From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 654 Freaks Save the World
"Damn it! No wonder the demons didn't deploy any troops in the temple district; those evil creatures always love to blaspheme gods and priests!"

Ilinica and the Hell Knights, who were teleported into the inner temple district of the City of Favor by Ivy's Legion Teleportation, had no time to marvel at the magic of the gods before they were soon met with a constant stream of enemies.

Since its completion, Jueze City has been in the hands of the Crusaders for less than 20 years, but in those short years, thousands of Crusader warriors were buried in this cemetery next to the temple.

The temple originally existed to prevent the buried Crusader warriors from rising again as spirits. However, as the number of deaths increased, the Crusaders had to adopt cremation to ensure the cemetery's continued operation. They burned the bodies to ashes, scattered the ashes in the cemetery, and then comforted the spirits of the deceased with prayers and sacred rituals.

After the city of Jueze was taken over by demons, the ritual magic that shrouded the cemetery in the temple district quickly lost its effectiveness. A large number of undead creatures, including ghouls, ghosts, and zombies, began to gather in the area and drove away the demons that had originally gathered there.

However, undead creatures are not usually active during the day, so Angel Stalma's aerial reconnaissance did not detect this.

Regil didn't need to give the order to prepare for battle; his Hell Knights, with their excellent military discipline, had already drawn their weapons and begun fighting.

"Everyone! Move toward the scepter! Scepter! Guide divine power to clear a clearing; we need to determine the direction of advance!" Regil wasn't going to rely entirely on his subordinates' individual skills. After pulling his mace from a shattered skull fragment of a zombie, he began to shout orders.

The so-called Hell Knights with Scepters are spellcasters within a knightly order. They look no different from ordinary Hell Knights, wearing heavy black armor and wielding maces and various heavy weapons. Only those very familiar with the Hell Knights' organizational structure can easily recognize them among a large group of black soldiers. These spellcasters usually wear dark masks without facial features to signify that they are the embodiment of strict order.

The Claw Knights serve the Claw Pantheon, which includes five gods of the Order side. Therefore, before obtaining their current military ranks, most of the Claw Knights' Hell Knights were priests and clerics serving the Claw Pantheon.

Now, these black-armored warriors laid down their weapons, raised their holy symbols high, and channeled the holy power of order to repel the approaching undead creatures. Some of these five-pronged symbols were embedded in shields, while others were inlaid on the cover of holy books, but without exception, they all unfurled semi-circular pale golden light shields. All undead creatures within the light shields suffered corrosive wounds as if they had come into contact with strong acid.

“This is not right! Deputy Enforcer!” shouted the scepter closest to Regil. “This is an evil land! It’s affecting our ability to channel holy power! If we don’t find and purify that potential spiritual node, we could very well be dragged down by these undead creatures!”

"Sohir, Dalan." Ilinica swung her greatsword like a giant flower of death, easily slicing away the surrounding undead. "You are all clergy, find out where that so-called spiritual node is, we'll go and do it."

“No,” Deputy Enforcer Regil objected. “Our mission is not to purify this land, but to eliminate the demonic ranged firing points on the second city wall! We can consider purifying this sacred land after we recapture Favor City!”

"Are we just going to let the souls of the Crusaders here continue to be desecrated?" Sohir asked, frowning. "They should be freed; this suffering cannot continue!"

“They have been desecrated for a hundred years, and if our attempt to capture the city of Jueze fails, they will continue to be desecrated for another hundred years,” Regil said indifferently.

“But we brought an entire legion; clearing this place won’t take much time,” Sohir remained stubborn.

"Stop arguing! I am your commander!" Ilinica shouted to stop her two teammates from arguing. "The focus on the chorus should not overshadow the verse. Mark this location. After we capture Juanze City, we will come here to purify this land as soon as possible."

Although Sohir was very stubborn, he did not forget that he was a soldier in an army. Since the commander had made a decision, he had no choice but to obey.

"Are you sure about our direction of advance, Regil?" Seeing that Sohir remained silent, Ilinica immediately asked the deputy law enforcement officer about the next course of action. "We should have Ivy place the teleportation spell inside the second city wall."

