I Pioneered Scientific Magic-Chapter 411: Seizing the Opportunity against the Holy Church
Sanchez led Lynn and others to the meeting room. Hundreds of wizards were gathered, engaged in heated discussions about the recent disastrous defeat.
Aurora, who had set out first, had already arrived. Even Victorio had reached the place, evidently rushing here upon receiving the news.
Once Lynn and the others were seated, Harof silenced the debates in the meeting room and solemnly spoke, "This defeat is indeed my negligence!"
The timing of the Holy Church's attack was precise, and the mystical art that allowed the legion to approach invisibly was quite extraordinary. However, with enough vigilance, they shouldn't have been caught off guard.
"It seems the prolonged victories have made us all a bit complacent," Victorio shook his head.
However, Harof had been cautious enough; before the war, he had dispatched most airships to scout the surroundings. No one could have expected a legion of tens of thousands to slip in so silently.
Even he, in the same situation, might have fallen victim.
"How did they manage it?" Aurora was intrigued. With her control over light magic, she could make a few hundred or even a thousand rifle troops disappear from sight during covert marches, but a legion of tens of thousands was a different challenge.
"Could it be the Divine Realm?" Lynn suddenly suggested.
During his confrontation with the forces from the capital and Edweil, he noticed something peculiar about it—like two completely different spaces inside and outside.
"Possibly!" Victorio nodded. If that were the case, it wasn't good news. If they could expand the Divine Realm on such a scale, their strength was undoubtedly much greater than expected.
"Master Lynn, when you stayed back alone, you probably probed the enemy's details, right?" Harof asked, his expression serious.
Lynn's use of "Sunlight Illumination," both in range and power, astonished even him. Anyone capable of dispelling that magic, projecting magical power to disrupt it in such a short time, had to be a legendary divine practitioner.
The other two councilors also looked over, especially Aurora. When Harof mentioned Lynn single-handedly holding back the Holy Church's army, she was the most shocked.
After contemplating for a moment, Lynn's right hand swept across the table, creating a watery curtain with two figures reflected on it— a man and a woman.
A man around fifty, dressed in a golden robe, with a solemn demeanor.
"This is Joshua, the Chief Justice of the Holy Church! He should be the one I faced in the Misty Sea," Aurora identified one of them.
The wizards present nodded in agreement. This Chief Justice was indeed one of the Church's five legendary divine practitioners, confirmed by their intelligence.
As for the other...
"Saint Lucia. I didn't expect her to possess legendary-level power too," Harof said in surprise.
They had collected portraits and information on all key figures above the Archbishop within the Church, including the Saint. According to their intelligence, the position of the Saint rotated every few years, held by a nun in her early teens. The only commonality was their extraordinary appearance, serene and beautiful.
To imagine such a figure wielding legendary magic was beyond belief.
"It's probably not that easy, otherwise, the Church's legends would be rampant," Victorio interjected.
The selection of the Saint was frequent, perhaps because they couldn't bear such immense power and were forced to rotate. The previous Saints had disappeared according to the Church's account, likely meaning they had died.
"But they only sent two legends over; this is quite..." Victorio's expression was strange, neither happy nor sad.
"Maybe there are other forces yet to arrive. Anyway, this is good news!" Harof's face eased slightly.
It meant they temporarily held an advantage in high-level power. It was best to take the initiative and strike before the enemy's reinforcements arrived, defeating them in one fell swoop.
According to Harof's speculation, the pseudo-god was the source of these magical practitioners' power. Solving this issue would crumble the Empire and the Church without direct confrontation.
The key to this battle was forcing them to open the gates to the Divine Realm at the right moment.
"The location of the final battle should be as open as possible to avoid accidental harm," Harof added. "If we can lure the Saint or the Chief Justice out, that would be even better."
The wizards immediately began discussing these points, needing a well-thought-out plan and contingency measures.
Raphael suggested they could follow Edweil's example, digging tunnels to infiltrate the petroleum city. They could feign an attack from outside while the councilors and Lynn, the star of magic, executed a decapitation operation.
Even though the risk of magical uncontrollability was present, the casualties would be limited to the Imperial legion and civilians inside, avoiding harm to their own people.
Harof, who had witnessed the power of a nuclear explosion, exchanged glances with others, shaking his head. It seemed Raphael underestimated the new magic developed by Lynn. Once unleashed, it would not only affect the city but could even reach several kilometers away.
However, Raphael's proposal was still constructive, serving as one of the alternative plans.
"Master Lynn, what do you think?" Victorio found this plan acceptable, as long as they ensured foolproof safety for outsiders.
Lynn pondered for a while, not giving a direct answer but suddenly asking, "Councilor Victorio, how far is the production site of petroleum from here, according to the information I received?"
"If my information is correct, it's about ten kilometers in a straight line," Victorio replied.
"Show me the map!" Lynn stood up, taking the parchment handed over by a wizard, carefully examining the topography of the Miste region, and soon formulated an idea.
