The flames burned out, and the wailing monster turned into pus in the raging dragon flames.

Half of the city of Ebolden was in ruins—either crushed by the tentacles of the god's shell, or turned to ashes in the dragon flames. Only a few crumbling low walls and black wreckage remained, and almost the entire civilian area had fallen.

The only thing to be thankful for is that only half of the city was destroyed, and the bazaars and wizards' towers in the western end, which are the best of Ebon and the port, alchemy workshops, warehouses and other important buildings in the northern district were not damaged.

The roaring dragon Mirasis spread its wings and let out a deafening roar from its haughty isolation from the walls of Ebolden, and a single flame of dragon fire in front of the shivering Eboldens turned the seemingly impregnable gates into a pile of burning rubble.

At the same time, the Empire's legions have appeared on the distant horizon, ready to take over the city's defenses.

None of this would have been easy—Ebden also had its own army, and although there had been a lot of damage from the blockade and the unrest in the south of the city, there were still thousands of elite mercenaries in the port area. If it can be mobilized, it will not be so easy for the Imperial legions to take over the city without any damage.

"And now, the Free Council is not finished, but the Bellini are finished—without the consuls, they don't even have the power to dictate to the mercenaries. ”

Brandon, who was holding a wine glass, flashed a trace of pity in his eyes, and smiled cynically: "This is the sadness of trusting mercenaries, their loyalty is bought with money, and they will no longer be loyal to anyone after the fall of their employer."

Until...... The next rich man who can afford to pay the commission appears. After a pause, Brandon added, "Whether they were friends or foes." ”

"Mercenaries are not loyal to anyone. ”

Fitronay, who was standing beside him, suddenly spoke: "They will only be loyal to the victors. ”

Brandon was stunned for a moment, then smiled helplessly: "Yes." ”

"But...... Who will be the victor in this upheaval?"

The red-haired boy's question only met with a disdainful look from the girl, silently mocking him for his boastful behavior.

"I? no, no, no...... I'm just a participant at best, well... It should be considered half a winner. Under the murderous eyes of Fittronay, Brandon spread his hands and was defeated:

"But the real winners...... Actually, it's the wizards here. ”

Brandon, who shook his head with a smile, stared at the Nine-Pointed Star Wizard Tower at his feet, and fell into a quiet silence, and the original cynical smile gradually faded.

"You may not believe it, but before I came to Ebolden, I was very sympathetic to the wizards, but now I am a little afraid of them...... I'm serious. ”

The knight girl's expression was a little confused—she had never seen this young man with such a serious expression in her memory.

Sighing softly, Brandon took out a glittering gold coin from his pocket and threw it to the girl: "This...... It was the source of my fear. ”

"Coins?" the girl frowned in confusion.

"No, no, no, this is the newest gold coin—the work of twelve alchemists from the Royal Wizarding Academy of the Imperial Capital, who helped the mint in the Imperial Capital improve their craft. Brandon said and made a gesture: "From now on, the coins of the empire are this kind of beautiful works of art with patterns, reliefs, and a circle of tooth patterns around them, and the content of various metals has also reached an absolute standard, and it will always say goodbye to the era of shoddy workmanship and different fineness!"

"......" the girl still shook her head.

"There's not just one of them—as long as the alchemy forging machines made by the twelve alchemists are still there, they can make countless coins of the same color and the same color!"

Brandon stared at the coin and muttered:

"That's a ...... It's horrible. ”

Fitlonai's expression changed slightly, and the look in his eyes when he looked at the coin was not as casual as it had been.

"It was only after I came here that I felt that atmosphere even more. Brandon looked into the distance, with a faint sense of envy: "Don't you see this half-ruined city? It won't take three months for these wizards to restore it to its original state!"

"And that's not all—the alchemists of the South have improved their old blacksmithing techniques decades ago, and the herbalists of the Prince of Sackland are indispensable in every manor, and you can see the apothecary's shop in any imperial town, and as for the power ......"

Brandon silently pointed to the corpse of the monster that was burned into pus by the dragon flame not far away: "After seeing that thing, do you still think they are really harmless to humans and animals?"

"We can't go back to the days without wizards, and there are still those who think wizards are weak because they don't have an army of their own and don't have any powerful 'magic'...... It's sad. ”

........................ The Hall of the Holy Grail fell silent once more.

Do we represent the future?

The moment he heard this, Loren couldn't help but think of another wizard, the guy who was always crazy, smug and talented.

Isaac Grantham... And his almost crazy "research projects".

"What is truly powerful is us, the knowledge we have and the impact we have on the Empire, and the world at large—wizards are invincible when they cannot be erased. ”

Corona silently spoke: "This is our 'power' - the knowledge we have, so that everything that was once unknown and terrible no longer has secrets in front of us!"

In the same way, it is impossible for wizards to really die out, because in any era, there will never be a lack of human desire to explore and learn, and this will inevitably happen. ”

"But exploration and curiosity also mean danger. Loren took his words: "What we seek is born from the endless darkness of the void, but this darkness can not only give everything we want, but also devour everything we have. ”

A smile appeared on Corona's face:

"That's what Freswalker told you, right?"

The black-haired wizard nodded slightly.

"He's right, I'm one of the few wizards in the Wizard's Tower who has the same views as me. Corona smiled kindly, "That's why I asked him to give you some help, but the result was something I didn't expect." ”

“...... So, Master Freswalker would be willing to help me, and it's still your plan?" Loren narrowed his eyes and calmly asked, "I guess it's not for some particularly good reason?"

"I admit that I had bad intentions to let you "find" the book on the legend of Lothair—but it seems that I was self-defeating, Lord Loren Turin, and you have many secrets buried in you. ”

Corona did not deny it: "As you say, darkness can give us what we want, and it will also consume everything we have—the Nine-Pointed Star Grail, which was never a weapon that the Wizard's Tower could use to threaten the Church, but an uncontrollable scourge. ”

"Unfortunately, even within the Wizard's Tower, there are certain maniacs who are obsessed with power and the so-called 'truth', fanatically believing that we can summon and control an evil god with the Nine-Pointed Grail to use against the Church of the Holy Cross. If they succeed, that's the real disaster!"

Corona's tone was as calm as an eternal mountain: "So, at a small cost, we can not only make the church relax its vigilance against wizards and eliminate this hidden scourge, but also provoke the common anger of the wizarding class, so that the organizations and academies that were originally scattered throughout the empire can be reunited around the wizarding tower." ”

"Why not kill more than one stone? It's a pity...... I failed. ”

Listening to the indifferent sigh, Loren couldn't help but shiver. Fear came like a tidal wave.

What would it be like to be yourself, who worked so hard to arrange such a plan but was destroyed?!

"Don't be afraid, Your Excellency Loren Turin...... As I said at the beginning, I don't mind if you take or destroy the Holy Grail, and I won't do anything to you because of it. ”

Corona still had that gentle smile: "It's better to say... It may be better for you to take it.

Mr. Little, a stranger from afar. ”