From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 636 Rescue Departure
As a knightly order established after the First Holy War, the Claw Knights have a rather complex composition.

Their first Grand Master was a paladin from Orodon, and even after the fall of the gods and men and the ascension of their successors to the Pantheon, the Grand Master was still unable to let go of his resentment.

Thus, after the first Holy War of Montivere began, he fought against the demons that emerged from the World's Sorrow for 20 years. In the process, a group of unexpected companions gradually gathered under his command: the dwarves of Torrag, the god of faith forging, protection, and strategy; the followers of Yilori, the god of history, knowledge, and self-perfection; the priests of Abadal, the god of cities, law, merchants, and wealth; and even the priests of Asmodeus, the King of the Nine Hells, the Dark Prince, and the god of tyranny (who shares the same name as Asmodeus, the King of the Nine Hells of Faerûn, but Ivy believed that the two were not different aspects of the same being, because the Kingdom of the Sky and Grallion had completely different origins).

In the battle against demons, these allies with diametrically opposed beliefs learned to find common ground while respecting differences. The Grand Master used discipline and strategy as his guiding principles to bring all his companions' gods into the same faith, forming what can be called the Pantheon of the Magical Claw.

Because the gods of the Claw Pantheon held vastly different views on good and evil, supreme order became the highest truth of the Knights Order. The Hell Knights, born into the Claw Knights, strive to be exemplars of order while dedicating themselves to eliminating chaos in the world.

In order to familiarize himself with the entire long defensive line of Montivere, Ivy specifically requested Queen Godfrey to send him information on most of the legions operating within the World's Lament.

The Crusader army led by Ivy and Illinika was the main force of the Fifth Holy War, but it was not the entirety of the war's power. Along Montivere's long border, many other legions relied on the various guardian stones along the border to fight against the demons. In addition to the legions native to Montivere, there were also large and small forces that came from all over the world, acting independently. Most of these people were there for their faith or to practice their own ideals.

In Ivy's view, these patriots who lurked near the World's Tragedy, concealed by the holy war forces led by the Holy Army of Iomede, were also potential allies who could be won over.

The Claw Knights, who had been fighting against demons since the first Holy War, were naturally also within his purview.

“Hell Knights!” The golden-armored Irabes’s expression was solemn, and the upturned fangs at the corners of her lips made her look even more ferocious. “In our battle against demons, they have supported the Crusaders more than once… Despite their somewhat questionable reputation, we cannot abandon our allies in dire straits.”

“Rescuing our allies is only right,” Erabes’ wife objected. “But Lord Doom has just finalized the battle plan to capture the fortress at the crossing. We can’t possibly cross the river to save them at this critical juncture… Besides…”

Annevia scrutinized the young man who called himself the Hell Knight: "He doesn't have that infamous black armor at all. Standing here is just a stranger without any badges or identification marks. He's more like a trap."

“His armor was discarded while crossing the river.” Ivy pointed to the only remaining leather straps on Hell Knight Ark’s body. “Only by exerting his own strength could he tear the leather straps used to secure the heavy armor from under his armpits.”

The young knight raised his arm and then realized that he still had a piece of leather strap with him after crossing the poisonous West Seren River: "Your insight is truly keen! Now that you believe my identity, you will surely go to my rescue, won't you?"

"Who were the enemies who attacked you?" Ivy didn't answer, but asked another question instead.

“Some large creatures that can attack from the air. Some were warriors, and others were priests who wielded divine magic. They looked like living stones. I’m almost certain they were gargoyles. We were setting up camp at the time, and our defenses were at their weakest. The deputy enforcer had sent some troops ahead to scout, and they took advantage of our lack of manpower to launch an attack from the sky.” The young hell knight quickly described what he had seen. “Those flying beasts didn’t fight us; they just descended from the sky, snatched our warriors, or either captured them or threw them to their deaths.”

As Ivy feared most, it did happen: a fully-fledged air mobile force.

Without a doubt, flight was one of the most fearsome abilities on the medieval battlefield, meaning greater mobility than cavalry, and the ability to cross treacherous terrain and launch attacks from impossible positions.

