I see, that explains everything.
Ed thought to himself, his previous guesses about the knight were pretty much correct. How could he expect them to be exactly the same? He wasn't a prophet; such things were too difficult.
So the complete story of this knight is actually like this: Xilǐ'er's Living Armor (hereinafter referred to as Xilǐ'er ) launched an attack on Gray's forces on the orders of those damned Twin Kings.
However, it seems that he was kicked to death by some powerful forces in the Graycast Corridor. Because he was shattered so thoroughly, there was a problem when he revived and reloaded the save file, and he entered a chaotic state called Xilǐ'er.
Each time he was killed again before he could fully recover (like by Gray's armor-piercing arrow), it wasn't until Ed and Seraphina helped him recover to normal in a short time by looking in a mirror that the armored man was able to return to normal from his Don Quixote -like paranoia.
The good news is that Xilǐ'er, the living armored man, can now communicate with Ed without any problems. The bad news is that now that he has regained all his memories and understands his current affiliation, the possibility of Ed recruiting him has greatly decreased.
After all, Ed didn't want a subordinate who was physically in the Tree Worship Church but whose heart was in the Eternal Domain. Although Xilǐ'er did seem incredibly powerful, Ed didn't consider himself some unrequited Boss Cao...
Wait... Ed had a sudden inspiration—did he really not need it?
Once Ed realized that Xilǐ'er would definitely leave, he suddenly felt a sense of boundless freedom. Ed, who had maxed out his money-grabbing skills, quickly found a loophole to exploit.
Just like Ed's start-up capital came from Seraphina —no, it was a loan—it doesn't matter whether the money is his or not; what matters is whether he can use it.
The same applies to Xilǐ'er; whether Xilǐ'er submits to him is not important, but whether he can be driven by Ed is what truly matters.
The sharing economy, while somewhat ahead of its time in this world, is already deeply ingrained in Ed's hometown. Having only the right to use something without ownership isn't necessarily a bad thing; it can help avoid a lot of trouble.
He looked at Xilǐ'er, his single eye observing the armored man whose speech and behavior seemed perfectly normal. Judging from this small example, it seemed the Twin Kings of the Eternal Domain weren't such bad guys after all...
In that case, Ed intends to try to establish a good relationship with the Eternal Domain through Xilǐ'er's channel.
Even if the other party is powerful and looks down on him now, it would be a victory if his Second Holy See wasn't crushed by them.
Tree Worship Church, Graycast Corridor, Eternal Domain... there are countless similar forces on the land after the Demonic Tide.
Ed had already figured it out when he was persuading Duolin: as long as it didn't involve matters of principle, he would choose to establish a friendly relationship.
As for what constitutes a matter of principle? The Tree Worship Church's human experimentation is a matter of principle.
Having confirmed the general strategy in his mind, Ed looked at Xilǐ'er:
"Knight, I'll continue to call you that for now. What are your plans next?"
"Let me make it clear beforehand, I don't believe you have the strength to return to the Eternal Domain without dying once. If you really could, we wouldn't be meeting here."
"If you plan to set off now, we'll meet again in less than a month. You won't remember this day then, and you might even turn your sword against my people. At that point, we'll be enemies."
Ed is right. Xilǐ'er is in a very awkward position right now. He's weak, but perhaps only Seraphina in the entire Baron can kill him without taking any damage.
To say he's strong... well, that's only true within the Low Tier; he's practically invincible among players of the same rank.
As Xilǐ'er just mentioned, the Eternal Domain is thousands of miles away, and the journey there is indeed extremely dangerous.
This easily leads to a bug where Xilǐ'er dies faster the more he wants to go home, eventually becoming a wandering ghost on this path.
Isn't that such a waste?
After hearing Ed's words, Xilǐ'er did have some doubts.
Although he was essentially a living suit of armor, he still retained some of the habits of the knight Xilǐ'er.
Even now, as he ponders, his left hand gently rubs his chin, while his right hand lightly strokes his beloved horse's neck.
After a long silence, Xilǐ'er sighed:
"That's true, I don't have a good solution right now."
Ed clapped his hands gently:
"I do have an idea; you can listen to it, but of course, whether you agree or not is entirely up to you."
The armored man's tone instantly became formal:
Please explain further, my lord.
Ed immediately beamed with joy. Seraphina saw a somewhat familiar expression on his face, a strong sense of déjà vu, but she simply did what she was supposed to do as a spectator.
"As you can see, I am merely a minor baron, and I am not yet able to send you back to the Eternal Domain."
"But my soldiers are not only all wise, but also very brave, only... they lack a little bit of combat experience."
"And you, my friend, look like a battle-hardened Master."
Ed's words were persuasive and persuasive, and he had now reached Xilǐ'er's side.
Although the knight was not riding a warhorse, his large and heavy full-body armor still made him a head and a half taller Ed.
Ed wanted to pat Duolin before, but he couldn't reach him and had to give up in frustration.
"Therefore, I hope you can stay here for the time being to train those brave but inexperienced soldiers for me, and serve me in any battles that may come. Of course, I will not let you participate in those battles where you are sure to die."
"These are my demands. As for what I can guarantee..."
Ed, recalling scenes from a TV series set in his hometown, paced back and forth as he presented his price:
"First, the knight Xilǐ'er did not surrender to the Tree Worship Church, but rather stayed here temporarily because the road back to the Eternal Domain was too arduous."
"Secondly, all the privileges that Knight Xilǐ'er enjoys in the Eternal Domain will remain the same in the Tree Worship Church. If there are any unavailable portions due to limited resources, they will be converted into cash at the market price in the Eternal Domain and settled monthly."
"Third, once the road to the east is clear, or once I have the ability to safely send Knight Xilǐ'er back to the Eternal Domain, I will immediately send Knight Xilǐ'er back to his lord."
"That's all the promise I can make."
Ed closed his eyes, tilted his head slightly, and held up three fingers in Xilǐ'er's direction, waiting for a reply, his expression full of confidence.
The expected answer did not appear; instead, Ed heard only the clanging sound of metal armor rubbing against each other.