Counterattack Plan

Now that his main task was complete, Li Lin naturally didn't intend to linger. Although he had used magic to completely conceal all the secrets when leading the Goddess of Theft away from the palace, and no one in the Kingdom of Serei had discovered that the mage had taken a god from their country, Li Lin clearly didn't plan to stay here long. Every time he saw the smooth, glaring stone city outside, Li Lin couldn't help but feel the urge to drink water. Although he admired the Serei people for being able to survive in such a poor place, he had absolutely no intention of eating, living, or working with them.

After signing the secret agreement with King Serei, Li Lin immediately returned to his homeland, leaving the impoverished country. This was not only due to his mood, but also because, according to Catherine's report, the Federation seemed to be planning something new. With Angela absent, only Li Lin could mobilize a large army, and he naturally couldn't focus his energy on such a small border country.

As for the Goddess of Theft, it has to be said that Li Lin always felt he had brought a lot of trouble upon himself.

This Temple no major flaws, but she has a constant stream of minor ones. After rescuing her, Li Lin agreed to let her return to the Ringwraith City with him, and then hand her over to the Goddess of Secrets. However, in just two or three days, this Temple had "explored" every corner of the entire airship. If Li Lin hadn't been watching her, she probably would have even stolen the hull itself. But Li Lin didn't have a good way to deal with this goddess; after all, that's her divine duty, and it was already a big favor that she obediently handed it over... If he wanted her to stop stealing, then this plan couldn't be carried out.

Fortunately, I only need to be patient with her for this period of time, and then I won't have to worry about her anymore.

However, to Li Lin's surprise, as soon as he returned to Ringwraith City, he saw Nia's serious and solemn face.

What happened?

"The situation is not looking good."

Nia didn't report immediately. She first glanced at the Goddess of Theft following behind Li Lin with some surprise, then seemed to understand something and nodded to her.

"The Lady of Secrets has been waiting for a long time; we can discuss these matters after this is over."

"I see."

Although he didn't understand why Nia didn't report to him immediately, Li Lin didn't ask any further questions. He nodded and then walked towards the tower in the center of Ringwraith City. Behind him, Nia's unhurried voice could be heard.

"Your Temple, please return what you stole from me."

"Little girl, don't make false accusations! I am a deity, how could I possibly steal your things? Tell me, what did I steal from you?"

"Although I don't know what you stole, you must have stolen something. This is Ringwraith City, and I hope you will abide by the rules passed down from the era of the Magic Empire."

"... I just used it for fun."

The Lady of Secrets was clearly already aware that Li Lin had brought the Goddess of Theft back from the Kingdom of Serei. She sat quietly on the sofa in the reception room, watching Li Lin and the Goddess of Theft, who was swirling his wine glass and having Yi Aier refill it for him. A hint of relief appeared on her face.

"I knew it, Arcane Mage wouldn't let us down."

"But you have disappointed me greatly, Lady of Secrets."

Unlike his usual polite response, Li Lin spoke without any hesitation.

"I always thought that, given your divine authority, you wouldn't be able to provide us with detailed information, but I never expected that you would actually hide important information from me."

"I don't understand what you mean, Arcane Mage."

Although somewhat surprised by Li Lin's blunt response, the Lady of Secrets calmly replied after a moment's thought.

"I believe that all the transactions we make are equivalent, aren't they?"

I don't think so.

Li Lin shook his head, then leaned back against the soft back of the sofa, and glanced at the Goddess of Theft sitting next to him.

"Seliana told me that the God of Justice might be able to use 'that,' why didn't you tell me?"

That's impossible.

Upon hearing this, the Goddess of Secrets raised her voice considerably. It seemed that a certain word Li Lin used in his speech had put pressure on her.

"I believe you understand, Arcane Mage, I cannot... deny or confirm your guess, but I can only tell you that it is beyond my ability to express."

Although the Goddess of Secrets's words weren't without merit, Li Lin clearly didn't intend to let her off so easily. Indeed, due to the Goddess of Secrets's divine authority, she couldn't be too certain or too definite in her assertions. After all, mystery itself is an ambiguous and uncertain existence; if it were clearly identifiable, it would no longer belong to the realm of mystery.

