Yes, Madam Prime Minister

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The Kingdom of Fas, Venaya, and the Empire of Will immediately issued orders to withdraw their troops, and Bilia and Suleiman also quickly ceased hostilities.

At the same time, the Kingdom of Wieland sent a document to the Kingdom of Fas, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Empire of Will, the Northern League, the Federation of Switz, the Kingdom of Villa, the Republic of Vinaya, and even the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which was not part of the Western Continent and had only been established for a few years, as well as the Kingdom of Rus', which was outside the sphere of civilization.

Of course, places like the Northern League, Poland, Lithuania, and Russia are unlikely to receive this document in time.

Only the Kingdom of Phos, the Kingdom of Belia, and the Empire of Will can receive this document quickly and take action.

The content of the file is very simple.

First, Willand is absolutely certain that the massive anomalies occurring in Egypt are rooted in a mysterious ruin in the desert, a ruin that holds secrets about the entire world and the truth of magic.

Secondly, Weyland hopes that each nation will notify its strongest mages to investigate the truth and dispel the anomaly; otherwise, this anomaly could eventually affect the entire Western Continent. Also, those below the fifth rank should not come, lest they lose their lives.

Finally, whether you come or not, I'm going to Wieland.

"Camille, go contact Stefan," Ronan instructed Camille.

Then, Ronan looked at Dinia, "Dinia?"

“Let’s go together,” Dinia said.

“Bring Kate Peter along too, after all, she might be the person in the world who knows the ‘ruins’ best,” Ronan added.

This wretched woman has only contributed one piece of armor—a magic-resistant gun—over the years. The rest of the time she's been slacking off, wasting taxpayers' money every day. It's time for her to put in the work.

Although, it will most likely cost more this time.

The next day, Stefan arrived. This old man, who had already attained immortality, had been bored for several years, so bored that he had even started chasing women. Upon hearing the news, he came without asking for a single penny.

It has to be said that immortal people have no other pursuits but novelty and excitement, and they are willing to come with their own food.

Thus, the team from the Kingdom of Phos was formed: Dinia, a sixth-tier mage; Ronan, a fifth-tier mage; Ketter, an AI robot who was not a mage; and Stefan, a seventh-tier mage.

A few days later, the expeditions from various countries met in Alexandria, a port city that had become a ghost town.

Three people came from Weyland, one of whom was Ronan, an old acquaintance of Dinia, and Fies, who was not a nun at all but was indeed a nun, and she was now at the fifth level.

Two people came from Venaya, whom Dinia had met before: Giovanni, a seventh-tier cultivator, and his old lover, "The Doll Witch."

Surprisingly, the Holy See also sent one, a proper patron saint, at the sixth rank.

Of the three men on Villa's side, all three Ronans had only heard of him but had never met him.

The most extravagant procession came from the Will Empire, with the emperor himself present, along with seven other people, making a total of eight.

To be honest, this was something no one expected. Although it was not uncommon for kings and emperors to lead the charge in the Western Continent, and countless people died on the battlefield or were captured, the emperor of the empire was, in essence, just a powerful elector.

Regardless of the reasoning, it is astonishing that a head of state would risk his life for something uncertain.

Ronan and Dinia dared to come because they were both seasoned veterans when it came to ruins, and this incident was indeed very strange.

But what right does this emperor have to come?

Unless he is certain he will be safe, or he is certain there is a great deal of benefit involved that would make him risk his life.

Then there's the Pasha, or rather the governor, from Egypt, and there's another magician besides him.

That's normal. After all, Egypt is Suleiman's territory, and he couldn't just stand by and watch these Catholic sons run amok, even though he probably could only watch helplessly as the outcome came.

"I'll be leading this operation. No objections, right?"

The emperor spoke.

Of course there were objections, but on the surface there were none. Although many people didn't take him, the emperor, seriously, he was still the emperor, the person with the highest status in public.

“Whelanders, lead the way,” the Emperor continued.

The bald, horse-faced man leading the Weyland faction glanced at His Majesty the Emperor and said, “Please allow me to say this: we are all acting as mages now. Even if you don’t think so, you are not our emperor, so this tone is not very appropriate.”

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Everyone fell silent, but no one dared to make a move. Those present were undoubtedly top-tier mages of the continent, and if even one of them made a move, it could trigger a chain reaction and the city could be reduced to ashes.

A burst of laughter broke the seemingly frozen air.

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound, where a tall, slender but not frail blonde woman appeared—it was Kate Pierre, whom Ronan had brought.

"I'm so sorry, everyone, please don't take it to heart." Ronan quickly stepped forward to apologize, pointing at Kate Pierre, "She's just a woman who came from slavery and doesn't know any manners."

Ronan's statement is essentially correct. Kettering was originally a beast of burden in engineering, and compared to the Romans present, wasn't he just a slave?

