Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

Chapter 423 Siege of the Foggy Moon

"Lord of strife, bloodshed, and mercy! My Lord! I am your faithful follower, Clark Salas!!"

Before the ritual array covered with a layer of mithril, the sorcerer Clark, who was presiding over the ceremony, was kneeling on the ground, chanting prayers with fervor, and the ritual array immediately emitted a faint red light.

Seeing that the ritual had taken effect and Bloodthorn had been lured up, the warlocks nearby immediately held down his shoulders and ended the brainwashing ritual.

Clark snapped back to reality, first shuddering with fear, then remembering that he still had to preside over the ceremony to elevate the Bloodthorn, he gritted his teeth and quickly finished reciting the prayer.

"We beseech you, God of Bloodthorns and Uncertainty, God of Suffering and War, God of Bloodshed and Mercy, God of Holy Spirit, God of Holy Spirit, God of Holy Spirit!"

Then, he made a gesture.

The warlock beside him reminded him, "We can begin."

Around the ritual array, the scholars dressed in moon-blood-red robes acted as the atmosphere group, all chanting "Holy!"

The sound of "Holy One" echoed throughout the library.

Buzz!

Buzz!

A violent tremor erupted, and a red light appeared at the very center of the ritual array. Then, blood-red thorns began to spread rapidly, climbing up the walls and the ceiling, and even covering the surrounding bookshelves with thick, blood-red thorn vines.

Clark wiped the sweat from his brow and said, "The ceremony went smoothly. I'll inform Lord Omar later... By the way, the brainwashing ritual needs to be optimized."

The warlock next to him quickly wrote it down and went to dive deep to inform Omar.

Another colleague whispered, "Clark, did it work?"

Clark breathed a sigh of relief. "We've brought Bloodthorn to the surface. In Bloodthorn's divine kingdom, emotions like anger and hatred are amplified rapidly, so he was trapped by Lord Sazdive the moment he arrived."

A colleague asked in horror, "How did they get trapped?"

Clark shrugged. "It's not that simple, don't make a fuss. Prepare a pig or a dog, preferably with some emotions, whose intelligence limit isn't too high. Use the Holy Grail ritual to seal its spirituality, then use the forging hammer ritual to forge a temporary abnormal space. Those Imperials can do all that; get them to help."

"Then use these cats and dogs as containers to stuff the Bloodthorns inside. Throw them into the abnormal space, take them out when needed, and beat them up if they disobey."

His colleagues, who knew little about deities, were immediately bewildered.

Isn't this just plain slave ownership?!

Do gods not have human rights?

"Of course, the most important thing is the physical vessel, as well as the time before and during the descent." Clark, who was used to this, paused after speaking, and said with reverence:

"If it's not handled properly, it can cause problems. Didn't Master Santis's attempt back then back then backfire? By the way, where is His Excellency Santis?"

Just as Clark was about to ask, a warlock strode over and whispered, "Professor Clark, Lord Omar's attack on the city hall has run into some trouble."

"Ah? Lord Omar is injured?!"

"The city hall is completely empty. That Governor of Fog Moon has moved all the personnel from the city hall and the Ministry of the Interior to Fontaine Palace, and the city guards have also been transferred there..."

Clark frowned and said, "That governor is really annoying. We still can't get rid of him."

The warlock offered no comment, only saying, "Because the city hall has abandoned most of the city, General Nara's vanguard has also arrived. Although there are only four thousand men, it is enough for Lord Omar to take over these cities."

"Lord Omar, please move to the port area to preside over the spatial lock puzzle."

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

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In the heart of Fogmoon City, in the Fontaine Palace district, on the east side of the royal palace, the city guard commander and the chief of the Fontaine Palace district police station were hurrying to arrive.

The palace’s luxurious front hall doors were wide open, and outside, the wind and rain continued. Scarlett, clad in armor and wielding a sword, stood there, her purple cloak billowing in the wind.

Beside her, Maximilian and two Sequence 4 alchemists sat upright, with two rows of temporarily transferred silver knights gripping their longswords and guarding their sides.

The situation was critical. In order to preserve and concentrate forces, Scarlett ordered all Silver Knights and all other superhumans in the Special Operations Department, along with the administrative staff and guards of the City Hall and the Ministry of the Interior, to transfer to Fontaine Palace.

It's not just the evil ritual the Hand of Transformation is preparing; there's something else much bigger.

The city guards fought a battle with the border guards of the three counties of Winterfell at the west gate of Mistmoon City, and suffered a humiliating defeat—or, of course, they should now be called rebels.

Failure was not unexpected.

The city defense army was not paid much to begin with, and the quality of its soldiers varied greatly; this time, all the problems were exposed.

