Chapter 679: After the Air Raid

Yuedeson sighed a few words with rather mixed feelings, and his inner urgency for advancement grew a little.

"Compared to other routes, the spirit‑splitting 'Parasite' demands a higher requirement for the advancement ceremony, needing a certain amount of anchor support."

"The battlefield might be a good choice, but it's relatively dangerous; I need to seek some help to make it work."

He muttered to himself twice, and Yuedeson saw the airship fleet in the sky approaching the western district where he was; his complexion instantly turned sour, and he sprinted into the house, quickly packed his belongings, and prepared to leave Beckland first.

In the HillsTown district, inside Leipad's research building, Tris, dressed in simple male attire with sleek black hair flowing behind, stepped out of the shadows.

She looked at Leipad, who was standing by the window, absent‑mindedly gazing at the city outside that had just undergone a barrage of artillery, and said in a flat tone:

"Go to the Southern Continent; although war is also breaking out there, it has been confined to the coastal areas, while the inland Northern Province and Pas Valley remain safe. You can receive the organization's protection and continue your research in peace."

Leipad shook his head, his tone tinged with sadness yet still calm, and said:

"I am a Luen, born here, raised here; I never thought of abandoning my homeland, even if, even if it is not that wonderful."

Tris was not surprised by Leipad's reaction; this was not the first time she had raised the topic with him.

After a two‑second silence, she walked to Leipad's side, looked at the city through the glass window, and said calmly, "But I'm leaving; this place is no longer suitable for me to continue the ceremony. I must go, and I will not return until I succeed in advancement, or before an opportunity for revenge arises."

"Without my protection, you should understand what kind of situation you will be in."

"You're leaving?" Leipad's eyes widened, showing rather complex emotions—attachment, reluctance, and fear.

Tris didn't look at Leipad; she didn't need to, as she already knew his expression. She disliked that gaze; not to mention she once was a man, and even if she truly were a woman, she wouldn't set her eyes on an old, ugly man lacking any charm.

"I'm just here to give you notice; just reply to me by today, and I will take the group willing to leave to the Southern Continent."

As the words fell, Tris stepped back two paces, her figure becoming swiftly translucent and vanished from Leipad's sight.

In the western district, inside the office building of the Luen Charity Education Fund, Klein, somewhat fatigued, massaged his forehead; the good mood he had gained from the Ghost Empire was now completely gone.

Had he not arrived in time, Benson and Melissa would already have fallen in Fusak's artillery.

"The war came too suddenly; a massive, all‑out war makes it hard not to suspect that the will of that person from the Southern Continent is involved."

"A war of this magnitude seems just right to satisfy the Red Priest's ceremony; I have a premonition that the long‑vanished Red Angel Medici will become active again—was this also in their calculations?"

"Perhaps I should let Melissa continue to advance, rather than remain a 'Generalist'; that rank doesn't grant her self‑protection. She should at least become a 'Craftsman' or an 'Astronomer'. As long as she doesn't ascend to demigod, and knows the law of role‑playing, the extraordinary ones won't face overly severe loss‑of‑control danger."

"Thump! Thump!" The knocking interrupted Klein's monologue, and he looked puzzled toward the door.

As he approached, Audrey's figure spontaneously flashed in his mind. "You come to me now because of the sudden outbreak of war?"

While pondering, he opened the door, stepped aside to make a passage, letting Audrey walk in; he didn't close the office door, fearing more rumors about his identity would spread.

He placed a freshly brewed cup of black tea before Audrey, returned to his seat, and asked calmly, "Miss Audrey, are you troubled by the war?"

Audrey nodded, a hint of sorrow on her face, her mood low, and said, "'Mr. World', why do you think the war erupted so suddenly?"

She addressed "Mr. World" directly instead of Klein's current title, indicating she preferred to speak to him as a member of the Tarot Society.

Klein nodded, leaned back slightly, rested against the chair back, and said thoughtfully, "From a war perspective, surprise yields a better effect."

"More broadly, this is an irreconcilable conflict among the Seven Gods; of course, perhaps the Southern Continent gave Fusak an irresistible condition, prompting them to attack Luen, forcing the Storm Church to send aid, or perhaps both."

"The irreconcilable conflict among the Seven Gods."

