Chapter 267: Faith Negotiations

"What do you mean?" Sinuoli poured a glass of wine for both Teclis and his master. Krag Master was not interested in politics; he remained here only to protect his disciple. He had also heard a little of the High Archmage's reputation, and meeting such a powerful figure confirmed that the reality lived up to the fame.

"Mortals seek Strength Rune, while the gods seek faith."

Teclis was as skilled in diplomatic rhetoric as most Elves. He took a sip of the liquid in his cup, and the words he spoke were equally measured.

"I think I understand!"

Sinuoli stroked the beard on his chest and thought to himself that this could be considered a case of planting a willow that grew into shade; originally, he had only considered the Knight Kingdom because the Empire Emperor was still hanging on the Book of Grudges.

As an Elf god, Lilisi's Authority was quite varied; Sinuoli knew of dreams, maidens, and the moon, but undoubtedly none of these were powerful. She was the daughter of Isha and Asuryan, a generation younger than the other Elf gods, and when it was her turn to ascend to godhood, only these scattered scraps remained.

Was the fact that she had to run over to the humans to start an alt account as the "Lady of the Lake" not clear proof that her divine power as an Elf god was insufficient? One must know that at that time, Elves looked at humans as if they were monkeys, let alone their gods.

The Lost Plateau could roughly be divided into the lands of two duchies. Assuming the Bretonnian desire to migrate was strong enough, if the population density of the two places were leveled out, the original Knight Kingdom's population would decrease by one-sixth.

Under these circumstances, if Sinuoli placed restrictions on the faith of the immigrants, the divine power of the Lady of the Lake would decrease accordingly. Considering that the alt account provided the vast majority of Lilisi's divine power, this would be a significant weakening for her.

But if it were the other way around, and Sinuoli did not restrict faith in her, given the reproductive speed of humans as a short-lived race, twenty years would be enough to restore the population density to its original scale, at which point a twenty percent surge in Lilisi's divine power would be possible.

Sinuoli was certain that Lilisi did not know his true backing, or rather, that his source of power was the Old Ones. If she viewed him as a normal god-chosen, then propagating the doctrines of the god he believed in was a matter of course. Having figured this out, he knew he would hold the initiative in the negotiations.

"We are both spokespeople for the gods, so let's speak plainly. What can you offer? Don't talk to me about peace; the Sons of the Mountains do not fear war, never have!"

Sinuoli licked his lips. He displayed a tough side, hoping to fleece a heavy amount from Lilisi's hands. The history of the High Elves was even longer than that of the Dwarfs, and they likewise possessed abundant treasures.

"Cough, cough!" Teclis could not help but grip his staff tightly. By Elf standards, he was in his prime, but as a spellcaster, he was not yet as powerful as he would be when he unsealed the Great Vortex and created the incarnation of the Eight Winds during the End Times.

This was not a fair negotiation; the Archmage's opponent was a fog to him. He had some understanding of the Mountain Kingdom through the humans who traded with the Dwarfs, but there was very little valuable information regarding the old man and the young one before him. Krag Master simply lived in seclusion, while the news about Sinuoli was a chaotic mix of truth and falsehood.

Relatively speaking, Sinuoli understood Teclis much better; he could even pick out the key points of Lilisi's ultimate plan to rebuild the new world and tell them to Teclis.

"Bretonnia is the Divine Kingdom of the Lady of the Lake. Without her consent, your plan to migrate the population is like a flower in a mirror or the moon in the water!" The nature of an Elf is arrogant, especially when facing a Dwarf, and Teclis subconsciously chose to threaten him.

"I don't deny that. In principle, every knight in Bretonnia obeys her command. But there is far more there than just knights." Sinuoli smiled; the information he had gathered during his previous travels and investigations had come into play.

"Are you counting on the peasants? Those pathetic people who hold fire pokers and can't even beat the Skaven?" In Teclis's view, the only things of value in the Knight Kingdom were the knights.

"The peasants are not incapable. As a blood descendant of Aenarion, you should know that bloodline is far less important in this world. As long as they have reliable equipment, sufficient training, and nutrition, they can also become qualified warriors. I happen to have such a force under my command."

Sinuoli took a file from his drawer; it was the battle record of the Children of the Sea God legion. Tempered by iron and blood along the way, they had become a strong army.

"If you insist that training peasants is difficult, Bretonnia still has a large number of Knight Errant and squires. I can say that most of them are qualified knights."

"Why?" Teclis's understanding of the "monkeys" was limited to the parts he needed; the internal contradictions of Bretonnia were not within the Archmage's considerations.

"Hahaha, it has been over a thousand years since the days of the founder Jilesi, and the land of Bretonnia has long been fully developed. You don't know how high the standards for obtaining a fief are now; even from the perspective of a long-lived race, it is somewhat excessive."

There was no such thing as family planning in this world, and the nobles could better enjoy medical means like Divine Art, which Sinuoli did not have in his previous life. Their open procreation made the competition for fiefs extremely intense.

The so-called Knightly Vow crusades, besides allowing a small number of lucky ones to obtain fiefs, also served to reduce social instability through war and death. Giving these people an option to buy land with money in addition to risking their lives against monsters meant their enthusiasm could not be curbed, not to mention that the lords might also tacitly approve or secretly support it.

"Still the same old saying: don't use war to threaten me. Wasn't Gulu's Waaagh! enough for you to lick your wounds? Our axes are sharper than the Greenskins', and our armor is much sturdier than theirs."

Teclis was about to speak, but Sinuoli cut him off. "However, personally speaking, making life better for my people in the present world is also a very important thing. If, heh heh, I am not unable to make some concessions."

"Such as?" Teclis's fingers, which were gripping the staff, relaxed. He understood that as Lilisi's spokesperson, he was at a disadvantage. "Previously, I represented the Phoenix Court; now, what I can represent is very limited."

The Archmage signaled for Sinuoli to state his conditions, but at the same time, he pointed out his and her bottom line. The Kingdom of Saphery and the White Tower were the forces of the Lord of Wisdom, and wanting to use the public office of Heth to serve the private interests of Lilisi was difficult for Teclis to do much about, given the constraints of the Council of Archmages.

"If you want me not to restrict the faith of the immigrants, there are at least three requirements. First, descend an oracle to help me proselytize. That is easy for her, isn't it?"

Sinuoli also knew that the Lady of the Lake had a huge influence on Bretonnia; with her endorsement, it was inevitable that the migration would be smoother and of higher quality.