Strength 99999 but the Holy Sister

Stikia withdrew her gaze and spoke slowly.

She still sat upright on the throne, with a hint of laziness between her brows.

"Then... perhaps we can get Valentine to contribute to the Empire again."

Someone else suggested.

The Valentine family, which guards the northern border, is one of the five old nobles at the beginning of the establishment of the empire. Although some people have always said that they have declined, no one will underestimate the power they wield. The Demon Hunting Sword: Giant Slayer Valentine is the sacred object inherited by their family.

Stikia shook her head again.

Compared to the knights, she looked quite capable.

"We're far from at the end of our rope. While I don't want to engage in open warfare with Ryanfort this early, the royal dignity cannot be challenged. Cassius Harvey, raise your eyes and don't lose faith. We haven't reached the point of a bitter battle yet, and you don't need to fight to protect the relic. This time, you have only one mission: to explore and find out what research the Seventh Agency is conducting without our knowledge, and to determine whether the rumors about the 'war machine' are true."

"But... do we really have to give up the holy relic..."

Cassius Harvey didn't think Vaux Cress and his hundred men could hold the relic.

Stikia just smiled.

"Just do as I say, Harvey, and the relic will not fall into the hands to which it does not belong."

……

Tricia twisted Elsa to the edge of the bed and made her sit upright, listening to Tricia's analysis with half belief and half doubt.

"You mean my prayers imbued the cross with the power to transform into a holy relic?"

Elsa wanted to laugh, but couldn't.

She had never imagined that the items she carried with her would one day become holy relics. It was like seeing the toys buried in her childhood in a museum, and having an indescribable strange feeling - the cross was clearly left behind for prayer and blessing, but Elsa didn't think too much about it at the time.

Tricia wasn't entirely sure of her guess, but nodded anyway.

"I think that's possible. Of course, there's another possibility—your aura assimilated it, just like the vast magical crystal ore that exists near the earth veins. But I can't explain why its power manifests in the form of holy light."

The crosses worn by Vatican officials are all made of silver.

Silver itself is a very high-quality magic-conducting metal. For example, the mithril mine in Baron Fisher's territory is a silver mine that has been alienated due to the surge of the earth veins. Mithril mine is an excellent magical material. From this point of view, we can see the excellent performance of silver as a magic medium. Perhaps this can serve as a rough explanation.

Elsa was silent.

Tricia was silent for a while. She had never encountered such a situation before, so even she found it difficult to understand for a while.

She sighed, restrained her expression, and said solemnly:

"But, Elsa, there's a problem now—because of the appearance of a new holy relic, there might be a new struggle between the Queen's faction and the Royal Government faction."

Elsa raised her eyes and frowned slightly.

She also immediately realized this problem. How could everything remain calm when an ownerless treasure appeared?

This is not what Aisha wants to see.

Tricia looked into Elsa's eyes and continued, "You know, a sacred object is a strategic item for any country or power. No one can ignore it. Rather than wondering why it became a sacred object, I think the most urgent task now is to reclaim it. Rather than fighting for it, you already own it, so it's only fitting that you take it back."

……

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391. No Clash of Blood and Iron

Different from the space teleportation arrays left in the ruins of the Age of Gods, the mainstream teleportation arrays used by countries on the continent now are safer and more efficient, and can almost block all external interference by conventional means. However, the price is that the distance of a single transmission by this type of teleportation array is very limited.

Just like different magicians use teleportation magic, Tricia, as a legendary wizard, can perform large-scale teleportation across cities on her own after preparation, and single-person short-distance teleportation is even easier for her. However, most magicians can only complete a single-person teleportation of a short distance of a kilometer through long-term preparation and the assistance of others.

The inter-city teleportation arrays set up by the empire in various cities also have significant differences in performance. The teleportation arrays in most cities can only transmit from one city to another nearby city. Even the large teleportation array set up in the imperial capital can only radiate to most areas of the entire central province. This is already one of the most stable and longest-distance teleportation array systems currently available.

Similarly, some city teleportation arrays can only accommodate dozens of people, while the teleportation array in the imperial capital is large enough to accommodate hundreds of people at the same time.

This is also a huge gap.

But no matter what, the teleportation array cannot mobilize soldiers on a large scale, which means that this conflict between the Queen's faction and the Royalist faction is a clash between the elite forces of both sides. Because of this, Cassius Harvey must be cautious.

