From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 660 Yang Ni
"Hi."

The Valiant Vanguard search team, led by Ilinica, immediately drew their weapons and watched the lovely girl who jumped out from around the corner warily.

Driven by fear of the battlefield, the demons and cultists within Fortress of Grace have blocked the entrance with massive stones, making it difficult for the main force of the Crusaders to enter the fortress until His Excellency the Military Advisor has freed up his hands to open a passage.

But the search for the Valiant's Edge had to be carried out, so Queen Godfrey, together with Knight Commander Ilinica, led a team through another path into the fortress.

Incidentally, this route, which detours through the side gate of the city wall, was pointed out by a dwarf who suddenly appeared during the war.

He attempted to assassinate the demon Daranzand in battle, but apparently his dagger failed to penetrate the demon's defenses.

Ilinica had seen this dwarf assassin when Cannabri fell; he had previously assassinated a cult leader in Ishodta.

Therefore, after receiving his help, Illinika immediately applied to Queen Godfrey for funds to hire the dwarf assassin in the name of a Holy War allies.

Returning to Elsa, who had just emerged from inside the fortress, she was staring blankly at Ilinica, who was standing at the very front of the group, with her crimson eyes wide open.

“It’s you…” Elsa’s voice was almost a dream, “You are the spirit messenger who came to my prison that night, but you are even more beautiful and charming than that night, you are simply radiant…”

"An ally lurking among demons?" Regil scoffed. "Is there anyone more suspicious than this guy?"

"Lord Doom saved me... Before he joined this battle, he asked me to help you at the right time..." Elsa raised her left hand, and a golden mark appeared on her fair skin.

“Two crossed longswords held by dragon claws… Ah, Lord Doom’s magical emblem. I never knew that such a thing could be imprinted on anything other than parchment.” Queen Gophery recognized the mark on Elusare’s hand at a glance. “Well, you have temporarily gained our trust, but remember, this trust is based on Lord Doom’s reputation.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” Elusare glanced hesitantly at the crown on Godfrey’s head. “I would never do anything to shame him.”

“Alright, what’s your name?” Ilinica took a step to Alusare’s side, took her hand, and pinched her all over. “You look different from what I expected—where are your wings?”

“I am Elsa… I’m sorry, I’m not used to close contact with others…” The succubus girl smiled apologetically as she pulled her hand away from Irina’s grasp. “As for my wings, Lord Doom used magic to hide them for me, as if I had never had wings at all.”

"Once we've driven all the demons out of the City of Favor, we'll have plenty of time to chat, girls." Lady Godfrey glanced around the dark corridor. "Elsaray, do you know where the demons have placed the Vanguard of Valor?"

“I haven’t seen the Hero’s Edge, but the cultists in Fortress of Favor have been driven by demons to carry out massive construction projects until recently. If that banner is really in the castle, it can only be underground,” Elusaree answered the Queen’s question respectfully. “By the way, Ilinica, there’s another gift for you near the underground forge of the fortress: a scabbard for Radiance crafted by Master Joran Weyhen. Before he died, he entrusted this gift to Lord Doom…”

Apart from Regil, who had joined later, every member of the Crusader present knew the story of the Wei Heng brothers. Upon hearing that Joran Wei Heng had also died in the City of Favor, the atmosphere became somewhat somber.

Unlike his despised brother, this master blacksmith was quite beloved in the Crusader's army.

"A surprise gift!" Irina cheerfully broke the silence. "I've already started to like Juanze City. After we've cleared out all the demons, how should we decorate this city?"

"Then we'll have to find the Vanguard first." Queen Godfrey secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that many people thought her pardon of Staunton was a false act of mercy, which neither demonstrated the seriousness of the Crusaders nor prevented Staunton's betrayal again, allowing the old dwarf to damage the morale of the Crusaders twice.

Govery, who made that decision, was still a young queen who was always looking for the best solution to every problem.

But now she understands that politics is about taking sides, and trying to satisfy everyone's demands often draws criticism from everyone.

