They are all characters I control.

Such a scene was something Eleanor, as a church knight, absolutely did not want to see, and those places were originally patrolled or guarded by church knights.

As a result, the town was not captured from the outside, but occupied from within by the infidels.

The church knights should be more concerned with protecting their own town than with fighting off external invaders. These seemingly innocent residents could easily transform into cruel heretics given the opportunity.

Even children and women can indeed turn into monsters, monsters that can easily attack and defeat the church knights.

Moreover, Mel, the seemingly most innocent little girl, is one of them, and she undoubtedly holds a very high position in the 'Church of Life'.

This can be seen from her interactions with Sister Martha, and she was clearly fully aware of Eleanor's situation.

That's why the villagers and Mel were so forgiving of Eleanor in "Lin Valley Village" and didn't directly do anything to harm her.

Entering a territory inhabited entirely by infidels, regardless of gender, age, or gender, is an extremely terrifying experience.

From this perspective, what Captain Fernando did could indeed have largely prevented such a thing from happening.

[Eleanor: ...You're right, but I still think it's wrong to just arrest and execute everyone.]

However, Knight Commander Fernando's method consumed too much manpower.

Anyone who had contact with infidels, especially if they were relatives, was executed along with them; this was extremely cruel.

Claire: You feel something's wrong because you haven't witnessed true betrayal. Lord Knight Will has. I have. You'll understand when you see those you trust stab you in the back.

Eleanor didn't say anything more; those words were meant to be sarcastic.

How could she not tell? She was, after all, a true traitor to the founding of the nation, just like Karl.

Eleanor is still wanted and has been arrested by the traitorous knight Karl as a heretic. At this point, Eleanor can only suppress her dissatisfaction.

Claire: Learn your lesson. Compared to the cruel Knight Commander Fernando, I think Karl is the most hateful person. It's okay if you don't understand Knight Commander Fernando, but don't think you're such a kind and noble person.

Claire didn't expect this lesson to make Eleanor any more decisive immediately.

But at least it can keep her in line. It's quite ignorant for her to always stand by and think that Knight Commander Fernando is so cruel.

Even though Eleanor is the vice-captain of the Knights, she is still too inexperienced as a church knight.

"What? Eleanor, are you reconsidering my actions?"

Fernando, observing Claire's changing expression, clearly understood what she was thinking. However, since Eleanor didn't seem particularly displeased with him at this moment...

He now understood to some extent that Eleanor had come to her senses.

Judging from their current expressions, they are clearly not against him.

"So you've figured it out? You don't think there's anything wrong with what I did?"

Claire did not deny it. "I said, you deserve respect."

This statement did not directly answer Knight Commander Fernando.

Although she was just reprimanding Eleanor, Claire was well aware that the biggest problem with Knight Commander Fernando's approach was that he was killing too many people, which would instill fear in the other townspeople.

If the heretics deliberately approached the residents, most of them would end up on the execution platform of Knight Commander Fernando.

After all, Dorothy the Scarlet Witch was laughing happily to the side.

If it were this guy, he would definitely do it.

However, this topic could be left at that point; Claire had more important questions to ask.

“So, why do you trust me, Knight Commander Fernando? I mean, you didn’t seem to have any ill intentions towards me from the beginning, and you were willing to cooperate with me just now. I don’t think it’s simply because of Karl.”

Upon hearing Claire's question, Eleanor, who was watching this scene through the system screen, also perked up.

Chapter 132 It's Your Turn Next

Whether it's Claire's previous account of the mission or her current account of the ambush she encountered while working with Knight Commander Will, it's all the same.

It seems that from the very beginning, Knight Commander Fernando trusted Claire (Eleanor) more.

Moreover, Knight Commander Fernando had previously allowed Claire to hold him hostage, which led to their current conversation in the cabin.

Eleanor was also very curious about this, considering that she had only met this knight commander a few times.

But this seemingly fierce knight commander was speaking to him so gently, an attitude that even Fernando's subordinates probably had never received.

Not to mention Megan and Dorothy, who were guarding the door, they could also see that Commander Fernando treated 'Eleanor' in a special way.

If it weren't for the fact that the knight commander looked so fierce, they would have all thought that he had taken a liking to Eleanor.

