Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

Chapter 376 Countdown

Even in winter, the trees in the manor houses on the southern outskirts of the Great Harbour area of ​​Newport are still lush and green, thanks to the care of the druids. Passing through the rustling bushes, you can see a swift shadow flashing by in the cold wind.

Albert cracked his whip, and with a snap, his tall, thoroughbred noble horse charged forward, leaping high over the pile of rocks before landing on the soft sand.

Eleanor, standing beside her, was wearing a baseball cap and looked nothing like a princess. Dressed in a fitted tuxedo, she resembled a horse trainer from a stable. She whistled and raised her hand, saying, "Still four minutes and forty-four seconds."

Albert and his tall horse both exhaled long puffs of white vapor from their mouths and noses almost simultaneously, and he shouted in dissatisfaction:

“Eleanor! You’ve got the time wrong! You didn’t even calibrate that stopwatch! It was four minutes and forty-four seconds last month, four minutes and forty-four seconds last week, four minutes and forty-four seconds yesterday, and four minutes and forty-four seconds today! How could it be such a coincidence!”

"I'll definitely do it next time."

Eleanor blinked her innocent-looking big eyes, then tossed aside the stopwatch she hadn't even pressed.

She was dozing off with her eyes half-closed.

The four minutes and forty-four seconds was just something she made up to fool people.

"I @＃￥%……＆" Albert was furious for a while, but he still couldn't bring himself to put his own mother and profanity together, so he dismounted.

Beside Eleanor, Lady Edwina, covering her face with a folding fan, chuckled and said, "Your Highness, your horsemanship has indeed improved greatly. If this were eight hundred years ago, you might have followed in the footsteps of King Charles Moen and become a renowned founder of a nation."

"Thank you for your compliment, madam."

Albert gave Eleanor a resentful look, dismounted, tossed his riding crop to a waiter, and asked, "Where is Earl Perricone?"

“Right in your living room—” Edwina nodded. “He’s been waiting for this for a long time.”

“Sulph... she really is a handful. She caused a huge mess at the Iris Flower. Now there’s the Golden Moon Bay thing, which Ansu shouldn’t have gotten involved in. It’s entirely a conflict between the Iris Flower and the Celestials.”

"Oh~~~"

Eleanor stood on tiptoe and cried out in protest.

"However, since it was my mother who sent her there, I have to clean up the mess. Besides, I have to admit that these prophets had plotted against Silver Castle before: Sulph was right."

Albert squinted and paused, glancing at Eleanor intentionally or unintentionally, before emphasizing, "We have to help her, at least we can't let our Ansu envoy die in the Iris."

Eleanor followed behind Albert, picked a small flower, and gave it to him.

Albert felt much of the frustration in his chest dissipate, realizing that Tia had played a part in Eleanor's transformation.

We really should help Sulph!

They are currently in the living room.

Perrick spread the map out on the silver table, his index finger pressing firmly against the crescent-shaped port of Golden Moon Bay. Noticing the sound outside the door, Perrick instantly straightened his back and placed his hand on his chest, saying, "Your Highness!"

“No need for formalities.” Albert walked in from outside, his tone relaxed. “What did the Iris People say?”

"An urgent telegram from their minister, Kamas, says that Tia is to travel to Golden Moon Bay this Friday to handle matters concerning the Prophet and the Sanctuary. To be honest, this is still extremely dangerous!"

Perrick said, half regretful and half annoyed, "And Anne is also in the Iris! She wrote to me specifically about this!"

"In Fogmoon City alone, a Sequence 4 Unsheathed Blade Celestial Transcendent has appeared, along with Dragon Hunter Santis and Monk Sazdive! I can't even imagine what would happen if this happened in Golden Moon Bay, which is beyond President Jeremiah's control! It's really necessary to add some special combat power to the next exchange group!"

“Relax, Perrick, I understand your concerns. But isn’t Anne in Mistmoon City? Mistmoon City can’t be taken by the Celestials in a day… well, it’s hard to say.”

Albert was about to offer some words of comfort when he suddenly thought of the one-day miracle of the Iris Civil War and was instantly embarrassed. He could only try to ease the atmosphere by saying, "It is time to increase the necessary protection for our experts and talents."

