How come this arcanist is invincible?

Chapter 240 The Queen's Promise

The flames of the Supreme White Pagoda burned ever brighter, staining the thick, gray fog crimson.

Thick smoke billowed upwards, and the entire royal court was clearly visible in the flames.

After all this happened, the shouts of killing in the inner court gradually subsided.

The attacking soldiers stopped firing their weapons, looked up at the burning white tower, and wore complex expressions.

Some cheered with joy, some remained silent, their eyes filled with exhaustion and confusion, and some sobbed softly.

Kane stood not far below the White Tower, his black heavy armor stained with dried blood, his gaze calmly fixed on the burning tower.

Behind him stood the heavily armored soldiers of the academy guard, their scimitars and heavy armor gleaming coldly, but their murderous aura had dissipated considerably.

"Commander Kane, the fire is too big, we can't get close—we've already notified the academy's mages."

A heavily armored squad leader quickly walked to Kane's side and whispered his report to his superior.

"However—the main structure of the Supreme White Tower is built with fire-resistant stone, but the internal wooden structure and decorations have all caught fire, I'm afraid—"

"I know."

Kane's voice remained cold and calm, devoid of any emotion.

"There's no need to obsess over putting out the fire for the White Tower anymore; Grayson has chosen this ending."

He paused, then said, "Pass down the order: all troops cease their attack."

All soldiers who lay down their weapons must not be harmed. The prisoners should be gathered in the western city wall area and guarded by designated personnel. They must not be discriminated against or mistreated.

Wounded soldiers, regardless of whether they are friend or foe, should be given priority in treatment.

"Gather all officers and captains in the square in front of the Supreme White Tower. I have something to say."

"Yes."

Collins, who was originally the commander of the Third Corps, was wearing heavy armor and looked exhausted, but his eyes were still bright.

He bowed respectfully and left to inform the other corps commanders.

Kane shifted his gaze from the white tower to his surroundings.

Thick smoke billowed from the collapsed buildings, and the streets were littered with the corpses of resisting soldiers and scattered weapons, with blood slowly flowing.

Occasionally, a few scattered sounds of hacking and screaming could be heard, but they no longer caused any disturbance.

He composed himself and listened quietly as the final sounds of battle faded away completely.

In the square, soldiers began to treat the wounded in twos and threes, while groups of dejected prisoners were led to designated areas.

Footsteps, groans, and whispers mingled together.

Behind him, the heavily armored soldiers of the academy guard, as well as the four remaining legion commanders and numerous second-tier captains, also arrived one after another.

Everyone watched Kane's retreating figure, their eyes filled with barely concealed excitement and anticipation.

Kane knew in his heart that the old order had been completely shattered, and a new order was about to be established on the ruins.

Everyone who followed him in this operation was eager for a further opportunity, wanting to get a bigger slice of the pie in this feast of power.

If I cannot meet their expectations, then even if no one openly betrays me, they will inevitably become disloyal.

To think that they could rely on them to fight against the covetous Duke, or even the demonic cult lurking in the shadows, would be nothing short of wishful thinking.

"Everyone," Kane said in a deep voice, turning around and looking around.

"Today, we breached the inner court, and Grayson, who murdered his father, usurped the throne, and massacred the council of nobles, finally committed suicide out of guilt."

But—this doesn't mean it's all over.

"The inner court is still in chaos, the fire has not been completely extinguished, the wounded need medical treatment, and the civilians need to be comforted. We must stabilize the situation as soon as possible and restore production and daily life."

"Next, I will announce a few orders:"

First, a temporary security committee was established, with me serving as chairman and all corps commanders serving as vice-chairmen, to jointly discuss and make decisions.

Second, a subordinate logistics support committee was established, jointly organized by the Mage Academy and major chambers of commerce in the royal court, to coordinate the allocation of food, medicine and other supplies, with priority given to the supply of wounded soldiers and civilians.

Third, we need to establish an engineering committee. We need to design, develop, and mass-produce iron powder arrows, and modify magic-powered cannons and crossbows to deal with the Duke's army, which may arrive at any time.

After a series of orders were announced, all the officers' eyes gleamed.

