From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 664 The Spirit Tower and Crusader Affairs

Queen Godfrey left the city of Favor and returned to her loyal court, Nerozian.

However, the affairs of the Holy Army in Juanze City will not decrease in the slightest because of her departure.

Rather, when the queen was still alive, many sensitive issues could be discussed directly with her or permission obtained. Now that the monarch is offline, certain orders and messages must rely on messengers.

The Kingdom of Montevi and the World's Sorrow share a long border. Although there are guardian stones at various important points along the border to block the demons' attacks, the City of Favor is the most prominent of the protruding points. Patrol teams must patrol the canyons and mountain roads behind the City of Favor day and night to prevent demons with teleportation abilities from bypassing the City of Favor's defenses and launching attacks on the Holy Army's logistics lines.

In the first few days of restoring order to the city of Jubilee, Ivy had already submitted a proposal to Godfrey and received special permission to approve it.

The proposal involves establishing a series of new outposts and fortresses along the Crusader's logistical lines, housing magical crystals as early warning systems to ward off potential flanking attacks by demons.

In practice, it all relied on Ivy's magic, so each fortress had a price tag, with funds allocated from the Church of Iomede and the Crusader's activity funds donated from all over the world.

Since there were no middlemen taking a cut, this was a highly efficient and practical proposal for both Ivy and the Kingdom of Montive. As a result, it was approved as soon as Ivy verbally conveyed it to Godfrey.

In addition, a series of facilities are being built around Juanze City, including the spirit tower where Ivy, as the Lord of Death, resides.

It's no surprise that this suggestion came from the old magician Zecarius. After witnessing Aviana's ability to freely switch between life and death, Zecarius no longer dared to be arrogant about independently improving the lich transformation ritual.

The golden dragon before him, who held his life box and had the power to completely destroy him at any moment, was the true extraordinary spellcaster who had grasped the profound mysteries between life and death.

"...It must be a magnificent mage tower, our base for understanding the mysteries of eternal life and commanding the undead army! It will also be a qualified laboratory for refining our necromancy..." Zechariah's voice unconsciously carried a hint of vanity and earnestness as he expressed his request—a significant emotional fluctuation for a lich who had been transformed for a hundred years. "I sincerely propose that my prison be placed within the foundation of the Spirit Tower, so that I can also use the structures above it... I will absolutely be your most loyal assistant, an excellent sharer and discussant. Together, we can create a golden age of necromancy, far surpassing the silent tyrant Tower of Baffon, confined to the Gallows!"

The Silent Tyrant, Tower Baffon, is perhaps the most famous ancient lich in the history of Grallion. This lich was an enemy of the god Oroden for a long time and was imprisoned in the Gallows by the latter. However, now that Oroden is dead, there is increasing information about undead creatures and lich servants appearing around the Gallows.

However, before the Silent Tyrant leaves his prison, the most pressing calamity for Grallion remains the World's Tragedy in Sarkoli, since the demons emanating from there are a real threat to all the surrounding nations.

"Necromancy is just one of my many research areas, Zecarius." Ivy flipped through the reports submitted by the Divine Eagle Guard and various units of the Crusader, answering Zecarius's questions in the snow sphere in a casual manner. "But don't worry, I will personally build the Spirit Tower with magic. You can show off your skills inside. Of course, using undead creatures to monitor the demons and cultists that may exist in the City of Favor is also one of your tasks. However, your undead spies must wear my badge. Otherwise, even if they are purified on the spot by the Crusader, don't come crying to me."

Ivy only said a few words, but she conveyed a huge amount of information.

The lich Zechariah was a rather intelligent fellow, and he certainly understood that the high command of the Crusade before him had granted him a considerable degree of freedom and a great deal of power.

Regardless of the era, secret agents were usually powerful agencies directly under the ruler, and the power derived from them far exceeded the imagination of ordinary people.

