Cultivate Myself, Isn't That Allowed?

After their gazes briefly met, they quickly looked away. Adler glanced at the security measures around them, then spotted Jonathan in the crowd, and his expression immediately turned cold.

If Jonathan, that damn clingy bastard, hadn't been sticking to him the whole time, he wouldn't have had to take such a risk. Jonathan had even thwarted the earlier Train Station attack. Damn Jonathan. Damn League of Fire.

The thought passed in an instant, and Adler quickly resumed his smile as he followed the group into the church.

Inside the church, those attending Mass had already taken their seats. Father Peter stood beneath the Janus Statue with a book in his hands. Ryan stood in the upper-left corner of the church. He was not participating in the Mass, while "Lin Qi" had already lain in wait at the place Cassidy would be heading to afterward.

Jonathan stood guard outside the church, while the League of Fire had also set up an ambush.

"...May we walk beneath the radiance of Janus. May All Beings be free of disaster and pain, and enjoy everlasting peace."

Father Peter's steady voice rang through the church. Mass began on time, and the entire church became exceptionally quiet.

The Mass of the Gate of Janus mainly emphasized ritual and solemnity. Its purpose was simple: to spread the faith of Janus.

Across the entire Rhea Continent, Janus's Believers accounted for more than half the population. Aside from Janus's own renown, this was inseparable from the Gate of Janus's years of management.

"By the Name of Janus, we walk beneath the radiance."

"May the God Lord's mercy and blessings be with you."

"..."

"..."

"Now, please confess your sins and repent sincerely for your transgressions."

"I confess to the Almighty God Lord that I have sinned in thought, word, and deed..." *N

Ryan: (_ _)( - . - )(~O~)...( - . - )

The Mass was solemn and grand, but Ryan found it rather boring. He did not believe in Janus. Back when he had no money, he might have said "Thank Janus" whenever he took two Copper Coins from the Donation Box, but now he had money—lots of it.

Bored, he opened the game. Last night, "Shari" had gone to the altar again and discovered that the Blood Cult's ritual was still ongoing. Seeing that they had not noticed anything unusual about the Sword of Ares, Ryan was immediately relieved.

Right now, "Shari" was following Ryan's instructions to explore the maze's other exit—the proper entrance leading from the dungeon to the lower level. After all, she had dug her way down from a prison cell, which was obviously not the "proper" route.

Yet not long after Ryan opened the game, "Shari" found it successfully.

Although she had been at it since last night, Ryan was still startled that she had mapped out the maze so quickly. Was this AI not a little too damn amazing? Other than being unable to speak, it was worlds apart from that useless system he knew from some cat site.

"I wonder where this leads."

On the Game Interface, "Shari" stood at the entrance to the maze. On the other side was an upward passage, which should have led to the dungeon level, but Ryan was not sure where exactly she would emerge if she went up.

To avoid being discovered, "Shari" returned the way she had come and crawled back into the cell.

Edward in the next cell merely glanced at "Shari," then closed his eyes indifferently and went back to sleep.

Ryan silently closed the Game Interface and waited for nearly another hour before the long Mass finally came to an end.

"Uncle Bill, I have something to take care of, so I'll be leaving for a while," Cassidy said softly to Bill.

"Where are you going, Your Highness? Do you need me to send someone with you?"

"No need. I asked Captain Ryan to escort me. If all goes well, perhaps I can still go to Aideburg and have lunch with you at noon."

"Very well. I'll have someone prepare lunch."

Cassidy nodded with a smile, then gestured to Echo not far away. The two of them walked over to Ryan.

"Captain Ryan, I'll be counting on you."

"It's my honor."

Ryan followed Cassidy out through the side door.

Adler had been secretly watching them the whole time. Only after the three figures completely disappeared did he quietly say to Bill beside him, "Mayor, Mass is over. I still have some matters to attend to, so I'll..."

Bill chuckled. "You've been busy lately. Go on back first. I'll stay here and chat with a few old friends."

"Alright."

Adler bowed slightly and quietly slipped away from the crowd.

Ten Minutes later.

Central City, in an alley off Shengning Street.

The Hand of Darkness members led by Kasa were hurrying in a certain direction.

"Lord Kasa, the other Believers have all been sent over."

A supernatural being hurried over and joined them.

Kasa nodded and asked, "Where is Cassidy?"

"She's on the second floor of a Coffee Shop, seemingly meeting someone."

"How is the defense?"

"So far, we've only seen a few Police Officers, but there are definitely supernatural beings hidden in the shadows."

"Send those Believers in first. Draw them out."

Kasa had no intention of attacking the Coffee Shop directly. Everything inside was unknown. Just like on the train back then, there was definitely an ambush waiting, but charging in headfirst would be fucking stupid. He did not have many people left to use.

Those peripheral members who had joined the Hand of Darkness but had not become Transcendents were clearly the best disposable tools. More importantly, those tools had guns!

To ensure the plan went smoothly, Adler had specifically prepared a batch of guns for the peripheral members. Though they had received no formal firearms training, with guns in hand and following him into battle, their Combat Power soared.

When a group of gun-wielding fanatics charged toward the Coffee Shop, Shengning Street was plunged into panic in an instant.

Bang!

Bang bang! Bang!

"Enemy Attack! Enemy Attack!"

"Protect the Princess!"

The moment gunfire erupted, the Police Officer guarding the Coffee Shop entrance rushed inside and fired outward from behind the windows. But there were twenty or thirty Believers, and with every one of them firing, the doors and windows were immediately riddled with holes.

