Neo was still savoring the feeling of that sword piercing through the director's chest. It felt like sitting on a balcony on a late autumn evening, scooping a spoonful of creamy ice cream into one's mouth;
immediately followed by an exquisitely measured tremor throughout the body and a slight, throbbing dizziness in the head, weaving notes that made the soul dance.
He loved this sensation. Though it lacked a spicy kick, it was nonetheless deeply satisfying.
After all, he had killed a director of the Whip of Order—and top-tier ingredients required no elaborate cooking methods to yield their delicious flavor.
This scene happened to be witnessed by the three people in the VIP car driving up.
There was no need for a closer look; even though the man was wearing a mask, Karen recognized him instantly.
Karen used to doubt the saying, "I'd know you even if you were burned to ashes," but now he believed that even if Neo were reduced to ash, when Karen went to gather his remains, Neo's hip bone would still go *clack-clack-clack*.
The damage from that sword strike had punched straight through the back of the car and carved a molten trench into the road behind it; what Neo had actually done was abundantly clear.
"Philomena, put a used cup and a half-eaten piece of bread on the seat next to you.
"Also,
"the section chief is sitting in our car right now and arrived at the scene with us. Got it?"
"Understood, Captain," Muri responded immediately.
Philomena paused for a moment before answering, "Understood."
Muri was absolutely reliable. Philomena was actually quite dependable as well. To outsiders she seemed aloof and cold, but in Karen's eyes she was remarkably pure. At the very least, until her grandmother's funeral took place, she was trustworthy.
Still basking in the lingering afterglow of that momentary bliss, Neo swept his gaze ahead. No vehicle was visible, yet he caught the scent of his beloved car's engine oil.
That was a car built with all his past savings, his absolute favorite that he had redeemed even at the risk of being "executed" in the Mipos Archipelago. How could a mere concealment formation truly block his perception of his beloved machine?
Neo cracked his neck and glanced around. The battle between Director Enzo's security detail and the attackers had reached its end. According to plan, he should retreat now.
However, he wanted to wait a little longer.
Because he knew that the person operating in coordination with him tonight wasn't Richard. If it were that idiot Richard, Neo would have already done whatever was necessary and moved on, but he knew the one sitting in that car could instantly read his intentions.
Seated in the passenger seat, Karen indeed waited for a short while. Seeing Neo still standing there striking a pose of murderous self-indulgence, he let out a helpless sigh.
"Muri, fire a signal for backup."
"Captain, are we signaling our own squad? Or folding a paper crow?"
Karen reached down, opened a lower drawer, and pulled out a large plastic bag filled with all kinds of signal flares. These were all part of Neo's collection, containing samples of flares belonging to numerous Whip of Order squads. Once someone had seen such flares and made a conscious effort to memorize them, getting close imitations manufactured on the black market wasn't difficult at all.
And that was indeed something Neo would do; whether for calling backup or summoning scapegoats, Neo was never short of things like this.
"Fire them all. Summon as much backup as you can."
"Yes, Captain."
"Philomena, get out of the car with me. I'll handle the masked one; you deal with the rest. Remember: kill whoever you can, but don't force it if someone proves troublesome. Prioritize keeping yourself safe."
"Yes, Captain."
The three got out of the car, and Muri began setting off fireworks.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!...*
Flare after flare shot into the sky, displaying the unique signatures of various Whip of Order squads.
Seeing this spectacle, the face beneath Neo's mask broke into a grin. *Ah, this feels great.*
"Why did you kill him?!" Only now did two black-robed men rush up to Neo's side. Seeing Director Enzo inside the carriage with a plate-sized hole gaping in his chest, both cried out in alarm.
"Isn't this better?" Neo retorted. "You only paid for a feint, yet I carried out the main assault for you. Heh heh."
Meanwhile, Karen instinctively reached into his pocket, only to find the formation bead missing. He then remembered that his Sword of Arleus had shattered, and there was no weapon waiting in the refrigerator at home to be teleported to him.
Of course, this was mainly because as soon as he returned, he had rushed to his new office, launching into investigations, arrests, and official procedures, leaving him no time to find a proper replacement weapon.
Naturally, the fundamental reason was that Karen didn't want to spend point coupons directly at the exchange store—after all, weapons carried the highest markup in official point stores.
Getting a suitable greatsword through other channels simply took time.
Fortunately, whether he had the Sword of Arleus or not didn't significantly hinder Karen's combat power. Possessing the Eyes of the Dark Moon and the Dark Moon Bone, he required no amplification when channeling the power of the Dark Moon; his own body was the most efficient amplifying weapon.
Thousand Phantoms emerged, condensing into a pair of black wings behind Karen. In the next instant, he hurtled straight toward Neo.
"Backup's here? So fast!" one black-robed man shouted upon noticing the incoming reinforcements. "Retreat!"
Neo, however, reached out, seized his shoulder, and unleashed the Fire of Light, instantly engulfing his body.
Fighting was a matter of skill, and ambushes were one of the most cost-effective tactics. And if one turned traitor from within the allied ranks to launch a sneak attack, the cost-effectiveness was even higher.
