The magic cards I made are absolutely flawless!

Mier looked at Icardinos and gradually sensed that Icardinos's increasingly hesitant steps were a bad sign.

“Mier, you can go now. You’re free. I’ll find a way to kill Menellis, and I’ll also take a few more remnants of the Church of Resurrection with me. This is the best outcome.”

Icardinos seemed ready to die.

She had already figured out how to handle the situation if she lost.

Or perhaps it's a way to atone for one's sins.

At the very least, we must kill Menellios.

The empire and the kingdoms must not fall into the hands of the Chaos God.

"Are you sure you can kill Menellis? Are you 100% certain? And what do you think your chances of coming back alive are?"

Mir simply asked this in a soft voice.

"..."

Icardinos did not reply.

Menellis must have anticipated that she would return to kill him.

Even if Icardinos only wanted to kill Menelius in his unreleased state, a prepared and nearly intact Menelius was not so easy to kill.

Icardinos had virtually no chance of escaping alive from the enemy's stronghold.

The miracle of Mir saving her will never happen again.

After all, she already felt guilty towards Mir.

However, the next second, Mier also stopped in his tracks.

Mia pressed her hands tightly against Icardinos's cheeks, completely disregarding the fact that she was the emperor, just like when they were children, looking intently into her eyes:

"When everyone obeys you, I am the only subordinate who might betray you, but when everyone betrays you, I am also the only friend who will live and die with you."

Icardinos looked astonished, her little face was pinched so hard by Mier that it became somewhat distorted, and her expression became delightful, but she neither got angry nor struggled to break free.

"you……"

“Icardinos, believe me, don’t rush to your death. The situation isn’t as bad as you think. I still have two good friends. With their help, we can turn the tide.”

Mier smiled faintly, his eyes as gentle as the brightest moonlight in the sky.

"..."

Icardinos fell silent upon hearing this.

She clearly felt that this situation couldn't be changed simply by having two underworld friends come along.

And she didn't want to kill Mir.

"Nine levels?"

Icardinos thought for a moment, then finally asked.

To fight back before the Cult of Calamity completely takes control of the empire, we'll probably need at least one ninth-tier combatant.

Even excluding the group of Calamity Cultists, the opposing side has at least one ninth-tier Chaos God and three bishops in combat power.

"..."

Mier smiled without saying a word.

It is obvious that there is no ninth rank.

"No one can salvage this defeat except by sacrificing my life..."

Icardinos lowered her eyes slightly, her expression a mixture of disappointment and relief.

After all, she knew every single ninth-tier combatant in this war all too well.

Mier couldn't possibly find a ninth-tier helper out of thin air.

No one can save the world anymore, and no one can save her either.

however.

"It's not a matter of rank or not."

Mir shook his head, and as he spoke, the corners of his mouth curved into a strange smile, as if he were experiencing a mix of emotions.

"These two can only be described as a hidden dragon and a young phoenix; possessing either one would be enough to conquer the world. They probably both happen to be within the empire's borders now. What was originally your worst-case scenario might have turned into your best-case scenario..."

******

Author's Note:

The evening's flames have burned out... Because I took the day off yesterday, I missed two regular updates, so the total number of chapters owed has increased from 156 to 158. I'm noting this down because titles can only have 30 characters, so sometimes I can't mark the owed chapters after the title. Also, during this closed-door period, if you need to discuss the plot or give me feedback on plot issues, you can join the book club groups: Group 1: 948957812, Group 2: 891852279. Thank you everyone!

345 Dekan's Fury

One day later.

Northern part of the empire.

In this mountainous region, the plants seem to be covered with frost, and a pristine river flows through them.

Even though it's only October, the north of the empire is bitterly cold.

On the road beside the glacier, from afar, the white-clad imperial army stood in rows, their heads moving, their hooves and footsteps pounding on the road, and the clanging of their armor occasionally making a sound.

The massive mountains, steep roads, and the cold weather that could snow at any moment all posed a challenge to the troops marching through the area.

However, clad in silver-white armor, they seemed to blend into the snowy plain.

Their composed and efficient approach demonstrates that they are a well-trained and elite force.

If you look at the officers' nameplates, you'll find that they are from the Imperial Reconnaissance Division, which belongs to the Ninth Army of the Empire.

After clearing away a large number of Persecution believers' gatherings, they embarked on their journey back to the capital.

"Mier, what exactly happened on your end..."

After failing to contact Mier, the commander of the Ninth Army Corps, once again through communication magic, the leading female officer Andrea murmured anxiously.

