It was still that simple and crude palace, and it was still that young king.
Dasos was playing chess with his old friend and subordinate. But from the way he kept making stupid moves and retreating step by step, his mind wasn't on the chessboard at all.
In the past, he would use his superior chess skills to swiftly deal with his old friend and then start to talk business while the other party was depressed. But this time, he wasn't as calm as he used to be.
"Hermit, haven't you found her yet?"
"Found her? Oh, that Knight Princess. They changed their residence and are currently staying at the Church of the God of Law. Attacking the Church of the True God is a huge problem. Is it worth it for a woman? "
The one who spoke was a brown-haired young man with squinted eyes. He wore a monocle and looked refined. If one were to look at his appearance, no one would think that he was the chief intelligence officer of the Ottoman Empire. He was also the personal financial advisor of the Emperor and one of the most influential people in the country.
"Don't joke with me. You know that I'm not looking for that little lass. I'm looking for the woman with the Angel Bloodline, the woman who was able to suppress the Demon Sword with a single hand. "
Dasos was able to tell that Svina was a woman in disguise with a single look because of his keen observation skills. After that day, he was also guessing if the two princesses who had the same face but completely opposite temperament were two different people.
"Gemini Star, another Gemini who symbolizes inauspiciousness. No wonder the Mist Royal Family wanted to hide her existence."
Alright, combining history and his imagination had a basis. At least in the eyes of Dasos, they were two completely different people.
The most obvious evidence was the performance of the Demon Sword.
"Hermit, you should know how much I paid to awaken the Scarlet Conqueror to the third stage. But that woman was able to tame the third form of the Demon Sword right from the start. When she returned the Demon Sword to me, the emotions that the Demon Sword sent to me were actually 'pity', 'fear' and 'relaxation'. There is only one explanation for this. The Demon Sword actually submitted completely in front of her. I'm afraid that she is able to use the full form of the Demon Sword."
"Impossible! This Scarlet Conqueror, forged by the Tyrant of the Blood Sea, is always thirsty for blood. In order to use this sword, you have sacrificed at least ten thousand lives. Until now, we have to prepare hundreds of death row prisoners to sacrifice to the sword every year. How old is that girl? How can she suppress the demon sword? "
"But she did, didn't she?"
"Is that why you want to propose to her? You're still unwavering even when you're rejected in person? "
"No, no, I'm tired of looking at that delicate and fragile vase. I suddenly feel that the Blood Angel bathed in fresh blood is pretty good too. I'm really infatuated with that woman. What a pity, I didn't expect her to actually like women. What a pity. "
"Are you going to give up? Then why are you still looking for her? "
"Why do you think the Mist Royal Family is hiding this trump card? Do you think that they will obediently pledge their loyalty to me on the day of the enthronement ceremony? Do you think that the half-angel, who is so arrogant that she doesn't even look me in the eye, will kneel and pledge her loyalty to me on the day of the enthronement ceremony? "
Hermit shook his head as he recalled the War Angel who was so proud that she wouldn't even touch the ground.
"Some people are born to not bow down to others. I don't think that she will bow down to anyone."
"But we don't have any other path of retreat. Either we get through this or we fall short and become a second-rate country."
Yes, this enthronement ceremony to force the various countries to submit to us is a form of oppression towards the smaller countries. At the same time, it is also a challenge to the dignity and strength of the Ottoman Empire. If we succeed, we will naturally become a Super Empire. If we fail, the countries that were originally subordinate to us will be shaken and it isn't impossible for them to fall to a second-rate country.
"This is a huge gamble. It concerns the fate of the Ottoman Empire for the next two hundred years. We can't afford to lose."
"I understand. At this moment, we can't afford any variables. I will send scouts to investigate the secrets of the people in Donglan."
"No, wait for a moment. It is enough to send a few Demon Vulture Knights to keep an eye on them. I have already sent out the crows. If we keep an eye on them, it won't be convenient for them to do anything."
"Crows? They aren't trustworthy at all. They spend their days prophesying and calculating those ridiculous doomsday. They are really a bunch of lunatics. "
"However, mad dogs are irrational. Their bites are usually very painful."
As he spoke, Dasos laughed out loud. Of course, he knew that crows weren't reliable. However, mad dogs also have their uses. If they are released to bite people, they don't need to be rational.
"I almost know why you called me here."
"Yes, with the Donglan Principality as the core, come up with a few more contingency plans."
"Do we need to prepare for the worst? Remove the Donglan Principality from the alliance this time. "
"No, the worst possibility is that the Donglan Principality will lead the other countries to declare war on us. Moreover, our military forces will be pinned down."
