Neat and Orderly!

The lifespan of an orthodox religion was simply too long, and time was the finest sand for burying secrets. Augurev Fortress had been operating since the previous era. Within the Church of Order, there were many places like it. Steeped in the long passage of time, the various branch departments under each system often grew increasingly independent and insular. At Karen's rank, he was permitted to view many high-level documents, but people at his level were few across the entire church. Nor could he abandon all duties to live and sleep inside the archives day in and day out just to indulge his curiosity reading the church's "secrets." Even so, Karen suspected that whatever definition secret files gave to Augurev Fortress would likely be rather veiled—nothing as blunt as what Punk had just said. Because within the church archives, there could not possibly exist literal records deconstructing or opposing a "god." The church's very foundation was the worship of gods. Who would be foolish enough to keep the knife that could kill them neatly preserved? Just like the countless revised editions of the Light of Order, even if some higher-up from the early days had laid down such a blunt definition for this fortress, later generations would have altered it. And what if the secret had only ever been passed down from one commander of Augurev Fortress to the next? That might subvert conventional wisdom, for here, oral transmission was actually less prone to distortion. Now, looking up again at the statue of Augurev before him, Karen felt completely different. *This is the fortress you personally designed and built. You even buried and fused a part of yourself here, yet in the end, this fortress was meant to guard against your return.* *So... you are returning, are you?* It could not be an order issued by the will of the God of Order. That figure sat with his back turned, appearing already decayed, and given his pride, he would never choose any form of bowing or compromise. Therefore, this was very likely Augurev's own decision. When Karen returned Kevin's power to him, he had stated clearly that at some point in the future, he would strip away his divine seat. Alfred had already begun rolling out ideological study sessions around that theme. Its purpose was to prevent a future situation where his own team strayed from his will. The hero who slays the dragon might not turn into an evil dragon, but what about the companions at the hero's side? This foresight had actually been prompted by a scenario that very likely played out at the end of the previous era between the former God of Order and the subordinate gods under his command. Now, the truth seemed laid bare before him. The first to take a step forward and advance in this direction was actually Augurev. Punk's face was completely drenched in cold sweat. Keeping a secret in one's heart and speaking it aloud were entirely different matters. The Minister of Disciplinary Affairs of the Whip of Order standing before him could easily extrapolate from this and have him executed for apostasy. Karen looked at Punk and said with utter gravity, "Effective immediately, shut down all communication formations except for those belonging to the Whip of Order. Suspend all troop rotations, transfers, and personnel movements for the garrison. Lockdown the teleportation formations, preserving only the one linked to the Whip of Order headquarters from which I arrived." "Yes, Minister!" Punk immediately set off to order his men to sever all internal and external contact. Karen walked up to Scarlett and said, "First-degree confidentiality protocol. All Whip of Order priests participating in this operation are to remain on standby at the fortress immediately. Without orders from me or the Whip-Wielder, no one is to return or attempt to make contact with the outside world—including yourself." "Yes, Minister!" Fortunately, though a phantom image of Augurev Fortress had briefly appeared over the Sacrificial Square, Punk had cleverly led the garrison in a salute to conceal it, and the fortress was situated in the void countercurrent, making it easy to block transmissions. Only in this way could they ensure to the greatest extent that the sights witnessed here today would not leak out. Carrying Purr, Kevin jumped down from the statue and came to Karen's side. Karen turned, took Little Kanna by the hand, and walked toward the teleportation formation. Once he left, the fortress would be completely cut off from the outside world. *Hum!* Karen returned to the Whip of Order headquarters. "First-degree confidentiality protocol. Impound all investigation intelligence regarding Augurev Fortress." "Yes, Minister!" "Yes, Minister!" After giving his orders, Karen boarded the carriage he had arrived in. He needed to return to the Holy See now to report this matter. Originally, he could have chosen a faster method, even having Little Kanna transform into a bone dragon to fly him there. But for one, he needed a stable window of time and a private environment to communicate with Kevin; and for another, any drastic move on his part right now would likely draw outside attention and suspicion toward Augurev Fortress. As soon as he stepped into the carriage, three crows were already waiting there, reporting on the aftermath at the Sacrificial Square. The Holy See's reaction had indeed been swift. Though they likely still did not know what had happened at Augurev Fortress, in the subsequent stages of the ritual, several key departments had been sequentially arranged to salute the High Priest via communication formations, and the High Priest responded with remarks like "You have worked hard," doing everything possible to downplay the abrupt appearance of Augurev Fortress. After reading the messages from the black crows, Karen looked at Kevin. Kevin extended a paw toward Karen. This caught Karen off guard as he prepared to speak; only then did he remember that the dog before him was already a god. Karen reached out and took the paw. In the next instant, an intentionally suppressed consciousness sent a friendly resonance toward Karen. In truth, ever since Kevin had regained a fraction of his power, he had been living in great pain. He had to hold it back and restrain himself at all times, or he would inadvertently cause harm to those around him. Karen received the consciousness, and very quickly, an image appeared in his mind. In the vision, he saw a colossal tree; he saw Augurev, lightning repeatedly piercing his eyes as if he were enduring terrible torture; he saw two radiant blossoms behind him; and he saw divine consciousnesses nestled within the knots along the great tree's branches. He even heard Augurev's words: *[Almost... there.]