When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 752 - 707: The Lanfeng Family Are All Gamblers

"Lord Raffel, His Highness is in midday prayer!"

"My lord, you cannot enter!"

"Get out of the way!"

A forceful kick opened the door to the study, and Raffel strode inside.

The surrounding servants and maids reached out to stop him, but like nothing more than decoration upon the Great Knight, they were dragged along the ground.

"Your Highness, Your Highness—"

As the door to the prayer room swung open, Raffel paused momentarily, observing Ginijis seated at the desk, softly reciting from the Gospel.

A slender young man was illuminated by the dim daylight filtering through the lattice windows, devout and serene.

Among the old king's three sons, Ginijis bore the closest resemblance to the old king in his youth.

Not only in appearance, but even their demeanor and character were alike.

The only difference, perhaps, was that the old king occasionally roared in anger, while the new king was never seen losing his temper.

"What brings you to me?" Ginijis gently set the book aside and stared at Raffel.

"I've discovered the origin of your Immortal Army."

"From where?"

"Enough with the pretenses. Have you forgotten how the crown of the Golden Finch Clan fell?" Raffel briskly approached Ginijis, his steps made a heavy thud on the wool carpet.

"When did I become entangled with the Blood and Flesh Royal Court?" Ginijis chuckled lightly, rising to approach the liquor cabinet.

Raffel, trailing three paces behind, struggled to suppress his anger, "You were fortunate this time, bribing the investigator of the Imperial Council.

If they truly uncover anything, not only the kingdom's vassals but even the Falan and Norn would get involved."

"Do you think without the Immortal Army, they wouldn't act against us?"

Faced with the old knight's questions, Ginijis showed no panic. Instead, he picked up a crystal goblet from the table, poured a fine wine for both himself and the old knight.

"Try it." Ginijis smiled and took a sip first.

Raffel sniffed the wine before taking a gentle sip, his eyes unexpectedly narrowed, "Is this... Blue Blood wine?"

"Indeed, it's the last few bottles." Ginijis plopped down on the cushions, "I was saving it, but now there's no need."

"You plan to restart the Blue Blood Monastery?" Raffel's expression grew serious.

"To be precise, I plan not to disband the army after the war but directly advance on Thousand River Valley." Ginijis swirled his wine glass.

"That's too hasty! Thousand River Valley People are tough; even the prince stumbled." The pale purple liquid swayed in the goblet, and Raffel grew more anxious, "Those red-clad Immortal Army soldiers aren't invincible!"

"Windmill Land belongs to the Leia people, and for this war, I've already piled up debts. Do you know what the Thousand River Valley People have done?" The dim light cast on Ginijis's face, making his cold expression resemble a marble statue.

"What did they do?"

"The Thousand River Valley People, along with the Falan, transported forty-eight thousand barrels of sugar to Windmill Land."

Raffel's heart tightened, for Ginijis, usually with a cheerful smile, appeared as cold as ice.

"Sugar prices plummeted, and the El people set the stage, driving out more than half of our people in Windmill Land." Ginijis took another sip of Blue Blood wine, "Next year's fiscal income will sharply decrease; if we don't cease the war within a year and a half, the royal family will go bankrupt."

Raffel tightened his grip on the goblet, "How much did we lose?"

"At least five hundred thousand gold pounds! The last straw on the camel's back."

"Those damned traitors! Instead of them coming to harm, they're causing us trouble." But Raffel pivoted, still advising, "Why hasten the battle then? This is actually detrimental to finances."

Ginijis gazed into the pale purple reflection within his goblet, "Have you been to the Falan Kingdom?"

Raffel looked at Ginijis's face, suddenly recalling the old king. When the old king asked him the same question at the same age, "Have you been to the Falan Kingdom?"

At the time, Raffel hadn't visited, not understanding why the old king asked, so he remained silent.

But when Ginijis posed the question, he fell silent once more, for he had been, and more than once.

"We won the Windmill Land battle, but we lost as well." Ginijis candidly addressed Raffel, "Johnny VIII refused to risk bankruptcy, resulting in the division of 42 decree battalions.

The Leia Kingdom perished forty years ago, merely preserved in a coffin yet unburied."

"That's somewhat harsh, isn't it? The Falans are inherently lazy, shrewd and weak, unlike us, their Leia straightforward and brave. They can't train good knights."

"Have you seen the Falan Kingdom's Royal Cavalry? One knight from a decree battalion can fight three Royal Cavalry." Ginijis smiled, "But 9 decree battalions are surely no match for 2,700 Royal Cavalry; I've witnessed their exercises firsthand, you know what it's like?"

Before Raffel could speak, Ginijis lowered his head in self-question and answer, "They are mounted in a Deng Jia'er Array, 2,500 cavalry forming a broad array shielding the battlefield, charging like waves.

The Deng Jia'er infantry array holds advantages over knights, only lacking mobility, leading to defeat.

Yet the Royal Cavalry can charge in a 2,500 cavalry line array, do you think decree battalion can resist?

They can support ten such cavalry regiments because these cavalry are citizens and small landlords, whereas our knights must be of noble birth.

If not for the Windmill Land battle, the 42 decree battalions might sweep through domestic Great Lords, surpassing the Falan isn't impossible... But now?"

Gradually in Raffel's storytelling, his stubborn pride faded, replaced by the bitter spirit hidden in his furrowed brows.

"The Church has split north and south, Windmill Land is restless, the Oslar Clan is eyeing us cautiously.

To the south, the Falan gaze upon our Windmill Land outlet; to the north, the Norn eye our Eagle's Beak Bay outlet.

Even the small Thousand River Valley erupted in a massive rebellion, killing the prince, destroying 9 decree battalions... Do you believe these events are isolated?"

Ginijis snorted contemptuously from his nose, "And yet, Yingbela the fool imagines withstanding Falan through marriage with Norn, unaware he's already on the menu... Do you understand why I'm acting this way now?"

After a brief silence, Raffel lifted his head and drained the Blue Blood wine from his cup, "Truly a bitter drink."

"Don't just call it bitter wine; even if it's poison, we must drink it all." Likewise, draining the Blue Blood wine, Ginijis observed the crimson residue in the glass.

"After this battle, advance on Thousand River Valley before fiscal collapse, amassing sufficient Immortal Army, then push onto Windmill Land." Ginijis seemed casually to speak, "We need to win a great victory in Windmill Land, hurt the Falans, make them bleed, keep them from going north for thirty years, only then can we clear the great nobles within Leia."

"Even Champion Knights can't win all the time."

"I'm a man with one foot in the grave, betting everything on myself. Betting means possible death, not betting means certain death, so let's gamble."

"You Lanfeng family, all are gamblers."

"My grandfather won the bet, so he became King Leia. My father lost the bet, so he missed the chance to defeat Falan." Ginijis lifted his goblet like shaking a dice cup, "Now it's my turn."

"But once you utilize the Immortal Army to achieve your goals, can you truly resist continuing to drink this poison cup?" After emptying the drink, Raffel seemed to age significantly.

"Who knows?" Pouring himself another glass, Ginijis reclined in the chair, sipping, "The Blue Blood Monastery has over a hundred years of history, and wasn't it only uncovered recently?"