“I thought you’d delegate this kind of task to those slow-moving Eagle Guard spies,” Zecarius chuckled maliciously. “Looks like the convenience of undead creatures is quite to your liking…”

Undead creatures have a significant advantage as spies. After all, ethereal beings like ghosts can not only become invisible but also pass through ordinary walls. If they encounter a place they can't pass through, it must be due to supernatural forces. As long as they can transmit the information back, someone will naturally come to check and record the situation.

More importantly, undead creatures have absolutely no human rights. They don't need wages or rest, and can work continuously year-round without a break. They are arguably the most elite of the working class... the wage slaves.

Ivy remained noncommittal to Zecarius's jubilation: "How do you know I didn't assign the same task to the Eagle Guard agents?"

Annevia had served as the chief of secret service in Cannaburi for many years and had long since gained her own insights into the Crusaders, whose internal forces were intricate and whose situation was more chaotic than a hair clogging a sewer.

Moreover, this person may seem carefree, but he is actually quite shrewd and can make anyone feel comfortable and amiable while quietly extracting information from them.

Looking back at these Crusader officers from Kanaburi, they weren't all incompetent fools; quite a few were capable. So why, despite having the Silver Dragon Guardian Terendiliver on the outside and skilled Eagle Guardians and Inquisitors from the Church of Iomede on the inside, was Kanaburi so easily infiltrated by cultists?
Not to mention that these cultists don't even know the top, bottom, left, and right of the Baphomet symbol.

It can only be said that an incompetent general led to the death of his entire army!
“I don’t understand… those mortals are inefficient and can only create chaos and more trouble… I don’t see any advantage in this arrangement…” Zecarius’s voice was hesitant. He thought that Ivy was an absolute efficiency-first and pragmatist, and in theory he would never allow a living spy with a lot of flaws and almost no advantages to ruin the Holy Crusade’s cause. But he chose such an inefficient method.

This is actually what is known as the clash of differing opinions.

Aside from violence, the power within the instruments of rule often originates from conflict, or rather, from the means of quelling conflict.

Even if the living spies and undead servants that Ivy arranged were just following the rules, it would still cause conflict, not to mention whether the two naturally mutually exclusive sides would trip each other up.

It's easy to foresee that the conflict between the living and the dead will ultimately be reported to the Lord of Death and his military advisors for a ruling.

What Ivy values ​​is simply the contradiction in the ruling.

Although he didn't arrive in Glarion alone, the only reliable and well-known helper he had was the new Planeswalker Quintorli Kant.

Despite the immense prestige he gained through a series of victories leading the Holy Army, the Holy Army's strategy underwent a significant change after taking control of the city of Favor.

To ensure that this massive military-political-theocratic complex continues to operate smoothly around him, it is crucial to prevent power from slipping away. Ivy is quite adept at this kind of political struggle; after all, he is a Slytherin... well, a Slytherin from the late 19th century, and at the same time, a citizen of a major country who has received above-average political education.

While manipulating power is certainly not the only way to gain it, it is definitely one of the fastest.

While ensuring that power does not slip away or weaken, Ivy also needs to subtly cultivate his own faction. When this group constitutes the majority within the Crusader army, he will have no need to fear things like Montevi and the Church of Iomede cutting off the army's supplies.

Because... what was that saying again?

Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely come to explain the classics to me.
The first subordinates to come into his view were the Claw Hell Knights led by Deputy Enforcer Regil Tirenger, and the Dawnblade Knights led by Knight Commander Ashius Strig.

The former upholds law and order, and is basically in line with Ivy's values; the latter is a follower of the sun goddess, and is also aligned with Ivy's sun divinity. Moreover, both of them are relatively independent of Montevi's holy army, and have high value in uniting the people.

Not to mention that Ivy had already won the trust of the two knightly orders through a series of previous decisions and deployments.

So Ivy's next plan to strengthen the connection between the two knightly orders and him was to replace their weapons and equipment and replenish their ranks.

