Has the Royal Capital fallen out with the Church?

The news left Karien stunned. After all, for nearly twenty years, King Puli VIII and the Church had maintained a very good relationship.

In fact, it was because of the Church's support that Puli VIII had ascended to the throne.

He himself was a devout follower of the Dark Church and one of its earliest staunch adherents.

Now, with the staunch faction in control of the Dark Church’s leadership, the idea that the king and the Church had a falling out was simply unfathomable.

Unless…

Karien thought of the attack on Palos Magic School by the Fallen faction earlier that day and was suddenly struck by a chilling thought.

Could it be that the Church was no longer under the control of the staunch faction?

Was it now the Fallen faction in charge!?

Just as Karien pondered this, the communicator in White Star's hands buzzed, confirming his suspicions.

"Karien, come to the main campus. The Dark Sanctum has been occupied by the Fallen faction.

The school's situation is even more perilous now, and we need all the academies to unite to face the crisis."

The Dark Church's leadership had indeed been taken over by the Fallen faction!

Karien was stunned for a long while before he managed to collect himself. After instructing Mia and the others to protect Mrs.

Fiennes and the other students, Karien headed back to the main campus.

On his way, he used the communicator to reach Archi and Simon in the royal capital, advising them to halt their operations for the time being and prioritize their own safety.

Should war break out, the Mechanical Church would reorganize its presence in the capital and notify them accordingly.

Once the message was delivered, Karien returned to the main campus.

By then, those who had died in the battle earlier that morning had been temporarily moved to the first floor of the Elders' Hall, covered with white sheets.

Karien stood at the entrance, gazing at the covered bodies, feeling a deep weight in his heart. It wasn’t until some time later that he ascended the stairs to the second floor.

Elders' Hall, Second Floor Conference Room

By the time Karien entered, there were already quite a few people seated inside.

White Star, sitting at the head of the table, looked up when she saw him enter. "You’re the last one. Please, take a seat."

Once seated, Karien noticed that aside from the two academy deans seated beside White Star, the rest were all teachers from the various academies.

"Everyone must already know by now," White Star began, her face grim as she addressed the room.

"The Dark Sanctum has been occupied by the Fallen faction.

The principal and several of the elders who went to investigate the ancient ruins haven’t returned, and they’re likely trapped in a Fallen faction trap.

The situation does not look good."

She paused, scanning the room before continuing.

"This means that the stability we once had is gone. The Fallen faction will undoubtedly continue to erode every inch of Durand's kingdom and will not spare us either."

"Today, we managed to repel the enemy, but we’ve paid a heavy price."

"We’ve lost the principal and the elders, and aside from Principal Brian of Greenvine Academy and Principal Kelly of Blue Crystal Academy, the other academy deans are also absent."

White Star’s expression grew darker as she addressed those present.

"Thus, we must rely on all of you here to temporarily take charge of your respective academies and discuss a plan of action to strengthen Palos Magic School's defenses, so we can prevent future attacks from overwhelming us, causing even greater loss."

At the table, there were eleven people present.

Aside from White Star, and the two deans seated beside her, the rest were leaders from the recent graduation assessment.

Normally, these leaders were the highest-ranking teachers in their respective academies.

Among them were Adrian from Ironclad Academy, Jessica from Violet Academy, and Wills from Nightfall Academy.

However, due to the battle earlier, most of them had suffered injuries.

For instance, Adrian had broken his left arm when he blocked enemy magic with his own body to protect the students, while Jessica had been severely injured by Lidon and still appeared pale.

"White Star… perhaps we should temporarily suspend classes and send the students home," suggested Kelly, the Blue Crystal Academy principal, a blue-haired woman in her fifties who had a heavy sigh.

"We’ve lost over forty students in the attack, and it’s going to be hard to explain this to their families.

If the enemy strikes again, I fear even more students will fall victim."

White Star remained silent for a moment, then sighed. "I suppose there’s no choice.

This is a disaster for the school, but we shouldn’t expect the students to stay here and face imminent danger."

