People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

Ascalon, a Babel Tower elder, a traitor to the Military Council, and now a former subordinate of the Demon King Theresia, is a disciple and enemy of Theresias who is currently holed up in Londinium, "fishing for fish".

The child was found and raised by Theresis and Theresia when she was a child. Although Fremont never met her, the lich never stopped paying attention to what was happening in Kazdel.

They just won't admit they're paying attention.

Fremont's assessment of Ascalon was: "Skilled in martial arts but lacking in wisdom, ruthless in his methods but narrow-minded; a fine blade but not a reliable asset."

In contrast, he admired Manfred more for having learned Therese's methods but being more like Theresa in temperament.

As for Kal'tsit... well, there's a lot to say about her.

Where should we begin? Should we start with Theresa's friends and advisors, the doctor of Babel, or the leader of the allied forces, the merit Theresa gained in her battle that made her famous? Or perhaps, even earlier, the mysterious green figure, the immortal who roamed the land?

They actually appeared next to Ernst?

Were they also drawn by the resurrected Balrog? No, Ascalon shouldn't have the same abilities and knowledge as me. As for Kal'tsit, she might have them, but the Demon King is dead. What's the point of her searching for the Balrog on her own?

This was indeed unexpected news. Fremont couldn't help but glance at Emengard again, his curiosity unusually piqued.

Where did you see them? What did Ernst talk to them about?

"Uh, well..."

Emengard hesitated for a moment, but still told the truth.

"I was spying."

Like a mantis stalking a cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, Ernst was having a private conversation with Duke Kester while Ascalon was peeking from outside. Little did he know, a lich was also secretly watching from afar.

It's not surprising that Ascalon didn't notice. Firstly, what Ernst said was too shocking, leaving Ascalon somewhat lost in thought. Secondly, liches are the most skilled race at preserving their lives, and how to conceal their presence is practically a required course for them. As a student of Fremont, Emengard may not know how well he learned other things, but his ability to preserve his life has been improving day by day. With his mind focused on the unsuspecting, it's normal that Ascalon didn't notice because he didn't deliberately sense or search for him.

"I was spying on Ascalon, spying on Ernst and the Duke of Victoria's private conversation."

Ascalon was stunned for a long time before returning to Rhodes Island.

"I secretly followed them to Rhodes Island and found that Kal'tsit was there too."

"You went up?" Fremont asked, somewhat surprised.

He had some understanding of Rhodes Island's defense system; it was a place that even the Shapeshifters admitted was "difficult to infiltrate," and even the King of Carrion dared not launch a direct attack.

This was no exaggeration. When the civil war broke out, the royal court placed its bets, and Rhodes Island emerged as the base of the Tower of Babel, they had already made their assessment, and the Lich were no exception. Although they remained neutral, they also evaluated Rhodes Island, this strange land-based vessel, and concluded that a direct assault would be unwise.

For the lich, the assessment of being unwise is enough to illustrate his attitude.

How come my little apprentice got up so easily?

You're not saying you were spying, but actually got caught, kidnapped by Ascalon, and brought to Rhodes Island, only to be interrogated by Kal'tsit and then released, are you?

Emengard was puzzled by the inexplicable look of suspicion on his teacher's face.

Is it really necessary to be so surprised?

She nodded:

"Yeah, we went up there, and no one noticed or stopped us, so why can't we go up?"

Fremont stared blankly at Emengard, but couldn't find any sign that she was lying or feeling guilty.

That's strange. Could I have misjudged? No way, surely the shapeshifters and scavengers couldn't have both been wrong?

Just as he was wondering if he had fallen into some strange "Mandela Effect," Emengard spoke again:

"Chieftain, don't you want to know what Ernst talked about?"

Fremont turned around, suppressing his doubts for the time being, and asked, "What?"

“Guess…” Emengard had barely uttered the words when he saw Fremont reach for the thread, and immediately thought to himself, “No need to guess!”

"He said he wanted Sarkaz to become a nation! He even convinced the Duke of Caesar!"

"Yes, yes, that's the expression! Clan leader, don't be shy. Kal'tsit's expression was much more exaggerated than yours! She even... she even..."

Unable to describe it, Emengard decided to demonstrate for Fremont on the spot, covering his chest, which was slightly less impressive than Kelsey's, and loudly proclaimed:

"Ho-!"

"Hahahahahaha!"

Fremont paused, then clapped his hands and laughed, nodding repeatedly.

"This matter should also be recorded in the classics, preserved well, and passed down through the ages!"

"You did serve a purpose, that's good, keep it up!"

