The First Magic World War

Charles and Duchess Mesu signed the 'Count Mecklen and Duchess Mesu Covenant' atop the Sesath city walls, a document whose impact on future generations would be profound.

The two agreed to become friendly ally families, maintaining a unified stance in all matters, save for conflicts between Fars and Byron. If one side found itself at war, the other would provide all necessary aid, including both material support and military force. The two families would collaborate closely in various fields, including the economy, trade, maritime affairs, culture, arts, and handicraft industries, among others.

Charles also specifically prayed to the Serpent of Destiny and secured the patronage of this True God, leaving a trace of a small silver serpent on the covenant.

This move also made Duchess Mesu inwardly startled, adding a layer of caution towards Charles, privately musing, "To be a patron of the Serpent of Destiny?"

"The Serpent of Destiny is the most enigmatic and unpredictable of the Nine Great True Gods, and the next era is the Era of Destiny. Both the House Brittany and the House Mecklen are patrons of the Serpent of Destiny, their futures immeasurable. At least until the end of the Era of Destiny, they must not be made enemies of."

After the two houses signed the covenant, Charles, as promised, withdrew from Sesath. When he left, he took with him the entirety of Sesath's fleet and also the knights who had belonged to Baron Merime of Mesu, neatly packing up the baron's estate as well.

Moreover, he split the Westwind Knights into two, leading one part to continue the terrestrial assault on Black Phoenix City while the Golden Goat Herolf led another force along the coastline, planning a maritime attack on Black Phoenix City.

Duchess Mesu, in keeping with the agreement, lent out ten Sacred-level characters!

Leading these ten Sacred levels was naturally Duchess Mesu's daughter, Adossa Mesu!

She was also Charles's newly acquired senior disciple!

Indeed, he thought he might have too many senior disciples.

The two parties tacitly agreed not to mention Baron Merime Sumei, as if this baron had never existed in the world.

After leaving the city of Sesath, Andreas brought over six Sacred-level characters and said to Charles, "They have some thoughts; would you care to have a chat with them?"

These six Sacred levels, four of whom had been captured during the conquests and two who were subordinates of Baron Merime of Mesu, were also the captains of the two Magical Alchemy Warships.

Although they had held themselves with reserve and harbored various thoughts, they had the "fortune" to witness the signing of the covenant between Charles and Duchess Mesu and were arranged seats quite close to the front, for even as captives, their status as Sacred level distinguished them.

Witnessing the merging of Charles and Mesu's forces, which boasted over twenty Sacred levels, the six were deeply shocked and all came to realize one thing: if they did not surrender now, they might never have another chance.

Charles smiled slightly and said, "Gentlemen! I am about to attack Black Phoenix City, and as Black Phoenix People, you must be exceedingly familiar with it!"

"No, please don't misunderstand, I won't require you to join the fight."

"You are all Black Phoenix People," he declared, "I will never let you join the assault on Black Phoenix City. That would be far too cruel."

"I hope you can find a way to contact your friends and family, urging them to leave quickly to avoid being affected by the war."

Charles proposed a method that was very "human," easing the six Sacred-level knights, who found it acceptable. They had not even had the chance to offer their surrender before being assigned tasks—did anyone realize something was amiss?

These six knights were all at the nineteenth rank!

Indeed, the stronger Sacred-level knights had been called away to the front lines, locked in fierce combat with the allied forces of four nations.

Therefore, Charles was not exactly "enthusiastic," since unlike Andreas, many of them had not achieved Sacred level through regular training but had advanced forcibly through the use of Magic Potions and various rites—a common practice among the nobility.

Charles quickly handed over the "newly drafted battle plans" to the six Sacred-level knights, making sure their letters to friends and family distinctly pointed out the direction of the Westwind Knights' attack, intending to prevent ordinary people from being swept into the conflict.

The knights didn't think too hard about it. After all, the world lacked the cunning military wisdom found on Earth, and they couldn't grasp a strategy that blended the tactics of "muddy waters," "deceiving the heavens," and "luring the tiger away from the mountain." They genuinely believed it was a good deed.

Charles' "military planning" reached Black Phoenix City through the letters of these knights and soon became well-known throughout the city.

Faced with this sudden attack, the Royal Family and nobles of Black Phoenix plunged into chaos, but in the face of life and death, they efficiently mobilized the remaining troops within the city, preparing to ambush Charles' Westwind Knights en route.

However, Charles had not executed his so-called battle plans, so he encountered no resistance at all and marched swiftly, reaching the outskirts of Black Phoenix City.

In theory, Black Phoenix City, like Strasbourg, was blessed by the Nine Great True Gods, and with no shortage of divine miracle structures, any invading enemy would struggle to breach such a "Fortress City" on the Old Continent.

But Charles, on his way, had gathered a considerable number of local armies from the Black Phoenix Dynasty and had even prepared a batch of the "Common Attire" of Black Phoenix People. With people constantly fleeing the city, he took advantage of the situation to stealthily infiltrate the city with his disguised Westwind Knights.

Charles had not anticipated that his half-baked cunning plan would work so well. He sent batch after batch of the Westwind Knights into Black Phoenix City, sneaking in over ten thousand men without the city noticing.

Having calculated that he had enough force to start a war, Charles immediately took all the Sacred-level knights with him, including his ten knights under his command, four noble defectors, the six newly surrendered knights, and the ten knights sent by Duchess Mesu, all blending in with the common folk who had entered Black Phoenix City.

It had been over a year since Charles crossed into this world, and he had visited many countries on the continent, such as Inglima's Nolidan and the Lionheart Dynasty's Yasa Fortress. However, it was his first time in Black Phoenix City.

A typical trading city, Black Phoenix City hosted foreigners from countries overseas with distinctive cultures, mannerisms unlike those of the Old Continent's inhabitants. Most were merchants carrying a multitude of exotic goods from abroad, an array of novelties that were previously unknown to the Old Continent.

Suddenly, Charles remembered a small task given by the Serpent of Destiny: to send someone to all of the True God structures in Black Phoenix City and secretly inscribe the mark of the Serpent of Destiny in hidden corners.

Indeed, Charles thought, it was time to earn a great deal of the Serpent's pleasure in one fell swoop.