The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

"So, realizing his lack of talent in warfare, he could only turn his attention back to internal strife—if he couldn't beat Ursus, couldn't he beat the Merchant Federation?"

"You mean, he plans to export the internal conflicts within the military to the domestic market, and use the profits and prestige gained from suppressing the business association to regain his position?"

Kasya's tone was unmistakably sarcastic.

Even someone as oblivious to the outside world as him had heard of the Grand Knight Commander's "glorious achievements."

Five years ago, when the Ursus-Eastern Kingdom War was raging, this Grand Knight Commander felt that Ursus was focused on the east and had no time to spare. Therefore, he gathered a large number of Silver Spear Pegasus as the vanguard, intending to launch a large-scale counterattack aimed at reclaiming lost territory with overwhelming offensive power.

Then he was caught red-handed by Nikolai, who was on the Western Front with episodes 2 and 7 at the time.

The vanguard of knights, consisting of over forty Silver Spear Pegasus Knights, was surrounded by the Ursus army, while the follow-up troops were hundreds of kilometers away. It could be said that if Nikolai had swallowed this enormous dumpling of national annihilation, Kazimierz, having lost more than half of his Silver Spear Pegasus Knights and a large number of elite knights, might have knelt at the feet of Ursus.

If it weren't for Lieutenant General Cyril Nearl defying public opinion and using his personal charisma to cobble together a pitifully small reinforcement force, miraculously breaking through the encirclement and rescuing the besieged knights, the current "Eastern Kazimierz Governorate" might already have dropped the "Eastern" from its name.

"What a pity... They managed to draw a game on both the East and West fronts, a victory they could have secured, which ultimately led to Ursus's decline ever since."

The black snake sighed.

"I don't know how Cyril Nearl managed to do it. In such a desperate situation, he was able to find the weak point of the encirclement so accurately, lead his troops to break out in the opposite direction, and even take advantage of the loophole in Nikolai's troop movements to take down a detachment. His intelligence is really accurate."

"Yes—how about pyroxene?"

Qiao Yelan put the remaining documents back into the bag and casually agreed.

Back then, the Battle of Bloodpeak on the eastern front and the Casimir counterattack on the western front—if Ursus could win either one, the resulting gains would silence all the critics in the country and help Vladimir weather the harsh winter after an angel investor withdrew his investment.

The former can destroy a country and plunder it, seizing enough wealth and benefits in one go, while the latter can tear apart Kazimir's defense forces and occupy enough land and people.

Unfortunately, both battles ended in a draw, and neither achieved its strategic objective.

Vladimir was powerless to reverse the situation, and Ursus fell into the abyss.

Qiao Yelan only appears at the end of one story.

—And that would inevitably be an ending without any suspense.

------------------------------------------------------------

“I think this is our first meeting, Lord Cyril Nearl.”

"Please do not use honorifics when addressing me, Your Excellency Doctor. My title is insignificant in your presence."

Kasena stared in disbelief as the person ranked second on the Ursus army's revenge list came out to greet Qiao Yelan, the representative of the Business Federation. Even though he was now a general, he warmly took the initiative to shake her hand.

Oh, by the way, the person ranked number one on the Ursus army's list of those seeking revenge is the Eastern Kingdom commander from the Battle of Bloodpeak, but I heard that guy retired after that battle...

"Then please stop using honorifics when addressing me—just call me Qiao Yelan."

“Mr. Qiao Yelan, you can just call me Cyril.”

It was a scene of perfect harmony between host and guest. And while one might not be able to discern other qualities in Kasena, one could still tell whether a person's enthusiasm and respect were genuine—not only Cyril, but even Cyril's deputy standing to the side displayed a heartfelt respect.

"This is Lieutenant General Ioleta Russell, my second-in-command."

"Hello, Dr. Qiao Yelan, thank you for your contribution to Kazimierz and your Tower of Babel. Like my superior, I have never forgotten your patriotism."

The woman gave Qiao Yelan a solemn salute.

After exchanging pleasantries, the two took their seats, and Cyril got straight to the point.

"Mr. Qiao Yelan, you previously claimed in the communications that you had an important document that I needed to review. I wonder what kind of intelligence it is?"

With a serious expression, Qiao Yelan took out his briefcase and, for what seemed like the umpteenth time, pulled out the brown paper bag, handing it to Cyril.

The knight took the document and began to read it carefully.

The further he flipped through the pages, the uglier his expression became. By the end, he couldn't even control his facial expressions.

boom!

He slammed his fist heavily on the table, but Qiao Yelan had already picked up her cup in advance to prevent water from splashing.

"Who came up with such a vicious plan?!"

"I don't know who came up with this plan, but I do know that at the Business Council, those people will be overjoyed and treat it as gospel, and will greedily carry it out."

Qiao Yelan's voice was also extremely serious.

"More importantly, I believe you have also seen that the implementers and beneficiaries of this plan are not just businessmen."

This is what he did when he was chatting with Kasena earlier—he consciously only showed her a fragmented part of the plan. Most of the document he showed Cyril was business-related, which fits the premise that he secretly obtained it.

However, although he removed most of the military-related elements, he retained a small portion of the original content—so that Cyril would know that some of the knights of Kazimierz had also joined the game.

