The unobstructed moonlight poured down.
Splash~
The fountain in the center of the courtyard gurgled with water, making a clear sound, and in the setting of the night, it exuded a faint silver glow.
The entire courtyard was somewhat quiet at this moment.
Renners stood quietly beside Lyle, a hint of ease in her eyes.
Imina stood not far away, leaning against a statue, her expression subtly tinged with embarrassment; she felt that in this situation, she shouldn't be here.
The scene of Renners swearing allegiance still shocked Imina.
If it had been before, she would have felt fine being here, but now, she had a feeling that she had suddenly become an outsider.
Imina glanced at Lyle, who was deep in thought, then her amber eyes flicked to Renners's fully exposed face.
Is it because of this?
This thought flashed through Imina's mind; Renners's situation was no secret in the Empire.
Seemingly sensing Imina's gaze, Renners turned and nodded at Imina.
The thoughts and feelings between the two women.
Lyle wasn't concerned about them right now; Renners's sudden allegiance was completely unexpected, but it made a long-held idea resurface in his mind.
Build a force!
Lyle had indeed had this idea before, but it was only an idea.
Besides the reason that he had no manpower.
Most importantly, even with enough manpower, how large a force could be built in four years? Even after the arrival of the 'Great Tomb of Nazarick', there would still be about a year of buffer time, but it would make no difference.
His opponents were not the native forces of this world.
Even a massive underground organization like Eight Fingers, which spanned an entire country, was instantly and devastatingly destroyed the moment it encountered the Great Tomb.
Underground forces?
This wasn't a game of make-believe.
Don't be so narrow-minded!
Lyle knew very well what could help him in the future.
While Bone King still suffered from persecution paranoia, wanting to display his power by wantonly slaughtering hundreds of thousands to prove it, and also wanting to show his benevolent rule and friendliness—while these human weaknesses still existed.
The only thing that could provide him assistance and barely contend with the Great Tomb was at the national level!
After a brief silence.
"What was the outcome of this year's war between the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Baharuth Empire?"
Lyle suddenly asked.
Renners instinctively opened her lips, but quickly froze, as she hadn't paid attention to that aspect.
"The Re-Estize Kingdom is in a rather bad state."
Imina's calm voice came from the side, "This time, it's not even harvest season yet, though I'm not sure why the Empire suddenly launched a war."
"But because of it, the Re-Estize Kingdom's border garrisons suffered heavy losses."
Renners looked up, her deep blue eyes on Imina, a hint of surprise in her gaze.
She hadn't expected a half-elf, and a lone worker at that, to be interested in the Empire's war.
"Without intelligence support from the Adventurer's Guild."
"As a Worker, one naturally has to gather information oneself, so any news has a certain value." Imina turned her face and spoke coldly.
Lyle nodded, deep in thought.
Regarding the events before the start of the plot, there were only two incidents between the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Baharuth Empire that left a deep impression on him.
One was this year's Imperial Tournament, where Gazef, the future 'Warrior Captain', appeared.
The other was two years later, when Gazef single-handedly killed two of the Empire's 'Four Knights' on the border battlefield; Renners was chosen as one of the new Four Knights by the Blood Emperor at that time.
These two events seemed to have no clear connection, but between them, there was actually a clear thread.
This year, the Kingdom suffered heavy losses, and the Empire won a great victory.
Two years later, it was impossible for the Blood Emperor to suddenly send two 'Four Knights' to join the battlefield for no reason.
This meant that something must have happened in the autumn of next year that caused significant losses for the Empire.
"Renners, your slaughter of two noble families shouldn't be kept secret for long."
Lyle looked at Renners helplessly.
The original Renners had relied on the Blood Emperor's power to deal with her own family and her fiancé's family.
But now she had done it herself.
These were two different concepts.
It was only a matter of time before suspicion fell on Renners, and given the Blood Emperor's personality, such a challenge to his authority would inevitably lead to a warrant.
"I've caused trouble for Milord."
Renners also realized this, her pale cheeks looking a little grim as she bit her lip.
Suddenly!
Renners abruptly turned and looked at Imina, who was standing not far away.
"Hey, Tang!"
Imina was startled, immediately spread her hands, took a step back, and forced a stiff smile:
"Does your adventurer team still need people?"
She had already realized that what was just said was not suitable for her, an outsider, to hear.
The familiar words rang out.
A strange look appeared in Renners's deep blue pupils.
"No, we are not recruiting."
Lyle still shook his head as before, "However, do you want to take on a big business deal abroad?"
"Yes!" Imina immediately said.
"Milord." Renners's eyes held suspicion.
"It's fine."
Lyle smiled indifferently, saying,
"Your matter couldn't be kept secret anyway, and I didn't plan to stay in the Baharuth Empire for long."
He was actually quite interested in Imina, not because of her appearance, but because of her half-elf identity.
As a hybrid of human and elf, a half-elf's talent should be higher than that of a normal human, and because of her mixed blood, Imina wasn't actually very well-regarded by the people of this world.
"You two prepare yourselves and leave the Baharuth Empire now, heading to the capital of the Re-Estize Kingdom."
"Renners, try to be as high-profile as possible on this journey. Once you reach the capital, do not conceal your identity."
Lyle's gaze flickered slightly as he assigned Renners her next task: "Then find a person named Gazef; he's very famous, so it shouldn't be difficult to inquire about his whereabouts."
"Try to fight him. You don't need to win; a draw or even a defeat is fine."
Renners looked a little confused, but still placed her hand on her shoulder and nodded respectfully: "Yes, Milord."
"Miss Imina." Lyle said.
"Just call me Imina."
Imina rolled her eyes.
"You don't need to be high-profile; try not to let anyone know your relationship with Renners. Once you reach the capital, investigate an organization called 'Eight Fingers'."
"You don't actually need to investigate; selling this information should make someone target you. Just ensure your own safety."
Lyle moved his sleeve and threw a mithril dagger to Imina.
It was the mithril dagger he had found on one of Eight Fingers' members.
"Milord, what about you?" Renners asked, a little worried.
"I still have some matters to attend to in the Imperial Capital. You two go ahead, and we'll meet in the Royal Capital." Lyle said softly, looking up at the deep night sky.
If he was going to plan, the sooner the better!
He wondered if Blue Rose was in the Royal Capital now. Even if not, there was something in the Royal Capital worth his planning.
He wasn't in a hurry originally, but doing it now would be good.