The black-robed man shrieked and tried to resist, but Neo's other hand snapped around his throat.
"Heh heh."
Accompanied by Neo's chuckling, the flames on the man surged furiously. It wasn't just physical harm—it dissolved the spiritual power within him. He was in an "Awakened" state, like the final stub of a burning candle, possessing no endurance whatsoever.
Karen drew two black greatswords from his arms and slashed down directly toward Neo's back.
Seeing this, the other black-robed man attacked Neo as well; he had already realized something was wrong. This hired Light remnant had turned on them!
To put it plainly, the various major religions and factions had used the Light remnants as chamber pots for years. Now, an exception had finally emerged where the tables were turned. It wasn't that Neo and Karen were simply extraordinarily lucky every time, using the identity of Light remnants to such great effect; their luck was built upon the mounds of bones left by previous Light elders who had been used and discarded unto death.
As Karen's two blades descended, Neo leaned slightly aside. Karen shifted the edge of his swords just as subtly. Their coordination was flawless: Neo smoothly slipped away, and Karen's twin blades cleaved right into the chest of the second black-robed man, delivering a clean cross-slash!
"Their corpses are loose ends," Neo remarked.
Karen didn't hesitate. He opened his palm, and the Fire of Order descended upon the corpses.
Both men were suicide operatives. Choosing to organize this operation by "Awakening" proved they had reasons why they had to die. Therefore, any flaws that could overturn the narrative would likely trace back to them—perhaps they were people from the Whip of Order.
Thus, cremating them on the spot was the safest course of action.
Neo clapped his hands. One black-robed man had already turned to ashes, while the one at Karen's feet had charred into carbon. With a flick of Karen's greatsword, the corpse shattered into fragments.
"Not burned thoroughly enough," Neo critiqued.
Karen silently raised the greatsword condensed from the Dark Moon Blade and aimed it at Neo.
Neo raised his Sword of Light as well.
"You've been looking forward to this, haven't you?"
In the very next instant, their figures collided head-on. The weapons manifested from pure power clashed repeatedly in rapid succession, producing terrifying shrieks of tearing air and concussive explosions.
When it came to fighting styles, the two favored different approaches. Neo preferred launching into a ferocious onslaught right off the bat, dragging the opponent into trading wound for wound, before relying on his high-tier bloodthirsty aberrant demon bloodline to pull off a dramatic turnaround kill.
A beginning, a conflict, a dramatic process, followed by a final twist and victory—ah, truly a perfect battle.
When facing unfamiliar opponents, Karen preferred to defend first, letting the enemy attack until he figured out their patterns and wore them down, after which he would gradually ramp up his power and take control of the tempo.
Yet in terms of combat techniques, the two were remarkably alike. The reason was simple: Karen had learned from Neo.
Who else could he have learned from? He certainly couldn't learn combat techniques from Diss. Karen would have loved to, wanting nothing more than to stand before his opponent and, in a tone reserved for chanting a low-level spell, end by shouting out a "forbidden curse."
For now, though... that was far beyond him.
This time, because Karen knew his opponent's identity and trusted that Neo wouldn't genuinely try to kill him, he didn't opt for defense, choosing instead to trade offensive blows.
Besides, he was confident that even if he accidentally ran Neo through somewhere, Neo wouldn't die, nor would he hold a grudge.
Well, probably wouldn't hold a grudge.
After a fast and sustained exchange of strikes, Karen couldn't help but marvel at how much more terrifying Neo's power of Light had become. Clashing with him felt like standing before a blazing sun, as if stepping any closer would melt him away.
Neo, on the other hand, was mentally remarking on Karen's transformation. In the past, Karen's physical constitution had been lacking; he had needed to expend significant power condensing armor and bolstering his physical tolerance, which imposed heavy limitations. Karen had managed to compensate with his frightening reserves of foundation, but it was like running a race in a heavy suit of plate. Now that his physical constitution had improved, his combat efficiency had jumped by an immense margin.
Most importantly, could this guy's eyes predict his moves in advance?
Otherwise, there was no explaining why Karen parried every single attack with such composure during their clash.
Neo was quite exasperated. On the Mipos Archipelago, he had received gifts from Rayan and thought he could easily handle Karen upon returning. Who knew Karen hadn't been slacking off either, casually absorbing a God's bone along the way.
What was more, although Karen had continually held off on advancing his realm recently, that meant his realm had already reached that threshold, raising his mastery over his power by another notch.
Granted, he and Karen had long stopped fighting strictly based on realm—after all, Lord Theisen on Fire Island possessed an extraordinarily high realm yet had a terribly ugly fighting style—but realm still counted for something.
As the clash wore on, neither showed any sign of stopping or catching their breath. It felt very much like two good friends who had started out playfully roughhousing only to end up taking it deadly seriously.
As for Philomena, things went smoothly at first. Launching sneak attacks, she killed two assailants outright.
The attackers had never expected an ambush of their own, allowing Philomena to achieve considerable success early on.
However, Philomena soon crossed paths with Anita.
Every time Philomena tried to close in, Anita preemptively sealed off her movement paths with restrictions. This frustrated Philomena; favoring explosive assassin-style engagements, she couldn't unleash her full potential without getting close.