Ultimately, the Wieland side stopped provoking and simply led the way.

The emperor held back and did not retaliate.

But the fact that a conflict arose before the journey even began already foreshadowed one thing: the rift between the groups was larger than expected.

Villa, the Empire, and the Papacy are all Old Catholic forces. Among them, the naval conflict between Villa and Weyland over the new sea route has escalated to a full extent, while the Empire has also become an enemy due to the shameless raid on the Rhine by the Kingdom of Phos, and there have been constant minor skirmishes in recent years.

The Kingdom of Weyland and Fass are Protestant. Although they have been locked in a love-hate relationship for hundreds of years, they have temporarily formed an alliance in recent years.

Venaya is a Catholic, but not entirely, and doesn't want to get involved in this conflict.

As for Suleiman's side, they were certainly happy with this situation.

As he led the way, the Weylander began to recount the information he knew.

This wasn't selflessness. How could a bunch of troublemaking pirates who were eager for the various countries of the Western Continent to fight to the death be selfless? It was just that they knew very well that this time it was extremely troublesome, and that it was definitely not something they could handle alone if they wanted to quell this chaos or even seize profits from the danger.

The group consisted of top-tier mages, and they traveled at an extremely fast pace, quickly arriving in Cairo from the northern port.

The chaos in Cairo continues, with the area now under a perimeter of security, leaving only one gap open.

The people here have also discovered that although these undead will attack those around them and even infect those they attack, their goal is not to attack people, but to run in a certain direction in the desert.

So all we need to do is prevent the wandering zombies from coming in and drive them out of the city from the south.

The group of mages paid no heed to the chaos in Cairo and headed straight for their destination: the place where the undead were surging in.

Chapter 495 Pause, Each with Their Own Hidden agendas, A familiar aura

In the desert, a few hundred meters from a large pyramid that was over a hundred meters high, the group stopped and did not go any further.

By this time, it had already gotten dark.

At the edge of the pyramid, the undead are kneeling motionless on the ground, just like the foolish and devout tribesmen worshipping their gods in an ancient and primitive sacrificial ceremony. They are like the funerary statues frozen in time in a tomb, deathly silent and solemn.

Tens of thousands of undead kneeling in neat rows around the pyramids—a sight both spectacular and terrifying.

Scattered people continued to pour in, arriving at the outer perimeter. Once they reached their positions and knelt down, they suddenly "died," remaining in the same kneeling posture as everyone else, without making the slightest movement—strange and eerie.

Here, a group of people have already set up camp.

People at their level aren't afraid of sandstorms or low temperatures; it's just that people naturally prefer to be more comfortable.

Inside the tent, Emperor Antoro of the Will Empire sat silently, holding a wooden sculpture. He was forty-seven years old, and ten years had passed since he was chosen as emperor. At forty-seven, he looked like he was sixty-seven. This was not due to overwork. As a high-ranking mage, his energy was far beyond that of ordinary people. Aging would only begin when he entered the final stage of his life. He looked old simply because he wanted to appear more mature and dignified.

Being an emperor in the Empire of Will is too difficult, especially for an ambitious emperor who wants to accomplish things. He must use both force and tactics to suppress dissent, and then produce achievements to gain recognition and make the various lords reluctantly submit.

He, Antoro, Emperor of the Will Empire, cousin of King Villa, and nephew of the previous emperor who once dominated the continent, spent ten years securing his throne.

But that's not what he wants. He wants to be the emperor of all Germany, or even rule the western continent like the old empire did.

He came here impatiently and spent a considerable amount of money to invite six other people, all for the sake of taking this gamble.

I bet the situation here is the same as what happened more than four hundred years ago.

More than four hundred years ago, in the far east, west of Seris, a great disaster occurred. According to some records, a red boulder fell from the sky.

No one can say for sure what happened, but the outcome is also unknown to many, because the disaster did not spread to the western continent.

But Antolo knew.

That was a group of undead monsters, like humans and horses, who swept in from the east, killing countless cities and countless people along the way, and then disappeared like a shooting star. Now, no trace of them can be seen.

However, in the ruins left by the monsters, Ross and Suleiman rose to prominence, because after that, many of them suddenly gained magical talent.

Hidden within this anomaly is something that can grant ordinary people magical talents.

When he was very young, living in Villa, he happened to hear this from a Seris.

Now, Antoro wants to get his hands on this, so he has to come in person.

Meanwhile, inside Willand's tent.

An elderly man, somewhat hunched over, wearing goggles and with a prosthetic left hand, spoke up, “Duke, why did you provoke His Majesty the Emperor?” In his view, such behavior was completely unnecessary.

“A test,” the bald, horse-faced man replied. “Judging from his attitude, he does know something you don’t.”

