Quarter Hand Reinforcements

When Janet was led into the room, she was surprised to find a group of officers among them, with King Xialike sitting in the main seat, solemnly presiding over the meeting.

She was somewhat confused; this was clearly a high-level military meeting, and she shouldn't have been allowed to participate.

Xialike raised his chin and beckoned Janet to come in. "You'll listen in here, and then report what you hear to His Holiness the Pope," he instructed.

Janet curtsied gracefully and then sat down obediently in the audience.

Xialike gestured for everyone to continue the meeting. The officers exchanged glances and began discussing what they could "reveal" to the Temple of Light.

"The 'Pale New Words ' saint is currently touring various dioceses in the Northern Lands, giving lectures," an intelligence officer began. "However, our spies on the front lines report that they suspect this is not the Bay Owl herself."

"Could it be played by her brother Weiaoyasi?" one officer speculated.

"No," the intelligence officer shook his head and said, "Weiaoyasi also appeared on the stage with that saintess."

Xialike frowned and took the report from the intelligence officer. Among them were several sketches of the "Pale New Words" speech, which he examined carefully.

"It's probably Katharine in disguise," he said helplessly.

Now that the emperor had made his decision, the others stopped dwelling on it.

"I don't think this means Bay Owl isn't in the Northern Lands," an advisor said. "The necromancy emanating from Bay Owl is so strong that it's impossible to conceal her movements. Her hasty departure to other areas wouldn't make much tactical sense."

"Indeed," the intelligence officer agreed. "So, after our analysis, we believe this is most likely a deliberate ruse by the Final Bone Mad Machines to lure the Ashen Repentance Friar into an attack."

Ashen Repentance has a powerful influence. If we can eliminate him through an ambush, the difficulty of conquering the Northern Continent Jurisdiction of Light will be greatly reduced.

"When falsehood is taken for truth, even truth becomes falsehood." Xialike's tone carried a hint of coldness. "This kind of tactic is quite in line with their style."

He glanced at Janet, who was diligently taking notes in a small notebook.

By having the eldest princess "listen in," the purpose of sharing information and reminding the Temple of Light not to make mistakes was achieved. Since it was merely a sharing of meeting content, there was no question of responsibility or misleading anyone.

"I have an idea," said one of the attendees, dressed in a scholar's robe. "You may recall that the ' Detect Source of Undead ' spell, which currently leaves necromancers nowhere to hide, suddenly appeared a year and a half ago during the ' Spirit Cloud Wanted Incident'."

"According to our intelligence, the ' Spirit Cloud ' framing incident was orchestrated by the Plundering Clock," the intelligence officer continued. "Although it's unclear why they're targeting the necromancer community, the ' Detect Source of Undead ' spell was likely created by them as part of this trap."

On the one hand, it stigmatized necromancers, and on the other hand, it provided them with a powerful tool for hunting them down. The Plundering Clock's actions were aimed at eradicating necromancers completely.

"This spell has left Bay Owl in a terrible state," the old scholar said, surveying the crowd. "You all know Bay Owl's personality, and what she excels at, so I don't need to elaborate, do I?"

Everyone was taken aback, but after a moment's thought, they understood what the scholar was trying to say and all showed expressions of astonishment.

"You mean— the Bay Owl has cracked the ' Detect Source of Undead '!" the intelligence officer asked incredulously.

"As a top- Titled Scholar on the continent, renowned for creating new magic," the old scholar affirmed, "A year and a half is too long for her to have mastered it!"

A collective gasp filled the conference room.

"That means the Scholar Bay Owl could be anywhere now!" an officer exclaimed.

"No," the old scholar shook his head, correcting him gravely, "It's not just her, it's that group of necromancers; they can appear anywhere now!"

****

The meeting continued, and everyone then analyzed the recent actions of the Final Bone Mad Machines.

"The battle on Brown Gold Island has been confirmed as a divisive tactic devised by the Final Bone Mad Machines," an analyst from the Military Intelligence Department said, rising to his feet. "But what's puzzling is that the Final Bone Mad Machines didn't exploit the chaos created by the divisive tactic to launch an attack and expand their gains."

"That's certainly true," one general agreed. "If they had launched a coordinated surprise attack on the front lines, they could have either inflicted heavy losses on the Expeditionary Crusaders, or created a breach on the border of the Northern Continent Jurisdiction of Light, or even achieved both simultaneously."

