Great! I'm surrounded by villains!-Chapter 455 - 375: Swearing Allegiance

"Return to base, immediately return to base!"

As soon as the communication between the Third Prince and Earth Wolf Twelve was cut off, Jiuyue issued the order, intuition telling her that the Ashen Church was plotting something unspeakable.

Perhaps from the beginning, their enemy was not just the Void Demon.

"We’ve just barely escaped this Star Zone, rashly returning would just mean throwing our lives away for nothing."

He Ya, observing the panic among the other crew members, stepped forward and said, "The Third Prince did what he did because he was worried you’d go challenge the Pope recklessly. Do you want his efforts to be in vain?"

Now the three main forces of Fortress Number were falling apart.

Duan Mingyuan was trapped in the Land of Eternal Night, with no news since, and the communication recorder of Earth Wolf Twelve had also suddenly cut off just now; knowing the Church’s modus operandi, it was more likely bad news than good.

Even if Earth Wolf Twelve was a splendid fighter, it’s hard to fend off multiple attackers on your own.

In the Church’s "propaganda," each Judge had been blessed by the Sun King and possessed strength no less than that of a Long Branch Guard, while Earth Wolf Twelve was merely a former Long Branch Guard Candidate without even his own armor.

With just a revolver, how could he stand against all the Judges of the Ashen Church? Could he win?

"Mr. Mingyuan once said that not abandoning comrades is a principle of Fortress Number."

Jiuyue said.

She was not only worried about the safety of the Third Prince and Earth Wolf Twelve now, but the behavior of the Ashen Church had also become increasingly suspicious over the past few days.

Perhaps their target from the start had been Duan Mingyuan in the Land of Eternal Night.

"Even if you storm into the Church now, what can you do?"

He Ya asked, "With your current state, at best you can only take on one Long Branch Guard. Don’t forget, besides the Judges, almost the entire Long Branch Committee is currently in the Holy City. In the event of a conflict, do you think they will side with the Church or you, someone completely unrelated to the Company?"

"I’ll go alone."

Reason told Jiuyue that maybe He Ya was right, but the Fox Demon was always driven by emotion. "There’s a spare spaceship in the Fortress Number’s hangar; you can continue to stay on Fortress Number."

"I’ll go too."

Ling Long volunteered, stepping forward.

Seeing this, Yang Ping and Tang Qianqian exchanged glances; despite the pain of being a salted fish so intense it twisted their facial features, their bodies still honestly responded.

"I’ll take care of infiltrating the Church."

Li Hua licked her paws, "They won’t give a harmless little kitty a hard time... probably."

Then, everyone’s gaze fell on He Ya.

The originally intended destination of Fortress Number was Flashing Star, which was He Ya’s home turf.

Once they entered the Star Zone where Flashing Star was located, she could fully use her strength, and at this moment, neither the Church nor the Chamber of Commerce had the energy to deal with a will born from a "Cocoon" planet.

"What are you all looking at me for?"

He Ya shrugged innocently, "Even if I held up a sign right now saying ’Welcome to Flashing Star, super safe there,’ would you listen to me?"

"No."

They replied in unison.

Jiuyue said, "However, there’s a spaceship in the hangar that you can take back to Flashing Star."

"Boy, you really are my little deity!"

He Ya was amused by the suggestion; the only reason for their crew to return to Flashing Star was so she could handle various troubles until Duan Mingyuan returned.

In other words, she had agreed to be the temporary bodyguard for these humans.

What kind of bodyguard abandons their charges and runs home alone?

If this got out, it would have a terribly negative impact on the golden reputation she had established across the universe.

"I never said I didn’t want to go back. If not for you people, I wouldn’t want to leave at all."

He Ya felt she had been rather roundly kicked out of the loop, as it seemed a bit against the natural order of things, especially since she had left the Holy City with a heavy heart.

As a merchant, she adored the current Holy City.

There was both fun and business opportunities.

"What I’m saying is that we need a complete plan."

She intended to prove with her actions that she was the most trustworthy merchant in the entire universe. No matter what trouble you encountered, as long as you could get through to her, all problems would be solved.

The secret to all this was that He Ya always considered the worst case scenario.

Just like now.

"Imagine, if by the time we return, the war between Universe Company and Shanqi Commerce Association is nearing an end, the Ashen Church has used the Star Zone’s defense system to annihilate the enemy, and we become the enemies of the entire Star Zone, how should we deal with that?"

This soul-piercing question plunged everyone into silence.

The unity just now was the result of courage and an optimistic spirit, and the most favorable scenario for them was undoubtedly the intensification of the war between the two sides, with the Ashen Church preoccupied, allowing them to sneak into the Cathedral under the cover of chaos and rescue the imprisoned Third Prince and Earth Wolf Twelve.

