## Chapter 1036: You Can’t Wake Someone Who’s Pretending to Be Asleep
Of course, I didn’t go in immediately. Instead, I carefully observed my surroundings, ensuring it wasn’t a trap or an ambush, before safely entering.
This wasn’t simple. In the past, I would have swept the area with my God’s Eye and been at ease, but now I had to restrain myself and couldn’t overuse it. Drinking Da Hong Pao earlier had only slightly restored me, and using my God’s Eye again would return me to that state where the world seemed abnormal. I really didn’t want to become like that.
After confirming there were no ambushes around, I walked into the restaurant. It was a very ordinary family restaurant, catering to working-class people who occasionally dined out. Most of the food consisted of common dishes like grilled sausages and steaks.
I walked towards private room number three, where we had agreed to meet. As I cautiously pushed the door open, I saw two people inside: one man and one woman. The man was wearing fitted, durable clothing suitable for activity, with strong, bulging muscles. The woman was in tight leather armor, looking heroic and valiant, with a hood covering her head but revealing skin that was too pale.
“So, you two came together,” I said, greeting them. This was indeed the Knight Captain and the female sniper. I had previously asked the female sniper to take my letter to seek refuge with the Knight Captain, and it seemed she had followed through.
“Yes, I’ve already examined her body. You actually turned her into a Vampire; that’s going a bit too far,” the Knight Captain said, displeased.
He was a rather old-fashioned man who adhered to knightly virtues and loathed dark creatures like Vampires. Naturally, he couldn’t accept our methods of transforming people into Vampires.
“She isn’t a Vampire yet, just a Vampire spawn, still half-human. And she should have told you herself, that she was an assassin sent by the Chief Knight to ensure my death. He doesn’t trust you,” I said directly, sitting down.
“I know, of course, otherwise I wouldn’t be here today. But calling her a Vampire spawn is just sophistry. Although she doesn’t entirely count as an Undead creature, she definitely doesn’t count as human anymore, and it’s irreversible. I hope you won’t continue to force and control her using such methods,” the Knight Captain said.
Seeing the Knight Captain stand up to me for her sake, the female sniper, for the first time, looked at him with a hint of gratitude. In fact, ever since I entered, she had been scowling at me, not giving me a good look.
“I was also forced into it. Do you have any other good ideas to make her not speak out? If the Chief Knight finds out you’re colluding with me, you’ll be finished too. What would you do in my situation?” I retorted.
The Knight Captain fell silent. A righteous gentleman like him wouldn’t know how to handle such a situation. Even if he wanted to, he probably lacked the means.
“I’ve already taken her under my wing and promised to shelter her. She will pretend to continue obeying the Chief Knight and provide me with Intelligence,” the Knight Captain said.
Of course, even he knew that “sheltering” or “taking under his wing” were just empty words. The real reason the female sniper obeyed him was simply because we possessed the means to force her obedience.
“Alright, let’s not talk about that. Tell me what actually happened in the Lord of the City’s mansion. How did the Chief Knight and the Jester cover up their crimes of colluding with the City Defense Army? I think unless the Lord of the City is an idiot, he should suspect something is fishy,” I said directly.
Hearing my words, the Knight Captain could only give a wry smile. “I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”
“I’ve never liked choices like this, but since you asked, I’ll hear the bad news first.” I said, always being someone who prepared mentally or physically beforehand.
“The bad news is, the Lord of the City probably knew all along, but he’s been pretending to be oblivious. Yesterday, he personally ordered all the captured City Defense Army soldiers to be executed by hanging, all to protect those two.”
“Hmm, I’ve already seen the hanging scene. Then I understand. You can’t wake someone who’s pretending to be asleep,” I said helplessly.
“But it wasn’t entirely without effect. Your strategy was still effective. The rumors within the Lord of the City’s mansion put great pressure on the Lord of the City. He couldn’t allow his reputation to be tarnished or be seen as doing nothing. So, he flew into a rage, and Albrisque has been dismissed from his post.”
“Is this the good news you were talking about?” I asked, my eyes lighting up. It seemed it wasn’t completely ineffective after all.
“Yes, but don’t get happy too soon. Although he’s been nominally removed from his position as Chief Knight and head of military affairs, he still remains the Lord of the City’s Knight, and he’s allowed to redeem himself by performing meritorious deeds during the Demon Tide this time,” the Knight Captain said.
As for the Demon Tide, I had a rough idea of what it was. Simply put, when corruption reaches a certain peak, a large number of monsters are born due to the distorted magic, and they gather to launch a full-scale assault on nearby Human settlements. If they can’t hold them off, all living things within the corrupted area will be slaughtered by the monsters, leaving not a single soul, or they will be turned into members of the monster army. However, if these physical manifestations of monsters can be directly eliminated, the level of corruption can be significantly reduced.
“In other words, the Lord of the City can’t bear to part with such a powerful Knight, so he forcibly suppressed his crimes?” I roughly understood what the Lord of the City was thinking.
“Exactly. A Dragon Knight as powerful as Albrisque is indeed rare. He’s willing to serve, which is the Lord of the City’s foundation for standing firm among the Nobles. If he were to be killed, during such a crucial period as the Demon Tide, the Lord of the City wouldn’t be able to produce another Knight to hold the fort.”
I knew that the Lord of the City indulged Albrisque so much because Albrisque had sworn allegiance to him. Such vassalage rituals were absolutely unbreakable for Knights, and oaths were not to be made carelessly. Therefore, even if Albrisque caused trouble behind the scenes, the Lord of the City was reluctant to kill him. At least, a powerful Knight who wouldn’t betray him was more important to him.
“What about Rodrigo? That Jester shouldn’t be as important as Albrisque, right? Is he alright too?” I asked, feeling somewhat unconvinced.
“That guy is much more cunning than Albrisque. He didn’t leave a single clue. He’s completely disentangled himself from this incident, as if he had nothing to do with it. But I’m sure all the ideas came from him,” the Knight Captain said again.
So, none of my objectives were achieved. Rodrigo couldn’t be caught red-handed, and even if evidence against Albrisque was found, the Lord of the City wouldn’t kill him. My idea from the start was too naive.
Knowing that the matter was beyond my control made me a bit dejected. At this moment, the usually taciturn female sniper spoke up, “Since you two can’t stand each other, and it’s either him or you, why don’t you just kill him yourself?”
