Plans for the Future

The day after the Battle of the Dome Mountains ended.

A recovery team was scattered across the battlefield, searching for the wreckage of the Red Apricot Missile and recovering as much material as possible from it.

In the central square of the Sea of Divine Grace, Newman was leading a team of alchemists to systematically dismantle the "Everwatching Obelisk." They lifted the defensive stone slabs embedded in the ground and dismantled the complex magic array materials and driving crystals beneath.

Su Ming surveyed the entire work site and discovered that the scale of this magical defense array far exceeded expectations. Yesterday's battle had only caused tremors by utilizing the shield distortion points, temporarily disrupting the system's operation, so the hardware facilities were basically intact.

"I know your plan. Removing this will solve the main defense system problem for the future base," Newman said, then his tone turned disdainful. "But this thing is terribly designed! It's inefficient, the node layout is extremely unreasonable, it's simply a waste of materials."

"Anyway, it was going to be modified anyway, to be compatible with the technology-based defense system." Su Ming wasn't surprised. "How long do you need to complete the disassembly?"

Newman counted on his fingers, counting on his fingers, "Three days, the most optimistic estimate."

"No, this will take too long!" Su Ming shook his head and rejected the idea.

They couldn't linger here any longer; the White Triangle was still submerged in the seawater beneath the ice. Judging by the time, the Temple of Light's fleet should be arriving soon.

"But actually, it's best to have more than a week here." Newman pointed to the entire academy complex, his soul flame flickering excitedly. "There are so many good things here!"

Not far away, Zijin was leading another group, scavenging for valuable items. The academy was vast, with countless alchemy facilities, but many of the devices could not be roughly dismantled and had to be handled carefully.

"Let's hurry up," Su Ming sighed, lost in thought.

He needs to weigh the risks and rewards before making a decision.

****

In contrast, things were much quieter at the Divine Might Prison. The "Sacred Antelope Horn" was completely destroyed due to overload during yesterday's battle. However, the members of Star Sand are still carrying out meticulous dismantling work, hoping to recover some usable materials.

As Su Ming passed by, he saw Yise busy at work, and the two nodded to each other.

Katharine entered the dungeon carrying a roster; the Forbidden Sanctum sign at the entrance had been shattered in the battle.

The place is now basically cleared out. The necromancers have all been taken away by Su Ming's team, and the remaining hundred or so prisoners are mostly "problematic figures within the Temple of Light."

She quickly found her target—an old man with a wrinkled face sitting blankly in the corner of his cell. When Katharine stopped in front of his cell door, the old man's cloudy eyes suddenly lit up, and he immediately scrambled to the door, a fawning smile appearing on his face.

"Dainkesi?" Katharine asked, her voice unreadable.

"Yes, sir." The old man lowered his head humbly, his voice trembling slightly with excitement. "What are your orders?"

"Former leader of the Dark Side Operations Group of the Temple of Light." Katharine closed the roster, scrutinizing the disheveled old man. "How did you end up like this?"

"Just a loser in a political struggle," Dainkesi said with a wry smile. "If Your Excellency doesn't mind, this old man is willing to serve you! I'm very familiar with the inner workings of the temple!"

During yesterday's battle, when the captain of the guard instigated the prisoners' resistance, he was one of those who attacked Yise with weapons. However, he was quick-witted and dropped his weapon and hid back in his cell the moment he saw reinforcements arrive.

"Don't rush," Katharine gestured to stop her, opening the cell door. "Come with me."

Overjoyed, Dainkesi immediately followed Katharine. The two arrived at the guards' rest area on the outskirts of the dungeon. Katharine looked at the dirty chairs and did not sit down.

"I've come to inquire about something," she said, turning to ask. "Forty-seven years ago, weren't you ordered to clean up the home of a merchant family named Dikezi? All five members were murdered, and the scene was staged as a fire."

Dainkesi was clearly stunned. He had thought that Katharine had approached him to use him against the Divine Covenant Faction —this was his chance to survive!

He tried hard to recall the events Katharine had mentioned, but ultimately shook his head regretfully.

