Fifty-Fifty

Knock knock knock!

"Bishop Luo Qi, are you there?"

Knock knock knock!

"Bishop Luo Qi, are you awake?"

Knock knock knock!

"You should wake up, Bishop Luo Qi."

Bang!

The door was flung open, and Luo Qi, his eyes bloodshot, glared fiercely at Fenris standing in the doorway, roaring, "What the hell are you doing?! Can't a person get any rest?!"

Fenris wiped the drool off his face without a care and said calmly, "Bishop Luo Qi, I know your injuries haven't fully healed yet, but please understand that now is not the time to rest. If that guy Ai De Wen really does figure something out, it will be a disaster for the whole world."

"Is this why you're here to wake me up so early in the morning?!" Luo Qi roared. "To get me up and save the world?!"

"Strictly speaking, it's about you joining us to save the world." Fenris turned slightly to the side, letting Luo Qi see Mina standing behind him. "While you were resting, Miss Mina and I discussed countermeasures all night and have come up with a few preliminary plans. That's why I came to discuss them with you. After all, you are our strongest fighting force here. Whether it's dealing with that Seven Sound Player or Ai De Wen, we really can't do it without your participation."

Rocky's anger subsided slightly after seeing Mina bow respectfully to him.

He knew now was not the time to play dead, after all, that damned tongue was still right under his nose, how could he possibly let his guard down?

"Then come in." Luo Qi snorted and returned to the room. "But I've made it clear, whatever your plan is, if you're going to make me bear it all by myself like the other night, then don't even bother asking!"

"Don't worry, Bishop Luo Qi, this time Miss Mina and I have a very thorough plan, and we will definitely not let you suffer any losses again."

Fenris followed Luo Qi into his room, while Mina followed behind, carefully observing him with a hint of surprise in her eyes.

Luo Qi keenly sensed this emotion and immediately frowned. "What are you looking at?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Bishop Luo Qi," Mina replied politely. "I meant no offense, I'm just a little surprised."

What's so surprising?

"Your room," Mina said, "Is clean, tidy, odorless, and even has a... faint fragrance."

"So what?"

"It's just that there's a bit of a contrast." Mina glanced at Luo Qi's bedside table, where a burning scented candle sat, before turning to look at Fenris, who was dressed like a beggar. "After all, I stayed in Fenris Chief's room all night. Compared to your room, Fenris Chief's room is a bit, well... too simple."

Luo Qi understood Mina's meaning. After all, he had witnessed the hygiene habits of these Eternal Nightmare Cultist before. They had no hygiene habits whatsoever; as long as they were alive, it didn't matter if their bodies were already smelling bad.

"Of course I'm different from this guy," Luo Qi mocked Fenris mercilessly. "I represent the Rhine, and being slovenly would only bring shame upon the Rhine!"

Faced with this blatant mockery, Fenris was not angry. He simply said, "For Eternal Nightmare, dreams are reality and reality is dreams. So we only need to manage the dream world well, and we don't need to worry about the rest."

"Heh, then you can dream your whole life."

Fenris exclaimed in surprise, "How did you know I taught the most sincere blessings?"

Luo Qi: "..."

Mina chuckled twice, "The customs of different religions are different, so it's good to be understanding of each other. Of course, compared to Chief Fenris's unconventional style, I'm more used to Bishop Luo Qi's elegance, which makes me feel relaxed as if we share the same roots. But thinking about it carefully, the Four Great Orthodox Churches are all one family after all."

That's Mina's real goal.

She wasn't suddenly praising Luo Qi without any reason; rather, she wanted to use this opportunity to get closer to Luo Qi.

Because Mina had already guessed that Luo Qi was someone from the Peach Blossom Paradise that Teacher Isaiah had mentioned, and that he was very likely "Thumb".

After all, his right hand only had one thumb left, making it too obvious.

So Mina immediately relayed the news back to Nameless Town, and received confirmation from Teacher Isaiah that this guy was indeed Thumb.

