From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 639 The Hidden Traitor
The adventurers who came from afar were the knight commander of the Fifth Holy War, along with her companions who shared the power of mythology.

"Ha! I knew you could succeed!" Irina, waving her arms, had taken off the gleaming heavy armor that represented the knight commander and put on a white gauze dress again, looking completely out of place in the desolate scene within the World's Sorrow area.

“Your magic saved us a lot of trouble!” Irina described how the Crusaders captured the ferry fortress. “The fortress, which served as a shield, was breached so many times that the cultists and demons inside were terrified. However, siege warfare is indeed difficult, and we hadn’t prepared siege weapons in advance… so we still suffered some casualties. It seems that we must be fully prepared before attacking the City of Favor.”

The knight commander quickly noticed the dwarf standing at the forefront of the hell knights and was greatly surprised by his gray hair.

"This is Regil Tyrenger, the deputy enforcer of the Claw Knights, and Ashius Strig, the captain of the Dawnblade Knights," Ivy introduced them. "This is Illinika, the knight commander of the Fifth Holy War and the songstress from Chelias."

“Nice to meet you, Commander.” Regil’s gaze was not exactly warm, it could even be described as critical, but he did not abandon his promise. “I have decided to lead my men to join your holy war forces. If we can really conquer the City of Favor, then our Claw Knights will remain in your command until the end of the Fifth Holy War.”

“That’s great! The grandest performance needs participants from all over the world!” Ilinica nodded with great interest. “Excuse me for my personal question, but, uh… your hair is a bit gray, and your skin is quite pale. That’s hypopigmentation, isn’t it?”

“This is obviously hypopigmentation.” Regil shrugged indifferently, probably thinking that hypopigmentation was no different from a common cold.

“That’s amazing! No, I mean… I’m sorry.” Illinika seemed surprised by Regil’s attitude. “To be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever seen discoloration in dwarfs. After all, you know, the skin and hair of your other brethren are so bright.”

In Grallion, the origins of the dwarfs are quite different from those in Faerûn.

The ancestors of these short, humanoid creatures were spirits, those creatures that now mostly live in paradise and whose natures are chaotic.

This spiritual lineage manifests in dwarfs as whimsical ideas, eccentricities, fanatical obsessions, or what is often described as naivety.

In terms of appearance, besides their short stature, dwarfs are also distinguished by their diverse skin and hair colors. Any color except white can appear on their eyes and hair. Their skin tones are relatively narrow, with pink and yellow being the most common, but blue, black, or green, as well as other mixed colors, are also possible.

When a dwarf begins to lose these colors that are reflected in his appearance, it is called "depigmentation" or "fading color syndrome".

This condition, in addition to robbing dwarfs of their color as the name suggests, also plunges them into deep depression, ultimately taking their lives.

Only a very small minority can escape this fate and become somber yet wise faded individuals.

"Compared to your biting sarcasm, this kind of consolation is really pathetic." Count Dylan mercilessly exposed the commander's weakness. "If I were to contract this terminal illness that I was destined to die from, I would definitely find a bustling city and have a huge party, rather than participate in some holy war."

“Death is inevitable for everyone, just as humans cannot resist aging.” Regil glanced coldly at the God-born playboy, ignoring him, and said to Irina with a hard expression, “I know my compatriots will futilely delay this inevitable end. But for me, depigmentation has no personal significance; it cannot affect my ability to perform my duties, and is even less harmful than a cold.”

“To face death head-on…that’s a true warrior,” said Lann, the master of hybrid wit, with a hint of admiration. “Even for the sake of those knights’ black armor, we need them. Just imagine how that armor will be depicted when someone turns our battle footage into art! That would be so cool!”

"Ahem." Ivy cleared her throat, interrupting the adventurers' conversation, which was beginning to escalate into chaos. "The Dawnblade Knights and the Claw Knights have both decided to join this Holy War and serve in the recapture of Favored City. I have approved their participation. Where are the reinforcements? Commander? They need supplies and medical treatment."

“It should be soon.” Ilinica glanced behind her in the empty direction. “Annevia is leading the way; we are just scouts.”

"The Knight Commander himself is acting as a scout? This is truly..." Ashus, the leader of the Dawnblade Knights, was somewhat astonished.

Ivy glanced at him: "The Knight Commander has the authority to do anything she deems helpful to the Holy War. I believe this operation is merely a reconnaissance mission to ascertain the specific deployments of the demons in the World's Sorrow."

This is obviously a lie, but Illinika is of great significance to the holy war, and Ivy needs to protect her image.

“Yes!” Irina nodded appreciatively. “We were originally planning to scout the highlands to the north. Now that Ivy has completed the rescue mission for the two knightly orders, we can officially set off!”

"..." Ivy paused for a moment, then reminded him, "The repairs to the ferry fortress will last a maximum of five days. After five days, our troops will have completed the crossing and will officially begin their march within the World's Tragedy area. I hope the Knight Commander can return before then."

Before the attack on the fortress officially began, Ivy had already sent a messenger to Kanaburi.

As the logistical base for the Fifth Holy War, all new recruits and generals assigned to the Crusaders would gather there before heading to the front lines in turn.

In his letter, Ivy mobilized a garrison, instructing them to defend the ferry fortress and the supply lines to the future city of Juanze in the upcoming war.

“You can completely trust me. Goodbye! We’re off to explore some nameless ancient ruins! Maybe we can even bring you back some souvenirs!” Ilyica patted Ivy on the chest, then turned and headed north again.

When the scouts sent out by the Claw Knights returned to the Crusader camp under Annevia's leadership, it was already evening.