"I'm sorry, sir, the events of forty-seven years ago were truly..." He rubbed his hands awkwardly, "Besides, we have countless targets to eliminate every year, and this case of a small businessman's entire family being murdered..."

Katharine sighed softly and pulled a yellowed sheet of paper from the file folder. "You must remember this mission report you wrote yourself, right?"

Dainkesi took the paper; it was indeed in his handwriting from decades ago, recording the completion of this small task. It also specifically mentioned that the target family had a newborn daughter—a baby girl Kalila Karila.

"Ah... I vaguely remember." Dainkesi's cloudy eyes suddenly lit up. "This mission was very special. It was personally ordered by the Pope himself, demanding a blonde baby girl less than a month old!" He added, "I—the members of the action team—didn't know the purpose, so we had to choose from wealthy families, selecting the healthy and beautiful ones, and, as instructed by the Pope, we wiped out the baby's entire family—of course, this part couldn't be included in the official report."

The official report from that time stated that the Dikezi family held cult activities and did not hesitate to sacrifice their newborn daughter to summon demons, which is why they were wiped out by the Tribunal of the Temple of Light.

The rescuers arrived too late; the baby girl had already died.

"Is it Pope Augustus?" A cold, murderous glint flashed in Katharine's eyes. "Thanks."

"It would be an honor, Your Excellency Katharine, then I—"

"Of course, you can be free now." Katharine's lips curled into a cold smile.

Just as Dainkesi showed a hint of joy, he saw that Katharine simply raised her hand, and his legs were instantly frozen in ice, thus freezing his kneeling lower body to the cold ground. The biting cold rushed up his spine to his head, causing him to let out a shrill scream.

"Wait, sir!" Dainkesi exclaimed in terror.

What made him even more desperate was that Katharine turned and left after doing this, abandoning him in the dungeon. This partial freezing wouldn't be immediately fatal, but without timely intervention, he would slowly die in agony.

"My lord! Please don't leave! Why are you torturing me like this?!" Dainkesi's wailing echoed in the dungeon.

Katharine left without looking back, leaving his screams far behind.

****

Katharine stepped out of the broken stone door of the dungeon, the blinding sunlight making her squint slightly. Just as her eyes adjusted to the light, she unexpectedly saw Su Ming leaning against the wall.

He held up his tablet and greeted Katharine, "Good morning!"

Katharine's long golden hair shimmered dazzlingly in the sunlight. She frowned slightly and said with displeasure, "Eavesdropping is extremely impolite."

"The dungeon is a public place," Su Ming replied, "So it's reasonable for me to install surveillance cameras."

The air between them froze for a moment.

"Don't tell anyone about this!" Katharine conceded, making her request. But then she thought of Su Ming and Zijin's relationship, "I'll let Ailisha know, you'll definitely tell, but please don't let anyone else know."

"No problem," Su Ming promised.

He pulled out the same stack of prisoner files, the papers fluttering gently in the breeze, and prepared to enter the dungeon. "I'm here to find someone too."

"Do you have someone you're interested in?"

"The records show that an alchemist who once participated in the maintenance of the Gospel idols is being held here," Su Ming said, flipping through the papers. "But I didn't see him on the security camera. He was helpful to our research on the Gospel."

Katharine glanced at the prisoner's name. "No need to go. He was killed in yesterday's battle."

A hint of regret flashed in Su Ming's eyes as he silently closed the register.

Even if the other "internal prisoners" of the Temple of Light have special characteristics, their loyalty is questionable, making them both troublesome and dangerous to use.

In his eyes, these people were not worth his time.

Only matters concerning the Gospel are worth his going through the trouble.

"Should I call you Kalila?" Su Ming suddenly asked.

Katharine's expression remained unchanged. "There's no need," she said calmly. "The name Katharine was given to me by the person who saved me years ago, and it also embodies love and hope."

Su Ming discovered a problem: Dainkesi had successfully completed his mission back then. In other words, he had handed the young Katharine over to the Pope.

Furthermore, the Dark Side Operations Group, as a special operations department, did not receive any follow-up tasks regarding this matter.

"Who is so capable that they could save you from the Pope and keep your survival a secret so perfectly?" Su Ming asked, puzzled. "That's not something an ordinary person could do."

