After sending off Princess Elizabeth of the Magic Kingdom, the three still in the reception hall merely exchanged glances. Except for Ruoqiebeien, Xi Neiding and Raymond both showed extremely complex expressions.
"It seems we must hold an emergency high-level meeting soon," Raymond sighed.
"No, it must be held immediately. Gelos, go and contact the other Chief Priests at once. Tell them it's an emergency! An emergency high-level meeting must be convened immediately, and by the way! This time, all members of your Black Scripture who are not currently on a mission must attend!" Xi Neiding said very seriously.
Gelos, understanding the gravity of the situation, also nodded nervously and ran out without a word.
This time, the high-level meeting was not like usual, where all participants had to personally clean the temple before entering and sitting down. Instead, they sat down as soon as everyone arrived.
Due to the extreme urgency, many people were still wearing festive attire, making the scene a bit less formal. Coupled with the participation of most of the Black Scripture, the atmosphere of this meeting was completely different from usual.
Naturally… the Slane Theocracy's greatest trump card, Zesshi Zetsumei, was not on standby in the next room this time, but participated directly in the meeting.
However, besides the customary twelve highest-ranking officials of the Slane Theocracy seated around the round table, all other members of the Black Scripture stood by. It was already an exception for them to attend, so no seats were arranged for them. The Pope, who had been bedridden due to health issues, also dragged his sickly body to attend, showing how serious the current problem truly was.
"My apologies, everyone. Convening you all at such a time, I believe everyone has seen the abnormal heavy snow outside and should know that our Slane Theocracy may be facing the greatest crisis in recent centuries… I hope you can understand." This time, Raymond again spoke as the meeting's master of ceremonies.
"Hey, hey? The greatest crisis? Isn't it just an abnormal heavy snow? Can it be more dangerous than the Demon God Turmoil two hundred years ago?" The one who spoke with such a slightly mocking tone was the Grand Marshal, who was in charge of the Slane Theocracy's military affairs.
"What if I told you that this heavy snow was man-made?" Shui Shenguan Zhang Xineding retorted impatiently.
"Man-made? Don't joke. Although I've heard that druids do have magic that can control the weather, at most it can only cause some wind or light rain. Such a large-scale climate change could probably only be achieved if the Six Gods were still alive, right?" The Grand Marshal scoffed at Xi Neiding's statement.
"…" Xi Neiding and Raymond, uncharacteristically, did not reply, but awkwardly averted their gaze. The Grand Marshal's thoughtless words had touched upon something Xi Neiding and Raymond were most reluctant to mention deep in their hearts.
"Hmm? What's wrong with you all?" After the Grand Marshal spoke his thoughtless words, no one in the meeting room spoke for a long time. It was quiet for a while, because everyone present, except for the Grand Marshal, knew that this abnormal heavy snow was man-made.
"I regret to say, General… this heavy snow was indeed man-made, and many people saw that ominous light," Raymond sighed before speaking.
"So you mean? This heavy snow was intentionally caused by someone? Who would intentionally harm us?" Although the Grand Marshal was in charge of military affairs, he somewhat knew that abnormal weather would affect the country's agriculture.
"The perpetrator of this heavy snow said that they did not do it intentionally and promised to restore it to its original state by tomorrow. As for whether it was intentional or not, this old man personally leans towards the latter," Xi Neiding added.
"So tell me! Who caused this heavy snow in the first place?" The Grand Marshal asked impatiently, as he had not attended the previous private discussion meeting of the Six Scriptures and therefore did not know about Clementine.
"Clementine… no, she should now be called Elizabeth, Princess of the Ainz Ooal Gown Magic Kingdom," Xi Neiding continued.
"Has your Water-Light Scripture's intelligence confirmed Clementine's true identity as the Princess of the Magic Kingdom?" This time, Archgod-Official Maximillian raised the question.
"It has been confirmed, because she has recovered her memories." As soon as Xi Neiding said this, it was as if a massive bomb had been dropped, and everyone in the meeting room became agitated.
