A different world game? A different world game!

Raymond's words were impeccable, both affirming Alfred's actions and subtly refuting Carroll's accusation of "malicious manipulation."

The problem is attributed to technological and market changes, and the key to "transformation" is subtly pointed out at the end.

He cleverly positioned himself as a purely neutral observer and an extremely pragmatic businessman, thus offending neither side while clearly indicating the future direction—adapting to change.

This is already evident from here.

Although Raymond remained neutral, his heart had already begun to lean towards the Night's Watch.

Alfred nodded slightly to Raymond, a hint of genuine appreciation flashing in his eyes.

This Earl of Plantagenet lived up to his reputation, possessing a keen business sense and a flexible and adaptable stance.

He took over the conversation, his tone still calm and composed, yet carrying an unshakeable and undeniable power:

"Lord Raymond is quite right. The Night's Watch has brought a world-shaking wave of change. It is violently washing away the old riverbed, and will naturally carry away some of the accumulated, long-stale silt."

"Complaining is futile; the true wisdom of survival lies in learning to navigate it with composure. My lands desperately need security, my soldiers crave strength, and my people yearn for sustenance and a brighter future."

"The Night's Watch is currently the only force capable of simultaneously and effectively meeting these pressing needs. This is my choice, not out of betrayal, but solely for the fundamental survival and development of the organization."

He looked at Carol, his gaze sharp and piercing like that of a hawk:
"As for the kingdom's order..."

"Commander Carroll, while your Silver Lion Knights were still leisurely delaying their journey due to 'obstruction,' it was the legend of the Night's Watch who stopped the catastrophic disaster that could have destroyed my territory at the critical moment."

"When the old order is completely unable to protect those it claims to protect, isn't its collapse an inevitable historical event? What's wrong with me choosing an order that can truly protect my people?"

The chaos brought about by evil gods has many aftereffects.

It's not that the Night's Watch simply banished the evil god and everything was fine.

After all, during the years when the evil god was rampant, the high-ranking officials and nobles of various countries did many outrageous things.

Their once noble narrative has long been shattered, which is why the Night's Watch devises so many plans.

Alfred, a border nobleman, was equally dissatisfied.

Carroll was completely rendered speechless by the two's coordinated attack.

In particular, Alfred's precise and direct attack on the Silver Lion Knights' weakness of being late caused him to lose face completely.

He has worked hard.

This time he really didn't try to delay, but who could outrun the Night's Watch?

This made him feel somewhat aggrieved.

He stood up abruptly, the chair legs scraping against the stone floor with a screeching sound.

"Very well! So you're only concerned with survival! Earl Alfred, it seems you've made up your mind to embrace those heretics! I will report every word you said today to His Majesty and the Senate! I hope you won't regret it!"

He angrily uttered these harsh words, not even glancing at Raymond, and turned to storm out of the restaurant. His heavy footsteps echoed in the empty, dark corridor, gradually fading into the distance.

A brief, breathtaking silence returned to the restaurant, broken only by the crackling of the burning wood in the fireplace.

Alfred calmly picked up his glass, took a small sip, and showed little emotion on his face.

It was as if they had simply seen off an annoying, unpleasant, and untimely guest.

Kingdom, Council of Elders.

A bunch of disgusting things.

Count Raymond sighed softly, feigning nonchalance.

He picked up his fork again, speared a piece of juicy, fragrant, tender dragon lizard meat, and his face once again displayed that shrewd, calculating smile:

"Lord Alfred, it seems that your elaborate dinner is destined to leave one guest with a stomachache and indigestion, as if a fishbone is stuck in his throat."

Alfred also gave a slightly mocking and helpless smile, raising his glass to Raymond:
"The world is like a surging tide, some people go with the flow and drift along, while others stubbornly try to go against the current, only to end up battered and bruised in vain. Lord Raymond, you seem to know better how to sail wisely and skillfully?"

