The magic cards I made are absolutely flawless!

It was noon, yet a dazzling fire was flashing in the distance.

The light flickered in and out of the smoke rising high into the sky, and the sound of explosions could even be heard in the distance. Waves of shockwaves came from the front of the troops.

What was most frightening was that after a wave of tremors... the violent earthquake even caused a section of a distant mountain to collapse!

This doesn't seem to have anything to do with the explosion; rather, it seems their commander, Andrea, is fighting with some terrifyingly powerful being!

Accompanied by a violent flash of light, a series of rumbling thunderclaps, like those heard in a winter blizzard, followed by sounds that seemed to strike everyone's hearts like heavy hammer blows.

Two figures sat in the empty space inside the horse-drawn carts at the back of the procession, which were filled with supplies.

Although most of the wounded were on the carts, Andrea took special care of the brave sergeant Clay and the poor half-dragon girl she had rescued, placing them in the carriage with available space. She was also worried that the other soldiers might disturb the half-dragon girl, so she only allowed Clay to take care of her.

"Three against three."

Dekan tossed two of his three cards onto the chair and stared at Clay with his gleaming dragon-like eyes.

With only one card left in his hand, Clay sighed helplessly.

"I'm sorry."

A sly smile immediately appeared on Dekan's face:

"So confident, what kind of big card are you holding back?"

Clay sneered, put down the last four in his hand, and said:

"Ha, enough nonsense, I'm sure I'll win the next round."

Dekan and Clay were sitting a short distance apart, engrossed in playing cards.

It was as if the noise outside had nothing to do with them.

This was one of the scenarios they had anticipated.

The reason Clay appeared in the northern part of the Empire was because Clay personally believed that Dekan and Shin might arrive in the northern part of the Demon Realm, which is closest to the Demon King's Tomb, first due to a lack of energy and time.

If Dekan's purification of the Demon King's magic is efficient enough and the energy supply is sufficient, then everything will be fine, and it won't matter if Clay doesn't join him in the kingdoms.

However, if Dekan lands in the northern part of the Empire, then responding to Dekan as quickly as possible could be a game-changer.

Therefore, the best option for Clay is undoubtedly to remain on standby in the Empire, and even try to seize any opportunity to move north.

While in the capital, Clay couldn't risk contacting Mier directly under the Queen's nose, but he did try to gamble by trusting Mier like Dekan did, letting Mier become aware of his presence. However, Mier didn't provide him with any important information.

However, this was enough for Clay to confirm Mia's situation in the capital; she was clearly under extremely strict restrictions and surveillance.

As for intelligence regarding the Cult of Calamity, Dekan had long ago transferred Isabel's command to Chloeux, and Clay also shared Isabel's intelligence.

Isabelle's movements have been restricted recently, making it difficult to transmit intelligence, but she has done her best to convey to Chloex the information that "the Cult of Calamity intends to target the capital."

As for the timing of this operation, it was most likely when the Church of Calamity attracted some of the Imperial Army's attention in the northern part of the Empire with its grand-scale actions.

Whether the Calamity Cult has actually implemented its plan and whether they can actually capture the capital remains to be seen.

However, given that Andrea had accelerated her march earlier, it is highly likely that something has indeed happened in the capital.

I just don't know the specific outcome.

All of the above information was relayed to Dekan by Clay immediately after he was alone with Dekan.

"Alright, looks like it's time to get to work."

Dekan and Clay stopped paying attention to their cards.

Although Clay is now blind, the numbers on the cards they play have been given a special frosted finish.

During his mission to infiltrate the Imperial Army, Clay was adept at posing as someone with slightly impaired vision, but not blind.

After a year, he had adapted to life with his eyesight taken away by the Silent Bishop.

"By the way, what's the situation up ahead? Can you find out?"

"Dekan asked."

"This distance is enough to make a rough estimate of the battle situation."

Clay closed his eyes as he spoke.

This is the reward Clay received after the last time in the Shadow World.

The Eye of the Heart

[Category: Spell Card]

[Rarity: Orange Epic]

[Class: 1]

[Passive Effect: No mana cost. Allows you to perceive nearby terrain, objects, and creature outlines, ignoring stealth spells. The effect weakens with distance.]

[Note: The supreme art of Lei, a legendary spy from the Holy Kingdom.]

Even though Clay had demonstrated his combat instincts in the Demon Realm prison—able to locate enemies based on their aura without relying on his eyesight—losing his naturally superior dynamic vision undoubtedly diminished his ability to engage in direct combat.

However, after a year of hard work and adaptation, and having inherited some of the experience of the Holy Kingdom's secret agent Ray, Clay has undoubtedly reached a new level in his role as a secret agent.