The Goddess of Secrets had never given Li Lin any clear hints. She revealed her identity to form an alliance without explicitly stating it. And when she asked Li Lin to go to the Kingdom of Serei, she didn't explain why; all of this was due to the limitations of her divine authority. However, the Goddess of Secrets's complete silence on such an important matter greatly displeased Li Lin. It gave him a feeling that his plans had unexpectedly deviated from their intended course, and this was precisely the feeling Li Lin hated most.

This is why he's now somewhat curt in his attitude towards the Lady of Secrets.

"However, what's past is past, and I don't intend to pursue it further. Now, I only hope you can give me an answer: is this matter true?"

"This..."

Clearly, the Lady of Secrets was also somewhat troubled by Li Lin's question. She remained silent for a long time, and finally, Lady of Secrets seemed to have made up her mind.

"All I can say is that things aren't quite as you think, Arcane Mage."

The Lady of Secrets's reply was limited to this.

Since that was the case, Li Lin didn't intend to say anything more. Now that the Lady of Secrets had given her answer, extracting information from it was his task. Therefore, he didn't dwell on the matter and readily relinquished control, handing over the Goddess of Theft. Although this goddess was somewhat dissatisfied with being handed over like merchandise, she clearly showed no sign of resistance against the Greater God and Arcane Mage. Moreover, a portion of the Goddess of Theft had originally separated from the Goddess of Secrets. If it were any other god, this Temple with a penchant for thievery might have been able to resist, but before this goddess, she was powerless...

Of course, as for how to steal the Great Book of Law, they needed to discuss it with the other gods before making a plan, so Li Lin didn't expect them to come up with a feasible solution right now. Therefore, he didn't stop them. On the contrary, after watching the Goddess of Theft reluctantly being pulled into the Astral Plane Portal by the Goddess of Secrets, Li Lin breathed a sigh of relief from the bottom of his heart. He had finally gotten rid of this guy.

However, this sense of relief didn't last long, because Li Lin had more important things to deal with.

"What did you say?"

Li Lin looked at Nia in surprise and asked in confusion.

"Has the United Government launched a counter-offensive?"

"Yes, Li Lin."

Nia simply nodded at Li Lin's surprise; in fact, she understood Li Lin feelings perfectly. All along, the Magic Empire had been suppressing the Five-Nation Alliance in the war. The current situation was that Lalia, facing immense pressure, was first to disintegrate internally, while the United Government was being held back by Catherine. Generally speaking, there shouldn't have been any problems. But now, the United Government actually dared to send troops?

"What did Catherine say?"

I cannot reach Miss Catherine.

Nia frowned.

"Something seems to have happened on her end; I can't get in touch with her right now."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Li Lin's expression became even more serious.

Tell me the whole story from beginning to end.

Soon, through Nia's explanation, Li Lin understood the cause and effect of the matter.

Although internal divisions within Lalia prevented Li Lin from immediately launching an attack with the Scourge Legion, he still left most of the undead there, significantly reducing their numbers elsewhere. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the new United Government launched a simultaneous offensive from the border regions of the Xialuo Kingdom and Dideyasi, reclaiming two cities that originally belonged to the Federation, eliminating all the undead within, and establishing outposts. Because the Magic Empire's territory was being monitored by the "Virgin Goddess's Jewelry" satellite, Nia immediately noticed the problem with the troop movements. Although she contacted Catherine to try and find out what was happening, Catherine received no response. Since Li Lin was in the Kingdom of Serei at the time, Nia didn't report to him. While her side had suffered losses, they were mostly undead, and Nia intended to use these sacrifices to see what the United Government was planning.

"So, what are they doing now?"

"After capturing Broken Stone City and Sunwatch City, they immediately began to set up defensive lines there."

As Nia spoke, she reached out her hand, and with her movement, a three-dimensional illusion map appeared in the air.

"Most of the Federation's land is plains, so I think they're planning to slowly wear us down through a steady and methodical approach."

"But I really didn't expect this..."

Li Lin frowned as he stared at the red dots representing life on the map before him.

"The United Government has such great courage; it seems like things will be difficult to handle."

Should we launch an attack on them immediately?

Nia looked at Li Lin and asked, but Li Lin thought for a long time and finally shook his head, rejecting Nia's opinion.

"No need. Since they still want to counterattack even after losing five Weapon Spirit, we need to find out what they're up to. I'll withdraw all the undead troops from a slightly farther area, leaving a portion as bait. Nia, you continue to contact Catherine and see what happened to her."

"I see."

