She tapped the table. "The bad news is, we're right between the Warlock's Tomb in Larloch and Candlekeep. The several bridges at Baldur's Gate are the only way to Candlekeep from there. When they arrive, it won't just be liches, but a whole army. These undead creatures will swagger along our trade routes—or maybe even not.

"In short, in my opinion, even if we don't actively participate in the war, we should still send a large force to deal with Larok. Therefore, I believe this needs to be discussed at the meeting. Grand Duke Gutenberg, what are your thoughts?"

Gutenberg, the third Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate, disliked politics and therefore rarely spoke during his attendance.

But this time, he raised his head, looked around, and replied, "I'm sorry. The Church of Gond has received a formal request for assistance from the Church of Oghma and Candlekeep. Regardless of Baldur's Gate's opinion, we will set off!"

Thirty-five: Prepare for War and Floating City

"...Miss Storm, were you really injured in the Arcane Plague?"

On the second day in Candlekeep, Midnight knocked on Storm Silverhand's door early in the morning and began the agreed inspection.

Normally, the Magic Goddess would have no way of being helpless against Storm Silverhand's symptoms. She would have definitely captured him easily.

However, Midnight's first attempt was beyond Storm's expectations.

After just a light touch, she frowned and said the opening words that left Storm Silverhand puzzled.

The most famous harpist was both amused and confused. "My lady, why should I lie to you? I've been living in perilous hiding for nearly a hundred years, relying on Eir's protection to survive to this day. Isn't it because of the influence of the Arcane Plague? I've lost my ability to cast spells, and even my body has degenerated."

"...Is that so?" Midnight's brows remained furrowed. "Well, I have good news and bad news."

"The good news is, I believe your body has overcome that long period of paralysis and is recovering rapidly." She estimated and nodded. "Three days, at most. You should be able to regain your full spellcasting power—or even better."

"So fast!? You clearly only touched it once?!" A hundred years of troubles were dispelled in an instant, which made Storm Silver Hand a little bit unable to believe his ears.

Midnight didn't answer her question immediately. Instead, he stared into her eyes and sighed after a long while: "Storm, how long has it been since you tried to sort out the silver fire in your body?"

That has naturally stopped for a long, long time.

Upon hearing this topic, Storm Silverhand's body shuddered unconsciously. "Of course I tried it in the past few years. But the results were minimal, and it even made the silver fire in my body more violent. Over time, I almost gave up."

It was certainly difficult to talk about a centuries-old elder being so afraid of pain, but that wasn't what Midnight wanted to say.

"Please try again."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious."

Storm Silverhand hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.

Then the most famous harpist was shocked.

Over the years, whenever she tried to call upon the magic power of the outside world, the silver fire would rush through her body, causing her great pain. So over the years, she had degenerated from a powerful bard into a very immature spellfire user.

Now, she was prepared to be seriously injured, but the silver fire that had been a little disturbed had become submissive for some reason - no, she had somehow completed the harmony with the silver fire in her body.

Silverfire was not intentionally hurting her, but Silverfire had become too powerful, beyond her control.

Now?

The silver fire in Storm Silverhand's body is still too powerful and untamed...

Silver fire quietly emerged from her fingertips, but did not gather together. Instead, it dispersed between the worlds on its own, becoming a channel between the world and the body.

Immediately afterwards, a faint glow of positive energy successfully lit up quietly amid the sound of the spell.

——Her spellcasting ability returned, or at least began to return.

The symptoms that had troubled Storm Silverhand for a century disappeared so easily that even though Storm Silverhand had prepared himself mentally, he could not help but open his mouth and could hardly speak.

Magic began to flow through her body again. She finally regained the power to protect herself, instead of being an old woman with a youthful appearance, but older and weaker than ever before.

"...Madam, you..."

Just as Storm Silverhand was about to bow down to express her gratitude, she was surprised to find that Midnight was obviously no less shocked than she was.

Midnight's pupils lost focus, and she staggered back a step. "...I see, I'm so stupid...! I should have understood this long ago!"