Seated on White Star's left was a large, muscular man in his forties, wearing a light green coat. He propped his chin up and spoke in a deep voice.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Won’t sending the students home make them even more vulnerable to danger?"

This was Brian White, the principal of Greenvine Academy and a sixth-tier Berserker. He was also one of the two remaining academy principals at the school.

His comment caught everyone by surprise. Adrian from Ironclad Academy asked, "Principal Brian, why do you say that?"

Brian lifted his head, his exaggerated muscles rippling as he spoke.

"Don’t forget, this is the Fallen faction we’re talking about.

They have no regard for human life. Furthermore, some of the teachers and students who had been lurking at Nightfall Academy are familiar with many of our other students.

If we send them home, the Fallen faction could easily kidnap some of them to use as leverage against us.

And once the students are scattered across various locations, we’ll be unable to protect them."

Upon hearing this, the others finally grasped the severity of the situation.

From the earlier incident with the monkey-faced man using students as hostages to threaten Elder Ellison, they realized this was a real possibility.

"Moreover!" Brian added, "What the Fallen faction seeks may not only be Palos Magic School, but could also be the entire Mist County."

Palos Magic School was located in Mist County in the southeastern part of Durand Kingdom, where students hailed from various cities and territories in the county.

"Didn’t we just hear that the Duke of North County has aligned with the Fallen faction?" Brian continued.

"We must not forget, the Duke of Mist County is the son-in-law of King Puli VI, and he could easily defect to the Fallen faction as well."

King Puli VI, who had ruled more than twenty years ago, was a fanatical follower of the Fallen faction, and under their guidance, he had waged wars across the land.

He was eventually overthrown by his two nephews, Puli VII and Puli VIII.

"If Mist County also aligns with the Fallen faction, then… Palos Magic School could become an isolated island.

Sending students home at that point might just be pushing them off a cliff."

White Star’s hands were clasped together on the wooden table as she spoke in a low voice.

"If that’s the case, then the threat we face will be even greater.

And thinking further, there’s no guarantee that the enemy won’t kidnap the families of our students to use them as leverage against us!"

At that moment, Karien, who had been sitting quietly, raised his head and spoke.

"In that case, why not take the initiative and let Palos Magic School take control of Mist County?"

Control Mist County!?

Everyone in the room was stunned by Karien's suggestion.

After a long pause, Jessica from the Violet Academy adjusted her glasses and weakly spoke, "Our strength at Palos Magic School has already been severely weakened.

Whether we can even keep the school intact is uncertain, let alone have the strength to control Mist County."

Acting Elder White Star also took a deep breath and said, "If it were in the past, Palos Magic School would indeed have been the strongest force in all of Mist County.

But now, we may not have much of a chance against the Mist County army.

And the Duke of Mist County may not necessarily side with the Fallen Faction. We can't act rashly."

Brian, the large and muscular head of the Green Vine Academy, rested his chin on his hand and said, "I actually think this idea is worth considering.

If the True Faction were still in power and the country stable, we, as faculty, would naturally only need to manage the school.

But now, with the tides changing, the country on the brink of turmoil, perhaps we can't just stay behind the school walls.

We should mobilize the people and act together. After all, these past twenty-plus years under King Pilly VIII and the True Faction have brought the people peace and stability.

They probably wouldn't want to return to the chaotic, degenerate state of the past."

Karien was somewhat surprised by Brian's words. He hadn't expected a magic mentor in this world, given the current context, to have such a progressive mindset.

In the context of Enze Continent, most countries are in the early stages of transitioning from feudal systems to capitalist states.

With powerful personal magic, very few magic mentors would consider relying on the common people for help.

To be blunt, most high-ranking magic mentors saw ordinary citizens as little more than ants.

"Mobilizing the people's power?" White Star pondered the phrase before asking, "How do you suggest we do that?"

Brian thought for a moment before replying, "There are many magic mentors among the common folk.

While most of them form mercenary groups made up of low-ranking magic users, if we could mobilize them, it could become a significant force."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Of course, this is an idealized scenario.

