People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

The implications behind this are far too great; she dares not investigate, dares not ask, dares not even think about it. She hadn't expected Ernst to act as the middleman, but if asked, she wouldn't have the guts.

Kazimir himself is beset by powerful enemies on the outside and the Alliance coveting his power on the inside. Let the people of Yan handle their own affairs.

They should just focus on their own international games.

"Go down. Don't mention today's events to anyone. I have never investigated anything concerning Ernst and Yan Kingdom, understand?"

The scout was taken aback: "What are you talking about? What Yan Country? What Prime Minister Sherag?"

Russell nodded in satisfaction.

The intelligence officer turned and left, while the guards at the door quickly announced the arrival of the next visitor.

"Grand Knight Commander, Marna Nearl is looking for you."

Russell raised an eyebrow.

Marna? This is truly one wave after another.

"Have him wait in the meeting room for a moment, I'll be right there."

He stood up, straightened his clothes, pondered for a moment, took his longsword from the armory, tucked it into his waistband, and left the office.

A moment later, in the reception room.

When Russell entered the meeting room, Marner was holding a newspaper in his hand, his brow furrowed, looking troubled.

"What are you looking at?"

Russell asked curiously.

Marner looked up at Russell:

"Ernst Shivaesh's gossip."

Russell blinked: "More new gossip?"

"With the eldest daughter of the Victoria Swire family. The wine report said they spent a whole day alone at the hotel, and when they came out, Miss Swire looked radiant and much more mature."

Russell was silent for a moment, then suddenly wanted to turn back and call the intelligence officer back.

Your ancestors were certainly well-connected, but kid, I have a feeling you probably really did take the 500,000 marks that the wine company quoted.

Russell, with a straight face and a calm expression, retorted:

"It's just a rumor from the Wine Gazette."

“I think so too, after all, there should be another girl by Ernst’s side.”

Russell: "........?"

Where did you get this information from?

She cast a surprised look at Marner, but Marner showed no desire to explain.

Regarding the Hintria matter, although he admitted that Ernst had handled it very well, taking the leverage to the extreme without causing him any trouble, he had still been tricked in the end.

It's not shameful, but it's not something worth talking about.

What he was really worried about was that even if there was a 99% chance that the rumors spread by the wine newspaper were false, what if there was a 1% chance that they were true?

Are the conditions I wrote down somewhat unsafe for Margaret and Maria?

Marna was unusually caught in a dilemma. As a family-oriented hero, he found it difficult to choose between "Shelag, where personal safety is guaranteed but life safety is not so guaranteed" and "other countries where life safety is guaranteed but life safety is very worrying".

"Forget it, there's no point in thinking about it so much. Anyway, I'll see him when that awful match comes around."

Marner muttered something, unzipped his briefcase, took out the bound contract, and handed it to Russell.

"You promised, if these conditions are met, I will go into battle."

Russell paused for a moment, then nodded.

When the Business Federation proposed Marner as the ace player for the Casimir team, Russell didn't have high hopes.

Marner is indeed very strong, but his chances of participating are as slim as his ability suggests.

Surprisingly, the spokesperson for the business association was actually able to persuade him, which gave Russell a slight surprise.

As for the conditions.

Russell opened the contract, glanced through it briefly, paused on the third clause of the second page, and looked at Marner as if confirming:

“I can guarantee that Margaret’s exile order will be lifted. If the Business Federation hadn’t interfered, that exile order could have been lifted long ago.”

"But...do you really want them to leave Kazimierz?"

Marner nodded expressionlessly:

"It's not that I want it, it's that I must."

"Would Margaret agree? She always says the Linguang family motto is 'Never fear hardship'—"

The Grand Knight Commander was interrupted by Marna halfway through his sentence.

The blond Kuranta before him, whose eyes were lined with wrinkles and whose face was dark and tired, now wore an unusually resolute expression. So resolute that Russell almost didn't recognize him.

"No family motto is more important than family members."

He spoke slowly, his tone firm and leaving no room for argument.

“If Margaret doesn’t agree, I’ll beat her until she does. If she resists, I’ll break her legs. If she refuses to leave even at the cost of her life…”

“I will carry her out of Kazimierz, even if it means carrying her, just for my brother’s sake.”

After Marner finished speaking, he glanced at the sword at Russell's waist and turned away without looking back.

That sword was the one he used when he was still a wandering knight. After his brother Snitz disappeared and his father Cyril died, he refused to succeed the Lightbringer family as a long-riding knight, and even refused to become a knight. He also handed over this sword to the Imperial Household Agency.

He knew why Russell had brought the sword. But he was no longer the carefree, unrestrained wanderer he once was.

This time, he wasn't doing it for ideals, family precepts, or even for some damned Kazimierz.

He was fighting only for his family.

Chapter 382 Fremont looks easy to beat

"What does the Control Yuan mean? What do you mean by 'cannot investigate'? What can't be investigated?"

"Such a powerful person is not allowed to exist in Kazimir!"

"What? An investigation might lead to charges of aiding and abetting internal strife? That's fine then. I think Russell is quite tactful and knows his limits!"

The joint meeting of the business federations was still in a state of chaos today.

Only Charné breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The news of Marna's participation was undoubtedly a huge boost for him. As for the others, whether Blood Knights or Candle Knights, they theoretically all had the qualifications to compete for the championship if the Knights' Tournament hadn't expanded in scale. But times have changed, and circumstances must change accordingly.

Given the current conditions, the Blood Knight and the Candle Knight, these two "aces," are not quite aces enough to deal with all the strongmen in Terra.

"It has to be Marner."

With a sigh, Ciarnet glanced at the speakers who had already begun celebrating and popping champagne at halftime, and couldn't help but sigh again.

While Marna is indeed very strong, isn't it a bit too much for you guys to set such a high bar?

"What do you mean, 'Marna is from the Nearl family, and his strength is comparable to that of Silver Spear Pegasus!'"

Marna is indeed strong, but Silver Spear Pegasus is no pushover either. Besides, has any of you actually seen Marna in action?

The name of the Dark Knight had almost been forgotten in Kazimierz over the years. If Charne hadn't made that suggestion, how many people would still remember Marna?

And you, "If we win this match, we can finally settle accounts with the Supervisory Committee, right?"

How could you say such a thing! Not to mention that turning against the Supervisory Council is too early for the Supervisory Council at present, are you trying to give them a handle to use against us, so that the radicals in the Supervisory Council have a reason to directly target us?

And what are you saying? "Is Marner really that strong? Then why does he keep his past as a corporate slave instead of remaining a wandering knight?"

What? Your ancestors were genuine nobles of the Grand Knights, and you've seen Nearl selling her cleavage and even bend over?

Nonsense! The decline of the Nearl family is only a recent phenomenon, occurring in the last few years. As one of the most famous Pegasus Knight noble families in Kazimierz, their prosperity predates your family tree. And you're still trying to sell your services? Let me see your employee ID!

Oh, you're a representative from the wine newspaper. Never mind then.

Blind confidence, talk of quick victory, capitulationism, champagne popping at halftime—it was a veritable gathering of geniuses, a veritable meeting of charlatans. Charn was momentarily speechless, unsure what to say to silence them.

But then he thought again, wait a minute, what does this have to do with him?

He was just a spokesperson, representing only the interests of the Rose Newspaper. Let them celebrate if they want; when the boomerang hits their face, it won't hurt him.

Give up the urge to help others and respect the fate of others.

Once he understood this, Charné suddenly felt that the world had become much brighter.

"Let's take this opportunity to look at the roster and arrange the match schedule for DiCeopolis and Viviana."

Charné turned around, quietly slipped out of the venue, and returned to his office.

On the table was a list of participants that had been prepared in advance.

In theory, the list of participants for the Kazimierz International Games should only be known to the Knights' Association, which is responsible for knightly competitions, and the Knights' Association should make every effort to keep it confidential in order to ensure the safety of the lives and property of all athletes and guests.

But theory is theory, and theory is good, but it breaks down when it comes to implementation.

Because there are many people who are capable and have already obtained this list.

The Oversight Council undoubtedly obtained the list. As representatives of public authority responsible for liaising with representatives from various countries, they naturally need to keep the list in their own hands.

The spokespeople of the Business Federation naturally received the list as well. Not only Charne, but any spokesperson who intended to invest in this grand event would more or less pay attention to the list of participants. And as is well known, although the Knights' Association maintains its independence on the surface, 80% of the funds required for their operation are provided by the charitable foundation under the Business Federation.

We eat and drink at other people's expense, and yet we still talk about independence?

Isn't that a joke?

Therefore, it is not surprising that the federation's spokespersons are basically in a "take it or leave it" situation.

The systemic corruption in Kazimir is clearly out of control. And the number of people on this list is far greater than this.

Swire also received it; the hotel, which was supposed to be upright and keep the secret, clearly wasn't so principled. If nothing unexpected happens, soon the next level, the various casinos backed by small-capital entities that aren't qualified to join the business federation, will also receive this list.

They're beneath the notice of the business association and can't participate in official opening events to "cheering on your favorite knight," only earning small amounts of money. But precisely because of this, their intelligence channels are even more suspicious.

How many officials are colluding in private? And how many nobody is selling intelligence? If something happens, is Kazimir still too urbanized?

As a beneficiary of systemic corruption, Charné chose not to think about these issues.

He opened the envelope, took out the list, and began to select opponents for the Blood Knight and the Candle Knight.

In his plan, Blood Knights and Candle Knights could only advance a maximum of three rounds in the main tournament of the World Games.

Three rounds is already the limit. Going any higher, the pressure will no longer be limited to Kazimierz. At that point, Charne won't be able to withstand it, and neither will the Blood Knight and the Candle Knight.

Therefore, these three rounds must be exciting enough, preferably evenly matched, with narrow victories, in order to be engaging enough and maintain the fan base of Blood Knights and Candle Knights who have not achieved good results in the World Games.

Even if the outcome has been decided in a seemingly casual way, making choices is still a skill.

He looked at the list.

First place, Marna Nearl, the Knight of No Light, no need to say more, pass.

Second place, Jesston Williams. Represented by Scherrag. This one... also passes.

Charne was also aware of the sparring matches at the Rose Arena. A warrior capable of going toe-to-toe with a Grandmaster from the Yan Kingdom was a force to be reckoned with. It would be too risky and inappropriate to let either the Blood Knight or the Candle Knight encounter him in the first round.

Third place, Chongyue. The Yan Kingdom team also passed, for the same reason as above.

Fourth place: Beatrice Swire, Lungmen team.

Charné frowned and fell into thought.

This person doesn't seem to be very strong, but the problem is that their identity is somewhat sensitive.

But to be honest, among those qualified to participate in the Games, he has never met anyone whose status was not sensitive.

Even if it were Jeston, as the representative of Sherag and the one who proposed the World Games, he couldn't simply arrange for someone to be eliminated in the first round based on personal relationships.

Okay, let's check this box for now. Put her in a group with the Candle Knight.

Having made up his mind, Charné took out Swire's registration form separately.

One more to go.

Charné searched again, his eyes lit up, and he selected someone.