No one could have imagined that the catastrophe that had devastated half of Ebotden would end overnight, just as no one could have imagined that this sudden catastrophe would turn into such a situation.

The Imperial Legion, which had only 3,000 men on Ebolden, took control of Ebolden's city defenses with incredible speed, disarmed and imprisoned all the patrol guards who had sworn allegiance to the Bellini family, disbanded the mercenary group on the spot, and demolished the blockade south of the city.

Overnight, this autonomous city-state, which has one of the most fortified defenses in the empire, more than 3,000 patrol guards, and can gather no less than 5,000 elites and several times the mercenary group at any time, was completely controlled, and immediately entered a state of martial law, and the legionnaires patrolling the streets were everywhere, and the sound of iron boots filled the streets and alleys.

And, of course, there is the thunder that resounded through the sky - the dragon Mirasis, a symbol of the authority of the "Dragon King Family", is entrenched at the top of one of the highest spires in the entire city.

Beneath the winged dragon is the ruined Ebotden, trembling in the wind......

After some quick discussions, the neutral free nobles, the leader of the mercenaries who controlled the mercenary group, and the Nine-Pointed Star Wizard Tower, under the "persuasion" of Prince Brandon de Salion, reached a compromise with each other, formed a new Free Council, and elected the elderly head of the Corona family, Lorenz Corona, the elder of the Wizard Tower, as the new consul.

And after the unification of the voice, they put all the blame on the Bellini family... Or the head of Alto Bellini.

"As Alto Bellini deliberately concealed the true efficacy of the "Holy Blood Elixir", the Bishop of Farnesis unknowingly distributed the potion to half of Ebolden, causing thousands or even tens of thousands of mutations, and finally triggering a horrific ritual that summoned the blasphemous monster from hell to the real world.

Fortunately, due to the timely discovery of the Nine-Pointed Star Wizard Tower, the Imperial Legion and His Royal Highness Brandon de Salion, the Second Prince, prevented the further spread of the tragedy, and the monster also died under the dragon flames of the giant dragon Milasis.

In the midst of this terrible catastrophe, Aalto Bellini died in his experiments, and the entire Bellini family and the rest of the party were beheaded en masse in the square of the East End, and all their property was transferred to the Free Council.

The only misfortune was that the Bishop of Ebolden, the pious Lord Farnesis, died heroically to make amends for his mistakes, and most of the Ebolden Church also fell and was on the verge of collapse" – the "official version" of the Liberal Parliament and Brandon's external propaganda.

As for the true cause of the bishop's death, no one knows, and no one wants to know. Whether it was Brandon de Salion, the crown prince of the Empire, or Corona, who was the spokesperson of the Wizarding Tower, they did not want this incident to cause a war between the Wizarding Tower and the Church, so they simply did not start it.

On the same night, Corona had already written a secret letter in the name of the Wizard Tower, which was sent to the Imperial Capital and handed over to the Archbishop, implying that the other party had the "evidence" of Farnesis - if the Holy Cross Church was ready to pick quarrels and provoke trouble, the Wizard Tower did not mind letting the whole empire know that Farnesis was the real culprit of the entire "Holy Blood Elixir" incident.

A devout Bishop of the Holy Cross, who has turned thousands of civilians into monsters with his own hands, and also tried to summon evil gods...... This would be an unimaginable blow to the church!

But Corona didn't really want to use this incident to attack the Holy Cross Church, in addition to the fact that the Wizarding Tower had just taken control of Ebolden, and most of the wizarding world had not yet fought against the Holy Cross Church, his backer, Brandon de Salion, also did not want to see such an outcome......

"In fact, some fanatics and power-obsessed clergy are a real headache compared to wizards, and as a member of House de Salion, it is my duty to defend the faith, but no one can force me to like them. ”

In the empty council hall, sitting in the chairman's seat, Brandon de Salion, who crossed his legs, kept nagging at the black-haired wizard on the side:

"But these ...... None of this is enough reason to declare war on the Church, because the Church of the Holy Cross... Or that faith in the Holy Cross is the basis for keeping the entire empire from falling apart!"

