Under Monroe''s continuous exnations, Pope Alves nodded in agreement, acknowledging that such powerful destruction,parable to a natural disaster, was beyond even his own capabilities, let alone achievable by a mere grand wizard!


    However, attributing it to a natural disaster didn''tpletely make sense either.


    Inside the empire,mon natural disasters could generally be ssified into earthquakes, thunderstorms, hurricanes, droughts, floods, and meteorite falls...


    The first few clearly didn''t match the situation, only the scene of a meteorite fall bore some resemnce. But he had inquired with those empire soldiers who had fled back.


    It was night at the time; if there were meteorites falling from the sky, they should have been exceptionally visible!


    "I suspect this might have been caused by an underground volcanic eruption!" Monroe spected.


    During his time gathering intelligence, he had gone through past issues of the Magic Daily, noticing an extremely important paper published by the Star of Magic a few months ago—【On the Causes of Earthquakes: The Impact of Continental te Movement and Underground Magma Activity】!


    Although Monroe didn''t fully understand it, it mentioned a type of natural disaster called a volcanic eruption.


    It''s said to be a terrifying disaster caused by the movement of the earth''s crust, where magma from the depths of hell flows out through cracks on the surface, turning an area of several miles into ava hell."There''s a good chance of that!" Pope Alves said thoughtfully.


    Lately, those wizards, despite having the upper hand, have still been hiding, a phenomenon that indeed puzzled him.


    If going by Monroe''s spection, it immediately made sense; the other party was bluffing, thereby dying time to produce more weapons of war...


    Thinking this, Pope Alves felt the need tounch a probing attack to determine the enemy''s reality!


    Seeing the Pope agreed with his view, Monroe felt encouraged and quickly divulged a second crucial piece of intelligence—the vulnerabilities in the wizards'' defenses!


    It must be said, the council''s method of deploying numerous airships as eyes to monitor the entire kingdom was indeed troublesome, makingrge-scale entry without detection nearly impossible.


    However, there was an exception!


    That was the Dead Zone outside the City of Fire Oil!


    This area had no guards stationed and only a few airships would pass by from a distance. As long as they used the cover of night and divine arts for concealment, they could avoid the wizards'' detection.


    "But I''ve heard that this Dead Zone has radiation that even official wizards can''t resist, and even after several months, it hasn''tpletely dissipated." Pope Alves frowned.


    "This was also discussed in that paper..." Monroe quickly exined. During a volcanic eruption, arge amount of toxic gas would be emitted, umting in the atmosphere to form a terrifying dust cloud, sometimessting for months. This might be what the wizards refer to as radiation!


    There were naturally ways to counter this, such as wearing masks or goggles to protect the vulnerable eyes, and using a wet cloth to cover the mouth and nose, etc... ??Ν?Bè??


    Of course, venturing too deep or staying too long, even with protection, would inevitably cause severe damage to the body.@@novelbin@@


    As the saying goes, the most dangerous ces are often the safest. Pope Alves naturally understood this principle.


    The enemy would never expect them tounch an attack from this ce!


    "You''ve done well, Monroe, although there were some issues with thest n, it can''t all be med on you..." Pope Alves said soothingly, praising Monroe for his intelligence gathering and analysis abilities, and asking him to continue monitoring the situation within the kingdom.


    The three-minute time limit soon arrived, and after ending themunication, Pope Alves didn''t rush to issue orders but turned to look at Saint Randall beside him.


    "What do you think of Monroe''s spection, how credible is it?"


    "I don''t think those wizards are capable of casting such powerful magic," Saint Randall said definitively, but such a significant matter, even with a sliver of possibility, needs consideration. Otherwise, a misjudgment could have unthinkable consequences.


    So, after a pause, Randall continued, "Hasn''t the Holy Maiden directly faced this so-called great nuclear magic? She should know best."


    Naturally, the fastest, most urate method would be to ask!


    Pope Alves fell silent for a while without responding.


    "Or is the Holy Maiden not currently in the Holy City?" Randall immediately realized this, his face showing a hint of dissatisfaction.


    Such important news had not been shared with him by Alves, and he let the incarnation of the Lord leave the protection of the Holy City.


    Knowing that the Lord had just changed its vessel of consciousness, it''s hard to say how much power it could wield...


    "The Holy Maiden has her own ns, not something you and I can interfere with. We just need to do what we''re supposed to do, and that''s enough!" Alves said indifferently,


    stopping Randall from continuing to inquire, and quickly made a decisive statement.


    "Instruct them to use the fastest divine transmission to let Taisis, stationed at the empire''s border, lead a team to probe whether those wizards are indeed bluffing."


    Randall opened his mouth as if wanting to say something but eventually nodded. "I understand!"


    ...


    On the other side, in the City of Fire Oil, at the wizard academy''s faction residence, Monroe, who had just ended themunication, walked out of the room looking somewhat exhausted.


    Outside, Ivina Pedrol, just likest time, leaned against the pristine wall, watching out for Monroe but focusing on the Magic Daily in front of her. Upon seeing Monroe emerge, she put down the newspaper and inquired whether the Pope had issued any new orders.


    Monroe hesitated. In fact, he was somewhat dissatisfied with his partner Ivina''s performancetely, who had begun to research the wizards'' experiments, attempting to replicate the free fall and pendulum experiments done by the Star of Magic to verify their authenticity.


    This was a highly dangerous signal!


    Delving into the wizards'' knowledge wasn''t an interesting affair; one could easily be misled by forbidden knowledge.


    However, Monroe and Ivina weren''t in a superior-subordinate rtionship, and Monroe had no way to forciblymand the girl to abandon these unrealistic thoughts. Moreover, within the academy, he still relied on Ivina''s expertise in forbidden areas toplete those annoying coursework assignments.


