Chapter 372: Coping with the Divine Descent Technique!
Utilizing the blockade brought about by the ice wall, the Imperial fleet began its return journey. To prevent pursuit, Joshua conjured a colossal, ever-churning sea dragon tornado,pletely splitting the two fleets apart. They smoothly vanished into the mistden depths of the sea...
On the other side, Aurora and herpanions sessfully merged with the arriving reinforcements.
After cross-referencing intelligence, Aurora was surprised to learn that the war in the capital had already ended, and it was a dangerously close battle. The Archbishop, as mentioned in the reports, wielded legendary-level power and nearly summoned that being.
"It seems my predictions were a bit off," Aurora frowned.
Based on her earlier spections, since the Holy Church had decided to dispatch an expedition fleet to attack the Land of Wizards, the kingdom might have been merely feigning offense.
Unexpectedly, the Holy Church had grander ns, aiming to hit both ends—to reim the kingdom while eradicating the entire Land of Wizards!
"It appears my estimates were somewhat mistaken," Aurora furrowed her brow.
ording to her prior assumptions, since the Church had resolved to send an expedition fleet to attack the wizard territory, the kingdom might have only been feigning an assault.
Unexpectedly, the Church was taking such bold steps, intending to strike on both fronts—to reim the kingdom while annihting the entire wizard domain!It''s unfortunate they didn''t have continuous real-timemunication across the misty sea. Her dispatched fleet coincidentally missed the arrivals of Harof and Victorio, rushing to aid the capital.
"Lady Aurora, should we continue the pursuit?" Tiek promptly inquired. With the arrival of airships, they once again held the upper hand in the conflict, fully capable of keeping the Imperial expedition fleet stranded here throughbined naval and aerial might.
It was an incredibly tempting prospect, but after a moment''s thought, Aurora shook her head.
"Not for now. Arrange a team to track them. If there are signs of another attack, then we strike!"
After a daylong naval battle, the fleet''s ammunition had nearly depleted.
Simrly, the airborne ships rushing to assist had just concluded a major battle. They hadn''t even had time to recuperate before hastily rushing in, carrying insufficient munitions to face another war.
More critically, she feared the legendary cleric aboard the Imperial fleet might resort to desperate measures, much like Edweil, summoning that pseudo-deity.
That wouldplicate matters...
However, given that they hadn''t used such a spell recklessly during the conflict, it meant casting that divine art would require a heavier price, potentially surpassing the losses of a third of the expedition fleet!
...
When Aurora led her fleet back to the capital dayster, the city still reeked of gunpowder. The signs of destruction were visible everywhere, especially in the war-torn slums, severely damaged with a considerable casualty count.
Lynn saw this as an excellent opportunity. They dispatched everyone except essential guards to aid the affected popce.
Even the wizards, who generally looked down upon these slums, respected Lynn, the Star of Magic.
Rumors spread across the city about the Star of Magic joining two legendary councilors in banishing the pseudo-deity from the capital.
It led to spection whether Lynn had already ascended to legendary status, as how else could they intervene in such a high-level battle?
Yet, this spection seemed exaggerated, given that most knew Lynn had only reached the level of a Quadrant Wizard a few months ago. Most wizards scoffed at these rumors.
There were whispers that after the battle, Master Lynn was severely injured, with Raphael, who was present, also heavily wounded, bedridden for days.
Hence, the reality might be the two legendary councilors protecting them while engaging in the battle...
Regardless, the wizards faithfully executed the orders. Through magic, they restored the damaged streets and buildings. Astonishingly, half the repair work was done in just five days, an almost unbelievable efficiency...
Not every inhabitant of the city''s slums had beenpletely corrupted by blind faith. With two consecutive acts of relentless aid, most realized the true perpetrators of destruction were the so-called ''messengers of the gods,'' while those aiding in rebuilding were branded as ''minions of the dark gods.''
As a member of the slums, Haydon solidified his beliefs further. These wizards weren''t as terrifying as the church propaganda suggested.
In fact, Haydon thought, the priests and aristocrats from the church would never spend money or use divine arts to repair their damaged homes!
...
Lynn didn''t pay much attention to the rampant rumors or the changing mindset of the slum residents within the capital.
Post-war, there were numerous tedious matters to handle. Even as a convalescent, Lynn had to work, and upon Aurora''s return, the council immediately convened an internal meeting.
Though the airship''s previous return had already briefed them about the events in the misty sea, the specifics were still unknown. Now, Aurora recounted the entire sequence of events.
"Never thought the Church had discovered a way to locate the Land of Wizards!" Raphael eximed, a hint of paleness still on his face from his near-death encounter.
After five days of recovery, Raphael barely escaped the brink of death. It would take at least another half month forplete recovery.
Indeed, surviving a direct strike from a deity was already remarkably lucky!
Listening to Aurora''s narration, the assembled wizards were equally shaken.
The defenses of the Land of Wizards were incredibly frail at present. The high-end defenses were only a quarter of their previous strength, with only nine of the thirty great wizards remaining there. Harof, Victorio, and Aurora, the three councilors, had all gone to support the kingdom.
Only Althok, the Elemental Controller, a legendary figure, remained in the Land of Wizards.
However, Raphael and the others knew this legendary councilor''s mental state was fragile, making it impractical to expect him to organize forces.
"You did the right thing. Dying that fleet at sea is far more crucial than anything on the kingdom''s end!" Harof nodded. They couldn''t afford to lose the Land of Wizards.
"We need to resolve themunication issue swiftly to avoid such incidents again..." Victorio added. Relying solely on ships and airships for messages was far too slow, and the existingmunication spells were inadequate for such vast distances.
Soon, the discussion veered towards developing newmunication magic. However, it swiftly transitioned to a more critical matter—how to counter the Church''s terrifying divine descent technique!>
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