General Offensive!

Through the circular field of view, one could clearly see every blade of grass and tree on the open grounds outside the mansion, including an uncurtained second-floor art studio where Madame Baolifa was battling three boxers. The boxers were well-muscled and burly, making the aged and bloated Madame Baolifa look downright petite and frail between them. At the same time, other hues could be detected within the field of view. Some belonged to arrays, while others emanated from individuals. On the perimeter, these were often found on security guards of patrol squads—and in every patrol squad, one of them was a priest. Karen lowered the spyglass, rubbed his fingertips over it, and said, "Very exquisite. How many coupons?" Neo shook his head. "Very expensive. These are supplied exclusively to the Order of Knights. Still, we don't need to buy one. When we're on a mission, we can just get a slip approved to requisition it from the warehouse." "So we have to return it?" "Depends on how the mission goes." Neo pulled a few broken spyglass parts from his pocket. "This mission is high-level. When the time comes, we'll just take these broken parts and write it off as combat loss." "Must not have been easy finding those scrap parts, right?" "Fat from a sponge—squeeze hard enough, and you can always wring some out." Right now, Karen and Neo stood on the rooftop of a building, where they could clearly observe the situation inside the mansion through the spyglass. As for the command center for this operation, it was not located here. Karen and Neo were effectively two people operating outside the formal mission plan; once the operation was underway, they would find the right moment to step in and secure the copper coins. However, although the two department heads were not explicitly mentioned in the mission plan, Alfred and Vic had already arranged "channels" for their entry when drafting it. "Things really are different now. In the past, we were risking our lives on the front line; now, we can sit down and drink tea." Neo poured himself a cup of tea, then poured hot tea into Karen's cup of ice, a smug grin curling at the corner of his lips. Karen turned and walked over, picking up his piping-hot cup of "ice water." Saying nothing, he simply held it quietly. Soon, cold energy condensing from his palm froze the liquid in the cup solid. Immediately after, Karen picked up another saucer, intending to shatter the ice in the cup and catch the fresh ice chunks. *Bang! Bang! Bang!* ... *Bang! Bang! Bang!* "Who is it? It's not time for prayer yet today." "Fire inspection!" "Coming, coming!" The church door was opened from inside, and a dagger plunged directly into the chest of the person who opened it. Blackness spread instantly from the wound, stripping all life from the cleric in robes before he could even utter a word. "Move in!" Soon, a squad of the Whip of Order charged into the church with weapons in hand. Every clergyman they encountered along the way was either pierced by crossbow bolts or cut down with a blade. It didn't even feel bloody or cruel, because at this moment, each human life was as simple as pork on an assembly line. The motions of killing them were as routine and mechanical as stamping a quarantine inspection seal on each pig. This church was a secret mission point of the Abyss. It was disguised conventionally, but the clergy inside were all genuine low-ranking priests. In peacetime, out of deference to superficial relations between orthodox religions, even when one side knew full well that the other had mission posts or offices on its territory, they would turn a blind eye; even knowing they were spies, they wouldn't move to arrest them. But now that major surgery was underway, these small skin tags were naturally snipped off in passing. And this was merely the smallest stronghold. The higher-level Abyss offices were facing the exact same situation. The Whip of Order swarmed in like a pack of ravenous wolves, slaughtering on sight with no intention of leaving anyone alive. Although most locations proceeded smoothly, two encountered fierce resistance, dragging into a tug-of-war. But this was Order's home turf after all. Mobile reinforcement squads of the Whip of Order had long been prepared, joining the fray quickly, and the so-called resistance was snuffed out in short order. *Sizzle...