What did you do with the dice?

Although he is rather timid and only dares to talk in his heart, his ability is not afraid of any challenge. In the face of such despicable temptations, he is as strong as a little brother, showing his presence all the time, and sticking four big words below his field of vision: [Immunity successful].

Well, that concludes the briefing from the last Council of Gods.

Back to the topic, Rusalka and Sanitita arrived at Ropa town with three cars and a total of 20 people.

After several months of training, the infantry squad behind him has become quite organized and well-organized. Although only a few of them have been to the battlefield, it may be a bit of an exaggeration to call them an "army", but at least they look like they have reached the level of "guards" and are regular troops that are far superior to the militia.

Going out with regular army guards is impressive. Rusalka then understood why the former Lord of Pearl Tears, even though he was in financial difficulty, had to hire a group of useless soldiers who could not last more than a few rounds in the hands of Phoenix. People all care about face, especially the nobles.

----

The capital of the Kingdom of Snidi - Alice City.

This ancient capital with a thousand-year history has witnessed the rise and fall of countless eras. After becoming the capital of the Kingdom of Sinidi, it has a defensive force that is said to be unbreakable.

The 20-meter-high steel wall is mixed with anti-magic stone powder, and four wizard towers guard the east, south, west and north. Not only does it have fierce firepower, it can also supply the main city's shield energy for up to several months.

Once the magic inscriptions carved on the banks of the moat around the city are activated, the river water will defy physics and fail to generate buoyancy, making it impossible for ships or rafts to pass through. The water is more than ten meters deep, and people can drink their fill if they go in.

Not to mention the firepower, especially the "annihilation cannon" located in the center, which is said to be a relic of the ancient battlefield of the gods. It can easily destroy targets within the territory with one shot. It is a "satellite-level weapon" comparable to the "Light's Forgiveness" of the neighboring Esdi Kingdom.

Even if the outer city fell, the inner city where the royal family lived still had strong defenses. The ten-meter-high vertical gravity rune wall isolated all the villains who wanted to climb in, and the royal guards were stationed on the wall. Entering the inner city required a total of three checkpoints of formalities and documents or the alternative of aristocratic family emblems of the marquis level or above.

The city walls were also equipped with a large number of magical devices and anti-dragon crossbows. Even if the enemy captured the entire outer city and deployed a large number of siege equipment, all the designers confidently guaranteed: "Even if a large army approaches, they will not be able to break through the inner city's defenses within a month."

Such a strong city that seems impregnable both inside and outside is vulnerable to civil strife.

No matter how many precautions you take, you can never guard against a traitor within your own home. In the face of a rebellion that broke out directly from the inner city, all the outer city defenses remained silent and became mere decorations.

The servants on the inner city walls who were busy all day, repeatedly searching and wiping away bloodstains, hinted at the brutality of the battle.

The three ducal families had always been checking and balancing each other, and had an agreement not to enter the inner city. However, when the man who called himself the "Agent of the Seven Sins" appeared, all the city defenses seemed so pale and powerless.

While summoning a bull to crash down the north wall, an army seemed to appear out of thin air and was teleported into the city.

Three royal mages appeared before him and tried to stop this sudden civil strife. The process of his one-on-three battle is unknown, but in the end, the body of the eldest prince who inherited the capital was hung high, and the flags of the four princes were raised and fluttered at the highest point of the inner city.

As for the issue of the Imperial Guards, as one of the three major ducal families, Oaks naturally has enough military power to deal with the remaining few loyalists, not to mention the countless fanatical believers of the Church of the Seven Sins to pave the way for him.

After the change of flag in the royal city, the second and third princes fled with the help of their confidants. In response to them, people from all over the country rose up and wanted to seize the royal capital in the name of "revenge" and "orthodoxy". However, after fighting for more than half a year, except for a few small-scale battles in the wild, no one dared to be the first to take the risk.

After all, Alice Royal City is known as the "Never Fallen" Royal City, and it is not a false reputation.

During this period, there were naturally countless offensive and defensive battles hidden under the great war, and countless famous assassins were sent to assassinate the four princes and the leaders of the Seven Sins Church.

Today, the capital remains peaceful and the flags are still flying high, but there is no news about the assassins.