"Hehehe." Knight Commander Fernando chuckled a few times, but did not answer immediately.

He looked down at the rusty broken sword on the table and reached out to pick it up.

This broken sword was Claire's original weapon, the 'Light of Faith,' which she always carried with her. Because it showed no signs of being lethal, Karl did not confiscate it.

Karl smugly believed that Eleanor was destined to be executed by him and become his scapegoat, but Karl, as a former comrade-in-arms and a candidate for the next Knight Commander, also had his own burdens.

At the very least, Eleanor should not be executed immediately in front of the other church knights to silence her.

Leaving Eleanor with a harmless broken sword was also a pretense of camaraderie; the traitorous knight Karl needed to appear even more righteous and benevolent than the other church knights.

Therefore, it is even more intriguing that Knight Commander Fernando is threatened by a broken sword. He had a chance to escape Claire's hostage situation, so was the reason for this broken sword?

At this moment, Knight Commander Fernando stroked the broken sword, his eyes filled with admiration.

“You ask me why I trust you?” Fernando’s voice was soft, but exceptionally clear in the quiet cabin. “The reason is simple. Because Will gave it to you.”

Claire didn't move. He looked at Fernando's hands, which gripped the broken sword steadily, as if they had held it many times before.

This wasn't the first time Fernando had handled this sword; he recognized it.

It seems that this Knight Commander Fernando really recognizes this broken sword, namely the 'Light of Faith'.

“This sword is called ‘Light of Faith’.” Fernando looked up at Claire. “It’s Will’s sword. He’s carried it since he was young and never takes it off. Not many people in the church know about this sword, and even fewer know what it can do. Because Will never shows it off casually.”

He gripped the hilt of the sword tightly, and a silvery-white light shone again from the broken edge—this time brighter and more persistent than before, like a flame that had been suppressed for a long time.

The light spread along the sword's blade, the rust peeled away, and a silvery-white shadow extended from the notch. Although incomplete, it already had the outline of a sword.

The light lasted for about fifteen seconds, then slowly faded.

Fernando exhaled and placed the broken sword back on the table. "This is all I can do. Will can make this sword cut through iron like mud, but I can't. That's the difference between him and me."

He paused, his gaze falling on the broken sword. "When I was young, I thought about replacing Will. I wanted to prove that I was stronger than him, more suitable to be the Knight Commander of the Holy Lance Knights. I tried many times, challenging him, competing with him, proving myself in various ways."

He looked up at Claire. "But then I realized I couldn't compare to him. The difference between myself and Will was easily understood from the perspective of the 'Light of Faith'."

"Now that this sword has been handed to you, it means that you are the person Will has chosen, and the person who can use this broken sword is absolutely trustworthy."

"Compared to Karl or anyone else, I naturally trust you more, as well as Will and 'Light of Faith'."

The cabin was quiet for a moment.

Megan and Dorothy stared in astonishment at the broken sword, having already witnessed the terrifying power William displayed with it.

Unexpectedly, Knight Commander Fernando also knew about this broken sword.

Claire spoke up. "It didn't choose me; I'm just taking it temporarily."

“Then it has chosen you.” Fernando’s voice was firm. “Will entrusting it to you is entrusting his hopes to you. I trust Will, so I trust you too.”

Claire put the broken sword back into her bosom without further hesitation.

In this way, the previous doubts can be completely resolved.

The reason why Knight Commander Fernando cooperated so well with Claire and trusted her so much was because of the 'Light of Faith,' a primal weapon that was more convincing than anything else.

The person representing Knight Commander Will who was attacked was not Claire (Eleanor), and no matter how eloquently Karl spoke, he knew nothing about the 'Light of Faith'.

This shows that even if you forcibly take away the 'Light of Faith', it's completely useless. No one would have thought that this seemingly useless broken sword would be a weapon that can detect the justice, faith, bonds, and hope in your heart.

Now that the mutual trust had been established, Claire naturally continued with the current situation.

"What do you think of Nakar's invitation to the Knights' headquarters? Is it really just a simple matter of asking you to go back and assist with some matters?"

Claire didn't know how many of the 'Holy Lance Knights' were apostate knights.

