The massive body of the black dragon "Little Black," covered in dark scales, crashed down.
The hurricane generated when the wings folded up extinguished the blazing campfire with a "whoosh," leaving only choking smoke and a few sparks.
This black dragon, which had been sent by Ellen to gather intelligence across the continent after the Battle of Lor Swamp, now appeared quite disheveled.
Its hard scales were stained with large patches of dark red blood that had not yet dried, and in some places the scales were even broken.
Exhaustion and urgency flickered in its enormous vertical pupils. As soon as it landed, its massive head turned eagerly toward Ellen.
A low, unintelligible growl rolled from his throat, and white steam carrying the smell of sulfur spewed from his nostrils.
"Quiet, Little Black." Ellen frowned slightly, her body still, but she raised her fair hand and placed it on the black dragon's cold nostrils, which were trembling slightly with excitement.
The black and gold light of stars and moon within the sleeve flashed and disappeared in a very subtle way, conveying a soothing and cool magic.
"Tell me slowly."
The black dragon's rapid breathing calmed slightly, and then the ripples of his thoughts entered the depths of Ellen's mind:
[Lady Ellen! The Church of Holy Light... is hunting!]
[They're deep in the Misty Forest! It's filled with...cages!]
[Many...sons and daughters of small churches...have been captured! They've been taken to the Misty Forest by a...mysterious force!]
[Furthermore! Aside from the knights stationed in the core area of the Holy City… all other Holy Knight orders across the continent… have been transferred! Their target is the Misty Forest!]
Ellen's hand, which was resting on the black dragon's nose, paused slightly. A sharp glint flashed in the depths of her eyes, which then turned into a deep and solemn expression.
She slowly withdrew her hand, and the fragments of information transmitted by the black dragon quickly pieced together in her mind.
"Heh..." A very soft, emotionless chuckle escaped from her lips. "As expected, they still made their move."
She muttered to herself, her gaze sweeping over the campfire extinguished by the black dragon and the various expressions on Mark's squad's faces.
The Church of Holy Light has finally torn off its last fig leaf and begun to blatantly plunder other holy children with the potential to possess the "seed of divinity".
This also confirms her previous guess that the Church's so-called "earthly kingdom" plan cannot be achieved by the younger generation of the Holy Light Church alone!
They also need a massive amount of pure divine essence as their foundation, and the successors cultivated by these small churches are undoubtedly the best "fuel".
However, the latter part of the Black Dragon's intelligence report raised a lingering, inexplicable doubt in her mind.
"Mobilize all the Holy Knights stationed in various locations to the Misty Forest?"
Eileen frowned, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the smooth surface of the Star Moon Black Gold under her sleeve. The cold touch made her thoughts clearer.
"The Enlightenment Society has already obtained the Heart of the Elf, the Heart of the Holy Dragon... and counting the Heart of the Stars and the Heart of the Bloodvine that they already possessed... of the five divine hearts, they only lack the Heart of the Holy Light, which is guarded by the Church of the Holy Light!"
"At this critical moment, instead of concentrating its most elite forces to protect the Holy City and safeguard the last heart of Holy Light, the Church of Holy Light has instead drawn away all the main forces of the outer knightly orders, which should have served as a barrier, scattered throughout the continent, and poured them into the bottomless pit of the Misty Forest?"
Aileen's doubts surged within her.
"What are they thinking? Do they really think that Qizhi wouldn't dare to take the Heart of Holy Light? Or is it that... the Holy Light Foundation in the Misty Forest has reached its final stage, and they don't care even if the Heart of Holy Light is taken away?"
"Aren't they afraid that the Enlightenment Society will take advantage of their vulnerability, gather the Heart of Divinity, and open a portal to their doom right under their noses?"
This unusual troop movement has a strange quality to it.
In the Misty Forest, besides the captured holy sons and daughters, there must be even more sinister plots hidden by the Holy Light Church.
Despite her growing doubts, Ellen's resolve remained unshaken.
She looked up, her gaze sweeping over Mark and the others: "The plan remains unchanged. Regardless of the Holy Light Church's intentions, we are destined enemies with the Enlightenment Society! We absolutely cannot allow them to gather the five divine hearts. Pack up, prepare to depart, target: the Holy City."
...
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Holy City, at the headquarters of the Thirteenth Holy Knights.
Inside the solemn council chamber, candlelight flickered, illuminating the cold metal armor.
Alfonso Lin sat in the main seat, clad in gleaming silver heavy armor, with a relief of crossed swords symbolizing punishment and protection behind him.
His distinctive holy silver eyes were now fixed on a parchment scroll in his hand, which had been transmitted back through special magical encryption.
The intelligence on the scroll was sharp and incisive.
[Confirmed: The Enlightenment Society has successfully acquired the Elven Royal Court's 'Heart of the Elf,' the Dragon Clan's 'Heart of the Holy Dragon,' the Orcs' 'Heart of the Bloodvine,' and the Star-Moon Church's 'Heart of the Stars.' The four divine hearts are now complete.]
[The movements of the core members of the Enlightenment Society are highly secretive. Their ultimate goal is the Holy City 'Heart of Holy Light,' with the intention of gathering the five divine hearts to construct the prototype of the 'Primordial Divine Realm' and conduct an unknown summoning ritual.]
[Except for the core area of the Holy City (the location of the Papal Palace, the Cardinal Temple, and the Heart of Holy Light), which is guarded by the elite forces of the Ninth and Eleventh Holy Knights and the Inquisition, all the main forces of the Holy Knights stationed throughout the continent have received top-secret orders and are rapidly converging on the Misty Forest. Their purpose is unknown.]
[The Holy Light Fanatic Legion appears to be launching another expedition!]
Alfonso's gaze lingered on the last line of text for a long time, and a chill spread like a polar glacier from the depths of his holy silver pupils.
"The Holy Light Fanatic Legion! So you've been around all along! Are you going to wipe out the Holy Dragon Continent this time?"
“The four divine hearts… only one more is needed.” His deep voice echoed in the silent council hall. “Constructing the prototype of the divine realm, summoning the so-called ‘master’… the ambition of the Enlightenment Society is blatantly obvious.”
He slowly put down the scroll, his fingertips tapping the cold metal tabletop, producing a rhythmic, soft sound.
“I can see this, and those cunning old foxes in the Privy Council who manipulate power couldn’t possibly be unaware of it. His Majesty, who sits high on the papal throne, looking down upon all living beings, could not possibly be unaware of the dangers involved!”
Alfonso's brows furrowed, his holy silver eyes sharp as a hawk's, as if trying to pierce through the thick stone walls and gaze directly into the innermost hall of the holy city.
"Knowing that the Enlightenment Society's final blade is about to pierce the heart, knowing that the 'Heart of Holy Light' is the key barrier to maintaining the rules of the continent and preventing the abyss from eroding... yet at this critical juncture, they transferred all the main forces of the knightly orders from various regions, who should have been guarding the Holy City's barrier, to the Misty Forest like scattering beans?"
This is absolutely not a normal strategic deployment!
This is more like a... high-stakes gamble, or... some deeper scheme that even he, the Holy Knight Commander, could not see.
The crucial point is that neither he nor his teacher received any notification from above!
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