Chapter 663: Removal

While Louis Wiltonstein was marveling at the newborn twenty-fifth-level divine spell, north of America, on the outskirts of Toronto on Lake Ontario, someone was already preparing to use this divine spell in actual combat.

Zoe Walton, the 'Chosen Knight' of the Church of Fate, stood at the entrance of 'Reid Manor,' sensing with interest the information about the 'Greater Wish Spell' within his mind.

'As long as the elements are sufficient, almost any wish can be fulfilled? This divine spell of my Lord makes me somewhat expectant—'

Zoe Walton was currently one of the forty-eight Chosen Knights of the 'Winged Knight Order,' but besides this identity, he was also a demigod holy knight of the Church of Fate.

So when this divine spell was generated within the Church of Fate's divine spell system, Zoe Walton sensed it immediately.

It was a divine spell of an exaggeratedly high level and extremely苛刻 conditions, but as a demigod holy knight, Zoe Walton knew he had the ability and conditions to use it.

And merely sensing its structure, he could appreciate the power of this divine spell.

It might be equal to, or even surpass, the church's nine great divine spells: 'Luck Spell,' 'Misfortune Spell,' 'Light Speed Movement,' 'Time Acceleration,' 'Unlimited Vitality,' 'Youth Granting,' 'Banishment Spell,' 'Resurrection Spell,' and 'Greater Resurrection Spell'—a miracle!

Zoe Walton couldn't help but look eagerly at the fortress-like manor building ahead, his eyes filled not only with battle intent, fervor, and impatience, but also with intense loathing.

'Isn't it about time? What kind of reply is inside?'

'There are still thirteen minutes until the ultimatum deadline.'

The responder was the deputy commander of this attack operation, a cardinal named Vicari.

He was a middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses, refined and polite. But it must be noted that his profession was not a priest but a war priest—a profession among the clergy that leans more toward war, even focusing on war.

'The Greater Wish Spell granted by the Lord, are you planning to test its effects during this opportunity?'

'I have that idea. I want to see how miraculous it is. Vicari, don't tell me you don't want to see?'

As Zoe Walton spoke, he thrust his greatsword into the ground: 'Thirteen minutes, then I'm ready to begin, Vicari!'

The moment he said this, a pure and powerful divine force, along with countless mysterious runes, appeared at his feet.

The cardinal named Vicari raised an eyebrow slightly and stared fixedly at Zoe Walton. He sensed that the man beside him, after three months since their last meeting, had made another leap in strength.

This realm was probably not far from the true divine throne, was it? Perhaps before long, he would have to address this one as 'Your Highness.'

The cardinal sighed inwardly, feeling fortunate for his own decision back then.

But he felt no envy or jealousy, for he knew that Knight Walton's situation was not something he could envy.

This demigod holy knight was originally a legendary-level magic-energy hunter, living on the west coast of America, working for a security contracting company. To put it bluntly, he was a mercenary.

However, a few years ago, after the worldwide catastrophe caused by the 'World of Beasts,' Zoe Walton made a decision that astonished all his friends: he joined the Church of Fate and became a templar knight under the Lord of Fate.

And it was Vicari who introduced Zoe Walton at that time.

When everyone doubted Zoe Walton's reliability and the entire church was on high alert due to the endless stream of traitors, Vicari, then the local bishop, overruled all objections and personally vouched for Zoe Walton.

This became Bishop Vicari's proudest achievement. The latter did not disappoint his expectations; in just four years, he had become one of only nine demigod-level templar knights in the church!

Such an achievement was astonishing, after all, Knight Walton had changed careers midway. And the profession of magic-energy hunter had no connection whatsoever with holy knights.

Yet in these four years, this holy knight's profession level had inflated like a balloon, reaching the demigod rank in less than two years.

Many thought he had simply struck it lucky, receiving the favor of the Lord of Fate. But Bishop Vicari knew that although Zoe Walton had indeed received some attention from the Lord, the main reason he had grown to this level in such a short time was 'alignment.'

Zoe Walton's认同 of the 'Fate Scripture' was unparalleled, and he possessed a piety surpassing all fanatics, always adhering to the rules set by the Lord of Fate.

And this was the greatest reason why Knight Zoe Walton could become a demigod-level templar knight in such a short time! The Lord's divine power was extremely亲和 with him.

