They are all characters I control.

More importantly, the upcoming plans may require the cooperation of the Scarlet Witch, Dorothy.

Fernando looked at Claire. "What do you think I should do?"

Now that we know the heretics' plans, how to stop them is a rather troublesome problem.

Chapter 136 Return to the Holy Lance Knights

The actions of the heretics of the Church of Life and the apostate knight Karl were not anything profound or mysterious.

They were doing something quite simple: ambushing the most powerful church knight in the area and subduing the knight commander to disrupt the balance of power in the area.

Without the command of their leader, the knights of the church would obviously be weaker in combat.

Now that the Church Knights have been weakened, the heretics of the 'Church of Life' clearly have an opportunity to take advantage of this.

But this makes things a little complicated.

For example, if that were the case, the knight commanders would be in a rather troublesome situation.

Knight Commander Will fell into a coma. Even if he hadn't died, he couldn't explain himself clearly at this moment, because too many apostates had infiltrated the headquarters of the Holy Lance Knights.

This can be seen from the fact that so many apostate knights came to assassinate Eleanor before she was in prison.

What should have been a heavily guarded prison for the Knights was instead able to allow those knights to appear.

Knight Commander Will was clearly rational; he remained unconscious, unaware of the number of infidels he was facing.

This was also a very difficult situation for Knight Commander Fernando. He could certainly refuse, but as Claire said, if he refused, he would be branded a heretic.

Incidentally, let the apostate Karl and other true heretics do something, such as cutting themselves, to smear Knight Commander Fernando as a traitor.

Now that the 'Holy Lance Knights' have been sieveted by heretics and apostates, it's hard to guarantee that they won't take action against Knight Commander Fernando, or severely punish him.

Regardless of what will happen to Knight Commander Fernando, the church knights under his command will certainly be in a state of chaos.

Should they trust Knight Commander Fernando or the Knights' headquarters? This will be a choice facing the Church Knights.

It is not necessary for a large number of church knights to obey the orders of the Knights' headquarters, but even a small number of church knights doing so can greatly shake the fighting power of the church knights under Knight Commander Fernando.

The result will certainly be that the heretics will once again stage the same scene as when they ambushed and besieged Knight Commander Will.

Knight Commander Fernando is indeed very strong, and can be considered one of the 'Twin Guardian Knights' of the Northern Kingdom, alongside Knight Commander Will.

Even if Knight Commander Will was ambushed and defeated, and had to pretend to be unconscious, how long could Knight Commander Fernando hold out?

Therefore, Claire was also pondering how Knight Commander Fernando should face a situation similar to that of Knight Commander Will.

He looked at the defensive line on the map, and then at Knight Commander Fernando.

After a moment, he spoke: "If you don't go, they will use 'disobedience' as an excuse to accuse you of insubordination. Then they will openly target you, and you won't even have a chance to defend yourself."

"Then I'll go?"

Knight Commander Fernando nodded in agreement. Although he was impulsive, he wasn't stupid and naturally understood that what Claire was saying would indeed happen.

Therefore, he was even more troubled.

After all, they had just realized that the heretics were trying to lure them away from their base, but now they couldn't refuse.

"Then what should we do? What if I listen to those apostates outside and go to the Knights' headquarters? The condition of this territory I'm guarding isn't that important; as long as I have enough fighting power, I can take it back."

At this moment, Knight Commander Fernando seemed to have found his answer, and the way he spoke did not sound like he was joking.

If you temporarily abandon your current territory, you can take it back at any time if you preserve enough strength.

This is the conclusion reached after careful consideration by Knight Commander Fernando.

“If you go there, you'll be entering their territory. You know better than I how long Karl has been operating there.”

Claire realized that the Knight Commander in front of her seemed to have some information about returning to the Knights' headquarters, which meant that he also had his own subordinates at the Knights' headquarters.

This doesn't seem so surprising, after all, church knights would take turns resting or reporting.

So, some of the church knights under Knight Commander Fernando would go to the headquarters to rest, but Claire was still not very optimistic.

"When you go back, have you calculated how many people you can mobilize, how many you trust, and how many of them are Karl's men?"

Fernando remained silent.

His finger stopped on the map. "I've calculated that I can only mobilize no more than 30% of the personnel at headquarters."

"30% versus 70%?"

“Thirty percent is already quite a lot,” Fernando said calmly. “If it really comes to that, even thirty percent can accomplish a great deal.”

