and all of Bretonnia has sworn allegiance to your ally, I hope... No, I beg you to relieve Lilith's pain and remove the plague from her body."

In the narrow and dark castle hall, the air suddenly whistled. The translucent green shadow was lifted into the air by telekinesis without any resistance. The next moment, the main door of the hall was knocked open from the outside, and Duke Bohemond rushed in with his shield and mace, roaring and fighting with Nishikori Shigeru who jumped out of the shadows.

"Stop," Gilles called weakly. "Bohemond, stand down."

The Duke glared at An Jiyue with hatred, and took a few steps back holding the mace and shield, then wiped the left face with the back of his right hand. Opposite him, the deputy captain of the Jinyiwei put away the water-dividing spear with an expressionless face, and then shook his right hand vigorously, which was numb from the shock.

"I won't say any more useless nonsense," An Jiyue said after the situation calmed down again. "If you have misunderstood some of my intentions, then I can tell you clearly now that as long as there is a chance, I will not hesitate to kill that pointy-eared bitch even if the price is a full-scale war with Osuan. Tell me, what bargaining chips can you offer to impress me? Just Bretonnia? Even without you, Evelyn can still conquer this ridiculous country!"

"I will give my all to your ally, to Egwene de Richelieu," Gilles said. "My country, my soul, anything I can offer. Even to beings like you, my soul is valuable, right? I am dying, and my soul will soon return to nothingness, but I am sure you can reverse this, just as Lady Egwene reversed the irreversible Chaos mutation and saved Sir Almalik and Sir Bayard."

"As far as objective facts are concerned, your soul is indeed valuable. You just lack some opportunities. You have the potential to become a god, just like Sigma," An Jiyue nodded in agreement, then changed the subject, "But let's not talk about how much trouble it will cause if Lilith lives. Your bargaining chip itself is false. Does your soul still belong to you?"

"...I am different from other Holy Grail Knights." Gilles was silent for a while. "My Holy Grail brothers and I are special. This is the special treatment He gives us."

"You feel that you can't let your former boss down even if you change jobs, which is good. Morality is not a burden, hypocrisy and pedantry are. In any case, the gift bestowed by Lilith has indeed protected Bretonnia for a thousand years, so even though you have made the decision to switch to us, you still feel guilty and want to do something," the governor said as he walked out, "but you shouldn't insult my intelligence in this way. Bretonnia and your value are not so great that I can tolerate Lilith continuing to live."

She released the telekinesis that was controlling Gilles, and let the extremely weak spirit slowly fall. Her short boots stepped on the rock floor, making a crisp echo. When half of An Jiyue's body had walked out of the room and her long silver hair was about to disappear behind the door, Gilles finally spoke.

"Wait a moment, my lady," said the Founder of Bretonnia. "I have changed my mind. Now, I implore you to listen to my new terms. When all of Bretonnia has pledged its loyalty to Lady Egwene, I hope you will take the time to meet with Lilith."

"As long as He is willing to give up His plan, can you heal Him in exchange?"

The castle hall, which was hung with flags, was silent for a long time. Gilles' spirit became fainter and fainter. He clearly felt that death was approaching, and this time he would never have the chance to return to the world.

"can."

As soon as he finished speaking, a vast amount of spiritual energy poured into the spirit body that was about to return to nothingness. The wound left by the [Soul Scythe] was quickly repaired, and the diffuse consciousness was reshaped... Gilles, whose mind was once scattered, once again clearly perceived this world.

"I accept your conditions." The silver-haired, red-eyed Outer God said to the newly solidified spirit.

The author says:

Author's words: There was a power outage... Fortunately, after emergency repairs, the power supply was restored. Praise to the employees of the power department~

Chapter 414 Ah~

Somewhere in the northern part of the Badlands, at the expedition camp.

The sudden riot continued, and the tents, flatbed carts and hay were set ablaze in the night, and the heat waves burned the two sides who were fighting desperately. Since the first target of the rebels was the stable, the knights who lost their mounts could only fight on foot. This was a great humiliation for most of the Bretonnian nobles (Note 1), and it also caused the knights to lose the biggest tactical advantage of armored cavalry on the battlefield: mobility and impact.