"I remember Grand Knight Commander Ye Haifa is still in Newport. After he dons his armor, he can hold his own against Sequence Four for a while. Let the Fifth Fleet escort him, and Ye Haifa will lead three squadrons of the Golden Forge Knights on board."

Sending a fleet and three full-strength squadrons directly to Iris was not Albert making a mountain out of a molehill.

Instead, a storm has brewed within the iris flower garden—

"As for the rest..."

Albert couldn't help but sigh and said sincerely, "I'm sorry, Peric, to be honest, the rest is up to Sulph and the others."

As he spoke, he picked up the marker on the table and drew several crosses at the northern end of Ansuhai.

Albert's voice turned serious. "The Transformation Hand fleet, reorganized by the Empire, has appeared in the Ansu Sea five times already. Their peace talks are empty words, but war is inevitable!"

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The Iris Castle District, Broken Gold River Hotel.

After Tia entrusted the forging of the Philosopher's Stone entirely to Eben, she returned to the Broken Gold River Hotel and then discussed with Anne about going to Golden Moon Bay.

According to Jeremiah, the prophets had all left Mistmoon City by early this morning at the latest, and unsurprisingly, their destination was Golden Moon Bay.

Upon arriving at Golden Moon Bay, with a Sequence 4 Prophet in charge, they only need four days—ninety-six hours—to glimpse the true prototype of the Sanctuary amidst the chaos of history.

The real-life prototype of this sanctuary, known as the "Moon Gazing Tower," stands on a small island off the coast of Golden Moon Bay, formerly used for naval supplies, and now a privately contracted shellfish farming base.

Once you find this place, using the traces left here by the sanctuary—what mysticists call "echoes" or "traces"—you can easily find the sanctuary's coordinates in the deep sea.

Then, a standard deep-diving ritual is performed to anchor the sanctuary's coordinates, and one can then enter this Ulrich sanctuary.

To make matters worse, Jeremiah himself announced Ulrich's death in the letter.

Ulrich is practically dead, both in reality and in the deep sea.

This is also what Anne is most worried about—the sanctuary is actually ownerless!

If the sanctuary had no master, it would not actively protect Tia, but would remain completely neutral, greatly increasing the space for the prophets to exert their influence.

However, Tia remains very confident.

This wasn't unfounded confidence from a shrimp-headed individual; rather, after battling Murad and the elite prophets who wielded the Mystery Lock, she had come to a profound realization: Sequence Four transcendents weren't as terrifying as she thought.

At least they weren't the omnipotent, flying, earth-shattering, and earth-moving mythical figures she had imagined in her lower sequence.

As long as they are human, Tia is confident she can defeat them in the Sanctuary.

—Because once she enters the deep sea, she has already transcended the level of humanity; that is her domain.

As for the practical aspects...

The stonemason and the Daughter of Frost will arrive one after the other.

Tia picked up the suitcase, making sure all the ceremony materials sent by the city hall were intact, and then wrapped a red scarf around Annie.

Snowflakes were falling silently in the night sky outside the door, drifting down slowly under the yellowish light of the streetlights.

Hmm... it would be even more fitting if there were a phone booth here.

Unfortunately, being in another world, no one picked up on the joke.

Tia suppressed the urge to complain and looked at the carriage with its light bulbs on and the white steam rising from the boiler at the back of the carriage. She was instantly pulled back to the unique atmosphere of this world.

　Nineteen hours have passed since the prophets left.

Chapter 377 Arrival at Golden Moon Bay

When the train arrived at Golden Moon Bay, Tia only had sixty-one hours left.

The rumbling train passed by, and Lovisa Bar, the Grand Knight Commander of Saint Engard, who was stationed at Golden Moon Bay and was known as the "Hand of Justice," picked Tia up and put her on the carriage.

Inside the carriage, the Grand Knight Commander was dressed in full silver armor, except for his long, golden hair, which, like Anne's, was tied back in a ponytail. He exuded a heroic air with every move he made.

Lovisa got straight to the point: "I understand everything now. I will take you directly to the designated location, Sulph, shortly."

She then looked at Anne and said, "As for Miss Mercury, please cooperate with our work and go to the Knights' headquarters first to avoid unnecessary danger."

"I understand."

