It felt so good to be close to the witch!

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(6,000 words today, trying my best to be a procrastinator~ It's almost the end of the month, please vote for me!)

Chapter 132 Advancement, Gold Rank!

(Ask for monthly ticket)

The all-out battle with Lilia brought Roy considerable benefits: not only did he gain much more practical experience, but he also gained a clearer understanding of his own combat capabilities.

Currently, before activating his "Destruction" state, he is slightly inferior to a witch who has undergone a perfect talent evolution at the peak of her powers.

Once the "Destruction" state is activated, the opponent is likely to win unless they are an exceptionally powerful witch like Lilia.

Shadow control, contract summoning, blood sacrifice... these powerful talents elevate Lilia's combat strength to an extremely terrifying level for a witch.

In fact, even Ais, with the same level of magic, would find it difficult to be a match for Lilia.

Both are witches and both have undergone a perfect talent evolution. Ais was far stronger than Lilia before. The reason for this situation is that the two have different directions of talent evolution.

If we define the ability points gained from a perfect evolution of a talent as 10 points, then Ais would have put all 10 points into Ice Element Affinity, while Lilia would have put 5 points into Shadow Element Affinity and 5 points into Contract Summoning.

Elemental affinity can enhance a witch's abilities in all aspects, including but not limited to: increasing the power of the corresponding element, increasing the speed of magic recovery, etc.

However, precisely because it is comprehensive, its pure power is not particularly great.

Shadow Pact Summoning is different.

Its upper and lower limits depend on the strength of the shadow creatures that the contract master can summon. Unfortunately, Lilia is unexpectedly popular in the shadow world. No shadow creature will refuse any contract invitation she issues. They will rush to her. Even the Azure Horned Moon Wolf King, one of the kings of the shadow world, who should not have bothered with such a weak "contract master", "condescended" to accept the invitation.

To put it more vividly, Ais's choice leans towards late-game single-target damage, while Lilia's choice focuses on early-game multi-target damage.

Later on, Lilia would have a hard time being a match for Ais, who was skilled in a particular technique, but for now, Lilia is still stronger.

……

Time flies, like fine sand slipping through your fingers unnoticed.

Two days later.

Roy sat at the head of the hall, looking down at the envelope in his hand, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

This was a letter from the border duke's mansion. The messenger was a silver-ranked red knight. After delivering the letter, he declined Roy's offer to stay and quickly left for his next destination.

Seeing the words "To Lord Roy, Lord of Blackrock" on the envelope, Roy did not hesitate for long before opening the envelope and slowly reading it.

The letter was short, and Roy read it all quickly.

To summarize, this letter mainly discusses three things.

First: The Kolei Empire has officially withdrawn its troops, and the friction between the two empires has temporarily come to an end. At least for the entire winter, there will be a period of stability.

Second: Next spring, in addition to the two bronze knights originally scheduled to be sent to provide support, Blackrock Territory will need to send at least thirty additional regular knights.

Third: This winter, affected by the outbreak of the demonic tide, the number of ferocious animals will increase sharply, and there may even be demonic beasts. All territories need to pay special attention. If any trace of demonic beasts is discovered, it must be reported to the Duke's Mansion as soon as possible, and the Duke's Mansion will send people to exterminate them.

Looking at the letter in his hand, Roy gently stroked his chin, lost in thought.

The retreat of the Kolei Empire was not surprising. There were only a few days left before the arrival of winter, and the temperature was only in the single digits today. Soon, the world would be covered in white.

Under the icy snow, even extraordinary knights would be greatly affected, let alone ordinary knights. Moreover, with the roads blocked by heavy snow, the transportation of various supplies would become extremely difficult, and no one would want to fight under such circumstances.

The environment is just too cruel.

The information that additional combat power was needed made Roy frown and his heart grow heavy.

The need for additional support is not a good sign.

From these subtle clues, it's clear that in this confrontation between the two great empires, Radiance seems to be at a disadvantage.

Although he had no goodwill toward the high-ranking officials of the Radiant Empire, as one of the nobles and a beneficiary, Roy naturally did not want to see the Radiant Empire fall.

Unfortunately, compared to the entire empire, he was far too weak, not even a legend.

But if things really reach the most critical point, like the "collapse of the nation"...

Roy remained silent.

shook his head.

It's too early to think about this now.

Although the Radiant Empire is currently at a disadvantage, the Kolei Empire has no chance of defeating it in the short term.

Leaving aside the fact that the Border Dukes' side has gained the genius legendary knight Fuma, it's worth noting that the Temple, which controls half or even more of the Empire's extraordinary power, has yet to make a move.

The system of the Glorious Empire is quite unique.

Theocracy and monarchical power coexisted, checking and balancing each other, and were implicitly opposed.

The nobles governed their territories and handled livelihood issues, including the war with the Kolei Empire, all of which were funded and carried out by the nobles, while the temple was mainly responsible for handling matters related to the extraordinary.

In recent years, the temple has become increasingly low-key, and the temple knights are rarely seen in matters other than those involving witches and forbidden objects.

However, it is undeniable that in terms of extraordinary power, the temple is by no means inferior to the nobles, and may even be superior.

It can be said that the Radiant Empire is currently only using half of its strength to fight the Cole Empire.

As the sole overlord of the old continent, the Radiant Empire's strength is far more complex than it appears on the surface.

Indeed, once magic energy technology is developed, it will snowball, becoming faster and stronger.

Roy also has high hopes for Magic Energy Technology.

After all, he still had memories of his past life. He knew that once the Kolei Empire created a strategic weapon of destruction similar to the "Peace Bomb" and had the ability to guide it with precision, then even the strongest individual would never be able to contend with it.

