From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 628 The Fifth Holy War

"I will stand with you in this battle. No matter how difficult the circumstances, no matter how dark the sky, no matter how much blood I shed, I will be with you. We will fight for our loved ones and friends, for the right to live and to die. We will do everything in our power to make the impossible possible. If one day our hands can no longer lift swords, then our bodies will become shields to protect those who still have the strength to fight. I, Iomede, successor of the god Aurodon, swear this oath to you. This is my vow."

—The promise Iomede made to Govery when she was crowned.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The Iron Guards' victory celebration was over; the alcohol numbed their nerves after days of hard work, allowing everyone to get a good night's sleep.

But when they woke up from their hangovers in the morning, these lucky survivors faced an even darker future—the demons' attack on Kanaburi was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a premeditated act.

They corrupted the guardian stone decades ago, attempting to breach this sacred defense and ignite the flames of war within Montevi.

Fortunately, the heroes of Kanaburi stepped forward and thwarted the demons' first wave of attack. However, the number of abyssal demons is endless. These bloodthirsty and cruel monsters crave the flesh and blood of the beings of the Prime Material Plane and will not easily give up their attack plans because of a temporary setback.

In response to the army of the Abyss, Queen Godfrey of Montevideo declared the start of the Fifth Holy War the very next day.

She placed all the troops she had brought from the capital Nerozion under the command of the heroine Ilinica of Kanaburi, declaring her as the knight commander of the Fifth Holy War and the leader of this force until victory or death on the battlefield.

“What courage, Your Majesty.” Ivy said with a smile to Godfrey, who had just entered the tent, as the cheers outside gradually subsided.

"Isn't this your advice to me? Wise Golden Dragon, Your Excellency?" Godfrey, without any airs of a queen, sat down at the map table piled with personnel appointments and books.

“I don’t recall giving Queen Montivere any advice,” Ivy blinked, feigning surprise. “I only said, ‘The powerful figures who can influence the situation in Glarion will probably be vying to extend olive branches to her.’”

"Does that mean that I, the Queen of Montevideo, am not among the 'big shots who can influence the situation in Glarion'?" Godfrey asked with a smile.

Ivy did not answer Godfrey's question, but simply said, "Just call me Ivy, 'Your Excellency the Golden Dragon' sounds too formal."

“Alright then, Ivy.” Godfrey suddenly sat up straight and asked earnestly, “Do you think we have a chance to win this holy war?”

“If we do nothing, the fruits of victory won’t just fall from the branch into our hands.” Ivy didn’t offer any guarantees or empty words of encouragement. “At least you’ve made a good start for the Fifth Holy War.”

“That’s a rather cunning answer.” Godfrey didn’t seem satisfied. “To win this holy war, a good start alone isn’t enough. Perhaps… I should rely more on the wisdom of the dragons…”

“I would like to invite you to serve as ‘Battlefield Attendant and Plenipotentiary Advisor to the Commander of the Holy War,’” Godfrey said earnestly. “This position is highly sensitive. If any mortal were to hold it, it would easily provoke attacks from the nobles in the country. But faced with the wrath of a dragon, they clearly do not have much courage.”

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty." Ivy remained calm. He wasn't about to take the blame for something so obvious, but his refusal couldn't be too blunt. Ivy already had nothing to say to the inherently chaotic demon, and if he were to clash with the local Crusader forces, it would indeed affect his journey in seeking the power of mythology.

Therefore, Ivy decided to create another powerful threat for Godfrey: "Of course I am willing to serve the Holy War, but I'm afraid that the demon lords eyeing Grallion are not only Descari and Baffmie."

The Locust King and the Labyrinth Lord, these two demon lords, have territories in the abyss that are adjacent to the World's Sorrow, making the cults that worship them the most rampant in Montivere.

These two demon lords were the main ones who led the demon army to attack Grellion.

Many years ago, Descarry was brutally beaten by the god Auroden. Now that Auroden is dead, he is naturally going to cause trouble for Auroden's successor.