Everyone thought that after taking over the capital, the Fourth Prince would immediately call on his former subordinates to surrender and respond before anyone else could react, and declare war on the entire kingdom with the will of the Church of the Seven Sins, spreading the fear and chaos of war while seizing the real power of the kingdom. Using Sinidi as a springboard, he would point it at the throat of his neighboring enemy, the Kingdom of Esdi, like a sharp dagger.

But he didn't. As mentioned before, the royal capital just changed its owner and was still calm. Even the common people and small nobles in the outer city did not feel whether the clouds of war were floating over their heads.

No wise man has been able to answer this question so far.

Similarly, even Grand Duke Oaks, who had conquered the royal capital, was confused:

"Your Excellency, the family's soldiers are ready for battle. Our equipment and logistics are complete and we are ready to go at any time. Now that winter has passed, the ice and snow have melted, and the temperature has risen, it is a good time to start a war. Why haven't you ordered the march to the southeast yet?"

The man, dressed in a white robe and heavy armor, looked more like a knight than a mage, standing out from the surrounding black-robed men. He slowly shook his head and said, "That's not necessary. We just need to hold this place. The enemy will come to us personally."

Of course, he is not the god himself, but he dares to call himself the god's mortal name. This is the head of the Church of the Seven Sins. In the eyes of outsiders, he is a man who has the word "mad" engraved in his title.

Of course, no one dared to call him by his full name. After all, no one had the courage to call a person a god, so everyone only dared to call him the agent to avoid causing the anger of the gods.

Grand Duke Oaks said, "The basis of our cooperation is the Seven Sins Church's support in our conquest of the entire kingdom, and we will designate the Seven Sins Church as the state religion of Sneidi. However, Your Excellency, I want to remind you that if we remain inactive, we will not be able to defeat the other two."

The Agent said, "Is that so? But in fact, everything is much worse than you think. The troops of the Great Saint have already gathered at the border. I think that by the end of this year, the flag of the Grand Duke Delai in the east will soon be replaced by the flag of Light. Of course, it may also be the flag of Elune, haha. But I personally hope Light wins. After all, the Great Saint is the first on my kill list.

As for the Great Duke of Gaode in the southwest, while his power may be modest, he possesses a strong will, excellent equipment, ample supplies, and boundless funds. Taking the initiative and prolonging the battle line would be a serious disadvantage for us. Alas, I understand them. After all, the Goddess of Wealth is a deity I find difficult to refuse.

Of course, it would be easy to deal with just having sufficient supplies. The difference lies in how much support the Church of the Goddess of Wealth provides him. If she is willing to send out her most loyal believers to help, the situation will be difficult to say.

Furthermore, our information must have leaked completely, which is perfectly natural. The Guild is the world's most powerful intelligence network. With the reputation of the Church of the Seven Sins, it won't be long before those from the Order faction will be eager to get a piece of the action. Distant water cannot quench a nearby fire. Those idiots and lunatics can't help us for now. We're truly at war with the world.

So just wait, just sit here, dear Alice will naturally help us deal with these timid guys."

After hearing the agent's words, Grand Duke Oaks's expression darkened. He whispered, "So, the forces of other gods have long been involved in the kingdom's civil war?"

The agent smiled and said, "I can't blame them. After all, I was the one who broke the rule first. But everything must be broken before it can be built. After all, if we keep dragging this out, we'll never find the Messenger of the End, and the longer we delay, the harder it will be to deal with. Oh, this is a private matter of our church, and we don't need your help. Grand Duke, don't worry. Just have your army control the mountainous area in the northwest of the kingdom and maintain an offensive and defensive agreement with the dwarves. Within five years, the entire Kingdom of Snidi will naturally belong to you."

Grand Duke Oaks left a word "I hope so" and turned away.

After the Grand Duke left, the black-robed figure beside him whispered, "Sir Acting Master, our church is fully capable of taking over Alice City on its own. The Fourth Prince is more than enough in terms of title. Why keep this Grand Duke, who is always thinking of getting rid of him? His troops can only sigh in despair in front of Alice, and his men are completely vulnerable in front of you."

The agent glanced at the other party and said calmly, "High Priest, you must understand one thing. As long as Grand Duke Oaks is alive, he can maintain order in the northern part of the kingdom, just like I can maintain order in Alice City by standing here. This is a very important matter, do you understand?"

