From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 560 Dividing the Army into Four Routes
“Besides the underwater prison, the Iron Throne, and the Iron Guardian Foundry next to the Grey Harbor, the Bane Order should have a third stronghold in Baldur’s Gate,” said the evil mind who had been staying in Ivy’s study and had also heard Jahira’s report. “The High Temple of Miracles in the Upper City, which used to be a place where Gond followers showcased their inventions, should now be the Bane Order’s lair.”

“Perfectly reasonable.” Jahira nodded in agreement. “Since Gotash has already captured all the Gond followers to work for him, the temple is naturally empty now. There’s no reason not to make use of it.”

As a port city, the more powerful churches within Baldur's Gate all have some connection to trade. The Church of the Water Queen, which controls shipping routes in a sense, is first, followed by the Church of Gonde, the god of craftsmanship and invention. The Temple of the Highest Miracles, as the headquarters of Gonde's followers, not only serves as a temple but also as a vast exhibition hall of inventions, displaying many ingenious creations that improve the lives of ordinary people.

Moreover, the Temple of the Supreme Wonders is located in the center of the Upper City's Temple District, occupying the best location in the entire city, which can be regarded as proof of Baldur's Gate's openness and inclusiveness.

“Sigh—” The high-ranking harpist suddenly sighed again, “So, my next task is to gather intelligence there? Although I have regained my youth through the Eternal Body Ritual, this troublesome work will definitely make my wrinkles grow back.”

"Actually..." Evil Thoughts raised his hand slightly, somewhat embarrassed to speak, "I know quite a bit about the Temple of Supreme Miracles. Weak points in its defenses, secret passages and such..."

This answer piqued Ivy's interest, and he asked, "Have you investigated that place?"

"To be precise, we raided that place." Although she believed she had severed ties with the past and completely abandoned the evil thoughts of Baal's blood, she still felt a little embarrassed to admit the bad things she had done, especially in front of her bed partner, Ivy.

“When I was still the leader of the Baal Order, I plotted an operation against the High Temple of Miracles. My intention was to undermine the religious atmosphere of Baldur's Gate and plunge it back into Baal's bloody murders,” the evil thought said recklessly. “However, after I stormed into the High Temple of Miracles, I encountered another group there, Gortash and his Bane Order. Needless to say, you can guess that he was there to kidnap Gond followers so he could research the Iron Guardians.”

"The Baal Order and the Bane Order hit it off immediately?" Jahira could almost guess what happened next. "No wonder Melkor's Order was always excluded from the city; it turns out they were never involved in your conspiracy from the start."

“Baal’s past evil thoughts were controlled by her bloodlust, but now she’s free and stands with us,” Ivy stated, defining the situation. “Now that we have the specific details of the Bane Order’s stronghold, it’s extremely advantageous for us. Gotash has many defensive strongholds, which means he can’t concentrate all his forces in one place. Moreover, none of his Bane followers should be True Souls possessed by Mind Flayer Tadpoles, so his main defensive force should be the Iron Guardians…”

“Ah, and this too.” Ivy rummaged through the files on her desk, pulling out a shipping manifest. “This was found at that fireworks shop. The canisters of smoke powder Gortash collected were mainly transported from there to three places: the Iron Guardian Foundry, the High Temple of Miracles in the Upper City, and his own defensive fortress, the High Hall. Now it seems that besides ensuring the explosive collars around the necks of the Gond followers at the Iron Guardian Foundry, some of that smoke powder might have also been sent to the Iron Throne underwater. If things change, Gortash might very well sink the Iron Throne back into the Grey Harbor.”

“He can put explosive collars on innocent Gond followers, so he certainly won’t care about the civilians he’s imprisoned.” Jahira nodded in agreement. “If we want the Gond followers in the foundry to turn against us, we absolutely cannot let Gotash discover that the Iron Throne has fallen.”

