Strength 99999 but the Holy Sister

"read."

Theofeld opened the envelope in his hand.

"Dearly Mr. Ryan Forte, after several days of pursuit, we now know that the demons in the Seavis Territory have been completely eradicated..."

He read out the contents of the letter. It came from the Seavis Territory of the Western Province. It was sealed with the emblem of the Ryanfort family. The letter was not long and mostly just stated the aftermath work.

Generally speaking, in the intelligence network, only unimportant matters and objects that cannot be transmitted by magical communication will use primitive and inefficient methods such as letters. Obviously, this letter is the former. Some time ago, Duke Ryanfort had been staying in Seyavis to deal with matters related to the collusion between Earl Leonard and the demons. He executed more than 200 people and demons including Earl Salisbury Leonard in the five territories of Seyavis, Leonard, Carnten, North Holland, and Degusbon. The rest of the people with less serious crimes were detained strictly in accordance with the imperial laws and were not counted.

Duke Ryanfort left after the matter of Seyavis came to an end. This letter from Lord Seyavis was only to report on the follow-up handling of the demon matter - after all, with the execution of Earl Leonard, a large amount of territory and wealth were confiscated, and the mess left behind would inevitably cause some trouble. Ryanfort dealt with the obvious beneficiaries, but there were still many people in the dark, and the property in the territory that could not be moved was also enviable.

Although Earl Leonard adhered to the monarchist approach and established governors and town halls in each territory to manage the territory, this did not solve many problems given the current situation of the empire. Lands without owners still needed someone to take charge and deal with the aftermath.

Obviously, Duke Ryanfort didn't care whether anyone was eyeing an ownerless territory. He was not interested in anything other than the demons. Moreover, he had more important things on his hands - to find and seize the holy relics that appeared in the southern border.

So he came to the southern border to preside over the search for the holy relics. It was a pity that although the brave Madeleine Fishmand found clues to the ruins as soon as she arrived in the southern border, the ruins suddenly disappeared after the first exploration failed. They also lost the information about the holy relics. Even if there was any new information, they were all false and true, and there was still no actual gain. Now Ryanfort had to wonder if the holy relics had been taken away by someone else - the strange thing was that the Southwestern Federation had also quieted down recently, with only some minor fights happening from time to time. This series of coincidences made it hard to believe that they were completely unaware of this.

However, Duke Ryanfort still found it strange - even if the small countries in the Federation could be extremely secretive, it was impossible for the intelligence network controlled by Ryanfort to not get any intelligence at all. This abnormal situation made him feel a sense of solemnity that he had not felt for a long time.

He was determined to obtain the holy relic.

If he wants to get rid of the demons and avenge his daughter, then his greatest weapon is the power of the growing hero, and he must make the hero stronger. Although Madeleine Fishmand is a true hero recognized by the Holy Sword, she does not actually have the same powerful talent as the previous generation of heroes, so she relies more and more on the power of external objects, and then powerful holy objects become indispensable equipment.

Otherwise... all bets would have to be placed on the second plan, a crazy plan, not an exaggeration to call it "creating a god", called the "Armor of Darkness", and it was also the perfect crystallization of the Empire's magical technology - but unfortunately, so far that plan could not be truly used in actual combat.

"Also, we've discovered traces of heretics here, and we've sent people to track them down..." The deputy general finished reading the letter, put the envelope away, and said, "Commander-in-Chief, I just received news from the front that the brave man has infiltrated the Southwestern Federation. Should we follow him?"

"Leave the third and fourth battalions to continue the search, and the remaining battalions will gradually expand their search range. Have the second battalion keep an eye on the news of the brave warriors and send them abroad to provide assistance if necessary."

The deputy general passed on Ryan Fort's order, and soon, the elite 9th Infantry Division began to slowly crawl in the dark like a giant beast awakening.

Ryan Forte also left the study and casually put on a coat.

At this moment, a communications officer suddenly ran over, looking very nervous and almost bumped into Ryanfort who pushed open the door, but was stopped by the adjutant with his quick eyes and hands.

"Why are you so flustered? As a soldier, don't let others make fun of you!"

Adjutant Theofeld scolded in a deep voice, but Ryanfort was not angry. He glanced at the communications officer calmly, continued to walk forward calmly, and asked lightly.

"What's the matter, you're in such a hurry?"