Hermit nodded. He understood Dasos. Preparing for the worst was an old habit of his. However, this didn't mean that he didn't have the confidence to complete the enthronement ceremony.
On the contrary, the fact that he had prepared so many plans in advance showed that he was determined to win the alliance.
Others thought that he was a straightforward and ambitious person who didn't care about trifles. Only those who grew up with him knew that Dasos's greatest strength was his meticulousness. Perhaps, it was because he was prepared for all kinds of terrible situations that he was able to reach where he was today.
"Don't be anxious. Chess is played step by step. Let's use mad dogs to test the waters first. Ha, you are distracted. Checkmate, I won! "
…
To me, getting the envoy from the East Mist Communal Country to stay with us wasn't just a sudden idea without a purpose.
There were still three months before the enthronement ceremony. It wasn't too long, but it wasn't too short either. It would be inconceivable if Dasos didn't do something to regain his face in his own territory, the capital.
Moreover, the relationship between me and the diplomatic mission would inevitably become closer and closer. Rather than being discovered to be overly suspicious in the future, it would be better to directly contact them. If we were together, it would be convenient for security, and I could also conveniently teach that little girl a lesson.
As for the Church of the God of Law, it could only be considered as a pleasant surprise.
Initially, we only intended to build a court here as a place for Law jobs to train and learn. Without the support of the local authority, it would be impossible for us to conduct trials. On the other hand, arbitration could still be conducted as planned.
Trials are based on the authority and the laws as the rules to judge crimes. It is a way to deal with crimes from a higher position. On the other hand, arbitration is where both parties to the contract and the arbitrator are on equal footing and it is agreed that the arbitrator will be the one to make the decision.
Without a doubt, in a place where the authority doesn't recognize the law, Law jobs will be involved in arbitration for a long period of time. But in reality, due to the lack of authority, arbitration requires a higher understanding of the law. In a certain world, one must have at least 8 years of experience in the legal profession before they can be involved in arbitration.
Of course, this is just a big talk. In reality, when it comes down to it, it is just a small matter.
"Aunt Li. Didn't Uncle Li just owe you 3 silver coins? He said that he would return it to you in 2 months. Don't be angry. "
"2 months? After 2 months, it will be at least 4 silver coins with interest! "
"3 and a half!"
"Four."
"Alright, I will be the middleman. Aunt Li, give me a little more time and Uncle Li will return me a little more interest. How about 4 silver coins after 3 months?"
"Deal." "Agreed!"
Although it seems ridiculous, in reality, this is how arbitration is done. The only difference is the amount of money involved and whether the parties involved are individuals, merchant guilds, or organizations.
Of course, if both parties are unable to come to an agreement, the Law job as the arbitrator can forcefully make an arbitration in front of Wumianzhe's Divine Statue. In that case, one party's interests will be harmed and at that time, the arbitration will be carried out using Wumianzhe's God Power.
Without authority, there is no jurisdiction. Naturally, there is no right to judge crimes. But based on the principle of freedom of contract, the Law job can become the middleman and borrow Wumianzhe's God Power and Divine Concept to do civil arbitration.
The arbitration system has been in operation in Sulfur Mountain City for a few decades, but it is something new on the surface. Very quickly, the sensitive merchants discovered the advantages of this system.
Its greatest advantage is that it is fast, very fast. In the past, if it was just a contract or a product dispute, it would take at least 1 to 2 years to settle the lawsuit in the local court. Even if the civil compensation is paid, the merchant might have already gone bankrupt. That is the classic case of winning the lawsuit but losing your life.
And if the contract involves a certain noble or high official … then you can only blame it on your bad luck.
On the other hand, arbitration only involved three parties, so reaching an agreement was extremely fast. Usually, it would only take a few days. To merchants, time was life. Not to mention, the contract and arbitration in front of the Gods were under Wumianzhe's protection, so no one dared to refuse to honor it. That strange magic incantation: Forceful Execution of the Contract made it impossible for rich people to hide.
Kagesi City, which is built along the river, is connected to all directions. It is a famous business city with merchants gathering. This new way of settling disputes immediately spread from one to ten and ten to a hundred.
"To think that there is a God to guarantee the fairness of the contract. I don't have to worry about those ruffians going against their words anymore. This is great!"
Thus, when new business contracts are signed, they don't forget to add a clause: "If there is a dispute, go to xx land's Church of Law for arbitration."
Thus, in less than a week, this court was squeezed in by thousands of new believers, directly rising to the level of a local church.
