Volume 3: Artifacts Chapter 33: Enemy Lineup
The trunk of the World Tree was as thick as a city wall. Qingkong and Theresa looked extremely small standing on the lake below the tree.
Theresa stood still, folded her wings, and saluted the World Tree solemnly. Then she looked up at the tree and said in admiration: "Although the new World Tree is not as big as the one that stood here before, it still shocked me deeply . Letting the war affect and destroy the World Tree was the biggest mistake we have ever made. Fortunately, you brought it back to life."
Qingkong said: "Therefore, we should protect it well and prevent disasters from happening again. I want to tell you something. A large group of fallen angels appeared in the West. They seem to be heading for the World Tree."
Fallen angels are an unhealed scar in Sky City. During the ancient war, this group of angels fell into hell and raised their swords against their former companions. Therefore, angels hate fallen angels more than they hate demons. Once they find the whereabouts of fallen angels, they will hunt them down endlessly.
However, after the ancient war ended, the fallen angels knew that they did not have the power to fight against the Sky City alone, so they hid in the depths of hell.
There has been no trace of him for thousands of years.
This time, when Qingkong said that a fallen angel appeared, Theresa immediately forgot the purpose of coming to Qingkong this time and asked, "Are you sure it's a fallen angel? Not something else?"
Qingkong replied: "The World Tree sensed it. This group of fallen angels briefly and undisguisedly set foot on the grasslands of the ancestors, but they were taken away by Victor, the first apostle of the Temple of the Abyss. They should be going to see the disaster."
Theresa asked: "I have heard a little about the Abyss Temple, what is the Disaster?"
So Qingkong told Theresa the cause of the disaster: "This is all the legacy of the World Tree being destroyed by you. Over a thousand years, the disaster has become a mysterious energy that cannot be eliminated unless the World Tree is destroyed."
Theresa was surprised to hear that Disaster was such a powerful being: "You mean Disaster, the Temple of the Abyss, and the Fallen Angels might attack the World Tree together?"
"The probability is very high. There is no other target in the West Territory that requires the three parties to unite. I have sent people to investigate them. The Moonlight Royal Court will soon mobilize the army to deal with the invasion that may come at any time."
Whether it is protecting the World Tree or exterminating the fallen angels, the angels have the responsibility to assist the Moonlight Court in blocking the invasion.
Theresa spread her angel wings and said to Qingkong, "I will go to see Archangel Gold now. The Moonlight Royal Court will fully assist Her Majesty the Queen in protecting the World Tree."
Qingkong also spread his wings of light: "I also want to meet the Shining Gold People. They also have the obligation to protect the World Tree."
Theresa and Clear Sky flew away from Moon Lake in different directions.
Halmutu Basin.
After a long journey, Luke, Fast Legs and Nightingale finally arrived at the Sun City.
When all the nobles in the Western Territory were living a life of austerity, Earl Urd of Sun City became an outlier. Instead of decreasing his assets, they experienced a surge. He was able to do so well because he turned against them immediately on the night of the assassination and sold out all the nobles in the Western Territory and the Abyss Temple.
Luke also fulfilled his promise to Earl Urd, spent a huge amount of money to build a large number of factories in Sun City, and designated it as the future trade distribution center of the Western Territory. Earl Urd had a good relationship with the barbarians, and now with the help of Raging Wave City, he really sat on a golden mountain.
The Sun City Railway Station is under construction, and part of the track has begun to be laid. One section will connect to the Crescent Oasis, and the other section will connect to the Moonlight Royal Court. The track extends to the distant hope in the desert.
Luke, disguised as a merchant, paid the city tax and entered Sun City. The city was more prosperous than the last time. At the same time, there were obviously many more troops under Earl Urd. Most of these private soldiers were barbarians. Earl Urd did not trust humans as always, especially after he sold out the nobles of the Western Territory.
After entering the city, Fast Legs said to Luke: "Earl Urd was completely isolated by the Western nobles, so he expanded the army to protect him and his territory. He also allowed the Imperial Secret Service to set up a branch here, and I heard that the Public Security Bureau will also be opened soon.
Earl Urd can still be trusted, does Your Excellency need to see him?"
Luke, who was riding a camel, looked at the scenery on the street and replied, "Not for now. I don't want too many people to know my whereabouts. Let's go see Maeve Siman first, and then go to Slave Corner to find the Jackal Howl. He has more channels than you, and maybe he has more traces of those guys with black wings."
