Chapter 156: Driving the Tiger to Devour the Wolf

Chapter 156: Driving the Tiger to Devour the Wolf

Protective custody… That answer is rather inspired. As expected of the newly appointed captain of a Red Gloves team… The Fool Klein listened to The Star Leonard’s answer and could not help laughing inwardly.

He was well aware that The Moon Emlyn was talking about Bishop Utravsky, who called himself a priest, and Klein possessed some understanding of that man.

He did not fully trust Emlyn White’s statement that “he has not done anything bad, nor does he intend to,” because for a blessed and fanatic, the understanding of what counted as a bad thing could differ quite drastically from that of normal people.

To be sure, Klein had never doubted Father Utravsky’s sincerity and agreement when he spoke of life being precious and harvest being joyful. The problem was that the doctrine of the Church of Earth Mother also included ideas such as life being like “plants,” destined to wither and perish, returning to the embrace of Mother Earth, then growing once more in the “coming year.”

A qualified bishop of the Church of Earth Mother would not, and could not, hold the same secular attitude toward life and death.

No matter what, Father Utravsky needs to be controlled. This protects both the believers of Earth Mother and the surrounding civilians, and it also protects that half-giant bishop, preventing anything irreversible from happening… As Klein silently considered this, The Star Leonard, who also understood quite a bit about the Church of Harvest, had already grasped the essence of The Moon Emlyn’s question. He planned to lead his team there in the next two days to confirm the situation and cooperate with the official forces in charge of the southern bridge district to place that blessed of Earth Mother under protective custody.

The Moon Emlyn, after hearing the answer, merely nodded slowly and said nothing.

Seeing his silence, The Star Leonard raised the question he wanted to discuss.

“Are there any other major hidden events in Backlund recently?”

What he truly wanted to ask was why his Red Gloves team had been kept in this capital of all capitals as a mobile force.

No sooner had he spoken than the rest of the Tarot Club members—including The Sun Derrick, who was not very concerned with external affairs—turned their gazes toward The World Gehrman Sparrow.

In their understanding, whenever something was about to happen in Backlund, Mr. World had more or less provided some warning.

Are there any other major hidden events in Backlund recently? There are far too many… George III’s Black Emperor ritual, my secret alliance with the Queen of Mysteries, the three major Churches’ seemingly tacit yet internally different attitudes… As thoughts flashed through Klein’s mind, he suddenly understood what Leonard truly wanted to ask. After all, the two of them occasionally exchanged private letters.

Right. Why keep Leonard in Backlund? Because of my relationship with him, the Church doesn’t want to put Leonard in a dangerous situation? Am I thinking too highly of myself? Klein silently shook his head, rejecting that first thought.

He quickly changed direction and began analyzing the issue from the perspective of what about Leonard could be used.

Leonard was only Sequence 5. In the undercurrent-filled Backlund, what role could he possibly play?

Even if someone wanted to use him, they would not be using him himself, but rather me, or Pallez Zoroast, who is connected to him.

I can be ruled out. At present, I am still a qualified blessed. If they really wanted me to do anything, they could simply tell me directly…

The last incident where all of Amon’s avatars in Backlund were cleaned out may have made the Goddess or the upper ranks of the Church guess that Pallez Zoroast was hidden around Böklund Street, leading them to suspect Leonard.

That’s possible. Not impossible at all. I had some concerns back then, but I believed that, in restraining Amon’s apotheosis, the Church and Pallez Zoroast shared the same position and could form a certain tacit understanding. Perhaps that was one of the considerations behind why that old man chose Leonard as His host in the first place.

But what is the point of keeping Pallez Zoroast in Backlund? To bait Amon?

Even among Kings of Angels, Amon ranks near the top. With the Goddess unable to descend, relying on the Church’s angels, Grade 0 sealed artifacts, and Pallez Zoroast might not make it too hard to force Amon away, but killing Him would be almost impossible—unless what came was not His true body. And if it were not His true body, the arrangement would hardly be worth it…

Klein’s thoughts expanded rapidly, and soon a new inspiration arose.

Perhaps baiting Amon here is not to deal with Him, but to restrain Zaratul, who is currently in Backlund?

Neighboring pathways can be interchanged at high levels. And even after becoming a Sequence 0 true god, one will still strongly desire the Uniqueness and Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics of neighboring pathways. The Evernight Goddess’s schemes are proof of that.

Does the Goddess want Backlund to become a boiling pot of chaos? Klein made The World Gehrman Sparrow ponder for several seconds before speaking.

“The leader of the Secret Order, a Sequence 1 angel and Emperor Roselle’s old friend, Zaratul, is currently hidden in Backlund.”

Seeing that the Tarot Club members were clearly still somewhat confused and puzzled, The World added a few more sentences in a hoarse voice.

“The Law of Beyonder Characteristics Conservation we often speak of usually refers to the conservation of Beyonder characteristics among neighboring pathways.

