"I'm sorry, whether you answer or not is not up to you."

Ronald quite admired the attitude of this soldier, but it didn't affect his desire to inquire information.

So, as they continued flying toward Hamono.

It was Ronald's turn to control the other's behavior with a spell.

"Now, I ask and you answer."

"Answer honestly, no lying."

The word spirit power of the Divine Comedy instantly bloomed in the air.

Perhaps due to his admiration for the soldier in front of him.

While controlling the other's behavior with word spirit magic, Ronald spoke a few more words than usual.

This soldier, already influenced by Catherine's dominance spell, naturally couldn't resist the dual impact of Ronald's word spirit magic.

So, just a moment after the magic power appeared.

The soldier's determined eyes lost their sparkle, becoming dull and devoid of self.

Before Ronald started questioning.

Katherine smiled and asked with curiosity:

"Ronald, what do you want to ask this guy?"

"What else?" Ronald smirked slightly, not even turning his head. "Aside from Hamono's current situation, I can't ask what they plan to eat tonight, can I?"

The strictly controlled military leader immediately replied:

"We carry three days' worth of emergency rations, ensuring we aren't impacted by unforeseen events. Tonight, we'll eat this."

"..."

Ronald was momentarily speechless.

And Katherine laughed boldly:

"Ronald, I really like this guy, he's answering your question!"

"I know!" Ronald rolled his eyes at Katrina irritably, then returned to the main topic of inquiring intelligence. "Tell me, how far has the war between the two city-states progressed? What are the specifics?"

Under spell control, Lin Yin City's soldier began solemnly detailing:

"Since the early morning yesterday, our troops have been attacking Hamono's city defense barrier. During this period, the enemy fiercely resisted. We've extinguished four waves of counterattacks, the frontline is now in a sustained attrition phase..."

Under word spirit control, the soldier narrated in great detail.

Not only did he disclose the intense combat details of nearly a day's battle between the two sides, but given his identity as an air force leader, he also revealed some hidden details of the war.

Like three hours after they started attacking Hamono.

The leader of Lin Yin City's army had already made a judgment.

If this consumption pace continues, Hamono's casters and summoned creatures should be able to hold out for a week, by then the defensive barrier will be completely destroyed.

And once the city's defenses are breached.

Since Hamono doesn't have conventional defensive structures like city walls or moats, the fight will quickly enter the city stage.

Then Lin Yin City's army will implement the pre-prepared plan, launching a pressuring offensive from east to west, gradually driving Hamono's resistant forces toward the coastline.

Hearing this, Katherine was curious about the war plan:

"Why are you driving them towards the sea?"

The soldier replied immediately:

"In urban street fights, distinguishing friend from foe is very difficult, especially in this forest city, we must move the battlefield quickly to reduce losses."

"And Hamono's insiders have reached an agreement with us, helping to guide enemy routing. After completely breaching the city, they will evacuate via pre-prepared ships. At that point, everyone left on the coastline will be the enemies we need to deal with."

"..."

These guys seem to have planned quite comprehensively.

No further inquiries yielded valuable information.

So, like the previous soldiers of Lin Yin City, Ronald and Katherine knocked out the air force leader after questioning, then left him in the woods.

The two then continued to ascend, heading back to Hamono.

During this, Ronald contemplated whether he should inform Darman about everything he'd discovered.

But considering the person beside him.

He posed a question to Katherine first: 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Katherine, if you use [psychological history] now, you should get a result quite different from before, right?"

It was Katherine's turn to roll her eyes at Ronald, then exclaimed:

"Ronald, I bet—people working under you must be terribly exploited!"

Then, without waiting for Ronald to retort, Katherine began reciting a spell:

"His name is Gale Donik, originally just a country boy, he's never been to Trantor before. Or should I say, he hasn't truly been there..."

As she recited the spell, Katherine fell into deep computation again.

With the additional information gathered over their days in Hamono, this [psychological history] finally started showing its powerful effects.

A few minutes later, Katherine emerged from the complex calculations.

When she reopened her eyes, her gaze had shifted from teasing to extremely serious, and she accurately stated her calculation results:

"If there is no external interference, Hamono will successfully endure until reinforcements arrive and subsequently repel Lin Yin City's attackers. But this war won't end here. It might even become the trigger for conflicts between various city-states in the future. A war affecting the entire continent, lasting for more than a hundred years, will enshroud this land."

"Eventually, a troop from the west will end everything and establish a long-lasting dominion over this land."

Ronald never anticipated Katherine to reach such a conclusion.

He was somewhat lost in thought for a moment.

From the previously acquired intelligence, they knew wars would occur between city-states on this continent. But they didn't expect the war they were witnessing would become such a significant trigger in continental history!

And regarding Katherine's final summary, that troop from the west.

Ronald had some thoughts on this.

Considering the geographical position of this continent, moving further west leads to the LaTojoa continent, where the nations of [Grede] and [Entrada] are located.

Land long isolated from the mainstream world.

After a century of chaos and the subsequent intervention by powerful foreign troops, envisioning the future doesn't promise any pleasant fate.

Ronald was deeply touched, Katherine noticed this too.

But the astronomical tower master did not dwell on this. Instead, she approached the issue from a different angle, proposing another question:

"Ronald, I believe the focus isn't on what follows."

"What we need to pay attention to now is the first sentence I mentioned!"

Ronald raised his eyebrows, his expression subtly changed:

"You mean—'If there is no external interference'?"