In short, to ensure the swift arrival of support from other regions in the event of war, every large and medium-sized city established a teleportation array, making the city the most important node in the teleportation array. These teleportation arrays were interconnected, like tunnels, through which one could reach their destination. This vast network, woven in this way, became the prototype of the Empire's teleportation network.

For example, to travel from the imperial capital to the city of Dammas, one only needs to teleport more than ten times and cross more than ten cities, and it only takes one day including the preparation time. Otherwise, it will take a month to travel by carriage. Even if you ride a BMW that has been improved with monster bloodline and travel non-stop, it will take at least half a month.

There is no doubt that the teleportation array is the fastest way to deliver support.

But this transmission network has two fatal flaws.

First, due to the limitations of the startup preparation time and the huge amount of energy required, it is difficult to transport a large number of people at one time, so the targets of the transport are mostly elite troops or high-value supplies.

Secondly, it required constant maintenance, increasing the risk of sabotage from within. This forced the Empire to strengthen its control over the teleportation arrays. At the beginning of the Empire, the teleportation network was completely controlled by the royal family and strictly managed. Even so, wherever maintenance and operation were required, there was bound to be a trade-off and erosion of interests. This was especially true after the decline of the Queen's faction, when Duke Ryanfort forcefully intervened and seized control of a portion of the teleportation arrays. This effectively divided the entire empire into two parts. One part comprised Duke Ryanfort's sphere of influence, roughly one-fifth of the territory. This fifth was primarily concentrated in the wealthy Eastern Province and the Southern Province, where the new aristocracy held a strong presence. The other part consisted of local aristocrats who remained loyal to the Queen's faction or whose stance was unclear.

After leaving the throne room, he immediately assembled the elite knights of the Royal Knights. Except for a part of them who stayed in the imperial capital and the palace, the rest of them quickly prepared themselves and immediately rushed to the teleportation array in the imperial capital, Arterila. They quickly allocated manpower and pre-activated the teleportation array.

But what surprised many people was that the mounts Cassius Harvey asked them to prepare were not the horned deer that were more suitable for the north, but the earth dragon that was more suitable for the mountains - a one-horned beast with demonic blood, slightly larger than the warhorses used by the Knights.

It is called a "dragon" because it has very weak dragon blood in its body. It is considered a weakened branch of sub-dragons. In battles on flat ground, it is not as fast as a swift warhorse, nor as steady as an antler deer in the snow. However, with their outstanding performance in the mountains, they have repeatedly shined in battles.

Cassius Xavi did not offer any explanation for this.

At this time, Cassius Harvey was wearing a dazzling golden full-body armor, with a finely forged silver knight sword hanging on his waist. Behind him was a cone-shaped object as long as an arm, wrapped in thick black cloth.

At this time, Queen Stikia's secretary came over hurriedly.

"Our mages have observed that the teleportation magic from the Seventh Organ has entered a state of readiness. We have organized an interception, but they were also well prepared, and the results are not significant..."

Cassius Harvey's knife-like cheeks moved. He knew that from now on they had begun their first confrontation with the mysterious Seventh Organization.

It was natural that the interference attack failed. The Seventh Agency was not a place for playing house. They came prepared. The teleportation array they built could not be easily broken from the outside. What's more, the Seventh Agency also had the mysterious arcanist Springhall Xarosas in charge.

Similarly, the Seventh Agency had been launching tentative counterattacks against the Imperial Capital Teleportation Array, but all of them were blocked.

This is a battle without iron and blood.

The secretary paused, then whispered in a voice only Cassius Harvey could hear, "However, as you requested, we have already found the location of the Seventh Organization's teleportation array through magical tracing."

This finally caused a slight ripple in Cassius Harvey's resolute gaze.

This is the purpose of the interference attack: to find the location of the teleportation array, which makes it possible to destroy the teleportation array.

Cassius Harvey did not understand why the Queen gave up the fight for the holy relic and turned to attack the Seventh Agency, but as the Queen's sword, he carried out the Queen's orders without hesitation - that was to test the secret plan that the Seventh Agency had been hiding, and what the so-called "war machine" was.

There was a hint of coldness in Cassius Harvey's mouth.

"I understand. Keep trying to intercept them. Don't show mercy to those bastards. Once you find a flaw, immediately destroy their teleportation array and make them suffer! - Also, tell me their location. Now it's our turn to take the initiative!"

