The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

The Duchy of Milan is a small coastal country on the western side of the continent, rich in radiant pearls and various exotic corals. These magically imbued seafoods are not only favored by nobles from other countries to enhance their taste, but are also very popular among alchemists.

However, there aren't many professionals in the Duchy of Milan. Even if you can only do a simple spark, you can still earn the respect and admiration of the local nobles.

This country, compared to the two great powers of Anjou and Cape, is more like a medieval city-state tainted with magic, and its style is remarkably normal.

The Duchy of Milan borders the Sea of ​​Mist. Unlike the Sea of ​​Impermanence to the east of the continent, the waters near the Sea of ​​Mist are clear and blue. The sea breeze carries a moist, salty scent as it wafts across the cobblestone streets, and the harbor is crowded with all kinds of sailboats.

These sailing ships were not designed for long-distance voyages, but rather for sailing along the continental shelf, so they were generally not very large and were mainly used for simple cargo transport.

The fleet of the Kingdom of Kaval, located on the eastern side of the continent, began to land, but everything in the Duchy of Milan seemed peaceful and serene. Two witches from the Witches' Guild were enjoying the sea breeze and discussing magic and the situation on the continent in this leisurely atmosphere.

Many people, upon seeing the two witches wearing pointed hats, began to carefully walk around them.

After all, these are professionals, and organized and powerful ones at that. Even if they are only at the second or third tier, in a small country like the Duchy of Milan, they are enough to make ordinary people fear them.

Not to mention that the two are members of the Witch's Guild. Even the nobles of this country dare not easily provoke members of the Witch's Guild. After all, for countries that cannot even establish a basic education system and whose family offspring can only be sent to study in large countries, even ordinary professional organizations must be respected.

If a famous organization takes a liking to the offspring of these nobles, it can be an opportunity, a stroke of good fortune, for those nobles.

"The guild leader has obtained information on super-tier magic. Would you like to take a look?"

A witch wearing a shorter hat took out a mysterious scroll from her sleeve and spread it out on the viewing platform overlooking the sea.

"Come on, you won't understand it anyway."

The witch in the top hat lost interest after only glancing at the super-level magic scroll.

In addition to distributing information on super-level magic to the leaders of various countries, the Kingdom of Kaval is also distributing information to professional organizations.

Super-tier magic is now an open secret among professional organizations, but there are very few professionals who can even understand it, let alone use it.

The two witches joked with each other for a while, then looked behind them. There were already quite a few nobles' attendants waiting for the two witches to finish their conversation and invite them to the ball.

The nobility of this continent have a long-standing tradition of enjoying balls.

Looking at the nobles' entourage, the two witches were very satisfied. Although they were neither highly regarded nor lowly in their own country or even in their organizations, in this small border country, they were like gods to the local nobles. Many people hoped that their offspring would be chosen by the two witches and thus bring blessings to their families.

However, since they still had a mission to complete, the two witches did not accept the invitation and instead let the nobles' servants wait obediently behind them.

"I never expected that the Holy Maiden of the Lantern Dream would choose to sleep in a place like this."

The witch in the low hat admired the sea view while complaining about the mission: "I thought the Lantern Dream would choose a place that looked rather gloomy or solemn, like a tomb?"

The witch in the tall hat warned, "Don't talk nonsense. If the Lantern Dream finds out we've revealed the location of their saintess, we'll be in big trouble."

"It's just a small cult. In terms of foundation and experience, we witches are far superior..."

Before the witch in the low hat could finish speaking, she saw a nun in a conspicuous slit robe holding a lamp and watching them from a distance.

The witch in the low hat suddenly felt her mouth go dry and she couldn't even speak. An invisible sense of oppression enveloped her entire body.

"what happened?"

The woman in the tall hat looked at her companion with some confusion, but to the man in the low hat, the witch's voice was becoming increasingly indistinct.

