1030 Joint Operations

Backlund, North Borough, Saint Samuel Cathedral.

The cardinal of the Church of Storms, archbishop of the Backlund diocese, Deep Blue Officiant Randall Valentinus descended amidst the wind, landing inside the steeple with a huge clock to the left.

He donned a black robe with the Storm symbol and had thick facial hair. His hair was short and stood up, colored in a dark blue that was almost black.

This muscular demigod cast his gaze to the other side and said to the figure who was already waiting there, "Horamick, do you know what happened? Why did Anthony suddenly invite us over here?"

The person he spoke to was dressed in a white priest robe and a clergyman's bonnet. He had a genial and mild expression, and he was none other than the Church of Steam's Divine Council member, archbishop of the Backlund diocese, the demigod, Horamick Haydn.

Upon hearing Randall's question, Horamick calmly replied, "I didn't arrive here much earlier than you. In fact, I only left the laboratory for a few minutes."

He wasn't only a clergyman but also a famous scientist. He was an emeritus professor at Backlund University's physics department.

Randall Valentinus was just about to say something when he suddenly saw a figure walk up the narrow spiral staircase and arrive at the peak in the darkness that the crimson moon wasn't able to illuminate.

This figure was dressed in a black clergyman robe with red accents. By his chest hung five Dark Sacred Emblems. He was clean-shaven, and his eyes were deep, dark, and tranquil. He was none other than one of the thirteen archbishops of the Church of Evernight, Backlund diocese's person-in-charge, Saint Anthony Stevenson.

"Is there something that can't wait until daybreak? Or do people from the Church of Evemight enjoy discussing matters at night?" Deep Blue Officiant Randall Valentinus asked.

Anthony came to a stop after walking up the flight of stairs and said with a serious expression, "A very pressing matter." "What is it?" Randall asked immediately.

At this moment, Horamick Haydn also cast his gaze at Anthony Stevenson, awaiting his answer.

In similar situations, Horamick especially liked the existence of people from the Church of Storms. This meant that they would take the initiative to ask questions and that there was no need to be euphemistic. It didn't require him to say anything else.

Anthony looked at them separately and said, "It's related to the royal family. I'll let Ma'am Arianna do the honors."

Just as he said that, a barefoot, bun-haired female figure in a simple robe with tree bark for a belt quickly outlined itself out of the shadows.

Upon seeing this figure, Randall and Horamick immediately bowed.

"Good evening, Ma'am Arianna."

Their expressions turned solemn at the same time, for they had a deep understanding of how important and crucial the matter that was happening tonight was.

It was definitely not a small matter for a Grounded Angel to appear!

Meanwhile, they couldn't help but be roused up. They realized that they had no idea when this matron of the Evernight cloister, the servant of Concealment, Ma'am Arianna, had arrived in Backlund.

Under normal circumstances, the three Churches, the royal family, and the military enjoyed a certain degree of tacit cooperation—Grounded Angels and Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts wouldn't appear in Backlund.

"Good evening, Archbishops," Arianna answered without any signs of haughtiness.

She then raised her right hand and grasped onto thin air.

A faint light was emitted as it transformed into a scene along with the darkness. It was the entire conversation between Arianna and Qonas Kilgor.

This secret that appeared to have been kept for quite some time had finally presented itself before others.

As they watched, Deep Blue Officiant Randall Valentinus couldn't help but say, "He actually advanced to Sequence 4 and became a demigod."

This archbishop knew Qonas Kilgor. He originally believed that this deputy director of MI9 was only a Sequence 5 and had relied on a Sealed Artifact with severe negative effects to obtain combat strength at the demigod level. He never expected it to be a disguise.

The Church of Storms's influence on the military was greater than the two major Churches.

No one answered Randall. After the secret was fully revealed, Horamick said, "One involves a secret ruin of the Blood Emperor, and with large numbers of people sent in... These two points put together cannot be anything good."

"Indeed!" Randall nodded in agreement. "Let's head to the ruins now!"

Arianna looked around and calmly said, "This involves the royal family and the king. It's best if you seek permission from your own Holy See."

In this angel's choice of words, the Holy See referred to their respective Church's headquarters, the core seat of power of the Church.

"Alright," the two archbishops replied without any hesitation.

After a while, Deep Blue Officiant Randall Valentinus and Horamick Haydn received feedback from the Sealed Artifacts they carried. Together with Anthony Stevenson and Arianna, they headed for the Blood Emperor ruins that Qonas Kilgor had previously entered.

Arianna then took out an iron-black coat of arms with complicated symbols, and she tried to activate it.

"She" didn't make any disguise attempt, and she stood there calmly as though "She" wasn't worried that the guards in the ruins would recognize "Her."

Seeing this servant of Concealment's actions, