People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

Ernst immediately threw the book into the cabinet. And then... he never noticed where the book went after that.

But even if someone takes this kind of tutorial, which is comparable to "This is a soldier, right-click to attack, now go fight against the Soviet steel torrent," it doesn't matter.

Nobody in his government is playing with fire. Besides, even if they were, who could actually learn the forbidden spells mentioned above?

Of course, Ernst couldn't directly admit to such a fact that would offend others.

He waved his hand and replied:

"Professor Fremont, you're too kind. I shouldn't be mistaken."

“You’re right. I am Fremont, but…”

The old lich's expression suddenly stiffened, as if he had sensed something. He stroked his beard and muttered:

"Why is there a Cyclops?"

Indirect contact, though faint, does exist; it's the scent of the Cyclops.

Those defeatist strategists are hiding even deeper than the liches. They're mostly still hiding in modern society, while those guys have all gone to the Sami ice plains!

How could a snow leopard have relations with them?

Hiss—wait, let me count, how many royal courts are there?

Blood Demon, Banshee, and Cyclops—three of the Ten Royal Courts are now present.

Add to that Theresis's royal court-level combat prowess, Sarkaz who betrayed the royal court, and the Sarkaz whose scent was pure but whose race was unknown.

A hint of apprehension flickered in Fremont's eyes.

"Who exactly are you, kid?"

"You don't recognize my boss?"

Now it was Hinterlea's turn to use Fremont's words to launch a boomerang attack.

"That's true, it's normal for someone your age not to pay attention to politics anymore. My boss is Ernst Siwaish, the Prime Minister of Shelag!"

"Oh--"

A relieved smile immediately spread across Fremont's face.

He looked Ernst up and down, who was being blown around by the wind and scratching at his three-bedroom apartment with his toes, and suddenly realized where the last mysterious scent on him came from.

That makes sense. He's dealt with Theresis, had dealings with Sarkaz, and even met Banshee and Blood Demon.

It turns out it’s you, kid!

"News has come from Theresis and Kazdel that the Terrans have resurrected a Balrog. I was wondering, how did a Balrog get resurrected?"

"We liches have been trying to figure out the resurrection technique for thousands of years, but we haven't. The absolutists have made some progress, resurrecting some camel-like beasts, but they died within two days. Why are the Terrans making such a fuss?"

"I even tried to get information from others, but Theresis was like a tight-lipped person, suddenly becoming tight-lipped and not saying a word. I was so frustrated for a while. Turns out, I just ran into the person in question."

He grinned at Ernst, who was staring wide-eyed at the string of menus being recited.

"Hey kid, I'm telling you, you've already run into plenty of Sarkaz. One more or one less won't make a difference. How about I go check out the Balrog?"

Ernst's mind was a bit muddled. He looked at Fremont, remained silent for a moment, and tentatively asked to confirm:

"Um... Professor Fremont, let me sort this out. What are you?"

"Me? I'm a lich."

Fremont gave a light snort, straightened his back, and made no attempt to hide it:

"Fremont is probably the most capable person in the Lich King's court right now."

No, that's what you said?

Ernst had assumed that someone like the Sarkaz would at least try to conceal their identity. But this was in public! Although everyone was cheering and it was certainly noisy, was it really alright for him to just blurt it out like that?

Moreover, the person in charge of the Lich King's Court... what level is that?

Ernst is now hesitating whether he should make a quick trip to the bathroom and send a message to Kal'tsit.

"Laokai, I miss you. I have a lich named Old Deng here who claims to be from the royal court and wants to go to Sherag to see the Balrogs baring their fangs in the zoo. Is there any information about this?"

Chapter 386 Unfortunately, I am an infected person!

"We can arrange a time to discuss the Balrog matter tomorrow. But Professor Fremont, you are, after all, the representative of Letania. Shouldn't you go back and consult your country's leaders on this matter?"

"Tch, those two little brats aren't even a fraction the size of me. Do I need their permission to do anything?"

Fremont curled his lip in disdain and rolled his eyes at Ernst.

"And you, so young, yet you have no drive at all. You hesitate over such a trivial matter; it's really unacceptable!"

Ernst was somewhat speechless.

What is this? Is it disrespectful to elders?

You're a lich, sir. Ernst has no concept of the Lord of the Royal Court's strength, but he does have a vague impression of the term "Lord of the Royal Court."

Back when Kal'tsit brought Rhodes Island into Sherag, Ernst happened to run into Nastya and Logos in the square.

Both are banshees, one a traditional banshee and the other a reformist banshee. The reformist banshee's logoos not only broke the gender gaze in the banshee race's ID, successfully allowing male and female banshees to stand up, but also set a grand ambition to completely destroy the "royal court shackles that have imprisoned the Sarkaz for thousands of years."

To put it simply, it means to play a cheerful tune on the suona (a traditional Chinese wind instrument) to send off all the rulers of the royal courts, and then abolish the royal court system.

His idea wasn't exactly ordinary; it was at least shocking. Destroying an old system was difficult, but establishing a new one afterward was even more challenging. In his previous life, Ernst had seen many countries where, after the old system was destroyed, they failed to establish a new one, leading to widespread chaos. But considering Isakaz's current situation, which was already chaotic enough, there seemed to be little room for further decline.

Furthermore, the royal court is a useless thing that doesn't really do anything, and it even stirs up trouble from time to time, so it seems like abolishing it wouldn't be a bad idea.

In short, Douban refuses to rate its users.

Nasti, who corresponds to Logos, the ruler of the royal court, is a traditionalist succubus who feels that Logos' ideas are a bit too traditional.

Still in the royal court, still in the royal court, what is the royal court anyway? In Colombia, I am my own royal court!

As a banshee who has already set her sights on building her own aerial Kazdel, if Logos' attitude towards the Royal Court is "This thing must be destroyed," then Nasti's attitude is "What is this thing?"

She didn't care about Wang Ting at all. Wang Ting was something that could neither benefit her nor help her, and might even cause her trouble. She should have gotten rid of him long ago.

Just like she said when she introduced herself to Ernst:

"Name: Nasti Runorii; Education: Doctor; Race: Banshee; Nationality: Colombia; Temporary. Other than that, I am nothing."

He was neither a royal court sorcerer nor a great female demon; he was merely the head of the engineering department at Rhine Life Sciences, a civil engineer in his own right.

As you may have noticed, the two men have different attitudes toward the royal court, but they share a very consistent consensus: the royal court is troublesome.

Ernst was clearly not prepared to receive a visit from the ruler of the Sarkaz court. Just as Kal'tsit had warned him before his departure, the Sarkaz were dangerous, and excessive contact with them would bring trouble. Sherag was doing well, and the World Summit was going smoothly. Ernst had no intention of needlessly throwing good wine on himself.

However, he didn't rule out any possibility of definitive conclusions.

He had already subtly warned Fremont that as the ruler of the Lich King's Court, his attempt to come to Sherag was doomed; at the very least, Ernst wouldn't allow him to come openly. However, if he were representing Letania, had consulted with the Twin Queens, obtained permission, and submitted an application, then that would be a different story.

If he finds this too troublesome and applies to the Queen, the chances of approval are slim. He could then choose another path—Fremont is a professor at the University of Nvard-Ludwig in Letania, whose academic standing in Letania is essentially equivalent to Tsinghua or Peking University. As is well known, Kjerag has a very strong academic atmosphere, though the academic environment isn't great. If Fremont were willing to come and conduct some academic (rural) exchange (teaching), Ernst would certainly gladly accept.

It won't take too long, just one semester will do. You can admire the Balrog baring its teeth in that little armor while giving lectures and training two teachers who can teach Originium Arts. This will greatly improve the efficiency of the construction site in Kjerag. It's mutually beneficial, a win-win situation, and perfectly reasonable.

Of course, that's what Ernst said, but whether Fremont understood it or not is another matter.

At least, Ernst didn't glean anything from his ambiguous answer.

In Terra, these old Dengs are all incredibly cunning, especially Sarkaz magic old Dengs like Fremont, who are even more unpredictable.

After Fremont left, the game came to an end.

The Candle Knight's strength truly lived up to her reputation; every strike of her rapier was sharp and swift. Facing the wide-ranging battle axe attacks of Dichaopolis, agility became her greatest advantage at this moment.

However, despite his agility, even Ernst, who was not very knowledgeable about martial arts, could tell that the Candle Knight was expending a great deal of energy.

She could indeed use techniques like diagonal thrusts and side parries to deflect the force of the blows and parry the axe swung by De Caiopolis with minimal cost, even managing to leave one or two wounds on his armor. But even the smallest loss is still a loss.

If Viviana were facing anyone else, her tactics would indeed be very effective. After all, even the left-handed knight, who is a perennial favorite to win the championship, only has a slight edge in stamina compared to Viviana. But she was facing De Caiopolis.

Just like his knightly title of "Blood Knight," Dikeopolis is a true "blood tank"!

