Chapter 226 : Chapter 226
Chapter 226. The Decision
What neither Fulan nor the Church Knight had expected was that the damage from her 【Counter-Shield】 would be so high.
Under Gillian’s astonished gaze from the high platform, just as her Church Knight used 【Torrent Slash】 and was about to strike Fulan, a tremendous boom suddenly erupted across the duel arena.
Dust exploded outward and blanketed the entire field.
By the time the dust had thinned a little, she saw that her Church Knight was already covered in wounds and had been blasted to a spot roughly five meters away from where he had launched his attack.
There were several tears in his armor, exposing the injured skin beneath.
Meanwhile, Fulan stood beside him with her sword raised, its tip pointed directly at his throat.
Even Fulan herself had not realized that this cast of 【Counter-Shield】 would be so powerful.
It had knocked him flat onto the ground in one blow, and even sent his weapon flying far away.
By this point, Fulan had already gathered most of the information she needed. After seeing him collapse like that, she simply stepped forward and ended the match.
And once the dust fully dispersed and the crowd saw Fulan standing there with her sword pointed at him, they knew she had won.
“The match is over. The victor is the battle mage from the Northern Society...”
“Thank you.” Fulan extended a hand and pulled the fallen Church Knight to his feet, and he thanked her in return.
At this point, the Church Knight had fully confirmed that Fulan was indeed a battle mage from the Alliance.
He had only ever seen that Counter-Shield in the hands of Alliance mages.
But he also knew that now that her identity had been verified, the next step was to probe why she had come here and gather information for the bishop.
So he feigned curiosity and said, “You’re truly impressive. You’re the strongest First-Tier Mage I’ve ever seen... At your level, shouldn’t you already be preparing for promotion? Why come to Snow Bear Territory?”
Fulan smiled.
“This is a mission I accepted through the Northern Society. I’m doing this mission while I wait for my promotion.”
Strictly speaking, she was not lying. She really had received the mission through the Northern Society, and she really was doing it while waiting for her paper to be published so she could exchange Points for a promotion method.
But she had deliberately spoken vaguely, all to build up Blake and create the impression that she had only come to Snow Bear Territory because she had been assigned some sort of mission.
The Church Knight revealed a knowing expression. He also understood that he could not keep asking, so after exchanging a few more pleasantries, he returned to Bishop Gillian’s side.
Nearby, the two captains of the mercenary squads had clearly witnessed the entire duel. With the hearing of First-Tier Professionals, they had also caught the conversation between the two.
“Do you think she really came from the Alliance?” Liam asked.
“Very likely. The expression on that Church Knight’s face wasn’t fake. That look of familiarity and shock absolutely couldn’t have been an act.”
Liam trusted Patrick’s judgment deeply. He knew Patrick was especially skilled at reading people’s expressions, which allowed him to seize the initiative in negotiations.
That was also why, even though Patrick was not especially strong compared to other mercenaries, nearly every mercenary knew who he was.
Patrick was a born mercenary. From the moment he entered the trade, he had displayed astonishing sharpness.
He was extraordinarily sensitive to danger in commissions, and he could always pick out the one with the richest reward from a whole pile of jobs.
And Patrick was particularly skilled at negotiation, always able to secure enough profit for his squad.
Liam trusted Patrick greatly, especially at a time like this, when everyone was in danger. He knew the man had no reason to betray him.
If it had been an ordinary competitive commission, he never would have cooperated with him.
Patrick pondered for a long time before continuing, “The situation is already very clear. That mage is most likely here under orders from the Alliance, waiting for something. We don’t know what her purpose is.”
“And the men I sent out have already gathered some information. Those Beastmen seem to have assembled a large force and are moving this way.”
“And yet the followers of the Goddess of the Currents still haven’t made any major moves. Most likely, they’re waiting for the Beastmen’s attack.”
“They want to rely on this city to crush the Beastmen. That’s bad news for us.”
After hearing Patrick’s analysis, Liam’s expression darkened as well.
“Once those Beastmen arrive, they won’t let us go... It seems our only option is to defend the city together with the Church of the Goddess of the Currents. We can’t retreat...”
Patrick nodded and went on, “Those Beastmen won’t pay us any mind. Even trying to ally with them would be pointless. For now, the only thing we can do is stand on the same front as the Goddess of the Currents.”
“But we also can’t put too much effort into fighting the Beastmen. That would just be making wedding clothes for the Church of the Goddess of the Currents.”
“The death compensation for mercenaries is something neither you nor I can afford.”
“Our only chance is to wait until the Goddess of the Currents and the Beastmen maul each other badly, and then have the mercenaries drive them off. Only then will we have a chance to survive.”
“Go find the captains of the mercenary squads. Tell them the Beastmen are about to arrive and get them to join forces with us. Once both sides are heavily wounded...”
“Then we’ll stir up the mercenaries and send them out separately to search for that thing. As long as we can find it and take a look at it, the mission will be accomplished.”
“This is our only chance. Remember, don’t tell them that turning that thing into gold coins is actually very difficult.”
The two exchanged a smile, then turned and walked out of the stands without looking back.
At the same time, on the high platform, Bishop Gillian and the Church Knight who had just fought were standing together in a hidden corner.
“That’s how it is. I’m certain she’s a mage from the Alliance. I just wasn’t able to find out what her purpose here is.”
After hearing this, the weight on Gillian’s heart eased slightly, but she was still extremely tense.
She thought for a moment, then said, “The mercenary we sent to investigate was burned to ashes the moment he stepped into that room.”
“And the servants didn’t know anything useful either.”
It could be said that their investigation this time had been a complete failure. All they had learned was that Fulan really was a mage from the Alliance. Beyond that, they knew nothing.
“However, I’ve already had people inspect the city and the area within ten kilometers outside it, and there were no traces of any other mages or spells.”
“So even if the Alliance truly intends to interfere in this matter, they likely won’t make any move inside Snow Bear City right away...”
“Perhaps we should seize that mage first and interrogate her properly. Then we’ll see what the Alliance is really after.”
A sharp light flashed in Gillian’s eyes. Since the other side had made no arrangements within the city, then she could hardly be blamed for acting without restraint.
She was already sick of spending so much time gathering information only to end up with nothing but vague clues.
No matter what, she had decided that Fulan had to be captured and brought in for questioning.