Finding a Powerful Backer

From the very beginning, when Horamick arrived at the Manor, Kronos suspected that his infiltration of Saint Hilleran Cathedral had been exposed, and also suspected that the God of Steam and Machinery was behind the Evernight Goddess's arrangements.

But after hearing Horamick's words and tone, he realized that he must have only revealed his strength in other areas.

If he were to become embroiled in the conflict between the Fool and even the future Lord of the Mysteries, the God of Steam and Machinery would not approach him with such an attitude. Even though Horamick's attitude was largely his own, the God of Steam and Machinery's indifference to some extent represented His attitude.

So after a moment's recollection, Kronos realized why he had revealed his true strength.

His original skill was "Concealment of Time," a skill that Kronos never needed to worry about. From the time he activated it until he became Demigod, he never turned it off.

This skill not only shields against contamination from Outer Deity, but also serves to conceal the investigations of True God.

After Kronos ascended to Demigod, this skill was upgraded to "Time Barrier Time Barrier," which now requires Kronos to activate and is no longer a passive skill.

Because Kronos had ascended to Demigod and his body had been transformed by time energy, his rank was higher than that of Demigod. Therefore, the corruption of knowledge could no longer easily corrupt him, and Kronos did not immediately notice that Time Concealment had failed.

As a result, he spent the night in the Manor, rolling around right under the nose of the God of Steam and Machinery, which exposed his true nature and attracted Horamick's offer to recruit him.

After Horamick left, Kronos began considering joining the Church of Steam and Machinery.

Logically speaking, he had already reached the Demigod. As long as he wasn't brainwashed into Fanatic, having such a powerful backer wouldn't be a bad thing. Having True God standing behind him would indeed make him feel more secure.

The problem is, the Church of Steam and Machinery has a criminal record!

Botu Argel, the restorer of the Argel Family, died in the Church of Steam and Machinery in this very way.

Given Horamick's attitude, Kronos found it hard to believe he could remain unscathed in the Church of Steam and Machinery.

However, given the long-standing feud between the Argel Family and the Church of Steam and Machinery, Kronos was certain that if he refused, Horamick would bring his Puppet to kill him the next day.

Even if I can run fast enough to evade his pursuit, what will happen to my family?

If you want to reject one faction, the best option is not to remain neutral, but to side with the other.

Therefore, at this moment, Kronos thought of the other side that had always been caught between the Argel Family and the Augustus family, the Loen Royal Family Augustus Family Rune.

Although the Augustus Family did not have True God, they certainly did not lack Sequence One Sequence Two.

The God of Steam and Machinery needs to guard the Astral World to prevent invasion by Outer Deity, so he cannot act arbitrarily.

If we exclude the God of Steam and Machinery, then the strongest force of the Church of Steam and Machinery is only Sequence Two, since the True God must accommodate all three Sequence One Beyonder Characteristic.

In this situation, the Augustus Family is definitely not afraid of the Church of Steam and Machinery. If Kronos wanted to join them, they could definitely help Kronos block their counterattack.

However, this was determined based on strength, and does not mean that the Augustus Family would necessarily do so.

To antagonize the Church of Steam and Machinery for a Sequence 4 doesn't sound like a good choice at all.

Thinking about this, another option came to Kronos's mind.

He pulled a Ta Lo from his pocket; it depicted a terrifying darkness.

In the North Borough of Backlund, on Phelps Street, lies the Saint Samuel Church, the headquarters of the Church of the Evernight Goddess in the Backlund Diocese.

Saint Samuel Cathedral is a pure black Church with a bell tower on each side, presenting a symmetrical beauty. In the entire prayer hall, only a few holes in the upper front wall let in pure light, like glittering stars, making the dark environment appear soft and sacred.

The two people were admiring the beautiful building from a short distance away.

One of them said, "Go ahead, there's basically no solution to your situation. You can only hope that the Evernight Goddess will take care of you."

The other person remained silent, not saying a word.

The other person was naturally Kronos. After thinking for most of the day, he finally arrived at the Saint Samuel Cathedral near dusk.

But once they arrived, Kronos hesitated again.

Kronos wasn't afraid of anything else, but rather of Amanises's desire to explore the confusion within him—that was the most fatal thing.

Just as he was still hesitating, a person walked out of Saint Samuel Cathedral and slowly approached the two people.

This is a woman with ordinary features, dark eyes, wearing a simple long robe, a Bark Belt, and long, black hair. Lady is barefoot and without shoes or socks.

This kind of attire is extremely common for ascetics who serve the True God, but in the original text of Lord of the Mysteries, there is a person dressed like this, and that person happens to be from the Church of the Evernight Goddess.

The person slowly walked up to Kronos and his companion. Kronos was still deep in thought and did not Consciousness the person's arrival.

However, those around Kronos were not in the same mood. He gently removed his top hat and gave a graceful bow. "Good evening, Lady Arianna. I didn't expect to meet you here."

Arianna replied humbly, "Good evening, Duke Olmer, it's been a long time."

Indeed, the two people meeting were none other than Olmer, the Duke of the Full Moon of the Sanguine, and Arianna, the Monastery Director of the Evernight Cloister, leader of the ascetics, and Archbishop the Church of Evernight.

The two Sequence Two Angel met on the streets of Backlund.

It is said that the Three Great Churches, the Royal Family, and the military have a certain tacit understanding in this regard, namely that Angel on earth and "0" level Sealed Artifact will not appear in Backlund.

Olmer was invited by Kronos after much coaxing and pleading. After all, Kronos was all alone, and the thought of meeting the Evernight Goddess made his legs weak.

So why is Arianna here?

