Chapter 285: Dekan’s Reliable Teammates |
Seemingly noticing the Cat Teacher falling from the windowsill.
Cornelia also let go of Dekan.
The two of them looked at the fainted cat.
They were a little dazed at first.
Then they looked at each other and smiled.
“I think I probably know why our cat is always so strange.”
Dekan said as if he had figured out many things.
In fact, he had noticed a little bit last time in the Shadow World.
He just hadn’t confirmed it.
Cornelia said with a smile.
“In that case, that guy Morion is also… I really couldn’t tell. No wonder he gets along so well with the Cat Teacher…”
Dekan shook his head helplessly.
Thinking of that unscrupulous merchant whom he both hated and loved, he did not know how to evaluate him.
As for whether he held a grudge against Morion.
He still did.
But it was no longer necessary to settle scores with Morion so clearly.
The next time he saw him, he would treat him as a true friend.
“Aren’t you afraid Morion will scam you again?”
Cornelia asked. She had clearly figured out Dekan’s thoughts from his expression.
“Now that you mention it, I’m getting fired up. If he scams me again, it wouldn’t be too much for me to persuade him with virtue, would it?”
“Persuading people with virtue is my favorite thing to do too.”
……
The two of them seemed to have forgotten about the Cat Teacher again.
Until the Cat Teacher seemed to have seen the Goddess, received salvation, and returned to the mortal world.
His paw twitched twice, then his whole body shivered and he climbed up.
“Meow! You two! What on earth happened, meow!! What did I miss, wuwuwu!!”
The Cat Teacher also jumped onto the bed, looking at the two people talking. He was first extremely excited, then actually started to cry.
It was a cry of mixed sorrow and joy. He was happy for the two people he blessed, but also sad that he had missed many key moments.
A day ago, he had been sent to Mi’e’s place by Dekan.
Although the Cat Teacher tried to escape several times, he failed.
It was not until Mi’e let the Cat Teacher go that the Cat Teacher asked Mi’e what happened, but she said she did not know.
The Cat Teacher knew there was big gossip.
Anyway, Dekan definitely would not tell him!
He could only see how much Cornelia was willing to tell him.
“Do you want to hear it?”
Dekan picked up the Cat Teacher and asked in a gentle voice.
“Meow? You’re willing to tell me?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you hide the real Dekan, meow?”
Dekan rubbed the Cat Teacher’s head.
He was too lazy to argue with the Cat Teacher today.
Although he had never argued with the Cat Teacher before.
“It has to start from a thousand years ago, or maybe ten thousand years ago… This is a story of a girl who, in her short life, changed a demon…”
Dekan began to slowly recount everything he knew from his dream.
Although he could not remember Delois' memories.
But this part alone was enough.
He believed that for Delois, this must have been the most profound episode of his life.
He did not know where Delois went after leaving that territory, and whether he found the answers he was looking for in his long life afterward.
But Dekan knew that Delois had been changed, starting from that time.
Like a small pebble in a tumultuous era being pried loose and starting to roll, it might have even changed the outcome of that era in the end.
Dekan had never seen any corner of this dreamscape before.
For some reason.
Dekan was incredibly certain.
That place was the Holy Kingdom.
In that era of the Holy Kingdom and the Demon Realm, it seemed that many people in the present world had their counterparts.
Now Dekan could also be certain.
In the images of Shijiang’s memories of the Holy Kingdom.
The one standing next to Holy Rite Bishop Lun and Shijiang was not Dekan, but the gray-haired, golden-eyed Delois.
Not just about Shijiang, but also many things about himself needed to be sought in the Holy Kingdom.
He wanted to know the beginning and end of Delois' story.
After the Hero Festival, whether it was the 7th-rank Shadow World or the 8th-rank Shadow World.
He would seize the opportunity to explore the Holy Kingdom again.
……
Late that same night.
In a place unknown, the sky was filled only with what looked like tainted black stars, twinkling with a strange light.
This space was a mysterious place that the bishops of the Resurrection Church could only reach with their minds through the Bishop’s Certificate.
In the illusory temple of the Resurrection Church, the six walls were like a prison made of black stone slabs, full of a sense of oppression.
Suddenly.
The structure in the temple slowly began to rotate like a Rubik’s Cube, the stones rumbling and rolling.
Its structure began to change. In the main hall, several huge black geometric bodies had appeared at some unknown time. Only their tops were flat, as if they had no support at all, but were completely suspended in the air.
The bizarrely shaped black geometric bodies were covered with numerous strange runes, which faintly flickered like countless eyes, sinister and chilling.
