In the last rays of darkness before dawn, the Holy Knights of the Brigade entered the holy city of Maltis in silence and went straight to the Basilica of San Sofino.

In the middle of the procession, more than a dozen blood-stained Templars looked sad and dragged heavy coffins with heavy steps, looking embarrassed and cold.

A quarter of an hour later, Pope Fildra pushed open the door of the Holy Spirit Temple, and the originally empty hall was neatly lined with dozens of holy coffins. He walked quickly to the coffin in the middle, gently pushed open the uncovered plank, and glanced inside.

Lying in the coffin was none other than one of the Templar's triumvirate, Span, the Sword of Thunder. At this moment, this once powerful man only left a pitch-black and mutilated skeleton.

Pope Fildra was also barely able to identify him through his remnants of the Holy Radiance.

"Your Majesty, the strength of the Northern One has exceeded expectations, and Lord Spann and eighty-six Templars have been martyred. The surviving Templar Kranas knelt down on one knee before the Pope and whispered.

"What do you think, Deriano?" the Pope asked faintly, closing the coffin again.

Cardinal Deriano, the oldest cardinal, shook his head with a sad face, and said, "A fourteenth-level paladin, plus nearly a hundred Templars over the eighth level, actually returned with a feather and paid such a heavy price, this heresy is definitely a legend. ”

Fildra frowned, shook her head, and said, "She's not!"

"What?" all the higher-ups in the hall could barely believe their ears.

"Your Majesty, Lord Span is a fourteenth-level paladin, he himself is close to the fifteenth-level legendary boundary, and there are nearly a hundred Templars to help, if the other party is not a legendary......"

The Pope waved his hand: "She's special, but she's not a legend yet." It's just that I'm afraid it won't be long before she becomes a real legendary powerhouse. ”

The vast temple of the Holy Spirit was silent, except for the light of the candle flame that kept jumping.

"Your Majesty, the Holy Knights are invited to fight. A burly middle-aged man came to the Pope's side and knelt down on one knee and begged for battle in a loud voice. The angelic armor on his body was radiant, and the blade-like edge was undisguised.

The Pope shook his head: "Inform the Inquisition and order the Thirteenth Night's Watch to bring her head back." ”

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty......"

Several high-level officials exclaimed in unison, and finally it was Deriano who spoke: "Your Majesty, once the thirteenth night watchman leaves, the pressure on the plane gate will immediately become very great......

"Please ask Hermes, the sword of judgment of the Templars, to guard the gates of the plane for the time being. The Pope gave an unquestioning explanation, and turned and walked out of the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

"Your Majesty!" a resolute voice sounded abruptly.

The Pope turned around and asked lightly, "Kranyas, what other questions do you have?"

Cranyas's body burned with flames, and he gritted his teeth and said: "In addition to the North One, there is also a very weak heresy, he has traveled all the way south, and it is likely that he has reached the Holy City of Maltis. ”

The Pope's eyes narrowed slightly, and he said coldly: "Go find him!"

On August 21, 1696, ten days before the opening of the Imperial War College. The Registrar's Office has started to get very busy.

The dean of academic affairs, who was in charge of assigning faculties to new students, walked into the office scoldingly, and said to the dean of students: "The young prince of the Marquis de Becker's family has decided to go to the south to do business, and he will not come this year. ”

The Dean of Students asked in surprise: Didn't the Senior Operations Command Department vacate a place?

"Don't mention that place!" The dean's face became very ugly: "Since yesterday, the commanders of the various legions have been sending me messages constantly, hoping to recommend their officers to use this place for further study. ”

"Four legions, but only one place, is really not easy to distribute. The Dean of Students nodded.

"If only it were four legions...... "The Dean of Academic Affairs lamented and continued, "I don't know which bastard leaked the news. Early this morning, the House of Nobles, the Cabinet, and several major families all found me through intermediaries, and if they wanted to fight for this place, they sent the bigwigs of the military department to come forward directly. ”

"The bigwigs of the military department will not come to wade into this troubled water, and want them to carry the black pot for you, unless the holy city and the imperial capital fall one by one. The Dean of Students gloated.

The Dean of Academic Affairs sat down, patted his desk in distress, and swept a small piece of paper to the floor.

"Hey, what is this?" asked the Dean of Academic Affairs, picking up the piece of paper, puzzled.

"Oh, that's the list that General Fritz sent this morning, saying that he asked the academy to pay special attention to the students. ”

"General Fritz?" the dean of academic affairs was stunned: "How could he care about such a trivial matter?"

"Who knows? There's only one name on the list, maybe it's his descendant. ”

The Dean of Academic Affairs suddenly came to his senses, he stared at the lone line of names on the list, and suddenly showed a wicked smile: "Since it is the order of the Vice Minister of Military Affairs, how can I, the little Dean of Academic Affairs, disobey it?"

In this way, the black cauldron was finally thrown on the back of the Imperial Undersecretary of War, General Fritz......

