It felt so good to be close to the witch!

"What is the strength of the Archbishop of the Temple of Emerald Feather Province?" Roy asked.

"His name is Mars, a legendary one-star, slightly weaker than Damian. However, with the temple's backing, the probability of Marquis Stanger ultimately refusing to hand over the service witch is not high."

"We can tamper with things when they return to the team."

“It’s 1 p.m. now,” Roy said decisively. “Time is running out. Ms. Latie, Lilia, Elena, you must set off immediately.”

Roy wasn't worried that Mars, a legendary one-star, would be able to detect the witches' presence. After all, with Latie by his side, he was more concerned that the people from the temple would cower inside the temple and not come out, which would be more troublesome.

"Your Grace, please arrange for someone trustworthy and familiar with the area to come and accompany Lady Latie and the others to ensure everything goes smoothly."

“Leave it to me.” At this moment, Fuma, who was sitting quietly by the long table, suddenly spoke up: “I am quite familiar with the Green Feather Province. Leading the way should not be a problem.”

The border duke looked at his daughter, then back at Roy, and nodded.

"Okay, it would be even better if you're familiar with it."

Roy smiled.

……

In early spring, the land of Cuiyu Province gradually begins to come alive.

After about a week, the snow had completely melted and flowed into streams, nourishing the soil.

On the vast plains, many farmers have already begun their work, their faces showing anticipation for the autumn harvest amidst their toil.

This winter has been incredibly harsh, with many people dying in the extreme cold. Those who survived should cherish hope for the future and live well.

"Tap..."

On the official road beside the fields, the sound of horses' hooves grew louder as they approached. Upon seeing the bright silver figure, the farmers quickly averted their gaze, not daring to look any longer.

Silver armor is the symbol of the Temple's Divine Punishment Knights (ordinary Divine Punishment Knights). Their appearance often signifies the arrival of a witch. Approaching them rashly or discussing them could lead to being affected.

The squad of Divine Punishment Knights, galloping along the official road, soon arrived at the entrance of a town. The guards at the gate did not dare to stop them—Divine Punishment Knights were all at least Silver rank, and these lowly minions were asking for trouble. If they were injured or killed, they would only be asking for trouble.

Upon entering the town, the Divine Punishment Knights slowed down. They rode their horses along the main street at a leisurely pace, finally stopping in front of a vast mansion with imposing and solemn gates.

—The Marquis de Stanger’s House.

As the only major noble family in the Emerald Feather Province, the Stanger family's lineage can be traced back hundreds of years. In fact, apart from a very few rising stars, the major noble families of the Glorious Empire are basically the descendants of meritorious officials from the early days of the empire's founding.

Faced with the "aggressive" arrival of the Divine Punishment Knights, the guards of the Marquis of Stanger's mansion stood coldly at the gate.

Others fear the Divine Punishment Knights of the Temple, but as knights of the Marquis's Mansion, even if they are slightly weaker, they cannot show the slightest fear on the surface.

The two sides were on the verge of exchanging blows, and for a moment, the atmosphere was incredibly tense.

Just then, the knights guarding the Marquis's mansion felt a blur before their eyes as an old man in a white and gold robe appeared in mid-air.

He lowered his head, looked at the Marquis's mansion, and said in a calm voice, "My lord, please come out and meet me."

As they gazed at the figure standing in the void above, the guards' pupils contracted, and their bodies trembled slightly involuntarily.

The legendary pressure, even without deliberate targeting, is something that ordinary beings cannot withstand.

"Archbishop Mars, you've grown old, but your temper hasn't changed much from when you were young." A deep voice rang out, and suddenly, a burly figure appeared in mid-air behind the gate, facing Archbishop Mars across the distance.

“My Lord Marquis.” Mars’s expression was calm, but his tone was resolute: “The recall of the service witches is an order from the Holy Mountain. You should understand what this means. No matter the cost, I must complete it.”

"The two-day grace period is the biggest concession I can make for Your Excellency Marquis."

"Please don't put me in a difficult position."

"Holy Mountain..." Marquis Stanger's eyes narrowed when he heard Archbishop Mars utter this word.

Archbishop Mars had never mentioned this before, but now that he has made it public, it seems there is no room for negotiation.

If it were merely an order from the Privy Cathedral, Marquis Stanger, as one of the empire's great nobles, wouldn't be too wary. But the Holy Mountain is a different story...

As a noble family with a history spanning hundreds of years, Marquis Stanger was well aware of the significance of the sacred mountain...

“Since you’ve already said this much…” Marquis Stanger’s aura faded, becoming utterly ordinary: “Then I truly have no right to stop you.”

"But I'll get an explanation for this sooner or later, hmph!"

"Your Excellency is very magnanimous." Seeing Marquis Stanger back down, Archbishop Mars breathed a sigh of relief. If a fight really broke out, he alone would not be a match for the three legendary figures of the Stanger family. He then withdrew his own legendary domain aura and landed on the ground.

In the silence, a witch wearing a hooded black robe and with her head down so that her face could not be seen was brought out of the Marquis's mansion and handed over to the Divine Punishment Knights.

"Then, Your Excellency Marquis, we will not disturb you any further."

After saying this, Archbishop Mars led the Knights of Divine Punishment away.

Watching the people from the temple gradually disappear into the distance, a young man standing beside Marquis Stanger couldn't help but step forward and say, "Father, are we just going to let them take them away like this..."

"Shut up!"

Before the young man could finish speaking, Marquis Stanger gave a cold shout and then turned and walked into the Marquis's mansion.

Watching his father's figure disappear, the young man was filled with resentment. But his father had spoken, and he was powerless to do anything about it. He could only clench his fists in anger, staring in the direction where the people from the temple had left, and grit his teeth, saying, "Damn temple!"

