From Prisoner to Si Chen

The two leading kings looked towards the envoys and stared at the purple-eyed young man.

Lenis, Moody and other members of the envoy team suddenly felt the pressure and looked nervous.

"Elder Plank's concerns are very reasonable and I can understand them."

Gilan nodded and smiled.

He glanced at the elders and chief prosecutor across the table, and then looked at the two kings.

"For this point, we have another alternative plan. You may wish to listen to it..."

"If the 'Iron-Blooded Royal Court' is worried that the 'Whale Oil Batteries' will be monopolized by Bremen and uses this as a threat, then we can give away an oil purification technology for free."

When they heard "free gift", everyone present became interested.

Elder Plank's eyes narrowed.

Then I heard the purple-eyed young man explain:

"After the purification of this technology, the combustion of oil will become more efficient. Based on this, by adding some special materials, we can create 'petroleum crystals'."

"This can be regarded as a substitute for the 'whale oil battery'. It can also be used on the 'water transfer terminal' to make it operate normally... Although the efficiency is inferior and the cost is higher, the Stuttgart Empire is rich in oil resources. We can produce it ourselves, so we don’t have to import it from Bremen.”

As he spoke, Jilan took out a confidential document in a serious manner, placed it gently on the table, tapped it twice with his index finger, and said with a smile.

But everyone in the envoy group on the side looked surprised.

They exchanged glances calmly, and saw confusion on each other's faces.

Because Lenis, Moody and others have never heard of any alternatives, let alone "petroleum crystallization".

In fact, this was a temporary solution that Gillan came up with.

Naturally, it does not exist in the original negotiation plan.

Of course, this kind of purification technology is nothing to Gillan, who has mastered alchemy to an advanced level.

Even the "confidential document" on the table was secretly made by him just now when no one was paying attention.

As soon as these words came out, the elders and prosecutors who were originally frowning began to whisper among themselves.

"I think Mr. Gillan's alternative is a good one. If we can get new technology for free, use 'petroleum crystals' as the main energy source, and then purchase a certain amount of 'whale oil batteries' from Bremen, we don't have to worry too much about monopoly." The water shortage problem can be solved.”

At this time, Duke Hawkes said loudly.

Many people nodded in agreement.

There was a hint of gloom in Gangplank's eyes. He glanced at the elders around him calmly, and then said:

"By the way, I saw that the document also mentioned the so-called 'Western Source Plan', which requires building a 'water transfer terminal' on the far western coast, and then laying underground pipelines to transport purified seawater back to Stuttgart. Other areas…”

"Such a workload is unimaginably huge, and I'm afraid it won't be completed overnight."

As he said that, the white-haired old man turned to look at the main seat.

"Your Majesty Russell, Your Majesty Amur, I think this matter needs to be considered in the long term. Why don't we let Mr. Gillan and the others temporarily stay in Klein to perform their duties as landlords, and at the same time, we can have more time to discuss and consider it?"

"Ocean King" Amul nodded, looked at everyone, and asked calmly:

"What do you mean?"

"I think Elder Planck is right. This matter is of great importance, so it's better to take a long-term approach."

A wrinkled elder said solemnly.

Subsequently, more than a dozen elders and chief prosecutors expressed their support.

Although Duke Hawkes and a few elders agreed with Gillan's proposal, their voices were drowned out by Plank and others.

"In that case, Mr. Gillan and the Bremen envoys will enjoy the lunch first, stay at the palace later, and discuss cooperation later."

Amul said lightly.

Russell next to him still kept a smile and said softly to Gillan:

"Actually, Mr. Gillan's proposal is not bad. Bremen is willing to give away new technology for free. I can see your sincerity... However, I also fully agree with the caution of my brother and the elders."

"Envoys, please stay peacefully and spend the next few days exploring Klein. Although the place is not as technologically advanced as Bremen, it still has a different kind of prosperity."

"Yes, His Majesty Russell, His Majesty Amul."

Ji Lan took the lead and stood up, saluting with the envoys towards the throne of honor. Immediately, he sat down and started eating again.

At a moment when no one else noticed, his eyes were solemn.

His spiritual vision swept over Gangplank and noticed the proud smile on his face, and Gilan's heart sank.

Of course he knew that this was a delaying tactic by the other party, deliberately delaying time and using this method to prevent the two sides from cooperating.