* Karen let go of the paw and asked, "Separated by time... how much time is there?" That lightning had been unleashed from Augurev's eyes, yet like starlight, the glow seen by the naked eye was not from the present, but emitted from long ago. "Woof, woof." "Calculated by the speed of the lightning, there's still a thousand years?" This timeframe was far, far longer than Karen had anticipated, yet it matched the exact timeline the High Priest had once mentioned to the artifact spirit of the Spear of Eternity. The High Priest had factored in the extra lifespan from becoming a temple elder, as well as fusing with a divine artifact like Ukonga had done, arriving at the prospect of continuing to steer and protect the Church of Order for another thousand years. It seemed that was not just a limit... but that the High Priest had his own information channels pointing to one thousand years. Purr blinked and said, "That long, meow?" Little Kanna also chimed in with curiosity, "That's so, so long." For a church, a thousand years was not particularly long, but for an individual, it was so vast as to feel irrelevant. "Woof, woof!" Purr said, "Like a footrace—running at a constant speed at first, and then accelerating near the finish line?" Karen asked, "If he accelerates with everything he has, how long?" Kevin hesitated: "Woof? Woof? Woof, woof." Purr translated, "Ten years? Five years? Or maybe one year, or even less?" Karen closed his eyes. The difference in urgency was truly night and day. Upon hearing one thousand years, he had actually felt a wave of relief. Now, there was no room for relief. "So, with the support of the Tree of Life... or rather, under the empowerment of those two Gods of Life, Augurev is leading a group of deities back? No, could the deities in those knots also be providing power to the Tree of Life, which is ultimately channeled into Augurev so he can better guide the path of return?" Although the other churches had recently experienced a flurry of anomalies and divine oracles, there was still no reliable, concrete "timetable"—like a film where everyone knew filming had wrapped and release was imminent, with promotional posters coming out constantly, yet a premiere date had never been set. Augurev, on the other hand, had effectively set a date. Kevin nodded. "Woof, woof." "Why would they band together? Has Augurev already betrayed the God of Order?" Kevin shook his head, indicating he did not know. Although he had gotten along terribly with Augurev—both had been bald back then, which was why Augurev constantly singled him out and mocked him, feeling that Kevin's bald head was an insult and an offense to his own, and that Kevin didn't deserve to share the same shine—Kevin didn't dare fabricate nonsense here. That would mislead Karen's judgment. Furthermore, Kevin had been suppressed by the God of Order before the previous era came to an end; he knew nothing of what had transpired during its closing days. When he first descended into this world, he didn't even know this was an era devoid of gods. He had merely wondered why someone as extraordinarily talented as Diss had remained at the level of merely condensing godhead fragments. "Kanna, paper and pen." "Okay." Little Kanna opened her bag and handed the paper and pen to Karen. Karen began to sketch the scene he had seen from Kevin. His drawing skills were not great, but simply "rubbing" a copy wasn't too difficult, given the artistic influences he had absorbed. Besides, it didn't need to be drawn in meticulous detail; he only needed to capture the key elements. He believed the Whip-Wielder and the High Priest would certainly understand it. Purr said from beside him, "But Karen, the people at the fortress didn't see it this clearly." Everyone in the fortress had only seen hazy silhouettes of figures and trees. The only one capable of piercing through time to see the "truth" was Kevin. If Karen drew such clear details, he might come under suspicion if an investigation followed. Of course, he might avoid suspicion since he was the one in control of the investigative branch, but the risk remained tremendous. Karen shook his head indifferently. "This matter is too monumental to worry about that." No matter what, the High Priest and the others had to know the truth so they could take action in advance. The Church of Order was the net guarding this world. Wherever a breach appeared, it had to be mended. Now that a rupture had surfaced, failing to address it promptly could cause it to tear into a gaping hole, bringing down the entire net. Now, he could only hope the High Priest would maintain his consistent political stance: resolute opposition to gods. Soon, the sketch was finished. Karen rolled up the paper and tucked it into his sleeve. His mind had finally cooled down, leaving him with the bandwidth to think through specifics. "If Augurev's return relies on the Tree of Life... then wiping out the Church of Life would definitely deal a major blow to those two main Gods of Life and that great tree, wouldn't it? Perhaps that could halt this wave of returns." Hearing this, Kevin immediately sat upright in his seat and bowed respectfully toward Karen, like a knight offering praise to his liege lord: "Woof." Karen remained silent, simply looking out the carriage window, estimating when they would reach