"...It seems that Hus has been giving you a lot of trouble these past few days."

"It's more than just Hus." Lude's face darkened when he heard the name. "The support from your Gund Church is too—"

Before Lude could finish his words, a deafening explosion suddenly came from afar, so clear that it seemed to be right in front of him.

Lude was silent for a moment, then continued, "Do you know what advice your student gave to that Emiya?"

"No," Gutenberg replied loudly. "Even back at Baldur's Gate, I couldn't figure out Emya."

Lude took a deep breath. "They argue that the floating cities of the Nether era weren't actually powerful offensive weapons. Therefore, Shar would inevitably resort to unconventional tactics. These unconventional tactics could be fatal, so they had to calibrate their attacks in advance to ensure combat effectiveness."

"That's fine," Gutenberg replied. "This is for your own good. Otherwise, why did we come to Candlekeep to set off fireworks?"

"Yes. The problem is that the calibration target is wrong!" Lude roared. "They conducted a detailed analysis: the Ghost City is likely to attempt to descend over Candlekeep and will make sufficient preparations for this goal. Therefore, they are likely unable to prevent the Ghost City from reaching the designated location."

"A reasonable estimate," Gutenberg replied.

"That's bullshit!" The usually stern Scripture Keeper finally couldn't help but curse, "So they plan to set up weapons at the gate of Candlekeep and then fire into the sky above Candlekeep to correct the impact! Your Gond people's artillery has never attacked the enemy since its birth, and now the first shell fired is about to fall on the face of our Candlekeep!!!"

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

"So, this proposal is absolutely fine." Emilia said to the chief reader in front of her very seriously, ""

"I don't believe it," Stutin said with equal seriousness. "We at Candlekeep have also studied the weapons of the Gond people. Their most skilled weapon, the arquebus, has a hit rate comparable to that of an archer who has only been bowing for a month. It's hard to even hit the target. The cannons you're talking about are so much larger. How can you control their impact?"

When it came to the safety of Candlekeep itself, even the less conservative Chief Reader couldn't help but exclaim, "Is calibration really that necessary? Given the size of Shade City, even if it's not that accurate, it should be sufficient, right? Wouldn't it be enough for you to use your firepower to carve a gap in Shade City and then charge in?"

"No matter what, we will never allow you to fire at Candlekeep!"

Thirty-seven Flying Golds Chasing Stars (Part 1)

Naturally, the plan of Emilia and Hus was not passed.

Even though Emilia had done something shocking before, and even though Candlekeep was in urgent need of the strength of the people of Gond at this moment.

Directly bombard Candlekeep with cannons - this plan is too radical for the book collectors in Candlekeep.

As a result, their only audience now is the moss on the cliffs.

However, what is somewhat unusual is that on this shore where the sea breeze is supposed to be constant, the air is unusually quiet, and even the waves under the cliff are unusually calm.

Now Team Emia and even Metatron have gathered here—but Emia's teacher is on guard in the sky.

After all, Chief Reader Stutin is a senior executive in charge of external affairs, and his posture is much more flexible than Lude.

"But my waist is still harder than the solid iron ball you just stuffed into this iron cylinder," he said. "I may not be a religious man, but I don't want to be excommunicated by my Lord."

"Is there a precedent for this in Candle Castle?" Sig, who was watching the show nearby, suddenly became excited and asked curiously.

"Not Candlekeep. Candlekeep isn't just about the Church of Oghma." After correcting himself with the rigor of the Oracle, he said, "There are some who have rebelled. But I haven't rebelled, so I don't want to be excommunicated."

Stutin had a stern face, harder than the stone under his feet.

Huss's hands, somewhat uncomfortably, scratched at his robes, enchanting them with a layer of saltpeter and sulfur. He then shouted, "The preachers of Oghma emphasize rigor, but the people of Gond also keep their word! Now that we have accepted the request for aid, we will not be content to just cheer on from the sidelines!"

"Well then." Stutin coughed lightly. "You claim to be determined. Then, this... weapon you designed must be prepared for the most powerful enemies in the world."

Huss was confused and responded subconsciously, not even trying to hide his pride as a craftsman. "Of course. We're prepared for any situation—whether it's the lich or the walls of the City of Ghosts, we're confident we can pose a sufficient threat to them!"

"For example?" Stutin took a step forward and met Hus's eyes.

"The simplest example," Huss replied seriously. "All our shells have been replaced with blessed Celestial Steel shells. Furthermore, besides us, Baldur's Gate headquarters should have brought holy water sprayers—those have a range of at least a hundred meters."

"Even with the lich's protection, there's nothing we can do?"

"...That's hard to say." Huss didn't dare to say such a big thing - even a cannonball could not break through the force field wall or the obstruction of Otiluk's elastic ball.

"However, we can put sufficient pressure on the liches at the longest range." Huss coughed lightly and then turned serious. "—In contrast, we are more confident in Shar's reinforcements."

Stutin had no intention of letting him go: "So, are you confident that you can defeat the Ghost City?"

