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When I returned to Fontainebleau with my troops in full force, the first person I saw was Shaman Romeo.

"Dear Knight Xuanfeng, it's wonderful to see you again!"

"Aren't you the one who left just a month ago? Why are you back?"

"It's because I dearly miss everyone in Fontainebleau. I've been dreaming of this beloved land, so I finally returned."

"Dreaming of this land? Then what about the dark circle under your left eye? Don't tell me it's from lack of sleep."

"Oh, well... alright, alright. I admit it; I'm here accompanying Shaman Catherine."

"So, your romantic skills aren't that great, huh? Did the lady Shaman hit you? Wasn't she supposed to arrive only in spring?"

"As you know, the Temple places great importance on Fontainebleau, so the sooner, the better."

Of course, it is said that when they were slow to react and failed to seize control of the wolf tribes—the Red, Gray, and Black Clans—they had already secretly prepared under the support of the Beast King. On one hand, they obstructed my recruitment efforts within these three clans, while on the other, they gathered their forces, ready to seize the passage once I faltered against human attacks. Naturally, the Temple, which also coveted the Golden Trade Route, responded immediately to the Beast King's actions.

"So, what decision has the Temple made?"

"To demonstrate the importance of Fontainebleau and respect for this historic city, the War God Temple has decided to establish the nineteenth War God Altar here. They have promoted Senior Shaman Catherine Warfang Rhein as the Altar Saintess and established an Altar Knights Order to uphold the dignity of the War God."

"How many knights did she bring?"

"One hundred Temple Magic Armored Knights and five hundred Gold Lion Knights from the Warfang family."

"Seems reasonable, but compared to the prestige of the War God Altar and the First Family, it seems a bit meager."

"Well, the Temple's main forces are busy controlling various tribes and deterring the Radiant Temple of humans. These Magic Armored Knights are new recruits this year. As for the First Family, they're not as glorious as before. Not only have they lost a significant number of troops to the Beast King, but some internal members have also been divided, leaving them short-handed."

"So, the Saintess and the Temple plan to protect the Golden Passage with such limited strength?"

"Haha, honestly, Xuanfeng, do you realize how astonishing your achievements are? No one thought you could build a fortress capable of resisting humans in just one winter. In everyone's mind, Fontainebleau is still that chaotic fallen city surrounded by low walls. The strategy against humans was always harassment and raids on supplies, forcing them to retreat, and then gathering forces on both sides of the marsh passage to share the benefits. The Temple's strategy was to use the pretext of protecting the War God Altar to forcibly recruit troops from the Red, Black, and Gray Clans, securing the passage's benefits and using them as leverage to gain the allegiance of these clans from the Beast King. But you, in the eyes of those bigwigs, were just a foolish country bumpkin, a sacrificial pawn."

"Do they want me to sacrifice myself? I'll give them a surprise. Tell me, who is this Saintess Catherine?"

"A real beauty, indeed~"

"Hmm? You idiot, are you smitten again?"

I knew he wasn't wrong. The lion clan, being the leaders of the orcs, has always been quite intelligent. Consequently, there are few "Beast Marks" among their upper echelons. After establishing Lion Heart City, the Warfang family extensively interbred with humans. Although orc blood has a forced selective trait, meaning any offspring will be orc (if both parents are orc, it's random), the Warfang family became increasingly beautiful, with fewer "Beast Marks," a widely acknowledged fact.

Since the Temple hadn't been established yet, Saintess Catherine and her entourage naturally moved into my quarters, requiring me to seek permission to enter. Seeing the two haughty lion knights at the entrance, I turned and walked away. The early intervention of the Temple's forces was unexpected, but since everyone had their own agendas, there was no need to curry favor with them. I needed to make some preparations before meeting them.

First, I settled the thirty thousand half-orcs, leaving five thousand under my control to lead and manage all the laborers in building the fortress and city. Another five thousand were organized into a regiment for training. While I could control their minds and imprint certain techniques, I couldn't control their bodies, so martial arts still required diligent practice.

Although I found many demon beast leather armors in the ruins of the Temple, they weren't enough to equip my regular orc troops, let alone the half-orcs. However, without armor, the half-orcs would be cannon fodder, so I imprinted the first three levels of the Golden Bell Shield and Iron Shirt techniques for them to practice diligently. External martial arts are easy to learn, and with the half-orcs' constitution, they could complete the foundation of the Golden Bell Shield and Iron Shirt within three months. Moreover, the techniques I imparted were improved versions from the Temple ruins, focusing solely on defense, equivalent to wearing heavy scale steel armor, making them cost-effective and highly beneficial.

After settling the half-orcs, I convened my subordinates in the city to inquire about the Temple's recent activities. Indeed, Catherine's subordinates had frequently contacted my disciples, showing great interest in their combat abilities and prospects. Some disciples from the Red, Gray, and Black Clans had already been lured over. For my human subordinates, the Warfang family, experienced in dealing with humans, also tempted them. However, Hake and others understood the limited status they could achieve within the Warfang family and thus remained loyal to me.

As for the benefits I gained from the Temple ruins, due to initial secrecy, even Ankara and others didn't fully understand. They only knew about installing a magic array in the fortress, unaware of the Dominating Staff and the Half-Orc Sword Master. Thus, the Temple was unaware of these matters. However, facing human attacks, I didn't want to worry about another enemy behind my back. I must eliminate the danger before the war begins.