Although the Council of Sages is not an organ of power in the empire, it has a supreme position, because it gathers the most intelligent people in the world.
They are the inventors, scientists, and researchers of the empire. Although many of their inventions cannot be made public and only serve the highest levels, almost no one dares to disrespect the sages.
The Witch Project is an important research project of the Council of Sages, and it is a great achievement combining technology, magic, and biology.
It is a project that all sages want to participate in, and Giovanni, who is in charge of this project, has also won the Lifetime Achievement Award, and his name has been included in the true historical records that can only be circulated within the sages.
Even Ophelia, the director of the Guardian Bureau, must cooperate with the work of the Council of Sages.
No one dares to stand in front of the Council of Sages, which is equivalent to being an enemy of the country.
Cameron wiped away her tears, watching the sages put magic control hands on Sophie and Ellie, and then took them away, her heart full of unwillingness and grievance.
She didn't understand why guardians like Sophie and Ellie, after their service, had clearly passed the period of loss of control and should enjoy their own lives, still had to be sent to the Council of Sages for research.
Aren't witches human beings? Are witches really not worthy of power?
Cameron didn't know that her thinking was quite dangerous, and she was already close to Miriam, the first witch who resisted the Guardian Bureau.
"Don't cry anymore, Sister Cameron."
A loli witch who was only 5 years old carefully handed Cameron a silk scarf and comforted her, "They are our heroes."
Cameron looked down at the little witch's tender face, covered her mouth and nose, and tried not to cry out again.
"Ellie. Sophie."
Ophelia suddenly called to the two of them, Ellie slowly turned her head, but Sophie still looked ahead and did not respond to Ophelia.
"Remember, you are the heroes of the witches. The entire witch group will be blessed because of you."
Ophelia said with a solemn expression.
Ellie nodded, "I know."
Sophie still didn't respond, no one knew what she was thinking.
She is like an iceberg, but her heart is softer than anyone else.
That hard shell is just a disguise.
Ophelia was slightly stunned.
According to her understanding of Ellie, Ellie, who has a hero complex, should be encouraged by this sentence. But her performance was a little too bland.
Ellie doesn't seem to be the Ellie she used to be.
And Sophie, after so many years, she is still so indifferent.
Perhaps for her, the Guardian Bureau is not her home, but just the beginning of a cage.
It's just that she clearly has such powerful magic, why doesn't she resist?
Because in her heart, she still hopes that she can make a contribution to the witches, and hope that more people can survive because of them?
Although Ophelia couldn't bear it, she was also admonishing herself that the sages were doing this for the future of the empire.
The sages came to the gate of the Guardian Bureau and were about to take the two witch test subjects into the carriage when they found a familiar figure.
This person always appears in the empire's most authoritative newspapers, and even sages who bury their heads in painstaking academic research and experiments have seen his photos.
"Simon Moria. What are you going to do?"
The six-star knight in charge of escorting the Council of Sages stood up and questioned Li En.
The old sage Giovanni looked at Li En with eyes full of inquiry.
If it weren't for Li En's strong background, being an outstanding descendant of the Creed family, and being highly regarded by Augulas, and even having a certain appeal in the Holy See and the secular world,
Giovanni really wanted to study Li En together.
When Sophie saw Li En, a glimmer of light flashed in her dim eyes.
Ellie also showed a surprised expression.
Cameron, who had been chasing all the way, stopped crying, she wiped away her tears, as if she had found the backbone.
At this moment, she knew that even if the whole world abandoned them, Li En would not.
Li En frowned slightly when he saw the magic control hands on Sophie and Ellie's hands.
He ignored the six-star knight's question and went straight to Sophie, asking somewhat angrily,
"Why are you wearing this? Don't you know how to resist?"
This was the first time Sophie had seen Li En get angry at her, which made her a little scared.
She lowered her head and said in a low voice, "You said to resist when you are treated as a heretic. They didn't treat me as a heretic. They want me to be a hero of the witches."