"Yes, sir."
The fast legs led the way in front, and the nightingale retreated back.
During the journey, she learned the purpose of the trip and the existence of Zaimie through the conversation between Luke and Kuai Tui.
She couldn't help but ask Luke out of curiosity: "My Lord, as far as I know, the Moonlight Royal Court has a powerful Moonlight Knights, and can also recruit soldiers from the entire Western Barbarians. If Disaster wants to attack the World Tree, it must have a stronger army.
And if there is such an army, with so many people eating, it is impossible not to be discovered."
Luke replied: "Disaster is a mysterious energy, perhaps mixed with other powers. In addition to bewitching people, it is also good at summoning powerful monsters with its own energy. Victor, the first apostle of the Abyss Temple, is a very powerful mystic and can use the energy of the Abyss. If the two of them meet, they can definitely form an army of summoned monsters.
This one-time summoned monster army does not require supplies. You just need to release them when the time comes and let them attack the Moonlight Court.
We need to find out where this monster army is hiding and how big it is."
When Nightingale heard about such an army, she couldn't help but feel a little scared: "This seems to be the legendary sea of the dead. Endless undead form a tide that advances forward, killing and using corpses to replenish their own losses."
Luke smiled and said, "The sea of the dead does not exist. Summoning the dead is not a simple spell. The largest number of undead events recorded is about 1,000 undead being summoned in a short period of time, and then quickly destroyed. Facing modern armies, low-intelligence undead have no chance to fight back, so there are fewer and fewer undead events. In fact, necromancers prefer to create high-level undead, which have intelligence and strength, and are much more useful than low-intelligence undead.
The monsters summoned by the Disaster are indeed very similar to low-level undead. They are not afraid of death and only attack. If the Northern Army was in the Moonlight Court, I would not have to worry too much. However, the Moonlight Knights and the Barbarians are far behind the regular army in terms of weapons and equipment, as well as combat skills, and are far from meeting the standards of modern armies. "
Nightingale blurted out, "His Highness Alex's Western Army is in the Crescent Oasis. You can mobilize the Western Army to protect the Moonlight Royal Court."
Luke looked at Nightingale, who thought he had been misunderstood. He defended himself, "I didn't mean anything else. I just thought it was the right thing to do."
Luke looked back at the road ahead. "I don't mean anything else. I just think you don't understand military affairs. The railway is not built yet, and it is difficult for the heavy equipment of the Western Territory Legion to be transported to the Aldmeri Prairie. If the imperial army could easily enter the Western Territory, the Western Territory nobles would have been quiet long ago."
"Ah, so that's how it is." The nightingale was ashamed of his ignorance.
As they were talking, the three-member team passed through the streets and alleys, and finally the camel caravan was welcomed into a courtyard.
The camels and pack animals were taken away and taken care of by special people. Kuai Tui arranged for people to stand guard outside, and then took Luke and Nightingale into a tunnel.
In a basement filled with torches, Luke met the leader of the demon hunting group, Maeve Sman.
At this time, Maeve Sman was sitting around a table with several core members of the Demon Hunting Group, looking at the map on the table.
When Luke entered the basement, Mavisman immediately came up to greet him and said, "I heard from Kuai Lun that the first stop after the lord took office as the prime minister of the empire was to inspect the Western Territory. It seems that something big is going to happen in the Western Territory."
"Something big is going to happen." Luke walked to the side of the map and saw that it should be the map of the West. Then he said, "There is news that Zai Mie has obtained powerful external aid. He will soon launch an attack on the World Tree."
Hearing that the World Tree was in danger, Mavisman's expression immediately turned serious: "My Lord, this is the fault of the Demon Hunters. We did not fulfill our responsibilities and allowed Disaster to become stronger and stronger."
"Zai Mie has not become stronger, but there are too many people who want to use the World Tree to cause trouble." Luke didn't want to put too much pressure on the Demon Hunters, so he said easily: "But there are more people who want to protect the World Tree! The Demon Hunters are not fighting alone, so I am here...
How much do you know about Zaimie and the 'Yihan' organization? "
Luke's words made Maeve Sman feel a little relieved. She introduced the situation of the disaster and the "Regret" to Luke based on the markings on the map.