But since Knight Commander Will has not yet awakened, it means the situation is not very optimistic.

Originally, the 'Holy Lance Knights' had nothing to do with Claire, but since it involved Sister Martha and the Church of Life, that was a different story.

Although Claire was not a church knight, she did not want to see Sister Martha and her group's plan succeed.

One reason is William, who, despite being Claire's friend, was imprisoned in the basement by Mother Martha for nearly a century.

Secondly, there's Eleanor. Regardless of whether this female knight is smart or not, this control role cannot be wasted. The Church of Life still regards Claire, this evil god emperor, as its holy son.

Similarly, Karl personally invited him to return to the Knights.

This is a matter that Knight Commander Fernando needs to be very careful about.

He had already trusted Claire, which meant that Karl was definitely a mole, and such a mole inviting him back to the Knights' headquarters was certainly not a good thing.

"You think there's a problem? What are they planning to do?"

“Knight Commander Will was also invited back in the same way,” Claire said calmly.

"They said they were going to assist with an investigation, but they were ambushed on their way back."

Fernando slowly placed his hand on the table, his expression turning serious. "You mean, they also want to target me?"

Chapter 133 Knight Commanders Are No Easy Pieces

It originally seemed to be about Claire and her group's situation as apostates captured by Karl and his group.

There is no doubt that Claire is in danger, and is currently holding Knight Commander Fernando hostage.

Outside the cabin, there were church knights surrounding it.

Under these circumstances, Claire and her companions already had enough of gaining the trust of Knight Commander Fernando to solve most of the problems that followed.

Firstly, he wouldn't be executed, nor would he have to worry about the consequences of William turning into a monster.

Secondly, it can work with Knight Commander Fernando to turn the tables on Karl and effectively defend against Sister Martha and her group's pursuit.

Things seem to be moving in a positive direction, at least for now.

But when Claire uttered those words, the discussion seemed to shift from Claire and her companions' predicament to Knight Commander Fernando's own safety.

When they heard that Karl and his group might even be targeting them, the nature of the problem changed.

The challenge for Knight Commander Fernando is not protecting Eleanor and the others, but rather how to save himself.

"I am the Knight Commander. Are you saying they came here to deal with me?" Knight Commander Fernando's tone was somewhat disbelieving and surprised.

Even if he doesn't have the same reputation and prestige as Knight Commander Will, he is still someone who can rival Knight Commander Will.

In terms of combat prowess, Knight Commander Fernando was confident that he could fight Knight Commander Will, who did not use his primal weapon, the 'Light of Faith,' to a standstill.

As a knight commander, he was even more intimidating than Knight Commander Will.

"Yes, Sir Fernando, your blood is naturally much stronger than that of ordinary church knights, and the Philosopher's Stone will naturally need the blood of someone like you even more."

Claire said with certainty that there was absolutely nothing wrong with that statement.

Knight Commander Fernando was aware of the existence of the Philosopher's Stone and understood that the divine magic within the church members was the best material for creating it.

However, upon hearing Claire's words, Knight Commander Fernando laughed.

"Hahaha, they'll have to be capable of taking it. If they can extract blood from my body, I'll accept the bet. It just depends on whether they have the ability."

Strength is Fernando's greatest source of confidence.

Someone with his strength would indeed laugh when he heard Claire say something like someone wanted to drain his blood.

Claire, however, remained remarkably calm about it.

“Wasn’t Knight Commander Will also captured? Although he is now at the Knights’ headquarters, in a time when even a traitor like Karl can become a candidate for the next Knight Commander.”

"There must be many other apostates within the Knights Order, so Knight Commander Will is essentially a prisoner, and nobody knows if he's really unconscious."

The only one who can be compared to Knight Commander Fernando is Knight Commander Will.

The only way to eliminate Knight Commander Fernando's pride and confidence is to use Knight Commander Will.

Of course, the effect is quite remarkable.

“But Will was betrayed by the apostates and framed by a conspiracy. That won’t happen to me.” Knight Commander Fernando pondered for a few seconds before giving his answer.

He was completely different from Knight Commander Will, not just in his way of speaking, but also in his attitude towards his subordinates.