Escalating the Conflict

"Are you alright?"

Fran dripped the life-restoring potion into Finley's mouth, but it seemed that Finley was not suffering from physical pain.

Although his abundant vitality made Finley more energetic, his furrowed brows showed that Finley was still enduring the pain.

"Oh, I see. He must have used some kind of psychological method. I don't have any of those medications on hand..."

"Then sleep for a couple more days, and you'll probably feel better when you wake up."

Finley had no idea what was going on; all he knew was that he wasn't injured, but he was in pain.

Faced with Fran's explanation, he could only nod and continue to endure the hidden pain in his body.

Fran looked at him and then spoke.

"By the way, regarding that mage from earlier, if you encounter him again, it's best not to reveal anything about me."

"Of course, if you really can't stand it, just tell me what you know."

"But if you're really scared, then move to the Royal Capital."

Finley looked up in surprise.

"He'll come again, and I can't handle it..."

"Perhaps he will come back, but that's a low-probability event. Generally speaking, he will probably look for other ways."

Fran did not insist that Finley return to the Royal Capital, but instead moved to a safe area.

This is pointless; Fran has far too many important people like Finley under her command.

During this period of significant expansion, Fran needs these personnel to operate outside the Royal Capital.

Staying by Fran's side would be safe, but it wouldn't help Fran!

Isn't the reason she supports these people just so they can work for her outside?

Protecting these people doesn't solve the problem at all; the only real solution is...

"Deal with Sean..."

As Fran flew back to the Royal Capital, she murmured to herself, her words fading into the wind.

The truly thorny part of this matter, and the key issue that needs to be addressed, has always been that monk Sean.

Fran rolled her eyes, starting to think about what to do next.

Just as Sean had no way to deal with Fran, the other party was unable to lay a hand on Fran.

Conversely, Fran can't do anything about Sean either.

Putting aside the fact that Fran is only a First Order Mage, she is no match for Sean under any circumstances.

They are currently outside the Alliance; Antir has not yet been truly incorporated into the Alliance.

Furthermore, there are no regulations in the Alliance's laws that allow the administrators of a particular region to arbitrarily prohibit other mages from entering.

As long as Sean remains restrained and doesn't attack a mage, Fran's power within the Alliance will have little effect on him.

What about asking someone Fran knows for help?

Whether it's Harbos or Iris, if they just stomp their feet here, Sean will definitely make a quick getaway.

Perhaps this method was quite feasible before.

Even if Fran's involvement in helping the Lord of Radiance develop followers were exposed, and even if she took one million Gold Coin from the Alliance, it wouldn't be a big deal. The two of them could easily protect her with a little effort.

But now? The Alliance has even brought out the Abyss Contract, which is something that can summon a Legendary Demon.

Since the Alliance dared to sign, it must know that this matter is of great importance and that the most special measures are needed to prevent any mishaps on her side.

In the realm of the Spirit Realm, the Alliance can only rely on Fran to maintain its control over the territory.

They gave Fran compensation and a warning in order to prevent Fran from doing anything that would harm their interests.

The Alliance doesn't need the Radiant Sect to pay compensation; what they need is for the Radiant Sect to uphold the original agreement.

They did not believe in the original All-Spirit Contract, deeming its binding force insufficient, and thus chose the Abyss Contract.

So who gave the order for Fran to sign the Abyss Contract?

Only through the Alliance Council, and only with its Council, can the Alliance be held liable for breach of the Abyss Contract Pact as a punishment for breach of contract.

So who are the members of the Alliance Council? Are Harbos and Iris among them? Fran believes the answer is yes.

She didn't know what earth-shattering news the Alliance had received, but she also knew that in this matter, her own value was hardly comparable to what was being discussed in the Alliance Council.

I can't let them come here to help me unless absolutely necessary, but given how busy they are, they might not have time to come.

Then, Fran sighed.

"So, should we still have a proper talk with them?"

Although Fran directly used a tough attitude to drive the other party away, and then found time to tell others that she wanted to have a proper talk, this kind of operation is very abstract.

But given the current situation, she should be this firm; any mage would be just as firm in the face of Fran's treatment.

If you don't stand up for yourself on the spot, you might be seen as weak.

Fran's earlier assertiveness could provide some support for the subsequent discussion.

"If he weren't Third Order Mage, I really wouldn't want to talk to him. If he were only a second-tier mage, I would want to kill him right now."

Fran didn't understand Sean's actions of arbitrarily probing her territory at all; she was genuinely angry.