“The silver fire, or the magic web, is indeed powerful, and divine power indeed flows within the silver fire.

"But this is only one aspect of the Silver Fire's power... The Magic Web's strength lies in its role as a conduit between magic and divine power, not simply because it carries divine power! Such a simple truth, yet I, after decades as a Magic Goddess, failed to grasp it! I was so obsessed with the divine essence of the Silver Fire that I forgot the power of the Silver Fire itself... How truly putting the cart before the horse!"

She was almost immediately elated—Storm Silverhand and Xinbu naturally shared a room. But Xinbu's sleep schedule was completely irregular.

However, perhaps it was a coincidence, Xinbu yawned and stretched at this moment.

It seems like they are from a completely different world.

She had always worn anti-magic cuffs on her wrists, but only took them off when she slept.

As a result, the moment she got up, a blazing silver fire instantly gushed out from her body, and the gushing heat instantly turned the room into a sea of ​​fire.

On the contrary, she herself was safe and sound, and even planned to continue sleeping in the sea of ​​fire.

Kelanwo, who had been following Midnight, sighed and moved towards Xinbu.

Dark mist swept across the room, and the raging sea of ​​fire instantly vanished. Xinbu, apparently unable to comprehend what was happening, lay on the bed, flexing his arms like a child.

Midnight calmly withdrew his thoughts and said seriously, "...Xinbu's problem is exactly the opposite of yours, Miss Storm."

"She never lost her power. She simply surrendered her body and soul to the Weave, becoming completely lost within it... To restore her, we must forcibly attack the Weave and suppress her Silver Fire." Midnight pondered for a moment and said, "...Perhaps you should take her to the Dead Magic Zone to recuperate? At least I don't have the ability to do that right now. I'm afraid she won't be able to make it in time for the battle with Larloch."

"Let's talk about the issue of Ghost City and Larloch."

**********************

"City of Ghosts."

When it comes to discussing this topic, the most authoritative person is naturally the oldest person in Emiya's group.

…Or rather, the second oldest.

Metatron stretched out his hand and made an imaginary image: "First of all, the City of Ghosts is not a city in the ordinary sense - it is a product of the Netheril era, a floating city."

Sig opened his notebook and raised his hand: "——What is a floating city!"

"In short, during the Netheril era, there existed a magical item called the Netheril Energy Core. This item can be said to be a microcosm of that era—complex structure, simple principle, and enormous energy." Metatron gestured. "This energy core has a single direct effect: with the energy core as the core, all matter within a few hundred meters or even kilometers around it will be controlled and sent flying in a certain direction."

"...So," Sig gestured, "it's an entire city, including its foundation, flying in the sky?"

"To be precise, it's a mountain," Metatron replied. "In fact, the Nether Core is also a necessary ingredient for a tenth-ring spell. This spell will use the power of the Nether Core to cut off the top of a mountain, turn it upside down, and use the smooth rock surface as the first layer of the city."

"A whole mountain!? Damn, that's too damn cool." Sig's eyes lit up instantly, and he squeezed to Emiya's side in three or two steps, "Emiya, I——"

"Do I look like a wind djinni?!" Emilia rejected her without hesitation before she could even speak. "The method for making something like this should have been lost long ago..."

Having said this, he paused and looked at his teacher in shock.

However, Metatron's reaction at this time was far beyond his expectations - neither emotion nor pride, but some kind of strange...panic?

"That's impossible." At this time, Mars took over the conversation, "As far as I know, after the second generation of the Goddess of Magic took office, in order to prevent the recurrence of Karsus's folly, she made... revisions to many spells of the Nether era. The previous spellbooks have been scrapped."

"Revision? What revision?" Yin immediately perked up. "What did she do?"

"I don't know the specific details, but I do know the most famous part," Mars replied. "According to the information I've read, after the second generation of magic goddess Mystra came to power, she banned all spells above tenth level in Netheril. Unfortunately, the spell to create a floating city is a tenth-level spell, so now future generations can no longer create a floating city—at least not directly using the old method."