“In other words, the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence also applies between neighboring pathways.”

Leonard immediately sank into thought. After several seconds, he asked carefully, “The Marauder and Seer pathways are neighboring pathways?”

“Yes. In addition, there is the Apprentice pathway,” The World Gehrman Sparrow answered openly.

Hearing their conversation, The Magician Forsi first connected the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence to the attraction between Beyonder characteristics that her teacher, Dorian Gray Abraham, had mentioned, and to the Saint of Secrets Botis being “drawn” over at the time.

Then she began considering another issue.

If, as Mr. World said, Beyonder characteristics of neighboring pathways also exert attraction on one another, could Zaratul, who was also in Backlund at the time, have been drawn nearby as well?

All at once, Forsi remembered that crow—the crow that had watched Botis’s retreating back!

Uh… Forsi hurriedly raised a hand, signaling that she had something to say.

As every member’s gaze turned toward her, she quickly spoke.

“My teacher is a member of the Abraham family, and he holds a fairly important sealed artifact.”

The first half was something everyone aside from The Star already knew, so Forsi had never intended to conceal it. As for the latter half, she made a small modification, changing “very important” into “fairly important.”

Seeing that no one asked a question, Forsi continued, “Because of this, he occasionally encounters high-Sequence Beyonders of the Apprentice pathway. Previously, when he came to Backlund, the Aurora Order’s Saint of Secrets Botis appeared nearby.

“And I noticed a crow staring in the direction Botis left.”

A crow… In Klein’s mind, the specific scene of the foggy town instantly surfaced: at the spire of that dark church, crow after crow wheeled and circled, like mourners and like funeral attendants, while Zaratul’s avatar had been hidden within the church.

Zaratul is used to using crows as marionettes? Is this a brand left behind from His time as a Bizarro Sorcerer? Klein thoughtfully made The World Gehrman Sparrow speak.

“That was very likely Zaratul.”

I actually crossed paths with a Sequence 1 angel… The Magician Forsi felt a wave of lingering fear, both startled and frightened.

Immediately after, she remembered how she and Xio had once discussed Adam and might have drawn His attention, giving her the inexplicable feeling that she had somehow become the protagonist of a novel. She was only Sequence 7 and Sequence 6, yet she had become connected to a King of Angels and a Sequence 1 angel!

Thinking of that, Forsi hurriedly turned to Miss Justice.

“Can you later hypnotize me to forget some things? I’m afraid I might accidentally recall them and draw attention.”

“No problem.” As Justice Audrey answered, she glanced at Judgment Xio and nodded to her.

The Star Leonard also vaguely formed some guesses and prepared to discuss the matter with the old man after returning, to hear His opinion.

Klein did not continue discussing the major hidden matters in Backlund. For the other Tarot Club members, such topics were too high-level. Not only could they not directly participate, merely understanding them in full might bring disaster upon them.

In that respect, Klein’s idea was that some part—or several parts—of the operation might require certain Tarot Club members to provide help, but only in the same way one might hire bounty hunters. He would not let them become too deeply involved or learn the whole story. That was itself a kind of protection.

At that moment, The Hanged Man Alger looked around halfway and said, “From my observations, the Church of Storms is not especially proactive regarding this war.”

Not especially proactive? That doesn’t match the Church of Storms at all… Although their doctrine does not exactly worship combat or preach war, it definitely emphasizes treating enemies with stormlike severity. Any anger is usually vented on the spot… Klein was rather astonished, but then he combined this with his understanding of the divine level and began a preliminary analysis.

According to my previous conjecture, Storm, Sun, Reader, Spectator, and Shepherd are neighboring pathways that can be interchanged at high levels. There should be enormous contradictions between them.

And the Lord of Storms was most likely once the Angel of Wind. He “divided and ate” Adam’s father—the ancient Sun God, the Creator of the City of Silver. Even if He tacitly permits George III to become the Black Emperor, He is unlikely to sit by and watch Adam ascend to the divine throne through the tide of the times…

So the Church of Storms is unwilling for the war to expand into one that sweeps across the whole world, and is working hard to restrain its own impulses?

That truly must be hard on them…

This can also explain why Loen and Intis have maintained a strange silence regarding Feynapotter’s invasion of Lenburg, Masin, and Segar… The Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun and the Church of Storms are probably both in a difficult state, unable to make a firm decision:

On the one hand, at the divine level, it is not impossible for them to betray their alliance and turn against the Church of Knowledge. On the other hand, national strategy compels them to protect those countries. Forcibly violating the understanding already formed by the people at home would destabilize Their anchors.

In addition, once They join the war, They would help Adam, satisfying His condition for advancing to Sequence 0.

Klein deliberately made The World Gehrman Sparrow remain silent for a while before responding to The Hanged Man’s intelligence.

“Under the current circumstances, this is inevitable.”