After their gazes met briefly, they quickly looked away. Adler glanced at the surrounding security measures, then spotted Jonathan in the crowd. His expression immediately turned cold.
If Jonathan, that damn leech, hadn't kept clinging to him, he wouldn't have had to take such a risk. Jonathan had also stopped the previous train station attack. Damn Jonathan. Damn Burning Covenant.
The thought flashed through his mind, and Adler quickly restored 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 Statue of Janus, holding a book in his hands. Ryan stood in the upper-left corner of the Church. He did not participate in Mass, while "Lin Qi" had already lain in wait at the place Caslathdi would be heading to afterward.
Jonathan guarded the Church outside, while members of the Burning Covenant were also lying in ambush.
"...May we walk beneath the radiance of Janus, and may all living beings be free from disaster and pain, forever enjoying 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, followers of Janus accounted for more than half the population. Aside from Janus's own fame, this was inseparable from the Gate of Janus's efforts over so many years.
"In the name of Janus, we walk beneath the radiance."
"May the God Lord's compassion and blessings be with you."
"..."
"..."
"Now, please confess your sins and repent devoutly."
"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. Perhaps back when he had been broke, he would have said "Thank Janus" after taking two copper coins from the donation box, but now he had money—a lot of it.
Out of boredom, he opened the game. Last night, "Shally" had gone to the altar again and discovered that the Blood Cult's ritual was still ongoing. Seeing that they had not noticed the Sword of Ares's abnormality, Ryan was immediately relieved.
At the moment, "Shally" was following Ryan's instructions to explore other exits from the maze—the proper entrance leading from the dungeon to the lower levels. After all, she had dug her way down from a cell, which was obviously not the "proper" route.
Yet not long after Ryan opened the game, "Shally" successfully found it.
Though the search had started last night, Ryan was still startled that she had mapped out the maze so quickly. Was this AI a little too awesome? Other than not being able to talk, it was worlds apart from that useless system on some cat site he knew well.
"I wonder where this leads."
On the game interface, "Shally" 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, "Shally" returned the way she had come and crawled back into the cell.
Edward in the neighboring cell merely glanced at "Shally," then closed his eyes without concern and continued sleeping.
Ryan silently closed the game interface and waited for nearly another hour before the long Mass finally ended.
"Uncle Bill, I have something to take care of, so I'll be leaving for a while," Caslathdi said quietly to Bill.
"Where are you going, Your Highness? Do you need me to send someone to escort you?"
"No need. I asked Captain Ryan to escort me. If things go smoothly, I may even be able to go to Aideburg and have lunch with you at noon."
"Very well. I'll have lunch prepared."
Caslathdi smiled and nodded, then signaled to Eiko not far away. The two walked over to Ryan.
"Captain Ryan, I'll leave it to you."
"It would be my honor."
Ryan followed Caslathdi out through the side door.
Adler had been secretly watching them the entire time. Only after the three figures completely disappeared did he say softly 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 left through the crowd.
Ten minutes later.
Central District, an alley on Saint Ning Street.
Members of the Hand of Darkness, led by Casa, were quickly heading in one direction.
"Lord Casa, the other believers have all been sent over."
A Supernatural Being hurried over and joined them.
Casa nodded and asked, "Where is Caslathdi?"
"She's on the second floor of a coffee shop, seemingly meeting someone."
"How is the defense?"
"At the moment, there are only a few Security Officers in sight, but there must be Supernatural Beings hidden in the shadows."
"Send those believers in first. Draw them out."
Casa had no intention of attacking the coffee shop directly. Everything inside was unknown. Just like at the train before, there was definitely an ambush waiting, but charging in headfirst would be idiotic. He did not have many people left to use.
Those external members who had joined the Hand of Darkness but had not become Supernatural Beings were clearly the best expendable tools. More importantly, those tools had guns!
To ensure the plan went smoothly, Adler had specifically prepared a batch of guns for the external members. Although they had not received formal firearms training, guns in hand, follow me—their combat power soared instantly.
When a group of fanatics wielding firearms charged toward the coffee shop, Saint Ning Street descended into panic in an instant.
Bang!
Bang bang! Bang!
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
"Protect the Princess!"
The instant gunfire erupted, the Security Officers guarding the coffee shop entrance immediately rushed inside. They used the windows for cover and fired outside, but there were twenty or thirty believers. With every one of them firing, the doors and windows were instantly riddled with holes.
The firefight did not last long before several members of the Burning Covenant charged out and began surrounding and suppressing the mad believers.
Upstairs, Caslathdi immediately retreated through the coffee shop's back door after hearing the commotion.
"Go!"
The moment he saw her appear, Casa waved his hand, signaling the Supernatural Beings behind him to swarm forward.
Boom!
The first attacker was sent flying by Eiko's punch. At that moment, Eiko 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 fend off a pack of wolves. Soon, someone slipped past her and charged toward Caslathdi.
"Only two people?"