Cassius Harvey said in a cold voice, and the secretary's eyes flashed with sharpness.

……

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

392 Undercurrent

At this time, there were heart-shaking vibrations coming from the teleportation array. Harvey slowly turned around, picked up the golden helmet and put it on his head. His eyes swept over the elite knights standing in front of him in an orderly manner.

He knew very well that among these people, or around them, there might be spies planted by Duke Ryanfort, reporting their actions to Duke Ryanfort. When Wo Cress discovered the holy relic, the news immediately reached the Duke's ears, so someone must have leaked the information.

Similarly, the Duke also has lurkers sent by the Queen, so that the Duke's every move is exposed to the Queen's eyes.

The Queen and the Duke, both know each other's intentions and movements. This is a gambling game in which both sides have revealed their cards.

But the Duke has a card in his hand that he has always kept hidden - the Seventh Agency. The Seventh Agency has many secrets and is tightly guarded. It is very difficult to plant spies in it, which forces the Queen to be on guard. It is a thorn that the Queen has always wanted to pull out.

Cassius Harvey's mission this time is to test the strength of the Seventh Organization, but until now, only the most loyal few people know clearly their mission objectives, and the knights in front of him have not received any news - these knights all believe that this mission is to fight for the holy relic, and naturally, the information passed to the Duke is also the same.

This is undoubtedly a brilliant misdirection.

"The battle is imminent, Knights of the Empire," Cassius Harvey gathered his thoughts and stepped forward, speaking loudly. "But unfortunately, we are now at a disadvantage. The cunning lackeys of Duke Ryanfort have blocked the teleportation array, including the city of Cloros. To ensure our reinforcements arrive as quickly as possible, I have sent a message to Wo Kress to change the transfer location of the relic."

Most of the time, Ryanfort still obeyed the Queen's orders and tacitly maintained the superficial calm of the empire, but this time he obviously did not intend to continue acting - at this time, including the city of Kroros, nearly a quarter of the cities in the North had closed their teleportation arrays to the Queen's faction. This was already the limit of what Ryanfort could do.

Similarly, the Queen's faction retaliated with the same means, having nearly half of the city use a teleportation array to intercept the troops sent by Ryan Fort.

This is a confrontation with undercurrents.

Although blocking these cities cannot completely prevent reinforcements from both sides, it forces them to take a long detour and use other cities to rush to Kroros, greatly increasing the dispatch time for both sides, which will increase the risk for both sides.

"However, the initiative is still in our hands. Proud sons of Alba, let us give a decisive blow to those bastards who dare to challenge the Queen's majesty!"

This is the imperial capital, their home ground. They own the large teleportation array, which allows them to deliver support faster and in greater quantities, and they have better defensive measures. They are completely unafraid of the counterattack of the Seventh Agency. In the imperial capital, the Seventh Agency can only passively take a beating, but once it leaves the imperial capital, this advantage will no longer exist - it would be a fatal mistake to underestimate the influence of Duke Ryanfort among the new nobles.

In other words, if you want to fight, now is the best opportunity.

"set off!"

As the teleportation array emitted a dazzling light, everyone briefly lost their five senses - the feeling brought by the teleportation magic was very wonderful. When they felt their feet on the ground again, dizziness followed. At this time, someone opened their eyes and saw a desolate and dilapidated scene.

"here it is……"

The knights squinted their eyes and gradually took in everything in front of them - broken buildings, collapsed towers, crumbled city walls, scorched earth with no grass growing on it, and gravel carried by the dry night wind, leaving a rustling sound on the armor. In the darkness, the desolate and cold ruins gave people a gloomy sense of fear.

They were actually standing on a deadly ground.

The earth dragon let out a low hiss.

"Is this... the old capital?"

Some people were keenly aware of the truth and showed shock on their faces. More and more knights looked in surprise at the ruins that had become history before them - the former capital of the empire located at the foot of the Alba Mountains.

They all had the same absurd feeling in their hearts -

"No... How did we get here? Isn't our destination the North? Could it be that our teleportation array was breached by the Seventh Organization?"

Otherwise, how could the end point of the teleportation array be wrong?

They turned their eyes one after another to their superior, the Knight Grand Master Cassius Harvey. Harvey's calm gaze swept across the knights' surprised and nervous faces, and he jumped onto the back of the earth dragon.

The earth dragon let out a shrill scream, which was a sign that it had sensed the will of its master and stimulated the monster's fighting instinct. Immediately afterwards, the earth dragons beside the knights all let out responding screams one after another.

