From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 635 Marching Forward and Seeking Reinforcements

Handling all aspects of a military unit's operations was the kind of administrative work Ivy disliked the most. It meant constantly dealing with different people, listening to their reports, verifying a series of numbers, and then endlessly issuing orders.

Fortunately, he did not arrive in Grallion alone; Quintorli, a young elephant from the School of Observation, also became a historian accompanying the army.

Although Hengjian Academy is a magical academy that studies history, its philosophical concept of the unity of opposites is chaos and order. And war is the greatest chaos in history.

Therefore, the little elephant actually knows a lot about war and war-related matters; what he lacks is simply the opportunity to apply his book knowledge to practice.

Fortunately, Ivy was very willing to mentor students and help share the workload.

“Welcome, Kun.” Ivy invited the student to sit down at the map table. “How does it feel to be a Crusader historian?”

“To be honest… I’m a little anxious.” The little elephant sat down properly and subconsciously pulled out his notebook. “I originally thought we were going deep into the demon’s territory, but apart from the unusual weather, we haven’t seen a single cultist.”

"This unit has many new recruits, weak-willed and lacking in combat skills. They have nothing but courage and morale. If there is a commander among the demons, then he is wise to use the environment to weaken us and then inflict greater casualties when the opportunity arises."

The baby elephant looked enlightened: "No wonder our marching speed has slowed down lately. Were you waiting for the enemy to take the bait?"

"I guess so," Ivy replied noncommittally. "It's mainly to relieve some of their pressure."

Changing the outcome of a war through individual ability is not difficult for Ivy now. Moreover, he never intended to rely entirely on the Crusaders to win this holy war.

The demons in the abyss are endless, while it takes decades of training for humanity to acquire a single warrior. The sheer difference in numbers is an insurmountable chasm.

However, the Crusaders, backed by the gods, had a large number of priests and devout warriors joining the battle. As long as they didn't die on the spot, they received proper medical treatment. After one or two battles, even new recruits would quickly transform into veterans. Meanwhile, the demons, adhering to the law of the jungle, found it difficult to care for the wounded who fled back, leading to a further increase in casualties.

It could be said that if there were no traitors within the Crusader Army, they should have been roughly on par with the demons. Unfortunately, humanity's strength lies in its diversity, but so does its weakness. It's truly baffling that demon lords like Baphomet and Descary could so easily develop large-scale cults within Montivere.

"Let's not talk about that," Ivy changed the subject. "How's your paper coming along?"

“Everything in Glarion is new to me, and there’s so much to record. But the main focus is on the Fifth Holy War, recounting our entire march.” The little elephant flipped through the notebook from back to front, pointing to the contents for Ivy to see. “I’ve recorded the gods and demons associated with the Crusaders, as well as those figures who had a significant impact on the previous Holy Wars.”

Ivy glanced at it briefly. The little elephant's account was quite accurate, but it also left some interesting questions about the annotations.

For example, Baphomet, the king of the labyrinth, clearly appears to be a goat-headed demon, and the cult symbols representing him also show goat characteristics, but the followers he left behind always appear in the form of bull-headed demons.

"Probably because they are all even-toed ungulates..." Ivy muttered.

"What?" Kuntoli didn't understand.

“Cows and sheep,” Ivy said, pointing to the question the baby elephant had left in the blank space. “They all have an even number of toes on their limbs, while animals like horses and donkeys have an odd number of toes and can be called odd-toed ungulates. Cows and sheep are more closely related than we think.”

"I've never heard of anything like this before..." The little elephant snapped out of its daze and quickly scribbled a few lines in the blank space of its notebook, "Odd-toed ungulates and even-toed ungulates, how do you spell them, Professor?"

“Don’t rush to memorize it. This is knowledge from another world. Although they may have similar appearances, animals from two different worlds may not have the same origin. So this knowledge cannot necessarily be directly applied.” Ivy paused and gave an analogy, “Just like how the effects of magic differ between different worlds. I was just joking.”

“Different worlds, different knowledge…” Kuntori discovered for the first time the advantages of becoming a Planeswalker. The endless knowledge of the multiverse had officially opened its doors to him. “The books in the Mogden Pavilion, are they from other worlds?”

“At least part of it is.” Ivy nodded. “You’re not the first Planeswalker student in Stryhaven, but with you, the Institute has put the active recruitment and training of Planeswalkers on its agenda. The ability of Planeswalkers to travel between worlds can easily make multiple worlds better, and of course, it can also make them worse.”

"Using magic to improve the lives of people all over the world... no, the multiverse..." The little elephant stared blankly, involuntarily recalling the educational philosophy of Strelhaven. But this time, it was no longer limited to the world of Akavievo, but to all the multiverses that could be reached.

"It's too early to talk about that now. Although we've always known about the existence of other worlds in the multiverse, Strider has never had a way to interfere with them on a large scale. And even if we did, we might not do it. We can't predict how the native inhabitants of other worlds will view Strider's interference. Therefore, recruiting promising students from their worlds and having these students initiate interference has become the approach unanimously agreed upon by all ten Deans. As for the person who connects the different worlds, there is no other choice but Planeswalkers. The sparks you use to travel between worlds have many special properties that magic cannot yet achieve. For example, your first time travel took you to Glarion, which is some distance away from Akavievo. If you hadn't accidentally entered the cursed glacier of Hishad and activated the mark I left behind, who knows when I would have found you."

“So, for that greater good, you’ll be starting your training again, Kun.” Ivy smiled kindly.

"I understand!" The baby elephant looked eager, its big ears waving open. "I will do my best."

“Very good, very energetic.” Ivy picked up a stack of documents from the table. “Take a look at this.”

