The Resurrection Church's Mask of Pain (Part Two)

Lampard, witnessing Dekan's swindling and deception in the drawing room, clutched his head in anguish.

To be honest.

He's already had a pretty big time with Dekan these past two days.

It could be said that he had tied his entire fortune and life to Dekan.

Of course, the result was good.

Because all of Dekan's seemingly high-stakes gambles ultimately paid off.

As an accomplice, Viscount Lampard not only protected the territory but also gained both fame and fortune.

He will surely leave his mark on this great deed of destroying Bishop of Ruin.

However, Lampard has already discovered it.

Dekan has some rather strange ambitions!

They may commit extremely crazy acts.

He actually tricked an eighth-tier powerhouse from the Norton Kingdom into becoming a beautiful girl, singing and dancing!!

Moreover, Lampard seemed to have overheard some significant information from Dekan and Judith's conversation.

Ice Princess... is she going to become an idol too?

When did she fall into Dekan's clutches?

These are the two strongest fighting forces of the Norton Kingdom.

If His Majesty the King were to find out that his two most powerful protectors had gone off to pursue artistic endeavors, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep well for at least a month!

Moreover, when it comes time to reward those who have contributed, the king will not only look at Dekan with a very strange gaze, but Lampard, as an ally, will likely also suffer the king's contempt!

Lampard suddenly realized.

The alliance between himself and Dekan seemed less like a vow between friends and more like a pact with the devil...

It seems we're completely trapped and can't get off this pirate ship...

"To save the increasingly declining Kulan Territory, three legendary girls formed an idol group and debuted. Let's use this as the opening promotion for our project."

Dekan, completely disregarding Judith's presence, discussed the matter with Croix right in front of her.

"I think it's a good idea. I can also ask my father to promote it more in Kulan Territory, and we can start planning the first offline performance in advance."

Croix nodded in agreement.

"Wait! I have no experience in this area, you can't send me to perform so soon!"

Judith quickly waved her hands.

"Don't worry, you and Ice Princess only need to record the demo of the first dance track this month."

Dekan smiled rather gently.

"You two just need to practice your dancing well, and as for singing, as long as it's not too bad, it'll be fine. As for the leadership position, one of the children can handle it well."

"Hmm..."

Judith has gradually calmed down.

The calmer she became and the more carefully she considered what Dekan said, the more serious the problem became to her.

The thought of what she would have to do in the future filled her with shame, and her cheeks even felt hot.

She couldn't understand how she had been so bewitched as to agree to his request!

She felt that the current situation was even worse than she had initially feared; after all, a short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one.

"The King will definitely be recognizing us soon. You and Ice Princess were the main contributors to defeating Evans, so you'll naturally go to the Royal Capital to receive the recognition. Just stay in the Royal Capital for a while and finish the recording."

Dekan's words interrupted her chaotic thoughts.

"Good..."

Judith bit her lip and nodded.

Afterwards, Dekan stretched wearily, exchanged a few pleasantries with Lord Lampard, and headed to his bedroom on the second floor.

Judith remained standing blankly in the drawing room.

She couldn't process all the things that had happened in just one day.

"Lady Judith, will you be staying at the Lord's Mansion tonight? I'll arrange a guest room for you."

Lampard asked respectfully.

"Then... I'll have to trouble you."

Judith actually wanted to complain about something, but felt it would be a bit impolite.

Because she noticed that Lord Lampard, for some reason, seemed to have adapted remarkably well to the job of a hotel manager?

The first late night after the Battle of Tristin City came to an end.

In some unknown place on this vast land.

There is neither moonlight nor sun here.

Although there are stars in the sky, they have all turned into black spots, as if the starry sky has been eroded and polluted.

An ancient temple stands here.

The temple was surrounded by a pale blue light curtain, making it look mysterious and beautiful.

The entire space, except for the temple, appeared pitch black and chaotic.

Inside the temple.

Contrary to its artistic appearance.

A cool, damp atmosphere permeated every corner of the temple, and the six walls, cast from black stone slabs, exuded an extremely oppressive aura.

