Similarly, for the sake of concealment, after Emerald Sparrow successfully infiltrated this branch under the cover of everyone in the main institute, they did not immediately hold a meeting. Instead, they instructed the main institute's staff to socialize with the branch employees for further communication. As for Emerald Sparrow, she remained hidden in the office.
Once both sides were thoroughly settled and confirmed that no one would easily disturb them, everyone returned to the office, closed the curtains, and lit the chandelier. Emerald Sparrow stood at the head and began discussions about the defense strategy for the examination site.
The examination site was divided into a written test and a practical combat section, with four subjects for the written test and four stages for the practical combat. The written test took place inside the Silver Corridor in the Academy District, using its classrooms and auditorium as exam rooms. The security for this part was relatively easy: since the entrances and exits of the Silver Corridor were fixed, they could be easily guarded. By sealing the entrances in advance and conducting a thorough inspection within the school to eliminate all security risks, strict scrutiny of external entrants would ensure all examinees matched their exam identification, minimizing the chance of external personnel infiltrating.
To guard against unforeseen circumstances, nearly all examiners at the exam site were seasoned veteran Magical Girls. Not only were there the original faculty of the Silver Corridor, but also combat-oriented Magical Girls from the Exam Institute of the Magical Affairs Institute, and external support sent by the Investigation Bureau. Some of these examiners were responsible for supervising internal examinees and guarding against any possible external attacks.
And this was merely the standard security measures that should be in place for the assessment.
Upon receiving news of Black Ash Dawn and Claw Mark infiltrating Luennolay, according to the report by Zhe Helan to Emerald Sparrow, the available security personnel for the site already included at least seven Flower Cards.
These seven Flower Cards consisted of two from the Teaching Selection Department of the Magical Affairs Institute, three Wisdom Managers from the Research Institute, one Patrol Envoy from the Investigation Bureau's external support, and Emerald Sparrow herself.
Frankly speaking, in Emerald Sparrow's memory, even during the defense battle of the Garden, the number of Flower Cards present was about this magnitude.
Looking across the entire Magic Kingdom, even after thousands of years of accumulation, there were barely over a hundred Flower Cards documented and presently existing. Although many Flower Cards were lost due to war between realms, the Kingdom had awarded more Flower Cards than usual post-war to maintain their numbers. Thus, the current number of Flower Cards was relatively high historically.
Among Magical Girls, those who could reach the Flower Level were few, and those who could awaken Great Prosperity Bloom to become the "Strong Flower" were even fewer. Beyond that, only the outstanding "Strong Flower" Magical Girls who contributed significantly to the Kingdom became Flower Cards, one in a million.
Flower Level, Strong Flower, Flower Card. Through these three layers of selection, even if the chosen Flower Card Magical Girls gained far exceeding ordinary longevity, it was destined to be impossible to accumulate too many.
A hundred Flower Cards were responsible for the security of a vast Magic Kingdom, had to serve on external missions, support the Material Realm and even the interworld, and also maintain the power operation of the Kingdom's Five Institutes. Each Flower Card was an invaluable pillar for the Magic Kingdom, and it was rarely the case that multiple Flower Cards would be dispatched for a single mission, as it would be an absolute waste of resources.
Now, gathered in Luennolay, solely to ensure the safe operation of the "certification" task, there were a total of seven Flower Cards.
It was not an exaggeration to say, now even if a King Level Remnant Beast appeared in Luennolay, the moment it dared show itself, it would not survive more than five minutes.
And this was merely the "regular" combat strength; when the assessment begins, there would still be the Gemstone Scepter Emerald stationed in the city, along with other Gemstone Scepters accompanying the Queen, and even the Forbidden Guards of the palace and Garden Gardeners accompanying the Queen for the ceremony...
Moreover, the Queen of the Magic Kingdom herself, whom countless upper-level Magical Girls dare not speak openly, referring to her as "Her Majesty," has sat unshakably upon the throne for thousands of years.
In conclusion, from the standpoint of the examination site's safety, Emerald Sparrow need not excessively worry about any enemy causing damage.
In fact, if any enemy could inflict damage under such a security force, it would surely be a crisis for the entire Magic Kingdom, not merely an issue of a single examination. If there were an enemy whom even the Queen and the Gemstone Scepters could not stop... disregarding whether such an individual exists in this world, even if they did, Emerald Sparrow probably would be helpless.
In that case, it would be more pragmatic to focus on realistic issues.
Emerald Sparrow had no doubt that if her upcoming defense plan had any flaws, the gravest outcome would not be the potential losses caused by the enemy, but the Queen's thundering wrath unleashed upon all present once she found her observation disrupted.
Under the Queen's wrath, the enemy might not even get the chance to execute their plan before being apprehended on the spot. Thereafter, the security head would face questioning by the Royal Court alone...
By then, the interest group comprising Emerald, the Magical Affairs Institute, and Emerald Sparrow would likely not escape unscathed.
