However, since Anna was unwilling to speak, Thor did not force her.

He gently squeezed Anna’s palm with his right hand, soothing her inner turmoil.

Then he turned his gaze towards his father.

"Father."

Thor spoke softly.

"Let’s go, let’s move forward!"

Count Engel also took a deep breath and spoke softly.

"Alright!"

Thor nodded.

Then, the group continued to move forward.

"Hahaha, Count Engel over here!"

At this moment, the voice of Old Duke Liepuer sounded, filled with laughter.

"Duke Liepuer, it has been a while, and your grace remains unchanged."

Count Engel also couldn’t help but respond with a smile.

"Hahaha, indeed, it’s been a while."

"Come, Count Engel, let me introduce you; this is the former Duke of the Kalenina Family, and this is the former Duke of the Skodar Family."

"As for these three, you should already know them."

As people approached, Old Duke Liepuer smiled and began introducing those around him to Count Engel.

"Count Engel, over these few days we’ve heard many legends about you from Duke Liepuer."

"First time meeting."

Old Duke Kalenina and Old Duke Skodar also greeted with a smile.

"Indeed, Count Engel, you have hidden deeply."

Marquis Sorol also greeted with a smile.

With Old Duke Liepuer’s introduction, several people exchanged greetings with Count Engel.

Their gazes appraised Count Engel’s group.

Upon realizing that Count Engel’s party consisted of an unusually small Knight Order, the group couldn’t help but frown slightly, but soon felt Count Engel’s domain aura, and a hint of joy appeared on the faces of the two old Dukes.

For them, the weakness of Count Engel’s Knight Order was irrelevant, as long as Count Engel was indeed a Half-Step Sanctuary, that was sufficient.

"Greetings, Grand Duke Kalenina, Grand Duke Skodar, as well as Marquis Mackendy, Marquis Ivanov, and Marquis Sorol!"

Count Engel smiled and spoke, understanding their attitudes.

However, he did not care too much.

Three top-level Marquises at the moment pose little concern to the Dressrosa Family.

With his breakthrough into the Half-Step Sanctuary, he is destined to enter the Sanctuary in the future, and these three top-tier Marquises can’t pose a threat to the Dressrosa Family.

As for the Three Great Duke Families, there isn’t much conflict between them.

"Come, come, Count Engel, we happen to be discussing the upcoming matters."

"Let’s go!"

"Sophnia, go and settle Count Engel’s Knight Order."

Old Duke Liepuer nodded with a smile, then addressed a figure beside him.

"Yes!"

The figure responded respectfully.

Then stepped forward, leading Thor’s group to another place.

Count Engel nodded to Thor and the others.

Thor’s group also followed the figure and headed to another location.

At this point, the entire clearing had been arranged, and even the residence for Count Engel’s group had evidently been prepared.

There were rows of wooden houses.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you may rest here."

"If you have any needs, you may call for me on the west side."

Sophnia spoke with a smile.

"Thank you."

Thor nodded with a smile.

"You’re welcome, I won’t disturb you any further."

Sophnia nodded with a smile and then left the area.

As he departed, the group began to settle in quickly.

The clearing was quite spacious, with many houses, so accommodating a hundred people posed no problem, and it could even house seven or eight hundred people without much difficulty.

After settling in, a group of knights soon delivered food.

The group began to eat.

On the other side.

Count Engel was brought by Duke Liepuer and others into a large room.

They began discussing the upcoming matters.

Time passed slowly.

As the night fully descended.

The stars gradually adorned the sky.

Count Engel’s figure returned again.

Upon returning, Count Engel immediately came to where Thor was.

"Father?"

Seeing Count Engel arriving, Thor seemed surprised.

"Thor, there might be some trouble ahead."

Looking at Thor, Count Engel sighed, speaking softly.

"What happened, Father?"

Thor appeared puzzled.

"Currently, sixteen Royal Nobility Alliances are participating in the final contest. Yesterday, these sixteen nobility alliances decided to proceed using the Ancient Duel method for both the contest and the ownership of Law Fragments."

Count Engel spoke solemnly, slowly recounting the information he acquired from Duke Liepuer.

"Ancient Duel?"

Thor raised his eyebrows in surprise.

He knew a bit about Ancient Duel.

It’s a method of noble contest from Ancient Times.

When two nobles encounter irreconcilable conflicts, they initiate a duel.

The so-called duel involves both sides sending an equal number of participants, identical entities, to fight in a fixed location.

The winner can claim everything from the loser, while the loser loses everything.

"Yes, precisely an Ancient Duel."

"Currently, the sixteen nobility alliances will each send ten people. Sixteen nobility alliances will engage in duels, winners against winners, losers against losers. The victorious side can claim half of the Law Fragments from the defeated side, and the final victor will receive ten Law Fragments from all families."

"Among the sixteen nobility alliances, there are six significantly stronger than our Tulip Kingdom Noble Alliance. Apart from the Purple Gold Flower Kingdom, the Macedonian Kingdom and Divine Wood Kingdom are similar to the Purple Gold Flower Kingdom, Saki Kingdom and Greenfield Kingdom are slightly weaker but still have six Half-Step Sanctuaries. The strongest should be the Sela Kingdom, currently known to have ten Half-Step Sanctuaries."

Count Engel spoke slowly.

Listening to Count Engel’s words, Thor’s expression also became tense.

Even though he knew the Tulip Kingdom was not the strongest kingdom, only middle-upper, he did not expect there to be six entities stronger than the Tulip Kingdom.

Six kingdoms.

The duel.

Two-by-two combat.

The first-round has eight victors, eight losers.

These eight will continue fighting.

With bad luck, continuing losses, compounded by the final victor’s acquisition, the gained Law Fragments might be completely consumed, possibly even insufficient.

"Father, what if the Law Fragments are insufficient?"

Thor took a deep breath, pondering over it and asking.

"They must be delivered!"

Count Engel simply said softly.

But that sentence was enough.

It meant, regardless of whether they’re adequate, irrespective of the method, the required Law Fragments must be fully paid.

If insufficient, they must be acquired otherwise.

This is the rule of the Kingdom War, and established by sixteen Royal Nobility Alliances, no one possesses the right to refuse.

Thor was puzzled as to why the relatively weaker among the sixteen agreed.