What you're saying makes it sound like I was completely useless before. At least I could cause you trouble!

Emengard was inexplicably shot, and he pursed his lips, silently complaining to himself.

Fremont was indeed delighted, not only because Emengard's lifelike impersonation had given him a glimpse into a previously unknown side of the mysterious Felin woman, but also because it had sparked a bold idea in him. He called out,

"By the way, send a messenger to Theresis with this information, so he knows that we liches are also doing things, and shouldn't bother us all the time!"

Emengard blinked. "Will this work?"

Fremont nodded with an undiminished smile: "I don't know, but I think he'll like it!"

Chapter 429 Viviana: I'm retiring after this match!

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Chapter 430 I came to Sherag only for Ernst!

Casimir, Swire-Victoria Hotel.

The defeat of Viviana, the Candle Knight, is not particularly surprising. The Blood Knight lost; she couldn't defeat him, and she was facing the same person, so her loss is understandable.

Besides, she herself was a Leitanian, and the Casimir audience understood the spirit of Ah Q (a Chinese self-deception), easily interpreting this defeat as an act of "patriotism" by Viviana Drost, a Leitanian Casimir knight. A considerable amount of negative commentary quickly arose among the public.

This is normal. Knight competitions are commodities, and commodities naturally have negative reviews. Before the Candle Knight participated in the competition, many people believed the Red Wine Gazette's report, thinking that she was immoral, kept three thousand male servants, and bathed in red wine. They even disgustingly asked the Candle Knight to share some of her red wine with them.

Candle Knight has always ignored such underhanded tactics. The capital that spread these rumors will naturally come out to refute them, thus generating a surge of traffic, sparking discussion, igniting a hot topic, increasing Candle Knight's popularity, and also covering up some recent scandals involving the business association.

This is how the country of Kasimir operates.

These criticisms are merely a small part of the rumors and slanders facing Candle Knight. The majority of the criticisms concern her character, her relationship with capital, and her connection to Letania. For example, this time, after Blood Knight was eliminated, Candle Knight advanced by defeating Swire, which struck a nerve with many die-hard Kazimierz fans who champion the "old Kazimierz" style of competitive knighthood.

They didn't care that the Blood Knight wasn't from Kazimierz; they just started accusing and mocking him relentlessly, saying things like, "The Candle Knight is just the second seed of Letania," "Viviana wears a hat all the time, but she's got a rebellious streak," and "She eats Kazimierz's food but doesn't know any better!" They said everything imaginable.

Therefore, Ernst understood the pressure Viviana was under and deeply admired and sympathized with the fact that this young, beautiful, and capable Miss Elafia could bear such a heavy mental burden.

No joke, what if someone dared to talk about him like that in Shelag?

Let's hear what Mr. Jeston, the outsider, has to say.

Jeston: "What do we do? We have to kill!"

Now that Jeston has spoken, let's hear from the local conservative Saint Enya.

Enya: "What do we do? We have no choice but to kill!"

Now that we've heard Saint Enya's opinion, let's hear from Mr. Enciodes, the local reformer...

Oh, no need to listen to that.

Ernst stated that Sherag's penal code was very simple, and even illiterate Sarkaz could learn it quickly and understand it, highlighting its approachability to the core.

This is certainly not a good thing for a country aspiring to modernization. But in Terra, it may not be a bad thing.

Miss Viviana clearly had no experience with the trial process of Scherrag. She harbored many idealized notions about Scherrag and even had some "prejudice" against Ernst himself.

Ernst strongly suggested that Miss Viviana should think it over carefully first, and if necessary, take a trip to Shelag to experience the local customs and culture before deciding whether or not to do so.

I really can't give you my ID card since you've suddenly come to me asking for it.

"I have thought about it seriously."

Sitting opposite Ernst, Viviana placed her hands on her knees, leaned slightly forward, and looked extremely serious.

"Mr. Ernst, 'The Legend of King Arthur' is your work, isn't it?"

Ernst paused for a moment, then nodded:

"It's...it's mine."

"Then there's no problem at all! All my doubts can be resolved."

Viviana clutched her chest and said earnestly, from the bottom of her heart,

"I think Kjerag is undoubtedly a great place to live for a lifetime!"

"But......."

Ernst hesitated for a moment, then organized his thoughts.

“But, Miss Viviana, you must know that just over a year ago, Sherag was a small, almost isolated country. To be honest, although Sherag has made some encouraging developments and changes, it still lags behind the wealthy Grand Knight Territory in some ways.”

