The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

When the light faded, they found themselves inside the sanctuary at the very top of the academy, surrounded by an aura of solemnity and reverence.

Leia and Tilissa had been waiting for a long time, and when they saw the two of them appear, they both turned their eyes to them.

"It's incredible how much you've grown."

At this moment, Rhea held a scepter, wore a magnificent robe, and looked at Vina in front of her with eyes full of satisfaction.

"I dare not keep Lady Leia waiting."

Wiener bowed slightly in greeting.

“Compared to the years I’ve waited, this little bit of time is nothing,” Rhea sighed softly. “It’s a pity that Arios didn’t live to see you younger generations.”

When she mentioned this name, there was a hint of regret in her voice.

Arios has been out of contact for a year. No matter how much faith people have in him, they can only acknowledge his likely doomed fate in the face of reality.

To fill the void left by the emergence of heroes, the power of the Holy Sword becomes especially important.

This is also the key to this mission.

“There is still a buffer period before the Demon God’s resurgence, so you must prioritize your own safety on this trip,” Rhea earnestly advised. “I don’t want the same accident that happened to Arios to happen to you again.”

"I will heed your teachings, Dean."

The members of the Silver Wolf Class bowed in unison.

After giving her instructions, Leia didn't linger and turned to face the altar in the center of the temple, which radiated a soft glow.

She raised her staff with both hands and began chanting ancient incantations in a voice that was both ethereal and solemn.

As she activated her prayer spell, the entire temple was enveloped in a sacred power, and the air was filled with dense magical energy.

As the magic energy reached its peak, a dazzling light rose from the altar, shooting straight to the dome, as if connecting some mysterious link between heaven and earth.

The light spread out like flowing water, coalescing in mid-air to form a scroll painting depicting a strange and perilous scene:

The sky was covered with dark clouds, and the surging sea crashed against the steep cliffs. A dark shadow flashed by on the seabed, exuding a sense of danger.

"Where is this?" Wiener asked, looking at the location in the painting.

"The southernmost part of the kingdom... the Kuroshio Strait." Rhea uttered a place name through gritted teeth.

This is a dangerous place, different from the Ogara Wasteland, but even more so.

Even the demons, when faced with the overlord of the deep sea, can only retreat.

Leia waved her staff, and four streams of light separated from the scroll, flying towards Venus and the other three, and settling steadily in their palms.

These streams of light transformed into tiny rune markings, shimmering with a faint glow.

“They will guide you to the location of the Holy Sword,” Rhea explained.

Then she slammed her scepter heavily onto the ground, and in an instant, the light emanating from the scepter illuminated the entire temple.

"I will leave the Holy Sword in the Kuroshio Strait for two months. If you still cannot find the Holy Sword during this period, return immediately and wait for the next opportunity."

As soon as she finished speaking, Leia's body seemed to have all its strength drained away, and she fell backward.

If it were merely a matter of inquiring about the location of the Holy Sword through a prayer spell, it wouldn't have warranted such a price.

The truly difficult part is actually restricting the movement of the Holy Sword to buy time for the others to gain its approval.

As if she had anticipated this, Tilissa immediately stepped forward to support Leia's body, then quickly turned to the crowd, her tone calm and decisive: "I'll get to the point."

“Jessica, you take Viner and the others to Professor Hannemann later. He has already set up a long-range teleportation array that can take you directly to the kingdom, saving you travel time.”

“Felix, you and Jessica have both reached the level of Sword Saint. Feel the aura of the Holy Sword; it will greatly benefit your swordsmanship. As for whether or not to try to draw the Holy Sword, that’s up to you.”

Then, her gaze fell on Lisette, and her tone became even more solemn: "Lisette, your responsibility is equally important. Protecting their safety during their trial by the Holy Sword is your most important task on this journey."

Tilisa gave instructions one by one, and finally looked at Vena, "Even if we can't get the Holy Sword, it doesn't matter, as long as we bring everyone back safely."

“I’m actually quite greedy.” Viner smiled slightly, his gaze sweeping firmly over his teammates. “I don’t want to give up either the Holy Sword or them.”