    Monroe sighed inwardly but ultimately decided to trust his partner. After all, she was rmended by Lord Gustav. Her initiative to sell grain to the council had indeed unearthed some useful information, so he sinctly shared the contents of the recent discussion.


    Upon hearing Monroe mention that the wizards'' so-called great nuclear magic might only be due to underground magma movement causing a volcanic eruption, and the Star of Magic was merely bluffing to buy more time for military preparations, Ivina''s expression suddenly became very strange.


    "What''s wrong?" Monroe, noticing the change in the girl''s expression, couldn''t help frowning and asked.


    Ivina handed over the newspaper. "This is today''s Magic Daily, delivered by a fairy just a minute ago."


    Monroe, suppressing his unease, took the Magic Daily and nced over it.


    Ivina exined at this moment, "Those wizards haven''tunched arge-scale counterattack in over two months because they were improving the great nuclear magic. Now, it''s said to bepleted, with its power increased by about eight timespared to before, and it also eliminates the radiation problem caused by the great nuclear magic..."


    Monroe had just seen the report on the Magic Daily about the Star of Magic''s improvement of nuclear magic when Ivina''s words shocked him.


    How much? The power increased by eight times?!


    Monroe''s mind went nk, and then he couldn''t help saying, "Absurd! This must be a rumor spread by those wizards to intimidate us..."


    Although he hadn''t witnessed the power of nuclear magic firsthand, just seeing the aftermath that created the Dead Zone gave him a glimpse of its potential, unquestionably powerful beyond imagination.


    And now you''re telling me its power can increase by eight times?!


    "They have no need to lie because the wizard who developed this magic, the Star of Magic, is nning to publicly experiment with this magic tonight, and also clear the radiation in that Dead Zone, the time... is tonight!" Ivina said solemnly.


    The council had no need to tell a lie that would be debunked in a few hours!


    Monroe''splexion suddenly changed. Was his spection wrong, and those wizards really capable of casting magic so terrifying it could destroy cities and countries?


    "Wait." Monroe suddenly realized a more serious problem, urgently grabbing Ivina''s shoulders, his eyes reddened as he questioned, "You just said those wizards are nning to experiment with this magic tonight, and it''s in that Dead Zone?"


    "Correct." Ivina nodded, puzzled by Monroe''s sudden excitement.


    Before she could ask, Monroe had already dashed back into the room, rummaging for themunication crystal orb.


    "Hurry... Hurry! Connect me!" Monroe''s face was fraught with anxiety, grasping and even shaking themunicator in his hand. Not knowing how to charge the device, given hisplete ignorance of alchemy and electromaism, he could only pour all his magical power into the crystal orb in desperation.


    Before heading to the City of Fire Oil as an infiltrator, Lord Gustav had injected them with demonic power through a strange potion, allowing them to pass the wizards'' inspections.


    Only afterpleting their mission could they undergo a baptismal ceremony topletely remove the demonic power.


    As continuous magical power was infused, the crystal orb trembled slightly, and a look of joy appeared on Monroe''s face, prompting him to increase his effort.


    About three minutester, the crystal orb, forcibly infused with a massive amount of magical power, finally...


    Exploded!


    ...


    While Monroe fell into endless despair, the streets


    of the City of Fire Oil were already crowded with people eager to see the spectacle.


    "Have you heard? The wizards are nning to pull down the sun from the sky, just like they did over two months ago!" A short, chubby man excitedly began.


    A knowledgeable merchant beside him scoffed, "That''s Master Lynn''s magic, called the great nuclear magic, and it has nothing to do with the sun up there..."


    "It is the sun! My grandfather saw Master Lynn fly up to the sky and bring down the scorching sun from the heavens!" A young boy adamantly corrected.


    "That''s absurd, where does the sune from at night?" The merchant was immediately amused.


    "That''s because... because our is round, he must have flown to the other side of the continent!" The boy persisted, convinced the wizards had indeed pulled the sun down from the sky.


    The sounds of discussion and debate arose everywhere in the City of Fire Oil. Under the promotion of the Magic Daily, almost everyone in the city knew about the Star of Magic, Lynn, nning to experiment with new magic tonight.


    Naturally, many were interested, whether wizards or citizens of the City of Fire Oil. Anyone who could spare a moment wouldn''t want to miss this event.


    Even many citizens of the kingdom specially took trains toe and watch.


    To prevent the City of Fire Oil from having a few hundred thousand blind people, the council''s alchemists made some minor improvements to the protective barrier covering the entire city, increasing istion from dangerous radiation and significantly reducing the impact of bright light.


    "It''s Master Lynn!"


    Hourster, someone in the crowded crowd suddenly shouted loudly. Everyone craned their necks and stood on tiptoes, hoping to catch a glimpse of this Star of Magic.


    Lynn was still dressed in his usual wizard''s robe, not making any special preparations for this grand asion. He merely took some time during the experiment to clean up a little in the Dead Zone outside the City of Fire Oil, also to deter those with malicious intentions.


    A peculiar magical beast, impatiently following behind him, its fur fluttering like mes in the wind, disdainfully flicking its tail, displeased with the humans making inexplicable noises.


    For such a scene, Muto naturally had no interest, preferring tozily wait on the estate''s grass, waiting for the fearful humans to bring delicious snacks.


    However, seeing it had be toozy and unresponsivetely, Lynn forcibly dragged Muto out, nning to give it a good lesson.


    Lynn stepped up to the city wall, with wizards along the way making way for him, their eyes filled with reverence for the Star of Magic, the creator of the most powerful magic to date, describable only as a man-made natural disaster.


    Today, they would finally have the honor to witness this incredibly powerful magic firsthand!