Jason arrived at Blue Lake Manor at around three in the morning.
With him arriving under cover of darkness and carrying a huge bundle that was seeping blood, how could the guards let him in so easily?
Jason carried Veronica on his back, wrapped in a thick tablecloth, and unleashed the aura of a seventh-level warrior.
The tablecloth had come from the Interspatial Ring. It looked like something the mage had used for outdoor meals while training in the wilderness. Mages could be quite particular sometimes.
Jason pulled out his clan insignia and said firmly, "Bring me the person in charge of the manor. Now."
Realizing how serious the situation was, the drowsy guard immediately came fully awake. He hurriedly picked up an instrument beside him, and the insignia flashed with a bloody light, confirming that it was genuine.
"May I ask your name, sir?"
"No questions!"
The guards exchanged a glance and led Jason to a side room.
When Mo'ertazha entered the side room, his clothes disheveled and displeasure written on his face, he saw the blood-soaked young man carrying a blood-seeping bundle on his back and immediately realized the guards had not exaggerated the seriousness of the situation.
Mo'ernazha blinked rapidly to clear his head, then waved the guards beside him away.
Only when the three of them were alone did Jason set Veronica down.
"I'm Jason Rhein, the second son of Maisiji Rhein, the current emperor of the Rhein Empire. This is Veronica Baruch. The people hunting us are from the Radiant Church." Jason paused. "A ninth-level expert was involved."
Mo'ernazha was now completely awake. "Your Highness, forgive my discourtesy."
Mo'ernazha dropped to one knee and rose immediately after Jason nodded.
"The mages here can't treat injuries like these."
Seeing this, Jason took out a healing scroll and glanced at him.
Mo'ernazha walked to the door and called outside, "Seal off the manor. Have everyone who has already retired stay in their rooms. Nothing happened tonight!"
He then turned and nodded to Jason.
Jason unfurled the scroll, and a powerful light enveloped Veronica. The girl's limbs rapidly recovered.
The treatment was still ongoing and would probably take another five minutes.
Jason gave Mo'ernazha a detailed account of what had just happened.
"Mikhail Baruch, an Eighth-level Magus and the strongest member of the Baruch Clan at present. Ever since all the Dragonblood Warriors in the Baruch Clan disappeared, its members have frequently gone missing. I never expected the Radiant Church was responsible." Mo'ernazha frowned. Too much was involved, and as a Rhine Empire official stationed in the Holy Union, he was under considerable pressure.
Fortunately, Jason had not mentioned that the "Deity-level" expert the angel had spoken of was also involved. Otherwise, Mo'ernazha would probably have considered throwing Veronica out to avoid being implicated.
"Your Highness, you need to leave immediately and hide in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. Forgive us, but we cannot send any guards with you," Mo'ernazha said. "You left traces of death magic at the site of the battle. The Radiant Church will immediately suspect Blue Lake Manor, and I expect they'll send people to search it as early as noon today. You must leave before then.
"I'll arrange for all the guards who came into contact with you tonight to return to the Rhine Empire with a caravan. Do you have any other instructions?"
"I need a detailed map of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts and some more healing scrolls. Also, do you have any Blue Heart Grass?"
Mo'ernazha paused. "We have maps and healing scrolls, but no Blue Heart Grass in stock."
"Never mind, then. I'll write a letter to my imperial father."
"To keep the Radiant Church from intercepting it, please tell me what you want to say, and I'll have someone pass it on." Even Jason was surprised by Mo'ernazha's caution.
Jason briefly described the current situation, said he was safe, and mentioned Veronica, asking Maisiji to be understanding. There was nothing sensitive in the message.
"Did Your Highness reveal your identity on the way?"
"When I took a mission in the Dark Alliance, I showed my Rhine Clan insignia, but I didn't give my name. The employer for that mission was Svenge, from the Dawson Chamber of Commerce."
Mo'ernazha nodded. It seemed they knew each other.
"Your Highness, from now on, please do your best not to reveal your connection to the Rhine Empire."
Jason nodded. "Has anything happened in the Rhine Empire recently?"
"The empire is as peaceful as ever."
After changing into clothes Mo'ernazha provided, Jason left at five in the morning with Veronica on his back.
Jason's horse was left at the manor, and the two continued on foot.
Wind-element magic flowed around Jason, the effect of Extreme Speed, a seventh-level wind-element scroll.
Relying on his own strength and the magic scroll, Jason's current speed was comparable to that of an eighth-level warrior.
They headed east all the way. Fortunately, Rhine City was close to the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.
Perhaps the Holy Union had underestimated the magical beasts in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, placing its holy city so close to it, with only two fortresses standing along the main route between them. This was also why, on the later Day of Destruction, the entire union's command was instantly thrown into disarray.
This worked to Jason's advantage, however. With his current strength, it was easy to skirt the two fortresses through the mountain forests beside them. It was still early, and few adventurers were out at this hour. After all, entering the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts around noon was safest; too early or too late, and there was a high chance of encountering frenzied magical beasts on the move.
At last, around seven in the morning, Jason entered the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts with Veronica on his back.
"We're safe, more or less." Jason looked around. The dense forest was an excellent place to hide.
Thinking it over now, Jason felt that perhaps the Radiant Church would not necessarily go to great lengths to hunt him down.
After all, any faction with a bit of history knew about Angelic Descent. The main body of the Baruch Clan was still there, and they had only lost Veronica, who had the strength of a fourth-level warrior. The loss was small.
The only problem was that Jason had taken the Baruch Clan's Mikhail's body and his Interspatial Ring. That might prompt the Radiant Church to investigate.
Jason expected that once he broke through to the Saint-level, probably no one would pursue the matter any further.
"Aren't you going to put me down?" Veronica asked when she saw Jason stop.
"We'll go a little farther. This is too close to the area where humans are active. We'll talk when we reach the middle zone." Jason spoke as he walked. "You remember everything that happened tonight, right?"
Jason was afraid that Veronica had been in a daze when she was gravely injured, missed some detail and misunderstood, then secretly ran away or something.
"I remember. I remember everything." Veronica repeated herself, her voice sorrowful and aggrieved.
Jason felt a little sympathy for the girl.
"We'll have something to eat in a while. We can talk then."
Outside Blue Lake Manor, knights belonging to the Radiant Church's Inquisition stood at a distance, watching the manor built beside the lake.
"This is a bit troublesome," one of them said.
"Let's report to the chief inquisitor. People from the Rhine Empire aren't easy to deal with." The other man was also somewhat hesitant.
The two ninth-level angels' absolute loyalty to the God of Light gave them access to many forbidden secrets, making them very cautious when dealing with the Rhine Empire.
Jason had still underestimated the Rhine Clan's strength: its powerful corps of necromancers, its succession of talented clan members, its numerous direct-line Saint-level experts, and the Deity-level expert rumored to be hidden behind the Rhine Clan-
On the Yulan continent, apart from the Dark Forest, the O'Brien Empire, and the Yulan Empire, no power dared to go against the Rhine Clan.