The Lich of Glory Knight Spirit: Moving towards Krimasha!
Chapter 191 - 15: Black Dragon City_2

Chapter 191: Chapter 15: Black Dragon City_2

"Dragon God?" Gray was taken aback.

"Yes, Dragon God. The Gustav Royal Family has always been under Dragon God’s protection." Cedric V smiled and continued, "Dragon God not only told me that you are a Lich but also shared many interesting things with me. For example, you have an agreement with the Holy Spirit: if your Lich identity is exposed and humans hunt you down, the Holy Spirit will abandon you. And you have a contract with the Demon Lord, who lends you his power through that contract. I know all of this."

Gray listened quietly, gazing at Cedric V, while the soul fire in his eye sockets burned wildly.

Vivian’s eyes had widened, and she held her breath.

Even the Black Cat was stunned.

Cedric V chuckled softly, his eyes half-closed as if sleepy, but his voice was exceptionally clear. He said leisurely, "I tell you this first to make sure you are careful in the upcoming conversation. To avoid any unpleasant experiences. After all, we both want this meeting to end pleasantly for both sides, don’t we?"

"What if I refuse?" Gray retorted.

"Gray! They haven’t even made a request yet, and you’re gonna refuse?" The Black Cat shrieked in horror.

Vivian also quickly looked over at Gray, frightened.

"I haven’t even said what I want, Holy Knight, and you’re going to refuse me?" Cedric V asked softly.

"I just want to know the consequences of refusing," Gray said fearlessly. "Your manner of speaking and your methods make me think what you want won’t be a fair agreement."

"Why would you expect it to be a fair agreement?" Cedric V laughed, coughed lightly twice, and said, "I won’t ask for anything, promise to keep your secret, and then post the agreement at the city gate. Do you think that counts as a fair agreement?"

Gray looked silently at Cedric V.

"No, it’s not a fair agreement. It’s not even a valid agreement." Cedric V shook his head and continued, "Because once it becomes public, the agreement loses its meaning. You are a Lich; your agreements inherently lack fairness."

Before Gray could respond, the Black Cat screamed again, "Gray! I think you should listen to what he has to say! Just listen first! If it doesn’t work, refuse later! Please don’t refuse directly!"

Vivian chimed in, "Gray, he knows the specifics of your agreement with the Holy Spirit. This is different from the cardinals... and the Gustav Royal Family has the Dragon God’s protection! I think he’s telling the truth!"

Both sides remained deadlocked, with Gray staring at Cedric V, and the soul fire in his eye sockets crackling.

Cedric V smiled from his throne, watching Gray.

The Black Cat and Vivian were trembling with tension.

After a while, Gray finally whispered, "Go ahead, what kind of agreement do you want?"

"I want you to not interfere with any of my policies. Remember, any. You and your controlled church. I don’t need your support much but require you to remain neutral in all matters."

"Even if you commit evil, you want me to remain neutral?"

"’Evil’? Ha-ha-ha, that word stings. I would love to embellish it with other terms, but objectively speaking, yes. I require you not to interfere in any of my affairs, to hand over the ecclesiastical power within Gustav, including the appointment and removal of bishops, to me, including the power to ’commit evil,’ and the right to declare war freely. To be precise, I want to become the common emperor of humanity. I think you understand my meaning."

The Black Cat’s eye corners twitched.

Gray answered loudly, "A Holy Knight will not stand idly by in the face of evil."

"But your Lich identity requires you to turn a blind eye to certain things." Cedric V spread his hands.

"This violates my oath. Your request tramples on my faith."

"Everyone’s faith is compromised, and as a Lich, you should be no exception."

"But I refuse such compromise. If I accepted, I would not use an oath to bind myself, would not conflict with the church, nor stand before you in this form, unable to provide what you want."

"So, is this a breakdown in negotiations?" Cedric V slowly closed his eyes.

"I believe so. We cannot reach a consensus in the direction you hope for." Gray answered softly, still watching Cedric V.

The atmosphere in the entire hall quickly became oppressive.

The Black Cat and Vivian were stunned.

...

In less than an hour, the negotiations ended. This usually means one of two things: either the negotiations went exceptionally well and finished quickly, or they went exceptionally poorly, becoming impossible to continue.

Clearly, the negotiations between Gray and Cedric V belonged to the latter.

When Gray exited the hall, the Black Cat was at a loss, "What now? He knows everything! If he declares war on you, we’re finished! The Holy Spirit will immediately join the hunt! What should we do?"

"Gray, can you communicate with the Demon Lord?" Vivian’s breathing was rapid, "You’d better ask the Demon Lord yourself. If the Holy Spirit hunts us down, will he abandon us immediately? After all, you won’t be a Holy Knight anymore and can’t do what he wants..."

Gray remained calm as if nothing had happened.

A Black-armored Knight blocked Gray’s path and whispered, "Holy Knight, His Majesty thinks that since you rarely visit Black Dragon City, you should stay a few more days to take this opportunity to reconcile your views. I have already arranged accommodations for you and your subordinates."

Turning back, Gray saw Cedric V sitting on the throne, smiling and holding a glass of wine, watching him.

"Alright," Gray replied softly.

"Great, he’s still willing to talk, which means there’s still a chance!" The Black Cat finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Vivian looked stunned, "Did he just talk to the attendant?"

"What do you mean?" The Black Cat was puzzled.

"He didn’t! That means he’s using magic sensing like Gray and me!"

"He’s a Mage?"

"But there’s no magic fluctuation on him!"

"Then what’s going on?"

"I don’t know, I’m starting to doubt what’s under those masks of the emperor’s aides!"

"They can’t all be dragons..."

The Black Cat and Vivian discussed.

Gray calmly followed the Black-armored Knight down the steps.

Bishop Gustav had already left and was not waiting for him at the steps.

The Black-armored Knight led Gray along the long, wide Gustav Palace Avenue.

...

At this moment, in Black Dragon Hall, two shadows emerged from the giant dragon totem painting behind Cedric V, circling him like a black mist.

The scene was extremely eerie, with the emperor’s aides around him standing like silent statues, as if nothing had happened.

"This Lich is not a good negotiation partner," said a female voice.

"No Lich would be a good negotiation partner, we’ve always known that. We just didn’t expect this one to be difficult because of faith? Faith is a maddening thing. It looks like he really has transformed himself into a saint, inside and out," said a male voice.

Cedric V raised his head, the former dignity gone, looking like a confused old man, and asked, "As your servant, what should I do, honorable Dragon God?"

"What to do? That is difficult," said the male voice. "I thought he would submit but apparently not. Try to negotiate with him. His cooperation would benefit us more than exposing him. Of course, if his willingness to cooperate is less valuable than exposing him, we’ll have to force Heaven to hunt him down. After all, tarnishing the church’s reputation is also a benefit to us."

"As you command, honorable Dragon God," Cedric replied.