The group discussed it for a while, but couldn't find a reason why Su Ming wouldn't do it.

"The Holy See of Light is currently suppressing this scandal," an old general said in a somber tone, "But it won't be easy for the Holy See to completely eliminate the negative impact of this incident on the soldiers."

Several experienced military commanders agreed that even if the Temple of Light had the bond of faith, it would take time to soothe the soldiers' estrangement and doubts and rebuild morale.

"Do you think Su Ming's goal is to turn the army of the Temple of Light against their own side?" the intelligence officer suggested.

"That's certainly something to consider," the old general said, "But the Brown Gold Island incident alone is definitely not enough."

"I also think it's not enough," the Military Intelligence Department analyst said. "To incite a mutiny, the Final Bone Mad Machines would have to be able to repeat this incident once again."

This is of course impossible. Such a heinous scandal is hard to imagine. It's even more unthinkable that the Temple of Light would have something like this, let alone leave any evidence for Su Ming. If that were the case, the Holy See could destroy itself, and Pope Augustus might as well resign from his post.

Upon hearing this, King Xialike seemed to be deep in thought. After a long while, he said, "Closely monitor the possibilities in this direction and maintain the highest level of vigilance."

He ignored the reactions of the crowd and continued, "The terrifying power of the lower classes was something Katharine taught me. I didn't take it seriously then, but now she has single-handedly built up this upstart organization, Star Sand."

The rest of the people in the conference room also began to realize the problem. The members of the Star Sand organization were elite civilians, and they had extensive relationships and connections with the best soldiers in the Temple of Light's military, as well as middle and lower-ranking officers.

Xialike turned to Janet, his tone serious, "This message must be delivered to His Holiness the Pope: Beware of the Star Sand Organization's attempts to subvert the Temple Army!"

Janet scoffed inwardly—this was just needless worry! The members of the Star Sand Organization were nothing but low-level peasants; the only people they could instigate were spineless, ignorant low-ranking soldiers in the army. They couldn't possibly cause any real trouble.

"Yes, brother, I will definitely convey the message truthfully!" she replied earnestly.

****

In the Gravel Scale Desert, a gentle breeze swirls up wisps of dust, sweeping across the ground.

The Death Knell rang out from among a group of lizardmen crawling on the ground, disappearing into the depths of the altar. Torches hung on the rock walls, and the air was filled with the smell of cooking oil and the dryness of sand.

"Your Clock Hand!" A bell-ringing priest wearing Full Quarter Hand his chest bowed deeply upon seeing her.

"How are the preparations for the descent and guidance going?" Death Knell stopped and asked, her gaze sweeping over the magic circle that was working in the center of the altar.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, we have detected the fluctuations generated by the spatial rift," the bell-ringing priest replied. "According to calculations, this rift could have sent two Quarter Hand beings from the prime plane."

Upon hearing this, Death Knell's face showed obvious disappointment. "Couldn't a Clock Hand- level being descend?"

Currently, three of the five Clock Hand in the Taya Plane have perished, leaving only the injured her and the weakest of the Clock Hand, Hairspring, who urgently needs to be strengthened in terms of combat power.

The bell-ringing priest shook his head, saying helplessly, "This spatial rift isn't large enough. We expect a larger rift, large enough to allow even a Destiny level expert to pass through, won't appear for another three months."

The Death Knell nodded slowly, saying nothing more.

Several priests were busy at the altar, operating the magic array. Many lizardmen were helping out on the periphery, and they all knelt down to worship when the Death Knell arrived.

In a corner at the bottom of the steps, lay the desiccated remains of a lizardman. It had long since lost its moisture, its skin shriveled and clung to its bones, clearly having endured a long period of time. It was wrapped in a blanket of grass carefully woven from yucca leaves, showing that it had once been well cared for.

"Is this what they call the remains of a saint?" Death Knell asked upon seeing the corpse.

"Indeed," the bell-ringer replied. "This is the remains of the founder of the Temple of Light, and its first pope. It is said that it was originally kept in the Saint Lan Cathedral, and was brought back by the Wave Hermit twenty years ago."

In fact, it is the true deity worshipped at this altar. The stone and magic array here are constructed with excellent materials, which is why the Plundering Clock took a liking to them and ruthlessly requisitioned them.

