Cloud Thinking

Yekas was slightly shocked when he got the answer, but then he smiled with relief.

"I see. It looks like it's not my problem. I feel relieved then," he said.

Helia: What's there to be assured of?

"Thank you, Princess Helia, for answering my questions. I will take my leave now." Yekas nodded to the referee and then left the court.

As soon as Helia said this, the contestants behind her knew their results. No one was spared, and all of them were vetoed by Helia.

But it is impossible for the Royal Knights to come back with a zero in their first public selection test. Claude must have his own purpose in organizing this selection. He wants to convey a message to the people of the empire - it is possible to cross classes through hard work.

But Helia's actions and words were obviously against Claude's wishes, so the result of this selection had to be discussed again.

"Your Highness Helia, perhaps you don't know much about the current situation of the Knights, but what I want to say is that we are very short of people."

As the current leader of the Knights Templar, Carlisle naturally could not accept such a result, but he was not a referee and had no decision-making power. He had no choice but to find Helia and persuade her to change her mind.

"You may have heard about the selection and assessment of the Knights before. Those who can get in are just fancy-looking young masters, and there are very few people who can really be used."

"Not to mention the fight against the monsters two years ago. We sacrificed many people. Now that the situation in the empire is stable, we were not put to use, so there was no problem."

"But if anything unexpected happens and we are needed, I can only say that we have almost no one available. If this continues, the Knights will be ruined."

"I cannot accept the Knights' Order falling on my hands."

Helia listened quietly to Carlisle's accusations against her, her expression indifferent, even completely indifferent.

"That's your concern, what does it have to do with me?" she said mercilessly.

"I don't need the Knights to gild my resume. I'm not the head of the Knights. I'm just an outsider who cut in halfway. Why should I pay for the Knights' problems?"

"Is this problem caused by me? Isn't it caused by the selection system all along? You have been sitting in this position for almost three years. Has nothing changed?"

"You don't think that the Knights' selection system is the sole reason for the Knights' current state, do you?"

The problem of the Knights Templar was ultimately a human problem. Even if Helia was willing to give in and inject new blood into the Knights Templar, would these people without any background gain the respect of the young masters if they entered the Knights Templar?

No, their situation is only slightly better than those knights of commoner origin, but only slightly.

The roots of the Knights Templar are rotten. Before these rotten roots are eradicated, no matter how much fertilizer you pour into them, it will only continue to nourish the rotten roots and will not change any problems!

Carlisle was silent for a moment, feeling both resentment and grievance in his heart. He had been in the Knights Templar for almost ten years, and no one knew what the situation inside the Knights Templar was like better than him.

He knew it, and he also wanted to work hard to change. He had tried his best in the past three years. Otherwise, he would have been killed by the minions of Warcraft long ago with these scumbags. How could he return triumphantly as a hero?

No one saw his efforts, his helplessness, his powerlessness.

Naturally, he felt aggrieved.

"I know the problem with the Knights Templar is not just this, but we have to try to solve it anyway. We can't just kill all the original members of the Knights Templar!" He shouted excitedly, unable to control his emotions.

"Besides, everyone knows that the Royal Knights are a defeated army. All we need to do is wait for His Highness Eric to take over and replace them."

"All we can do is to fulfill our final duty and preserve the Knights' remaining dignity and glory in this final period of time."

Helia shook her head. "Carlisle, the Royal Knights are not a replacement. You are wrong. The Empire can have two or even more Knights. But the prerequisite is that the Knights must be able to handle the swords of the royal family."

"My brother has his magic knights, so why can't I have a royal knights of my own?"

"I also want an army that I can command to defend my power, so I tried my best to make the Knights better, and I blame you for giving up."

"If I had no hope for the Knights, why would I have invested so much thought in it, and why would I have tried every possible way to get you to stand on my side?"

Carlisle was stunned. He looked at Helia in confusion and stammered, "But...you...you and Prince Eric...aren't you on the same side..."

"You said that before..."

"Yes, my brother and I are of the same mind, but the problem is that we are two different people after all, and we don't want the same things. I can't always rely on him, right?" Helia replied.

"So, I must have the force to defend my bottom line and pursue what I want. Since I have joined the competition for succession, I will not give up the position so easily."

"Carlisle, do you understand? You are my person, not my brother's."

Carlisle didn't say anything, but just lowered his head and thought carefully about what Helia said, repeatedly analyzing the meaning conveyed in it.

Not knowing what he had thought of, he suddenly looked up into Helia's eyes, trying to catch something in them.

When he saw that greedy look, his eyes suddenly widened and he looked surprised.

He understood that Helia had changed her mind due to some unknown circumstances and was going to take the competition seriously.

She also wants to fight for that position, that identity, and that power.

Eric trusted her and didn't think that his sister would become a knife to stab him in the back, so he still pampered her like a flower in a greenhouse.

And this will be the key move for Helia to win.

After hesitating for a moment, Carlisle seemed to have made up his mind and asked, "Then, what do you need me to do for you?"

"You can make those cancerous tumors that only eat and do not work die in a reasonable way, right?" Helia smiled.

"It will be enough to have one or two die. As for the rest, let them live in fear and trepidation until new blood comes in, and then slowly abandon them."

Carlisle was a little conflicted. "But, even if they are cancer, they have made contributions in the war. Even if they have no merits, they have worked hard."

"If we kill them all, isn't it too much..."

"So, it has to be done in a reasonable way." Helia said cruelly and ruthlessly with her hibiscus face on, "I think neither you nor I want to be branded as ungrateful, right?"

