"Why would you think so?" The youth asked in a low voice. "You are aware that we’ve detected someone entering the Eternal Divine Nation. Since the Illusory Divine Nation has been exposed, the reality anchors of the Kingdom of God might also be exposed," Cowen’s tone was calm, fixing his gaze on He Ao, "The power you displayed within the Kingdom of God was impressive, and to counter an enemy like you, we would certainly dispatch our most stringent lockdown. However, such a large-scale movement of personnel could in turn reveal the location of the Kingdom of God’s reality anchors. "To prevent the chance that your goal is to startle the snake by hitting the grass, we must deploy the city’s most advanced combat forces first. "So your coming here, in actuality, is to ’lure’ out top combat forces." "I had my suspicions it was you from the beginning, but I didn’t expect it would truly be you. You’ve only brought this young girl with you; do you have absolute confidence in ’dealing’ with me?" Saying that, he slightly lifted his eyebrows, "Or is it that your initial target was not me, but the ’Holy See’?" "You all think too much," The youth didn’t answer his question but instead replied with a noncommittal smile, "But what if I hadn’t guessed that the Eternal Divine Nation intersected with the real world at this point?" Cowen’s expression suddenly stiffened; clearly, he hadn’t considered this possibility. He then gave a slight cough and continued, "You’re so clever; how could you not guess." His face cleared of any expression and he managed a slight smile, "Besides, you couldn’t have met me, even held me up, if you didn’t come here, could you?" He didn’t continue on the subject but changed the topic, asking, "However, I am a bit curious. Although we all thought you could find this place, how did you guess that the Eternal Divine Nation intersects with the real world, and manage to find the exact location? Based solely on the brief ’sightings’ you had within the Kingdom of God?" "Those ’sightings’ were enough, weren’t they?" The youth slowly said, "The inner church of the Eternal Secret Teachings is quite obviously an ’experiment’ you created to fabricate a terrestrial Kingdom of God. Its flaws are apparent, though humans can physically enter, it requires a continuous supply of souls with high spirituality as ’Sacrifices’ to sustain the space. "And the resentment of these highly spiritual souls becomes one of the destabilizing factors of the space. "Consuming a large number of high-spirituality souls, only to attain a modest physical space, is far from your plans to build a ’Kingdom of God’. "Therefore, you changed your method, only absorbing souls, to create a purely ’spiritual space’. Nonetheless, this spiritual space also requires ’energy’ to maintain, "Of course, you could choose to directly sacrifice the souls within the Kingdom of God, as it would be more energy efficient, but then you would have to bear the risk of those souls’ resentments contaminating the Kingdom of God after being sacrificed. I initially thought you would use this method. "Until I entered the Eternal Divine Nation," The youth’s tone was smooth, "I then discovered that perhaps you chose a different, maybe ’more efficient’ method, "The souls in the Kingdom of God have to ’work’, and it is obviously not because of some kind of ’sadistic pleasure’ you have, but rather through this ’work,’ you gain some sort of ’profit’ for the Kingdom of God. "So, I speculated that your so-called ’terrestrial Kingdom of God’ is, in fact, a twisted ’living entity’, most of its body hidden in the void, with a portion of it touching reality, "It can maintain its existence through certain things in reality, and obtaining these things requires ’work’. "Putting myself in your shoes, if I were the one designing the ’terrestrial Kingdom of God’, I would definitely make the ’thing’ that the Kingdom of God needs to acquire as common and ordinary as possible. This would maximize the ’fault tolerance’ of the ’terrestrial Kingdom of God’. "In the sense of Mysticism, this thing is most likely ’blood sustenance’. "The ’blood sustenance’ needed to maintain a massive Kingdom of God can’t be too scant. "Then, in the information I had, I made some inquiries but didn’t find any records of you transporting ’blood sustenance’. Instead, I found records of you transporting food in bulk, and all the ’food’ stops before it reaches Novite District. "The ’food’ supply of the Novite District certainly doesn’t require the Eternal Secret Teachings to open a special route. "Apparently, your ’terrestrial Kingdom of God’ is doing quite well, sustaining its existence with just some sacrifices and basic ’food’. "And this, too, corresponds with the ’work’ in the Kingdom of God," The youth turned to glance at the ’blood-red shadow’ still at work within the door, "You compel the souls in the Kingdom of God to ’work’, and then use the income earned to ’purchase’ food to sustain the Kingdom of God, while also sustaining your unrestrained ’withdrawals’ from within it. "Once I figured these things out, the rest was simple. Just find the place where the grains of food converge, and then locate the corresponding area. "This area has always been within the Novite District. It is likely that the surrounding areas have already been enveloped by the domain of the ’Eternal Divine Nation’, which drives away ordinary people naturally. Normal people have no awareness of such a region existing within the Novite District, and Transcendents, without close attention, would fail to find it." Actually, this domain wasn’t unique. The Paper Butterfly that Alice had transformed into also possessed similar abilities. Alice’s powers, then, came from the shattered Inner Church. So it was not surprising that the Eternal Divine Nation possessed such powers. Thus, He Ao easily