“Miss Viviana, you have never been to Shelag and have no understanding of Shelag’s customs, food, or traditional culture. Not to mention, if you really come to Shelag, can you adapt to a life without a mature intercity network covering the entire territory, without convenient and extensive transportation facilities, and even without Originium streetlights that can’t be lit all night?”

"A lifetime is a very heavy word, Miss Viviana. You are the star knight of Kazimierz. A temporary setback is just a small frustration. Why give up everything you have already achieved to gamble on a completely new life whose future you don't even know?"

Ernst meant it when he said that.

So far, apart from the group of outstanding talents that Ernst personally recruited abroad, why has Ernst rarely focused his recruitment efforts on the countries of Terra?

The reason is simple: it's meaningless.

The countries of Terra are indeed teeming with talent, but most of those talented individuals look down on the small, remote town of Shelag. Why waste their precious youth and talent in a poor, backwater like Shelag when they can work hard anywhere—in Victoria, Colombia, or Casimir?

This is a very real issue. Like the rural education support program in the mountains in his previous life, Ernst doesn't deny that many people go to rural areas to teach, become village officials, or work as technicians to help the local people. But it's equally undeniable that many go to these places and do these jobs for other reasons.

Perhaps they wanted to secure a government job, as the "iron rice bowl" of a government job is always more stable; perhaps they accepted the job transfer out of desperation and were always thinking about going back; or perhaps they had other motives.

But ultimately, some of them are quite troublesome.

Look at the people Ernst has recruited. Joyce has Oripathy, which makes her speech strange and makes it hard for her to find work. Hinterlea is a down-on-her-luck equestrian knight who barely earns a few coins a day and has to endure her boss's sullen face and the humiliation of being accused of match-fixing. Vina is a fallen crown princess; if she doesn't leave and stays in Londinium, she'll eventually lose her life. The Sarkaz are just around the corner. Even Horhaia, who's slightly better off, is a typical troublemaker. Her trip back to Columbia gave Ernst a surprise, and thankfully, she didn't end up fighting Theresis in the lab.

After that incident, she was "desperate" and was taken in by Ernst a second time.

Everyone has their own difficulties; they are all genuinely struggling in the market, and it's not something they can just jump around in. But what about Viviana?

Viviana lives a very comfortable life. Ernst doesn't see any problem with her traveling and staying in Sherag. But for such a celebrity to ask for her ID and want to live there for the rest of her life, Ernst is really worried.

His intuition told him that there was trouble.

Viviana's discomfort is a problem, her quick decision about such an important matter is also a problem, and whether she will cause trouble for Sherag in the future is another problem.

It wasn't that Ernst was really afraid of these troubles. The future Sherag would definitely be different from the past, and Ernst had the magnanimity to accept a competitive knight—what was the big deal? Wasn't the Black Knight Mace much more famous back then than Viviana is now? Ensiodes still bought it without hesitation.

He just hoped that Viviana would think carefully and not make a decision on impulse, only to regret it later and end up making things unpleasant for both of them.

This is a responsible attitude.

Ernst's advice clearly had some effect. Viviana did indeed fall into a brief moment of contemplation.

Indeed, setting aside her dislike for the current state of knightly competition, Kazimierz's living conditions are undoubtedly better than Sherag's, and there was certainly an element of impulsiveness in her decision.

After Fremont exposed her thoughts and defeated her head-on, during the time she lay on the ground, while receiving treatment in the hospital, and during her time at the hotel, she did indeed reflect. She reflected on whether Kazimierz was still worth staying in, and her conclusion was—no.

Without the chivalrous spirit she longed for, admired, and hoped for, Casimir is undoubtedly unworthy.

But she overlooked some things.

That is, what consequences will her departure bring?

Think thrice before you act, consider both the past and the future—this is the rule for adults, especially when it comes to choices at crossroads in life.

Even disregarding the repercussions of her retirement, the breach of contract penalty she would have to pay to the Business Federation would likely be astronomical. Moreover, how would she explain this to Russell? How would she explain it to her father, who sent her to Kazimierz?

Viviana believed that Russell and her father would respect her decision, but at the very least, leaving without saying goodbye was not a good option. She should at least have informed Aunt Russell.

"Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Ernst."

Viviana stood up and bowed deeply in gratitude. When she looked up, Ernst saw in her face the stubbornness of a girl her age.

"You're right, but I won't change my mind."

“I will first ask Aunt Russell for her opinion, and then I will persuade her to respect my decision.”

"Then, I will come to see you again."

Ernst opened his mouth, then nodded with a wry smile:

"it is good."