The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

"I want to see who is plotting against Lady Rhea."

Felix surveyed the area, and even these well-trained assassins were involuntarily intimidated by the oppressive aura emanating from him, their movements slowing down slightly for a moment.

Meanwhile, Lisette swiftly waved her staff, precisely casting a series of amplification and healing spells on her accompanying guards.

Each light tap of the staff restored some of the injured guards' fighting strength and gradually turned the tide of the battle.

After losing their advantage of surprise, the remaining assassins were quickly suppressed and had no chance to fight back.

"Dean, please forgive us for being late."

Lisette bowed slightly towards the inside of the car, then looked up at the roof and reminded him, "Come on down, Felix."

If the situation was critical before, guarding the roof of the car would have made it easier for him to observe his surroundings. But now that the crisis has passed, it would be somewhat impolite for him to stand on the Dean's vehicle like this.

"Oh." Upon hearing this, Felix performed a somersault and jumped off the roof of the car.

Leia slowly stepped out of the carriage, looking at the corpse on the ground with an unchanged expression.

Only when his gaze swept behind Lisette and the other woman did a hint of relief appear in his eyes, "You've come at the right time."

Felix swung his sword nearby, tearing open the collar of a fallen assassin, and was shocked to find a bright red emblem pulsating on his chest, seemingly containing some ominous power.

But as the assassin's life force waned, the emblem began to shrink rapidly and disappeared completely in the blink of an eye.

Before the group could think things through, the assassins who had been captured by the guards began to show unusual behavior.

They were bleeding from all seven orifices and their bodies were convulsing violently, as if they had suffered some kind of irreversible curse.

Even though Lisette immediately cast healing and dispelling spells, it still failed to alleviate the situation.

All the assassins were killed.

“It’s no use, these people are all suicide squads,” Leia said softly.

She had seen similar tactics before; these people were destined to leave no survivors from the moment the attack began.

The most important clue is probably the emblem that suddenly faded.

A series of rapid hoofbeats came from afar, and a troop of royal soldiers galloped up. The leader dismounted and knelt on one knee to apologize to Rhea: "Franz is late in coming to your rescue, causing Your Excellency to be frightened!"

"They arrived just in time."

Felix snorted coldly. The thought of his teacher still being imprisoned by the kingdom made it difficult for him to feel any goodwill towards the people of the kingdom.

Upon hearing this, Franz's face turned pale and then red, filled with shame.

Fortunately, the helmet covered most of his face, which barely saved him some dignity.

“I remember you. You were also a graduate of the academy.” There was little emotion in Leia’s voice.

Franz immediately lowered his head even further, his voice filled with a mixture of fear and respect: "Thank you for your kind attention, Dean."

“Then I’ll leave this to you. I believe the kingdom will give you justice.” With that, Leia turned and climbed back into the carriage.

"Please allow us to escort you back, Your Excellency!" Franz hurriedly requested.

“I have my own plans, so I won’t trouble you all,” Rhea said politely, then looked at Lisette and Felix, “You two come up too.”

"Yes, Dean." The two replied in unison and followed.

Before boarding the carriage, Lisette waved her staff once more, conjuring two crystal-clear ice coffins.

The guards nearby understood immediately and quickly moved the two intact assassin corpses into the room for further investigation.

Upon seeing this, an adjutant seemed about to say something, but Franz raised his hand to stop him.

Once the carriage had started moving again, Franz bowed once more, saying, "Respectfully seeing off Dean."

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

Leia waved her hand, creating a barrier to prevent the conversation inside the carriage from being overheard.

"Why did you come to the capital? Did something happen to the Holy Sword?"

“Vina has already gained the Holy Sword’s recognition, but the trial will take some time to complete. So, I took the liberty of coming to the capital with Felix to see if there was anything I could do to help,” Listy replied.

"This is probably the best news I've heard in a while," Leia chuckled.

Hearing this, Felix couldn't help but interject, his voice filled with obvious anxiety: "But the teacher is still in their hands, I—"

“Don’t worry,” Leia said, pressing down on Felix’s shoulder. “Now that I’m here, I’m prepared to take Tilisa away by force.”

These words startled Lisette slightly.

She never imagined that the usually calm and considerate Dean would be so determined.

Felix was overjoyed. "It should have been done a long time ago! When are we going to make our move?"

“We need to know at least where the teacher is being held captive,” Lisette said, trying to calm the overly excited Felix. Then she looked at Rhea. “Lady Rhea, you seem to have come from the palace. Have you reached a conclusion?”

"They refused my request to meet with Tilissa."

Léa told the two of them about the two solutions that Labbel had proposed.

“They never intended for us to choose,” Lisette said gravely after hearing this.

Whether it's summoning the hero within a month or casting a wish spell, it seems more like a delaying tactic by the kingdom than a show of sincerity.

So even if you do follow their instructions, there's no guarantee they won't change their minds.

With the lessons of the past already learned, the kingdom's credibility in the eyes of the three men had reached rock bottom.

“What do you think—how about I impersonate Arios?” Felix suddenly suggested. “I’ve fought him before and I’m quite familiar with his swordsmanship. Most importantly, I possess the same sword emblem as him.”

"If I were to impersonate him, there shouldn't be anyone in the kingdom who could tell the difference."

He believed his plan was flawless.

“That’s not appropriate.” Leia shook her head. “Arios has other connections with the kingdom. If you do this, you might be found out.”

"We can't just sit here and wait, can we?"

"So I'm going to visit Jiuta."

Chapter 576 The Parting of Ways Between Master and Disciple

Despite being the chief mage of the palace, Jiuta's residence was surprisingly simple.

