When A Mage Revolts

By the time Benjamin rushed to Regina, it was already too late.

"What the hell is this all about?"

Regina’s gate was closed tight, it was abnormally quiet, and the banner on the wall had been changed into another color. Seeing that, Benjamin dared not enter the city, he met Miles in the woods outside of the city and asked.

At that time, the few mages who were traveling with Miles were gone, and only Miles was there.

"...When the Pope chased after us, I was unable to block off all of his attacks. The few mages who went with me were killed," It was rare for Miles to have a guilty look on his face as he said slowly, "I’m so sorry."

Benjamin sighed and said, "Forget it, this is not your fault."

The few mages volunteered to be a bait, so they had already been prepared to sacrifice themselves. Grant's strength was indeed very scary, even when Miles was fully prepared, he might not even be able to withstand his attacks.

"But... I have the Key with me," Miles stretched his hands and took the ginkgo leaf out and handed it to Benjamin.

Benjamin nodded and took the key.

"How did this happen? Regina… has it fallen?" He asked gravely,

"Half an hour after we left the Rock City, the Pope chased after us. But, he saw through our camouflage and realized that he was being deceived, so he wanted to rush back to Rock City, we tried to keep him there as long as possible. The few mages... they sacrificed during the process too," Miles said slowly, "I fought him for almost an hour, eventually, I lost him when he flew off and he changed direction to Regina."

Benjamin heard this and could not help but frown.

Was he that decisive?

He did not expect it, Grant could just abandon nearly a hundred thousand troops and countless priests. Benjamin could not imagine, would the Church approve of what he did?

However...

"How did he attack Regina? By himself? Isn’t it a little weird?"

"Of course not by himself, he probably used divine arts and brought a few hundred people over. I heard that they initially disguised it as a bandit raid, and when the mages and guards appeared, the pope killed all of them by himself."

"In other words... They conquered Regina?" Although Benjamin was already mentally prepared, he nevertheless could not help but feel depressed.

"You can say so," Miles replied, "The officers in the city have been taken captive, the citizens are hiding in their own home as they are too afraid to leave their houses. There is presently a siege in Regina, but because there aren’t enough patrolling soldiers, their defenses are still very lenient. If you have a plan, I can sneak you in."

Benjamin heard this and shook his head without hesitation.

He had yet to recover his strength, and Grant was inside, what could he do if he snuck in? Although it was hard to accept, it was a reality that Regina could no longer be saved, and it was impossible for them to reclaim the city once again.

"Let’s get back to Rock City first, from this moment on, that place will be Icor’s headquarters." Benjamin sighed, turned around and left with Miles.

The situation had changed dramatically, he informed the people in the Rock City about this.

At the same time when Benjamin left Regina.

In the city of Regina, inside the palace.

"What you mean is... the real Queen of Icor did not die like what the rumors said, but because the mages started a coup, and so she was imprisoned here?

Grant sat in a chair and asked as he glanced at the ugly woman lying on the ground in front of him.

"Yes, this is all the truth. The... the mage named Benjamin ruined me and this country." The woman raised her head, her face was covered in scars and her voice sounded like the sound made by rubbing rusted metals together.

"Interesting," Grant did not react much to it and slowly said, "So... do you know who I am?"

"I do! Of course, I do!" The woman suddenly exclaimed, "You are the Pope. You have conquered Regina, to release me from that damned place, tell me, did you kill all those damn mages?"

Grant kept quiet and sneered coldly.

"…Not yet."

The woman heard that and was surprised. However, she quickly responded, she made a deep and scary laugher and said, "In that case, I think you will need me."

A disdainful look flashed in Grant's eyes.

"Why do I need you?"

"To take revenge on those mages... To take revenge on the magic academy!" The woman suddenly clenched her fist and gritted, "They disguised themselves bright and beautifully and buried their evilness deep under to deceive the people of Icor, and the world supports them. But now, if you release me now, I will tell the world about their crimes and all that they have now will be destroyed!"

Grant heard this and shook his head.

"You have lost your mind," He said unmindfully, "Look at you now, and listen to your voice. Nobody would believe that you were the Queen."

"I know!"

This was the women’s sour spot, and so she roared violently. However, it might have been because she was imprisoned for too long, and she had become somewhat eccentric, and her temper changed rapidly. Her mood changed suddenly and she had a helpless gesture.

"I-I know they will not believe in me, but... if the Pope testifies to what I said, then everything will be different!" She said in a begging tone, "Let me out, and I'll help you destroy them."

After hearing that, Grant starting pondering, and he gently tapped his fingers on the chair's armrest.

"... If I'm not mistaken, you are now a mage?" Suddenly, he asked.

Instantly, the woman resentment and hatred appeared in her eyes once again, as if Grant hit another sour spot. However, she controlled her emotions and said innocently, "It was the mages’ evil experiments. I had no magic talent, and after their experiments, my spiritual energy is permanently flawed. I could not even cast the simplest entry-level magic, so how can I be a mage?"

Hearing this, Grant frowned and hesitated.

The woman saw that and could not help but to be excited.

Finally, there was hope…

Suddenly, she tore a few pieces of cloth from her prisoner's clothing, covered her ruined face, took a few steps forward and trembled at Grant's feet.

"Your Majesty, I know that the Church’s teaching is to endure, but I also know that God will allow his followers to release some of their desires."

As she spoke, she stood up slowly, removed her clothes starting from her shoulders, in an extremely slow and seductive way, exposing her body which had not been destroyed.

Grant’s face suddenly sank.

"Go away."

At that moment, the Queen had removed the clothing near her chest area, but since she covered her face, she was not able to see Grant’s expression. However, she could feel a hint of warmness on her throat, it was brief yet sharp, as though she was lightly pricked by a needle.

Then... she felt nothing at all.

"A crazy woman."

Grant stood up and had a disgusted look on his face. He did not look at the body lying on the ground and left the room without hesitation.

General Press was guarding outside the room nervously.

"His Majesty... In my opinion, in fact, despite whether if this woman is really the Queen of Icor, her advice is helpful to us," When he saw Grant walking out of the room, General Press hesitated and advised, "Killing her just like that, isn’t it a waste?"

Grant did not care, he continued walking forward as though he did not hear him and quickly disappeared at the end of the palace corridor.

General Press saw this and could not help but shiver. He turned his head and looked at the body lying in the room, he could not help but touch his own throat.

"I heard that... the former Queen of Icor was a well-known beauty!"

He shook his head, as if he was somewhat sorry, but still turned around. He closed the door and quickly left the corridor.