But Guillen had no better way.

Now I have no choice but to obey the arrangements of the two kings.

However, Gillan also saw that "Sky King" Russell, as the leader of the moderate faction, he and Duke Hawkes and others are not opposed to cooperation with Bremen.

But the problem is that the hardliners on the side of "Ocean King" Amul currently hold the right to speak in the "Iron-Blooded Royal Court".

Ji Lan sighed secretly.

‘Let’s find another chance. ’

…

…

After the meal, one of the royal court elders named Doroteo found Gilan and said that someone would take them to visit Klein tomorrow.

It is considered as part of the exchange visit.

Doroteo's other identity is that of the Foreign Minister of the "Iron-Blooded Royal Court", and he belongs to the hard-line side.

In the next period of time, he will be responsible for receiving the Bremen envoys.

Although Doroteo was polite on the surface and had no faults in his behavior and conversation, Gillan still sensed indifference from the other party with his keen perception.

But Jilan pretended not to know, kept smiling throughout the process, and readily accepted the other party's arrangement.

Afterwards, under the guidance of the other party, he led the envoys to stay at the foreign guests' residence in the palace.

That night.

An aristocratic city ten kilometers away from the palace.

A cathedral stands majestically.

Its area is extremely exaggerated, reaching almost tens of thousands square meters. There are hundreds of meters of lawn green areas, cemeteries and fences around.

This is the "Scar Cathedral" with a history of thousands of years, and it is also the largest church in the Stuttgart Empire. Inside, it can even accommodate tens of thousands of believers to pray and watch services at the same time.

An ordinary carriage was driving on the gravel road in the church district at night.

Soon, he passed through several giant arches, entered the hinterland of the church, and stopped in front of one of the ancient buildings.

A blue-eyed man in a formal dress stepped out of the carriage. He held his cane, followed by two servants, and walked into the ancient building.

In the attic on the top floor, an old man in red robe was worshiping the "Image of Father Without Head and Scar", surrounded by burning candles.

Crunch.

Crunch.

The green-eyed man stepped on the old wooden steps and arrived at the attic. He stopped not far behind the old man in red robe, clubbed his cane, and said directly:

"Priest of Sin, I need a favor from you."

"..."

The old man did not answer, but continued to kowtow to the stone statue.

His forehead hit the wooden floor hard, making a dull thud, leaving some blood stains, and his messy white hair flying.

After the old man kowtowed for the last time, he knelt on the ground and maintained his posture for a long time.

"Winter Snake..." He buried his head and said hoarsely. "Although the 'White Dove Tower' is in alliance with my 'Ascetic Sect', you should know the special status of me."

"The 'Scar Church' in Stuttgart is the origin of the secret society and is a holy place for ascetics like us. If I help you, I will probably lose everything."

"Of course I know." The green-eyed man smiled. "If it weren't for the difficult target, I wouldn't be looking for you."

He said, eyes narrowed.

"The plan in the tower is at a critical stage, and it's not convenient for me to take action... Help me this time, in exchange for equal value, and I will help you in the future."

"..." The old man in red robe fell into silence.

After a while.

"Who is the target?" he asked.

"Gilan Iros." The green-eyed man said a name. "He has a level 6 'traitor' spiritual disc stone in his hand. I need you to help me get it back."

"Kill him if you can."

"I know this person..."

The red-robed old man groaned.

"Two long-term members of the sect died at his hands, and he seems to have become Bremen's foreign minister."

"Yes, he is currently arriving in Klein with a delegation of envoys for an exchange visit with the 'Iron-Blooded Royal Court'."

Winter Snake said.

"Tomorrow morning, he will come here with Minister Doroteo and the accompanying ceremonial group for a visit..."

"It seems that you have already made arrangements."

The old man in red robe said indifferently.

Winter Snake chuckled.

"It's just convenient for you to take action."

"Do you know his exact strength?" the old man asked again.

"Level 4 Kuze has taken the path of a 'director'... However, according to the intelligence analysis in the tower, he seems to have found a new path and essence on his own based on the spiral of the furnace sword."

Winter Snake said.

"Its ability is similar to that of a 'makeup artist', but its actual combat ability is far stronger than the average level 4, and it is especially good at physical skills and swordsmanship."

"Create a road alone?" the old man murmured. "I didn't expect that in this new era, there would be such fearless pioneers..."

