Heart of the Castle

Chapter 711 A Negative Negotiation That Should Be Sent Off
The noon sun shines down from the gaps in the clouds and shines on the towering towers of the Green Castle. The towers are protected by the battlements and walls, and at the same time they are majesticly overlooking many nearby farmlands, Villages and estates.The soldiers patrolling back and forth on the city wall walked vigorously, and the armor and weapons on their bodies were illuminated by the sun, and the reflected cold light blinked like countless cold eyes.

Ever since the Rimang airship alchemy landed in Greencastle, the weather in the northern county of the Kingdom of Arthur has been cloudy.For Greencastle, which is already hot, this is a rare good weather. The clouds cover most of the power of the summer sun, but it is not as depressing as the rainy weather. Pedestrians walk lightly, and businesses Laughing all the time, even the farmers who worked hard in the farmland and manor sang happy ditties, and from time to time, devout believers could be heard praising the god of the earth and the god of the sky with affection.

However, in the Green Castle hall where the welcome banquet was once held, the bright sunlight failed to add any energetic atmosphere. After passing through the long and narrow vertical windows, only a few mottled and gloomy light patterns were left on the ground. Just like the portrayal of the stagnant atmosphere in the hall.It has been the third day that the negotiations between King Arthur's court and the Glory Mission have come to an impasse. The two parties seem to be caught in some kind of strange circle, wasting time in endless verbal confrontation.

"...I would like to ask everyone to realize this clearly. No matter what happened at the beginning, it is now a thing of the past. The dead are gone, and the living can be chased. The evil disaster caused the subjects of the Kingdom of Arthur to suffer a lot. Isn’t the loss a welcome thing for the Temple of Glory? We have also suffered losses, even greater than the Kingdom of Arthur... Cardinal Enoch Sebasta was martyred, and hundreds of priests and Tens of thousands of devout believers were martyred. After His Majesty the Pope learned of the tragedy, he mourned unceasingly. He went on a hunger strike and prayed for three days, praying that our Lord Flandara would guide these unfortunate souls into the kingdom of light with golden light and give them peace. and eternal sleep in peace."

The voice of Cardinal St. Nemok resounded in the hall, and his expression was impassioned. However, the important officials of the Kingdom of Arthur sitting opposite the round table were all indifferent, some with sneers, and some with disdain.Even the performance of the mission members on the side of the Glory Temple was not much better, especially the deputy envoy, Mrs. Treunisian, who propped his chin with his hands, with a dull expression, and seemed to be about to fall asleep.

As the chief negotiator of King Arthur's court, Bamilyan, the palace steward, was the only person in the venue with a smile on his face and a good look. He listened carefully to the speech of Cardinal St. He heard it for the first time, instead of repeating the same old tune after three days of verbal confrontation with each other.

It wasn't until Cardinal St. Nemok's speech came to an end and he picked up a ox horn cup filled with clear water to moisten his throat that he leaned forward and stood up, answering in a soft and polite tone. "Honorable Cardinal St. Nemok, what you said just now is very reasonable, but the request made by our Lord Regent of the Kingdom of Arthur is not unreasonable. No matter what difficulties the Temple of Glory encountered at the beginning, we should try our best to Give support to the Arthur Kingdom, which is fighting alone, or at least send envoys to the capital to express their attitude. Maybe I don’t understand tactics, but I know what is necessary. All the subjects of the kingdom will be rejoicing, and will even be able to erupt with terrifying power, driving the demons back to their lair in the abyss hell!"

Cardinal St. Nemok couldn't help stroking his throbbing forehead. He found that he was a little confused about the Bamilian overseer. Judging from his words and attitude, the court overseer deserved to be the leader on the negotiating table. Veteran, but the content of the negotiation has never made any progress.This answer is almost the same as what he said three days ago, except that the rhetoric and tone are more mature and sophisticated, and the second half of the next paragraph must still repeat the old score. After a few days, I can almost memorize it.

The Chief Bamilyan didn't see Cardinal St. Nemok's movements, or even though he saw it, he didn't pay attention to it at all. He fumbled for a long time in the wide silk cuff, and then took out a sheepskin scroll. Seeing the length of the scroll and the densely packed writing on it, there was a burst of deep and mournful sighs in the venue.

This is probably the only consensus reached between King Arthur's Court and the Glory Mission in the past three days.

"First of all, we would like to thank Cardinal St. Nemok. Thanks to you for submitting the revised conditions again yesterday, Her Majesty Queen Fleischer, His Excellency Regent Li Weiston, and all the important ministers of the Kingdom of the Round Table Council decided to reply after careful deliberation. As follows." Director Bamilian coughed lightly, and then said slowly, "The Round Table Council believes that the Temple of Glory should publicly express its apology to the kingdom of Arthur to the human kingdoms, and send at least two of the four major knight orders At the same time, His Majesty the Pope must also grant the Kingdom of Arthur the power to designate the bishop of the diocese. If the above three conditions can be agreed, then the round table council is willing to approve the request for a new covenant between the Kingdom and the Temple of Glory."

