Masked Knight

The sea breeze was slightly salty. The gentle breeze blew creating layers and layers of waves in the calm sea, and Rody’s hair and clothes fluttered.

It also raised his emotions.

Rody stood on the prow of the ship which was riding the waves. In front of him was the vast ocean.

Without looking back, he could feel the secret envoy from the Sauron Kingdom standing and looking at him from behind.

The envoy was probably more than forty years old. Rody did not like him. Since meeting each other in the Imperial Capital, the envoy had misgivings as he thought that Rody was too young. He thought that the Empire was treating the important peace negotiation as something trifling by dispatching a young man who was only about twenty years old as their main representative. However, Marquis Garoline later told him "His Excellency, Earl Rody, can definitely represent the Empire!" Hence, the envoy did not waste time to curry favor with Rody.

'Hmm, Marquis Garoline said that I could represent the Empire…He probably still thinks of me as the Emperor’s illegitimate child. Isn't that right though? The Emperor’s only son could definitely represent the Empire.'

There were no army banners on that ship as it was a merchant ship. That merchant ship belonged to Sharp Metal Lane, the largest weapons manufacturer in the Empire.

Rody together with his dozen followers, as well as the envoy from the Roland Continent and his men, were all dressed like retainers of an ordinary businessman.

After all, currently, the Roland Temple and the other kingdoms of the Roland Continent had not yet publicly turned hostile towards each other. This peace negotiation was also a secret.

Secret? What a joke!

Rody sneered in his heart. He did not believe that there were any secrets in this world. With the influence and power of the Roland Temple in the Roland Continent, they would soon receive news of the peace negotiation. Speaking of that, the peace negotiation might be extremely dangerous. The Temple would not tolerate the peace negotiation between any kingdom of the Roland Continent and the Radiant Empire. For their own objective, they would definitely find ways to sabotage the peace process.

The best way for this would be to assassinate the envoy of the Radiant Empire.

Andy had already discussed that with Rody in the Imperial Palace. It was also one of the reasons why Rody was chosen for the peace negotiation. A person who did not have tremendous strength would not be able to protect himself from the masters of the Temple. So after some thoughts, the strongest person, Sky, would remain behind to protect Andy while Rody would be dispatched instead.

"Your Excellency Rody, the breeze out here is strong. Why don’t you go inside the ship and rest?" The Roland envoy asked with a humble smile.

Rody frowned and softly replied, "Didn’t I say not to call me 'Your Excellency'?"

"Ah!" The envoy was startled. He then laughed and said, "Yes, Mister Rody, please go in."

'Hmph. Currying favor!' Rody shook his head. He knew that the envoy was probably secretly cursing him.

'Who asked them to be the weaker ones now? Who asked them to come begging for our help?'

With such a person watching him from the side, Rody no longer had the mood to enjoy the ocean view. The huge sail was raised on the mast of the ship. The sea breeze blew and the sails billowed. The deckhands, in short outfits, were bustling about the deck and hollering. Rody sighed and quietly went into the cabin.

In all fairness, that Roland envoy was very good at currying favors. A remarkable lackey.

Rody truly enjoyed the good food and wine prepared by that envoy. The food and drinks of the Roland people were very different from the Empire's. Rody was interested in the unusual cuisine. The only annoying thing was that the Roland envoy was sitting beside him and constantly asking questions about Rody.

In the beginning, the envoy inquired about Rody’s identity and background. What a joke. Even that cunning old guy of the Radiant Empire, Marquis Garoline, did not know Rody’s identity. What more a Roland envoy?

When the envoy saw that he was not getting anywhere with his questions, he started to ask about the conditions of the peace negotiations. Rody coldly replied that he would talk about the conditions after meeting the King.

Fortunately, the envoy was an eloquent and learned person. They talked about other matters on the Roland Continent. The envoy was very knowledgeable when they talked about the Roland people's skill in naval warfare and also various legendary myths on the Roland Continent.

Rody could not help asking about the legendary Mythical Beasts, which only existed in the Roland Continent. After all, Rody was currently raising two of them!

Although the envoy did not know why Rody asked that question, when he left Roland, his King and the Senior Prime Minister had instructed him to try his best to fulfill the requirements of the other party. As a result, he doubled his efforts to please Rody and told him everything he knew about the Mythical Beasts.

