Count Ostend and his wife stood shoulder to shoulder on the balcony of the command center in the fortress, gazing at the towering Holy Lily Cathedral in the center of the city, with its brilliant spire pointing towards the sky.
The spire occasionally emitted a beam of white light, diffusing in all directions, enveloping the entire city of Ostend.
“Should we do it?”
“Let's do it!”
“Once we do this, there's no turning back.”
“We couldn't turn back even if we wanted to.” Count Ostend squeezed his wife's hand tightly, his face resolute. He looked up at the cathedral's tall bell tower and the spire overlooking the city, a look of hatred in his eyes:
“From the mont I fought for them and got seriously injured, yet they refused to treat properly, there was no turning back;
From the mont they killed two of my three sons, there was no turning back;
From the mont I sent André to the Kingdom of Kent, and the parliant cured him, there was no turning back.”
He led his wife indoors. In the shadows where sunlight couldn't reach, he suddenly leaned forward and embraced his wife tightly:
“From the mont I loved you and married you, this day was destined. There's no turning back, and I don’t want to turn back.”
The countess hugged her husband back, her head buried in his shoulder, her hair gently brushing his cheek. After a long silence, the female mage whispered:
“There are many ways in magic to control a person. If things go wrong, you can say I used magic to control you…”
Before she could finish, she was tightly squeezed, almost breathless. The count hugged his wife with all his might, his arms pulling her so close it seed he wanted to crush her in his embrace:
“Live together, die together!”
Hand in hand, they walked down to the control center beneath the command post. The man's broad hand and the woman's delicate hand overlapped, pressing down on a chanism with force:
“Boom!!!”
With a deafening explosion, the Holy Lily Cathedral in the center of the city shook, its spire slowly breaking off and falling. Then, the power of the divine array, the energy stored for a century in the Holy Lily Cathedral, burst forth, sweeping in all directions—
It was like a hurricane sweeping through the city, roofs flying, flowerpots falling, pedestrians stumbling as the wind pushed them, almost knocking them over;
At the port, sails filled with wind, masts swayed, and so ships that had just anchored but hadn't tied their lines crashed together with a rumble;
On the sea, the wind stirred the clouds, waves surged, and huge waves slamd against the hulls. Fishern who had just cast their nets were swept into the sea by the waves…
Inside the cathedral, a white light imdiately shot out, as if trying to activate so kind of protective shield.
However, the explosion had damaged sothing, and the white light flickered on and off, like a broken light bulb, and ultimately did not light up.
Finally, as the ultimate defense and alarm, a thick white smoke column rose straight from the center of the cathedral.
Not long after the smoke rose, alarm bells rang out thirty miles away. Soon, the sound of the bells spread from one city to another, from one church to another…
Besides Ostend, the other cities of the Six Linked Cities lit up their defenses one by one.
“Abel Ostend!”
An earth-shattering roar ca from the cathedral in Dix City, the city closest to Ostend among the Seven Linked Cities.
The Seven Linked Cities, including Ostend, were a thorn in the parliant's side.
Seven cities, seven cathedrals, seven divine arrays. Centered on the narrowest point of the Holsea Strait, they extended southwest and northeast, covering a width of two hundred miles.
These seven divine arrays were interconnected, with an attack range exceeding ten miles, and when fully activated, their scanning range covered more than two-thirds of the narrowest point of the Holsea Strait. The safe passage for the Kingdom of Kent’s ships was only a narrow edge...
This chain not only locked the Holsea Strait but also blocked the Kingdom of Kent's route to the continent. Either navigate cautiously under the divine array’s surveillance, risking everything if caught, or bribe the port managers and sea patrols with a large amount of gold coins, hoping they would turn a blind eye, treating them as “regular ships transporting non-regulated goods,” which greatly increased the cost.
Or rely on their own combat skills and magic, bravely charging through—the latter being the choice of many young mages, especially those on the combat route, who often boasted about “the ti I crossed the Holsea Strait”…
Whichever way, either the economic cost soared or the risk cost increased. If they didn’t want to pass through the Holsea Strait, they would have to sail from the southern part of the Brolin Kingdom or even the northern part of the Nederland or Rhine Kingdom.
The extra distance and increased sea transport risk put the rchants of the Kingdom of Kent at a clear disadvantage in the international market. If not for the Magic Council’s efforts in developing new technologies and reducing production costs, life would be even harder.
