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Midnight.

Three miles outside Giant Stone City, at the Silver Thorn Legion camp.

The torches swayed slightly in the night breeze, casting flickering shadows.

Fa Fuke, clad in a red robe, held a magic wand inlaid with a purple extraordinary gemstone, and led two wizard apprentices on an inspection.

The three moved quietly, stopping every few steps to use the magic wand to carefully investigate their surroundings, preventing any attacks from church fanatics under the cover of darkness.

With the previous lesson from the Princess’s army, the same mistake could not occur in the Duke of Flowers’ army.

When Fa Fuke was inspecting the east side of the camp, a young wizard apprentice in a gray robe approached quickly.

"Honorable Fa Fuke, Sir."

The wizard apprentice stopped before him, slightly out of breath, "His Highness the Regent requests your presence at his tent to discuss something important."

Fa Fuke’s brow furrowed slightly.

What is so important at this hour?

A surprise attack on Giant Stone City?

Fa Fuke didn’t dwell on it and nodded, "Alright."

With that, Fa Fuke handed the magic wand to the newly arrived wizard apprentice, instructing, "Make sure to inspect carefully, do not overlook any corner."

The wand possessed the Spell of the True Sight, able to detect invisible entities within twenty meters, but required continuous activation.

"Understood, Sir Fa Fuke."

The wizard apprentice carefully took the wand and began searching.

Fa Fuke, meanwhile, turned and quickly headed towards the command tent in the center of the camp.

The soldiers along the way saluted and made way for Fa Fuke, their eyes filled with reverence.

Through the long war, the strangeness and dread of the extraordinary had long been circulated within the camp.

Fa Fuke lifted the tent flap and stepped inside.

The interior of the tent was much more spacious than it appeared from the outside. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

The floor was covered with thick animal skin carpets, and in the center stood an enormous war map table.

The Duke of Flowers stood by the map table, looking down at something.

On the other side of the tent stood a person in a black robe.

Their back was to Fa Fuke, making it impossible to see their face.

"Your Highness the Regent."

Fa Fuke nodded slightly in salutation, asking, "What orders do you have for summoning me at this late hour?"

His wording was polite, though his tone did not treat the Duke as a superior.

The Duke of Flowers, accustomed to this, did not mind, smiling as he turned around,

"I’d like to introduce you to a new friend."

At the Duke’s voice, the person in the black robe slowly turned around and removed the hood that covered most of their face.

Fa Fuke’s gaze fell upon them, and he couldn’t help but frown.

The person in front of him was about the same age as Fa Fuke, with subtle magic power vibrations and the aura of other energies.

The person in the black robe looked at Fa Fuke as well, offering a slight bow,

"May the light of the Lord of Dawn shine upon you."

The black-robed person’s voice was calm and gentle.

Fa Fuke’s gaze turned cold, "Dawn Church."

Fa Fuke tensed, his watchful eyes fixed on the black-robed individual, his fingers slightly trembling, ready to cast a spell.

"No need to be so tense, Fa Fuke."

The Duke of Flowers sensed the tension in the tent and took the initiative to speak, "Bishop Salido is a friend of ours, potentially even an ally."

"The Dawn Society would never associate with the church’s lunatics."

Fa Fuke said coldly, remaining poised to strike at any moment.

"The church people are all deceivers, be wary of them selling you out." Fa Fuke warned the Duke of Flowers.

"Please, put your mind at ease, Sir Fa Fuke,"

Salido raised his hand in a gesture of reassurance, his voice sincere,

"This time, we’re truly here seeking cooperation."

"Cooperation?"

Fa Fuke chuckled coldly, "Since when does the church cooperate with spellcasters?"

"Starting today."

Salido did not waste words, taking a delicate wooden box from the table.

Salido slowly opened the box, presenting it to Fa Fuke.

Inside, two rows of extraordinary gemstones were neatly arranged.

The first row contained blue magic gemstones, the second row contained purple spirit gems, a total of ten.

"This is our gesture of sincerity." Salido said with a smile.

Fa Fuke looked at the extraordinary gemstones, unimpressed, remaining vigilant towards Bishop Salido.

"I understand your concerns."

Salido set the box down, paused, and continued, "In the future, the Dawn Church will withdraw from all affairs within the Broken Rock Empire."

"We will also help your Dawn Society deal with the Western Alliance’s churches, eliminating all enemies."

"The Dawn Church and the Dawn Society should be allies."

Salido said with a firm tone, "I can swear by my master that everything I say is true."

Fa Fuke was slightly taken aback.

A divine oath is no trivial matter.

For clergy, swearing to a deity is an extremely serious vow.

It is not merely a "pledge" or "aspiration," but a sacred covenant with the divine.

Once made, the vow impresses itself upon the soul, interlinked with Salido’s faith and deity.

In simple terms, if Salido were to break the vow, the best outcome would be spiritual retaliation, making him lose everything.

At worst, Salido’s soul would be torn apart.

"What exactly does your Dawn Church intend to do?" Fa Fuke asked coldly.

Salido turned to look at the Duke of Flowers standing nearby, then looked back at Fa Fuke,

"We want to help His Majesty Aegon become the true ruler of the Empire, and make the Duke of Flowers the true Regent."