It felt so good to be close to the witch!

Soothed by gentle magic, the five little witches, who had been suffering greatly, gradually fell asleep after their emotions subsided.

Using her magic to lift the five little witches' bodies, Lati looked at Roy beside her and whispered:

"Shall I send them back to Witch Island first?"

Roy nodded, and Fuma naturally had no objections either.

A dazzling silver magical light began to shine, covering the delicate bodies of Latie and the five little witches. When the light faded, the six women had vanished without a trace.

"What a convenient talent..."

Looking at the spot where Latie disappeared, Roy couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion.

Spatial talent is in a class of its own, even among elemental control talents.

Its attack, defense, evasion, and movement all possess advantages that are difficult for other elemental control talents to match.

Especially mobile.

Even the legendary Limit Riders were helpless against the super long-distance teleportation and could only watch Latie leave.

In the past, the spatial disturbances caused by the Legendary Limit Knight's full-power domain could affect Latie, but now, after the second evolution of her spatial talent, the Legendary Limit Force can no longer affect Latie's teleportation.

Now that pollution has been removed as a check, Latie's strength will be about to explode. Once she reaches the second or even third stage of the Great Witch, even a being like the Border Duke, who has surpassed the limits of legend, will probably be helpless against her.

It is truly capable of both offense and defense, and is naturally invincible.

After waiting for nearly fifteen minutes, the silver magical light reappeared, and Lati's curvaceous body emerged from the spatial ripples.

"Sorry for the long wait, it took some time to settle them in." Latie said apologetically.

“It’s alright.” Roy shook his head. “We’ve done what we needed to do. Let’s go, we should head back.”

When Roy and his two companions emerged from the underground prison and arrived in front of the Cathedral Temple, they were greeted by the Crimson Knights, who had finished looting and were ready to go.

It must be said that these crimson knights were quite efficient.

Led by Andrew and Doug, they ransacked the entire cathedral, leaving no corner untouched. They took everything of value, leaving no stone unturned, and filled the twenty-odd ordinary spatial rings that Fuma had brought with them.

Of course, the most valuable thing in the entire Temple of Talks was stored in Archbishop Damian's spatial ring, which Fuma had already given to Roy.

Roy had briefly glanced at it and found that the high-level spatial ring, which had a volume of nearly 100 cubic meters, contained not only many high-purity magic crystals, but also a top-level magic crystal. In addition, there were also a lot of supplies and gold coins. This was a lifesaver for Blackstone Territory, which had just suffered from a snow disaster. Therefore, Roy accepted it without hesitation.

When Roy, Fuma, and Latie returned in triumph with the Crimson Knights, the Privy Cathedral in the capital remained locked, ignoring all outside affairs. Only the dilapidated cathedral, amidst the melting winter snow, spoke of its former glory.

……

Blackstone Territory, the lord's residence.

Roy and Latie returned to the courtyard. As for Fuma, she led the Crimson Knights back to the Stone Wall, but would come over after everything was arranged.

As soon as Roy entered the courtyard, he saw the border duke sitting at the stone table, gazing at the sky, seemingly lost in thought.

Having adapted to his new heart and fully recovered, the Border Duke has moved out of the hidden place and now resides in Blackrock Manor.

The border duke will remain here for the next few days.

“Your Grace.” Roy stepped forward and bowed.

Latie glanced at the border duke expressionlessly, then found a stone chair and sat down without saying a word.

"You... still have so many complaints about me." Seeing Latie's behavior, the Border Duke shook his head with a wry smile, then smiled gently at Roy: "Sit down, don't be so reserved."

Roy didn't stand on ceremony. He sat down on the stone chair, and with a flash of light from his high-level spatial ring, he took out the still-boiling teapot and poured a cup of tea for Latti and the Border Duke.

"How does Your Grace think the temple will respond?" Roy asked while sipping his tea.

"There are only two options: either ignore it completely, or strike hard." The border duke took a sip of his black tea, his eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Excellent tea!"

He then continued, "Actually, it doesn't matter what response the temple makes; the most important thing is still the Pope."