"I will help you, but I can't guarantee success. If it's impossible, I won't even take action."

"Priest Sin, you are too cautious."

Winter Snake shook his head.

"Although Gilan Yiros's actual combat skills are good, he is limited to level 4 after all. If you beat him to level 4 with level 5, you are still calculating mentally and unintentionally. Under the surprise attack, he will not be able to escape unscathed..."

"But don't forget his identity."

The red-robed old man sneered.

"As the core leader of Bremen, he probably has a trump card. And you underestimate the 'Iron-Blooded Royal Court' too much. Even if you have infiltrated the aristocratic forces, there is still a 'temple' behind the Royal Court... How can you be sure? , Will the Blade Hall warriors accompany you secretly to protect you?”

"You don't need to worry about that." Winter Snake shrugged. "If the 'Temple' intervenes, I will send people to stop it."

After that, he picked up his cane and turned to leave.

…

…

Early the next morning.

Gilan and the envoys enjoyed a very high-level breakfast banquet at Klein Palace.

The two kings did not show up.

After eating, Gilan and his entourage left directly with Minister Doroteo.

The accompanying ceremonial group was large in number, more than twenty people, all of whom were noble children. There are also several elite guards from the royal court accompanying them to ensure the safety of the envoys.

The procession of carriages traveled along the avenue.

The members of the envoy group were sitting on the carriage, looking at the exotic street scenes along the way, and couldn't help but whisper to each other.

Stuttgart is worthy of being one of the three major overlords on the mainland, and its prosperity far exceeds that of western kingdoms like Fosaka.

Compared with the developed cities of Bremen, here there are also high-rise buildings, spacious roads and various high-end shops. However, there are not many cars on the road, and there is a lack of tall chimneys and factories.

But there are more ancient monuments preserved here, and even the air seems to be filled with the charm of long history.

"...Sir, I heard that the 'Scar Cathedral' we are going to visit belongs to the church that believes in the old god 'Father Scar'?"

The carriage shook slightly, and a young woman from the envoy sitting opposite Gilan spoke.

Jilan looked away from the window, nodded and said:

"good."

"This..." The young female messenger frowned slightly. "I never expected that the national religion of the Stuttgart Empire was the old god Si Sui."

The other members also shook their heads and sighed.

After all, in the Bremen Empire, the old god beliefs were all cults and obscene sacrifices that violated the "blasphemous order".

As natives of Bremen, they also have no good impressions of the old gods.

"The faith of the Stuttgart Empire is not only the First Division, but also the March Division 'Gladiators' and their apostles."

Moody said from the side.

"The culture here is different from Bremen. There is no need to be hostile, just look at it objectively."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

After a while.

The motorcade drove into the Scar Cathedral area. The people sitting on the carriage couldn't help but marvel at the ancient buildings outside the window.

Gillan's eyes were deep.

These church buildings seem to span thousands of years and tell him historical stories.

Based on the outline and arrangement of the building, Gillan easily recalled the "Klein Colosseum" in "Legend of the Invincible".

'This church area should have been built on the original site of the Colosseum...'

He thought to himself, sighing silently.

Not long after.

The Bremen envoys got out of the car and visited the church area.

The accompanying liturgists introduced the sculptures, architecture and paintings in the church area to the envoys one by one.

Gilan and Minister Doroteo walked side by side on the stone road, listening to each other's explanation and nodding.

At this moment, his gnosis suddenly gave a warning.

sand!

Ji Lan felt a chill in her heart and stopped.

He did not look back, but used all his spiritual vision to scan an ancient building on the left rear.

However, the building was empty and there was no one around.

As for the palpitations that just appeared, it seemed to be just his own illusion and no longer existed.

'What's going on...'

Ji Lan frowned secretly.

On the surface, he remained calm and continued to walk, but in his heart he became more vigilant.

More than ten minutes later.

The envoy group arrived at a square in the church district. In the center stood a seven or eight-meter-high headless stone statue of Father Scar.

Many believers were worshiping and praying around the open space, and some people stepped forward and put gold coins in the donation box beside the square.

Gillan noticed that behind the donation box, there was an ascetic sitting cross-legged.

It was an old man with white hair wearing a red robe.

Noticing Jilan's gaze, the old man cast a turbid gaze and looked at him.