"So you are willing to be a hero of the witches and leave me?"
Li En asked, the anger in his heart still not disappearing.
Sophie shook her head and said in an even lower voice,
"I want to stay by your side. I'm sorry."
Hearing Sophie say this, Li En felt the stuffiness in his chest dissipate.
He looked at Ellie, Ellie was even more timid than Sophie, she didn't dare to look at Li En directly.
She was afraid that Li En would be disappointed in her.
Compared to Sophie, Ellie is more like a devout believer.
Her feelings for Li En are definitely not love, but faith.
No matter what Li En ordered her to do, she would be willing to do it.
She was afraid of losing her faith, afraid of being abandoned again, and becoming an orphan.
The six-star knight found that Li En had been blocking the team and the carriage, and had no intention of moving, so he couldn't help but feel a little impatient and asked again,
"Simon Moria, what are you doing? Hurry up and get out of the way, don't delay our trip."
"You can go, Sophie and Ellie, they must stay."
Li En said lightly.
"Simon, let the sages leave."
Ophelia heard the movement at the door and walked out with her secretary, followed by several witches.
The witches stared blankly at Li En, they all knew the man in front of them, Simon Moria, a man who dared to challenge the Witch Covenant for the rights of witches.
Although they still don't know why to fall in love and get married.
But when they saw him, a kind of inexplicable curiosity arose in their hearts.
Curious about what the man in front of them was going to do.
"I'm sorry, Director, I can't back down on this matter."
Li En said slowly, drawing out the knight's sword Enzo, the sword body made a clear sound when it was unsheathed.
This sword has followed Grand Duke Moria for decades, and now it has changed hands and truly become Li En's sword.
It can carry the power of light and the power of darkness, and it is a well-deserved weapon.
"I have used Enzo to kill monsters, sirens, and the undead, but I have never used it to kill people, but if today,
you must take Sophie and Ellie away, then I'm sorry."
"What do you mean? You dare to kill the sages?"
The six-star knight Balaam was laughed at by Li En.
This was the first time he had seen someone as arrogant as Li En, who dared to block the sages' carriage.
Ophelia and her secretary were also frightened.
"Simon! What are you doing? If you don't want to be sent to the Supreme Tribunal again, put away your sword. You can't hurt the sages."
Ophelia said this entirely for Li En's sake.
But Li En didn't appreciate it.
"Sages are smart people, they know that the value of their lives will be greater than corpses, and they will not take the initiative to send themselves to my knife, but some people are not so smart."
Li En looked at Balaam jokingly.
"Are you mocking me?"
Balaam frowned. Since he became one of the few six-star knights in the empire, no one had dared to talk to him like this again.
He decided to teach the ignorant guy in front of him a lesson.
Balaam knew that the Moria family had produced two geniuses, one Li En, who was a theological genius that was rare in a century, and had been promoted from an ordinary believer to a special believer in a short period of time, and now lived as his twin brother Simon.
One Simon, was a unique blood knight, but unfortunately died in a naval battle and was posthumously awarded the title of viscount So the man in front of him must be Li En Moria.
Even a special believer has no chance of winning against a six-star knight, because believers ultimately seek the power of protection, not attack.
Moreover, he took the initiative to block the sages' team and interfered with the sages' activities, even if he took action against him, he would be protected by imperial law.
Balaam pulled out the serrated sword on his back and also imitated Li En to introduce it,
"This sword has killed 656 knights and 12,831 soldiers. If you must block me, then it doesn't mind tasting the blood of believers."
"Oh, so your sword only kills its own people?"
Li En asked sarcastically.
Balaam's face instantly lost its color. He had never regarded these people as his own people, but only as whetstones for him to practice his swordsmanship.
But compared to Li En only killing monsters and alien races, wasn't he killing all his own people?
"Stop talking nonsense, watch the sword."
Balaam was ashamed and angry, and swung the heavy serrated sword and slashed towards Li En.
Li En flashed and dodged the giant force attack like a thousand pounds.
With a loud bang.