Yin was clearly concerned with another issue, leaning forward. "...Forbidden? What do you mean by forbidden?"

Metatron, clearly reluctant to discuss the topic, immediately changed it to another topic. Clapping her hands, she declared, "Everyone, this isn't a history lesson today, and we're not dealing with the Netherese, but Shade. The crucial difference between them and the Netherese is that they served Shar during the Netherese era. If we follow Netherese practices, we'll undoubtedly suffer a great loss."

Having said that, she immediately turned the conversation to Emiya: "Emiya, where is your plan now?"

Emiya was a little confused, but she answered honestly: "I have a preliminary plan, but I don't know Shar well enough."

"No one understands Shar," Yin said, waving his hand curtly. "No one knows what she's thinking, but her methods are very direct: deception, espionage, sneak attacks, kidnapping, and blackmail—there's a high probability that Ghost City won't honestly engage in a long-range firefight with us.

"So, Candlekeep is seeking help from the outside world, and Shar's agents are bound to be among the reinforcements. However, the activities of the City of Ghosts are more unpredictable."

Emiya was silent for a moment, then said, "I recently came up with a strategy that Ghost City might adopt..."

He stretched out his hand and gestured towards the phantoms of Candlekeep and Shade, two huge settlements, one floating in the air and the other standing on the coast.

"By now, Shar may have realized that Candlekeep has lost the protection of its mythal. Then, Shade City could use a very radical strategy to defeat Candlekeep," said Aimiya, projecting the shadow of Shade City directly above Candlekeep. "As long as Shade City officially flies over Candlekeep, the monks will be helpless."

The lower half of a floating city would need to be made of tens of thousands, or even millions, of tons of solid rock. If such a heavy object lost its buoyancy, it would crash directly into Candle Castle...

"...By that time, even if there are still survivors, Candlekeep will have been completely destroyed." Mars said in a low voice.

"So, I have a plan," Emiya said. "To take down the City of Ghosts before it's too late."

"And my weapon—"

"It's a large number of mortars that have completed precise calibration in advance."

Thirty-six soldiers prepare their horses and show their magical powers

North of Baldur's Gate, in the silent and lifeless Warlock's Tomb, the undead began to stir in a rare moment.

They cycled back and forth, opening the vault doors and donning their various armories. The liches also left their lairs, floating in the air and issuing orders to their subordinates, who were either brainless or had brains for nothing. This rare collective activity even further strained the already strained workplace relations among the liches, with covert clashes already occurring more than once.

Even though they were essentially just Lalok's slaves, it was still unprecedented for them to come out in full force like this time.

Milim's coffin had been taken away by Larloch several days ago. At this moment, the once arrogant silver dragon, upon seeing the sea of ​​undead that covered the sky, chose to lie down obediently beside Larloch's throne and act as a pet.

The archmage Toss, who had easily subdued her, was just one of hundreds of liches.

At this moment, Larok seemed oblivious to the outside noise, and just held a small wisp of dying silver flame on his fingertips.

Even so, as if Lalok's palace wasn't bustling enough, a wisp of purplish-black flame quietly ignited beside Lalok's throne. "Ah, I'm very pleased to see my ally preparing his army for the upcoming march—though I don't understand why he's squandering the power of the Silver Flame like this. Clearly, his subordinates are preparing for the battle in a few days..."

Before she could finish her words, the sound of magic tearing through magic exploded into the palace from outside.

Larloch closed his withered hands in silence and replied, "Because the Silver Fire within me is about to run out. For thousands of years, I have had no connection with any other magical goddesses... The power of the Silver Fire is not infinite.

"A few days ago, I didn't want the Silver Flame to die out so quietly, so I allowed it to successfully transform into a lich named Larloch, allowing it to complete its final dance. Within about half a month, this final Silver Flame will also be extinguished. By then, I will probably no longer be the Chosen One of Mystril.

"So, Lord Shar," Larloch said, dissatisfied, "I'm reminiscing about the past. What are you doing? Is your church ready?"