The communications officer nodded to the adjutant and hurriedly followed Ryan Forte's steps, saying anxiously, "Commander-in-Chief! Secret reports have arrived from the North; it seems a new holy relic has appeared!"

Holy object.

Just these two words were enough to make Ryanfort stop in his tracks. He paused, slowly turned his head and squinted at the communications officer. His old but still sharp gaze was like a mountain pressing down on him, making it almost difficult to breathe.

"Holy object?"

The communications officer didn't dare delay and quickly said, "The news just came in. The relic was discovered by Knight Commander Wo Kress of the Royal Knights and his troops in the vampire territory - the Marquisate of Fabric. The relic is a silver cross pendant. Strangely, the relic wasn't guarded in a relic, but was found in the ruins of a collapsed castle..."

As he spoke, the communications officer described what had happened in the Marquisate of Fabrice, especially focusing on the miraculous sight of the silver cross causing holy light to rise.

"A cross pendant?"

Ryanfort quickly searched his mind, but as far as he knew, there was no record of such a holy object.

What's more, it is ownerless.

Ryan Fort intuitively felt that something was wrong - the birth of a holy object was extremely difficult. Most holy objects were left over from ancient ruins. They were treasures that had been forged through thousands of years of baptism. How could they appear in a vampire territory for no reason?

But no matter what, if the holy object really appears, no matter the reason, Ryan Fort will definitely find a way to get it.

"What is that holy object? What are the details?"

"At this point, the specific function of the cross pendant remains unknown..." the communications officer explained hastily, "but it's said to be 'powerful enough to purify any undead' and 'infuse abundant strength.' By the time the message was sent, Knight Commander Wo Kress had already personally obtained the relic and informed Knight Grand Master Cassius Harvey, who was preparing to return it to the Imperial Capital..."

Ryan Forte narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Send it back to the Imperial Capital? No, since we already know about this, he can't take the holy relic there—Theofeld!"

He called out in a deep voice.

"Immediately order the troops stationed in Seyavis and North Holland to head to the North Territory as quickly as possible to search for and intercept the holy artifact. In addition, no matter what method you use, immediately block all inter-city teleportation arrays connecting the North Territory and the Central Province - especially the city of Kloros."

Kloros is the city closest to the vampire territory with a teleportation array. If the Knight Chief Cassius Harvey wants to send someone to pick him up, that should be the only way.

Although Ryan Forte still felt that this suddenly appearing holy object was very suspicious, he no longer had time to think and investigate slowly. The holy object had already appeared, and he only had two choices: to take action or not.

And he never liked to wait passively.

The only thing that worried him was that he might have to go against the Queen this time, and the Queen might directly send out the Grand Master of the Knights Cassius Harvey, who was the most powerful knight in the Royal Knights and possessed a sacred object known as "a strong shield that cannot be broken by any attack", the Guardian Shield: Golden Agate Beshmidt, with astonishing strength. On the other hand, Ryanfort could not immediately send out a strong man who could compete with him, because the main force of the 9th Infantry Division was in the southern border, and the West Wind Brigade was still operating in the eastern province. Only a small number of royal forces were still deployed in the western province and the northern border, but those were no match for the elite Royal Knights.

Then there is only the "Seventh Agency" that is currently on standby in the imperial capital... The Seventh Agency was once the dark department that confronted the imperial intelligence department. Later it was split and reorganized. Now it is specifically responsible for magical research. The war machine "Armor of Darkness" is the most important project of the Seventh Agency, and it is personally in charge of the most prestigious magician today, Springhall Xarosas.

After only a moment's thought, Ryanfort looked at his adjutant and asked, "Theoford, what's the status of the 'Black Hell Armor'?"

Adjutant Theoford clearly understood his meaning, his expression growing serious. He nodded and said, "According to the report from Xalosaurus, if it's just a short awakening, it shouldn't be a problem—and... he also said he wanted to see the actual combat capabilities of the 'Armor of Darkness'."

Springhall Xarossus, the chief of the Seventh Agency, was a legendary arcanist once known as the "Last Arcane Mage". As a powerful mage who had also experienced the Demon War, he was once considered the "Second Mage of the Empire" after the Sage of Arcane Magic. Until he lost half of his body during an exploration of the ruins, his legend came to an abrupt end. Afterwards, he was no longer known as an arcanist, but as a mage, and was one of the pioneers of Imperial magic.