* Neo stubbed out his cigarette butt in an ashtray lined with a damp paper towel. "Karen, the operational plan has orders to leave no survivors. You saw that when you reviewed it, right?" "I didn't review it. If you're dissatisfied, it must be Alfred's oversight." Karen picked up his freshly prepared ice water and took a sip. Frowning slightly, he wasn't very satisfied. Ice made with spells always felt lacking compared to natural ice, because you could smell the magical aura wafting from it, like the scent of gasoline. "You certainly know how to keep your hands clean. But a thorough cleanup is the right call. Once we launch the official assault on the mansion, those peripheral strongholds will likely receive orders from their superiors to deliberately target ordinary people and secular society, stirring up trouble to distract us. "After all, this involves an angel tied to the return of their god; for him, the Abyss faction is capable of anything. "Besides, stirring up the perimeter flushes out the tortoise in the mansion. Only when the tortoise shell gets ready to move will the tender meat be exposed, making it easier for us to strike." "You don't need to explain that to me." Karen set down his glass, still unable to drink it. "I was worried it would grate on your moral squeamishness and make you uncomfortable, so I went out of my way to counsel you, yet you don't even appreciate it." "A single sentence is enough: the Abyss people absorbed the vitality of ordinary people in Yorktown for religious rituals, violating the *Code of Order*. Right now, I'm merely meting out punishment. "Besides, I witnessed a small-scale war firsthand in the Church of the Burrow; my mindset and perspective have changed quite a bit." "Oh, so that's how it is." "I should also remind you that you aren't counseling me—you're counseling yourself. It seems Mr. Philias hasn't truly returned to Dorons yet; some of his behavioral habits still linger on you. "You're quite conflicted right now, haven't you noticed? "Extremely violent, yet radiating a saintly halo. Truly a bundle of contradictions." "Heh, 'bundle of contradictions' suits you best. Haven't you noticed? You're often merciless toward people in church circles, yet toward ordinary people, you always carry a compassionate tenderness. They always manage to touch you." "Light preaches that from gods to believers to ordinary people—spanning across an entire era or several eras—all should love each other equally. But as a believer of Order, I think the proper perspective on faith should be this: secular society must not be disturbed by outside forces, while as for the priests, gods, and main gods of other religions, the more of them die, the better—preferably until every last one is dead." "But have you ever thought about it, Karen: if all other religions and deities perish, where does that leave Order?" "Before the prerequisite is met, pondering that question is meaningless." Neo took off his clerical robes, picked up an overcoat beside him and put it on, urging Karen at the same time: "All right, it'll soon be our turn to enter. Let's change first." ... "Quick, quick, quick! Change your clothes, change your clothes!" With no deliberate information blackout in place, news of the peripheral offices being struck reached the mansion. Underground in the mansion, the gathered priests quickly pulled Order clerical robes and armor from crates and put them on. Kanlei handed an Order robe to Miliwen, saying, "Milady, please put this on quickly. We're about to initiate the emergency teleportation array, and we need your help to maintain it!" Miliwen looked at the Order robe in her hands, slightly dazed. Kanlei thought Miliwen was repulsed by the robe and hastily urged her, "Milady, these are extraordinary times; we cannot afford to be fastidious. Order has already made its move, and I suspect they are likely to attack here next. We must transport the angel away safely—the rise and fall of our church depends on it!" Miliwen nodded. She had merely been surprised that Karen's side moved so fast. Originally, she had felt her own side was moving much faster than anticipated and had planned to find a chance to send word and hurry them along. Who knew she had worried for nothing. After putting on the Order robe, Miliwen checked herself in a magical mirror ahead. She found that compared to the yellowish-brown robes of the Abyss, the pure black Order robe actually looked better, complementing one's poise and aura. Though many disliked its "coldness," to a certain degree, it possessed a unique charm of its own. *Hiss...* Miliwen felt a slight dizziness in her head. This had happened frequently when she first became an inheritor of the Child of God, during the golden period for receiving divine memories. Once that period passed, subsequent memories would still trigger, but they were more fragmented and far less frequent. Right now, seeing her reflection clad in an Order robe had likely triggered a corresponding memory. She saw a cold scene. All around seemed to be pitch-black hardpan. She stood atop a lofty peak, above which gaped numerous spatial rifts. In the distance, there was an enormous circular rift from which massive void creatures plummeted continuously. In truth, the ancestors of many monster beasts and even aberrant demons had crossed over from here. When certain special independent spaces were opened, the indigenous inhabitants within would naturally be disturbed. Deities were typically the primary agents who opened new spaces and regions; because their life level was already at the true pinnacle of this world, they yearned to explore beyond to seek a path forward. For instance, the Moon God Church's lunar exploration, the Church of