Figures that seemed to be made of black mist stood on the black geometric bodies, with only a pair of eyes visible in the haze.
Each person’s corresponding black geometric body was a bishop’s seat.
But this time was different from the last bishop’s meeting.
The seat belonging to the Pontiff on the central stone pillar, which was surrounded by the black geometric bodies, was no longer vacant.
A figure sat upon it.
He was like a king on a throne, his eyes filled with seriousness and indifference, as if he were the ruler of the world looking down on all living beings, noble and untouchable.
And apart from the deceased Corrupt Bishop Fahim, the openly revealed spy Bishop of Agony Dekan, and the indescribable Frenzy Bishop Clay, the other seven bishops were present, including the Nightmare Bishop and the Devouring Bishop who were absent last time.
The Pontiff, who had administrative privileges, could block some of the Bishop of Agony’s permissions after returning to the present world.
For example, in this kind of regular meeting, the Pontiff could isolate the Bishop of Agony.
In addition, the Pontiff could also use his pontifical authority to create an unowned Bishop’s Certificate.
Under normal circumstances, an unowned Bishop’s Certificate was used by the Pontiff to appoint a new bishop when a bishop’s seat was vacant.
Of course, in a situation like Corrupt Bishop Fahim’s authority being taken away by Dekan according to the rules of the Bishop’s Duel, the bishop’s seat was not considered vacant. Even if the actual number of bishops was only nine at this time, the Pontiff could not appoint a new bishop.
Dekan alone would have authority equivalent to two bishops.
However, the unowned Bishop’s Certificate had another use.
That was to report a loss.
As long as this unowned Bishop’s Certificate was delivered to Clay, Frenzy Bishop Clay could turn it into a Frenzy Bishop’s Certificate, and the one that Dekan had tricked him out of would become invalid.
It was just that since the establishment of the Resurrection Church, there had only been a few instances of a Cardinal losing their Bishop’s Certificate.
Not to mention actively getting rid of the Bishop’s Certificate.
Except for that man who made even the Pontiff feel a little speechless—
The Frenzy Bishop was truly frenzied.
The Pontiff had even thought about whether he should just kill this bastard Clay.
But in the upcoming operation, Clay was their crucial combat power.
And in this church that was investigating an internal spy, besides Carlos, only Clay was the one the Pontiff trusted the most.
Clay’s blood feud with the Kingdom Federation was real.
And this guy with a strange way of thinking was already disconnected from internal affairs, and the loss of assets had nothing to do with him. He would rather lose his Bishop’s Certificate than steal the church’s money for gambling. It was hard to say whether to praise him or not.
So the Pontiff decided to let Clay off the hook one more time.
After this operation, he would capture Clay again and personally teach him some discipline.
“Carlos, have you sent someone to deliver it to Clay?”
The Pontiff looked towards the Falsehood Bishop Carlos, who was in charge.
The Pontiff had made the replacement Bishop’s Certificate long ago and had given instructions to have it delivered to Clay.
According to the time, it should have been enough these days to find Clay and deliver the unowned Bishop’s Certificate to him.
“…It has been delivered,”
The Falsehood Bishop’s reply was a bit hesitant. He continued:
“But Clay refused to use it.”
The Pontiff: “?”
Falsehood: “He said that what was lost through skill should be won back through skill.”
“…!”
The Pontiff’s blood pressure clearly spiked when he heard this, but he pinched the bridge of his nose and held it in.
“It’s not a big deal. Maintain contact with Clay using communication magic. This operation can be considered Clay’s long-cherished wish. Even without ordering him, he will be the most active in completing it.”
Communication magic had a distance limit. If the distance was too far, it would require many relays to contact Clay, which was far less convenient and fast than the Bishop’s Certificate.
“Yes, Lord Pontiff.”
Falsehood Bishop Carlos also seemed very tired.
Managing the Resurrection Church on behalf of the Pontiff for the past period had already been tiring enough for him.
Now he had to continue to be tormented by Clay and work overtime.
If possible, he really did not want to deal with Clay.
The Pontiff looked around at the bishops.
Although there was a spy among this group of people.
But the main combat force this time was not any of them.
If the spy dared to jump out, it would be a good opportunity to eliminate them.
“For this operation, I will not tell you everything. I will only tell each of you what to do. Remember, do what you are supposed to do.”
The Pontiff’s tone carried a powerful and cold sense of oppression.
“Yes.”
All the bishops answered in unison.
……
After the meeting ended.
In an underground laboratory somewhere in the northern countries.
