You Again
Bang bang bang!
The soldiers lined up in a fan shape, facing the terrifying [Blood Bishop]. Under the influence of invisible rules, their figures seemed to grow extremely tall, and the Steam rifles in their hands contained immense power. After aiming, they unleashed a devastatingly powerful bullet!
Luther didn't dodge, but allowed the soldiers to attack him. His eyes were fixed on the platform. He simply raised his hand, grabbed his own head, and then—
"Tear--"
The headless body hurled the round object with tremendous force, like a shooting star, soaring over the terrified crowd below and flying straight towards the platform, towards George III who was giving his address.
"Protect His Majesty!"
A squad of soldiers charged forward, shouting, and bravely stood in front of the false king, protecting him with their own bodies.
However, they did not witness the expected explosion. As the head flew to the platform, it suddenly began to adjust its trajectory and fell prematurely—landing on the platform where George III had just stood, next to the topic that was being gathered to spread his voice throughout Loen.
Stop him!
The Squad Leader seemed to realize something and immediately rushed forward.
This is a nationwide broadcast; if the [Blood Bishop] were to utter any rebellious or insane remarks, things would be terrible!
Unfortunately, he was too late. The moment the head touched the platform, it instantly regenerated into its original [Blood Bishop] form, shouting into the microphone, "Citizens of Loen, listen up! Today I will kill this damned George III!"
"Because he is the real culprit behind the Great Smog, the true instigator of this war, and the one who has caused you to suffer these Catastrophe!"
His voice rang out with unparalleled clarity, resounding loudly throughout the Square thanks to the amplification devices.
People watched this scene with varying expressions: surprise, bewilderment, fear, disbelief... Most of them were unaware of the existence of the Extraordinary World, let alone having witnessed such insane behavior and Distortion abilities as Luther's. They simply stood there, listening to his angry voice echoing across the Square.
"Hibbert, go and call the guards over. Tell them to take your mother and sister away first!"
Amidst the chaos, Earl Hall remained calm, reached out and grabbed his bewildered eldest son, giving him an order.
"I see!"
Hibbert Hall then regained his composure and nodded.
[Temperance] Sir!
Audrey gazed at the figure on the high platform, watching him repel the soldiers while continuing to shout loudly, and a surge of intense excitement welled up within her.
Well done! Now the whole of Loen knows what His Majesty has done...
----Outside Backlund, amidst a magnificent complex of buildings.
The buildings were compactly arranged, mostly painted grayish-white. At the center was a high platform with many round, pot-lid-like structures distributed among them, extending metal frameworks towards the sky.
That's right, this is the newly built broadcasting center in Backlund. The King's voice must first be collected here, then transmitted from the base station to reach all parts of the country.
"Was the signal intercepted?"
The serious-looking man in military uniform asked.
"The interception was successful."
A middle-aged man dressed as a technician answered nervously.
Before him lay a multitude of instruments and dials, the monitors glowing brightly. He wiped the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his white coat, catching his breath slightly. "What the whole nation is hearing now is the recording His Majesty prepared beforehand. Those... those chaotic sounds were at most heard by the people in one Square..."
As a pure technician and a wise outsider, he didn't want to know what was actually happening in Anniversary Square at this moment, nor did he want to know how credible the [Blood Bishop's ] words about the king were. He only knew that knowing too much could easily make his head spin.
"As long as it's under control."
"MI9 liaison officer said."
The first update is available at suduɡu. cc, with no typos. If you don't see the ". cc" suffix in the address, you can access the first update site. As long as the [Blood Bishop's] voice hasn't spread nationwide, even if only a person in Square hears his rebellious remarks, it's perfectly acceptable; it just means the subsequent amnesia treatment will be a bit more complicated.
"Alright, Doctor Torina, please continue your work... Doctor?"
The MI9 personnel's request went unanswered; the technician simply stared blankly out the window, completely ignoring his words.
"What are you looking at..."
The man asked curiously, then followed the other person's gaze to the window.
Immediately afterwards, his body jolted and he froze.
Outside the window, beyond the barbed wire and wall protection, on the Grassland outside the base station, a blood-red figure had appeared at some unknown time.
[Blood Bishop]!
His voice was clearly still shouting on the channel, so why is it appearing here again?
The intelligence officer felt a chill run through him. He whirled around, grabbed a microphone from a nearby pillar, and shouted urgently:
"Your Excellency!"
"Enemy attack! They're right outside!!"
On the Grassland outside, Luther gazed at the cluster of buildings that formed the broadcast base station.
"The speeches in other Square were not affected; they really did have a contingency plan..."
He thought to himself.
After learning from [Justice] that George III intended to broadcast his speeches via radio, he, a science student in his previous life, suggested a plan to Klein: to directly target the Pathway communication.
If they disrupted George III's speech and prevented the ritual from taking place, it would effectively stop the Advancement Ritual. Of course, this probably wouldn't be decisive, but it would certainly have some effect.
Only--
"Isn't it more effective to utilize it than to destroy it?"
Luther thought, "I could just tell the people about George III's ambitions, or simply shout the Honorific Name of the Blood God on the radio and scare them away... If that doesn't work, then it's not too late to destroy its antenna..."
"Boom!"
Just as he was considering how to confront George III, a spatial distortion suddenly occurred in the open space in front of the base station, and then a figure emerged from it. The newcomer had a serious face, black hair, and blue eyes, and looked somewhat familiar to Luther.
"... Amyrius?" Luther frowned, quickly recalling their past relationship. He had beaten this guy up once on Blue Mountain Island, and later, when he was investigating the death of the Steam Tycoon as Senior Deacon of the Church of Evernight, he encountered him again.
On every occasion, he gave Amyrius a sound beating, leaving a deep impression on the proud Demigod of the army.
When the latter saw him, her face clearly changed. It turned red and Distortion, as if she were recalling how she had been treated before.
"A great Nation Builder!"
Without thinking, he shouted.