The Demon Wolf King Furhengir wasn't just a powerful rank five demon beast from the Gehenna Realm and one of the Evil Wolf God Kezan's descendants.
After Balmodon the Undying stole the Evil Wolf God Kezan's divinity, Balmodon the Undying also made the Demon Wolf King Furhengir one of his pets.
Furhengir's Domain, the target of the Third Great Expedition, was just a tiny section of the vast territory under Balmodon's rule in the Gehenna Realm.
And although the Transcendent Witch of Black Rose succeeded in felling Furhengir during the raid, the people on the human side came to learn how insignificant their strengths were compared to the seven Great Devils of the Gehenna Realm.
The seven Great Devils were divine existences that far surpassed rank five; they stood at a level of power that even the seven Transcendent Witches have yet to reach.
As such, academics had always been well respected in the seven witch kingdoms. They were the pioneers of magic who would someday help humanity cross the insurmountable difference between Transcendent Witches and the Great Devils.
Until then, humanity could only be at the mercy of the Great Devils, not knowing when the Great Devils would decide to erase them from existence.
…
As Vaan flipped through the pages in the Compendium of the Third Great Expedition and absorbed the information at a speed that would leave others in shock and disbelief, he learned more about the Third Great Expedition than what the Blackmoon Academy's library had to offer.
"Are you just skimming through the Compendium of the Third Great Expedition, Teacher Cadieux?" Hester Thornton asked with doubt.
"Hm, you can put it that way, Lady Hester," Vaan casually replied before adding, "I've read about the Third Great Expedition before, but none in a book as thick as this one. It has some interesting and new information."
"Oh?" Hester Thornton uttered with some interest.
Seeing how quickly Vaan flipped through the pages filled with words, it was hard for her to imagine he could have absorbed any new information.
Hester Thornton decided to ask, "What did you find new and interesting in the Compendium of the Third Great Expedition, Teacher Cadieux?"
"Compared to what I've previously read about the Third Great Expedition, the Compendium of the Third Great Expedition further details the name and level of the participants, as well as the aftermath of the raid," Vaan replied.
However, Vaan's eyes were fixed on the book, and his hands never stopped flipping through the thick black book as he absorbed new information, more specifically about the aftermath of the raid.
"It said that after Furhengir was slain, the expedition survivors were forced to retreat from the Gehenna Realm because of a more fearsome pressure than Furhengir's that descended towards them," Vaan mentioned.
"Ah, yes. I have also heard about that," Hester Thornton affirmed with a nod and added, "Everyone believed the fearsome pressure belonged to Balmodon the Undying. That is how we've come to believe that there were greater existences than rank five, such as the Great Devils."
"However, what's even more interesting is that after Furhengir's body was brought back from the Gehenna Realm, there was a dispute over its ownership with the other six witch kingdoms despite Her Majesty, the Transcendent Witch of Black Rose, being the sole leader of the expedition," Vaan continued.
"The other six witch kingdoms only supplied some troops for the expedition, yet they wanted an equal share of Furhengir's body for study purposes. Faced with the pressure of the other six Transcendent Witches, Her Majesty was forced to agree to the division of Furhengir's body."
"Our kingdom could only keep the head, while the other six witch kingdoms divided the body among themselves," Vaan mentioned.
"Yes, I do recall such an event happening. It was a great shame for our kingdom. Even just thinking about it makes my blood boil," Hester Thornton said with a rare show of anger. "We expended the most effort in the expedition and also suffered the most casualties, yet we have to share our prize with the other kingdoms."
"Ha, to make it even worse, one of the witch kingdoms failed to bring their share of Furhengir's body back to their kingdom and lost it to a third party who eyed Furhengir's valuable body," Vaan commented with amusement after reading that piece of information.
"Well, it wasn't the first time it happened," Hester Thornton said with a sigh.
"Similar incidents also happened after the first and second great expeditions. The rarities our ruler brought back from the Gehenna Realm were divided by other kingdoms and lost in the process of transference each time."
"I believe the incidents almost sparked a war between the witch kingdoms when it happened as well," Hester Thornton recalled.
"I see…"
Vaan rubbed his chin thoughtfully after closing the Compendium of the Third Great Expedition.
Once could be a coincidence. But when it happens a second and third time, it could no longer be regarded as such. There was definitely something going behind the scenes.
Nevertheless, the other witch kingdoms couldn't persecute the Transcendent Witch of Black Rose without proof, and a war between witch kingdoms had more losses than benefits.
The other witch kingdoms could only endure the losses and blame their own incompetence for losing the goods
Vaan continued to spend some more time in the history section, digging up more information that wasn't available at the Blackmoon Academy's library.
"Is it really fine for a man like me to learn such valuable knowledge here?" Vaan sought Hester Thornton's confirmation.
"Of course, Teacher Cadieux. Since Lord Helia has granted you full access, she is not one to go back on her words," Hester Thornton assured.
"Besides, a lot of knowledge on the grand library's upper floors is unverified. This is why even Senior Witches with some level of privileges can access the thirteenth floor and higher, even though most of the knowledge on these upper floors is considered at the level of High Witch."
"If this was in Blackthorn City, Senior Witches can only dream of accessing such information. But because it is unverified, we can bypass the official restriction set down by Her Majesty," Hester Thornton explained.
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