However, this is not something that can be done overnight; it requires long-term planning and gradual implementation.

"Report! Lord Doom! Commander Irabes requests an audience." The guard at the door announced loudly, interrupting Ivy's thoughts.

"Come in."

In the short few steps that the golden-armored Paladin Iomede took to reach Ivy's desk, he completed the signing of another document.

It was about a group of people requesting to join the Crusades, Desna followers from all over the world.

Ever since Illinika altered the appearance of Aomede's Heroic Edge, rumors that she was Desna's daughter (or a Blissful Spirit Envoy) began to spread rapidly across the continent. These newly arrived Desna followers were not even among the first to arrive.

“Lord Doom.” Irabes glanced cautiously at the Beastbite Sword gleaming with blue light on the weapon rack. Ever since she heard the story behind that sword, she couldn’t help but care about it. Now, it’s gotten to the point where just seeing the blue light emanating from its blade makes her cheeks sting.

"Speak, what good news do you have?" Ivy tossed the documents in front of him aside, comfortably leaning back in his chair. Bobby, the butler standing beside him, immediately and considerately brought him a cup of fragrant black tea. "Coffee or tea? Commander? Just tell DouDou. If you want alcohol like Sheila, I don't have any here."

“Ah, coffee will do…” Irabes shifted her weight somewhat awkwardly, secretly regretting saying “coffee”, which made her feel no different from the young master Gedalan from Nerozian. But then again, tea was not a simple choice either, let alone using the expensive-looking tea set on the military advisor’s table.

You've come to report on military affairs, Irabes!
"Ahem..." The orc paladin cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Lord Doom, I'm afraid I can't say that what I'm about to report is good news..."

Ivy didn't reply, but simply showed her palm, indicating that she should continue.

“We have a patrol team that disappeared without a trace while on duty, and we haven’t even found their bodies. Perhaps they were kidnapped, or perhaps there is some kind of supernatural threat in that area... Of course, we can’t rule out the possibility that they deserted as a whole.”

The fact that the territory borders the abyss means that anything strange and unusual can happen. It's just that a patrol of soldiers has gone missing, so it's not a big deal.

Ivy glanced at the report on the table about the mess Irina and her little dragon had made, and decided to send the over-energetic guy to investigate, and while he was at it, save the colorful roof of the Temple of Iomede, the pickles in the tavern's pickle jars, and the curio shop in the lower town run by the devil.

Do we really need to explain how the chaotic, benevolent Carnival Dragon and the lawful, evil Devil Merchant came into conflict?
“Continue.” Ivy didn’t intend to make her decision public, and gestured with her chin towards the orc paladin.

“There’s a dragon…excuse me, I’m not talking about your or the Commander’s pet,” Erabes explained. “A wild dragon has appeared around here and frequently attacks our small units, destroying supply wagons or swallowing stragglers. There are many sightings of the wild dragon, but no one can pinpoint its lair. However, there is a volunteer who has volunteered to help the Crusaders.”

"He's a dwarf assassin who helped during the siege and is now waiting for his next order in the tavern. The commander seems quite interested in him."

"What color dragon is it?" Ivy asked.

“A red dragon, Your Excellency.”

“Alright, then have that volunteer come here to find me. We can talk about the dragon hunt,” Ivy ordered.

Irabes nodded in agreement, then continued, “There’s one last thing, Your Excellency. The bodies of the Wei brothers have been in the dungeon for some time now. As more and more civilians flood into the city, it’s inevitable that criminals will appear… Perhaps we should clear out that dungeon beforehand? Besides, there are many different opinions about how to dispose of Stoutton’s body…”

"Alright, don't worry about this. I'll handle it myself." Reminded by her, Ivy finally remembered the Wei brothers in the dungeon. Perhaps it was time to put them to good use?

The two brothers, one a former paladin and the other a highly skilled blacksmith, were both able to contribute their strength to the Crusade in appropriate ways.

(End of this chapter)