Chapter 492 324: Mermaid Princess

The delegation from the Sith Kingdom was stunned by their queen's actions. They wanted to speak up and advise against it, but after opening and closing their mouths, they ultimately chose to remain silent. It was golden.

They collectively believed that Her Majesty must have some other motive for making such a decision.

"Her Majesty Elizabeth truly lives up to her title, the 'West Capital Jade.' If the common people knew you were willing to return a piece of fertile land for their sake, they would be eternally grateful to you," Filo said with a look of admiration, adding more fuel to the fire.

"I never expected the King of the Sith Kingdom to be so dedicated to her country and her people," Mier whispered, standing as a guard behind the Lord.

Next to him stood Zat. The Beastman Barbarian was holding a special wooden box, idly staring at the griffins carved into the ceiling.

To him, the contents of the council meeting were as good as gibberish, giving him a headache just from listening.

The two of them, clad in fine plate armor, stood ramrod straight to the Lord's left and right like his two personal sentinels.

Given the Lord's own power, having them as guards made it debatable who was protecting whom. However, all the other nobles had brought guards, and the prideful Lord of High Cliff Castle was not about to be outdone.

"'Who knows if it's because of some internal problem they're having,'" the Lord snorted in disdain. "'Returning the land now not only resolves a conflict but also earns them a good reputation.'"

Still, it was a good thing overall, even if it didn't have much to do with him, the Lord of High Cliff Castle.

"My mind is made up. Toman will sign the relevant agreement with Debei's side later," Elizabeth declared with a wave of her hand. She rose and stretched. "In these turbulent and perilous times, we should first set aside our own conflicts. I intend to sign a peace treaty, and Lake Beier is meant to demonstrate my sincerity."

Most of the people on Debei's side were in disbelief. Returning Lake Beier was one thing, but they never expected this queen to also want to sign a peace treaty.

In the past, they were the ones who frequently sent delegations to the Holy Sith Kingdom in hopes of peaceful development, but all their efforts came to nothing. Now, good news had arrived so suddenly.

"We of Talisi request a temporary recess!" Archbishop Rillo slammed his conference placard down on the table, his eyes as firm and unblinking as a fishman's. "While this may be somewhat disrespectful, I believe Her Majesty Elizabeth may have been drinking before attending this council, thus leading her to make this irrational decision."

"Archbishop Rillo, tell me, do you enjoy catching mice?" the Lord suddenly asked.

"What?" The other man was a little confused.

"Are you so fond of meddling in things that are none of your business? What the hell does this have to do with you?" Levi cursed crudely. He'd had enough of this guy.

The man had been standing there with his scepter, putting on lofty airs and shooting sidelong glances at him the whole time.

The land restitution had absolutely nothing to do with him, yet he insisted on interfering, as if they were giving his great-grandmother's grave to Debei.

Levi was, after all, a proper Duke of Debei. At such a critical moment, he had to live up to his identity and position.

"The Lord is just, and He will absolutely not allow thieves to brazenly occupy territory that belongs to others!" Rillo's aged face was filled with a biting chill, enough to make a cold wind blow under the blazing July sun. "For Sir Levi to be so vulgar and barbaric… truly a mud-caked bumpkin from the Wilderness, with no upbringing whatsoever!"

He was a Mage at the peak of the Epic tier, proficient in all sorts of powerful magic. He had heard that this Dragon Knight had slain a Balrog Flame Demon from the Abyss.

But as a Mage who studied the world's mysteries, he knew more. These demon spawn from the Abyss would have their power suppressed by one tier upon entering the Material Realm. In reality, the creature Levi had killed was, at most, an Epic Level Flame Demon.

What's more, he'd heard the man hadn't even advanced to the Legendary tier yet. He probably relied on that Giant Dragon of his to pull it off.

He had also heard that the Giant Dragon did not accompany him to Gonda, and that was the source of his confidence.

It was no wonder the Archbishop had made such a judgment.

Throughout history, even the most renowned Dragon Knights were almost never a match for their dragons.

As peak-level Magical Creatures, the power of Giant Dragons was beyond what words could describe. Human experts of the same tier would need to form a proper Dragon Slayer Squad just to defeat one.

In other words, if a warrior were powerful enough to defeat a Giant Dragon alone, they would have no need to take it as a mount.

As for why humans could become partners with Giant Dragons, it was because dragons possessed Wisdom on par with humans. In their long and uneventful lives, they were occasionally moved by the unique traits or diamond-pure hearts of certain humans.

Their lifespans were long enough to watch seas turn to mulberry fields, so they naturally didn't mind spending a few short decades accompanying a very interesting life to its conclusion.

A Dragon Knight's primary combat strength came from their Giant Dragon.

This was a truth acknowledged by everyone, including Dragon Knights themselves.

"Is the Lord your dad? What whore did he fuck to pop out a goblin-spawn like you? Or were you raised on dog's milk because you didn't have a mother, and that's how you learned to bark?" the Lord cursed viciously, without a shred of respect for the old and venerable. A single tirade from him was enough to make a common fishwife blush.

When it came to the art of cursing, the Lord—who could once go toe-to-toe with the most aggressive keyboard warriors in online flame wars—was utterly without peer in this world, let alone against a high-and-mighty Archbishop.

Rillo was instantly stunned by the vicious and vile words, the likes of which he had never encountered. He trembled all over. "You... you..."