A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 585 A Bitter Vision

The emperor's wrath will take time to subside.

But it won't be long. Six special shells, under the [Guided Fire] specialization, will accurately land in the city of Opfer.

In an instant, six colorful hemispherical shockwaves rose up. When these metamorphic dusts released their energy, the "shockwaves" shattered, releasing an invisible but extremely powerful magical tsunami.

The black mist vanished wherever it passed, and all the anomalies disappeared in an instant.

Those writhing, delirious, and indulgent followers of the Mother Goddess were instantly reduced to their original forms. Their mutations disappeared, but the damage they suffered and the tumors and bone spurs that grew did not. The mere loss of the Mother Goddess's grace was enough to be fatal to them.

The landing point was chosen brilliantly; the "tsunami" perfectly covered the entire city, leaving almost no blind spots.

The corrupted archmage Saga was forced to break free from his elemental form, but his physical body had already been destroyed. After the extreme magical turbulence washed over him, what fell from the flames was a viscous, shapeless corpse. His soul remained imprisoned there, echoing the ineffable words of the Mother Goddess.

Gregory was equally badly injured. He hadn't recovered from the archmage's fatal blow when he was washed away again by the scream of magic. Now he had lost his human form, revealing his true nature after gaining new power from Oward:

A dark, fleshy mass that was constantly multiplying and devouring itself, it was like a living shadow, yet also contained a chaotic mix of connective tissues, blood vessels, and nerves.

Clearly, without the blessing of the Mother Goddess, he wouldn't have lasted long.

But Gregory could still laugh—a lump of mud had lost its mouth, but every cavity could become a mouth and make sounds:

"William betrayed you?" He marveled at the power of the new weapon. "It's really impressive, but the situation is beyond your capabilities."

The six dazzling special shells served as a signal, prompting other Imperial troops closer to Upfer to unleash a barrage of artillery fire.

Whether it was old-fashioned solid shot or new airburst bombs, they were all brought up for bombing.

There were even more than ten gunboats, each carrying a large-caliber naval gun, swaying and struggling along the Oder River, trying to bring Opfer into their firing range.

After the frontline artillery had finished its first round of bombardment, the railway gun operated by Richard's unit was cooled and reloaded.

In a world without magic, the firing intervals of the train cannons might be terrifyingly long, but Richard and the other accompanying mages can now quickly cool down the cannon barrels. Although thermal stress would reduce the barrel's lifespan, their orders at this moment are to use every means possible to fire as many shells as possible.

The second type of ammunition is a special high-explosive munition.

Richard didn't know when the Empire had developed this high-performance explosive. It was said to have been secretly imported through special channels, and there was only enough for a few tons of heavy shells to equip these giant cannons.

"It might be dwarf technology," Richard thought haphazardly.

Each cannon had a subtle deviation in the timing of its firing and landing, so at Upfield, the deafening cannon fire lasted for six rounds.

After Richard's giant cannons finished firing, the gunboats, field guns, and mortars on the front lines launched another round of salvo.

Not only that, but airship units also arrived, now able to freely enter the airspace above Opfer, thanks to the absence of the ominous, dangerous black mist. These aerial units unleashed another round of explosives, followed by the final cleanup using two anti-magic devices.

The whole process lasted about three hours.

When all the shells on the train were fired, two cannon barrels were severely deformed. Without Richard's magic to repair, reshape, and reinforce them, a terrible barrel explosion would be the inevitable outcome.

At first, the soldiers carrying out the orders were skeptical. Now they have put their doubts aside, and it no longer matters whether Upfer has caused irreversible contamination.

As countless shells landed and buildings collapsed with a deafening roar, wave after wave of firepower razed the magnificent city to the ground, leaving those who witnessed this "feat" both numb and excited.

Destruction, wanton annihilation, without a care in the world, and no fear of retaliation. Having experienced countless battles, large and small, these soldiers could feel an unparalleled thrill.

Although it was once a city belonging to the empire.

Richard began to sense again, carefully extending his range of perception, gradually approaching Opfer, and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there was no longer any obvious contamination.

It would take the troops some time to unlock the fasteners on the train gun, so he stood aside and continued reading Wilhelm II's letters.

"I believe you have accomplished your mission. You are my most trusted minister, general, and spellcaster, Richard."

Yes, Your Majesty.

He continued reading, his pupils involuntarily dilating slightly:

"This may be the last major mission for you and for many soldiers of the Empire."

"After careful consideration, our country has reached a secret ceasefire agreement with the Republic of Valois."

"Their conditions are not harsh, especially with the Istani mediating and acting as intermediaries. More importantly, these self-proclaimed 'noble people' who claim to bring change to the continent of Ferroron are now expressing deep concern about the alliance."

"This is an insult to me and to us, meaning that in their eyes the alliance is a greater threat than my empire."

"However, at this moment, I can only take advantage of this humiliation, because in doing so, they are even willing to provide covert support. There is no need to go into details about this."

"From the moment the armistice begins, the title of Emperor will become a mere formality, and the territory I actually rule will shrink to almost the size of the Kingdom of Marin. In other words, we can then negotiate with our allies with greater flexibility."

"Perhaps the empire will become a historical term, just like the old empire, or perhaps it will regain its glory, but that is a matter for the future."

"I and my people feel deeply weary. Countless problems have plagued generations who have survived the great war. Even the mighty Kingdom of Marin needs to endure, catch its breath, and reflect on why it has come to this."

Richard was quite surprised by Wilhelm II's choice and his candor in the letter. Then, the Emperor—no, now effectively the ruler of the Kingdom of Marin—chose to relinquish power.

He then read the last part of the letter and began to understand Wilhelm II's thoughts:

"Magic, divine arts, all supernatural powers should be treated with caution. They are being abused all over the world, and as a result, disasters caused by these supernatural things are becoming more and more frequent."

"They only sing praises of the blessings brought by miracles, never mentioning how heavy the corresponding price is, even the end of the world, as they themselves admit. However, these spellcasters, especially the guilds, insist that the Order is the source of all disasters."

"Actually, they are exactly the same. I know that very well."

"A race that considers itself wise will ultimately be swallowed up by its greed and the misuse of miracles. I will use this as a reason to carry out what was not accomplished during the war—to ban all magic and divine arts."

"We will stand by and watch as those who abuse power eventually suffer the consequences. When the outside world is destroyed, the land that my ancestors left me to protect will become the last pure land."

"At that time, we will return with the utmost pride to build a perfect, more solid, and purer world."

"Within my domain, only one kind of magic is permitted to be researched and used—the technology of which is forbidden. Only one spellcaster is allowed in my land, one exceptional mage, and that is you, Richard."

"I crave friendship, therefore I will absolutely respect your will, and even if you choose to join the alliance, I will still thank you for everything you have done for me and for the Empire."

"Yours, William."

(End of this chapter)