The Lord Of Blood Hill

After a moment's hesitation, Henwell asks, "Then who exactly are you?"

The fake Ulysses lets out a laugh. "Heh... what? Are you still planning to tell Catherine afterward?"

"Then what are you going to say to her?"

"That her father is a false king, that she is not a princess, only an impostor?"

"Or are you going to tell her that you killed her father with your own hands?"

Henwell is left speechless. The fake Ulysses slaps the back of his chair and says, "So who else can I be?"

"I am Ulysses!"

"And I can only be Ulysses."

"The honor and disgrace of this name will enter the grave with me."

Henwell has no answer for that.

Ulysses looks at Henwell. "Why haven't you acted yet? You are not supposed to be such an indecisive person."

Henwell sighs. "To be honest, killing you is a very troublesome matter for me."

"Whether because of Catherine or because of my future development, none of this is good."

"Tell me your story."

"Although I cannot tell anyone else, at least someone in this world will know that you existed and that you came to this world."

Ulysses sizes Henwell up. "Does that matter? Aren't you afraid of wasting time and letting the others break in?"

Henwell says calmly, "Many people have died today. Those who deserved death and those who did not have all died."

"And these deaths did not really have much to do with right or wrong. They were only a matter of bad luck."

"So now, what does it matter if a few more people die?"

For the first time, the indifference fades from Ulysses's face. "Yes. When death truly comes, no matter how much preparation I have made, I still cannot stop myself from trembling."

"Speaking of it, I have always considered myself a brave man. I have imagined my own death countless times."

"I thought I could meet a heroic end. I thought I would be able to face death directly."

As he speaks, Ulysses raises both hands. Under the light of the shelter, his hands are trembling slightly.

Henwell curls his lip. "We are not gods. How could we go against our instincts?"

"Death is the great terror. No one can face it with perfect calm."

"In my opinion, even a god would be shaken when the moment of death really comes."

Ulysses smiles and shakes his head. "Hearing you say that makes me feel much better."

"However, I no longer wish to tell my own story. Some secrets should die with me."

Henwell still doesn't give up. There are too many mysteries tangled up in this matter.

This is not only to satisfy his curiosity. More importantly, he needs to know exactly where he fell into the pit.

Ulysses says, "As payment for your coming to save Catherine, I will answer some of your questions. But I may not answer them all."

"In addition, after you have finished asking, I will give you some advice. Believe me, they are extremely valuable."

"At least for the current you, those pieces of advice are worth a fortune."

Henwell asks the question he wants answered most. "Who set up this trap?"

"At first, it was the Veil's plan. But the Marquess of Nothing learned of it, then inserted himself into it in order to obtain his own benefits."

Henwell follows up, "Then what is the Marquess of Nothing's purpose? For the continuation of the Celtic family? For the stability of the kingdom?"

"Hahaha... do you believe that yourself? Of course not. He is doing it only for himself. He wants to sit on this throne himself."

Henwell suddenly understands. It is not that he understands the Marquess of Nothing's plan, but that he understands the plan of the person before him.

Henwell stares at Ulysses. "And you saw through all their plans."

"Or rather, it was precisely because of some of your arrangements that both sides came to this plan."

Ulysses says nothing, which counts as tacit admission.

Admiration fills Henwell's eyes. "That is something. You are not even a professional, yet you drew everyone into this game."

"You intended to borrow this opportunity and make your enemies kill one another. Ideally, they would destroy one another."

Yes.

The Ulysses before him is not a professional. He is not even a knight, only an ordinary man.

Yet under this ordinary man's bold planning and meticulous arrangements, one Glory Rank, several Iron Knights, more than ten Grand Knights, sixty or seventy Battle Knights, and hundreds of elite knights have all been sent to their deaths.

For the first time, Henwell feels such deep respect for a person's wisdom.

Compared with Henwell's praise, Ulysses gives a bitter laugh. "I did not want to play so many schemes and conspiracies."

"I envy powerful professionals like you, who can break a game by sheer force."

"No matter who made this game, your strength is the greatest variable within it."

"In the end, no one obtained a true victory. Everyone paid a heavy price."

"If I were also Glory Rank, or if I could face a Glory Rank the way you can, why would I need to spend so much effort?"

Henwell says, "Your Majesty, that makes it sound as if things were easy for me."

"I am terrified that others will learn my true strength."

"I think you understand what I mean. That would become a fatal threat to the growth of my force."

"Besides, Your Majesty did not come away from this game empty-handed. It should be said that you are the final winner."

Ulysses shakes his head. "No. Let me tell you properly what everyone has lost."

"Do you truly think the church did not know this was a trap?"

"Do you truly think that because the church is far from the eastern countries, it has no information at all?"

"The Western Federation has existed for many years. They established their own intelligence system long ago."

"As for the church and the empire, I suspect even they themselves cannot count how many hidden pieces they have planted on this continent."

"There are also their pieces within the Veil. In truth, both sides know where the other's old nests are. These are open cards."

"But neither side dares to attack the other's old nests, because those places contain powers that mortals find difficult to face."

"Enough. I cannot continue. If I say more, I will trigger the restriction."

"Returning to the church, whether it is them, the Veil, or even the Marquess of Nothing, their greatest loss is not their subordinates, but an opportunity."

"The church lost the chance to justifiably interfere in the internal affairs of the countries."

"Do not look at how many people they have lost. They do not care about that at all."

"What the true upper ranks of the Western Federation care about is that they failed to obtain a handle on the kingdom and cannot directly send people here to intervene."

"The Veil, meanwhile, lost the opportunity to control a kingdom. Do you know how much the Veil paid in order to control a kingdom?"

"Now, whether the Western Federation or the Veil, they have already lost their opportunity."

"As for the Marquess of Nothing, if all of you died here, perhaps he would still have a chance to ascend the throne."

"But some people from both sides will survive. To him, that is a huge problem."

"At the very least, he will never again have the chance to sit in that difficult chair."

At this point, Ulysses exhales. "Henwell, a king cannot only look at personal gains and losses."

"You must move forward with greater coldness."

"Your heart is too soft. It will harm you, and it will also harm the followers who are loyal to you."