Unfortunately, some stubborn clergy and silver knights did not follow her to the new location because of their insistence.

Scarlett gazed westward, where thick smoke billowed from several districts where the newly built churches stood.

Meanwhile, the sound of artillery fire from Nara's Legion came from the northwest and southwest, as they clashed with the city guards.

This force of only four thousand men belonged to the elite border defense army, and its morale and equipment were far superior to those of the city guards.

Nora's remaining 16,000 men will soon arrive in Fogmoon City. Scarlett doesn't know how long it will take, but she anticipates they will enter from the west.

We can only hope that they can arrive in time from Jin Yue Bay.

She had been communicating with the "Bastion" before being cut off by the Prophet. She learned that the "Bastion" armored train was being harassed by the Prophet, with parts of the train damaged and its speed greatly reduced.

I don't know if it will be in time.

The north side has been controlled by the Hand of Transformation, and the Broken Gold River has also fallen into its grasp. Warships dare not risk bombing the city and enter Mistmoon City.

Without the support of the inland river fleet, the city guards were in an even worse situation.

That's why the city guard commander rushed to Fontaine Palace in a panic.

This nobleman, Sulek, who became a commander after the One-Day Civil War, was quite capable in tactics and strategy, but his ability to govern an army was really hard to describe.

Upon seeing Scarlett, he said with concern, "Our soldiers are not even in the same league as the Hand of Transformation. Besides, the city's defenses haven't been updated in a long time!"

"The city's defense forces have played a role in the city for years that has been mostly in coordination with the police. Lady Scarlett, you can't expect these people to fight!"

Scarlett calmly asked, "How much longer can we hold on?"

"At most three hours!"

"Withdraw all those who can still be mobilized back to Fontaine Palace and defend it using the palace's walls."

Sulek was taken aback. "Are you planning to abandon the citizens of Fogmoon City?"

"This is a civil war, and Sulek is in command!"

Scarlett wasn't one of the Iris Party members; she saw things very clearly. She emphasized, "The Hand of Transformation won't act against the citizens if they don't want to lose public trust. If we force a small-scale, dispersed street battle, it won't just be the public we lose. All we can do now is hold firm."

Sulek was speechless.

At 11:2 AM on February 3, 536 of the Holy Calendar, Nara led the vanguard legion to defeat the city defense forces once again, crossed the Broken Gold River, and the castle district was occupied by the Hand of Transformation.

Subsequently, the Tower District was occupied, and the Palace of Fontainebleau District was in grave danger.

Under Scarlett's orders, the city's garrison, the main force of the police, the Silver Knights, and the Alchemists moved to Fontaine Palace to take a defensive stance. After a fierce battle, they barely managed to hold Fontaine Palace.

Ye Haifa led two detachments of the Golden Furnace Knights in a fierce attack from the south, crashing into the Misty Moon City Observatory district, and then rapidly advancing towards the Fontaine Palace district.

For a time, the armored knights of the Holy Church and the elite soldiers of the border legion—

—Head-on collision.

Chapter 424: Moving Forward

Starting at 1 p.m., the Mist Moon City Defense Forces engaged in fierce fighting with the Nara Legion in the Fontaine Palace district.

For two hours, the magnificent palace that had stood in the city of Misty Moon for eight hundred years was subjected to a major attack by the border troops defending it.

The gunpowder in dozens of small mortars and grenade launchers exploded, propelling the shells with tremendous energy and crashing into Fontaine Palace. After only one volley, the alchemists attacked them one by one, using lightning, turning fossils into mud, and various rusting rituals to destroy them.

In order to reach Fogmoon City quickly, this vanguard legion did not carry heavy equipment.

After these cannons were scrapped, for a time, the two modern armies actually fought a battle that resembled a siege battle from the classical era.

The city's defense forces, which were originally weak and ineffective, impressed Sulek when they were guarding the palace. These city defense soldiers were all locals of Mistmoon City.

Therefore, as local residents who have been "guests" at Fontaine Palace for many years, they can accurately find the palace's water channels and secret doors, alleys and weak points in defense, and even know where the firing ports of the towers are!

Returning to Fontaine Palace feels just like returning home!

They filled the canal at the south end of Fontaine Palace as quickly as possible, filled the tunnels with water, and, with the help of alchemists, reinforced the weak southern wall with special explosive protection.

Relying on the advantages of the terrain and topography, they managed to withstand two rounds of attacks from the elite border troops.

This was completely unexpected by Sulek, who could only marvel at Scarlett's great wisdom in governing.

