The Operation Begins

Yise stopped dwelling on the details, removed her light armor and threw it on the ground, the metal plates clanging together with a crisp sound.

"Then I won't use any armor." She raised her hand in a gesture of challenge. "Please, Bone King Ainz!"

Su Ming couldn't help but sigh. He didn't care about winning or losing in private sparring, but this was a public occasion, and it would affect his prestige among this group.

Being strong is always a plus; in some situations, strength is even the sole criterion for evaluation!

****

"I suggest you take a weapon, like your gun," Yise advised earnestly.

The girl gently stroked the hilt of the short sword with her fingers, her eyes filled with fighting spirit.

"I always have weapons at hand." Su Ming's lips curled slightly, and with a casual flick of his right hand, two thick No. 24 steel bars flew into his palm.

Without another word, Yise attacked in a flash, his short sword drawing a gleaming silver arc.

Su Ming clasped his hands together. "Summoning of All Things!"

On Earth, the weapon in the Little Spiky Head's hand shattered into dust. In another world, the steel bar in Su Ming's hand instantly deformed, transforming into a cold and gleaming broadsword!

Black Magic Power swirled around it as Su Ming raised his long, broadsword high, facing the oncoming Yise and slashing down at his head!

Even someone as confident as Yise wouldn't dare to use his short sword to directly block a long-handled broadsword.

She paused, then nimbly dodged to the side like a cat, narrowly avoiding the fierce attack. The blade grazed her hair, the resulting gust of wind whipping her hair up.

Seizing the moment when Su Ming's weapon missed its mark, Yise lunged forward again, his short sword aimed straight for Su Ming's chest.

The light of "Summoning of All Things" in Su Ming's hand flashed again, and a part of the Mo Dao (陌刀) reformed in his hand: the Broken Blade Sword!

"Clang!" The two weapons clashed violently, sparks flying everywhere.

Yise had an absolute advantage in strength. She intended to cut Su Ming's weapon directly, but was surprised to find that her short sword was firmly stuck and hanging on Su Ming's sword.

The watcher girl was caught completely off guard and stumbled as she was pulled along!

Once she regained her balance and examined the weapon in Su Ming's hand closely, she saw that although it resembled a sword, only one side was a blade, while the other side was a comb-like hook, each hook being exceptionally sharp.

He had just used the serrated edge of his comb to intercept her attack and jammed her short sword!

Yise gritted his teeth and used his strength advantage to forcefully draw his sword, only to see Su Ming raise his left hand, conjuring a round, rod-shaped weapon, which he then smashed down on his head.

The girl reacted swiftly, raising her right hand to block with her metal wrist guard. However, she found that the force she blocked was less than half of what she expected. Immediately afterward, with a muffled "thud," the thick metal rod struck her head.

Yise took a solid, heavy blow!

"Su Ming attacked a girl, isn't that pretty ruthless?" The unicorn, watching the battle while holding an iron bucket, wondered to itself, "Or is the training in Moon God Technique really that effective?"

****

Yise's ears were ringing. She released the short sword and quickly retreated. Once she regained her composure, she could see that the weapon Su Ming had summoned was not an ordinary round stick, but rather two pieces connected by a chain.

She had just raised her hand to block the first section, and the second section, rotating downwards around the chain, blew her head off!

Even with a Battle Qi Shield, such a heavy blunt blow was extremely painful.

A cheer erupted from the crowd. They had never seen a battle fought using "Creation Technique," nor had they ever seen so many bizarre weapons.

The fourth "Summoning of All Things" flashed, and a spear about two meters long materialized in Su Ming's hand. The spear tip gleamed coldly, and the shaft was once again enveloped in black Magic Power.

Yise hesitated for a moment. If this was the fighting style, she would have to use her ultimate move to get close to Su Ming, but that would mean the fight would become unpredictable.

Similarly, Su Ming will be forced to use a real response instead of these flashy tricks, and both sides will actually get hurt.

Clearly, this exchange didn't need to go this far.

She regretted giving up those equipment; otherwise, she wouldn't have been caught in such a dilemma because of a weapon that could change its form.

A figure floated down like a feather and landed in the middle of the arena; it was Katharine.

Upon seeing this former high Tribunal of the Temple of Light, the onlookers invariably took a step back.

"A wonderful exchange!" Katharine clapped gracefully. "Your Bone King's mastery of magic has improved considerably!"

"You flatter me!" Su Ming smoothly put away his spear, and the black Magic Power receded like a tide.