Actually, it would have been great if Richard were here right now. He could stand in front to take a hit or two from the restrictions—probably ending up heavily injured without dying, yet creating an opening for her;
or he could stay back, setting up a formation at a pace slower than Memphis and Mars, to suppress the opponent's restrictive techniques and open up an opportunity for her.
Philomena suddenly caught herself. *What in the world am I thinking?*
One could only say that having heard the tale of Richard's "pinnacle battle" countless times over the past few days, remaining completely unaffected was impossible. Even a song played on loop for days would eventually find itself being hummed unconsciously.
Anita was preparing to withdraw. She knew today's affair was a farce; what she needed to do now was vanish, lie low, and maintain an exceptionally low profile for the foreseeable future.
Philomena had also kept Karen's instructions in mind—give way if someone proved difficult. Sensing Anita's intent to disengage, Philomena provided an opening.
Anita smiled at Philomena and darted into an adjacent alleyway. The snowball, Remer, quickly coated her body, altering her aura. As Anita leapt between walls, she snatched a set of women's clothes hanging from a laundry rack. By the time she emerged at the next alley mouth, she looked completely different.
The effects of the signal flares were already evident; two or three nearby Whip of Order squads were beginning to arrive.
Seeing this, Neo didn't retreat. Instead, he intensified his onslaught against Karen, no longer confining himself to close-quarters combat and beginning to cast spells.
The visual spectacle of Light spells was naturally dazzling. For a time, beams and cascades of Light power descended like a meteor shower, hammering toward Karen.
However, the actual power of these spells wasn't very high—somewhat reminiscent of Sandy imitating a dragon's breath.
Karen sustained little real damage and hardly felt much pressure, but he caught Neo's drift.
*Boom!*
A pillar of fire erupted from beneath Karen's feet, and Karen rode the momentum backward to widen the distance.
Neo's figure began retreating. Karen shouted to the other Whip of Order squads gathering around: "Go apprehend the other attackers! I'll pursue this Light remnant!"
Everyone wanted the glory of hunting down a Light remnant, but the problem was that this particular remnant was far too ferocious. The squads that had just arrived weren't prepared for a high-risk pursuit and dared not rashly split up to chase him. They obediently followed Karen's order and moved to deal with the scattered assailants attempting to flee.
After Karen took off in pursuit, both he and Neo tacitly concealed their auras once they were clear of the battlefield.
Neo stopped shining and radiating heat like a lightbulb in the dark, and Karen refrained from releasing his aura or leaving markers for incoming reinforcements.
After chasing him a distance further, Karen spotted a mark of Light left beside a trash can. Karen flipped the trash can open and found a set of clerical robes and boots inside; tucked into the boots were identification documents and several spell scrolls.
Karen bundled these items up, held them in hand, and continued the "pursuit."
At this moment, Karen sensed a powerful consciousness sweep past the area and move on. Evidently, Neo's earlier brazen display had prompted a formidable entity to extend their consciousness in a wide scan.
However, because both of them were maintaining a very "low profile," that consciousness failed to detect them.
In truth, there were no longer any Light remnants or pursuers here—only a section chief and a captain practicing black mist movement techniques under the cover of night.
Furthermore, their route—one trailing the other—was not toward the outskirts of Yorktown as one might expect, but heading straight for the city's central core, embodying the classic principle of hiding right beneath the lamp.
Their figures even swept past the Church Affairs Building in the distance.
Karen kept following. After passing the Church Affairs Building, he knew he had to leave some marks on himself. Reaching into the robes, he took out a scroll and unfurled it. A potent sealing spell drifted up from the parchment, and Karen slammed his body into it without hesitation.
Instantly, the flow of spiritual energy through him slowed to a crawl, and his soul power was suppressed. He could only force himself to maintain speed, and even doing that was a strain.
Having traveled further past the Church Affairs Building, Karen picked up another scroll. When opened, several glowing, scalding points appeared on it.
Karen hesitated for a moment, then destroyed the scroll. Instead, he condensed the power of Light at his fingertips and inflicted puncture wounds across his own shoulder, arm, abdomen, and thigh.
The very treatment Richard had endured not long ago was now something Karen was enjoying himself.
Yet there was no avoiding it. Otherwise, there would be no explaining why, during his relentless pursuit, he hadn't left behind any markers for reinforcements and had "concealed" his presence.
Finally,
they reached their destination.
This was a villa district along a river in Yorktown. The villas were not huge, but exquisitely designed, housing many truly prominent figures—prominent not in the secular sense, but in the ecclesiastical hierarchy.
After all, grand estates like that of the Allen family were more like the nouveau riche of church circles; figures in the true priestly upper class cared far less for the mundane luxuries of ordinary people.
Ahead, Neo raised his hand, flashing five fingers, then four, followed immediately by... three, two, one!
The next instant,
Neo leapt into the air,
landing right before the villa where Dolph resided.
He directly summoned a Tower of Light and hurled it crashing down onto Dolph's home,
bellowing in furious outrage:
"You old beast, you dared to set me up?!"
Chapter 510