The serrated sword hit the ground where Li En had just stood, drawing a spider web-like crack. The rotating serrations made a rustling sound, constantly expanding the range of the crack, and gravel splashed.
This serrated sword has been modified by the craftsmen of the Berns Empire, and is the embodiment of the combination of cold weapons and machinery, so it will not only exert the power of the knight, but also be attached with mechanical attacks.
If Li En had been hit just now, half of his body would have been sawed off.
Balaam is not walking the path of a traditional radiant knight, but more like a heavy knight known for his strength.
Heavy knights, like blood knights, are special knight classifications among the six stars. Heavy knights require that knights have extraordinary strength before advancing, such as strongmen.
Generally, six-star radiant knights are quadrilateral fighters with balanced physique, swordsmanship, speed, and strength, while heavy knights sacrifice swordsmanship and speed and are more prominent in physique and strength.
That is to say, they are thick-skinned and have amazing attack power.
If you add the right equipment, heavy knights can almost kill all the radiant knights of the same period in seconds.
However, in dealing with monsters, the radiant sword of the radiant knight is more advantageous, because the radiant sword is attached with purification.
This is also why Balaam is so confident.
He has never lost to any knights in the country, and even in the face of those ordinary witches, he is not worried at all.
The secretary of the Guardian Bureau frowned and said, "Director, aren't you going to stop him? He represents the Guardian Bureau. If we conflict with the Council of Sages, we will definitely be punished in the end."
Ophelia glanced at the secretary, "Can I stop him?"
The secretary suddenly stopped talking.
"Send someone to find Grand Duke Moria."
Ophelia ordered.
The secretary nodded and immediately asked the witch to notify Grand Duke Moria.
Hopefully he can appear before Li En makes things worse.
Balaam missed a hit and swung the serrated sword to launch a second attack.
However, his speed could not keep up with Li En at all, and the serrated sword hit the ground again, drawing a crack even deeper than the last time.
"It's useless, no matter how many times you dodge my attack, as long as I hit you once, you will die."
Balaam said confidently, "My sword can increase its power every time it attacks."
"Oh."
Li En responded lightly.
This arrogant attitude made Balaam even more annoyed and secretly vowed to cut the man in front of him in half.
In addition, there were Ophelia and many witches watching, which made Balaam feel completely unable to hold his face.
He accelerated his attack speed, but completely fell into Li En's trap.
In just 5 minutes, Balaam had slashed 32 swords, but none of them hit Li En.
"So you only know how to dodge?"
Balaam, covered in sweat, said panting.
Although each sword of the heavy knight is fatal and can take away a radiant knight.
But it also consumes a lot, especially since Balaam accelerated his speed in order not to be laughed at.
"Coward, if you have the ability, draw your sword against me. I thought you were not worried about being sent to the Supreme Tribunal at all."
Balaam cursed.
"Hehe."
Li En sneered, "You are not worthy of me drawing my sword."
This sentence almost ignited Balaam's anger to the extreme. He was like a powder keg about to explode and attacked again with all his strength.
The sages shook their heads and were somewhat disappointed with the guardian knight in the team.
"Empty strength, no brains."
Boom Just after Balaam's 33rd attack, the ground he was standing on collapsed.
The cracked ground was like a piece of broken glass. Balaam's heavy body became the last straw that broke the camel's back. The crack spread rapidly, like a huge palm instantly unfolding.
As soon as his heel stepped down, he felt the world under his feet collapsing.
Then, he fell down unexpectedly.
Gravel swept him and rolled to a deeper underground.
This collapsed pit was the result of the combined force of his previous 32 attacks.
Looking at Balaam covered by gravel, the corners of Li En's mouth raised slightly,
"Sir Knight, thank you for burying yourself alive."
Balaam realized that he had been tricked from the beginning.
From beginning to end, Li En had no intention of attacking him, but every sword he made was within Li En's expectations.
Li En guessed that it would take some time for Balaam to climb up from the ground.
