When Sophia rode her unicorn into Augus City, it was already close to evening.
The army departed in the morning and entered the city in the evening. It was exactly half a day.
The half-elf girl stared blankly at the smoking Forzer Stronghold under the setting sun. She looked at the citizens who opened their doors and curiously sized up the elven army on both sides of the street. She felt like she was dreaming for a moment.
"It's true … It really took less than a day to conquer it …"
She mumbled in disbelief.
As a former noble of the Empire, she was well aware of the reputation of Forzer Fortress.
During that time in history when the central authority of the Empire was declining and the city-states in Ayres declared their independence, the northern territories of the Empire were also embroiled in the flames of war.
At that time, Emperor Clovis, the leader of the Empire's resurgence, won a crucial battle at Forzer Fortress. He switched from defense to offense and won the allegiance of the nobles in the northern part of the continent, strengthening the central authority.
The reputation of Unyielding Fortress was also passed down from that time.
Even though Forzer Fortress fell after being besieged by the Maple Kingdom's army for less than a month, it was only normal considering that the defenders were old, weak, sick, and disabled. There was no lack of powerful Extraordinaries among the attackers.
But now, the defenders were not old, weak, and disabled!
The girl was quite curious about how the players did it. Even the fortress on the hill looked like it was heavily damaged.
And when she raised her doubts to Li Mu, who was accompanying her, Li Mu no longer kept her in suspense. Instead, he told her the ins and outs of this attack.
After listening to the players' battle process, the half-elf girl's face was filled with shock and astonishment.
The surprise attack from the sky, the surprise attack from the sky …
She raised her head and looked at the huge airship in the sky and couldn't help but mumble.
"So this is the contribution of the airship …"
Aerial units.
This type of unit was not the first in the world of Segers.
In fact, many territories of the Empire had their own Griffin Unit or Wyvern Unit.
Of course, there were very few Megalosaurus. Most of them were wyverns with Megalosaurus bloodline.
However, most of the Empire's flying forces were only used for reconnaissance, and it was difficult for them to be of much use.
This time, the elves launched an attack from the sky. First, they used a carpet bombing tactic, and then thousands of Extraordinaires descended at once … This had never happened before.
At this moment, Sofia realized that with the appearance of the elven airships, the war in the Segers Continent would be completely rewritten.
The elves were really creative. You would never know what they were capable of and what they could create …
"However, the reason why we were able to attack so quickly was because there was no divine barrier in the city. If there was a defensive barrier, it probably wouldn't have been so smooth."
Looking at the half-elf girl with a complicated gaze, Li Mu said cheerfully.
Sofia was speechless.
"If there's a defensive barrier … what do you plan to do?"
She asked.
"Of course, we'll fly to a high altitude where it can't fight back and blow it up until it can't maintain it anymore. That thing consumes a lot of energy to maintain. I don't believe it can be used forever."
Li Mu said seriously.
Sofia was speechless.
The two of them chatted as they walked. Under the escort of the elven army, they entered the conquered Forze Fortress.
The surrendered soldiers of the Maple Kingdom had already been disarmed by the players. They were squatting outside obediently with their hands on their heads.
Sofia glanced at the soldiers who still looked a little dazed. Their eyes were filled with fear, and she frowned slightly.
She muttered to herself for a moment. First, she used the divine spell [Eye of Faith]. She found that most of the soldiers had a faint red glow.
That was the symbol of shallow believers. Even among shallow believers, they were the weakest kind. At most, they would think of it and pray when they had nothing to do.
"Most of them were forced to change their beliefs …"
The girl muttered to herself.
She thought for a moment and silently chanted a few spells. With the help of Divine Power, she used the strengthened version of the spell [Detect Group Evil].
Accompanied by the light of the magic, halos appeared above the soldiers' heads …
Some were deep black, some were turbid white, but most of them were dark gray or dark gray.
Those were halos that represented factions. The darker the color, the more evil it was.
Interestingly, those with darker colors were mostly people who had just converted to the color red.
The more firm the belief in the evil god, the more depraved they would be.
With this thought, Sofia muttered to herself.
"Those with black halos are existences who have completely given their bodies and minds to the evil god, as well as existences whose souls have long fallen. The gray ones can still be saved. As for the white ones … they are probably just ordinary people who have been forcibly converted. "
As she spoke, she looked at Li Mu.
