My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 353 The Siege Battle That Had Become Commonplace
Inside the room, Cardinal Clark was about to introduce himself when the Princess suddenly turned around, raised her hand slightly, and interrupted him.

Before you introduce yourself, may I ask you a question?

“Please speak.” Cardinal Clark looked at the Princess, a hint of surprise on his face.

"Were you sent by Roland to protect me?"

"That's right. At the request of Archduke Roland, the Vatican has decided to take preemptive, clandestine action to protect your safety."

Cardinal Clark did not continue speaking, sensing that the Princess seemed somewhat displeased: "You seem to have other ideas."

“It seems the Grand Duke of the Empire is indeed more popular than the hot potato that is the throne of Plataea.” The princess shook her head helplessly, then looked at Clark: “Has he told you about his background?”

“That’s not important.” Cardinal Clark shook his head. “The Papacy is only here to prevent the outbreak of war.”

"So grand and dignified... just to prevent the Holy See from being 'legally' expelled from the Federation of Nations by the demons, isn't it?" The princess saw through the truth, then turned back to look out the window: "But I don't care."

"I only wish to return the kingdom to its former state and let my brother, who has gone completely insane, rest in peace."

"I don't care about anything else."

"I would say... that it makes me feel more at ease because everyone has their own needs."

"If it's truly help without expecting anything in return, I wouldn't dare accept it."

"So... how much intelligence do you have?"

Clark remained calm: "All we know is that you have a large number of spies around you, and all the intelligence you have about the plans has been intercepted by the Demon King's Court."

"So... you also have spies within the Demon King's court?"

"It wasn't us. It was Lord Roland."

……

Five minutes after the cannon fired, in the town of Shattered Stone, twenty kilometers outside the city of Heria.

"Great Sage, why did we come directly to Heria City? Shouldn't we have gone to the territory of Wislova?"

"Allen! Didn't you read the mission briefing?! Heria City is in the territory of Wislow!"

Götze punched Allen with a hint of exasperation, then explained, "Platia's administrative divisions are different from those of the Empire."

“There are three cities in the territory of Wislova.”

"The city of Emerald Wood, where the Vishlo family castle is located, was originally a trading center, and is now the main territory of the Princess, the city of Heria, as well as the city of Yalan, which is adjacent to the royal capital."

"However, the current situation is that after the last raid by the King's army, Yalan City fell and has now become a front-line fortress for the King's army and the Demon Royal Court army."

"You little rascal! Didn't I make you memorize all of this before we left? Did you forget to look at it again?!"

Allen said somewhat aggrievedly, "Of course I remember! It's just that we didn't explain things clearly! What I was trying to say was, why didn't we go directly to your family, Chairman, but instead came to Heria City?"

The great sage Erebus then explained with a smile, "Alright, it was just a smokescreen from the beginning."

"Besides, have you forgotten my plan?"

"Initiate impeachment."

"Impeachment requires the presence of three family members at the same time."

“Our team already includes members of the Weslow and Lancashire families.”

"Why bother going to Emerald City to find the Wislow family?"

"Besides, even if we go to Emerald Wood City, are we going to have the Princess herself come over?"

"So, either way, our destination is Heria City."

Allen continued, "Then why did you say you were going to the territory of Westeros in the first place... ah~~~"

He was indeed a talented person who could get into the academy. Although he was a little slow to catch on at first, Allen wasn't really stupid.

Who said they didn't come to the Wislaw territory?

Why isn't Heria a territory of Wislova?

Erebus smiled slightly, said nothing more, and turned to look at Machima beside him: "Miss Machima, what are you thinking about?"

“It’s nothing… I just received news that Heria City is under attack.” Machima said with a smile, “Don’t worry about it, similar sieges happen every two or three days these days.”

"After the fall of Yalan, Heria lost its last frontline barrier."

"Moreover, the two cities are not far apart by road... According to our intelligence, the King's army has now set up camp on the other side of the river, establishing complete firing positions and weapon configurations."

"Fire a couple of shots every now and then to deplete the energy reserves of our city defense formation. Don't worry about it."

Machima had a calm expression on her face, as if it was about to rain, which left Allen speechless.

Götze sighed, "I never imagined that the country would become like this in the years since I left Platia."

"By the way, Great Sage, what do you think of the information Lord Roland sent earlier?"

"If someone wants to hinder our plans, what's the best approach?"

Erebus took a bite of his steak and began to explain, “First of all, the simplest and most direct way is to get rid of Machima or that princess.”

