Stepping out of the conference room, according to the original plan, Karen should have boarded his carriage and headed for the teleportation array hall, with his final destination being the sacred land of the Church of Pamires—Xiloska.
The Hierarch election of the Church of Pamires was drawing near, and Karen was to represent the Church of Order in publicly endorsing Derius.
While his attitude toward this former "financial backer" lacked a certain warmth, business was business after all, and too much emotion shouldn't be involved in the first place.
However, the sudden arrival of one person disrupted Karen's rhythm, forcing him to make a trip back to his office.
As Philomena walked beside him, she explained, "She had a keycard for this place."
"I presume Richard didn't give it to her."
First, Richard's keycard didn't grant direct access to Karen's office; second, while that boy appeared flaky on the surface, he was actually meticulous and prudent in his work.
Philomena lowered her head. "She took it from me."
Karen glanced at her, saying nothing.
Pushing open the office door, a smile instantly surfaced on Karen's face. "Grandmother, you're here."
Sitting in the office at that moment was none other than Madam Tangli.
Today, she wore a gray robe—a garment perfectly suited for cutting someone down.
Madam Tangli wasted no words, getting straight to the point: "Karen, I am coming with you."
"There's really no need, Grandmother."
Karen could only patiently comfort her.
The operational plan was under absolute secrecy, of course, but she was Richard's grandmother and Philomena's teacher. Virtually her entire family was participating in or serving this operation, so keeping it from her was nearly impossible anyway.
"It seems you think your grandmother is old and useless now."
"No matter when, a blade like you is my greatest reliance. I can hardly bring myself to draw you lightly."
"You brat, always knowing what to say to please people. Still, let me accompany you. That organization is rather unusual. If you were merely making contact with them, I wouldn't worry. But this time you're being so decisive and leaving no room for maneuver. I'm afraid an accident might happen. Your idea is simply too radical and reckless."
Karen reached out, resting his hands on Madam Tangli's shoulders and gently kneading them as he smiled.
"Have you forgotten your grandson has been on the battlefield? Compared to the scale of the battlefield, what does this little matter today even amount to?"
Having witnessed the crushing dread of military formations and felt the shockwaves of synchronized magic crystal cannon salvos, his perspective on things had long since shifted.
Beneath the gods, no matter how formidable an individual's personal might was, there was ultimately a comprehensible limit. As for such so-called special organizations... what organization could possibly rival an orthodox divine religion?
Karen wasn't discriminating against them; he simply held them in contempt.
In terms of an organization's secrecy, the "Ace of Spades organization"—or "Coffin organization"—that he had built on the foundation of the Church of Order wasn't inferior to the Silencers in the slightest. After all, he possessed the most "official" truth concerning the return of the gods.
Furthermore, an organization composed of priests from diverse faiths, no matter how outstanding or powerful its members were, could never achieve true unity. They weren't bound by a shared faith, but by profit.
"Are you truly confident?" Seeing Karen's unyielding stance, Madam Tangli began to yield.
Her affection for this maternal grandson surpassed her love for her biological grandson, Richard. She doted on Karen to the point where she would agree to almost any idea of his, rather than using her own life experience to forcibly "correct" him as she did with Richard.
"Grandmother, please rest assured. I have made the most comprehensive preparations. I'm going to pull in the net, not to go hunting; I don't like leaving things to chance. As for helpers, I have invited plenty."
"You invited other helpers when I'm right at home..."
"Favors are wasted if they aren't used anyway, whereas one must cherish family. Grandmother, when I return, I invite you to visit the manor to relax. I'll spend a few good days keeping you company."
Having heard him put it this way, Madam Tangli could only nod in tacit agreement. At the same time, she took out the keycard and placed it on the coffee table.
Karen picked up the keycard and slid it back into Madam Tangli's pocket, giving it a gentle pat once it was inside.
"Come whenever you wish. This place is your own living room."
Madam Tangli let out a sigh and turned to Philomena. "Look at that. Richard doesn't know how to speak half as well as our Karen."
Philomena remarked, "That's only because you're biased."
As if Richard wasn't better at talking and socializing than Karen?
Madam Tangli glared at Philomena, then stood up and walked out of the office.
Karen straightened his clerical robe. "Let's depart."
After boarding the carriage, he noticed a bronze chest resting inside, carved with powerful sealing runes.
Vic stood by the carriage door, pointing at the chest. "I have dismissed the escort team from the containment space. From now on, this divine artifact is officially on long-term lease to you, my Minister."