Ivy had previously used an earthquake spell to collapse the walls of the ferry fortress, so after conquering it, repairing the fortress and restoring it to its original function became the Crusaders' top priority.

Before that, however, they needed to remove the corpses of the cultists and demons from the fortress and thoroughly clean it before they could begin work.

Although it was in a very dilapidated state, at least the inside of the fortress still had a roof that could provide shelter from the wind and rain.

Marching on the edge of the World's Lament incurs far greater losses for troops than marching in other parts of Montiv, while venturing deeper into the World's Lament presents yet another difficult task.

But at least for now, the Crusader soldiers have a roof over their heads that can provide temporary shelter.

Upon returning to the camp, Ivy immediately unleashed a massive psionic spell, using "Restore to Originality" to completely restore the crumbling city walls. Combined with the earth's power drawn by the Heart of the Mountains Mithril Staff, she also repaired the fortress's foundation.

For at least the next hundred years, this fortress will not have to worry about routine maintenance.

"I'm starting to feel glad I appointed a dragon as my military advisor." Queen Godfrey, disguised as a knight of the Little Knights, found Ivy on the watchtower of the fortress. Thanks to his disguise magic, even her old subordinates like Erabes and Annevia didn't recognize Queen Montevi's identity.

"You're getting ahead of yourself," Ivy said bluntly. "Even a golden dragon wouldn't offer free help."

"Aren't we like-minded allies, fighting together to eliminate the world's woes?" The centenarian's face showed just the right amount of shock and confusion, perfectly matching her delicate, youthful face.

Unfortunately, Ivy is not someone who would be swayed by women, or by dragons.

"Having the same goals is one thing, but the rewards and salary I receive as the full military commander of the Fifth Holy War are another matter entirely," Ivy said matter-of-factly. He never intended to bring his own food to fight the Holy War, even though his main purpose in participating in this Holy War was for the power of mythology.

“Alright, alright. I haven’t really considered what kind of reward to pay a dragon…” Godfrey put on a politician’s expression again. “What do you want? Gold and silver? Or… a princess? Unfortunately, Montivere doesn’t have princesses, only queens. But my cousin Dahlan could be considered a prince. With just one bottle of gender-changing potion, he can become a princess of Montivere. Are you satisfied?”

“I am not the evil dragon in chivalric romance novels. Nor do I have any interest in Count Dylan.” Ivy noticed that Queen Montevie seemed a little too lively after shedding the burdens of the country.

“It was just a joke!” Godfrey made a gesture that said, “You’ve been tricked,” then composed herself. “As long as we can take back the City of Favor and shut down the World’s Sorrow, you can have anything you want, as long as Montevi can provide it.”

Ivy looked at her for a while, then turned her head to the side: "We'll see when the time comes, I haven't decided yet."

“Alright, I’ll wait for the day I pay you.” Godfrey had no objections and took out a secret letter from her pocket. “Now, let’s talk about this letter. You suspect that cultists have infiltrated the Crusades?”

“That’s undeniable. Cults are widespread in Kanaburi, and our ranks can’t be completely pure.” Ivy nodded. “The only question now is how large they are.”

“I can’t deny that. In the first two holy wars, the problem of spies was rampant, to the point that the holy war forces disbanded completely after advancing less than 30 miles outside the city of Kanaburi.” Godfrey sighed. “Patriarch Hurren has become increasingly fanatical ever since… I always thought his witch hunt in Kanaburi was quite effective. But now it seems that probably as many ordinary people were persecuted as the cultists.”

Gophery was basically gilding the lily of the already dead Hurren. Judging from the situation after Descarry's raid on Cannaburi, the number of cultists in that city was abnormally high.

Moreover, most of them are half-baked believers who only became devoted followers after witnessing Descartes's power firsthand.

As for other cultists who worship other demon lords, they are even worse. Ivy even heard from Little Elephant that some cultists had drawn Baphomet's ram's head emblem backwards.

This is a battlefield where the worst of the worst are competing. The rotten cultists infiltrated the Crusade and quickly assimilated them into a bunch of useless people, which is why Kanaburi fell so quickly.

However, it seems that fate has not completely abandoned Montivere. A woman who, for some unknown reason, was able to guide the immense mythical power within the Guardian Stones appeared here, saving the entire city and even the fate of Montivere's entire Guardian Stone defense line.

If Ilinica were just an ordinary person, she would probably explode the moment the power of myth entered her body because she couldn't withstand it.

Instead of now, not only can he freely guide the mythical power within his body, but he can also act as a beacon, radiating influence to his teammates.

This divine power is never just a gift, but also a heavy burden.

Ivy was well aware that if they wanted to stop the world's tragedy once and for all, there were probably two people who were of paramount importance.

One is Ilinica, who suddenly gained mythical power and could freely guide it. The other is Arelu Woresh, who caused a world catastrophe a hundred years ago and transformed herself into a half-succubus.

As for Arelu Volesh, the general perception is that she is a traitor to humanity and a witch who worships the demon lord.

It was for this reason that Hurren launched a witch hunt in Kanaburi.

However, it now appears that his actions not only failed to reduce the number of cult members within his ranks, but also led to the burning of many innocent people at the stake.

If Ivy wants to deal with traitors within the Crusader, she must not act irrationally like Hurren.

"I had been considering luring the culprits out of their hole to minimize the Crusaders' losses. But now it seems the cultists hiding within the Crusaders are very cunning, and perhaps we should change our approach," Ivy declared.

"What are you planning to do?" Godfrey asked.

"If the cultists don't take action, then it's no different from them not existing. Perhaps they're trying to give him an opportunity to work with other demons to overthrow the Crusade."

Of course, this is just the most passive approach.

Ivy said to herself.

(End of this chapter)