Raymond laughed heartily and raised his glass in return: "Businessmen, after all, always have to see the winds and carefully choose the right course. The Night Watch wind, though it came on strong, has indeed brought a lot of... tempting and exciting new business opportunities."

"For example, the mountain range where your castle is located seems to contain a building stone of quite good quality and exceptionally hard texture?"

"Perhaps we can discuss the details of cooperative mining and transportation? The Night Watch's logistics are indeed incredibly efficient and convenient."

He skillfully shifted the topic, bringing the tense political debate back to the more familiar, pragmatic, and purely profit-driven business world.

A shrewd glint flashed in Alfred's eyes, and he readily agreed, "That's exactly what I was thinking, Lord Raymond. It seems we have much to discuss in detail."

The two exchanged a knowing smile, and the tense atmosphere in the restaurant was gradually replaced by a new, tacit understanding based on practical interests.

Outside the castle, the night grew deeper and deeper, and the angry shouts of the old era were blocked by the thick stone walls and dissipated in the howling, biting, cold mountain wind.

Inside the restaurant, the fire crackled in the fireplace.

The flickering firelight cast dappled shadows on Alfred and Earl Raymond's faces, creating an atmosphere of subtle, indescribable silence.

Regarding Carroll's angry departure earlier.

Count Raymond, as if nothing had happened, gracefully picked up a napkin and meticulously wiped his mouth again, as if to brush away the lingering gunpowder smell in the air. His usual shrewd smile returned to his face, and his gaze turned to Alfred with gentle concern, his tone carrying just the right amount of genuine concern:
"Lord Alfred, you seemed to have suffered some injuries on the battlefield earlier? Are those wounds from the void erosion still bothering you?"
"Should I ask the family physician who accompanied us to take a look? Our Golden Flower family physicians have some unique family-inherited skills in treating these kinds of tricky injuries."

Alfred moved his left shoulder, where the priest's healing spell had taken effect. Although there was still a slight, lingering pain, the deep wound that exposed bone was healing rapidly at a visible speed.

He shook his head, his tone carrying a deep weariness from returning from the battlefield and a sense of relief after surviving a calamity:

"Thank you for your concern, Lord Raymond. It's just a minor injury. The chaplains in the army treated it promptly, and the Night's Watch healers also gave it a thorough cleansing afterwards. It's nothing serious now."

"But those void creatures... every time I face them, their pure, nauseating, all-consuming malice sends chills down my spine."

"If it weren't for the timely arrival of the Night's Watch warriors, especially Captain Varne... today would probably be the end of me and this land."

He picked up his glass and took a sip of the fiery, throat-burning dwarven liquor, as if trying to dispel the lingering chill in his soul with its scalding heat.

"Witnessing the legendary-level void monster being dealt with so swiftly and cleanly, the shock was indescribable. The power of the Night Watchers is indeed beyond the reach of ordinary forces like ours."

"Yes."

Count Raymond nodded in genuine agreement, his eyes revealing a businessman's profound awe and assessment of the power of others.

"For beings of that caliber, ordinary armies are nothing more than lambs to the slaughter. The Night's Watch's ability to cultivate such formidable fighting power in such a short time is truly admirable, given their profound foundation and extraordinary methods."

He changed the subject, a hint of playful inquiry in his voice, "However, sir, you seem to have a trust and closeness to the Night's Watch that far exceeds that of other lords?"

Alfred put down his glass, his gaze meeting Raymond's with a frank and firm look:

"Trust stems from firsthand experience, Lord Raymond. They extended a helping hand when I was in my most perilous time, when the kingdom was powerless to act."

“I, Alfred, will always remember this kindness. Besides…” He paused, looking around at the abundant food and drink on the table, “the changes brought about by the Night’s Watch are tangible and real.”

“My land is safer because of them, and my people live significantly better because of them. Does this not make them worthy of trust and closeness?”

"It makes sense."

Count Raymond nodded in agreement, then added a touch of shrewd, probing cunning.