Compared to the flying demons, the Crusader's air units are rather meager in number, consisting of only one angel serving Shane and the golden dragon Ivy.

"Is your camp on the other side?" Ivy gestured for the priest to come forward and treat the young Hell Knight.

Bathed in the soft divine light, Ark breathed a sigh of relief, but his face remained pale. He nodded quickly: "Not far from here..."

“But crossing the river is a big problem,” Ivy said. “Whether the demons in the fortress have a commander or not, I believe they won’t wait for us to be ready to cross the river. Instead, they will attack when we are halfway across. At that time, we will be stuck in the middle of the river, suffering both the poisonous water of the West Seren and the demons’ attack.”

"So what? We're not going to rescue the Hell Knights?" Knight Commander Ilinica idly fiddled with her gray hair. "I actually have a pretty good impression of them; at least they don't treat bribery as an unspoken social norm like real devils do."

"The original plan to attack the fortress remains unchanged, but we must ensure its capture." Ivy looked at Ilinica. "Treat the battlefield as a stage and the enemy as an audience. You just need to bring the troops to the climax of the battle when they least expect it."

"After conquering the fortress, send troops to meet the Hell Knights?" Irina is indeed very talented as a commander; at least in terms of combat, Ivy has never seen anyone more talented than her.

"Please give me some equipment! I want to join this battle—only in this way can I bring reinforcements to my comrades as quickly as possible." The young Hell Knight volunteered.

After a moment's thought, Ivy agreed: "Annevia, go find him a set of light armor. He'll be traveling with me. Now, let's execute the battle plan."

The commanders of the various units in the camp took their orders and left one by one, and soon only Ivy and his student Little Elephant remained.

To make it easier for the little elephant to enter and leave the Crusader's main tent, Ivy also gave him the position of messenger. However, apart from his own orders, the little elephant did not need to actually run around between the tents like a messenger.

“Give this to Kirani of the Green Raven Knights, Little Kun.” Ivy handed the little elephant a note with only a few words on it, “You know where her tent is.”

Kirani of the Green Raven Knights was the alias used by Queen Godfrey of Montevideo to disguise herself. She caught up with the main force the day after the Crusaders set off, and because she was mixed in with a group of smaller knightly orders, even Annevia, a spy from the Divine Eagle Guard, didn't notice her. After Ivy cast a disguise spell on her, it was even less likely that Annevia, who was only human, would discover her.

However, this also served as a reminder to Ivy that some cultists with ulterior motives might be hiding among the various smaller knightly orders of the Crusader, marching alongside the main force.

Therefore, in the planning of the camp, Ivy deliberately distinguished soldiers from different sources, and even the night patrol sentries and passwords were separate, and they were only responsible to the jihadist commander Ilinika and the military advisor Ivy Doom.

Although this method is cumbersome, it at least ensures that the fighting capacity of the entire team will not be affected in the event of mutiny or infighting.

Ivy's secret letter to Godfrey contained only one thing: suspicion about the composition of the army. It also expressed her hope that, should the enemy launch a surprise attack while the Crusaders were engaged, she would step forward as Queen Montevideo to revitalize morale and achieve the operational objectives. However, this was merely one of the precautions against the worst-case scenario and might not necessarily come in handy.

After the baby elephant left with the secret message, Annevia quickly led the Hell Knight Ark into the tent.

The resilient young man, who had crossed the toxic waters of the West Seren River alone to seek help, changed into a set of standard armor of the Montevideo Crusaders. His blue and red diamond-patterned cloak made him look no different from the other recruits.

“I’ve brought him here, Lord Doom!” Annevia saluted, and after receiving Ivy’s instructions, she left the tent.

The young Hell Knight seemed surprised to be alone with the actual commander of the Crusade, but his unease was quickly replaced by a calm composure. He didn't know what to do next, but that didn't mean he wouldn't obey orders.

Ivy glanced at the composed young man with some surprise, gaining a deeper understanding of the Hell Knights.

