The atmosphere in the carriage became very strange, Douglas seemed to have forgotten the two magicians next to him, whispering strange questions one after another, while Fernando and Roland didn't know what to say.
But Douglas quickly got out of this state and said slightly apologetically: "I'm sorry, I always have similar faintings."
"It's nothing, I often do this when I have magic problems." Roland replied with a smile, seemingly completely uninterested in Douglas' strange question, Fernando opened his mouth, but still didn't make a sound.
The brief silence disappeared, and Fernando and Roland introduced Douglas to the situation on this side of the Storm Strait.
"Whether it is the Sylvanas Empire or the Yasuo Empire, the forces here have disintegrated, becoming one scattered and non-subordinate organization after another, and some have even fled to the endless ocean, so to speak, the situation here is not even as good as the other side of the strait...... at least the western territories such as Alto are still in the hands of magicians," Roland said with a half-sigh.
Fernando added: "The territory that originally belonged to the Aso Empire was divided into two parts, one was the Kingdom of Briana and the other was the Duchy of Calais, and the area to which the Sylvanas Empire belonged gave birth to the Kingdom of Holm and the Kingdom of Colette......"
Douglas had inquired about this situation before crossing the Storm Strait, and was no stranger to what the two said, but it was not so detailed, his face was a little gloomy at first, and then a calm and reassuring smile reappeared: "In fact, I chose to cross the Storm Strait instead of fleeing to Aalto because I am more optimistic about the situation here."
"Huh?" Fernando was noncommittal on the surface, but his eyes narrowed slightly, not letting his bright red pupils reveal any of his emotions.
Regarding the analysis of the situation, the "United Union" has been doing it internally, and finally came to a conclusion similar to Douglas's, so there was a previous risky attempt and a change of direction.
Douglas said calmly: "Because the overall strength of the nobles here is stronger than that of the Church of Truth."
This sentence was like lightning striking, hitting Roland, making him numb all over, and suddenly enlightened, understanding why the organization would change the strategy of hiding before hiding, avoiding hunting, and slowly growing, and boldly let Fernando come to the capital of Peforth County to meet the largest nobleman here - being able to use the county name as a title, and the power of the Count of Peforth can be seen.
Roland knew that this was to win over the nobles and sow dissociation with the church in exchange for their patronage in order to escape the church's increasingly strict pursuit, but he had never understood so clearly and thoroughly why he was doing this and what desirable results might develop in the future.
Fernando didn't say anything, just looked at Douglas quietly, waiting for his next words.
"We don't know the specific situation here, but according to my observations, with the fall of Antifleur, the clergy's attitude towards the nobility became more and more arrogant, and most of the cardinals and holy knights were concentrated in Antifleur and Reims, preparing to march west." Douglas talked about his own experiences.
"Although Alto and other western cities have gathered many legendary lords, and even a small number of blood clans, dragons, etc. to help, the internal contradictions are very large, and the strength gap with the church and nobles is even greater.
The first time he compared the overall strength of the church and the aristocracy, and the second time he singled out the church separately, the specific meaning was not only understood by Fernando, but also by Roland.
Fernando spoke, his accent was a bit strange and sharp, obviously not a native of the Kingdom of Holm: "After dismantling and eliminating most of the high-level and above magicians here, the Cult of Truth has withdrawn more than half of the legendary clergy, and currently only Rentat and Cooks are guarded by a Holy Spirit Priest each."
"The Epic Knights have also been drawn some times, but there are still five left, after all, this is their hometown, where their territory is, and it is not in their will to cross the mountains and seas to attack Aalto, even if they are all devout believers, because it is difficult to obtain substantial benefits, and they think that the church does not lack this power, obviously, the church thinks so."
"But what's the point of this?" Roland frowned and asked puzzledly, "As long as the church defeats the legendary lords in the west and sends most of the strong people over, all our efforts will turn into bubbles."
Fernando glared at him: "Time, development time, time to find allies, time to sow disturbance, time to get balance."
Douglas also smiled and said, "We are not the only enemies of the church."
"Well, if Alto falls, the church will go straight to the Dark Mountains, maybe the 'Silver Moon' will really come." Roland nodded.
Douglas's expression suddenly became a little dazed: "Even if the 'Silver Moon' comes, I am afraid it will be difficult to compete with the Pope."
"You mean, the 'Divine Descent Technique' is really that strong?" Fernando asked both shocked and implicitly curious, they were on this side of the strait, and the information they got didn't know how much they had been distorted, and now, in front of them was a magician who had experienced the Battle of Antifleur.
"His Excellency 'Starlight' fell without resistance, and even most of Antifleur's lock was destroyed, I don't know how strong the real god-like is, but I know that when His Excellency 'Starlight' used Antifleur's Maze to fight, he surpassed the level of legendary peak......" Douglas recalled, that reassuring smile disappeared, revealing a bit of sigh and fear.