"Mm."
Karen nodded, reached out his hand, and began unraveling the seal.
Knowing Karen's mastery over formation arrays, Vic said no more. He quietly closed the carriage door, took two steps back, and saluted.
The carriage rolled out of the Disciplinary Department's barrier.
Inside, the bronze chest was opened, revealing a small shield. Between the shield and the walls of the chest, however, was a thick layer of gelatinous padding.
"Just how many layers of seals did they apply?"
This gelatinous mass was the distorted result of stacked layers of seals.
Left with no other choice, Karen summoned the Rubik's cube and began unraveling them rapidly.
To the side, Little Kanna stood watching curiously, well aware that this divine artifact was about to become her new toy.
The carriage entered the Yorktown Region teleportation array hall. Seeing the carriage, travelers and priests passing through turned and hurried away.
Behind each of them trailed two members of the Whip of Order.
No church of considerable stature would ever connect the teleportation arrays of its core regions directly to another religion. Doing so would effectively hand the other party an open path straight to its heart.
However, the Church of Pamires was an affiliated religion of the Church of Order. While the Xiloska sacred land had a direct teleportation array linked to the Dinge Region, it had none to the Yorktown Region. Consequently, Karen had to make a transfer at a minor holy land on the periphery of the Church of Pamires.
What should have been a smooth transfer encountered complications. Because the teleportation array hall of this minor holy land was malfunctioning and undergoing maintenance, Karen's carriage had to exit and head for another teleportation hall of a semi-commercial nature.
After the carriage rolled out, a group of people emerged from the original teleportation array hall, tailing behind.
Along the route, reports were continually transmitted—individuals, groups of three or five, small squads. Gradually, they all began converging along the carriage's path of travel.
...
Inside Vic's office at the Disciplinary Department headquarters, Bern's image appeared via a communication array.
Vic asked, "Can we begin?"
Bern replied, "No rush. Wait a bit longer. There are still many people sitting on the fence. I'm currently inciting and prodding them—chances like this are rare."
Vic nodded. "Very well."
...More and more people gathered. Though their composition was complex, viewed from a macro perspective, their movements were remarkably organized.
Because the ones linking them together, inciting them, coordinating them, and drafting the plan were the most professional experts in this domain: the Whip of Order.
They had meticulously "cooked" this assassination directed against their own minister.
Pairs of eyes hidden in the darkness fixed upon their respective targets. The moment a target emerged from hiding and officially entered the imminent hunt, those eyes immediately relayed the intelligence.
...
Bern spoke up: "That's about enough. We can begin."
Vic asked with a smile, "Won't we wait a bit longer? There are bound to be those hesitating at the last minute who dare not strike, as well as those who had no intention of acting from the start."
Bern shook his head. "That doesn't matter. Once the proportion of those striking reaches a certain threshold, even those who didn't act will be treated as having done so. Anyone who made contact and responded to this affair is guilty—who told them not to report it?"
"Understood. That's a good lesson." Vic looked at the list continuing to compile in his hands.
On the list were affiliated units of the Church of Order, family names—a long, diverse roll call.
Bern remarked, "Your minister was actually dragged down by you. If you hadn't been so radical during the Great Purge..."
Vic countered, "I was merely carrying out the Minister's will. I am simply a blade in the Minister's hand. They retaliate against the Minister because no one is foolish enough to take revenge on a blade."
Bern shrugged. "A fine self-awareness. It seems you've already figured out the path you want to walk in the future."
"Indeed. I hope you've chosen yours as well."
"Me?"
"Because the remaining positions are running out."
"Heh, sometimes I find you people truly absurd. Really. I've seen plenty of small factions and cliques, including many with formidable cohesion. But you lot... your loyalty to Karen, and even the way you look at him, makes it somewhat... difficult for me to comprehend."
"You will understand soon enough."
"After I die as well?"
"Yes."
"Then let's finish this job quickly. I can hardly wait to die."
...
Derius stood atop a watchtower near the entrance to the Messenger Space, clutching a feather in his hand. The feather was already damp with the sweat of his palm.
Just then, a middle-aged man riding a giant bat flew over. The man was named Pengluofu, one of Derius's primary rivals for the position of Hierarch.
"You called for me?" Pengluofu asked, looking at Derius. "Heh, and you chose this place. You know, at first I thought you planned to ambush and kill me right here."
