Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

Nora glanced at her adjutant, who had poured cold water on her enthusiasm, and said calmly, "Besides, I'm going to take responsibility for you. The rivers in the three counties will thaw in March, and I'll take you home."

The adjutant was speechless.

"Moreover, the Fortress, the Morrol Legion, and Saint Engard are also variables. Santis and Sazdive may fight tooth and nail for their so-called ideological battles and the path to transcendence, but we cannot. We must take control of Mistmoon City as soon as possible to end the war."

"All we can do now is move forward, keep moving forward."

Chapter 425 Racing Against Time

In the Red Hill Woodlands, Guzhar, who was responsible for intercepting the "Fortress," did not run into it head-on.

If it were a sheathless blade, that would be fine—but Guzal is a true prophet.

He used numerous precognitive rituals to predict the weak points of the Fortress, and then had the alchemists sabotage these vulnerable train components and the tracks ahead.

It's shameless, but it works very well.

However, this tactic soon stopped working.

Guzar witnessed firsthand that the dark clouds were being dispelled and the sun was rising in the west.

In a daze, some of the judges around him, who belonged to the Imperial Court, even thought that the Father of All Things had sent down a miracle.

To be precise, it wasn't the sun, but Tia's spirituality, and the divine kingdom that enveloped Tia's dissipating spirituality?

Spiritual dissipation is not a strong indicator; rather, it is because someone who has just advanced to Sequence Four has not yet fully controlled their power and is affected by various factors, resulting in an unstable manifestation of the "perfect archetype."

However, the divine realm was beyond Guzar's imagination.

It was a temple.

A temple built in the style of ancient Solomon architecture.

It is entirely made of white marble, with a towering circular dome and four upright spires. The whole thing is bathed in holy light, and you can vaguely see spiritual beings that Guzar has never heard of in the light.

The temple is being pulled along by ropes cast in light, like a doe pulling the sun.

Floating in the radiance, composed of mist and glass shards, the cloud whale is indistinct and difficult to see, only occasionally revealing its dark golden eyes.

Behind the temple, hidden in the sun, it was like a kingdom hidden in bubbles in a mirror.

Then, with a deafening roar, like lightning striking down, trees snapped and rocks crumbled in the forest, leaving behind a huge footprint.

But next second.

As if noticing that a gaze was watching it, the temple suddenly changed its appearance, transforming into an island and a tower hidden in the sunlight.

The sun's rays were all golden fire, dazzlingly bright. Apart from the prophet Guzal, who had reached Sequence Four and could glimpse the sacred objects within the sun, the other alchemists and judges only saw the sun and some of the more prominent spiritual entities, and could not see the sanctuary at all.

But this was terrifying for Guzar, who could see it.

Who exactly is this Special Envoy Tia Sulph?!

Even the weakest of these spirits is at least at the level of a regular Sequence Four! With just a dozen or so spirits coming, these spirits alone could hold their own against the main force of the Hand of Transformation for quite some time!

More importantly, these spirits were actually able to obey Tia's commands! Although their level of obedience was like that of nobles under an ancient feudal system, as if they were just there to join in the fun, at least they could listen to human speech.

The sun is setting.

Tia could already smell the blood, and frowned slightly.

The taste is somewhat familiar.

Hmm... It's somewhat like the scent of thorns summoned by the Black Witch in Princess Rosalind's nightmare, but with a stronger rusty smell.

I don't know what Bloodthorn ate to become like this.

Unlike Tia, who was disgusted by the smell of blood, the spirit gods were all excited by it.

The excitement was so intense that even the sorcerers and judges witnessing the feast couldn't comprehend it.

How excited were they?

—Like children at a birthday party, cutting small cakes.

In the Red Hill Woods, the sorcerers who were looking up in awe at the "miracle" turned around and exclaimed, "Master Guzar?!"

The place where Guzar should have stood was empty, with only raindrops hanging from the trees.

"Where has Master Guzar gone?"

"Damn it! Guzar has escaped! What a coward! Lord Santis shouldn't have put him in charge of this!"

"Stop talking, stop talking... The sun's coming soon, so doesn't that mean...?"

The warlocks fell silent for a moment.

The sun represents Tia, so it's obvious that Santis has completely lost.

To their surprise.

The sun did not unleash its world-destroying holy fire, nor did the spirits that obeyed the sun's sacred majesty punish them, not even with a pause.