What's even worse is that due to the suddenness of the incident, there was no time for the knights to pray before the battle. As a result, except for the Holy Grail Knights whose blessing of the Lake God was a permanent effect, the other knights could only fight against rebels that outnumbered them by dozens of times without either war horses or the blessing of the Lake God.

Since setting foot in the badlands, after various losses along the way, the Bretonnian expeditionary force had about four thousand old farmers of various types before the riot, including two hundred mounted attendants and three field catapults in disassembled state, as well as a group of combat pilgrims who were attracted by Sir Rodrick and volunteered to participate in this expedition to recapture the holy relics.

If it weren't for the existence of these fanatics of the Lake God, Gustav felt that these knights would have been overwhelmed by the rebels long ago, and even the powerful Holy Grail Knights could not save them. This rebellion was not without signs, but it did catch the knights off guard: in addition to the fighting pilgrims, the mounted squires, and the soldiers recruited from the town, almost all the old farmers participated in the rebellion, and showed a kind of fearless fanaticism in the battle.

That was a spirit they had never shown before when they were fighting against all kinds of monsters in the badlands. If it weren't for the more fanatical fighting pilgrims who fought to the death and held off the rebels for a short period of time, the knights probably wouldn't have had time to put on their armor.

Even so, the situation was still overwhelmingly unfavorable to the knights. The old peasants who were still loyal to the lord probably only accounted for about one-tenth of the entire army, or perhaps even less, and were targeted by sneak attacks at the beginning of the riot. No one knew how the rebels had quietly completed such a large-scale joint operation, and no one knew how these country bumpkins, who had dropped out of prenatal education, could achieve such a close teamwork. If they didn't take action, it would be fine. Once they took action, they swept the entire camp.

With the tenacious resistance of the Fighting Pilgrims, the surviving knights barely gathered together to form a circular shield wall to resist the rebels' fierce attack. They held shields in their left hands, wielded armed swords, chain hammers and cavalry axes in their right hands, and shouted "For the Lady!" to fight bravely. However, no matter how many rebels the knights cut down, the number of enemies seemed endless. They kept pouring in from all directions with torches and simple weapons, gathering into a sea of ​​people and crashing into the shield wall one after another.

"(Tyrelian) Now!" shouted the bald mercenary captain.

Twenty Tyrell mercenaries pushed aside the dead bodies on top of them and charged forward with their bodies covered in blood from others. The unique sound of crossbow strings being released became one, and several rebel soldiers who were half-crouching on the ground searching for spoils were pierced through the throat or eye sockets by arrows before they could issue any warning.

After dealing with the clever guys who deserted in the middle of a battle, Gustav, holding a revolver in each hand, poked his head out from behind an overturned flatbed truck. "Boss!" The mercenary captain came over and shook off the blood stains on his sword: "All solved."

"Well done," the former explorer nodded, still holding the pistol in his hand, "Let's go to the high elves."

"...Huh?" The bald man's eyes widened: "What? Um, I mean, are we really going?"

Gustav was not the only one who noticed that something was wrong with the high elves. These veterans who had fought on the battlefield all their lives and had seen and even experienced countless intrigues also smelled something subtle. In response to the mercenary captain's hesitation and resistance, Gustav, who had dealt with these war dogs a lot when he was young, immediately took out the most effective way to deal with such people: "Are you going to rely on these few people to return to the seaside? Do you still want the balance?"

Gustav pulled the bald man over and waved his pistol to signal the others to follow him. "Listen, I know those high elves are suspicious, but we have no choice... We are running low on supplies."

"Boss, I agree with most of your opinions," the bald man said awkwardly, "My suggestion is that you can use gold to buy some supplies from those pointy-eared people. They won't refuse. We can try to return from the same route. In any case, I personally don't recommend that you continue this expedition. These arrogant Bretonnians are even more unreliable than the Estalia people! Listen to me, I know you have invested a lot of money in this expedition, but first you have to stay alive to enjoy wealth and life!"

Twenty mercenaries and a former explorer advanced cautiously in the dark. If there were few rebels blocking the road, they would use Tyrell's famous crossbow to destroy them; if there were too many enemies, they would try to bypass them. The battle in the camp continued. Although the knights were defeated, it seemed that they could still hold out for a long time. These tin cans attracted the attention of most of the rebels, which gave Gustav and others a chance to slip away.