A grand plan that lacked the control of details, and they could only face many critical issues with an optimistic spirit.

If one were optimistic, maybe they wouldn’t face any danger.

"Right, Jiuyue is Ruihu, and her luck will protect us all."

Tang Qianqian’s eyes brightened.

As long as the goddess of luck was with them, the rescue plan would be as smooth as red velvet cake.

He Ya splashed cold water on everyone’s enthusiasm, "This only applies outside of the Holy City, where the Scorching Sun Energy will interfere with your abilities. The closer you are to the cathedral, the more obvious the interference... You gave the Third Prince and the others sachets, but they had no effect."

"Then what’s your brilliant idea?"

Jiuyue, seeing that He Ya seemed to have a plan up her sleeve, went straight to the point and asked.

He Ya also immediately revealed a smile; clearly, this question hit the mark, "I am the most trustworthy merchant in this universe. Every single item I sell is definitely worth its price, including the free gifts."

"...The Leviathan Egg?"

That was the only item they had traded from He Ya, exchanged for Dr. Eisenberg from Prison Planet.

Ever since the egg was moved onto Fortress Number, it had always been kept in the incubator. Jiuyue used to occasionally go and touch it, but recently, with all the trouble they had encountered, she hadn’t checked on it for a long time.

The value of a Leviathan Egg could match that of a small country; to say it was worth a fortune would hardly capture its exorbitant cost.

"Smart."

He Ya snapped her fingers, "The cry of a Leviathan infant can reach the Bug Nest. In other words, as long as you can hatch this little treasure, it could draw insect swarms from several nearby Star Zones." freēwēbηovel.c૦m

As she spoke, she stared intently at Jiuyue’s fluffy tail.

"Of course, hatching a Leviathan baby is not easy. Whether you can be successful will depend on you showing the glow of motherhood."

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

Meanwhile, beneath the Holy City Cathedral.

The standoff between the Pope and the Third Prince continued.

"Perhaps in your eyes, some of the Ashen Church’s actions are extreme, but I hope you believe that all this is part of fate’s design. If we go against fate’s guidance, things a thousand times worse than this will happen."

This was a sermon for the heathens.

The Pope had experienced countless such moments in his life and witnessed the transformation of innumerable heathens.

Therefore, there was no reason for this time to be a failure.

"Moreover, I’ve never had any ill intentions towards you. On the contrary, I hope you can understand the truth and witness the arrival of fate with me."

He placed the ruby-encrusted staff into the socket in front of the throne.

Under the influence of the Scorching Sun Energy, the ruby emitted a dazzling brilliance.

"Someone should witness and record what happens here, and the world should know the achievements of Duan Mingyuan... rather, of all Blue Star. In the coming millennia, people will still remember this day when the Blue Star People helped the Ashen Church reseal the Void Demons."

The Third Prince saw through the Pope’s intentions.

His speech was impassioned, but his eyes flickered with a longing for the throne.

He didn’t know what kind of ritual was taking place, but the Pope had already made it clear on his face that he desired to sit on the throne.

And this soon-to-be New King had already arranged the next mission for him, a Blue Star person — just like the scene depicted at the beginning of the mural.

The Sun King reclined on his throne, beneath which lay the Believers prostrated before him.

The Pope valued his identity as a Blue Star person and a prince; these two identities would lend his public speeches more convincing power.

Perhaps as the Pope said, he didn’t intend to secretly execute them, the Blue Star People — provided they were willing to become the mouthpiece of the Ashen Church.

"So, what is the cost?"

The Third Prince’s abrupt question caused the Pope to pause for a moment, a hint of displeasure showing in his eyes.

"Yes, everything comes at a cost. This is a great sacrifice," the Pope said. "Once the seal is formed, the chosen one will stay in the Land of Eternal Night forever, fighting endlessly against the Void Demons in the dark until the end of his life... Could it be that you are still hoping he can return here? The moment he crosses the plane, going to the Land of Eternal Night, his fate was already sealed."

What he was talking about now was between them.

Or to put it on a larger scale, it was between the Ashen Church and Blue Star.

And he had heard that the Third Prince was a man who understood the times; the Universe Company’s Department of Cosmic Peace and Harmony had once given the prince high praise.

An excellent candidate for a puppet.

The Pope could no longer suppress his desire and walked up to the stone platform, sitting on the throne above it, his manner identical to the Sun King in the mural.

"You intentionally omitted this part from ’Genesis’."

The Third Prince understood everything.

If Duan Mingyuan had seen this piece in ’Genesis,’ he would have been on guard.

Perhaps...

The bombardment of Wizard Star and the disappearance of prophecy were likewise.

This time, the Pope didn’t intend to answer the Third Prince’s questions.

"Blue Star’s prince, it’s time for you to make a decision," he said from above, looking down from the stone platform, "Swear allegiance to the church."

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