Li Yu did not imdiately respond to Cornelia’s proposal, but instead said, "I heard that His Majesty the Emperor plans to create a giant bronze statue for the Life Goddess?"
Cornelia seed sowhat surprised by the remark, but nodded, "The statue is already under construction, along with a new temple not far from Junlin Tower. Once it’s completed, we can move from here."
"The lords of the western territories have also contributed a lot, donating quite a sum of money, except for the Arias family, and you also detained Greta."
"We didn’t detain her; she stayed of her own free will."
Cornelia sneered, "You forged a debt that didn’t exist and exploited Greta’s naivety and trust. That’s no different than directly detaining her."
"And you let her use her army of rats to scare the lords of the western territories, forcing them to donate to Valria," Li Yu said. "That’s no different from outright robbery."
"Those gold coins would only rot in their vaults, better to offer them to the goddess," Ludovic said with a smile.
"Regardless, Greta did indeed unleash her army of rats on Green Field," Cornelia continued.
"And she ssed up and got caught by you. Since you didn’t harm her and she agreed to work for you, I won’t interfere in this matter. But you need to release Selena."
"The Earth Bear, although fiercely loyal to the church, has a temperantal nature. Even with my intervention, persuading him to give up on avenging his nephew is not an easy thing. It’s a fair trade."
"There’s sothing I don’t quite understand," Li Yu said. "Which side are you really on?"
"Hmm?"
"You navigate between the Emperor and the nobles with ease, yet you teach children of poor families to read, and I notice that most of your followers are commoners and outcasts like Greta, to whom you grant bloodline potions, changing their lives..."
"Life is equal for everyone," Cornelia said firmly.
"Is that so?"
Li Yu neither agreed nor disagreed, paused for a mont and then he finally steered the conversation back to the duel between Earth Bear and Sir Irelia, "Is that giant from the Boleslaw Family so important to you?"
"The Earth Bear is the Thorny Shield of the Life Church, a title only given to the mightiest warriors. So to answer your question, yes, he is very important to , a guardian of the church and myself."
"When I first arrived in the Royal Capital, so people were jealous, feared as a threat, and wanted to eliminate through underhanded thods. That man is the reason I can still stand here."
"You should still persuade him to give up the upcoming fight," Li Yu said, "especially against Sir Irelia."
"If you’re just trying to scare us, then you better find a better target. I’ve looked into that Lady; she has never practiced any martial arts, no chance she can stand against the Earth Bear. I even doubt she can survive the earlier rounds of the fight."
Cornelia said, "If you want to save her life, you should accept my trade."
"But isn’t a god supposed to make the impossible possible?" Li Yu said calmly.
The Female Priest frowned, "Do you really intend to let her face the Earth Bear? Given her reaction this morning, she probably won’t be able to even lift her sword when the ti cos."
"Ireya is a fighter; she is stronger than many think," Li Yu said.
"Unfortunately, strength doesn’t play a big role in winning a martial arts contest, and her thods have already been used before. Although they were impressive, they are easily countered once anticipated."
Cornelia was still making her final attempt, "You are in the west, and I am in the Royal Capital; we don’t need to be enemies. Moreover, you ntioned those Winged n might soon invade the Bratis Continent, which I have also heard about."
She glanced around and lowered her voice slightly, "About ten days ago, I received a piece of news. Before you encountered the one with wings in the west, they had already been spotted in the Elf Kingdom. It is reasonable to believe that they didn’t send just one scout."
"But there are no reports of dragons wreaking havoc on the elves," Li Yu said.
"That’s what worries more."
"What does the Emperor say?"
"His Majesty will hold an Imperial Conference after the martial arts contest to discuss this matter. Sir Irelia will also be invited to attend, assuming she is still alive."
"Understood. I suggest you also find a new guardian soon, and think about what to offer in exchange for the female assassin. As a gesture of courtesy for her visit to the Royal Capital, I won’t harm her for now," Li Yu advised.
Li Yu’s words made Ludovic’s expression change subtly.
After Li Yu left the Temple, he turned to Cornelia, "I will arrange a rescue, to extract her from that inn, or we could have the guards directly intervene."
The Female Priest shook her head, "That would cause too much commotion, and His Majesty has been sowhat displeased with lately because of the Empress. Stirring things up with Irelia now would anger him."
"I thought he disliked his wife, who’s always talking about art," Ludovic remarked.
"Not at all, he nearly waged war with the elves to have Heloise; he forced the Elf King to marry his daughter to him. Though he has been sowhat cold towards the Empress in recent years, he has no plans to replace her."
"Heroes often falter at the beauty pass," Ludovic said. "I just hope he doesn’t regret it later."
Cornelia did not continue the subject but instead asked, "What do you think of rlin?"
"He seems a bit arrogant. He refused your proposal, but in the west, he managed to grow the Double Rest Sect under the blockade of the Silver Moon Church, attracting many followers along the way. He must have so capabilities.
"But if his carefully nurtured Ireya dies at the hands of the Earth Bear, our relationship might beco a bit... delicate."
"I’m thinking that this might not be a bad thing. Although he’s not the idealistic person I thought he was, unexpectedly calm, such a person is unlikely to act rashly," Cornelia pondered.
"Without his main supporter, it would be a severe blow to him and his church, possibly even causing him to lose his foothold in the west.
"If we are willing to offer help then, maybe we can recruit him to our side."
"You decide; I will unconditionally obey your orders," Ludovic bowed, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked at the Female Priest.
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