The defeated saint is also on the way to tame the evil god today

"Could it be..." Alice thought of a possibility.

"That's right," Elder Roberts nodded. "He personally killed all the Golden People who opposed coexistence with the Garo people, and exiled their descendants deep into the desert."

As Roberts spoke, the scent of incense in the room suddenly seemed to be tainted with the smell of blood.

"Surely..." Alice murmured.

"Many of those purged Golden People were generals who followed him out of the desert," Elder Roberts smiled. "They may indeed be a little simple-minded, but they are powerful enough and have inherited the strong bloodline of the Golden People."

"But the Golden King discarded them without hesitation, like a bunch of useless chess pieces."

"He personally suppressed the vengeful wrath of the Golden People. All radical elements were eradicated, and those who remained were easily controlled."

"After that, the remaining Golden People intermarried with the Garo people in large numbers, giving rise to the largest number of hybrids today. They not only possess the physique of the Golden People, but also the broad vision and wisdom of the Garo people."

"At the same time, the Golden King generously funded the academic environment within the empire, accepting all parties. At one point, he even made New Gara a paradise for academic exchange even more popular than the Citadel."

"Because he knew that the ships of the new world would be built by wisdom, not brute force."

Elder Roberts said, nodding his head with a smile:

"He knew that the Golden People's traits inherited from the Age of Gods: strength, hard work, and strong vitality. While they might have supported them in the old era, they were no longer effective in the new era."

"He will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals and disregard morality."

"That's awful," Alice exclaimed sincerely, "but I have to admit, this is exactly why Machiavelli's empire is so powerful today."

"Yes," Elder Roberts nodded. "He holds absolute power in that position and can do whatever he wants without restriction..."

When Alice said this, she noticed that Elder Roberts' eyes flickered slightly.

"Inside the Citadel right now, most council members are ostensibly discussing war matters, but secretly, they're all thinking about how to maximize their own interests in the event of a war failure..."

"They lack the experience and courage of the Golden King, the man who emerged from the depths of the sea of ​​sand, single-handedly journeyed through the long history of his race, and found a path to prosperity..."

"The people of the Citadel have never suffered such hardships, so it's understandable that they lack such courage. But right now, our problem isn't a lack of courage, but rather a weakness..."

At this moment, a golden light flashed by, and Alice turned her head to see that the parchment had been engraved with every expenditure of Maple Leaf Palace in recent months.

Judging from the thickness, it should be very detailed.

At this moment, Alice suddenly understood why Elder Roberts would support her investigation into the Decep family during this period.

"It takes a bit of courage, doesn't it..." Alice picked up the stack of parchment and thought about it.

"May you move forward courageously, Miss Alice," Elder Roberts nodded with a smile. "If you need anything, please feel free to contact me."

"Okay, thank you for your help."

Alice bowed sincerely to Elder Roberts, then turned around, pushed the door open and left.

Behind him, the elder stared at the door for a long time, a rare look of relief on his face.

He glanced at the complex symbols floating in the room and muttered softly:

"Perhaps the Citadel isn't so bad that it needs to be abandoned."

......

6) Storm Performer (Part 2) -4k-

It's raining again in the Academy City.

Thunder flashed across the sky, briefly dyeing the rain falling from the sky gray and white, like lights flickering between curtains.

After returning home, Alice locked herself in the bedroom. After confirming that no one was around, she took out the vial of spiritual powder and scattered it around.

"Zizzi-"

The spiritual smoke filled the room, connecting with Alice's spiritual power and allowing her senses to spread to every corner of the room.

After confirming that there were no eavesdropping methods in the room, Alice played the Starlight String and released "Star Stream Vision". A golden barrier enveloped the interior of the room, isolating it from the outside world.

Alice then sat down at the table and began to read in detail the information she had received from Elder Roberts.

From time to time, she circled a few names with a pen, and a gleam of thought flashed in the depths of her eyes.

Before we knew it, night had fallen.

"......"

Alice finished reading and circled a noun on her mind map with a pen:

"gold."

Isabella Ducep spent a lot of money to buy gold and transported the gold into the basement of Maple Leaf Palace.

The source of her gold purchase was an imperial gold supplier.

In the past, this was not surprising: the Erulu Desert was rich in gold, and trading gold with the imperials was a cost-effective way.

But in this special period... it's not normal at all...

Because the Empire has blocked most of the defense line from New Garo to the academic city of Akademi.

Today, the number of imperial ships that can sail unimpeded along the waterway can be counted on one hand.

For example, the Imperial Ambassador "Scarab" and his fleet.

"..."

Through the expenditure details, Alice quickly found the address of the gold trader - a warehouse in the port area.

She immediately pressed the mark on the back of her hand, closed her eyes, and murmured:

"Aliya, help me take a look."

