FATE: Target of Grand Master

"Cooperation? Tell me about it."

Seeing that Zhang Hao did not object, Sal was slightly relieved.

"I think you should have realized how strong that Master named Xia Yan is. Even without considering the mission objective, we must stick together to survive. Also, judging from the information he revealed, his target is the Lion King of your allied forces, while my target is the Lionheart King of his allied forces. Therefore, I speculate that your target is the Sun King of the forces I should have allied with. Am I right?"

Zhang Hao didn't hide anything and nodded, saying, "That's right."

"That makes things easier. I think your decision to cooperate with the Sun King this time is entirely due to the Lion King's request; most likely, the Lion King wants to prioritize dealing with the False Crusaders. And your failure to complete the mission will still affect your position in the Lion King's eyes to some extent. As for me, you've seen it yourself; I didn't even succeed in cooperating with Osmandis, so I don't care whether you kill him later."

I believe we have a great opportunity to cooperate. I can help you defeat the Sun King, and at the same time, I can complete my mission while assisting the Lion King. All you need to do is form an alliance with me and let me join the Lion King's forces.

"What do you think, Mr. St. George?"

Zhang Hao pretended to think, but in reality he was seeking Giorgios's opinion in his mind.

"If he truly wants to cooperate, then we would be more than happy to do so, but to be on the safe side, we should test him first."

Zhang Hao spoke up, "Your idea of ​​forming an alliance is reasonable, but given the current situation, wouldn't using the teleportation orb to leave this trial be the safest option?"

Sal gave a wry smile.

"In the last trial, I encountered a Master who had Lu Bu. That guy's Servant was ridiculously strong, and I had to use up my teleportation orb. I was planning to save up Master Points in this trial to prepare another one, but I didn't expect to encounter an even more outrageous guy."

After another moment of silence, Zhang Hao replied, "I understand. I accept the alliance, but with two conditions."

"you say."

"1. All decisions between us must be made through consultation. I will not accept any unauthorized actions from you without prior notice. If this happens, I will consider it a waiver of the alliance. Furthermore, if we still cannot reach an agreement after consultation, my decision will take precedence."

Sal had already accepted his passive role at this moment, so he did not object to Zhang Hao's demand for control.

"2. Some of the Lion King's decisions are beyond my control. If she asks you or me to do something we don't want to do, I will be the one to propose a negotiation. You just need to remain silent."

"I see."

Seeing that Sal had agreed to everything, Zhang Hao didn't say anything more, and the two continued their journey towards the holy city of Camelot.

"Master, from what they just said, it seems that Zhang Hao's relationship with the Lion King isn't as close as we thought. If we go to the Lion King, will we become pawns in their power struggle?"

Ushiwakamaru's voice was transmitted to Sal's mind through telepathy.

"We can't rule out that this might happen, but we're in a situation where we have no other choice. If we don't join forces with Zhang Hao, we'll be completely powerless against Xia Yan. Our only chance of survival now is to unite and rely on the Lion King's power; only in this way can we have a sliver of hope. Although we're the passive party in the alliance, Zhang Hao understands that only by joining forces can we have a chance of winning, and he won't abandon us unless absolutely necessary."

"What if an unavoidable situation arises?"

"Then we have no choice but to accept our fate."

Thrall knew that his mindset was also a blow to the morale of his followers, but he had truly reached a dead end and now he had no choice but to take a gamble.

The hall of Saint Camelot

"Master Zhang Hao, we don't want to hear your excuses. Since you are not capable of completing the king's mission, you have no value in staying in Camelot."

After Zhang Hao recounted what had happened to the Lion King on the throne, Agravan still spoke the words above in a stern tone.

"Agravivan".

The Lion King stopped Agravan at the right moment, saying in a calm tone, "There's no need to be so harsh on this Master. Since the Sun King has no intention of cooperating with us, then from now on we'll treat him as an enemy."