Although Fernando was a citizen of the Yasuo Empire, Antifleur had already been deeply engraved in their hearts as early as the repeated narration and description of their teachers and elders, it was the holy place of the "Arcane Crown" that all magicians yearn for, it was the city with the title of the strongest fortress on earth, it was the place with the most legendary magicians, but with just one blow of "Divine Descendant", the archon of the Sylvanas Empire and the lock were destroyed together.
"Divine Descending Technique" is actually so strong?
At this moment, a thick sense of despair rose in their hearts, what is the point of their own and others' efforts? At that time, it was just a matter of "divine descending".
Douglas smiled kindly again: "Don't worry too much, I'm afraid it's not so easy for the Pope to use the 'Divine Descent Technique'."
"How do you know?" This information was so important that Roland had never heard of it, and even suspected that Douglas was comforting himself.
Douglas did not grow a beard, and his proper facial features looked quite young, and he smiled and said: "It has been almost ten years since the fall of Antifole, but the church has not moved westward on a large scale, but some cardinals are trying, and the pope has never made a move again, watching the desperate and scattered people's hearts reunite, watching the western territories get stronger and stronger, I think there may be some connection between this."
"Besides, the Pope has also encountered the siege of His Excellency the Legend before, but he didn't use the 'Divine Descent Technique', if it is really that easy to use, it can be used to easily solve the battle."
He frankly expressed his guesses, without taking into account that the two magicians opposite him had a lot of reservations about him.
"This ......" Fernando fell into deep thought, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that it made sense, and at the same time he was more vigilant about Douglas, this information had been in front of him and others for a long time, but no one had ever been able to connect them, pointing out this problem so keenly, Douglas saw the problem very thoroughly! Could it be related to the strange questions he often asks?
At this point, the two sides did not go deeper, after all, true trust had not yet been established.
The carriage stopped in the suburbs, and Fernando and Roland took Douglas through the forest, near a hiding place.
In this forest, the "Magicians United Union" has three secret strongholds, one has not yet been activated, one is for three magicians to hide, and one is the one they are going to now.
"Go around there first and take a look." Roland connected with Fernando with a psychic connection.
Fernando nodded, understanding what he meant, he wanted to observe the stronghold where the three magicians were hiding first, because after their analysis, one of the suspected traitors was there.
Douglas didn't talk much, and followed the two quietly, while Fernando and Roland didn't intend to let him see the stronghold, who knew if he was a spy of the night watch.
As the church completely gained the upper hand and showed unparalleled strength, more and more magicians who struggled in the darkness, depression, panic and fear became desperate and turned to the church, becoming night watchmen who hunted their companions.
There are several large magical organizations that have been infiltrated by the Night's Watch and suffered devastating blows, while the remaining organizations have learned their lessons and put every new joiner to the strict test, even if he is an archmage, you know, there is no shortage of archmages among the top thirty elites of the Night's Watch!
Fernando and Roland originally only planned to take a look from a distance to see if there was anything unusual and not to expose this secret stronghold, but at this glance, Fernando's face immediately turned blue, as if a storm was about to come.
The crypt was half open, and the strong smell of blood attracted the three wild wolves.
"It's one step late!" Roland patted his head in annoyance, already understood what had happened, their suspicions were correct, but the other party had no intention of continuing to lurk, nor did he have the luxury of being able to hide it, killing the two magicians first and leaving directly, and should be under the protection of the night watchman at present.
Douglas quietly watched them inspect their surroundings, quietly followed them to the crypt, saw two mutilated corpses that had been gnawed, and saw two dead faces in confusion and horror.
"Gary is dead, and Prince is dead......" Roland said to himself a little out of control, "The little girl from Gary's family also asked me to protect his father, Prince hasn't had time to confess yet...... Damn Benson, they're all your good friends! Gary even saved you! I'm late......"
"It has been at least a day and a half since he died, and there are traces of being soaked by rain." Douglas said in a low voice, saying that it was likely that Benson had just hid here at that time, and no one could come to the rescue.
Fernando's face turned blue and red, vaguely remembering that the little girl from Gary's family was a cute child, and it took a long time to suppress and roar: "I will let Benson repent to you!"
A five-ring magician, an elite who is very promising to become a high-level magician, actually took refuge in the Night Watchman like this!
Roland took a deep breath: "Get out of here first."
The two quickly turned the body into powder and put it into a storage bag.
The journey to the secret stronghold became even more gloomy and depressing, and Douglas suddenly spoke: "Actually, I am a magician who doesn't like to kill or fight, I prefer to explore, and I prefer to understand the hidden truths behind things."
Fernando was about to roar, but Douglas' next words left a deep impression on him.
Douglas looked at the sky and sighed softly: "But only by obtaining a safe and stable environment, with the cooperation and support of many people, exploration and research can continue, and now, there is not even a safe place to place an alchemy platform, and the companions who can help each other and explore the world together are almost dead one by one."
"When a person is driven to a dead end, it is time to change."
(End of this chapter)