The low-hatted witch was startled for a moment, then got up from the ground with her face covered in mud. The experience just now felt like a dream, and she had become so arrogant in the dream. But when she woke up, she found that she had just been sleeping soundly at the city gate of Milan, with mud and weeds still in her mouth.

Looking around, there was no longer any beautiful seascape with blue sky and azure water. The entire area around the capital of Milan was shrouded in the sea mist, and the companion in the tall hat was fast asleep in the mud and grass, seemingly having a nightmare.

In the mist not far away, a group of people were carrying lanterns and a coffin, inside which was preserved the body of the Lantern Dream Saintess.

The witch remembered that it was when she was at the city gate that she sensed a magical fluctuation and, driven by curiosity, used her True Sight to see through the group that was using magic to conceal their whereabouts. After being glanced at by a nun carrying a lantern, she fell into a deep sleep.

Thinking of this, the witch with the low hat suddenly began to tremble all over, staring at the eerie scene not far away, too afraid to move.

In Linde's eyes, the Lantern Dream, which was shady and no different from an ordinary cult, was an insurmountable barrier for these ordinary organizations and professionals. Even a glance at it sent chills down their spines.

The low-hatted witch finally understood the meaning of the proverb "curiosity killed the cat" and kept cursing the task her guild leader had assigned her. Recently, Lantern Dream had been very active, so the witch guild leader sent people to find Lantern Dream's stronghold to discuss some matters, but unexpectedly they encountered Lantern Dream's saintess's body transfer.

In the dream, it was already a sign that the other party had shown mercy by not killing him on the spot.

The entire Duchy of Milan possesses so many precious magical marine products, and despite having few professionals in charge, it has almost never experienced war or been invaded, all because the sleeping body of the Holy Maiden of the Lantern Dream is preserved here.

The lamp-bearing nun glanced one last time at the two witches' messengers through the sea fog, but ultimately did not kill them.

In order to facilitate the transfer of the saintess's body, the Oracle Lantern is now truly in this procession. In the past, such an impolite guest would have been killed for merely glancing at the saintess's coffin. However, now that the Lantern Dream is returning to the light, the saintess has issued an order in the dream: no more killings should be committed unless absolutely necessary.

Although the Lamp-bearing nun initially felt that this rule was unnecessary, since the Lamp Dream had long given up the possibility of becoming a legitimate church again, after hearing the news from her predecessor, Sister Bernice, the nuns and monks of the Lamp Dream unanimously began to abide by this rule again.

There are also different ranks among the Lamplight Nuns. Although Bernice was somewhat neurotic in Lind's eyes, she was indeed a Lamplight Nun of the highest rank who could hold the Oracle Lamp on her own, and could be considered the direct leader of all the Lamplight Nuns.

I glanced at the Lamp-Holder Sisters, members of the Witches' Guild. They weren't even qualified to approach the Saintess's coffin; they were only responsible for following behind the coffin bearers and maintaining the concealment magic.

Only after the coffin-carrying procession had gone far away did the member of the witch's guild wake up her companion, but cold sweat was still pouring down her forehead. The witch seemed to realize that the one who had just made a move was just an ordinary nun at the back of the procession, and the real big shots who had cleared the way had not made a move yet, and had not even glanced at her.

It seems the rumors that the goddess has issued a new divine decree are true. The Lantern Dream has actually started moving the coffin of its own immortal saintess. The professionals carrying the coffin and clearing the way are even more exaggerated, almost at the limit of the tower's restrictions, and can completely roam the continent.

However, this team arrived at the border entrance in northern Cape at an extremely fast speed, only to be stopped at the security checkpoint.

"I'm sorry, you have too many prohibited items. We need to contact the Governor for a decision."

"..."

Facing the Northern nuns dressed in Orthodox nunneries, the leading cardinal nodded after a moment of silence and said, "Of course, thank you for your hard work, nuns."

This Cardinal of the Lantern Dream, who struck fear into the hearts of many magical organizations, had a kind face like an old priest who came to conduct religious academic exchanges.