Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1602: Chapter 329: The Capture

“Just being looked at? Do you think everyone is like Farael, that pervert?”

“Do you think I’m joking?”

“No… Although you do like to joke, this is not something you can joke about.”

This is the conversation between The Clown Knight Dagonet and the current Knight Agency director Mr. Gareth — happening in the cockpit of the fighter.

“Holy Church, Black Religious Congregation… mysterious powers.” Gareth frowned at the report in his hand and said, “What exactly does this town have to attract these guys?”

“I’m not concerned about that. Knowing it’s a certain death zone, I don’t plan on staying.” Dagonet shook his head.

Gareth felt somewhat dissatisfied… but said nothing. The Knight Agency seems to have been reintegrated, but the real power is actually already in the hands of the Queen — even he himself pledged loyalty to the Queen following the Fog Capital battle.

Even so, the Knight Agency still harbors different voices… Gareth belongs to the Neutral Faction, while Dagonet, being the Queen’s adopted son, is naturally a royal loyalist.

Although they are nominally in a superior-subordinate relationship, Dagonet is evidently a device within the Knight Agency to restrain himself.

At the same time, Dagonet also serves as the new Dragon Knight Armorer (the renamed successor of the former Prime Minister’s Warrior Group), making Gareth somewhat powerless when mobilizing him.

“Since when did the Knight Agency have to retreat even in its own domain?” Gareth shook his head and sighed with a bitter smile.

The Fog Capital incident led to the Knight Agency’s reintegration and rebirth… Yet the power regained after integration is far inferior — there was simply too little time given.

The more important thing is that the Knight Agency lost the war trophy from the battle a century ago, the Holy Grail… which could intimidate other Non-Human forces, akin to nuclear weapons among major nations.

This is indeed a mess that fell into Gareth’s lap, making him feel as if leading a group of orphans from an orphanage into adult warfare — fortunately, Britain’s territory is surrounded by the sea, relatively independent…

“This is not a retreat, just a tactical withdrawal.” Dagonet said casually, “You must understand, the result of staying could very well be the Knight Agency losing a member of the Twelve Knights. You weren’t on the scene, you didn’t experience it, so you can’t imagine how terrifying it was. A few hours ago, if you stood in the same position as I did, you might have been the one to flee.”

Terrifying…

Gareth remained silent; he had once faced the infamous Farael and witnessed such immense power, and at the end of the Fog Capital battle, he had felt the terror from Sir Pukins wielding the Holy Grail.

“No need to say more.” Gareth waved his hand, “Since you decided to retreat, I will respect your decision. But our Knight Agency absolutely cannot abandon any citizen on our land. There’s also a top-tier academy there that provides talent to Britain… You must understand, several knights within the Knight Agency have studied at that university and have significant sentiment towards it.”

“Let them come, anyway, I grew up in an orphanage, I don’t know what alma mater means.”

Gareth reluctantly frowned, “Dagonet, I hope you can make another decision, which is to wait for reinforcements… I will try my best to dispatch personnel to support you. I will try to send two of the Twelve Knights to you.”

“Back then, when we intercepted Farael escaping from prison, we had three, was it effective or not?” Dagonet mocked, “Gareth, you’re still so naive, without reaching the third stage of the Armor of Legacy, we are just ordinary Great Knights with the name of Twelve Knights.”

“I will report this matter to Her Majesty the Queen for her to adjudicate.” Gareth took a deep breath and looked deeply at Dagonet.

He believed that before communicating with him, Dagonet had likely already contacted the Queen.

The key is that Dagonet’s words vaguely hinted at an intention to abandon the entire town — so, is this intention Dagonet’s personal decision or secretly authorized by Her Majesty?

…

“Lancelot? I’d like to report something to Her Majesty the Queen.”

The screen showed Lancelot’s solemn face.

“Her Majesty has already gone to bed.” Lancelot shook his head, “She has instructed that no matter who, she doesn’t intend to meet tonight… Perhaps you can wait until tomorrow morning.”

“Lancelot?” Gareth frowned.

Lancelot politely said, “It seems to include any matters from the Knight Agency as well.”

Gareth’s frown deepened, “Lancelot, do you know anything?”

Lancelot pondered for a moment, “Around evening… five hours ago, Her Majesty received a special call.”

“Who?”

“The call was from the Holy Church’s Pope…” Lancelot’s voice lowered, “That’s all I know, Gareth… I hope you are aware of your position. The current Knight Agency is not the same as when Sir Pukins was in charge… Good night.”

“Lanslo…”

Watching the disconnected communication, Gareth sighed heavily, feeling powerless, his entire body slumping against the back of the chair, muttering to himself, “I really am not suited to this kind of leadership position…”

He liked freedom, liked being an unreliable teacher, liked taking his students across the country to eliminate monsters… he did not enjoy sitting in this room, visible upon entry, signing documents.

…

Lancelot carried a cup of water and entered the Queen’s bedroom… The Queen did plan to go to bed, already changed into her sleepwear, but at the moment she was not in bed, instead painting on the terrace.

“Was it Gareth’s call?” Her Majesty the Queen asked while adjusting the color palette, with a hint of detachment.

“Seems urgent.” Lancelot gently placed the cup on the table, then collected the tray and stood silently aside waiting.

“There will be an outcome tomorrow.” Her Majesty the Queen paused her actions, “Whether good or bad… time will quickly pass, rapidly just like my remaining little time.”

Among humans, Her Majesty the Queen is quite old… and she is indeed just an ordinary human.

“Did something happen?” Lancelot couldn’t help but ask, in a low voice.

At this moment, Her Majesty looked at Lancelot, smiled and said, “Do you know, anything profitable, a king would do… even if it involves sacrifices.”

