What did you do with the dice?

Ai Li showed a confused expression.

----

Joking aside, Sanita still arranged a hundred people for Aili to mobilize and command. Although Phoenix didn't like her, based on the attitude that talents should be put to good use, and since Rusalka didn't have many rare units, Aili, the "quasi-Radiant Sister" healer, was indeed the only serious healer with extraordinary powers on Rusalka's side, except for Rusalka who could only use the Holy Healing Pool to replace people's health bars.

With her command, even if those ordinary people don't know the Holy Light, they can at least learn some first aid knowledge from Rewi Alley. Even if they can't be used as doctors, it's better than sending their teammates away with a set of first aid punches.

When the order to select people was first given, the soldiers were definitely not convinced that they were being commanded by a little girl. But when Sanitieta told them that this was a priest sent by Esdi next door to support them, the group of soldiers became obedient. Ai Li told them to carry something and prepare something for her, and they lined up under Qingfeng's command to receive and move things, and did as they were told step by step.

If the most popular character on the battlefield is the mage, then the most popular character in the logistics team must be the priest.

The former can reduce the probability of you dying on the battlefield, and the latter can reduce the probability of you dying outside the battlefield.

The army marched towards Evergreen City in a swagger. After leaving the sphere of influence of Silver City and running to the neighboring viscount's territory, the barons along the way did not dare to say a word. When they sent quartermasters to the small town to carry out some supplies, they pretended not to see the army stationed about a kilometer away.

However, when the army marched about 20 kilometers outside Changqing City, three express letters were delivered to Rusalka by messengers sent by the central government.

Two of them were from Count Basile. The first one was not an express letter. As soon as it was delivered to Silver City, it was discovered that Rusalka's army had already left for several days, so they had to turn back in a hurry to catch up with the army.

The content of the letter was that Count Basile had learned of the inappropriate behavior of the two marquises and had ordered that they would be severely punished after the war. They would be demoted to viscounts and deprived of their fiefdoms for the crime of intentional infringement against nobles. He hoped that Rusalka could calm down a little. After the Seven Sins Church was wiped out and Alice City was recaptured, Rusalka would be granted the title and territory of Marquis Banner.

The second letter was from Count Basile, who had already learned about the departure of Rusalka's army. This was an express letter, probably sent by a flying tamed monster. Anyway, it took only three days to be delivered here. The content of the letter was to hope that Rusalka could recognize her identity and attitude towards Esdi, and not do anything to betray Sinidi.

By the way, he also wrote about the many evil deeds committed by the Great Saint of Esdi, that she had colluded with slave traders in Sinidi and had unclear connections with the high-level officials of the El Empire, in order to discredit the neighboring country.

After reading it, Rusalka felt that Count Basile's writing was still too conservative. Theresa had done more than just these evil things. She was the Messenger of the Apocalypse, the common enemy of the Twelve Gods. She was already an enemy of the world, so why waste your energy trying to smear her? If her identity were exposed, surely some great scholar would debate her.

After reading it, Rusalka quietly asked Sanita: (So he still didn't write the most crucial part: Did Theresa ever initiate the improvisation? This is the key to deciding who I support.)

Sanita rolled her eyes and ignored him.

The third letter was an expedited letter from Grand Duke Delei, and its tone was more condescending. If Rusalka felt that she had been treated unfairly, she could write to him and he would make the decision and would never treat her unfairly.

But if Rusalka wants to rebel, his army doesn't mind having another enemy, so he hopes he can think about it carefully.

Rusalka laughed after reading it: (He actually accused me of rebellion! Brother, you have to speak the truth. What should I do?)

Sanitta sneered. He was not making fun of the Grand Duke, but he felt that Rusalka's acting personality was online. From the moment the army set out, not to mention Grand Duke Gode, there was no way that Grand Duke Delei would be on his side.

It was Rusalka's curiosity that made her call the messenger in to see the letter. If it were Sanita, even if he followed the established rules of war and didn't kill the messenger, he would never let the messenger deliver the letter.

Whether or not he reads the contents of the letter does not actually affect the outcome. Even if the Grand Duke and the Earl try to coax him with sweet words, Sanita will not turn back.