"You mean she recovered her memories? What exactly happened? Wasn't it confirmed that she was affected by Downfall of Castle and Country? How could she have recovered her memories?" Light Chief Priest Ion was very agitated, as Downfall of Castle and Country was primarily managed by them, and he was very familiar with the item's properties.
"For that, we'll have to ask Gelos of the Black Scripture, who is present. Gelos, please elaborate on the details of the incident," Xi Neiding said, glancing at Gelos.
"Yes, Lord Xi Neiding." Gelos could only honestly and meticulously describe the entire incident in detail.
Everyone fell silent after hearing the story, except for Zesshi Zetsumei, who knew the truth of the matter. Her lips curled slightly upward when no one was looking, but this fleeting smile disappeared in less than a second.
"Ruoqiebeien, you are the most knowledgeable about magic here. Do you know of any magic that can dispel the effects of Downfall of Castle and Country?" Ion asked, this being what he most wanted to know.
"No, among the magic I know, there is no magic that can dispel the effects of Downfall of Castle and Country. However… that is only among the magic I know. The magic that child used, I… no, all of us here have never seen before!" Ruoqiebeien of the Magic Development Institute answered excitedly.
"So that means… her magic surpasses the treasures left by the main gods? Damn it!" Ion lowered his head in frustration.
"Our country's trump card was actually broken like this? What a formidable opponent. It seems the idea of using Downfall of Castle and Country on Ainz Ooal Gown himself cannot be accomplished." This time, Fire Chief Priest Bernice let out a sigh.
Upon hearing this statement, Zesshi Zetsumei smiled faintly once more, for she knew… Downfall of Castle and Country had never actually affected Elizabeth. She and the previous vampire were not on the same level.
"Since Clementine has recovered her memories, will the Magic Kingdom use this as an excuse to act against our country?" The Grand Marshal posed this question, which was a very reasonable thought. If it were anyone else, and their daughter had been brainwashed and worked for you for so long, a father would certainly be agitated.
At this moment, another small commotion arose in the meeting hall, as going to war with the Magic Kingdom at this time would have unimaginable consequences.
"Everyone, calm down first. At least… at this stage, Princess Elizabeth has not shown any hostility towards us. Before gathering everyone here, Lord Xi Neiding, Ruoqiebeien, and I had already met with Princess Elizabeth. My personal impression of her is that she is someone who can be reasoned with. From a common person's perspective, she is quite easy to talk to," Raymond said.
"However, from a national perspective, Princess Elizabeth is a very cunning opponent. If possible, this old man would not wish to be her enemy," Xi Neiding directly added.
"Even Lord Xi Neiding says so…" The Grand Marshal was somewhat astonished. Although he wasn't very knowledgeable in this area, he deeply respected Xi Neiding, as Xi Neiding had helped him overcome many difficulties in the past.
"So, based on current intelligence, this Princess Elizabeth can completely crush our country's trump card in terms of martial power, and in terms of strategy, she is a formidable opponent. Yet, she is merely the Princess of the Magic Kingdom… With such a country, how can we contend with them?" Archgod-Official Maximillian made a very disheartened statement.
Everyone fell silent. Just one princess was so terrifying, how terrifying must Ainz Ooal Gown himself be?
After all, everyone had subconsciously adopted the concept that women were political accessories. The Dragon Kingdom's situation was unavoidable; what could be done when the Dragon King only had one great-granddaughter!
Look at Princess Lana of the Re-Estize Kingdom. Her wisdom far surpassed that of her two brothers within the kingdom, but simply because she was a woman, she could only exist as a mere ornament.
However, Princess Elizabeth was different. Everyone now knew she had an elder brother, the Black Warrior Fei Fei. Logically, according to traditional views, she should also be a political accessory. Yet, she was active on the front lines, which was truly rare. Everyone was also aware of the intelligence regarding her previous role as a diplomat between the Empire and the Magic Kingdom.
"Let's not speak disheartening words for now. We still have a way," Xi Neiding said at this moment, offering words that brought hope to everyone present.
