What witch? The Deadly Pharmacist!

From the moment Leon invaded the diocese with a red mercury weapon via a teleportation array, the diocese garrison led by Cardinal Zevin was already doomed.

"What exactly do you want?" Principal Zevin finally gave up, realizing that he had no chance of turning the tide.

“Surrender, and I will guarantee the safety of everyone here, including you, Your Excellency the Parish Master,” Leon said calmly.

Leon decided to use this red mercury weapon to launch a trial to persuade the parish to surrender. Ideally, he could dismantle the parish's resistance without bloodshed.

Even if he can't do it, he won't actually suffer a great loss. Even if the parish chief tries to attack and arrest him now, he is confident that he can break in directly with the cover of others, even without using the red mercury, and at least manage to escape unscathed.

"You've suddenly launched an attack on this parish without any reason. How are you going to convince us of your assurances now?"

"Now that monsters have appeared in the parish, and you are suspected of colluding with Moiland, if we give up resistance, we'll probably face a large-scale execution," said Principal Zevin with concern.

“Mass executions? I can do that right now.” Leon laughed and brandished the weapon in his hand. “Your Excellency, you need to understand, if I want to kill you, your surrender or not will not change the outcome. But if I intend to let you go, your refusal to surrender will only make the casualties here worse.”

The parish chief's heart sank. The matter was actually very simple: surrender offered a glimmer of hope, while not surrendering meant certain death, and most of the parish might be burned down.

"Then you might have a slight misunderstanding. Those monsters... I just borrowed some power from the prisoners in the St. Rosalia Prison where I work. Everything is under control. If I were colluding with Moirand, it wouldn't take so much effort to target this parish."

Leon spread his hands to his side as he spoke, "Besides, no matter what, colluding with Moiland or massacring church members would not be good for my future development, so why would I do such a thing?"

After speaking, Princess Frederick, who was standing next to Leon, removed the hood of her cloak, took off her veil, and revealed her face.

Princess Frederick's appearance caused an uproar among the church members present. Then Princess Frederick spoke: "I am sorry to have drawn you all into this internal royal conflict. I believe that those of you from the East do not support me, but at least you can trust my promises."

Freyd made many of the knights present waver: if this was just an internal political struggle within the empire, was it worth their heroic sacrifice?

Princess Freyde wants to seize the throne and rule the entire country. If she colludes with foreign enemies or massacres her own people, how can she maintain her position under the supervision of the church? In this light, the treatment she receives after surrendering is still somewhat believable.

Although not everyone was persuaded by this reason, Leon's method did succeed in dividing the people, and a considerable number of them lost their will to fight.

The parish priest, Zewen, clearly sensed the change in the atmosphere around him and sighed silently to himself.

After a long silence, he raised one hand, made a gesture of placing it flat, and slowly lowered his hand down.

This is a hand gesture commanding soldiers to immediately lay down their weapons and cease fighting; in certain specific situations, it also signifies surrender.

"Very good, now notify the guards at the city gate to open the gates." Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Leon breathed a sigh of relief and called out to the parish chief.

Chapter 689 The Option of Running Away After Failure

With the parish chief choosing to surrender, the defenses of the Southeastern Diocese were quickly dismantled.

Although a few knights still harbored doubts about the parish priest's orders, they were no longer able to muster any semblance of resistance.

Less than an hour later, the city gates of the parish were opened, and Leon's troops moved in, thus taking control of the parish.

"All officers of the parish have been temporarily detained in the courthouse, and nothing unexpected has happened."

In the cathedral council chamber that Leon had taken over, Johnny explained the situation to Leon, "I can't believe you took over a parish with just a bomb. It's only been a little over ten years since the war ended, and the church's standards have dropped to this level."

In this council chamber, Leon sat in the main seat that originally belonged to the parish priest, and Johnny, Lena, and Lamia sat at the long table to his left, while Alicia, Fred, and Dorothy sat to his right.

Melissa and Weiss, who were familiar with the operation of Santa Rosalia Prison, were temporarily left by Leon to monitor the situation there.

Having taken control of this large parish, the next issue was entering the monastery's vast labyrinth.

"Come on, Jonathan, back then, the level of most troops wasn't exactly high either," Alicia said coldly from the side.