"There's no need for that. The moment you decided to coordinate with those people, you were already dead."
"Heh, so you know everything?"
"I know."
"Fine. Then why don't you guess whether that backer of yours can make it here alive?"
"Pengluofu, don't you realize how foolish you are?"
"Don't lecture me about whether this will bring disaster upon our church. When you took our church's assets and handed them over gratuitously to that backer, I didn't see you considering the greater picture either."
"You misunderstand, Pengluofu. That isn't what I wanted to tell you."
"Oh?"
"Do you know who came to invite you to cooperate?"
"The factions within the Church of Order who oppose and despise that backer of yours."
"No. The one who contacted you was my backer's own subordinate."
Hearing this, Pengluofu's expression froze instantly.
Derius pulled out the feather and gave it a gentle flick. The feather caught fire, and a fragrant aroma began to drift—a traditional rite within the Church of Pamires for mourning the dead.
"Pengluofu, how could you be so foolish? Those people are the losers who opposed my backer within the Church of Order. How could you ever think of standing with a pack of losers?
"Furthermore, do you think finding another outside backer in the Church of Order will change their stance toward me?
"Let me tell you:
"That is impossible.
"Even if my backer loses and the Church of Order sends a replacement, they will still have no choice but to support me!"
*Because my family was planted here by the Church of Order from the very beginning to replace and control the Church of Pamires!*
Derius had always known that as an individual, he would never lose.
And the reason he had scrambled, speculated, and placed bets was in the hope that the Church of Pamires might lose a little less.
"I truly loathe that about you, Derius. Truly. It has always eaten at me—why did the late Hierarch resolutely choose you as his successor? On what grounds?!"
*Because he was my grandfather.*
A wave of irritation swept through Derius's heart. He waved his hand dismissively. "Pengluofu, I didn't invite you here to humiliate you. It isn't too late for you to turn back now."
"What is this hypocritical act of yours?"
"I wish to preserve a few more sparks of life for our Church of Pamires. That man has a very nasty temper. Anyone who plots against him is suppressed by ruthless means. At tomorrow's nomination assembly, withdraw your candidacy and back me instead. I promise I will preserve you and your family."
"You're dreaming, Derius! You can forget about making me wag my tail and beg for mercy like a dog!"
"I am taking pity on you."
"Heheheh... Hahaha! I accept defeat if I lose, but I will never cower!"
Pengluofu rode his bat away.
Derius sighed, blinked, and muttered self-deprecatingly:
"I was actually afraid you'd cower, and Karen wouldn't want to kill you, leaving you in the church just to keep me in check. Heh."
...
The new teleportation array facility was just ahead. But right at that moment, roaring sounds erupted. The earth cracked open, and colossal monster beasts crawled out from the fissures.
From other directions, forces converged relentlessly, completing a tangible encirclement.
"Defensive formation!"
Andrew's security detail fanned out swiftly, shielding the Minister's carriage in the center.
...
Inside the carriage, Karen finally unraveled every layer of the seals.
The shield proved remarkably obedient, floating over to Little Kanna's side on its own. Little Kanna began looking for a place to put it.
Carrying a shield around didn't quite suit her appearance.
Karen lifted Little Kanna's backpack and tapped it against the shield. The shield immediately transformed into an identical backpack.
Little Kanna slung it onto her back, showing it off to Karen.
The illustration on the backpack depicted a large tree. Beneath the tree, two little girls played hand-in-hand, accompanied by a lovable golden retriever.
Little Kanna reminded him, "A pretty black kitty! Really pretty, and skinny—it has to be skinny!"
Immediately, a black cat appeared in the drawing, slender and elegant in posture.
*I can scratch her off in anger, but she must be on the new backpack.*
The little bone dragon hated heavy homework, but in her heart, she never truly disliked Purr, who cared for and protected her.
"Ooh, I feel so secure now, meow-woof!"
She loved the new backpack so much that her catchphrase slipped right out.
Little Kanna looked at Karen with great anticipation. "Are we going out to fight?"
Karen shook his head. "No need."
At the new teleportation array site, rings of teleportation light flared to life one after another. Squads of knights clad in black armor, mounted on undead warhorses, marched out in formation.
Immediately after, around the perimeter of this cramped holy land, deeply hidden members of the Whip of Order tore away their disguises and took their positions.
In the sky, rows of falcon knights soared.