Hearing these conditions, which were almost the same as yesterday's answer except for a slight difference in wording, Cardinal St. Nemok gritted his teeth and turned his gaze to Triunisian who was sitting beside him. The audience doesn't even feel angry now, no matter how fanatical their belief in the Lord of Radiance, Flandara, after making angry and threatening expressions more than ten times a day for three consecutive days, the head of Oita Still feel deeply tired.

Cardinal St. Nemok winked at him several times in a row, until almost everyone around the round table noticed that Triunisian woke up like a dream, patted the table symbolically, and then stood up Come.

"It's blasphemy, I don't agree."

These two sentences can be said to be concise and to the point. If they can be said in a sonorous and forceful tone, coupled with a glaring expression, they can still have a certain deterrent effect.However, the feigned anger in Triunicion's heart had already been exhausted in the tug-of-war negotiations a few days ago, and his voice was not only lacking in deterrence, but rather perfunctory.

Even so, Chief Bamilian still had the exact same reaction as yesterday. First, he took half a step back, his face turned pale, and then he quickly rolled up the sheepskin scroll and put it back into his sleeve. Just from the movements and expressions, it was simply He would think that he has been pointed at the nose by the captain of the Sword of Condemnation, Oita, with a sword burning with fighting spirit.

"You are too dedicated to acting!" Cardinal St. Nemok managed to swallow these words back into his throat, but his mouth felt as sad as if he had a piece of red-hot coal in his mouth.In the first three days of negotiations, he has tried his best to show all kinds of arrogance, arrogance and self-contradictory behaviors. It can be said that he is so stupid that he can't look directly at him. Diplomats will definitely be able to seize various flaws and pursue them fiercely, and then force the Guangyao Mission to make huge concessions.

However, the chief negotiator of King Arthur's court, Bamilian, the court steward, seemed to understand nothing. Although he showed quite sophisticated skills, he used them in the minutiae, and deliberately exposed Cardinal St. Nemok. All those fatal flaws in his body were ignored.

Even the other people who participated in the negotiations couldn't stand it anymore. One of the most important ministers of King Arthur's court, the Marquis of Jerome, who was born in the capital, tried to remind him several times, but the attitude of the fat eunuch was as stubborn as a stone, and Sensitive like a neurotic patient, he doubted and questioned Marquis Jerome's kind reminder, until the latter was so angry that he walked out of his seat and announced his withdrawal from the list of negotiators in King Arthur's court.

This also seems to have brought this negotiation into a strange atmosphere. During the secret communication that night, His Majesty the Pope Nicholas St. Kaiyuan of the Shining Temple had given the opportunity face-to-face and asked the two members of the Shining Mission The envoy had to fail completely in the negotiations with the Kingdom of Arthur. In this way, the Shining Temple and the pagan regent of the Kingdom of Arthur were tied to the same chariot without any trace.

Cardinal St. Nemok has participated in dozens of negotiations as a representative of the Glorious Temple, and he is extremely experienced in diplomacy. However, every time he is doing his best for the interests of the Temple, he uses various means to force the negotiating opponent's bottom line. , and then defeated it in one fell swoop with the help of the powerful strength of the Guangyao Temple.This method has already allowed the cardinal to use it to an unattainable level. However, it is the first time in the life of Cardinal St. experience.

If the person who issued this order was not the highest authority in the Temple of Glory, His Majesty Nicholas St. Kaiyuan, Cardinal St. Nemok would have to oppose it loudly. The interests of the Guangyao Temple fought desperately.

However, when the order comes from the mouth of His Majesty the Pope, the meaning is different. Cardinal St. Nemok knows very well that no matter whether he understands it or not, he can only choose to accept it.Unless he wants to betray the Radiant Temple, the words spoken by the mortal spokesperson of the Lord of Radiance must be obeyed and executed exactly!
The negotiation was held on the day after the arrival of the Ridge. The negotiator sent by King Arthur's court was not served by Regent Liveston himself, but entrusted his full authority to one of the important ministers, the palace steward Bamilyan. It is said that this steward has The title of duke is the most honorable among the surviving nobles in the Kingdom of Arthur.In normal times, just having an eunuch as a negotiating opponent is enough to make St. Nemok Cardinal and Triunisian furious, because in their view, this is tantamount to a certain degree of respect for the Shining Temple. However, this time they could only look at each other, suppressed their anger deep in their chests, and sat across the negotiating table reluctantly.

What made Cardinal St. Nemok even more unimaginable was that although victory was not easy, it was not that simple to lose in the negotiation.The three consecutive days of negotiations had almost caused his calm and composed diplomat mask to collapse, and his irritability was like countless multi-legged reptiles, which had penetrated into the skin at some point, making him feel unbearable itching all over his body.