Although the four major churches are now nominally led by the Cardinal Council, which was jointly established, there are still considerable barriers between them, even among the departments directly under the Cardinal Council, which have complex relationships.

The various units within the church varied greatly in quality, and their discipline and training levels were heavily influenced by their commanders.

Jonathan Ruit was considered a fairly outstanding frontline commander within the Church. Ironically, the Church and the late Emperor Laurent III were eager to inflict a heavy blow on Moilland at that time, and without knowing the terrain and defensive advantages of Moilland, they sent several high-caliber generals to attack it.

The result was that the church lost many capable naval officers and soldiers, and one person even apostatized.

"Isn't it great to take over the parish with minimal sacrifice? In the end, it seems that Principal Zevin made the wisest choice, didn't he?" Leon laughed.

Johnny neither confirmed nor denied this. It was indeed difficult to deal with this situation from the position of Cardinal Zevin. The church was extremely inefficient due to the disagreements between different churches and departments. Every approval process, every document that needed to be signed, and every unnecessary meeting could drag out something that could be done immediately to half a day before it could be approved layer by layer.

Faced with Leon's sudden attack, neither Santa Rosalia Prison nor the Southeastern Archdiocese was prepared to respond swiftly enough. In the end, surrendering was the least damaging option.

However, Cardinal Zevin did not have a full understanding of the situation, but rather made this only choice because he was powerless to do anything about it.

"He made the wisest choice, and your reward for him is to be interrogated by Miss Reina?" Dorothy teased. "So, did the Cardinal confess?"

“He revealed the entrance to the ruins of the ancient city of Elland. Beneath the monastery lies a sealed ossuary, where bishops and knights who died in the battle of Elland are buried. He said their spirits were sent to guard the entrance to the ruins, following Saint Astartes. That is the entrance to the ruins. The entrance to the ossuary is inside the sarcophagus statue in the Saint Astartes Memorial Hall of the monastery. The sarcophagus has a hidden door, and the mechanism and key have been confirmed.” Lena explained the results of her interrogation.

"A bunch of war criminals building a mausoleum in occupied territory? If Her Majesty the Queen were here, she would definitely grind all the remains to dust," Dorothy said in a half-joking tone.

Lamia nodded silently, unusually agreeing with Dorothy.

Even if they disagreed with Queen Alice's political views, they were still Molandians after all, and they still held the same resistant attitude towards the Norn Empire's invasion of Eland.

"What's the situation with the ruins below? Are they completely buried, or is there a space to enter and exit?" Leon asked.

If the ruins of the ancient city of Elland need to be excavated, then their plan to delve into the Great Labyrinth may take a long time.

“About five to ten meters below, there lies a relatively complete urban area of ​​the city of Elland, supported by the remaining buildings of the ruins, with passable spaces,” Lena replied.

“Even if the area is filled in after it’s been maze-ed, the power of Moirai will create space for living things to survive. The Church also needs to check the condition of the ruins, so they definitely won’t fill them in,” Dorothy said.

“Using red mercury incendiary bombs in underground spaces of five to ten meters should not cause too much damage to the surface, but the monastery and the cathedral with exits directly above may be affected,” Leon said after thinking for a moment.

The shockwave from the red mercury incendiary bomb has limited power and will not cause extensive damage to the main structure of the building. It should not cause the underground space to collapse, but the overflowing flames may erupt from the surface exit, causing a fire on the surface.

"When the time comes, it will be just Frey and me entering the underground... no, I'll go in first to check on Saint Astartes' seal. After we successfully break through, Frey will then enter the labyrinth to meet me. The rest of you will stay in the safe area and wait for orders," Leon said.

“Aren’t you afraid of dying? If you’re out of contact for more than a day, we’ll evacuate as soon as possible, okay? My boat is already waiting on the riverbank,” Johnny said.

If Leon were to encounter any mishap in this matter, the entire organization would fall apart. They would have to evacuate completely before the Church's reinforcements arrived, not only from the Grand Diocese but also from the country.

Adele has already arranged the route from the Empire to the southern countries and the New World. Non-combatants like Selene have also been placed in safe houses on the border where they can set off along the route at any time.

"When that time comes, don't forget to bring the people from Santa Rosalia Prison along as well," Leon instructed Johnny, then glanced at Lena. "If I lose contact with you, don't wait any longer."