The Death Knell stepped forward, stomped on the straw blanket covering the dried bones, and kicked it away. Immediately, a clanging sound of chains clashing echoed from the dark cell behind him, accompanied by a low, angry roar.

"It really is a lizardman." Death Knell ignored the noise and examined the skeleton, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Yes," said the bell-ringer, "It was the later members of the Temple of Light who altered the records, which is why everyone now believes that the first pope was human."

"This saint's body is well-preserved. Have you tried to refine it into a ' Dread Skeleton '?" Death Knell asked casually.

The bell-ringing priest shook his head. "We've tried several times, but this corpse seems to have undergone some kind of special secret treatment; the transformation array can't penetrate it."

"In that case, let's find a place to bury him and give him a peaceful rest," said Death Knell. "He was, after all, a powerful figure."

After saying this, she turned around and leisurely walked to the front of the cell, looking inside. On the wall there, several thick chains firmly bound an old lizardman.

His clothes were tattered, his body was covered with wounds of varying depths, and his face was deathly still, yet it still exuded an indifferent resilience.

"Wave Hermit Shadu, I'm not bad, am I?" A cold smile crept across Death Knell's lips. "What, still unwilling to submit to the great Jörmungandr!"

Seemingly seeing that the Death Knell had ordered the body to be collected, this once-powerful Saint Rank War Wizard slowly raised his head and, unusually, spoke, giving her a response, "Dream on."

This didn't seem like a sign of surrender, Death Knell looked at the bell-ringing priest beside him with suspicion.

"My lord, I have been trying to persuade him these past few days, explaining the pros and cons, but Lord Shadu remains unmoved." The bell-ringing priest hurriedly bowed and explained, his tone filled with confusion. "It's strange. According to the ' Apocalypse Register,' Shadu should be willing to convert to my God."

"The judgment of my God Jörmungandr, is infallible!" said the Death Knell with certainty. "There must be something we haven't done properly."

"Yes, Death Knell," the bell-ringing priest replied. "Your subordinate will continue to strive and will surely make Shadu submit to my god!"

As they spoke, the light on the magic circle in the center of the altar brightened and grew stronger. The bell-ringing priest immediately returned to the altar and kept a close eye on the changes in the magic circle.

High in the sky above the desert, a spatial rift suddenly formed. With a tremor, two orbs of light shot out from it and plummeted toward the ground.

The magic array on the altar immediately emitted several dazzling beams of light, tightly surrounding and protecting the two points of light, thus eliminating the impact of the spatial tremors.

As the tremors gradually subsided, the ball of light stabilized and slowly faded away, revealing two blurry human figures within it, which continued to descend.

One of the figures fell not far from the altar. The person landed steadily, and their figure gradually became clear in the sand that rose and then dispersed.

"Oh no!" The bell-ringing priest's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in alarm.

The product of the total disturbances that are coming this time is fixed. If the landing points of one of them are too close, it means that the other will inevitably deviate significantly!

The Death Knell suddenly looked up and, sure enough, saw another point of light flying rapidly northward, plummeting towards the distant horizon.

"That's the territory of the Star Empire!" Another priest hurriedly spread out a map in his hand, quickly calculating the impact point, his tone tinged with panic, "At this distance, we absolutely mustn't crash into their capital, City of Radiance!"

"Immediately notify Janet and have her make proper arrangements!" Death Knell ordered, her expression turning grim.

****

Star Empire, City of Radiance.

On the street, a little girl with green hair tied in a single ponytail suddenly raised her head and watched a bright light streak across the sky.

Following her gaze, Yise noticed that the light was barely noticeable in the sunlight, and it took her a while to locate it.

"Oh, it was just a shooting star in broad daylight," Yise exclaimed. "You have a sharp eye."

This is a main street near the palace. Yise, dressed in a plain light-colored dress, is holding hands with Qiluo, who is dressed similarly. They look like ordinary young girls strolling together.

The only difference was that what Qiluo was holding wasn't candy, but a meat pie bigger than her head.

"Hmm... maybe I can make a wish?" Qiluo suggested, stuffing the biscuit in her hand into her mouth.

She had originally planned to stuff the whole thing in one bite, but considering her human attire, she couldn't be too shocking, so she pulled part of the pancake out of her mouth and only bit off half.

Yise clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and said, "I hope we can catch Janet tomorrow."

