Lisfir and Berios

The church was still under martial law, and every staff member inside looked rather grim.

Come to think of it, after working almost all night without rest, and finding nothing unusual, no one would want to do this kind of drudgery that only requires effort but yields no results.

Therefore, the church today is shrouded in gloom and despair.

The only slightly infuriating thing was that a large number of laborers flooded into the church's backyard to start cleaning up the ruins of the library. The two of them mingled in the laborers' group and no one paid any attention to them. They just swaggered into the church.

They quietly broke away from the group halfway and headed towards the cult leader's office on the high tower.

Unlike at night, they couldn't just hang on the wall and crawl around during the day, so the two of them made some disguises and then carefully made their way up.

But as soon as they reached the floor where the leader's room was located, they saw a sprightly old man standing at the top of the stairs, staring at them with eyes as sharp as a hawk.

Scorpio was startled and was about to make a move, but Cheng Shi stopped him, forcing a standard smile at the leader of the Divine Nurturing Church, and greeted him without any sense of embarrassment:

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Master."

The two had never been so close to the cult leader. At this moment, Berios was different from the [Birth] representative who stood on the tower last night, wielding his staff to quell the chaos. He looked more like a shrewd and composed, thin old man.

His deep gaze lingered on Cheng Shi for a moment, then he slowly raised his staff, pointing the tip of the staff, which was carved with countless babies embracing each other, at Cheng Shi.

Before Cheng Shi could react, Scorpio's back stiffened. He instinctively grabbed Cheng Shi's hand, pulled him back a few feet, and then took out his Arc of Time Restoration, instantly drawing a chasm of time in front of the two of them.

Cheng Shi looked at the little Assassin beside him with a slight surprise, then suddenly smiled even more brightly.

He patted Scorpio's hand, signaling him not to be nervous.

"Don't get agitated, the Master means no harm."

No malicious intent?

He's already raised his staff!

When you lifted it up yesterday, those Divine Descent tentacles ripped the library apart. Aren't you scared, bro?

Berios glanced Indifference at Scorpio, then looked at the distorted power of [Time] blocking their path. He frowned, and as Cheng Shi had predicted, he put down his staff again.

"You are indeed not Dolgo D."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Shi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Phew—that was close, I made the right bet.

He wasn't calm; rather, he hid all his fear deep inside.

The moment Berios raised his staff, his fingers quietly gripped the Amusement Ring that had just been charged by Scorpio. Not only that, but his other hand was also holding a Dice.

Having the means to retreat at any time gave him some confidence to test the other party's attitude. However, to his surprise, the little Assassin beside him, who only knew how to cling to powerful figures, actually thought of protecting him at that moment...

Interesting. Regardless of whether he was sincere or not, Cheng Shi appreciated it. At that moment, he suddenly changed his opinion of the little Assassin, and an idea popped into his mind.

However, he had no time to dwell on these distractions; at this moment, he had to carefully face the powerful and imposing leader of the Church of Divine Nurturing Church.

"Dolgo D is an inclusive city, which is why we have the opportunity to meet you, Your Holiness, the great Patriarch, isn't it?"

"Disgusting Fawning, you're just as cunning as Lisfir. Come on up here, let me see who this person who caused such a commotion in Dolgo D is."

With that, Berios turned and walked straight into his room.

Cheng Shi glanced at Scorpio, raised an eyebrow, and gestured for him to stop using his powers and hurry up and follow.

Scorpio wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, quickly erasing the power of [Time] in front of him, and then, panting, whispered:

"Brother Cheng, aren't you afraid he'll really kill us? He's a boss-level character. My legs were shaking when I saw him raise his staff."

"What's there to be afraid of? If he knew we had already entered the church, he would have killed us long ago if he wanted to. Why wait until now?"

"Cheer up! Walking in like that will only hinder our negotiations."

Scorpio exhaled another breath of stale air. "Let me catch my breath..."

Cheng Shi chuckled, annoyed. "You can't put the other party on too high a level. Think about it from another perspective: he chose to negotiate after seeing your [Time] power, so is it possible that he's also afraid of you?"

He feared that unknown means might disrupt the tranquility of Dolgo D.

Doesn't it feel much better if I think about it this way?

Scorpio was taken aback, and his slightly bent back straightened instantly.

"You know what... it actually works."

"..."

Cheng Shi shook his head and chuckled, then took the first step up the stairs.