His words were a bit incoherent, which made the high priest confused. However, he had no way to refute him. He could only purse his lips and change the subject. He said, "We paid such a great price to seize the Fallen Horn from the Wright Cathedral. Why not use it to set up a ceremony now and turn the people in the city into our believers and fighting force?"

The agent nodded, as if to say "You're right", and without hesitation he grabbed a dark red horn from the void, then put it to his lips as if he was about to blow it.

The faces of the black-robed people around suddenly changed. With terrified eyes, they covered their ears and quickly retreated more than ten meters away from the agent.

However, the agent did not blow the horn. Instead, he put it down, put it back into the void, and began to laugh at the frightened black-robed people around him.

After laughing, he turned to the high priest, who had also retreated far away in fear and was now covering his ears with his hands, his face pale. "Strange! You weren't like this before. What would have you thought of trying to borrow the power of something you fear? Are you frightened by the death of those two archbishops?"

The high priest lowered his hands from covering his ears, lowered his head, and said awkwardly: "No, I'm just thinking about the church. After all, we've lost so many people before. I think it would be better to use ordinary people as cannon fodder to defend the city..."

"Forget it, High Priest. This is just a prop used to lure out the Great Saintess and the Pope himself. As for me, I sincerely hope that you can live to witness the day I slay her, rather than die in those foolish rituals you perform over and over again to try to become a god."

He walked off the stage and patted the black-robed man on the shoulder. "The desires of the Seven Sins cannot be a reason for you to lower your thinking ability. Otherwise, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse? Hahaha."

After he finished speaking, his figure turned transparent and slowly disappeared from the spot along with his laughter, leaving behind a group of black-robed people who looked at each other in bewilderment.

Chapter 62: Assembly and Biscuits

When Rusalka arrived at Ropa Town, the holy light fluctuations had disappeared. According to the estimate given by Saint Theresa, this portal could only transport a 500-man army, and these 500 people were just ordinary soldiers, not elite knights.

Ono personally brought Rusalka to their newly decorated meeting room and introduced the white-cloaked knight sitting in the main seat. "Lord Pearl Tear, let me introduce you to Sarolt, the captain of the Angel's Left Wing and the leader of this mission."

The other man was a middle-aged man with blond hair, blue eyes, and a small braid. Upon seeing Rusalka, he stood up and shook her hand. "Hello, compatriot. The moment we met, I knew you must be a man of strong faith. Are you interested in returning to Esdi after the war and joining the Angel Left Wing? I can write you a letter of recommendation from our leader."

Ono knew that Rusalka was very strong, but he didn't expect that he would be recognized by his immediate superior as soon as they met. The look in his eyes was like that of a person who had worked diligently for many years but had never been promoted, and when he finally got the chance, a big complaint from his leader fell on his head.

Although Rusalka's subordinates wanted to keep a distance from Theresa, her superiors definitely didn't want to have any contact with anything related to Saint Theresa. They wished they were as far away from them as possible: "Haha, no need, life is good here."

Sarolt didn't insist, but instead introduced the three patriarchs to Rusalka. "These three are Orlean, Nicea, and Roll. Lola. They are very devout patriarchs who command the chaplains accompanying the army. They are very reliable, and you can trust them with all the support on the battlefield."

"Lord Pearl Tear, hello."

"Nice to meet you all." Rusalka also introduced Sanitieta: "This is my staff member and also a mage, Sanitieta."

At this time, Sanitieta did not take out the pastor's book, but just nodded and greeted the other party: "Hello, everyone."

Mages are respected wherever they go, because mages are extremely functional. Powerful mages can sometimes even decide the direction of some key battles, so everyone's eyes on Sanita have become much more enthusiastic and friendly.

Sarolt: "Then we have received instructions from above regarding the direction of this operation. The negotiations will be handed over to Lord Pearl Tear."

Rusalka: “No problem.”

Sarolt still had a small doubt: "To prevent any accidents, we are only bringing about 300 people this time, and will leave some to guard the house. Is it enough for Lord Pearl Tear to bring 20 people?"

Rusalka: "Actually, I'm enough on my own."

