From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 630 The Power of Fragments
The Crusaders are not the entirety of Ivy's adventure; he comes to gain more mythical power and explore its source. His ultimate goal is not to lead his forces to the end of the World's Tragedy and close the portal that connects to the abyss.

He only joined the battle because of the close relationship between the power of mythology and the commander of the Crusader knights.

These two paths have only temporarily converged, which is why Ivy is serving in the Crusader.

However, the Fifth Holy War has only just begun, and a large amount of supplies still need to be transported from various parts of Montevi to Kanaburi, and then transferred to the front lines by the logistics officers there.

The logistics chief of the Fifth Holy War was a businessman, which perfectly matched Ivy's impression of medieval Western armies.

Logistics is always a crucial matter, but for medieval states with their inefficient administration and numerous lords, it was far more efficient to entrust the entire supply chain to merchants than for the monarch to establish a unified supply line, only to have it manipulated by local lords.

They utilized merchants' trade routes to establish a logistics system, enabling them to transport everything needed for the war to the military camps.

Then the monarch would conduct unified monetary and commodity transactions with the merchants. In short, this can also be considered the most basic form of war contractor.

The war contractor who appeared in the Crusader camp was Holgers Gwyn, a wealthy merchant and nobleman who was enthusiastic about the cause of jihad.

His estate was just outside Cannaburi, and Ilinica even made a small profit by sending him home.

However, Ivy also heard that he was the father of Camellia, the half-elf noblewoman in Illinika's party. Or, to be more precise, Camellia was Holgers Gwynmer's illegitimate daughter.

Ivy didn't comment on the seemingly complicated father-daughter relationship. As long as the war contractor could provide a stable supply of supplies and weapons, Ivy didn't care what secrets he might have.

In addition, the Church of Iomede of Montevideo provided funds to hire new soldiers from the options offered by the Council of Nerozion.

Yes, this holy war adopted a system that combined mercenaries and volunteers. In addition to the new recruits who were only full of courage and passion, Nerozion also provided knight commanders with some well-trained troops.

However, they also need to spend gold coins to join the command of the holy war.

Montivi's defensive line is very long. Although only this one force has been sent to attack Juanze City, Montivi's other territories also need manpower to defend them.

This is the answer provided by Gauffe.

No wonder the first four Holy Wars were fought more and more brutally than the last; even Gopher felt that she could only win with the blessing of the goddess.

Having troops replenished from Nerozion alone is not enough; the Crusades also need suitable generals.

These generals also needed to be recruited by the Holy War commanders, and the options offered by the Montevideo Royal Court were equally limited. However, at least Godfrey assured Ivy that these reserve generals of the Holy Crusade had all received complete military training, and many of them even knew a bit of magic.

These people are of various races, including not only the most common humans, but also dwarves, elves, and halflings.

The diverse races of the prospective generals inspired Ivy, whose general in Dawnstar was a champion warrior who had participated in ten years of bloody wars and slaughtered countless demons.

The demons of Faerûn and those of Grallion share similar origins, and might therefore employ similar combat tactics. Learning from Karak might be beneficial, but to return to Faerûn, he currently must use the Cursed Glacier of Hishod as a transit point; at least until he fully understands the planar characteristics of Grallion, he must do so.

However, since the journey back to Faerûn is necessary, it doesn't have to be limited to Karak alone. Ivy also has a Blood-Armored Demon underling, Yogg. Both are demons who served in the Blood Wars; the Blood-Armored Demon, skilled in one-on-one combat and hunting enemies, is a better fit as a subordinate.

At least Ivy can use his scout experience to carry out tasks such as intelligence gathering in demon territory.

Now that Ivy is a member of the Crusader, it would be too conspicuous for her to be seen moving around the camp with the clearly demonic Tifflin. Yogg, who can remain invisible around the clock and is hardworking and dedicated, has more advantages.

More importantly, even if he died, Ivy wouldn't feel a single pang of regret. After all, the devil can be reborn in hell, and Ivy doesn't care which hell it is.

Since they were going to travel to Faerûn via the Cursed Glacier, Ivy brought along Android 5, intending to also steal a soul fragment from Hishad along the way.

According to the angel Stallma, there are four portals remaining in the Cursed Glacier that lead to the locations of the different soul fragment hosts. Once all these portals are closed, meaning Hiscot's soul fragments are reassembled, the demon lord who died in the infighting could very well be resurrected.

However, once these soul fragments fell into Ivy's hands, the fate of the demon lord Hishod became increasingly tumultuous.

As a mage with a deep understanding of souls, this was the first time Ivy had studied the soul fragments of a demon lord, so no matter what, he would never allow these fragments to slip out of his control.

Moreover, he has already made some progress in extracting power from the fragments of Hiscot's soul.

That was inspired by the power of mythology, a supernatural power that is highly malleable and can produce beneficial chemical reactions with almost any power that Ivy knows.

However, the mythical power within Ivy has now chosen its source and is bound to the golden dragon's body.

The fragments of Hiscot's soul cannot be activated by mythical power, and fusing these fragments with living beings will only cause the beings to transform into demons.

Ivy intends to try to gradually remove the chaotic, demonic essence from these soul fragments, leaving only Hishad's unique power—the authority to control frost and bones.

To achieve this, the mythical power of the golden dragon, representing lawful good, is the only key.

Having used up all of today's mythical power, the malevolent fragment of Hishod's soul in Ivy's hand looked considerably cleaner. This at least proved that Ivy was on the right track; if the chaotic and evil nature of the demon lord could be completely purified, perhaps a pure crystal of power could indeed be obtained.

However, there are four other fragments of Heathcoat's soul waiting for him right now.

Bypassing the dilapidated temple in the cursed glacier, Ivy found a rift leading to the fragments in a low valley.

