Expedition

The long-planned power grab and takeover in the Northern Lands proceeded smoothly and without causing much of a ripple.

Katharine stood before the arched stained-glass window on the third floor of the church, looking down at the group of priests who had once been high and mighty. They were wrapped tightly in their fur robes, dragging their meager belongings, and staggering away with expressions of humiliation and resentment.

Besides these former rulers who were stripped of their authority, the priests of the Northern Lands Church who did not agree with the Star Sand ideology also left. Katharine did not make things difficult for them or coerce them, and allowed them to leave freely.

Whether these people remained neutral or went to the Northern Continent Jurisdiction of the Temple of Light to join the Divine Covenant Faction, it didn't matter to Katharine.

In any case, the situation on the Northern Lands battlefield does not determine the outcome of this battle.

There was a knock on the oak door, and Silver Mask pushed it open and entered. After the dust settled on the goblin landing campaign, he went directly to Northern Ice Island with the Feather Race's ships and was only now returning.

Following him were a Feather Race physician and Archbishop Stanton, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

The four people bowed to each other.

"How are the preparations at Eternal Night Port progressing?" Katharine, turning her gaze to Stanton.

The Eternal Night Port has thawed this season and is currently under the control of the Feather Race, undergoing comprehensive renovations and returning to normal operation.

"Everything is ready," Stanton responded. "A large amount of supplies has arrived, and elite troops and transport ships capable of amphibious operations have been assembled."

He actually had some questions in his mind.

The Northern Continent Jurisdiction of the Temple of Light is located south of the Cold Mountain Kingdom, not too far from Dawn Territory, which is under the control of Dawn Territory Star Sand. Although the journey requires crossing the majestic Dome Mountains, it is not impossible.

In other words, after Star Sand changed sides, this battle with the Divine Covenant Faction was inevitable.

However, Eternal Night Port is located at the northernmost point of the entire Northern Continent, which is very far from here. If you go east from there, you can go around the entire Northern Continent.

However, such strategic and tactical details should obviously not be questioned too much.

Katharine nodded, gestured for the maids in the room to leave, and then said to Silver Mask, "Take off your mask and let me see."

Silver Mask immediately removed his mask.

Beneath the mask, the original facial features seemed to have been caressed by flowing water, revealing a melancholic handsomeness and a familiar resemblance between the brows.

"Thank you for your hard work," Katharine sang, "This is a very troublesome loophole that we need to fill."

"What's this price?" Silver Mask's eyes burned with rage. "To cast those blasphemers cloaked in holy robes into the Abyss of hell, we'll pay any price!"

"Actually, these are just temporary," the Feather Race physician said. "Mr. Silver Mask has a very good foundation; we only made a few minor modifications, and he can be restored to his original appearance afterward."

"Thank you for your hard work," Katharine, turning to the physician and bowing slightly in thanks. "The Feather Race's skills have been a great help."

"These are petty tricks, not worthy of being presented in a respectable manner," the doctor replied, bowing slightly.

"Starting tomorrow, you will be giving speeches in each district, especially about the truth behind the Divine Language incident," Katharine instructed Silver Mask.

Currently, within the Northern Lands Diocese, there are still a large number of ordinary believers and priests with a neutral stance. These people have no goodwill towards the aloof Divine Covenant Faction, but they also harbor doubts about Star Sand.

Overall, Star Sand's actions during this period have gained widespread recognition in the Northern Lands. Through proactive publicity efforts, the organization's foundation at the grassroots level can be strengthened.

Silver Mask put on his mask and nodded in agreement.

"Stanton, you've been glued to Silver Mask the whole time, correcting the details of his performance, making sure his physical appearance is extremely similar."

"Yes!" Stanton replied.

The three withdrew, Katharine returned to her desk, picked up her pen, and began writing a correspondence to report the situation in the Northern Lands to Su Ming.

****

Ruby Base, Conference Room.

As the expedition progressed, many key personnel left, and management responsibilities were handed over to their former deputies.

Su Ming will also be leaving tonight, accompanied by Miao Xin, Ruixiuli, and Jielusi.

"Younier, you remain in overall charge," Su Ming instructed. "If communication with me is severed, you can discuss the specifics with Gelie and Zhimeng and make your own decisions."

"Yes!" Younier stood up and answered the order. Having gone through several trials, this young girl had shed much of her naivety and become much more composed and confident.

"Bowers, the security and defense of the base are now in your hands," Su Ming continued.

Although this necromancer Grand Magus Mentor was a formidable force, Su Ming, after careful consideration, decided to leave him at the Ruby Base in the rear, a vital strategic location that could not be compromised in the slightest.

Rupert was also in charge of security; he was still lying in the medical center with a cast on, so Su Ming didn't pull him off the bed.