"Your Excellency Li Mu, I intend to incorporate the soldiers who have not completely deviated from their factions and lead them back to the righteous faith. What do you think?"
"This mission was entrusted by you. Of course, we will listen to you!"
Li Mu said seriously.
"I heard that your guild is very good at preaching beliefs?"
Sofia asked again.
"Ahem … You will have to ask Demacia about this. He is an expert."
Li Mu said with a strange expression.
"Demacia?"
Sofia was stunned.
Just as the girl was deeply shocked by Li Mu's answer, a voice that sounded a little despicable and a little smug sounded behind them.
"That's right, it's me!"
It was Demacia.
Sofia was speechless.
Looking at the red-haired warrior who had appeared out of nowhere, the girl's gaze was filled with suspicion, scrutiny, and … vigilance.
Demacia was speechless.
"I say, Miss Sofia, can you not look at me like I am trash? I am really an expert at preaching beliefs! "
He had a helpless expression.
After hearing Demacia's words, Sofia was silent. She only looked at him expressionlessly.
Just as Demacia was getting goosebumps from her gaze and thought that he was going to die, the girl suddenly spoke.
"I will believe you this once."
"Uh … Hmm?!"
Demacia was slightly stunned.
Then, he was delighted.
"Really?!"
"No, it is only because His Excellency Li Mu vouched for me."
The girl continued.
Demacia was speechless.
Looking at the red-haired warrior who had a bitter expression, Sofia sighed.
"His Excellency Demacia, if you were more steady, I think you might be more popular than you are now. It would also be easier for people to trust you."
"I will leave these soldiers to you. I will go take a look at the nobles who have surrendered. Please do not disappoint me."
Having said that, the girl left the place where the surrendered soldiers were imprisoned.
Only the two players were left staring at each other.
"What do you plan to do with these soldiers?"
Li Mu looked at Demacia and asked with a strange expression.
Demacia glanced at the soldiers gathered in the courtyard and chuckled.
"Same old rules. Just like the Beastmen, give me a brainwashing set."
"What about those who cannot be brainwashed? Are we still going to drag them back to be miners? "
"Of course, isn't that obvious? But they have to spit on the statue before leaving. I wonder if the evil gods will punish believers who spit on the ground … I hope they can still live after spitting. "
Li Mu was speechless.
…
After leaving the courtyard where the surrendered soldiers were imprisoned, Sofia quickly entered the fortress castle.
In the main hall of the castle, which was not too badly damaged, a group of nobles in much more luxurious clothes were squatting on the ground with their hands on their heads, just like the soldiers outside.
They were the leaders and supporters of Maple's garrison. Some of them had surrendered with the surrendered soldiers, while others had been captured by angry citizens and elves.
Sofia even saw a few familiar figures.
They were the nobles she had seen when she was in Zeloran.
When the girl noticed those people, they also quickly recognized her.
Immediately, a few surprised voices sounded among the nobles.
"Miss Sofia? Is that you?! I am Baron Elf! I have seen you in Zeloran! "
"Miss Sofia, have you become a believer of Life? I am Milovie! I have seen you at your father's banquet! "
"That's great! I did not expect it to be you! Misunderstanding … this is all a misunderstanding! We were also forced by that despicable Evil God! "
"That's right, that's right!"
"Please tell the elves that we are willing to pledge our allegiance!"
Looking at the pale faces of the nobles who forced themselves to be surprised, Sofia suddenly felt a little tired.
She did not directly answer them. Instead, she silently used the [Eye of Faith] to identify faith.
Most of them were green.
Green … they were non-believers.
The girl was not surprised at all by this result.
There were very few pious nobles among the nobles. Most of them were shallow believers.
For example, those who surrendered now were mostly fence-sitters. "Pretending to change faith and repenting in the future" was the most common excuse they used after losing the Holy War and being captured.
Now that he had become a prisoner, it was only natural for him to abandon his belief in the Evil God.
They were much more proficient in this kind of thing than the soldiers who might have trouble understanding the common language.
However, if the evil god's believers captured them one day, they would probably change again …
This was the truest nobles.
For most of them, the most important thing was that they were alive, their status did not change, and their power and wealth were not affected.