In fact, Mythical Beasts truly existed on the Roland Continent. Those strange creatures had existed from thousands of years ago until now. However, at present, in the Roland Continent, Mythical Beasts had been decreasing in numbers.

Three hundred years ago, due to the massacre caused by the Mythical Beasts, the Sorcerer’s Association on the Roland Continent and the Temple made a joint announcement to the public. They announced that if any of the people of the Roland Continent were to capture or kill any Mythical Beast, they could then take the magical cores from the Mythical Beasts to the Sorcerer’s Association to collect their rewards.

Under such a system, a special occupation was created on the Roland Continent: Monster Hunters! A few very powerful masters emerged amongst them!

Apparently, a hundred years ago, there was once a monster hunter who actually reached the standard of a Paladin.

Starting from about a hundred years ago, after more than two hundred years of killing, the number of Mythical Beasts had dropped. Mythical Beasts could no longer be found in most parts of the Roland Continent. A lot of Mythical Beast tracks could still be found in the northern mountains of the Sauron Kingdom and the forests in the north of the Roland Continent. As for the other regions, occasionally there were news of Mythical Beasts' activities but mostly they were just rumors.

The other mysterious legend of the Roland Continent was the legendary Dragon race!

Dragons were very powerful. They had a high degree of intelligence and naturally powerful bodies. They were born with their own Dragons' special magic capabilities.

The Dragons' territory was situated in the cold lands at the extreme north of the Roland Continent.

The temperature there was extremely low. Allegedly, to get there, one had to head north after passing through the northern forest where the Mythical Beasts abound. However, as the Dragon race was terrifying and the Mythical Beast forest was a barrier, nobody dared to venture there. The Dragons also had never stepped out of their own territory.

In the history of the Roland Continent, the monster hunters had a few large-scale operations to kill the Dragons but all failed in the end.

Even the most powerful monster hunter did not dare to provoke the Dragons anymore.

According to the legends, a few exceptionally powerful sorcerers had secret dealings with the Dragons. However, that was just a legend.

When Rody heard that, he smiled.

Just a legend? Rody could not help but look at the scimitar in the cabinet behind him.

On the scimitar was a Dragon’s magical incantation. That proved that the legend of someone in the Roland Continent having dealings with the Dragons was true.

Rody carefully asked a few more questions again. After all, he was still very concerned about the legends of the Dragons. That was because the legendary and most powerful dragon, the Mystic Dragon, was in his body.

Unfortunately, that Roland envoy did not know much more about the secrets of the legend. After all, it would be impossible for someone of his standing to be knowledgeable about such secrets.

That envoy noticed that Rody was very interested in such strange things. In order to please him, that envoy told him another legend.

In the middle of the Roland Continent's inland sea, there was a large island. Legendary dwarves live on that island.

Rody looked skeptical and the envoy immediately explained that those dwarves were not legends and that they really existed. Those dwarves also believed in God, so they were recognized as a legal race on the Roland Continent. Dwarves were born shorter than other humans. They had bad temper and love to drink their own brewed malt wine. At the same time, those dwarves were excellent craftsmen and clever in making good weapons...

Rody, who was not very interested in that, could not help but lambast, "There are dragons, mythical beasts, and even dwarves. It seems like the Roland Continent is a place where all sorts of monsters and people gather."

The envoy’s face turned stiff and immediately concealed it with a smile.

After thinking for a while, Rody asked about the Temple, especially the Saint who had been dispatched to the Sauron Kingdom, the Black Veil Saint.

In fact, after a whole day of questioning, this was the question that Rody truly wanted to ask. However, he was afraid of raising any suspicion, so he had beat around the bush in the beginning.

Sure enough, that envoy was immediately vigilant and asked, "Mister Rody, why are you asking all this? Right now, our relationship with the Temple is…"

Rody smiled as he understood that the envoy was afraid that he would secretly contact the Temple. The envoy was afraid that the Radiant Empire might secretly plot against the Sauron Kingdom.

"You do not have to worry. I just heard that there is a Black Veil Saint in the Sauron Kingdom and that she is the most powerful amongst the thirteen Saints. Since I am following you to the Sauron Kingdom, I am worried I would meet this person. Naturally, I would want to know more about her."

