Chapter 3742: The Assembled Card Players

Xia De lowered his voice slightly:

"The assassins behind the first attempt on the King were complex, but the assassins who attacked Wang Hou Diana tonight were truly agents of the Grey Gloves. The second wave of assassins committed suicide while being pursued, and evidence found subsequently indicates that they were agents belonging to the Grey Gloves.

The Intelligence Agency is likely determined to pull out all the 'nails' in Tobesk."

However, this had nothing to do with Xia De; no matter who the Intelligence Agency investigated, they would never find anything on "Grey Hawk II," as King Larus III was the one backing Xia De.

Major Lades let out a long sigh:

"Is this the era of war? I am actually worried that the escort fleets of the two countries' delegations might start fighting directly on the coast of Fatumunster Island, thereby completely triggering a full-scale war. We have received orders tonight to temporarily move the fleet to the open sea far from the coast for exercises. This is quite unusual, and I don't know what major event has occurred again."

Xia De reassured him:

"Don't worry about the two countries starting a war here. A major event is taking place on this island recently, and the Church will not allow conflicts between secular regimes to affect it."

As they spoke, two strangers arrived at the tavern. The leader wore a hat and kept a low profile, while the person behind him was clearly a bodyguard or guard.

The two strangers sat in a corner on the other side of the tavern, and Major Lades glanced over there:

"I seem to have seen that guard somewhere before; he is a guard for some big shot from Karsinrik, right?"

The person wearing the hat was clearly Prince Samuel Anjou, and they were likely waiting to meet someone here.

Xia De shook his head:

"It has nothing to do with us."

He pointed to the newspaper:

"Although the newspaper says Wang Hou Diana's injuries are not serious, the situation is actually not optimistic. Our King now has a very legitimate reason to declare war, a reason even more legitimate than Karsinrik's claim last year that the illegitimate princess was killed by the Intelligence Agency. War is not far off.

Major, will your fleet return to the Broken Isles afterward, or will it remain on the coast of the Old Continent waiting for the front lines?"

Major Lades had naturally inquired about this:

"The lords of the Broken Isles—the Kingdom of Kelage—do not want people from the Old Continent fighting around them. They offered the condition that they would no longer harass merchant ships traveling between the New and Old Continents on a large scale in the last two years, hoping that the naval fleets would stay away from their islands.

The Navy nominally agreed, so our fleet will not return to the Broken Isles after completing this escort mission. Afterward, we should remain on the western coast of the Old Continent, but specific tasks depend on the orders from above."

Xia De thought of the plan he had discussed with Bella to use Moon Bay as the boundary for the conflict on the west coast, so he guessed that there might be a chance to see Major Lades again in Moon Bay in the near future.

Major Lades was never afraid of participating in war; he had been on the battlefield more than once during his service in the Army. What he feared was that the war would be meaningless; he worried that this battle would last for many, many years.

However, since he was meeting a friend, the Major did not keep pouring out his troubles to Xia De. He also asked what Xia De had been doing recently, and Xia De hinted for Major Lades to be careful in the next few days.

"After I finish the matters at hand, I will likely return to Tobesk immediately, and I might not have time to see you on the island afterward," Xia De said upon parting.

Major Lades shook his head:

"There will be other opportunities to meet in the future. Besides, this island is no longer a suitable place for a vacation, so returning to Tobesk early is for the best. I heard that orders will be issued later prohibiting mid-to-high-level officers from leaving the ships at will, and I probably won't have the chance to spend time in taverns like this again."

He drained the last of the beer in his glass:

"Next, I am going to participate in a great war, a war that affects the present and future of thousands of people. Although the future is unclear, I think we will have another chance to chat and drink in a tavern.

Although I don't understand what kind of future this war will lead to, I am a soldier of Derarion, and I will shoulder that glorious responsibility. When I returned from Karsinrik, I thought I had lost the chance to go to the battlefield again, but this time I will regain honor for myself."

Major Lades reached out and shook hands with Xia De, saying very seriously:

"Xia De, please allow me to call you that. You changed my destiny in the past, and now I am going to face my brand-new destiny. I will not let down this second chance, and I will treat this new life well."

After speaking, he tipped his hat to Xia De and nodded slightly before taking his leave.

