"What rumors?"
Sophia raised her head and looked at Fayne with a slightly scrutinizing gaze.
As the Blessed of Goddess Eve, she had always been quite sensitive to news about the Goddess, and Fayne's hesitant expression gave her a bad premonition.
Fayne hesitated for a moment and raised his head.
"Lady Sophia, there are many rumors in the south that Her Holiness the Goddess actually went to the Abyss when the Gods and Demons war started, and she was ambushed by the evil gods of the Abyss and sealed …"
After hearing Fayne's words, Sophia's expression changed slightly, and she snorted coldly.
"Ridiculous!"
Fayne hurriedly lowered his head again.
After a few seconds of silence, he heard Sophia's voice again.
"Fayne, these rumors … Where did you hear them from?"
Fayne replied respectfully, "Many places.
There are such rumors in many places in the south, but … after I traced them, I found that the source seems to be from the underground world. "
"The underground world?"
Sophia raised her eyebrows.
Seeing Sophia's thoughtful expression, Fayne hesitated for a moment and carefully asked, "Lady Sophia, there are many rumors going around.
"Lady Sophia … There are rumors in many places that the reason why Her Majesty the Goddess hasn't descended to eliminate the evil until the demons invaded Segus World is because something happened to Her Majesty the Goddess … Is, is this true?"
Sophia glanced at him and saw that Fayne's eyes were full of worry, and besides worry, there was also some confusion.
The girl sighed softly in her heart and said, "Fayne, don't be ridiculous.
"Fayne, don't let your imagination run wild. These are all rumors."
After saying that, she glanced at the unpresented document in the knight's hand, rubbed her temples, and said, "Leave the report on your report.
"Leave your investigation report. I'm a little tired."
Fayne nodded, presented the report rolled up on parchment with both hands, and bowed to take his leave.
After the knight left, Sophia sighed and opened the document.
The handwriting in the report was not nice, at least from the perspective of a former noble of the empire, it could only be said to be barely recognizable. But this was already quite rare for a knight who was born a hunter.
In fact, if Fayne had not been an apprentice in Augus City for a while, he would not have been able to recognize so many words.
However, although the handwriting was not good, the content of the report was well organized. This was also the reason why Sophia sent Finn to the south. She had already discovered this young knight's talent when he was working in Zeloran.
As Sophia browsed through the report, her brows furrowed even tighter. Her fingers tightened around the parchment.
"At least a million demons have been teleported …"
Her gaze was somewhat solemn.
Fayne's documents had detailed information about the war in the south.
Among them, what made Sophia's heart sink the most was the shocking numbers.
Not only were there more and more Demons as time passed, but there were also powerful Demon Monarchs that emerged one after another as territories fell …
In just a few months, the Holy Mania Empire had lost at least seven Legends and more than 500 Advanced Professionals. The number of troops that had been wiped out by the demons was probably more than 200,000 …
If this exaggerated number had been a few years ago, it would have been the entire military force of the Empire.
In recent years, the World of Segers' magic power had recovered, and there had been a spurt in the number of Professionals, so it had not completely collapsed …
But even so, from between the lines of Fayne's records, Sophia could see how critical the situation was.
The Eternal Church had issued orders many times to expand the number of Knights of Judgement. There had even been several miracles in the Eternal Holy City of Mania, and several Seraphs had descended.
However, even so, the Empire had not been able to stop the demons' attacks.
Looking at the various descriptions on the parchment and the tragic situation after the demons' invasion, Sophia's expression became more and more serious.
"Perhaps they'll attack Maple Moon Free Territory in two months …"
Staring at the fallen locations, the girl muttered.
Two months was Fayne's speculation based on the current situation.
However, after Sophia finished reading the documents and looked at the map behind her, her brows deeply furrowed.
The Maple Moon Free Territory reached the battlefield downstream through the Vimur River. If the demon army continued to attack the Fertile Plains according to their current offensive, it would indeed take two months to reach the Maple Moon Free Territory.
However, if they changed their attack method and went straight up the river, it would be different.