Katharine shook her head gently. "I know absolutely nothing. All I know is that a woman who looked like a scholar entrusted me to my current adoptive parents." There was a hint of helplessness in her voice. "Besides that, there are no other clues."

"... Then how did you discover your true identity?" Su Ming pressed.

Katharine reached up and tugged at her dazzling blonde hair, the strands shimmering with a warm glow between her fingers. "My hair color is so different from my adoptive parents', and my features and build are nothing like theirs." She sighed softly, her voice lowering slightly. "They treated me like their own child, but is it so hard to realize they're not their biological child from these subtle differences?"

"Being too shrewd isn't always a good thing," Su Ming remarked.

"And isn't that true?" Katharine sighed in agreement. "Once you know, you can't pretend you don't. When I was handed over to my adoptive parents, I was wearing very fine cotton clothes. So I searched for middle-class or higher families in the vicinity where the incidents occurred around that time. After a long investigation, I found this."

Katharine pulled out her magic book, and the pages opened to reveal a yellowed portrait. The painting depicted a merchant family: a young couple with their elders standing beside them, holding an infant in their arms.

Su Ming only glanced at it before understanding why Katharine was so certain that the people in the painting were her biological parents—their similar eyebrows and expressions were almost identical, especially their identical blue eyes.

"Why would the high and mighty Pope abduct a baby girl and go so far as to exterminate her entire family?" Su Ming asked, voicing the question that had been nagging at him.

"Didn't you hear the whole thing?" Katharine rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "I was just investigating why!"

"So that means we can only ask the Pope about these things?"

"So it would be best if there were a chance to keep this old bastard alive!" Katharine said through gritted teeth, her eyes filled with tangible hatred. "But if there really isn't a chance..." Her voice suddenly turned icy cold, "... it wouldn't matter if we just killed him!"

****

The sun was still shining brightly as the two walked along the stone-paved ground toward the main building of the Divine Might Prison.

After a moment of silence, Su Ming asked, "So, that's why you did all this, making enemies of the Temple of Light?"

"I admit that was my initial reason," Katharine replied. "The New Divine Language that Ailisha discovered gave me the opportunity. My idea was to cultivate a new group, create chaos and strife within the church, and then seek an opportunity for revenge."

"Impressive, a patient plan that has lasted for over twenty years," Su Ming exclaimed.

"I had no choice." Katharine's voice suddenly lowered. "So many sleepless nights I've tossed and turned, feeling despair in the darkness— the Temple of Light is too vast, it's suffocating."

As they spoke, the two entered the main building. Passing through the dimly lit corridor, they pushed open the door to the warden's office and were greeted by a scene of utter chaos. Documents were scattered all over the floor like snowflakes, and the expensive desks and chairs were overturned and disorderly, clearly having been ransacked.

"But my thoughts are different now." Katharine's tone suddenly softened. She bent down to pick up a trampled document and gently smoothed out the creases. "The members of Star Sand were guided and nurtured by me. They shouldn't become victims of revenge, and I can't abandon them as pawns."

Su Ming straightened the heavy leather sofa, his fingertips tracing the delicate leather texture on the armrests. As he placed the overturned coffee table back in its place, sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting dappled shadows on the oil paintings on the wall.

"The decor of this office is truly luxurious," Su Ming remarked, looking around at the paintings and exquisite ornaments covering the walls.

"It's just a showpiece; the fact that it wasn't taken means it's not actually worth much," Katharine replied casually. She walked to her desk and took out a can of tea from a drawer. As she opened the lid, a rich aroma of tea wafted out.

"Look, this is the real good stuff!"

Katharine used magic to boil water and poured it into a bone china teapot. The amber-red tea shimmered with a warm light, and the wafting aroma quickly filled the office.

Even Su Ming, who knew nothing about tea, became somewhat interested.

The office door opened, and Zijin appeared in the doorway. Katharine found teacups, washed them, and poured three cups of tea.

"What did you call me here for?" Zijin picked up one of the cups and sat down on the sofa. She took a sip. "Not bad, it's been a long time since I've had such good black tea."

"We need to decide on our next steps," Su Ming replied.