Casa, at the rear, frowned slightly. Even if this was an ambush, this level of defense was far too lax... End this quickly.
There was no turning back once the arrow left the bow. Casa acted decisively, summoning his shadow to pursue Caslathdi.
But before it could get close, a staff radiating scorching light swept in from the side. It was Jonathan.
"I knew you were lying in ambush!"
"You knew there was an ambush and still came? Aren't you idiots? Hahaha!"
Jonathan laughed loudly, but the force in his hands did not lessen at all. His staff whistled through the air, causing bursts of explosive cracks.
In terms of explosive strength, the Son of the Sun was outstanding among the many professions. The Shadow of Humor's advantage lay in shadow attacks. In a frontal one-on-one clash, Casa was actually no match for Jonathan.
But when he joined forces with his shadow, he could suppress Jonathan.
Casa simply had no intention of wasting even a second on Jonathan. He tried several times to break through and chase Caslathdi, only to be stopped by Jonathan each time.
Seeing Caslathdi about to disappear at the end of the street, Casa took out a piece of withered wood and threw it into the air, rapidly chanting an incantation.
The next moment, the withered wood rapidly expanded. Like the roots of a giant tree, it continued growing and spreading, piercing through the ground before ultimately weaving into a massive cage across the streets and alleys.
The cage separated him from Jonathan and also blocked the other Burning Covenant members who had just rushed out.
This was a Tier 3 Supernatural Item!
He had wanted to use it at the train station before, but the difference in numbers had been too great then. Moreover, Caslathdi's sudden display of Third Tier Transcendent strength had caught everyone off guard.
Even with this item, he could not have taken Caslathdi away by himself.
But now... Didn't they have Adler personally making a move?
Adler was no weaker than him.
While Jonathan was blocked by the spreading branches, Casa chased after Caslathdi.
The Central District was huge, but most places were crowded with people. Fortunately, today was Mass Day.
Caslathdi ran all the way until she finally arrived before the Clock Tower in the central plaza. Once there, she stopped running and unfolded an Inner World barrier.
The enormous barrier immediately enveloped the entire plaza. The moment Casa chased inside, he felt intense discomfort in his mind, as some discordant sound burrowed into his thoughts.
"Not good!"
He immediately realized he had fallen into a trap.
This kind of mental attack generally came from the effects of a Supernatural Item. As the Princess, how could Caslathdi possibly lack good things?
"You think someone like you can kill me?"
Caslathdi's cold voice rang out.
At that moment, she was no longer a noble Princess, but more like a cold and beautiful assassin. She swung her Magic Staff, condensing magic power into a dagger that stabbed toward Casa.
At the crucial moment, Adler rushed out.
The Magic Dagger was blocked barehanded. Black mist coiled around Adler's palm as he actually dissolved Caslathdi's magical attack.
Caslathdi frowned. "A Soul Eater?"
"Your Highness is truly knowledgeable."
Adler smiled.
He was happy now. Extremely happy.
All the troublesome people were gone. Even if Caslathdi was not weak, it was two against one—no, three against one. How could Dragon Riding Face possibly lose?
"Be careful. She has hidden a relic here." Casa broke free from the mental influence and looked around warily.
The Inner World had been arranged by Caslathdi, which put them at a great disadvantage.
"Don't worry. Take this."
Adler handed Casa a pill.
"This is..."
"Something that can resist mental attacks. Don't ask. Take it quickly."
If it were not for capturing Caslathdi, he would never be willing to take out something so precious. He only had five of these in total; every one used was one less.
"Adler, you really are colluding with the Hand of Darkness." Caslathdi said coldly, "As an imperial official, you colluded with heretics to attack this Princess. Who gave you the courage to do this?"
Adler sneered. "Your Highness, that little trick of yours is truly pathetic. You want to know who is behind me, but do you think that's possible? Or, if you are willing to come with me, I could introduce you."
"I choose to take you down. By then, I'll have a hundred ways to make you talk."
Caslathdi raised her Magic Staff as magic power rapidly gathered.
"Just you?"
"Hey, hey, hey, can you stop ignoring me so casually?"
A discordant voice intruded. Adler and Casa turned their heads to see Jonathan walking toward them with his staff over his shoulder.
"How did you—" Casa's face was full of shock. "You were clearly trapped by me!"
"Oh, that thing? It was indeed impressive. I had to put in some effort to get out."
In truth, Jonathan had started fleeing the moment Casa used the item. He knew an escape technique that briefly left behind a magic-power clone to confuse his opponent, which was why Casa had mistakenly believed he was trapped inside.
As for why Jonathan had been able to escape in advance, naturally, Ryan had told him about Casa's plan. To ensure the attack succeeded, Adler had specifically explained the entire process to Ryan in exhaustive detail that day, including the use of Casa's item.
Adler's original intention had been to give Ryan confidence. If they succeeded, Ryan would not need to expose himself by attacking Caslathdi.
If they failed, Ryan could act later as their trump card.
Before you continue