Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

  Although the Church’s forces had been drastically culled, their Demigod-level powerhouse was, at least, still with them, and their second most powerful hitters — the Templars — were still pretty much with them; this made the Church the most powerful force within the secret dimension. Now that they had regrouped, the classes of soldiers in their ensemble could finally display the results of the intense training they had in working together and covering each other’s backs. They were capable of making quick work of the other forces.

  Meanwhile, in another location, the northerners successfully regrouped just as the Church had. After a brief update report, they concluded that their force had suffered more losses than they were prepared for. The scholarly-looking one among them was in a foul mood, and he soon snapped. “We killed many of them! Why do they still have half their members left?”

  “Nae only that, we ur still sufferin’ some casualties. Our men ur at a disadvantage in numbers. Warst still, Yang hus perished,” the muscular northern said, stating even worse news.

  “That Yang ‘Heartless Executioner’ Dong-xu?! How the bloody hell did he even die here? Did he meet their Demigod-level or what?” The scholarly northern replied, incredulously.

  “Ye shood hae ne’er underestimated th’ skills o’ th’ Southerners. They hae more than jist ‘dat wrinkled old chaplain! ‘Member what we discussed bfore?” The shorter northern elucidated, with a grim expression. It was also natural that losing that many members would bring frowns to the faces of the northerners. “If Yang met that man called Hope en route, ‘den his demise wood hae bin assured.”

  The Four Heavenly Kings had now lost one of their Kings, and their Demigod Abbot was still waylaid by the enemy’s Demigod Knight; hence, only the three of them could lead and fight for the northerners now. Northerners were more powerful than members of the Church, so they would hold the advantage in one-on-one battles. However, even these accomplished northerners would not want to meet face the Templars, who were famous for their accomplishment in fighting together, in group battles.

  “These…… Southern sons of a b**ch! If they possessed even a modicum of wit, those cravens would have worked with us to wipe out the Church before they regrouped! Only then could they stand a chance, however pitiful it is. If they had done that, neither of us would have been in this…… wretched position!” The Scholarly Man yelled, at the top of his voice, shifting the blame to anyone else but the northerners.

  “Th’ Church has existed fur thoosands o’ years, mate. Their influence tae th’ masses ‘as reached a depth more than ye an’ I ur willin’ tae imagine. Whit we wanted tae do — tae go against a millennia-auld establishment — wud ne’er bi easy,” the short northerner said. “Now, we shood switch tactics by nae bringin’ attention tae oorselves, an’ tail behin’ th’ Church. They ur th’ biggest faction now, aren’t they? They should now attract competitors…… Let those ruffians dae th’ dirtee wark fur us by wearin’ th’ Church out.

  “Dinnae forget: we still hae th’ Imperial force, too. I dinnae believe that th’ Emperor is delighted in havin’ th’ Church’s pope lookin’ doon at him aw th’ time. He might nae let them lay a hand on th’ treasure, so we still have chance,” the muscular man finished.

  After that, the Northerners kept a low profile. They huddled together and quietly followed the Church from behind, waiting for an opening to strike.

  After a lengthy period of wanton fighting, a hundred people had lost their lives. This made the survivors take a step back and hide, and when they heard that the members of the Church had regrouped, they began to form their own groups as well. None of these groups were large enough to rival the Church, but they were enough to cause trouble.

  Baiyi’s group, however, consisted of those he had saved along the way, like Baldy Kris. Each member in the group was of a different class. The way this group moved about made them look more like tourists than people hunting for a secret treasure.

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  “Tsk. So, everyone else has finally formed groups and are now headed to my castle, huh…… Hmm…… What about over there?” Baiyi turned his attention to another area in close proximity, where a group of men was situated.

  This group was filled with sinister fellows, and their numbers were quite concerning. Every one of them wore suspicious black cloaks. One look at these black-cloaked figures is enough for anyone to know that they did not harbor any righteous intentions. However, this group was only slowly creeping towards the castle in the distance.

  Baiyi could also sense necromancy-laced mana emanating from the group.

  For him, there was no mistaking what kind of group this was. They had to be an underground faction also eying the secret treasure, and they were lead by someone who had somehow managed to unify their movement.

  Their black cloaks made Baiyi think of the Godsfall cult. This sort of secretive movement was their modus operandi.

  ‘This is the best time for the Church to do what they claimed they had arrived at Capital City for — eradicating underground factions like these.’ Baiyi thought to himself.

  He lightly raised a finger into the air but did not say anything. No one could tell what he was about to do.

  The black-cloaked figures were still sneaking towards the castle, and they had no idea that the ground underneath their feet had changed slightly. They slowly crept to the top of a small hill and…… found themselves staring directly at the Church’s group.

  Both sides froze. The black-cloaked figures were flabbergasted. Had they not taken care to ensure that their path was free of enemies? “Why is the Church’s force now right in front of us?”

  In terms of reflexes, the Church was way better than these black-cloaked figures. Furthermore, the Church’s force was being led by an elite team of Templars! One look at the black-cloaked figures was all it took for the leader of the Templar Team to draw his longsword and issue a loud battle cry. “Face your Divine Punishment in the name of God!”

