From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 662 The Spirit Envoy and the Dragon Lich
Although the task of hanging the Heroic Blade was entrusted to the face of the Fifth Holy War, when it came time to actually carry it out, we still had to wait a while.

Because the main gate of the Fortress of Jueze City, which is also the gate of the third wall, was recently collapsed by Ivy sitting on it, the Crusader's victory must be officially announced to the world by Ivy using magic to repair it.

Fortunately, Ivy has many ways to restore things that have been destroyed. In addition to building magnificent fortresses with civil engineering magic, the spell "Restore" from the wizards of Hogwarts can also fix anything from small pieces of glasses to broken bridges in the castle.

The Crusaders were long accustomed to the sight of stones and dust obediently returning to their places from the ruins. Rather, it was precisely because of this magic, which defied common sense, that the Holy War could proceed smoothly.

Standing atop the restored city gate, Illinika took a deep breath. Even the First Queen of Chelias, who had faced thousands of spectators, knew very well just how important the Crusader artifact in her hand was.

This is the battle flag that Iomede, her successor, once waved!
She calmed herself down slightly, raised her hand and unfurled the banner of Valiant Edge. The banner was a deep red, with Iomede's sword and sun emblem outlined in gold. Under the midday sun and the gaze of the Crusader soldiers, it appeared solemn and sacred.

The Heroic Edge seemed to have no resonance with Ilinica, merely fluttering above the walls of the city of Jueze.

However, Ivy, standing next to Illinika, could see clearly that things had changed.

The commander of the Fifth Holy War had a scar on his chest that split open, and a drop of blood fell onto the surface of the Heroic Blade.

Ivy knew very well that this was by no means an isolated or accidental event.

Ilinica reached out to wipe away the bloodstains on the holy banner, but in an instant, the mythical power hidden within her revived and surged forth, proclaiming its existence to the world.

She is no longer just a grain of sand in the world, but something greater.

The Crusader commander is ready to take another step forward on the path of mythology.

The drops of blood sprinkled on the heroic blade burst into transparent flames, which were then swept up by the winds of freedom, engulfing the entire flag, changing its shape, and giving it new colors.

The radiating divine power lost its golden light and transformed into a green, free wind, allowing tender new green shoots to grow in this bitterly cold land in the far north of the continent.

Moss began to grow on the snow-covered city walls, and colorful flowers sprouted and bloomed from the cracks in the dilapidated roof tiles, as if this were not the front line of corruption by the abyss, but a lush land with a gentle breeze blowing all year round.

Illinika's chest wound healed, and new power erupted within her, filling her body and reshaping her mortal form in its image.

Bones were torn apart, muscles were ripped apart, but in the next second everything was restored to its original state, and even better.

A breeze of freedom swirled around Illinika, and a small, childlike voice whispered on her shoulder: “I just don’t understand why mortals love cities so much. Stones, stones, stones everywhere! All the doors are so close to the ground, and they’re all the same shape. Why don’t they build the doors on the roofs and slide down? And cities are so boring, it’s not worth running around in them at all… If someone could build a fountain that’s full of jam, I’d run around it all the time. Or plant a chocolate tree, so people can break off a branch and eat it when they pass by!”

Irina, who was enjoying her newfound power, turned around in confusion: "Who...who is speaking?"

A small, pale purple female dragon, about the size of a cat, leaped down from her shoulder. Its translucent wings, shimmering with iridescent colors like those of a dragonfly or butterfly, fluttered, helping her float in mid-air: "It's me! This adorable little dragon has been following you the whole time, you didn't notice, did you?"

"Oh—" Irina let out a satisfied yet slightly regretful sigh, reaching out to pick up the little dragon in front of her, rubbing her face against it twice. "Oh my god! You're so cute! If you were a little bigger, all my dreams would come true! But being little is nice too, it would be even better to watch you grow up! Maybe Ivy has some way to make you grow up faster? What's your name, little one, where did you come from?"