"As expected of the highly respected Lord Xi Neiding. At critical moments, he always manages to turn the tide. So, what exactly should we do?" Senior Priest of Wind Dominic also seemed to have recognized reality. Now, they could only rely on Xi Neiding.
"To… to… coexist… peacefully… with the Magic Kingdom." However, Xi Neiding's words, seemingly forced out through gritted teeth, left everyone dumbfounded.
"Lord Xi Neiding! Do you mean for our Theocracy to coexist peacefully with such a monstrous country?" Dominic was the first to become agitated.
"…" Xi Neiding did not reply, but endured something with a pained expression.
"At this stage, this is the only way." Raymond, without any surprise, expressed his agreement. After all… he had also personally spoken with Princess Elizabeth and understood Lord Xi Neiding's difficulties.
"Raymond, have you gone mad too? Hey! What's wrong with all of you! Do you want us to coexist peacefully with those monsters? Do none of you have any other opinions on this proposal!" Dominic shouted, clearly displeased.
"Enough, Dominic… Lord Xi Neiding must have his own considerations!" Ion interjected, intending to stop Dominic.
"But! If that's the case…" Dominic was not convinced and still wanted to say something, but he was sternly cut off by Xi Neiding.
"Do you think this old man wants this? But now, besides this path, we have no other choice!"
"What do you mean 'no other choice'! We have so many people, there must be some way…" Dominic did not so easily accept Xi Neiding's idea.
"What other way could there be? The power of just that one princess alone could directly destroy the entire Jiao Country Capital! With such a country! How are we supposed to deal with them?" Lord Xi Neiding also became angry, slamming his hand on the table and glaring at Dominic with a furious expression.
"Is it really that exaggerated? How could she alone do that?" Dominic still refused to believe it.
"Putting everything else aside, members of the Black Scripture, do you have the confidence to defeat the white dragon summoned by Elizabeth?" Benice interjected, and everyone's gaze turned to Gelos, the captain of the Black Scripture.
"Well… if all of us went at it fully armed, we should be able to. If it's a one-on-one fight, only the young lady could manage it," Gelos thought for a moment before replying. He had personally seen the white dragon.
"Then what about Princess Elizabeth herself?" Benice continued to ask.
"This… I'm afraid all of us together wouldn't be her match." Gelos could only awkwardly glance at Zesshi Zetsumei, who was leaning in the corner. She was the hope of the entire Slane Theocracy, so everyone's gaze also fell on Zesshi Zetsumei.
"…" However, Zesshi Zetsumei remained silent, merely looking bored, playing with a Rubik's Cube she had taken out at some point.
In fact, the High Priests already knew the answer without Zesshi Zetsumei having to say it. A one-on-one fight with a fully armed and revenge-driven Zesshi Zetsumei only resulted in a slightly swollen arm. The outcome of that battle was self-evident, so what more could they expect Zesshi Zetsumei to say?
"Not only that, if you had spoken with Princess Elizabeth, you would understand how cunning she is. Although on the surface she appears to be very easy to talk to and very reasonable, and she didn't directly make trouble after recovering her memories, but was willing to sit down and talk with us, even though this old man used a very poor excuse to cover up the reason for controlling her with Downfall of Castle and Country—an excuse that wouldn't even fool a three-year-old—she accepted it readily and does not intend to use it as leverage to make any demands or conditions on us. In reality, this is the most terrifying thing, because this way… we cannot understand her motives. Why did she accept our explanation so easily? We cannot fathom what she is thinking? What she is planning… everything is unknown. In this situation… we can do nothing," Xi Neiding said in great pain, never expecting that at his age, he would be completely unable to read this Princess.
"Then what should we do! Do we really have to live in harmony with those monsters!" Dominic also reluctantly accepted this statement, feeling very vexed.
"At least… at this stage, this is the only way." Xi Neiding's words expressed his and the Slane Theocracy's continued hope.
"Everyone, calm down for a bit. At least we have some good news," Raymond said.
"What good news?" Dominic was the first to react.
"Princess Elizabeth has expressed her willingness to help us overcome the century-long crisis." As soon as Raymond said this, the entire room fell silent once again.
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