Chapter 362
In the next moment, Xia'er vanished from sight, completely erasing her presence.
...
In the Saint Cathedral District, Xia'er and Lucy hurriedly navigated through the shanties, soon stopping in front of a dilapidated shed.
“How did you know...”
Lucy, reeking of alcohol, hadn’t finished her sentence when she saw Xia'er knock on the shed door in a steady rhythm.
An old man opened the door. Upon seeing Lucy standing nearby, he didn’t sense anything unusual and simply let them in.
Watching Xia'er move with such familiarity, Lucy shivered slightly.
How did she know about her hidden underground spot... Truly a “Subverter.” Just how much does she know?
Xia'er quickly made her way downstairs, heading straight for the underground room where Adele and Amy lived. She opened the door, sidestepped the sprawled-out Amy, and grabbed the research notes from Adele's desk.
If the assassination failed, she needed to take these notes with her; they could be exchanged for something valuable later.
After securing the research notes, the noise startled Amy and Adele awake, both looking at Xia'er with confusion.
Xia'er stepped back to the door, glancing at Lucy who had followed her, and said, “Now, take Adele to find Avelina, then take both of them to the East District and wait in the highlands of the Ham Ruins. I’ll let you know my next move.”
“Tell Avelina this is important. She must follow you and trust me.”
“Now, take them and go.”
“Amy, come with me.”
After giving Lucy her instructions, Xia'er exited the room, quickly opened a hidden door, and pulled the still-dazed Amy into the sewer, hurrying along the stone path toward the underground hideout of the Saintly Sect.
At this hour, Tara and the others were likely still in a meeting about the prison break, and Xia'er needed to leverage the power of the Saintly Sect.
This wasn’t about having them engage in direct combat with the third-tier enemies...
This time, Xia'er still intended to make a sacrifice.
The skill “Spiritual Summoning” might be gone, but that didn’t mean Xia'er couldn’t summon.
In her early days as a “Instigator,” Xia'er had drawn countless different summoning arrays during simulations.
“Spiritual Summoning” would automatically create precise blood arrays based on the type of sacrifice, corresponding to various spiritual beings from the other realm.
And the blood array from her previous summoning was already firmly etched in Xia'er’s mind.
As long as the blood array and the sacrifice matched perfectly, Xia'er could replicate the summoning... though this time, she might not be able to summon half a heart of the Dark Worm... and the summoner couldn’t be her; she couldn’t let the other realm influence her again.
To replicate the last summoning, a fourth-tier Eleanor had to be present. Convincing an Eleanor wouldn’t be difficult for Xia'er, so she brought Amy along for a swift persuasion.
The divine servant behind Amy would certainly give Eleanor a reason to believe that the sacrifice was real.
Xia'er pushed open the hidden door to the Saintly Sect’s hideout, causing several cultists inside to stand up, looking at her as if they had been discovered.
Only Tara looked at Xia'er in surprise, rubbing her eyes as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“Tara, let’s go.”
Xia'er, in her second loop, didn’t want to waste words and simply said, “We have work to do.”
Chapter 199: Good Luck to You All.
Right now, Xia'er wasn’t in a position to appear directly in the West District.
While concealing herself, she was using the potion left by Adele to numb her injured left arm.
At this moment, her left arm was nearly completely necrotic; the swelling had subsided, and the muscles inside seemed to have completely dissolved, losing all vitality.
If this dragged on, pain, infection, inflammation, and the release of myoglobin could lead to kidney failure, interfering with her subsequent actions.
With her right hand gripping a phantom bone saw, she bit down on the bandage wrapped around her left shoulder to assist in lifting her left arm, and then, bit by bit, she began to saw it off starting from the shoulder.
“Ugh!!!”
Xia'er clenched the bandage tightly, trying to avoid biting her tongue from the overwhelming pain. Fortunately, her strength was sufficient, and the process of severing her arm didn’t take long.