There wasn't a single living guard here; all that existed was a monotonous, eerie atmosphere and a near-death desolation.

Each space within the temple is a self-contained barrier; anyone who dares to trespass would likely be lost forever.

Sudden.

The structure inside the temple began to rotate slowly, like a Rubik's Cube, with the stones rolling with a clattering sound.

Its structure began to change. In the main hall, several huge black geometric shapes appeared out of nowhere, with only their tops flat.

They seemed to have no support at all, and were simply floating there.

The strangely shaped black geometric objects were covered with numerous eerie runes, which faintly shimmered with light, like countless eyes, eerie and cold.

Before anyone knew it, figures had begun to stand on the black geometric shape.

Their figures seemed to be constructed from black mist, drifting and uncertain.

Only a pair of eyes were visible through the haze.

Each person corresponds to a black geometric shape.

These are clearly their seats.

"Seven bishops have arrived, not bad."

It's unclear who spoke first, as if talking to themselves.

His tone was both helpless and solemn.

He quickly continued speaking:

"Evans has failed."

He was the leader of every gathering.

The runes on the geometric shapes beneath his feet faintly formed characters that read --

Void.

The fact that seven bishops were able to attend the emergency Bishop Council of the Resurrection Church indicates that the problem is already very serious.

This space is a void that the Cardinal of the Resurrection Church can access through spiritual connection by virtue of their [Bishop's Token].

Or perhaps this is a unique method of long-distance communication among the bishops of the Resurrection Church.

No matter where you are.

Once the Bishop Council begins, you can connect to the corresponding geometry simply by using your [Bishop's Token].

"Oh? Evans is such a good-for-nothing."

A maniacal voice echoed in the hall, his words filled with arrogance and an indescribable sense of pleasure.

He was lying lazily on the geometric shape called "Frenzy".

"Heh, you think you're better than him? I'm afraid you can't possibly accomplish what he couldn't."

At this moment, a voice called "Bishop of Plague" questioned.

The Bishop of Frenzy: "Want to die?"

Bishop of Plague: "I've wanted to wipe you out for a long time."

The Bishop of Corruption: "Fight! Fight! I'll go collect your corpses..."

It wasn't just the two bishops who started arguing; there were even others who fanned the flames.

Bishop of End: "All of you, be quiet."

After a long silence, the figure who had remained silent finally spoke.

Although his figure was blurry, his eyes were as deep as stars, and his whole being exuded an aura of dominance and evil.

His words were calm, yet full of command.

"What gives you the right to order us around? Do you want to be the Pope?"

The Plague and decay subsided, but the Bishop of Frenzy still seemed somewhat unconvinced.

"Even if all of you were together, you couldn't beat me."

The Bishop of End replied calmly.

"Tsk."

For a moment, even the most arrogant Bishop of Frenzy fell silent.

The entire meeting immediately became much more harmonious.

"So, how did Evans lose?"

A bewitching voice rang out, sounding like a mixture of many young boys' and girls' voices, making the other bishops feel uncomfortable.

I wonder how many civilians this guy has harmed this time.

The Bishop of Silence delighted in manipulating the common people and using them as subjects for experiments.

Furthermore, their methods towards ordinary people were extremely cruel, making them one of the most hated groups in the world.

However.

It seems no one has offered an answer or analysis to the question of the Bishop of Silence.

"It's because of Dekan's interference."

Just as everyone was silent, a figure suddenly spoke up.

"Minos, your information network is incredibly efficient."

The meeting's leader, the Bishop of Falsehood, praised it.

Minos, the Shadow Bishop, is the most skilled card maker among the bishops of the Resurrection Church, even on par with top-tier Card Crafter.

"Hahahaha, are you trying to make me laugh to death? Evans got taken down by a third-tier guy?! I'm going to have all the laughs for this month from Evans."

The Bishop of Frenzy clutched his stomach and laughed, seemingly unconcerned.

He could perfectly imagine the impotent rage of the arrogant Evans when his plans were disrupted after encountering the Underworld figures.

