Lanqi's Review Half a Year Later

A man who thinks all the time has nothing to think about except thoughts, and so he loses touch with reality, living in a world visible only to himself— He wore a sharply tailored purple suit, impeccably pressed and neat. His sleek brown hair gleamed beneath the lamplight, and his emerald-green eyes were like two bottomless lakes, naturally brimming with compassion and contemplation, beholding an entire universe within the silence. He stood right there. "It's already been over half a year since we parted at Protos Royal Magic Academy." Lanqi, in the guise of Rocky McCarthy, stood inside the private quarters on the second floor of the Brierda Opera House, a nostalgic look on his face. Back then in Herrom, after accepting Lady Cloris's commission to investigate the north, Lanqi and Sigrid had traveled to the Protos Empire's northern border province. Through a harrowing series of perils, they returned only to find that Sido had already vanished, while Cloris had been imprisoned for treason—arguably their most dangerous moment. Even after burying Askesan at the Parliament Building with the help of three great demons, they still couldn't find an opportunity to defeat Duke Morotian. Fortunately, the crucial evidence Associate Professor Sido had left for the military ultimately forced Duke Morotian to show his true colors, helping them achieve a complete victory. "Why are you here?! And aren't you the Holy Son of Domination? Don't tell me even the identity of Rocky McCarthy was fake all along?!" Toliado clutched the back of his head with both hands, staring at Rocky in utter bewilderment. "Am I dreaming?! Goddess of Fate preserve me!" Even if he had suddenly run into those ancient antique friends he had lost contact with years ago, he wouldn't have been this shocked. Rocky McCarthy had no business appearing here! Yet the fellow before him was undeniably Rocky McCarthy. One glance: unmistakably Rocky, certified authentic. "Why are the two of you chatting again?" Abigail was bewildered by Toliado's reaction. "Who is McCarthy?" She could see how utterly stunned Toliado was—the guy looked as if he had just seen a ghost. "If I took you to the Protos Empire on the southern coast of the Northern Continent and you stopped any random person on the street to ask who Rocky McCarthy is, they'd immediately tell you who the people's top pick for the next president is," Toliado replied, turning toward her. "Huh?" Abigail was completely at a loss, staring at Lanqi. She found it hard to believe. Why would such an influential figure, who had it so made in the Northern Continent, come all the way to the Southern Continent's Creti Empire to muddy the waters? "You knew I belonged to the Domination branch?" Lanqi asked Toliado, narrowing his eyes. He had always believed that Sido's goodwill toward him at Protos Royal Magic Academy was genuine. Even his little apprentice, Zestira, had been fond of Associate Professor Sido. After all, Sido's lack of discrimination against demons under the conventional prejudices of the Protos Empire was truly rare. It was precisely for this reason that Lanqi had taken an interest in this history associate professor at Protos Royal Magic Academy, auditing his classes, which had led to their meeting in the first place. "Of course. I also knew just how much Sigrid favored you to make an exception and take you in as a Holy Son—to her, you were practically a priceless treasure. Cardinals can clearly sense Resurrection Church cultists below the rank of bishop. Even when disguised as Associate Professor Sido back then, I could still sense the Proof of Resurrection on you, and a fairly high-grade one at that," Toliado admitted openly. As a cardinal, Toliado had quickly sensed the Proof of Resurrection on Rocky during their interactions. Later, observing Rocky's contacts with the Domination branch at the academy and looking into his past in the Southwestern Province, Toliado had determined Rocky's true identity: He had something going on with the Bishop of Domination. "Then, watching you and Sigrid play undercover inside the Silence branch, I thought things were getting entertaining. So I helped you forge an alliance with Lady Cloris to further advance your connections and power in the empire, hoping you might stand a chance against the combined forces of Askesan and Duke Morotian." Toliado threw up his hands and sighed. Yet Rocky McCarthy's sheer capability had exceeded his wildest imagination. Originally, Toliado assumed the turmoil in the Protos Empire would drag on for a very long time, with the Silence branch and the Domination branch locked in a brutal struggle. Even if Rocky and Sigrid's Domination branch managed to win, it would likely be a pyrrhic victory. And Toliado himself had lacked the leeway to return to the Northern Continent to help them anytime soon. Who could have guessed that the Domination branch would wrap up the entire situation in a single day? Triumphant news had come from the Northern Continent: the Protos Empire's harsh winter had passed, and spring blossomed across the land. "So that's how it was. Then I really have you to thank..." Lanqi said, resting his chin in his hand as he pondered. Several things he hadn't fully understood back in Protos made complete sense now. "Why on earth did you come to the Southern Continent? Wasn't life in the Northern Continent with Sigrid sweet enough? I thought you two had gotten married by now." Toliado had been thinking he'd built great goodwill in the Northern Continent, so he could comfortably roam the southern coast of the north disguised as Associate Professor Sido in the future. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined Rocky McCarthy would come down south. And disguised as his own little apprentice, Landry, no less. "It's a long story. I was originally from the Southern Continent in the first place. Just like you, I used a disguise to go to the Northern Continent," Lanqi said, shaking his head. "Huh? You're from the Southern Continent?" Toliado had rarely seen any sane person head to the Northern Continent and choose to land in Lilom City. "Then why did you start out from such a remote little backwater like Lilom City in the Southwestern Province? You made it look like you were an actual local, nothing like a normal tourist coming from the south." If anything had gone even slightly wrong, he would have been arrested on the spot by the Protos Empire, which had been on the verge of a wartime footing. "Do you remember there being a tsunami back then?" Lanqi countered upon hearing Toliado's words. If the Cardinal of Dimensions hadn't provoked the Bishop of Destruction and fought in the waters of the Southern Continent, triggering a mana storm, Lanqi wouldn't have been shipwrecked in the first place, displaced alongside Hyperion and sent on that arduous journey. "Sorry, sorry! Some madwoman was chasing me across half the Southern Continent back then—I had no choice!" Toliado laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "..." Abigail watched in silence as Toliado chatted away non-stop with the man who had disguised himself as Landry. Toliado appeared casual and cheerful, but deep down, he was cold toward most people; there were very few he genuinely considered friends or found kindred spirits in. Rocky McCarthy was actually a native of the Southern Continent? Then how on earth had he achieved such world-shaking feats in the Northern Continent? Abigail was completely mystified. Still, having gathered that he wasn't an enemy—and that even though he had impersonated Landry, he was still a partner held in high regard by Toliado—she had nothing more to say. "Sido, let me tell you, we could have won that skirmish at the northern border. If you'd been there, we were really just that close," Lanqi said, seizing the chance to conduct a post-battle review with Toliado. Back then, he had never imagined they had another hidden powerhouse right beside them. "At the time, I'd been severely wounded by Ivanos and fled to the Northern Continent to take refuge and nurse my injuries. I wasn't even sure I could consistently beat a Tier 7," Toliado replied, understanding what Lanqi was thinking: if Toliado had been there, perhaps they could have defeated the lurking Askesan and Morotian right then and there at the northern border. The reality, however, was that with his unhealed wounds, he was no match for Morotian at all. He had no choice but to hide from Morotian and play hide-and-seek. "You were hurt that badly?" Lanqi asked in surprise. Another battle-damaged bishop-level Tier 8. Lanqi understood all too well. When Sigrid had been beaten half to death at the Protos northern border, her combat prowess had dropped to barely Tier 4 or 5 as well. "Yeah. That woman doesn't feel pain. Nobody can withstand her self-destructive, life-for-a-life fighting style," Toliado said. At first, he thought messing with her wouldn't be a big deal. By the time he realized how serious it was, it had already been too late. It was the first time in his life he had ever encountered such a terrifying suicide bomber. "Good thing you're good at running away," Lanqi remarked with relief. If Toliado had run any slower, he probably would have shared the fate of Beelzebub in Palieu, the City of Flowers. "Besides, think about why Duke Morotian left you alone for so long while you were at the northern border. It's because I drew all his attention away. He was dead set on capturing me, and it took everything I had just to escape the Protos Empire," Toliado said, walking over and resting his elbow on Lanqi's shoulder. "So that's why..." Lanqi muttered. Recalling the eve of the final battle in Protos, the situation back then had been far from clear. It had been impossible to tell friend from foe, and even Sido had seemed suspicious. "No wonder Duke Morotian asked about you that rainy night when he visited me in the dean's office," Lanqi said, looking at Toliado. Judging by the outcome, trusting Sido had been the right call. It was just that only today, months later, had he finally learned the hidden cause and effect behind the whole affair from Sido's own mouth. "Hahaha, he still remembered me?" Toliado gloated, laughing with immense satisfaction. "..." Lanqi couldn't comprehend why Toliado seemed happiest about that particular detail. "*Sigh*, with enemies across both the Northern and Southern Continents, life is so hard," Toliado lamented, shaking his head as if the mortal world wasn't worth living in. "Why don't you stop and think about *why* you have so many enemies?!" Abigail stormed over, pulled a book from the shelf, and smacked Sido hard over the head with it. Remembering the days she had spent terrified in the Creti Empire, dreading every day that the Bishop of Destruction, Ivanos, might come knocking on her door, she wished she could flay Toliado alive. "Come on, Morotian is genuinely evil, okay? If I want to defect to the Goddess of Fate, taking down Morotian would definitely count as a grand deed of virtue," Sido said earnestly to Abigail. As he spoke, he started laughing himself. "You didn't just think it'd be hilarious to drive an arrogant mastermind like Morotian completely mad with rage, did you?" Lanqi felt that Toliado didn't possess an ounce of respect for the Goddess. He didn't look like someone seeking karmic merit like Hyperion at all. All Lanqi sensed from him was sheer hedonistic amusement. "Not at all! I genuinely want to defect to the Church of the Goddess of Fate one day. Long live the Goddess of Fate! Have you heard about my donation to Ikerite Academy? Whenever I