Balaam is the most powerful six-star heavy knight escorting the Council of Sages. Seeing that he was so easily defeated by Li En, the other knights also felt a trace of fear for Li En in their hearts.
Ophelia also breathed a sigh of relief. Li En, although crazy, had not completely lost his mind. At least he did not attack Balaam. The Guardian Bureau could still protect this level and it would not go to the tribunal.
"Simon, that's enough. I order you to leave now in the capacity of the director of the Guardian Bureau."
Although she saw her worries, this could not sway Li En's decision.
He walked up to Ophelia, and a trace of pleading appeared in Ophelia's proud eyes. She promised in a very low voice,
"Come back, I will protect you."
Even Ophelia herself found it incredible to say this sentence.
The secretary's face changed slightly and she keenly sensed something.
Li En was expressionless. He took off the medal representing the special advisor of the Guardian Bureau from his chest and placed it in Ophelia's hand,
"I withdraw from the Guardian Bureau. I will bear all the responsibility myself."
Ophelia's eyes widened and she looked at Li En in disbelief.
"What did you say?"
"I won't hide behind a woman."
Li En looked at Ophelia calmly, without any emotion in his tone.
Thump, thump, thump Ophelia was very angry, but her heart was beating wildly.
Looking at the young man's handsome face at such a close range made her feel a sense of security she had never felt before.
She knew that the young man in front of her was different from the men she had met before.
Her father, a great emperor of the empire, treated women like clothes, changing them if he didn't like them.
Her younger brother, a new generation of emperor of the empire, although he was infatuated with Dolores, he also valued Dolores' beauty, strength, and status, and was destined to have more than one queen.
Her elders only regarded women as tools for the family to seek profits, and believed that excellent women should pay for the family, obey arrangements, and engage in political marriages.
Her former admirers either coveted her family background and status, or hoped to get her protection, or coveted her beauty.
Of course, she no longer has admirers now, but if she wants a man, she only needs to look down to see men who are obedient to her.
And Li En is the first man she has looked up to since she reached her current position and became the director of the Guardian Bureau.
Li En didn't know how shocked Ophelia was. After putting down the medal, he turned and walked towards the young sage.
The young sage had a string of keys hanging around his waist, including the keys to Sophie and Ellie's hands.
"Give me the keys, I want to take my people away."
"Sir Simon, you don't dare to attack us at all, do you? Because it violates the law."
The young sage said with his face raised.
"The heavy knight has no brains, so I can let him solve himself. If I encounter a roadblocker with brains, I don't mind letting Enzo stain his blood."
Li En's sword was placed on the young sage's white neck.
Sages are not afraid of death, but they are afraid of meaningless death.
Because their limited lives need to be used for research and study.
This scene frightened everyone in the Guardian Bureau.
Ophelia clenched the badge in her hand. She didn't feel the pain even when the spikes behind the badge pierced her palm.
"Simon, put down the sword."
Ophelia reminded,
"Yes, Sir Simon, please don't do such impulsive things. Article 351 of the Imperial Sacred Code stipulates that all actions of sages are protected by imperial law, and no one can stop the actions of sages."
The secretary also anxiously persuaded, thinking that Li En was a legal illiterate and needed popular science.
The witches also inexplicably became nervous.
Cameron's palms were full of sweat. She trotted to Sophie and Ellie and grabbed Ellie's arm.
"Should I help now? Ellie, should I go?"
Ellie looked back at Cameron and nodded heavily.
Cameron mustered up her courage and took out the puppet.
Then she awkwardly took the puppet back, because the battle was over.
The knights were lying on the ground in disarray, wailing.
A shallow bloodstain also appeared on the young sage's neck.
"I'm sorry, I was busy fighting just now, didn't hurt you?"
Li En asked casually.
The veins on the sage's forehead bulged, "Simon Moria, just wait to go to the Supreme Tribunal. You dare to hurt the sages."
"Ophelia, are you still going to watch the show?"
The old sage Giovanni looked back at Ophelia, the director of the Guardian Bureau.
