Chapter 493 324: Mermaid Princess 2

"You 'what' me? Say one more word and I'll give you a ten-thousand-pound slap to the face!" Levi continued to curse.

Rillo's face was grim, but the Talisi Church members beside him looked even grimmer.

Their god was the omniscient Celestial Father, yet this Lord of High Cliff Castle had just accused him of consorting with whores.

This was an insult more intolerable than the murder of their own parents. With a single sentence, the Lord had unquestionably incited mass fury.

"I challenge you to a duel!" Countless furious members of the Talisi Clergy started climbing onto the council table, scrambling to get over and teach the Lord a lesson. However, they were held back tightly by their own envoys, leaving them to scrabble uselessly on the tabletop, unable to cross.

"A duel, is it? Fine, I'll indulge you." Levi sneered and snapped his fingers. Zamanzi, who loved nothing more than watching chaos unfold, excitedly opened the chest he was holding. It was filled with white gloves, all prepared in advance.

The Lord grabbed a handful and tossed them high into the air. Instantly, the hall was filled with white gloves, tracing arcs as they flew toward the Talisi side.

One would have expected the enraged Talisi Clergy to catch the white gloves and accept the Lord of High Cliff Castle's duel. Instead, upon seeing the gloves fly toward them, their faces paled. They scrambled off the table, diving underneath it or dodging to the sides, losing all their earlier defiance.

But who was this Lord? A true man who boasted he never missed. As if equipped with tracking devices, the white gloves homed in on the Clergy, chasing them down.

For a moment, the white gloves flew all around the council hall, chasing the men like a pack of hounds herding rabbits. Accompanied by various cries of alarm, it was quite the chaotic spectacle.

'Ruthless! Absolutely ruthless!' At this moment, Filo's admiration for the Lord surged like a mighty river. He was the first person to ever dare pull such a stunt at a conference like this, and what's more, his opponents were utterly powerless to stop him.

After all, no matter what one thought of the Lord of High Cliff Castle, he was not someone a group of ordinary Clergy could handle.

"Enough! Lord Levi, I accept your duel!" Just then, Rillo snatched a pair of flying white gloves out of the air. He struck the floor with his Magic Staff, and a Magic Shield materialized, enveloping the Talisi members and blocking the remaining gloves. The Talisi group breathed a collective sigh of relief, a fleeting look of shame on their faces.

The Archbishop's eyes were glacial as he stared at the Lord.

Levi met his gaze without an ounce of fear. His lazy expression vanished, his eyes flashing like lightning. It was like a storm on a moonless night—one moment, a sky so dark you couldn't see your own hand; the next, a thunderbolt tearing across the expanse, illuminating the dim land below.

Both Elizabeth and Harland noticed Levi's transformation, and they silently revised their opinion of the man.

The Lord of High Cliff Castle usually seemed easy to get along with, if a bit wild and unrestrained. But the aura he had just unleashed made them realize that everything they had seen before was merely a facade.

"Wait." Just as the two sides were about to start their duel right then and there, Elizabeth, who had been enjoying the show, called for a pause.

The Queen, the "West Capital Jade," looked to Harland at the head of the table and said, "Your Majesty Harland, I wonder, are you fond of duels?"

"Duels? HAHAHA, I fucking love a good duel!" Harland chugged a large mouthful of wine—no venue could stop this King from drinking. His spirits soared. "Especially no-holds-barred, one-on-one duels!"

He had been a Knight in his youth and loved nothing more than settling matters with a duel.

"Then how about we three factions hold a knightly duel?" Elizabeth's lips curved into a slight smile. "Each of our three sides will choose three champions. Best two out of three wins."

"And how about we each put a little something on the line? I am prepared to wager Lake Beier, an Earl's Domain to its west, and a Sai Dai Golden Man. Winner takes all."

The hall erupted in an uproar.

It wasn't just the Debei and Talisi delegations; even the representatives from the Holy Sith Kingdom stared wide-eyed.