"However, Lord Alfred, I am still somewhat curious. Why would a border guard of your esteemed status, consistently pragmatic nature, and the kingdom's deep trust in you act in this way..."

"Hmm, you've firmly and resolutely chosen to stand on the Night's Watch's side? After all, you should be more aware than I of the political risks and external pressures involved. In the capital, there are quite a few dissenting voices like those of Commander Carol."

Upon hearing this, Alfred let out a short, slightly bitter, and self-deprecating laugh. He leaned forward slightly, placed his hands crossed on the table, and looked directly at Raymond, no longer beating around the bush:
"Lord Raymond, we are not people who like to beat around the bush, especially after what just happened... an unpleasant 'unpleasant' incident."

"You, the head of the Plantagenet family, who holds a pivotal position in the kingdom and has always maintained a neutral stance, have suddenly appeared in my remote and resource-poor border castle without any warning. I'm afraid it's not just to inspect the trade routes or to pay a courtesy visit to an old friend, is it?"
"It's even less likely that you wanted to hear me and Commander Carol arguing pointlessly. If you have any advice, please speak frankly."

Count Raymond's smile deepened even further, but there was no embarrassment at being exposed; instead, it carried a knowing "I knew it" air.

He gently stroked the rim of the jewel-encrusted wine glass with his fingertips, his businessman's smooth facade crumbling, his eyes sharp and serious.
"Lord Alfred is indeed a man of few words. Yes, I do have ulterior motives for this trip. But please believe me, my purpose is absolutely not to maliciously spy on or interfere with your choices."

"I just want to hear firsthand your true thoughts on the future of this world, from the very heart of the maelstrom, from the Night's Watch who fought alongside them through bloodshed and whose power and intentions you have deeply felt."

He deliberately emphasized the words "true opinion".

Alfred was different from the rest of the kingdom's nobility.

At aristocratic banquets, people often talked about their experiences as adventurous knights in their youth.

During his time on adventures, he witnessed almost the entire Night's Watch's rapid rise to power.

Therefore, it is clearer and more understandable.

Alfred fell into a brief silence, his gaze thoughtfully fixed on the leaping flames in the fireplace, as if he were gathering and organizing his thoughts.

The only sound in the restaurant was the monotonous crackling of burning firewood.

After a long while, he slowly spoke:
"Your true opinion? Lord Raymond, ever since the horrific 'Blood Calamity' that swept across Anvian more than twenty years ago, our world has irreversibly slid towards the edge of an abyss of no return."

"For the past twenty years, war, famine, whispers of evil gods, and the erosion of the void... have never truly ceased. We are all, in reality, just pitiful creatures struggling to survive on the edge of a precarious cliff."

"They are Night's Watchmen."

His tone shifted to one of unwavering certainty.

"It was they who ultimately turned the tide and curbed the madness of the evil god, pulling us out of the quagmire of that degenerate nightmare."

"And now they're telling us that it was just a small prelude to a bigger storm."

The apocalypse of the void... it is no longer just a distant prophecy, but a sword hanging over our heads, ready to fall at any moment.

“Look at the rifts today, look at the endless stream of monstrous creatures. The Night's Watch is not exaggerating.”

Alfred's gaze refocused on Raymond's face, his expression imbued with an unwavering conviction of history:
"As for the Night's Watch itself... I admit, they are very powerful. Their tentacles reach deep into the heart of the kingdom, and their rules profoundly reshape the economy, society, and even people's hearts."

"Their actions, in peacetime, would be enough to make them a public enemy that all kingdoms would regard as a major threat, and they would be attacked by all of them."

He paused, a complex and meaningful smile curving his lips:

"But the problem is that the benefits they bring are tangible, real, and accessible to all people, and cannot be ignored!"
"An efficient and secure transportation network, inexpensive space equipment, abundant and cheap supplies, powerful weapons against the void, and... the hope that ordinary people can also gain the power to change their destiny." (End of Chapter)