"Even in the thirteenth generation of the Empire, she was still not a true whole—the Lothairians, the Sakrands, the Byonians, the Eboldens...... In addition to the common faith, and the painstaking efforts of thirteen generations to finally unify the language and language, they are completely different peoples. ”

"What is it that keeps us apart from the Faith in the Holy Cross, apart from a crown of commitment and authority, that has kept us from division for a whole thirteen generations?"

This is also something that once puzzled Loren - such a feudal system, with many different peoples and customs, and even geographically divided empire, could not be maintained by a common faith without disintegration.

"Threat?"

"That's right, it's a threat. Brandon's smile looked very helpless: "From the north, who destroyed the ancient dragon kingdom, once forced the Sakran kingdom to move west, the old enemies of the Holy Cross, the devils from the abyss, the centaur khans from the east, who rode all over the green sea;"

"The elven kingdom of the Eagle King of the Azul who came from the west, crossed the Misty Sea, and shared the roots with the elves of the ancient wood forest, and called himself the Eagle King of the Azuls, and the sons of the mountains from the southeast, bordering the Duchy of Byrne, and now allied with the Empire, are the many mountain city-states that we collectively call the 'Dwarves'!"

"Their armies have all set foot in the current territory of the empire, and they have destroyed several ancient kingdoms - the fallen northern dragon kingdom has long since disappeared, the roaring warriors of the centaur khan, who once drank outside the imperial capital of horses, the Lothair people in the north now still have the blood of the ancient elves in their bodies, and the dwarves in the mountains have also burned and plundered in Byrne, and most of the territory has become their colony, and all humans can only serve them as cattle and horses. ”

"If you don't unite, you perish!" Brandon pouted and spread his hands, "If you want me to say, this reason is much more than that of the Holy Cross Saint Croce Blessing de Salion." ”

The thoughtful dark-haired wizard nodded in agreement, but what was in mind was something else.

The fusion of language and writing, the increasingly centralized and powerful royal family, and the threat from the outside world...... What does it mean when these overlap?

From feudalism to centralization, a real ...... The birth of an empire?

At that moment, Loren suddenly remembered what Corona had said-

"They represent the past, and we represent the future!"

Loren had thought he was trying to say that the wizarding class represented intellectual curiosity and exploration of the world, which would gradually replace the blind obedience to doctrine in people's minds, but now it seems that he may have expected much more.

Like what... When the entire empire is truly united and no longer needs the church to sustain it, will it still have the unshakable status it has now?

"As it should be, the past should make way for the future!"

That's Corona's... No, it shouldn't be just him, but the ultimate ambition of the entire Nine-Pointed Star Wizard Tower - to completely replace the status of the Holy Cross Church, so that wizards have the absolute right to speak and a place in the Sakran Empire!

Really...... Generous.

The black-haired wizard couldn't help but chuckle.

"Alright, that's the end of the boring history lesson, and I'm guessing you're not the type to listen to people's babes. Brandon shrugged his shoulders and curled a sly smile, "Let's talk about something practical, like ...... Your reward, how's that?"

"Absolutely. Loren stood up without humility or arrogance, and also showed a smile: "Everything is up to you, Your Highness Brandon de Salion." ”

"I've been thinking about this for a long time - as you can see, I'm a dignified second prince, and I still have a lot of things that I can get my hands on, even some things that are not physical, such as titles and positions, even if you become the duke in charge of a country, it's not impossible!"

Brandon's voice slowed, and his bright ruby eyes suddenly became deeper: "But before that, let me tell me another thing...... Where is the Nine-Pointed Star Holy Grail now?"

"I ruined it. Loren replied with an unchanged face: "At that time, Farnesis was behind me, and he would appear at any time, and it was too late to take it away." ”

In an instant, there was a dead silence, and two pairs of twinkling eyes looked at each other, as if they had experienced countless confrontations in an instant, trying to find evidence of the other party's lie from the fluttering of each eyelash and the dilated pupils!

"I see......"

Brandon was the first to speak, with a bright and sincere smile on his handsome face:

"I believe in you!"