In reality, only a few of those mercenary groups would respond, and we'd likely need money to hire them."

Money...

While Palos Magic School had some savings, it likely wouldn’t be enough to hire many mercenary groups.

And more importantly, while they could offer money, so could the Duke of Mist County. As a noble, the Duke's wealth would far exceed that of Palos Magic School.

Seeing that their discussion was reaching a dead end, Karien placed a half-meter-long heavy staff on the table. "Does anyone remember this?"

Adrian from Ironclad Academy immediately recognized it and said, "Isn't this the weapon used by the students of Red Leaf Academy during the graduation assessment?"

Most of the others in the room also recognized it. After all, when Mia had fought Hui, many had noticed the weapon in her hand.

Karien nodded and unfolded the staff into a rifle. "This is a Magic Rifle, a weapon of the Mechanical Church."

Before coming to this meeting, Karien had already considered extracting the casting rifle from the K7 gear and turning it into a new first-tier weapon—the Magic Rifle.

Because the other components of the K7 gear required mental power to activate, only the Magic Rifle could be used by simply pulling the trigger.

"The Magic Rifle?"

"The Mechanical Church?"

The unfamiliar terms confused the crowd.

Karien looked at Jessica and said, "Didn't you ask about the weapons of Palos Magic School yesterday? Well, now I can tell you."

Since this was a weapon he had already demonstrated, Karien didn’t mind giving the others a more detailed explanation.

Besides, with the school in such danger, he couldn’t stand idly by. He had to do whatever he could to help.

"This is a Magic Rifle, and its core components are made from Storm Iron. Inside, there are numerous magical arrays that release various low-level spells.

More importantly..." Karien paused and looked at the crowd, emphasizing his next words, "Even ordinary people can use this Magic Rifle!"

This revelation shocked everyone.

Adrian spoke first, "How is that possible? Ordinary people have no magic power and no mental energy.

How could they use a magical weapon?"

Others were equally skeptical.

But Kelly, the head of Blue Crystal Academy, seemed to remember something and asked, "Is it like the magical air conditioners in the capital?"

Karien was taken aback, then looked at Kelly. "You know about the magical air conditioners?"

Kelly nodded and said, "I heard from a friend in the capital.

It’s a magical device that lowers the temperature using the 'Frost Mist' spell. What’s amazing is that it can automatically absorb the magic elements in the air and run the spell on its own.

Oh, and I remember now—the Mechanical Church is the one selling these magical air conditioners!"

At this point, Kelly turned to Karien and asked, "Kid, your name is Karien, right? Are you a member of the Mechanical Church?"

With everyone’s gaze fixed on him, Karien nodded and said, "Yes, I am."

Originally, Karien hadn’t planned to reveal his affiliation with the Mechanical Church so soon, especially since this was a school under the Dark Church.

In a school where the Dark Church's teachings were predominant, openly stating that he followed a different faith might cause trouble.

But given the current situation, if Karien didn’t mention the Mechanical Church, he wouldn’t be able to gain influence here, nor would he be able to help the school through this crisis.

Moreover, most of the people present weren't strictly from the Fallen Faction or the True Faction; they were nominally followers of the Dark Church.

So, revealing his affiliation with the Mechanical Church wouldn't be met with intense resistance.

At this point, Wills recalled the Ironclad figure who had helped defend the school against the Fallen Faction earlier in the day.

He asked in surprise, "Was that Ironclad figure also from the Mechanical Church? Is he related to you?"

Everyone else was equally curious.

After all, if it hadn't been for that Ironclad figure helping fight off the enemy, the school might not have survived.

But after the battle, the Ironclad figure had mysteriously disappeared, and no one knew where he had gone.

White Star also turned to Karien, eager to hear his answer.

Having fought alongside Karien, White Star knew very well how things had played out.

But since Karien had kept his face covered at the time, she hadn't revealed anything to the others.

Whether Karien chose to reveal his identity now was up to him.

Karien met the eyes of the others and, after a long pause, said in a firm voice:

"I am the Ironclad figure."