“What Arios cannot do, I, Vinar, will do.”

Chapter 525 The Destruction of Ronag Town

The four figures appeared in Hannemann's office amidst a spatial fluctuation.

Before everyone could even get their bearings, Jessica cut to the chase: "Professor, our next destination is the Kuroshio Strait."

Upon hearing the place name, Hannemann's previously calm expression froze instantly, and a hint of surprise and worry flashed in his eyes.

"Are you sure it's the Kuroshio Strait?" he repeated in a low voice.

“Yes, Professor, please teleport us to the nearest teleportation point,” Jessica confirmed.

Hanneman gestured and summoned a map of the kingdom. After some investigation, he finally determined the nearest teleportation point.

“I can teleport you to Ronag Town first. You need to continue south, find a ship at Parebia Port, and then enter the Kuroshio Strait.”

“Okay.” Jessica noted down the route.

Hannemann was still clearly worried and specifically instructed Listy, "The monsters in the deep sea are completely different from those on land. They are not only more ferocious, but also have a strong ability to adapt. You must be careful and not underestimate them."

“I understand, Professor Hannemann, please don’t worry,” Lisette replied earnestly.

"And about Draco Ayrne, whom you asked me to investigate earlier, I used some personal channels and finally found some clues," Hanneman added. "I heard that he later became the chief mage under Alandri."

“Thank you, Professor Hannemann,” Lisette replied again.

Hannemann nodded slightly, then pointed to the teleportation array that had already been set up in the center of the room. "Stand up there, I'll activate the teleportation array for you."

The group nodded and stood in the center of the teleportation array as instructed.

As Hanneman chanted the activation incantation, the teleportation array emitted a dazzling light, gradually enveloping the four figures within it.

Before the light completely engulfed them, Hannemann's voice rang out again: "May you receive the favor of the goddess!"

-----------------

Unlike Jessica's short-distance teleportation, this ultra-long-distance teleportation spanning nearly a thousand kilometers seemed exceptionally long, lasting almost fifteen minutes before finally stopping.

When everyone stepped back onto solid ground, apart from Jessica who remained calm, the others felt dizzy.

"Don't teleport like this again when you go back." Viner rubbed her temples.

“You can’t do it even if you want to,” Jessica scoffed. “Don’t be fooled by how easily the professor activated it. It took him a long time just to fill the magic energy for this teleportation, not to mention the other materials needed to set up the ultra-long-distance teleportation array.”

"By the way, didn't Professor Hannemann say he would teleport us to Ronag Town? We're here now, but where's the town?"

Felix looked around and saw only scorched earth and broken rocks, with no trace of human activity.

“I’m afraid…” Lisette murmured softly, seemingly already aware of the worst-case scenario.

She closed her eyes, silently chanted a spell, and a soft light emanated from her body.

A moment later, the sixth-circle spell "Knowledge of Legends" was completed, and Lisette's eyes snapped open. With a solemn expression, she announced, "The town of Ronag no longer exists."

“You mean, this used to be the town of Ronag?” Viner asked in a deep voice.

“Yes,” Listy nodded, “this location was indeed the ruins of the town of Ronag, but it was destroyed by a monster attack.”

"The Knights of St. Freya can save them for a while, but not forever," Jessica sighed.

The teleportation array left behind to protect the town is still in operation, but the town that should have been protected has been reduced to ruins. Isn't that ironic?

“Since the teleportation array is still working, it means that the destruction of Ronag Town shouldn’t have been too long ago. We should be able to find out some information by going to the surrounding towns,” Listy suggested.

“This is not our mission,” Jessica rejected without hesitation. “We only have two months, and we can’t waste them on something like this.”

“But…” Lisette hesitated, clearly reluctant to speak.

Wiener crouched down and brushed away a thin layer of soil at his feet, revealing some broken bricks and charred charcoal underneath.

“I think what happened here might be related to the Holy Sword,” Viner said confidently. “After all, we’re not the only ones searching for the Holy Sword.”

