People were extremely surprised to discover that the first batch of undead that arrived were actually all Archmages and Grand Knights.
Although these undead were somewhat unruly and disorganized in their actions, the 100,000 professionals under the leadership of Grand Knights turned into a super tornado, sweeping through the entire Northern Border.
Edward, still far off in the capital, hadn't even reacted before the battle in the Northern Border had already been decided.
William directly raised his royal banner, proclaiming that Edward had committed patricide and betrayed the country, with the nobles and the Royal Church as the masterminds, and the foolish Charles as an accomplice.
Many minor nobles who initially intended to back Edward all kept quiet.
The undead were just too many.
Fran told Hill that the few Legendary Archmages and Legendary Knights of Saral currently remained neutral.
After all, the death of the old king was indeed suspicious, and the Legendaries didn't want to publicly support someone suspected of patricide. Moreover, between the two deities, at least for now, the God of Time and Space demanded very little from His followers.
After all, His clan's behavior was comprehensively displayed during this period.
Among the undead, a considerable number exhibited signs of chaotic neutrality and chaotic good, yet they still hadn't lost God's favor.
But He had a deep hatred for evil. Many claimed to have seen undead of lawful evil being divinely punished, directly struck by lightning, and when they reappeared much later, they had turned neutral.
Hill thought silently: "The red name penalty seems pretty severe."
After occupying the entire Northern Border, William's army halted for rest without showing signs of taking further action.
Spectators suspected he was waiting for high-level support.
After all, besides Charles and Ramsden in the capital, there were still several Sky Knights and Magisters standing with the Noble Church.
Moreover, the Noble Temple in the Saral Capital had not only a Legendary Cardinal but also a Legendary Paladin guarding it.
Hill understood very well that there weren't any high-level players available right now, so they had to seize this time to level up and grind tasks.
For William, time was of the essence. The longer Edward delayed, the more advantageous it was for him.
However, to everyone's surprise, Edward's army took a month to organize and still hadn't set off.
He claimed he intended to personally lead the expedition to support Ramsden but simply didn't set off.
Adrian's conspiracy theory suggested that Edward wanted to wait for high-level forces from the Temple of Time and Space to arrive, so they would be at odds with the legendary figures of the Noble Temple, allowing him to secure his throne.
Fran also thought this idea made sense.
Hill believed that if the battle hadn't even started yet and Edward was already planning to deal with allies, it was way too early.
The high-ups in the Noble Church were almost losing their minds with rage. Under their relentless urging, Edward finally put forth his requirement: he hoped they could bring forth Helen to hold off Charles, ideally confining Charles.
A Sky Knight from their own faction, which the Noble Church was initially reluctant to abandon, but Edward's actions drove them to despair.
Adrian excitedly told Hill that the high-ups in the Noble Church likely intended to kill Helen off directly, but Edward resolutely refused to give her up, even threatening the church to protect Helen.
Only then did people understand that these two had somehow gotten involved together.
Since his eldest son Ramsden demonstrated knightly talents, Edward had ceased seeking mistresses. Outsiders assumed it was to appease his son, but no one thought that it was because of his sister-in-law.
Edward's wife nearly lost her mind. She ordered Ramsden not to take action over this matter. The Noble Church, if it wanted to control Charles, had to take action themselves.
Hill almost laughed to the point of falling over when he heard the news.
Edward, who loved beauty over the throne, paired with the devastating beauty Helen, truly seemed a match made in heaven.
Sadly, such pleasure could only be enjoyed by oneself.
Adrian just thought Hill was gloating over Edward's split and enmity with his only dependable son at such a critical time.
He also felt that his own efforts to concoct a series of conspiracies seemed quite foolish for such a reason.
But regardless of the reasons, Edward and Charles had offended all the nobility in Saral.
Charles, a Sky Knight who had incarcerated Helen for so long, hadn't managed to get any truth from her. Neither he nor his men, who had given him no help, were played around by a woman. As a result, no one could continue to support Charles.
As for Edward, no nobles really cared if he gained the throne through schemes, as power struggles among nobility were inherently bloody and merciless; people would only laugh at Charles's incompetence.
However, no matter how sinister and despicable the struggle, it had to be concealed, leaving only dignified and noble appearances for the public to see.
Arrogant and impulsive as Charles was, at least he maintained the basic decency of a noble, even periodically allowing these women a public appearance, signaling he wouldn't harm women.