****

Inside the workshop, Katharine leaned back in her chair and casually picked up her teacup, taking a sip.

"You guys managed to win Abigai's match so decisively," said Katharine.

"I simply took advantage of the information gap and outmaneuvered her," Su Ming replied. "I really have to thank Mr. Leoni."

"Speaking of Leoni," Katharine put down her teacup, "This guy seems to have something to discuss with you; he might come to visit."

The two then carefully reviewed the tactical arrangements, repeatedly rehearsed some key details, checked each process, and considered tactical redundancies for dealing with unforeseen circumstances.

During the conversation, Su Ming raised another question, "Is there any progress regarding the Gospel Material?"

Katharine asked Ge'enda'er to bring a large box. When opened, it contained a large stack of yellowed blueprints.

"Here, the blueprints for the Heavenly Father of the Gospel."

Zijin carefully unfolded the blueprints and found them to be very detailed, including the composition and function of each component, as well as assembly steps. She nodded to Su Ming, "With this, we can disassemble the Gospel Statue without damaging it."

Su Ming also joined Zijin in looking at the blueprints. He quickly discovered that what entered the superconducting state and produced the Meissner effect at low temperatures was actually the container holding the liquid oxygen itself.

"What materials and manufacturing process are used for this container?" Su Ming asked.

"A special low-temperature resistant alchemical material," Katharine explained. "The Temple of Light originally developed it to hold liquid oxygen, thereby continuously generating flowing 'holy mist' that drips 'holy water'."

The evaporated, low-temperature oxygen sinks, bringing with it a continuous stream of condensed water, yet there is no Magic Power fluctuation whatsoever. This technological solution, which goes against the mainstream of the otherworld, was packaged as a so-called "miracle" under the church's propaganda, adding a lot of halo to the early Heavenly Father of the Gospel.

"But later, someone discovered that this material could levitate in a magnetic field," she continued. "The Temple of Light attempted to recreate it hundreds of years ago, but unfortunately, they all failed. The relevant information was classified as top secret and kept by Ashen Repentance Friar Cortes of the Ashes."

"Ashen Repentance Friar?" Su Ming asked.

"The Church of the God of Light has three Saint Rank in total. Besides the Radiant Chanter's practically on his deathbed, there's this one," Zijin replied. "Oh, and the Pope himself."

"But we don't need to confront Ashen Repentance Friar directly," Katharine said. "Back then, regarding the New Divine Language, Ashen Repentance Friar sided with Ailisha, even at the cost of alienating many people. Although he won't betray the Church of Light, if we lure Ashen Repentance Friar away, eliminate the Pope, and set things right, I'm ninety percent confident I can get him to switch sides again."

"Let's deal with the Pope's matter first, then we'll discuss other plans," Su Ming said.

He did have this idea, but the Radiant Holy City was not so easy to approach. If all the plans in this Divine Might Prison Project were to be successfully completed, the Divine Covenant Faction of the Temple of Light would suffer unprecedented and enormous losses.

However, correspondingly, it will be extremely difficult to lure the Pope out again in the future.

Benedict suddenly burst into the workshop, his face flushed with excitement, "The tunnel's through!"

Su Ming reached out his hand and gave Newman a high five. Cheers erupted outside, and the entire camp was filled with joy.

"Very good." Su Ming and Katharine exchanged a glance. "The operation shall begin now!"

****

February 25th, 273rd year of the Stars Calendar, 07:30 AM, Dome Mountain Coal Mine.

Before the morning mist had fully dissipated, 150 prisoners wearing restraint rings, escorted by more than twenty fully armed Divine Prison Guards, crawled in a crooked line toward the mine entrance.

Most of the prisoners were pale-faced, with empty, lifeless eyes, moving mechanically, their prison uniforms already stained black with coal dust.

After entering the mine, the prisoners were divided into five groups of 30 people each, led by two fully armed Divine Prison Guards, and each group went to work in a different mine tunnel.

The remaining guards were scattered and patrolling in various locations.

Half an hour later, the fifth mining team finally reached the deepest excavation face. The dim miners' lamps cast flickering shadows on the damp tunnel walls, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of coal dust and mildew, as well as the sour stench of sweat. The ventilation ducts weakly forced the stale air in, like a drop in the ocean.

The two Divine Prison Guards leading the group were just about to find a dry rock wall to sit and rest when suddenly—

Who goes there?!

