The seven grand dukes all took extra precautions to ensure their own safety. They paid attention to every detail to protect themselves, especially in this Sakamimir Valley.
After leaving Alec Ambridge's tent, Han Shuo made a trip to visit Duke Nehem Beige of the Duchy of Bisli. He had originally intended to make a move on this Nehem. However, Han Shuo had not yet approached when he sensed a holy presence from within his tent.
Han Shuo was very familiar with this holy presence and immediately understood that a member of the Church of Light was in this tent. It was no ordinary member either, the intensity of the presence was a good testament to the strength of this person. It was most likely Kosse from the Church of Light.
As a result, Han Shuo didn't touch Nehem Beige. He hid deep underground, using the Yin Demon only to spy on the area from a distance. Only at dawn did he see Kosse and his group quietly leave the tent through the Yin Demon.
Nehem Beige was a sky rider himself. Of the seven Grand Duchies, the Duchy of Bisli housed many of the Light Temples of the Church of Light. This duchy guided the beliefs of its civilians to offer their faith and devotion to the God of Light.
At that moment, Han Shuo witnessed the close relationship between Nehem Beige and Kosse, which reminded him of the friendly relationship between Bisli Duchy and the Church of Light. Han Shuo had a faint feeling that this Nehem Beige himself was a follower of the Church of Light. Otherwise, he wouldn't have spared so much effort to support the Church of Light.
After Kosse had left, there were still light magic pulses in Nehem Beige's tent, in addition to two hidden powerful presences. Dawn had broken, but Nehem Beige and his subordinates were still deep in discussion after Kosse's departure. Han Shuo thought for a moment and decided to give up on dealing with Nehem Beige.
Today in the Sakamimir Valley, the seven grand duchies were discussing the affairs of Brettel City. After last night's attack, Alec Ambridge dragged himself up on his bandaged, stiff left leg and loudly cursed Benedict Sackville as soon as he arrived, accusing him of despicably ambushing him the night before.
Benedict Sackville had already felt wronged the day before. Now that Alec Ambridge was making an unfounded accusation against him, and ridiculing him to boot, Benedict could no longer suppress the fires of anger in his belly. Neither man was prepared to let go of the issue and they almost came to blows in the tent. Had the other Grand Dukes not stepped in to stop them, they might have escalated the situation into a brawl. Even though they were forcibly separated afterwards, their anger didn't subside. A fierce light flashed in their eyes, and no one knew what dastardly plot they were hatching against each other.
Grand Duke Burt Zili of the Duchy of Boulet came to the fore at this meeting, vociferously dissatisfied with the current distribution of benefits. He insisted on claiming the five mines as his own after the capture of Brettel City. Burt Zili was adamant, but the other Grand Dukes also wanted the mines, so they were naturally reluctant to agree. Today's discussion once again ended with everyone going their own way.
"At this rate, the seven grand duchies will be at war even before the attack on Brettel City can be launched. These people can never unite unless they are forced into a corner. It was only when the Lancelot Empire knocked on their doors last time that they learned to work together quickly.
"It seems that they have not yet taken the threat of Brettel City seriously. These people only know how to argue all day long; what great deed can they actually accomplish?" Returning to her own tent, Helen Tina frowned at Firewind.
"Just let them argue. The day will come when Brettel City really attacks, and they will learn the meaning of fear." Since joining Helen Tina in the tent, Firewind had seen the expressions on the faces of the seven Grand Dukes. Even though Firewind didn't have the right to speak, she felt an inner contempt for the other six Grand Dukes who only cared about gaining fame and fortune.
"Your Grace, Grand Duke Burt Zili of the Duchy of Boulet requests an audience." As Helen Tina and Firewind whispered their complaints to each other, the guard's voice rang out.
"Why does this man come to us? The smell on his body makes me feel very uncomfortable." Firewind frowned and spoke to Helen Tina as she heard the guard's words.
"Invite him in." Helen Tina said to the guard outside before turning to Firewind, "This person has always been the sworn enemy of the Bisli Duchy. This time, it was Nehem Beige of the Bisli Duchy who suggested we join forces and attack Brettel City. As I see it, this Burt Zili seems to be deliberately destroying the stability of the alliance. I don't know why this man has come to see me.
As Helen Tina and Firewind continued their conversation, Grand Duke Burt Zili of the Duchy of Boulet entered with a slight smile on his face. Burt Zili was an old summoner. But rumour had it that he had made a pact with the Evil God. His summoning could often summon monsters from hell.
Burt Zili's body seemed to emanate a frighteningly sinister aura. Even when he smiled kindly, other people found his smiling face to be malevolent. The Fire Phoenix was a holy, super-rank creature, so it was extremely annoyed by the stench emanating from Burt Zili's body. Therefore, the Fire Phoenix instinctively kept a distance between them when she saw him enter.