Edward, however, tore away the last fig leaf in front of the church. He had trampled Saral's entire dignity into the mud.
The church wouldn't help keep the Saral King's secrets. Saral was set to provide the whole world with a great joke.
The Saral King could be sinister and cunning, vile and shameless, but he couldn't be universally acknowledged as foolish. If, henceforth, people remembered Saral only for this joke, how could the nobles continue to live in it?
Fran believed that if not for the Noble Church standing in the way, the entire Saral would have eagerly welcomed William's arrival.
The longer the delay, the fewer nobles willing to participate in this war, and the Noble Church saw this clearly. So, they finally abandoned Charles.
The Noble Church eventually dispatched three Archbishops to confine Charles.
Edward settled Helen down and finally set off with his dawdling army. By then, another half month had passed.
Hill figured that the later 100,000 players, after completing the missions that swept through the entire Northern Border, most likely had also advanced to the Grand Knight level.
Among the first batch of players, those exceptionally dedicated to grinding tasks probably had already advanced to the Sky Knight level.
Advancing one tier in two months was already a very high difficulty for a game.
The Noble Church, unless they dispatched a Legendary Paladin and Cardinal, had no hope of winning this war.
And the final victor, William, would become a legend on this continent, with the name of the God of Time and Space spreading further.
His divine power would undoubtedly experience a significant increase.
The Noble Church was bound to dispatch their legends, but given the time, Hill believed that William should have turned into a legend by now. After all, he had heard that William was still spending an hour each day meeting with the undead; without substantial benefits, he wouldn't have persisted.
And such a war, involving over 100,000 participants, would bring unimaginable notoriety to this game in that world. Hill was confident that he would spend time playing it if he were in that world.
Hill eagerly anticipated the number of players that would appear when William held his coronation in the capital.
Right now, the only thing Hill could do was to retreat and advance to Archmage.
As for Fran and Adrian, they continued to focus on the battlefield. The players would undoubtedly bring them unparalleled experiences.
Fran, in over 60 years of life, hadn't encountered anything this thrilling.
The nobles' schemes, facing the carefree players, were bound to create many wonderful stories.
Hill slowly opened his eyes, feeling the earth, wood, and water elements rushing into his body.
After a month, he had finally become an Archmage.
He sensed his body's attraction to the elements. Now, it was as if he was in deep meditation every moment.
When Adrian first became an Archmage, he absolutely did not possess such a strong attraction.
For a mage, this was an invaluable talent, but for a sorcerer, if he couldn't fully understand and remember every piece of his flesh, hastily turning into an elemental body would only lead to future failure.
Even if he could quickly reach Magister level, he would either remain a Magister forever or rapidly ascend to Legendary, then completely lose himself, turning into his bloodline creature.
From now on, Hill had to suppress himself constantly, painstakingly measuring every inch of his flesh, to prevent himself from becoming an uncontrollable Earth Bear.
At the moment Hill became an Archmage, he felt the uncontainable excitement of the elemental spirits bound to him. The Earth Elemental Clan Leader instantly advanced by one level.
If not for the players' appearance, Hill, proficient in summoning, could have almost swept through the entire western border.
Unfortunately, because of the devils' presence, high-level mages and priests were adept at banishment spells.
Archmages' soul strength wasn't sufficient to cast mass banishment; they had to banish each summoned unit individually. The summoning flow that Hill practiced was difficult for them to handle.
However, Magisters could directly link to the Elemental World. They could send back any amount summoned at once.
But at least staying in his Magic Tower, Hill didn't need to fear even Legendaries. Whereas before, he had to rely on Fran's protection, Hill could finally stand tall and claim that he could protect himself.
Hill summoned List to inquire about any new information during his retreat.
As expected, Edward had just made an ostentatious declaration of war when he was suddenly overwhelmed by dozens of Sky Knights and Archmages, while William's face didn't even appear.
The Archbishops sent by the Noble Church were seated in a lavishly constructed tent at the rear.
The Temple of Time and Space had sent dozens of bishop-level priests, leading a massive priestly congregation.
This thousand-strong priest legion, standing behind the army and using healing spells, caused Edward's forces to collapse at the outset.
They inflicted minimal casualties. After a few charges from the undead, Edward's 100,000-strong army was completely routed.