Chapter 650: Sworn Allegiance
Looking at the playful smile on Eliza’s immature-looking face, Chen Rui’s eyes narrowed slightly. It seems that I still underestimated this girl. It turns out that the familiar feeling of deja vu is neither Alian nor Alice but… Celine.
Now he could be regarded as slightly grasping the Holy Church. This inst.i.tution that almost dominates all human beliefs is above the royal power. It is huge and extremely complicated, and the internal factional struggle is particularly fierce. Thinking back, how could the cardinal’s niece, the Holy Lady’s apprentice, be a casual naive girl?
Not everyone is like the little princess who has a sister who protects her from everything; not every sister is like Her Majesty Empress who is willing to turn herself into an umbrella and completely shelter her sister from the storm outside (Although this approach is still debatable).
Chen Rui suddenly had a realization. During the day, Eliza pointed out a series of my ‘origins’ and ‘curiously’ asked the story of the soul language. It turns out that her real intention is to find out my background.
It’s not difficult to kill Eliza or Paul, but this is the human world, a mysterious and unpredictable world. The Lord of Midnight Sun was defeated with hatred in the past. Especially now that saving Isabella is the first priority, I must not act rashly before collecting all faith crystals and the Snow Dallet Flower. Eliza is an important figure in the Holy Church. The G.o.d-Eating Mask is a dark power control technique that will definitely not work. However, Eliza was just a small character like a pa.s.ser-by for Chen Rui. Paul was the one he had to be ‘close’ to.
Paul walked all the way and returned to his room, feeling really depressed. Eliza is actually right. I pursued Joanna mostly because of the Philip Family behind her, but I also have some long-standing thoughts about Joanna. I defeated Samuel with great difficulty via Joanna’s father. I didn’t expect that Joanna is still obsessed with Samuel, but indifferent to me, the true winner. She came to the Garden City this time to actually run away with Samuel! Eliza is right, regardless of the outcome of the second battle, I am the loser.
At this moment, a knock sounded on the door.
Paul opened the door. It turned out to be the newly promoted Reserve Light Knight ‘Richard’.
“Richard? It’s so late, what’s the matter?”
‘Richard’ showed a hesitating expression, and he seemed to pluck up the courage to say, “Sir Paul, I have an important matter to report. Can I go in and talk?”
Paul nodded and walked into the room. Chen Rui looked around and closed the door cautiously. Then he walked over and saluted, “Sir Paul, this incident… once made me hesitate. I thought about it for a long time and decided to report to you.”
“Tell me.”
Chen Rui gritted his teeth and said, “After separating with sir at the demonic beast trade fair this afternoon, I took Ms. Eliza and Ms. Joanna to the business district but… Ms. Eliza instructed me to go another road. On that road, Ms. Joanna met with a mysterious man and they seemed to talk for a long time. Judging from Ms. Eliza’s warning to me, this man seemed to have an unusual relations.h.i.+p with Ms. Joanna…”
“Eliza’s instruction?” Paul’s face turned gloomy, “What does that man look like?”
“The man was wearing a cloak and I couldn’t see his face clearly. I only felt that his gazes were sharp. In terms of figure… he is shorter than sir and seemed a little thin.
“Hmph!” A gloomy expression pa.s.sed through Paul’s eyes. If ‘Richard’ spilled the beans before Eliza talked to Paul, he would be furious. Now that he heard the news for the second time, he had calmed down a lot. Judging from the intel provided by Richard, that man must be Samuel.
“Richard, didn’t you say that Ms. Eliza warned you? Why did you come to tell me the news?”
Chen Rui took a deep breath, “Sir, do you still remember the daytime events? Ms. Eliza wanted to recommend me to the Light Knight branch of the Yang Shao Capital to study with Sir Rumman, the Light Knight Captain, but I refused. My answer is that I don’t want to be a lifelong clergyman. Instead, I just want to be a subordinate of the Divinity Temple Knight, and then take back what belongs to me with my own hands.”
Paul looked directly at Chen Rui and said calmly, “I’m not a Divinity Temple Knight.”
“Although you are not one now, you will be soon! I believe in sir’s potential, and I believe in my own vision.” Chen Rui raised his head and stared at Paul, “I will bet everything on this and risk offending Ms. Eliza or the risk of being murdered to come here… Now I boldly ask sir, is my judgment wrong?
Paul saw the strong confidence in Chen Rui’s eyes. This confidence made him feel more comfortable than any flattery. The depression in his heart was also diluted a lot. He nodded slowly, “You didn’t misjudge, Richard. You bet on the right one this time. You have vision and courage, and you dare to risk your life in the arena, but it is not easy to become my subordinate, especially since your origin is unknown…”
“To be honest, sir, I’m from a big empire family. I once swore that I am just an ordinary wanderer before I take back what belongs to me. The only thing I can tell sir is that my family not only has power, but it also has considerable financial resources. When I ran away from the family, I did some preparations just in case…”
With that said, Chen Rui took out a bag and offered it with both hands, “Here is a bag of blue water gems with a total value of about 50,000 black crystal coins as a gift to sir. If I can control the family in the future, then as sir’s subordinate, I will be protected and supported by sir. I will continue to provide sir with all the resources within my capacity. This is a win-win relations.h.i.+p.”