“They are both currently the only remaining members of their respective families… Ah, the Princess also has a controlled, insane younger brother.” “As long as neither of them can attend, there is no point in discussing impeachment proceedings.”

"Even if it's just a formality, we still need to have enough people."

"but……"

Erebus paused for a moment: "Lord Roland seems to have sensed something and persuaded that cardinal to take action. I just sensed his magical aura."

"With him and his elite Papacy forces, even if multiple monarchs attack, the Princess's safety can be guaranteed."

"Not to mention the powerful figures around the princess."

"It's the same here. With me around, killing Machima on the road will be quite a difficult task."

"Moreover, we're not traveling at a normal pace... The speed of the newly developed stealth four-wheeled vehicle equipped with a stealth array is also far beyond our expectations."

"The journey, which originally took at least a week, has been shortened to three days."

"In this respect, we also took advantage of the time difference."

"So unless they still intend to kill by force, the most direct and easy way is... to strike first."

"Strike first, win?" Allen and Götze were both taken aback, but Machima understood the Great Sage's unspoken meaning.

She looked at the Great Sage and asked, "Do you mean... to use the same procedures of the Council of Kings to limit our impeachment proceedings?"

“That’s right. Don’t forget that the Council of Kings is essentially an ancient system passed down from the Holy Empire. It is essentially a system established by the electors within the empire to ensure their own status.”

“And these electors, besides being at odds with each other, must have also cooperated and formed alliances.”

“I have read the terms of the Council of Kings, and there is a clause on the denial of impeachment.”

"Unfortunately, there is indeed a clause in it—that other electors have the right to question the authenticity of the impeachment case, suspend the impeachment, and submit it to the Great Council for trial."

“You all know very well what this means.”

"We must complete the impeachment process before the demons start flipping through the ancient texts."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Machima objected: "I think... you don't need to worry so much."

"Having dealt with those demons who are determined to start a war for a long time, I can roughly guess what those demons are thinking."

"They are eager for war, and... the reasons that the demons consider legitimate may not be exactly the same as the reasons that we consider legitimate."

"You intend to initiate impeachment proceedings in order to obtain a legitimate pretext for entering the kingdom."

"But the demons don't need to worry about so much."

"They don't even need to stop or interfere with our current operations; it wouldn't make much sense to them."

"Because of the involvement of the Vatican and the Society, it was already taken into consideration by them... and even in the current situation, the lever to legislate to expel the Vatican may also be intentional."

"The purpose is to get the Vatican or even the Academy involved, and then use the legal means you want to use to slap on a big label that you can't explain or prove."

"For example... usurping the throne of a country, forcibly interfering in the country's internal affairs, and having ulterior motives."

"You should also know that, apart from the top leaders of each country, the citizens of each country may only be subjected to the most basic spiritual suggestions or psychological guidance, or may not be affected at all."

"But... if they really raise a similar banner, claiming to uphold justice for neighboring friendly nations, to seek redress for the deposed king, and to help him regain the throne, what should we do then?"

"At that time, war will inevitably break out, and it may even trigger a brutal civil war among humans."

Just as Erebus was thinking about what to say, his expression suddenly turned serious, and he walked to the window.

The next moment, a fierce wind swept in, and high in the sky, a huge bone dragon flashing with dark purple flames, like a cloud covering the sky, quickly swept past Shattered Stone Town and flew towards the city of Herria.

This anomaly suddenly turned the quiet town into a hubbub of activity and panic.

They all knew the legend of the dragon. If it were just a dragon passing by, the townspeople might be alarmed, but most of them would just be curious and curious.

But this is a bone dragon...

A terrifying bone dragon exuding an ominous aura.

The faint pressure emanating from the mere passing by was enough to make these ordinary people tremble.

Erebus's eyes sharpened: "Roland...where did that skeletal dragon come from? I only left Isfar a few days ago."

"And the direction seems to be...Heria City?"

After a moment's thought, Erebus turned to the three people at the table who were discussing the origins of the bone dragon and said, "It's time to go. Get to Heria City as soon as possible."

"Our ever-active Grand Duke has come to help, riding his dragon."

"It seems he's quite invested in this plan."

“Of course, Miss Machima’s concerns are quite reasonable.”

"But all of this is predicated on the premise that mind control is effective, right?"

"Then, we just need to find a way to resolve it."

"As far as I know, His Excellency Grand Duke Roland is very likely an expert in this field."

(End of this chapter)