Chapter 291: Turning Back

"It seems not entirely unreasonable; in the Warhammer World, there are indeed few beings outside of those with Divinity who are immortal, intelligent, and capable of communication. If one does not wish for their close ministers to constantly change, then accepting a Vampire seems to be a solution."

Sinuoli comforted himself with this thought. Trade with Zhendan was currently very important to him, and he did not want to make too much of an issue regarding the status of the representative.

"Very well, but I must state the ugly truth upfront: if you do not enter my territory, that is fine, but if you are to enter, I must arrange for a few reliable subordinates to protect your safety." Sinuoli thought for a moment and decided to add a safeguard; he did not know if it would be useful, but for the moment, it was the only expedient measure.

"Lamia, you have heard of that place to some extent; I have yet to purge that cursed land. If something untoward were to emerge and harm you, my Lady, it would surely have a negative impact on the cooperation between our two sides."

Without engaging in a spar, Sinuoli could not judge the strength of this Vampire, but he reasonably inferred that a few ordinary warriors would likely not be able to keep watch over her. At this moment, the Dwarf King could only trust the foreign Dragon he had yet to meet, hoping that her people could be controlled.

"Speak your purpose!" Sinuoli gestured for Wan'er to take a seat.

"The Clan Princess is very satisfied with the agreement between our two sides, but it was signed somewhat hastily at the time; she believes that some items could be slightly supplemented..."

The Jade Blood Clan female official had not lived her many years in vain. Sinuoli found communicating with her very easy; the two sides quickly optimized the existing agreement and deepened their cooperation on that basis.

"This is a small token of our Clan Princess's sincerity, wishing your rule to be as secure as an overturned basin!" At the end, Wan'er took out a tea set and a gift box of tea leaves and presented them to Snuori.

"In our Cathayan Celestial Empire, Zhezhe and refined scholars all love this item; in the Western Lands, the nobility of the Human kingdoms call it 'green gold.' These are treasures from a tea garden on Jingbo Lake that belongs exclusively to the Clan Princess herself, and every year they are offered to the Tianting as tribute."

As Wan'er introduced it, she gently shook her fair hands to brew the tea for Sinuoli. As a transmigrator, he naturally knew how to handle tea, but why not enjoy the service of a beautiful ghost?

"Tsk, if this continues, won't I start finding female rat-folk to be delicate and pretty?" Sinuoli thought to himself while looking at the classical beauty opposite him. Now that he had territory, a certain idea in his heart suddenly began to stir.

A few days later, Snuori set off with his guard and the Zhendan caravan. Gotrek carried the Disaster of the Dragon Clan battle flag at the very front of the procession; Sinuoli had adjusted his position to be his Flag Bearer.

In Dwarf society, Flag Bearer, like Gatekeeper, is not meant literally; it serves more as a vanguard role, generally held by the lord's champion warrior. Receiving this heavy responsibility excited Gotrek immensely; he used his sandbag-sized fists to silence every voice that questioned his qualifications and strength.

However, for this young warrior, these things were not enough; he longed to establish merit on the battlefield rather than building prestige by beating up his own kin. As the saying goes, "a fine horse needs a Bo Le to recognize it," and Gotrek was hoping for some blind fool to come and disturb the caravan.

Sinuoli took half a squad of Hammer Guard and half a squad of Anvil Guard on the road, along with a few clerks and Rogov and Gotrek. The Zhendan merchants and guards also numbered around one hundred, enough to make most beasts retreat.

"Not bad, looks not bad!"

Watching the scene of busy farming in the fields, Sinuoli sat on the back of a sheep and praised repeatedly; these were all his food, his resources.

"What place is that over there? What are they going to do?"

At night, Sinuoli found an immigrant village to stay in. The master of the territory received him warmly, and after a fairly sumptuous dinner, the Dwarfs suddenly discovered many villagers filing out of the village.

"You don't know? The poems of Saint Marvin contain many mentions of you and the warriors under your command!" The Knight revealed an expression of surprise, and only then did Sinuoli suddenly realize that his busy official duties had made his memory less sharp.

"Count Marvin, yes, the place where he drank the Grail Water is nearby. How about that, did he build a church here?"

"Indeed, this is tradition; building a church where the Lady descended and spreading Her grace is precisely the duty of those Living Saints." The Knight looked at Sinuoli with a trace of vigilance.

"Relax, friend, I have reached an agreement with the Lady of the Lake and will respect your faith. Where the oath reaches, it is as firm as a rock." The Dwarf King smiled and waved his hand, "I will go take a look; it is an old friend I haven't seen in a long time."

Following the flow of people, Sinuoli arrived at that Shengbei Jiaotang in the woods outside the village. This church was better described as a large Shenkan; the two-room structure was nothing more than a place for the Divine Statue and the residence of the Grail Knight.

The Dwarfs let out chuckles as they looked at the somewhat crooked and crude building. It had been built by Count Marvin himself, but it was clear this nobleman had no talent for architecture, relying purely on his body, strengthened by holy water, to force it into existence.

Saint Marvin stood before the statue of the Lady of the Lake, loudly proclaiming Her doctrines. This Grail Knight was filled with the aura of Strength Rune, discipline, and faith, capable of purging evil to a certain extent.

"Greetings to you, Your Majesty Sinuoli!"

Both sides had long since discovered each other, but both had tacitly chosen not to disturb one another. After finishing his prayer and letting the villagers leave, Knight Marvin walked up to Sinuoli.

"I have a question I must ask: besides you, how many other Grail Knights and Damsels have come to my territory?" Sinuoli asked somewhat urgently.

"As far as I know, there are two or three more Damsels, but I should be the only Grail Knight. There are still far too many places in the Mortal World that need saints to purify them."

"Fine, I understand. I wish your cause prosperity!"

Sinuoli walked away with a frown. There were still many immigrant villages like this, but the Lady of the Lake could not attend to them all. Or rather, in the eyes of that Elf god, farmers who lacked power and value were not worth Her care.

But people have spiritual needs; if formal faith cannot satisfy them, then the cults of certain evil gods will naturally sprout. And if Chaos mutations occur, those originally poor and weak farmers will also turn into terrifying killers.

"The Sigmar Cult, it has to be them! Those bald men can be trusted; this is a method that achieves multiple goals at once. I must push this forward when I return."

Sinuoli made up his mind. He did not intend to sit and wait for the immigrants he had worked so hard to recruit to turn into Chaos rebels, but to introduce the Sigmar Cult, the foolish monarch Dieter IV was a stumbling block that had to be removed.

"Why hasn't that Marienburg declared independence yet? It looks like I must give them a push."