Claire looked him in the eyes. "You're planning to make your move as soon as you get back?"

Fernando did not deny that he did intend to first take complete control of the Knights' headquarters by force.

“Karl won’t let me sit comfortably in the position of Knight Commander. The fact that he dared to ask me to go back means he’s already made preparations. But if I don’t go back, he’ll make his move sooner,” he said. “Going back at least gives me a chance. If I don’t go back, something will happen here sooner or later.”

"You might die."

“I was prepared long ago.” Fernando’s voice was flat. “The position of Knight Commander has never been easy. Will has fallen. If I fall too, at least the rest of us will know who the real enemy is.”

Claire looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded. "Then when you go back, find a way to get close to Knight Commander Will."

Fernando's brow twitched. "Approaching Will?"

“He’s in a coma right now. But if someone can wake him up, all the mysteries will be solved. Will knows who Karl is, who the traitors are, and what happened before he fell into a coma. Once he wakes up, Karl won’t be able to hide anymore.”

Fernando stared at Claire for a long time. "You know how to wake him up?"

Claire touched the broken sword in his pocket and said, "I don't know, but perhaps I can find a way if I see Commander Will."

Knight Commander Fernando nodded, understanding that Will's awakening must mean there were no threats around him.

The fact that the heretics haven't assassinated Will is undoubtedly due to the Archbishop's attention or the Knights' headquarters protecting him.

If we take action on our side, we can resolve Will's crisis and fight together.

"Then let's do it this way. You will be my prisoners from now on. We can deal with Karl and the others when we get to the Knights' headquarters."

Claire nodded and stood up.

"Yes, I understand."

Chapter 137 Karl's Panic

The snow outside the cabin was falling heavier and heavier, and the torchlight flickered in the wind, casting the shadows of the knights around them that were sometimes long and sometimes short.

The original executions were no longer taken into consideration; the civilians who had contact with the heretics were now being held in place.

All eyes were on the cabin.

No one knows what is happening inside the cabin.

It has been some time since 'Eleanor' took Knight Commander Fernando inside, and so far there has been no movement inside the cabin except for the holy light that was emitted earlier.

Who emitted that holy light? Was it Knight Commander Fernando? He retaliated? He subdued Eleanor, who was holding him hostage, with his own power?

But Eleanor was also a church knight and could also use holy magic, so the most tormented people at this time were the church knights outside.

They had no idea what was going on inside the cabin, but there were others who were even more anxious than the church knights.

Even though Karl wasn't under Knight Commander Fernando's command, Eleanor was his comrade-in-arms.

Is the person who knows his secrets and background now alone with Knight Commander Fernando? This situation makes Karl very anxious.

Karl stood at the front of the crowd, a layer of fine snow covering his silver-white armor, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, his knuckles slightly white.

He stared at the tightly closed wooden door for almost half an hour.

It's too quiet. So quiet it doesn't feel like a negotiation, but more like a secret plot.

If he heard any movement inside, he would rush in immediately, but in reality, there was no reaction at all.

If things continue like this, I wonder how long they can have a conversation inside?

When the time comes, Eleanor will surely tell Knight Commander Fernando what happened, right? Because she was the real apostate, the one who framed Knight Commander Will and gave the fellow church knights the water with the 'Philosopher's Stone' potion.

At that time, Eleanor covered the rear while the church knights escorted the poisoned Knight Commander Will out of the mine.

The church knights breathed a sigh of relief, but their equipment and supplies were left behind in the town where the Scarlet Witch Dorothy had set a trap. Their first priority was to find a water source.

As a result, Karl took the initiative to find a water source and brought several apostate knights with him. He then added the Philosopher's Stone potion to the well water not far away and gave it to the other church knights to drink.

What followed was that the church knights all turned into monsters, and those who were not blessed by the 'Goddess of Life' appeared. They began to kill each other and even attack Knight Commander Will.

To avoid being accidentally injured or involved, Karl and the other apostate knights quickly left the battlefield and kept watch from the outside.

Everyone thought that Knight Commander Will would be killed, but unexpectedly, he had left behind a way to save his life. It was unclear what he did, but the church knights around him, who had secretly thought he had become a monster, were all torn to pieces in an instant.

Even Karl and his men on the outskirts were stunned by the force. When they returned to the battlefield, they found that Eleanor, who had been covering the rear, had returned.