associated it with the Domain and further associated it with the Novite District’s ’hidden paradise’. "So to speak," Lena glanced inadvertently at the silhouettes working in the workshop, "this Eternal Divine Nation, in a sense, is a large ’company’? "A ’company’ where it’s impossible to resign, where you must work until your soul dissipates, and where you can never pause, with absolutely no chance of rebellion, and no future? "And the souls locked inside are this ’company’s’ employees?" "Strictly speaking, we are not a company, but a new ’Order’." Cowen shrugged his shoulders across from her, "When the Divine Nation Advents, this world will eventually be illuminated by the ’new Order’ of the Eternal Radiance; then, you will not be surprised by these things. "That will be a splendid era, a ’new world’ that ends all will descend, and everyone will live orderly within the Eternal Divine Nation, without hunger, without cold." "Only with an eternal workload that can never be completed?" Lena took up his words with a sneer, "Your ’new world’ is to kill everyone, and then surrender every soul to your blood-sacrificing Evil God?" "The great Eternal Radiance is always merciful," Cowen said with a gentle laugh, "He will forgive your offense, and if possible, I would like to personally send you to the Eternal Divine Nation to see that immortal new world." "If you don’t like Aunt Lena, why would you send her to the beautiful new world you speak of? Are you such a noble person?" The youth’s voice was calm, "Or do you also know that it is not Heaven, but Hell?" Cowen’s expression tensed. Lena, standing beside them, first raised her eyebrows at the mention of ’aunt’ but then appeared faintly amused as she listened to the rest, watching Cowen, and her smile grew as she saw his stiff expression. After a brief pause, Cowen cracked a smile and replied lightly, "You petty and lowly lives will never understand the great cause we are undertaking." "Is that great cause of yours built upon the lives of the innocents?" The youth’s voice remained calm but significantly slower. "For the glory of all humanity, necessary sacrifices are inevitable." Cowen bowed his head slightly, smiling at the youth, "Yiluo, I know what you’re talking about. We have always been aware of your parents’ affairs, including Bright and his heretic followers who wanted to turn your parents into Truth Monsters to find their way to the Eternal Divine Nation. We have always known. "Thanks to your parents, we were able to lure out those heretics and even Bright himself, of course, I should also thank you for killing Bright, reducing one of our major problems. "The decision to use your parents was made by me together with the Holy See, and from the current point of view, our choice was not wrong." "Is that so," the youth’s voice paused for a moment, "Actually, you don’t have to thank me for dealing with Bright; I just do things a bit slower and prefer to handle them one by one." "Do you think you still hold the winning ticket?" Hearing his words, Cowen laughed instead, "Leaving aside whether you can defeat me, just look at your current situation," He raised his hand slightly, his smile deepening, "Using the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s task force to delay Captain Lutz, using heretics to hold back the new Interim Bishop, and then you come here in person, luring me to show up, "’King for king, general for general.’ "With this, the three B-levels of the city are pinned down, and then your people can raid the defenseless Mayor’s Mansion to rescue the Mayor, thus influencing the loyal City Defense Army, opening the gates, allowing you to smoothly call for help, triggering the power of the Federation against the Church." "A very good plan, albeit risky, but with a high chance of success under the element of surprise, "And you’ve been so patient in answering my questions and having this long exchange, actually to delay the time, so that once you successfully rescue the Mayor and contact the Federation headquarters, the scales of victory will tip in your favor, affording you the chance to revive the entire game." He leaned slightly forward, trying to look at the face beneath the boy’s hood, "My dear little Yiluo, what if someone isn’t in their planned position? "The element of surprise in surprise troops lies in the ’surprise,’ if the ’surprise’ is seen through, then it becomes ’peril.’" He paused slightly, his voice deep, "Is your plan really progressing smoothly?" "Retreat! Quick, retreat!" Behind temporary defensive fortifications, amidst the whistling sounds of artillery fire, a bespectacled man was shouting loudly into a walkie-talkie, "Throw a few more flash bombs! Leave some automated attacking robots, and withdraw through the small path we reserved earlier. Our Security Union’s goal is to notify the Federal Bureau of Investigation; we can’t outfight them head-on." Several flash bombs were hurled into the sky as a group of people, protected by magic mirrors, rapidly retreated backward. But they had not gone far when a young man in plain clothes rushed up to the bespectacled man, "Boss Jato, we’ve been blocked from behind, by the Mercenary Corps, we’ve been surrounded!" "How could this be? What about the brothers defending the rear? How did we get surrounded so suddenly? What about Skinny? What’s he doing?" Shock was evident on Jato’s face. "Skinny’s guys, and..." The youth stammered, "They’re standing with those mercenaries." Jato’s face turned vicious as he spat, "Son of a bitch! Betrayed us!" He lifted his pistol and fired a shot into the sky, then looked back at the people following him, "Brothers, we break out to the north!" Not far from them, amidst the chaotic flames, Mercenary Corps Leader Lutz with a cigar in his mouth and a constant smile on his face, stepped onto the last