Newrent was somewhat disappointed that Blake, on whom he had placed high hopes, did not cause trouble for Yun Zhe, and he began to speculate about Blake's thoughts. However, he was not foolish enough to go and speak ill of Yun Zhe to Blake, thereby ruining the good image he had just built in Blake's mind.

Yun Zhe, on the other hand, felt relieved. After Blake returned, he took on all the tasks except for military training, working tirelessly like a wound-up robot.

Yun Zhe was happy to have some free time, spending his days with Usa and completely refraining from interfering in Blake's actions, except for training. Blake, in turn, intentionally ignored Yun Zhe, excluding him entirely from the decision-making process.

Although Nyrent was secretly pleased, he still kindly reminded Black that many things were orchestrated by this Aruru man named Yun Zhe, and it seemed to have been quite effective.

Upon hearing this, Blake not only did not lower his guard against Yun Zhe, but instead further prevented him from attending important meetings, and even arranged for someone to secretly keep an eye on him.

Being secretly watched made Yun Zhe very uncomfortable. Fortunately, Gao and Caroline remained firmly on Yun Zhe's side. Although this marginalized them as well, they still comforted Yun Zhe, saying, "Blake just doesn't understand you yet. Once he does, he'll trust you."

Yun Zhe smiled slightly after hearing this. In fact, he didn't need to participate in the meeting; he could easily know many things on his own. After all, the human brain was practically transparent to him.

Although Blake was wary of him, he had to admit that this man was very capable, decisive, and farsighted, and he didn't seem to have any intention of rebelling against the Donic family. It's hard to imagine that the Donic family, with such an outstanding person, would still be beaten so badly by the Lunlang family.

Upon hearing the plague, Yun Zhe immediately thought of the strange plague that had led to the decline of the Donic family. Serena had mentioned it several times; she had always suspected that it was a plague deliberately spread by someone. Her reasons for wanting to retake Donic City, besides the legal basis for inheriting the title, included investigating the cause of the plague.

And Blake seemed to be doing the same thing. He consulted several doctors, or rather wizards, to investigate what had happened, but it seemed to be going very poorly.

Come to think of it, this castle has experienced two wars, a fire, and heavy rain in just six months. What evidence could it possibly have left behind?

Yun Zhe shook his head, stopping his wild thoughts. "Anyway, someone else has taken care of these things, so why should I get involved?"

A week later, the army that had been pursuing the Lunlang family returned. Their results were meager; apart from Philby, they had gained almost nothing.

Serena was overwhelmed with emotion upon seeing Blake; she embraced him and burst into tears. This scene deeply moved everyone present.

“Serena is very good, very good. I know you were worried when you were chasing after her, worried that you would be blinded by hatred. It seems that you were not. That’s great.” Blake was very happy to see Serena in her military uniform and praised her sincerely.

Serena blushed, and the generals who had been chasing her also looked at her strangely. Serena glanced around the crowd but didn't see Yun Zhe. She asked curiously, "Black, have you talked to Yun Zhe recently? You know, that Aluru man with the pointed ears."

Blake took a deep breath and looked at Serena seriously. "Serena, I think we need to have a serious talk about Yun Zhe."

Seeing Blake's serious expression, Serena cautiously asked, "Is there a problem?"

“There are too many questions. First of all, as an Aruru, how can you be so knowledgeable and wise, not only proficient in military strategy but also familiar with domestic and foreign affairs, and appear when you need you most? Don’t you think it’s too much of a coincidence?” Blake led Serena to a secluded place where they could speak without being overheard by a third person.

Serena lowered her head. She had indeed suspected Yun Zhe, but at the time, she desperately needed such a person. Moreover, Andrew had said that no matter what problems Yun Zhe had, solving the immediate issues was the key. Therefore, they stopped thinking about whether Yun Zhe's arrival was too coincidental.

“But…” Serena wanted to argue further, but Blake sighed, “You gave him the title of knight, which is fine, but now that Donic’s crisis is over, I think it’s time to say goodbye.”

Serena's immediate "No!" greatly surprised Blake.

Blake's gaze sharpened further. "What's wrong? Why can't I?"

Serena blushed, feeling ashamed of her impulsiveness. But she needed a plausible reason to keep Yun Zhe, without angering her godfather.

"Because of the elves," Serena suddenly remembered what Yun Zhe had said and answered nervously.

“Oh,” Blake nodded thoughtfully, “was this also something Yun Zhe told you?”

Serena paused, then shook her head, feeling immense guilt. She had lied to her godfather for the sake of an Aruru. But at the same time, she also thought about the question: why had she spoken up for Yun Zhe in the first place?

Blake stood there, his eyes deep and unfocused, yet his heart was filled with profound disappointment. He knew Serena was lying; Yun Zhe had told her all this, but he held back, not exposing the lie.

“Yun Zhe was the first to say it, but I… I think what Yun Zhe said makes a lot of sense. Moreover, we encountered the White Tiger Knights of the Elves, and the Lunlang family’s attack on us this time should also be because they realized that the Elves were going to attack us…”

Blake nodded. If all of this was true, then Yun Zhe had at least not lied about this matter.

What is his opinion on the elves?

He said the best solution is peace talks.

Blake scoffed. Peace talks? The elves would negotiate with us?

Blake sighed. "Serena, even if the threat from the elves is real, I don't think there's any reason to pin our hopes on negotiations. We've had very few successful negotiations with the elves, and what leverage do you have to get them to the negotiating table? Let go of these unrealistic fantasies and prepare for battle."

Serena hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped herself.

“Furthermore, if we go to war with the elves, Yun Zhe will have even less reason to stay here,” Blake said earnestly again. He was now determined to send Yun Zhe away. A mere Aruruman, yet Serena was willing to lie to protect him—this was absolutely unforgivable. Thinking of this, Blake felt a chill run down his spine and broke out in a cold sweat.

"Why?" Serena asked in a trembling voice.

"Because the Aluru people have a better affinity for the Elves, and the Elves are also more benevolent towards the Aluru people."