Sarolt laughed. "Haha, humility is one of the virtues of chivalry, isn't it?"

Rusalka: "Telling the truth is not a violation of the precepts."

The two of them laughed at each other.

Since Sarrot had already completed preparations, the group just had a quick meal and then set off in a mighty procession.

Rusalka was of course in the center of the team. Although he was in charge of the negotiations and Esdi's support was not his responsibility, Sarolt did not neglect the most basic protection work because of Rusalka's "working without effort". After all, the order from the Great Saint included "try your best to protect the Lord of Pearl Tears".

Even if Rusalka was an unforgivable pagan, the "loyalty" rule in the Knight's Code would make Sarrot complete this task with a pinch of his nose. What surprised him was that Rusalka was also a paladin with powerful holy light power in his body. Although he looked a little arrogant, considering that he was a wild paladin, it was understandable.

At least he is definitely not a bad person, and he won't be in a situation where he feels unhappy when you are protecting him. That's good.

----

In recent days, Baron Whitemy has changed his bad habit of spending 16 hours out of 24 in bed with women. Instead, he bathes and burns incense to cleanse himself. Every day, he goes to his own mourning hall on time to report and pay tribute, praying for his ancestors to appear and bless him.

If he were a shaman, with his "devout" heart, he might be able to stack five or six generations of buffs on himself, but unfortunately he is not.

He prayed to his ancestors, but only the messenger from Rusalka responded.

The content of the letter was very simple. Putting aside the polite words that were not polite to begin with, this letter can be summarized in three words. Sanita said "you are free to express yourself", so it was completely written by Rusalka: I'm here.

Of course, the subtext probably has four more words: treat me.

Although Baron Whitemyre and Rusalka were nominally of the same rank, he had heard of Rusalka's "great reputation" for annihilating Lord Roper in just a few days, and even annihilating the White Horse Rangers. Because of this, even when facing a messenger, his tone was somewhat humble:

"Baron Pearl Tears has graced my presence, and I must do my best to be a good host. I wonder how many people your lord has brought with him? It would be convenient for me to have my servants help cook for them, right?"

The old hunter felt very pleased. He replied with a haughty air, "My master is only here to chat with the Viscount, so he brought only a few soldiers, perhaps just over three hundred. Since you are so generous, I'll trouble you with the food."

Baron Whitemyre felt dizzy, his vision went dark, and he almost fell down.

At this time, his ancestors probably appeared and blessed him. The offering table behind him supported his back and prevented him from falling down. This was probably the only thing his ancestors could do to help him.

Three hundred soldiers? Putting aside the question of where they came from, could they really be here to chat with the Viscount? Clearly, they were planning to start a war with the Viscount on his own territory!

Baron Whitemyre pulled a few silver coins from his pocket and stuffed them into the old hunter's hand. "Could you please inform Lord Pearltear for me? Tell him that I have always supported the Pearltear Territory as the legitimate owner of the mine. I will not interfere with his negotiations with the Viscount this time. I can lend him my castle and manor for a few days free of charge. I am not feeling well and it is a bit inconvenient for me to see him. I will go out for a few days to seek medical treatment."

The old hunter accepted the money without hesitation, and said with a smile, "Of course, no problem, my lord. I will go back and tell my master exactly what you meant."

After saying that, he went back to report to Rusalka. After all, he was just a messenger, and it would not be a good idea for him to stay for too long.

Baron Whitemyer also quickly called the butler and asked him to take his "maid" and "property" and prepare the carriage to leave this dangerous place.

As for the mourning hall and ancestors? I hope they can bless me to escape to a safe place. After the battle is over, if my home and the mourning hall are still there, I will definitely come back to pay my respects to them.

----

When Sanita received the news that Whitemai had escaped, he did not expect this guy to be so spineless. He thought that all nobles would be like Ropa Ryan, who would rather die on his own foundation and drag the enemy into the water.

He didn't expect that the old man who was half buried in the ground was actually the most principled enemy he had ever seen. For a moment, both he and Rusalka were quite emotional.

Rusalka agreed to let him go. Of course, Rusalka didn't care about his shabby little villa and maid. She just felt that she had no grudge against Whitemay, so it didn't matter if she did him a favor.