"You still remember your promise to me, bringing me back to this abyss." The android nodded in satisfaction, surveying the lifeless, cursed glacier. "Your credibility rating is rising. After this research mission concludes, the likelihood of us starting another collaboration has increased." "I suddenly realize I've never asked you before, why do you want to explore the abyss?" Ivy left shimmering magical runes in the frigid air, preparing to open a portal. "Simply because of the Technological Alliance's instructions?"

“No.” The android shook its head, its purple eyes flashing. “The Technological Alliance’s instructions to me were to explore the Abyss and collect powerful magical items, specifically those that could be used as weapons. The Technological Alliance has abandoned me in this glacier for over eighty years, and according to my database, this indicates they have completely rendered me obsolete. I will no longer obey their orders. My exploration of the glacier is purely out of a thirst for knowledge. In human terms, it’s about satisfying curiosity.”

“Ah, you are exploring the world, and then experiencing the relationship between the world and the individual.” Ivy nodded, and once again the boundaries of Grallion’s reality were torn apart by his magic, and a new portal appeared in the cursed glacier. “Come, let’s see where this portal leads.”

Behind the portal lies a lush mountainous area, with colorful flowers blooming in forest clearings, presenting a landscape completely different from Montivere.

"Does your database contain information about these plants? Can you deduce roughly where we are in Grellion by identifying the environment?" Ivy asked casually after looking around.

"You've proposed a solution to a new problem, and I'm accessing the database." The android's eyes flashed rapidly. "Do you have a more detailed approach?"

“Under normal conditions, plant growth is greatly affected by temperature and precipitation. In other words, unique climatic characteristics will give rise to unique vegetation. Generally speaking, the closer to the planet's equator, the more abundant the precipitation, the more lush the vegetation tends to be, and vice versa.” Ivy scratched his chin and explained, “However, magic is also a factor that affects vegetation growth. If a druidic society lived here, even in the frigid polar regions, it would be possible to create a valley with a perpetual spring-like climate.”

“Understood.” The android’s eyes flickered more slowly. “I think lighting conditions should also be taken into account. Judging from the current time and the angle of sunlight, we are still in the Northern Hemisphere of Grallion, and the time difference with Cannabli is no more than two hours. In conclusion, we may be in Brehan, the River Valley, Ustaraf…”

"what--"

Before Xiao Wu could finish listing the southern countries, a scream suddenly came from the woods, indicating that humans lived in this place.

“It seems there are locals here. Let’s go ask them.” Ivy looked in the direction the voice came from and stopped the android from speaking.

“You’re the boss, I’ll follow you.” The android nodded obediently.

The screams in the forest continued, but soon became weak and feeble, and then only muffled groans remained. It seemed that the person who made the sound no longer had the strength to shout.

Ivy used magic to lift Xiao Wu up and fly with her, trying to pass through the forest as quietly as possible.

This is a mountainous area with difficult roads, but they still saw many signs of human activity.

After flying up a cliff, Ivy finally saw who was making the screams.

Two groups of people who were completely at odds were gathered in the forest clearing. On one side were exhausted humans who looked like they hadn't eaten properly in a long time, and on the other side were burly and strong giants.

Both sides were dressed in fur, but the giants' vests looked more intact, while the humans wore robes made of tattered fur.

The scream came from a human being, who was being carried on the shoulder of a giant, her neck twisted unnaturally, and blood flowing continuously from the wound on her head.

Ivy didn't believe these giants were kindly trying to treat her. Judging from their demeanor, they didn't seem to be dealing with intelligent beings; they were more like tending their flock of sheep.

The humans in the woods remained silent, trembling and refusing to look at their dying kin.

"This is Newmelia," the android Wu Leng suddenly said in Ivy's ear. "Those humans are Kelideans, rather backward Kelideans."

Ivy's eyes lit up: "Do you think we can find any fragments of a starship here?"

"It's hard to say. But even if there are, they wouldn't be the kind that can be easily discovered." The android shook its head. "Although the Kelids are barbaric, they are at least very skilled at using foreign tools. If there are creations of alien technology here, those giants would not be able to enslave them so easily."

“That makes sense.” Ivy nodded. “But let’s ask them first.”

A slender green lightning bolt shot out from Ivy's fingertip and struck a giant's chest without mercy.

That was the sixth-ring Disintegrate spell, one of Ivy's favorite alteration spells, which could easily turn a living person into a pile of fine powder.

The attacked giant immediately roared in pain, but did not turn into dust as Ivy had predicted.

“Another exemption…” Ivy frowned as he looked at the huge wound on the giant’s chest. This was the second time. The last time was at the Gray Army camp, where a bunch of demon soldiers passed his Dragon Breath exemption.

"Could it be that the source magic of this world is even more powerful than that of Faerûn, to the point that ordinary creatures have considerable magical resistance?" Ivy decided to test her other magical abilities.

"Divine Edge Without Shadow." Ivy raised his mithril staff, emerged from the forest, and recited the incantation clearly and firmly.

Obscure dark magic formed a sharp blade, silently severing the head of a giant.

Only then did the giants in the forest realize they were under attack, and they furiously raised their weapons, letting out earth-shattering roars.

“The psionic energy is working easily…” Ivy, unaffected by the roar, raised her staff again.

It was still a thin green beam of light, and it was still Disintegrate. The difference was that this time Ivy used Ascended Ring Casting and Hypermagic, significantly increasing the difficulty of the Disintegrate saving throw.

Thus, the third giant who was attacked was perfectly reduced to ashes and scattered in the air.

The roaring giant had already charged towards Ivy, and its huge stone axe came crashing down, determined to smash Ivy into a small pancake.

After dodging to the side, a gleaming blade flashed, and one of the giant's legs was severed.

(End of this chapter)