Shadow Bishop Minos: "He not only lost, he's dead."

"..."

For a moment, the bishops fell silent.

Even the Bishop of Frenzy's laughter stopped abruptly, and he frowned.

They recognized the seriousness of the problem.

Evans will die...

Wouldn't they also be in mortal danger if they encountered the same situation?

"Evans is dead? Minos, that's no joke."

Believe it or not.

"So, in the end, who killed him? The Saint Knight Captain of the Sun God Church? Or the Grand Sage of the Norton Kingdom? Or perhaps the Ice Princess, whom he completely subdued?"

"None of them."

Shadow Bishop Minos shook his head.

Who is that?

"Still Dekan."

"..."

The answer from Shadow Bishop Minos clearly silenced the bishops once again for a moment.

"Minos, I need to confirm with you, are you sure Dekan did all of this?"

"Sure."

"Is this guy really Tier 3?"

"He possesses unique characteristics, often achieving a control effect that disregards rank under demanding conditions."

"Of course we know that, but does he really have the power to contend with an eighth-tier being who can be called the embodiment of natural disaster?"

The Shadow Bishop shook his head. "Although he was completely unable to contend with an eighth-tier opponent, he would utilize every resource at his disposal. Coupled with his unique abilities and unscrupulous tactics, even someone as strong as Evans was defeated and killed."

"So, you're saying that Dekan's ability to take down Evans this time relied heavily on external forces and luck?"

The Bishop of Corruption muttered to himself, chin in hand.

After all, a perfect battlefield and an eighth-tier helper aren't something you can always get by drawing lots.

"No matter what, Dekan's frontal combat capabilities and proactive combat capabilities are pitifully weak."

"If you do encounter him, just be cautious; there's no need to overthink it. Excessive worry will only make you fall into his trap."

"Yes, the best way to deal with him is to avoid any communication or exchange of information with him."

"My men all say Dekan is like a ghost, and I'd actually like to see him for myself, but unfortunately he doesn't dare to cause any trouble in front of us."

"If he dares to leave the borders of the Norton Kingdom, I'll risk being targeted by Astrologer and go and make a hole in his heart."

"Heh, just a worthless little bug. It probably doesn't think it can stand on equal footing with us, does it?"

The bishops sharply criticized Dekan.

While he was somewhat wary of Dekan, he held him in even greater contempt.

"Now that we've failed this time and lost a bishop, what should we do?"

The Bishop of Silence looked at the Bishop of Falsehood with some concern and asked in a low voice, as he was more focused on the bigger picture.

Bishop of Falsehood: "Continue with our plan; it's still within our means. While the Astrologer keeps a close eye on us, he's also constantly probing the secrets of the Tenth-Order Shadow World. We need to seize the initiative before His Holiness the Pope returns."

What is a tenth-order Shadow World?

At that moment, a voice asked very humbly.

"Are you kidding me? The Tenth-Order Shadow World is the key to our complete world reboot. How many Bishop Council have you skipped?"

Seemingly having overheard someone asking a foolish question, even the Bishop of Frenzy, who was still intensely criticizing Dekan, couldn't help but speak up.

"Sorry, I'm new here."

"A newcomer?"

Suddenly, everyone present realized something was wrong, fell silent in unison, and focused their attention on the person.

Are there new members among the bishops?

Are you kidding me?!

They all stared intently at the blue-eyed guy who had asked the question.

In their minds, no Cardinal should have blue eyes.

I roughly counted them.

There were seven people at the beginning.

Now there are eight.

One more person appeared without anyone noticing!

"Who are you?!"

All the bishops present noticed it.

The spot where this figure was standing originally belonged to Evans!

This guy seems to have been eavesdropping for a while!

"Are you Dekan?"

The Shadow Bishop spoke first, having been the first to guess the identity of this uninvited guest.

"It is I."

Dekan nodded in agreement without hesitation.

Then.

The entire hall fell into a deathly silence...

I don't know how much time passed.

"What the hell?! What are you doing here, you bastard?!"

A roar of extreme shock and anger erupted from the main hall.