“My name is Aiwu! I’m a carnival dragon from the Land of Bliss!” Aiwu chuckled, her bright, jade-like eyes narrowing into slits. “Don’t underestimate me just because I’m small. The longer our family lives, the longer their names become. Otherwise, it would be too funny! Imagine if you had just hatched from your egg, and were only a five-year-old baby, but everyone called you by a long string of solemn and noble titles…”

Ilinica looked at Aiwu in her arms, then at Ivy standing beside her, deep in thought, and couldn't agree more with this statement.

Just imagine calling a cat-sized dragon covered in shimmering scales the "Dragon of Destruction"—that would be utterly ridiculous.

Illinika suddenly had a whimsical thought and began to imagine the magnificent golden dragon, Ivy Doom, just hatching from its egg. Surely our dignified and wise Crusader military advisor couldn't be so easily signing his name on military orders or issuing commands to his servants like, "Have the archers responsible for ranged fire move to the left... five centimeters!"

Just imagining these scenes made Illinika overjoyed. Her laughter resonated with the winds of freedom surrounding her, spreading through the completely transformed blade of heroism to all the newly formed Crusaders, eliciting a burst of inexplicable laughter.

Queen Gophery of Montivere, who had reigned for over a hundred years, thought she had enough experience, but she had never seen anything like the scene before her.

"What on earth is going on?" She lay on the city wall, looking blankly at the Vanguard of Valor. The sacred emblem of Iomede had disappeared, and the noble, deep red had been replaced by the free cyan and blue. The Dream Tree, growing vigorously under the full moon, stretched its branches as if extending an invitation to everyone.

"I'm so happy! What is it that's so funny?" The little elf girl, Xiao Jin, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and asked with difficulty, clutching her stomach.

"If our holy war turns into a complete circus performance, I will definitely make myself look like a serious paladin in comparison! That way, I won't fail the goddess's teachings." Sheila leaned against the city wall and laughed, taking the opportunity to joke about her mission as a paladin.

What's wrong with this world?
Before Godfrey could come up with a way to stop the laughter, she was shocked to spot a demonic figure in the crowd. It was Elsaly, the young Desna follower whom the military advisor Ivy Doom had rescued from the dungeon. Now, her innocent aura had been completely shattered by the sharp horns on her head, the wings on her back, and the heart-shaped tail; a strange, alluring aura surrounded her.

However, Elsaly herself was completely oblivious, looking at Commander Ilinica with a mixture of tears and laughter: "I feel a warm breeze on my face. It's filled with sunshine, happiness, and the scent of grass. I will follow your call, wherever it may lead me..."

Queen Godfrey, feeling that the future of the Crusades had completely collapsed, instinctively wanted to draw the sword blessed by Iomede and cut down all these heretics.

Then, considering the tragedy that befell the western side of the Kingdom of Montevi, she abruptly abandoned the plan; she still had people to save. Desna it was, Spirit Messenger it was—at least Desna was a member of the Holy Crusade, and Spirit Messenger was also part of the Celestial Race.

At least, I still have the dignified and wise Jinlong as my military advisor.

Gopher looked at Ivy with satisfaction, who was deep in thought and had a serious and calm expression, and was pleased with her confident and composed demeanor.

Then she heard Irina, the one who started it all, ask triumphantly, "Why are you so serious, Ivy? We've reclaimed the Heroic Edge and reignited its power, which means the Crusaders have finally stood firm against the World's Tragedy. How can you resist the urge to burst into laughter at a time like this?"

No, no, no! Reject her, reject her now! She already has a little dragon that suits her, Lord Doom belongs to the Crusaders!

“No, I was just thinking about other things. You've given the artifacts that originally belonged to Iomede and the Crusaders a new potential—more free, more unrestrained—and this mythical power works very well with you.” Ivy’s voice was steady and calm, revealing a profound rationality. “Perhaps, I can also make the power of mythology manifest in other ways…”

A magic wand wreathed in the power of death suddenly appeared in his hand; it was the phylactery of the lich Zecharias. A sudden gust of cold wind dispelled the warmth brought by Ilinica, instantly enveloping the small town.