Alright, according to the rules of the Gods, when there are enough believers, the True God Wumianzhe starts to pay attention to this place, and this place becomes his holy land — the Church of Law branch in Kagesi City is born.
When the 'Law of Human' still needs a long time to receive the support of the sovereign and step onto the stage of history, this new arbitration system becomes a powerful weapon for the True God of Law Wumianzhe to expand his faith.
And such a thing happens in many corners of the Aichy continent. Thus, in the divine realm of another plane, Wumianzhe is currently obtaining his first derivative Divine Job — God of Contracts.
The essence of fairness is written into the content of freedom of contracts. He, who is a weak God, is gradually evolving into a mid-level God.
"Ah. I didn't expect this at all. "
Adding an arbitration system to the law is something I casually did by imitating the judicial system of my previous world. I really didn't expect that this arbitration system, which wasn't valued much in my previous world, would blossom and bear fruit in this other world.
"Un, in this chaotic medieval world, this kind of neutral contract guarantee, enforcement, and dispute resolution is indeed in high demand. The reason why it wasn't popular in my previous world is probably due to the lack of a sovereign guarantee. Even if arbitration results, it would be difficult to enforce it. And in this magical world where a true God acts as the guarantor of contracts, arbitration is naturally much more powerful. "
And to me, such accidents are naturally the more the merrier. And this accident also made me start to take this physical body and the bloodline of the arbiter seriously …
"On the left is Chaos, on the right is Order, and I stand in the middle as an arbiter? The result will definitely be offending both sides at the same time. System, are you reminding me that my goal is a typical example of strenuous and unrewarding work? "
The local churches are already under the watchful eyes of the True Gods (The God of Law doesn't build churches, which means that he doesn't throw churches everywhere for the sake of preaching). Attacking a church is no different from slapping the face of a God, and as a resident, the safety of us would naturally soar.
But even so, I can still see dozens of spies among the visiting believers.
"Hey, big brother, it is indeed a good idea for a big bloke like you to disguise as a traveling merchant, but can you change out of your military boots? They still have the emblem of the Azure Dragon Knight Order on them."
"Hehe, does your family use high-quality military horses to transport the fodder carriages? Is the money you earn enough to feed them with oats? "
"The emblem of nobility on your sword … Can you be more professional? To think that you can still laugh. "
Alright, regardless of whether I am interested in the Donglan Principality that shone brilliantly that day or the Church of this new True God, the way this city expresses its hospitality to its guests is really too much for me to handle.
"Lord Oracle! If you have the time to play with them, why don't you come and help us! "
After the Judgement Court was upgraded to a local Church, Kolos, who has the highest rank in the Church, fell for the same trick again and was forced to become a local bishop. But unfortunately, even though she was promoted, not only did she not get a raise in salary, she didn't get more subordinates either. Instead, her workload increased exponentially.
This wasn't a large Church, but the merchants were all impatient to come here to resolve the accumulated contract disputes. The average number of visitors was over a hundred, and the queue had already reached Beifeng's stall outside the courtyard. As for the receptionists and arbiters … There were two Gray Elves, Kolos and her two subordinates, which added up to a total of five people. It was all over.
Although Kolos was doing her best to raise the first batch of divine clergy, it was still too early for them to start from scratch. Right now, it would be up to Kolos and the others to work overtime.
That was why, even though Kolos became much more respectful towards me after that lecture, she couldn't help but get angry when she saw me, who clearly had a good understanding of the law, idling around all day.
"Lord Oracle, if you have the time, can you help me take a look at the goblin merchant's contract? There are some parts that I'm hesitant about, and I need your explanation. "
"Haha, I still have some matters to attend to today. Let's talk about it when I get back."
After saying that, I unhesitatingly turned around and ran. Kolos wanted to chase after me, but the sea of people in front of me forced her to stop helplessly.
This time, I really wasn't trying to avoid it. I really did have matters to attend to. Today, I had an appointment with someone.
My destination wasn't too far away. It was an empty field with few people. I leaned against it under a rotting old tree and poured some wine on the ground. The gray fog gathered to form a silver specter, but it didn't have the usual coldness and fierceness of a vengeful spirit. This was an existence that was somewhere between a ghost and a Valkyrie.
"Hey, Uncle Kane, I'm here again. I've already resolved your granddaughter's matter. The tuition fees I left behind are enough for her to use for ten years. This time, you can give me your sword, right?"
After receiving Harloys's hint, if I still couldn't find my target, wouldn't I be too useless? I found Kane's soul on the first day, but unfortunately, even though I chatted with him about many things over the past few days and even helped him a lot, Kane still remained tight-lipped about his sword.
"Un, lad, I've already seen your sincerity. So, let me tell you a story."