At this distance, even with other normal interference factors, it is unlikely that the connection would fail.

The troops have now accelerated their march back to the capital and should arrive in about a day.

After arriving within range of the capital city where communication magic could be used to contact God, they were unable to reach Mier, whom they should have been able to contact.

And trying to contact other military departments or even other guilds in the capital was as if the magic of communication had been cut off.

It felt as if the capital had been wiped out.

Although Andrea simply couldn't believe the absurd claim that "the capital was gone in just three days after their troops left."

The likelihood of this is even lower than that of the "Cult of Calamity performing rituals to summon the Lord of Calamity."

But a feeling of unease lingered in Andrea's heart.

They continued on their journey until noon.

Suddenly, dust rose in the distance, and several scouts came rushing towards them like lightning!

These are members of the scout team responsible for exploring, guarding, and reconnaissance ahead.

Because communication magic can be used by enemies to reverse-engineer or through other schemes, it should only be used as a supplementary means in cases where truly important and urgent information needs to be conveyed. The actual transmission must be confirmed by the scout in person with the superior's approval of the code.

The scout was seen using hand gestures to verify the code with Andrea while shouting frantically from afar.

This made Andrea frown deeply.

It's unclear what happened to make these highly trained scouts so anxious.

"Quickly go and rescue the Legion Commander and the Queen! They are being pursued by a large number of Calamity followers ahead, led by the High Priest of the Calamity Cult, Kozmo!"

After getting a little closer, the scouts' voices were able to accurately reach the front of the main force.

"What……?!"

While Andrea was still in shock, she ordered her elite squad to charge forward with her to provide support before handing over the task of commanding reinforcements to her deputy.

Although she couldn't understand what had happened in the capital, or how the Empress and the Legion Commander could have been hunted down here.

But this terrible situation just so happens to match the ominous signs from before.

Moreover, although the High Priest of the Church of Calamity, Kozmo, was the most dangerous leading fanatic of the Calamity before merging with the remnants of the Church of Resurrection, and one of the Empire's most wanted criminals, his strength was at most that of a bishop of the Church of Resurrection, and there was no way he could hunt down the Empress.

That can only mean one thing: the Empress encountered something in the capital and is now seriously injured. It's questionable whether she can continue fighting!

Similarly, their legion commander must not be in good condition right now!

A few minutes later.

As the wind swept across Andrea's profile, she finally saw the pursuing Calamity Legion and the Queen's Legion Commander.

Mia was seen holding Queen Icardinos, her face pale as she dodged Kozmo's magical bombardment. After nearly a day of relentless pursuit and escape, she was likely nearing the end of her mana.

The worst part is that Kozmo, the high priest of the Cult of Calamity, is a black astrologer.

Although he is more aggressive and his abilities are more acrobatic than those of a pure astrologer, he also has a powerful reconnaissance function similar to that of the astrologer Sheen. Even if Mia is good at hiding and has extremely high physical qualities, he will find it difficult to escape Kozmo's search.

A dark figure gradually appeared on the distant horizon behind Mier, and the sound of rapid footsteps was like muffled thunder under a cloudy sky, striking Andrea's heart in waves!

While the fanatical followers of the Cult of Calamity might not be able to threaten an eighth-tier powerhouse in terms of sheer numbers most of the time, with a commander like Kozmo and these reckless individuals all equipped with self-destruct magic, Mier, who was now fleeing with the Queen, could not be stopped by them at all!

"Leave Kozmo to me! Don't engage the Calamities head-on! Rescuing Her Majesty the Queen and the Legion Commander is the top priority!!"

After Andrea finished speaking, she charged straight at Kozmo, knowing she had to fight even if she couldn't win.

She's the only one here who can hold off Kozmo for a while in a one-on-one situation.

Before long, the Imperial army's assault troops clashed with the Calamities, and reinforcements began to arrive. The battle, initially a probing attack, gradually escalated into a fierce fight to the death. Swords flashed, blood and flesh flew, and screams echoed throughout the air...

"For the Lord of Calamity!!"

As a wounded member of the Calamity leaned back and shouted, he triggered a self-destruction, instantly taking away a group of Imperial soldiers and Calamities. This caused a series of explosions and flames, instantly turning the mountain road into a scorched black and deep red, with a strong smell of blood permeating the air.

......

"Boom! Boom!!"

The constant, violent shaking and the drastic changes in the marching rhythm of the troops at the front startled many wounded soldiers in the rear, some even falling off their carts.