“That’s almost impossible.” Ivy shook her head, dismissing Jahira’s analysis. “Remember Will’s father, the Duke? I think he might have been put on the Iron Throne by the Gotash as well. Given Zariel and the Gotash’s history of collusion, I doubt that Mizora would inform the Gotash immediately when we’ve freed all the prisoners from that prison.”

"So, to protect both the Gond followers and their families, we have to launch simultaneous attacks with separate forces?" Even a high-ranking harpist like Jasira looked troubled. "Rescuing people from an underwater prison that could be blown up and flooded at any moment, or raiding a factory full of cultists and steel guards to rescue hostages wearing explosive collars—I don't know which sounds more like a suicide mission..."

“Even with a great mage like you involved, we can only guarantee the smooth operation of one location…” Jasira was right; the wrinkles had indeed returned to her face.

"What about a portal?" the evil thought suggested. "Ivy's teleportation magic is so powerful, let's go to the Iron Throne first, then teleport directly to the foundry and catch them off guard!"

“That’s not how the plan was made, girl.” Jasira finished her tea in one gulp, put down the cup, and sighed. “A plan that leaves no room for maneuver is suicidal. Think about how I lost Minsk. Besides, a hundred years have passed, and I’m not familiar with the changes on the Iron Throne. That’s the most unpredictable part of this operation.”

After a long period of contemplation, Ivy suddenly revealed a confident smile: "Dividing our forces will indeed prevent us from concentrating our superior strength to break through Gotash's defenses, but it won't necessarily lower our overall chances of victory. Sending two routes to conquer the Iron Throne and the Foundry is not enough; we need to split into four."

"Splitting into four groups?" The evil thought leaned over and touched Ivy's forehead. "Normal temperature...Are you out of your mind?"

Avila squeezed her hand and smiled, "This is the result of my careful consideration."

"First, Jahira and Minsk will lead the Iron Throne team. You both fought against the Shalovakian conspiracy a hundred years ago, so the Iron Throne isn't entirely unfamiliar to you. Gale, Will, and Lyezal will accompany you. You'll not only need to find the Bane Order's dark harbor in the Grey Harbor warehouse district, but also use their diving equipment to rescue the prisoners from the Iron Throne. Underwater breathing potions and teleportation scrolls will be a great help, and I'll prepare plenty for you."

“And then it’s you, Evil Thought. You’ll be taking Minsara, Karak, Halsin, Asdalon, and Floric’s Flamefist soldiers, and with the help of the Zantariim and the Guild, you’ll raid the High Temple of Miracles and wipe out all the Bane cultists there.” Ivy suddenly grinned mischievously again. “It’s not only the headquarters of the Bane Order, but also the former temple of the Gonde followers, so there must be a lot of valuable stuff there. Don’t forget to collect some mechanical artifacts made with special techniques for me. You know I quite enjoy studying constructs.” Unlike Evil Thought, who was already blinded by money, Jashira, counting the number of people on her fingers, asked, “You plan to take Shadowheart with you, just the two of you, to take care of the Iron Guardian Foundry?”

“Shadowheart is indeed going to the Iron Guardian Foundry, but she’s not going with me.” Ivy didn’t intend to keep him in suspense. “Remember that mummy lord I brought back? Shadowheart will take him with her to take care of the Iron Guardian Foundry.”

"That undead creature that Lady Irene so vehemently dislikes?" Jasira didn't quite understand Ivy's purpose in making this arrangement. Serene's faith vehemently opposed undead creatures, and her divine magic included many types capable of destroying them. As Serene's daughter, Irene naturally disliked undead creatures as well. Not immediately engaging in combat with Carion was already a considerable concession to Ivy.

“Eileen will also be traveling with them as a surveillance agent,” Ivy nodded in confirmation. “The Iron Guardian manufacturing manual that Evil Thought brought back was a great help, allowing me to understand how the Iron Guardians operate. Besides the Hell Engine provided by Zariel as the power source and the Supreme God as the information hub, necromancy is also involved as the command system. I’ve been working with Carion on this for a while now, and I believe that in a few days I’ll be able to bypass the Supreme God as the information hub and directly use necromancy to control the headless zombies hidden inside the Iron Guardians, making this iron army work for us.”