For some reason, looking at the map, Sophia had an ominous premonition, especially after hearing about the rumors in the south from Fayne …
Something happened to Her Holiness the Goddess?
This kind of thing was only spread among pagans and shallow believers.
But the reason given in the rumor made even Sophia, who was a god's chosen one, feel bewildered when she read it.
When the rebellion broke out in the Maple Leaf Territory, the Evil God appeared. From the beginning to the end, in just two months, Her Holiness the Goddess took action and directly destroyed the Evil God, sprinkling glory all over the Maple Leaf Territory.
But now, the demons were descending at an even faster speed in the south of the Empire. After the invasion of the World of Segers, the higher-ups of the Life Church had not made any moves.
Sophia clearly knew that the sooner the Abyss was curbed, the easier it would be to drive the demons out of the World of Segers. And the longer it dragged on, the more difficult the war would be.
The Abyss was enormous, and the World of Segers was just a main material plane. If the Abyss launched a full-scale invasion, it would be difficult for the various forces in the World of Segers to resist without the power of a True God.
Therefore … from the beginning of this war, the key to victory or defeat was with Her Holiness the Goddess.
However, since the beginning of the war, the Holy Mania Empire and the Kingdom of Iris in the south, which was also affected, had sent envoys to the Life Church many times to ask for help. However, the higher-ups of the church only sent some Chosen Ones to participate in the battle and did not send any news of the Goddess descending.
Not to mention the rumors, even Sophia could vaguely sense that there might be some problems that she did not know about …
As a Chosen of Her Holiness Eve, Sophia's faith was very firm.
But it was precisely because of her firm faith that her expression became even more solemn after hearing the rumors.
Stroking the blessed necklace that Lady Zero had given her, Sophia could clearly feel the gentle power of Her Holiness the Goddess.
This power meant that the faith of Her Holiness the Goddess still existed.
But in that case, why had Her Holiness the Goddess not descended yet?
This was indeed a puzzling question, even if she was a Chosen of Her Holiness the Goddess.
During this period, even when Sophia prayed to Her Holiness the Goddess, she received very little response. And even if there was a response, it was often vague and simple instructions, which was different from the previous accurate and clear responses.
It felt as if there was a layer of mist between her and the Goddess, or as if there was another existence responding on behalf of Her Holiness the Goddess.
At the very most, it seemed that the earliest signs of this happened to coincide with the arrival of the news of the demon invasion.
Regarding this matter, Sophia … did not dare to think too deeply.
However, no matter how puzzled she was, Sophia firmly believed that Her Holiness the Goddess must be fine and must have her own considerations.
And as a Chosen of Her Holiness the Goddess and the consul of the Maple Moon Free Territory, the only thing Sophia could do was to unite all the forces that could be united and stop the demon invasion outside the territory.
With this in mind, Sophia stood up from her seat and ordered the guards outside, "Prepare a carriage.
I'm going to the Life Church. "
…
About 20 minutes later, Sophia arrived in front of Zeloran's Life Church in a carriage.
After reporting, she finally met the chief priestess of the Maple Moon Free Territory, a beautiful female Elf, in the church.
"Chief Priestess, the demon invasion is getting faster and faster. With our current strength, I'm afraid we can't resist their army. I want to recruit brave warriors from all the Elven Chosen Guilds to defend the Maple Moon Free Territory."
Sophia said seriously.
The Elven priestess' expression turned solemn, and she nodded.
"Sir Consul, I understand."
With that, she summoned an extraordinarily handsome Elven priestess and said to him, "Sir Amur, I have a new mission.
"Your Excellency Natsume, Lady Sophia has a new mission to announce to the Chosen Ones …"
Seeing the summoned Elven priestess, Sophia's heart skipped a beat.
She recognized that this was an Elven Chosen One.
It was said that Elven Chosen Ones had a magical telepathy with each other. As long as a message was sent to one Chosen One, all the other Chosen Ones would know.
Looking at the iris symbol on his clothes, Sophia also recognized that this Chosen One should be a core member of a super-large Elven Guild called "Nature's Heart".