However, for some reason, Knight Zoe Walton held an incomprehensible obsession and hatred toward the Church of the Free Goddess. Bishop Vicari guessed it might be related to his mercenary experience, but Zoe Walton had always been reticent about it, so Bishop Vicari remained puzzled, though he didn't care much.

He believed that the church's intelligence department had long since thoroughly investigated Knight Walton's past experiences.

'Ten minutes left, Knight Walton!'

'It's fine. This divine spell requires some time to prepare.'

Zoe Walton replied indifferently, continuing to expand the rune array beneath his feet.

Having never performed it before and lacking any practice, Zoe Walton's casting process was somewhat clumsy. However, the spell itself required a minute to cast. Besides, there was the possibility of failure due to unfamiliarity.

At this moment, a sarcastic smile curled at the corner of the holy knight's lips: 'I can大概 guess how the Reid family will respond. They must still harbor unrealistic hopes, thinking they can preserve their family's legacy. But the situation now is not like a few years ago. The poison of the Goddess of Strife must be eradicated no matter what.'

'Wow! It seems you can't wait to kill everyone inside?'

'No, I won't do that. Our Lord does not allow meaningless slaughter, nor does He allow us to turn our blades against the innocent. The Reid family and the followers of the Free Goddess are the ones we must eliminate.'

Cardinal Vicari thought these words sounded high-sounding, but how were they supposed to distinguish? Then he regretted it, hitting his head with his hand in annoyance.

He knew that it was precisely because he usually had too many thoughts and couldn't achieve the purity of Zoe Walton that his clerical rank had never risen.

Just as he was about to say something, a message popped up on the phone Vicari was holding. He glanced at it casually, then sneered.

'You guessed wrong this time, Zoe! Start the attack. No need to wait any longer. A message from His Highness Reinhardt: the Reid family has appealed to the Canadian government for help.'

Zoe Walton's pupils dilated slightly, and then killing intent filled him: 'They simply don't know when to die! I wish, within 20 minutes, to maximize the enhancement of my combat power!'

At that moment, Cardinal Vicari's hair stood on end. He sensed Zoe Walton's aura rising sharply! Behind him, three pairs of purple-gold divine power wings spread out, an image extremely similar to the 'Dominions' under the Lord of Light—

And the next instant, large sections of the outer wall of Reid Manor collapsed.

Zoe Walton's figure now stood atop it, covered by countless bullets and rays. But these powerful thermal weapons could not harm this holy knight at all; he seemed to no longer exist in this plane.

And the next moment, a vast expanse of ice began to spread inside the manor.

It was the divine spell 'Silent Winter'—the Lord of Fate had converted the thirteen forbidden spells He mastered into divine spell formulas and granted them to the clergy for cultivation. Though not as powerful as true forbidden spells, they were still immensely powerful, not much inferior. However, they were also very difficult to master, ten times harder than a divine spell like the Greater Wish Spell. Any priest or war priest would find it extremely difficult to master even one in a lifetime.

But Zoe Walton was an anomaly: a holy knight who had mastered the pseudo-forbidden spell formula 'Silent Winter' in just one year. The alignment of thought and belief, coupled with his considerable talent, made him exceptionally quick at learning any divine spell.

And this time, Zoe Walton's 'Silent Winter' was exceptionally powerful. In less than thirty breaths, it had lowered the temperature within a 120-kilometer radius to minus 100 degrees Celsius. Within the core three kilometers, it approached absolute zero, freezing everyone within that range into ice sculptures.

The mythic-level magic-energy protection array inside Reid Manor had almost no effect under this overwhelming force.

What was this?

Cardinal Vicari's scalp tingled involuntarily, and then he became excited beyond measure.

He realized that what Zoe Walton now possessed was true 'Dominion'-level, that is, high divine-rank combat power, not something accumulated through magical armor and biological implants.

This Wish Spell could actually elevate Walton's strength to such a degree!

But if used solely for combat, it seemed too wasteful.

Cardinal Vicari could immediately recognize the true value of this 'Wish Spell.' Its uses were diverse, but the greatest benefit probably lay in its auxiliary cultivation effects.

He sighed inwardly, his heart joyful. On one hand, he looked forward to the effects of using the 'Wish Spell' himself; on the other hand, he thought that once the details of this divine spell spread, countless human experts and forces in this world would further gravitate toward the Lord of Fate.