Putting aside his strength, anyone who has come into contact with him will agree that he is an absolute "madman", a madman who is obsessed with power and is determined to reach the root of magic.

"Hmph," Ryanfort snorted, "Then let the Seventh Agency send her over—if things get out of control, let her fight."

Only in this way can he compete with Cassius Harvey, the Grand Master of the Knights.

"What about Xalosaurus?"

"Don't pay any attention to him. He won't obey our orders."

"Yes!"

"Also, if the secret sage or the holy nun gets involved in this matter, give up immediately."

"But……"

"No, we can't be their enemies yet."

Ryan Fort spread out his cloak, his eyes flashing with sharpness.

"Prepare the teleportation array! I must arrive in Kroros personally before tomorrow morning! Also, send a message to Madeleine Fesmanard to hasten her progress. I hope she will have obtained the relic by the time I return."

At this time, the Barony of Fisher——

In the evening, the Barony of Fisher welcomed a team of knights and civil servants. They were sent by Stizia to take over the mithril mine and matters related to the Barony of Fisher. Tricia handed over a large number of vampire captives to them. Until nightfall, Tricia suddenly received a message from the Queen. She read the message once, then read it again suspiciously, and then immediately ran over to find Elsa.

At this time, Elsa was still sitting at the desk looking at the books she had brought from Baron Fisher's study.

"Elsa, have you been to the Marquisate of Fabric today?"

Tricia asked quickly.

"Well, what happened?"

Aisha felt that Tricia's gaze seemed a little strange, but she couldn't tell what was strange.

"Can you... let me see you?"

"Hmm?" Elsa looked at Tricia in surprise, then simply put down the book in her hand, turned around, spread out her hands, raised the corners of her mouth, and said, "What do you want to see?"

Tricia didn't think anything wrong at all. With a hint of doubt in her heart, she came to Aisha and carefully looked her up and down, and finally her eyes fell on Aisha's neck.

As a nun, although Elsa disguised herself as an adventurer, she always wore a silver cross pendant around her neck. Tricia would see Elsa holding it and praying every day - but now, there was nothing around Elsa's neck.

"..."

There was a moment of silence, and then the expression on Tricia's face became even more interesting.

……

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390. Relics and Magic Ore (3K3)

After repeated confirmation, Tricia has come to believe that the holy object that Stikia mentioned is the cross pendant left by Elsa - and it was Elsa who placed it on the ruins of the castle with her own hands.

"But...how could this happen..."

Tricia looked dazed, and Aisha was also a little confused about the situation -

"You said my pendant is a sacred object? How come I didn't know that?"

Aisha said frankly.

Tricia was silent for a moment. "If it were anyone else, I would definitely say it's absolutely impossible, but since it's you, Elsa... I can't say..."

Having been with Elsa for so long, Tricia had long been accustomed to Elsa bringing her some incredible things from time to time, or rather, she thought she had gotten used to it, but in fact it seemed that she was not yet used to it - this time Tricia was severely shocked.

At least she never expected that Elsa would suddenly do such a thing and quietly throw a holy object out within the empire. What is speechless is that Elsa herself is completely unaware of this.

It would be fine if Elsa had always carried a holy relic with her. Tricia would even use the fact that Elsa had no idea about holy relic or that holy relic was meaningless to Elsa to hypnotize herself. But the problem was that Tricia knew very well that the only holy relic-level equipment on Elsa was the War Demon General's heavy sword that she gave to Elsa. Apart from that, Elsa did not possess any holy relic at all.

Now suddenly tell Tricia that the cross pendant she sees every day is actually a holy item. Every day she watches Elsa holding a holy item and saying prayers before meals?

Please, spare her.

Tricia had seen Elsa taking off her clothes before, and she had naturally observed the cross pendant up close. She was very sure that it was just an ordinary silver pendant. Every church member had one exactly like it - at least it looked that way to the naked eye.

Or was it that I made a mistake?

Could it be that it was because Elsa had always carried the cross pendant close to her body, so all the aura was suppressed by Elsa, thus deceiving Tricia's eyes?

Is that so?

Tricia was actually a little unsure for a moment - the thought of this even made Tricia herself laugh.

If only I had known earlier I would have gone out with Aisha, Tricia couldn't help but think.

