Great! I'm surrounded by villains!-Chapter 453 - 373: Stranger

As a doctor, Duan Mingyuan had done some simple treatment on the wounds of the Dark Night Witch to ensure she would not die within a short period of time.

Ascending the spiral staircase, his heart suddenly felt empty.

He liked easily attained victories, which had almost been the main theme of his life; for the first time on his life’s journey, he encountered a powerful opponent who might require all his efforts to contend with. Yet, when he arrived at this final battleground, he was informed that this strong opponent would not be able to participate in the battle due to internal conflicts.

Without the heir, even the last obstacle had disappeared.

Duan Mingyuan maintained a steady pace, which had consumed quite a bit of his time.

At the top of the tower, the throne had become tilted due to a recent fall; a faint soul fragment was bound above it, and in such a state, it could be reduced to nothingness with just a pinch.

"However, this is the norm in the Land of Eternal Night,"

Duan Mingyuan stood before the throne and said, "This is the tone you set for this world."

In "Genesis," it was written that Void Demons were synonymous with chaos and disorder, abiding by the law of the jungle, and superior demons hold absolute domination over their inferiors; in this realm, being weak was the greatest sin of all.

To become a Warlord, any means were permitted.

Ambushes, poisonings, or even dishonorable mobbing—as long as it could eliminate a rival, it was a good method.

faithfully followed the laws of the Land of Eternal Night, while the Dark Night Witch, being a foreigner, naively trusted this stranger who claimed to have no interest in ascending the throne, leading to her being backstabbed.

All this had occurred before the progenitor, and Duan Mingyuan did not know what He would think after witnessing everything.

The soul fragment on the throne did not share a "declaration of victory" but rather mechanically issued an invitation to Duan Mingyuan.

It seemed that over time, His thoughts had ceased, and He could only mechanically remain here, waiting for the heir to arrive.

But to Duan Mingyuan, this was not necessarily a bad thing.

Putting himself in their place, if he were the one sitting on the throne, and seeing the last two heirs break into internal conflict before the throne leading to their mutual downfall and allowing a foreigner to benefit, he would probably suffer a stroke from anger on the spot.

"I am not your heir."

Although the soul fragment might no longer be able to hear his voice, he still declared his intent.

He was not the type to give up halfway.

The throne had lost its heir, but the surging dark energy of the Land of Eternal Night remained a significant problem.

Duan Mingyuan’s right hand reached toward the location of the soul fragment, and as soon as his fingertips touched the fragment, a sensation akin to an electric shock surged up.

............

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

This was the Third Prince’s second day inside the Holy City Cathedral, and by the time, it was the darkest period before dawn, yet the outside was brightly lit with lights.

With the "Life Goddess" joining, the condition of the wounded on the ground had stabilized; however, the air battle overhead continued, with battleships plummeting through the sky periodically.

Moments later, Earth Wolf Twelve entered through the door.

"I just received a message; Jiuyue and the flagship of the Baptism have safely left the battle zone."

As the deputy captain had predicted, the Universe Company and Shanqi Commerce Association, influenced by parasites, had become blindly enraged. More and more fleets were being drawn into the battle, with no one having the leisure to pursue the two flagships that had left the Star Zone.

But the Third Prince had not heeded Duan Mingyuan’s advice; he decided to stay in the Holy City Cathedral.

This grand "fireworks show" always felt somewhat off to him.

In theory, this was Ashen Church’s headquarters, where all technology of the Sun Empire was rooted; if Ashen Church fully engaged in the battle, the air fight would quickly end in a one-sided victory, culminating in the complete defeat of Shanqi Commerce Association.

But so far, he observed that apart from activating the "Energy Net" to prevent the city from being damaged by falling flagships, Holy City had not utilized any war weapons.

This was the direct reason the battle continued up to now.

He had tried to inquire about the situation from the Judges and the Staff-wielding Squad, only to receive the official response: "Rashly deploying war weapons might accidentally harm our allies."

It seemed that in the face of a war that could potentially destroy the entire Holy City, Ashen believers had suddenly become tolerant and compassionate citizens of the Sun King, reluctant to take harsh actions even against those who invaded their homeland.

They had not had such an attitude during the conflict at Witch Star.

"Have you found out anything about the Pope’s whereabouts?"

This was the second order the Third Prince gave to Earth Wolf Twelve.

Moreover, he had observed another peculiar phenomenon.

This was a period of utmost chaos in the Holy City, with the threats from the Dark Night Witch and void demons within, and the invasion from Shanqi Commerce Association fleets outside; it was a time that needed someone to take charge, but the very Pope who should have led everything had suddenly disappeared.

In fact, since the Pope had gone to "study refrigerators," he had not appeared again.

Obviously, the refrigerator was now useless; the Dark Night Witch’s actions had moved to the next phase, and with the inevitable war between the company and the chamber, even if the Pope did indeed produce a refrigerator, it would already be outdated.

"The people in the Church were reluctant to share, but I still figured out some ways,"

Earth Wolf Twelve gave a slight smile, referring naturally to the methods of the Interstellar Mercenaries.