Nature's Heart …
Thinking of this guild name, a familiar figure inexplicably appeared in Sophia's mind.
The cynical smile, the strange hairstyle, and the short but not bad time they worked together.
A trace of nostalgia flashed across the girl's eyes as she murmured emotionally.
"Your Excellency Demacia, where are you now? What are you doing?"
…
"Achoo —!"
On the high platform, Demacia, who was dressed in a priestess priestess robe, sneezed hard.
After muttering, "Who's talking about me behind my back again?", he tidied up his clothes.
But the next moment, a new system message floated in front of him:
[Ding —]
[Sophia von Wells' favorability towards you has increased by 1 …]
Demacia was speechless.
He was slightly stunned, then he couldn't help but rub his nose and mumble softly,
"Why did her favorability increase again?"
A certain sharp-tongued half-elf lady flashed across his mind, and his expression was a little strange.
Shaking his head, he cleared his throat and looked below the high platform.
Then, with a smile on his face, he continued his passionate speech:
"So … Devout believers, we can only obtain the final victory in the war against the Evil God of the Sea by steadfastly believing in the Goddess!"
As soon as he finished, there was a burst of enthusiastic applause from below the high platform.
It was the fanatical believers wearing the symbol of a scepter on their chests. There were tens of thousands of them, and they filled the entire square.
Among them, there were not only elves and half-elves, but also humans, halflings, and other land races commonly seen in the Mindel Continent.
Looking at the excited believers, Demacia was quite satisfied.
He raised his right hand and shouted solemnly:
"For the glory of the Goddess! For our beautiful future! "
And the believers below also raised their right hands excitedly:
"For the glory of the Goddess! For our beautiful future! "
Feeling the enthusiastic atmosphere below the stage, and hearing the system notification of the mission completion, Demacia's face flashed with joy.
Then, he changed the topic again, chuckled, and continued, "That's right.
"Also … Hehehe, I have another thing to introduce to all believers."
As he spoke, his expression became kinder, and his tone became more cordial:
"My friends, have you … heard of Amway?"
…
Holy Mania Empire, Southern Border Territory.
The once beautiful plains had been shrouded in darkness, and faint dark clouds began to appear in the sky.
It was the spreading power of the abyss that began to erode this world.
The trees had all been cut down and made into new siege equipment. High in the sky, there were countless flying monsters wreaking havoc and roaring.
There were so many of them that they covered the sky like locusts that filled the sky.
And on the ground, the endless army of demons was like a torrent of destruction, roaring and screaming.
Under their feet, they stepped on the bones of humans, and their eyes were filled with bloodlust and madness.
A tall demon surrounded by flames stood on the city wall of a smoke-filled human city. He looked at the ongoing massacre in the city, and his expression was full of enjoyment.
It was not until the last scream disappeared in the laughter of the demons that he slowly withdrew his gaze.
"Lord Astaros, all the land has been transformed, and all the creatures have been slaughtered. Shall we continue to attack the north?"
A rough and respectful voice sounded behind the tall demon. It was a demon monarch in a cloak.
Around his neck hung a necklace made of the skulls of humans, demons, and other races. Each skull represented a legendary profession that had fallen in his hands.
This was a powerful legendary demon lord.
However, even he was respectful in front of the tall demon, and his eyes were full of awe.
The demon known as Astaros chuckled and withdrew his gaze.
He raised his head and looked toward the northwest.
In the distant northwest, the sky was still blue.
The pure sky teased the heart of the tall demon, making the desire to destroy in his heart stronger and stronger.
That was the direction of the Maple Moon Free Territory.
He took a deep breath, and hot sparks spurted out from his nostrils. The huge pressure that belonged to a demigod spread out.
"No … Leave a part of the army to continue attacking the human countries. The rest of the main force will change the direction of attack.
"Our next main target is the northwest …"
"Attack the Maple Moon Free Territory and destroy the Elf Forest!
"The Goddess of Life has been sealed by His Holiness Leviathan. Now is the time to destroy the Church of Life.
"As long as we destroy her power of faith, this war … will be our victory."
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