Pamires's Messenger Space, and even the Abyss's Sea of the Abyss were all new spaces opened by deities. Some spaces had merged into this world, some had severed and drifted away, and many were still in a state of wild development—for example, the Church of Order loved exiling priests who committed infractions to such places, nominally calling it "exploration and investigation," but in truth, it was "border defense." Miliwen looked down. Where she stood now should be the vantage point of God Nuoqi back then. Facing what looked like a collapsed sky with a nearly boundless rain of falling void creatures, Miliwen felt no sense of tension. Looking downward, she saw the towering, majestic figure standing at the very forefront below—the God of the Abyss. The God of the Abyss matched his consistent depiction in murals: he wore no elaborate robes, and unlike the dignified and noble imagery of other deities, he was always bare-chested. His left arm was clad in purple scales; legend held that he had once ventured into an ancient dragon forbidden land from several eras past—a place even the dragon race of the time dared not enter—and there gained the empowerment of ancient dragon bone and blood. His right arm burned with golden flames—terrifying lava that had erupted when forging the abyss. To protect the abyss he had cleaved open, the God of the Abyss had willingly absorbed and sealed this colossal ocean of molten rock into his own body. In short, his being was suffused with a primal aura, yet it was precisely this aura that accentuated his majesty. Unlike the main gods and deities of his era who were preoccupied with factional divine wars, the God of the Abyss remained dedicated to achieving his grand objective. If other main gods were likened to noble knights, the God of the Abyss was a diligent "farmer" digging irrigation channels. Behind the God of the Abyss stood a vast expanse of priests dressed in Abyss robes. In their hands, each priest held a ring tied with over a dozen chains, each chain tethered below to a winged humanoid. They were not angels—the true traditional image of an angel was created only after the God of the Abyss opened heaven—yet they were the early prototypes of angels. Many of these "angels" still bore distinct beastly traits, neither refined, pure, nor noble; they were expendable war instruments tamed by the Church of the Abyss from the Sea of the Abyss. Yet what surprised Miliwen even more was that diagonally across stood a square formation of knights. Clad in black armor, the knights rode undead steeds, emanating an intensely grim, murderous aura. In the center of the formation stood a cohort of priests dressed in Order robes, just as silent, exuding a disciplined austerity that ordinary priests simply lacked. The Order... Knights? At that moment, a figure stood up. Previously, he had been seated and thoroughly inconspicuous. Miliwen hadn't even noticed at first glance that someone had been sitting in a chair all along, as if he hadn't existed until now. Yet the moment he rose, the chair behind him immediately drew one's attention—it was the Throne of Order! And in an instant, his figure towered above everything around him... Even as a devout believer of the Abyss and an inheritor of an Abyss branch deity, Miliwen had to admit that when that figure stood, even her own God of the Abyss was eclipsed in presence and momentum. The God... of Order. Early in the last era, he belonged to the Light faction, becoming its most battle-hardened god; In the middle of the last era, he founded the Church of Order and broke away from the Light faction, no longer following the will of Light; Late in the last era, the God of Light vanished, and the God of Order reigned supreme, embarking on a frenzied slaughter of other deities; Today, the scriptures of many religions speculate that the end of the last era and the absence of gods in this era were very likely tied to the God of Order's rampages late in the previous era. However, records of that period were largely lost; the world's turmoil exceeded imagination, and the burgeoning might of the Church of Order left other religions afraid to launch any investigation into this secret history. The God of Order walked up beside the God of the Abyss and began to speak. His voice could be heard by Miliwen—or rather, by Nuoqi in this vision: "Abyss, are you sure you haven't taken the wrong direction?" "I'm certain. Passing through it leads toward Heaven. Order, you've asked me this same question several times." "Yet you give the same answer every time." "Will you still help me, then?" "Even if Heaven is found, it is too distant." "Order, tell me, what is your true purpose in helping me forge a path to Heaven?" "I want to find a..." *Buzz!