Anne nodded in agreement and added, "Master Ibn will be arriving later to complete the forging of the Philosopher's Stone for Tia. His equipment is quite important, so he'll be on the next military train."

"The Philosopher's Stone? And Ibn Musa?"

Lovisa was stunned; she hadn't expected that Tia would even bring Ibn Musa into her ranks to deal with the Prophet!

She remembered it clearly: Ibn Musa was a genuine Sequence Four, wasn't he?!

But what about the Philosopher's Stone? Where did Tia find the raw materials to make this thing? She doesn't remember there being a massacre recently!

Before Lovisa could recover from her shock, Tia asked, "Didn't Milke say anything?"

"Minister Milke? That executioner?"

Lovisa was a little confused and asked bluntly, "He's not dead yet? Didn't the newspapers say he was going to have a public trial?"

Tia: "......."

Lady Knight Commander, are you awake?

This sounds like we're in a parallel universe...

Anne coughed slightly and gently reminded him, "Minister Milke's previous order to shell the enemy was apparently only met with a demotion..."

"Huh?! How could this be... I'm sorry, both of you. I was in the deep sea for a while and was only woken up by Mr. Marn and His Majesty Shrike today."

Lovisa quickly apologized for her slip of the tongue. Just as she was about to stand up and pat her chest in apology, the rather tall knight commander bumped into the iron-plated roof with a thud, letting out a muffled groan.

The sound was both muffled and loud; it was definitely a good start.

Tia and Anne quickly invited Lovisa to sit down, telling her not to make such a grand gesture.

After Lovisa sat down and explained, Tia suddenly understood.

No wonder...

However, the shrike has become a prince under the Silver Knight in Golden Moon Bay.

What did that crow even manage to fool this not-so-bright knight commander lady with?!

Tia then asked, "Has Marn also arrived at Golden Moon Bay?"

Lovisa was about to nod when a throbbing pain returned to her head. "You're right. Mr. Marn Cullen also arrived today, about six hours earlier than you."

"Judging from what he said, it seems he came here to 'seek refuge'?"

—Seeking refuge.....

This is really something else; she's taken refuge on the front lines where she's confronting the prophets.

Or is something going to happen to Mistmoon City?

Tia didn't quite understand, and didn't have time to think about it.

The knight commander in front of her was talking about Marn while rolling down the glass car window.

Seeing the view outside the window, Lovisa paused, then reminded her:

“I also learned about the arrangements for Mistmoon City from him… You two, we’ve arrived at the port! Miss Sulph, please check your ceremony materials one last time. I will escort you to the Moon Gazing Tower, which is forty kilometers away.”

After Tia finished checking the materials in the suitcase, she casually handed the suitcase to Lovisa.

Lovisa picked up her suitcase, stood up straight, and was about to get off the bus.

Before Tia and Anne could even stop her, and were about to hurriedly warn her, their voices hadn't even left their lips when they saw this excessively tall, probably over 1.9 meters, knight-captain-like lady who could slice Vera in two from head to toe with a single stroke—

She snapped her fingernail shut, hooked it onto the handle of the suitcase, then pressed her kneecaps against her silver-plated leg guards and suddenly stood up.

bang~

.......................

.......................

boom!

The piston rod struck violently, and the steam boiler roared and billowed thick white smoke, which shot straight into the sky through the chimney standing on the deck.

On deck, the east wind blew, and the prophets, who had undergone a ritualistic transformation and makeup, all became iris-flower sailors, methodically starting the steam engine, raising the mast, and cutting the ropes.

While the warships transporting Tia were being secretly moved, this inconspicuous two-masted fast sailing ship equipped with a steam engine also quietly sailed out of the port.

In the middle deck, Guzal was quickly getting to know the situation from several white-robed prophets of Sequence Five.

"Have the exact coordinates of the Moon Gazing Tower been determined?"

"We are still searching for clues about Ulrich in history, and all we know for now is that he is overseas... If Ulrich realizes that we are spying on his history and then actively encrypts it, it will take at least seven or eight days..."

"Seven or eight days? I think we should just hang you on the mast for seven or eight days!"

One of the prophets quickly said, "My lord, we are not prophets of the Nightmare School. If Dean Barragas were here, things might be much easier..."

Guzal said, "Baileges will take at least two more days to arrive."

"this......"