225: Chapter 223 The Mountain Gate is Ready to Open: The Conception and Goals of the Hogwarts Second Phase Plan

After sending Damu away, Zhang Mu rushed back to Gur City alone.

Upon meeting and questioning Solon, he learned that the Second Prince had not taken the Griffin Legion with him, but had returned to the royal capital alone.

Currently, the Griffin Legion was stationed at the foot of the mountain outside the city, awaiting orders.

Zhang Mu scratched his head, wondering whose orders they were waiting for since the Second Prince was gone.

Before he could ask, Solon informed him that the Second Prince had temporarily handed over command of the legion to him.

Soon, around the beginning of autumn—when all the magical beasts in the Silent Forest migrate back to their habitats—the award decree would be sent from the royal capital.

Once the order was received, Zhang Mu would have to go to the royal capital in person to receive the King's award.

At that time, the Griffin Legion would accompany him as an escort.

For now, they were also tasked with defending against the Kingdom.

Autumn was only a month away. Although it was unlikely that the Kingdom could organize a second offensive in such a short time, one had to be prepared for any eventuality and remain vigilant.

Actually, he wasn't very keen on going.

The second batch of artificial landscapes and buildings for Hogwarts had already been collected into the "World," making it the perfect time to start the follow-up plans.

Furthermore, with the recruitment for the Cultivation Sect, he was very busy.

Although he really wanted to see how his senior sister and teacher were doing lately, his current magic level was only that of a High-level Knight, and even with the panel's boost, he was only a Magister.

He could be invincible in the remote countryside, but to maneuver in the spotlight of the royal capital, he was still a bit lacking.

According to his thoughts, he would only be able to help his teacher and senior sister once his Meditation Method reached the Magister level, making his actual level that of a Saint Magician.

However, the situation would not wait for him.

Solon informed him that the King's health was in extremely poor condition and he could kick the bucket at any moment.

If he really passed away, a civil war for the throne would immediately break out, and his senior sister, who was at the center of the vortex, would have no way to retreat.

Upon hearing this news, Zhang Mu decided to rush to the royal capital without any hesitation.

Not immediately, of course.

Going there wasn't to cause trouble, but to help.

Reviewing his current strength, there was almost no hope for a qualitative improvement in his High-level Magician-level Meditation Method in the short term.

The only real combat force he had was the First Army.

The First Army needed to expand its Soldiers and armaments, and research on new weapons was also underway.

All of this required time.

After weighing his options, Zhang Mu gave up on departing early and planned to follow the normal procedure: wait for the award decree to arrive and then set off.

After finalizing the arrangements, he ran to the backyard and checked on Leah and Palina.

The cat and the girl seemed unaffected by the flames of war, leaning against each other on a bamboo rocking chair.

He didn't disturb them and turned to head toward the temporary workers' dormitory in the east of the city.

To facilitate daily water usage, the dormitory was set up by a stream at the foot of the mountain.

The weeds on the ground had been cleared, and low wooden houses were neatly arranged in the open space.

To avoid making the Administrator and Soldiers fuss, Zhang Mu transformed into Solon's appearance and walked in. After asking for the Young Pope's room number, he strode to the door and pushed it open.

He was alone and hadn't applied for a private room, staying in a collective dormitory instead.

Looking around, there were eight single beds in the room.

The Pope, dressed in coarse linen clothes, was lying on a bed snoring. Since it was the hot season, he only had a corner of the quilt draped over his stomach.

The other seven beds were empty; his roommates had probably gone to play in the stream.

“Careful not to catch a cold.” Since no one else was there and the Pope could ignore the Transformation Technique, Zhang Mu didn't bother changing his appearance and woke him up directly.

“Uh... Huh?”

Slowly opening his eyes, still drowsy from sleep, he vaguely felt someone standing by the bed. The Pope jerked upright with a shudder. After seeing it was Zhang Mu, he patted his chest and lay back down: “Lord City Lord, have I offended you?”

“No, considering the gap in our status, you could be said to be very humble and polite.”

“Then why are you scaring me?”

With his mouth twitching, Zhang Mu sat on the neighboring bed, hands on his knees: “You are the Pope, right?”

“Yes.”

“The only Legendary being on the Saul Continent.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Would a Legendary being be startled by someone while sleeping?”

The Pope turned on his side to face him, propping his head on his arm: “My Mental Energy is the same as an ordinary person's, and I haven't practiced any Meditation Method or Knight Magic.”

“When I'm asleep, isn't it normal that my poor perception can't detect slight footsteps?”

Three question marks seemed to pop up over Zhang Mu's head. Do you even hear what you're saying?

After a moment of silence, he said, “What kind of nonsense are you talking?”

“Nonsense... is that a slang term from your hometown, Lord City Lord?”

“It means talking rubbish.”

“Oh, I'm not talking rubbish. I'm just an ordinary person.”

Zhang Mu: “...”