He never lacks stamina; his blood only boils more with each fight, and his stamina only increases with each battle! If Viviana's base stamina is 100, and parrying consumes 1 point of stamina while inflicting 5 points of stamina damage on DiCeopolis, then DiCeopolis's base stamina is 200, and he recovers 3 points of stamina per second.

It's impossible to miss! It's simply impossible to miss!

The Candle Knight wasn't some "Peerless Swordswoman" after all; she didn't possess divine skills like Laurent's Mind's Eye. Each of her attacks consumed her stamina. Gradually, her parries became less swift and precise, to the point where she had to resort to brute force to maintain her stance.

The Blood Knight remained in excellent condition, even accelerating his offensive pace with ease, attempting to defeat the Candle Knight in one fell swoop.

Finally, as the increasingly powerful axe came crashing down, the Candle Knight, whose strength was already exhausted, didn't have time to turn sideways and use his rapier to guide the axe, completing the parry he had just used to deflect the attack with ease. A struggle flashed in Viviana's eyes; she could only grit her teeth, raise her rapier, and try to forcefully block the blow.

The result, of course, is obvious.

"Oh my gosh! Ladies and gentlemen! The Candle Knight has raised her sword against the Blood Knight, ready to parry the Blood Knight's incomparably powerful axe head-on!"

"But, but, but! How could a rapier possibly withstand the unstoppable slash of the Blood Knight custom battle axe, sponsored by Rose Gold Knight Arena? Listen to that crisp cracking sound—that's the final bell!"

"The Candle Knight Viviana's broken sword! Does this mean that we will be welcoming the champion of the 23rd Kazimierz Knights' Tournament at this very moment?"

The commentator's voice rose in fervor, then at the height of his emotion, he suddenly held his breath, pausing for a suffocating five seconds before roaring in a drawn-out voice:

"No------!"

"Our Candle Knight hasn't given up! Our Candle Knight still has her trump card! Our Candle Knight still has her most prized, most magnificent, and most dreamlike signature move!"

The commentator raised the microphone high, pointed it towards the audience, and cheered:

"Ladies and gentlemen, please tell me together, what is that move called?!"

"A Touch of—Glimmer!"

On the field, the Candle Knight raised the candlestick in his other hand, swept his hand across the extinguished candlestick, and the candlelight was rekindled, flickering in the darkness of the field.

Yes, darkness, as if it were specially created for this performance, the moment the Candle Knight lit the candle, all the lights in the arena went out completely, leaving only the candlelight on the stage to illuminate Viviana's beautiful face.

She took a deep breath, her eyes reflecting the candlelight as if it too were burning, and with that gasp, the name of the spell, chanted by thousands, escaped her lips:

"The Touch of a Glimmer of Light".

The flickering candlelight suddenly stopped, and the next second, several flames suddenly lit up in the semi-circular area centered on the Blood Knight, sealing off all the space around him.

Even the Blood Knight was somewhat taken aback when he saw the specks of "starlight" beside him:

"When was it?"

A serene smile appeared on the Candle Knight's face as he softly said:

"Mr. Blood Knight didn't notice, did he?"

"That's how candlelight is. When the light is strong, you can't feel its presence even if you're right next to it."

"Only when the surroundings are shrouded in darkness can this faint candlelight illuminate this small space."

"But it is precisely because of this that, at this very moment, this tiny candlelight can outshine the sun and moon, and unleash its charm and energy!"

"bring it on!"

The Candle Knight raised her eyebrows and let out a soft scolding:

"burst!"

With her command, the flames hovering around the Blood Knight expanded rapidly, each flame now resembling a small sun, illuminating almost half of the arena in the pitch-black space!

Then, the candlelight day exploded with a roar, raising a cloud of smoke and dust that left people bewildered.

"Who's winning?"

"It seems that the Candle Knight has the upper hand right now, doesn't it?"

"Without a doubt, it was the Candle Knight! It was the Candle Knight who, with a move he had planned for a long time, instantly turned the tide of the battle! Let us congratulate the Candle Knight—"

The narration abruptly stopped because, after the smoke cleared, the Blood Knight was still standing.

He had multiple burns and blast wounds all over his body, looking quite disheveled. Yet, his blood was boiling with an unusual intensity.

Because the blood scattered by the explosion has now covered the entire stadium!

"Blood Blade!"

The Blood Knight raised his head and his hand.

With his command, the scattered bloodstains coalesced into countless bloody blades of varying sizes and shapes, which, in turn, surrounded the Candle Knight, who was weakened by the end of his spell.