rung of the gangway. Storm Zone·Temporary Cathedral "Weah, long time no see." The figure facing the room’s entrance slowly stood, instantly crushing the pendant in hand as a golden giant sword materialized and hovered in front of him; he smiled as he looked at the stout man at the door, extending his hand to grasp the hilt of the giant sword. The stout man at the door watched the figure in the room; behind him, the sounds of fierce fighting echoed. He lifted his golden spear, "Are you the new ’Bishop’? If not you, where’s the original Bishop gone?" Then he quickly realized, positioning his spear defensively in front of him and said with a laugh, "It seems I’ve been tricked. There’s no injured new Bishop here at all." "How do you know I can’t become the new Bishop? But I’ll need to ’borrow’ some things to have a chance," With one hand, Lieren caressed the blade of the golden giant sword, "We’ve known each other for so many years, so let me borrow your life for this." His figure vanished in an instant, his two hands gripping the golden giant sword as he slashed towards Weah at the doorway. "Well, that depends on whether you have the ability," Weah spun his spear with one hand and abruptly raised it, parrying Lieren’s giant sword. The floor beneath their feet shattered from the impact, and both figures plummeted. Cloud District·Mayor’s Mansion "I’ve been here many times before, and it seems their defenses aren’t very strong. Uncle Endir is in the innermost room; I’ll see if I can break in directly," Amidst the glow of the cockpit, Vili pulled the joystick, "Just past the Mayor’s Mansion is the East Gate. If we can rescue Uncle Endir, we can head straight for the East Gate and connect with the City Defense Army." Beneath the somber night sky, a pure white mecha charged swiftly toward the depths of the Mayor’s Mansion. "Don’t charge too far ahead." A raspy voice echoed in the girl’s ears. Along the way, anti-aircraft guns continuously fired, some shots deflected by the mecha, some detonated by the anti-aircraft machine guns mounted on them. In the blink of an eye, she had fully breached the Mayor’s Mansion, with only one building separating her from the innermost room. "Be careful, pull back on the stick!" Just then, a hoarse and deep voice came through her headset. Inside the cockpit of the mecha, Lena saw the scene unfolding before her. The mecha’s automatic targeting system swiftly zoomed in on an image outside the cockpit and projected it onto the screen. At the very top of the building in front of her, at the last barrier before the Mayor’s Mansion, stood a man in a golden-threaded white robe, atop the classical sloped rooftop. He lifted his head, looking toward the camera that was locking onto him, revealing a smile. A golden-threaded white robe—it was a Bishop! A thought flashed through the young girl’s mind. Why is a Bishop of the Eternal Secret Teachings here? Shouldn’t he be at the Cathedral? Her body began to tremble subconsciously. She was well aware of the ’Bishop’s’ strength, a follower of the Eternal Radiance capable of B-level power, and even an injured B-level was still B-level. Countless thoughts flashed through her mind in that instant, and she suppressed the fear in her heart, following the direction of the voice she had just heard, yanking the control stick backward forcefully. The giant pure white mecha’s thrusters rapidly reversed, bringing the mecha to an abrupt halt in mid-air before swiftly flying backward. Meanwhile, the cockpit of the mecha behind her had already opened. The White Robe Priest standing on the roof watched the scene, his face still carrying an expression of amusement, and his actions undeterred. He raised his right hand high, and the brilliant golden light in his hand converged into a sharp lance. Then, without hesitation, he hurled the lance forward. The sharp lance streaked across the sky like golden lightning against the night. Sitting in the cockpit, Vili saw the golden brilliance rushing towards her, filling her field of view, her pupils gradually contracting. She had no time to react, and her opponent gave her no chance to make a move. She felt she should recall something, but her mind was blank. As death approached, she had no time to cultivate any emotion apart from fear and regret. The sound of alloy metal being torn apart rang out behind the young girl. The golden lance pierced through the whole pure white mecha without hesitation and penetrated the high-energy battery within it. Fierce flames blossomed in the dark sky. The White Robe Priest watched the scene, a trace of mocking smile emerging on his lips. A mote of light dared to compete with the bright moon in splendor. He glanced toward the mecha that had opened its cockpit behind him, and raised his hand, with a new lance forming within it. Now, it was too late to escape. At that moment, his vision faltered slightly. Within the raging inferno, a black shadow suddenly passed through the flames like thunder cutting through the night, charging toward him. Before he could even dodge, the shadow struck him in an instant, knocking him off the roof and sending him flying through several walls before crashing into the concrete ground. Amidst the scattered debris and dust, the golden-threaded white robed man struggled to lift his head, looking upward. At the very tip of the slope-top roof, sliding downward, stood a youth in a black cloak, quietly under the sky, his gaze calm and icy as he watched him. The golden-haired girl was curled up in the youth’s arms, lifted up by his princess carry. The flames that were not yet extinguished spread across the sky behind the youth, revealing the form of the giant pure white mecha as it passed through the flames, appearing behind him. A breeze lifted the youth’s cloak and hair, stirring the snowflakes that danced in the sky.