"No preparations are needed," Shar said with remarkable clarity. "A while ago, Selûne went berserk for some reason and suddenly launched an all-out attack on my church. I was completely overwhelmed, and I had no time to pay attention to the changes in Elturgard. By the time I realized what was happening, most of Elturgard had switched to Selûne's Moonfire weapons. My church is still licking its wounds. The surprise attack on Candlekeep a few days ago was all it had. They won't come again."

"Only Shade City!?" Larloch's shrunken skin trembled. "I hope Shade City has improved over the years."

"Ah, as expected of a great archmage of Netheril, you look down on Shade, a tiny floating city that wasn't even a top city in Netheril back then." Shar's emanation of purple flame slowly drifted over Milim's head. "But that's unimportant. Unlike you, I'm not that concerned with the secrets of Candlekeep—what I truly hope for is for you to join my army wholeheartedly."

"Hope." Larloch repeated the word, giving a forced laugh. "Are you planning to seize the position of the Goddess of Magic and give Azuth's place to me?"

"——Heh." Shar replied, "If you agree, I can agree now."

"Lord Shar," Larloch replied, "please do not make promises that do not concern you."

"Then let's talk about what we have done - Mr. Larloch, even though Candlekeep has undergone a mutation that is extremely beneficial to the undead, you still returned empty-handed. We, on the other hand, successfully destroyed the personal belongings of the Book Keeper. Although I don't know what is in that dimensional bag, there must be a large number of treasures closely related to Candlekeep. You can also benefit from it." As he spoke, Shar's purple flame finally descended in front of Larloch.

"Under the circumstances, why not give me a chance?" Shar whispered. "Right now, there are only a few who have officially coveted the position of God of Magic. We all understand each other's ambitions—why not form a temporary alliance to eliminate other competitors first?"

"Only an equal competitor is qualified to make this suggestion." Larok said coldly.

"Oh~" Shar chuckled, "That means you disagree. It's okay, I'm always patient."

"As the goddess of the night, you are a little too noisy."

"Night is the time when mortals open their hearts. In the daytime, everyone wears a thick mask on their face." Shar chuckled. "Tantamut Tantur will be waiting for you in Candlekeep."

Larloch was silent for a moment, then scoffed, "...Shado, just Karsus's little follower."

****************************

The enemies that Candlekeep will face are the Ghost City of Larloch and Shar.

Even just one of the enemies on this list is enough to shock the entire Faerun.

The Zhubao family alone could not compete with them and had to seek help from outside.

Just as it was impossible for Larloch to use teleportation to bring his tens of thousands of people directly to Candlekeep, the reinforcements and supplies that Candlekeep sought could not arrive immediately - this was what the Book Keeper Lude expected.

However, he was wrong, the first batch of reinforcements arrived faster than he had imagined.

“…Gutenberg.”

When he stood on the city wall and watched a group of people riding horses to the gate of Candlekeep, he could hardly believe his eyes.

He was somewhat familiar with the figure at the front of the convoy.

——That is the supreme leader of the Church of Gund in Baldur's Gate, Master Craftsman Gutenberg, who was recently promoted to the Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate.

"Because this isn't a convoy coming to support Candlekeep against Larloch, it's a convoy coming to support Candlekeep against the mutation!" Gutenberg rode his mount, puffing his beard and glaring outside the city gate. "But halfway through, we suddenly learned that the target we were supposed to help had changed!"

He shouted, "If we were just here to wipe out the undead, we could have let those young men lead the team. Their only enemies would be those blind bandits. But the enemies have become Larloch and Shar? I cannot tolerate our secrets falling into such evil hands."

Then, Master Gund patted his chest, causing the tools on his belt to clink. "Alright, tell me—what do I need to do to prove my identity? The Realm of Honesty, Divine Residence, Planar Detection, Theurgy? As long as it's not a wizard's compiled memory, I can do it."

Lude and Gutenberg were clearly old acquaintances. The Scripture Keeper's veins bulged at the long list of spell names. "Why bother? Old man, just demonstrate your Gund Church's gunpowder ritual and fire a musket. That's all it takes."

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