The burly, dark-skinned man who came over carrying a food box and offered clumsy words of comfort was none other than Emile Heskey, the big, simple-minded guy whom Sun Fei had recruited as his personal guard.
When the Chambord Army withdrew from Twin Flag City, Sun Fei, with Heskey's consent, took the simple-minded but kind-hearted man with him as his personal guard. Meanwhile, his sister Jessica was appointed by Abramovich as a special envoy of the Soros Chamber of Commerce to establish a new branch in Chambord City.
Abramovich naturally had his own agenda. By assigning Jessica, whom Sun Fei had a good impression of, to Chambord City, he could maintain the cooperative relationship he had already established with Sun Fei and prevent it from gradually dissolving due to geographical issues. This was also a way of indirectly supporting the development of business in Chambord City and investing in its future.
In this way, Heskey and Jessica, the siblings, don't have to worry about being separated, which is a pretty good arrangement.
" Emile, tell me, why did the Imperial Royal Family and the Military Department remove His Majesty Alexander from his positions as First Commander of the War Zone and Commander of the [ Wolf Fang Legion ]? Didn't His Majesty do a good enough job in Twin Flag City? How many troops did they give His Majesty? If it weren't for His Majesty single-handedly holding back the Ajax, Twin Flag City would probably have been razed to the ground long ago... Which resident of Twin Flag City isn't grateful for His Majesty's kindness? The Military Department and the Royal Family's actions are truly disheartening."
As Jessica spoke, she threw a small pebble into the lake, splashing water and creating ripples, her bright red lips pouting in a huff.
Heskey chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.
Although he had been by Sun Fei's side these past few days, he paid no attention to anything other than Sun Fei's safety, especially these important military and political matters. How could someone as dense as him possibly understand them? In Sun Fei's words, Heskey's head was only the size of a pine nut, and the rest of his body was filled with muscles.
"I've heard... that His Highness Arshavin, the First Prince of the Empire, has some grudge against Lord Alexander, which is why he's manipulating the Military Department to deliberately make things difficult for him." Heskey racked his brains before vaguely coming up with what he thought was a similar answer.
" God of War Arshavin, the God of War? No way? A genius like Prince Arshavin should be on equal footing with Lord Alexander. They are both the most dazzling young people of the Zenit Empire, geniuses admired by millions. People are saying that although Emperor Yassin is seriously ill, the empire's fortune is not waning. With these two absolute stars emerging, when Arshavin ascends the throne, Lord Alexander can become the empire's greatest God of War, assisting him in achieving lasting glory!" At this point, Jessica stared at her brother with her beautiful eyes. " Emile, did you hear that right?"
"No, no," the big, clumsy man hurriedly waved his hands, looked around, and cautiously leaned closer to whisper, "Three days ago, when the Military Department envoy arrived in Twin Flag City, I was right beside Lord Alexander and witnessed everything. That damned Military Department envoy was finding fault with the Lord, constantly making things difficult for him, saying that the Military Department was very dissatisfied with the progress of the war in the Ajax theater and was inclined to hold him accountable. I also heard that he announced the Military Department and the royal family's removal of the Lord's first commander of the war zone and the [ Wolf Fang Legion..." After assuming the position of the Wolf Fang Legion commander, he privately spread rumors in various occasions that the lord had lost Emperor Yassin's favor, and even the second prince, Dominguez, who supported the lord, had fallen from power in the power struggle. Besides the eldest prince, who had a long-standing feud with the lord, the fourth prince Krisdin, and several powerful families in the capital all harbored deep hatred for the lord and were plotting to hold him accountable for his previous unauthorized killing of seven noble families in the city. If convicted, they would plunge the lord into utter ruin.
"What?! Is that so?" Jessica jumped up in surprise. "Does the master know about this? No, I have to go tell him..."
As he spoke, he hurriedly made his way towards the royal tent in the army.
Heskey was startled and quickly grabbed his simple-minded sister. " Jessica, wait! His Majesty already knows! Think about it, if even a big, dumb guy like me knows, how could His Majesty possibly know?"
The girl was stunned for a moment, then a blush flashed across her fair, jade-like cheeks.
She was an extremely intelligent woman. Although she had only been in contact with the upper echelons of society for a very short time, in recent days, under the deliberate tutelage of the old fox Abramovich, her horizons and mind had broadened considerably. She could understand the principles Heskey spoke of with just a little thought.
