Warhammer Divine Throne

The Knight Order Grand Master paced around the room before joining the conversation: "Well, even if the information given by the vampires is false, I still don’t understand why the vampires would want us to launch an expedition to Arabi?"

"You’ve definitely fought against those skeletons roaming the desert, right?" Laine said calmly, "That’s the reason."

"The undead would be mortal enemies with other undead?" Enzo Moretti retorted.

"Humans often wage civil wars against each other, let alone the undead?" Laine countered.

Enzo Moretti was left speechless, and the Knight Order Grand Master’s face alternated between blue and white. He clearly mustered a lot of determination before he finally spoke: "So... is this all a misunderstanding?"

"And we’ve come precisely to clear up this misunderstanding." Fidmund also stood up and said.

"Alright, Holy Grail Knights, you have ten minutes to convince me." Enzo Moretti finally sighed deeply: "Otherwise, we will still have to fight a battle to decide the ownership of the divine artifact."

When someone reaches the position of a Knight Order Grand Master, admitting mistakes becomes very difficult, as it harms their prestige. Often, it’s not that they don’t want to, but that they can’t.

But now, he had no other choice. Let alone Laine, even Fidmund was not someone Enzo Moretti thought he could easily defeat.

"Very well." Laine nodded, as the matter had reached a point where the problem was nearing resolution.

Now it was time to discuss terms.

(Whispering)

Twenty minutes later, the door to the secret chamber opened, and Laine, Fidmund, and Enzo Moretti all emerged with relieved smiles on their faces. The three knights strode out, and Enzo Moretti extended his hand: "Thank you, Lord Laine, Lord Fidmund. I must say, you are exceptional knights, and it’s your efforts that turned this storm into nothingness."

"To ensure that precious strength is not wasted on meaningless internal strife, this is what we should do." Laine reached out to shake hands with Enzo Moretti.

"I will send someone to inform you of the specific delivery time and place." Enzo Moretti nodded: "The leader of the Rogue Knights is named Jillam du Chastelron. He has over three hundred followers, including more than a hundred Wandering Knights, while the rest are mainly mounted escorts. We’ve hired the Margaret Vanguard Team, a band of mercenaries with a strength of one thousand, equipped with some artillery, to seize the goods from them."

"How do you plan to arrange it?" Laine whispered, holding a goblet.

"The Margaret Vanguard Team is our hired help. I’ll inform the team leader. When Jillam du Chastelron and his Rogue Knights show up, your people can set an ambush on the Moros Plains. At that time, the vanguard team will turn against them and assist you, ensuring that not a single Rogue Knight leaves alive." Enzo Moretti had already outlined a detailed battle plan, and the Grand Master said somewhat embarrassedly, "Although the Margaret Knight Order could not fulfill the agreement with that band of Rogue Knights, our lord Mirmidia will certainly forgive us, as this is in the name of peace."

Simply put, under pressure, the Margaret Knight Order, led by Enzo Moretti, decided to betray that group of Rogue Knights.

"Very well, the Boldro Knight Army will be landing soon." Fidmund exhaled, as the situation was finally nearing its conclusion.

By this time, it was around eight in the evening. The Eastern Palace remained brightly lit, and the banquet continued, but now that their goal was achieved, Laine had lost interest in continuing the festivities.

The Lake Fairy’s Chosen Champion walked into the garden of the Eastern Palace alone.

Located behind the royal palace, the garden was named Moore Garden, after Death God Moore. Generations of Duke Margaret and many local nobles were buried in this garden. The trees in the garden were lush, the paths crisscrossed, the lake water was crystal clear, as smooth as a mirror, and the woods were filled with melodious birdsong.

In the Empire and the Southern Realm, almost every city had a Moore Garden, also known as Moore Cemetery, where the noble corpses were laid to rest. Most nobles believed cremation was not a dignified burial, preferring burial. However, the souls buried were susceptible to corruption and disturbance by undead magic, hence the creation of Moore Gardens. In the gardens, the Moore Knights and Moore Priests were responsible for safeguarding the noble remains. With blessings from the Death God, fences and statues prevented the noble souls from being disturbed, allowing them to rest in peace under the protection of Death God’s divine power.

Of course, this wasn’t free. To lay in rest in a Moore Garden, nobles had to pay a substantial amount in real gold and silver, which was one of the main income sources for the Moore Church.

Therefore, the Moore Knight Order’s influence spread throughout the Old World. Although Moore Church priests weren’t welcomed by all, they were respected, as no one desired their soul to return to Chaos Space or be toyed with by undead.

Perhaps someday, I will lie here too? Laine strolled along the paths in the garden, feeling the night breeze. The Count felt at peace, as his journey to Estalia gave him new insights.

Earlier, I should’ve brought Veronica along. Walking hand in hand by the pool would be quite romantic, Laine thought to himself. He had always cherished Veronica and now wanted to share his joy with her.

Among all his women, Veronica was the one who truly achieved social advancement through Laine. From a penniless official witch to a Female Elder with a whole independent Wizard Tower, Veronica’s story was one of admiration and envy among many young witches in the Jialan Council. Because of this, her relations with colleagues were not very good, and in recent years, her visits to the council had been few...

"Excuse me, are you Lord Laine?" A voice in the garden rudely interrupted Laine’s thoughts. A tall guard clad in exquisite half-plate armor appeared before Laine. The armor was decorated with gold, silver, black jade, and various gemstones, and the guard’s triangular helmet bore three colored plumes. The guard respectfully saluted Laine: "Apologies for the interruption."

Laine wasn’t pleased his thoughts were interrupted, but realizing he was not on his land but in someone else’s royal palace garden, he said nothing: "Yes, I am. How can I help you?"

"Hello, I am Pablo, the Personal Guard Captain to Duke Margaret, Rubio-the Sun Watcher. It’s an honor to meet you." The guard saluted again: "It truly is a privilege to encounter you in the Moore Garden."

"I suppose this isn’t a mere encounter, Mr. Pablo." Laine’s face showed a hint of sarcasm as he stared at the Personal Guard Captain: "What is it?"

"It’s like this, Lord Laine, as you see, I’ve been stuck at the Legendary Middle-tier bottleneck for a long time. I’ve perused the entire Margaret Library for combat skills-related books and spent decades dueling others, all to no avail in advancing further. So... may I have the opportunity to seek guidance from you? I want to know my limits!" The Personal Guard Captain Pablo presented his well-rehearsed words to Laine: "Please grant me this chance."

Laine’s expression remained stoic. He stood still, his blue eyes fixed on the Personal Guard Captain.

An overwhelming aura emanated from the Lake Fairy Chosen Champion’s body, and Pablo felt his organs squeeze together. He struggled to speak but couldn’t utter a single word as endless cold enveloped his senses.

Pablo seemed to sense that some Supreme Being was gradually releasing all its restraints.

In an instant, everything vanished, and the Personal Guard Captain found himself drenched with sweat, awaiting Laine’s reply: "I see, very well, but only this once."

"Then, Lord Laine, please don your armor..."

"No need." Laine shook his head: "Just like this, attack me."

"What?!"

"I said, just like this, draw your sword and attack."

In a nearby pavilion, Duke Margaret Rubio and his son Juan sat together. Observing Laine’s choice to face the opponent in this manner, Juan exclaimed in surprise: "Lord Laine! Lord Laine isn’t wearing armor or using a weapon?!"

"Be quiet, Juan." Rubio gestured for his son to remain silent, his eyes fixed on this duel of honor. In a low voice, he said:

"Watch closely; this is the moment to test Lord Laine’s strength."