Because he deliberately avoided almost all light sources, even the mercenary captain who was just a stone's throw away did not notice Gustav taking off the cylindrical star iron can that had been hanging on his right waist, unscrewing it, and pulling out a glass tube that was as thick as a finger and stuffed in a large ball of cotton cloth, and holding it tightly in his hand. The former explorer first wanted to put the glass bottle into his mouth when no one was paying attention, but he immediately realized that this would affect his speech and would be very uncomfortable, easily leading to uncontrolled retching and coughing.

After a brief thought, Gustav closed the empty tin can and threw it out. The can body rubbed against the gravel on the ground with a crisp collision sound, and this sound seemed to have some kind of magic, which made the 21 men freeze in place at the same time.

"Damn it, my baby!" Gustav acted out his acting skills: "Stop, help me find it!"

"Calm down, boss!... Don't shout so loudly!" The bald mercenary captain rushed over and covered Gustav's mouth. Only after the latter nodded continuously, the mercenary captain, who could only vaguely see the outline of a black head, let go of his hand: "What fell? Hey, everyone come closer!"

"It's a cylindrical jar made of star iron, with dwarven runes on it," Gustav briefly introduced the appearance of the object. "It contains an extremely valuable treasure. Sigma! Find it back quickly!"

Although they brought torches and fire starters, the mercenaries were worried that the sudden light in the dark would attract the rebels, so they had to squat down, swearing and complaining in a suppressed voice while feeling around on the ground with their hands. Taking this opportunity, Gustav also squatted down, then quietly loosened his belt and pulled his pants down a little.

Gustav held the glass tube in his right hand and reached into his pants from the back. The former explorer took a deep breath and his eyes suddenly widened. The next moment, he was breathing heavily while quickly pulling up his pants and re-buckled his belt.

After a while, the bald mercenary captain came over and slapped the empty can on Gustav's shoulder unhappily: "Remember to take good care of your treasure next time, boss!"

"Oh, yes, I will. Thank you, my friend," Gustav quickly put away the Star Tin Can and hung it back on his right waist, "Let's continue on our journey. I promise there won't be any more accidents this time!"

Having said that, the former explorer took the lead and walked forward with an odd gait.

……

Note 1: The Knight Master of Barto believes that only people of low status, such as serfs, would go into battle on foot, because unless they are attacking or defending a city, they must ride on mounts no matter what.

Chapter 415: Conspiracy

Marienburg, the Elector's Palace.

"...In this way, the conquest of Bretonnia is already halfway successful," An Jiyue said, picking up the crystal glass and taking a sip of lemonade. "Gilles' joining will play a decisive role. As long as he publicly endorses your identity, most of the Bretonnian nobles, except for those diehard fans of Li Bitch, will turn to you."

"Although I asked this once before," Aiwen looked at An Jiyue who was sitting opposite her, and then looked at the emerald green figure standing by the window, "Is it really impossible to win over Lao En?"

"Don't even think about it," the governor shook his head. "Gillers is a king first, and a knight second; while Lawn is a knight first, and a king second. They are fundamentally different. Lawn's idealism means he will fight for Liby until the last moment, and as long as he's alive, you won't be able to truly control Bretonnia."

"...Do I have to kill Laun? Is there really no other way?"

"It was Lawn Leo Cornwall who embraced death himself." The one who answered the Knight was not the governor, but Gilles who had withdrawn his gaze from the window. The Green Knight took off his helmet and tucked it under his armpit. The Blade of Sorrow hanging on his waist swayed slightly as he turned around: "Between the king's duty and the knight's belief, he chose the latter, nothing more. We all made our own choices and are ready to bear the corresponding consequences."

"A happy ending only appears in fictional stories," An Jiyue said softly, "This is reality. It's already good enough if we can make the ending of the story not so bad."

"I understand the truth, I just... I just need some time to reconcile with myself," the knight rubbed her brows vigorously. "Speaking of which, what about Bohemond? I remember he was also a Holy Grail Knight."

After a pause, the Elector of West added: "Lee's Holy Grail Knight."

"I started thinking about this problem when I received Gilles' letter," An Jiyue nodded slightly at Gilles who was looking at her. "Li Biao controls their souls, and this control will not decrease at all just because she is infected with the plague. Under normal circumstances, we can't snatch the souls away. To be honest, I don't have a good solution for this. It's not realistic to snatch them away by force, and buying them is even less realistic than snatching them away by force. After thinking about it, it seems that the only way is to trade."