Disaster itself has no attack power, its ability is to inspire hatred towards the World Tree and give this person great power. Therefore, the Demon Hunters do not have much pressure to deal with Disaster, after all, the number of people who believe in the World Tree far exceeds the number of people who hate the World Tree, and the Demon Hunters can easily obtain intelligence and find the people whose minds are confused by Disaster.
But when "Yihan" joined in, the situation changed.
The Demon Hunting Group was established too recently, its internal system was immature, and its members were reckless. As a result, they encountered the "grudges" of the old demon hunters, and lost many people in a short period of time, and their scope of activities was greatly suppressed.
"'Yihan' has received secret support from some Western nobles. They will deliberately release false intelligence for us to investigate, and then take the opportunity to set an ambush. In the area controlled by the Western nobles, except for the Sun Oasis, other places are very dangerous."
Speaking of grudges, Maeve Sman couldn't help but grit her teeth.
Luke said, "Most of the Western nobles are hostile to the Moonlight Court, so they are more likely to be bewitched by the Disaster. I believe that some Western nobles have already accepted the power of the Disaster and become its minions. It seems that the enemy forces attacking the World Tree need to include the private soldiers of these Western nobles."
The fast-legged man said in surprise: "Is the whole Western Territory going to start a fight?"
"Yes, the entire Western Territory will be at war." Luke could only predict the worst. He thought for a moment and then said, "We cannot fight at the enemy's pace. The Demon Hunting Group will be dispatched immediately to investigate all the nobles in the Western Territory to see which nobles are leading troops that are showing signs of preparing for war."
Maeve Siman replied: "Yes, sir, I will send everyone out immediately."
Luke then said to Fast Legs, "It seems I have to meet Earl Urd. Go and make arrangements. Try not to let too many people know that I'm in Sun City."
"Yes, sir." Quick Legs accepted the order, turned around and walked out of the basement.
Luke turned to Nightingale and said, "You will accompany me to Slave Corner."
"Yes, sir."
Luke calculated the time again. If the First Apostle Victor came to the Western Territory right after leaving the Temple of the Abyss, then he had been making arrangements in the Western Territory for a long time.
The attack on the Moonlight Court could really begin at any time.
Luke didn't dare to waste time, so he assigned everyone to other places and then took Nightingale straight to Slave Corner.
The gnoll Howl went from being the chief steward of the Sand Bandits to the chief steward of the Western Border Merchants. The amount of money he took out every day was many times more than before, and he made more and more money.
So when he heard that the meteorite was coming suddenly, he immediately ran out to greet it.
"The jackal Howl greets His Excellency the Prime Minister." Howl performed a court salute to Luke in a proper manner, and then respectfully welcomed him into the main hall.
After Luke sat down in the main seat, the jackal stood below him respectfully and said, "Master Prime Minister, you have come to the Slave Corner in person with such a noble status. Is there anything you need me to do?"
Seeing that the jackal was so smart, Luke didn't waste any more words: "Someone saw a group of people with black wings in the sky above the Western Desert. Do you have any accurate information?"
The jackal Howl was stunned for a moment, then asked tentatively: "Master Prime Minister, although some people said that they were a group of people with black wings, most witnesses said that they were black swans or black vultures. How did you determine that they were people with black wings?"
The person with black wings is a fallen angel, and no one dares to make such a conclusion lightly.
Luke said, "If I say yes, it's true. Don't ask any more questions. Just answer."
It's really the fallen angel who disappeared for a thousand years!
Seeing that the Prime Minister of Meteorite was so confident, the Jackal knew the seriousness of the problem, and he immediately told him the information he knew: "Reporting to the Prime Minister, those people with black wings are flying very high, and only people with extremely good eyesight can barely see them.
At first, these people with black wings hovered in a sand dune area southwest of Halmutu for a long time. Later, someone saw them flying towards the grassland of the ancestors at a very slow speed.
And…and a few days ago someone saw them in the sky near Sun City."
This surprised Luke: "These guys came to Sun City?"
The jackal howled in fear and cried, "Master Prime Minister, please tell me, are these people with black wings fallen angels?
I want to run away as soon as possible!"
Luke looked at the luxuriously decorated room and said with a smile, "Howl, the richer you are, the less courageous you are. The fallen angels appeared near Sun City a few days ago. If they wanted to massacre the city, they would have done so long ago.
Besides, I’m not afraid, so what are you afraid of?
If you have any more information, please tell me!"
