Companionship

If Arcane Mage hadn't thought of this method, they would truly be the biggest idiots in the multiverse. However, in reality, this wasn't a particularly unique technique for Arcane Mage. The spells for summoning souls and integrating them into constructs were already well-established by Arcane Mage long before the establishment of the Magic Empire. They could summon souls from the Elemental Plane and place them into the bodies of constructs, allowing these things to move freely. Necromancers, on the other hand, could imprison other souls and incorporate them into their magical weapons.

However, this approach was ultimately banned by the opposition led by Li Lin.

Firstly, while manipulating existing souls may not be morally problematic for mages, mass-producing weapons using this method could easily create hidden dangers. The gods would certainly not remain silent about such a situation. Secondly, these souls possess a strong sense of autonomy, much like robots without the Three Laws of Robotics. While occasional use might be acceptable, prolonged use could easily lead to accidents. This is why Arcane Mage ultimately developed Weapon Spirit. Of course, and most importantly, as Nia stated, human souls are still human; they don't see themselves as weapons.

Who has ever seen a sword dodge an attacking weapon to protect itself?

Of course, this metaphor is somewhat exaggerated, but it hits the nail on the head.

The cultivation of a soul is naturally related to experience. If a sword has been with its master for a long time, then in its mind, slaying enemies and fighting is its duty. It is meant to be this way from birth, relying on defeating enemies to gain its value. It will take the initiative to shield its master from attacks, actively seek gaps and opportunities for its master to attack, and even disregard its own injuries. These are things that a human soul cannot do.

And that's precisely where the problem lies with these Divine Envoys of the Seven Sages.

The reason they were defeated so easily was not only because of the vast difference in strength between the two sides, but also because their ways of thinking were completely different.

Although Li Lin had suspected the God of Justice might use this method when he noticed the contradictions in the Weapon Spirit, he couldn't draw a conclusion until he had enough evidence. Now, he could finally confirm his judgment.

As a deity, the God of Justice naturally has more control over souls. However, judging from the current situation, Li Lin felt relieved. It seemed that the God of Justice was unaware of the techniques for creating Weapon Spirit. Or perhaps even if he knew, he didn't recognize the difference between the two; otherwise, he wouldn't have sent these Weapon Spirit to participate in the battle so easily.

According to Li Lin, dealing with these Weapon Spirit doesn't actually require any advanced skills. As long as he "Soul Extraction," these so-called "Divine Envoys of the Seven Sages" will be completely reduced to scrap metal. After all, their souls are not original but foreign products, making them very susceptible to influence. Although the God of Justice has added some protection for them, it is far from enough.

That's all there is to it.

Although Li Lin also felt that this was very likely a trap deliberately set by the God of Justice to make him underestimate his strength, he still couldn't understand why the God of Justice would do such a thing. However, regardless of whether the other party was genuinely stupid or pretending to be an idiot, Li Lin did not intend to deal with it lightly. After all, the other party was a god, and when facing a god, caution was still necessary.

At this moment, Li Lin was sitting at his desk, fiddling with the longbow in his hand. It was the female archer's true form—a flawless white weapon that looked like something only a saint would use. However, to Li Lin, this longbow was far inferior to Kalin's. Not only was its range and power significantly greater than a regular longbow thanks to divine magic, but it could also fire in rapid succession and, under the control of Weapon Spirit, could track and lock onto targets to a certain extent. For people of this era, it was a formidable weapon, but...

That's all there is to it.

Li Lin casually tossed the longbow onto the table. He had thoroughly searched the female archer's memories and soul, but found nothing of particular value. Therefore, the breakthrough still lay with the priestess girl. Fortunately, he had specifically reminded Nia of this weapon, which could use various divine spells, before sending them away. Otherwise, if she had been blasted to dust by Yi Aier or cut into pieces by Anna, she would have been completely finished.

However, thinking back, neither of the two little ones had appeared before him these past few days. Yi Aier had asked Beika to tell him to speed up the mass production of her latest magical weapon, and Anna had asked Kalin to tell him to lead the assassination squad back to training... Well, although he wasn't really angry with them, it wasn't bad that they were working so hard.

As for this longbow, Li Lin hasn't yet figured out why he can't detect the faction on it. After all, although the bow's materials are precious and rare, Li Lin has used them before. There's no way it could block magical energy. So the problem is likely elsewhere, but even with Li Lin's abilities, he can't pinpoint the exact issue in a short time.

"Knock knock."

A soft knock sounded on the door. Li Lin sat up straight, put the weapon in his hand into his dimensional space, and then spoke.

"Come in."

As he spoke, Nia opened the door and walked in, and behind her was Catherine.

How have things been lately?

Looking at Catherine's slightly tired face, Li Lin revealed a smug smile.

