From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 572 The Shadow Under the Alliance
“Lifting the hammer of Orpheus is not a wise move. As the son of Gith, Orpheus would only wish for the deaths of all your comrades, regardless of their status.”

On the bustling streets of Baldur's Gate, the monarch's voice entered Ivy's mind through psionic energy.

His plan to eradicate the Benn Order and all Gotash influence has already begun.

As planned, the adventurers and all their allies were divided into four teams, each heading to the underwater Iron Throne, the Iron Throne by the Grey Harbor, the High Temple of Miracles in the Upper City, and the High Hall, Gothash's lair.

Of course, Ivy went to the High Hall alone, and he also had the responsibility of sending attack signals to the others using magic.

Once everyone is in their designated positions, Ivy will enter Gotash's High Hall to prevent Gotash from colluding with his subordinates and to extract the mastermind's exact location.

In order to gain people's trust, he even brought along the Astral Prism and two pieces of Nysso.

What he didn't expect was that when they returned from Avernus, the Mind Flayer hiding in the Astral Prism didn't come out to express its opinion, but instead contacted Ivy at a crucial moment in the operation.

"Your lover, Shadowheart, is watched by both Selenne and Shar. If she were to appear before the Comet Prince, she would be utterly annihilated by his unparalleled psychic power. The Mind Flayer Empire was destroyed entirely by the power of Geese; when Orpheus inherited his mother's power, he also inherited her hatred for the Mind Flayers." The monarch's somewhat ethereal voice continued to echo in Ivy's ears. "Your friend needs my power to remain conscious, and my life is in your hands. Our alliance must be maintained by trust; we cannot repeat the mistakes of the Chosen of the Three Gods of Death."

“I know what you want, Your Majesty.” Ivy never intended to trust a monster that fed on the brains of others. “You only want two things: survival and freedom. Survival is above freedom. Acquiring the Hammer of Orpheus is merely an extra layer of insurance. Though I hate to say it, in this game, only by being willing to sacrifice others can we make you hesitate and wholeheartedly help us end the shadow cast by the Supreme God.”

Nuclear deterrence is a strategy that uses the awareness of destroying the world to make the enemy hesitate to act.

In other words, it means being prepared to lose in order to achieve a win-win situation.

Although the monarch yearns for freedom and to break free from the control of the mastermind, he is ultimately of the same species as the mastermind. If he were to relinquish his freedom in order to survive and willingly become the mastermind's slave, it would be a devastating blow to Ivy's small group.

Therefore, Ivy will use the conditions that the monarch finds most unacceptable to threaten him, so that he will completely abandon the strategy of siding with the mastermind and face the mastermind's challenge with a life-or-death attitude.

After Ivy fully conveyed her meaning, the monarch, who was hiding in the Astral Prism, remained silent for a long time.

It wasn't until Ivy walked along the plaza of the temple district to the entrance of the High Hall and asked the guards at the door to inform Grand Duke Gotash that the monarch sent out a sigh through the psychic channel.

"You've been checkmated—you planned this all along, haven't you?" Before Ivy could answer, the monarch muttered to himself, "This isn't fair. My life is completely in your hands, but I have very few bargaining chips to threaten you."

Ivy certainly cared about her friendship with the adventurers, but at this moment, the more ruthless she appeared, the safer they would be.

“I thought you had already figured this out.” Flame Fist bowed to Ivy, indicating that he could enter, while several heavily armored sentry soldiers led him deeper into the High Hall.

The coronation ceremony had long since ended, and the High Hall was no longer the bustling place it once was; instead, the number of guards had increased several times over.

At almost every corner, Ivy could see steel guards standing there, wielding oversized weapons.

"Fate has bound us together, and if a more pleasant alliance cannot be forged, then I can accept what is useful." The monarch seemed to be accepting reality. "You are almost invincible... If anyone can truly end the Supreme God, it can only be you..."

Ivy trod the steps one by one, and the passageway in the Supreme Hall grew narrower and narrower.

After all, in this fantastical medieval world, nobles are always high and mighty.