"Of course our Guardian Bureau will not sit idly by, witch captain, step forward."
The secretary exercised her authority on behalf of Ophelia.
She did this for the entire Guardian Bureau, so Ophelia would not blame her.
A witch captain stood up, but she hesitated.
"Stop Simon Moria."
"Yes."
Witch Captain Fula stepped forward, and Cameron suddenly blocked her way,
"Fula, don't do this."
"Cameron, come back."
Ophelia called.
Cameron, who had always been obedient and a little afraid of death, shook her head, "Director, I'm sorry, I can't watch my companions being taken away either. We are not test subjects, we are human beings."
"If our lives are to be exchanged for the sacrifice of our companions, then I would rather never grow up, I am willing to stay 15 years old forever!"
Cameron shouted loudly while crying.
This sentence shocked all the witches.
They realized how indifferent and selfish they had been before. Just for a hope that they might survive, were they going to send their companions to their deaths?
Fula looked at Cameron's tears, pulled out her sword, and said unhappily, "Coward, I thought you would always hide behind others, but I didn't expect you to stand in front of me."
Cameron was stunned. She knew that Fula's strength was far above her own, and Fula was hot-tempered and hated people blocking her way the most.
Maybe she would be dismembered by her.
But in the next second, Fula dropped the sword in her hand and turned to Ophelia and said,
"Fula is willing to resign from the position of witch captain automatically. Fula's sword will not attack her companions. Fula's sword is a sword of protection."
Fula has a high prestige among the witches. She is also a witch who has been staying with Ophelia.
She is 19 years old this year. She is worried that she will not be able to pass 20 years old. But now she is more worried that she will erase all her previous 19 years because she is afraid of not being able to live past 20 years old.
Witches have been instilled with the ideas of justice and protection since they were young. They should be the most upright people.
But when they faced the choice just now, they chose to compromise with the darkness.
Fula felt ashamed of herself just now.
"Fula, do you know what you are doing?"
Ophelia looked at this witch who had grown up by her side, like a daughter.
In fact, Fula, like Cameron, had unknowingly regarded Ophelia as a mother and loved her.
Ophelia is not a piece of wood, how could she not know their feelings for her.
So she is very angry now, not only at Fula who is about to leave the Guardian Bureau, but also at herself.
"I know that I will not live long, but I am not afraid of death, I am afraid of becoming an ugly self because I am afraid of death."
Fula said seriously.
"Fula, witches cannot leave the Guardian Bureau unless you are employed in the Holy See or sent to the guillotine."
The secretary reminded.
"Yes. I know. But I can't be more cowardly than a coward."
Fula looked at Cameron, who was crying with red eyes. She took off her cloak, carefully folded it, and sent it to Ophelia's hand together with the medal on her chest,
"Director Mom, I hope I can become your pride. Even if I die, I am still the Fula who is full of justice and sunshine."
Ophelia was unwilling to accept Fula's resignation. The sentence 'Mom' made her heart ache.
Even if there is no blood relationship between them, she still has the illusion of flesh and blood separation.
Ophelia admitted that she could not treat all witches with tenderness, but she had tried her best to protect them.
"Fula, I order you, put on your medal, pick up your sword, put on your cloak, you are still the witch captain of the Guardian Bureau, you will become my glory, the glory of the empire."
"I'm sorry, I have been protected by you for so many years. I will disappoint you this time."
Fula bowed deeply to Ophelia.
Although Ophelia was very angry, she could only choose to ignore her.
Fula doesn't know what her actions mean. The Council of Sages is watching. They will evaluate the witches' behavior. In the end, those heretics who are considered to be like Miriam will be sent to the guillotine or directly sent back to the laboratory.
In order not to let more people imitate Fula, Ophelia drew out her sword and pointed it at Li En,
"Simon Moria, don't force me to become your enemy."
"I am honored to be your enemy."
Li En said modestly, "But I must tell you that you always look sad, which makes people feel very boring. You look good when you smile, you should smile more."