"I plan to fix that magic to a staff and have Carrion, who is also skilled in necromancy, control the Iron Guardians in the foundry. With the help of the Iron Guardians and the defected Gond followers, it won't be difficult to dismantle the Bane Order's control there. I only sent Shadowheart and Eileen to monitor Carrion to prevent him from becoming too powerful. Of course, there may also be some injured Gond followers who need the priest's care."

"Necromantic magic can control Gothash's Iron Guardians?" Jashira asked in disbelief, this knowledge was beyond her comprehension.

"The main reason is that Gortash put a zombie inside each Iron Guardian as a key component to control its flexible movement," Ivy explained simply. "However, this also has its drawbacks. The Iron Guardian's power source is the Hellfire Engine. If the Soul Coin inside is completely consumed, the thing will become a super bulky iron shell, and the zombie can't continue to move while wearing such a heavy iron shell."

“So when we took control of the Iron Guardians of Gotash…” the evil thought said knowingly.

“…We must engage in a decisive battle with the Supreme God as soon as possible.” Ivy nodded in approval. “The last of the four routes, which is mine, will take the Netherstone of Orin to the High Hall to form an alliance with Gotash and find out where the Mind Flayer's mastermind is hiding. Of course, this will also provide cover for the actions of the others. As long as I can hold off Gotash, the Bane Order will be leaderless and forced to fight independently. This will greatly enhance the security of any operation in either direction.”

"To face Gotash and the Supreme God alone?" the evil thought repeated, shaking its head firmly. "No! Absolutely not!"

"That wicked seed has the most tricks up his sleeve. Who knows if he'll set up an ambush for the Supreme God?" The evil thought shook his head like a rattle.

“I’m not going alone.” Ivy calmed her evil thoughts. “The Mind Flayer, the Comet Prince, and the Shadow Destroyer in the Astral Prism are all my allies. Every single one of them is a nemesis of the Supreme God.”

“That’s more like it…” Xie Nian hesitated for a moment, then stopped arguing.

“Don’t worry, we still have some time to refine this plan.” Ivy got up from behind her desk and gathered the pages she had taken from the Grimoire of Destruction. “The necromancy staff that controls the Iron Guardians still needs to be researched and made. Raphael’s lair is waiting for our raid. And now I need to go and replace Karak’s heart so she can adapt to the red dragon’s heart as soon as possible.”

“Now that you’ve made your plan, we should prepare for this with all our might.” Jasira stood up as well. “I don’t know why, but I feel that this seemingly incredibly dangerous plan has a very high success rate…”

That's because the riskiest part of the plan was borne by Ivy alone. Compared to the smoke barrels, steel guards, and cultists buried throughout the Bane's facilities, the Mind Flayer mastermind wearing the crown of Karthus was the biggest variable.

Even though Ivy consumed four drops of Losanda's divine blood, she still couldn't use the Dawn Cannon to destroy this terrifying creature. Who knows if staying at Baldur's Gate has caused any other new variables?
According to Gotash, after the three Netherstones separated, he lost the ability to continue giving instructions to the Supreme God. Once the Supreme God has completed all the previous instructions, it will be completely liberated, transforming from a puppet into a living god capable of ruling over countless beings.

If a wavering faith can provide the great witch Blackmaven with distorted divine power, how much divine power will a faith whose mind is completely controlled by the mind-stealing tadpole bring to the supreme god?

Moreover, these true souls parasitized by the mind-stealing tadpoles can force those with weak mental strength and willpower to passively accept the call of the Supreme God through psychic branding. The goblins that Ivy and the others encountered in the woods joined the Supreme God's cult in this way.

As a false god, the number and quality of followers of the Supreme True God are terrifying; no one can deny its potential to become a true god. However, when that day truly arrives, it will be the end of the entire continent of Faerûn, and even the world of Toril. This has been personally confirmed by Serene, and no one can say that this is an exaggeration by a god.

(End of this chapter)