Cardinal St. Nemok really wanted to agree to all the conditions proposed by the court chief Bamilian. Anyway, according to His Majesty the Pope, the worse their failure this time, the better.Isn't it just a public apology and the right to appoint a regional bishop?Although there has been almost no such humiliating scene in the history of the Temple of Glory, it is not unique. When Philip I established the Celestia Empire and led the Knights of Champions to sweep the mainland with a torrent of steel, the power of the Temple of Glory It was oppressed to the point where only the holy mountain remained, and the appointment letters of bishops of various dioceses could not be recognized. Only His Majesty the Pope at the time personally begged the Emperor Dignity for permission before he could issue them.

Fully accepting the conditions of the Kingdom of Arthur can indeed achieve the result of a complete failure in the negotiations, but such a result does not meet the requirements of His Majesty the Pope.What His Majesty the Pope wants is not a simple failure, but a failure without showing any traces. The strong attitude of the Guangyao Temple has suddenly changed to a humble one. It is obvious that there must be a problem.Especially when the other party didn't pay much attention to the results of the negotiation for some reason, Cardinal St. Nemok felt even more difficult to complete His Majesty's order.

Seeing that the Bamilian chief was busy clearing up the scattered documents on the negotiating table, while the other representatives of King Arthur's court stretched their waists and got up and left their seats, Cardinal St. After crossing the round table, he grabbed the shoulder of the court chief who was lowering his head to pick up the sundries. "Master Bamilian, please stay here, I have something to say to you alone."

The bloated body of the court steward trembled slightly, then he raised his head, and a sincere smile appeared on his fat, powdered cheeks, "My lord cardinal, this doesn't seem very good." The eunuch said softly, "The gods In the above, I have always paid high respect to the Lord of Radiance, Flandara, and I go to the Radiant Cathedral every year on God’s birthday to pay homage, but at this moment, my position is different from yours. This request will make I feel very embarrassed."

"So the Master Chief is still a devout follower of our lord Flandara?" Cardinal St. Nemok said something he couldn't believe, then turned his head and raised his voice and said, "Brother Treuni, please lead The rest of the mission go back first, I have something to talk to the Chief of the Palace.”

Triunisian knew exactly what the Cardinal was going to talk about, so he nodded without saying a word, and then led a group of members of the Glorious Mission to get up and leave.

Cardinal St. Nemok's eyes returned to the face of the Bamilian Chief, and the eunuch showed a hesitant expression on his face, as if he was weighing the pros and cons in his heart.However, he didn't think for a long time, and then he spread his hands helplessly and sighed, "As you order, my lord cardinal." He waved to several other negotiators from King Arthur's court. Although doubts appeared on his face, no one questioned the Lord Chief of the Palace, who had been an important minister of the kingdom in the time of Arthur XI, and retreated after saluting one after another.In the huge hall of the Green Castle, there were only a few servants and guards standing in the distance, and it suddenly seemed empty.

Cardinal St. Nemok resisted the urge to cast a magical spell that has the effect of isolating audiovisual effects. If he really did, the fat and nervous eunuch opposite might scream and flee, which would make things worse. worse.He looked to the left and right, making sure that no one could have heard the conversation between the two, then approached the eunuch, and said in a low voice, "Master Bamilian, with all due respect, your behavior these days makes me feel It's kind of weird."

"Strange? Cardinal, I don't understand what you're talking about?" The eunuch's expression was a little confused, but Cardinal St. Nemok's ability to perceive words and emotions is quite strong, and he still read from his momentary hesitation that it was unusual. the taste of.

Cardinal St. Nemok endured the strong scent of flowers coming from his nostrils, moved his body closer, and lowered his voice to the point of almost raving, "You should understand that this negotiation should have ended long ago. I am negotiating There are so many flaws exposed in the process, no matter which point King Arthur seizes, he will be able to win quickly, but because you want to let it die without a problem, you will procrastinate indefinitely day after day!"

If Bamilian was still a mild-mannered palace steward just now, then as soon as Cardinal St. Nemok said this, he became the behind-the-scenes man of the Thieves Guild who held many dark forces in his hands. His smile suddenly turned cold, and his eyes flickered like burning flint.

"You are really outspoken, Cardinal St. Nemok." The voice of the Chief Bamilyan was also not high, but his tone was like a sharpened blade that stabbed people faintly, "I was still guessing just now, How long will you keep this secret in your heart? Not for one day, not for three days, is it possible that our negotiation with each other will continue for more than a week? I am afraid that the forces behind us will not tolerate it for too long. If we are both sent off the negotiating field on the grounds of negative negotiations, it will really make people feel sincerely sad."

(End of this chapter)