"What do you mean by that?" Heinz took a sip of tea and asked, looking into Aiden’s eyes.

"The ’Land of the Curse’ is the stronghold of the Death God and the Blood Moon Cult that serves him. In other words, the Blood Moon Cult’s base is within your Gistastonian Kingdom. Mr. Bloodcloak is now leading the Blood Moon Cult. Are you planning to just watch this evil cult grow stronger?" Aiden asked.

The royal secret police was an extremely important source of intelligence for him. Now that a formidable enemy was at hand, Heinz was considering withdrawing his own forces, and it was necessary for Aiden to persuade him to continue cooperating.

With an intelligence advantage, the power of "Order" could perfectly suppress the opponent. He had to cherish every source of information.

"Although ’The Land of the Curse’ is a dangerous place, over the past hundred years, its power has remained very stable, posing no threat to the surrounding areas or the Kingdom. Honestly, in our eyes, the Blood Moon Cult of The Land of the Curse and the witches’ convent of Banquet Forest aren’t too different from each other," Heinz replied calmly. "On the contrary, if we actively become enemies with them, it might cause them to turn their aggression towards us."

"The reason the Death God has remained quiet is that he was infested during a duel with other sovereigns in the past, which is why he continues to be in a dormant state," Aiden explained. "Now that Mr. Bloodcloak is his proxy, if he succeeds in ascending, he might be able to assist the Death God out of his infestation. Don’t forget, the plague that once ran rampant in the Old Lese Kingdom was the Death God’s masterpiece. That land now belongs to your territory."

"The Death God’s actions against the Old Lese Kingdom had to do with the power held by the Harvest Mother Cult, didn’t it? Our country doesn’t possess what the Death God wants," Heinz maintained his calm demeanor. "An uncontrollable deity is a threat to royal authority, but rashly setting off such a bomb without a way to safely neutralize the threat is an unwise choice."

"The most prudent approach would be to eradicate it while it still is a dud," Aiden countered calmly. "Indeed, the Death God does not want what is in your hands, but rather what is in the hands of the witches’ convent. Imagine, if the Death God regains his power, he would see Banquet Forest as a target. If he continues to use that Land of the Curse as his base, where do you think the conflict between him and the witches’ convent will happen? Moreover, the Death God can only manipulate the undead. If he needs soldiers, where do you think he will ’recruit’ them from?"

"..." Heinz fell silent.

Part of Banquet Forest is also within the borders of the Gistastonian Kingdom, and The Land of the Curse, where the Death God dwells, is also within the Kingdom. If a conflict between the Death God-led Blood Moon Cult and the witches’ convent were to arise, the Kingdom would undoubtedly be affected.

"Even if the Death God has no direct conflicts of interest with you, it’s still in your best interest to keep him in his current state. He is not a ruler who abides by the rules. For you, having him bound to The Land of the Curse is the safest option," Aiden urged while the iron was hot.

Sovereigns possess the power to trample over the rules of mortals. Allowing a sovereign to act wantonly is undoubtedly a threat to a country’s order. By keeping a sovereign who disregards the rules contained, order is secured. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Because of continuous erosion of his spirit, the current Death God is like a prisoner in a jail, confined within Gistastonian territory, spending most of his time in slumber. For the Gistastonian Kingdom, this is the ideal state.

"So, do we have no choice but to place our bets on you?" Heinz cut to the heart of Aiden’s goal.

"I consider myself to be a fairly reliable partner. At any rate, you wouldn’t acknowledge an evil cult rooted within your own borders, would you?" Aiden spread his hands.

"You’re good at calculating, Warden Your Excellency," Heinz let out a sigh. "But how confident are you in your odds?"

"It seems you don’t have much faith in me," Aiden laughed with some helplessness. "Don’t worry, I have already ascended to sainthood. I do have a fair chance."

"You’re joking, right?" Heinz squinted his eyes.

"Whether you choose to believe is up to you," Aiden replied indifferently. "But it’s probably better to just prove it directly."

Aiden picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea while uttering the divine word of "law."

"Proclaim the rule, the tea on this table, cease to flow."

No sooner had he spoken than the water pouring from the teapot halted as if frozen, and the tea in the cup did the same, instantly solidifying, even the ripples immobilized.

Heinz’s eyes widened slightly.

"Rule revoked," Aiden said calmly.

The tea began to flow again, filling the cup with a splashing sound.

After a long silence, Heinz let out a deep sigh, "It seems I have underestimated you, Warden."

He thought for a moment, then attempted to ask, "Can you tell me how you managed to in such a short time..."

"That would be personal secrecy," Aiden interrupted before he could finish.

"All right, I shouldn’t have asked," Heinz gave up quickly.

"So, Earl Hofman, what do you plan to do?" Aiden lifted his teacup.

After brief contemplation, Heinz presented his terms, "We continue to provide you with intelligence but will not engage in direct conflict. Besides, Sera must be extradited as soon as possible."

Watching the Blood Moon Cult’s growth was a threat to the Kingdom, and now, growing into a saint, Aiden Galahad as an ally was more reliable than before—it was a time to curry favor by providing intelligence, why not do it?

"It’s enough," Aiden agreed without hesitation, "Now, what’s the Blood Moon Cult up to in Silvertown? Your network there should be quite substantial, shouldn’t it?"

Silvertown was a free trade city within the autonomous region set against the Gistastonians Kingdom, where over one-tenth of the city’s permanent population were Gistastonians. The secret police had spy agents even in Silvertown, so there must be an even tighter spy network in Silvertown.

"I did receive a piece of new intelligence..." Heinz said, downplaying the significance, "it seems that the Blood Moon Cult is now actively recruiting female followers—not to say they no longer recruit men, but according to the internal intelligence provided by an informant, the orders given to the lower-ranking followers show a gender preference in their recruitment."

"Recruiting women?" Aiden frowned and pondered for a moment. This kind of nonsense was often the doing of many folk cults, with the sole purpose of making it convenient for the cult leader to prey on more female followers. Could Mr. in the bloodied attire afford to entertain such notions now?

Two seconds later, Aiden’s eyes widened—he understood.

"This is also one of the reasons why we’ve decided to extradite Sera ahead of time," Heinz said with a serious face, "Obviously, the Blood Moon Cult is prepared to infiltrate your prison in the most traditional way."