NOVPUBGigantic stone pillars held up the sky of each platform, having witnessed countless trains coming from the north and heading to the south, stitching together the empire’s edge and its heart. Now, the coming and going trains have become rarer than before, casting a veil of loneliness over this once bustling monumental station.
On the station platform, soldiers of the Empire, holding their weapons, stood motionless like dark statues, appearing particularly ominous.
Many Imperial residents on the platform look uneasy, as if they could feel the taut strings in the air.
Passengers cautiously step off the platform, heading toward the waiting hall while trying their best to avoid any direct visual contact with those rigid figures like stones.
Two clearly marked corridors guided each person’s journey—one leading to the transfer extension, and the other directly to the exit.
The majority of passengers undeniably chose the latter route, heading for Hezishan Province.
Trains coming from the northwestern Empire could be transferred either north to Xue Yuan Province or south, leaving the northern blockade zone.
Not many people headed for Xue Yuan Province, following a long journey, the North Border Province close to the front line would be the next stop. And if one decided to head south, they would undergo strict checks.
These days, the winds have changed.
Most of those attempting to leave the north blockade area were stopped by the Nirvana branch, and some of the chosen ones had since disappeared without a trace.
They claimed to have taken those ’suspected of being harmful to the Empire’ to the Temple of the Nirvana Knights for further observation and investigation. However, no one knew what the Priests of Nirvana would do to the detainees in that place and whether there was any chance of getting out.
Of course, this successfully deterred many Empire residents who wanted to leave the north, effectively reducing the screening workload of the pawns of Nirvana.
In the transfer corridor, the footsteps of Hyperion and Michela echoed on the stone-paved path.
As they approached the checkpoint, the imperial soldiers and Priests of Nirvana along the pathway had their eyes trained on them.
The ones in charge of checking at the passage were no longer Imperial Army troops, but rather a Grand Priest of the Nirvana Branch and a host of heavily armored elites from the same branch.
Standing at the checkpoint, the Grand Priest exuded a powerful magical aura. The purple holy seal on his left chest shone in the light, revealing a glory of power. His gaze, like the scales of a judge, was sharp and precise, measuring each passerby.
With calm expressions and steady strides, Hyperion and Michela headed towards the checkpoint queue.
Although there were not many people in front of them, each person’s screening seemed to take a long time.
Finally, after more than ten minutes, they reached the front.
The Grand Priest stared at them with eyes as sharp as an owl’s.
Both of them stepped forward and provided all the necessary documents to pass through this checkpoint.
Noticing their identities, the Grand Priest’s eyes softened considerably, but he remained vigilant, browsing their documents and materials while observing their demeanor.
"Ah, the daughters of Count Milford."
The two Miss Milford were no ordinary Imperial residents. They had enough influence to impact Count Milford’s votes in the upcoming Bishop election, so there was no need to make things difficult for them.
Only when the Grand Priest saw Hyperion’s admission letter from Protoss Royal Magic Academy did he furrow his brows.
He swiftly returned Michela’s documents and turned his attention to Hyperion.
"Miss Michela, you are free to pass. Miss Milian Milford, you must submit to our investigation." 𝓷ℴ𝓋𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝒸𝓸𝓶
The Grand Priest’s words, like the wind in the winter night, lashed out sharply and robustly.
At the same time, all the elite priests behind him fell into a state of readiness.
The air at the entrance froze instantly, shifting from a relaxed chatter ambiance to a taut stillness.
At this moment, Hyperion’s genteel face tightened. Her eyes flickered with surprise and deep confusion.
Though she managed to uphold her usual composed acting, her heart started to race.
The Grand Priest’s gaze was like arrowheads shot at her, piercing and unequivocal, uncaring for her expression or innocence.
Behind him, the heavily armored Knights of Nirvana gripped their weapons tightly. The clanging of armor echoed through the hall. Each one’s movements were extremely cautious, as if they were touching the most sensitive nerves and were ready to unleash staggering power at a single command.
The waiting passengers behind also felt the tense atmosphere; many subconsciously retreated, not daring to make a sound.
Unclear currents permeated the brief silence. Even the smallest noise might serve as a spark to set off an explosion.
"Can I ask why?"
Hyperion asked in a puzzled and worried voice.
She couldn’t understand why.
She hadn’t done anything suspicious, and there should be no oversight in her admission letter.
Being halted without cause, this mysterious feeling of the unknown made her feel extremely threatened.
"I apologize, but we cannot provide an explanation. We hope that you will cooperate and come with us without making us resort to force."
The Grand Priest responded politely, his expression icy cold.
In the past, their job in the Northwestern Province was to search for remnants of the Church of the Goddess of Destiny.
But now they had a more critical task.
Compared to their current mission, the previous search work was much less significant.
They came to this city with the highest responsibility—to intercept and capture two enemies. According to the intelligence publicly provided by the Saint of Nirvana, one of them must be a female, and the identity of the other one remains unknown. Any female suspect is particularly suspicious.
The danger level of this mission was so high that they would rather annihilate the wrong than let the guilty escape. If there were any oversight, the consequences for all involved would be unimaginable.
The admission materials of the Protoss Royal Magic Academy showed that this Miss Milian Milford was a Fifth-order.
A female, tall, and with the highest strength currently around the Fifth-order.
All these characteristics closely matched those of the woman the Saint of Nirvana was pursuing.
Although no disguise magic was detected on her by the Empire, robbers and artists could still change their appearances to a certain extent, which magical detection couldn’t identify.
The only discrepancy was that there was no apparent sealed magic detected on her.
Whether she was the person the Bishop sought.
Probably only the Saint of Nirvana could tell.
But the Grand Priest glanced at the clock in the checkpoint hall again.
Looking at the time, Anello should be back soon.