Ivy shed his human disguise and regained his dragon form, but this time, he no longer possessed the dazzling golden scales and the majestic horn crest.

His muscles seemed to have shrunk, and the dull golden scales resembled gold that had been dormant for a thousand years, deep and conforming to the direction of his bones. His once majestic horned crown had become even more twisted and terrifying, like both creepy thorns and tangled branches for crows to perch on, exuding an unspoken threat and an atmosphere of terror.

The broad wing membranes had completely disappeared, the powerful muscles attached to the wings had been completely dissolved, and the stark white bones were wrapped in a thick, ghastly green mist, forming the Death Lord's majestic cloak. The long, elegant tail had been completely transformed into a weapon to harvest life, with specks of firefly light shining through it, burning quietly.

"You did it! I did it!" The snow globe containing Zecarius was the first to break the deathly silence. "You have become a one-of-a-kind dragon lich! Quickly, give me back my wand, and then together we will transform all life in this city into an invincible army of undead, and forever drive those abyssal scum pouring out of the World's Sorrow from the Prime Material Plane!"

"Quiet, Zecarius." Ivy's voice carried the shadow of death, and the snow globe, which had been fluttering around like a headless fly, immediately stopped in its tracks. "This is none of your business."

“Of course, of course,” Zecarius said, almost obsequiously, with a satisfied air. “I have waited a hundred years, so why would I be in such a hurry? The end of the demons is just around the corner…”

“It’s suddenly so cold…” Elsa shrugged and bent over, wrapping herself up with her hands and wings.

The shadow of death not only brought a chill even greater than the world's crown, but also caused even thicker dark clouds to once again shroud Juanze City.

Those plants that thrived thanks to the winds of freedom summoned by Illinika from Paradise withered and decayed in an instant, turning back into dust on the bricks and tiles of the City of Favor.

Shocked and incredulous, Gopher drew her sword, her voice trembling as she demanded, "What have you done! Where is that noble Golden Dragon Lord? Have you fallen into evil like Staunton?"

"Hmph... Conventional methods can never conquer the World's Sorrow. Haven't you realized that yet, little queen?" Zecarius maneuvered the snow globe to fly in front of Gopher and snorted coldly.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I was just conducting a small magical experiment, exploring the different possibilities of mythical power." Ivy, a colossal dragon lich, sat atop the city wall, like a grim reaper descended to earth. Even more fantastical was the fact that this grim reaper was actually reasoning with humans. "Didn't I tell you long ago? I come from a magic academy in another world, where we don't consider mutually exclusive duality as absolutely incompatible. We study the unified and harmonious state of these things: order and chaos, life and death, light and shadow, matter and theory, the inner and outer of the mind."

“Actually, I’m quite skilled in necromancy, and this situation isn’t irreversible.” Ivy smiled, revealing his menacing teeth. The chilling air spewing from his dragon mouth condensed into snowflakes, mixed with icy mist, and rushed towards the others standing on the city wall.

However, Ivy showed no intention of apologizing. He raised his terrifying dragon head and roared at the dark, cloud-covered sky.

"Watch closely, Zecarius, this is the ultimate use of the power of death!"

The next moment, a ray of sunlight pierced through the dark clouds and completely enveloped his dragon lich body.

The shadow of death quietly faded away, and the pure sunlight replaced the withered flesh covering it, gradually reweaving the body of the mythical golden dragon.

In no time, the death threat that had been looming over the Crusaders had completely vanished, and the golden dragon soaring into the sky spread its wings, allowing the brilliant sunlight to illuminate this city that had changed time and again.

"Oh my god!" Aiwu, the carnival dragon who had come all the way from Elysium to seek refuge in Ilinica, sneezed cutely. "One minute it's a biting wind, the next it feels like I'm on the edge of a volcano... I'm definitely going to catch a cold tomorrow!"

(End of this chapter)