"Just as you predicted, Master."

Perhaps because she had already decided to dedicate the rest of her life to Li Lin, Catherine loosened up, and her tone began to return to its former self.

"The death of that congressman caused quite a stir among the people, but precisely because of that, things went much more smoothly."

Originally, the two councilors who had become quartermasters had already sided halfway with the nobility, but the death of the female councilor made them fearful again. Although they didn't know who was responsible, the incident made them fully realize their own status and position—compared to the nobles who held military and political power, they were still not safe even with the support of the people.

Despite their initial timidity, these two councilors seemed determined to risk everything for the sake of profit, especially after the arms dealers gave them their first "gift." They were clearly committed to a relentless, ruthless approach. Instead of doing any real work in their district, they spent their time socializing with nobles and throwing lavish parties. Catherine and her group, of course, knew perfectly well that these men were trying to infiltrate aristocratic circles, shed their commoner status as soon as possible, and have someone to back them up if anything happened in the future.

But is it really that easy to get into aristocratic circles?

If you lack talent, at least you need a good family background. The two people who were promoted by commoners were neither talented nor from good families. All the nobles sneered at their behavior, while calmly attending every party they hosted—why not go when there's such an idiot paying for them? In noble circles, fools are naturally ridiculed and exploited.

After attending several parties, the two seemed to become increasingly arrogant, as if they had already accepted themselves as members of the aristocratic circle. As a result, the pressure on Catherine and the others immediately decreased. Whenever they proposed a motion, it would pass by an overwhelming majority. In the eyes of those two, since they had become "aristocrats," they should naturally speak up for "aristocrats."

This clearly angered other civilian members of parliament.

Whether or not there was sour grapes mentality involved, these civilian representatives, realizing they had lost the upper hand at the meeting, began a roundabout counterattack. They publicly brought up the assassination of a female representative and demanded a parliamentary investigation. Moreover, before the parliamentary vote, they mobilized public opinion, spreading the story throughout the streets.

This angered the people. They had worked so hard to elect their representatives, and now one of them had been murdered? There must be some conspiracy involved! So, organized by the civilian representatives, the people spontaneously began marches and protests in the streets and alleys—it's unclear where they learned this from.

These changes in the situation left the noble councilors both annoyed and amused.

Protests and demonstrations? Are these guys bored out of their minds? Or are they blind to the undead legion outside? We're already too busy with important matters to handle, and you want us to waste more soldiers maintaining order? We're already short-handed for border patrols, where are we going to get people from? How about you hold a demonstration in front of the undead army when they invade? "Strongly protest against the barbaric invasion of the Magic Empire?" That's a good slogan.

This paralyzed the council's work, and Catherine, completely uninvolved, left the matter to the rigid paladins of the Temple and never bothered with it again, thus gaining some free time. Just then, Li Lin needed her to come to Ringwraith City to assist him in investigating the so-called Divine Envoys of the Seven Sages, so Catherine readily agreed to Nia's invitation. After all, no one would suspect that the saintess symbolizing the Anti-Magic Empire Alliance would be a subordinate of the Arcane Mage of the Magic Empire.

"You haven't aroused anyone's suspicion, have you?"

After listening to Catherine recount the events of the past few days, Li Lin asked with some confusion. Catherine, of course, knew who he was referring to.

"Rest assured, Master, Archangel Gabriel has been dealing with the riots at the Temple these past few days, so she won't have time to look for me for the time being. Besides, I've already made preparations, so there's nothing to worry about."

At this point, a mocking smile crept onto Catherine's lips.

Although Gabriel was highly respected among the believers and wanted to quell the riots, Gabriel overlooked two things.

Not everyone believes in God of Justice.

Even among believers, there are those who are devout and those who are not.

Although Gabriel assured everyone that the glory of the God of Justice would shine upon everything and that the murderer would definitely be found, most people still did not believe her assurances. Of course, apart from those who did not particularly believe in the God of Justice, there were also some who had already become followers of other gods. Other gods would never let go of such a good opportunity to damage the reputation of the God of Justice.

Therefore, Gabriel's appearance did not calm things down; instead, it seemed to be adding fuel to the fire, incited by the followers of other gods. Catherine, on the other hand, had already quietly slipped away from the beginning, not wanting Gabriel to put her in the spotlight, as that would only make things worse. Fortunately, Gabriel knew that Catherine was, after all, a princess, and that having her come out to appease the people might only displease them, so he did not refuse Catherine request.

Even so, Catherine was still somewhat surprised when she learned from Nia that Li Lin actually wanted her to go to Ringwraith City. After all, in her memory, Li Lin always took the initiative to come to her when he needed something. As for Ringwraith City, Catherine was well aware that her status and position were probably not suitable for going there, so she had never considered it. However, this time, Li Lin's rare order for her to go to the city made Catherine somewhat uneasy.