Upon returning to this familiar office, Cheng Shi didn't passively wait for the other party to speak, but instead smiled and said:

"I don't know how His Holiness views us, but I can assure you that we have no intention of disturbing the An Ning of Dolgo D, nor do we wish to challenge your supreme authority. We are simply passing through and want to collect some things here."

Berios, staff in hand, stood by the window, turned around, and asked in a deep voice:

"What is that?"

"Some fears are present. We are following another version of Him that is unknown to the world. In order to pay homage to Him, we need to gather some fears."

"Hmph, as expected of a heretic. Followers of evil gods have always been despised by all major churches. How dare you mention an evil god in front of me?"

Berios exuded an imposing aura without being angry. He raised his staff again, his gaze sharp as lightning as he looked at Cheng Shi, as if he could Divine Descent presence through the staff to kill the two of them on the spot in the next second.

But Cheng Shi had already figured out what the other party was thinking. He could tell that this leader was not entirely Indifference, nor was he completely unconcerned about their identities. At least when he was looking at him, his eyes glanced at Scorpio several times.

This scene made Cheng Shi realize that the other party seemed to be looking for something as well.

This is interesting. What is it that such a highly respected person, the dictator of the Divine Nurturing Church and the de facto ruler of Dolgo D, cannot obtain?

Cheng Shi smiled slightly, completely unconcerned about the other party's pressure. Instead, he took a few steps closer and immediately addressed what Berios was thinking.

"Existence is its own justification. Since the so-called evil gods you speak of have not been besieged and killed by the True God, it means that there are still places in this world that need these evil gods. Don't you agree with what I'm saying?"

"You can even refer to your own Lord of Grace as an evil god; you are indeed a person who clings to Faith."

"Indeed, Your Excellency has a discerning eye. I am not a devout person. I follow Him only to gain more power. To put it bluntly, in Dolgo D under your feet, even including the Divine Nurturing Church, there are probably not many Believer who can be called absolutely devout."

Even you...

Are they really as devout as the people think?

Cheng Shi's words were undoubtedly the greatest offense to Berios, yet the head of the church remained silent at this moment.

He glanced at the two men with a somber expression, then turned back to look down at the church tower. His gaze lingered for a long time among the bustling worshippers and laborers before he spoke again:

"Tullatin was misled by you to go to the library and unseal the Birth Descendant Technique of the Wuma Sinners, wasn't he?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow, unsure of the other party's attitude towards his son. However, a sudden inspiration struck him, and he abruptly shifted the blame.

"No, after last night's investigation, we discovered that it was a man named Lisfir in your church who instigated all of this."

Last night's Thunderbolt was just us purging traitors. Where there are people, there will be betrayal. Even if we are followers of an evil god, we will still be betrayed in one way or another.

However, the commotion in dealing with the traitor was a bit too big, which allowed others to take the opportunity to make some small moves.

I am here today for two reasons: first, to clarify misunderstandings, and second, to deepen cooperation with you and the Divine Nurturing Church.

Of course, if yesterday's events caused any trouble for Dolgo D, we can also provide appropriate compensation.

"Master, please believe me, we have the capability."

"Oh? What about the fire at the courthouse?"

"I can guarantee that it has nothing to do with us."

Berios turned around, staring at Cheng Shi with the sharp gaze of a hawk for a while, then snorted coldly, slamming his staff on the ground with a loud thud. Immediately afterwards, the curtains next to the bookshelf on one side of the room were pulled open, and a church member wearing a hood and a mask walked out.

Cheng Shi narrowed his eyes and realized that the person had come out from the same corner where he and Tullatin had been hiding.

But this person...

"A master! I didn't even sense his presence!" Scorpion took a step forward, gripping his curved blade with a solemn expression.

The newly appeared burly man walked up to Berios, gently removed his hood and mask, and when Cheng Shi noticed that he had a red beard, he froze on the spot.

Because he remembered that before he set off this morning, Tullatin had told him that Lisfir was a burly man with a large red beard, whose appearance was distinctive and easy to recognize in the church.

?

So, the person in front of me is... Lisfir?

Is he the leader's man?

The only two opposing parties in the church are actually on the same side.

Cheng Shi blinked, thought for a moment, and understood everything before him. Then, looking at the two people in front of him, he clapped his hands in admiration and said:

"Impressive. I thought you two were playing a game of deception, but it turns out to be a collaborative performance where you're both involved."

"The Master truly lives up to his title; I admire him!"