Not to ntion the mages escaping from the continent to the Kingdom of Kent, or the kingdom's mages traveling to the continent for their studies, they were really risking their lives.
The parliant had long wanted to remove this thorn, to break this chain. Ever since driving the Radiant Church out of the Kingdom of Kent, countless mages had worked on this for more than a decade.
Initially, the target was Kallas, the city at the narrowest point of the Holsea Strait and the center of the Seven Linked Cities. However, Kallas had the strictest defenses and the highest-ranking clergy, with a level 15 archbishop in charge.
After spying for seven or eight years without finding a flaw, the parliant analyzed and evaluated each city, finally finding a breakthrough with Count Ostend—
The dical work led by Garrett was just one part of this operation. Besides him, the parliant had poured countless efforts, inside and out.
But all these efforts eventually paid off. Before the Nederland war started, Count Ostend sided with the parliant, sending his son as a hostage;
When the war began, he pretended to enhance the city’s defenses, gathering a large number of people to build a strong fortress against the city wall. This new pentagonal fortress was surrounded by deep moats and had layers of walls and fortifications inside;
He pretended to cooperate with the kingdom's military demands, fully supporting the transfer of materials and manpower, making Ostend a rear supply center;
When the plague spread and the kingdom's army drafted a large number of people, he reluctantly sent the bishop of the Holy Lily Cathedral to the front line…
Then, when the army, desperate, moved towards Nederland city, having covered more than half the distance...
“Boom!”
A loud explosion destroyed the foundation of the Holy Lily Cathedral’s divine array, creating a fatal breach in the divine chain of the Seven Linked Cities.
Losing one of the seven divine arrays wasn’t just losing one-seventh. The scanning range, attack range, maximum attack output, and even the balance of the divine arrays themselves would be significantly affected!
“Ostend has started.”
In the Holsea Strait, a small fishing boat among the crisscrossing Nederland “sea beggars” fleet lifted its cover.
Under the cover, a mage dressed like a beggar, with a bamboo hat and short clothes, silently raised a telescope. Through the gap in the cover, he focused on the tall smoke column in the city center and the half-hidden spire within it:
“Our ally… did a great job. Now it’s our turn. Send a ssage to the rear and have the ships speed up. We must reach Ostend before the church's reinforcents arrive!”
“Ostend has made a move.” At the Star Do in Nevis, the great magic array also observed the explosion of white light. A reviewing committee mber who had arrived on ti and was waiting smiled:
“Let’s not idle. Those who need to go should go, and those who need to bring supplies should bring supplies. Also, notify our allies—”
The main force of the Nederland Duke, the army led by the Nederland nobles, must quickly learn this good news!
And those nobles in the central Brolin Kingdom, who have been wavering and causing trouble, must also be inford quickly…
The church has been tolerated for many years, not just by the Kingdom of Kent!
The remaining six cities of the Seven Linked Cities were already alard.
In Dix City, the cathedral gathered the Holy Knights, preparing for battle and guarding against an attack from Ostend;
The leaders of the other five cathedrals quickly gathered at the Solace Cathedral in Kallas, the center of the Seven Linked Cities. Looking around, there were only three archbishops from the five cathedrals:
One level 15, one level 11, and one level 10. To pacify Nederland, the Seven Linked Cities had sent out three archbishops, leaving only four, including the one in Dix City.
And the remaining bishops lacked prestige and strength. Guarding was fine, but attacking?
“Notify the church imdiately!” The archbishop of Kallas, the highest-ranking and leader among them, had the authority to command all seven cathedrals and fully activate the divine arrays in ergencies. He slamd the table, his tone firm:
“Then, gather our forces and set out imdiately! Before that traitor escapes, we must capture him!”
“I think we should talk to the city lords and borrow so troops.” The archbishop of Seaside Cathedral in Cronia said with a sly smile, his gold-trimd white robe fluttering:
“Half of the Holy Knights were
borrowed, and half of the bishops and priests were also taken. If we draw more people, I’m afraid my little city won’t be able to hold if the enemy has any tricks.”
“Or wait for the kingdom’s army to return?” The archbishop of Bancton, the lowest-ranking but oldest, suggested shakily:
“Attacking from both sides might be easier…”
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