Paul took the bag and opened it. There were more than a dozen pure blue gems in it which were worth more than 50,000 black crystal coins. It is indeed a fortune. This Richard really comes from an extraordinary origin.
Paul put the gem away without hesitation, “Very well, Richard, maybe this is not your real name, I’ll just call you that for now. I respect your vow, and I won’t ask you where you really came from now. When I become the Divinity Temple Knight, I’ll help you get everything back. I hope our win-win relations.h.i.+p will last forever.”
This sentence showed Paul’s att.i.tude. ‘Richard’ was capable, courageous, good at seizing opportunities, and he also had financial resources. That kind of mutually beneficial relations.h.i.+p was also reasonable. Getting rid of such a subordinate would be a real fool.
Chen Rui showed an expression of great joy and bowed deeply. He told Paul about the signing of the contract with Mana, and requested to sign the master-subordinate contract with Paul after the contract ended. This confession allowed Paul to finally dispel the last trace of suspicion. After Chen Rui made a vow of allegiance to Light G.o.d, Paul encouraged him a few words, but he did not know that this whistleblower had actually leaked second-hand information. The supreme Light G.o.d whom he swore to was ‘chewed’ by sir subordinate as a tonic an hour ago.
“Sir, Ms. Joanna’s side…”
“Don’t make the matter of you becoming my subordinate public for the time being. Keep watching Joanna, don’t make any extra moves, and report anything to me in time.” Paul thought for a while, “Also, be careful of Eliza, she’s far more difficult to deal with than you seem.”
“Ms. Eliza?” Chen Rui deliberately looked surprised, then he nodded. “Understood, sir. I won’t disturb sir’s rest, so I will leave.”
Early the next day, Joanna proposed to leave the Garden City and return to the Dragon Bright Empire with a very determined att.i.tude. Judging from the expressions of Joanna and Paul, the 2 seemed to have a big fight.
Eliza’s persuasion was ineffective. Joanna insisted on not allowing Paul to escort him, so 2 Light Knights would protect Joanna southward to Town Vegas and to the Dragon Bright Empire’s Red Dragon City by water. Red Dragon City was a port city, and the city lord Steven. Philip was Joanna’s uncle.
Chen Rui didn’t know if Joanna’s early departure was part of the plan with Samuel. In any case, it was a good thing for Joanna to leave Eliza, a ‘deep-scheming’ friend.
For a while, Paul became the most awkward person. He was not in the mood to hang out with Chen Rui and Eliza. He locked himself in the room in a sullen mood.
Eliza was still a little sad about the departure of her friend just now, but she soon heartlessly indulged herself in the fun of shopping. Sometimes, she would ask Chen Rui some strange questions on a whim. Chen Rui already knew about the girl’s true colors. Most of those questions were some tentative questions. Obviously, Eliza had some interest (or suspicion) in him, the Reserve Light Knight.
In the blink of an eye, Eliza bought a lot of things, most of which were bought by Chen Rui. This would naturally be reimbursed.
There were countless believers in the Holy Church, so they were naturally wealthy. There was a saying in Chen Rui’s hometown, even the most honest officer would reap a heap of wealth in 3 years. Even the fatty Mana could become a rich man in a small place like Town Gudam, let alone Solanton who had been operating in the Garden City for many years. What’s more, this trip was the inspection of a superior leader (actually it was a tour), so all expenses were spent out of public funds; there was no need for private spendings.
In the evening, Eliza, Solanton, Mana and others went to the south of the city. Tonight, the fatty City Lord Kraut invited Eliza, the other church members. He also wanted to express an apology for the previous candidate matter.
Chen Rui was also invited, but Paul did not go as he was in a bad mood.
Fatty City Lord led Lord Walli and others to personally welcome Eliza and others into the manor at the gate.
The Fragrance Manor was 1 of the few famous consumer places in the Garden City which covered a large area. 1 of the partners behind it was actually Fatty City Lord. The business was quite prosperous, and the private seats often needed to be reserved. Of course, flattering the city lord also accounted for a considerable amount.
Just as the group of people walked into a corridor, a group of drunk guests walked out of the front room with a few waiters supporting them. Chen Rui frowned suddenly not because there were 2 B-level people among these guests, but because of the murderous intent.
A sudden change occurred, and the nearby lights were all extinguished. In an instant, the screams, exclamations, cracks, and whistles sounded all together.
TL: Is it the Dagger Brotherhood again?