The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Grey Robe and Rosalind led the Castilian delegation out of the tavern, their expressions quite complex, a stark contrast to the bustling scene at the harbor.

Although he knew that González VI would have little chance of regaining power, the Grey-Robed was still deeply saddened upon learning of his death.

The little princess looked dazed. She remembered that before she set off, the emperor had advised her to be mentally prepared, but when she learned that her brother had murdered her father and usurped the throne, and that Castile had been divided into seven pieces, the little princess seemed to lose her way for a moment.

Despite having worked so hard to follow the Grey Robe to the continent of Mu and to learn about it, the Avars had been defeated, the dragons' strength had been greatly weakened, and with the support of the Empire, driving out the Avars should have been an easy task. But Castile ultimately couldn't hold on and was torn into seven pieces.

Although she is still young, the little princess understands that it is impossible to make her older brothers and sisters reconcile.

After calming down, Grey Robe thought more deeply. The death of González VI was too suspicious. Even according to the incomplete information Grey Robe had, Garcia should not have killed His Majesty at all. Instead, he should have made His Majesty write an abdication edict. Garcia also kept denying that he killed his father, but no one listened. However, Grey Robe felt that the outrageous things Garcia said at the beginning might actually be true.

But which faction is it? I've heard that Garcia is constantly gathering information about the Lord of the Morning Star. It's really hard to guess.

The man in the grey robe thought for a moment and then said to the little princess beside him, "Your Highness, please stay on the ship for the next few days and do not wander around unnecessarily."

"But Grand Preceptor, now that our motherland has fallen, shouldn't we hurry up and think of a solution?"

Seeing Rosalind's gaze gradually change from listless to resolute, the gray-robed man said, "Of course, Your Majesty, I will find a way, but before that, we must wait for other guests to visit us."

The man in the grey robe looked toward the imperial fleet docked in the port.

The exciting news of the Imperial fleet's arrival on the continent of Solon spread rapidly, especially the news that the Avars and dragons had been defeated, which many people found hard to believe. However, since the Avar fleet never returned and there were Avar prisoners on the Imperial fleet, the surrounding countries had to re-evaluate this so-called Imperial fleet.

The port was even temporarily closed to accommodate this fleet, and other ships had to find another neutral port to dock.

Of course, the so-called fleet is only from the perspective of the people on the continent of Solon. The merchants in the port who have had close contact with the fleet in the past few days know very well that this is really just a fleet. Although it is armed, the initial purpose of this fleet is really to do business, and it is far from being a fleet.

However, others wouldn't think that way, especially the Avars.

In fact, after the battle report from the Imperial Fleet reached the Avars, they were already 60% convinced of the story. The wall-like enchantment had left a deep impression on them. They also heard that the demon official who claimed to be from the continent of Mu had disappeared after the coup in Castile. With this mutual support, the Avars themselves began to wonder if the warriors and dragons from the continent of Mu had truly been defeated.

The Dragon Church has fallen into an unusual silence, offering no response to the outside world, possibly in an emergency to contact the remaining dragons on the continent of Solon to confirm the situation.

Aside from the Avars and the Dragon Church, the Castilian nobles probably felt the most conflicted about the Imperial fleet, since the Imperial fleet still flew the Castilian flag. Why? Because Rosalind the Grey was also on an Imperial ship, and Castile, divided into seven factions, was beginning to try to contact and win over this returning princess.

At night, after replying to the letters that the nobles kept sending, the gray-robed man turned off the magic lamp. In the past few days, the gray-robed man had gone out to collect more intelligence and had a general understanding of the current situation on the continent of Soren. In the darkness, the gray-robed man vaguely sensed a shadow deeper than darkness entering the ship, but he did not pay attention to it.

He had just closed his eyes when the gray-robed man suddenly awoke with a start. His room in the cabin had vanished, replaced by complete darkness.

"As expected of Castile's Grand Tutor, he is even more perceptive than we imagined."

From the shadows, a man wearing a black and white mask emerged.

Upon seeing the man's attire, the man in the grey robe immediately understood: "A follower of the Lord of the Morning Star?"

"We are now the Dark Night Holy Court."

The leader of the Dark Night Holy Court bowed to the gray-robed figure.

"To be honest, we are quite curious about you and have great respect for you. So we want to ask you first, are you willing to join our Dark Night Holy Court and become a part of us? The Lord of the Morning Star will protect you and lead you to the other side of knowledge."

Before the cult leader could finish speaking, the gray-robed man interrupted, "You killed His Majesty, didn't you?"

"Yes, so what?"

The cult leader said nonchalantly, "González VI is too old. He can't control the kingdom and it's hard for him to become a puppet who will obediently accept control. His son happens to be quite filial, so we took advantage of him."

Then, the bishop seemed to see through the gray-robed man and said, "Of course, we don't really care who the king is, as long as he can help us spread the Lord's teachings. Would you like the little princess next door to be the king? It's a bit troublesome, but it's not impossible if you're willing to join us."

Although he used honorifics, the bishop of the Dark Night Holy Court straightened his posture, and one could feel his arrogance even through the mask. He certainly had the right to be so. Judging from his tone, the gray-robed man could roughly sense that the other party probably had a lot of hidden resources and was an organization that controlled the power in the shadows of this continent.

Seeing that the grey-robed man did not answer, the bishop asked again, "Is the news that this fleet is spreading outside true? Does the so-called empire really have the power to fight against the dragon?"

"of course."

The gray-robed man finally replied, "The Empire's power is greater than you imagine. To be honest, sometimes I even feel that to the Empire, you and I are nothing more than ants. On the continent of Mu, even dragons must abide by the Empire's rules."

Hearing the gray-robed bishop say this, he seemed to finally lose his temper and burst into wild laughter: "That's wonderful! We need to have the power to defeat dragons! This empire is a perfect vessel for possession! I can't wait to take control of the empire you speak of! Hahahaha!"

The grey-robed man looked at him with pity and asked, "How do you plan to take control of the empire?"

The bishop wearing a black and white mask said in a suppressed, excited voice, "Grand Master of Castile, do you know that people are most vulnerable when they are asleep, especially when they are dreaming, just like you are now? In dreams, no one is a match for the Dark Night Holy Court! Not even the empire you speak of is an exception!"

"Puch!"

A soft laugh, as if finally unable to contain itself, came from the shadows.

"Who? Who's there?!"

The bishop of the Dark Night Holy Court looked in alarm at the source of the laughter.

"I'm sorry, I've received professional training and I generally don't laugh at others unless I really can't help it."

Bernice emerged from the shadows, carrying a lamp.