  After that, the Templars charged towards the group of black-cloaked figures. The underground group knew that there was no escape for them, so they braced themselves for battle. The Templars reached them in an instant, and a battle began. Theurgical magic spells and necromancy spells were being fired off constantly. The battle was a very messy one.

  The Northerners, who had been silently following the Church from behind, were quick to recognize the opening they had so yearned for, seeing as the Church was engaging an unknown group in battle. They snuck closer to the battlefield, with the intention of capitalizing on the element of surprise that they now had.

  As they crept closer, the group felt that something was amiss, so they snuck even slower. There was a clearing in front of them, and when they were close to it, they charged out into the open. As soon as they emerged, they found themselves facing the Imperial forces group — the same predicament that the black-cloaked figures suffered.

  Both sides momentarily froze, staring at each in surprise. However, in the next few moments, they were charging at each other, and when they collided, a battle ensued.

  Just like that, the peace was shattered as two battles ensued in close proximity to each other.

  “Alright, I should probably stop watching from the side now……” Baiyi murmured to himself. He turned to Baldy Kris and instructed him to lead the other members of the group to the Black Castle and make sure to avoid confrontation with any other groups.

  After Baiyi said that, he vanished and reappeared in the air above the Demigod Abbot and the Demigod Knight, who were locked in a standoff. They were both seated quietly on the ground, trying to sense everything happening on the wasteland with their psychic energy.

  Behind the two Demigods stood the three Divine Warriors. They were hidden inside a thick black fog that enveloped the area; even their silhouettes were hardly noticeable.

  The barbarians seemed not to know that they were invisible to others; even Huskar did not notice anything unusual about their location and appearance. When he spotted Baiyi hovering in the air above, he said, “So these two are who you needed us to find, right? They…… are very strong!”

  Saying so, he unsheathed two hatchets on his waist. This was the first time Baiyi saw the Divine Warrior use a weapon; it was obvious that Huskar took his would-be opponents very seriously.

  “Just as we planned: you guys distract the younger one, and I’ll take out the grandpa,” Baiyi whispered, in the language of the barbarians.

  The Demigod abbot slowly opened his eyes and looked up. “Sae, ye must be Hope. What would ye gain fem this?” The two Demigods had noticed them!

  The Demigod Knight looked up at Baiyi with an expression of caution, for his gut told him that Baiyi’s intentions were not as friendly as he hoped. Since the soul armature was someone who had been praised by the Emperor, the Demigod Knight could only furrow his brows. “Master Hope, huh…… Good. if we work together, the bald fiend will not stand a chance! Rest assured, any help you render to secure his Majesty’s treasure will surely be communicated to his Majesty, the Emperor. I’ll see to that personally!”

  “Sounds very generous,” Baiyi sneered. “You marauders raid someone’s property, steal something from it, and dare to offer the property’s owner a share of the loot? You’ll make a good comedian.”

  After Baiyi said that, he snapped his fingers, and a ring of unsettling runes appeared instantly and trapped the five of them in that area.

  That action made Baiyi’s intentions clear, and the Demigod Knight’s face darkened. He quickly pulled out his Zweihanders and roared, “What are you trying to do? Betray his Majesty? Betray the empire?”

  “Hahaha. I ‘undstand now, plain an’ clear: ye are th’ mysterioos foorth Demigod. Nae wonder ye wia able ‘tah put an end o’ that Azure Sect’s outcast,” said the demigod abbot as he slowly stood up. Then, his expression turned grave, and he said, “Dae ye really think ye can take two Demigods all by yerself?”

  Baiyi slowly shook his head sideways; he took his black cape off, folded it neatly, and carefully placed it into his storage pouch. Then, he faced the Demigod Abbot. “Not two of you. All three of you. My ceremony does not require the attendance of demigods.”

  After saying that, his entire body began to transform — into his signature Black Meatball Mode! He made a grasping motion, and two large balls of pitch-black Void Flames appeared from nowhere and soared towards the Demigod abbot and the Demigod knight.

  As if on cue, the three Divine Warriors let out hoarse warcries, and golden phantoms encased them; then, their figures turned into three black bolts of lightning, which rushed towards the Demigod Knight with unimaginable speed.

  “Stay alert!” The Demigod Abbot warned, and an icy-blue combat chi erupted from his body, which consumed the ball of black flames hurtling towards him.

  “I do not need you to remind me,” the Demigod knight snapped, and unleashed chi fury with immense accuracy to block Baiyi’s ball of black flames, then he swung his Zweihanders to meet Huskar’s incoming hatchet.

  When both weapons collided, the Demigod knight’s expression changed. Strong! He had not expected the foe to have this much strength!

  The Demigod knight had poured all the combat chi he could muster into that strike, yet he was sent flying when his Zweihanders met Huskar’s hatchet in midair. He landed on his feet but was still forced to skid backward a bit more, leaving two long depressions in the ground in his wake.