In terms of the practicality of the divine spell system alone, the Church of Fate had begun to surpass the Lord of Light; and in terms of attractiveness to human experts, it was two to three orders of magnitude higher, especially for mages.

Their Lord seemed not to mind being used as a stepping stone for those demigod experts to climb higher; He also did not mind sharing, bestowing grace upon mortals.

Cardinal Vicari was still somewhat worried about this. He wondered what considerations his deity had in mind.

Large-scale divine ascension worldwide, especially the mass production of 'ancient gods,' would only shake mortals' faith. Apart from strengthening the Church of Fate to a certain extent, it brought no benefit to the deity Himself—

'Boom!'

A loud noise interrupted Cardinal Vicari's thoughts, making him set aside all distractions. When his divine sense spread, he found that Zoe Walton was now locked in combat with a white figure bearing six pairs of wings.

Cardinal Vicari recognized at a glance that it was a 'Throne'-level free angel, with combat power equivalent to a middle-rank god!

The Free Church was clearly unwilling to sit idly by and had reinforced Reid Manor.

But no ripples arose in Vicari's mind. Not long ago, this would undoubtedly have been a powerful existence that could give them trouble.

But now, Knight Walton had already gained a significant advantage in this just-begun battle.

Moreover, their overall combat strength was also extremely substantial; just the 'Winged Knights' concentrated here numbered five squadrons.

'Speed up! Try to finish the battle within fifteen minutes.'

Cardinal Vicari issued the command: 'Each unit, identify freely, and eliminate the followers of the Free Goddess to the greatest extent!'

He knew that this order would lead to the deaths of many people inside Reid Manor.

But Knight Walton was right: it was no longer like before. A few years ago, the Church of Fate needed to absorb personnel from all sides, even former enemies, to expand its strength as quickly as possible.

But now, if I don't clear away the thorns on this land, how can I free up enough land to appease and incentivize the stakeholders within the camp?

※※※※

Meanwhile, at 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa, the country's Prime Minister, Edward Worthington, stood expressionless by the window. Behind him, the current Minister of Finance, Eddie Amman, was indignant.

'Without a doubt, this is an invasion of our country! That Lord of Fate treats our nation's sovereignty and security as nothing. Where is He a deity? He is completely a demon!'

At that moment, a young woman dressed as a secretary hurried in: 'Prime Minister, news from Reid Manor. The armed forces of the Church of Fate have launched an attack ahead of schedule and have already breached the manor. They have a high divine-rank force directly engaged in combat.'

The numerous politicians and dignitaries gathered in the office erupted in clamor. Then some remained silent, some looked as if they had lost a loved one, and others showed anger and indignation.

'How dare they?'

'This is disregard! No! It is trampling on our nation's laws!'

'I suggest大规模 exposure in the media! We must let His followers know that their deity has abandoned His teachings!'

'Exactly! Those priests of the Church of Fate have always whitewashed their deity as a righteous god of war, never supporting unjust wars. But now, it is our duty to let people know His true face! We must reveal the truth to the world!'

Among the crowd, a man in his sixties had turned pale.

'Weren't two companies of Perseus troops sent over? Where are they now?'

'They were intercepted, Mr. Reid.'

The female secretary looked with pity at the defense minister, who had almost collapsed on the sofa: 'They were blocked by two squadrons of Winged Knights on Highway 37. Casualties are reportedly heavy.'

She knew that after today, the Reid family, with its three hundred years of glorious history, would disappear.

Prime Minister Edward Worthington remained unmoved. He still stood with his hands behind his back, looking thoughtfully out the window. But a sarcastic smile curled at the corner of his lips.

That Lord of Fate was indeed not righteous, but to call this war unjust was also absurd.

According to the Church of Fate's propaganda, the Free Goddess had fallen in the battle against the Lord of Fate. It was said that even with five god-kings—including the Night Goddess, Rhea, the Holy Mother of Light, and Satan—joining forces, the Lord of Fate still turned defeat into victory, not only killing the Free Goddess but also severely wounding the Holy Mother of Light and the other god-kings.

Edward could not yet confirm this, as the information was too incredible—after all, the Lord of Fate had risen less than ten years ago. But he believed that the Church of Fate would not make decisions that violated the Fate Canon.

The Lord of Fate had extremely strong control over His church, and an主动 invasive war against humanity would violate His divinity, causing great harm to Him and ultimately not worth the gain.