Alexander's movements were quick, and early the next morning Eric the fat man approached Mick with a check. The two treacherous foxes talked secretly behind closed doors for most of the day, and finally settled on all the details.

Of course, there was a lot of bargaining, and no one knew the final outcome, but when the two of them walked out of the room, Mick was flushed, and Eric was sweating profusely.

Before parting, Eric asked Mick curiously: "During the negotiations yesterday, the resources you won were very close to our bottom line, and I am curious, how did you do it?"

Mick was stunned for a moment, and then sighed: "Although I don't know Alexander's specific identity yet, he is undoubtedly a big man, and people like him want to negotiate terms with me, a small person, which in itself shows that his choice is actually not too much......"

To make it easier for Mick to go to school, the new private alchemy lab was located on the northern outskirts of the Imperial Capital, a block from the Imperial War College.

Eric bought a small, detached four-story building and converted the basement into a warehouse, with the first floor used as a display area, the second and third floors as two relatively separate laboratories, and the fourth floor as Mick's office--bedroom.

With strong financial support, the initial renovation of the small building was completed in just three days, and the rest of the work had to be left to Mick himself.

In the beginning, Mick had no plans to hire assistants for the time being, so in addition to Mick and Carl, there were only a few handymen in the entire laboratory who were responsible for cleaning and cooking.

Alexander and Mick disagreed over the naming of the laboratory, believing that the laboratory should be given an elegant and formal name, such as "Mick's Alchemy Office", so that it would be easier to cooperate with the military and nobles.

But Mick didn't want to use such a dull and uncreative name, which he didn't think would stand out his style. So at his insistence, the laboratory finally hung up the signboard of "Gold Coins and Dreams......

In Mick's words, the name is easy to understand and romantic, and is sure to become a unique sight for Maltis.

But everyone except him felt that the name was not much different from the small advertisement posted in the corner of the slum, and the only glance at it would immediately classify the laboratory as a black store that scammed money.

However, Mick is not only extremely resolute, but also has a fighting power comparable to a legend. After being fooled by Mick for the third time, Alexander finally decided not to bring shame on himself and let the lab die on its own.

The order from the military came quickly, and when Mick was approached by the head of the military department's armament department, it was only a week after the press conference ended.

However, the military department has made very specific requirements for standard magic equipment, including mandatory protection, attack power, adaptability, and so on. Moreover, according to the characteristics of the four main army corps and the different regions where they are stationed, there are certain differences in the detailed requirements.

Although Mick has the help of the eye of insight and super mental power, he is still only a first-level magic alchemist after all, in addition to his vision and understanding of magic beyond ordinary people, the real alchemy level and experience are still very insufficient.

For him, the difficulty of designing and manufacturing military-standard magic equipment is not the same as designing a magic shield indiscriminately. As long as there is the slightest flaw in the design, it is possible to cause heavy losses to the elite of the empire, and if he kills those soldiers who shout and kill all day long, his fate can be imagined.

The bloody military department didn't leave much time for Mick, and the Imperial War College was about to start, so Mick almost stopped all the chores he was doing and immediately devoted himself to the research and development of new equipment, continuing to suffer from explosions and fatigue.

August 31. The day before the opening of the Imperial War Academy, Ilona sat in an inconspicuous carriage and entered the holy city of Maltis with hundreds of other diocesan candidates.

She was joined by nearly 1,000 baby girls collected by the Church of Light from all over the world. They will compete with the candidates for the Holy Daughter, and finally, under the glorious guidance of God the Father, will elect the Holy Lady who has been vacant for thirty years in the entire Church of Light.

The moment Ilona stood in front of the Hagia Sophino, she was immediately struck by the grandeur and majesty of the place, and she felt a divine aura constantly sweeping over her body and mind.

Just as she was about to sink into it, a figure suddenly appeared in her heart, he was full of blond hair and smiled brightly.

Ilona's heart suddenly warmed, and then she felt a sense of loss.

She gently raised her beautiful eyes and looked in the direction of the imperial capital from afar.

Thousands of miles away, Andrea sat next to the corpse of a huge demonic beast, quietly staring at the starry sky in a daze. I don't know why, her mood suddenly became a little chaotic.

Before she knew it, she was reminded of the night she parted with Mick. In the moonlight, Mick's embarrassed appearance of wanting to stay but not daring to stay is very cute.

A faint smile unconsciously hung up on the corner of her mouth. She jumped up, patted the dust off her body, and wanted to head south. But as soon as she took a step, she felt a call from the far west.

Andrea frowned and struggled for a few moments, finally glancing deeply to the south, and then reluctantly headed west.

At night, "Coins and Dreams" is still lit up, and Mick is still struggling in the lab.

A black figure silently crossed the wall, it was a hot woman, shrouded in a black cloak, and she walked like a ghost, silent and ethereal.

Standing in front of the door of the small building, the woman looked up at the bright light on the third floor, a sneer hung on the corner of her mouth, and her eyes were full of cold light.