"I'd like to hear more," Govery said, waiting for Ivy to continue.

"The World's Lament is a massive wound connecting the Abyss and Grellion, and within these passages, there are other smaller fissures leading to other parts of the Abyss. However, these fissures are extremely unstable, insufficient to accommodate large armies of demons traversing back and forth. But demons that have lost their physical form might actually use these fissures to spread their corruption into Grellion." Ivy intended to bring up Hishad, the demon lord who, although reduced to fragments of his soul, was still on par with Descartes and Baffom. If he were to regain his full form, he would undoubtedly be another scourge capable of influencing the course of the Holy War.

"So, you just happened to discover this rift, and inside it is a powerful, half-dead demon?" Godfrey looked at Ivy with great suspicion. "You just told me that arriving in Kanaburi was also a coincidence. Aren't there a lot more coincidences happening to you than that?"

“It wasn’t a coincidence that happened to me.” Ivy pointed to the empty space beside her, “but he, the captain of the Blazing Cavalry, the angel loyal to Shane, Stallma, discovered it.”

The once empty place gradually revealed a ball of blazing golden light, which then transformed into a strong warrior with wings on its back.

“Greetings, Your Majesty Godfrey of Montevideo.” Stallma tapped the gleaming armor on her chest. “Lord Doom was right. I discovered the fragment of Hishad’s soul. It was located on the edge of the battle between the Abyss and Heaven, a remote place far from the Prime Material Plane. I found it on patrol and prepared to destroy it and the many demons that lived there. However, my carelessness led me to my doom. The fragment of the demon lord Hishad’s soul parasitized me, trapping me in that cursed glacier for many years. I was only freed when the fragment of Hishad’s soul linked that glacier with the World’s Sorrow, and when Hishad’s servants abducted Lord Doom’s student from the basement of the Ironguard’s Ambition tavern.”

“Heathcliff…” Godfrey frowned. “Although I’ve never heard of that name before, I don’t believe an angel loyal to Shane would lie about something like this. She was a staunch ally of the goddess Iomede, and I’m willing to trust you. But… how will you defeat this dead demon lord?”

“Not defeat him, but stop his resurrection once and for all.” Ivy shook her head. “Hishad is using his soul fragments to corrupt mortals. We need to find those soul fragments, purify them one by one, and completely sever the life force of this King of Frost and Bones.”

“Alright, I understand. Do you need my help, Ivy? Montivel can provide support for your operation, whether it's supplies or soldiers…” As a monarch who participated in five Holy Wars and initiated four of them, Godfrey had that much courage; otherwise, she wouldn't have entrusted her troops to a stranger. “That won't be necessary. Our destination requires crossing the Abyss, a crossing that ordinary soldiers cannot easily traverse. I will personally lead a small team.” Ivy shook her head. “However, I do have another matter I would like Your Majesty's assistance with. My student, Quintorli Kant, aspires to be a historian, and he wants to participate in this Holy War to record the heroic deeds of the Crusader warriors, the Queen, and the knight commanders.”

“This problem is not difficult to solve.” Gophery nodded in agreement. “I originally assigned a historian to one of the experts assigned to the Knight Commander. It’s good to have them keep him company.”

“However, I hope you will not refuse my next appointment, Ivy.” As a political animal who had ruled Montevie for over a hundred years, Godfrey already understood where Ivy’s bottom line was in participating in the Holy War. “I hope you can serve as the Holy Army’s full military advisor and work with the Knight Commander to achieve the goals of this Holy War.”

"A goal?" As she spoke, the newly appointed knight commander walked in from outside and asked cheerfully, followed by a golden-armored orc paladin. "Looks like I've come at the right time. I was still troubled by being suddenly appointed as a knight commander! Having a goal sounds much better."

“Commander.” Gough rose from her chair, showing respect for the commander she had personally appointed, and then quickly got to the point, “Irabes, please invite the commander’s advisors in.”