Not only was she unharmed, but she also took Knight Commander Will with her. Karl could only report to Mel and Sister Martha, and the conclusion was to take the residents of the town occupied by the Scarlet Witch Dorothy back to the Knights.

In this way, Karl became a church knight who saved the common people, a model of the church knightly order, and gained a group of witnesses.

With witnesses who could prove that Eleanor had attacked civilians in that town, and under the influence of so many people and the cries of the town's survivors, the bishop instantly trusted Karl and decided to execute Eleanor.

All of this was logical; Eleanor was certain to die, but she might do something unexpected, so Karl was still worried and sent someone to assassinate her.

Unexpectedly, Eleanor managed to escape; she not only survived but also got away.

This made Karl very uneasy, because he was currently the only one who had infiltrated the Order of the Church and climbed the ranks to the highest position. Naturally, a traitor who revealed his apostasy would be subject to the most severe punishment, and Karl absolutely did not want that to happen.

Taking advantage of the chaos, he further attacked other loyalists in the Order of the Church, escalating the situation and shifting all the blame onto Eleanor, thus getting the Order to issue the arrest warrant for Eleanor as much as possible, while also paving the way for his own gradual rise to power.

Things went very smoothly; Eleanor, despite being wanted, actually returned to Sister Martha's territory.

This could be the best thing ever. As long as Sister Martha can control Eleanor or kill her, everything will be fine.

But Cal's wish remained unfulfilled for a long time. Not only was Eleanor not killed, but she also rescued a church knight who had been imprisoned by Sister Martha for a hundred years.

Even Eleanor has the Inquisition's Sisters by her side? Those are the subordinates of Ophelia, the Acting Saint of Discipline.

This incident plunged Carl into an icy abyss, making him feel as if the world had suddenly turned gray.

His career within the 'Holy Lance Knights' wasn't going so smoothly either, because Knight Commander Will was ultimately sent back by Eleanor. If Eleanor wanted to assassinate Knight Commander Will, she wouldn't have sent him back in the first place.

Assassinating Commander Will on the way would be the best option.

But Eleanor, now burdened with the accusation of being a heretic, did not do so. Regardless of whether she massacred civilians or escaped from prison to kill other church knights, ultimately she did not harm the most important knight, Sir Will.

As a result, various opinions began to circulate within the 'Holy Lance Knights', and gradually many people began to suspect that Karl might have some kind of problem.

Although Karl did his best to cooperate with Sister Martha among the other apostates in the Knights Order and eliminated many loyal knights, he still fell short at the last hurdle.

Knight Commander Will is not dead, and he is under very tight protection from the Holy Lance Knights.

Even though Karl has been chosen as a candidate for Knight Commander, Knight Commander Will is still alive. When he wakes up, he will be able to solve all the mysteries. This is a landmine that will be a fatal blow to Karl.

That's why Karl took the initiative to apply for a mission to persuade Knight Commander Fernando to return to the Knights' headquarters.

This way, he could at least avoid suspicion or run away if things went wrong. However, upon hearing Sister Martha's signal on the way, he actually captured Eleanor again.

However, he is not surrounded by apostate knights now, and Sister Martha strongly opposes his killing of Eleanor, which is why Eleanor survived.

But now, Eleanor has taken Knight Commander Fernando hostage.

In the cabin, Eleanor will surely tell Knight Commander Fernando the truth, and if that happens, she's doomed!

Thinking of this, Karl could no longer bear it.

Karl glanced sideways at the knight beside him, wearing a dark red cloak—Fernando's second-in-command, a burly man with old scars on his face.

He lowered his voice and said, "It's been a long time; your men should have rushed in by now."

Chapter 138 Here, Fernando is in charge.

Although Knight Commander Fernando may not necessarily believe Eleanor's words, after all, Eleanor is a heretic.

Regardless, the Knights' headquarters has already posted Eleanor's crimes on the wanted poster.

Would Knight Commander Fernando believe the words of a criminal already identified by the Knights' headquarters, compared to a captured apostate? Not necessarily.

However, Karl didn't want to gamble on whether Knight Commander Fernando would trust Eleanor.

Because if Commander Fernando truly trusts Eleanor and develops even the slightest doubt about himself, it could affect the subsequent plans for Commander Fernando.

This, of course, also puts Carl himself in a troublesome crisis.