Eileen cast a distant glance at Gray, who was sitting in a daze, took a deep breath, and said quietly, "We need him. With only Earl Caspar's support, we don't have the leverage to negotiate with the King. Besides, Caspar does not truly support me."
"But he hasn't even shown his face. We don't know his true identity, let alone his past."
"That's precisely what worries me. *How could there be such a powerful knight in this world without an official knight title?* It feels as though the Holy Spirit specifically arranged for him to wait for us here; it's quite incredible."
"By the way, what are you planning to do with that iron door and the chain?"
In the distance, Gray and Pas were having a sporadic conversation.
"I've never participated in foot combat."
"Yes, you've mentioned that to me before."
"Watching them duel on the field, I felt that I certainly couldn't beat them with my sword. So I figured, *I needed to find a way to avoid their attacks.*"
"So you brought such a big iron door just to climb up?"
"Yes, I can easily jump on top, but there's no guarantee they can climb up."
"What about the chain?"
"I needed a weapon for long-distance attacks. After thinking it over, I decided the chain was best. I can lash them from afar. *Even though my aim isn't great, hitting them several times should work.*"
Who could have guessed that such a big iron door and such a thick chain would be used this way?
"But if they use arrows, what will you do?"
"Arrows?" Gray was stunned. "The competition allows arrows?"
"Of course, any weapon can be used, although no one chooses arrows. *After all, in foot combat or mounted combat, arrows aren't an effective weapon over short distances.* But with your strategy, it might be different."
Gray lowered his head and thought for a long time, wanting to say, "No problem, they won't kill me with arrows anyway; Lich doesn't fear arrows." However, clearly, that wasn't possible, so he could only say insecurely, "I didn't think they would use arrows."
This made Pas laugh even harder. "If Caspar knew, he would be livid. Solving this with a bow could have saved him so much trouble, yet he lost anyway. Hahaha."
From afar, watching Pas laugh heartily with Gray, Eileen quietly instructed, "Negotiate with the Mercenary Group. We'll continue to hire them and pay once we return to White City. They shouldn't doubt my ability to pay, right?"
"Others don't have to come with us, but this head named Pas must join us. If he can't ride, we'll hire a carriage for him."
At this moment, Count Caspar was in a fit of anger in his study.
"Where did this knight come from? He's not Eileen's attendant, nor a retainer of the Beisher Family, and not even a mercenary. So who is he? *Are you all incompetent or just trying to see me humiliated?* Oh?"
A cup of wine was splashed heavily on one of the subordinates' faces, who stood red-faced, head down, afraid to utter a word.
The other subordinates were even more frightened and unconsciously took a step back.
The study door opened, and the butler hurried in from outside. Seeing the chaos in the study, he was clearly startled.
"Any news?" Turning angrily to the butler, Count Caspar said, "You better tell me something useful."
"Yes, there's a lead. But it's not certain if it's useful," the butler stammered.
"A lead? Then tell me."
The butler's gaze shifted to the others.
Caspar nodded knowingly and casually said, "Leave."
The group of subordinates fled the study in haste, closing the door behind them.
Caspar snorted twice, then looked at the butler and said, "Speak!"
The butler cautiously bowed, cleared his throat twice, and said quietly, "I've carefully investigated. Among Miss Yilin's attendants and the old retainers of the Beisher Family, there is indeed no one named Gray. This matches our findings. The Red Scorpion Mercenary Group also has no mercenary named Gray. To confirm this, I asked one of their old clients to probe. Indeed, there's no such person."
"Do you know? You're saying the same things those idiots I just kicked out said."
The butler, startled, immediately continued, "I-I also found out that this knight appeared at the tavern outside the city last night, engaged in gambling, won quite a bit of money and got into a brawl with some thugs. Many people saw it, and Red Scorpion Mercenary Group members were present. According to their accounts, Red Scorpion doesn't know this knight, and their leader Pas even wanted to invite him to join the Mercenary Group. But the knight named Gray didn't agree immediately. This corroborates our information. Up to now, all we have gathered doesn't conflict at all. *Thus, this must be the truth.*"
"Haha." Count Caspar sneered, "Then tell me, if there's no connection, why is he helping Eileen? *He gives the impression that he's here specifically for this competition.* Do you understand me?"
"Quite possibly...on the surface, it may be that he simply wants a knight title."
"If he wants a knight title, why didn't he come to me? Aren't I capable of granting him one?"