"It seems that the Calamity Clan and the Imperial Army are fighting ahead. Judging from the way the magic is destroying the terrain, we can roughly deduce that the enemy fighting Andrea is High Priest Kozmo."

Clay opened his eyes and, based on the blurry lines he perceived, made his conclusion.

“Kozmo…”

Upon hearing this, Dekan frowned.

He had heard of the name.

It wasn't that this guy was particularly strong that made Dekan remember him.

Besides Sheen, the number one hater astrologer of Dekan, this hater astrologer named Kozmo can definitely be called the number two hater.

Kozmo has made an indelible contribution to the Lord of Calamity's terrible reputation!

Because he himself was the ultimate fanatic of the Lord of Calamity, to the point of complete obsession, constantly praising the Lord of Calamity, and even calling his own evil deeds "dedicated to the Lord of Calamity"!

Back then, if Dekan had had the chance, he would have definitely given Cozmo a good beating if he could have found him.

But now, Dekan doesn't care anymore.

He has long since shed the title of Lord of Calamity, and his provocation of Cozmo makes him seem like he is inadvertently admitting his guilt.

"It seems the Empress has most likely lost."

After a brief analysis, Dekan reached a conclusion.

The Calamity God Cult has the audacity to attack the capital.

There must be a way to deal with the empire's most powerful empress.

But the Empress is not so easy to deal with, even though the capital city is indeed at its weakest point in terms of defense right now.

For the Kingdom Federation, the fact that the Church of Calamity and the Empire were fighting at this juncture was undoubtedly a great thing.

However, the specific benefits of this good deed depend on the extent of damage inflicted on both sides.

If it results in a lose-lose situation, and Dekan and Clay happen to be in the heart of the Empire, they can seize this golden opportunity to reap the rewards and take control of the situation.

However, if either side suffers a crushing defeat, it will still be a major headache for Dekan and his team.

They are currently lacking crucial intelligence regarding the extent of casualties on both sides.

However, Dekan and Kreda reached a consensus that if the Imperial Army was at a disadvantage, they would temporarily help the Imperial Army, even though, as citizens of the Kingdom, the Imperial Army should have been their enemy.

Under their guidance, even if the Imperial Army and the Church of Calamity don't end up mutually destructive, they will at least be forced to do so!

This would easily resolve the Kingdom Federation's crisis and even save them from many subsequent troubles.

"The Cult of Calamity is truly your benefactor. Not only did it help you defeat the Empress, the most formidable boss in the empire, but it also helped you elevate your slave Isabel to power. They are practically your followers."

Clay shook his head and sighed, saying that after spending so much time with Dekan, he had picked up quite a few of the strange words Dekan always used.

Dekan; "..."

Did your breathing suddenly stop just now?

"I asked with exceptional keen insight," Clay asked.

"No."

Dekan started being stubborn again, and then tried to change the subject.

With the information they already knew, the Cult of Calamity's plan was revealed: they wanted to steal the empire's spoils of war and install the rightful heir to the throne, the late emperor's daughter, Princess Isabel, also known as Olivia.

The information that "the current Empress Icardinos seized the throne through a rebellion and banished Princess Olivia" was something Dekan learned from Isabel after discovering Olive's identity in the Shadow World and asking the team to return to the mortal world from the Shadow World.

This gave Dekan a major headache.

He didn't want a script like the male protagonist in a third-rate light novel, where he accidentally acquired a slave who turned into an empress!

Moreover, Dekan really, really resisted seeing Isabel; he even had a bit of Olive PTSD.

And the biggest problem right now is that even if Isabel absolutely obeys his orders, and he can pretend to be a righteous person and replicate the actions of the Cult of Calamity to conquer the capital again, there is still a major prerequisite—

He also has to act on behalf of Heaven and punish those terrorists whose fighting power is so strong that they can even defeat the Empress!

"No matter what, let's save Andrea."

Clay looked at Dekan and said.

He knew very well that Andrea was no match for Kozmo, the high priest of the Cult of Calamity.

It would take at least a strong legion commander or bishop-level combat power from the Empire to defeat this guy.

However, Andrea, who was likely to die here, was unaware that two former bishops of the Church of Resurrection were hiding in her troops, plotting a grand scheme.

During his time infiltrating the Imperial forces, Clay had always felt that his commander, Andrea, was a very good person.

Even though Clay plays the role of an Imperial soldier who is very much like himself every day, after being a spy for a long time, especially for people like Clay and Mier who are sentimental, it is difficult to distinguish between true and false feelings.

However, Clay was unsure of Dekan's intentions.

After all, for the two of them, taking action would be tantamount to revealing their identities.

Even if they save Andrea, she might not be grateful, and might even stop trusting them and become their enemy.

This is clearly a controversial action plan.

"Let's go save her, let's go together."