Chapter 586: The Clue Appears (3k)
“An inside informant? Those who can access the list basically offer part of their faith to the Saints, it’s impossible…”
The Ferryman on the other side immediately objected upon hearing Si Chen’s words. The Ancient God Sect was rarely infiltrated because its high-ranking members were required to worship various “Others” and dedicate themselves.
The Singer remained silent, simply watching Si Chen, waiting for his answer. The others also looked at this “Red-Clad Strategist” while murmuring.
Feeling the slightly chilling gaze, Si Chen glanced at the Ferryman, shook his head helplessly, and sighed, saying:
“You must know that when those high-ranking officials’ blood relatives were locked in the same place back then, they met each other. If someone had wanted to investigate, they would have definitely been able to compile a list.”
“You mean… someone secretly sent the news out?”
The Singer was not foolish. After a moment of thought, she understood the situation, her expression becoming increasingly grim. Originally, keeping these people here was meant to make the Dragon Country’s forces hesitant, but it had become her biggest oversight.
Si Chen nodded, his eyes沉着, and continued:
“I now demand a thorough investigation of those hostages, and to check if any official organizations have infiltrated our cities…”
At this moment, a relatively elderly Black-clad Bishop sitting near the back suddenly stood up. A look of profound doubt appeared on his square Caucasian face as he retorted:
“Impossible! We searched each of them, and they had no Alchemical Items that could contact the outside world. Moreover, the city where they are kept is near us, and we have established signal jamming devices…”
“This is also what confuses me.”
Si Chen glanced at him but didn’t know how to respond.
The Black-clad Bishop’s gaze swept past the Ferryman in the front row, and as if suddenly emboldened, he grinned again:
“As for those who later worked for our Ancient God Sect, there was almost always someone supervising them. Bishop Si Chen, perhaps you are just needlessly worrying after your own work failure.”
Hearing this, Si Chen knew the other party was deliberately targeting him, but he did not refute. Instead, he took a deep breath, looked at the scenery outside the window, and a hint of fear flashed in his eyes, muttering to himself:
“Needless worrying? With this series of events, I can feel the Frost Bury Plan being continuously broken. It seems someone is anticipating our actions and obstructing us in various ways. Otherwise, the number of sacrifices would not be insufficient for so long.”
Si Chen’s words made the Red-Clad Singer fall into thought. Indeed, the time for sacrifices could only be indefinitely postponed. It seemed there was an infinite hand stirring all of this up.
“Even if someone is obstructing us, so what? With our strength, even if a few mice sneak in, what does it matter? They will still be killed.”
The Black-clad Bishop remained silent after that. The Ferryman, whom the gaze had swept over, slowly stood up and immediately retorted.
He paused, then looked at Si Chen with ill intentions and said coldly, “As for Bishop Si Chen, there were no issues at first. Since you took over as the operator, there have been frequent problems. Can you provide an explanation?”
Hearing the other party’s words, the Singer’s brow furrowed slightly. She wanted to speak up to defend Si Chen, but what the elder Black-clad Bishop said was not wrong. Many problems had indeed occurred after Si Chen took charge.
“Bishop Si Chen, do not become arrogant due to favor. A Bishop must have strength and ability to be appointed.”
“If you ask me, any Ferryman would have completed this plan long ago.”
Following the Black-clad Bishop’s words, many sarcastic and Yin-yang remarks were heard from the audience. There were already factions at work, so how could one expect the internal affairs of a cult organization to be harmonious?
“Enough!”
The Singer’s gaze swept coldly over those who were jeering. Once they reluctantly subsided, the Singer retracted her gaze and returned to her seat. She glanced at Si Chen indifferently, and finally announced:
“The next phase of the plan will be carried out by two Ferrymen. Bishop Si Chen has done enough; it’s time for him to rest.”
“Sir Singer, I…”
“Hmm?”
Upon hearing the Singer’s words, Si Chen wanted to say more, but he met a pair of rather blood-red eyes. The words he was about to speak were swallowed back, and feeling the schadenfreude in the eyes around him, he sighed deeply, clasped his hands, and said:
“Yes.”
The banquet quietly ended with some new arrangements made by the two Ferrymen. Si Chen had already decided to leave the gathering early.
He looked back once again at the blood-red figure in the shop, clenched his fist tightly. He still remembered the scenes of that person taking him in. He absolutely could not allow such an unstable factor to exist.
“What exactly is happening? I’ve been feeling uneasy. I remember the roster of those high-ranking officials’ blood relatives is in Gunazha City. I must go and see…”
Suddenly, a trace of coolness fell upon his forehead. He slowly looked up at the sky and saw that it had started snowing. He exhaled a puff of white mist and got into a black Ferrari, disappearing from sight after a short while.
“The shoot that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. It’s good to stay away.”
After he disappeared, a red figure slowly appeared, quietly watching the direction in which the car had disappeared, remaining silent.