Compared to a laboratory, this place looked more like a factory built on ancient ruins, with many instruments and equipment, some operating, some at rest, and even some places flashing with sparks.
And on these ancient ruins, besides the busy researchers of the Resurrection Church, there were three conspicuous important figures.
Standing in the middle was the Pontiff, and on either side stood two bishops.
The three of them were already together in the present world.
The Pontiff’s consciousness returned to reality.
He looked at the Falsehood Bishop Carlos and the Shadow Bishop Minos beside him.
The two also nodded at him.
The Shadow Bishop stepped forward to inspect the giant magical apparatus in front of him, and satisfactorily tapped his finger.
“Lord Pontiff, it’s almost complete. The preliminary test results are also fine. It will definitely be ready for use on the planned day.”
“Very good.”
The Pontiff looked at the meteorite, which was floating in the crystal slot of the magical apparatus in the distance, like an amethyst.
This was the legendary material 【Spatial Starstone】 that he had spent a long time to finally obtain in a 9th-rank Shadow World.
It contained spatial attribute magic power that was unimaginable and unconventional for this world.
However, Minos also did not have the ability to make it into a magic card.
So he could only summon all the researchers of the Resurrection Church and the chief magical engineering master Minos to jointly develop a magical device that could use the power of the 【Spatial Starstone】.
Once completed.
At that time, they would instantly sweep through the central hub of the Kingdom Federation…
……
The far northern Salon Empire.
Even in summer.
White snow would fall here from time to time as if it were a celestial kingdom.
In the imperial palace.
Even though it was late at night.
The emperor had not returned to her own palace quarters and was still leaning back in her chair, her chin propped up on one hand.
She seemed to be waiting for something.
Soon, a figure appeared in the imperial palace, dressed in the uniform of a high-ranking officer of the Imperial Magical Special Forces.
“Your Majesty, this is the intelligence sent by the commander.”
The voice accompanied the figure into the emperor’s ears.
At the same time, she handed a crystal to the emperor.
The emperor did not say a word and took the crystal without any hesitation.
Afterward, she deciphered the spell on it and read the contents.
The next second, she crushed the crystal.
She was silent for a moment, her fingers tapping lightly on the armrest of the chair as she thought.
When her fingers stopped, she had also made a decision and said:
“Order her to continue playing her role well. Let the Resurrection Church and the Kingdom Federation fight until both sides are heavily wounded. Do not do anything unnecessary.”
“Yes.”
……
PART 2
The southern countries.
It was already dawn.
On the outskirts of a certain city, a young man was walking alone.
He seemed to have experienced a long pursuit and escape and had finally shaken off his enemies.
“Sigh, this time Dekan is even bringing Flora to the Filowen Kingdom. It’s really a headache.”
Morion sighed and grumbled.
He was already on the run, and now he had Clay pestering him.
He had finally managed to shake off Clay and could now head to the Filowen Kingdom with peace of mind.
He did not want to bring a dangerous element like the Frenzy Bishop to the venue of the Kingdom Federation’s Hero Festival.
Morion still had not forgotten the expression on Clay’s face when they left the Shadow World together and entered the settlement space, and Clay saw Dekan’s name on the settlement interface.
Obviously, Clay had not expected that he had been playing with Dekan for two weeks.
It seemed he had been tricked by Dekan again.
Subsequently, Clay’s pursuit of Morion became even more persistent.
Not only did Clay want to find out some truths, but he was also convinced that he could find Dekan by following Morion.
Fortunately, Clay was a bit simple-minded. With a few more tricks, he was finally shaken off.
However.
Just as Morion’s mood was completely relaxed.
His eyes were covered by someone’s small, cold hands.
He failed to dodge.
Because the other party had no killing intent, not even malice.
Morion stopped in his tracks.
Then the small hands were released.
That person hugged him from behind.
“Why are you here?”
Morion asked with some confusion.
Although the person behind him did not say a word, he already knew who it was.
An incorrigible villain, a greedy miser.
And his one and only… partner.
Nightmare Bishop Alina.
“You should stay away from the Filowen Kingdom, this place of trouble.”
Her voice was like that of a puppet without any emotion.
The Nightmare Bishop seemed to have already figured out that the direction Morion wanted to go was the Filowen Kingdom.
“What’s wrong?”
Morion frowned.
He had only heard from the Nightmare Bishop before that the Resurrection Church might make a move on the Hero Festival.
But for the Nightmare Bishop to come personally and warn Morion not to go, it was clear that in the Nightmare Bishop’s current knowledge, this Hero Festival was extremely dangerous.