surrender to the Church of the Goddess of Fate down the road, everyone will find it completely reasonable. They'll realize I was bribing High Priest Loren all along," Toliado told Lanqi with a straight face. "..." Lanqi was at a loss for words, unable to tell whether Toliado was trolling or dead serious. "Setting aside whether Loren would even accept your surrender, wouldn't the Pope of your Resurrection Church come after you?" Sigrid's plot to usurp the Pope had at least been hatched in private with Lanqi, whereas Toliado was practically shouting slogans, as if daring the Pope not to kill him. "We must surrender! Defection is the only way out for a cardinal! The Goddess of Fate shall welcome me into heaven!" Toliado declared with a confident, half-smiling pump of his fist. "What does it matter how strong the Pope is? Whether he can make it out of a Tier 9 apocalyptic shadow world alive is another matter entirely. Even if he does, it won't be for years. By then, it might already be Season Two! The Northern and Southern Continents will have completely transformed, and new Tier 9s will have emerged. Once I find myself a Tier 9 backer, I won't have to fear the Pope!" Just talking about it made him eager to try. Nearby, Abigail's scalp tingled with exasperation, her teeth grinding together. Toliado stirred up trouble outside while she shivered in terror at home. If she ever reached Tier 8, the first bishop she would hunt down would be Toliado. As they were chatting, the air inside the private quarters suddenly stagnated, and the space near the sofa began to warp and destabilize. "Oh? There's someone else here?" Sensing the spatial fluctuation, Toliado realized that another living being was cordoned off in a separate spatial pocket within this room. Though it appeared the barrier wouldn't hold them much longer. The entire residence was under Abigail's control, and it was only because the other person had stepped willingly into Abigail's trap that they had been contained for this long. "Thanks to the two of them filling in for my performance. If I'd had to count on you tonight, things would have gone to ruin, you useless piece of trash," Abigail snapped at Toliado. "Oh? A lady? And she played opposite you?" Toliado's interest was instantly piqued as he turned to Lanqi. "Yes, and what of it?" Lanqi replied suspiciously. "Just what kind of goddess could convince you to leave Sigrid behind and do a co-op run in the Creti Empire with her?" Toliado asked inquisitively. "*Pfft*? Just an over-the-hill, single, unemployed gray-haired girl. She's short-tempered and gluttonous, and aside from being good at babysitting and cooking increasingly delicious meals lately, you can barely find any redeeming qualities in her," Lanqi chuckled, unable to contain his amusement. Realizing their telepathic link was still blocked by the spatial separation, he spoke with utter brazenness. "Impossible. I don't buy it. She has to be some divine fairy. Any girl who can play opposite you, McCarthy, could never be an ordinary creature," Toliado waved off. "She definitely had great stage presence playing the Gray Maiden, to be fair. When I first saw the two of them, I never imagined they could be so comedic," Abigail remarked. As an experienced director, she had almost been fooled by the governor's dignity and the Gray Maiden's cool aloofness at the beginning. "That makes no sense. The Gray Maiden's persona isn't a comedic relief! How on earth did she turn my play into that? You two must be messing with me," Toliado said, perplexed. Although he hadn't yet seen how tonight's opera turned out, he firmly believed that any woman capable of competing with the Bishop of Domination, Sigrid, could never be some clownish comedy girl. The heavy ancient tomes on the bookshelves began to flutter without any wind, pages rustling loudly, and even the sandalwood aroma permeating the room grew sharp and pungent, serving as an almost tangible warning. A dazzling blue-white light slashed through space like a blade, tearing open a hideous rift in midair. Lightning crackled along the distorted edges of space with popping snaps. From within this bizarre, kaleidoscopic gateway, Talia burst forth like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, blazing fury and anxiety burning together within her golden eyes. Her movements were swift as lightning. Landing lightly, the tips of her toes had barely touched the floor before she flashed to Lanqi's side, shielding him firmly behind her like a lioness protecting her cub. Talia's gaze was sharp as a dagger, stabbing straight toward Abigail and Toliado, the hostility in her eyes almost condensing into tangible blades. "Lanqi, are you hurt?" Talia asked in a low voice, her heart brimming with concern, yet her eyes remained fixed on Abigail without blinking even once. In an instant, the atmosphere throughout the hall grew taut as a drawn bowstring, invisible sparks crackling through the air. Just as she was about to strike, Talia's gaze shifted to the mysterious man who had appeared beside Abigail. The terrifying, general-tier magic power radiating from him sent a shudder through her entire body. Facing such an opponent, she had virtually no chance of protecting Lanqi. "Wait, we won't attack you anymore," Abigail said, raising her hand to signal Talia not to panic. If a Tier 8 powerhouse fought them recklessly to the death here, the consequences would be catastrophic. In the worst-case scenario, the barrier could shatter and draw the attention of a Martial God. Sensing movement from Toliado beside her, she immediately had a bad feeling. However... Before she could tell Toliado to hold back, the moment Toliado laid eyes on the gray-haired, golden-eyed girl, he raised his hand and pointed straight at her. "Holy shit, Talia!" Toliado shouted.