*Buzz!*
Karen’s figure returned to the rooftop. As he landed, a violent gust stirred around him, silently shattering all the teacups set out there. Yet the force was clearly restrained, kept from spreading fully outward; for instance, the small wooden tea table holding the cups remained entirely undamaged.
This was Thousand Phantoms deliberately showing off its new ability, signifying that it now possessed offensive attributes as well.
Naturally, the boost to its original defensive and speed attributes was even more staggering.
Karen had already sensed this when flying back earlier.
After all, the angels of the Church of the Abyss served as messengers shuttling between Heaven and the Abyss; their wings embodied the ultimate aesthetic of speed and defense.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Neo, having returned a step ahead of him, let out a stream of praise. "The evolution rate of that Thousand Phantoms of yours is truly fast."
Karen gave his neck a gentle roll as the wings behind him swiftly retracted, and replied, "It was, after all, the pet of the Samsara Gatekeeper inside the door."
Those truly exalted and personally powerful beings rarely chose pets based on current strength, but rather on their ceiling, since they had ample resources for feeding and nurturing them.
However, since Thousand Phantoms began following Karen, aside from being regularly frightened half to death, it had not been mistreated either. Several times, when Karen had forcibly suppressed his hunger addiction and refused to consume something, the spoils had gone to it.
While it was somewhat treated like a kitchen scrap bin... only Thousand Phantoms itself knew how delicious those scraps were.
Yet this time, Karen's perception was also crystal clear: Thousand Phantoms' conversion rate in absorbing that soul power was extraordinarily high. It had actually been able to manifest the exclusive abilities of a six-winged angel directly.
Originally, Karen was already an all-round hexagonal warrior, capable of serving multiple roles on his own. From now on, he would also gain an even more exaggerated speed boost, coupled with the little bone dragon's Dragon God Armor...
It truly was: if he couldn't beat them, he could endure the hits; if he couldn't endure the hits, he could still run.
Or rather: you couldn't pierce his defense, couldn't handle his diverse attacks, and worst of all, couldn't outrun him.
He was becoming more and more like his grandfather.
While his realm was hardly "stunning," the abilities he had developed horizontally and the combat prowess they formed meant his true strength could long since no longer be measured by realm or rank.
"By the way, can I borrow that mosquito coil for a spin?" Neo rubbed his hands together.
"What did you say?"
"I mean, just like I can lend you my car to drive, could you lend me your mosquito coil wings for a bit?"
"No."
"Why?" Neo spread his hands. "Hey, you're actually that stingy?"
"I'm afraid you'd pull the mosquito coil into a meeting."
"Hahaha, hahahaha!" Neo doubled over laughing, nearly choking on his breath.
Just imagining the scene in the library reading room—the Ancestor of the Bloodthirsty Aberrant Demons, the Last Mad Pope, and Philias sitting there, with a mosquito coil placed right between the three of them.
"What about that Holy Child? Miliwen," Karen asked.
"Following your instructions, I pointed her toward a gap in the perimeter and let her leave. She should be able to escape with her life. But you know what? That kindergarten kid actually tried to turn on us at the last second. She tried to seduce your mosquito coil away to follow her in search of Heaven, haha."
"It would be strange if she didn't have her own agenda. She simply overestimated her abilities and chose the wrong partners to cooperate with."
Miliwen had never expected the foreign church allies she chose would feed with such wild savagery, leaving her without even a sip of broth.
Neo sighed wistfully. "That's what she gets for dealing with a hunting hound and a little hound dog! Leaving her so much as a scrap of bone would be our failure!"
Then Neo sighed again, "It's just a shame. Such a massive achievement, yet there's no way to record the merit and get promoted."
"As long as we got tangible benefits, it's fine."
Neo said pointedly, "The Return of the Gods means the original rules and frameworks face the risk of being shattered. That is our opportunity, Karen."
"I haven't thought that far ahead yet, because I think Rasma will return before the gods return."