There was also Magelaili, who was originally in charge of port affairs at Sapphire Port. Su Ming asked her to hand over the matter to her deputy, while she herself went to oversee the Lapis Lazuli and Red Ridge Mine.

Magelaili was a little puzzled. She could understand the need to strengthen the Celestite Hydropower Station, after all, the Naga had just launched an attack, but—

"Is there something wrong with the Red Ridge Mine?" she asked, puzzled.

"Beware of the dwarves." Su Ming's voice carried a hint of coldness. "The dwarves are extremely greedy for those devices. If they try to steal anything while we're away, you'd better deal with them decisively!"

"Understood!" Magelaili nodded. "How far can I go?"

"You must fulfill the Dragon Race's guarantee to the fullest extent!" Su Ming's voice was cold and stern. "There's only one bottom line—as long as the Red Ridge Mine doesn't stop production!"

Bowers whistled.

"You'd better take it easy!" Su Ming glared at him irritably. "I specifically asked Magelaili to do this so that when I come back, the entire mine won't be nothing but a bunch of dwarf skeletons!"

"Do I look like such a bloodthirsty person?" Bowers spread his hands innocently.

"Alright, you're seventh on the necromancer wanted list," Magelaili added coldly. "That ranking isn't just some random number, is it? I'm only fifty-second."

"That's not right, I'm not ranked high here!" Bowers felt even more wronged, while glancing meaningfully at Su Ming.

"Before coming to Dragon Valley, the materials that Bay Owl and I filled in at White Bone Fortress," Su Ming readily admitted, "There were at least tens of thousands of documents." "That's why I was wary of you doing this kind of thing." He said matter-of-factly.

The sources of those "materials" are varied—some seem to be pirate raiders, others to fallen noble private soldiers from the Northern Lands battlefields, and so on.

Those despicable scoundrels at the Sacred Mountain Academy deserve to die.

Despite various reasons, the loss of countless lives is a fact.

"Alright, you're the boss," Bowers surrendered, then changed the subject, "How many are you planning to kill on this expedition?"

"We'll try to keep it under 10,000, and at most no more than 20,000," Su Ming replied calmly, but he noticed everyone looking at him with suspicion. "What, you don't believe me?" He raised an eyebrow slightly.

"A force as powerful as the Temple of Light can be dealt with by killing only 20,000 people?" Magelaili shook her head. "There's no such fairytale-like thing."

"Why not give it a try?" Su Ming smiled slightly. "What if!"

****

After assigning specific tasks and responsibilities, Su Ming began to assess the battlefield situation. He read the reports from Katharine, Yise, and Beianqi.

Overall, although there were many discrepancies in the details and process, the current situation is entirely within our own preparations.

Or rather, even if it weren't this situation, they would deliberately take action to steer things in this direction!

"Ainuobia, bring me the fleet's route map," Su Ming said.

Ainuobia quickly spread the map out on the table.

On the nautical chart, a large white dot and several smaller Xiaobai dots representing supply ships are heading towards the Cold Mountain Kingdom and will soon arrive in the waters near Dawn Territory.

Su Ming checked the time and everything was within a reasonable timeframe.

He pulled out a sheet of paper and began drafting a letter to Katharine: "Effective immediately, transfer and concentrate the main combat forces and organizational members to Dawn Territory to begin preparations for battle."

Dawn Territory is a territory completely controlled by Star Sand in the Northern Lands. The Northern Lands is the territory of the Cold Mountain Kingdom, and the impending conflict cannot be arbitrarily carried out elsewhere.

This was also one of the conditions proposed by Princess Dafulin in this deal.

"We have ample transport ships. If the battle situation changes unexpectedly, we can evacuate by ship at Dawn Port Harbor, while members of the organization who are further away can retreat to Eternal Night Port," Su Ming continued, "In short, under no circumstances should we engage in a head-on confrontation with the Divine Covenant Faction in the Northern Lands."

Before considering victory, one must consider defeat. As the strategically proactive attacker, Su Ming can choose to try again at any time.

He finished writing the letter and handed it to Ainuobia.

The latter took it and was about to leave to send it through the magic array when Su Ming called him back.

"Send another order to the transport fleet, instructing them to maintain high-frequency magical communication!" He decided to make it more explicit.

"Okay!" Ainuobia replied.

****

The Radiant Holy City, the Pope's office.

Augustus has just concluded a long-distance communication with the Cold Mountain Kingdom, successfully activating the "Light Holy War Passage Clause" during negotiations. Simply put, the Temple of Light can "harmlessly" enter the territory of contracting parties in order to conquer heretics or cultists.

When the contract was signed, the Temple of Light was a privileged organization spanning multiple countries and standing above most of them. Today, however, it is showing signs of fatigue and decline.

