Fula

Adam once again donned the "Mysterious Rogue Priest Outfit" and headed for No. 17 South River Road.

But this time, Adam's luck did not seem quite as good.

The Church's priests had always patrolled alongside the garrison. Adam had secretly observed their patrol routes before, relying on a werewolf's exceptional senses to move through the city.

After all, the city was vast, the garrison consisted only of ordinary people, and the number of priests was not particularly large. As long as he was careful, moving by night was not too difficult.

Yet there had been no changes at the start of the night. Now, however, their patrol routes had changed, and far more priests had come out to patrol.

As he silently passed through an alley, Adam suddenly sensed someone watching him. Then, following a cry of "Someone's in the alley!" two more streams of perception fixed upon him.

"Too much has happened these past two days. Did I overlook this?" Adam had not gone to the church for three days, so he had gathered little information about the Church. Then there had been his awakening, his injuries, and analyzing his own abilities. Without realizing it, he had neglected the danger.

"Still not cautious enough. After succeeding at night travel so many times, I underestimated the Church's defenses." Adam hid in the shadows of the alley and rapidly ran toward the other end. It seemed he had already been discovered.

The priests' perception was mainly used to sense the existence of God, making it lopsided. Most of the time, they were no different from ordinary people. But once they entered a combat state and became one with God, their perception would fully unfold, surpassing that of most people.

Unfortunately, there was an immense distance between man and God. Remaining one with God briefly was fine, but if it lasted too long, they would be assimilated. Their bodies would melt away completely, becoming the corresponding force of nature as they went to meet their God.

"Three priests patrol together. The three keep a certain distance apart, taking turns entering the state of being one with God to ensure they can search the widest possible area for life moving through the city at night?" Adam swiftly judged the Church's actions.

His expression darkened. When the Church generally entered such a state, it meant they had entered a combat state.

"Did something happen?" Adam could sense the owners of those three streams of perception rapidly closing in around him.

"Could Adel and the others have been exposed?" Adam thought it was possible, and the thought gave him a splitting headache. If Adel truly had been exposed, the city might enter lockdown afterward, making it difficult for Adam to act at night.

"Of course, the pressing matter is escaping the pursuers." Adam first removed his priest's outfit. If Adel and the others had not been exposed, then appearing in priestly clothes with an unclear identity might instead cause an even greater problem. Fortunately, their perception could only sense his existence, not his appearance.

Then Adam transformed in an instant. Under the priests' state of being one with God, if they observed Adam from close range, the disguise of his human form might not hold. If his human identity were discovered, everything would be over.

He adjusted his Soul Weight, shifting the emphasis toward his soul. Adam's intuition was pushed to its limit as he determined his escape route.

At that moment, Adam's perception was stirred. One priest, the fastest to arrive, was already not far from him.

The other party's perception blossomed with full force, as though trying to see through the night and make out Adam's entire appearance. Adam could not allow himself to be observed. Although he had already transformed, some tiny detail might still expose his identity.

His enhanced perception erupted as well. The two perceptions collided and intertwined with the surroundings. Almost instinctively, a great deal of mist rose around Adam.

A priest approached from afar, treading upon light as he entered the alley, seeming ready to illuminate everything.

"Sinner, reveal your true self before me!" It was a familiar voice, but its tone was completely different.

Priest Fula held a ceremonial sword, his whole body seeming to be wrapped in rings of light. He appeared intent on dispersing the mist around Adam. He wanted to see Adam clearly, but Adam's perception interfered with him, leaving everything indistinct. He could only vaguely sense a white werewolf.

"You cannot escape!" Having realized this, Fula spoke again. This time, however, his voice seemed to possess penetrating force, holy power contained within it.

In their current state of clashing perceptions, if Adam listened to that voice without any preparation, the holy power would invade his body along with the sound and injure him.

But how could Adam possibly fail to guard against this when the Holy Sound Church had taken holy sound as its name?

When the sound reached Adam, it seemed to strike something invisible. The voice distorted, and the holy power contained within it was directly triggered, turning into rings of sound waves that drifted through the air.

Then that invisible thing erupted completely. A terrifying aura swept up a fierce wind. Adam's white fur danced in the gale, and though he stood in a narrow alley, he seemed like a king stepping out of the night.

However, dispelling Fula's attack was easy; achieving any real result was exceedingly difficult.

When priests were one with God, their perception and minds were blessed by "God." Unless one's spiritual will was far stronger than theirs, or the priest's own faith had collapsed, it was utterly impossible to invade a priest's mind through a simple clash of perception.

So Adam's aura withdrew the moment it touched Fula's. After disrupting the perception Fula had released, he had already passed through the alley and charged toward the other side.

There were three priests in total. Fula was the strongest among them, while Adam's perception had previously detected another priest casting some sort of divine art. A hidden ripple spread from him to a great distance.

Adam guessed it was a divine art for transmitting information over long distances. If he delayed any longer, even more priests might gather.

But precisely because that priest was casting such a divine art, he had arrived the slowest in the encirclement the three had formed around Adam, leaving the largest gap.

So Adam chose him as his point of breakthrough.

Judging from the aura of his perception, the priest casting the divine art was in the most weakened state. Of the three, Adam had first come into contact with this man's perception. Only afterward had Fula and the other priest entered the state of being one with God.

"In other words, he's in his worst state right now." Adam's dark crimson eyes held not a trace of emotion. Like a merciless hunter, he passed through the alley and leaped into another street, where he saw the priest.

Shifting the weight toward his body did not mean Adam's perception faded. Perception was formed jointly from all three aspects. Though senses sustained by the soul, such as intuition, had weakened at this moment, his basic five senses—smell, hearing, and sight—had been greatly enhanced.

His dark crimson eyes seemed to glow in the night. Those five senses intertwined, forming a beastly instinct akin to intuition that allowed Adam to lock onto the priest in an instant.

"Raven Reed." The moment Adam saw the other man's red hair, he recognized him.

"He has worked at South District Church for three years. He has an outgoing personality and is dissatisfied with the nobility, but does not dare express it." Information on the man instantly surfaced in his mind, including his preferences and some of his usual habits.

"He favors his right hand, and his waist was injured before."

Adam pounced in an instant. Priest Raven raised the sword in his hand, drew back his left foot, and golden light flared along the blade. Adam could even hear the steady hum of the sword; clearly, a divine art had been applied to it.

Raven's eyes held no fear. He thrust his sword at Adam as Adam lunged toward him, only to realize after the thrust that something felt wrong.

Then he saw a massive claw appear to his left. With one swipe and a tear, half of Raven's left waist was gone.

"Was my perception suppressed into producing an illusion?" Raven came to his senses. Looking at the werewolf's cold expression, he had thought today would be the day he went to meet God. Yet the werewolf swiftly vanished, without delivering the killing blow.

Fula arrived quickly. Seeing Raven collapsed on the ground, he gave up the pursuit, knelt beside Raven, and began casting a divine art to treat him.

Meanwhile, Adam had already shaken off the other priest's perception. He put the Mysterious Rogue Priest Outfit back on and arrived near No. 17 South River Road.

Thanks to Hab, Book Friend 20190124153514173, Moonlit Flying Dust, Zerozero_, Fragrant Pot Fish Head, and Fallsun for the tips. Thank you for your support.

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