"These are... Crusader military documents?" Little Elephant was a little confused, not understanding why Ivy was showing him these things.

“That’s right, the world isn’t always peaceful; conflict is the norm. And a survival war like the Crusaders’ fight against demons isn’t something you see in every world. So, if you encounter two sides at war in other worlds, especially when they know about you and the Stryven behind you, they might see the Stryven as a bargaining chip to break the stalemate and try to win you over or deceive you. So, understanding everything about war is very helpful for you. Every decision you make doesn’t just represent yourself, but also the Stryven.” Ivy patted the thick stack of parchment. “Consider it a preview… To be honest, we still haven’t decided what kind of schedule to use to entertain the Planeswalkers.” Little Elephant had been looking at the documents in the tent for a while, and his head was spinning, when Annevia, a secret agent of the Condor Guard, lifted the curtain and walked in.

“Lord Doom,” Annevia reported briefly with a serious expression, “Our scouts have spotted the enemy forces on our way to the fortress at the crossing.”

The West Seren River has flowed across this land for countless years, its power carving a steep valley along the mountainsides. The World's Lament and Montivere lie on either side of this valley. The Crusader army marches north along the continent beside the valley, their target the City of Favor. However, numerous crossing points exist along this route, allowing passage between the two banks. To block the supply lines for the demonic attacks pouring from the World's Lament, the Crusader army must capture all the crossing points along the West Seren River.

These crossings belonged to the Crusader during the First and Second Holy Wars, but with the fall of the City of Favor, they are now occupied by demons from the abyss.

"What is the enemy's strength?" Ivy wasn't surprised. He thought the demons' welcoming ceremony would be more enthusiastic, with a surprise attack launched directly from the sky.

“Well, very few, mainly composed of Baphomet cultists, with only a small group of Explosive Demons. It even makes one suspect it’s a trap,” Annevia replied.

"What about Irina? Does she know about this?" Ivy wasn't sure what the demon commander (if he had one) was thinking, but he knew very well that it was absurd to speculate about demons with the thinking of a normal person, so he only needed to make targeted deployments.

“The commander is giving a speech right now, and she looks eager to get started.” Annevia shrugged.

"Let the first mixed column attack in formation. The small knights' regiment, led by Ilinica, will find a high place as a reserve force and have her raise the battle flag." Ivy dictated the order, and colorful quills quietly appeared and began to write on the parchment. Finally, the military advisor himself left a magical mark as an identification mark.

Ivy's personal mark in the Crusader is two crossed longswords held by dragon claws, symbolizing both the dragon and the Crusader. The golden paint left by the Scrivener's Brush is seen as a symbol of the golden dragon within the Crusader ranks.

After several days of use, at least the captains of each squadron have become familiar with the commands bearing Ivy's personal insignia.

The battle ended quickly. The First Battalion, composed of a mix of new recruits and veterans, suffered no casualties. Only one unlucky soldier lost his arm after twisting his ankle because he wasn't paying attention to his footing.

The cultists' morale was low; after enduring only one volley of fire, they began to falter and hesitate.

When the Explosive Demon in the team launched a chaotic charge, it immediately caused the cultists' troops to become disorganized.

Seizing the opportunity, Ilinica led the Little Knights' Legion in a charge, instantly shattering the enemy's morale with a single assault.

Ivy, who witnessed the Crusaders' cheers through a farsight spell, was not surprised. In his view, it was just a standard victory, but one that could indeed be used.

"Order all troops to rest for half an hour, then break camp and set off, striving to capture the crossing fortress before sunset today." Ivy wanted to take advantage of the morale boost from this small victory and try to tackle the tough challenges ahead.

Annevia, having received the order, bowed and quickly left.

Half an hour passed quickly, and the Crusader army had finished gathering supplies and began to head towards the ferry fortress.

The journey is not long; at a normal marching speed, it would only take an hour and a half to reach the fortress, which is within sight.

The abandoned fortress was already dilapidated. It's hard to imagine how the demons managed to live there. Could it be that a pile of hay was enough to be a luxury mattress for these abyssal creatures?

But before this small-scale siege battle officially began, Annevia once again entered the tent of the Crusader commander, and even the commander himself, who had already received the battle plan, returned.

“Military advisor, we’ve caught a suspicious guy. He’s been peeking around our camp, clearly a cultist. But he insists he’s an ally… The commander said to bring him to you to see.”

The young man beside Annevia was trembling with injury and exhaustion. He wore the lining of a heavy suit of armor, with only the leather straps hanging from his shoulders. The armor and weapons were gone, and he was soaking wet, as if he had just swum across a river. Judging from the cracks and swelling on his skin, it was the result of the West Seren River being poisoned by the power of the abyss.

“He swam across the river.” A ball of white light appeared in Ivy’s hand, a second-circle protective spell from the priest’s spellbook, protecting against poison. “He’s either not a cultist, or he’s a cultist with a strong will.”

The swelling on the young man's wounds subsided immediately, and bright red blood seeped from them. He seemed invigorated by the stinging pain, speaking clearly, "Ark Ankel, a Hell Knight of the Claw Knights, commanded by Deputy Enforcer Regil Tyrenger. Our squad is under attack by demons and is outnumbered. If you don't come to our aid, we're doomed."

"Hell Knights?" Ilinica raised her eyebrows with interest. Almost all Hell Knights originated from Chelias, but they were not, as the world believed, lackeys following the devil. They were a group of enforcers, executioners, and even martyrs who pursued order.

In the demonic society of Chelias, they both cooperate with and oppose the devil. It is a military organization powerful enough to influence the politics of a nation.

However, the Hell Knights belong to different knight orders, and the Claw Knights are the youngest of the seven knight orders.

(End of this chapter)