Although the maids who were his mistresses were indeed quite hot, how could these vulgar women be as pretty as the cats that accompanied him?

Well, let me add something here. Although the cat is usually not seen in the shadow plane, it will at least come out when eating, like now.

Rusalka sat across from Phoenix, watching her silently eat while clutching her bowl. She tried to find a topic to chat about, "Phoenix, when the fight starts, hide in the Shadow Plane and don't come out. Don't rush in again. They might have a whole squadron of elven sharpshooters this time. If you become a hedgehog, I won't be able to save you."

Phoenix was eating with her bowl in hand. She just moved the tips of her ears in response to Rusalka's "kind reminder", and it was unclear whether this meant she agreed or not.

Rusalka added, "You don't need to charge into battle this time. Don't follow me. It's dangerous around me. Your main responsibility is to protect Sanita. If you see him in danger, help him."

Phoenix put down the bowl, looked at Rusalka, thought for a long time, nodded, and continued to eat with the bowl.

Sanitieta couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so he came over, sat next to the two of them with his bowl in his arms, and said to Rusalka, "Lord, please give us some more rice."

Rusalka was dumbfounded, the words "Then you go find the logistics, why do you ask me, the lord, for help" stuck in her throat. After thinking for a while, she put the chicken leg in her bowl into the Sanita bowl and made a look that said "go away, don't bother me".

Sanitieta's odd behavior didn't raise many eyebrows. For one thing, no one dared to join Rusalka while she ate. And for another, Sanitieta's public identity was a mage. What can't a mage do? Was it strange to ask the lord for a chicken drumstick?

In real life, Rusalka didn't bother with Sanita, but she definitely wouldn't let him down in the private chat: (Ah? Are you sick? Phoenix and I were chatting nicely, and you came here to cause trouble for no reason. What do you mean, jealous dog? Bro, are you interested in me?)

Sanitieta didn't reply to him in the private chat channel, but spread his hands in real life and asked, "Rusalka, can you eat like this?"

Don't you know whether we can eat enough? He and Sanita's bodies are strange. As long as they ensure that they "eat" before a long rest every day, they can obtain the rest benefits. In other words, the act of "eating" is not a physiological need, but a prerequisite for obtaining the long rest benefits every day.

It’s enough to eat enough to last for a long time. It doesn’t matter whether you feel full or not, or whether you eat every day.

But in real life, he asked such a nonsensical question even though he knew the answer. Although Rusalka was a little confused, he couldn't scold Sanita in front of the cat, as that would seem very strange. He could only politely reply, "That's enough. It's not good to eat too much before exercise."

As Rusalka finished speaking, Phoenix put down the bowl, took out a box from the shadow plane, opened it with a click, and poured the contents into Rusalka's bowl, filling it up.

Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be baked cookies. Although the flow of time in the shadow plane was faster than outside, the box was well sealed, and the cookies were still crispy when they were taken out.

Wow, she also secretly hid some snacks. No wonder she hid in the shadow plane all the way. It turns out she was enjoying the food alone!

Rusalka immediately expressed her sincere admiration for Sunita's "eagle eyes and golden pupils" in her heart. She actually used such a simple method to reveal the snacks that Phoenix had secretly hidden.

Sanitta looked at the crispy biscuits in the bowl, which were obviously unopened, and replied to Rusalka, "Silly dog." But Rusalka only regarded this word as a habitual interjection between brothers and did not think it had any meaning.

"Phoenix, you're so stingy! You even hid the dried fish and didn't bring it out until just before the battle." Rusalka teased Phoenix, "Since you're willing to confess and share, I'll forgive you. Let's eat together."

Rusalka's generosity was met with strange looks. Phoenix turned around silently and picked up the bowl. She finished everything in her bowl, put it down, and ignored Rusalka. Instead, she sat aside and stared at the cookies in a daze.

Rusalka found it very strange that she neither ate the cookies nor returned to the shadow plane. He suspected that Phoenix had filled the cookies with mustard or other unnatural seasonings to make fun of him and "retaliate" for making her "work overtime".

With this amazing idea, Rusalka made a quick decision and began to encourage Sanita to eat first.

Sunny Tower was dumbfounded. Who should I send it to? How could I have the first bite?