“That would definitely attract more high-level demons to attack. We need to secure our firing positions while supporting our main force.” Regil reiterated the plan Ivy had set at the military meeting and immediately began analyzing the current situation. “The north side of this cemetery used to be a storage area for goods, and there are many mechanical and wooden tools that we can use. We need to open a passage to the top of the city wall. However, the passages we can use won’t be very efficient, so having you as the vanguard is key to ensuring the success of the plan.”

“Alright, let’s do it that way!” As soon as Irina finished speaking, she raised her left hand, revealing a sacred weapon from heaven residing on the back of her hand—the earliest symbol believed to be Iomede’s favor. However, in reality, this holy sword, capable of radiating dazzling light, originally belonged to an angel from the High Heavens. Although the sword still displayed a brilliant light under Irina’s mythical power, that was all it could do.

Seeing a glimmer of hope in adversity can indeed ignite a fire in people's hearts, and the ranged support troops who arrived on the battlefield with the Hell Knights erupted in a small cheer.

"Hell Knights! Protect the ranged units in the center of the formation! Our mission requires their firepower!" Regil ordered a change of formation. "Advance! Towards the warehouse below the city walls!"

While daytime sunlight does weaken the combat power of undead creatures, the unique characteristics of the Temple District Cemetery, a place of great spiritual energy, precisely compensate for this, and even enhance it.

However, even without unified command, the Hell Knights Legion can still deal with the undead creatures that surround them from all directions with relative ease.

Led by the mythical commander Ilinica, the Hell Knight Legion quickly broke through the encirclement and headed towards the long-neglected second city wall of Juanze City.

The legion's advance was not without its challenges. In addition to the undead creatures in the cemetery, the demons hidden in buildings large and small were also surprised by the strangers who suddenly appeared on the street.

However, these chaotic creatures still know how to seek advantage and avoid harm, and they will never be the first to stick their necks out without warning.

In this strange atmosphere of mutual staring, the Hell Knights finally arrived at the foot of the city walls, triggering another battle.

The reason is simple: a few flight scrolls are not enough to get the Hell Knights and Illinika's squad to the top of the city wall. They need to requisition unclaimed building materials nearby to open up a temporary passage.

Unfortunately, the demons' territorial instincts were far stronger than people thought. Since the fall of the city, the ownership of houses within the city had been constantly changing, but nothing was ever truly unclaimed. The demons emerging from the World's Sorrow would seize anything they fancied, whether it was a pile of Crusader bones or a clump of filthy straw. As soon as the Hell Knights began demolishing buildings and fiddling with the dilapidated cranes, the demons within the city immediately launched their attack.

Bird-headed demons with flapping wings descended from the sky, standing in the middle of the crowd and emitting a piercing shriek. This abnormal sound wave could steal people's courage and leave battle-hardened soldiers in a helpless, dazed state. Explosive demons poked their heads out of the windows and began to launch fireballs, bombarding the exposed hell knights below.

This is a natural loss that the attacking side will suffer in urban warfare. The buildings that are everywhere are natural fortresses for the defenders. They can appear in any corner and launch attacks from a high position. The attackers' counterattacks will be severely covered and it will be difficult to cause effective damage.

But the elite of the Claw Knights were born for such dangerous missions, not to mention the adventuring squads with mythical powers standing beside them.

Ilinica's clear voice drowned out the demons' shrieks and the roar of the exploding fireballs. A whirlwind suddenly appeared, carrying tender green leaves that swirled around the Hell Knights. The soldiers, who had been stunned, immediately regained their mobility, grabbed their weapons, and fought the delusional demons that had flown into the center of their formation.

"Do something! Fox Head!" The elegant Camellia, as graceful as a camellia, could hardly maintain her noble lady demeanor in this situation. She drew her rapier from the chest of a cowardly demon and shouted at Nie Niu in the middle of the group. As a spellcaster in the same adventure party, Fox Head Nie Niu possessed far more spells than this half-baked shaman, not to mention she could use scrolls as an extra layer of knowledge. "I saw the military advisor's elephant-headed apprentice give you a bag!"

"Oh, I bought that with my research funds!" the fox-headed man complained, but he still quickly pulled a scroll out of his pocket. "But if we use it here, the Encyclopedia of Glarios might never have been published."

"God." A helpless smile appeared on the still-handsome half of the hybrid Lann's face as he precisely shot down a raging demon standing on the rooftop. "Does this world really have to be saved by a bunch of freaks? Wouldn't it be better if it were just destroyed like this?"