However, choosing to read the letter carried certain risks. What if a spy used this to spread rumors, claiming Rusalka had changed her mind, or even wrote a secret letter back to Grand Duke Delai? This would cause the military officers to speculate and suspect Rusalka's intentions, thus creating a false rift and causing suspicion between them and Esdi. That wouldn't be good.

However, considering that Ai Li, the "substitute for Theresa", was on Rusalka's side, Sanitieta agreed to satisfy Rusalka's curiosity. As long as Ai Li stayed in the army obediently every day even if she did nothing, she could play a key role in the relationship between the two sides, and the means of sowing discord would not work.

Sanitta felt that this was definitely not a coincidence. Theresa must have taken this situation into consideration and chose to send Ai Li instead of others here.

If it were any other veteran warrior or official, such as Sarolt, who had adapted to the battlefield environment and had a little understanding of the ways of the world, he would not be as obedient and gullible as Rewi Alley.

But unfortunately, despite all Theresa's calculations, she still missed one step. She didn't expect that Phoenix would reveal her identity to Rusalka and Sanitta.

If Sanita and Rusalka didn't know her identity, they would definitely hope that this cooperative relationship could last a long time.

Rusalka and Sanita provided the excuse, ostensibly to get access to the artifact, but in fact they wanted to find the knowledge and technology to return to Earth. At first, it was speculated that Theresa wanted to give Light a big backstab.

Theresa pretended to get the land, but actually wanted to seize the power of faith. She guessed that Rusalka and Sanita did not want to "become gods", but were carrying the instructions of "a certain god" to fight for the things in Alice City.

When both sides hold back their true cards and refuse to reveal them, even if they are guessing each other's cards, they believe that their goals and interests do not conflict with each other.

Now that Theresa had revealed her true colors, Rusalka took a look and still felt that there was no conflict. He still wanted to be a good person and get along well with Theresa.

But Sanitta is not a person who goes along with the status quo. He wants to take advantage of the information gap to seize the initiative, so he uses a little rhetoric to create a reason for Theresa to oppose Phoenix, which makes Rusalka feel that it makes sense.

He had reason to believe that Theresa also had the same intention of striking first - when rescuing Phoenix, Sanita had already proposed the additional treaty that Phoenix should not be harmed. If Theresa really wanted to open her heart to Rusalka and become a perfect partner, she should have signed a treaty with Rusalka that they would not harm each other.

But she didn't mention it.

Sanitta always assumes the worst of those in power: the fact that she didn't mention it means that she not only condones the possibility of Rusalka backstabbing her in the future, but is also prepared to fight Rusalka one day in the future, right?

This also means that Theresa is not sure whether Rusalka has the power of faith that she needs. If she is sure, she might take action.

He didn't tell Rusalka about this analysis, so as to prevent Rusalka from accidentally mentioning the power of faith in front of Theresa.

This thing is probably only known by "God", "God's most trusted believer with the power of faith" and "the Messenger of the End". When Rusalka saved Phoenix, he was still a confused newbie and couldn't guess what Theresa wanted for a long time. If he suddenly mentioned this to Theresa now, as long as the latter's intelligence is greater than 5, she will be able to guess that her identity has been known by Rusalka.

Putting himself in her shoes, Sanitta felt that if he were Theresa, he would definitely kill Rusalka first. In this way, the person specified in the contract would die, and Theresa might not need to obey Rusalka's orders, and then kill Phoenix.

When Sanita thought about this, he found a problem while thinking about the logic. He couldn't help but sigh: "Tsk, is there really a loophole in this contract? I was still negligent at that time."

Rusalka held a telescope, gazing at the outline of Evergreen City in the distance. He didn't offer any frivolous remarks about the upcoming war, but rather, quite coincidentally, suddenly asked Sanitieta something he'd been pondering recently: "Brother, I have a question. What if we obtain the Power of Faith but can't defeat Theresa?"

Sanita: (If you lose in strategy, blame me; if you lose in battle, blame you.)

Rusalka: (Okay, fair enough.)

