My Celestial Ascension-Chapter 731: Return To The Holy Light Empire
Whoosh! The Wyvern flapped its massive wings and took off from the ground, gradually ascending into the blue sky and kicking up a huge cloud of dust in its wake.
"This is incredible..." Ayumi murmured, her voice low with awe as she gazed at the breathtaking view of the world from such a height.
The Imperial City looked small from above, but still beautiful—no, even more beautiful. Feeling the wind brush against her cheeks, she couldn't help but smile softly.
"This is amazing! I want a Wyvern too—no, a dragon! They're the strongest creatures in the world!" Kael exclaimed, his face lit up with excitement at the idea of taming one to ride.
"Same here! I'd love to have a dragon as a pet. Just imagine how many women would chase after me if they knew I owned one!" Zane added with a dreamy grin.
Hearing the heroes speak so casually about taming dragons like they were common magical beasts, Conrad could only shake his head in disbelief.
'These fools... Do they really think a dragon would submit to weaklings like them? Pathetic. Dragons are the most noble and proud beings alive.' He sighed inwardly, appalled by their naïve thoughts.
'With that mindset... they'll always be weak and foolish. Thinking that attracting women makes them strong? Utterly laughable.'
Roar! The Wyvern let out a mighty cry before soaring at an astonishing speed, piercing through the clouds and tearing them apart with its size and velocity.
Reacting quickly, Conrad used his magic to form a protective barrier around the heroes, shielding them from the powerful winds that could've easily blown them off the Wyvern's back.
'Damn it... I forgot to bring back the prototype carriages from the Lionheart Empire. The Pope's going to tear into me for this.' Conrad sighed, already feeling the headache that awaited him upon returning to the Church.
Fortunately, the carriages were enchanted with a magical circle that would instantly destroy them if anyone attempted to disassemble them for reverse engineering or to study the magical technology behind them.
Because of that, the Lionheart Empire wouldn't be able to obtain the secrets of this new magical tech. Eventually, they'd be forced to abandon their efforts to replicate it.
Meanwhile, the Imperial Family was deeply troubled by what Conrad had said—the threat to destroy the Lionheart Empire weighed heavily on them.
Being threatened by someone so powerful was no trivial matter, especially when the Holy Church had others just as strong as the First Commander of the Holy Knights—Conrad.
"Conrad wasn't bluffing with that threat... He meant every word," Empress Selena said, her expression grave and filled with concern for the empire's safety.
Emperor Philip took a deep breath, let out a slow sigh, and emptied his glass of wine in one gulp. The entire situation had him on edge—Conrad could invade the empire at any moment with his Wyvern.
"Indeed. He poses a serious threat. We must act quickly. We can't allow the Holy Church to step into our empire without consent," Emperor Philip said after a brief moment of thought.
The Holy Church had the capability to dispatch their Holy Knights into the empire without the Imperial Family's permission, and that could spell disaster.
Worse, the Church was known for manipulating people from the shadows. They would not hesitate to turn the citizens against the Imperial Family if given the opportunity.
"Order the Magic Knight Squad to tighten security at the borders. Do not let a single member of the Holy Church set foot in the empire, no matter what," Emperor Philip commanded, his tone sharp as he turned to Minister Vesta.
He added, "They are forbidden from entering the Lionheart Empire. If anyone from the Church dares cross the border—kill them without hesitation."
"As you command, Your Majesty. I'll inform the Magic Knights immediately," Minister Vesta replied with a nod, his face stern as he left the Throne Hall.
Once Vesta departed, the other officials followed, leaving Emperor Philip and Empress Selena alone in the hall.
After everyone was gone, Emperor Philip sighed deeply. They had clearly underestimated the Holy Church, which had been hiding its strongest warriors from public view.
But that didn't mean he feared them—far from it. In fact, Philip was eager for the coming conflict. He had poured everything into strengthening his army, and now, he was ready to test its true power.
"The Heroes have left their carriages in the city and departed on the Wyvern's back. It's a good opportunity for us to seize this chance and get our hands on the mysterious magical technology they used on the carriages," Emperor Philip said with a smile.
However, Empress Selena had a serious expression as she seemed deep in thought. She didn't respond immediately, lost in a daze as she considered the situation.