Isaiah then instructed her to find a way to get closer to Luo Qi, in order to prepare for a series of actions to come.

That's why Mina did this, trying to start with these small things to make Luo Qi subconsciously categorize her as one of his own kind, rather than one of Fenris.

To Mina's disappointment, Luo Qi didn't respond well and just gave Mina a lukewarm look.

No, it wasn't even lukewarm at all; Mina could read a hint of... disgust in those eyes.

Why is that? Did I do something to offend him?

Mina was very puzzled.

As for Luo Qi, those gorgeous mage robes, pretty faces, and high, rounded breasts were simply... each one more annoying than the last!

It even made Luo Qi involuntarily recall the tongue that had almost killed him the night before.

These guys with chests bigger than their heads are really something else!

Luo Qi thought viciously to himself.

"Alright." He sat down in the main seat, tapped the table, and said impatiently, "Just say what you have to say!"

Fenris nodded. "Bishop Luo Qi, we'd like to know if you're alright?"

One sentence made Luo Qi's eyelids twitch. "What do you mean I'm still okay? When have I ever been unable to do anything?!"

"I wasn't accurate enough. What I wanted to ask was, if you were to face that Seven Sound Player now, how confident would you be in defeating him?"

Luo Qi glanced at Fenris, then thought for a moment and suppressed the urge to curse.

What do you mean by how confident I am in winning him over?

If I really had it, would I have been beaten up like this?!

"It's a 50/50 chance," Luo Qi said, trying to remain calm. "If it really comes to a fight, it'll probably end in mutual destruction, but I don't want to fight a guy like that to that extent, you understand?"

"Understood." Fenris nodded slightly. "Don't worry, Bishop Luo Qi, we will not let you fight alone again."

I won't be left to fight alone anymore, which means I'll still have to fight.

Luo Qi's only remaining thumb on his right hand twitched involuntarily.

Honestly, if he could, he really didn't want to cause any more trouble for Tongue, especially now that Tongue already knew his identity. Pushing Tongue into a corner was definitely not a good thing; what if it ended in a fight to the death?

But it's impossible to completely ignore the tongue. As Fenris said, if the tongue really does discover something with that Forbidden Scholar, then it won't just be one or two people who suffer.

This put Luo Qi in a dilemma, a feeling of panic that came from being held hostage in a tiny place, unable to move but unable to stay still.

So he wanted to see what Fenris was planning first.

"Although we haven't caught up with Ai De Wen's information in the past two days, I think they haven't left the town yet," Fenris said. "The reason he's settled down is most likely because the Seven Sound Player was also seriously injured and can no longer protect him for a while. This also indirectly confirms that Bishop Luo Qi did indeed inflict considerable damage on the Seven Sound Player."

Hearing this, Mina couldn't help but take another look at Luo Qi.

She also knew that the Tongue-sensei had Three Corpse Pieces, while Luo Qi only had one part, not only escaped unscathed from the fierce battle with the tongue (losing only four insignificant fingers), but also inflicted considerable damage on the other party, which truly surprised Mina.

Is it that Bishop Luo Qi possesses power that doesn't match his appearance, or is that Tongue-sensei not as powerful as he seems?

Or perhaps, Tongue-sensei's body is already being worn down by the Three Corpse Pieces?

The side effects of dismemberment are well known. Although various churches have methods to alleviate these side effects, they can only alleviate the effects on one part at most.

And the Three Corpse Pieces... is there really any room for leniency?

It's not Visas himself.

Luo Qi had also thought about this, after all, he had personally witnessed He Wei Ni Ya's horrific appearance, with her flesh almost peeling off her bones. He had no idea what kind of poison in the world could do that, so he could only attribute it to the side effects of the body parts.

So even if I don't take action, does that hermaphrodite not live much longer?

"Mr. Fenris," Mina's words snapped Luo Qi out of his reverie. "You still haven't told us what that Forbidden Scholar wants to do, I mean specifically, and why that Seven Sound Player is helping him?"