If it were the same Lucy who did this, Fran would probably already be planning how to kill her without causing trouble.

Once Fran returned to the Royal Capital, she immediately sought out Brian.

"Brian, have those believers hang a big banner on the outskirts of the Royal Capital that reads 'Inviting Sean Lorenzo to the Royal Capital for further discussion.'"

"Hang them in several nearby towns... If that person really comes, take him to that big house next to the Royal Palace ruins, and then send someone to inform me."

Brian accepted the job. Although resources were scarce and making the thing Fran had mentioned would require a lot of manpower, the matter was clearly very important.

This amount of damage is naturally negligible.

After arranging Brian's work, Fran calculated her own schedule.

"It's time to go to the Spirit Realm."

Now, Fran goes up to the Spirit Realm almost every so often to do certain things.

Now is the time; she sets Magic Trap near the laboratory and returns to the Spirit Realm.

After arriving in the Radiance Domain, Fran first entered the Divine Temple where the Divine Statue was located.

This time, she waited a little while before the Divine Statue's eyes lit up.

At the same time as the eyes opened, a word from the Lord of Radiance was spoken.

"You finally took away that Radiance and became a second-tier being. I thought you didn't want to become a second-tier being anymore."

The Lord of Radiance spoke in a strange tone.

Because the Lord of Radiance knew that Fran had become a second-tier Sunflame Knight; it was a foregone conclusion, and He had witnessed it firsthand.

According to the Profession system in mainland China, it is absolutely impossible for a person to have two Profession.

But now this very principle has been shattered right before His eyes.

He could sense the Radiance He had bestowed upon Fran, a light of second-tier strength.

This means that Fran now possesses at least a second-tier Priest Profession.

Considering the fact that the Profession system is difficult to change easily, He would even rather believe that Fran possesses several Profession simultaneously.

But He didn't actually investigate this aspect, because even if He knew the secret behind it, it seemed to be of no use to Him.

"I think I've collected enough faith, haven't I? I remember you were urging me in the book just seven days ago..."

"That's enough, of course..."

The Lord of Radiance abruptly changed the subject.

"In the Spirit Realm, I can grant a believer the power of the third tier. The required faith is enough for me to continue projecting power."

"So, Fran, do you want to become a third-tier being here?"

Fran smiled and directly refused:

"Forget it, I'll just be next... I don't have time to spend all day in the Spirit Realm."

If the Lord of Radiance now, she could directly become a Tier 3 cultivator, but this Tier 3 status wouldn't be easily attained.

According to the Lord of Radiance, He first provided for a third-ranking being, and naturally there are many places where a third-ranking being is needed to do the work.

Fran had too many things to do in the Material Realm and couldn't be available whenever she was called. Considering that the Lord of Radiance also needed to develop in the Spirit Realm, she could only wait for the next person.

"Oh well."

The Lord of Radiance's words revealed regret. Although He was quite satisfied with Fran's abilities so far, it was regrettable that Fran didn't seem to listen to Him.

The Divine Statue's eyes dimmed slightly for a few seconds, then the voice of the Lord of Radiance emanated from within.

"By the way, Fran, now that you have enough faith, do you need Divine Power in the Material Realm?"

The Lord of Radiance felt it was time to give Fran a taste of her own medicine, so He remembered what Fran had initially wanted.

Fran would naturally not refuse such a good thing, even though she had almost forgotten about it.

After some time, Fran looked at the string of pearls that had suddenly appeared on her hand and asked a question.

"This is the Divine Power you were talking about."

"Yes, but at your level, the only way to use it is to directly enhance divine magic or make a wish. Of course, the latter also has some limitations."

"Make a wish..." Fran whispered the two words, then suddenly asked.

"Could I use it to fake a wound on a corpse? Probably that of Third Order Professional..."

Fran thought of one use for this divine spell, and hoped it would actually work.

"That depends on your abilities and the kind of wounds you want to inflict, Fran."

The sound continued to emanate from the Divine Statue.

"Right now, you can only amplify your abilities using Divine Power. Let me give you an example."

"Originally, that Third Order Professional was killed by a longsword. The sharp longsword destroyed all his vital organs and the very foundation of his life. That was his original cause of death."

"You can use those Divine Power to disguise the way a corpse dies, but only with the abilities you possess, such as the divine magic, Sunflame, or spells I bestowed upon you..."

"If you're trying to fake it as a divine act from the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents, that won't work. I don't even have enough Divine Power right now."

"That's enough." Fran gave a faint smile.