But the moment she heard her brother describe the perilous situation, for some reason, all her intelligence vanished. Her heart pounded wildly like it was being hammered, and an unprecedented worry threw this clever girl into disarray. She couldn't help but want to rush out and tell that person everything.
She touched her burning cheeks, stole a glance at her silly-looking brother to make sure he hadn't noticed anything, and calmed down a bit. She sat back down on the bluestone and couldn't help but ask again, "Does His Majesty have a solution? What if... what if..."
Heskey scratched the back of his head habitually and chuckled, "I don't know if Your Majesty has a solution, but I feel like Your Majesty doesn't seem to care about these things at all... It's like... it's like the Giant wouldn't pay attention to the ants' provocations. If those ants really go too far, the Giant could destroy their nest with just one step... Hehe, I don't know if I'm right, but that's what I think anyway."
Seeing her brother's silly expression, Jessica shook her head with amusement.
Although Heskey's analogy was somewhat exaggerated, it instantly gave the bright young girl an immense sense of security. Indeed, she seemed to have been worrying too much. Thinking about it, how could a genius like His Majesty Alexander be challenged by those corrupt, dull, and bloated nobles?
My gaze returned to the lake surface, reflecting the shimmering firelight, a fleeting glimpse of its reflection.
Jessica herself couldn't explain why there was always a lingering sadness in her heart that she couldn't shake off.
" Jessica, eat quickly, the food is getting cold..." The big, silly boy, completely oblivious to his sister's icy, jade-like thoughts, gently placed the delicious food from the magic insulated food box in front of Jessica.
Behind the two, in the campsite, clusters of bonfires burned red in the night sky.
The men of Chambord City sat around the campfire, their hearty, rough laughter drifting on the night breeze.
Beside a small campfire closest to the lake sat Garcia, the foremost of the rising stars of the Black-Robed Holy Temple.
The young man with short chestnut hair gently poked at the burning campfire with a branch more than a meter long. Under the red glow of the fire, his mood flickered like the light on his face, as if he were pondering some great problem, his mind heavy with worries.
Beside him, the knight Alan was quite relaxed, enjoying a freshly grilled fish. The delicate white fish meat emitted a faint, enchanting aroma, adding a touch of allure to the lively night.
Garcia and Alan were both incredibly lucky and incredibly unlucky.
Being able to enter the core small world of the [ God and Demon Palace ] was extremely lucky, but it was like entering a treasure mountain empty-handed. Before gaining much, he was seriously injured by the white-robed, blue-eyed mage Domenech and then taken away from the small world by Sun Fei. Compared to the other lucky ones, his strength did not improve much.
Three days ago, Sun Fei and Batistuta met again. After agreeing to join the Black-Robed Holy Temple, His Majesty the King's status changed instantly, and he became the Pope of this once glorious but now declining branch of the Holy Church. Before excitedly setting off for the Black-Robed Holy Temple's temporary headquarters to prepare for Sun Fei's coronation ceremony, Batistuta left Garcia and Alan with Sun Fei Sun Fei his close attendants, to be at his command.
Sun Fei was naturally optimistic about the addition of these two top experts.
In particular, the young divine master Garcia, whose Holy Power has reached the Mid-Stage Half Moon Class, is definitely a great expert. For Chambord City, who is in dire need of experts, this is the perfect opportunity.
" Garcia, stop frowning. Eat something; you haven't eaten all day." The knight Alan, with white hair like Pierce, his short stubble standing up stiffly like steel wires, looked up and smiled as he handed over a piece of cod smeared with sauce.
" Alan, I'm thinking that after His Holiness the Pope Alexander is formally crowned, the entire chapel of the Temple will probably have to be moved to Chambord City. This matter will likely attract the attention of other major sects in the Northern Region Diocese, and then various obstacles will arise one after another... Moreover, the coronation still needs to be reviewed by Platini and the Council of Elders of the Northern Region Diocese, which is really fraught with trouble. It's like a storm is brewing!"
Garcia took a bite of the tender grilled cod, his mind heavy with worry, but found it rather tasteless.
" Garcia, you're overthinking it. These matters will naturally be handled by Lord Batistuta and his men. Besides, His Majesty Alexander isn't without his own ideas." At this point, Alan lowered his voice and whispered, "To be honest, I always feel that deep down, you still seem to lack confidence in our new, unconventional His Majesty Alexander?"
A bitter smile appeared on Garcia's lips.
Indeed, he had little confidence in Sun Fei.
Second update.