The Lord Of Blood Hill

After calming himself, the Marquess of Nothing continues, “At that time, we were all desperate. But then that Glory Knight acted. Suddenly, he appeared beside Ulysses, slashing down the two Iron Knights guarding him and cleaving through the falling rocks.”

“That’s when we got a chance to survive. He deliberately spared our lives, strictly speaking, only Ulysses’s life. As for me, I was lucky to be right next to Ulysses. Under the protection of Veil’s Glory Knight, I survived that terrifying wave of magic.”

“Veil didn’t want to kill Ulysses, they wanted to control him. That Grand Knight used a magical scroll, an evil spell that binds Ulysses’s soul and flesh. Every year, Ulysses needs Veil to remove the restrictions, or else his body would literally explode.”

After hearing this, Henwell feels his mouth dry, his throat tight, unable to speak for a long moment.

Noticing Henwell’s reaction, the Marquess’s tone turns mocking, “Henwell! You really are just a desperate pawn thrown out by the church, a decoy, a scapegoat! Otherwise, how could you not know Veil’s true power?”

“Do you think what you’ve seen is all there is to Veil? Have you ever thought about how Veil has survived the purges by the Holy Spirit Church and the Groias Empire, and still thrives on the continent after all these years? Is that really something you can handle? “

”You don’t even understand your enemy. I bet the church hasn’t given you detailed intelligence either! Tell me, if you’re not a pawn, then what are you?”

“Henwell, you’re talented and outstanding, a genius! But there are countless geniuses on this continent over the years. The best among them only reach Iron Knight level. To go further, they have to head to the Western Federation.”

“As long as you stay here, you’ll be influenced by the Western Federation and Veil. You either become the Federation’s hunting dog or join Veil. You have to choose a side! Their battles happen among professionals. Over the years, countless geniuses like you have fallen. They were just as ignorant and arrogant.”

“The truly smart ones escape, they head to the Western Federation to be dogs! Now you understand why so many professionals go there? Because here, there’s no safety, no extraordinary soil for them to grow and thrive.”

Every word cuts deep, but it’s the truth.

Henwell instinctively downplays Veil’s strength, always focusing on the Western Federation with its territory and armies.

He forgets that Veil, who has battled the two giants of the Western Federation for so long and remains fierce, is itself an incredibly formidable force.

Seeing Henwell lost in thought, the Marquess of Nothing smiles and slowly takes a sip from his wine glass.

Henwell wonders, if Veil unleashes that level of force, could he handle it? Most likely, everything he has would vanish in an instant.

No, that’s not right! He’s not Ulysses, and his army isn’t Billie’s elite troops.

He has people above him!

Of course, it’s not the Holy Spirit Church or the Lord of the Holy Spirit.

He has the Civilization Aura. If he sends out all his elite forces, it would form a powerful Light of Civilization, greatly suppressing the abilities of those few but strong professionals.

He could hold off that Glory Knight.

Then, with his senior commanders coordinating the formations alongside the Light of Civilization, they could barely withstand the Iron Knights’ charge.

His First Cavalry Corps, led by the Lord Iron Guards, could break through the spellcasters protected by those eight Iron Knights.

Henwell runs through the scenario in his mind for a long time. The final outcome: he manages to stop Veil’s assassination strike, but his elite forces suffer heavy losses, and Veil wouldn’t come out without paying a price either.

If the battle happens in Peace Haven, things would be different.

In Peace Haven, he has the ability to boost his forces.

Elsewhere, his formations can suppress at most twenty percent of the enemy’s strength. But in Peace Haven, that suppression nearly doubles.

As long as it’s not a highly experienced Glory Knight, Henwell has a chance to take one down there.

This is what Newwood told him, and it shouldn’t be far off.

If half the Iron Knights are cut down, just a few Grand Knights working together could hold them back.

As for the spellcasters, Henwell’s big-money secret weapon would come into play.

Looking at their fierce magical power, his steam crossbow artillery cluster packs even more firepower!

Besides, he still has Newwood.

If he ever faces such a crisis, he’s confident those above would send Newwood to support him.

With Newwood’s help, Henwell believes he can swallow Veil’s elite strike force without paying too high a price.

Thinking this through, Henwell lets out a long breath, he almost got dragged down “the rabbit hole” by the Marquess of Nothing.

Veil is indeed powerful, far beyond what Henwell initially imagined, but not enough to make him tremble in fear.

Since Newwood called them just a terrifying organization, that means their threat level isn’t as high as the two giants in the Western Regions.

At that moment, the Marquess of Nothing hands over a glass of wine. “Henwell, do you finally realize how dangerous your situation is? And yet you still flaunt that Paladin title, thinking you can handle Veil? Others might respect that status, but Veil doesn’t, they see you as nothing more than perfect prey.”

From the Marquess’s perspective, Henwell’s sigh just now shows he’s already given up hope.

Little does he know, Henwell has already run through all this in his mind.

He won’t be rushing out recklessly for a while. Instead, he’ll bury himself in his territory, grinding tech and leveling up.

He has to survive until he reaches Glory Knight status, at least peak Iron Knight, before making his move.

Henwell doesn’t argue further with the Marquess on this matter. “I’m not a king, and I doubt Veil would go to such lengths for me. Besides, in that battle, I’m sure Veil didn’t come out unscathed. That was over a hundred thousand elite troops, not just chickens. The Kingdom of Billie has plenty of experts. Veil lost some Iron Knights, and how many Grand Knights managed to retreat alive?”

“With losses like that, I doubt Veil wants to pay that price chasing after me. And such a large operation must have drawn the attention of the Western Federation’s elite forces. They’ll need to lie low for a long time to shake off the fallout from that event. Going after a king is one thing—going after a nobody like me is clearly overkill.”

Seeing that Henwell’s resolve remains intact, the Marquess of Nothing doesn’t press the matter any further.