Although the newly established committee is nominally a temporary body, everyone understands that the fact that it was able to take over the entire royal court at a much lower cost than expected has shown everyone the power behind it.

The four corps commanders exchanged glances, their faces showing delight.

They were originally just ordinary third-rank officers in the ten legions of the royal court, and had always been hampered by the noble council.

The Noble Council no longer exists. Of the commanders of the ten legions, two died in battle, two fled, and one did not participate in the coup. These four can be said to be second only to the emperor.

Kane looked at the four Tier 3 corps commanders, his expression hardening, but a deep meaning flickered in his eyes.

He now only has nominal command over these four legions. The only legions he can actually control are the Academy Guard, which was reorganized from the Twin Port Legion, and the Third Legion, which he personally subdued.

However, now is not the time. Facing the Duke's army, he needs the support of these Tier 3 combatants.

Although weapons capable of fighting beyond one's level are under development, this will take time.

Just as Kane was restoring order.

A special squad of 100, consisting of academy guards and several second-tier mages, is attacking a special manor deep within the inner palace.

The commander was a refined and gentle female mage, none other than Lenora, Kane's second-in-command at the Academy of Prophecy.

Standing beside her was the current captain of the academy's guard, Valentine, who was formerly the garrison commander of Twin Harbor.

The two men were frowning as they watched several of their squads being repelled by white, faceless monsters that emerged from inside the manor.

Those twenty-odd white, faceless monsters wore no armor and carried only ordinary scimitars.

With their astonishing agility, they were able to fight alone against this hundred-strong professional squad led by second-tier mages and second-tier warriors, and even the newly equipped rapid-fire crossbows posed little threat to them.

As Valentine watched the wounds on the white monsters heal at a visible speed, his face darkened, and he said in a deep voice, "There's no way to kill them completely, even if our soldiers take turns attacking."

Lenora's expression changed slightly.

She already knew about this monster; it was the one Dean Bella had used to deal with Kane. She just hadn't expected to see more than twenty of them here.

She thought for a moment and said, "Use the iron powder arrows."

Valentine finally breathed a sigh of relief.

According to the intelligence they obtained, this manor is closely related to a former third-tier royal mage.

To guard against the enemy's backup plan, they kept all the iron powder arrows.

After all, according to the tests, the high temperature generated by these iron powder arrows is enough to break through the third-tier protective spells, and they will be effective as long as there are enough of them.

However, because all the special iron powder needs to be made by Lord Kane himself, the stock is very limited.

He nodded and then gave the order.

Upon hearing the news, the soldiers at the front lines were overjoyed, and the warriors immediately formed a shield formation to block the white monster's charge.

Meanwhile, the lightly armored warriors at the rear began applying black powder to the notches on the arrow shafts, with each squad operating simultaneously.

Immediately afterwards, more than twenty arrows coated with black powder shot forward.

As expected, most of the arrows were cut in half by these second-tier monsters. Only a very few managed to hit their bodies, and the wounds were shallow and healed quickly.

But they didn't notice that their bodies and surroundings were covered in a lot of black powder.

"Everyone close your eyes!"

Lenora gave the order sternly.

The soldiers in front immediately crouched down and used their shields to block the way, while the soldiers behind closed their eyes. Only one soldier, out of curiosity, did not close his eyes.

But the next moment, he regretted it.

Three fiery hands appeared out of thin air amidst the white monsters that were lunging at the group.

Under their malevolent gaze, the sparks came into contact with the iron powder, and a blinding white light suddenly shone, followed by a raging fire.

The soldier who hadn't closed his eyes watched helplessly as the white monster was instantly engulfed by flames in the white light.

The next moment, a sharp pain shot through his eyes. He immediately covered his eyes, lowered his head in agony, and let out a scream.

Lenora and Valentine, who had timed their opening of the eyes precisely, looked at the injured person being helped by their companion and asked, "How many is that?"

Valentine shook his head with a wry smile.

He couldn't even remember which number it was.

During the attack on the royal court, they would use these iron powder arrows whenever they were needed to fight against second-tier enemies, but each one used was one less available.

But the most troublesome thing is this kind of non-combat casualties.

Instead of cleaning up the wreckage, the group went directly into the manor based on the intelligence.