As the primary authority of Baldur's Gate, Gortash naturally placed his residence at the very top of the castle, guarded by layers of soldiers and numerous traps.

“Welcome!” Enver Gortash turned away from his portrait and raised his right hand, which was adorned with a gold-threaded iron glove inlaid with Netherstone. “You’ve brought Netherstone with you; I can sense that through the resonance between them.”

The Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate looked relaxed, although he still looked haggard, and the dark circles and bloodshot eyes had not faded but had become more severe.

But Ivy's arrival still gave him a glimmer of hope for victory.

“Olin has been missing from the city for a long time. At first, I couldn’t believe it, but now I have to take your existence as an ally seriously.” Gortash turned and grabbed a bottle of red wine that had been opened earlier from the table, personally pouring a glass for Ivy. “I heard about your actions from the rumors circulating in the streets and alleys. You slaughtered the palace in Ambori, wiped out the vampire family that had been hiding in Baldur’s Gate for hundreds of years, and completely eradicated the Baal Order in the sewers… You even stormed Avernus and killed a demon in his mansion… I thought you would launch an attack on me soon.”

Ivy took the glass and lowered her head to sniff the lustrous color of the wine. "The finest Sunset Red, a personal favorite of the Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate." Gortash's iron gauntlet clinked against the glass, producing a pleasant sound. "This toast is to the warrior who vanquished the devil Raphael! That petty bastard is finally dead, and I'm quite pleased. By the way, Herschik asked me to remind you not to forget the agreed-upon reward."

Ivy took a sip of red wine and replied slowly, "I've been very busy with official duties lately and haven't had much time to visit a devilish peddler. If Grand Duke Gotash has the time, please give him this for me, along with a thank you. However, the Dark Prison Armor I collected from Raphael is missing a pair of boots. I wonder if Lord Gotash has any clues?"

After a crisp snap of the fingers, two brand-new iron gloves landed on Gotash's desk.

Having witnessed the entire process clearly, Gotash put down his empty wine glass, carefully examined the iron gauntlets, and his expression relaxed considerably. Gotash moved his portrait aside, opened the safe behind it, and took out a pair of boots. They were made using the same craftsmanship as the Dark Prison Armor, clearly the only missing piece of the armor.

“This is a good thing; it helped me escape Avernus.” Gortash placed the boots next to his gloves. “Sometimes I miss Raphael; after all, he taught me how to deal with demons. If we can form an alliance, these very sentimental boots can certainly be given to you, Lord Doom.”

“Loyal subordinates are common, but trustworthy allies are rare,” Gotash sighed. “The chosen ones of the Three Gods of Death have never been allies. Katheric has always been slumbering in pain, Orin is a complete mad dog, and as for Evil Thoughts… before she lost her memory, I quite admired her, but now she has completely become a foolish woman who has fallen into the trap of love.”

“Once a rift develops, the foundation of the alliance crumbles. Many times in the past, the great undertakings of the Three Gods of Death have failed because of this.” Gortash poured himself another glass of red wine, gazing at his self-satisfied portrait. “Therefore, I look forward to a more equal ally. You have strength, vision, leadership, and, most importantly—extraordinary rationality. Our infighting will only allow the Mastermind to grow stronger. Only by completely controlling this threat can our rule last.”

“Time waits for no one, Lord Doom. The Mastermind is beneath the city. We must act quickly to take control of it.” Gortash set down his empty glass again. “But before we set off, I have one more question. What exactly was that weapon you used to slice off half of the Mastermind’s body in the Cursed Lands of Shadows?”

"Is this a test for our allies?" Ivy countered.

“Just a little bit of curiosity.” Gortash smiled and opened his arms to show that he meant no harm. “If you take it as a basis for open and transparent trust between allies, that’s fine too. In return, I’ll reveal the technology for manufacturing the Iron Guardians to you, how about that?”

“I’m not very interested in undead armor powered by Soul Coins.” Ivy gave Gortash a heads-up, reminding him that he already knew all the secrets of the Iron Guardian. “However, I can still tell you the true nature of that weapon, or how it works. Because there’s no possibility of replicating it in the world.”