Seeing the confusion on the faces of the two people before her, Arianna said quite naturally, "I received Divine Oracle from the goddess. If Kronos does not come to the Saint Samuel Church within three days, I will take back the goddess's things and Imprisonment Kronos for five years."

Upon hearing this, Kronos shuddered.

That's ruthless! If he hadn't turned himself in, he would have been imprisoned for five years.

Five years is a long time; all the crucial moments will have passed by then, and by then, it will be too late to catch up.

Olmer chuckled from the side, "See? I told you the Evernight Goddess meant you no harm, didn't I?"

"You think you deserve the malice of True God? He could kill you with a single slap. Why would he even bother testing you?"

This was Olmer's first reaction after Kronos recounted his experiences over the past few days.

Arianna continued, "Since Mr. Kronos is here, please go inside. Perhaps the goddess will be willing to say a few words to you."

Kronos was actually quite intimidated, but Arianna was not as gentle as Olmer. With a wave of her hand, Kronos appeared in the Church's Prayer Room.

Now that he was already here, Kronos had no right to back out.

He had no choice but to steel himself, bow to the Symbol representing the Evernight Goddess, and then pull out the Darkness Card from his clothes.

"Goddess, please forgive my recklessness. I don't know if my appearance has disrupted your plans, but I am willing to accept the Punishment."

Although Amanises was not present, His voice rang out.

What Punishment do you want to accept?

This question left Kronos completely bewildered.

Was the Evernight Goddess really sending me here to be Punishment?

This isn't following the usual pattern!

Shouldn't you say "I don't blame you"? Then let me complete the plan for you, and finally recruit you into your ranks.

In this way, Amanises gained a capable general, and Kronos gained a powerful backer—isn't this a win-win situation?

But to his surprise, the goddess immediately wanted to Punishment, which completely disrupted Kronos's planned strategy.

So after stammering "uh-huh" for a while, he still couldn't come up with a perfect answer, and could only say, "I'll do whatever the goddess wants, and I can bear any Punishment."

The Prayer Room remained silent for a long time, until Amanises ' voice finally rang out once more.

"Join the Church of Evernight, and everything before will be wiped clean."

"Isn't that the way to go?" Kronos was overjoyed when he heard His voice.

So he cautiously said, "I'm willing to join the Church of Evernight, but the Church of Steam and Machinery is also recruiting me, and Archbishop Horamick even tried to threaten me with my family."

Kronos didn't continue. As a subordinate, how could he make demands of his superior? It was enough to simply state his own difficulties.

All that could be heard was the Evernight Goddess replying, "I understand," and then silence.

Kronos waited for a long time but didn't receive another word, so he had no choice but to obediently leave the Prayer Room.

Olmer and Arianna were Prayer Room, waiting for Kronos to come out.

Seeing him emerge, Olmer spoke first, "Did you speak with the Evernight Goddess?"

Kronos nodded, then turned to Arianna and said, "Lady Arianna, I have decided to join the Church of Evernight."

Arianna nodded and said, "I know. God has given the Divine Oracle. From today onwards, you are High-ranking Deacon of the Nighthawks, without specific authority. You can contact me directly."

This arrangement truly pleases Kronos.

He really wouldn't want to become a bishop or anything like that, since he still wanted to be involved in the storyline.

Giving him a title without specific authority would be most appropriate.

Then, seeing the Blasphemy Card in Kronos's hand, Arianna continued, "God said this Playing Cards is for you. Roselle's Playing Cards will be very beneficial to you; you should study them carefully."

This makes a lot of sense, because Roselle was the Knowledge Emperor of Sequence One when he created these Blasphemy Card, following the same Pathway as Kronos, so it would naturally have been of considerable help.

Seeing that Kronos understood, Arianna continued, "You are not Demigod trained by the Church, and you have no merits to your name, so the Church will not bestow upon you Sealed Artifact."

"But I sensed something on you that has a deep connection to the church, and you took it out."

Kronos was completely bewildered. He had collected quite a bit of junk over the years, mostly things he didn't know the uses of, and he had no idea what Arianna was talking about.

Arianna kindly suggested, "I guess it's a Cloak."

Upon hearing Arianna's words, Kronos immediately remembered.

This was the starting point of Kronos's "ragpicking" business; he acquired it more than two years ago in the underground market of Bayam.

Kronos tried every means possible, but he couldn't figure out whether the Cloak was real or fake.

At first, it was thought to be sealed, but even after Kronos obtained the Death God Mask, he still couldn't budge the Cloak in the slightest.

Since Arianna mentioned it today, Kronos simply took it out.

Today should be the day the decryption is revealed.

Kronos handed the Cloak to Arianna, Arianna, despite her previously expressionless face, showed a nostalgic look upon seeing Cloak.

When Kronos saw Arianna's expression, his first thought was, "Oh no, my Cloak is going to be gone."

After Arianna finished reminiscing, He spoke, "These are relics of the previous leader of the ascetics."

"He died in the War of the Four Emperors, killed by a single blow from the Blood Emperor who had gone completely mad. This is the Cloak he always carried, imbued with a secret aura, which is why you cannot use it no matter what you try."

"Now I can give you a choice: I'll help you unseal this Cloak, or I'll exchange it for a Demigod- level Sealed Artifact."

Arianna's options were quite generous, so Kronos simply asked, "Does the Church of Evernight possess any hidden Demigod- level Sealed Artifact?"

There aren't many Demigod- level Sealed Artifact, but they're not entirely impossible to find. However, hidden powers are much harder to come by. You should know that only the Sequence Two of the Darkness Pathway is called the Servant of Concealment, which is Angel- level power.

Upon hearing Kronos's question, Arianna answered frankly, "No, even Angel- level Sealed Artifact rarely possess inherent secrets."

Having received this answer, Kronos immediately chose, "Then I'll choose this Cloak."