Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 609 Attacked
Goris, the City of Grace, the Cathedral of Glow.

A guard of the Inquisition in a white robe hurried into the prayer room, and unsurprisingly startled the cardinal who was dozing with his eyes closed on the bench.

Ismail closed the book he had casually opened in his hand and asked slowly, "You look so flustered, is there something wrong?"

The guard leaned closer and said, "Your Excellency, there seems to be some unusual activity within the Flameheart Inquisition... Chief Inquisitor Isaiah, despite Your Excellency Felipe's dissuasion, insists on joining forces with the Dark Sun Inquisition and marching to Isengard to rescue Iron Hill City from the alien invasion."

The Holy City had received a warning about the fall of the capital of Isengard from Archbishop Randall a week ago. Randall, who was currently on his way back to the Holy City, had mentioned that the known alien races came from the north of the Godspine Mountains, and that they were not a tribe of evil orcs... but a presence never heard of before. There were tens of thousands of them alone that were wreaking havoc and invading Iron Hill City, and that mortal knights and armies were simply unable to contend with them.

This news naturally caused an uproar in the Holy City. They had heard in the past that the newly crowned Northern Emperor of Saint Valen seemed to have led his army in several battles with unknown enemies in the wilderness, but most of the high-ranking officials of the Church believed that... he was just routinely purging the large number of evil orc tribes in order to consolidate his rule and expand his territory in the north.

It now seems that they were the first to encounter the northern aliens. They sent troops to raid into the northern part of Isengard, and it seems that they also planned to set up a defense line in the Great Rift of the God's Spine Mountains in advance to block the aliens from moving south.

Ismael narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Isaiah has probably lost his mind. It's too late to rush to Isengard's aid now... Besides, Saint Varen is currently at odds with us. How can two Judgment Legions, each numbering nearly 5,000, successfully cross the central southern border and reach the steppes? The Emperor of the North will not approve of the enemy openly passing through his territory, will he?"

Bishop Bamoa arrived just in time and interrupted with a stern face, "If we can't use Saint Valen as a route, the worst we can do is cross the God's Spine Mountains and detour through the wasteland, or head south through the Principality of Barclay and then east... Isengard is, after all, a kingdom of our Lord's followers. Your Majesty's order to relocate the two Judgment Legions originally stationed there is truly unwise."

If those two legions were still stationed in Iron Hill, the capital of Isengard would not have been completely defenseless and fall into the hands of foreigners in an instant.

Ismael frowned and coughed, then waved away the attendants and guards in the room. He rebuked Bamoya, "You are not allowed to make irresponsible remarks about His Majesty's decision... You should also be aware that the City of Grace is also close to the Divine Spine Mountains. The Judgment Army's primary responsibility is to protect the Holy City!"

In the matter of instigating the Flame Heart and Dark Sun Legions to send troops, Bamoa, whose position was originally inclined towards the Divine Punishment Faction, probably played a lot of roles. Ismael knew it very well, but he had no interest in arguing with him at the moment.

As if by coincidence, at the most critical moment, His Holiness the Pope announced to the three cardinals who held real power in the Holy City that he would enter the lower level of the Privy District of the Saints' Gap and conduct secluded prayer in the dark prayer room for a year.

This critical moment happened neither too early nor too late, but just on the eve of Isengard's invasion by alien races... The high-ranking officials of the Holy See suddenly felt as if they had lost their backbone. The rulers who were already clearly divided into two factions now fell into complete chaos with each of them holding their own opinions.

The Divine Punishment Faction was more focused on the development of the Church's power in the secular kingdom, and naturally was unwilling to sit idly by and watch the entire territory of Isengard fall. If the hundreds of thousands of believers in the Kingdom of the Cavalry, and the thousands of churches and parishes of all sizes throughout the country, fell into the hands of foreign races... it would be a fatal blow to them.

The moderate faction's leaders have always been conservative. In the past few years, they had condoned the Divine Punishment Faction's covert collusion with the southern countries, and attacked and suppressed the Federation and ordinary spellcasters everywhere, until the outbreak of the Saint Valen Plague... They suddenly realized that the alliance formed to jointly fight against the demons was on the verge of collapse, and the long-lost peace situation within the human race was also crumbling due to their own indulgence.

This dangerous act of "setting fire in one's own backyard" finally unnerved the moderates, who, in a rare move, adopted a hardline stance against the Divine Punishment Faction. This also made it impossible to conceal the divisions within the Holy City. Many mid- and low-level High Priests and Knights of the Judgment Army, who had vaguely heard the rumors, became more or less confused and wavering. This decline of faith must not continue!

Ismael, who was originally a moderate, could no longer sit still. The foreign enemies were still wreaking havoc in Isengard thousands of miles away, but the glory of the holy city must not be allowed to collapse from within. Without the authority of the Pope, he had to take the initiative to shoulder more responsibilities and try every means to save the situation.

It's impossible to change Bamoa's attitude in a short time, but Bishop Rivera, who was born into an ascetic family, can still be won over... In addition to the Flame Heart and Dark Sun Legions, which clearly stand on the side of the Divine Punishment Faction, he also has at least three Judgment Legions loyal to His Holiness the Pope and inclined towards the moderate faction that he can control.

There are nearly 5,000 soldiers, of which 30% are elite bloodline knights with extraordinary powers. Although they are far inferior to the Spear of Light that was completely destroyed outside Jinhui City, and everyone of them has God's grace...but they have been guarding the Holy City for a long time, and their combat power should not be underestimated.

Thinking of this, he stood up and decided not to continue the verbal dispute with Bamoa. He was about to leave the prayer room to look for Rivera, but was almost knocked over by the Judgement Army who rushed in from outside the door.

The visitor came to ask to see Bamoa, "Bishop, something bad has happened! Judge Isaiah is in trouble!"

"What?" Bamoya, who had just been calm, suddenly stood up with a look of disbelief. "Didn't he personally lead the army to the northern monastery for a routine inspection? What happened?"

They said it was a routine inspection, but in fact they were secretly sending troops to the foot of the God's Spine Mountains. They really planned to detour through the northern wilderness and rush to Isengard for assistance from a thousand miles away.

Ismael didn't point it out, but pressed on, "Did they encounter the evil orcs that had fled to the southern border, or the scattered remnants of the demon army?"

The guard shook his head in bewilderment. "I'm not sure... but the five hundred Bloodline Knights and more than ten combat priests brought by the Inquisitor were all killed. Only eight high-ranking knights risked their lives to break through and rescue the severely injured Inquisitor... We have also lost contact with the northern monastery."

"Seriously injured? Where is Isaiah now?"

"At the Divine Grace Cathedral, Bishop Rivera is doing his utmost to treat him. The eight Bloodline Knights who returned with him are also receiving treatment there."

Ismail and Bamoa looked at each other and felt that something was wrong.

"Immediately notify the other cardinals and Chief Inquisitor Felipe, and have them rush to the Cathedral of Divine Grace to meet with us. Also, completely seal off the church and prohibit any priests or Inquisitors who know of this from leaving!"

(End of this chapter)