Chapter 478
The Pope reacted the fastest. She raised her hand and flung it toward the door, sending a cascade of molten iron splashing against the entrance. The fiery liquid spread rapidly, nearly sealing off the entire private prayer room, ensuring that not a single breath could escape the confinement.
If the scent of the Otherworld were to leak out from the Church of the God of Order, many stationed "Crown Guards" would be affected.
Once the area was secured, the Pope turned her gaze to the terrifying Otherworld creature that lay prostrate before her, its back turned to her. The creature lifted a withered finger and placed it on the left hand of the red-haired girl.
From the palm, a haunting, soul-chilling shriek emerged, as if from the gaping maw of an abyss.
"Xia'er... my lord..."
"Good job," Xia'er said softly, stroking the slightly rough fingertip of Xiao Zuo.
Today, Xiao Zuo had made quite the impression with her continuous appearances, and it had indeed been a bit taxing.
However, perhaps due to having consumed a finger from a "Crown Guard," the tips of Xiao Zuo's nails now shimmered with a metallic silver sheen, appearing sharper and more resilient.
"With bare hands..."
A metallic hum resonated from the armor of Aigelema.
This girl before her... had she just conjured an Otherworld portal with her bare hands? And summoned an Otherworld creature from within?!
The most astonishing part was that the Otherworld creature seemed to be extremely familiar with the girl—this was a scene Aigelema had never encountered in her centuries of studying the Otherworld.
How could there be a non-hostile Otherworld creature towards humans? One with such a high level of self-awareness?!
Weren't all Otherworld creatures inherently bloodthirsty and murderous? Their mere existence could drive low-tier transcendent beings and ordinary people to madness, yet this creature before her was as docile as a cat in the presence of the girl.
In that moment, Aigelema felt her worldview begin to crumble, a profound sense of helplessness rising within her.
The things she had devoted her life to, others could accomplish with ease... If that didn’t drive one to despair, it could only mean their mental state was on another level.
Xia'er raised her right hand, gently pressing down, and Xiao Zuo obediently lay down before her.
Xia'er looked up at the Pope, who was sitting not far away, staring intently at Xiao Zuo, and asked, "Do you have any more questions?"
"N-no... none..." The metallic hum sounded somewhat weak, and Aigelema's shoulders drooped in exhaustion as she looked up at Xia'er.
"Killing Qiangyin, I don't have complete confidence," Aigelema said, meeting Xia'er's gaze. "You know well, his strategies are terrifyingly deep, and he has a secret intelligence network that I haven't uncovered yet. Any assassination plan would be impossible to keep from him."
Aigelema was not lying. If it weren't for Qiangyin's oppressive rule, Ansu would have long been a religious state. He had nearly starved the Church of the Savior Goddess and had the Church of the God of Order firmly under his control.
At least for now, Aigelema couldn't think of a way to kill him without being discovered.
Moreover, after Qiangyin's death, the redistribution of power in Ansu would be another major issue—if mishandled, the vast empire could weaken or even fracture.
Although the Church of the God of Order wanted to control Ansu, they did not wish to govern a weakened Ansu.
"I have a way to kill him," Xia'er said. "I can put him into a deep coma."
"But the task of executing him will fall to you—meanwhile, you need to throw his dying self into the Otherworld node I create."
At this, Aigelema paused slightly.
"No need for a fight?" she asked.
"No need for a fight," Xia'er confirmed with a nod.
"If I can see Qiangyin in a deep coma," Aigelema hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I will take action."
She didn't know why the task of executing Qiangyin was assigned to her, but it wasn't a problem for Aigelema.
The key point was that she wanted to know Xia'er's true intentions.
What was Xia'er’s purpose in wanting to kill Qiangyin?
"I need to know your goal," Aigelema said, looking directly at Xia'er. "Do you want to control Ansu?"
If Xia'er intended to kill Qiangyin to take control of Ansu, then for the Church of the God of Order, it would merely be a change of partners. She could still negotiate for the Church's rights on Xia'er's side.
What she worried about was whether Xia'er had other plans for Ansu...
A skilled master of sacrifice and the Otherworld, in a "leaderless" empire...
It was hard not to connect these dots with sacrifice.
"No," Xia'er shook her head. "It's personal... He stole something from me."
The girl's words were light, but Aigelema did not take them lightly.
It seemed that Qiangyin possessed something that this girl desperately needed... In that case, there was no need to worry about the empire's destruction...
Aigelema wasn't afraid of the collapse of order; with her around, order wouldn't fall. What she feared was that Ansu would run out of living people—this would also contradict the teachings of the Church of the God of Order.
"What about Ansu's future..." Aigelema tentatively inquired.
"That has nothing to do with me," Xia'er replied, shaking her head.
"Understood." Aigelema nodded.
Looking at the people from the Church of the Savior Goddess standing behind Xia'er, it was clear that they had sought to collaborate with this girl even before her.
The future might still see a situation of the two churches standing in opposition, but it likely wouldn't be as confrontational as before—though that didn't matter.
Because Aigelema's ultimate goal in vying for power was to perfect her "artificial divinity" plan and summon that great being from the Church of the God of Order.
Now, being able to summon that being directly made everything else seem rather dull.
"I represent the Church of the God of Order," Aigelema stood up and extended her right hand toward Xia'er. "I agree to this collaboration."
Xia'er rose, looking at Pope Aigelema, and extended her own right hand. Their hands clasped together.
"May our collaboration be fruitful," Xia'er said.
With everything in place, they were merely waiting for the right moment.
To grasp Qiangyin's movements, control Lafayette, and then, while Lafayette helped stabilize Qiangyin's mind...
Let Pope Aigelema ambush the comatose Qiangyin and throw his dying form into the Otherworld, allowing Xiao Zuo to remember his essence.
Once Xiao Zuo killed Qiangyin in the Otherworld, they would rewind time in reality, allowing Xiao Zuo to pinpoint Qiangyin's exact location...
Killing Qiangyin would almost be a one-time opportunity; the next time, he would start to be wary of Lafayette and the Church of the God of Order.
One successful pinpointing, then a kill, and finally, setting up the Otherworld node in the past simulation to kill Qiangyin again, dragging him back to that time node, endlessly trapped in the Otherworld node...
An infinite cycle of death...
There was one more thing Xia'er had to do.
The pure white knight that the system had "warned" her about.
Xia'er needed to meet it once more.
Relying solely on Xiao Zuo wouldn't be enough to slay Qiangyin in the Otherworld—while the Dark Worm needed to be summoned in advance to kill Qiangyin in the simulation.
The means of execution in the simulation would depend on that pure white knight... Xia'er didn't have the mental energy to seek out other powerful Otherworld beings, as not every one of them would be friendly to her.
When should the communication be set?
In reality? Or in the simulation?
Xia'er didn't want to bear the mental strain of summoning that pure white armor again.
Could Xiao Zuo... find that pure white knight in the Otherworld?
Xia'er slowly lowered her head, looking at the obediently lying Xiao Zuo, her thoughts swirling.
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PS:
197.25 (overdue) - 2 (extra) = 195.25 (overdue)
My schedule has collapsed, leading to a gut microbiome imbalance, and my stomach hurts like hell.
Why did I have to play the guitar!!!
I’m going to strangle you, yesterday me!!!!!!!
Future me needs to be cautious with the power of the guitar...
Accidents and guitars, you never know which one will come first!
I’ll continue with the extra tomorrow!
Good night!
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