The beastkin god, Uria, naturally synchronized the entire battle process to the Divine Net forum.
Upon learning this news, Goddess Hestia immediately used an oracle to warn her servants in real time.
“The beastkin have been defeated.”
“How is that possible... Didn't you say that all the beastkin tribes on the plains had joined forces?”
“New mutated species kept appearing among them, and in the end, at the critical moment of the final battle, the beastkin still lost.”
Because of this, Count Merlin and Celia, sitting in their office, learned of the process and outcome of that bloody battle on the distant plains immediately.
“Celia, the monsters that appeared at the final moment are of the same species as the flying variants you previously defined in the first ant colony.”
“Which means...”
“Your assumption was wrong. They didn't split at all. These two ant colonies are actually one and the same.”
Even the servants of gods were not necessarily fully united.
In fact, many deities would even deliberately pit their servants against each other.
Based on this, Celia had previously assumed that the migratory colony appearing on the western plains was an independent colony that had split off from the main nest colony.
If that were true, the ant forces they had to face at the high wall would have been somewhat dispersed.
But as it turned out, she was wrong.
Her heart sank heavily, and she subconsciously clenched her fists. “Flying monsters even larger than the previous hornet ants... We must draw up a countermeasure immediately.”
“That is indeed important, but don't you think you should tone things down a bit?” Count Merlin changed the subject with a grim expression. “Even if most of the commoners don't say it, everyone in the magic schools knows that you were the one who pushed for the last reform.”
Celia was currently working with the Church of the Goddess of Light, implementing every measure they could think of to combat the ant colony.
Naturally, these measures included abolishing deeply rooted old customs and traditions, and pushing for thorough reforms.
This was because the monsters constantly multiplying on the other side of the high wall, bent on killing them, were enemies that absolutely could not be stopped by old methods.
“Celia, among those conservative and radical people, quite a few are already calling you a heretical witch behind your back, saying you've desecrated the great and traditional essence of magic.”
“I understand, but I only did what I had to do. Lord Count, I can understand their dissatisfaction, but I will never compromise.”
“It's not just them. Some of the established noble families within the Church of the Goddess of Light are also very displeased with you, all because you insist on establishing academies to recruit talented individuals regardless of their birth or status.”
Even with the ant colony as their common, absolute enemy, what Celia was doing now was destined to make her countless enemies.
“It doesn't matter. Feel free to use me. Lord Count, you also know that only with me acting as a shield in the front can you carry out your plans in peace, right?”
But she had already prepared herself, willingly accepting this role.
Hearing Celia say “use me,” Count Merlin fell silent.
In fact, that was exactly what he was thinking.
With Celia taking the brunt of the pressure as the executor, he could avoid most of the criticism.
‘I have already lost everything. All I have left now is this empty shell of a body and my life. If I can use these as a price to stop those monsters, I am willing to do anything.’
Leaving Count Merlin's office, Celia sat in her carriage, looking at the rapidly changing street scenery outside, her heart incredibly firm.
While the emergence of the ant colony was certainly the beginning of all these changes, Celia deserved immense credit for driving and designing them.
She lived with the sole sense of mission to “stop the ant colony,” and every word she spoke was channeled through Count Merlin as a megaphone, reflected entirely in the actions of the Church of the Goddess of Light, which now controlled the entire kingdom.
Today, in the Kingdom of Karmi, which was fighting a bloody war against the ant colony on the front lines of the high wall, one of the biggest changes taking place was that the profession of adventurer was gradually disappearing.
The tavern keeper wiped a glass and looked up at an adventurer. “Are you really planning to stop being an adventurer?”
The adventurer shook his head and said, “Anyway, people like me who have only learned a smattering of magic will be compulsorily conscripted. Instead of that, I might as well formally enter the academy and properly learn some skills.”
Most of these so-called adventurers were mercenaries who had magical talent but had failed to receive a formal education due to their humble origins or lack of talent, leaving them with no choice but to hunt monsters for a living.
To expand their forces against the ant colony, the Church of the Goddess of Light semi-compulsorily made them give up their original profession.
In return, they were given the opportunity to enter academies and receive a formal magic education.
Here, no status was required, and no money was needed.
The only condition was that after completing their studies, they had to go to the front lines of the high wall and use their acquired power to fight the ant colony.
Not far away, two young apprentices were whispering around a blackboard.
One apprentice pointed at the complex patterns on the blackboard and asked in a low voice, “This new magic circle... couldn't it be the secret inheritance of the Romon School?”
The companion beside him curled his lip and replied casually, “Of course it is. What difference does it make now? The secret inheritances of all schools have been forced into the public domain. Even rogue mages on the street can use them at will.”
The second change occurred among the mages.
The Church of the Goddess of Light, which monopolized the power of the kingdom, forced the magic schools—which had inherited secrets for centuries, or at least decades—to make all of their secret spells public.
In the corner, an apprentice wearing thick glasses pushed up his frames and whispered, “To be honest, I think this is pretty good. Just look at how many new magic theories and new spells have cropped up in this past month.”
The companion beside him coughed twice and chimed in softly, “Cough, cough, true. For those of us at the bottom, it can be considered an extra opportunity.”
Even now, the voices of opposition remained strong, but some people were gradually starting to welcome this brand-new reform.
‘They are growing without stopping for a single moment, and so must we.’
Looking at these scenes on the street, Celia's determination grew even firmer.
Even the beastkin on the great plains had been defeated by the ant colony, and the scale of the ant colony was still constantly expanding.
The enemies that would clash against the high wall next would definitely become stronger.
Therefore, their forces had to become stronger as well.
And for this goal, they had to change and discard even more things.
The place Celia arrived at by carriage was a large, newly built workshop near the capital.
Craftsmen who used to forge equipment for adventurers were gathered here. Even today, thick smoke billowed and noise echoed incessantly within the workshop as they continuously produced goods.
The moment Celia entered the door, she asked, “How is it? Are the results out?”
The old craftsman in charge of the workshop quickly came forward to greet her, saying respectfully, “You have arrived, Lord Special Commissioner. We have made countless improvements and have finally produced a usable finished product. Please, take a look.”
A satisfied smile appeared on the face of the old craftsman in charge of the workshop as he raised his hand to show Celia the finished product on the table.
“The venom and poisonous gas of those monsters are getting stronger and stronger. With our previous armor, it was impossible to protect the soldiers' safety. But as long as this can be mass-produced, the situation will improve significantly.”
Celia carefully inspected the finished product and nodded. “Not bad. This level should be sufficient.”
What the craftsman displayed was armor forged from the ant colony's exoskeletons recovered from the high wall.
This black armor possessed a natural immunity to the ant colony's venom.
Moreover, it was not just armor.
Those mutated species that grew by devouring magic and mana naturally harbored corresponding powers within their bodies.
Although the ant colony did everything they could to recover the corpses of the mutated species on the battlefield, there were always some that could not be retrieved. In the end, they fell into human hands and were reforged into brand-new weapons.
“I have dealt with the corpses of magical beasts for over forty years, and I have never seen materials of such high purity.”
The craftsman looked at the black blade Celia drew, clicking his tongue in wonder.
Celia lightly cast a flame-enhancement spell on the blade. The sword was instantly enveloped in fire, its power visibly increasing by a significant margin.
‘The fire of hope has not yet been extinguished.’
A faint smile played at the corners of her mouth.
In Celia's eyes, the dancing flames on the sword before her looked just like that unextinguished fire of resistance.
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