Xilǐ'er's words were forceful and clear, but Ed interrupted him after only hearing the first sentence:
"Don't worry about those formalities."
Ed, standing before the knight, stretched out his hand towards the giant tree with a satisfied expression:
" Noya."
As he called out, the exquisitely crafted knight's sword atop the plant dragon head beside the giant tree, which had already lost its connection, was instantly pulled out by an invisible force, turned around, and flew towards Ed at an extremely fast speed.
"Whoosh!"
With the longsword in hand, Ed lightly touched the tip of the blade to Xilǐ'er's shoulder, while the knight remained motionless, letting the blade rest less than a finger's width from his neck.
In this extremely simplified investiture ceremony, Xilǐ'er's actions symbolized trust and loyalty, while Ed's actions were akin to a superior testing his subordinates.
With his longsword held horizontally, Ed delivered his first admonition to his new subordinate:
"I'm not questioning you, it's just that eternal loyalty is too absolute, so my requirement for you is simply to remain loyal as long as I don't owe you wages."
Xilǐ'er had never heard such a blunt admonition before.
But since this young man had never really done anything that could be described as following the rules, he simply nodded and said:
"Yes, I understand."
Ed continued:
"Let me make this clear first: your benefits will only be converted into specific monetary amounts. As for a title... even if you have one, it will only be an honorary one. The Second Holy See does not have the concept of granting fiefdoms."
Ed initially wanted to say that the Second Holy See did not have titles, but he couldn't be too certain, and he had also considered the implications.
A long time ago, Ed had come up with a foolproof method for recycling player currency, which can be summarized in four words: "Selling official positions and titles."
However, that's only a last resort, a desperate measure. Ed still has many ideas that haven't been "realized" yet, so he's not in a hurry to become some kind of "Tree Spirit Emperor."
On the other hand, Xilǐ'er's reaction after hearing this was one of pleasant surprise:
"That's great. I'm not very good at governance anyway. Whether in Duke Frostblade's Territory or the Eternal Domain, I just delegate these things to others."
Ed hadn't expected the other party to accept it so quickly, and was even a little happy about it, so he smiled and said:
"In that case, from this moment forward, you are my knight."
As soon as he finished speaking, the surface of the knight's sword in Ed's hand instantly flashed with a light green light.
Several vines grew from Ed's hand, winding around Xilǐ'er's body along the knight's sword that Noya possessed.
Some of the vines were soft and gently transformed his body, while others had hard, iron-like ends that inscribed new Psionic Energy Circuit onto his armor.
Although it looks like a cult leader's body modification ritual, it is essentially for Xilǐ'er's own good.
Several vines sprouted from the ground not far away, not forgetting Xilǐ'er's mount, Radish, and wrapped around and encased it amidst the astonishment of the horse-faced creature.
In less than a minute, Ed had completed the transformation of Xilǐ'er.
Ed didn't feel guilty about this behavior, because frankly, Xilǐ'er was already far removed from being a "human being," and what truly mattered to him was consciousness and soul.
The armor is from a hundred years ago and has undergone many modifications, so adding some functions shouldn't be a problem.
As for his body, it's not original either. Xilǐ'er's current body comes from the flesh and blood power of Antos, so it has good compatibility with Adelaide's power.
Ed retracted the vines and said to Xilǐ'er:
"I have completed the examination of your body. You are no longer Knight of Conquest of the Eternal Domain, so you can no longer be resurrected after death as before."
"And since your primary compatibility doesn't lie in the plant realm, the blessings I can bestow upon you are rather limited, mainly focusing on two aspects—"
"The first is a lower-level alternative to resurrection. Your regenerative abilities have been greatly enhanced, both in your body and armor. However, the tissue that grows during the temporary regeneration is plant tissue. Although it has the same function, it is not flesh and blood. You may need some time to adapt."
"Secondly, Adelaide's ' Absolute Punishment ' True Blood now belongs to me, so your attacks can now inflict many negative effects, which will definitely take effect on those below the High Tier, while for the High Tier, it depends on luck."
"These two abilities combined allow you to survive in battle and become increasingly powerful, making it very difficult to find an opponent of the same level."
"Furthermore, I haven't stripped away Noya's legacy of the Blue Dragon's blood. You can still temporarily enter that light bulb-like state, which allows you to Alienation your armor and extend your weapons to some extent."
"Therefore, in conclusion, although your fighting style may have changed significantly, your overall combat strength should not be weaker than before. Do you understand?"
"Yes, my lord."
Xilǐ'er kept his head down, his voice filled with barely concealed excitement.
After the connection between the Twin Kings and him was severed, he vaguely sensed the resurrection power fading away, and even the Eternal Domain emblem on his chest disappeared without him noticing.
Without the ability to resurrect, the value of the Eternal Domain Knight would drop significantly, but unexpectedly, his new lord would seamlessly bestow a new blessing upon him.
Ed ignored his agitation and continued:
"Now that you are my knight, I will now give you your first task--"
"I am at your service."
"I'm giving you two months of paid leave. You need to travel to all the provinces that are not currently under the jurisdiction of the Second Holy See, including the Holy City."
Ed suddenly laughed, saying with a hint of self-deprecation:
"Alright, since I've assigned you a task, it has nothing to do with taking a vacation. I'll treat it as a business trip and give you three times the pay."
"Your task is to take my token to the capitals of those provinces and inform the archbishops of each province, as well as the cardinals of the Holy City— "
"Two months later, at the end of July in the year 909 of the Royal Calendar, the Son of God from the Second Holy See —no, from the Holy See itself—will lead the Oathbreaking Cardinal Cuiske, whom he personally captured alive, to the Holy City a pilgrimage."
"Yes, sir!"
Xilǐ'er nodded emphatically, feeling the pressure on his shoulder disappear. He stood up meticulously, stretched out his hands, and took a wooden staff taller than himself from Ed's hands.
The wooden staff shows almost no signs of processing; it looks like a slender, long piece of hardwood.
However, its surface is covered with numerous grooves, within which Psionic Energy flows slowly, emitting a faint glow.
The canopy seems to possess the characteristics of all plants, making it impossible to distinguish the species, and upon closer inspection, one can discover that it is constantly changing every second.
The creation that the boy casually made captivated Xilǐ'er.