"Neighbors who are not friendly like this can indeed be uncomfortable, so let them pay some price."
Lin Yan picked up the feather pen she had placed aside and then found a scroll from a box. She gently opened it, and a map appeared before them.
Lin Yan traced the surrounding territories with her finger, then pointed to a few places, signaling Will to take a look.
"Understood, my Lord. Sir Knight," Will's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement.
They had been resting for a long time since they last recaptured the chaotic lands, and they felt quite guilty about just eating their fill.
Now that they had a mission again, they were eager to get started. Their lord provided them with such good treatment; they had to offer more in return.
After Sir Will left, Lin Yan began to ponder the lords surrounding her territory.
Should she make a move against some of them, seize their land, and expand her own?
It was said that some of these lords had dirty hands. After all, this was not a prosperous region. The fact that these lords possessed so much wealth spoke volumes about the source of their fortune.
Her territory did not lack grain, but her soldiers were still few in number.
However, this was medieval Western Europe, where people were scarce, and knights equipped with full armor were even rarer. Therefore, warfare was simply a matter of a few dozen fully equipped knights leading some soldiers without armor into battle.
Having witnessed modern warfare with firearms and the struggles between post-apocalyptic superpowered individuals, Lin Yan actually found such cold-weapon warfare rather unimpressive.
Furthermore, war meant death, and she was still desperately short of manpower. Every ordinary person was invaluable, and she did not want the personnel she had painstakingly trained to die in vain.
Until her new recruits were trained, she would not initiate war easily. But these lords were already testing her limits, and she felt she could make some moves.
The young dragons who had come here would be an excellent choice. She would not strike first, but since others had already encroached upon her, it would be seen as weakness if she did not retaliate!
Sir Will could give them a warning, and the adult young dragons would certainly leave a lasting impression on them.
After issuing the orders, Lin Yan did not dwell on the matter, only briefly mentioning it to the parents of the mixed-blood dragons while treating them.
She was Maurice's fiancée and was almost of the same generation as those dragons, so she spoke to them directly.
Although they did not explicitly agree, their expressions suggested they had taken her words to heart.
While Lin Yan only mentioned it briefly, these dragons who had always wanted to repay her understood that they could now assist her, and thus they all sprang into action.
The Church of Light, preoccupied with its conflict against the Church of Darkness, had diverted the attention of its high-ranking officials. Consequently, the new Saintess remained confined to the heart of the church, with no outward introduction.
Although the outside world was aware of the new Saintess in the Church of Light, they were not very familiar with her abilities or appearance.
When the Church of Light's Saintess was mentioned, their first impression was still that of the exiled "Rose of the Church." This greatly displeased the new Saintess.
She was somewhat anxious, desperately wanting to possess the same status as Angelina. She recalled the grand processions during each year's Grand Festival of Light.
She had mastered the Holy Light spell and was fully capable of bestowing blessings upon the common people. Yet, why had she not been allowed to participate in the Grand Festival of Light in the two years since she became Saintess?
Was she not presentable enough?
This time, the Grand Festival of Light was attended by the Holy Son alone. The explanation given was that she was not yet proficient in the procedures of the Grand Festival.
Furthermore, the tension between the two churches had been escalating, and her strength was too weak, making them afraid she might get hurt.
But these were all excuses. She had participated in numerous Grand Festivals of Light before she became Saintess. Even if she had not truly sat on the float to bestow blessings upon everyone, she was familiar with all the procedures.
She had dreamt countless times of standing on the float and had imagined numerous times how she would bless people and what kind of smile she should wear.
How could she not be familiar with the procedures? And why would she be worried about danger? She longed to appear before everyone, to be the center of all attention, to stand beside the Holy Son and receive all blessings and admiration.
Yet, all of this was not permitted. She felt that these people were being perfunctory with her, but she was powerless. She had no influence among the church's upper echelons, and no one would speak up for her.
All she could do was continue to improve her strength and, at the same time, cultivate her own influence.
She also had her own Knights of Light, but her guardian knight was also Angelina's former guardian knight. If he could betray Angelina, he could also betray her.
Therefore, she could not trust him at all. Without knowing who was behind him, she could never place her trust in him.
"Help me send a letter to the Royal City. I need my father's assistance." She handed a letter to her most trusted maid.
"Yes, Your Excellency," the maid received the letter with both hands.
Her mother was a famous socialite in the Royal City, but she had always known who her father was.
It was rather amusing that the girls from the Leander family seemed to be highly favored by the God of Light. This likely meant that the Leander family's claim of having the bloodline of the God of Light was indeed true.
Just like the two girls of this generation, she and Angelina, both possessed the most dazzling golden hair and unparalleled talent for light.
However, she was a legitimate child born of wedlock, while she was an illegitimate child who could not see the light.
But what did it matter! The legitimate child had now been exiled from the Church's sphere of influence, while she, the illegitimate child, not only had her father's favor but had also become the new Saintess of the Church of Light.
Only those who laugh last will laugh the most beautifully. She was already a victor, and she would ascend to higher positions, then crush that woman under her feet.
She offered a somewhat shy and gentle smile to the mirror before her, then her smile grew wider and more sinister.
The light element, symbolizing warmth and justice, enveloped the Saintess, but a crack appeared in that light element, allowing a trace of less harmonious color to seep in. However, in her current triumphant state, she failed to notice this.