From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 627 Tie Weixiong's Idle Chat
"Make way! The Warrior Queen is here to toast the heroes!" Annevia, carrying a large tray filled with beer glasses, circled the long table and handed them to each hero. "Iron Guard Ambition is having a blast today! You didn't even want to come to the party at first, Beth."

The orc paladin in golden plate armor gulped down his beer: "I really didn't want to come, and I'm thinking of leaving now. It's been less than a week since the last demon was driven out of Kanaburi. Right now, we should be mourning all the victims of this city."

Irabes's gaze passed over the long table and landed on a small round table on the other side, where Ivy was sitting with intently listening to the android Xiao Wu bragging.

“But people have reason to celebrate, and Illinika certainly deserves to be celebrated; even His Excellency Doom agrees with the proposal…”

"Even when it comes to praise, paladins are so restrained?" Ilinica retracted her attention and teased the orc paladin opposite her. "I know you want to praise me more, so don't hold back!"

"Well then, a salute to the great city guardian, Ilinica, who summoned the golden dragon!" Irabes raised his glass high in celebration, then downed it in one gulp.

Cheers and applause gradually rose from all over the tavern, with people clapping, whistling, and expressing their gratitude to Illinika.

No one would refuse to be saved by a hero, especially when that hero is a stunning beauty.

“Lord Doom told me there were no signs of demonic activity inside or outside Kannabri. I think they were just as shocked as we were by what happened.” Irabes rubbed his head. “What happened in the Grey Camp… and what you did… it was nothing short of a miracle. I truly believe the gods haven’t forgotten us and have decided to lend a hand.”

"Here we go again." Annie rolled her eyes, pouting as she looked at her wife. "We agreed—we won't talk about business today!"

"Okay, okay, I'm done, that's all! Who would have thought we'd be celebrating breaching the Gray Army Camp—our own fortress! And we even ripped the roof off..."

“If we hadn’t ripped the roof off, Ivy wouldn’t have been able to get in.” The culprit, Irina, showed no remorse whatsoever, instead boasting smugly, “Even if Queen Godfrey were here, she’d thank us!”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Queen Godfrey, sitting at the other end of the table and completely covered by her hood, replied cheerfully.

The heavy religious debates were over, and she temporarily defeated the novice historian with her rich experience, proving once again the importance of Iomede to the Holy War Kingdom of Montevi.

So when she sat down at the long table, she was already starting to enjoy the atmosphere.

“Since we’re on the topic of rooftops… that rumor has spread throughout the city. You, Ilinea, are a warrior personally blessed by Iomede, who granted you the power to destroy the fortress’s walls and rooftops. Now everyone hopes to benefit from your good fortune. Many citizens have already rummaged through the rubble of the Gray Army camp, taking those stones back as souvenirs and amulets. I believe we’ll soon see these things on the black market.” Annievia pulled a dusty gray stone from her pocket, practically identical to the building materials of the Gray Army camp. “Here, blow on this for me—let me share some of my good luck!”

Ilinica didn't refuse, and smiled as she blew on the rock: "We can lack anything right now, but we can't lack luck!"

"That's great. Maybe I can display it at home, or polish it up and make it into a pendant or something." Annevia happily took back the stone.

“Annie,” Irabes muttered, “how can you talk like that?”

"So what! Look at everyone in this tavern, how many of them have been personally blessed by Iomede?" Annevia said dismissively.

"Hmm~ there might actually be a few..." Gao Furui said cheerfully again.

“Iomede’s favor isn’t passed down through stones. As public servants, we can’t…” The orc paladin looked at Gophery on the other side of the table, his eyes widening as he stopped speaking. “Your Majesty!”

Irabes hurriedly stood up from the table, nearly knocking over the wine glass in front of him: "I'll arrange the formal audience right now!"

"Alright, alright, it's me. My only official business here is to deduct the cost of roof repairs from the heroes' pay."

Realizing the Queen was just joking, Irabes sat back down. She was just an upright and old-fashioned woman, not a fool who knew nothing. What the Queen of Montevideo wanted to do was none of her business as the commander of the guards of a non-capital city.

Gophery stood up and walked towards Illinika, extending a hand: "We haven't introduced ourselves yet, hero of Kanaburi, I am Gophery of Montevi."

Illinika did not extend her hand to shake it, but instead took the Queen's hand and gently kissed it: "Your Majesty is even more beautiful and charming than the rumors say."

No woman can resist a compliment on her appearance, especially when it comes from another woman with a perfect face.

"Thank you for the compliment." Queen Godfrey smiled slightly and withdrew her hand. "It seems that the wise King Golden Dragon was right; your appearance is indeed quite a pleasant surprise."

“I heard you’re from Chelias? Our goddess was once a mortal from Chelias who gradually revealed her divinity during the Shining Crusade against the Silent Tyrant…” Godfrey hesitated for a moment. She felt it was disrespectful to openly discuss the divinity of a goddess in a tavern, but the Chelias singer who had saved Kanaburi from the demons did give her a sense of déjà vu.

Add to that the golden dragon that also suddenly appeared in Kanaburi, and it's hard to simply dismiss it as a coincidence.

“I’m not as great as a goddess,” Irina smiled. “I’m just a woman who wanted to escape the rules and regulations set by the devil and run towards freedom. But who knew I would fall headlong into the devil’s conspiracy.”

Irina waved her hand, not intending to dwell on the matter: "So you've already met Ivy? Your Majesty?" "Ivy?" Godfrey was certain she had heard the name once or twice, but didn't know who he was.

“It’s the golden dragon in the square, Ivy Doom.” Illinika looked up at Ivy, who was sitting at a table with the androids, and gestured towards Gophery with her lip. “Look, he’s sitting over there.”