The two continued to pretend to stroll through the streets, while keeping an eye on the movements at the palace entrances and exits. About half an hour later, Yise's gaze suddenly sharpened as a familiar carriage hurriedly drove out of the palace. Judging from its style and decorations, it was Janet's carriage.

"She's already finished meeting with Xialike?" Yise frowned, her tone puzzled.

After the carriage sped away, Janet's head maid also came out with several attendants and headed back towards the Princess's residence.

Janet always traveled with a large entourage. In addition to guards of varying sizes depending on the occasion, she was always accompanied by at least four or five servants. Her head maid, Lilishan, was her usual servant, who was always by her side.

"Janet must have just left temporarily due to an urgent matter; she won't go far, which is why she didn't bring any attendants," Yise concluded after a moment's thought. "We don't need to chase after her; we can just keep watch around her residence."

"Hmm... it's lazy though." Qiluo let out a burp, deciding to use the opportunity to digest her food, otherwise she really couldn't eat anymore. "Why don't we just chase after them? I can run much faster than her carriage!"

Upon hearing this, Yise was momentarily at a loss for words. She couldn't tell whether a fast-running pony was more eye-catching, or a swaggering unicorn following the princess.

"Do you think Xialike's intelligence department is just for show?" Yise rolled his eyes in annoyance, then grabbed Qiluo's wrist. "Let's go, I'll buy you some plum juice on the way."

"Wow, that one's not bad!" Qiluo exclaimed happily.

****

On the outskirts of the City of Radiance, in a patch of wasteland.

Half an hour ago, the meteor-like light dissipated in the sky, revealing the figure inside—a mage named Kulandeer, a member of the Full Quarter Hand Plundering Clock from the Eden Plane.

As he descended below 500 meters, Kulandeer escaped the turbulent magical flow zone. He quickly cast a flight spell, stabilizing himself in mid-air. A strong bulge surged through him, and his Magic Power felt strangely abundant. But Kulandeer knew this was not a good thing—it was a phenomenon caused by the sudden drop in external magical pressure after leaving the high-magic zone of the prime plane.

His strength is at the "Legendary" level in Eden, but it will drop by more than half a level after arriving in the Magic Power- scarce Taya Plane. However, he can currently maintain his level by relying on the residual Magic Power of the prime plane within him. Once the Magic Power is exhausted, his strength will drop to "Paragon".

Of course, even if he falls to the "Paragon" level, with his Legendary background, the "Paragon" level warriors in the Taya Plane are no match for him.

Kulandeer landed slowly, his feet touching the ground. The suffocating feeling from the thin Magic Power in the environment made him frown involuntarily.

He needs some time to adjust to the Magic Power concentration here, which is far inferior to that of the Eden Prime Material Plane.

Being in an unfamiliar place, Kulandeer didn't wander around. Instead, he found a rock to sit on and rest, waiting for his fellow beings from this plane to come looking for him.

But after a while, a group of natives approached, shouting and yelling, accompanied by the clanging of armor. From their conversation, Kulandeer judged that they were the local guard of the Star Empire.

Both worlds share the same common language, though there are some differences, but they can understand each other in regular conversation.

These natives were of mediocre strength; their strongest fighters were only at the "Hero" level, far from being his match. Kulandeer raised his hand and unfolded the spellbook he carried, gathering a faint Magic Power at his fingertips—but then, on second thought, he withdrew it.

The Magic Power of the main plane within him is dwindling with every use, and wasting it on these insignificant minions is not worthwhile.

Attached image: Current power level classification.

This image is only viewable on mobile devices, so for readers who cannot see it, a text explanation of its content is provided:

Roughly speaking, the power levels of the Taya are from Low Rank to Intermediate Rank to High Rank to Saint Rank, corresponding to the traditional 1-20 level division in D&D (Dungeons & Dragons).

The hierarchy in Eden is divided into Apprentice, Hero, Paragon, and Legendary, which, although the details differ, roughly correspond to each other.

In other words, Legendary = Saint Rank = Quarter Hand.

As Eden in the high magic zone, it has an additional Destiny level, corresponding to D&D levels 21-24. This rank is currently not available in Taya, which is the (Demigod) level.

The Clock Hand = Destiny level.

In the current storyline, when people from Eden come to Taya, their rank will drop due to the depletion of their Magic Power.