"There are too many obstacles on the road to the distance. You can't stop for the flowers and plants on the roadside, right? Those who put away those worthless sympathies and are not ruthless will never reach the other side of their ideals."

Carlisle remained silent, half-lidded to hide the strange color in his eyes.

Will Helia be able to attack me so ruthlessly one day in the future? If she finds that I am blocking her way, I think she will not think of the old friendship and will just attack me directly.

Is such a person really worth following?

Helia knew what he was thinking without even looking at him, "Don't worry about me doing anything to you."

"You are very powerful, and you have abilities and ambitions. You are of great value to me. At least until you betray me, I will not abandon you easily. You are a good chess piece and a good partner."

"I am really good to my own people. If you have eyes, you will see it."

"It's okay if you don't choose me. I respect your choice, but you should also think clearly about the consequences of going against me."

"I am more ruthless than my brother, and I am more unscrupulous, but I also treat those who are sincere to me sincerely."

Is Helia's heart made of stone?

Maybe yes.

But even stone has a soft part in it, even if it is very small, it is indeed soft and warm.

"Please allow me to think carefully and then reply to you." Carlisle said.

He had once turned from a neutral party to the royal family, and now he had to choose one of the two royal heirs to follow. This was an important decision that would affect his entire life, and he could not and would not give an answer easily.

He didn't want to live his whole life and end up like Valosinger. He also envied Cheko, envying him for being able to gain the trust of the monarch and stand closest to the center of power.

But he also thought about whether he could be like Chico, treating Claude as his whole world, being completely loyal to that man rather than that position, and not changing his mind because of anything other than Claude.

He can't.

Chico is a guy who can be cruel even to his own relatives, just like Claude.

It’s just that Claude only has the empire in his heart, while Chiko only has Claude in his heart.

So Claude was willing to entrust his back to Chico, and Chico was also willing to give his full loyalty to Claude.

"Of course." Helia smiled happily and turned her hand to make a "please" gesture, "I look forward to your answer."

……

Regarding the results of the first public selection of the Royal Knights, after consultation between the jury and Claude, it was decided to hold a new vote tomorrow.

The voting must be based on the scores of the three assessment items. The veto power cannot be used arbitrarily without reason, and each referee has only five opportunities to use it.

This was obviously aimed at Helia, restricting her willfulness.

But Helia didn't care. Her original intention was just to cause trouble. Now the trouble was definitely caused, but it was a pity that she didn't force a few dogs to jump over the wall.

Ariana was still staying in the Amber Palace with Lydia, and Helia went to find her after talking with Carlisle.

"I came to you because I want to get to know you about Ide." Helia said straight to the point, "How did you two meet, and what kind of person is he."

"What is his purpose in following you?"

Aliana frowned and replied slowly: "His real name is Idrija. I met him halfway. He is very powerful. If we travel together, my safety will be guaranteed. So we came to the imperial capital together."

"According to him, he came from the northern border and is from the Xiali Empire."

"He was a student at Carterth College. After graduation, he joined the Philosos Academy. Now he is a seventh-rank great magician."

"Besides that, he also calls himself the Son of Chaos."

Helia frowned, "What? What is Chaos Child?"

Ariana also shook her head. "I don't know either. I only know that it is an organization similar to the Philosos Society. They seem to enjoy stirring up disputes and creating chaos."

"He seems to be coming for you, just like me."

A guess flashed through Helia's mind, and the uneasiness in her heart spread rapidly. She stood up suddenly and rushed to the door to try to open it, but just like her unlucky character that would make even drinking cold water choke her teeth, a hideous smiling face appeared on the door.

After being touched, the smoky gray light immediately spread out, forming a barrier that trapped her and Ariana.

Helia immediately summoned her wand and used blasting magic on the smiling face, but there was only smoke but no damage. The barrier just shook a few times but was not broken.

She turned and glared at Ariana, now finally realizing their intentions.

They guessed that Helia would definitely come to find Ariana, so they set up everything in advance to trap her here.

And Ide can transform into her appearance. Even if he says that he can't imitate her voice, he is probably just lying. He has to do some things in her appearance.

"Ariana, I'll give you one last chance to make your intentions clear."

"otherwise……"

She pointed Theodore at Ariana, her expression fierce, "I will let you die here."

"Sorry." Ariana was not panicked or nervous by the threat. She looked at Helia calmly and apologized without giving the explanation Helia wanted.

"You are really looking for death!" Helia showed no mercy and directly cast a fire explosion magic. With her current level, let alone Ariana, even a mountain could be destroyed by her.

But Ariana didn't even try to dodge, and the fire explosion magic hit her. It exploded, but didn't hurt her at all. It was like setting off fireworks.

Helia was a little bit incredulous, but she didn't approach rashly. Instead, she cast other fire-attribute attack magic again.

But the result was the same, these extremely destructive magics only added a layer of dust to Ariana, which made Helia look like a joke.

Helia observed everything around her carefully, and seemed to have guessed something, and began to call out to Watersise silently in her heart.

God the Father.

Watersise did not respond to her, which meant that everything she saw now was most likely an illusion, or in other words, she appeared here in the form of a conscious being, so she could not contact Watersise.

"Tang Yaoxing!" Helia shouted loudly.

The fellow villager who had always been unreliable was finally reliable for once this time.

As the unknown name fell to the ground, the barrier covering them began to make crackling sounds, and cracks appeared on it one after another. In less than an instant, it shattered into light spots and dissipated.