Chapter 445 — The Day of Triumph

Gao Che was silent for a moment, then asked unhurriedly, "Do you remember what I said last time in front of you and Wright?"

Amber thought for a moment. "Those things about the landed nobles?"

Gao Yan nodded. "That's right. Among traditional landed nobles there are also 'good' ones, who preserve the knightly spirit, practice true aristocratic virtue, and whose character commands admiration. Sir Marchi is one such noble — but this still cannot change the essential nature of him as a landed noble, nor the limitations of those 'aristocratic virtues' of his. He is an honorable knight, but that is not enough. As an individual, I admire him greatly, but as a lord, I must reform him without exception."

At this point Gao Yang could not help laughing. "Of course, there is still a difference between Sir Marchi and those Southern Region nobles — I believe that knight will successfully awaken, complete his reformation, and become a law-abiding and harmless 'new-style noble' to the territory. I see a shadow of Philip in him. People like this, though stiff in character and hard to change, once they recognize the right direction, their transformation will be very reliable — unlike those Southern Region nobles beyond saving. They might, on the very first day of collective labor, start shouting that they're willing to swear loyalty to Cecil, but even if they shouted it for ten years, I wouldn't dare fully trust them."

"Those traditional nobles..." Amber could not help muttering upon hearing this, then stuffed the last bite of pastry into her mouth. "But it doesn't matter now. You've finally taken that northern gate you've been longing for, and now the entire Southern Region is completely under your control. You'll have all the time in the world to deal with those fellows slowly."

"The entire Southern Region? No, I haven't controlled the entire Southern Region yet." The corners of Gao Yang's mouth curved upward. His gaze passed over the biscuit-crumb-covered Amber and settled on that military map, on "Shuangque City," where the Church of the Holy Frost Balance was located.

That city lay in the northwest of the Southern Region, and it had already been encircled with a red circle.

Amber noticed Gao Song's gaze, turned to glance at the map, and immediately wore a look of surprise. "You're about to... move against those religious fanatics?"

"No, we'll keep them surrounded for a while longer," Gao Yang said, shaking his head. "The Church of the Holy Frost Balance is not Boulder Fortress. Physically destroying or occupying that church could only cost more than it gains. To destroy the roots of the Old Sunstar Church in the Southern Region, we should strike at the heart — and that requires careful preparation."

Amber keenly caught the term "Old Sunstar Church" in Gao Yang's words, and smiled with understanding.

Three days later, the situation in Boulder Fortress had largely stabilized, and all the registration and statistical work had been completed. Having confirmed that Sir Wald Perrich and his Second Combat Legion had achieved complete control of the fortress, Gao Yang boarded the "Aurora," a warship powered by siren engines, and departed the fortress together with Amber, Byron, Luopeni, and the others.

And thanks to the convenient Magic Net communications, the news of the frontline victory had in fact been transmitted back to Xuanyao City by wireless signal well before the army returned to the heartland.

In Xuanyao City, within the government hall, Hedy concluded her Magic Net communication with Rebecca — after filtering out her grandniece's excited chatter and shrill, illogical nonsense, she had already understood what Rebecca wanted.

A moment later, she summoned Camille.

Camille, his whole body brimming with arcane radiance, entered Hedy's office and greeted this "Cecil grand steward," whose mage rank was lowly but whose administrative ability was outstanding. "Good afternoon, ma'am — has word come from the front?"

"Indeed, a complete victory," Hedy said with a smile. "And Rebecca says there is a matter that needs you to handle it — the lord has given the order."

"A technical matter?"

"More or less," Hedy nodded. "The lord has decided to take advantage of this victory to conduct a large-scale broadcast test. Rebecca has provided a plan to examine the actual performance of the Magic Net communications..."

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