"It won't be easy to uncover their secret technology. After all, we're talking about the Holy Church. They can be quite unpredictable at times," Empress Selena said with a heavy sigh.
"If they weren't confident that we wouldn't be able to extract anything from those carriages, they wouldn't have left them behind in the first place. They must have installed something to prevent reverse-engineering," she added, concern showing on her face as she thought it through.
"Is that so… I suppose it makes sense for them to embed protections in such advanced carriages," Emperor Philip sighed, disappointed at the idea of not being able to acquire the new technology for himself.
"First, we'll have our most capable mages examine the carriages and deactivate whatever traps might be present before attempting to study the magic. We absolutely cannot allow them to be destroyed," Empress Selena suggested with a confident smile, trusting in the Empire's best magic scrollers.
"Indeed. That would be our safest move. We're fortunate to have two carriages in our possession. If we succeed in replicating the technology, the advantage will be ours," Emperor Philip nodded with an excited grin, already thinking about the potential benefits.
"More importantly, we must remain vigilant against possible assassin attacks. Those cunning bastards won't take the news of their Holy Son dying in my Throne Hall quietly."
"Indeed. That's something we must be cautious about. The Palace's security should be a major priority," Empress Selena agreed with a nod.
"Absolutely. We can't make any compromises now, not when our lives are at stake," Emperor Philip replied, his face darkening with resolve.
A few moments later, the security of the Imperial Palace was doubled. Not even a rat could sneak in without being spotted by the Magic Knights.
The entire Palace was now protected by a powerful magic barrier laced with Detection, Attack, and Defensive Magic. If anyone dared attack, the barrier would immediately detect and counter.
A barrier of this level was nearly impossible to breach without alerting the Magic Knights. The Palace had now become a formidable fortress, prepared for any assault.
—
After continuously riding the Wyvern for almost an hour, the heroes and Conrad finally entered the Holy Light Empire, rushing toward the Holy Church as fast as possible.
Conrad didn't even consider stopping by the Imperial Palace of the Holy Light Empire. To him, that place held no significance. After all, the real decisions were made by the Holy Church—the Imperial Family had no voice in any of it.
'Let's head to the Holy Church. I'll train these heroes myself and make them useful for the Church, even if I have to brainwash them to achieve that,' Conrad thought inwardly.
'They could become quite valuable tools for the Holy Church—and help me kill those responsible for Archbishop Gregor's and Holy Son Arthur's deaths.'
A few minutes later, they landed in the training ground behind the Holy Church, where thousands of Holy Knights were training. Among them were newly appointed Holy Knights being guided by their senior counterparts.
Seeing the dedication in their eyes to become powerful Holy Knights, Kael and Zane couldn't help but grin widely. After all, both of them had experienced the utter humiliation of being beaten so badly by just one man.
Even though they were summoned heroes from another world, they hadn't been able to stop Yuan's overwhelming attack. It had been a one-sided beating—and they were powerless to do anything about it.
As summoned heroes, they had expected to be almost invincible in this world. And yet, they had suffered humiliation they'd never imagined—defeated before a large audience without being able to land a single hit or defend themselves.
The memory still burned, and that shame now fueled their desire to grow stronger—no matter the cost.
Seeing the look on Kael and Zane's faces, Conrad smiled behind his thick metal helmet.
'These two will be easy to manipulate. They'll make perfect puppets for the Holy Church. What a rare find—I'll make sure to mold them into something useful,' Conrad murmured inwardly, a smirk forming behind the helmet.
"Follow me. It's time to meet His Eminence—the Pope. He's waiting for us at the Cathedral, and we mustn't keep him waiting," Conrad said in a calm yet commanding tone before leading the heroes into the Holy Church.
"Yes, Sir!"
Kael and Zane nodded enthusiastically, grinning with excitement. After all, this was a rare opportunity—to meet the Pope, the strongest and most influential figure in the entire Holy Light Empire.
They followed Conrad eagerly, like a pair of fanboys. But not everyone shared their enthusiasm—especially Ayumi and the other girls. They moved with hesitation, something about Conrad just felt… off.
'We can't blindly trust this man—or the Pope. They could be wolves in sheep's clothing. Yuan really gave me the best advice—trust should be given carefully,' Ayumi thought, watching Conrad cautiously as she followed the others from behind.