The gunfight had not lasted long before several members of the League of Fire rushed out and began suppressing the frenzied Believers.

Upstairs, Cassidy, having heard the commotion, immediately withdrew through the Coffee Shop's back door.

"Go!"

The moment Kasa spotted her, he waved his hand, signaling the Transcendents behind him to swarm forward.

Boom!

Echo sent the first attacker flying with a punch. She wore a pair of silver-white gauntlets, and under the surge of magic power, they erupted with terrifying force.

She successfully stopped the first few attackers, but she was alone; even a fierce tiger could not hold off a pack of wolves. Soon, someone slipped past her and charged toward Cassidy.

"Only two people?"

Kasa frowned slightly from the rear. Even if this was an ambush, this level of defense was far too lax... End this quickly.

There was no turning back once the bowstring had been drawn. Kasa acted decisively, summoning his shadow to pursue Cassidy.

But before he could get close, a staff radiating scorching light came sweeping in from the side. It was Jonathan.

"I knew you were lying in ambush!"

"You knew it was an ambush and still came? Aren't you idiots? Hahaha!"

Jonathan laughed heartily, but the force in his hands did not diminish in the slightest. His staff whistled through the air, producing burst after burst of explosive cracks.

In terms of explosive strength, the Son of the Sun stood out among the many professions. The Shadow of Humor's advantage lay in shadow attacks; in a direct one-on-one clash, Kasa was actually no match for Jonathan.

But when he joined forces with his shadow, he could suppress Jonathan.

Kasa simply had no intention of wasting even a second on Jonathan. He tried several times to break through and chase Cassidy, only to be stopped by Jonathan each time.

Seeing Cassidy about to vanish at the end of the street, Kasa took out a piece of deadwood and threw it into the air, rapidly chanting an incantation.

The next moment, the deadwood expanded at high speed. Like the roots of a giant tree, it grew and spread without end, piercing the Earth and eventually weaving a massive cage across the streets and alleys.

The cage separated him from Jonathan and also blocked the other League of Fire members who had just rushed out.

This was a Third Tier Transcendent item!

He had wanted to use it back at the Train Station, but the disparity in numbers had been too great then, and Cassidy's sudden display of Third Tier Transcendent strength had caught everyone off guard.

Even with this item, he alone could not have taken Cassidy away.

But now... didn't they have Adler personally making a move?

That man was no weaker than Kasa.

While Jonathan was blocked by the spreading branches, Kasa pursued Cassidy.

Central City was huge, but most places were crowded with people. Fortunately, today was Mass Day.

Cassidy ran all the way to the Clock Tower in the central square. Once there, she stopped running and instead unfolded an Inner World barrier.

The enormous barrier instantly enveloped the entire square. The moment Kasa entered it, discomfort immediately assailed his mind, and some discordant sound burrowed into his head.

"Not good!"

He immediately realized he had fallen into a trap.

This kind of mental attack usually came from the effects of a Transcendent item. As a Princess, how could Cassidy not possess a few valuable things?

"You think you can kill me?"

Cassidy's cold voice rang out.

At that moment, she was no longer a noble Princess, but more like a cold and beautiful assassin. With a wave of her Magic Staff, her magic power condensed into a sharp blade that stabbed toward Kasa.

At the critical moment, Adler rushed out.

He blocked the magical blade with his bare hand. Black Mist coiled around Adler's palm, actually dissolving Cassidy's magical attack.

Cassidy frowned. "A Soul Eater?"

"Your Highness is truly well-informed."

Adler replied with a smile.

He was happy now—extremely happy.

All the troublesome people were gone. Even if Cassidy was no weakling, it was two against one—no, three against one. With a Dragon Rider right in her face, how could they lose?

"Be careful. She hid a relic here." Kasa shook off the mental influence and scanned the surroundings with a wary expression.

The Inner World had been set up by Cassidy, putting them at a severe disadvantage.

"Don't worry. Take this."

Adler handed Kasa a pill.

"This is...?"

"Something that can resist mental attacks. Don't ask questions. Swallow it."

If it weren't for capturing Cassidy, he would never have been willing to take out something so precious. He only had five of these in total; every one used meant one less.

"Adler, you really have colluded with the Hand of Darkness." Cassidy said coldly. "As an Imperial official, conspiring with Heretics to attack this Princess—who gave you the nerve?!"

Adler sneered. "Your Highness, that little trick of yours is truly pathetic. You want to know who stands behind me, but do you really think that's possible? Or, if you're willing to come with me, I could introduce you."

"I choose to take you down. Once that happens, I have a hundred ways to make you talk."

Cassidy raised her Magic Staff, and mana rapidly gathered.

"Just you?"

"Hey, hey, hey. Could you not ignore me so casually?"

A discordant voice cut in. Adler and Kasa turned to look, only to see Jonathan walking toward them with a stick slung over his shoulder.

"How are you—?!" Kasa stared in shock. "You were clearly trapped by me!"

"Oh, that thing? It was indeed impressive. It took me quite some effort to get out."

In truth, the moment Kasa used the item, Jonathan had already fled. He knew an escape technique that briefly left behind a mana clone to confuse his opponent, making Kasa mistakenly believe he had been trapped inside.

As for how Jonathan had managed to escape in advance, Ryan had naturally told him about Kasa's plan. To ensure the attack went smoothly, Adler had specifically explained the entire process to Ryan in meticulous detail that day, including the purpose of Kasa's item.

Adler's original intention had been to give Ryan confidence. If they succeeded, Ryan would not need to expose himself by attacking Cassidy.

If they failed, Ryan would act as the Trump Card.