* Miliwen's consciousness snapped back from the memory vision. Her eyes were wide, for she had glimpsed a secret history of her church. The God of Order had actually helped her church's God of the Abyss forge a path to Heaven! Yet throughout the entire church, there were no records of this, nor was there the slightest mention in the mythological narratives of the *Light of Order*. But this was unquestionably true; Miliwen believed God Nuoqi's memories, because Nuoqi had been one of the divine participants! Furthermore, after becoming an inheritor, she had been granted clearance to peruse the memory journals of all previous inheritors of God Nuoqi, and none of them contained any mention of this matter, let alone a description of the God of Order taking action. Therefore, she had likely awakened a memory fragment of God Nuoqi that was never supposed to be passed down... Why had this happened? Was it because there was something special about her, or because she had come into contact with someone special? What had the God of Order's final answer been? What was he searching for? "Holy Child, we are about to begin!" Kanlei called out. "Alright, coming!" Miliwen shook her head vigorously to cast aside extraneous thoughts and walked to the stone sarcophagus of the six-winged angel. Inside the sarcophagus, Qianmei was extremely agitated. Once it learned it was being shipped off to serve as a tracker and slave, it had regretted everything. It would rather return to Karen's side. Although those figures inside Karen's soul space were terrifying beyond measure—apart from Progenitor Allen, who provided warmth and comfort... The rest were entities it dared not provoke, or even look at; Yet Karen was good to it! Such delicious soul power—he didn't consume it himself, but saved it for Qianmei. Why had it ever wanted to leave him? It must have stuffed itself so full of souls that its head went bad. What bullcrap freedom—what the hell did it need that for?! However, in the eyes of the surrounding Abyss priests, these intense emotional fluctuations were interpreted entirely as the angel's eager yearning to return home! The teleportation array gradually activated, and the surrounding Abyss priests began to chant aloud: "O holy Angel, we shall escort you upon your journey home!" ... "Source of Sin, we guide your descent!" Around the summoning array stood personnel from the regional containment space department as well as Elder Delon's array department. They had activated the divine artifact summoning array leading into the containment space, guiding the descent of the Laks copper coins. Two copper coins stacked atop one another slowly materialized. Perched on them was Luoya in lolita attire, her hair specially tied with an exquisite pink headband. The moment she appeared, all the surrounding Order priests unfurled scrolls and cast defensive spells upon themselves to safeguard their minds from corruption. "Please proceed to the command center to receive your mission," the director of the Yorktown Regional Containment Space Office instructed the artifact spirit. Luoya completely ignored him. Glancing left and right, she seemed to search for a specific figure, her gaze reaching farther and farther out. Because she had descended alongside both copper coins—the artifact's true form—the power Luoya could mobilize was vastly greater than when testifying in court, and her degree of freedom was also far higher. Finally, Luoya located the rooftop of the building not far away. The next moment, Her figure vanished from where she stood. ... "Damn it, the divine artifact spirit has vanished! She didn't come to our command center to receive the mission!" Inside the command center, Vic rose in shock. The plan had been proceeding smoothly, but a deviation had occurred here. If the spirit of the Laks copper coins failed to exert her true power right now, the entire layout of the operation could be warped or even fail. Sitting opposite him, Alfred quietly lifted his coffee cup, took a sip, and reassured him: "No need to worry. She has gone to receive her mission." "Whose mission?" "Her master's mission." ... "Big Brother Karen!" Luoya's figure appeared in front of Karen, and she threw her arms around him. "Come on, let Uncle Neo give you a hug too." Luoya looked indifferently at Neo and sneered. "I can sense that you have an awful lot of stray thoughts inside you. So stay away from me, or I'll make you lose your mind in an instant." Neo shrugged. "Listen to that. Such a lovely child. The moment she arrives, she worries about my health." Karen crouched down. Rather than rushing to issue commands, he said, "That headband looks really nice." "Really, Big Brother Karen? I spent a long time picking it out! Hehe." Karen reached out and patted Luoya's cheek, while pointing toward the mansion with his other hand. "Can you feel it?" "I feel it. No, it's calling out to me." "Go take control of it, as well as the host it is sealing and empowering. Plunge the people around it into madness." "Okay, Big Brother Karen. Please wait just a moment." Luoya turned around and flew toward the mansion. At the same time, the desolate blast of a war horn resounded. Inside the command center, having finished half his cup of coffee, Alfred quietly stood up and issued the order into the communication array before him: "Commence the general offensive!"