By now, Whip of Order squads had begun entering the mansion from all sides. However, they did not slaughter the remaining people inside the mansion; they merely finished off any remnants identifiable as priests who had slipped through the net, while the guests and attendants were evacuated.
The most noticeable was Madame Baolifa. Stark naked, she was carried out by two members of the Whip of Order.
Originally, she had been showing off her melodious operatic bel canto inside her room while fiercely playing poker with three boxers;
then she witnessed the scene outside the window, practically like hell descending upon the world.
By now, she no longer cared that she was currently naked, repeatedly muttering under her breath:
"My god, my god, my god!"
Barring any surprises, after this incident, the creative direction of many artists in the mansion would unanimously swerve toward theology in the future.
"Big Brother Karen!"
Luoya's figure appeared on the rooftop. In front of her, two copper coins floated. However, the phantom of a chain had already emerged over her body, signifying that her outdoor "recess" time was nearly up.
The containment space, to those divine artifacts held by the Church of Order, was essentially a prison cage.
Those that could be utilized by Order or that Order deemed worth using were mostly enshrined within the stars above the temples. The rest were confined to prevent them from causing harm.
"I got it." Karen took out the sealing pouch. Even in this short time, the pouch had already begun to heat up.
Luoya leaned close, blew a breath onto it, and then crossed her hands continuously, sending beams of light striking into it.
"All done, Big Brother Karen. Now you can hold it and fiddle with it like an ordinary copper coin. If you want to trigger its power, you can stimulate it like any other sacred artifact.
"Then, you can set up a communication array, a summoning ritual array, and an offering array, and by holding it in your hand, you'll be able to call me.
"Put on that mysterious mask of yours, Big Brother Karen, and I can take your soul consciousness into the containment space to play. Though because of that guy's eyes, each visit can't last very long..."
Neo curled his lip and remarked, "No worries. Even if your Big Brother Karen can't last very long each time, he can always go for short and frequent."
Hearing this, Luoya turned her head, looked at Neo with utmost solemnity, and responded earnestly:
"You're the one who's impotent!"
Neo: "Wait, are even artifact spirits so precocious these days?"
"There are too many really old big brothers, big sisters, uncles, and aunties in the containment space. You think I don't know anything?"
"Fine, fine. Seems the containment space department has neglected your education in the doctrines of Order."
Luoya stepped forward and hugged Karen.
"Big Brother Karen, you'll summon me soon, right?"
"Of course. Definitely."
"Mhm, I believe you, Big Brother Karen!"
Neo couldn't resist chiming in again, "His fiancée said the exact same thing."
Luoya frowned.
Neo continued, "Do you know where his fiancée shows up most often nowadays? She only gets to be active in our conversations, hahaha!"
Luoya raised a hand, pointing at Neo.
"Source of Sin..."
"Fuck!"
At that moment, Luoya truly intended to kill. Although she knew Neo was powerful, she could sense his current issues even better; someone like him was actually easier for her to deal with right now.
And Neo also sensed the killing intent from the artifact spirit—pure, without the slightest impurity.
Karen reached out, clasped Luoya's small hand, and pushed it down.
Luoya didn't resist, immediately aborting the spell targeting Neo.
"Can you call me through it?" Karen asked.
"I can, but I'm afraid of bothering you, Big Brother Karen. After all, you're so busy and have so many things to handle."
"It's fine. If you miss me too much, or have something you want to tell me, you can use it to call me."
"Really, Big Brother Karen? You're so good to me."
Luoya gave Karen a peck on the cheek.
Neo rolled his eyes beside them, thinking: *Doesn't that just mean 'I'm afraid I'll forget to contact you, so I'm fobbing you off by having you contact me instead'?*
"Big Brother Karen, I'm heading back now."
"All right. Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Big Brother Karen."
"Goodbye, my lovely little niece," Neo also waved farewell.
Backing into the whirlpool forming behind her, Luoya looked at Neo and said coldly, "You are close to losing yourself."