“Don’t say that, my scaled friend.” The shimmering divine nobleman, Dalan, chuckled at the hybrid’s other half, which was covered in lizard scales. “Even among us freaks, you’re one of the best. If the world were destroyed by demons, who would still marvel at your strange appearance?”

"God, forgive me for that one moment when I wanted to destroy this world." Lann didn't intend to argue any further and fired several arrows, felling another demon.

"Protect me!" Nie Niu, holding a scroll, poked her fox head out from behind Regil, who was clad in black armor. "This spell takes a full ten minutes to cast, and then we'll have a bridge leading to the top of the city wall!"

“Protect her with your shield, Marenta!” Regil immediately shoved Nyon’s fox head into the hands of another Hell Knight, who was taller and had a larger defensive area. “This is the key to our mission! If you find her chatter annoying, just bear with it for now. A spellcaster who can’t keep quiet probably can’t get the job done.”

Marenta nodded silently, took down the heavy shield carved with flawless petals from her back, and shielded the spellcasters in the group with a safe space.

Suddenly, clear holy power solidified into armor around Marenta. It was a spell that Sohir had completed through prayer, as he wanted to protect his fiancée for his missing brother.

“You should cast defensive magic on this fox, not on me!” This immediately drew opposition; Marenta, enraged, was like a true demon. “We’re on the battlefield, little saint! If we fail to complete the mission, we’ll all go to hell to join your damned brother!”

Sohir was speechless and had no choice but to cast the spell on Nie Niu again.

"Thanks, Priest," the fox-headed man said casually. "If I need volunteers for experiments next time, I'll definitely consider you first. Don't rush to refuse; this is an opportunity to have your name listed in the world's greatest academic papers!"

"Keep firing! Keep suppressing! Don't stop before your bowstring snaps!" Regil's louder voice silencing the freaks' chatter. "Tear down these dilapidated houses! Send them to that fox-head; we need her magic to clear a path!"

It was obvious that the little elephant had given Nie Niu a scroll of divine craftsmanship in its pocket. This scroll could transform specified raw materials into finished industrial products, though the craftsmanship was limited by the caster's skill level. For someone as curious about everything as Nie Niu, the fox-headed man, creating a staircase leading to the top of the city wall wouldn't be too difficult.

"Fire!" Lann shouted to the Hell Knight next to the dilapidated building. "There are Explosive Demons in there. These guys must have set the house on fire, or worse, there are Fire Demons."

Among the demons of Juanze City, the Blazing Demon is a common type. This small demon, only half the size of a human, has curved horns and a hunched body. Its goat hooves radiate abnormally high temperatures, capable of scorching almost any foothold. To live safely in the wooden houses of Juanze City, one must master the art of suppressing supernatural abilities; otherwise, these demons could set their homes ablaze at any moment, just as has happened before.

The fire caused the situation below the city wall to become increasingly chaotic. The cultists and giants on top of the city wall finally noticed the chaos below and began to gather in that direction.

"Stand still, Sohir! This is my revenge, the revenge of Hell Knight Marenta, and a tribute to your brother who is trapped in the abyss!"

Sheryl's priestess was taken aback and turned to look at her brother's fiancée, only to find that the black-armored female knight was still holding her brother's heirloom heavy shield, blocking in front of the fox-headed figure, showing no intention of looking over.

By the time he realized this was the commander's vengeful monologue, the strange power triggered by this short opera excerpt had already manifested.

Irina planted a large cleaver stained with the blood of several cultists and demons into the ground, while she herself sang a mournful yet generous song with her hands clasped to her heart. The violently surging lightning element gathered above the battlefield with her voice, and then burst forth with a power like divine punishment, turning into streaks of bright yellow lightning that struck various parts of the battlefield.

The cultists and demons struck by lightning did not turn into charred remains, but rather into clumps of festering flesh, as if they had been crushed from head to toe by a tremendous force.

"Wow! Is this some kind of sonic magic? That's amazing!" Fox-headed Nie Niu immediately recognized the true nature of the lightning summoned by the Queen of the Cassiopeias through her vengeful monologue. "Do you need a non-professional theater critic? I can guarantee that the critique will be more scathing than you can imagine!"

Regil poked the fox's head with the handle of his mace: "Focus on your spells!"

(End of this chapter)