"Mr. A actually reached Tingen so quickly?!" Klein did not hide the shock on his face, because everyone else was equally astonished that a "legendary" Sequence V had arrived in Tingen.
In a small place like Tingen, the highest-level Beyonder they had ever seen was the captain, a Sequence Seven. Only a very few had been fortunate enough to see passing Red Gloves members and catch a glimpse of the splendor of High Sequence Beyonders.
But even among the Red Gloves, Sequence V was captain-level!
Such a powerful Beyonder had appeared in Tingen?
And he was a crazed cultist?
Fear, unease, worry...
All kinds of negative emotions began flooding through them, but soon, a calming force spread through the room.
"Leonard seems to have used this kind of power before... Hmm, the captain? So once you become a Nightmare, you can use your abilities without reciting poetry?" Klein suppressed the urge to yawn, while Dunn said solemnly:
"Everyone, there's no need to worry. As long as we prepare properly, Low Sequence Beyonders still have a chance to defeat Mid Sequence Beyonders. Even a Sequence V can theoretically be killed with Demon-Hunting Bullets. The news that an Aurora Society Oracle has appeared has already been reported to Backlund. More reinforcements should arrive soon. Before then, we must protect Tingen! And we aren't the only ones facing this crisis. The Mandated Punishers and Machinery Hivemind will also cooperate in the investigation..."
Dunn held a manuscript in his hand and read the arrangements from it somewhat mechanically. But at that moment, Klein suddenly raised his hand—
"Captain, speaking of the Aurora Society, I suddenly remembered something."
"Go ahead." Dunn immediately stopped at his words. Seeing this, Klein said somewhat awkwardly:
"I remembered the Heinsohn Vincent incident. One of my informants found that he had crossed paths with Lanevus before..."
"Heinason Farsent?" Dunn pinched the spot between his brows that his hair could no longer conceal. Only after quite a while did realization finally dawn on him. "I remember now. The diviner who leaked the secret incantation pointing to the True Creator? The one who later died mysteriously? He had dealings with Lanevus?"
Lanevus was merely a con man and should not have been brought up at a time like this. But if he had dealings with someone suspected of being a True Creator believer, that was another matter entirely.
Everyone knew that the Aurora Society worshiped the True Creator. Could Mr. A, this so-called Oracle, have suddenly come to Tingen because of that con man?
"What else did your informant say?" Dunn did not ask about the informant's identity, but Klein no longer used the informant as an excuse and instead said seriously:
"Nothing else. But speaking of Lanevus, I did encounter something yesterday. A woman said to be carrying Lanevus's child came to the Fortune Telling Club. At the time, I intended to use Spirit Vision to examine her, but I inexplicably forgot. I didn't think there was anything wrong with it then, but now that I think about it, it was very likely a warning from my spirituality!"
"Your spirituality made you forget to use Spirit Vision? 'Cannot Look Directly at God'?"
Old Neil, who was responsible for teaching Klein mysticism, was the first to react. Dunn's expression changed as well.
"In other words, an Evil God Progeny may exist in Tingen City? And Mr. A, the Aurora Society Oracle, came to Tingen because of that lady carrying the Evil God Progeny? No, ordinary people should be unable to... Forget it, none of that matters! We must notify the Red Gloves immediately..."
Dunn turned and headed for the door, but halfway there, he suddenly turned back.
"One more thing. From now on, everyone is to draw a full set of equipment from the armory, including signal flares. Whenever you go out, you must remain in groups of at least three. All leave is temporarily canceled. All members above Sequence Eight are suspended from their shifts guarding Chanis Gate..."
"Oh, poor Ince Zangwill. His use of official Beyonders to stop Mr. A only made the official Beyonders realize Magaos existed. Under the official Beyonders' actions, Magaos will soon be captured. His plan can no longer succeed. What a pitiful fellow..."
Inside the room at Red Chimney, the Feather Quill once again leaped across the page and wrote these words, seemingly cheering at Ince Zangwill's abysmal screenwriting skills.
Ince Zangwill was so angry that his scalp went numb.
He paced back and forth in distress, racking his brains for a strategy.
His past experiences as an Archbishop surfaced before his eyes. The operating principles of official Beyonders, the matters requiring attention when dealing with various factions—all of them emerged one by one in his mind.
As this continued, an idea gradually formed in his heart. After pondering for a moment, he picked up the Feather Quill again and wrote in the open notebook:
"Because the Night Watchers discovered Magaos, this directly alerted the Evil God Progeny. In order to protect itself, it bestowed part of its power upon the mother. The power of an Evil God Progeny is always miraculous, so allowing Magaos to escape pursuit is perfectly reasonable."
"Magaos's disappearance drew the Night Watchers' attention. They became increasingly convinced that this was related to Mr. A's purpose in coming to Tingen, attracting the attention of all official Beyonders in Tingen City."
"In order to capture Magaos and Mr. A, and prevent disaster from descending upon Tingen, the Night Watchers will dispatch nearly all their forces and conduct meticulous patrols throughout Tingen City. This will undoubtedly increase the burden on the official Beyonders."
"To protect the Evil God Progeny in Magaos's womb, Mr. A ordered Aurora Society members in Tingen and Backlund to create a large number of incidents, dragging down the attention of the official Beyonders in Backlund. Fanatics are always blind. This is perfectly reasonable."
"The official Beyonders will be overwhelmed by the Aurora Society, while also facing reproach from Backlund's nobility and royal family. They will have no choice but to direct more of their attention toward Backlund."
"Tingen City will be unable to obtain support from Backlund in the short term, undoubtedly placing Tingen City's Beyonders under immense pressure. Their long-taut nerves will begin affecting the official Beyonders' mental states. Some Beyonders will begin showing signs of Loss of Control. This is perfectly reasonable."
"The official Beyonders' strength will be greatly weakened, and the opportunity Ince Zangwill has been waiting for will soon arrive. He will certainly obtain everything he desires!"
After writing the final line, Ince Zangwill collapsed against the back of his chair as though drained. At that moment, he felt that no one could stop his plan anymore!
Such a perfect script completely conformed to the logic of every faction. No one would exceed his calculations!
"I'll definitely make you regret abandoning me!"
Perhaps I wrote it a little unclearly: Ince Zangwill writing his script and Mr. A encountering the Red Gloves did not happen at the same time.
The Timeline went like this—
First, early in the morning, Sno woke up at 5 or 6 and disturbed Klein. Klein went to work, Mr. A searched for someone, and at the same time the Feather Quill began writing. Ince Zangwill noticed it and began revising the script. These events happened simultaneously.
Then, after Ince Zangwill revised the script, Mr. A did not have an easy time finding Magaos. He divined several times and spent some time before determining her location. It was then that the Red Gloves happened to run into him.
According to the original work, the train from Tingen to Backlund only took an afternoon's journey—there was a time reference when Klein went to Backlund. Considering that the Red Gloves definitely had a special train, since they had to transport Sealed Artifacts, it would certainly be faster. So it was reasonable for them to pursue from Backlund to Tingen in three or four hours.
In other words, by this calculation, Ince's new script took effect at six-thirty. Then the Red Gloves discovered traces of Mr. A's departure. Even if the Red Gloves arrived four hours later, it would only be ten-thirty in the morning, and Klein would still be studying mysticism.
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