Betrayal

After returning, Carl stayed with her family for only three days before leaving again. The territory was no longer centered on Tianfeng Prefecture, and Carl had already told Lin and the others as much.

Whenever the time was right, they should do their best to move the family.

The journey would be a long one, but there were now quite a few Level 9 experts in the family, enough to cross the entire Magic Beast Mountain Range.

As soon as Carl returned to the Sky Wind Kingdom, she received some bad news.

Someone among the kingdom's core leadership had betrayed her.

"Tell me what happened."

"Your Majesty, this was my mistake. I am willing to accept punishment." Without another word, Kevin dropped to his knees.

Kevin's attitude—accept whatever punishment you see fit—left Carl at a loss for words.

After all, she bore a great deal of responsibility for what had happened.

"So Kasa disappeared the night before last?"

After hearing Luo's explanation, Carl finally understood what had happened.

A few days earlier, Carl had appointed two Peak Level 9 Warriors to high-ranking positions in the army. After that, she had returned to the Holy Alliance. In those few short days, Kasa had earned Kevin's trust.

It was this trust that led Kevin to tell Kasa about the Magic Crystals.

Although the Magic Crystal deposit had since been completely mined out, Carl had only claimed that it was a small vein.

A small vein was valuable, but even if fully mined, it would be worth only a few hundred billion gold coins. That was enough wealth to make a principality soar to new heights, but kingdoms with Saint Realm experts would not cross swords with peers over that amount.

But hundreds of billions of gold coins and tens of millions of billions were two very different things.

That was enough wealth to tempt even Saint Realm experts. And that was only its value when converted into gold coins—the Magic Crystals themselves were treasures capable of turning the tide of war.

"Do we have any confirmed leads yet?" Carl asked.

"Your Majesty, all our intelligence organizations have reported in. But Kasa is a Peak Level 9 Warrior, and the only report we have is that someone may have spotted him near the Dark Church's territory," the minister in charge of intelligence said nervously.

"The Dark Church?" Carl closed her eyes and said nothing.

Since the system had recognized Kasa, he must have been genuinely loyal. But wealth could move the heart, and the human heart was the hardest thing to define.

Meanwhile.

While Carl and the others were still speculating, figures were filing into a hidden underground palace in the Dark Church's stronghold in the Chaotic Territory.

They were all dressed in black robes. Some carried staffs with powerful energy signatures; others wore armor beneath their robes.

Some exchanged nods, while others talked among themselves. Only after everyone had taken their seats did Kasa enter, followed by two black-robed men whose auras were just as formidable.

"Everyone."

The black-robed figure at the head of the table spoke calmly. His voice was quiet, yet everyone in the room could hear him clearly.

When he saw the seated figures turn their attention toward him, he continued.

"This man before you once came from the Yulan Empire. Not long ago, he was a top general under that Saint Realm expert in the Holy Alliance. Now he has joined our Dark Church."

"Lashev, get to the point. We don't have time to listen to you ramble."

Before Lashev could finish, one of them cut him off.

Lashev looked at the speaker with displeasure. The figure slowly raised his head.

Beneath the black robe was an extremely pale face. His cheeks were gaunt, as if nothing but dried skin clung to his bones. His bloodless lips sat beneath a prominent hooked nose, and above it were emerald-green eyes, so deep-set that they were hard to make out beneath his hood.

"Mite, think about how many times you've interrupted my meetings," Lashev said coldly.

"Do you expect me to sit through your long-winded speech? Just get to the point," Mite replied without backing down.

Seeing the others looking on as if they were enjoying the show, Lashev snorted and continued. "In the newly established Sky Wind Kingdom, a large Magic Crystal deposit was discovered. The Magic Crystals already mined are worth no less than tens of millions of billions."

As he spoke, Lashev gestured toward Kasa.

"At least fifty million billion?"

The others, who had been disappointed at the prospect of missing out on the show, immediately perked up.

"That's right. According to this Level 9 Warrior's report, the Magic Crystals have already filled more than half the Royal Palace," Lashev said.

"If I remember correctly, that Saint Realm expert from the Sky Wind Kingdom has been a Saint for less than a hundred years."

The meeting room, which had still been somewhat dignified, soon turned into a marketplace.

Kasa, who had been hoping that this news would help him rise even higher, was completely dumbfounded.

He knew that many places looked impressive on the surface but were run by ragtag crews. Still, he had never imagined things could be this shambolic.

"Here's what I think: we should just kill that fellow. He's from the Holy Alliance anyway, so there's little chance he'll ever be on our side."

Only seven people had seats in the meeting room, and all seven were Saint Realm experts from within the Dark Church.

But they had come here to spread their faith. Although all seven were in the Saint Realm, only three had truly grasped the Mysteries.

Lashev, Mite, and Ulamigier, who had been sitting silently off to one side.

Lashev was a Peak Saint Realm warrior of the dark element, while Mite was a venerable Peak Saint Realm necromancer. As for Ulamigier, who had not spoken once, he was one of the Dark Church's most important members.

A Six-Winged Fallen Angel whose strength was on par with a Peak Saint Realm expert.

All three were ancient beings who had lived for one or two thousand years. The remaining four Saint Realm experts had advanced over the past several centuries. Some had nearly mastered the Momentum of Heaven and Earth and needed only to grasp the Mysteries to reach the Peak Saint Realm.

Others were still trying to comprehend the Momentum of Heaven and Earth.

"First, verify this report. If it's true, you will have rendered an outstanding service to the Lord. If you wish to reach the Saint Realm, I will do my best to help you."

As the discussion grew louder, Ulamigier, who had remained silent until then, turned directly toward Kasa, who was standing by the door.

"For the Church, Kasa is willing to lay down his life," Kasa replied. The dark surroundings suddenly seemed to him like the sun in the sky.

He had been wondering if he had made the wrong choice, but now he was gladder than ever that he had.