Just as the Singer was about to leave, a black shadow suddenly appeared in the sky and then fell like a meteorite about ten meters in front of her. Subsequently, a staggering figure walked up to her and, in an almost exhausted voice, shouted:
“Sir Singer! The Night Watchers have appeared in the two cities to the east, and both have now fallen, with all their devices destroyed…”
Her gaze fell upon this Ferryman covered in knife wounds. The Singer was stunned, and then her pupils narrowed slightly. She grabbed the other man’s collar, her voice filled with implicit anger:
“How could the Night Watchers possibly be in Bear Country?! And how could they have known this opportunity…”
“It’s an inside informant!”
As she said this, she suddenly seemed to recall something and looked sharply in Si Chen’s direction, her gaze appearing somewhat dazed.
“Do we need to recapture the cities? They only have two Elder-level combatants there. If we want to recapture them, it won’t be difficult.”
The Ferryman she was holding looked bitter. He knew he had messed up and would surely not get off lightly this time. He only hoped to atone for his mistakes.
“No need. The devices have been destroyed, so recapturing them is futile.”
Shaking her head, the Singer felt that, just as Si Chen had said, the sacrifice could not be delayed any longer. Now, the devices in two cities had been destroyed, and one of them was even a “fully energized” device point.
“Mr. Muse, activate the Formation now.”
After thinking for a long time, the Singer looked up at the sky, as if speaking to the air. Behind her, a figure wearing a similar straw cloak appeared, but the straw cloak was actually leaning towards a red hue.
She still trusted Si Chen more in her heart, but since he had been consistently failing, to avoid him being targeted by others, it was better to distance herself from him.
“Yes, this old servant will contact the Black-clad Bishops stationed in various locations.”
The figure clasped his hands, knelt on the ground, and let out an old voice. If anyone were to sense it, they would discover that this was actually a Mid-stage War God. His aura was not much inferior to Elder Evelyn of the Nine Clans.
Time passed, and dusk turned into deep night. A blood-colored mist appeared in the sky above the entire city, and then a massive beam of light shot up from the central church, causing the mist to condense even further.
The people of the entire city looked up at the sky with curiosity, and some tried to contact official personnel to inquire about the situation. However, the responses they received were all:
“It’s just a normal phenomenon. Please wait at home for good news.”
…
The old man in the red straw cloak relayed the message all the way and had already reached the fourth city from the west. Since communication was impossible, he had to travel on foot.
“Who exactly did this?!”
His gaze fell upon the Ancient God Sect’s base below, his face extremely ugly. He discovered that the blue-green Frost Blossom had completely frozen the church in the center of the city. He then descended into the church to see what had happened.
As soon as he entered, he saw many members of the Ancient God Sect frozen into ice sculptures. The Alchemical Artifacts in the church had also all been destroyed. And sitting on the central pillar, which was the transmitter, was a person.
“You’re quite fast. I thought you’d be putting in more effort to capture the fifth city.”
A faint laugh came from the person. The person had deer antlers, delicate red lips like an immortal, held a cold crescent moon branch, and a tail like a silver dragon splitting into a carp tail.
“Did you do this?”
The old man in the red straw cloak showed a hint of solemnity on his face. He noticed that the other person only had the strength of an Initial Stage Battle King, but logically speaking, this level of strength should not have been able to cause such damage to a church guarded by Black-clad Bishops.
Su Jiu smiled lightly and got up, gently stroking the Loquat Branch, and said, “You coming here to investigate means that someone on the Singer’s side has discovered the situation. I must say, her subordinates really have capable people.”
“You are only at the Battle King Level. Aren’t you afraid that I’ll crush you with my bare hands?”
The old man asked indifferently. With a flash of white light, a claw-like weapon appeared in his hand, emitting a faint blood aura.
“Afraid? Of course not. Have you ever seen the Three Heroes fighting Lu Bu? Who would be afraid?”
With a laugh, a mask appeared on Su Jiu’s face, and with another wave of his hand, he summoned two figures that completely surrounded the old man.
“I’ve heard that the Ferrymen of the Ancient God Sect are also divided into Black-clad and Red-clad. You must be a Red-clad Ferryman, correct?”
A hoarse laugh came from another corner, carrying a strange coldness.
“Mid-stage War God?”
The old man felt the auras of Evelyn and Aman, and his expression changed slightly. Evelyn alone was enough for him to handle, and with Aman added, his defeat was inevitable.
“This is not two Elder-level combatants at all. I must report back to Sir Singer!”
After thinking carefully, he looked around, then stomped on the ground, intending to fly into the sky. Unexpectedly, the next moment, a white light flashed before his eyes, and a sword aura came charging towards his face.
“Bang!”
Just as he was about to raise his arm to defend, his waist was struck fiercely by a silver light, forcing him to land and dodge. But the moment he landed, a stone club and an ice sword launched attacks straight towards him from behind.