"The Pope?" Roy paused slightly in the hand holding the teacup.

"You don't actually think that the Chief of Divine Punishment is the strongest in the temple, do you?" The Border Duke chuckled. "Speaking of which, let me give you a rundown of the Path of Legends."

"A knight embarks on the path to legend once he ignites the flame of his soul and tempers his body with it, acquiring a body imbued with battle aura."

"But this is not the end; on the contrary, it is just the beginning."

"The nascent soul fire is dim and weak, requiring the knight to use everything he has as 'fuel' to add 'firewood' to make the soul fire grow stronger and stronger."

"And this process is the process of a legendary knight's training, one star, two stars, three stars, the peak, and so on."

"The outward manifestation of a powerful soul fire is a domain."

"Legendary one-star, the range can reach 100 meters, two-star is 300 meters, and three-star is 500 meters."

"But the leap from Samsung to the top is a huge one, and the scope can reach thousands of meters."

"From one star to the peak, there is a significant difference in combat power for each small realm."

"But no matter what, these four minor realms do not represent a qualitative change; there is only a quantitative difference."

"But the limits of legend are different."

"This is a very special realm."

"More than five hundred years ago, before the Blood Moon War, there existed a higher realm beyond the legendary, which was the path called divinity."

"But with the end of the great war, the world became devastated, and the environment no longer allowed for the birth of divine beings."

"That's why the realm of Legendary Limit exists."

Seeing Roy listening intently, the Border Duke smiled and, without keeping him in suspense, said directly, "The essence of a domain is the radiation range of the soul fire. In the beginning, the domain's function was only to amplify itself and simply weaken and oppress the opponent."

"But as the soul fire grows stronger, the domain becomes more and more powerful. When it reaches a radius of one kilometer, one becomes qualified to comprehend 'characteristics'."

"Everyone's soul is unique, and the characteristics of the domain reflected by it are also unique."

"The range of the Legendary Limit Knight's domain is the same as that of the Legendary Peak Knight, with a radius of one kilometer. However, the existence of 'characteristics' makes the difference in mass between the two immeasurable."

"Of course, the peak of the legendary realm only grants one the qualification to comprehend the characteristics of a domain. Whether one can actually comprehend it depends on their individual abilities."

"The existence of these characteristics completely changes the realm of legendary Ultra Riders, just as trees become tree people and stones become stone people. They may seem to be made of the same material, but in reality, they are not the same thing at all."

"The combat power of a legendary ultimate knight can completely crush a legendary peak. Even if five legendary peaks join forces, they would still be no match for a legendary ultimate knight."

"As for the realm beyond the legendary limit... that is naturally the divine realm that we have been searching for."

"It's just that divinity is elusive. This world lacks the fertile ground for the birth of divinity. Therefore, all legendary knights who elevate the characteristics of their domains into incomplete rules, even if they possess power beyond the limits of legend, still cannot step into divinity."

"Therefore, this realm is also called false god, demigod, etc. The names are different, but the meaning is the same."

"The demigod realm is the highest realm in this world. Once you reach this point, you can no longer take even half a step forward."

"I am a demigod, as is the Chief of Divine Punishment. The Radiant Empire knows of four other demigods like us:"

"The Pope of the Temple, the Grand Inquisitor of the Temple, the First Pillar of the Twelve Pillars of Radiance, and the former Grand Master of the Royal Knights."

"Including myself and the Chief of Divine Punishment, there are a total of six known demigods in the Radiant Empire."

Roy's eyes widened slightly. The border duke's narration made him fully aware of the pinnacle of the empire.

After thinking for a moment, Roy frowned slightly: "What you just said is known? Moreover, besides the Chief of Divine Punishment, the temple also has two other demigods. In that case, wouldn't the power of the nobles be weaker than that of the temple?"

“Yes.” The border duke nodded. “This world is vast, and there are simply too many unknowns. After a knight advances to legendary status, he can live for two hundred years without illness or disaster, and a demigod can live for three hundred years. And that’s the lifespan of a normal person. If they use forbidden items with special effects to go into a deep sleep, it’s not surprising that they can live even longer.”