Thus, the security task before Emerald Sparrow was not simply to "stop the enemy," but to "stop the enemy before the Queen notices." Its difficulty was far greater than a typical defense task.
Because none in the interest group could tolerate the possibility of "letting matters reach the Queen," they had to extinguish all sparks before the Queen noticed and present relevant proof to the Royal Court afterward to claim credit.
To achieve this goal, it was relatively easier during the written test phase, but the difficulty would rise exponentially once the examination reached the practical combat phase.
The reason was simple: the practical combat exam had four stages corresponding to four different sites. Two were in the Academy District, one in the Emerald District, and one simply in a forest outside Luennolay City.
If the practical combat sites in the Academy District and Emerald District could be enclosed for military-style management, the forest outside the city, originally planned for "simulated Great Beast Disaster" assessment, was a hot potato.
The reason being, it was too vast to lock down, its magical power fluctuation too complex, and even populated with many Remnant Beasts, making pre-clearance difficult. Even using the latest technology from the Research Institute to lay down extensive defense and alert techniques, such large-scale techniques lacked precision. They might deter mindless Remnant Beasts but against Black Ash Dawn, advanced Magicians, Claw Mark Magical Girls, and their potential counters, it would be like trying to cook without ingredients.
And Emerald Sparrow even needed to impose further restrictions on this basis, that is, in identifying intruders promptly, she still had to verify their identity in time. If the other party were Mo He and Tulip, she would handle it personally...
"To be honest, Lord Cornflower."
After hearing Emerald Sparrow's thoughts, Zhe Helan blinked blankly: "I think your demands might be a bit far-fetched."
"...I know."
Halfway through the discussion, Emerald Sparrow realized just how demanding her earlier ideas were, to the point that she rarely had little confidence when speaking: "That's why I want to discuss this issue with you all."
"I can understand your feelings, my lord. Although I no longer have such a deep sense of identification with the 'City Defense Army comrades' identity, there is still some camaraderie. Ideally, I would also prefer not to strike ruthlessly without understanding the situation clearly."
Zhe Helan nodded: "But if mercy towards others leads to my own demise, it becomes very difficult for me to show boundless love. In my view, the best way to give these old comrades a way out is not to leave them an opening on the spot but to find them now and persuade them not to come."
"I've already tried."
Emerald Sparrow sighed: "But they are completely hidden now, impossible to locate, and even the informants you mentioned have lost track of them."
"We should not give up our efforts in this regard."
Zhe Helan showed a contemplative expression: "Perhaps intensifying the search now and finding them before this happens is better."
"I have no objections; actually, I've wanted to do this for a while... but what about your meritorious task?"
Emerald Sparrow looked at her somewhat suspiciously: "Initially, it was you who dangled the bait to allure them. Now, asking you to find them and persuade them to give up, isn't that letting all your work go to waste?"
"This is certainly not a problem because your will is our direction. If we had known earlier about your mercy towards former companions, we wouldn't have had such plans from the start."
Zhe Helan smiled, made a gesture, and then the employees behind her all saluted neatly: "And now, if doing such a thing can earn your trust, it is more beneficial to us than achieving the original purpose."
"...Thank you, consider that I owe you one."
Emerald Sparrow let out a long breath: "If we can find them in advance, it would undoubtedly be great, but I think we also need to be prepared for two scenarios, as they may not necessarily comply with our intentions."
"No gratitude is needed; this is what we should do."
Zhe Helan's smile became even more sincere, and she continued: "As for the defense plan... I think if you are truly determined to carry it out like this, then, for the next few days until the exam, you will unfortunately be quite busy. This plan cannot rely only on theoretical discussion; we have to contact the Research Institute for onsite customization of the magic technique, then coordinate with people from the Exam Institute and Investigation Bureau to conduct detailed assessments on the distribution of sentry posts. Lastly, as the final executor, you will also need to participate in multiple drills to ensure everything is foolproof... As you know, we cannot allow the plan to fail."
"I understand; after all, this is my personal request, and I can't let personal needs hold back the team either."
Emerald Sparrow also showed a serious expression: "So this is actually my request, please help me achieve it. As for myself, it doesn't matter how many times we rehearse, it should be until the task is accomplished. If I cannot meet the required standards, or if forcing this backdoor open might cause errors in the defense plan, please inform me, and I will abandon it."
"Thank you for your understanding." Sёarch* The NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Zhe Helan smiled, straightened her posture, and gestured to someone beside her. Shortly after, she received a large stack of documents from an employee behind her and placed it on the table in front of Emerald Sparrow: "Then, without further delay, these are floor maps of several exam venues, personnel rosters, as well as a list of hardware equipment... Let's start calibrating the plan step by step from these."
She didn't say, nor needed to say, that this was destined to be a very complex project.
Emerald Sparrow was well aware of this.
To the extent that when Zhe Helan laid out this stack of documents, announcing the commencement of this work, her mind was already considering another matter.
—In the next half-month, it seems like, she'll have to crawl into that suitcase every day, right?