Audrey murmured softly, did not pursue the topic, intuitively feeling it might involve some top‑level secrets of the hierarchy and some schemes of Mr. Fool.

After a two‑second silence, she asked again, "Will this war escalate to the level of the Southern Continent and Inditis?"

Klein lightly nodded, "It may become even more intense than the current Southern Continent." Essentially, this war is a conflict between the War God and the Night Goddess, triggered by the uniqueness of the Death God, irreconcilable, with no one backing down. In the end, a Divine War is highly likely—a world‑spanning war involving all levels has already begun.

He sighed, looked at "Justice" Audrey, and asked calmly,

"Are you worried that Luen will lose the war and be seized by Fusak?"

"Justice" Audrey's expression was slightly complex, and she gave a small nod.

In the Southern Continent, Rekton and Roselle, having returned to the Pas Valley, are stationed at Oleson Port along the Furious Sea coast, one of the few remaining intact ports on the Southern Continent and a forthcoming main battlefield.

Behind the street near the dock area, a mysteriously styled cathedral stood quietly at the edge of a square surrounded by purple irises.

This is the Church of the Scholar, led primarily by the Moss Ascetic Order, incorporating elements of the Spirit Sect and the Elemental Dawn to form the Scholar Church administration.

It is currently mainly distributed in important cities of the Pas Valley and Northern Province, as well as the coastal areas serving as the main front against Inditis.

Beneath the church, at the end of a corridor lined with bright yellow lanterns on both sides, a bronze‑hued metal golden door engraved with numerous strange symbols and magical sigils continuously exhaled thin white mist, bearing a chill of ice and death.

The pale mist quickly dissolved under the bright yellow light, leaving no trace.

On the other side of the corridor, Rekton, holding the gem‑encrusted golden crown obtained from the Ghost Empire, calmly scanned the bronze‑hued door continuously emitting pale mist, then turned and entered a neighboring room.

Inside the spacious room, one star after another appeared, densely packed and dazzlingly brilliant.

These stars cast one beam of light after another, intersecting into mottled, floating shadows that enveloped the entire room.

"Crack! Crack!" Crisp breaking sounds echoed continuously in the room as the crown in Rekton's hand shattered piece by piece, instantly disintegrating into fragments.

As the crown collapsed in Rekton's hands, faint golden glows rose from the void where the crown had been, floating continuously in the mottled‑lit room.

These drifting pale‑gold glows occasionally twisted into golden vortices, chaotic whirlpools!

An extremely heavy, imposing aura spontaneously spread, causing the surrounding mottled shadows to quiver, producing chaotic fluctuations of varying size.

Starlight continuously fell, rapidly filling the gaps created by the "Chaos" around it.

Rekton stared expressionlessly at the scene; silently, he became withered and dark, myriad strange three‑dimensional patterns interweaving, forming one eye after another on his body, threads of blackness flowing from within, weaving an exaggerated black robe, sprouting one after another flashing pure light, cold and indifferent eyes.

In each eye reflected a brilliant starry sky, spilling deep‑blue or pale‑purple specks of starlight, continuously descending, evolving into a floating light‑shadow "Wasteland".

As the "Wasteland" appeared, Rekton raised his hand and tugged at the drifting pale‑gold glow, ripping a twisted golden strand from it, throwing it into the floating light‑shadow "Wasteland", burying it deep.

The remaining pale‑gold light dots he gathered in his hand quickly coalesced into a silver‑white sheet inscribed with numerous strange golden words.

Rekton's figure blurred briefly, then returned to normal; the surrounding "Wasteland" and starlight vanished in an instant, as if it had just been an illusion.

He stepped forward, and his body instantly shattered into countless massive pure pieces of knowledge, surging like a torrent out of the basement.

In the dock area, inside the captain's cabin of the ship Dawn, anchored at the port, countless pieces of knowledge passed through windows, doors, and walls, surged into the cabin, reassembling Rekton's body.

He casually tossed the silver‑white sheet he held to Roselle, saying:

"It contains the traits of two 'Balancers'; you can separate one for Naste, should he need it."

Roselle shook his head and said:

He probably wouldn't choose to take a shortcut; of course, as an ally, I still need to ask—perhaps later he will be my Entropy Angel under my command. Hmm, this title sounds a bit strange; it can also be called Fallen Angel, or Corrupted Angel.

(End of chapter)