Because the perspective of the subjects is often different from that of the Queen, they never see themselves as a whole, but rather as separate factions based on their own interests...

Gao Furui shook her head, banishing court politics from her mind. Her immediate priority was upholding the goddess's banner. As for those political issues that had troubled her for so long, perhaps she could discuss them privately with her plenipotentiary military advisor. Jinlong was known for his wisdom and open-mindedness; he might even have unique insights into political matters.

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.

After capturing the three walls of the city of Jueze, the work of the Crusaders suddenly became much easier. Apart from cleaning up the corpses on the battlefield, they repaired the fortifications with the help of Ivy's magic, broke open the blocked gates of Jueze Fortress, and selected elite troops to enter the city to support Queen Godfrey and the squad led by Commander Ilinica.

The warriors of the Dawnblade Knights accepted the mission.

"We hardly expended any energy in the previous magical rituals; rather, the glory of the goddess Shanri has bestowed upon us even greater power!" said Captain Ashius. "Please allow us to proceed with you, Lord Doom!"

Ivy nodded in agreement. The goddess of morning flowers, Shane, whom these knights worshipped, was very tolerant. Different cultures in Grallion worshipped different sun gods, but Shane did not refute the other sun gods as heretics. Instead, she joined them to form a pantheon called the Touch of the Sun, and even helped revive these sun god beliefs after they disappeared.

In general, Shani is not the kind of deity who wants to monopolize the solar domain. Perhaps this generosity is also related to her own strength, which far surpasses that of other sun gods.

Regardless of the truth, at least Ivy has come into contact with the power and will of this sun goddess through the successful execution of [Rainbow Judgment], confirming that she has no ill will towards her, a being who also possesses the divinity of the sun, and even harbors a great deal of goodwill towards her.

In Ivy's view, it was acceptable to make more contact with Shane's followers and to consider the Goddess of Morning Flower and her followers as allies.

Who knows, you might even get some guidance about the divinity of the sun from this sun goddess.

Ivy's mind raced, but her steps didn't falter. She used magic to dismantle the gate of the Fortress of Favor, and then used a restoration spell to restore the large rubble blocking the passage. After that, she led the members of the Dawnblade Knights inside.

Compared to the demons they had fought in the City of Favor, these terrified cultists inside the fortress were clearly spineless. Shane's divine power ignited the knights' longswords and scimitars, illuminating the dark passageway and the despair and terror on the cultists' faces.

Ivy didn't even need to lift a finger; the paladins of the Dawnblade Knights had already smoothly swept away the enemies that emerged from all sorts of corners.

Under the confession of a spineless cultist, Ivy's group made their way to the deepest part of the fortress until they came to a narrow passage.

The cultist, who had been ordered to lead the way, suddenly shouted and slammed open a wooden door, running inside: "Lady Qiulushina! The enemy is here!"

Ivy followed at a leisurely pace. Behind the door was a rather spacious hall, where several cultists were surrounding a magic circle drawn with blood, chanting incantations in a difficult Abyssal language.

The spellcaster standing in the middle of the magic circle was a female demon mage. When she saw the cultists who had broken in, she was not furious, but instead showed a look of surprise.

"This ceremony is missing a sacrifice, so I will use your heart as my gift to Lord Baphomet!"

The cultists who barged into the blasphemous ritual room didn't even have time to refuse before watching their bodies collapse.

His skin peeled off like clothes, his flesh and blood smeared the ground in front of him, and his bones clattered and scattered all over the ground. Only his heart, which was still beating in his chest, flew into the hands of the demon mage.

The other cultists maintaining the blasphemous array breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this, because if this sacrifice hadn't suddenly appeared, any one of them could have been the one to die.

They became cult members only for a little gold and physical pleasure; they didn't enjoy doing anything dangerous.

Unfortunately, they clearly underestimated the cruelty of the demons. The cultists standing in various corners of the blasphemous magic circle died just like the previous sacrifices, their blood staining the entire room amidst the demonic mages' laughter.