Nia didn't say anything more in response to Li Lin's order, but nodded in agreement.

For Catherine, life was equally difficult.

She stood on the city wall, watching with mixed feelings the soldiers below carrying corpses and preparing to burn them.

What are you doing here, Catherine?

The cheerful voices around her made Catherine turn her head. She looked at the girl with a happy smile in front of her and bowed respectfully.

"I'm just a little sad, Lord Gabriel."

"Sad?"

Upon hearing this, a hint of curiosity flashed in the archangel's eyes, before he nodded in understanding.

"I think I understand what you mean, Catherine, but for the sake of justice and light, some people must be sacrificed. Although none of us want to see this happen, things can't always go as we wish."

That's true.

Catherine sighed deeply, not because of the soldiers' deaths, but because of the reduction in the number of undead. After all, these were her master's powerful military force, and now they had been so easily wiped out. It would be impossible for Catherine not to feel sadness and heartache. However, when Catherine shifted her gaze to the other side of the city wall, her expression became much sharper.

"Excuse me for my rudeness, Archangel, but I am truly curious about that person's background."

Catherine was referring to the man standing in the shadows at the corner of the city wall, draped in a black cloak, who had also covered his face, preventing anyone from seeing him.

"Catherine, there are some things you don't need to overthink."

Gabriel knew perfectly well who Catherine was referring to, but all she could do was shake her head in response.

"But, I learned from him..."

"Catherine!"

This time, Catherine was abruptly interrupted by Gabriel before she could finish speaking. Catherine, caught off guard, stared wide-eyed at the archangel before her. The archangel seemed to realize her lapse in composure, coughed lightly, and casually brushed the matter aside.

"The will and thoughts of the gods are beyond your comprehension, and besides, aren't we making good progress? I think you just need to focus on doing your job well."

Having said that, Catherine naturally had nothing more to say. In fact, it was this man who had suddenly appeared a few days ago and demanded that the United Government launch a counterattack against the Magic Empire. Although Catherine had intended to refute him, she tried to stall for time by arguing that the United Government had not been established for long and was not yet fully prepared to mobilize troops for battle.

However, when she saw that even Gabriel couldn't refute this man, Catherine, as a saint and angel, naturally couldn't say anything more. She had no choice but to helplessly join the Allied Forces in battle alongside the Archangel. Although she had considered contacting her master or Nia to report this strange situation, Catherine sensed that the man seemed quite sensitive to magic. Several times when she tried to use magic, he seemed to sense it. Under these circumstances, Catherine dared not act rashly and try to contact him using magic. She naturally suspected that this was yet another person sent by Li Lin to cause trouble for the United Government, but after several verbal probes, she had to change her mind. Clearly, this man was not Li Lin 'Catherine subordinate, but someone who had truly come to assist the United Government in destroying the Undead Legion of the Magic Empire.

So Catherine decided to find out the man's identity first before making a judgment. After all, she could sense that he was a rather evil being, and since the Archangel had brought him, Gabriel should know something. In Catherine's memory, the Archangel was a very upright and pure person, and she shouldn't have allowed an unidentified person to join the Allied Army for such an important mission.

However, she was unaware that even Gabriel harbored doubts. Just days before, the God of Justice had suddenly sent this man to aid her, instructing her to obey his every command. As an archangel, Gabriel naturally sensed an unusually strong aura of darkness and evil emanating from this man, leaving the archangel bewildered. Why would a great god representing light and justice send such a dark and wicked individual as her superior? Despite her doubts, her angelic instincts compelled her to obey the black-robed man's orders, embarking on what she considered a somewhat reckless battle plan. In fact, Gabriel shared Catherine's concerns, believing that with the newly established United Government, such a large-scale mobilization of troops, while potentially beneficial if successful, could negatively impact the domestic political stability if lost. The Magic Empire's attention was currently focused on Lalia, not the United Government; if she provoked them, things would become extremely complicated.

However, the man quickly demonstrated his formidable strength.

In the previous battle, he used his strange and powerful abilities to weaken the strength and speed of the undead. After that, the completely weakened undead army was no match for the human soldiers. Although their counterattacks were still powerful, they were unable to inflict the same significant losses on humans as before. Even so, Gabriel remained wary of this man. After all, the aura emanating from him did not seem like that of a god, and Gabriel also felt a slight sense of fear when facing him.

She didn't know why, but Gabriel felt it wasn't a good sign.