The elderly man with the hunched prosthetic leg stroked his chin in thought. He was also a member of the Church of the Holy Maiden, though he was purely a researcher.

They had explored the place hidden beneath the pyramids before; that was also the first contact between their Holy Maiden Church and the Purple-Clad Men organization.

Neither side gained anything at that time.

After that, they came back many more times. The last time they came, many things inside had stopped working.

"Fez, what do you think?" the hunched-over prosthetic man asked Fez.

“It doesn’t feel like this anomaly was directly caused by this place,” Fies said, stating her own assessment.

"Whether it is or not, if there really is something that can bring benefits, don't overthink it, let them fight over it first," said the bald, horse-faced duke. "Our research in this area is definitely superior to that of any other country, the advantage is on our side."

Fies didn't speak; if she hadn't recognized the "Moon Goddess" beside Ronan, she would have agreed.

After all, their Holy Maiden Cult is an organization that, while disguised as an extreme small sect, is actually a research institution with a deep understanding of the secrets of this world.

Villa's side.

The three of them were somewhat irritated. They didn't want to get involved in matters related to the country and politics. If the Weylanders hadn't mentioned in their letter that this anomaly was related to some secret of the world or the source of magic, they would have absolutely refused this commission.

After all, the three of them are still relatively young, around fifty years old, at the fifth rank, which is a crucial period for them to strive for the peak of magic.

"Tell me, what should we do?" A tall, strong man with slightly dark skin, thick eyebrows, and curly hair spoke first.

"We agreed on the way here that we'd just take a look," replied the handsome man with skin whiter than a woman's, though a bit short. "If there's a disagreement, we'll side with the Emperor, that's all."

“Agreed,” another man chimed in. He had the same rare, pale white-gold hair as Dinia, but his nose was large and hooked, and his eyes were small, like two tiny peas. He looked like a strange bird.

On the Venaya side, the duo were with the apologists recruited by the Vatican.

Giovanni was reluctant to come. As a water mage, wouldn't it be uncomfortable for him to come to such a desert?

However, the apologist said that the ruins beneath the pyramids were filled with water.

"A bunch of uncultured barbarians' descendants have forgotten who is the disseminator of civilization in this world. They think that just because they've read a few tattered books and made up a few fake ones, they're civilized people. They even think that what they've discovered is something the church doesn't know at all. It's ridiculous."

The apologetics mocked.

To think that the church knows nothing about so-called relics or so-called truths is to seriously underestimate them.

“I’m saying, whatever’s inside, or rather, down there, I’m afraid you’re not capable of bringing anything back to the church,” Giovanni said.

“I’m not a member of the church. I’m just here to take a look, not to do anything,” the apologetic replied with a statement that sounded nonsensical but seemed to have a deeper meaning.

If he's not here to do anything, then who is?

At the same time, the atmosphere was the most relaxed on Ronan's side.

Four people were playing bridge there.

"Aren't you really not worried at all?" Kate Peter asked as he considered his next move.

Ronan smiled. "I never expected to hear you express concern for others."

“Don’t tell me neither of you felt anything,” Kate Peller said.

A feeling? Of course, Ronan had already sensed a familiar aura, an aura similar to that of the celestial realm.

Chapter 496 Introduction and Popularization: Who Isn't a Robber at Heart? The First Challenge

During a break in the card game, Stefan explained the identities of the other players to Ronan, Dinia, and Kate Pierre.

On the Empire's side, Grand Duke Austeria, Emperor Antolo, is a fifth-tier figure with no combat record. However, based on his background, barring any unforeseen circumstances, his magic should be the family heirloom summon, "Lion of Contract."

Lions possess some fighting power, exceeding the scope of ordinary animals, but within the realm of magic, they are not particularly strong. The key is that they can form contracts with people to a limited extent, and after fulfilling their promises, they can obtain the agreed-upon magical power from the other party.

Besides him, there were six others: "Black Dragon" Bricht, a seventh-tier being with the ability to change fate and transform into a giant black dragon immune to magic.

"Eye of the Storm" Kolin, Tier 6, Ritual Element, an elemental mage who wields lightning.

Conrad the Hammer, a sixth-order being, is a manifestation of destiny. His nickname "Hammer" refers to his personality. His actual magic, like Ronan's, is a sword, but the effects are different.

"Conductor" Ernst, Tier 5, Ritual Summoning, the summoned armor can be attached to others and controlled.

"Little Finger" Becker, a fifth-order cultivator, is a manifestation of the Heavenly Oath. His body can split off to form independent entities. He is nicknamed "Little Finger" because when ordinary people see him, he doesn't have a little finger and they don't know where it went.

"The Healer" Toldo, a fifth-tier cultivator, possessed the Heavenly Oath Divine Art. Stefan had said a great deal about this man, but Ronan felt that remembering just one thing was enough: this man was a healer.