"Thank you for your concern about your uncle's physical condition. Your uncle is truly touched."
"I wish you less pain when you lose yourself. Or, you could choose to commit suicide beforehand."
When those words were uttered, Karen's expression changed slightly, because Luoya had unwittingly described how Neo's beloved Miss Eliza had died.
Seeing this, Luoya—who had been watching Karen's expression the whole time—instantly covered her mouth and jumped into the whirlpool. The vortex vanished.
"Children speak without thinking. Don't take it to heart," Karen comforted.
"Why would I be angry at her? She's just like you—mouth practically dripping with honey."
Neo stretched his arms and said, "It's finally over."
"Not over yet; we've only made a good start. Stay here and keep an eye on things for me, specifically overseeing the transport of the angel's body. I need to head over to the Regional Chief."
"Alright, off you go." Neo yawned, pulling a small vial from his pocket filled with a thick, dark purple liquid.
"What's that?"
"Blood I drew from the angel. He's practically a dried corpse; getting even this little bit of blood wasn't easy. You won't blame me, will you?"
"No."
After all, Neo had merely taken a bit of blood, whereas Karen had already finished off the angel earlier.
Neo pulled the stopper.
Karen cautioned, "Are you sure you want to drink that?"
"At worst, just one more person at the meetings, hahaha."
Neo downed the blood in one gulp, then his face instantly twisted into an ugly grimace as he cursed:
"Damn it, this is genuinely the foulest blood I've ever drunk in my life. No, this isn't even blood—it's more like motor oil from a car!"
Seeing that Neo was fine, a pair of black wings sprouted behind Karen once more. But Karen did not fly off immediately; instead, he brought the wings forward, grasping one with each hand, and said in a low voice:
"Orderize!"
The classic black belonging to Order swiftly adhered and spread across them, erasing all other auras.
That way, no one would suspect anything about these wings of his; they would merely think he had obtained a wing-type movement sacred artifact.
Neo quipped, "Heh, you really are cautious. I bet you keep non-slip mats laid out in your bathroom at all times, terrified of slipping when you get up to pee at night."
"Probably because I'm still young, so I don't get up in the middle of the night."
"Oh, damn you!"
...
Karen returned to the headquarters building at top speed, heading straight for Sus's office. When the secretary saw Karen approach, there was no need to report—she opened the door directly for him, clearly instructed beforehand.
Inside the office, the communication array was active. Sus stood in place, while seven figures projected by the array sat on chairs.
These were presumably leaders from the Whip of Order's direct administrative departments in the Dinge Region.
"Alright, now let our Head of Law Enforcement give a detailed briefing on the outcome of the operation."
Without any stage fright, Karen walked up beside Sus and began recounting the mission's progression.
When Karen reached the final results of the battle, he distinctly sensed the seven superiors seated on their chairs shifting their posture.
After finishing the report, Karen stepped back and stood beside Sus.
"Regardless, you should have coordinated with us prior to this operation."
"Indeed. I understand your region's desire to claim all the credit internally, but this is a successful operation. What if it had failed?"
"A region has no right to dictate relations between two orthodox churches. Had your mission failed and caused relations between our church and the Abyss to completely fracture, that would be a grave offense."
"Enough. The mission succeeded, after all. This angel is of immense significance to us, tied to the secrets of the Return of the Gods. And to cultivate it within our church's traditional sphere of influence—the Abyss went too far."
"Exactly. When has our Church of Order ever had to tiptoe around like this?"
"Heh, we merely reclaimed an angel stolen by the Abyss on our own turf. What's wrong with that?"
"You did very well, Sus. I imagine I'll be bumping into you in the hallway outside my office very soon."
The communication array deactivated. Those leaders on the other end would now be busy reporting the matter to their superiors.
Overall, however, the reception was definitely positive. This was a tremendous achievement; to the church, nothing was more important than matters concerning gods.