Hearing that Ivy had revealed the secret of the Iron Guardians, Gortash's expression changed: "You've pretty much got my biggest secret, but you haven't made a move. Why?"

"You've made Baldur's Gate as impenetrable as an ironclad fortress. Although I'm confident I can eliminate you, it would waste a lot of my time and I wouldn't gain anything in return. It would be a losing proposition. It would be better if we coexisted peacefully and each got what we needed," Ivy said leisurely.

“You are truly a rare genius. Many people can see their own strengths, but few can recognize their opponent’s strengths.” Gotash reached out and pressed a button on the table. A wall in the room slowly collapsed, revealing a dark passage. “This secret passage leads directly underground. Originally, I intended it to facilitate issuing orders to the Supreme God, but now I must be constantly on guard against a swarm of Mind Flayers jumping out from inside. Be extremely careful when walking in there, unless you want to be blown to bits by the smoke and dust.”

Even Ivy had to admire Gortash's audacity; who would think of placing a dangerous mastermind directly beneath their base?
During the time that Netherstone changed hands, Gortash was probably constantly worried that his mind would be eaten away by mind flayers in his sleep.

“The Dawn Cannon of Losanda…” Under the glow of the diamond at the tip of Ivy’s staff, Gotash carefully stepped over a tripwire, muttering the information Ivy had shared, “You are a follower of Losanda?”

“Of course not.” Ivy maintained her nonchalant posture, floating behind Gotash as she traveled through the underground passages of the castle. “I found his divine blood and the defensive devices used to protect it in the abandoned Rosemary Monastery in Losanda, so I dismantled them all.”

“In order to completely destroy the Tower of the Moonrise and the Mind Flayer colony below, I have exhausted all of Losanda’s divine blood.” Ivy did not mention the Shadow Destroyer equipped with the Dawn Cannon. Since entering Baldur’s Gate, that adamantite golem had only appeared in the burial grounds of the ancient bronze dragon Anzu. He believed that Gortash had no relevant information.

“Unfortunately, the Mastermind’s resilience far exceeds your imagination.” Gotash bypassed the last mechanism, exhaled, and stopped. “The underground space of Baldur’s Gate is larger than anyone expected. We will have to fly there. Can you take me with you? Or should I tear open a scroll of flight? I originally prepared a boat that could only carry three people, with three chosen ones going together, out of trust and caution… But now, I can only hope that you will keep your covenant.”

Ivy didn't answer, but instead pointed at Gotash. The slightly murky wind from the underground space gathered around him and quickly lifted him up as well.

“Oh.” Gotash adjusted his posture in mid-air. “It’s time. It’s time to end the chaos of the mastermind and bring it a new order.”

“It’s time.” Ivy nodded, and at the same time sent the phrase to a group via SMS.

Guided by Gotash, Ivy wandered among the dripping stalagmites, watching the islands that occasionally jutted out of the water. Beneath the High Hall lay a vast underground lake, and the Mastermind was hidden in the deepest part of the lake by Gotash.

"It doesn't smell very good, does it?" Along with Gortash's words came the sour, putrid stench of the air, with large amounts of purplish-red tissue clinging to the stone walls and stalagmites. "The Overmind has only been here a short time, yet it has already begun transforming this underground lake into another Mind Flayer colony. There's a reason this race can build an empire across the stars. But now, the Mind Flayers' grand blueprint will be ours. Starting from Sword Coast and Faerûn, the entire Toril, and even the entire multiverse, will be trampled under our feet."

Large and small acid pools are situated on a rock wall rising above the lake. Many brain-eating monsters of varying sizes roam among them, dragging headless corpses of all kinds into the pools to provide the necessary nutrients for the main brain hidden in the largest pool.

Gortash removed the Netherstone from the Iron Gauntlet and tossed it to Ivy from the air: "Let the Netherstones merge into one. It's time to make the Overmind submit!"

(End of this chapter)