It's definitely not that they didn't see them.

Knowing they were incapable of resisting, they treated them like any other passing cats or dogs.

Who would have the time to run down the street just to kick a passing dog?

The sorcerers were unsure of the power of those spirits, but they remained disheartened.

"It failed..."

"Sigh, let's prepare to retreat. We can't handle the Fortress. By the way, where are the brothers from the Inquisition?"

"They ran away long ago, those opportunistic imperialists!"

"Let's go, let's go. Now it's up to Lord Sazdil and General Nora..."

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

—If only the witch could perform a miracle.

Inside Fontaine Palace, Scarlett, draped in a purple cloak, stared blankly at the door for a moment.

The Palace of Fontainebleau district was basically held over the past few hours.

However, it would be quite difficult for the city's garrison soldiers to fight against the rebels.

The armored knights, having been overloaded and engaged in fierce fighting, had limited fuel and ammunition reserves that could not be wasted in regular combat.

What remained were a small number of about a hundred silver knights, twenty or thirty church priests, and about a hundred alchemists from the society.

Beside Scarlett was Grand Knight Commander Kurhan, a Silver Knight of Sequence Four.

This Grand Knight Commander has been in charge of the Knights of Mistmoon City’s work, as well as protecting Scarlett and the Minister of the Interior, Old Kamas.

Kurhan reminded us: "The prophet who interfered with the Fortress's communications has disappeared. The Fortress has informed us that they have temporarily repaired the important components and are laying disposable tracks. They should be able to arrive in as little as twenty minutes. Meanwhile, the Morrol Legion's artillery units have already set up artillery positions in the Red Hill Woodlands."

"The bad news is that the main force of the border corps has arrived thirteen kilometers outside of Fogmoon City... You should be prepared."

Scarlett snapped out of her daze.

The opportunity to race against time has now arrived.

As expected, the border guards' attack route will be the same as their vanguard legions, entering through the western gate of the Bishopric of Mistmoon City.

Red Hill Woods isn't far from Mistmoon City, only eleven kilometers as the crow flies. The armored train can bomb it as soon as it leaves the woods and reaches open ground.

But compared to a legion of 16,000 men, the few heavy artillery pieces on this armored train were far too few—but it would be a different story if it were a well-organized artillery unit.

Once a high, open hill is found, artillery positions can be set up there, and the firepower will be sufficient to cover Mistmoon City.

—In particular, Tia thoughtfully helped them disperse the torrential rain.

Knight Commander Kurhan said with concern, "What's even more worrying is Bloodthorn... If the Fortress arrives in Mistmoon City before Nara, it could very well provoke those warlocks."

"Phew. You're absolutely right."

Scarlett felt a heavy responsibility, but only for a moment before she commanded, "Sir Knight Commander, please summon Knight Ye Haifa for me now."

Ye Haifa soon arrived in the front hall. After Scarlett briefly explained the current situation, Ye Haifa's expression immediately turned serious.

Scarlett commanded, "Lord Kurhan, the safety of Fontaine Palace and myself is now in the hands of the Seven Winds! You lead the Silver Knights, abandon Fontaine Palace, break through the defenses of the Broken Gold River, and find the location of the Evil God as soon as possible!"

"As ordered!"

Kurhan accepted the order and stepped out through the main gate.

Ye Haifa stepped forward again.

Scarlett said, “Sir Yehfa, you are a knight of the Holy Church, and there is no need for you to get involved in the conflict in Mistmoon City. On behalf of the City Hall, I would like to express my gratitude to you and the Church. But please forgive my impertinence, but I ask that you lead the Golden Forge, cooperate with the Silver Knights to break through the defenses, cross the West City, and protect the Fortress.”

Ye Haifa said solemnly, "Scarlett is in power, and we are knights holding the Holy Grail under the Father of All Things. Although I was entrusted by the Queen and have no intention of participating in your internal war, now that the evil god is here, there is no distinction between you and me. Please issue the order as soon as possible!"

Scarlett hesitated, noticing that Ye Haifa's accent sounded like that of Silverburg, and then remembered that this knight commander was on duty in Newport.

Ah... actually, it's not from within our organization either.

I'm a genuine Ansu native, and perhaps even a fellow countryman of yours, Knight Yehaifa...