"Come with me." With a beckoning gesture, Ivy led the way out of the tent and onto an open space in the middle of the camp.

Before the young Hell Knight could even get his footing on the open ground, Ivy's body soared into the air in a dazzling golden light, completing his transformation above the Crusader camp.

Golden Dragon scooped up the bewildered Hell Knight and roared, "Starma! Come to me!"

The angels serving Shane rose into the air, their meticulously maintained armor and greatswords reflecting a cold light.

The dragon flapped its wings, and the Crusader's battle flags fluttered in the gale brought by Ivy. As the dragon's roar gradually subsided, the war drums, signaling the troops' departure, struck their first beat.

The enormous golden dragon gracefully swept past the Crusader's marching column and launched the first attack on the nearby ferry fortress.

This attack was neither dragonfire nor a flash of light, but a spell that tore the earth and buildings apart.

Amidst the earth-shaking tremors, the demons of the ferry fortress fled in terror from their hiding places in houses and huts, shouting and taunting the golden dragon high above.

Having done everything, Ivy had no intention of landing and fighting. His contribution to the battle was limited to destroying the enemy's fortifications, tearing open the enemy's defenses for the Crusader soldiers, and bridging the gap in defense between the two sides.

Now that the planned operation had been completed, the giant dragon, reflecting bursts of golden light, gracefully turned sideways in the sky and flew towards the direction of the World's Tragedy.

He was to lead the Hell Knights he commanded, along with the angel Stallma, to form an aerial assault team and be the first to support the Hell Knights on the other side of the river.

This operation was not only to support allies, but also to assess and test the enemy's air power, and to lure cultists within the Crusader's ranks—Commander Illinika led her troops in the front lines while the military advisors, accompanied by angels, charged into the enemy's encirclement, just as the Crusader's rear was vulnerable.

If the cultists really intended to hastily seize the opportunity to launch a rebellion, it would actually reduce Ivy's worries.

This at least proves that the devil's lackeys are indeed just a bunch of complete opportunists. On the contrary, if the cultists hadn't acted rashly, Ivy would have found it rather troublesome.

Cult members with long-term plans sound no different from determined antisocial thugs.

If that's the case, Ivy will need to start considering using Legilimency to conduct a screening of the entire Crusader camp, beginning with the higher-ups.

Even in the height of summer, the land near the World's Lament would not show any noticeable changes. The vegetation here is sparse and mostly oddly shaped, offering almost no concealment of any traces left by ground troops.

Therefore, even without the Hell Knight in his hand to guide him, Ivy was able to quickly find the traces of activity left by the Hell Knights by relying on his own eyesight.

The golden dragon cruised at a fast speed, and before long, Ivy spotted a group of bizarre flying demons. These creatures had bluish-black skin, ugly bat-like noses and wings, and looked no different from the stone sculptures squatting outside Hogwarts Castle.

They were fighting in the air with the restrained knights, and judging from their numbers, they did not seem to be a group that had planned an attack.

“This must be the demons’ reconnaissance squad!” exclaimed Stalma, the angel who had been fighting demons for a long time. “They are the main enemies of the Blazing Cavalry when they patrol the planes, and they are the most numerous of them in all the abyssal planes! Compared to the battlefields I have seen, the number of these gargoyles is negligible!”

The demons in the abyss are virtually endless, and the Sorrow of the World is the passage that connects Grellion to the abyss. Therefore, the number of demons pouring out of this passage is enormous, far exceeding the mobilization capacity of any human nation.

After all, demon lords don't need to provide pensions for their minions. Everything in the material world is already a tremendous reward for abyssal demons.

"Let's go!" Ivy flapped her wings, stirring up a whirlwind, and transformed into a golden flash that disappeared into the air. When she reappeared, she was already directly below the gargoyle.

The enormous dragon body, lifted by wind elements and wings, coiled upwards, completely disrupting the surrounding airflow. The gargoyles surrounded by it were thrown about, and even the knights holding onto it could no longer maintain their grip.

(End of this chapter)