Chapter 20: You Are All Mine

"..."

That is heresy.

No, he can only be a heretic. If he is not a heretic, then what does that make his own side? The Pilgrim Fleet? Pilgrims? He came here to open up new territory, to use the blood and death of the Norscans to sacrifice to his own fame.

The title he should possess is the Retriever of the Holy Grail; the name he should possess is that of the one who makes the Holy Grail shine once more. Not like this, watching helplessly as the other side brings out the Holy Grail and recruits them.

"... It is an illusion."

Sir Joshua wiped the cold sweat from his cheeks, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

"That is a sorcerous illusion, yes, everything is the work of sorcery, just like that grotesque illusion we saw just now. It must be that wizard; he studied our Holy Grail and then created an illusion to insult and deceive us."

His voice became increasingly fluent, and Joshua's train of thought stabilized as he kept speaking.

He was not a particularly pious man; for a knight who had crawled up from the bottom of the knightly class, actively carrying out the retrieval now was also for the sake of his own prestige.

A Holy Grail Knight who retrieves the Holy Grail—such an honor would be far greater than that of an Honorary Knight of a Knightly Order. He could even found a city of his own and become that legendary, celebrated existence. Instead of kneeling down to welcome the one truly blessed by the Holy Grail.

Yes, there is still a chance; as long as he joins forces with the Falcon Knights to crush that defenseless beachhead force, Joshua is confident he can persuade the others to let him become a Holy Grail Knight.

Even the serfs would not dare to gossip, because once he becomes a Holy Grail Knight, they could rise to become Knight Squires, or even Knights!

What a great reward that would be for those serfs! So it must be possible, it must be fine! "That is the wizard's trap; those Norscans and traitors must have made something, perhaps a tool left over from ancient times that triggered some laws."

Joshua's voice gradually became fluent, and looking at the knights under his command, he said with a somewhat shrill voice: "We will pretend we don't know anything. As soon as we reach the beachhead, we will ready our warhorses and sweep those scums and the wizard clean, just like we did in the past! No one can stop us from retrieving the Holy Grail again, let us make the Raccoon Knight Order great again—"

"Uncle, the Falcon Knights have already raised the flag of surrender, we do not have the advantage..."

"... What? How could they...?!"

Looking at the other Knightly Order's flagship, which had hoisted a pure white Iris Flag on its mast and had its knights line up on both sides of the deck holding their flags high, Joshua widened his eyes.

According to Joshua's own plan, he had intended to do the same.

After all, the other side had some captives, and it was not difficult to torture them to learn about the equipment and stories from the time of the Knightly Order's Chivalrous Expedition. So, one had to pretend to welcome the Holy Grail, but then strike a heavy blow when the opportunity arose.

But now, he had fallen into a strange predicament. If the Raccoon Knight Order thought the same way, then they had just happened to coincide, and the other side was faster than him.

In that case, even if he killed those barbarians, he would have no way to become the sole candidate for the Holy Grail Knight.

And if they were truly surrendering, then a navigator's warning would be needed, at least to make the other side stop their actions.

As for the navigator who delivered the message... he went mad a few days ago and was killed by Joshua himself.

It seemed there was no choice left.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Joshua slowly exhaled a breath.

"... We retreat."

"Uncle?"

"That wizard deceived the Falcon Knights; the Falcon Knights are no longer worthy of the title of the Holy Grail. And we have no navigator, so we cannot determine if the Holy Grail in that wizard's hand is real or fake, so we retreat." Joshua said very fluently, the expression on his face righteous and solemn, as if radiating light.

"We cannot let the blood of the Knightly Order be wasted here meaninglessly; we must go back and report the truth. We must get ahead of the bewitched Falcon Knights. They chose to abandon the Holy Grail themselves, and we have an obligation to tell everyone the truth. This is our mission."

"... Your will, Uncle."

Although the knightly class was not absolute, it was strictly hierarchical.

Even though many knights were somewhat confused, they still chose to trust their lord, silently turning the ships around, looking with some reluctance at the black land that was radiating brilliance.

Although no one said anything, many people already knew in their hearts that the black land was the Promised Land. Everything that happened this day, and the way Joshua had acted, had already been etched into the hearts of some.

Meanwhile, as the Raccoon Knight Order's flagship turned around and left, Oliver stood by Li Ang's side, frowning as he looked at the ships.

"The Raccoon Knight Order does not seem to have chosen to fight; they seem to have run away."

"Is that so? That is truly a pity; you have lost some compatriots."

Li Ang said casually, pointing to the sky at the edge of the coast.

Under the distortion of his will, the Magic wind caused the ships that had come to surrender to approach the shore ever faster, while those that were leaving were also sent off by a departing breeze.

Whether they were leaving or defecting, the ships all caused a small commotion because of this Wonder, especially the ships of the Raccoon Knight Order that were leaving.

He could even manipulate the winds and waves of the ocean to make the ships become more stable and fast; if he were truly an evil wizard, why not stop them from leaving, but instead send a blessing breeze upon their ships? "You are truly benevolent, my lord. You are unwilling to strike even against such attackers."

Watching the changes on the ocean, Oliver stood by Li Ang's side and said sincerely.

And Li Ang, with flickering eyes, lowered the palm he had been using to manipulate the Magic and looked at his cultural director.

"Then who do you think will make you happy?"

"My lord, without a doubt, it is you."

"Then in such a situation, is the meaning of me letting him go just to let him live in fear? I sent them away not because I am benevolent, but because I hope he will spread my story."

Li Ang looked at the large ships cheering as they approached, his voice slight yet firm.

"He is my eyes, an extension of my voice. As long as he can spread my story in the distance, sooner or later someone will take the initiative to come again. Whether it is an attack or a defection, they will become my people, and I will become 'us'. This is a good thing."

"You are always so far-sighted."

Oliver bowed respectfully and said, causing Li Ang to shrug his eyebrows indifferently.

"It is just going with the flow... Oh, the clay seems to be developed. Do you want to try making pottery? I personally find it very interesting."

"Is that the work of the serfs?"

"No, it is the work of our civilization. You, and I, we are all a part of this civilization. And the wisdom of this civilization is also our wisdom."

Watching the Knightly Order gradually approaching the shore, Li Ang walked over with a smile, saying as he walked: "Come, just in time, we all need to learn science and technology. After everyone gets used to life here, we can carry out our great Wonder construction. And this is the first step in our opening up of the Chaos Wasteland."

(End of this chapter)