In the end, the military conference concluded in a way many had not expected.
"Your Grace, do you truly think we should do this? I mean... bypassing The Church and launching a surprise attack on Havenlight—the risks of such an operation are simply too great." After the representatives of the Black Nightmare Army left, a Wood Army general turned to Elizabeth and could not help urging her otherwise.
"I understand." Elizabeth nodded. "However, once The Church sends out its forces, their defenses around the Royal Capital will certainly be greatly weakened—this is their desperate final counterattack, so they will not leave themselves a way out. If we plan the route in advance, we may be able to approach the Royal Capital without anyone knowing."
"But even if we get close to the Royal Capital, we may not be able to take it in a short time."
"Perhaps that would have been difficult before, but now... we have this."
As she spoke, Elizabeth opened her palm, revealing a black cross and a fresh, tender-green ginkgo leaf.
These were the items Benjamin had personally handed to her at the end of the meeting.
The leaf was the key to a secret door in St. Peter's Cathedral, while the cross was a specialized countermeasure artifact made by the Magic Academy. According to Benjamin, consuming the key and activating the cross would disable Havenlight's Holy Light Barrier for half an hour. And half an hour was already enough for them to break into the poorly defended Grand Cathedral.
Then, all they needed was a single fire to utterly destroy The Church's foundations!
One more thing: the ginkgo leaf had once carried a tracking spell from The Church, but after special treatment by the Magic Academy, its tracking properties had long since been completely removed.