The two guards at the door stood like statues, holding their spears and not moving an inch. One of them sneaked a glance at Gray and then looked away.
"Hello, I'm here to pledge my allegiance to your lord," Gray said.
The two guards continued to stand motionless.
"Hello, I'm here to pledge my allegiance to your lord. Could you please introduce me?" Gray said again.
The two guards remained motionless.
"Hello..."
"Do you have a title?" the taller guard finally spoke.
"No, but I'll have one once I pledge my allegiance to your lord."
The guard gave Gray a disdainful look, "Sorry, our lord doesn't take in rogue knights. Who's to say you aren't a beggar in knight's armor?"
The other guard laughed, "Maybe he's wearing a Lich too. Hahaha."
Gray was startled.
"What's the matter? Got a problem?" the tall guard said, raising an eyebrow.
"No, I think you're absolutely right." Gray quickly turned and climbed onto his Bone Horse, riding away in shame.
Watching Gray's retreating back, the shorter guard muttered to himself, "Do you think this guy is crazy? I thought he'd say something more or perhaps bribe us. But he just left?"
"Probably some fool from the backwoods," the tall guard replied.
...
"Did I just give myself away?"
"I don't think so."
"If not, then why did he mention 'wearing a Lich'?"
"He was just joking."
"Do all you humans like to joke about Liches? What a twisted sense of humor!"
"Uh..." the Black Cat said speechlessly, "Why are you sometimes so bold and sometimes so scared to death?"
"As long as he doesn't think I'm a Lich, I have nothing to fear."
Hiding in an alley, Gray peeked out to observe the guards at the gate from a distance.
From another alley behind him, another head popped out. Pas was watching him from a distance.
"Who do you think this guy is? He seems very interested in the Earl's castle. Just now, he even seemed to try to get in."
"Could he be a noble?"
"If he were a noble, he should be wearing a badge. Let's keep an eye on him, maybe we can recruit him."
Before long, an Attendant came out of the castle and posted a notice on the bulletin board. Passersby gathered around it.
Gray led his horse over as well.
"This afternoon, the knights under Count Caspar will duel with the knights of the Beisher Family. If the knights of the Beisher Family win, Count Caspar will swear allegiance to Miss Yilin Beixier. If Count Caspar's knights win, Miss Yilin Beixier will accept Charles Kaspar's proposal. All residents of the city are invited to witness... What does this mean?"
"I think it's pretty literal. Beisher, hmm... could be Duke Beisher's daughter. A great lord. Charles Kaspar could be Count Caspar himself, or maybe Count Caspar's son, who knows?"
"I mean, if all the city's residents are invited to witness, does that mean I can go?"
"Probably."
"Then I can meet the lord!" Suddenly, Gray's eyes lit up.
The Black Cat curled its eyes inside Gray's helmet.
...
Castle tower, Yilin's room.
In Yilin's room, all the subordinates she brought, including Abi Robbs and Huoersi, were gathered together, each with a somber expression.
"Why agree to such terms?" Huoersi was the first to explode.
"Because he would only agree to these terms," Yilin emphasized.
"Then don't negotiate with him at all! These people can't hold us, we can just fight our way out!"
"And then?" Yilin asked, "After that, where do we find help? Count Caspar is our last hope. Without him, how do we face the King's army?"
Huoersi's eyes widened, he clenched his fist, but could only fall silent.
"We shouldn't have come at all." A young knight beside him spit on the ground, angrily saying, "This is clearly a trap. He wants us to think he's undecided, then catch us off guard. He never intended to offend the King for Miss Yilin, nor to shed blood for the Beisher Family."
Every knight present had eyes filled with anger, yet they were helpless.
Only Yilin remained as calm as ever.
She said calmly, "We have no retreat. We never had one, not since we refused the King's arbitration and decided to walk this path together. For our names, we have no retreat. Count Caspar is just one of the many obstacles we need to overcome."
The room fell silent as everyone looked at Yilin quietly.
"As the thirteenth heir of the Beisher Family, I, Yilin Beibela Beixier, hope you will all walk with me to the end and share in the fruits of victory. Along the way, we will bleed, we will sacrifice, and we may never reach the end. But no matter what, your names will be forever remembered. The Beisher Family will remember your loyalty until it ceases to exist."
With a clang, everyone struck their chest armor and stood at attention.
Huoersi, maintaining the position of striking his chest armor, said loudly, "Those still here won't retreat. No one ever doubted their choice. We... we just want to know what's next."
"How many of us are there?" Yilin asked Huoersi softly.
"Only eleven with knight titles, Count Caspar has far more knights. Even if we each take down two, that's only twenty-two."
"What about those who can fight but don't have knight titles?"
"That..."
Seeing Huoersi's hesitation, Yilin slowly said, "All knight attendants are immediately promoted to knights. I'll bestow the titles on them."
"That makes twenty-five, still not enough. Far from enough."
Yilin took out a bag of Gold Coins and threw it to Abi Robbs, "Go find the Mercenary Group in the city, bring them all here. Take my badge, get as many men as you can."
"Will Count Caspar agree to this?"
"He already agreed. I told him I had another group arriving today and sent you to pick them up."
Abi Robbs silently saluted and hurried out the door.
Glancing around at everyone, Yilin expressionlessly said, "All others, rest well. Do your best this afternoon."
"Yes!"
Everyone in the room had a solemn expression, harboring a determination to die if necessary.
At this moment, Yilin and the knights loyal to her were undoubtedly facing the greatest predicament of their lives, yet also experiencing the greatest opportunity.
She had no idea that a great shadow was approaching her. The master of this shadow was a short and peculiar Lich. At least, he had been short before modifying his body to fit the armor.