Cassius Harvey's mount is the "leader" among the earth dragons, and its scream makes the other earth dragons full of fighting spirit.

"This is our destination, knights. Open your eyes and look where the sun sets!"

Cassius Harvey raised the Mithril Knight Sword in his hand high and pointed it in the direction of the ruins. At this time, someone finally discovered the end of the ruins, where a deep blue light rose from the depths of the towering Alba Mountains.

"That is……"

"That's where the Seventh Organ's teleportation array is located. Our mission is to capture it."

As Cassius Harvey spoke, he slowly lowered his gaze and calmly observed the knights' reactions - most of the knights immediately restrained their astonishment and confusion, and gripped their weapons tightly. As the most elite troops, they would not question any orders.

But there were still two people whose faces showed obvious panic. There was no doubt that they had not expected this scene. If nothing unexpected happened, they should be the spies planted by the Duke - the reason for their panic was naturally because they finally realized that the information they passed to the Duke contained huge fallacies, and they would definitely be held accountable by the Duke later.

Cassius Harvey no longer cared about them. He turned around, took off the thick black cloth from his back, and took out an iris shield with exquisite patterns. Even in the pitch-black night, the iris shield still emitted a dazzling golden light. In the night, its existence was as noble and eye-catching as the sun.

……

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393. The Duke is Angry [Part 3]

That is the holy object held by Cassius Harvey - the Guardian Shield: Golden Agate Beshmidt. This holy object cannot be placed in the space equipment, so it can only be wrapped in a thick black cloth to hide its brilliance.

Because no one would be stupid enough to take out such a conspicuous thing in the dark, it would be like announcing one's presence to the enemy... unless... this signal is not only a declaration to the enemy, but also a signal to one's own people.

Gradually, some people became aware of a faint vibration coming from under their feet. The vibration became stronger and stronger, and the rough gravel jumped on the ground. Some people looked towards the distant imperial capital and widened their eyes in astonishment - a dazzling beam of light shot straight into the sky, breaking through the dark clouds, like a red-hot steel pillar standing between heaven and earth. The fiery red clouds seemed to be burning, and with a visible shock wave, a huge gray wave swept in, and a dull thunder rolled down.

The magic that can trigger such power must be of the forbidden spell level, and it is not an ordinary forbidden spell. This is probably a forbidden spell-level anti-military suppression magic, which is far beyond the means of ordinary extraordinary wizards.

The knights' eyes grew serious.

Even though they are all experienced warriors who have emerged from numerous selections with their powerful strength, they will still feel instinctive fear if they face such a powerful forbidden spell alone.

"Everyone, mount your mounts! Prepare for battle!"

A loud and sharp shout drew the knights' attention back from the pillar of fire. Unknowingly, he had hidden his shield under the black cloth again - the black cloth could only block its brilliance, but its powerful force still protected him at all times.

"Bring forth your swords, sing the praises of your glory, brave warriors, and bring down punishment upon these despicable rebels!!"

Cassius Harvey held Beshmidt high, his roar piercing the vibrating air, and he tightened the reins of the earth dragon, leading the charge towards the foot of the Alba Mountains. As Harvey charged, the knights also mounted their mounts one after another and followed closely. At this moment, they realized belatedly - no wonder their knight commander asked for earth dragons as mounts from the beginning. On such a rugged hillside, the earth dragons could play the greatest advantage.

This dead land had no vegetation and was covered with bare rocks. Hundreds of elite knights were charging at high speed on the mountain covered with bare rocks. They soon crossed the hillside, and the azure light was getting closer and closer in front of them, becoming more and more eye-catching.

At this moment, with a roar, a ball of dazzling red light descended from the sky, lighting up the way forward for everyone. Some people looked up and saw what seemed to be a huge flaming dragon dancing in the clouds. It quickly penetrated the clouds and headed towards the old capital. When it reached the tops of the knights' heads, it revealed its true form - a meteorite wrapped in flames ignited the dark clouds. The sky was torn open by the meteorite, leaving a terrifying red hole. The scorching flame tail left a bright scratch on the sky, pushing the meteorite to fall towards the depths of the mountains, and the direction of its fall was exactly where the faint blue light appeared.

As the meteorite fell, a circle of azure ripples emerged above the mountains, as if turning the night sky upside down, forming a huge arc-shaped barrier.