However, after witnessing this time and time again, Sofia had long understood that for nobles, it was not enough to just look at the light of faith.
Without hesitation, she also used a [Detect Evil] …
This was the first time the girl used this magic on a noble.
When she was in Zeloran, her father forbade her from using this magic on nobles.
Following the girl's actions, magic spread to the bodies of the surrendered nobles.
Above their heads, a corresponding halo appeared one after another.
Most of the halos were as black as ink. It was a stark contrast to the soldiers from before.
Seeing this, disappointment flashed in Sofia's eyes.
However, the girl was too lazy to say anything more.
After all … to be able to retain their status under the evil god's control and even become the leader of an army, it was easy to imagine what kind of existence they were.
"Let Sir Demacia deal with them. From now on … there will be no more nobles in Augus City!"
She looked at the nobles indifferently and said expressionlessly.
Seeing the girl's cold expression, the nobles' expressions changed.
"Miss Sofia! No … Lady Sofia, what are you doing?! "
"Lady Sofia … We're innocent! It's all the evil god's fault! "
Hearing the nobles' cries, a trace of disgust flashed in Sofia's eyes.
She no longer paid attention to these degenerate nobles and turned to leave.
After the girl left, the players who received the order laughed coldly. They tied up the nobles with anti-magic chains and sent them to Demacia …
…
After dealing with the surrendered soldiers and nobles, Sofia officially took over Augus City.
Of course, the elves were temporarily in charge.
The war was not over yet, and the preaching of faith had just begun. The property left by the nobles still needed to be dealt with, etc.
There was still a long way to go, but right now, the most important thing was to take over the entire Maple Leaf Territory and spread the faith of the goddess to every corner …
After taking over Augus City, the players were busy repairing the fortifications and officially welcoming the statue of the goddess into the city.
With the statue, they could activate the Divine Barrier and the players could defend the city with peace of mind.
Of course, they did not forget to build a teleportation circle in the city to connect directly to Gray Harbor.
Although it was quite far from Gray Harbor, the long-distance teleportation circle could still be used.
These things did not require too much manpower.
Therefore, after leaving some players in Augus City to defend the city, the rest of the players set off again and rushed toward the hinterland of the Maple Leaf Territory …
This blitzkrieg battle was still going on.
…
Morning Star City, Western Territory.
There were still traces of battle on the tall city walls. In the ravines outside the walls, the corpses of soldiers had not been dealt with in time.
As the war between the Empire and the Maple Leaf Territory continued, this place had long become the frontline of the war.
The Maple King, Alto, had personally led an army to besiege the city for several days, and this capital of the Western Territory was on the verge of collapse.
Morning Star City, the temporary castellan's residence.
A thin young man looked at the map spread out in front of him, deeply worried.
He was the current castellan of Morning Star City, Earl Meath, and also the lord of the Western Territory. He was the unlucky guy whose residence was destroyed by the Black Dragon.
"It's been three days. When will the Empire's reinforcements arrive?"
He frowned and looked at the messenger in the hall.
The messenger replied respectfully, "Earl Meath, the Empire's reinforcements have arrived.
"My Lord Count, the Duke has already sent reinforcements. They will arrive here in at most one day."
The Empire's reinforcements were naturally not referring to Duke Rosen.
Following the death of the previous Duke Rosen, the crusade army was completely wiped out. The Rosen family had been stripped of their authority to command the local defense corps by the Empire's parliament …
Of course, the corps was also gone.
The Empire's reinforcements were referring to the new marshal of the crusade army, Duke Bollensia, one of the seven Kurfürst families, and the commander of the Empire's second local defense corps.
"One day? That's great … "
Earl Meath heaved a sigh of relief.
Morning Star City of the Western Territory was not a strong city.
If the rebels besieged it for another two days, the city would probably fall.
However, before Earl Meath could catch his breath, another guard rushed in from outside the hall.
"Earl Meath! Earl Meath! "
Seeing the guard enter the room, Earl Meath's heart skipped a beat.
However, when he saw the excited expression on the guard's face, his heart skipped a beat.
"What's wrong?! Could it be that the reinforcements have arrived?! "
There was a hint of anticipation on his face.
"No, it's not!"
The guard panted and said excitedly.
"They're retreating! The rebels are retreating! "
"They're retreating?"
At this moment, Earl Meath was a little confused.
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