"Are you worried that this phenomenon is caused by an apostle or a demon?" Jessica immediately understood what Venere meant, and her brows furrowed slightly.

“That’s right,” Viner nodded. “The Holy Sword appeared in the Black Tide Strait, and the town of Ronag was immediately attacked by magical beasts. Don’t you think that’s too much of a coincidence?”

"We should be more vigilant then. Give everyone a few of your Demon-Seeking Compasses as spares."

Although Jessica agreed with Wiener's point of view, she still did not intend to waste any more time on it.

“How about this,” Vena compromised, “we’ll head to Parebia Port first, and while we’re looking for ships that can go to the Kuroshio Strait, we can see where the nearest Knights of St. Freya are.”

"Send them over to investigate the destruction of Ronag town."

"Even if it is ultimately confirmed to be an accident, please ask them to leave some people stationed in Parebia Port to be responsible for relaying intelligence between us and the Academy."

"It's precisely at times like these that we need to stay in touch. We can't end up like Arios, who disappeared and nobody even knew where he was."

The Knights of St. Freya have their own encrypted communication methods to ensure messages are delivered securely to the academy.

“That makes some sense.” Jessica agreed after a moment’s thought. “Once we get to Parebia Port, I’ll be in charge of contacting the Knights.”

It was far simpler to send a message from the Kuroshio Strait to the port of Parebia than to send it directly back to the college from the Kuroshio Strait.

Even for the sake of facilitating subsequent support and assistance, Jessica had no reason to refuse Viner's suggestion.

“Then let’s leave it at that for now.” Vena glanced at Lisette.

“Hmm.” Lisette naturally had no objections.

She silently chanted a spell, and with a faint fluctuation of magical energy, four agile phantom steeds appeared out of thin air and stood steadily in front of everyone.

"Let's use them for transportation."

The Phantom Steed is an advanced version of the first-circle spell "Summon Mount," offering significant improvements in speed, size, and summon duration, making it an ideal choice for long journeys.

"Are you sure you can do it?" Vena asked Felix, somewhat worried.

"Who do you think you are!" Felix glared at Viner, his face full of resentment.

He darted forward, skillfully leaped onto the horse's back, and struck a confident pose. "Today I'm going to show you the riding skills I've learned in Cordelia!"

"Then I'll keep an eye on it."

Seeing that Felix was able to ride alone, Vena felt reassured and mounted Lisette's horse.

"...Didn't I prepare a horse for you too?"

Lisette looked helplessly at Vina, then pointed to the unridden Phantom Steed beside her, finding his actions both amusing and exasperating.

"That means we can prepare one less horse next time," Viner said shamelessly, gently squeezing the horse's flanks with his legs: "Giddy up!"

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Chapter 526 Ordering only milk at the bar

Port Parebia, located at the southernmost tip of the kingdom, is also the most dangerous port.

If other ports represent trade and money, then the Port of Parebia represents danger and opportunity.

Mercenaries, smugglers, bounty hunters, and pirates disguised as ordinary people are scattered throughout the port.

Listy whispered the incantation, and the four phantom steeds turned into specks of light and vanished into the air.

She clapped her hands and looked up at everyone: "From now on, it's up to us."

“I’ll try to contact the Knights.” Jessica glanced towards the distant port and warned, “Be careful, being an academy student won’t get you any special treatment in a place like this.”

Then, with a flash, he disappeared from everyone's sight.

"This teleportation ability is really convenient," Vina said enviously.

Then he used the illusion of a mirage to shroud the three of them, disguising himself and Felix as ordinary mercenaries.

As for Lisette, she only changed her hair color slightly to make herself less conspicuous.

A young noblewoman just starting out in her career and her mercenary – this is their new identity.

“Let’s go too,” he gestured to Felix and Lisette.

The three followed the muddy path and entered the port after paying an entrance fee.

The environment didn't improve at all after entering the city; the old wooden houses and stained signs made Lisette frown.

"Are you feeling unwell?" Viner noticed her reaction and asked in a low voice.