You look good when you smile, you should smile more.
Ophelia is very familiar with this sentence.
It once appeared in her dream and has appeared in her memory countless times.
Could it be that it was not a dream at all?
Or was it a man-made dream?!
At this moment, Ophelia was extremely angry. She no longer cared and swung her sword at Li En.
Li En still had no intention of letting go of the young sage and pulled him over as a shield.
Ophelia was therefore timid, but she also fully expressed her attitude.
The Council of Sages will not blame the Guardian Bureau for this, but they will take away the witches who are leading the trouble, such as Fula who wants to resign.
Obedience is a mark engraved in the witches' minds. Once this mark is removed, even if Fula has feelings for Ophelia and for humans, it is difficult to guarantee that she will not become the next Miriam.
"Let go of the sage."
Ophelia didn't really want to kill Li En, so she didn't attack hard. In addition, the sage was still blocking her, which made her quickly put away her sword and pretended to be completely unable to do anything to Li En.
She was really angry just now, but after swinging a few swords, the corner of her eye swept over the expressions on the witches' faces.
They are afraid.
The witches who have never been afraid of anything are afraid.
Not afraid of monsters, nor afraid of death, but afraid of the important people being hurt.
Whether it is herself or Li En who is fighting for them, they are all important people.
Ophelia also understood why Li En wanted to anger her, just to exempt her from responsibility.
She can only vent this nameless anger on Grand Duke Moria now. If it weren't for his inability to arrive in time, how could the situation have developed like this?
Under the command of the secretary, the witches surrounded Li En, Sophie, Ellie, and the hostage in Li En's hands,
the young sage who was injured in the neck.
"You can't escape, even if you kill the sage, facing so many witches, unless an angel blesses you again."
The secretary said loudly.
How could Li En not have thought about summoning an angel?
But he also knew the drawbacks of doing so.
If he summoned an angel for everything, then he would become a thorn in the side of the Pope, the Emperor, and those old undead hidden behind the scenes.
Because his power has already surpassed the Pope and the Emperor.
Summoning an angel to deal with undead monsters before was understandable, but now summoning an angel to deal with witches and sages?
He has not yet solved the enemy Randall and does not want to list the Augulas and Frank families as hostile forces.
Of course, if it is for Sophie, everything is worth it.
The sages' eyes revealed a look of anticipation. They also wanted to see with their own eyes how Li En summoned an angel.
Including the young sage, who was already disregarding his life and asking the witches to attack Li En.
"It seems that you are really not afraid of death."
Li En chopped the young sage with a hand knife, and he instantly lost consciousness and fell softly to the ground.
Li En squatted down, took the keys from his body, and unlocked the hands for Sophie and Ellie.
As the hands fell to the ground, goose feather snow began to fall in the sky.
Sophie pulled up the fox fur collar and exhaled a white gas.
She turned her head and looked at the witches with indifferent eyes.
"If you don't want to die, retreat."
The witches were stunned. They didn't expect Senior Sophie to say such a thing.
She had clearly sacrificed herself for all the witches just now and followed the Council of Sages to leave.
But now she is as cold as a piece of ice.
"As we thought, witches who have broken through the limit will also break through the effect of enlightenment to a certain extent, the old sage Giovanni said, and the other sages recorded what he said with a pen.
"Ophelia, now try to forcibly order Sophie and Ellie to kill Simon Moria. This is a key part of the experiment."
Giovanni said.
Ophelia frowned slightly, she was unwilling to do so.
"If you don't do this, I will report the truth and let the Emperor replace the director of the Guardian Bureau. Because you are no longer worthy of holding the empire's weapon."
Giovanni said in a calm tone.
Ophelia frowned and said in a deep voice, "Sophie, Ellie, obey the order, trap Simon Moria."
Sophie and Ellie's eyes instantly lost their brilliance and became turbid.
A voice rang in their ears, constantly repeating what Ophelia had just said.
"Obey the order, obey the order"