Hus gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and said, "As long as Candle Castle is willing to give permission and the entire Emiya team is willing to help! Then, the thousand-year-old antique will finally be brought to light!"

[Not good.] Mars, who was riding on the back of his silver boat, whispered.

He was already a four-ringed paladin, and the silver ship had successfully grown wings, becoming, or revealing, the wings it had once hidden.

However, the duty of this promising paladin in this makeshift shooting range is to help hang the target paper.

——Of course, the duties of others were not particularly noble: Emilia and Silver were in charge of logistics, Elaster was the gunner, and Sig was the observer.

However, even so, Mars was the most familiar with the style of the Church of Oghma among those present. The Church of Oghma was not a bookworm. On the contrary, they were well versed in contracts and were also known for their eloquence. Mars had already sensed the danger of this conversation.

Unfortunately, a man like Hus, who was so absorbed in the study of obscure technicalities of the Church, was not generally very eloquent.

As expected, Stutin said expressionlessly, "So, your shells can take down Shade City—but if anything goes wrong, for example, if Shade City has a hidden chassis that disappears from the shell's path, then Candlekeep will suffer."

It wasn't even a groundless accusation. Shade City was most famous for traveling between the Shadow Demiplane and the Material Plane. It was entirely possible for it to suddenly appear over Candlekeep and then disappear just as suddenly.

Emiya sighed quietly.

After all, although Candlekeep was ordered to temporarily shelter the Chosen of Mystra, he estimated that the Keeper of the Book and the Chief Reader had not anticipated facing such an unimaginably powerful enemy when they were ordered. As a result, they couldn't help but hesitate when it came time to take risks.

They might not be so afraid of death, but to gamble with the thousand-year-old foundation of Candlekeep is another matter.

Elastrid couldn't help but ask, "Why are you so pessimistic? I'm from Baldur's Gate, and the Gond Church has a very high reputation there. But it seems that Candlekeep doesn't think so. And Larloch and Shar? These two forces are collaborating? This is unheard of. When two powerful forces join forces, their strength is self-evident. To face an enemy of this level, relying solely on conventional forces is just wishful thinking, isn't it?"

And Emilia has already reacted.

This battle is not as simple as winning or losing.

The worst-case scenario, of course, is that Candlekeep is razed to the ground and the two Chosen Ones are abducted. The best-case scenario, of course, is that Candlekeep suffers an acceptable loss or even no loss, easily repelling the invading enemy and gaining the friendship of the Seven Sisters.

But as everyone knows, facing such a powerful enemy, this perfect scenario can only be imagined in dreams. At the moment, Emiya herself couldn't estimate the chances of victory.

Therefore, it is basically impossible for Candle Castle to completely survive this battle.

However, precisely because of the ambiguity of the battle situation, it gave the top leaders of Candlekeep room for hesitation - if the voters of Mystra were saved, but Candlekeep was turned into ruins, then was this battle really worth it?

Whether or not they can retain two voters is probably not the only performance indicator for the pastors of the Oghma Church, and it may not even be the most important one.

They are willing to protect the Chosen of Mystra, but they may not be willing to set Candlekeep on fire to do so.

However, there is another reason for Lude and Stutin's hesitation.

Candlekeep's biggest trump card, the Elven Mystery Lock, has become ineffective.

Now, they are at a loss as to what to do.

At this moment, Hus, who was not involved in the internal meeting, said dissatisfiedly, "I don't know how powerful the Candlekeep's magic lock is, but I imagine it is much stronger than the defenses of Shade. If our attack can be countered by Shade, I believe the magic lock can be the same."

"Trouble is here," Sig said in the telepathic connection. "This kind of thing is most frightening to the higher-ups: it takes courage to publicize such a scandal. Most people would rather get hurt than be publicly humiliated—especially since the Church of Oghma clearly dominates the Church of Gond. They probably don't want to show weakness in front of the people of Gond."

Emiya was silent for a moment, then took a step forward and whispered in Stutin's ear, "Chief Reader, can I have a moment with you?"

The two exchanged glances, and then Stutin sighed, "Okay."

Emiya was well aware of the mythal's inoperability, so the basis of their conversation was different.

After stepping aside, Emilia got straight to the point: "Lord Stutin, let me put it this way—if we are ultimately defeated, Candlekeep will still be razed to the ground. Even if we try our best, we may not win."

Stutin's lips trembled. He glanced at Huss and finally sighed, "...Isn't there a safer way?"

——That’s what I want you to say.

Emiya raised her eyebrows. "Lord Stutin, Lord Apodel and Miss Forsaken defeated Larloch in the underground. How do you think they did it?"

The Chief Reader waved his hand. "I didn't ask—but I'm certain this kind of battle would be difficult to replicate, right? Otherwise, Lord Apodel wouldn't have led the entire city to confront Larok for ten days the other day."

"At that time, Grand Duke Apodale alone didn't have the ability to do this." Emilia nodded, then shook her head, "But this is a different time now."

"What do you mean?" Stutin's pupils shrank. "Can it really be reproduced?"