"Shannri! The evil before us is worth fighting!" Ashus, the commander of the Dawnblade Knights, invoked Shannri's holy power and ignited the sword in his hand. "Grant me power!"

However, the knight commander who launched the charge was knocked away by the frail demon-born female mage in one round, and even the longsword in his hand was taken away by the unarmed enemy.

"Lord Baphomet has bestowed upon me unparalleled power! Die! You ignorant fools!" The demonic mage named Qiulushina grinned as she extinguished the flames on her longsword amidst the blood of the cultists, then brandished it and charged toward Ivy.

Compared to the terrified knights behind him, Ivy simply tilted her head with a puzzled expression and waved her staff.

A series of crackling sounds emanated from the demon-born female mage who launched the charge, as a large amount of magical aura was stripped from her body, turning into countless crystalline fragments that disappeared into the blasphemous basement.

As the buff magic around her body shattered and disappeared, Qiu Luxina's charging speed slowed down, and by the time she reached Ivy, she could only be described as moving.

Ivy poked the mithril staff at her feet, and the opponent immediately fell to the side. Then, the Beastbite Sword flashed with a dazzling light and easily decapitated the cultist.

"Sacrificing so many lives and making such a big show of things, just to release a battle technique conversion for yourself?" Ivy shook her head and gave her indifferent evaluation, "Unqualified."

The so-called Battle Spell Conversion is a sixth-circle divine spell that can completely replace the caster's spellcasting abilities with melee abilities. With a bunch of melee buffs applied to oneself, one can indeed unleash a devastating attack amidst a bunch of plate-armored enemies. However, when encountering a caster like Ivy, who is exceptional, it will completely backfire. A simple, ordinary Greater Dispel spell is enough to make the opponent a thing of the past.

Aside from the demonic mage Qiulushina, the cultists and demons in the Fortress of Favor were incredibly diverse. It took a lot of effort for Ivy to lead the members of the Knights of Dawnblade to meet with Ilinica and Queen Godfrey.

However, to his surprise, in addition to the succubi he had sent in advance, they found another ally.

They met at a giant pit of corpses, where a colossal six-armed serpent demon statue stood proudly overlooking the Crusaders below amidst the rotting carcasses.

Clearly, this was not a room built when Fortress of Favor was in the hands of the Crusaders; otherwise, all those dwarven architects would have been hanged by Godfrey back then.

A thin, ragged old half-elf woman was giving directions to another small group.

“Go this way… that’s the secret passage the Crusaders used when the fortress was still in our hands…” The old woman walked toward a wall. “You’ll find Heroic Edge more easily there; perhaps the demons don’t know about this path yet.”

Queen Godfrey raised her head warily and scrutinized the old woman before her again: "You are not Yang Ni! Who are you, a demon disguised as a Crusader hero?"

Yanni was a heroine who sacrificed herself when the city of Glorious fell. The golden sword that Irina found underground in Cannaburi was her weapon, and both the sword and its scabbard were crafted by the master blacksmith Joran Weyhen. If she hadn't claimed to be Yanni, the old woman would never have gained the trust of the team, including Queen Godfrey.

But now, she has given herself away.

“Demons…” The old woman, who called herself Yang Ni, stopped by the wall. “Think about it carefully. I’ve spent most of my life among them. I have to admit, there’s something fascinating about them. A single demon may be weak, pitiful, cowardly. But when you see them as a whole, they are no longer a group of independent creatures, but a great force, a wave that people may temporarily slow down, but can never stop. The front line of the Abyss is right here, on the land of Grallion. Unstoppable, frenziedly advancing. We can learn something from them, can’t we?”

"Nonsense!" Godfrey raised her longsword. "Show me your true form, you demon!"

The old woman glanced at Gophery impatiently, then turned to the others and asked, "What do you say about the commander favored by Iomede?"

“And you,” the old woman looked at Ivy across the pit of corpses, “the wise golden dragon?”

(End of this chapter)