The arm fell onto a prepared cloth bag on the ground, and Xia'er gasped for breath as she poured the potion left by Adele directly onto the stump.
“Zzzz—”
The stump felt as if it were being burned, and beads of sweat formed on Xia'er’s forehead.
Only when the potion fully solidified, forming a deep green scab at the site of her severed arm, did she wrap the stump with a clean bandage and then inject herself with a syringe at the shoulder.
“Ha... ha...”
Xia'er panted lightly, lifting her left arm. A new phantom arm appeared before her—this was a creation twisted from dreams into reality.
No time to waste.
Xia'er packed the severed arm, placing every piece of blood-soaked cloth into the bag before lifting it.
Next, she needed to let out a bit more blood...
The amount of blood had to be more than last time, but definitely not less...
In the dim underground room, alone, Xia'er slowly took out her pocket watch, took a few deep breaths, and gently pressed it. Then she stepped into a wooden barrel, drew out a sharp knife, and, like before, quickly made several cuts on her body.
The cold sensation of death surged toward Xia'er once more...
...
In the West District of Ansu City, in the Westminster District.
In front of the Archbishop's residence, Yulisi stood with Tara and Amy, pausing before the Cathedral of the Savior.
Tara looked at the high priest Yulisi before her, silently amazed.
Truly the Mother Goddess... Just a few words from her, and the Archbishop of the Savior’s Church obediently complied.
Next, they were to meet with a high-ranking archbishop...
Tara’s gaze shifted to Amy, just in time to catch the worried look in her eyes.
Tara gently nodded at Amy, saying nothing.
As long as Amy, the Saintess, didn’t have to say a word, she would handle everything...
No true believer of the Mother Goddess could remain calm upon seeing a divine servant. As long as Eleanor held even a shred of faith in the Mother Goddess, she would willingly accept the Mother’s “call” and embrace the gift of the Mother’s “ascension.”
“High Priest Yulisi, Archbishop Eleanor requests your presence.”
At the entrance, a church attendant hurried over to Yulisi, bowing respectfully.
Yulisi nodded slightly and said, “Could you lead the way for me?”
“It would be my honor.”
Yulisi turned her head, hearing the footsteps of the two following her, while her heart raced with unease.
The church... was about to change...
...
Outside the Cecil Palace, the Knights of the Queen's Sword stood in formation at the entrance. A tall, handsome man with white hair stepped down from a carriage and quickly made his way into the palace.
“Where’s Vita?”
He looked at the maid waiting at the door and asked directly.
This time, he didn’t even add titles like “Princess” or “Your Highness.”
“Prince Vitalis is in the music hall…”
Before the maid could finish, Qiangyin had already bypassed her, striding toward the music hall.
Soon, he arrived at the door of the music hall on the second floor. Hearing the grand and powerful music from within, Qiangyin pushed the door open and saw the figure seated at the piano.
Seeing that figure was unharmed, Qiangyin let out a slow breath.
As the door opened, the music stopped. Vita frowned slightly, turning her head with a hint of displeasure on her face.
“Why didn’t you knock? Lord Qiangyin.”
Vita’s tone was cold.
“Apologies, Your Highness. Please forgive my rudeness... The situation earlier was a bit urgent, and I just wanted to ensure your safety.”
Qiangyin spoke slowly, scanning the music hall and finding nothing unusual.
“This is Cecil Palace; the royal guards will protect my safety, Lord Qiangyin.”
Vita’s attitude toward Qiangyin’s intrusion didn’t seem very friendly.
“Princess Vita, may I confirm one more thing with you before I leave?”
Qiangyin placed his right hand on his left chest and asked, “May I ask why you blocked my echo barrier earlier?”
“Everyone has their privacy, Lord Qiangyin.”
Vita replied with a hint of impatience, “I refuse to answer that question.”
“Understood. I see.”
Qiangyin nodded slightly, exiting the music hall and closing the door behind him.
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