Seeing his face grow increasingly grim, the Pope gave a sheepish laugh and sat up on the edge of the bed: “It's like this. The Pope isn't chosen based on their level as a Magician or Knight.”

“Then what is it based on?”

“Whether one is qualified to become a believer of the God.”

Having heard him explain the definition of a “believer” before, Zhang Mu understood his meaning: “The God only chooses one believer, and that believer is the Pope?”

“Roughly, yes.”

“What is the selection criteria for a believer?”

“Whether they can master the True Word Spell.”

Hearing this, Zhang Mu was stunned: “Just knowing the True Word Spell makes one a Legendary?”

“Uh, is that not enough?”

Leaning back strategically and looking at the Pope's genuinely confused face, he realized that it was indeed enough.

If the Pope wasn't lying and a “believer” could cast the True Word Spell without consumption or side effects, then it wasn't just enough—all the Professionals on the Saul Continent combined wouldn't be his match.

But if that were the case...

Zhang Mu called up the panel and stared at the grayed-out “True Word Spell: God Said.” Would he never be able to meet the activation conditions in his life?

“Lord City Lord?”

Seeing him staring silently, the Pope felt a bit intimidated and called out to him softly.

Snapping out of it, Zhang Mu waved his hand: “I was distracted.”

“Back to... business. I'm going to the royal capital in about a month, and I might not be back for a long time.”

“I'm definitely not comfortable leaving you here. Are you going to leave on your own, or what?”

The Pope found this very novel; it was the first time someone had spoken to him as an equal, even with a hint of interrogation.

In the past, the Saint Magicians, Saint Knights, and even Epics on the Holy Mountain would be full of humility when meeting him.

He smiled cheerfully: “I'm not leaving.”

“Why stay here?”

“The person from the divine oracle, I can feel he is nearby. Until I find him, I must stay in Gur.”

The Pope claimed to be an ordinary person, and Zhang Mu felt he wasn't lying because there was no need.

But an ordinary person who mastered the True Word Spell was anything but ordinary.

He was equivalent to a time bomb.

Leaving him in Gur made Zhang Mu uneasy after all.

Moza Village wasn't very far away; if something happened, it would surely be affected.

He could take the First Army Soldiers with him, but what about the elderly, women, and children?

Should they be kept in the "World" like prisoners for the rest of their lives?

That would be too much; even criminals get to go out for air once in a while.

After thinking for a bit, Zhang Mu said, “I need to ensure that you won't do anything to harm Lake.”

He was careful not to say Gur or specify Moza Village.

“Please rest assured, Lord City Lord.” The Pope scratched his foot, then sniffed his finger, “What happened before will never happen again.”

Standing up, Zhang Mu walked toward the door: “Better be.”

...

Leaving the dormitory, Zhang Mu rushed to Moza Village and stood on the hilltop outside the village, looking down at the graveyard behind it.

After the conversation with the Pope, he really wanted to drive the man away.

The problem was, if the man wouldn't leave, there was nothing he could do.

Force wouldn't work; Zhang Mu had deeply experienced the power of the True Word Spell, and his current self had no possibility of winning.

He couldn't help but sigh.

Although the Pope had clearly stated he wouldn't use his power again, Zhang Mu never trusted the verbal promises of strangers, especially those he couldn't subdue.

The reason was simple: if he broke it, what could Zhang Mu do?

He couldn't deter him, couldn't take revenge, and couldn't even keep the other party from leaving.

If things got heated, he himself might get blown away.

After long and hard thought, Zhang Mu went to find Mihe, hoping the entire Moza Village could enter the "World" for a few days.

Or maybe a few months, or even a few years.

He needed to find a suitable place before he could bring them out.

Mihe found it strange, saying the Kingdom had been driven back and wouldn't return at least for this year.

The Kingdom's side hadn't noticed anything unusual either, so why enter the "World"?

Zhang Mu couldn't explain clearly, so he could only give a vague explanation: there was danger, a danger he couldn't resolve.

After thinking in confusion for a while, Mihe couldn't imagine what could exist nearby that would make Zhang Mu say “I can't beat it,” but out of trust, he didn't question it and simply believed him.

Then, he politely declined on behalf of the villagers.

A stunned Zhang Mu asked for the reason.

It wasn't actually complicated.

The First Army Soldiers who had experienced the great battle were certainly willing to follow their Marshal, but the other villagers didn't want to wander around without a fixed home anymore.

They wanted stability and peace, just like their current life.

For once, Zhang Mu was angry at the villagers' short-sightedness, stupidity, and ignorance.

He wanted to retort that stability is earned with one's own hands and requires force to maintain; it is by no means an eternal gift that luckily falls from the sky.

But he pursed his lips for a long time and ultimately didn't speak.

To each their own; he felt he had done everything he should.

Saying goodbye to Mihe, he went to the open space in the middle of the village and ordered Domit to blow the assembly whistle.

Then, Zhang Mu explained the situation and asked for the Soldiers' opinions.