"Bohemond is my descendant," Gilles suddenly said, "and he is willing to sacrifice his life for Bretonnia."

"As long as there is a glimmer of hope, I will do my best to get back Bohemond's soul," An Jiyue glanced at Gilles gently, "Not only him, but also the other Holy Grail Knights. They are all great warriors. Their fate should not be to be deceived and enslaved by Lily, and they should not rest in peace even after death."

"What are you going to do?" Evelyn asked.

"Plan A is to capture Malekith and exchange the Witch King's life for the souls of the Holy Grail Knights. For Li's plan, the existence of the Holy Grail Knights is important, but not as important as the Witch King," the governor said, folding her fingers. When she talked about the ruler of Naggaroth, her tone was as if she was talking about the head of a village in a remote countryside. "Although I really want to kill our legendary King of Fire, I can tolerate his life for the time being."

"What about plan B?" Evelyn asked again.

"I will show Li Biao our ability to influence the elven civil war, although there is still a long time before the outbreak of this war," the governor explained, "If Li Biao does not agree to our conditions, I will let Kane win the war and turn the entire elf race into bloodthirsty monsters."

"Whichever plan you choose, it's very typical of you," Knight Princess said with a sigh, "However, whether it's Plan A or Plan B, the military strength required is beyond our ability right now, right? Unless we go all out and all the Lords of the Holy Scriptures and their families rush over at once, then we can give it a try."

"I appreciate your kindness, ma'am," Gilles said in a low voice, "but this is really..."

"Don't get me wrong. Beating Druzy to death was one of our original goals. Don't these vicious and twisted souls deserve to die? I'm just integrating other intentions into it now," An Jiyue waved her hand. "In fact, the corresponding preparations are already underway. If we want to expedition to Naggaroth, the entire operation will inevitably revolve around the flying fleet. Considering the existence of the 'Lord of Annihilation (Note 1)', I designed a frigate specialized for flying monsters based on the Swift-class. I call it the Sky Hunter-class."

"Well, the Sky Hunter class is just one of the many preparations I have made for this. Tianhe Shipyard has already started the preliminary research of the Shenzhou Fleet's first cruiser, which is my real trump card. However, due to some technical factors, it is not easy to deliver this unnamed cruiser on schedule, so I designed the Sky Hunter class as a backup."

"Why do I feel like everyone has been working overtime, but the work to be done has not decreased, but has increased?" Evelyn said in confusion: "The situation in the Badlands is becoming more and more confusing, and then you have to hold a meeting with a bunch of leaders to form NATO, and then you have to expedition to the Norse Peninsula, and now there are a lot of new plans..."

"This is how to save the world," An Jiyue spread her hands. "It's better to work harder now than to cry over the ruins in the future. I want not only to stop the end, but also to control the losses of the Order camp. Of course, the High Elves are an exception. I really can't do anything about them. There's no suitable leverage at all."

"So, are you going to go to Altdorf or Middenheim first? Is it really okay to leave Bretonnia alone?" the knight asked worriedly. "If Lawn chooses to show his cards and put the affairs of the inner ring out in the open, is it really okay to rely on only the two principalities of Paraon and Quinaris?"

"And Bastogne," Gilles added. "Bohemond will fight for the future of Bretonnia."

"That's only three. Even if we remove the Duchy of Musilon, which exists in name only, Bretonnia still has thirteen duchies," Evelyn said. "Even in the current situation, if the ten duchies work hard, they should be able to gather a lot of troops. So, are you going to wait for Laun to organize the anti-rebellion army before you make your ultimate move?"

When saying the word "king bomb", Knight Princess glanced at the Green Knight.

"What else? If Bretonnia wants to be reborn, it must get rid of the rotten flesh and blood," An Jiyue said very seriously. "Only when the most stubborn diehards jump out on their own, will it be convenient for me to catch them all in one fell swoop. But you can rest assured that it will not be easy for Laun to gather these remnants of the old times. We have plenty of time to prepare. What I am most worried about now is that the chaos in Bretonnia will give Chaos and other enemies an opportunity to take advantage."