“Leon, we considered a way out when we were in Hamel Town. Actually… that way wasn’t really gone.” Lena looked at Leon and said, “I’ve accommodated you so many times. I only have one request: if there’s really no way, don’t force it. Giving up is also an option. No matter which path you take, I will be with you.”

“Yes, I know.” Leon immediately understood what Lena meant.

If there is no hope of obtaining that power, one should withdraw when possible, and there is still a way out to take Lena and the others far away.

"Um, we agreed that I could come along too, right?" Lamia cautiously asked Leon to confirm.

"Save a spot for me too, I'm doomed if the church catches me," Dorothy chimed in with a laugh. "If you're worried I'll sell you out when I go back to Moilland, I can stay with you."

"Have you already devised an escape plan?" Princess Fred asked.

"Your Highness, you wouldn't want to go with him too, would you?" Dorothy asked with a teasing smile.

Princess Fred thought for a moment and replied, "Then, can you save me a seat?"

Both Lena and Lamia looked at the princess with surprise.

"Oh dear, so... with Mr. Fenrir gone, you don't even want to fight for the throne anymore?" Dorothy teased even more happily.

“Without him, I have no chance of winning the throne. Even if Aaron doesn’t kill me, someone else will want to get rid of me. Why shouldn’t I escape with him?” Princess Fred answered without blinking, ignoring the stares of the others.

Alicia glanced at Princess Fred and sighed softly.

"Uh, you don't want to join in too, do you?" Johnny asked, frowning as he saw Alicia's reaction.

"Go to hell! If you guys are finished, just let me go back to the Church of the Mystic God," Alicia replied irritably.

Chapter 690 The Weakness of Omniscience and Blessing

Southeastern Archdiocese, Cathedral and Monastery, Saint Astartes Memorial.

Leon and his companions stepped into the magnificent palace, which was originally a key facility guarded by the diocese. After the diocese surrendered, at Leon's request, Cardinal Zevin withdrew the monastery's guards.

Sunlight streamed down from the arched glazed dome, illuminating the massive stone coffin in the center of the memorial hall.

The sarcophagus is pure white and two meters tall. It is a small house with a considerable space. The lid is carved with a relief of Saint Astartes, who is wearing a long robe and holding a staff in one hand and a sword in the other.

“Saint Astartes’ coffin… well, this is indeed where he was buried.” Dorothy laughed. “It’s a skeleton made of orogen or mithril, it can’t be easily destroyed by brute force.”

“Fortunately, we can go through the main entrance,” Leon said.

Following the information provided by Lena, he found the mechanism hidden under a certain floor tile. He inserted the key to activate the mechanism, and a gap popped out from the side of the stone coffin, which originally looked like a single piece of stone. The gap was exactly the shape of a door.

Leon walked over and pushed hard, and the hidden door finally opened, revealing a pitch-black space inside.

Using his night vision, Leon peered inside and saw a staircase entrance large enough for five or six people to walk side by side, with the staircase extending downwards.

This is the entrance to the Great Labyrinth of the ancient city of Elland.

"Here you go." Johnny tossed a lantern made from a sacred relic to Leon. "From now on, it's up to you."

"Good luck, but don't die on the first step," Dorothy warned.

"I hope the information you provided is reliable," Leon said.

“I think a simpler seal would be better, since that kind of seal is already dangerous enough for you,” Dorothy said.

"I actually have a question about the Astartes' abilities you mentioned." Rena hesitated at this moment. "You said that the Astartes' power can foresee the moment someone might die and then reenact it on that person, right?"

“Yes, that’s right, but according to our estimates, the remaining power of Astartes is mostly unable to predict the future,” Dorothy said.

“What if it could happen? This ability can even reenact a predetermined death. People will die eventually. If it reenacts the moment when one’s lifespan ends, wouldn’t that mean… certain death?” Lena said.

“I don’t think it’s that simple, otherwise everyone who has been affected by Saint Astartes’ power would be dead, and no one would be able to reveal this information,” Dorothy said.

“I think this ability probably can’t recreate the exact moment of death,” Leon said.

"Why are you so optimistic?" Lamia asked with concern.

"I have studied some of the Prophet Church’s books before. This blessing can replay key moments in the target’s life timeline and kill the target, provided that the timeline is manipulatory and can diverge. Only when a divergence leading to death occurs during the replay will that person’s life end prematurely, and all subsequent possible moments will logically disappear."