“I might not be able to protect you this time.”
The Nightmare Bishop said softly.
She believed that Morion had already fully understood the risks.
“I won’t leave.”
Morion replied with unexpected determination.
There was a moment of silence between the two.
“For whom?”
“My younger sister, and… my friends.”
Morion replied after another moment of silence.
“I understand.”
After the Nightmare Bishop finished speaking, she released Morion.
When Morion turned around, there was no one in sight.
He looked at the empty space with a complicated expression.
To this day, he still had not figured out what kind of feelings he should have towards the Nightmare Bishop.
The ill-fated relationship he had with the Nightmare Bishop in the territory back then.
Was far from as simple as it seemed to the world.
It was a story of a brilliant count’s son who had no time to die, and who was determined to feed himself to the tiger, to bear the blame alone, and to save the people of his territory, his family, and his friends.
It was just that no one told it.
“Dekan, it would be great if you could eradicate the Resurrection Church one day. Unfortunately, I can only help you secure the help of the Nightmare Bishop… it’s far from enough…”
……
Two days later, in the morning.
Today was finally the day they would set off for the Filowen Kingdom in the south to participate in the once-every-five-years Hero Festival!
This time, Dekan would participate in the main competition as a contestant from the Norton Kingdom, and would later participate in other types of activities as a guest.
He was already looking forward to it.
“Let’s set off with high spirits!”
Dekan shouldered his pack and left the dormitory early.
He had originally intended to wait for Cornelia at her door.
Who knew that Cornelia had the same idea.
The two met on their way to each other’s dormitories.
And the Cat Teacher was also on Cornelia’s shoulder, lazily waving at Dekan.
After leaving the dormitory, they soon met Cloix, Mi’e, Iris, and others on campus.
“Let’s go get the three from the idol group, and our team will be complete!”
Iris said with a beaming smile as she walked at the front of the group.
However, she discovered it.
The other few people seemed to have all fallen silent.
“What’s wrong?”
Weren’t they getting along well with the idol group?
Iris turned her head and said with confusion.
She saw sweat starting to form on Cloix’s head, and Dekan’s expression was also a bit unnatural, while Mi’e pretended not to have heard anything and looked into the distance.
……
Tens of minutes later.
On the outskirts of the royal capital, accompanied by the sound of trotting, a chariot pulled by two magical beasts shining with azure lightning galloped across the open field.
This was the Thunder Beast Chariot that His Majesty the King had lent to Dekan and the others when the Beautiful Mind Squad went to the central Randil Kingdom to take the 7th-rank team exam.
They would first ride the chariot to the southern country closest to the Norton Kingdom.
Afterward, due to the convenience of the southern countries, as long as they reached the southern territory, they could transfer to the mana-powered rail vehicles exclusive to the southern countries.
At that time, it would only take another three days to reach the Filowen Kingdom.
On the chariot.
Princess Iris still did not understand why the atmosphere among these few people was so tense.
It was as if an invisible wall separated the three from the idol group and the few from the Beautiful Mind Squad.
Iris felt that Mi’e seemed to know something, but Mi’e had been trying hard to play dumb.
This journey would still take several days.
If everyone maintained this atmosphere and did not speak, it would be too unbearable!
As a leader, Iris believed she should break this stalemate!
So she coughed lightly twice, looked at everyone, and asked:
“Is there anywhere you want to go and have fun after this competition? Let’s all have a good time together, it’s all on me, the princess!”
Iris said, trying to liven up the atmosphere.
“Sigh.”
Dekan sighed.
Iris was probably the only one present who did not know.
She had no understanding of how awkward it was for certain people on the chariot to be cooped up in this small space.
However, this sigh from Dekan.
Seemed to make Iris associate it with many things.
She had a feeling of sudden enlightenment.
“I get it, Dekan! It must be a plot similar to the ones in the novels you told me about, right?! In this kind of competition plot, there will definitely be villains coming to make trouble. What’s it called, it’s called the ‘Law of Scene Crashing’!”
Iris instantly imagined a series of scenes where this competition suddenly turned into a big brawl.
While feeling a little nervous, she could not help but feel her blood boil.
So it was that she was too optimistic.
Not cautious at all.
No one knew what kind of danger lay behind this Hero Festival!
As expected, all these combatants were more composed.
Everyone looked at Iris, speechless.
Actually, that was not the case.
Everyone really wanted to go on a serious trip.
It was just that it was indeed too awkward.