"Now that you're here, then..."

Li Lin opened his mouth to speak, but after glancing at Nia and Catherine, he suddenly changed his tune.

"Let Nia take you to your room to rest first. We can talk about what happens next tonight."

Li Lin?

Nia frowned. She didn't understand why Li Lin had suddenly changed his tone. Wasn't he supposed to be here to conduct experiments on her?

Catherine opened her mouth, cautiously glanced around, then a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, but she didn't say anything more.

Since Li Lin had given the order, Nia would naturally carry it out. She led Catherine out of the study and stood in the corridor, gazing at the scenery outside the window. Both of them remained silent, but in the end, it was Catherine who broke the silence first.

"Lady Nia, may I ask where Miss Angela has gone?"

"Miss Angela is temporarily unavailable and not here."

Nia's answer wasn't wrong, and Catherine didn't press further. After all, she had very little contact with the Seven Ring Spirit Envoys, and given Catherine's cautious nature, she shouldn't have taken the initiative to approach them. If Nia hadn't been with Li Lin for so long and hadn't been so mild-mannered, Catherine wouldn't have asked such a somewhat presumptuous question. Now, having received Nia's answer, Catherine could only remain silent.

However, Catherine felt that something was not quite right. Judging from her master's words, she seemed to be staying here for a while, which was beyond Catherine's expectations. When Nia appeared in front of her, she said that she had some things to help with, and Catherine thought it would be over soon, but now it seemed that was not the case.

Moreover, Angela is not here.

Catherine's feelings towards Angela were quite complex. Although Angela had shattered her long-held values and worldview, Catherine felt a mixture of fear and respect. Even though Angela had never shown Catherine any kindness and her methods were cunning and treacherous, Catherine felt she could truly open up to her completely in her presence. Moreover, Li Lin's order this time seemed rather strange.

Nia was also somewhat puzzled. She had thought the same as Catherine, believing that Li Lin was simply having Catherine use divine power to activate the Holy Scripture and thus understand its principles. Although that couldn't be accomplished in a short time, it shouldn't have taken so long. However, Nia just rolled her eyes and didn't say anything more.

After all, Angela wasn't there.

Emotionally speaking, Nia is a very reserved Weapon Spirit, much like Li Lin in personality. Because of this, she doesn't readily express her feelings. In fact, Li Lin is the same. Although he also loves his Weapon Spirit, treating them like daughters and subordinates, he never makes these feelings overtly apparent. After all, as Arcane Mage and a man, engaging in domestic squabbles like a woman would be somewhat inappropriate. Knowing when to let go and when to hold back—that's Li Lin's way of thinking and style.

Of course, such introversion is not a problem for a man, but when Nia also catches Li Lin's personality, it becomes a big issue.

If Angela were here, she would have perfectly guessed Nia's feelings and then used her charm to coax Nia into doing things she wouldn't normally do. But since Angela wasn't here, Nia felt a little strange, but didn't think much of it... However, she might have overlooked something.

In some ways, Catherine could be considered Angela's "protégé".

"Master, why did you send Miss Nia?"

Suoxiate put away the documents on the table and spoke with her usual formulaic smile.

"If you're going to show that lady the way, wouldn't it be better for me to do it? Besides, it's my duty."

"Catherine has met Nia at least a few times, so she won't be too nervous in front of her."

Li Lin picked up the quill pen in his hand and casually fiddled with it.

"But things are a different story when it comes to you."

"Is this saintess... Miss Angela's slave?"

I really don't know where Suoxiate found out about this.

"You can ask Angela directly."

Li Lin shrugged. After they returned from their mission, Li Lin confessed Angela's disappearance to the Ring Spirit Envoy. However, the weapons seemed to react differently to this news. Kalin, as always, shrugged and muttered, "She probably went to find a man," before going off to drink. Suoxiate didn't offer any opinion. Beika wasn't particularly concerned about Angela, so she remained silent as well. Only Miu'erkasi was quite concerned about the future Scourge Legion. After receiving a reassuring answer from Li Lin, she said nothing more.

Only Anna and Yi Aier seemed somewhat distraught after receiving the news, which was truly hard to understand. When Angela was around, the three of them were like oil and water, but now that she's gone...

Li Lin smiled and shook his head to clear his mind. Just then, Suoxiate brought him a cup of black tea.

"Speaking of which, I think Miss Catherine and Miss Angela are somewhat similar..."

"Um?"

"It's nothing, Master."

Facing Li Lin's gaze, Suoxiate once again put on that extremely professional smile, as if she hadn't said anything at all.