Conversely, to recreate the moment when a person dies, the prerequisite is that the person can live to that time. This means that it must be certain that he can escape all the previous possibilities of death in order to predict that point in time. This also requires ensuring that the timeline can clearly reach this endpoint without change and without any other possibilities. Doesn't this contradict the premise for the existence of this blessing ability itself? "Leon said.

Given the vast amount of information in a person's life, it's impossible to fully interpret it. Even if Cardinal Stuart used his omniscience on him, he could only access memories of key moments, not the complete life story.

This led Leon to speculate that those key moments were like crossroads where paths diverged, and that the blessing of omniscience needed to be anchored at these crossroads to be effective in order to be located along this timeline.

Perhaps everyone's life will indeed present a certain death trap, but as long as there is at least one such crossroads separating them from that trap, it means they may not necessarily reach it. Therefore, from the current point in time, "certain death" is not valid. Logically, this blessing power should only be able to repeat itself forward along this timeline. Even the power of a saint should have its limits. Unless a person's lifespan is exceptionally short, it is probably very difficult to directly repeat the moment when their death is certain.

In other words, if we take an optimistic view, the points in time that are reenacted by the omniscience of Astartes' blessing should all have a possibility of survival—this is probably the weakness of this blessing ability.

“I think that makes a lot of sense,” Dorothy said with a smile. “And speaking of lifespan, don’t forget that Lord Moirai’s blessing can extend lifespan. Mr. Fenrir, who has a third-order blessing, has a lifespan of at least two or three times that of an ordinary person. Moreover, he must have His Highness the Prince’s newborn blood in him, which can also extend lifespan.”

“Moirai’s power has such an effect, which is why we can make money from potions.” Leon adjusted his mindset, picked up the lantern and said to the people behind him, “I’m leaving. Everyone except Freyd should leave, unless Alicia wants to stay.”

The only people who survived the burst of red mercury at the scene, besides Freyde, were Alicia, even though Alicia had previously stated that she would not participate in this matter.

“I’ll say it again, I won’t go down with you. This violates my principles, I just can’t stop you. Although this could hurt the Queen of Moyland, I won’t get involved personally,” Alicia insisted.

"Then it's up to you." After saying that, Leon picked up his lantern, glanced back at everyone present one last time, and stepped into the dark underground passage.

He descended the steps, the air gradually becoming damp and cold.

Descending about three meters, he arrived at a huge underground tomb, the ossuary built directly beneath the monastery. Inside, he saw a massive monument carved into the load-bearing wall, bearing the names of all the knights and bishops who had died in battle. There weren't many names, because only bishops and knights with ranks were worthy of having their honors inscribed on it; ordinary soldiers were not entitled to this honor.

As for the name of Saint Astartes, it is naturally engraved in the most prominent position at the top, along with many verses praising his achievements.

"One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand, and those bones used as stepping stones don't even deserve to be named." This rather ironic thought came to Leon's mind.

However, the so-called achievements left by Saint Astartes and these people may well become stepping stones for him.

With that thought in mind, Leon walked through the ossuary and ventured deeper inside.

Chapter 691 The Place Where Saints Are Sealed

After passing through the ossuary, Leon saw a towering metal gate.

Centuries of history have made the entire ossuary look very old. Even though the monks of the monastery have taken great care of it and kept it spotless, the walls and monuments still bear the marks of age.

But only this door remained gleaming, as smooth as a mirror, and even in the darkness it emitted a faint silver glow.

The gate itself wasn't newly built; it was just reinforced with mithril.

After Astartes sealed the Great Labyrinth, the Empire isolated the sunken city of Elland from the labyrinth. Behind this door are the remaining ruins of Elland.

Even though Saint Astartes successfully sealed the Great Labyrinth, the Empire remained highly vigilant. After all, if Astartes' seal were to fail, the Great Labyrinth, created by the blood of Moirai, would be unleashed once more. The ever-expanding labyrinth would engulf the southeastern region of the Empire, and countless monsters would ravage this land. To this day, the Empire has yet to produce another Saint.

The church left an additional small door on the main gate as a passageway to monitor the condition of the ruins, check for intrusions, and for some research purposes.