The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

"Fool, even if you weren't a hero, I would only follow you."

Chapter 633 Anna's Dowry

Three days later, it was time for the vassal states' reinforcements to return.

"Once the situation in the Empire stabilizes, I will come to see you immediately," Vena said to Lisette in her final farewell.

Even though he compressed all the forging work into one day, just to spend more time with Lisette, he still felt that time flew by.

"I can endure this short time, but you must be careful," Lisette whispered.

Compared to the vassal states that even the demons don't really respect, the situation on the empire's side is obviously much more complicated.

Not only are there threats from demons and demon races, but also from the unpredictable emblem wielders in Lucien's possession.

Even though Vena is no longer afraid of ordinary demons, she could still find herself in danger if she is not careful.

"Are you two ready yet? Everyone's waiting!" Felix, who had already mounted his dragon, poked his head out and urged the two of them.

"I'm not talking to you anymore." Lisette blushed slightly, turned around, and boarded the dragon.

She deliberately avoided Vener's gaze, but couldn't help turning back to steal a glance at him.

After she was seated, Lisette apologized to the person in front of her: "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Princess Chlorie."

"It's nothing. After all, it was my fault that you two were separated." Chlorie waved her hand, seemingly unconcerned.

To ride a dragon alongside the new leader of the Allied Powers might be seen as a great honor by others.

Only Chlorie herself knew how important Risty was to the feudal lords.

She was not only the person Venerable trusted most, but also the link between the Allied Powers and St. Freya Academy.

The dragon flapped its wings and soared into the air, gradually moving away from the ground.

Viner stood there watching them leave until the dragon's figure disappeared at the horizon.

He sighed softly, a hint of reluctance in his eyes.

"Are you really that reluctant to part with it?" A familiar voice rang in Vina's ears.

“Anna?” Viner turned around, looking at the girl who had appeared beside him at some point. “I haven’t seen you for the past few days. Is the academy’s reconstruction that busy?”

"Isn't this to give you two some time alone?" Anna blinked, her tone slightly teasing.

There were indeed many things to do in rebuilding the academy, but with the arrival of the Valentine Chamber of Commerce, there weren't many things she needed to do personally.

After returning from the dungeon, Viner never saw Anna again, ultimately because of her deliberate avoidance.

“Listy isn’t that sensitive,” Vena said helplessly.

Even without his connection, Anna and Lisette could be considered good friends.

Besides, with Felix and Escudé following along, the idea of ​​a "two-person world" was never valid from the start.

Thinking of this, Venere looked down at the holy ring on his hand again.

Yeah, and there's this guy who's been hiding and watching the show.

“Then you’re very wrong,” Anna shook her head and warned, “When a girl says ‘I don’t mind,’ she never really means it. If a man is thinking about other girls during a precious time together, even a saint would be angry.”

"On the contrary, by taking the initiative to back down, I can leave a good impression on her."

Anna didn't think she could hide her thoughts from Lisette, but she did give her a sense of knowing when to advance and when to retreat.

She went to great lengths to maintain the relationships between Viña's female confidantes.

"I really don't understand you." Viner shook her head with a wry smile, but she also understood Anna's good intentions.

"That's why I had to tell you, otherwise all my daughter's efforts would have been in vain." Anna shrugged, her tone tinged with a hint of reproach. "In the end, it's all because the people around you are too outstanding."

"Yes, yes, it's all my fault. So, dear Anna, how do you want me to make it up to you?"

Wiener knew that he shouldn't talk back at this moment, so he could only go along with what the other person was saying.

"Give me your hand."

Anna seized the opportunity to make her request, a sly glint in her eyes.

“Here you go.” Viner obediently extended her hand.

He thought Anna was just using this as an excuse to take the opportunity to link arms with him and assert her dominance, but instead, she took off the ring she almost never wore.

"Tsk, you can barely fit them all on your hands."

Anna stared at Venus's hand, grumbled, and finally took off the room-temperature magic ring to make room for the new one.

Then, he carefully slipped the Valentin Merchant Guild's secret treasure, the Ring of Elegance, onto Venus's finger.

"Don't lose it, this is all my dowry," Anna said earnestly.

“I can’t accept this.” Vina was about to refuse when Anna grabbed her hand.

"Do you think I'm not good enough for you?" Anna looked at him intently, as if waiting for an answer.

“How could that be!” Viner shook her head immediately.

"Then accept it." Anna stopped Vena from continuing without further explanation. "I've already sorted out the contents; they're all things you'll need after you go to the Empire. Edel needs a lot of supplies to start her uprising. Besides, you can't let the Holy Knights who go to the Empire with you starve, can you?"

Upon hearing Anna's words, Venere immediately focused her attention on the Ring of Silk.

The storage space inside the ring was far larger than Vener had imagined.

It contained a large amount of food, weapons, and armor, enough to support an elite force of ten thousand men for a year's supply during wartime.

In addition, there were several large boxes of rare materials, which Anna had obviously prepared especially for him.

Even the Valentin Chamber of Commerce would probably find it difficult to stockpile such a large quantity of supplies.

"You're making me a little scared."

Wiener didn't know how to describe how she felt at that moment.

It's like being forced into marriage by the heiress of a business association, and also like adding a yellow coat when it gets cold.

So the Valentin Chamber of Commerce is really that powerful?

“Didn’t you ever think about how worried I was when you disappeared from the kingdom?” Anna glared at Vina.

