Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam

Thanks to Tuo Anna, before the expedition began, Bi’an had to attend an emergency meeting convened by the current Pope.

On the white glass of the domed cathedral was a long sword representing justice and order, and beneath the dome sat a square table with six people dressed in various attires. Bi’an, as the current Kingdom Army Commander appointed by His Majesty Henry, attended the meeting as a council member.

The Sevenfold Council is an honored tradition left by the first King, intended to allow him to hear voices from various fields, enabling decisions more beneficial to the Empire’s future.

The seven representatives come from the most influential seven areas concerning the Empire.

The Church, the Nobility, the Commerce Guild, the Academy, the Astrology Association, the Judicial Court, and the military side represented by Bi’an.

Though the news so far indicates no deaths, only that a Great Mage from the Astrology Association was severely injured, the magic that appeared in the imperial capital was enough to alert everyone, reminding them of an "old friend".

Years ago, that "old friend" was also a member of the Sevenfold Council, representing the Academy at a meeting convened by Henry VI.

But that was before the Fall War, after which the King was gravely injured and declined in health, relinquishing the meeting-convening power to the current Pope.

No one spoke in the meeting room, the six were all waiting for the arrival of the last council representative—the current Academy headmaster. After the Fall War, this centenary had to reassume the power of the Sevenfold Council.

Before long, an elder in a white robe, looking travel-worn, walked in. His eyes were cloudy and he appeared much older than at the last meeting.

"Mr. ’Hermit’, we hope you bring us some good news."

The Pope’s authoritative tone marked the beginning of the meeting.

"I’m afraid I will disappoint you." The white-haired elder said calmly after taking his seat, "Your concerns are not unfounded, the three elemental-evocation spells that appeared in the capital are very similar to... the spells of the person you all know, with only minor differences in detail."

The Pope stared deeply at the elder, "Are you suggesting that the Witch is still alive?"

The faces of several councilors varied; this was undoubtedly a dangerous question.

Admitting that the Lindong Witch is still alive would be equivalent to announcing that the public execution two years ago was a farce orchestrated by the Pope himself.

Since the Fall War, many have suggested the possibility that the Lindong Witch is still alive, but those people have either been exiled to the Empire’s borders or were found to be followers of the Evil God, attempting to spread rumors to incite public panic.

As for whether they were truly influenced by the Evil God...

The power to judge matters of faith has always been in the hands of the Church.

"She may not be alive, but those who produced these magic scrolls were definitely deeply influenced by her, which explains why these scrolls could trigger such a massive ice elemental riot."

"Mr. ’Hermit’, please elaborate."

It was the Astrology Association’s representative who spoke. If one were to look at her face, they would only find an elderly lady with a kind smile, seemingly unconcerned about the severely injured Great Mage.

Creating magic scrolls is not exclusive to Elemental Shapers. In fact, in recent years, magicians represented by the Astrology Association have become the Empire’s main producers of magic scrolls, while elemental magic has gradually been phased out.

The Saint’s magic is unique. As a Great Mage, she is eager to know more details.

"That person... you know who, proposed a theory during his teaching tenure at the Academy, which talked about the relationship between Elemental Shapers and natural elements."

Hearing this, the Lofic Consortium’s commerce representative even took out a notebook and quill, clearly showing that the Astrology Association was not the only force interested in these secrets.

Although a trace of displeasure flitted through the Pope’s eyes, he did not interrupt the elder, allowing him to continue.

"This theory proposed an unprecedented concept that ’the resonance between Elemental Shapers and natural elements comes primarily from emotions.’ She believed that the existing elemental shaping theory was essentially a shackle. Although it allowed apprentices to quickly master a certain spell, in the long view, it cut off their potential to resonate with natural elements."

"Resonance!"

The current president of the Astrology Association struggled to contain her excitement, but the frequency of her fingers tapping on the conference table increased steadily. She felt she should thank whoever made these magical scrolls, or she would have difficulty learning about the Academy’s secrets.

She further asked, "The essence of a spell is a command, and the method of command would disrupt the caster’s relationship with natural elements... very intriguing perspective. So, her meaning is to make the casters friends with natural elements?"

"Building resonance with natural elements, becoming friends is just the initial stage of this theory, which was intended for a final purpose, or rather, its ideal concept."

The Lofic Consortium’s representative joined the discussion eagerly, "What concept?"

"The caster, in other words, is the element itself."

In an instant, the room was silent.

Everyone held their breath, processing the magnitude of this information.

They all knew what these calm statements represented—these were the secrets of the Saint’s magic!

They could hardly believe that the elder had so easily shared these theoretical treasures with them; the Lofic Consortium representative and the nobility shared the same idea to put this theory into practice once the meeting was over.

However, Bi’an noticed the key point, asking, "Since that’s the case, why hasn’t the Academy compiled this theory into teaching materials?"

In these two years, she had encountered many excellent Elemental Shapers who were still using the "old-fashioned" practices.

"Because no one could learn this theory, or rather, the theory could not succeed in a short time." ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

The extensive educational reform ultimately ended in failure, "The Academy gave her one semester to promote her theory. After a semester, her students voluntarily abandoned it."

The progress was exceedingly slow, even to the point of no progress at all.

Moreover, they watched peers studying elemental spells distinguish themselves in various Academy events, creating a stark contrast that led both students and teachers to the same question.

Is the Saint necessarily a good teacher?

Perhaps she was just so gifted that she developed a theory that no one but herself could master.

Worse still, even the Academy’s experienced professors could not prove the feasibility of this theory, for they were deeply entrenched in their ways of interacting with elements.

Even the professors who still believed in the theory concluded one result.

The Elemental Shaper that can master this theory could only be someone outside the Academy.

And now, that person had emerged.

"This is the secret hidden within those magic scrolls. He was not recording a specific spell in the scrolls but sending a letter to the Elemental Elves. Miss Anna tore open the envelope, allowing the Elemental Elves to see the content of the letter."

At this point, the elder paused for a moment, revealing the final conclusion of the investigation, "The battle against Mr. Silver Fox was against nature itself."

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