Who would have thought that such an unassuming house would be inhabited by a ninth-rank emblem envoy?

When the three arrived, there was only an old servant with a hunched back sweeping at the door, seemingly unaware of the outside world.

"Excuse me, is this Lord Juta's residence?" Lisette stepped forward to greet him.

"No."

The old servant didn't even look up, continuing to sweep, as if he didn't care about them at all.

"Did we come to the wrong place?" Felix scratched his head, looking puzzled.

"Even if it isn't, please let us know that it's a visit from Leia of St. Freya Academy."

Leia gently lifted her veil, revealing her true face, and an innate aura of holiness instantly filled the air.

The old servant stopped what he was doing, looked up, and stared for a few seconds.

Although he had followed Juta for many years and met many important figures, he still showed some caution when facing Leia.

"Please wait a moment." After saying this, he turned and went into the mansion, leaving the three of them standing outside the door.

"This old man actually lied to us?" Felix was a little annoyed and prepared to go in and demand an explanation.

Lisette immediately stopped him.

This seemingly inconspicuous house is, after all, the workshop of the kingdom's chief mage. If someone were to rashly break in, even Felix would suffer some trouble.

Felix pursed his lips, but suppressed his dissatisfaction.

The old servant returned quickly and gestured for Rhea to enter, saying, "Please, Headmistress."

But when Lisette and Felix were about to follow, he stopped them without any politeness, saying, "The master only allows Lady Rhea to go in."

"Please wait here for a moment." Leia turned back and smiled slightly at the two of them, her eyes filled with reassurance and trust, before following the old servant into the mansion.

Once Rhea's figure disappeared behind the door, Felix finally couldn't help but complain, "I don't believe a door can stop me!"

Before the words were even finished, he strode toward the door, but vanished the instant he touched the threshold.

The next moment, his figure appeared in mid-air, several meters above the ground.

"Ah—" Felix exclaimed in surprise, frantically trying to steady himself, but to no avail.

Fortunately, Lisette released a Featherfall spell, which prevented him from falling and breaking his buttocks into pieces.

"Still planning to force your way in?" Lisette couldn't help but laugh as she looked at Felix, who had brought trouble upon himself.

"How come you're not worried at all?" Felix got up from the ground, looking resentful.

“If it were anywhere else, it wouldn’t matter, but this Lord Juta is a senior of many years above us,” Listy replied.

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

"The master is inside." The old servant pointed to the room and then silently withdrew.

Leia pushed open the door and stepped into the room, when she heard a weak cough. "Ahem, thank you for coming, teacher. Your student—"

“No need for such formalities,” Leia quickly interjected.

She looked at her disciple on the bed, who should have been in the prime of his life, but was now emaciated and pale, as if his life had been drained away. She couldn't help but sigh deeply: "I really shouldn't have taught you the Prayer Technique."

The two are clearly master and disciple, yet one still retains her charm while the other looks old, which is obviously contrary to common sense.

Not everyone can be like Rhea, who can resolve the cost of the wish spell with just a little rest.

“The student has no regrets.” Juta forced a smile, strained to sit up in bed, her voice hoarse but firm. “I think you came here because of Tilisa, right?”

“Yes,” Leia did not deny it, “I wanted to confirm something with you. Do you know that Labbel promised me that if the result of my Prayer Spell was different from yours, he would kill you?”

“I know,” Juta slowly closed her eyes, “it was I who asked His Majesty to do this.”

Why are you doing this to yourself?

Leia was utterly perplexed; she couldn't believe that Juta didn't know how important Tilisa was to the academy.

"Teacher, do you know that Arios promised His Majesty that he would help him unify the continent?" Jiuta revealed a secret.

Leia's heart skipped a beat, and she slowly said, "I didn't know about this."

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t know,” Juta continued. “All you need to know is that once certain thoughts arise, they can never be taken back.”

If the heroes and St. Freya Academy can support the kingdom, then that fragmented empire will never be a match for it.

But the problem is—something has already happened to the hero.

“Teacher, you don’t need to actually cast a wishing spell,” Juta’s voice suddenly became serious. “Just use my remaining life to clear Tilisa’s name. The price is that St. Freya Academy must stand on the side of the kingdom in the war that follows.”

The so-called clashes at the negotiating table are merely for show; the true conditions of the kingdom are what they represent.

If Rhea agrees, all the current problems will be solved.

However, all of this was predicated on her actively binding the academy to the kingdom's war machine.

If this weakness falls into the kingdom's hands, she will become the greatest sinner in the academy's history.

"The three kingdoms have been preparing for war for many years, and a great battle is inevitable. The academy cannot remain neutral forever. As long as the kingdom wins the final victory, the academy will still be the holy land of the Heralds," Jiuta pressed on.

"Do you hate the Empire that much?" Rhea felt only heartache.

If Juta had stayed at the academy, perhaps the position Tissa would be his now.

Unfortunately, fate played a cruel trick on her, and the student she once had high hopes for ended up standing on the opposite side.

“Yes,” Jiuta’s eyes were resolute. “I have cultivated to the ninth rank of Emblem Master, but I have found that my personal power is becoming more and more insignificant. Even if I do not live to see the destruction of the empire, I will wait for them in the underworld.”

Leia weighed the pros and cons carefully, but ultimately chose to refuse, saying, "I cannot agree to the kingdom's demands."

“I see…” Jiuta suddenly calmed down, as if she had already anticipated her answer.

"As a student, let me tell you one last piece of news: it is true that Tilisa plotted to kill the hero, but she did not collude with the demons."

"What do you mean!" A flash of anger appeared in Leia's eyes.

"The teacher will know simply by casting a wish spell."