Unfortunately, based on current intelligence, even the "Starfall" that the Kolei Empire blew up on the solid stone wall some time ago, although terrifying in power, was at most a super high-yield explosive, far from meeting the standard of a "peace bomb".

Otherwise, if a single "mushroom" is planted, the entire Rafah province could be plunged into catastrophe due to subsequent radiation contamination.

At this level, it is unlikely that the Kolei Empire will be able to defeat the Radiant Empire for a considerable period of time.

Roy's eyes narrowed slightly as he thought of the temple.

Behind the Xinghu incident, the ultimate mastermind was the temple.

Even though the legendary three-star knight of Fangfeng died at the hands of the Moon Witch Cesil, so much time has passed and the temple has not made any move, not even a symbolic visit to Blackrock Territory to inquire about the situation, giving people an eerie sense of quiet.

This made Roy feel inexplicably uneasy.

The strongest forces in the Radiant Empire are the nobles and the temples, but that doesn't mean there aren't other extraordinary forces. Some cults occasionally cause trouble, and if the temples show signs of weakness, these cultists become even more rampant.

Located in the border province of Rafa, with the Empire's first legendary knight, the Border Duke, there haven't been any foolish cultists jumping out yet. However, Roy has seen cultists active in other provinces of the Empire in the old intelligence letters in his study.

But the temple did nothing, as if nothing had happened, leaving everyone puzzled.

Roy shook his head, suppressing his thoughts.

Instead of worrying about these things, we should think about the "beast plague" that is coming this cold winter.

The eruption of the magic vein beneath Star Lake caused the magic tide to surge and spread in all directions. As the center, Black Stone Territory will inevitably see the most ferocious animals and magical beasts appearing around it.

The so-called "beast plague" does not refer to these ferocious animals or even rare magical beasts, but rather to the large-scale beast hordes that attack towns under the influence of ferocious animals or magical beasts.

It is well known that wild animals are at their most ferocious in winter when food is scarce. Coupled with the influence of ferocious animals or magical beasts, these animals become even more rabid, with an exceptionally strong desire to attack. Without sufficient defensive forces, many ordinary people will perish.

In fact, many towns in the vast empire declined or even disappeared because of the "beast plague".

The scourge of beasts kept the official knights of the territory busy, and the monsters were terrifying entities that only gold knights could defeat.

Even though the Great Lord would send out special forces to kill the monsters, sometimes by the time reinforcements arrived, it was too late, and the once prosperous towns were left only as ruins and bloodstains.

The real and most urgent issue is the beast plague!

Of course, Roy wasn't too worried.

Although the beast plague that Blackrock Territory has encountered this year is likely to be more severe than that of other surrounding territories, Blackrock Territory's strength is no longer what it used to be.

Ais, who is at the Grand rank; Shanika and Lilia, who are about to break through to the Grand rank; and himself, who is about to break through to the Gold rank.

Each one possesses the strength to easily defeat monsters.

Yes, after Shanica, Lilia was stimulated by something, and her progress in the basic meditation method suddenly increased a lot. She had already completed seven runes, and she completed the first stage of nine runes in one go.

Considering that Lilia's original sin traits are rage (60%), pride (20%), and lust (20%), Roy had a strange idea: Could it be that Shanika's advance provocation stimulated Lilia, who has the traits of "pride" and "rage", making her more in line with her original sin traits in some way, which led to her rapid progress in basic meditation?

Like Shanica, Lilia has completed the first stage of basic meditation, but she still needs a few days to adjust before she can officially break through to the "Grand Rank".

On the contrary, it was Roy himself.

He felt it was about time to make a breakthrough!

After two days of practice and adjustment, he felt that he had reached his peak physical and mental state.

Roy got up and left the hall, heading towards the small courtyard at the back.

Since this involves a major breakthrough to the Gold Rank, it cannot be taken lightly and must be carried out in an absolutely safe environment.

And what could be safer than a secluded place?

Upon entering the courtyard, Roy saw the mechanical witch Toni, who was squatting down and staring blankly at the ground.

She had already changed into a fitted outfit that Shanika had prepared for her.

White bandages were still wrapped around the mechanical girl's wrists outside her sleeves, concealing her arms, which had been completely metallized.

Following the girl's gaze, Roy saw a line of ants slowly crawling on the soil.

Hmm, very good. At least it's no longer just about "looking up at the sky"; it's gained a new skill: "looking down at the ground." Congratulations!

Withdrawing his gaze, Roy strode toward the secluded spot.

After a few days, Tonigne was no longer as wary as she had been at the beginning.

Roy wasn't in a hurry to learn about magical machinery from her; advancing to the Gold rank was more important to him.

Upon arriving at the secluded place, the witches quickly gathered there.

Roy's gaze swept over Shanica, Ais, Lilia, Vivian, and Elena one by one, and he said seriously, "During the time I'm breaking through, I'm entrusting the territory to you."

Breaking through to the Gold rank is different from breaking through to the Silver rank. It requires modifying the Qi Transformation Organs, unlike advancing to the Silver rank which can be achieved quickly. The entire process takes at least two days.

With the talent of "Infinite Desire", Roy's body has a strong adaptability to magic and battle aura. The transformation of his organs into battle aura may be faster, but it is not something that can be completed in a few hours.

“Don’t worry,” Lilia replied, and Ais nodded gently beside her.

Throughout the entire breakthrough process, only Shanika acted as a "nanny," staying by Roy's side at all times to ensure that she could intervene and treat him in time should he encounter any problems.