"And then, he is also the Lady's Champion and the Holy Grail Knight Commander."

Francois's analysis secretly startled Louis and Bohemond. Upon careful thought, indeed, Laine was connected with all the Three Great Knight Orders of the Old World.

"So, Francois, do you mean..." Louis asked.

"I mean, this guy Laine, I've already reserved him." Unexpectedly, Francois's tone suddenly changed, revealing his fox-like cunning: "The young people of this kingdom are either too innocent or too indulgent. Now that an excellent person has appeared, don't get any ideas. Keep those unmarried girls in your family far away from him!"

"Hahahaha!" Another burst of laughter erupted in the tower.

......

While the dukes were having a lively discussion in the tower, in the Old World, Brittania, in the Borelion Duchy.

Borelion is known as Brittania's gemstone. It indeed is a very beautiful city in the Old World, located on a narrow peninsula connecting the Old World Continent. The entire peninsula is a hill with a castle built upon it, and the local peasants use white stone and plaster to build houses. The sand in the bay is excellent for making glass, and almost every window in the castle, regardless of class, glistens in the sunlight, which is extremely rare in the Old World.

However, precisely for this reason, this beautiful duchy was invaded by Estalia, the Kingdom of the United City-States from the neighboring country to the south.

The war between Borelion and Estalia can be traced back over thirty years. At that time, the Borelion Duchy was the aggressor, and Estalia was invaded. The knights, eager to expand their territories, stormed into Estalia. Encouraged by Tyrant John II, the esteemed knightly code was torn to shreds, and the knights committed all sorts of atrocities deep within Estalia.

In the same year that John II was overthrown by the Lake God Witch leading the Holy Grail Knights, the war between Borelion Duchy and Estalia also changed. A mercenary knight named Tobalo stood up and defeated the last Duke of Borelion in an honorable duel. He then led his troops to invade Borelion Duchy, commencing a long-drawn conflict with Estalia. The fierce mercenaries from the Southern Realm quickly established a foothold in Borelion Duchy, relying on the shaky serfdom system. The small Borelion Duchy consists of six baronial lands, two of which have long been in enemy hands. Since his enthronement, Duke Theodoric of Borelion has never ceased warring.

In the harsh and frozen winter, Duke of Borelion reluctantly reached an agreement with his enemies. During this cold season, soldiers would succumb to the harsh conditions before even setting foot on the battlefield, prompting Duke Theodoric and his enemy Count Tobalo to agree to a temporary truce until February of the following year. The duchy enjoyed a brief peace. The peasants hadn't time to heal the wounds of war, the knights had not yet removed their damaged armor when the first snow of the year blanketed the duchy.

It was at this time that the Lake God Witch Mogiana brought a Lake God Prophet to the duchy.

Holding the Potion Chalice in one hand and grasping a rune longsword in the other, Mogiana wore a gray strapless silk long dress. The dress was adorned with golden threads, silver chains, and pieces of golden fleur-de-lis emblems. The Lake God Witch wore a golden crown on her head, fastened a golden waistband around her waist, revealing her graceful figure.

Wearing a blue cloak outside, her golden wavy hair cascaded down her shoulders. Mogiana's enchanting beauty was complemented by her cold green eyes: "We've arrived at Borelion, Clement."

Behind Mogiana, a Lake God Prophet followed. The prophet was also dressed in a blue strapless long dress, but unlike Mogiana, she used a headscarf to wrap her hair into a large inverted triangle behind her head. Upon hearing Mogiana's words, the Lake God Prophet named Clement softly replied: "Your Highness, do you plan to first look for the divine child among the people, or head to Borelion Castle to collect the tithing from Lord Theodoric?"

"... There are ongoing wars here, and according to my prophecy, there is only one girl in Borelion Duchy with sufficient qualifications this year. We should head directly to that village, then proceed to Borelion Castle." Mogiana hesitated for a moment but decided to first go to the prophesied village to retrieve the girl.

"Yes." The Lake God Prophet spoke no more.

Mogiana sat sideways on her Unicorn Hilphain, while Clement rode a Half-Elf Warhorse behind her. They avoided the main roads and crowded areas, taking lesser-known paths.

Even so, Mogiana noticed that the population of Borelion has significantly reduced after over twenty years of war. Especially in winter, the land appeared vast and empty, with only a few small villages and large snow-covered fields in sight. Many fields lay in neglect, and they passed several unattended battlefields, where dozens of corpses were piled. Many mercenaries from the Southern Realm and Borelion Duchy's infantry lay dead, the battlefield reeking with a stench.

In the middle of the battlefield, several ghouls were greedily gnawing on the delicious corpses, tearing at the rotting flesh with their teeth and drinking the foul blood.

The appearance of the Lake God Witch quickly caught their attention. Seeing her fierce and sharp gaze, the ghouls screamed in fear and fled.

"Wind Burst Technique!" Mogiana immediately raised her hand, and magical syllables rang from her mouth. A whirlwind of pure energy swept through the chilly air, lifting the ground's snow and rolling it directly toward the ghouls.

The ghouls howled as they ran, and the whirlwind gathered them and blew them away. Mogiana fiercely extended her white lace-gloved hand, clenching it tightly in the air.

"Pop~" Several ghouls instantly burst into blood mist, leaving no corpses behind.

"Hmph!" Mogiana's eyes were filled with disgust and hatred, and she snorted coldly: "Hurry to the destination, or else it will be dark soon, and the night is the realm of these undying creatures."

"Go, Hilphain, quickly." Mogiana urged her unicorn, which understood her intention and began trotting. The Lake God Witch and the Lake God Prophet no longer paid attention to the situations along the way, focusing only on reaching their destination.

After prolonged war, the farmland lay abandoned, the formerly dense population scattered. Many corpses dangled from large roadside trees. Duke Theodoric was cruel to the serfs in his domain, executing anyone found to have connections with the Southern Man by hanging.

Stealing, hanged. Harming others, hanged. Resisting taxation, hanged. A Master Knight found displeasing, hanged.

So, along the way, one could see the hanged serfs, many vultures feasting on their corpses. Mogiana's face remained somber as she pressed on.

After running for over half an hour, the destination village lay just behind a nearby hill. In front was a graveyard, followed by a small forest. Mogiana signaled Hilphain to slow down, sensing something unusual: "Clement? Is there supposed to be a cemetery marked on this spot on the map?"

"Your Highness, something's not right." The Lake God Prophet also sensed something amiss: "There shouldn't be a cemetery here."

"...There's someone there!" Mogiana pulled on the reins, and her keen eyes spotted a peasant running from the small forest. He appeared gray-faced with mud and snow all over him, dressed in tattered cloth despite the deep winter. He scrambled out of the forest: "Help! Help! Lady Shalya, save me!"

Behind him, a dozen zombies and several ghouls were in hot pursuit of the peasant.

"Help! Please!" The peasant also noticed Mogiana on her unicorn, and he immediately shouted: "Help, Your Highness the Lake Witch!"

"Help!"

Seeing the peasant about to be caught by the zombies, Mogiana drew her rune sword: "Save him."