"This is also one of the reasons why the royal family and the temple are feared."

"As the two super powers that have continued since the founding of the Radiant Empire, they have accumulated countless trump cards over time, and are most likely old monsters who have chosen to slumber."

“If you push them too far, things will get complicated.”

"Moreover, even without releasing these old monsters, having a legendary Limit Knight wield an A-grade forbidden item, given the strangeness of the forbidden item, could still pose a threat to a demigod."

“Of course, the Duke’s mansion is not afraid either.” As he said this, the border duke was confident, and his eyes were filled with gratitude as he looked at Roy: “Thanks to the ‘Spellmark Specialization System’ that you taught Fuma, although my realm cannot be improved, my combat power has improved quite a bit.”

"Originally, my strength was only on par with that of the Chief of Divine Punishment, but now, after learning the specialty, my strength has completely surpassed that of the Chief of Divine Punishment."

"If the Chief of Divine Punishment hadn't paid a huge price to unleash an A+ level forbidden artifact, and if two legendary Extreme Knights of the Temple hadn't launched a combined attack on me with A level forbidden artifacts, I wouldn't have been seriously injured."

"As for your other question, the existence of the other two demigods in the temple is rather special."

"The Pope of the Temple is quite old, now over two hundred and fifty years old. He basically cultivates at the Holy Mountain of the Temple and does not go out. He only acts as the behind-the-scenes ruler of the Temple and oversees the entire empire."

"The Chief of Divine Punishment is a disciple of the Pope of the Temple."

"As for the Grand Inquisitor of the Temple..." The border duke paused slightly, as if organizing his thoughts, "She is rather special."

"The position of Grand Inquisitor is said to have been established before the Blood Moon War, when the gods of the temple still performed miracles. Their duty is to oversee the entire temple, and anyone within the church who disobeys the divine decree will be subject to the merciless judgment of the Inquisitor Knights."

"But now that miracles are no longer visible, there are no other Judgement Knights in the lineage of the Grand Judge besides herself."

"As for the Grand Judge, although she is nominally a member of the temple, in reality, she has long since stopped participating in any of the temple's actions, and probably no one even knows where she is anymore."

"In other words, the temple is supported by only two demigods, and the noble forces are also supported by two demigods. The two sides are of similar strength and check each other, which has created the special situation in the Glorious Empire where divine power and monarchical power coexist equally."

"As I ascended to demigod status, the balance between the two sides was broken. Coupled with the old king's advanced age and serious illness, the struggle for the throne, and the combined influence of various factors, the Radiant Empire is now in a quagmire of a chaotic situation."

"Now that we have cleared the cathedral temple in the province of Rafa, let's see what the Pope does next."

"The border duke said."

“I see…” Roy muttered to himself.

He had now grasped the general outline of the Border Duke's plan.

The doomsday catastrophe prophesied by Fuma must be related to the existence of demigods in the Radiant Empire.

Of the five demigods, the Border Duke can be ruled out first. The remaining ones are two demigods from the noble forces and two from the temple.

Both sides are suspects of the Border Duke.

Without sufficient evidence, rashly attacking any demigod would only lead to being attacked by the masses. Therefore, the border duke challenged the chief of divine punishment based on the oath of the past, aiming to muddy the waters and let the big fish surface on its own.

In this way, the other three demigods had no reason to intervene.

What was unexpected was that the Chief of Divine Punishment was so shameless that he made such a despicable and insidious arrangement, which almost led to the fall of the Border Duke.

Thus, the feud was established, and it is only natural that the Duke's mansion would now retaliate against the Cathedral Temple.

Now, the situation on the surface is becoming increasingly complicated—the border duke has vanished without a trace, and the chief of divine punishment has secluded himself in the Privy Cathedral.

With such murky water, the border duke was certain that if someone behind the scenes wanted to do something, they wouldn't let this excellent opportunity pass them by.

The Border Duke is now like a patient angler, waiting for the big fish to bite.

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