Chapter 131 Border Integration (2)

"They've closed the city gates and lit the beacon fires. It looks like they're determined to defend the city. There's no room for negotiation." Rusalka put down the telescope and said to Phoenix, "Cat, please help me check the location of the magic turret across the way. We don't need you to guard it this time. Just report the location and come back."

Sanita stopped Phoenix who was about to enter the Shadow Plane, "Wait a minute, don't listen to Rusalka's blind orders. First of all, magic cannons are strategic resources. Mingyue City has them because Mingyue City is a key eastern supply pass. Marquis Banner is also an excellent mage. Even so, there are only four cannons on the bell tower.

You have to know that normally, a Viscount wouldn't have this kind of thing. Conesnat has it because he donated soldiers to the front, and to protect you, I specifically lent him this thing to guard the house, understand?"

Rusalka thought for a moment: (The two cannons I brought back from Bright Moon City, plus the one I captured earlier, now there are three in Silver City. Could it be that I'm already very powerful?)

Sani Iron Tower: (Yes, the magic cannon is a noble invincible weapon with a short cooldown, no metal fatigue, can fire continuously, has a very long attack range, and has high damage. The only drawback is that it requires a large amount of mana input and compressed shooting. Therefore, a gunner with high mana can only fire 1-2 shots a day. Therefore, a magic cannon basically needs dozens of people to accompany it to have strategic significance.)

This time, Rusalka did not bring the magic cannon. This thing is very useful for defense, but it is a bit cumbersome to transport for offense. To drag this thing weighing tons all over the ground, several huge pack beasts must be brought, which will greatly delay the team's marching speed.

Rusalka was still sighing at the time: (It would be great if there really was a great fortune (heavy truck) in this world.)

Sani Tower: "So even if the other side suddenly got this thing, it must have been placed on the top of the city. Otherwise, it would be impossible to carry it up to the bell tower with human power, unless there is a special crane or something like that. Marquis Banner's bell tower was built with this purpose in mind from the beginning, so it was transported up there with special means. It's impossible for a temporary visitor to enter the building. Sending Phoenix to the other side's bell tower to check it out is basically a waste of time."

Rusalka: "Okay then."

Sanita: "But Phoenix, I still need you to go and check the enemy's military camp and the location of the city lord's palace. If it's convenient, please also check if there are any mages near the city wall and how many there are."

Phoenix nodded and turned back to look at Rusalka.

Rusalka felt that if he just said "I have no objection" at this time, he would seem indecisive, but Sanita had already said everything, and he really didn't have anything more interesting to focus on. "Uh...how about you help me find a breakfast stall?"

Phoenix showed a slightly contemptuous look, then her body was shrouded in black mist and she ran to spy on the enemy.

Rusalka: (Brother, what's that look she gives me? It's really rebellious! Do you think her rebellious behavior means she's in need of O?)

Sanita: (Yes, you have got the answer. When will you solve the problem?)

Rusalka: (Haha, I owe it to you, I’m a deadbeat.)

Sani Tower: (6.)

Rusalka: "So when Phoenix comes back, should we attack the city?"

Sanita: "There's no rush. The casualties in sieges are too high. City walls are too strong in hand-to-hand combat. So, I'll show you something good."

He pulled out a large red crystal from a huge package in the corner of the tent, pointed at it, and said, "The Fire Giant's magic core. Touching it can quickly absorb mana. It's a noble, disposable consumable item, a gift from the Kate Chamber of Commerce."

Rusalka knew at first sight that this thing was worth a fortune. Out of habit, she touched it. The surface was very smooth and there was a warmth to it. "Wow, they're really willing to spend a fortune on this."

Sanitieta pulled out another golden ball from his pocket. "This is top-tier material [Isothermal Metal], and with my level 9 talent [Fusion Alchemy], I used some random materials to fuse this thing together. It's not a material for any known spell, but with the Magic Hand talent, it can be converted into any top-tier spell material, allowing me to cast a top-tier spell directly."

The only thing an excellent mage needs to consider is "the source of money and materials", and Rusalka is now a nobleman roughly equivalent to a marquis, and has connections with the three major chambers of commerce. With this level of wealth and status that is unparalleled in any group-running world, Sanitieta only needs to hold the warehouse key and the right to negotiate transactions. He has never hesitated to squander materials and can buy and melt anything.