"Search for all the books and notes inside and organize them all."

All valuable spoils will be distributed by the committee, and rewards will be given according to merit.

"Beware of potential spell traps, and proceed in small groups."

"Yes."

The group entered the manor in batches to begin gathering all the intelligence.

Lenora, accompanied by two guards, went directly into the bedroom at the top.

Besides a map of the free city-state, she saw notes on the bookshelf.

Her eyes flickered slightly as she said, "Take all of these back to the academy and have Dean Kane examine them."

Outside the Mage Academy, there was a temporary merchant building that had been requisitioned by the mages. The words "Security Committee" were written in large characters in Sussas script, and the gate was guarded by the former Royal Court Security Officer.

Kane sat at the conference table inside the building and rubbed his forehead.

Within a week of the committee's establishment, nobles of all ranks from the royal court came one after another to visit, hoping to restore the original noble council.

Not only that.

The Nord envoy, speaking in the Queen's name, offered assistance, while the free city-states demanded greater market pricing power and proposed reductions—

With taxes waived, envoys also came from grassland tribes and silver kingdoms.

Kane shook his head, realizing that everyone had their own agenda.

"They all thought that after I conquered the royal court, I would need to slow down and ask them for help in order to deal with the Duke's attack. So they all wanted to take the opportunity to force me to betray the interests of Sussas in exchange for their help."

Kane frowned slightly. These methods were alright, but they had greatly slowed down his progress in improving his strength.

According to the intelligence he obtained, the duke had begun a general mobilization of the entire duchy and ordered all the powerful nobles of Sussas with military power to march on the royal court and kill them, the "rebels".

Meanwhile, because the Mage Academy did not publicly intervene, it was merely accused of being deceived.

Because the target of this operation was solely him, a Nord who was acting under the guise of the Academy.

With a bang, the door was pushed open.

Kane was about to frown and tell the man to leave when Logan Susas walked in.

She was dressed in a red mage's robe, her cold face expressionless.

"Kane—Dean, or Chairman?"

"Just call me Kane—Logan, there's no need for us to be so formal."

Kane shook his head, looking at the complicated expression on her face, and understood what she was thinking.

Nominally, she is a member of the royal family.

Although her family was a branch expelled from the royal family, she was still brought back to the royal court because of her pure blood.

To protect herself, she had to defile herself by learning necromancy, and even her bloodline was coveted by various nobles.

Therefore, her relationship with the royal family and nobility was far too complicated.

Kane shook his head, looking at Logan Susas's aloof face, and said, "Sorry, it's your turn to work hard from now on—"

Logan Susas looked at his face, shook his head, and said, "If it's necessary—I'll take that position, as long as it helps you—but grant me one request."

"Okay, go ahead and say it."

I will do everything in my power to help you resolve any future troubles—whether it's the remnants of noble families in various regions, powerful nobles like the Duke, or interference from the other five nations.

No, not these.

I know your ultimate goal is simply to destroy the demon cult, and once you've completely wiped them out, you'll leave, right?

""

Kane fell silent.

He didn't expect that Logan Susas would actually see through it.

Logan Susas looked at Kane and continued, "I can become the new queen of Susas, and my mentor also believes that this is the best choice."

But I have only one request.

"Please don't leave me, okay?"

Kane looked at Logan's serious and solemn expression. Since arriving in this world, he had met many women: Talia, Shar, Sienna, Ella—

He had many different relationships with people.

But now, the female mage who had fought alongside him many times, or rather, the one who was about to become Queen Susas because of this surname, had made such a request.

He hesitated for a moment, then finally abandoned his prepared remarks and said, "Okay."

Upon hearing this word, Logan Susas smiled and extended his hand.

Kane hesitated for a moment, then extended his arm as well.

Their hands clasped together.

Kane's eyes flickered slightly as he saw Logan's smile.

Logan clearly didn't want to sit in that position, but he chose it anyway because of his own reasons.

For the first time in all my time in this world, I felt a strong urge to protect something because I owed it so much.

Kane's heart stirred slightly as he recalled the third-tier advanced knowledge that his deputy Lenora had just sent him, knowledge he had always lacked.

"It's time to advance to the third tier."

"7