"Grand Duke Burt, what business do you have with me?" Helen Tina's territory was far away from Burt Zili's Boulet Duchy, so there was no real conflict between them. However, Helen Tina did not like this sinister Grand Duke. Besides, she hadn't been in a good mood lately, so she didn't want to show him her face.
"Hehehe, I came here to discuss the matter of Brettel City with Grand Duke Helen Tina. Since you've been in Brettel City for a while, what do you think of Brettel City and its City Lord?"
Burt Zili asked Helen Tina with a friendly smile.
Her face growing colder by the second, Helen Tina said, "Grand Duke Burt, did you come here specifically to make fun of me?"
"No, no!"
Burt Zili hastily waved his hands, indicating that Helen Tina shouldn't misunderstand him. Then he explained, "As the saying goes, know your enemy and know yourself, and a hundred victories in a hundred battles. Among us seven Grand Duchies, Grand Duke Helen Tina must be the most familiar with Brettel City.
I would like to hear your opinion about Brettel City and this city lord.
With a snort, Helen Tina said sternly, "I am not very familiar with Brettel City, but I know that City Lord Bryan is no ordinary person. You haven't seen what you're up against. He alone fought off the Red Archbishop Kosse's group and several Templars from the Church of Light. This man is ruthless beyond measure. Once he sets his sights on something, he won't hesitate to go after it by any means necessary, fair or foul. Believe it or not, this person is anything but easy to deal with. If the Alliance continues to waste time like this, we'll only be giving Brettel City time to prepare.
"Hehehe, it seems this person is very much to my taste, interesting, interesting!" Burt Zili said with a wicked laugh, before fixing his eyes on Helen Tina and asking, "Grand Duke Helen Tina, what have you prepared to deal with Brettel City this time? Are you interested in forming a secret alliance?"
"I'm not interested right now, sorry." Helen Tina politely declined, her answer neither warm nor cold.
Nodding his head, Burt Zili cackled creepily without any further offer and said, "You can try to think about it. I'm very interested in working with you. Well, I have disturbed you enough today. I apologise."
"Mm, I won't see you off!" Helen said to Tina.
Waiting until Burt Zili had left, Helen Tina said with a sense of wariness that pricked her, "Really inexplicable. Did this person come all the way here just to ask about this City Lord Bryan?
It feels like he was a bit off."
"Ignore him. I realised that when he was in the tent, my whole body felt uncomfortable. I really wanted to burn him to death." Firewind told Helen Tina with a frown.
After leaving Helen Tina's place, Burt Zili went straight back to his own tent, where there was a person Han Shuo was very familiar with. This person was lounging in the middle of a large bed covered in sea mink fur. When he saw Burt come in, he asked, "How did it go?"
"The little girl didn't seem to know anything. But that's no problem, it doesn't affect our plan. Wolf, do you really think this person can be of any use to us? Burt Zili looked at Wolf on his own bed and asked.
The Grand Magus Necromancer Wolf of the Calamity Church had been transformed into a handsome, elegant youth after being rejuvenated by Han Shuo's Skeleton Staff. His skin was now fairer than any woman's.
With the sharp claws from his fusion with the old fey zombie gone without a trace, his hands had become slender and beautiful.
Wolf slowly sat up on the large sea mink bed and said with a condescending smile, "Old friend, the power of this Bryan is beyond what you can imagine. He also has the skeleton staff.
The higher-ups have handed down the order, we can't let anything happen to him. We have to do our best to support him.
"The Pope only thinks highly of him as the owner of the skeletal staff.
We should just take his skeletal staff, it'll be more convenient and less inconvenient that way." Burt Zili frowned in thought before he told Wolf.
The Grand Magus Necromancer Wolf, who had lived for who knows how many years, shook his head and explained with a smile, "It's not that simple. Kosse personally led three hundred Templars, but still failed to capture him, and both of his attempts resulted in him retreating with serious injuries. Do you think we can catch him that easily?"
"Not to mention that he is now an Archmage Necromancer. Oh no, his mental strength must have surpassed that of an Archmage. The skeletal staff is connected to the secret of the Holy Land. What we want is to recruit him into our Church by any means necessary. On the other hand, I can guarantee that a relationship with him will be extremely beneficial for us."
"Very well then. Your decisions have been correct all these years. I will act according to the plan. I just hope he doesn't disappoint us!" Burt Zili replied.
Han Shuo had followed the Yin Demon there while Burt Zili and the Grand Magus Necromancer Wolf were talking in the tent. His consciousness could clearly detect the evil presence from Wolf's body inside the tent.
Burt Zili's Boulet Duchy had fought the Bisli Duchy of Nehem Beige, who worshipped the Church of Light, for many years. It had never been resolved. Han Shuo hadn't known what was going on at first. Now that he felt Wolf's presence inside the tent, he understood it instantly.
