Inquiry

If there had been no grudge between them, Jonathan wouldn't have gone after Gilmer.

But Gilmer had tried to waylay him in Fenlai City last time. Even though he hadn't managed to hurt Jonathan, the attempt had still left him extremely irritated.

After returning to Black Phoenix City, Jonathan learned that Wesport had been arrested.

The charge of murdering Gilmer had been pinned on Jonathan. It had to be said that the accusation had hit the mark by sheer coincidence, but everyone knew it was just an excuse concocted by the Light Church.

After all, how could Jonathan, a dual-element Level Seven Magician in the eyes of outsiders, have killed Gilmer while he was surrounded by White-robed Priests and Temple Knights?

And that wasn't even mentioning that Gilmer himself was a Level 9 Great Mage.

In the eyes of the Dark Alliance, this was nothing more than an excuse for the Light Church to provoke a war between the two sides.

"Master, you're back."

Hilton was overjoyed to see Jonathan return. "Everyone outside says you killed the Light Church's Cardinal."

"Do you believe them?" Jonathan countered.

"Of course not!"

"I just got back and I'm a little tired. I'm going to rest first. If anyone comes looking for me, tell them to come back tomorrow!"

"Yes, Master!"

Back in his room, Jonathan began considering what to do next.

There were undoubtedly people in the Dark Church who suspected him, but it wouldn't be difficult to fool them. What worried him was the possibility that the Dark Church might send a Saint Realm expert. That would put him in danger.

To guard against this, Jonathan had begun researching ways to disguise his spiritual force long ago.

An ordinary Saint Realm expert would have a hard time noticing anything unless they scanned his entire body with their spiritual force at close range.

But a peak Saint Realm expert could sense something was off about him even from a distance. A brief investigation would be enough to reveal that he had hidden his level of strength.

After he had stirred things up, the conflict between the Light Church and the Dark Church was bound to intensify. Even if it didn't lead to war, there would be no shortage of covert clashes.

This place had become a hotbed of trouble. The Day of Disaster was only seven or eight months away.

He planned to leave.

But he was uncertain whether he should warn Charles, Ford, and Collette.

We were roommates, after all. Ah, forget it. I should warn them.

He couldn't tell them outright, but he could say that he had noticed signs of unrest among the magical beasts in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. What they chose to do was up to them.

Jonathan sighed softly. Although he had undergone rigorous assassin training since childhood, deep down he had never once thought of himself as a true assassin.

He could be indifferent to people who had nothing to do with him, but he couldn't help feeling compassion for those close to him.

The next day, a black-robed Cardinal arrived with several gray-robed priests.

His name was Sanders, and he had come to question Jonathan about his recent trip to the Holy Union.

"Jonathan, why are you the only one who came back this time? What exactly happened?"

His voice was icy, making it seem as though he would arrest Jonathan if he didn't like the answer.

"Lord Sanders, do you also believe I killed Cardinal Gilmer?"

"You were the only one who went to Wushan Town! And I heard you left that afternoon, but you never returned to Fenlai City to meet up with Wesport."

Jonathan said, "Actually, I stayed in Wushan Town because I was looking for a chance to assassinate Linley. Linley has completely rejected the Dark Church and seems inclined to side with the Light Church. So I wanted to kill him before he could grow stronger, and remove a genius who might pose a huge threat to us in the future."

"Unfortunately, I never found the opportunity."

Sanders glanced at Jonathan and pondered for a moment. "What you say makes sense. You may not know this since you just got back, but Linley has become the chief court magician of the Fenlai Kingdom and has been made a marquis."

"He's certain to become a high-ranking member of the Light Church in the future, so he should be eliminated early. But you—"

"I acted on my own without authorization!"

"Since you were in Wushan the whole time, do you know what exactly happened?"

Jonathan said, "I caught a glimpse of it from a distance. It was a masked man in black, hovering in the air and casting Gravity Spell. Almost all the Temple Knights died on the spot in an instant."

"It was a Gravity Spell unlike anything I'd ever seen. It was terrifying. The Level Seven warriors could barely even move a finger. They died not long after hitting the ground."

"I suspect their internal organs couldn't withstand the gravity and ruptured, killing them. Gilmer managed to hold on for a while with Light Guardian."

Sanders said, "Gravity Spell has the greatest effect on material things and the physical body. An energy shield could indeed withstand it for a while."

"Seeing that, I was terrified. The masked man only had to look at me once for a sharp pain to shoot through my head. Then I fled without looking back."

Jonathan seemed to be reliving the day's events, fear showing on his face. "I knew they were doomed. With two Cardinals dead, the first thing they'd do was suspect our Dark Church. So I didn't return to Fenlai City. I changed course and went to the Magical Beast Mountain Range."

"I thought Lord Wesport was a senior black-robed priest of the Church, so the Light Church would at least think twice before acting without evidence."

Sanders said, "I have a general idea of what happened. But there's one thing you got wrong. Only one Light Church Cardinal died—Gilmer. Lampson survived!"

"You made a mistake, but it wasn't your fault. If you'd returned to Fenlai City, you'd have ended up a prisoner of the Light Church by now. Given your talent, you might even have been—"

"What?" Jonathan asked.

"Nothing. Don't leave Black Phoenix City for now. I may come back if I need anything."

"Yes, Lord Sanders!"

After they left, Jonathan sneered and muttered to himself, "It's just Grace of God. Do you think your Dark Church can't do the same?"

If they knew Jonathan had no faith at all, they would surely use Grace of God on him too, ensuring that his heart was completely devoted to the Dark Sovereign so he wouldn't betray them in the future.

After Sanders returned, he thought things over carefully and felt that something was off. "That's right. Jonathan's answers were far too smooth, too perfect, as if he'd prepared them in advance."

"But if that's not the case, what exactly is he hiding?"

"Someone!"

"Lord Sanders!"

A gray-robed priest entered.

"Have someone keep the Bred Mansion under surveillance around the clock. I want to know his every move, including where the people he sends out go and what they do!"

"Yes, Lord Sanders!"

A few days later, Charles and the others came to visit Jonathan. After chatting with them, Jonathan told them what he had seen.

Collette said, "You're saying something's wrong in the Magical Beast Mountain Range?"

"That's right. It looks as if the magical beasts are about to go on a rampage."

"A magical beast rampage? So what? If the Dark Alliance dared to establish itself near the mountain range, we must have the strength to back it up. What's a mere magical beast rampage to us?"

Jonathan sighed softly. Unfortunately, this wasn't an ordinary magical beast rampage. Nearly all the Saint Realm magical beasts in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, along with the Level Eight and Nine magical beasts, were coming out in full force.

And they had a Deity leading them!

If he hadn't been concerned about Beirut and afraid of being sent back to the Plane Prison, Dylan would have dared to destroy both factions outright.