Chapter 426 Taking a Gamble

Throughout the afternoon, the strong, cold winds blowing from the north arrived just in time, and dozens of ships moved swiftly across the Broken Gold River, transporting 16,000 soldiers of the border corps from Rustwater Town to the port of Mistmoon City.

The port is located southwest of Mistmoon City. The Broken Gold River flows from north to south, then bends north here, turning the gentle western side into a natural harbor, while the towering eastern side is formed by riverbank hills, dividing the port area and the observatory area in two.

At this very moment, however, a large number of merchant ships in this natural harbor are being requisitioned and driven away by soldiers of the border guards. The soldiers are protecting the alchemists as they reach the docks, piers, exchanges, and customs buildings.

In front of the marble-vaulted main entrance of the customs house, officials were speaking hoarsely to the protesting merchants. Suddenly, a sharp gunshot rang out, and an officer in a rain-soaked black robe shouted angrily. Soldiers rushed forward, and screams and chaos erupted under the gloomy clouds.

Looking out the window, Omar saw a group of martial arts-minded merchants with guards raising their guns to fight back. There were even two tall men among the protesters!

Two giants!

I have no idea how these barbarians, who should be grazing on the ice plains, ended up here.

Omar withdrew his gaze and turned to the warlock Clark behind him, "This is getting out of hand! Can the spatial lock still hold?"

Clark said helplessly, "I'm sorry, sir, but it's completely impossible now—those prophets deserted during the battle, and while they were taking their turns to rest, they all disappeared!"

He added, "Lord Sazdil doesn't know how long he can hold out. Now we can only hope that General Nara arrives as soon as possible. I've heard that the three counties of Winterfell are all supporting General Nara!"

“But we have to take Mistmoon City first. I promised Colonel Constantine I would use Bloodthorn.”

"Bloodthorn... Now? Have you made up your mind?"

Clark looked puzzled. It wasn't the worst time yet. Using Bloodthorn rashly might actually be a mistake.

Bloodthorns don't distinguish between friend and foe.

They have already caused quite a bit of trouble in Mistmoon City by requisitioning merchant ships and supplies and looting newly built churches and old mansions!

"Ah, no. Not all of them. Bloodthorn will need time to spread its divine kingdom. As long as we keep it under control, there won't be any problems."

Omar glanced out the window at the hills across the river and said, "I will try my best to control the expansion of Bloodthorn in the Fontaine Palace and Tower areas. As long as it can shake those people in Fontaine Palace, that's fine."

"Most importantly, we don't have much time. The Fortress has completed its temporary repairs, and the Cross District still has many newly built churches and Silver Knights due to Bonaparte's repeated harassment. We also can't take over the railway for the time being. Once the Fortress arrives, it will be like driving an unremovable nail into our path."

"At that time, not only will we waste a lot of troops on this train, but even General Nara's arrival will be a huge waste of manpower. Even if the heavy artillery on board is restricted by the city and cannot be bombarded at will, those numerous artillery positions and machine guns will be enough to keep the Ministry of Internal Affairs in place for a long time. If they drag us out until the Morol Legion arrives, things will be very bad. We cannot afford to waste time on the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

"Therefore, we must resolve this quickly."

Clark glanced at the still-youthful-looking young man again and asked in surprise, "Did you come up with this yourself?"

Omar blushed slightly and quickly said, "This is the result of our internal discussion, and it has no problems with the overall situation in Mistmoon City. However, there are still two loopholes outside Mistmoon City..."

He took a deep breath. "When was the last time Dragon Hunter Santis communicated?"

Clark pondered for a moment, then said in astonishment, "Lord Omar, it was twelve hours ago."

Twelve hours ago.

—This is exactly what Omar was worried about.

Although it is absolutely impossible for Lord Santis to lose against "Tia Sulph," who has only reached Sequence Four!

But what if that despicable Ansu envoy brings some strange, extraordinary weapon from Ansu, and even helps that despicable scoundrel to deal with Lord Santis, that upper-class scoundrel—

Omar couldn't be sure if Santis would get hurt and accidentally let her slip into Fogmoon City.

However, these are all just speculations.

Omar looked out the window. On the dock shrouded in dark clouds, the merchants who had been causing trouble had fallen into pools of blood after a series of gunshots. After making an example of them, the soldiers quickly subdued the other protesters, brought the scene under control, and then supported the alchemist in taking over the merchant ship.