To support the front-line campaign, both the Whip of Order and the regional office had conducted a new round of war preparations. These warhorses and equipment were originally meant to be sent to the desert front shortly, but Karen had requisitioned them directly from the warehouses.
For he knew the desert war was drawing to a close, and these munitions were destined to be absorbed internally anyway.
The majority of the personnel in Karen's Disciplinary Department had once belonged to the Whip of Order Legion. Tempered by war and outfitted with military implements, the terror of their presence was something a ragtag group cobbled together at the eleventh hour could never hope to rival.
One could say that the moment they appeared, the outcome was no longer in doubt.
All the priests and security forces of the Church of Pamires stationed at this minor holy land went into hiding, leaving behind an arena for the Church of Order's internal strife.
Little Stone transformed into a stone giant, swinging his massive hammer and letting out a low bellow:
"Minister's order: Take no prisoners!"
...
At that very moment, Whip of Order Regional Chiefs across every region of the Church of Order issued arrest warrants from their offices. Squads of the Whip of Order rushed toward their respective targets, rounding up members of the families and units implicated in this affair.
Every Regional Chief issued the highest-level directive for this operation: Any act of resistance shall be deemed treason against the faith!
The Great Purge that began some time ago had already put many within the church on edge, but the true purge only unveiled its real face today.
From this day forward, the brutal, blood-drenched reputation of the Whip of Order's second-in-command would be firmly established.
When approving this plan,
the Whip-Wielder had uttered only two sentences. The first was:
"Today is Karen's coming-of-age ceremony."
The second sentence was not spoken in the presence of his secretary, Weigulin; the only listener was a frost dragon full of bewilderment.
Looking at the bottom section of the proposal, the Whip-Wielder had fallen into deep thought:
"Does he know Karen's true identity as well?"
...
A bloody massacre was unfolding within the minor holy land of the Church of Pamires.
A wave of panicked arrests played out simultaneously across every region of the Church of Order.
Meanwhile, a man dressed in a black robe traveled through a network of teleportation arrays built by smugglers, passing through roundabout routes from the Yorktown Region to reach an islet within the jurisdiction of the Xiloska sacred land. The island was a cargo transfer point for smugglers.
Yet today, the island, which should have been bustling with activity, was deathly still.
The black-robed man came to a halt, seemingly sensing that something was amiss in his surroundings.
*Hum!*
*Hum!*
*Hum!*
Three figures hovered in midair, sealing off all avenues of escape from three directions.
All three wore golden masks. One was draped in the clerical robes of the Church of Eternity, another in those of the Church of Light, and the third in the vestments of the Church of Night.
The robes of the former two had not been seen in public for a very long time.
The figure in the Church of Night robes spoke:
"Minister Karen, you are just as prudent and meticulous as we anticipated. You let your decoy draw all the hatred and take the risks, while you made your way to your destination by the safest route."
The black-robed man removed his veil, revealing Karen's face.
The figure in the Church of Light robes said, "Minister Karen, I believe we can have a proper conversation."
Karen shook his head.
The figure in the Eternity robes sneered. "It seems our Minister Karen still doesn't understand the predicament he is in."
Immediately, a dharma body manifested behind him.
In quick succession, the other two summoned their dharma bodies as well.
The auras of Night, Eternity, and Light blanketed the island.
"Karen" said, "The ones who don't understand the situation are you. The real Karen has been sitting in the carriage the entire time."
"Are you saying that you are the abandoned pawn meant to draw the hatred?"
"Karen" chuckled. "That depends on you."
With that, "Karen" peeled off the mask on his face, revealing a middle-aged man with white hair.
The three gold-masked figures showed expressions of bewilderment. But then, all of them raised their heads and looked up as an immense, magnificent dharma body swirling with golden patterns slowly descended.
In an instant, the entire island was smothered beneath the boiling aura of Order.
An elder of the Temple of Order
had descended in person!
The Eternity priest gasped, "How is this possible... how is this possible..."
The Light priest stammered, "He could actually arrange for a temple elder to take his place..."
The Church of Night priest cried, "What on earth has gone wrong with the Church of Order?! Just what has gone wrong?!"
The scene before them was like a playground squabble between children that had suddenly been crashed by a towering, burly adult.
Ukonga gently tossed his hair, let out a deep sigh, and said:
"I found it laughable too, and I really didn't want to come—it's far too beneath my dignity.
"But what choice did I have?
"Who told him to say,
"'Hey roommate, do me a favor'?"
Chapter 853