Irabes accepted the order and went out.

Before long, the three advisors walked in one by one from outside the tent.

"Historian Nura Dandehua."

A halfling woman waved and gave Illinika a big smile.

"Reverend Sohir Wernick, like you, believes in the goddess of art, Sheryl."

Illinika's gaze lingered for a moment on the colorful songbird emblem on the plate-armored priest's chest—a beautiful little bird with iridescent tail feathers.

Shereen is a very ancient goddess who is widely worshipped throughout Grallion and has different ethnic appearances in different regions, but all of these images have common features: ankle-length rainbow-streaked hair and blue and silver eyes.

Besides art, Sheryl is also the goddess of beauty, love and music. She maintains good relationships with Shane and Iomede, and is the lover of both Desna and Shane. Therefore, she is also among the gods of the Crusader.

"Then there was one of the most famous inquisitors of the Church of Iomede, the venerable Master Riot, whom everyone called Falcon Blade."

This judge was a valiant warrior. Ilinica had heard some rumors about him in Kanaburi, that only this master of the Falcon Blade could stop the cult leader Hurren’s fanatical witch hunt.

“Finally, there’s also His Excellency Ivy Doom, the plenipotentiary war advisor for this holy war.” Godfrey winked at Ivy. “You’ve accepted my invitation, haven’t you?”

"It would be an honor, Your Majesty." With the opportunity to participate deeply in the Holy War, and without being relegated to a scapegoat position, Ivy had no reason to refuse.

"Great! I knew you'd fight alongside me!" The newly promoted knight commander walked over and tapped Ivy on the arm. "With such a group of professional comrades, I finally feel more worthy of the title of knight commander. But do you know what I'm still lacking?"

This woman has no sense of propriety when it comes to her words.

Ivy glanced at Godfrey; Her Majesty the Queen possessed the composure befitting her status, showing absolutely no sign of anger.

So Ivy had no choice but to ask, following Irina's lead, "What's missing?"

“Of course, it’s a brand new, shiny full set of armor, and a majestic and imposing mount!” Irina leaned closer. Ivy was certain that this woman hadn’t showered since her hangover last night, but he couldn’t smell any alcohol odor, only a memorable fragrance.

“If, and I mean if,” Illini chuckled twice, “our troops are ambushed by demons and suffer a crushing defeat. When we need to retreat and regroup, would you transform into a dragon and carry me away?”

Sure enough, Gopher's face darkened.

Ivy felt she shouldn't indulge Irina's strange delusions at this moment: "No, if we really enter the demons' encirclement, I will open a portal to take everyone away."

“My God! This is amazing! To take away an entire army with teleportation magic?” the halfling historian screamed, like a fanatic witnessing a legendary resurrection. “I feel like I’m in a folk song! There are knights in shining armor, deadly dangers, glorious achievements, and awe-inspiring dragon magic! My God! I have to write this down right now, I want the beginning of the Fifth Holy War to be the most borrowed document in the library!”

"Ahem!" Godfrey interrupted the halfling Nura's reverie. "For the sake of the personal safety of the knight commanders and advisors, let's not write this down, Nura. However, you can add it as part of your memoirs after the Fifth Holy War ends."

“Yes, Your Majesty!” The halfling historian saluted. “I believe that day will come soon!”

Ivy narrowed her eyes and looked the halfling up and down at the man who would be working with Xiao Kun.

“Alright, let’s talk about your campaign objectives, Commander.” Godfrey tried to steer the conversation back to the Fifth Holy War. “The objective is the City of Favor, located within the area of ​​World’s Lament, our outpost in its fall. The Vanguard of Valor is there; this banner was once held by Iomede herself. When the city fell, our greatest relic was lost with it. The Vanguard of Valor is not merely a symbol, but a powerful weapon against demons. This sacred banner can weaken them and take away one of their most dangerous abilities—teleportation.”

(End of this chapter)