Just like in the negotiations just now, although the Cold Mountain Kingdom agreed to let the army enter the Northern Lands to quell the rebellion, they dared to demand a "security pledge" of ten million gold coins from the Temple of Light!

The official reason given is that this is a deposit for damage caused to the army along the way, with most of the remaining amount to be returned after the war. But once this money is given out, it's certain it won't be refunded!

After a period of back-and-forth and disputes, the fee was eventually reduced to two million gold coins, half of which was secured by valuable resources and industries. However, the humiliation still made Augustus grit his teeth in hatred.

Augustus rose and quickly went to the operations command center. Cardinal Chancellor Bulameike and a group of high-ranking officials in charge of specific military operations were busy inside.

In just one day, the cardinals experienced too much: the events of the Final Bone Mad Machines, the Plundering Clock, the Cold Mountain Kingdom, and the Star Empire all piled up at once. But with Katharine's betrayal and the Star Sand Sands' change of allegiance, the Council of Cardinals still managed to sort things out with astonishing efficiency:

Regardless of external enemies, we must strike hard against internal threats!

This current group, the military leadership team appointed by the Council of Cardinals, has already completed several tasks overnight.

"Patriarch Gelenhate of the Northland has sent a message that the reconnaissance troops have set out this morning!" an officer reported to Augustus.

Augustus nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the dense wargaming symbols on the sand table.

Where is our main fleet?

"We have completed assembly and resupply off the coast of Light Port and are now on standby at the Daybreak Archipelago anchorage." The officer pointed to a dense cluster of blue ship insignia on the sand table.

"Command them—" Augustus pointed eastward, "Continue moving eastward and await further instructions!"

Bulameike frowned slightly. The formation of this fleet was spearheaded by the Pope. It brought together the vast majority of the remaining naval ships of the Temple of Light and paired them with the most elite Templar Knights as its land force.

Originally intended as a mobile strategic force to counter the threat of the Final Bone Mad Machines, Augustus has now moved this force away from the war zone due to a sudden change in the Northern Lands.

However, there was really no need to use this fleet for mere Star Sand, so Bulameike ultimately suppressed his doubts and didn't say anything more.

After handling several military matters, Augustus found the progress somewhat reassuring. The people in the command center were exhausted, but their spirits were still high.

He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, compared to yesterday's buzzing and quarreling Cardinal's Chamber meeting, this kind of group is the one that really does things, and its members are the cornerstone of the temple.

"Connect to Corona City and activate the ' Mirror of the Holy Decree '," Augustus commanded.

Corona City is the administrative center of the Northern Continent Jurisdiction of Light.

The priests swiftly activated the magic circle, and ripples spread across a solid obsidian wall on the side, gradually revealing an image of the Corona City command center. At the long tables on either side, military decision-makers from the Holy City and the Northern Continent Jurisdiction faced each other across a magical light screen.

"Your Majesty!" Chieftain Gelenhate's voice came through the light screen, "The Northern Continent Jurisdiction have completed their highest level of combat readiness mobilization! The main force and heavy troops have assembled and will depart no later than tomorrow morning! The logistics echelon will depart at dawn the day after tomorrow!"

Although the report did not specify the exact number of people who set off or the overall completion rate of preparations, the efficiency of mobilizing so quickly in such a short time is beyond reproach.

"You've worked hard." The Pope nodded. "In the name of the Holy Light, unleash the thunderous punishment and cleanse the rebels!"

"I obey the divine decree!" Gelenhate bowed solemnly, "May the Star Sand be annihilated by the divine wrath!"

Augustus's gaze, however, bypassed the impassioned Patriarch and landed on the other end of the long table in the command hall. There sat an old man in a plain brown linen robe, thin as a gnarled branch, who stood out starkly against the backdrop of the magnificent robes embroidered with gold thread that filled the room.

This is the other Saint-ranked monk from the Temple of Light, besides Pope Cortes, the monk of Ash Regret.

As the leader of the "Original Sin Faction, Cortes has strong political differences with the Council of Cardinals and high-ranking church officials controlled by the " Divine Covenant Faction. As a result, he has been far removed from the Northern Continent Jurisdiction for many years, which has a bit of a rivalry between them.

Cortes raised his eyes, his expression calm and still, and nodded slightly to his side.

The brown-robed deputy standing behind him immediately stepped forward, "All monks of the Atonement Spikes, await your command!"

The Atonement Spikes are composed of ascetics from the "Original Sin Faction and are currently the most elite combat force of the Temple of Light.

Faced with a serious apostasy, Cortes chose to submit to the greater good.

Augustus didn't ask for much more; he was already satisfied with what had been done.

"The light will shine forever, and darkness will be banished!" he declared.