"It's still because of that knowledge," Fenris said. "What Ai De Wen has always been pursuing is to completely decipher that knowledge and bring it into reality, but because of the existence of the Divine Command Imprint, he has never been able to complete this step. But the Divine Command Imprint is not omnipotent; there is only one way to evade its surveillance."

"Visas's power?"

"Yes." Fenris nodded. "Ai De Wen can use the power of Visas to construct a formation that can circumvent the Divine Command Imprint, thereby achieving his purpose within the formation."

"So that's why he got involved with that Seven Sound Player. The Seven Sound Player, who possesses Visas's body parts, naturally possesses Visas's power." Mina nodded slightly. "Then why haven't they started yet?"

"I think it's highly likely that the formation will greatly deplete Visas's power, so the Seven Sound Player isn't ready yet," Fenris replied. "Therefore, we still have a chance to nip this greatest danger in the bud. Once he succeeds, then..."

"Just what?"

"Who knows?" Fenris shrugged. "Anything is possible. Either he became Visas, or Visas's secret is of no use to him."

"So the Upper Limit world was destroyed, but nothing happened in the Lower Limit, right?" Luo Qi looked coldly at Fenris.

"The unknown is the greatest terror. Even if there's only a one percent chance, we can't just stand by and watch," Fenris said with a smile. "This isn't the first time we've discussed this, is it, Bishop Luo Qi?"

Luo Qi snorted coldly and said nothing more.

"We can't just ignore either the Forbidden Scholar or the Seven Sound Player," Mina said. "Since they're together, let's deal with them together."

"Solve it together?" Luo Qi's tone grew even colder. "What, you're going to solve it? Your teacher isn't even lifting a finger; you just want me to go and charge into battle?"

Luo Qi's tone, two octaves lower than before, confirmed to Mina that he was indeed targeting her, leaving Mina feeling helpless.

"Of course not." Mina shook her head and said, "I will take action, and my teacher will take action as well."

"Oh?" Luo Qi raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Isaiah is coming here too?"

"No, my teacher will not leave Nameless Town."

"Then what about your mother?" Upon hearing that Isaiah wasn't even going to budge, Luo Qi couldn't help but curse, "What can she do just stay in Nameless Town? Give us some encouragement?"

Mina pretended not to hear Luo Qi's insults and calmly said, "My teacher will be ready in Nameless Town."

"What preparations?"

"Preparations to kill both the Forbidden Scholar and the Seven Sound Player simultaneously."

Luo Qi's brows furrowed immediately.

"Two days from now, Nameless Town will welcome the 'Spotless Night'," Mina said before Luo Qi could ask. "The Spotless Night is when the power of the stars is most abundant and the Star Relic Warlock are at their strongest. If the receiving array is set up in advance, the power will be inexhaustible. At that time, neither that Seven Sound Player nor that Forbidden Scholar will be a match for the teacher."

... The Spotless Night.

As the bishop of Rhine, Luo Qi naturally knew what the Spotless Night was all about, and also knew that Isaiah of the Star Relic Church was the most powerful Star Relic Warlock in a hundred years.

If he were to make the move during the Spotless Night, then there's a real possibility of him cutting off the tongue; at worst, he could be included as well.

Thinking of this, Luo Qi's eyes gradually brightened.

His biggest dilemma was whether to help the tongue Hand Eye or Hand Eye kill the tongue.

For him, the bitterness of this choice was no less than when he was a child, when the old Father with a wrinkled face smiled and asked him whether he planned to be on top or on the bottom that night.

Now, a third path has emerged.

If Isaiah, a complete outsider, were to intervene, wouldn't all the previous concerns be unnecessary?

Such a good thing?

Thinking about this, Luo Qi found Mina much more pleasing to the eye.

"So what we need to do is lure these two guys to Isaiah?" Luo Qi suppressed his inner excitement and asked calmly, "Do you have a specific plan?"

But Mina saw through his intentions.

Sure enough, he took the bait.

Mina thought to herself.

This guy probably never imagined that the teacher's real target was him.

Mina smiled slightly.

"Certainly."