"That's why I had to come to the front lines to find you—if this matter were only within the Business Federation, I could try to suppress or delay it. But if even the military is involved, then this is not something a businessman like me can handle."

Cyril nodded angrily. Unlike others who always tried to seize power from the military and the knightly class, Babel Tower never participated in anything related to the military. Apart from a small guard, it had very few armed personnel.

Therefore, Babel Tower had no influence or involvement with the military. Although they had Cyril as a channel, they never made any demands that would make things difficult for Cyril. This is why the general was so friendly to Qiao Yelan.

“I understand. As for the military, I will personally step in to suppress them—those who would do such a thing as aiding and abetting evil do not deserve to be called knights, much less soldiers!”

He took on this responsibility without hesitation.

This is not about vying for power or seizing profits, but about the most fundamental principles upon which a nation is founded!

“Mr. Cyril, it is not that I look down on you, nor that I do not trust your patriotic heart—it is just that you alone may not be able to stop this.”

Qiao Yelan sighed softly.

"The Commercial Federation holds the reins of finance and has been clashing with the military's Oversight Committee in the National Assembly for quite some time now. Can you really distinguish which member of the Oversight Committee still upholds the code of chivalry and which has already fallen into corruption?"

“I certainly can’t do it—but His Excellency the Grand Knight Commander certainly can. He can order a thorough investigation into this matter, or simply use a military order to completely prohibit it.”

Cyril explained.

"But how can you be so sure that His Excellency the Grand Knight Commander was not involved in this matter?"

Qiao Yelan asked the question quietly.

The atmosphere froze instantly.

Cyril's face darkened, and he looked at Qiao Yelan, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"Mr. Qiao Yelan, some things must be said with evidence!"

“I can’t provide any evidence, because I’m just a businessman and I don’t have any connections in the military except for you—but it’s precisely because I’m a pure businessman that I’m able to realize the deeper issues involved.”

Qiao Yelan showed no sign of fear.

"As a chairman, if my position is shaken, I can choose to start a business competition with a rival company, which will prevent me from being replaced temporarily. But a more thorough solution is to make a deal with another company, a deal that can bring significant benefits, so that my position can be more secure!"

"—Do you think that Grand Knight Commander's position is currently very secure?"

of course not.

Cyril knew this all too well.

Ever since he returned alive five years ago, the Grand Knight Commander's eyes have no longer held any admiration or trust.

If he hadn't obtained the much-needed Ursus military intelligence from the patriotic merchant in front of him, and then embarked on a military adventure with a small number of knights, then the "glorious victory" that was celebrated five years ago would have been a humiliating defeat.

Most importantly, the rescue was initiated by myself, not by the Grand Knight Commander's order.

The more grateful and respectful these people are to him, the more hostile and contemptuous they are towards the Grand Knight Commander, the more they will be towards him.

And this respect and contempt have grown daily over the past five years.

Leaving aside others, the adjutant standing beside him, who went to the rescue with him and came back alive, could be considered a representative of this group.

The worst part was that Cyril painfully discovered that the Grand Knight Commander did not see him as his successor, but rather as a rival.

Cyril was also aware of the other party's behavior during this period—the conflict between the Supervisory Council and the Merchants' Association was becoming increasingly prominent, and even Cyril could see that the Merchants' Association would rather make concessions than further escalate the conflict.

However, the Grand Knight Commander was instead allowing those radical knights to run rampant, even inciting some ignorant and hot-blooded young knights, actively catalyzing this conflict.

Such intense hostility is draining the strength of Kazimir – if the situation becomes irreversible, then they will be the culprits who caused the civil war!

Cyril had previously found this quite perplexing and had even voiced his opposition, but now Qiao Yelan's words seemed to lift the veil of mystery for him, revealing the truth to him.

It even presented him with an even more terrifying possibility.

By opposing the Business Federation, one can gain the support of a large number of people, which will allow the Federation to maintain its position as Grand Knight Commander.

But if this Grand Knight Commander were to change his ways and decide to collude with the Commercial Association, wouldn't he be able to gain the support of a group of people? In fact, those merchants might even lend him their full support, helping him to solidify his current position!

Just as the general's doubts began to grow, Qiao Yelan's voice rang out again.

"Think about it again. This is plunging an entire social class into the abyss. Do you think the few competitive knight orders supported by the Business Federation and the Unarmored Alliance, whose reputation exceeds their strength, can suppress this? Even if they can suppress the opposition, who will capture those infected?"

"The key to such a bill is never whether it can be passed, but whether it can be effectively implemented—have you seen any substantive implementation measures in this bill? No, I haven't even received any detailed relevant information."

The Tower of Babel originated from the Business Federation, and they were one of the organizers. If they couldn't find this information, it meant that the information wasn't with the Business Federation.

So, which faction will it fall into?

Chapter Seventy: Don't let your pawns know they are pawns.

“I… still can’t believe that these are all just speculations. I still trust His Excellency the Grand Knight Commander, and I believe that he still maintains the dignity and beliefs of a knight.”

Cyril's voice was extremely strained.

"I will have a detailed discussion with you, and I believe I can persuade you. As long as the military makes its stance clear, the Business Federation will not dare to defy public opinion and forcefully push through this bill, right?"

Qiao Yelan simply shook her head slightly.