Boom-
Lin En seized his face and slammed him into the ground, blasting a deep crater into it and nearly shattering his skull.
He raised his head and looked toward the streets farther into the city.
Even from this distance, he could see thick smoke billowing from scattered locations. Without a doubt, many followers of the Lord of Crimson hidden within the Church and Clockwork City had already begun setting fires and wreaking havoc in his name.
"A clever scheme."
He spoke softly.
"You really went to great lengths to target me."
First, they spread all kinds of information to discredit his identity, then had their spies hidden within Clockwork City suppress the populace in the Church's name.
And regardless of the eventual outcome...
Once Clockwork City fell into chaos, his status as a Divine Chosen would inevitably be called into question. Even if he managed to clear his name, his reputation within the Church would still suffer tremendous damage.
Lin En glanced at the civilians who had been beaten unconscious.
But...
Gazing at the black smoke billowing in the distance, Lin En said:
"Since you've decided to declare war on me, I have no reason not to accept. Let's see who has the last laugh this time."
The Second Layer of the Spirit Realm, Mesijie Street.
"Master!"
When Lin En returned, Salgon and the others, who had been waiting there all along, hurried over to meet him.
"Are you all right?"
They already knew what had happened at the Flesh Factory. In fact, when he followed Tyrael to that Vessel factory, he had already instructed Salgon and the others to gather their forces in the Second Layer, ready to respond to any unexpected developments or crises.
After all, he could never truly trust that fellow Tyrael.
But