But it's no use talking about this now. The appearance of the holy relic is undoubtedly a big deal. Any holy relic is an important item at the national strategic level. The first thing Tricia thinks of now is to contact the Queen immediately. She is sure that the pendant left by Elsa inadvertently will definitely cause a lot of storms. The top priority now is to calm the source of the storm before it starts.

"Elsa, I have to excuse myself for a moment—I must explain things to Her Majesty the Queen as soon as possible."

After saying that, Tricia left.

Although Elsa was a little puzzled, she didn't care much - not to mention whether the holy object was her pendant. Even if it was, it had been on Elsa's neck for at least a year, and Elsa didn't think there was anything special about it.

……

In the throne room, Stikia V. Linthesius was leaning on the throne, her cheek supported, her eyes thoughtful.

Just now, she had received a message from Tricia from the secretary and confirmed the origin of the Holy Silver Cross. Although it was a little unbelievable, Stikia quickly accepted this fact.

Now, she's thinking about something else.

At this time, at the bottom of the stairs of the throne room, several knights led by the Grand Master of the Royal Knights, "Imperial Shield" Cassius Harvey, were reporting the intelligence of the discovery of holy relics in the north. Even when she heard the word "holy relics", Stikia's eyes did not waver at all - let alone now, even before she knew the origin of the holy relics, Stikia would not be shaken by it.

Instead, Cassius Harvey looked anxious.

"Your Majesty, Knight Commander Wo Cress has already obtained the relic, but I've also received news that Grand Duke Ryanfort has already taken action, and even the Seventh Agency has begun operations... We only have Knight Commander Wo Cress and others stationed in the north. If this continues, the relic will definitely be taken away..."

Stikia understood Cassius Harvey's anxiety. The relic's appearance represented a chance for a reshuffle. How could such a strategically important treasure be surrendered to someone else? Since luck had sided with the Queen's faction, allowing the loyal Knight Wo Cress to first discover the relic's existence, they should do everything they could to protect it.

This is a natural thought.

But just being anxious will not help the current situation. Stizia will never show her inner feelings on her face. As the queen, she must consider more things than Cassius Harvey.

"Even the Seventh Agency has been dispatched? It seems they're determined to win." Stizia changed her posture, propping her cheek with her wrist, revealing her slender white wrist from under the wide sleeves. "Harvey, what do you think the chances are that Grand Duke Ryanfort is bluffing this time?"

“I think the possibility is low…”

After all, it concerns the ownership of the holy relic. Given Duke Ryanfort's character, how could he give up this only chance?

Stikia smiled. This was an unsurprising answer.

"Your Majesty, please send me. I will definitely bring back the holy relic!"

Cassius Harvey volunteered, but Stizia just shook her head.

"You're too impatient, Cassius Harvey. If Duke Ryanfort decides to join the game, then your mission won't be to bring back the relic, but to hinder the Seventh Agency, which is about to leave the Imperial Capital. They're well prepared and will certainly find a way to target you, who possess the relic. So, Cassius Harvey, as my sharpest sword, are you confident of victory?"

Stikia lowered her gaze, her deep crimson eyes examining the tall knight. Cassius Harvey lowered his resolute face, lowered his eyes, and fell silent.

He wanted to answer confidently "yes", but he knew very well that it was difficult to make any guarantees.

Just as Her Majesty the Queen said, Duke Ryanfort must be well prepared this time. Harvey is very clear about Duke Ryanfort's ability. He is not absolutely sure of victory because the Royal Knights are now dispersed due to the layout of the North and the Imperial Capital, and there is obviously not enough time for them to assemble immediately.

As the knight who has always been hailed as the most powerful knight in the empire, he represents not only the face of the Imperial Royal Knights, but also the honor of being the "Sword of the Queen". Once he and his subordinates are defeated in the battle, the entire Queen's faction will be frustrated by his failure. Duke Ryanfort will definitely not miss such an opportunity and will press forward step by step.

When things developed to this point, it was no longer just a confrontation between personal bravery and the success of a mission. His wishful thinking was not worth mentioning - for many things, determination alone was far from enough.

"Can we seek the help of the Master of Mystic Law?"

Someone suggested at this time.

"No need for that. It's best for the Mystic Sage to continue to stand in her place. Only the unrevealed cards will make us nervous."