However, what no one saw was the fleeting, obscure look in the depths of Marquis Stanger's eyes as he turned away.

As a legendary knight and a long-established nobleman, he was not familiar with this serving witch at all and had not paid much attention to her in his daily life. He only knew that her name was Merlinsie and that her talent was water control.

At the same time, Marquis Stanger was well aware that his eldest son had a strong liking for the witch Merlinsie.

However, what does mere romantic love mean to nobles?

The Marquis of Stanger refused to hand over the witch Merlinsie, ostensibly because of his eldest son, but the real reason was that he had received instructions from the Duke of the Border to cause trouble for the temple.

Marquis Stanger didn't know why the border duke did this, but he readily helped with this small favor.

As demigods, border dukes are natural allies and future pillars of support, given the proximity of their territories. For nobles, assessing the situation is a crucial skill.

Back in his study, looking at the empty courtyard, Marquis Stanger sighed:

"The empire is getting more and more chaotic..."

"Where should my Stanger family go from here?"

……

After leaving the Marquis of Stanger's mansion, the temple's delegation went to several other viscountries that refused to hand over the witch.

This time, however, Archbishop Mars didn't even need to intervene; the viscounts readily handed over the serving witches.

Clearly, they all learned of the Marquis Stanger's compromise through their own channels.

Since the boss has already paid up, are the underlings supposed to resist to the end and invite trouble for themselves?

The four captured witches were each imprisoned in a prison van, and the temple procession returned to the cathedral temple in a grand procession.

The journey was smooth; after all, no one from the temple's entourage dared to block their way.

A plain thirty kilometers from the cathedral.

Archbishop Mars hovered above the procession, flying slowly, with the temple's escort team below him.

The decree to recall the witch came from the Holy Mountain, and to ensure everything went smoothly, Mars decided to personally escort her from beginning to end.

Only after becoming a legend did Mars truly understand the difficulty of the path to legend.

He has been a legendary figure for twenty years, yet he remains stagnant, unable to advance even an inch. He knows that with his talent, reaching the first star of the legendary realm is already his limit. Without external help, he will never be able to reach the second star in this lifetime.

Even top-tier magic crystals are helpless against his condition. After all, top-tier magic crystals can only accelerate cultivation, but his limit is there, so no matter how much they accelerate, it's useless.

Therefore, Mars abandoned the path of cultivation and advancement, and instead focused on managing the temple. All things considered, including the contribution he received as a reward for sending the serving witch and the new witch to the Privy Cathedral, the contributions he had accumulated over the years were enough for him to exchange for a rare item that could help a legendary one-star knight break through to the second star.

Thinking of this, Mars felt a long-lost surge of emotion.

But at that moment, his expression changed.

A figure suddenly appeared in front of him, and a slender, white jade-like hand slapped at him.

That seemingly light palm strike posed a tremendous threat to Mars.

With a burst of fighting spirit and a compressed domain, Mars unleashed his full power in an instant, striking out with a palm towards the person in front of him.

The two exchanged palm strikes, and in the next instant, a terrifying force slammed Mars down from mid-air to the ground.

"Boom!"

Dust flew everywhere, and the ground roared and cracked.

Because the point of impact was relatively far away, the Divine Punishment Knights below were only affected by the strong wind and were not seriously injured.

The sudden turn of events shocked all the Divine Punishment Knights.

The newcomer was able to bring down the legendary Archbishop Mars, so his strength must also be at the legendary level. Such a battle is far beyond what these Divine Punishment Knights can handle. Even the captain of the Divine Punishment Squad, a Gold-level knight, dared not intervene, fearing that a single aftershock would seriously injure him.

Archbishop Mars, who was knocked down into the crater, was not seriously injured. He unleashed his fighting spirit, dispersing the dirt and dust, and stared intently at the blurry figure in mid-air not far away.

The opponent's entire body was blurry and indistinct, making it difficult to see clearly. In addition to the physical strength, the palm strike just now also carried a strange shockwave.

"Would a witch..." Mars took a deep breath.

He was no stranger to the Witches' Guild. Over the years, he had fought against members of the Witches' Guild, but most of the time, he had only dealt with small fry who had just broken through to the level of Grand Witch.

The person before him was able to repel him, so she was clearly an extremely powerful one among the Grand Witches.

Mars didn't believe this person could be the Great Witch; if he were, he would already be a corpse.

Mars is quite shrewd; even the weakest Great Witch requires a Legendary 3-star character to defeat, while a Legendary 3-star character can defeat him in a single move.

In the previous exchange of blows, although his opponent had pushed him back, their strength was not much greater than his own, only slightly higher.

While it's a bit far-fetched that a Grand Witch possesses strength comparable to a Legendary Star, it's not entirely unheard of in the temple's records.

The terrifying Moon Witch Cecilia, who was a hundred years ago, once fought against a legendary one-star knight when she was a Grand Witch.

Clearly, the witch who has suddenly appeared is the terrifying Grand Witch whose talent and wit rival those of the Moon Witch Cecilia.

In less than 0.5 seconds, the attacking witch reappeared in front of him.

Without hesitation or doubt, Mars raised his palm to meet the attack again. However, this time, a seemingly ordinary ring on his index finger suddenly emitted a dazzling golden light, blessing Mars.

—B+ Grade Forbidden Item: Ring of Light Devourer.

Mars's arm flesh was partially withered, a price to pay for using the forbidden item. However, with the help of the forbidden item, the power of Mars's attack increased several times, directly overpowering the unknown Grand Witch.

The two sides continued to fight, exchanging over a hundred blows in just half a minute, and the battle took place a kilometer away.

The knights of divine punishment watched in terror at the original spot.

The movements of the two sides in the legendary battle were like phantoms in their eyes; one moment they were here, and the next they were dozens of meters away.