So in his view, the uproar in the office behind him was nothing but the howling of homeless dogs—

At this time, which media outlet would dare to publish such news?

'Prime Minister!'

This time, a young man walked into the office. He hurried to Edward Worthington's side and handed him a portable satellite phone.

Edward showed a puzzled expression, but then he heard the voice of Governor General Isadore Chaplin from the earpiece.

In Canada, the Governor General appointed by the British monarch is the nominal head of state, representing the interests of the British Crown. Their duties include convening and dissolving Parliament, signing bills passed by Parliament, nominating the Prime Minister, and so on.

However, since the fall of the British pantheon, Edward had had little communication with this Governor General for a long time. Britain's control and influence over this country had dropped to an extreme low.

The method of communication this time was also strange, not using the telephone hotline between their offices, but a satellite phone. Edward speculated that it probably had something to do with the content of the communication; the other party didn't want to leave any leverage with him.

"Is that so?"

"In other words, the Statue of Liberty has indeed suffered a heavy blow. And the story about the Lord of Fate being besieged is also true?"

"Yes, I already understand what needs to be done."

"Ms. Targaryen will call me later? Is she the Chosen One of our Lord? This is such an honor, I am extremely grateful!"

After about a minute, Edward Worthington placed the satellite phone on his desk and looked at the many cabinet members present with a gaze mixed with relief, firmness, and coldness.

"Mr. Chief of Staff, please convey my orders now: all troops are to stand by and not leave their stations; all Aegis units are to withdraw as soon as possible. Also, inform the National Sorcerers that all previous directives are canceled."

These instructions immediately stirred up a huge uproar in the office, with some even cursing outright.

"Worthington, what are you trying to do? Why are you withdrawing our troops?"

"Are you going to betray Her Holiness the Goddess too? You will surely go to hell."

"This is a betrayal of the nation and the people!"

"You piece of shit! I knew you were a bad seed when you ran for office."

But Edward Worthington only felt fortunate that he happened to be in the position of Prime Minister at this time, having value for the great Lord to use.

"It's time to face reality, everyone!"

He remained unmoved, continuing to meet everyone's eyes: "We are powerless to resist America, and equally unable to resist that great Lord. This is undoubtedly a just war as well; the Statue of Liberty fell while besieging the Lord of Fate. And now everything is just the counterattack of the Church of Fate. According to the Lord's teachings, his followers do not wish to wage unjust wars. But when war is brought upon them, it is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!"

He noticed that nearly half of the cabinet members in the office had calm expressions, some even showing appreciative smiles toward him.

Edward Worthington couldn't help but sigh: "This meeting is adjourned, everyone! Except for the Chief of Staff and the Chief of the General Staff, the rest of you may leave. Tomorrow I will convene a meeting to reshuffle the cabinet."

Having said that, he hesitated for ten seconds: "Mr. Whips, please submit a bill as soon as possible to revoke the legal missionary rights of the Church of the Statue of Liberty in our country."

"Is this the right time?"

This was the Liberal Democratic Party whip in the Senate, Mike Howard: "I personally suggest we hold internal party consultations for a few days to reach a consensus before submitting the bill."

"It's meaningless; it will pass anyway, won't it? One day is enough for us to unify the party's opinion. You probably don't know that both parties in the U.S. Congress have already proposed related bills. By tomorrow morning, the Statue of Liberty will likely be an illegal faith in America."

Edward Worthington shook his head, knowing that the worst thing at this moment was to be indecisive and wavering.

Since he had decided to switch sides, there was no need to leave a way out. The Statue of Liberty was definitely not a magnanimous lord; if she still existed, she would never forgive the decisions he had just made.

Moreover, he could now confirm that the Statue of Liberty had indeed fallen, or at least suffered a major blow.

This was not information revealed by the Governor, but feedback from various sources that convinced Edward Worthington that Her Holiness the Goddess was utterly unable to respond to the attacks of the Church of Fate. All her 'legacy' in the mortal world was being coveted by various forces.

"Also, Mr. Chief of Staff, please remove the Statue of Liberty statue in front of the official residence, and the inscription at the gate should be erased as soon as possible. I believe that in this era, the Lord of Fate, who represents 'equality,' is more suitable for this country."

All these were within Edward Worthington's authority and could be decided directly. He knew that from now on, he must do everything possible to cooperate with the church of that Lord and erase all traces of the Statue of Liberty in this country.