"He is buying people's hearts in the city, and many people's impression of him is changing. If this continues, the situation will in turn be detrimental to us."

"If we attack Paladin Gray and the people choose to believe him, then our situation will be very embarrassing."

"This is a very sinister and vicious person. Our intention is to give him time to consider, however, he never seemed to consider our suggestions and even exploit them in turn. From the beginning, he wanted to reverse the situation by reversing the public's perception of him."

"Your Majesty, I suggest that you make a decision as soon as possible about the Paladin Gray. For the sake of the Gustav Empire, you can't delay any more."

These are the suggestions given to Cedric V's aides.

"Dear Dragon God, please tell me if you should take action." Cedric V begged.

"Are you sure he is trying to change the situation?" asked the male voice.

"Isn't it?" the female voice asked back.

"The crazy believers cannot compromise, but the crazy believers' ideas are also easy to guess." The male voice said: "I don't think he did this to change the situation. As long as he had such an idea, it means he had compromised. In this way, we will definitely make him compromise more. Of course, he cannot not know that such a result will be. But I prefer to think that he is actually committing suicide and forcing us to make decisions. These weird crazy believers always regard sacrifice as their highest honor. Their thinking patterns are difficult to understand. Unlike us, they can easily do things that are burning together."

"So, I'm not a good partner."

"Of course, regardless of whether he has such a thought, he is causing results that we do not want to see. If the public opinion further turns to him, the situation will become unfavorable to us. Time is not on our side. If we attack him at that time and the people do not believe us, our attack will fail. And there is no need to attack him according to their agreement. It is not important for the people to think, but the important thing is heaven. At that time, he is very likely to expel us from Gustav, just like he did to the Cardinal of the Holy See. And based on various agreements, we cannot even resist."

"What do you think should be done? We have not yet found a compromise that can ensure that he accepts it. In fact, I think it may never be found. The stubbornness based on faith is too difficult to solve."

"We should show off with him immediately and determine his thoughts for the last time. If he really cannot compromise, even a little bit, then we must take action immediately to avoid the only chance of profiting from this incident, and even fall into an embarrassing situation."

"But we are not prepared enough, if we are sure to reveal his true face."

"No, I don't think we need to prepare anything, we don't need anything. The crusade in heaven is the key to everything. We don't even need to do anything, just a crusade that is responded to."

"What if the crusade in heaven was not issued?"

"That's impossible. The nineteen Holy Spirits need the consent of the vast majority of members to cancel a deal. They have no way to unify their opinions."

"Where is the Demon Lord?"

"The Demon Lord will abandon him unless he is willing to fall. But obviously this possibility is very small, and even if he falls, there will naturally be heaven to deal with him, and we don't need to worry about it."

"And the Lich Council? Oh my God, I found that he is the most involved among all our opponents. Do we need to consider this institution?"

"Grey has been involved in human affairs too deeply. According to the Lich Parliament's Gray Robe Agreement with Heaven and Hell, he is not within the scope of the agreement's protection."

The two voices were silent at the same time, and the hall was quiet.

Cedric V sat quietly on his throne.

After a long time, the female voice whispered: "I agree with you. If that's the case, let's take action. Cedric, meet him."

"Abide by the order, respect the Dragon God!" Cedric V said softly.

...

More than a month after Grey arrived in Black Dragon City, in mid-April of the Holy Calendar 10758, Cedric V summoned him again.

The one who came was Cedric V's black armored close-fitting guard.

"His Majesty, Your Majesty invites you to the Black Dragon Temple."

"Now?"

"Yes. Your Majesty hopes that you have carefully considered the suggestions you made last time. This time you can give Your Majesty a satisfactory reply. Of course, this will also be the final answer. I hope you can understand."

"I understand. Can I wait for me to finish the flour first?"

"Can."

Turning his face, Gray continued to deliver the flour in small bags to the poor in Heilong City. The black-armored guard stood aside and watched quietly. It seemed that because of their arrival, the poor people who came to collect the flour were no longer as enthusiastic as before, and they all looked at them carefully, intentionally or unintentionally.

"Is there anything wrong with your Majesty wanting to see the Paladin? I heard that your Majesty does not like the Paladin."

"Shh, don't ask so much. If you have flour, please pick it up quickly. We can't ask about big shots."

"But what if..."

"Without Paladins before, didn't you starve to death? Someone gave it to us and just take it."

Everything was going quietly, and Gray handed bags of flour to the poor in line.

The black cat whispered: "I feel more and more that what Catherine is saying is right now... Don't you ask what I'm referring to?"

"I know what you mean," Gray replied softly.

The black cat didn't speak anymore, just stayed quietly in the armor.

With his head down, Gray continued to hand over bags of flour to the poor. Every time he handed it to a poor man, he would say, "May the Holy Spirit protect you."