It seemed that Grand Duke Nehem Beige of the Bisli Duchy was a member of the Church of Light, while Grand Duke Burt Zili of the Boulet Duchy was a member of the Calamity Church. These were the two most religious groups on the continent. Apparently, their years of open and covert struggle hadn't been limited to a few small-scale battles. They had actually been secretly manipulating the great battle between the duchies!
Wolf's appearance had previously been rejuvenated by the power of the Skeleton Staff. From the conversation just now, Han Shuo understood that Wolf seemed to be very concerned about him and wanted to protect him as much as possible. From this, Han Shuo understood that the reason must be the skeletal staff.
Since he couldn't get close enough to listen to their conversation, Han Shuo didn't know what conspiracy the two senior members of the Calamity Church were cooking up inside the tent. However, when he found out that Burt Zili was a member of the Calamity Church, Han Shuo dismissed the possibility that they wanted to hurt him. However, he also had no intention of revealing himself to talk to them. Once again, Han Shuo left quietly.
After leaving the area, Han Shuo chose Grand Duke Argi Gilles of the Duchy of Etman as his next target. Like the other areas, Argi Gilles' tent was under strict protection.
It took Han Shuo a moment to realise that both the sky and the ground were cut off by magical barriers. He understood that there wasn't much chance of killing this guy with one blow.
"Damn, the seven grand dukes all really fear death.
It seems like they don't have the slightest bit of trust in each other to bring so many experts to a meeting." Han Shuo cursed in a low voice.
But since he had come anyway, he couldn't leave empty-handed.
Han Shuo thought for a while and released the Yin Demon to inspect the area. Suddenly, he noticed that apart from Argi Gilles' own tent, which was heavily guarded, the tents of several senior generals were left unguarded.
Ruthlessness surging in his heart, Han Shuo decided to leave Argi Gilles alone and shifted his eyes to his subordinates. There were usually only a few guards walking around inside and outside the tents of these people. Of course, their protection couldn't be as strict as Argi Gilles'. The Earth Elite Zombie used his ability to travel underground to sneak into these people's tents. Han Shuo was able to easily hide his presence in the separate demon realm and silently murdered all six of Argi Gilles' high-ranking subordinates.
After leaving Argi Gilles' tent, Han Shuo moved on to the tent of Grand Duke Randy Allard. Using the same method as Argi, he once again murdered his four senior generals before leaving in silence. Making a slight detour, he went back to Alec Ambridge's tent and took care of three senior generals in the same way.
Benedict Sackville of the Duchy of Narsen was also ambushed that night. There was a massive explosion in the tent.
Benedict Sackville himself escaped with his life, but his hair and eyebrows were burned off.
During the night, apart from Helen Tina of the Duchy of Helon, Burt Zili of the Duchy of Boulet and Nehem Beige of the Duchy of Bisli, the troops of the other four all encountered some sort of major incident. Sakamimir Valley, the original meeting place to discuss an act of alliance against Brettel City, had suddenly changed in character.
The four duchies that had been attacked suspected some of the other duchies that had previously held grudges against them. Tensions ran high in the tent as the men raged at each other. Benedict Sackville was the clearest of the lot, but he'd long since come to the conclusion that Alec Ambridge was the one who'd attacked him last night. Alec Ambridge also believed that the massacre of his generals had something to do with Benedict.
This time, the two of them threw caution to the wind and fought it out in the Sakamimir Valley. The rest of the Grand Dukes all had darkened faces, staring at each other resentfully in total silence, constantly thinking of a way to retaliate. The other two duchies that had been attacked also had bellies full of resentment, blaming everything on the two duchies that had previously been their enemies.
The Duchies of Helon, Boulet and Bisly, who'd spent the night in safety, became the first objects of suspicion.
The shaky alliance had already secretly changed its nature. During the day, the seven Grand Duchies investigated the roots of the problem in order to assign responsibility. By night, each party sent its assassins to kill each other.
It wasn't peaceful at all.
Han Shuo didn't make a move for three days in a row. The seven grand duchies faced each other every day, with new hatreds piling on top of the old ones as black hooded men lurked everywhere, blurry figures flashing through the sky and on the ground.
In the areas where the seven grand duchies had set up camp, a few tragic screams could be heard from time to time as another person was murdered.
Han Shuo had initially prepared to make a few more targeted assassinations, but he found that he basically had no chance of doing so. There were too many black hooded men at night for one Yin Demon to keep his cover from being blown. He simply didn't know who was from which duchy, and the situation was becoming chaotic anyway.
"The seven grand dukes are indeed a pack of mad dogs!" Han Shuo couldn't help but exclaim when he realised that he had nothing to do.