“Your Majesty?”

“This is what my mentor taught me.” Her Majesty the Queen smiled, “Quite cruel, and quite merciless, I spent a lifetime learning the meaning of a king’s heartlessness.”

“No, you are a merciful monarch.” Lancelot raised his head and said.

“I am not merciful, it’s just that mercy can be transformed into something beneficial for me, that’s all.” Her Majesty the Queen said with a half-smile, “You see, I am a terrible mother who would imprison her own son.”

“This…”

“This time, I really must sleep.” Her Majesty the Queen slowly stood up, “I entrust my safety to you, Lancelot…”

She slowly walked toward the large bed, seemingly talking to herself, “The weak can only bow their heads, waiting… waiting for the day when they are strong enough, then seek revenge.”

…

…

Lamias later arrived at the seaside, where she agreed to meet Boss Luo—regardless of whether this operation succeeded or not.

Father Stretta’s strength had exceeded her estimates… fearfully, it also exceeded the estimates of the entire Black Religious Congregation.

The God-slaying Armor was one of the secret weapons developed by the Black Religious Congregation over decades, consuming countless resources and manpower to counter the Holy Church, yet Father Stretta easily punched it apart, even ultimately destroying it.

So far, the entire congregation had successfully developed only three sets of God-slaying Armor… Lamias didn’t dare imagine if the congregation knew of this matter, whether there would be room for negotiation regarding her being sent to serve that Alien.

Losing the previous heroic demeanor, Lamias was now hugging her knees, sitting by the seashore, gazing into the distance and slowly losing focus.

She suddenly heard footsteps.

“Do you have something on your mind?”

“A bit tired, just want to rest a while.” Lamias soon stood up. Under multiple pressures, seeing this mysterious man again seemed to miraculously alleviate her mood a little, “Thank you for tonight. You successfully held off Vasco, it’s just a pity I didn’t meet my expectations for myself.”

Boss Luo glanced at the few small fishing boats docked not far away, then suddenly said, “Those people will go fishing tomorrow, hoping for a good harvest, but the exact amount will only be known after they return tomorrow.”

Lamias replied, “Which side do you truly belong to, and why do you know so much about the internal affairs of the Black Religious Congregation? What kind of person are you that you can directly use the power of the Cycle… and suppress a veteran Holy Church Paladin?”

“I don’t belong to any faction.” Boss Luo said while feeling the sea breeze, “The reason I can use the power of the Cycle is theoretically an act of cheating… As for holding off Vasco, wasn’t it because Ms. Lamias hoped I would do so, and thus requested it of me.”

“What if I said, I hope you can help me solve all my difficulties, would you do it?” Lamias abruptly said.

She suddenly recalled her earlier conversation with Eve and felt a slight warmth at her ears.

“I’ve already fulfilled the promise I made to you.” Boss Luo said directly, “The agreement is complete, so I won’t disturb you any further.”

Seeing that he intended to leave, Lamias hurriedly said, “What do you want in return for helping?”

“Whenever I find it worthwhile.”

He left this answer before disappearing, leaving Lamias standing dazed at the cold seashore, hugging herself tightly.

But what could possibly be worth expecting from her… and worth taking action?

“Even if you can suppress Vasco, against Stretta’s unreasonable strength, it’s probably useless too…”

She muttered to herself.

These thoughts seemed nothing but an excuse.

At this moment, a special communication device suddenly rang, making Lamias’ body slightly tremble… after hesitating for a moment, she took a deep breath, stabilized her emotions, and answered directly.

“It’s me.” She said in a low voice.

“Lamias?” On the other end, a low, hoarse voice said, “According to Lady Katerina’s command, the Battle Nun group has arrived… Where are you?”

“So fast?” Lamias instinctively responded… the Battle Nun group was Lady Katerina’s strongest force, always stationed at the headquarters of the congregation—yet her communication with Lady Katerina was just half a day ago.

“Lady Katerina permitted us to use the Nautilus.” The voice quickly stated, “Therefore, report your current location, Nun Lamias.”

“By the sea… I’m by the sea.” She took a deep breath, inevitably sending out her coordinates.

The Nautilus… one of the mysterious tools secreted by the Black Religious Congregation, which had enabled numerous secret operations to avoid detection by many eyes and successfully reach their destinations.

“To think even the Nautilus was mobilized…” Lamias murmured to herself, “It seems Lady Katerina’s situation within the congregation is truly…”

…

Shortly after, Lamias arrived at a cliff, watching a faint glow from the distant black sea water approach rapidly along the waves.

Before long, waves surged, revealing a huge object rising from the deep sea… yet, it clearly didn’t approach entirely, probably due to insufficient water depth to support its space of movement.

At this moment, seven streams of light appeared from the floating platform of this huge object, shooting down in front of Lamias.

The leading woman had a physique as strong as Vasco’s… Not only that, she bore a black giant sword on her back, with numerous scars crisscrossing her face.

The Battle Nuns were all wearing black armor… a mass-produced special model developed based on the God-slaying Armor, the Fear Inverted Cross battle armor.

“Lord Grant.” Lamias took a deep breath and stepped forward.

The burly, scarred-faced woman in front was the leader of the entire Battle Nun group… Lamias, before becoming a user of the God-slaying Armor, was actually once part of this nun group and had received training from Grant.

Perhaps due to some unpleasant experiences in the past, Lamias always felt a chill facing Grant.

“Lamias.” The expressionless Grant slowly said at this time, “According to Lady Katerina’s instructions, we are to capture you and return you to the headquarters, on charges of… betrayal.”

“What?” Lamias was taken aback.

The Battle Nuns had already surrounded her…