"Your Majesty Elizabeth, deciding the fate of territory and a Sai Dai Golden Man with a duel is simply too absurd!" an envoy from the Holy Sith Kingdom couldn't help but protest.

Such absurd instances of winning territory through a duel were few and far between in all of history. Monarchs who did such things were typically remembered as foolish and incompetent.

The envoy could not bear to see such a wise Monarch leave such a stain on her legacy.

"I agree," Harland said, first nodding in approval before speaking as if after careful consideration. "In that case, I will wager five hundred Griffins and an Earl's Domain in the Western Territory of the same size!"

"Gray, any objections?" he asked, turning to the Duke of the West.

"As you command, Your Majesty," Old Gray said with a slight bow.

"Good! It's settled then." Harland clapped his hands and turned his gaze to the Talisi delegation. "Archbishop Rillo, do you need to ask for instructions from His Holiness the Pope?"

"There's no need. I can make this decision myself." Rillo's gaze had finally calmed, but everyone could see the rage simmering beneath the surface. He looked at the Lord of High Cliff Castle. "I will also wager an Earl's Domain in Talisi, plus a Mage Soul Crystal!"

"But in addition to that, I wish to make a separate wager with Lord Levi!"

"Oh?" Levi laughed. "And what do you want to bet?"

He had only intended to teach them a lesson but hadn't expected this extra windfall. The Lord certainly didn't mind taking it all.

Rillo touched the Ring on his middle finger. A white light flashed, and an Ice Ball taller than a man appeared in the center of the room. Inside sat a girl of refined beauty. On her head was a translucent Crystal Crown, which glittered magnificently under the light of the chandeliers hanging from the council hall's ceiling.

Below her waist was a massive fishtail, the same mesmerizingly beautiful golden-yellow color as her damp hair.

Her skin was as white as milk, her lips as red and lush as a rose, and her gaze was as pure and blue as the waters of Seluo Lake, inspiring endless flights of fancy.

Everyone was stunned. This was, without a doubt, a Mermaid. And judging by the signature golden hair and unforgettable beauty, she was a royal Mermaid from the legendary Seattle Empire!

Legend told that this humanoid Race of the sea used their beautiful songs to lure passing merchant ships to their doom, sending sailors to an eternal slumber beneath the waves. They were also said to feast on fresh human flesh, to be terrifyingly natural Water Mages, and the undisputed rulers of the ocean.

But that was all ancient history. Mermaids were thought to be creatures of myth, confined to the pages of history books written a thousand years ago.

To think they would actually see one here.

"What use is a dead Mermaid to me? Perhaps some disgusting collector with peculiar tastes might be interested!" the Lord sneered, making no attempt to hide the fact that his insult was aimed at Rillo.

"This is a living Mermaid," Rillo snorted. "She is merely bound by my Magic. Once the spell is released, she will be a living creature!"

"Prove it," Levi said with a snap of his fingers.

He was the classic type who wouldn't loose the hawk without seeing the hare.

With a light wave of Rillo's Magic Staff, the Ice Ball began to thaw from the inside. Everyone present saw the Mermaid Princess's drooping eyelids twitch.

Gasps rippled through the room.

No one had ever thought they would one day see a living Mermaid, let alone one from the Royal Family.

"Archbishop, may I ask where you acquired this Mermaid?" Harland asked, tapping his fingers on the table as he cast an inquisitive gaze his way.

"Your Majesty, forgive me, but I am not at liberty to say," Rillo replied. "Everyone has their secrets. I can guarantee this Mermaid Princess will not cause us any trouble!"

He spoke with absolute certainty.

"I have so many beautiful Maids they could form a line from High Cliff Castle all the way to Bailiu City. Even if she is a Mermaid, she's of no real use to me."

The Lord slowly shook his head.

"Is it possible Lord Levi is unaware of a certain legend?"