"Your Majesty, although we failed to persuade the Sun King to cooperate this time, we have not come away empty-handed."

Zhang Hao hadn't rushed to reveal Sal's joining because he wanted to gauge the Lion King's true attitude towards him.

Although they had been assimilated by the goddess Rungomminiad, the Lion King and Agravan still worked together very well, with one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop.

This is good news, at least it shows that the Lion King still recognizes their value and can evaluate them relatively fairly.

Zhang Hao continued, "A Master named Sal is currently waiting to be received outside the hall. Like me, he also has the mission to defeat the Sun King and the False Crusaders, and is willing to lend a hand to His Majesty the Lion King."

"Let him in."

Hearing Zhang Hao's words, the Lion Queen remained expressionless, as if nothing in this world could move her.

Following Zhang Hao's instructions, Sal bowed formally to the Lion King. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Sal, like Zhang Hao, fell silent and awaited the Lion King's next instructions.

Just then, Gawain walked in from outside the hall and knelt on one knee before the Lion King, saying, "Your Majesty, I have prepared everything needed for the 'Saintly Emancipation' as you instructed, and we are just waiting for Your Majesty to give the order to begin."

"Thank you for your hard work, Gao Wenqing. Spread the word about the 'Saint Selection' tonight. The first 'Saint Selection' will be held the day after tomorrow at noon."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Agraven, you are in charge of arranging the protection of 'Saint Ba'."

"Yes, ma'am."

Agrave seemed to have been prepared. After receiving the order, he addressed Gawain and his two Masters below, saying, "To prevent the 'Saint Ceremony' from being disrupted the day after tomorrow, Lord Gawain, you are in full charge of the entire 'Saint Ceremony.' In addition, I am allocating ten thousand Cavalry Knights to you. Master Zhang Hao and Sal, you will assist Lord Gawain in maintaining order during the 'Saint Ceremony.' If anyone tries to cause trouble, you may act first and report later."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yes." X2

With everything arranged, Agrave ordered the two Masters to take their leave.

After the two Masters left, Gawain bowed his head again and reported another matter to the Lion King.

"Your Majesty, I am incompetent and have failed to persuade the 'Holy Monk,' and he seems to want to leave Camelot."

As if anticipated, Agguwen did not criticize Gawain for this matter.

"It was expected that the monk wouldn't join, but we absolutely cannot let her out now."

"No, let her go."

The Lion King's words puzzled Agravan.

"Your Majesty, if we release them now, and they join the false crusaders or the Sun King's side, they could turn around and attack us, which would be a problem."

"Does trapping them in Camelot mean they won't rebel? That 'holy monk' is, after all, an enlightened being; he won't easily join the other two sides."

"Yes, ma'am."

Seeing that the Lion King had made up his mind, Aggregate had no choice but to agree.

"Sael, are you familiar with the plot here?"

Zhang Hao and Sal returned to their guest room together, where they discussed how to prepare for "Saint Ba".

"The plot I know is somewhat different from the current situation, but I still know the general outline of the Lion King's actions afterward."

"Then please tell me first what exactly is 'Saint Ba'?"

Thrall didn't hide anything, revealing that "Holy Bane" was the Lion King's choice to collect pure human souls into the Holy Lance, and that he would cruelly kill the remaining humans.

"this..."

Even Zhang Hao, who grew up fighting, felt that this behavior was problematic.

But since things had come to this point, they had no choice but to follow the Lion King down this dark path.

"Do you think Xia Yan and the fake Crusaders will come to sabotage 'Holy Ba'?" Zhang Hao asked.

"From a purely profit-driven perspective, the 'Holy Ceremony' will draw a lot of attention from the Cavalry Knights, making it a good time to attack. However, this is on the condition that this Master named Xia Yan doesn't care about the lives of the civilians participating in the 'Holy Ceremony'."

"What if he cares about the lives of ordinary people?"

"Then we'll launch an attack prematurely."