Those poor people would hold them in their hands and nodded in response. There were all kinds of reactions, including humble, flustered, nervous, insincere, and greedy eyes.

Soon, the flour was finished, leaving only an empty cart. However, there were still many poor people who did not receive the flour, and they looked at Gray with a gaze.

The grain output in the north is far less than that in the south, and in an era dominated by agriculture, the north is far less than that in the south. As the capital of the Gustav Empire, more than 30% of the entire Heilong City actually belonged to the poor. However, compared with the poor in the famine years, they have no crisis of survival for the time being.

"Sir Paladin, will you come tomorrow?" asked the ragged child who had been waiting in line for a long time.

After a little silence, Gray touched his head and replied softly, "It shouldn't be here tomorrow."

"What should we do?"

“There will be someone else taking over my position.”

"What if there isn't?"

"You must learn to live well on your own, work hard, and live hard, even though life is not so pleasant. Someone may bully you, and may make you feel desperate, but I hope that no matter how bad the situation is, you can maintain your persistence in goodness. Only in this way can the world become better."

The poor listened quietly. Maybe they actually couldn't understand, maybe they were still thinking about that bag of flour, but there were always people who understood it. Although the number of people may be small, pitifully small, and desperate.

Sometimes Black Cat even wants to ask, which one is the despair of the poor or the despair of Gray?

Turning his face, Gray asked Carl beside him: "How much does it cost?"

"Not many, only a few gold coins."

"Switch them all into copper coins."

"Okay." Carl nodded.

Turning around, Gray rode his horse and said to the black armored close guard, "Okay, my work is done, let's go."

The black-armored close-up guard saluted silently.

Under the gaze of the poor, the black-armored close-fitting guard led Grey to walk slowly along the narrow alley towards the direction of the palace.

...

In the afternoon, the Black Dragon City was shrouded in low clouds. The wind gently blew from the plains, and the Gustav's black dragon flag was gently floating in the wind.

Gray handed over his sword, walked up the steps step by step, and once again came to the Black Dragon Palace, looking at Cedric V from afar.

Taking steps, he walked into the Black Dragon Palace step by step.

The black-armored close-fitting guards around stood quietly, staring at him.

Step by step, Gray bowed slightly and devoutly drew a cross on his chest.

"Dear Emperor Gustav, His Majesty Cedric, I am glad to see you again."

"I am also very happy to see you again, ahem... Lord Paladin." Cedric V asked in a hoarse voice: "I don't know what my suggestions are doing, how are you thinking about? Has it been thought about it carefully? More than a month has been long enough."

"I have considered it in detail, I, reject your offer." Gray replied softly: "My oath, my faith, does not allow me to use them as bargaining chips for trading."

"If you reject my offer, the result can be quite bad."

"I know, but I stick to my faith. I will treat it as a question of my faith. If faith can be traded, then it is no longer a faith. The holder of the faith cannot use his own safety as a criterion for his decision. No matter what the result is, I will accept it with pleasure."

"What about the people around you? If you are a saint, shouldn't the safety of the people around you be the most important?"

"My agreement with the Holy Spirit only involves me, not others. They have been deceived by me, and all the faults are in me. They do not know who I am. If you insist on venting anger and venting anger with innocent people, then I will use all my strength to protect them."

"What kind of protection do you want to protect? The Holy Spirit will attack you, the Demon Lord will abandon you, what power do you have to protect them?"

Two huge black shadows slowly emerged on the huge dragon clan totem behind Cedric V.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" The female voice rang out, followed by the male voice: "If you insist, we don't mind pushing the most powerful Paladin ever to the abyss. And if you can compromise, we can guarantee your safety and your power today. You can continue to pursue what you call justice, of course, limited justice. Just like the former Holy See, not the Holy See today. Think of your wife and your children. Maybe you should make a decision that is more in their interests."

Grey stood quietly, the hall was quiet, so quiet that the slightest sound could be heard clearly.

Gray and Cedric V looked at each other quietly.

...

The warm sunshine is quietly sprinkling.

Shelley took Ritchie to play in the yard.

Ritchie held up a flower high against the blue sky.

Shelley stood aside and smiled sweetly.

...

Grey stood quietly and looked at Cedric V. He whispered: "I want to be a role model for my children, even if they are destroyed, have a clear conscience, rather than being the object of his despise. I will do my best to protect my family, and at the same time, the hope in everyone's heart. Justice cannot be used to bargain. Even if it disappears from this world, then until the last moment, I should be a kind and upright knight who has never violated any oaths, and have never fallen into darkness."

"Everyone will despise you, is your justice or justice?"

"This is my commitment to myself and has nothing to do with others."
To be continued...