In a secluded corridor of the Cathedral, the two adults who had left one after the other met again.
"What's going on? Didn't you say you'd reached an agreement with Dathrohan? Why is he opposing us?" The old man with white hair and beard complained as his first words.
"I didn't expect him to do this either. After the Battle of Stratholme, he's like a different person. I understand him less and less." Abbendis's emotions had already calmed down, or rather, his anger was all an act. At this moment, there was not a trace of anger left on his face.
"He's someone we absolutely must win over if we want to gain a majority in parliament..."
"Of course I know that. This old fellow is harder to please than I imagined, but I'll find a way," Abbendis said, a fierce glint in his eyes. "As for that bastard of unknown origin, he's a good pawn that can make Tyrosus lose face, so we can't let him go either."
"Of course, I'll have someone keep an eye on him."
In Gordon's cabin, Unas was completely unaware that he had become a thorn in someone's side. He was still asking Bessarius for advice on how to contact Balnazzar.
The simplest option would be to go directly to Dathrohan, but that would be too conspicuous. Unas now belongs to the Argent Dawn faction, and it would be inappropriate to rashly approach the leader of the opposing faction.
That leaves only one other option—a communication spell between Dreadlords. This is a magic similar to Water Mirror; each party prepares a basin of water, recites the incantation and code, and can then have a video call.
Bessarius claimed that he was only a remnant of his soul and was powerless to use the spell; he was only responsible for teaching the method, and Unas was to complete the Unas himself.
Demonic magic requires Fel its foundation, and the methods to obtain Fel are very simple and violent: either sacrifice one's own life force, offer sacrifice to others, or directly extract it from a demon.
Unas was very hesitant, but when Bessarius said that the spell only required the sacrifice of a sheep to consume the Fel, he became somewhat tempted.
Fel isn't actually that scary. In the game, Warlocks and Demon Hunters can use Fel to fight demons. Unas wants to try it too. The problem now is where to find a sheep.
The pub where he went on a date with Whitemane was pretty good; the owner was grateful to him for teaching him Chinese cooking, so secretly buying a sheep from the owner shouldn't be a problem.
However, he couldn't run around during martial law, so it seemed he would have to wait for an opportunity. As for sacrificing his own life force, he wouldn't consider it for the time being, even though Bessarius had promised to teach him the spell of Drain Life.
Unas didn't want to get too deeply involved; he wanted to take it slowly and limit the use of Fel to within his control.
To many people's surprise, on the morning of the third day after the prison break, the Inquisition declared that most of the escapees had been captured and that the few remaining prisoners were no longer a threat to the Monastery's safety, thus lifting martial law.
Darian brought the news to Unas, along with a wanted poster and a magnificent black horse.
Unas looked at the wanted poster several times but couldn't find any information about him. He was relieved, thinking that Whitemane might have secretly erased him from the list of unknowns.
Looking at the steed again, it was the tallest and strongest warhorse he had ever seen since he transmigrated. It was almost two heads taller than him, with a glossy black coat and only a diamond-shaped white hair on its forehead, making it look both beautiful and majestic.
Darian brought the horse over, surely not to show off? Sure enough, Darian handed him the reins and said, "This warhorse was a gift from my father."
Holy crap, Alexandros Mograine actually gave me a gift!
Unas was a bit dumbfounded, just like when Jay Chou suddenly came to sing him a song – he was more surprised than happy.
After Darian explained, I learned that the lord of Tyr's Hand, to express his gratitude to the three armies that came to his aid, had given several officials some personal gifts, including a pair of fine warhorses that were given to Alexander's two sons.
Yesterday, Darian told his father about the battle at Lordamere Lake and mentioned that Unas saved his life. Of course, to keep Unas's identity a secret, he didn't mention the Resurrection and instead made up a story about him taking a fatal attack for him on the battlefield.
When Alexander heard that Unas's great brown horse and Darian's Starsteed had both died in the battle, Alexander decided to give the horse, which originally belonged to his eldest son Renault, to his younger son's savior.
Renault was naturally unhappy, but his father had always favored Darian and wouldn't be stingy with his brother's savior, so he had no choice but to obey his father's orders.
In the original storyline, the Dreadlord Balnazzar exploited Renault's resentment towards his father's favoritism, and used a demonic Potions to control him. From this, it's clear that Alexander was indeed somewhat biased.
Of course, it's difficult to say who is right and who is wrong in family disputes. Perhaps Alexander was raising Renault as his heir, so he was stricter with him, while Darian embodied Alexander's longing for his wife (who died in Darian), so he was more lenient with him. It's hard for outsiders to distinguish between family matters.
Unas had no choice but to accept the gift from his superior. He also quite liked the horse; a good warhorse could greatly enhance Knight's fighting ability. Although the Skeletal Warhorse was also good, it wasn't advisable to expose it to the public too often.
"The horse armor and saddle will be delivered later; they were made especially for it," Darian said, stroking the horse's mane. "You should get to know it better first, then take it to the stables later."
Unas nodded, then stepped forward and patted the horse's neck, smoothing its mane. This horse was quite like a woman; the more it was stroked, the easier it was to mount.
"The list of ten to participate in the Consecration Ceremony has been finalized, and both your and my nominations have been approved, but you must be careful of Abbendis; he is very unhappy with you." Darian briefly explained to him the arguments from the meeting that he had heard from Alexander.
When Dathrohan's unusual support for Tyrosus, Unas heart skipped a beat. He probably wasn't supporting the One-Eyed Baron, but rather himself, who was also possessed by a demon.
This is good news; at least we know that Balnazzar supports Bessarius's existence and is happy to help his kin advance in rank.
However, Bessarius cannot control Unas; he is merely a prisoner trapped within Unas's body. It remains to be seen how Balnazzar will react when he discovers this.
After calming the warhorse for a while, the two took it to the stables together. The Monastery, now under martial law, returned to its usual flow of people, and the proportion of soldiers along the way had increased significantly.
Several armies set up recruitment offices to gather new soldiers. The news of the previous victories was very inspiring, so there were quite a few people willing to join the army.
The most popular order is undoubtedly the Ashen Verdict Knights; who wouldn't want to follow the invincible Ashbringers to the battlefield and claim glory?
However, not many could pass the high-standard physical fitness tests to join the army. Alexander followed the elite soldier route, which is why his army, though small in number, always suffered the fewest casualties and achieved the greatest results.
The North Maple Legion, on the other hand, accepted anyone who wasn't disabled or injured, relying entirely on sheer numbers.
Using sheer numbers against the Scourge is like trying to teach a fish to swim; it might even send troops to the enemy. So the North Maple Legion mostly performs auxiliary war missions such as escorting logistics and providing defensive support. No wonder Abbendis can't hold his head high in front of Alexander.
After settling their horses, the two headed to the training ground without prior arrangement. Having not fought for several days, they were both itching for a good match.
ps, thank you to the top three this week: Countercurrent Fengzi, Thief Mingjunzi and Mo Yefeng for their recommendation votes