As for a rift with the Abyss... what if there was a rift? Would the Abyss actually dare take the initiative to declare war on Order?
Sus handed Karen a glass of ice water and said, "That was just an internal briefing meeting, so it was a bit informal."
"Regional Chief, it seems you truly are bound for a promotion."
"Sigh, getting promoted isn't all that interesting. I'd actually prefer staying here as Regional Chief."
"I also hope you could remain here to guide my work."
"Haha, I know when to quit while I'm ahead. Though my tenure hasn't been very long, my record of accomplishments is solid. Using this achievement, I'll maneuver to get transferred out of here.
"Oh, in the next few days, have your secretary quickly bring me the proposals for personnel appointments and institutional restructuring. Whatever I can approve, I'll approve for you right now, so that whoever comes down to sit in this seat next will be stuck as a figurehead."
"Thank you for looking out for me, sir."
"It's you looking out for me! An angel—such a massive, momentous matter, yet you and Bern barely seemed excited... Well, of course, neither of you can be promoted right now. Oh, right, those two groups from Dark Moon Island and the Moon God Church were originally scheduled to arrive yesterday. I had them delayed a bit. Now that the mission is complete, they can be notified to arrive immediately.
"Do you want to go receive them in person?
"In any case, the mop-up work can be left to the subordinates, and you have no expectations for merit evaluation anyway."
"Alright, I'll go in person."
"Mhm, go on then."
After Karen left his office, Sus licked his lips, rubbed his face hard, and muttered to himself:
"Being his boss is so fucking thrilling!"
...
Teleportation Array Hall.
A hundred Dark Moon warriors stood in neat formation, waiting to clear security. Standing at the very front was the Princess of Dark Moon Island, Ophelia.
Originally, according to plan, she was supposed to lead the delegation here yesterday, but something had seemingly been brewing in Yorktown, so their itinerary had been temporarily delayed.
In a teleportation area to the rear, light flashed repeatedly in succession. Over a hundred young priests dressed in Moon God Church clerical robes walked out one after another. Naturally, the leader could not be the Moon God Church's Holy Child, Salayina.
As the Holy Child of an orthodox church, Salayina certainly didn't need to come here to "welcome new recruits."
However, the one leading them was also a female priest. She was very young, looking innocent and pure, like an older girl next door.
Moreover, she had a fine figure; the robes, which were typically loose and baggy, were actually stretched taut enough to outline her curves, though it had nothing to do with plumpness.
Once the priests of the Moon God Church emerged, they naturally crowded past the Dark Moon warriors, intending to pass through security ahead of them.
They didn't consider this cutting in line; it wasn't even a matter of morality in their eyes, because tiny Dark Moon Island was completely beneath mention before an orthodox church.
Had Order not intervened, the present Dark Moon Island would have long since been swallowed whole by the Moon God Church.
Passing by the Dark Moon warriors, many Moon God Church priests wore contemptuous expressions, and quite a few even pinched their noses, as if smelling an unpleasant fishy stench on them.
The Dark Moon warriors yielded naturally, and even Ophelia showed not the slightest intention of protesting.
This world was ever so pragmatic.
The Order personnel responsible for security screening showed no reaction either, simply continuing their checks.
Farther away, sitting in the office of the Teleportation Hall Director sipping tea, Karen saw through the translucent glass everything taking place out there.
A disparity ought to be demonstrated from the very beginning—that made winning hearts much easier. But the disparity unfolding before his eyes was the exact opposite of what Karen wanted.
However, at Karen's level, when he wanted subordinates to handle things, he no longer needed to be so crude. He could afford to be much more elegant—or rather, elevate it to a matter of principle.
Karen set down his teacup. His next sentence drained all color from the face of Teleportation Hall Director Anluoxi, who had been waiting on him attentively ever since he stepped inside, nearly sending him crashing to his knees:
"Sigh. They can't even stand in line properly. There isn't a shred of Order to them at all."
Chapter 687