The Roland envoy felt relieved. He smiled and replied, "It looks like you are well informed! The Black Veil Saint is indeed the most powerful Saint of the Temple! Although she is a young woman, rumors said that she had already cultivated to a very advanced level! She is as powerful as a Paladin!"

That envoy then showed a strange smile and lowered his voice, "The Black Veil Saint covers her face with a black veil all the time. However, rumors said that she is a stunning beauty!"

That envoy had a bewitched expression and did not notice that Rody’s expression had sunk. Rody coldly grunted.

The Roland envoy shuddered a little. He quickly straightened his expression and said, "Normally, the Black Veil Saint does not like to interfere with things, especially now. Sigh. I heard that during her time at the Temple, she was admired by many high ranked knights of the Temple. Finally, the Black Veil Saint accepted the marriage proposal by Paladin Fielding. I heard that she was to marry Paladin Fielding after she completed her training at the Sauron Kingdom. Unfortunately…"

"What happened?"

The envoy smacked his lips and smiled, "Unfortunately, something went wrong. A year ago, the Black Veil Saint suddenly ignored His Excellency, Fielding. Apparently, His Excellency Fielding visited her but was stopped outside the Temple hall. She also publicly threw a magic staff, presented to her by His Excellency Fielding, down a flight of stairs."

"Oh?"

The Roland envoy noticed that the Earl seemed to be very interested in that topic. He then became spirited and told him all that he knew. "That magic staff was a present by His Excellency Fielding to the Black Veil Saint as a token of engagement. Then again, the Saint had agreed to the Paladin’s proposal because of the wish of the Temple Elder. That magic staff was also given to His Excellency Fielding by the Elder so that Fielding could present it to the Black Veil Saint."

"Hmph!" Rody’s expression sank and he felt unhappy when he heard that.

The envoy was shocked as he did not know what he said wrong to make the Earl unhappy. He then heard Rody coldly said, "The Elders of the Roland Temple are strange. They even meddle in this kind of matters?"

"Haha, why not? The love between the Saint and the Paladin was a well-talked-about topic at that time! In fact…Haha."

"In fact what?" Rody could not help but ask.

That Roland envoy smiled and said, "In fact, there was more to that. Apparently, after approving the marriage of Fielding and the Saint, Fielding became very grateful to that Elder. He accepted that Elder as his godfather! That Elder is now the Chief of the Elders."

"Oh!" Rody’s eyes turned bright. Was there such a thing?

'Hmph, good! He actually used such a trick to gain the favor of a Paladin. It seems like this fellow is not just a religious fanatic. He actually has such a devious mind.'

"What happened after that?" Rody asked with a smile.

"News of what happened after that came out. The Saint not only threw away the magic staff, she also refused to meet His Excellency, Fielding! Such an awe-inspiring Paladin had to stand outside the Temple Hall of the Sauron Kingdom and was not allowed to go in! Haha! It was said that the two ended up fighting. Apparently, the Black Veil Saint won and managed to chase out the Paladin." That envoy laughed, very pleased with himself. "That day, the Saint also told the Paladin that she had never loved him! The Paladin then ran to the Radiant Continent…" At that point, the envoy stopped speaking. He had a weird and awkward expression.

Rody smiled and continued, "After that, he went to the Radiant continent and was defeated by the Duke of the Tulip Family. Am I right?"

"Yes." The envoy breathed a sigh of relief. As the two parties were now going to have peace negotiations, the mention of that war would be awkward.

Rody thought for a moment and then asked, "Has Paladin Fielding returned to the Temple?"

"I heard that he did. However, he no longer appeared after returning. It seemed like he was engrossed in cultivation."

Rody smiled and replied, "Not bad, he has a sense of shame. He probably wants to cultivate and then look for the Duke of the Tulip Family to take revenge." Rody paused for a moment. He was about to ask how the Black Veil Saint was doing in the Sauron Kingdom when he suddenly heard a loud bang and felt the hull of the ship shake violently.

The food on the table all fell to the floor. That envoy was also unprepared and fell to the floor.

They then heard the sailors outside shouting, "Somebody is firing at us!"