Just as Mihe had said, all the officers and Soldiers of the First Army were ready to follow the Marshal to the death.

Zhang Mu had originally planned to symbolically ask the rest of the villagers, but after seeing the evasion and slight resistance in their eyes, he lost the motivation.

Instructing Domit not to slack off on daily training, he turned and left the village, thinking of finding a deserted forest to return to Blue Star.

Walking to the village gate, he suddenly saw a familiar figure standing by the gatepost.

It was Mihe.

Coming close, he asked if he had missed something.

A smile appeared on the wrinkled face as Mihe said, “You haven't asked me yet?”

Stunned for a few seconds, Zhang Mu also smiled: “Leaving together?”

“As you command, Marshal.”

In the end, Zhang Mu still left alone.

Well, the departure for the royal capital was a month away, so there was still time and no need to enter the "World" immediately.

So Mihe went back to the village with his hands behind his back, planning to bring the First Army to Gur when the time came.

After they parted, Zhang Mu gave up the idea of returning to Blue Star, opened the "World" light gate, and stepped inside.

First, he went to the Hogwarts area to check.

Ryan and the other four were still working hard to practice magic spells.

He connected his Mental Energy to the Core of the library Administrator golem and pulled up the footage records from the past few days.

After a quick scan, he was surprised to find that Wino hadn't asked for the exchange item yet.

When this guy was on break, he was thinking about the Owl Zhang Mu had specially prepared for him all day long.

Rubbing his chin and thinking for a bit, he guessed it might be because of the news Zhang Mu announced at the start of the second term—this semester would feature a magical creatures class and a three-day, two-night outdoor magic practice class.

Regarding this, the Hogwarts school authorities had provided a detailed written explanation.

The magical creatures class would cover the types of magical beasts encountered, how to tame them, and how to fight alongside them.

The introduction to the magic practice class was very brief, just one sentence: “Teachers will lead first-year students to conduct practical magic combat in the Forbidden Forest.”

The latter didn't reveal much information.

Wino probably saw the former and thought that after taking the course, he could have a general understanding of magical creatures.

This way, he would know the specific value of the Administrator's Owl.

He certainly had quite a few schemes.

Zhang Mu chuckled and didn't care much. He then used the Transformation Technique to turn into Dumbledore and found Rowling, who was wandering around the academy.

It had been almost half a year, and her interest in Hogwarts hadn't diminished at all; instead, it seemed to be growing stronger.

In front of the teaching building, after Rowling asked about Dumbledore's recent whereabouts and safety, she immediately inquired about the Forbidden Forest, complaining that the staff and teachers were being unreasonable by strictly forbidding her from getting close to magical creatures or going into the Forbidden Forest.

He said with a smile that rules are rules, and there's no point in having them if they're just broken.

Then he comforted her, saying that the classes would start soon and he would take her there then.

Having received a satisfactory answer, Rowling held her camera and skipped back to her bedroom to rest.

With a slight thought, Zhang Mu arrived at the “Research Lab.”

For some reason, Geoffrey actually had a pair of glasses on his nose.

His magic level was only that of a Trainee, but it shouldn't be to the point where overusing his eyes would lead to nearsightedness, right?

He ran closer in shock to take a look, only to find that his vision was fine.

Confused, he asked, and it turned out Geoffrey felt that glasses were the soul of a researcher, so he had made himself a pair of plain glasses.

He felt a bit speechless, but it wasn't a big deal, so Zhang Mu let him be.

With his arms crossed, he looked around for a while and asked if there were any breakthroughs in magic guidance firearms.

Hearing the question, Geoffrey's eyes shot out a dazzling light.

It wasn't a metaphorical description; his eyes were like car headlights, truly shooting out two beams of bright white light.

Ripping off his glasses, Zhang Mu said with a dark face, “If you play with these fancy tricks again, I'll punch you to death!”

He seemed a bit dissatisfied, but in the end, he didn't dare to protest and began to describe the research progress in a low voice.

First, the further upgrade of the magic rifle was almost complete.

The new rifle not only had a lighter body but also an expanded magazine capacity.

Geoffrey had also made preliminary attempts to add magic crystals engraved with spells while maintaining the ability to fire bullets.

Because they hadn't undergone rigorous testing, the military factory had only produced a few samples for now.

In addition, he had also made magic guidance designs for different types of thermal weapons.

The magic guidance sniper rifle and magic guidance mortar would soon be ready.

Zhang Mu had played with a barrett before, and after hearing him out, he became interested in the magic guidance sniper rifle.

He instructed Geoffrey to notify him as soon as the gun was ready, then turned and left the "World," calling up a Portal to return to Blue Star.

He channeled his magic to stir up a breeze, blowing the dust off the workshop floor, then took out his old car and flew back to his home in China.

After finishing the cleaning, Zhang Mu transformed into Immortal Xu and rushed toward the temporary station of the Special Investigation Bureau.