Sneaking into the isolation zone of the Church, for example.

"Unless something unexpected happens, the Pope should have hidden in the refuge area beneath the cathedral, accessible only to those with Judge’s authority,"

After saying this, he added, "Since entering there yesterday, he has not come out again."

"Let’s go, take me there."

"Do you know how to get in?"

Earth Wolf Twelve was somewhat surprised; he had lingered at the entrance for a long time, during which he was nearly discovered by the patrolling Staff-wielding Squad several times, but until the end, he hadn’t found a way to get in.

"Baptism gave me a ’door card’ before leaving—it might be used there."

The Third Prince spoke.

Perhaps even the Baptism had sensed the Pope’s abnormality.

Even a fool knew that with such a major event happening outside, the Pope leading the core strength of the church to hide in the basement wasn’t to make air conditioners; there must be something more important than dealing with Universe Company and the Shanqi Commerce Association.

Simply put, the Pope was no saint.

This thought occurred to the Third Prince the first time he met him.

"Let’s go."

"You should prepare yourself mentally."

The Third Prince stopped Earth Wolf Twelve who was about to leave, "This journey might be a one-way trip."

They were about to investigate the deepest secrets of the Ashen Church.

In fact, as early as when Jiuyue withdrew, he had planned to have Earth Wolf Twelve evacuate with the Fortress Number, but Earth Wolf Twelve insisted on staying with him in the Holy City Cathedral.

"When have I ever been afraid of such things?"

Earth Wolf Twelve said disdainfully, "People like me live every day with their heads tied to their belts."

If it hadn’t been for meeting Duan Mingyuan and others on Mechanical Star, he would likely have been on a battleship exchanging fire with Universe Company, sinking a few enemy ships before going down with the ship.

"A man can die, but he must not die without knowing why."

Earth Wolf Twelve walked in front, trusting the Third Prince’s judgment.

Even if they were to die in the "basement" of the Holy City Cathedral today, they would figure out what diabolical schemes the church was plotting, "and you will definitely need someone who can spread the word about what happens there."

Earth Wolf Twelve pointed to his chest.

He had upgraded every part below his head; he had specifically installed a camera function in his chest, "Once something unexpected happens to us, what happens in the ’basement’ will be transmitted simultaneously to both the Fortress Number and the Conscious Space on the Prison Planet, and the Owl will find a way to send the message to the whole world."

Earth Wolf Twelve was very excited.

He never imagined that a rough man who had spent half his life fighting would end up doing a delicate job like undercover journalism.

"Then let’s set out, let us uncover the secrets of the church—" freewēbnoveℓ.com

"This is not a good idea, Third Prince and... Mr. Earth Wolf Twelve."

A gloomy voice came from around the corner.

The Third Prince paused, surrounded by the Staff-wielding Squad, the long-absent Pope approached them, "This is the Holy City Cathedral, every move you make here is under our surveillance, including the actions of Mr. Earth Wolf Twelve just now."

The polite tone felt chilling.

Earth Wolf Twelve’s hand rested on his gun, ready to draw at any moment.

"Given your actions just now, I could immediately have you locked up, but that would be contrary to hospitality."

The Pope simply made a gesture, and three Judges appeared behind them, completely cutting off their retreat. Then, he revealed a seemingly benevolent smile and commanded, "Since you are interested in what’s there, I will personally lead the way."

"So you will just let this meaningless war continue? Don’t forget, the threat from the Witch Council hasn’t been lifted..."

"If you’re talking about the Dark Night Witch, there’s no need to worry about her anymore."

The Pope said, "Compared to war, we have more important matters to attend to."

"I’ve heard about your feud with the Witch Council."

The Third Prince’s gaze was unyielding, "The next question is out of personal curiosity—during your visit to Wizard Star, what exactly did you see through the prophecies of the soothsayers?"

The Pope did not respond immediately.

The question evoked his distant memories.

During that era, the Ashen Church still maintained friendly relations with Wizard Star.

He seemed to return to that dimly lit divination room.

Wizard Star’s most outstanding soothsayer sat opposite him, her hands hovering over a crystal ball, gazing at the changes within it.

"Miss Soothsayer, how far into the future can your art of prophecy see?"

The Pope asked curiously.

"It depends on the subject of the prophecy."

The Miss Soothsayer smiled, but in the next instant, her smile froze on her face.

She stared intently at the changes in the crystal ball, and the Pope naturally saw the same images.

"Your art of prophecy is truly well-deserved."

The Pope did not skimp on compliments.

As he began to speak, a blade emerging from the shadows pierced through the soothsayer’s spine. The dagger, which should not have been able to harm a witch, instantly took the soothsayer’s life.

Blood stained the crystal ball, and the soothsayer fell before it with her eyes wide open.

...

"It is the demon."

The Pope stopped the reminiscing and announced something he had stated countless times, "They are descendants of the Void Demon."

The war the Ashen Church waged against Wizard Star was completely a righteous act to punish the Void Demon.

This was indubitable.

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