Xia De looked at the object that had appeared in his hand when he shook hands with Major Lades just now. The brand-new gold coin had the Ouroboros holy emblem on one side and the number "5" from a die pattern on the other.

Xia De had received such a coin once after saving little Belen, and the appearance of this new coin was naturally the "reward" he received after changing Major Lades' destiny; this was one of the few ways to obtain points.

This coin from Major Lades told Xia De a fact: the accumulation of various small things, in the end, could influence destiny to a degree comparable to the influence of angelic power on destiny.

He looked at the coin in his hand and then at the figure of Major Lades leaving the tavern entrance, feeling inexplicably that his friend would truly achieve great things in the near future.

Xia De had not forgotten to observe the tavern while chatting with Major Lades.

Besides Prince Samuel Anjou, Baron Gerald Rogers of Atak City, a childhood friend of Mr. Mortis, had also appeared here, though it seemed the Baron was just here for entertainment for the night.

Apart from those three, the mother of Claire and the niece of "Father," Ms. Jenny Erfort, who had not yet arrived, were both women, and Xia De was very curious about the reasons they would appear here.

Usually, this kind of tavern on the pier was not a place for people of their status to come. Xia De had asked Claire, and Claire believed her mother had no reason to appear here on a Friday night.

However, since it seemed there was still time, Xia De continued to read the newspaper. When the tavern door was pushed open from the outside again, Xia De looked up and saw Lady Reinhart and the Ms. Erfort he had only seen in photos actually walking in together.

Both of them looked surprised when they saw the scene inside the tavern, and the others in the tavern were also puzzled by the appearance of the middle-aged woman and the fashionably dressed woman.

However, the two ladies did not retreat; they went to the counter, spoke a few words to the bartender, and chose a round table with no one around. Both ladies had clearly just experienced some fright, which made Xia De even more curious about how they had appeared here.

Seeing someone approaching them with ill intent, Xia De knew it was his turn to step in:

"My identity is a righteous, young, and brave knight of Derarion; I cannot watch two ladies being harassed."

He thought to himself and stood up, reaching the table faster than the man who was walking toward the two ladies:

"Hello."

He said, pulling out a chair and sitting down at the round table. The man who had been walking toward them made eye contact with Xia De, determined that this was not someone to be trifled with, and returned to his original table with a "tsk."

"Sir, you are..."

Because Xia De appeared in his original form, his excellent appearance was very reassuring, and his young face and extraordinary temperament let the ladies who had "strayed" into the tavern know that he was helping them out, so neither Lady Reinhart nor Ms. Jenny Erfort refused him to sit down.

"I am Xia De Hamilton, traveling here from Derarion."

Xia De introduced himself. Claire's mother had no reaction to the name, but Ms. Erfort, who lived in Willendale, was startled and looked carefully at that handsome face, asking in disbelief:

"Are you that Hamilton from..."

Xia De made a shushing gesture, placed the newspaper to the side, and put the wine glass he had brought over onto the newspaper, then performed a gesture of tapping the table with his fingers without making a sound.

Ms. Jenny Erfort thought this was his personal tic, while Lady Reinhart was immediately shocked.

Claire had not told her mother about Xia De's identity in advance, only that she needed to participate in a game during the story of the Seventh Act and help Stella win. At that time, "John Watson" would also participate and protect her safety.

And the secret signal for Xia De to reveal his identity was for the wine glass to press the newspaper, followed by tapping the table with his fingers.

Lady Reinhart naturally understood the relationship between Xia De and her daughter, and now that she saw the signal and looked at the face that was familiar yet somewhat strange, the simple lady began to suspect whether her eldest daughter was worthy of such an outstanding young man.

At least before she understood what the name Xia De Hamilton represented, that was what she thought.

"Two ladies, how did you come here?"

Xia De asked, and the Ms. Erfort with chestnut hair, who looked under thirty, replied hesitantly:

"We... got lost."

"Lost?"

"Yes, I was originally in a cafe in the city, and Lady Reinhart was in the kitchen of her home in the town outside the city. We pushed open the door and somehow ended up in the snowy mountains. We thought we would freeze to death there, but as we walked, we suddenly arrived at the tavern door."

Xia De raised an eyebrow, suspecting they had encountered a spatial distortion phenomenon:

"Then warm up here. I will send you back in a while; I have nothing to do tonight anyway." ===== CHAPTER 3743 =====