Under Scarlett's orders, the rock-solid Fontaine Palace became the Alchemist Guild's last stronghold in Mistmoon City, and the two sides were locked in a stalemate.

Colonel Constantine, commander of Nara's vanguard, seeing this, surrounded the enemy but did not attack, waiting for subsequent equipment support.

At 3 p.m. on February 3, 536 AD, the situation, which was approaching equilibrium, suddenly changed with the roar of steam power.

Ye Haifa led a large number of armored knights from the Golden Forge northwards from the Observatory district toward Fontaine Palace, instantly disrupting Colonel Constantine's plans.

"Why are the Holy Church's armored knights inside the city?! Lord Omar! What on earth is going on here?!"

"You expect our soldiers to open cans for those armored knights? This isn't three hundred years ago. The Ansu armored knights don't wear plate armor, and our soldiers aren't carrying maces!"

In the command building across the Broken Gold River in the Castle District, Constantine laughed in exasperation and repeatedly reminded Omar.

Omar exclaimed in bewilderment, "This shouldn't be happening! This shouldn't be happening!"

"The two knights from the Golden Forge came aboard the Fortress, but the Fortress hasn't arrived yet!"

Constantine slammed his hand on the table, clearly displeased:

“We need reinforcements now! No offense, Lord Omar, but who knows how they got here? Maybe Santis is dead, but the enemy is right in front of us!”

"The Hand of Transformation can provide manpower."

“Manpower? We have plenty of manpower! The Marquis’s army will be here soon, but what about Lord Sazddie?! What we need is a force capable of fighting against those alchemists in Fontaine Palace!”

Constantine's biggest headache wasn't the two hundred armored knights.

Instead, Scarlett, a Sequence Four transcendent in Fontainebleau, presented him with a difficult problem in this regard.

She gathered the three Sequence Four members, including Maximilian, in Fontaine Palace. Winter and cold winds were the Seven Winds Witch's specialties, and they made Fontaine Palace impregnable.

On the other side, there are at least four Sequence 4 sorcerers in the city. These sorcerers, with their superb skills, are like trees hidden in the jungle, ready to surprise them unexpectedly.

Omar said, "Lord Sazdive is currently entangled with Hogier of St. Engard and Bloodwine of Solon County. He won't be here for a while."

Just as Constantine was about to start cursing, Omar quickly added, "But Bloodthorn has also been captured, and the main force of our Hand of Transformation is in the city, including quite a few Sequence Four Grand Alchemists! Dealing with them is only a matter of time."

"Moreover, Bloodthorn is also here. As long as we release Bloodthorn's divine kingdom, things will get better!"

Constantine took a shallow breath of cold air. "I hope so!"

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

--thump!

Nara Selassie clutched her chest, feeling her heart pounding abnormally, and had a vague sense of foreboding.

She glanced at the gloomy weather through the porthole, attributing it to her unstable mood caused by the overcast sky.

Inside the cabin, the adjutant respectfully said, "General, we are approaching Mistmoon City."

Can the fleet still accelerate?

"This... has already reached maximum speed, and many warlocks are already close to exhaustion."

"That means we haven't overdrawn our resources yet, so we should continue to accelerate."

The adjutant wiped the sweat from his palms, about to offer a suggestion, but upon seeing Nora's gaze, he felt a chill run down his spine and went to inform her.

When he returned, he said helplessly, "General! Didn't they say that Bloodthorn was under control in the city? I think, I think, the sorcerers of the Hand of Transformation can completely control the situation! Besides, there are still Lord Santis and Lord Sazdive here!"

Nara pursed her lips and shook her head, saying, "I have to take responsibility for those nobles. We can't afford to lose. Besides, Bloodthorn is a double-edged sword."

The power of the gods is not so easy to control; one wrong move and it could cause a tragedy like the Great Plague of Solomon. They came to fight a civil war, not to become cultists!

In particular, the Bloodthorn itself is not as "gentle" as the Twin Serpents.

It can generate widespread extreme emotions, triggering riots and conflicts, which in turn fuel the Bloodthorn faith, allowing Bloodthorn to continue expanding its influence.

It might start as just the inner city's third district, then expand to the inner city's fifth district, the entire Mistmoon City, and eventually sweep across the continent, triggering widespread war.

Therefore, when the Hand of Transformation descends upon the Bloodthorns, it specifically throws the "physical vessel" into a temporarily created abnormal space.

"But it's still a powerful weapon!" the adjutant said proudly. "As long as Bloodthorn is there, the traitors of Saint Enggard won't dare to make a move!"

"The local counties are still wavering over the conflict between Rex and Jeremiah, but it's hard to say after the Bloodthorn comes out. This is a civil war, not a holy war."