"...According to your description, the people of this Tech Alliance sound more like a bunch of barbarians with high-tech weapons?" Ivy scratched his chin, finding everything on Gladion novel. This world had rules similar to those of Faerûn, belonging to the higher planes of the High Heaven and Elysium, the lower planes of the Abyss and Hell, and the planet Gladion sandwiched in between.

What's even more interesting is that there are more than one planet in this star system that has given rise to civilization.

For everyone in Glalieon, aliens weren't some vague urban legend, but a real thing. The evidence was right in front of Ivy: the android Xiao Wu was a masterpiece of alien technology.

“That’s because they are indeed a group of barbarians wielding high-tech weapons.” The android’s artificial skin, which glowed with a purple light, could simulate very subtle changes in expression. Xiao Wu revealed a smile that could be defined as sarcastic. “Avestein is located in the northern part of the world, and most of the area is in a cold climate. Barbarians are the most common intelligent beings there.”

"It is said that the birth of the World's Tragedy is also inextricably linked to the ignorance of the Sakorians. Similar to the tribal chieftain system that has been prevalent in the Sakorian layer for thousands of years, the natives of Numelia are also a group of barbarians who live by fishing, hunting and nomadic herding."

Numelia is located south of Montiv, separated by a river that forms the border between the two countries. This is also the main area of ​​activity for the Technological Alliance.

The topic that Ivy and the android Xiao Wu were discussing was actually the neighboring country of the country to which the land they were standing on belonged.

"When that flaming star fell into Numelia, the ignorant barbarians obtained strange relics from another world. Now we all know that they were the technology left behind by a more advanced civilization." Xiao Wu summarized Ivy's speech. "So you're right, the Tech Alliance is just a bunch of barbarians with high-tech weapons."

"These high-tech weapons all come from outer space, from a star that fell from the sky?" Ivy began to have a strange premonition. "That star... could it be a ship?"

The android Xiao Wu looked at Ivy with surprise: "I thought that in this world where rationality is almost irrelevant, there wouldn't be many people who know about interstellar spaceships. Correction: Dragons who know about interstellar spaceships."

“You’re right. That flaming iron ball that fell from the sky was a spaceship, and a large part of it was still exposed. The leaders of the Technological Alliance declared it to be Silver Peak, the sacred mountain of Newmelia.” The android seemed to seize any opportunity to start complaining about its former master.

Starship.

Moreover, it takes place in a world with magic.

Ivy suddenly began to feel that the fantasy world she had entered was not so traditional.

At least in the realm of the heavens, ships used for interplanetary travel still retain the shape of ships, rather than being shuttle-shaped or spherical metal structures.

If he could obtain this interstellar spaceship, simply by reverse engineering its technology, Ivy's knowledge would undergo a qualitative leap. He was also very curious about the relationship between magic and technology in such a world.

"Wait... The natives of Newmelia are a savage, semi-primitive tribe. How did they come to be the nation of Newmelia?" Ivy began to feel curious about this country with its high technology and low standard of living. Maybe it was some kind of fantasy punk?
“Rather than calling Nymeria a country, it’s more accurate to describe it as a large tribal confederation, and one with only nominal rule,” the android explained. “The Kelids are the native inhabitants of Nymeria. Various warlords emerge from their tribes and fight each other, and the warlord who conquers Starfall City is called the Black Lord and automatically gains control of Nymeria.”

"Ah, but the Black Lord's power will quickly diminish to zero after leaving the capital of Numelia?" Ivy was quite familiar with this pattern. As for the nomadic peoples of the grasslands, unless there is a major disaster threatening everyone, they would never be able to unite and form a real state.

“Absolutely right.” The android picked up its glass and took a big gulp. The androids of the Technological Alliance could not only eat, but also obtain nutrition from their food; however, Ivy had not yet observed whether the androids needed to excrete.

"Alright. You just said that Starfall City is the largest base of the Technological Alliance, so how do they coordinate their relationship with the ruler of the kingdom, the Black King of the Kelids?" The Technological Alliance is a group of barbarians with advanced technology, and the Black King is the Khan of the barbarians. Both have the attributes of a leader, so there should be conflicts.

"It's actually very simple, and it follows the same barbarian tradition: one forces the other to submit." The android answered very quickly, as if it had been prepared for this long time. "Although I don't know the political situation in Numelia over the last eighty years, based on past information in the database, the Black Lords of the Kelids usually can't outmaneuver the leaders of the Technological Alliance. Poisoning, mind control, or instigating vendettas, almost no Black Lord has a good end."

"And what's most despicable is that they use addictive compounds for mind control!" Ivy couldn't figure out who the androids were angrier at more, the original barbarian Black King or the high-tech barbarian alliance.

"At least this shows that the Technological Alliance possesses some potential in chemical industry," Ivy said ambiguously. Industry is usually nonexistent in fantasy worlds; at least in Faerûn, producing nitroglycerin is impossible. Ivy discovered this while researching runic gunpowder.

Therefore, upon learning that Glalieon possessed androids and other high-tech equipment, he immediately became interested.

"Chemical industry?" The android waved his hand with a laugh. "Don't be ridiculous. The Technological Alliance doesn't have that kind of technology. They just used the barbarians' hunting and fishing skills to collect it from the interstellar ships in Silver Mountain. Humans actually using spaceship oil as an addictive drug, that's truly extraordinary creativity."

Ivy leaned back, deeply impressed, and gave a thumbs up.

To be honest, he even wants to set off right now to take a trip to Silver Peak, which is an interstellar spaceship that crashed on Earth thousands of years ago.

However, the power of mythology is already shining on him. If he misses this opportunity of the Holy War, who knows when the next chance for rapid improvement will come?

(End of this chapter)