Anyway, Rusalka can't use them, so things like money and materials should be given to him and used wisely!

As for why they fuse first, it is because this way the spell casting can be divided into two steps. After making the materials, take a long rest, which can save the magic power of the magic hand to convert the rarity of the materials. Even if Sanita has 18 intelligence, he cannot use one tube of magic power to cast top-level magic and magic hand talents at the same time.

Generally speaking, for a great wizard, the mana provided by 18 points of intelligence is enough to use a top-level magic once. Otherwise, he must pay a price, use magic consumables or some substitutes.

The Sword of Damocles used by the mage encountered before was actually only barely included in the list of advanced magic because of its first-sight killing mechanism. In fact, its mana consumption and other factors were the lowest among the advanced ones. But even so, the opponent burned a lot of materials and lifespan to cast such a spell.

It is conceivable how terrifying top-level magic is.

Indigenous magic is divided into six levels: tricks, elementary, intermediate, advanced, top-level, and god-level. The god-level is basically aligned with DND's 9th-ring spells or even the legendary 10th-ring divine spells, while the strength of the top-level is roughly between 7th and 8th rings, and the effects may be more complicated than DND's spell table. Some magic structures were even rather forced when they were invented. Maybe only three out of ten times will have the same effect, and the effects of the other seven times are not fixed and stable.

Rusalka asked curiously, "Now that we have the power bank and the spell materials, are you planning to summon the 'primitive life form' (meteorite) to directly destroy the enemy's wall?"

The classification and mechanism of magic are still too complicated for Rusalka. The way he distinguishes magic is to look at the damage number. Bigger means stronger, and stronger means bigger.

Mechanics? What mechanics? Don't just tell me a bunch of stuff like you're reciting a book. Just tell me how many dice to roll, whether I passed or not, how much health to lose, and that's it.

What? I'm dead? Show me the rulebook! What the hell? You must be kidding!

So Rusalka imagined the levels of magic in her mind as follows: Trick - Throwing Rocks; Elementary - Throwing Large Rocks; Intermediate - Stone Balls; Advanced - Heaven Shakes the World; Ultimate - Meteorites Are Coming! Everyone is liberated!; God Level - We Recorded the End (Asteroid Collision)

Sanita did not deny the existence of such magic: "The magic of violently destroying the city wall is indeed very cool, but after that everyone will know that I have no magic power, and the opponent cannot guarantee that I can still throw a shot after I recover. So there is a high probability that the opponent will choose to fight with all their strength, and rush to me without caring about their lives. This is not good either. If too many local soldiers are killed, it will make it impossible to appease the people. And if there are no prisoners, who will help us rebuild the wall after it is demolished?

Besides, this kind of magic structure is very unstable. What if the spell is interrupted and the positioning coordinates are offset? If you accidentally set it on your forehead, wouldn't you be doomed? "

Rusalka: "So what are you going to do? Do like Aqua next door and flood them?"

Sanita: "You will understand when the time comes. You just need to protect me, but I have a lot of things to consider."

Rusalka wanted to say "It was won in seconds", but after thinking about it, he realized that what Sanita said seemed to be true.

The next night, Phoenix came back and told Sanitta that there should be two foreign wizards on the other side who looked powerful. Judging from the noble badges on their bodies, one of them was from the Marquis Allen's family and the other was from the Earl's family.

When enemies meet, their eyes are filled with jealousy. Rusalka glanced at Sanita and said to him privately: (Tell Phoenix that I want to eat fish. Go and kill them. Yes, kill them both!)

Sanitta rolled his eyes at him. "Why are you asking Phoenix to do everything? Tell me, what's the point? Just let her take care of the security after she rests. I've already sent my familiar to test the enemy's abilities. If all goes well, I'll start preparing to cast spells tomorrow morning."

Rusalka: (Why not a surprise attack at night?)

Sanita: (This spell only works in public.)

What kind of weird magic only works when cast in front of people?