In the shadows deep within the alley, several ghostly figures flashed by. They moved swiftly, passing by the two priests in the blink of an eye, each delivering a dark Magic Power slash.

In a flash of cold light, the two priests were swiftly and decisively killed before they could even draw their weapons. Blood splattered onto the coal-black rock wall, turning an eerie dark red.

The attackers were four serious offenders, numbers 118 to 121, followed by three medium-term offenders, numbers 88, 96, and 104.

At the back of the group were instructors Rupert and Hansite.

They cautiously looked around to make sure there were no other guards nearby.

"We're here to rescue you!" Rupert said to the bewildered prisoners in front of him.

But instead of explaining further, he shouted, "Time is of the essence! Everyone, get down! Quickly!"

****

Although the specifics were unclear, the necromancy used by the rescuers served as the best proof of their identities. Hope ignited in the prisoners' eyes; they quickly dropped their tools and followed the directions to the deepest part of the alley.

A new small hole had been dug out there sometime earlier. The prisoners filed through the narrow passage, and then suddenly, light appeared, and a wide-open space opened up before them: hundreds of meters underground, a long, straight tunnel had been dug out!

The tunnel walls gleamed and were made of cast concrete, their dimensions uniform to an unprecedented degree. Soft lights were densely packed around the tunnel as if they were free, two on the left, three on the right, illuminating the entire space clearly and brightly, stretching all the way to the horizon.

"This... was this carved by God?" came an incredulous exclamation from the prisoners.

Some people even reached out trembling fingers to touch the smooth wall surface, as if to confirm that this was not an illusion.

"Everyone, please come this way!" a clear female voice rang out. It was the junior clerk, Younier. She led several technicians to inspect each prisoner to make sure they were not carrying any dangerous items.

The binding ring of the Temple of Light has a complex magical seal that will take time to break, so we'll have to deal with it later.

Younier simultaneously put bracelets on these people. "I'm sorry, although you've been rescued, management requires a bit more time before you can be truly free." She raised her voice, "Hurry up, the exit is four kilometers ahead! There's food, water, and basic medical supplies outside!"

"Were you sent by God to save us?" a girl about the same age as Younier asked timidly. Her thin body looked particularly frail in the oversized prison uniform.

Younier paused, then reached out and gently touched the girl's dry, yellow hair, a hint of tenderness in her eyes. "Yes!"

****

Rescue efforts at the coal mine are ongoing.

"This way!" Hansite led the necromancer squad through the intricate tunnels, teaching them how to navigate the coal mine's routes.

They quickly located the fourth mining group, which was in a shallower area. After a predictable surprise attack, the guards were dealt with cleanly and efficiently, their souls torn apart without leaving a trace.

Su Ming's task for the seven necromancers was clear: kill all the Divine Prison Guards in the coal mine and rescue the prisoners. He told them bluntly, "Your crimes are extremely heinous; this is your only chance to atone for your sins and save your lives!"

Zijin removed the restraints from the seven of them, allowing them to use magic freely, but she placed neck rings containing alchemical explosives on them. Any act of defection would detonate the rings, instantly killing them!

The mission was carried out much more easily than expected. The Divine Prison Guards were indeed very strong, but it took real skill for them to commit crimes.

Moreover, it was a surprise attack with superior numbers and a calculated strategy against an unsuspecting opponent.

The team advanced upwards along the inclined shaft, dealing with the guards they encountered along the way, and continued to rescue the remaining prisoners and mining crew.

A desire to regain their freedom was ignited in everyone's hearts. If they could successfully complete this mission, their past sins would be wiped clean!

****

Divine Might Prison.

A rare southeasterly wind blew today, and the warm, humid air currents blew down the slope, bringing a slight increase in temperature.

Thick clouds gathered in the sky, turning the sky gray. If nothing unexpected happened, rain or snow was on its way.

Archbishop Stanton burst into Warden Sabina's office in a panic, not even having time to knock. "Someone has infiltrated the coal mine!" he exclaimed urgently.

"Impossible!" Sabina jumped up from her seat. "The coal mine entrance is guarded 24 hours a day, and there's a triple security barrier!"

Stanton presented evidence that he had found traces of a group of people at a secluded location near the coal mine.

He immediately searched the surrounding area and then found some scattered traces in the direction leading to the coal mine entrance. However, a wider search yielded nothing; the people seemed to have vanished without a trace.

"I suspect these people have somehow managed to bypass our guards and barriers and infiltrate the mine," Stanton said anxiously.