......

Amidst the rain, a cloaked girl climbed up the streetlight from the shadows and looked at the harbor in the distance.

In the distance is the open sea, and on the flat land near the coast, a square factory building stands, looking gray in the rain.

This brought back some not-so-good memories for Aaliyah.

"..."

Alia quietly slipped into the shadows, glided along the road, and came to the vicinity of the factory.

She took advantage of the situation and hid in the shadow of a guard. Then he led her around the factory and she sneaked into the shadow of another guard at the junction.

In this way, she continued to move forward in the shadows and finally came to the warehouse inside the factory.

The warehouse was dark, filled with wooden boxes and smelled of sea salt.

Alia found a random wooden box, pried it open with a knife, and then reached out and grabbed something heavy.

She took a closer look and found that it was a gold ingot.

"It's really just gold...?" Alia was a little confused.

No... There's something wrong with this gold...

Alia activated the vision granted by the "Tree of Life" and glanced at the gold ingot, discovering that it seemed to have a slight light green luster inside.

This piece of gold... has a faint life attribute...

I don’t quite understand...Alia shook her head and decided to show it to Miss Alice.

......

"This is... 'Living Gold'..."

Inside the confessional of the Holy Tree Church, Alice played with the gold ingot, lost in thought.

"Living Gold?" Arya tilted her head.

"It's a material processed through spiritual energy. It was originally gold," Alice explained. "Do you know the 'Gold Game'?"

"Miss Aurora seemed to be clamoring to play that earlier."

"Yes, that's it. It's a game where you control golden puppets to fight," Alice explained. "Those little golden figurines with a certain degree of mobility are made of 'living gold'."

Alice fell into deep thought: Why did Isabella buy so much live gold?

In addition to making playthings, this metal is used as an auxiliary material in some ritual magic.

Is Isabella planning some kind of ritual magic?

What exactly is her position?

Something's wrong...

Alice thought about it and let out a deep breath.

"I can only find another way to investigate..."

"I'll help too," Alia said. "Um... By the way, Miss Alice, don't we have to go to the sea?"

"On the sea? Not anymore recently," Alice shook her head. "Vivian and Professor Ling have taken over matters concerning the treasure exchange meeting."

"So that's how it is," Alia nodded thoughtfully, "Is it because of the Maple Leaf Palace incident?"

"Yes," Alice nodded. "I'm afraid if I'm away for too long, something might happen and I won't notice..."

Internal troubles, external threats, everything is expanding in the darkness.

With a powerful enemy at the door, inexplicable turmoil is brewing inside the academy, which really makes people feel uneasy.

Fortunately, if things go well at the "Treasure Exchange", it may be possible to delay the Imperials' intention to attack.

I just don't know if the pirate king known as "Typhoon" really has the ability to control storms.

"I have to go back first. Please say hello to Miss Lilitz for me," Alice put away the gold ingot, "and...be careful recently."

"Well, okay!" Aaliyah said with a smile.

Alice pushed the door open and walked out of the confessional. After leaving the church, thunder and heavy rain once again pulled her into the gloomy academy.

The butler had been waiting at the door for a long time, holding a black umbrella and humming a tune:

"...Golden sun, pounding rain, the desert will change when the wind comes..."

Alice frowned slightly:

"Old man, what are you singing?"

"Ah?" The butler came back to his senses and chuckled, "Sorry, Miss... I couldn't help myself..."

"No, it's just a little unexpected," Alice walked under the umbrella. "You don't usually like singing, let alone this kind of song..."

"I don't know why, but I seem to have been brainwashed by this song lately," the old butler muttered. "These past couple of days, when I went to the market with the maid to buy food and daily necessities, many people were singing this song..."

"It's quite exotic. I thought the Empire's pop culture was out of date a long time ago..." Alice muttered.

It's amazing that this kind of song can become popular...

Alice didn't think too much about it and followed the old butler across the square to the carriage parked across the street.

The rain in the academy became heavier.

.......

In the principal's office at the top of the east tower of Nefera Beta Magic Academy, Merlin was standing by the window, looking at the gray city through the rain.

"It's time to reveal what has been buried."

He turned around, teased the little parrot on the shelf beside him, then sat down at the desk and began to write a letter.

Just now, he received a letter from Xing Mo, asking him where the "spiritual power threshold limit places" required for his promotion to "demigod" were.

"It's very simple..."

Merlin muttered and wrote a line on the letter paper:

"The Golden Sun's shrine is perfect for this."

After finishing writing, he sealed the letter and handed it to the little parrot beside him:

"Xiao Huozi, thank you for your help." Merlin smiled slightly.

......

"You must come back, okay?"

"Sure, don't worry."