"Perhaps not the results of the battle," Emilia replied, "but the conditions are."

They were now on the coast north of Candlekeep, where the axe-cut, white cliffs gave the Sword Coast its name.

Emilia pointed to the boundless sea and sky: "—Can you see it?"

"……what?"

Stutin was stunned for a moment, and fixed his gaze in that direction.

The perception ability of a senior bishop is naturally extraordinary. If he pays attention, he will immediately see what Emiya wants him to see.

Dozens of target papers were tied with ropes to something transparent in the sky. Numbers were drawn on them, but the numbers were inconsistent.

"Second-level spell, Hook, Evocation." Emiya briefly introduced it, then said seriously, "Want to make a bet?"

"...What's the bet?" Stutin suddenly became alert. "I can't guarantee I'll agree."

Emiya replied, "The targets there are all numbered. You can pick any one. Then, we'll use our latest research to shatter it head-on. No fragments, explosions, or flames. Just pure collision."

Stutin shook his head in disbelief. "How big are those target papers?"

"It's about 20 centimeters in diameter, slightly larger than a cannonball, and is intended for heavy artillery. The targets are fifty meters apart," Emiya replied. "We originally wanted to design it so that the cannonballs could pass right through it, but after a few attempts, we found that the target paper was still too fragile."

Target paper with a diameter of 20 cm.

Stutin frowned, stretched out his right arm, raised his thumb and gestured for a moment, then couldn't help but gasp: "—Damn, this target is at least three kilometers away."

If he were not a gifted priest, he would not be able to see anything at this distance.

"Of course," Emiya replied. "This weapon is still rather cumbersome. Without a range far superior to that of a meteor blast, it's meaningless on this battlefield."

"You want to be here." Stutin glanced behind him in disbelief.

There, a steel cylinder, whose structure looked crude but whose material appeared to be flawless, was quietly supported on the ground by its wheels.

"Hit a target paper with a diameter of 20 centimeters from three kilometers away?!"

Even though Stutin was convinced that there must be a trick, he couldn't help but shake his head: "I don't believe it."

Emiya replied, "So, this is worth the gamble."

Stutin shook his head. "...Two chances. You can't let that priest named Elastrid cast a spell—priests of the Lucky Church are capable of all sorts of outrageous things. Also, this time, just shoot. I mean, aim and fire."

"Shooting alone won't do," Emiya replied. "The combat methods we're currently researching cannot be separated from the support of spells. And the same will be true on the battlefield."

"Then let me put it another way," Stutin said, "This contract isn't signed or sealed. If you can't convince me, then it's meaningless."

"This is acceptable."

This condition is quite harsh, but Emilia is very confident.

——After all, this matter is essentially the same as the casting of the Holy Avenger.

Let what happened happen again.

"All right," said Stutin. "Target 21, I see it's still there. Let me clarify—being blown away by some strange spell doesn't count."

"Of course." Emilia answered as she took out the necessary things for the trip and handed them to Stutin.

"what is this?"

"The telescope and earplugs were sent by the Gond Church."

"I don't need a telescope." Stutin frowned, took the earplugs, and said, "I can see at this distance."

"No, the problem is that at this distance, these earplugs are not enough." Emilia answered seriously, "The noise will be... a little loud. So, after ignition, we have to run back."

Thirty-eight Flying Golds Chasing Stars (Part 2)

The noise made by Team Emia naturally resounded throughout the entire Candle Castle very easily, and also attracted the attention of the keeper Lude and the master craftsman Gutenberg.

How the Gond people treated their prized weapon would ultimately depend on their performance, and as was the style of the Oghmans, they wanted to see it with their own eyes.

"Actually, I'm not entirely sure how far Huss has gone."

On the way, facing the Scripture Keeper, with whom he had known each other for many years, Gutenberg spoke frankly: "I told you, our team is actually here to support the mutation."

The scale of that incident was neither large nor small. The fact that a master craftsman from the church was willing to come in person was already a great honor, and it was impossible for him to bring too many other resources.

"By support standards, the supplies you brought are inevitably pitiful," Lude said. "I remember that whenever you needed to resort to force, the carriages were filled with countless pots and pans."

Of course, the people of Gond couldn't really carry too many daily necessities when they went out - those were actually the tools they could use.

The peculiarities of the Gund Church were well-known in Faerun. Gutenberg, therefore, was not angry, but simply replied, "Before, we could only carry finished products because we couldn't manufacture them if we encountered difficulties. But now it's different. This time, we only brought the materials and blueprints, so it's much easier to carry."

"...What do you mean?" Lude took a moment to react before asking in astonishment, "Are the carts carrying metal ingots and logs? The blacksmith shop in Candlekeep can't possibly meet your needs."

"That's impossible." The Master Craftsman retorted in an inexplicable tone, "Ever since the Gond people of Candlekeep moved to Baldur's Gate, I no longer have any expectations of Candlekeep's creative abilities."

The love-hate relationship and the hierarchical relationship between the Gond Church and the Oghma Church are enough to last for three days and three nights if we were to talk about history.

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