the Holy See. This left Kevin feeling rather awkward. Though intended as flattering praise, once condensed into a single "woof," it sounded somewhat hollow. Ultimately, words were needed to achieve the proper effect. So Kevin flicked his tail against Little Kanna, who was sitting beside him intently eating a melon. Little Kanna glanced at Kevin, quickly swallowed the melon in her mouth, and praised with pious sincerity and a consummate professional demeanor: "Mm! Your great and wise personage has long since pierced through the bounds of time and the veils of destiny, drawing the bookmark of Order in advance!" Karen didn't react, but Purr, perched on his shoulder, burst into laughter and chided playfully, "Where did you learn all that?" "I'm imitating Uncle Alfred." "Huh?" "No, Uncle Radio Goblin. No, just Radio Goblin, no uncle." "No, what I mean is, it seems you don't have enough homework if you still have time to study the performing arts." Little Kanna: "..." Purr turned to Karen and asked with concern, "If the High Priest truly detests and rejects gods as much as we think, won't our sending Little Kanna with fruit beforehand and hinting to Miss Dena about drawing lots arouse his suspicion? You're drawing that picture on purpose, but that other thing was an honest coincidence—it's not our fault the fruit Daliwenluo grows is so delicious." Karen replied, "That's why I'll report privately to the Whip-Wielder first." "Report to the Whip-Wielder?" "Yes. Although I don't know why, based on his special attitude and treatment toward me over this past period, I have a hunch..." "What hunch, meow?" "The Whip-Wielder will understand me completely, and will help me cover all of this up." If the Whip-Wielder was willing, he could obscure not only the coincidence of the lot-drawing, but also any questions about the detailed drawing in Karen's possession. For he was the High Priest's "eyes and ears"—he had both the position and the ability. It was only his motive that Karen had never figured out. It seemed as though the man had seen through his true identity, yet if he truly had, his attitude would never be like this. Purr sighed with feeling. "Our Whip-Wielder is truly a good boss." "He is." "May he live a long life, meow." ... A languid noblewoman lay in bed eating grapes. Crouched beside her was a middle-aged man, washing other fruits for her. The noblewoman was Himiris, who had once met Karen at Heart Sea Manor; she was Daliwenluo's stepmother. The man squatting beside her was Grihar, Daliwenluo's biological father and the person Daliwenluo missed the most. On the desert battlefield, the Grihar family's private legion had suffered catastrophic losses under Karen's assault, nearly facing total annihilation. As a result, Grihar, who had already lacked standing before his wife, had become even more insignificant. Across from the bed, two painters were busy working on their canvases. Grihar said cautiously to his wife, "Darling, I think we might change our poses. Otherwise, in the painting, I will look like a servant tending to you rather than your husband." Himiris spat grape seeds into Grihar's hand and chuckled. "How are you any different from a servant right now?" "In front of outsiders, one ought to mind appearances after all." "Enough. Not divorcing you to choose a new marriage alliance is already doing you the greatest favor." "All right, but I still feel that hiring remnants of the Church of the Mural God to paint for us is a very bad omen." "Stroke of luck. The subordinates captured them, and leaving them locked away is a waste, so we might as well use them for amusement." "Yes, darling, you're right." Grihar looked at the two painters below and warned, "Listen closely. If you paint well, you might keep your lives; if you paint poorly, you'll be turned into fertilizer." Suddenly, Himiris sat bolt upright from the bed. "Darling, what's wrong?" "There is a disturbance in the Garden of Life. A new divine oracle may be descending. I must go take a look." "I'll come with you." Himiris and Grihar left the bedroom, leaving only the two painters behind. Mr. Bede sighed and said, "I told you, we should stay far away from the Church of Life people. They truly have no respect for life whatsoever." Piaget said nothing, quietly continuing to paint on his board. "Hey, listen, remember to paint the man in a better light. Don't actually paint him kneeling there. That lady doesn't really care about us, but that gentleman is definitely petty. He's like a male dog in heat, with a terrible temper. Sitting this far away, I can still smell that restless stench on him. I wouldn't be surprised if he's pissed on every beam and pillar in this room to mark his territory." Piaget still didn't respond. As if sensing something, Mr. Bede rose from his seat and walked behind Piaget. He looked at Piaget's painting. The background was a great tree—which was normal enough, as the Tree of Life was the totem of the Church of Life, and similar motifs could be seen everywhere across their mission territories. However, in Piaget's painting, the tree appeared neither beautiful nor serene, but intensely grim and eerie. Grihar, true to request, was indeed not kneeling... but hanging by a noose. Figure after figure—old and young, male and female—hung suspended from this tree. Every person's features were depicted with vivid clarity, making the entire composition deeply sinister. Bede took a deep breath, immensely relieved that the two dignitaries of the Church of Life had been called away and hadn't seen this work. In a moment, he would have to hide this painting and hand over his own depiction—one of domestic affection tinged with superior-subordinate hierarchy—to fulfill the commission; otherwise, the two of them really would end up as fertilizer. Even so, Mr. Bede asked with intrigue, "Who are these people?" Piaget replied blankly, "I don't know." "You don't know, yet you painted them with such lifelike detail?" Piaget shook his head and said, "I only know that they must be neat and orderly."