Those days were the most irrational of her life, her mind filled with thoughts of how to avenge Vina.

Even though she lacked the ability to personally avenge her enemies, she was determined to make the entire kingdom pay the price.

Anna had even prepared for the worst.

If even the headmaster and Listy cannot find Vina, she will donate all these supplies to the Empire.

If she were to actually put this idea into practice, regardless of the outcome, she would bear an irreparable guilt.

Even her status as the daughter of a member of the Chamber of Commerce cannot negate this act of betraying the Chamber.

However, with Wiener's safe return and the academy's change of attitude, things took a turn for the better.

The tyranny and autocracy of the Chamber of Commerce sinners were transformed in the blink of an eye into Miss Anna's profound foresight.

They knew that the time had finally come for the Valentin Chamber of Commerce to place its bet.

"If we accept this, we'll never be able to shake it off again."

"What, you're not planning to abandon me, are you?"

"How could I dare? Miss Anna's kindness is something I can never repay in a lifetime."

Chapter 634 The Gosa Canyon: Easy to Defend and Difficult to Attack

A full month has passed since the Lafner family launched their rebellion under the pretext of "purging the court of corrupt officials."

Even with all four apostles present, they failed to nip Edel in the bud, let alone those hereditary nobles who lived a life of luxury and relied solely on their ancestors' blessings.

On one side is Grand Duke Lucien, who wields immense power and controls both the inner court and foreign affairs of the empire; on the other side is Duke Feld, who has guarded the border for many years and is renowned for his prestige.

Lucien declared Feld a traitor to the empire, plotting to usurp imperial power, while Feld countered by accusing Lucien of deceiving the emperor, colluding with demons, and disrupting the court.

Both sides stuck to their own versions of events, accusing each other of being traitors.

It's hard to tell who's real and who's fake.

However, the imperial edict, issued from the capital, could not provide any substantial assistance to the front lines.

Despite their large numbers, the noble private armies, each with their own agendas, proved utterly ineffective against the Iceblade Knights' thunderous offensive.

The Iceblade Knights fought across eight hundred miles, winning all six battles, and were unstoppable wherever they went.

The empire, which had enjoyed peace for so long, finally witnessed the true strength of this Iceblade Knights.

With each victory, the Iceblade Knights' marching route gradually became clear.

Rather, it's more accurate to say they have no intention of hiding anything; their target is the capital.

This army neither occupied territory nor plundered after its victories; it simply advanced with extremely high efficiency.

After realizing this, most local nobles chose to remain inactive.

After all, as long as their advance route is not blocked, they will not be attacked proactively.

As a result, apart from the nobles of Lucien's lineage, no one else was willing to fight this knightly order to the death.

But their previous success has come to an end, and now the Gosa Canyon stands in the way of the Iceblade Knights.

Realizing that open field battles could not stop the advance of the Iceblade Knights, Lucien decisively withdrew his forces to the treacherous Gosa Canyon.

Even the heavily armed Iceblade Knights had to halt their advance when faced with this formidable barrier.

......

Inside the tent, a map was spread out.

"The canyon's defender is Inhanes, and in terms of defending a city, no one in the empire can rival her. With the strength of the Iceblade Knights, the probability of breaking through head-on is extremely low," Feld stated frankly.

In order to advance quickly, the Iceblade Knights did not carry large siege weapons.

Even if it were hastily constructed, it would be difficult to achieve any significant effect against this formidable pass.

Moreover, facing a general like Inhanes, it would be a lie to say he wasn't having a headache.

"Can we go around it?" Jessica turned her gaze to the map, carefully examining the surrounding terrain.

“If we take a detour, we will have to abandon our warhorses.” Sigurd had already considered this plan. “Although it will only take half a month to bypass the Gosa Gorge, once we cross it, there is a plain. Without the mobility of our warhorses, we will be nothing more than sitting ducks.”

The key to their overwhelming success in the first half of the campaign was speed.

Lucien clearly hadn't anticipated that the battle at Snowdrift Valley would result in the loss of four apostles, leaving him somewhat rushed in order to assemble an army capable of threatening the Iceblade Knights.

The situation has changed. If we cannot break through the canyon as soon as possible, we will only give the enemy more time to regroup and deploy.

“We must pass through the Gosa Gorge head-on,” Edel said in a deep voice.

Since the start of the uprising, she has not been pleased with the achievements of the Iceblade Knights; on the contrary, she feels disheartened.

If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Adele would never have imagined that the empire could have fallen to such a state.

If the troops currently traversing the empire were not the Iceblade Knights, but rather the armies of the kingdom or the demon race...

Will the empire's army be as vulnerable as it is today?

She intended to use the fall of the Gosa Gorge to awaken the imperial nobles who were still intoxicated by their past glory.

"Then... how about persuading them to surrender?" Jessica suggested another idea. "If Edel personally intervenes, and with the added title of Hero, they'll at least think twice, right?"

Realizing that Edel might have a hero to help her, Lucien reacted swiftly, and the Iceblade Knights never encountered any more demonic opponents.

This also made it difficult for Adele to find a suitable opportunity to reveal this trump card.

In her opinion, the best scenario would be to defeat an apostle or a demon when encountering one, and then use that opportunity to establish the title of hero, thus solidifying the legitimacy of her profession.

People admire heroes because they are the nemesis of demons.

If one turns the sword against one's fellow human beings without any reason, then the hero loses that sacredness.