If I had a mirror, I would definitely be embarrassed. This specter was very much like an NPC in a game. First, he would run errands for me, then he would tell me his background story. Most of the story was about him, and in the end, he would even have to guide him to heaven.
"… The village was threatened by the Magical Beasts and the enemy's army could pass through his outpost at any moment. That young Knight was faced with a dilemma. Should he obey the King's orders and guard the outpost loyally, watching as the village in danger was destroyed, or should he disobey the orders and abandon the honor of a Knight to protect the village? Young lad, if it were you, what would you choose? "
Alright, I knew that it would be such a question. This was as unsolvable as saving one's wife or one's mother after falling into the water. Not answering it was the best answer.
But to me, I had already done too many of these unsolvable questions. From the very start, the answer wasn't even within the scope of the questions.
"I would take action in advance and first complete the mission before going to protect the village. Or I could just kill off the Magical Beasts that threatened the village before pulling the villagers over to help me complete the mission. Un, the simplest way would be to bring all of the villagers along with me to guard the outpost. "
"This … This doesn't meet the requirements."
"Whose requirements? The one who came up with the question? Or did you set the requirements yourself? As long as the results are good, there's no point in caring about the process. "
"No, that's impossible. I can't do any of the things that you asked for."
"Even if you can't do it, I can. To be honest, if I were in your position, I would have thought of a way to eradicate the Magical Beasts before they pose a threat to me. Besides, even if you can't do it, can't you call for help? "
"They also have their own mission. How can they use their personal matters to tarnish the honor of another Knight?"
"This is an old concept from that era. No wonder you couldn't get over it even after a few decades."
"I … I am here to test if you have the ability to do what I can't do!" The old Knight immediately flew into a rage out of humiliation.
Alright, as expected, we still have to fight at the end.
19 seconds, including the time needed to draw and sheathe the sword, the Undead Binding Formation that I had set up long ago was activated. A Holy Knight's signature skill, Dispel the Undead. Then, I raised my sword and struck Kane, causing the bound Kane to fall to the ground.
"This isn't fair …"
"What? Do you think that I will be like those foolish Knight and compete with you in swordsmanship when you reached Legend-rank? After fighting for 300 rounds, I was defeated by you. Didn't you say whether it's fair for a Legend-rank expert to bully a Bronze-rank rookie? Look, it's so easy. "
"I … Young man, could it be that I was wrong?"
After hesitating for a moment, I gave the final answer.
"No, you weren't wrong. The choice that you made is worthy of our respect. The one that was wrong is the world that forced you to make such a cruel choice. "
The old Knight saved the village, but because of that, he didn't complete his mission and lost the honor and status of a Knight. Because of that, his family was implicated as well. For the rest of his life, he constantly questioned himself on whether he was wrong or not. In the end, he died of depression.
'Pale Justice' is the name of his Soul Sword. It is also the cry that he constantly interrogates his own soul.
"Am I wrong? Could it be that upholding justice is wrong? Should I just watch as the village is destroyed? "
"Loca Town, the village that you saved back then. It has been 70 years and it has grown from a village with a population of 300 to a small town with a population of close to 10,000. You did well. "
"Is that so? That's great. "
After finishing his words, Kane's soul starts to dissipate with a smile on his face. The only thing that remains is the Ice Tear Stone that is emitting a cold white light.
【Pale Justice Soul Stone: Contains a portion of the soul and power of the Legend-rank Holy Knight Kane. Fuse it with Kane's sword to obtain the complete 'Pale Justice'.】
"What does it matter whether Justice is pale or not? As long as one is able to act according to one's conscience, what does it have to do with the voices of the outside world?"
This is what I wanted to say, but in the end, I didn't say it. To the old Kane, the evaluation of the later generations isn't important. The continued prosperity of the village that he saved is enough to prove that his choice wasn't wrong. So, what else is there to say?
But reality is often crueler than a fairy tale.
"Loca Town? There was indeed such a place before, but it has already disappeared in history. At that time, the kings were fighting for the throne and the flames of war were everywhere. In the past 70 years, the place has experienced at least 5 destructive wars. Even if the villagers survived, they should have died in the wars that followed. "This is the answer that I got from the Civil Affairs Department.
Touching the soul stone that is emitting a cold radiance, I shook my head.
"The road is long, let's take it slow."
Suddenly, I thought of something again.
"That's not right. Aren't I going to look for Kane's sword? Who knows where he lost it. Did I get tricked again? The village has already disappeared in history, where am I going to find a sword? Old man, are you still there? Can you point the way before you ascend to heaven? "
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