Rushaka held her chin up in thought for a moment, then suddenly seemed to think of something. She looked at Sanita with a strange look: (You, pretty boy, aren't you trying to copy Teresa's tricks? Wearing a cosplay costume and performing group charms, straight up awesome!)

Sanita made a retching motion: (You are so disgusting, can you please stay away from me?)

Rusalka: (Okay, then tonight, can you tell me about the powerful magic in this world? Although I can't eat pork because of my Halal talent, I also want to see pigs run.)

Rusalka said to Phoenix, "Phoenix, go back and have some rest. Come back tomorrow morning to watch the fireworks from the Sani Tower."

Phoenix nodded and held out her hand to Rusalka.

Rusalka was stunned for a moment. After thinking for a moment, he took out a gold coin from his pocket and put it in the latter's palm: "Thank you for your hard work. Use it to buy something delicious."

Sanita couldn't hold it in and laughed out loud.

Phoenix's face gradually became gloomy. Instead of taking the gold coins, she grabbed Rusalka's hand and dragged him out of the commander's tent.

"No, we are in a special period now. In ancient times, there was Dayu who passed by his home three times without entering when he was controlling the flood. Now it's me, Rusalka...Okay, you have to promise to leave me eight hours to sleep." Rusalka was dragged away with a look of despair on her face.

The deadbeat was forced to execute the law.

----

Sanitieta waved to Phoenix, who was yawning slightly with a hint of sleepiness on her face, and to Rusalka, one of his three knights, who had come over to watch Sanitieta cast a spell. "Good morning! Did you get eight hours of sleep?"

Rusalka didn't answer the question directly. Instead, she waved her hand and said casually, "It's just a few dozen points of Holy Healing Pool. It's no big deal. How are your magic preparations going? I've called everyone I can trust to cheer you on."

The Sani Tower, which had already moved the red magic crystal outside, looked at Caster and the knight Lei Xiukai from the Barony of Whitemay. They were each holding a bag of peanuts, several jars of bundled wine, and some popular snacks in the barracks such as dried meat, and were stunned.

Are they here to protect him or to watch the monkey show?

Well, looking at the "when does the show start" expression on Rusalka's face, it seems that everyone thinks it is the latter.

Come to think of it, most of us may have never seen an advanced spell in our lifetime, let alone real top-level magic. For most people, top-level magic has already gone beyond the scope of "magic". Because we will never see it in this lifetime, people will exaggerate it.

The effect of resurrection is no longer worthy of its name. People think that this thing should be able to summon the incarnation of gods, reverse time and space, and make things happen as it says. It is as exaggerated as possible.

You said they praised the top level to the sky, but what about the god level?

The god level is the magic of God, mortals don’t even want to think about it. When you see too many zeros in someone’s bank card, you will not be envious at all, but just numb.

Even the usually steady Custer and Harukaze looked at the Sunny Tower with eyes full of anticipation.

But rules are rules. Sanitieta frowned and pointed at Lei Xiukai: "Who told you to bring wine into the army? Confiscate it!"

Lei Xiukai put down his wine with a playful smile: "Okay, all for you."

This made the people around him think that this was the wine that Sanita had ordered, leaving him speechless. "Forget it, I'll deal with you later. I really need to cast a spell for a long time next, so you guys should be on guard."

Sarolt approached from a distance and greeted the crowd gathered around the small tables and benches that had been moved. "Good morning, Lord Pearl Tear. Should we launch a test attack today? What are you all doing here? Discussing tactics?"

Rusalka also waved at him. "Good morning! Archmage Sanita is about to use a supreme ultimate spell to directly crush the enemy city. We are now building the Wind Summoning Platform and waiting for the Archmage to borrow the East Wind Missile Limited Edition."

Sarolt was stunned for a moment, spending a few seconds processing the useful information from Rusalka's words. Then he looked at Sanitieta with great respect: "Are you really a great wizard? In other words, you want to use the legendary top-level magic, the same level of miracle magic as the Purifying Light that only the Great Saint of our Esdi can wield?"

Sani Iron Tower was a little embarrassed by his praise: "Maybe it's not as exaggerated as you think."

Sarolt thought about it and said hesitantly, "But if possible, I still hope you can spare those innocent civilians."