Iris scratched her head, seeming to doubt her own thoughts again, and looked at Dekan and asked:
“What’s wrong, Dekan? Are you worried that the Resurrection Church or the Calamity Host will come and make trouble this time?”
“That possibility can’t be ruled out, but the probability is close to zero.”
Dekan explained helplessly.
The location of this Hero Festival was the heartland of the Kingdom Federation.
Besides the 9th-rank Astrologer Sheen, there would also be many 8th-rank powerhouses gathered.
Even the security work had reached the highest level.
It could be said to be countless times safer than the royal capital of the Norton Kingdom.
Logically analyzing, the Resurrection Church should not come to forcibly attack the enemy’s base this time.
Once the Astrologer detected a large number of bishops moving towards the Filowen Kingdom, more 8th-rank and even 9th-rank individuals would immediately arrive in advance and be prepared for rapid support.
However, prevention was always Dekan’s principle.
He had indeed considered the possible movements of the Resurrection Church.
He felt that Iris' vigilance just now was actually quite right, and it was necessary to raise the travelers’ crisis awareness.
So Dekan took out a piece of paper, spread it on the window, and began to analyze the potential crises for everyone.
“First of all, the content of this analysis has nothing to do with my personal intentions…”
What he explained next was all from the perspective of a top anti-terrorism expert in the world today, and he planned the possible strategies of the Resurrection Church by putting himself in the shoes of a terrorist leader.
In fact, Dekan had considered that there were only two feasible plans for the Resurrection Church.
Either send a bishop to cause trouble secretly, similar to how Fahim was preparing to secretly slaughter a city during the 7th-rank team assessment back then.
It would have been very troublesome if they had not found Fahim back then.
So this situation must be guarded against.
Of course, this task could basically be left to the highest security forces of the Kingdom Federation.
The Kingdom Federation was not so useless as to be unable to defend its home base against a single bishop.
In this situation, there was a 99% or higher probability that there would be no problem.
They only needed to be wary of some extremely absurd special cases that Dekan mentioned.
“So the Resurrection Church can’t dispatch three or four bishops?”
Iris asked.
Dekan shook his head: “That’s no different from packaging them up for delivery. It’s better to infiltrate one effectively and efficiently. If you’re going to dispatch multiple bishops, you might as well send them all, even the Pontiff.”
Then Dekan explained the second situation.
According to the defense forces of the Filowen Kingdom during the Hero Festival, even if three or four bishops came, regardless of whether they succeeded in causing trouble, they would probably lose at least half of their numbers here.
Not to mention how many 8th-ranks there were, just that 9th-rank Astrologer was enough to completely crush the bishops.
So in Dekan’s view, the Resurrection Church might as well take advantage of the Hero Festival period, have the Pontiff lead all the bishops to blitz an important strategic point far from the south.
For example, taking down one of the kingdoms in the northern countries.
“…But the probability of the second situation we just discussed happening is also not high. As long as the Astrologer is around, they cannot possibly assemble all their forces to quickly attack a strategic point.”
Dekan explained his thoughts to everyone.
So the final conclusion was.
Even though Dekan was an extremely cautious person, he did not think this Hero Festival was very dangerous.
“Then is it possible for them to gather together and secretly kill the Astrologer?”
Mi’e suddenly raised her hand and asked.
Dekan could not help but praise her; it was indeed a good idea.
If he were the Pontiff of the Resurrection Church, the person he would want to kill the most would definitely be this Astrologer.
It was because of the Astrologer’s existence that the top combat forces of the Resurrection Church had been so constrained in their actions.
Unfortunately, it was not very realistic.
“Absolutely impossible. The Astrologer is at this Hero Festival, in the heartland of the Filowen Kingdom, unless the Resurrection Church can use a teleportation cheat…”
Dekan explained, but as he spoke, he suddenly froze,
“Hiss, what if there really is a cheat?”
Dekan muttered to himself thoughtfully.
“Dekan, you don’t have to guard against this too, meow… why don’t you worry about being hit on the head by a meteorite!”
The Cat Teacher could not help but retort.
Although it admitted that Dekan’s usual excessive caution always put his teammates at ease.
But sometimes Dekan was indeed so cautious that it was outrageous.
Having been around Dekan for a long time, it could also understand some of the strange words that Dekan would blurt out from time-to-time.
For example, “teleportation cheat” should refer to the spatial magic in this world that was as difficult to tell whether it was real as a legendary card.
However, Dekan ignored the Cat Teacher and just looked at Mi’e with a somewhat profound gaze.
Mi’e once again looked out the window, as if she was trying hard to avoid the awkward atmosphere in the chariot again.