"If the situation is in danger of getting out of control, I will send people to intervene," Evelyn said immediately. "The Inner Ring currently has about 200 Holy Grail Knights. Even if we don't send out the flying fleet, it's enough to deal with a lot of trouble."

"...How much?" An Jiuyue blinked. She suspected that there might be something wrong with her hearing.

"Two hundred," Evelyn repeated the number. "As long as they are adaptable to my blood and have made certain contributions on the battlefield, I will promote them to Holy Grail Knights. Otherwise, how did the Inner Circle take down Quinaris so quickly?"

"Okay... After hearing what you said, I feel that the current strength of the Inner Ring alone is more than enough for defense, although it is still insufficient for offense," An Jiuyue said, "Anyway, you continue to watch Bretonnia. I'm going to take care of NATO's affairs. Why are the Empire's affairs so troublesome? We just can't ignore them."

"Come to think of it," Evelyn suddenly thought of something after hearing this, "where are you going to hold the NATO preparatory meeting? Last time you said you wanted to take the floating city of Fozrek and modify it to use as 'Rhodes Island', which would be a good opportunity to scare the bumpkins in the Old World. What do you think about this?"

"At that time, I didn't expect that the floating city would become so difficult. Fortunately, I had a backup plan," An Jiyue stood up from her seat and stretched. "Well, do you remember the folding castle presented by Gustav? When I was still in Aurora, I found time to crack its manufacturing method and made some improvements."

"Next, I will go to Kislev. I plan to hold the NATO preparatory meeting in Kislev, but not in the city, but in the improved folding castle I prepared. It just so happens that a reward has been left there for several months, and it's time to go and get it back."

……

Note 1: An elite force of dark elves, consisting of 40 dragon riders riding black dragons, all members of which are officers of the Black Guard.

Chapter 416: Accusations

Somewhere in the northern part of the Badlands, in the expeditionary camp.

After watching the show all night, the high elves finally took action. With the sound of loud horns, arrows with white tail feathers soared into the air, covering the surging crowd in the blink of an eye. While the wounded but not dead were still wailing, the neat shield wall advanced as a whole, and the spears protruding from the gaps in the shields pierced swiftly, accurately piercing the throat or chest.

Asur, dressed in white robes, advanced indifferently. The stabbing of spears and the flying of arrows weaved a melody of death. The rebels were defeated before they could organize any effective resistance. The fanatical courage that supported them in fighting with the knights for a whole night and remained unshakable even though they suffered heavy casualties suddenly disappeared when the high elves launched the attack.

After a brief battle or a one-sided massacre, the rebels completely lost their fighting spirit. They threw away their weapons and tried to escape from the battlefield, but this behavior was soon proved to be a fantasy. The Arion plunderers wandering around the camp told them with their spears and bows that this was a dead end. In the end, the rebels laid down their weapons and knelt on the ground begging for mercy from the victors.

Of course, they were not forgiven.

"Mr. Solyak, please kill them," Sir Rodrick, whose armor and clothes were soaked with blood and whose hair was stuck to wisps by the dried blood, glanced at the rebels hatefully, "Traitors do not deserve to be forgiven."

The Holy Grail Knight did not die in the chaos of last night, although he would rather die: there were hundreds of knights when they first set foot on the badlands, but now only nine of them, including himself, are still breathing. Anyone can see that this Bretonnian expeditionary force is finished. They cannot continue this expedition, let alone fulfill the agreement they signed with the high elves.

Faced with the tragic loss of nearly the entire army, Sir Rodrik lost the courage to even question Soryak why he watched the rebels riot without taking any action. The Holy Grail Knight looked at the rebels kneeling on the ground, staring at their eyes mixed with confusion, anxiety and fear, and only endless fatigue remained in his heart.

"Aren't you going to interrogate the captives?" Solyak asked. The blind high elf wizard leaned on a tall staff, and a small group of Hoeth sword masters stood behind him with great swords in their hands. The blue necklaces on their pointed helmets swayed gently in the hot breeze of the badlands.

"We must find out who instigated this rebellion," said the Archmage.

"That is no longer necessary," Sir Rodrick shook his head. He then suddenly looked at Gustav who was standing beside him, his eyes burning with uncontrollable anger. "You scheming villain! How long are you going to keep pretending?!"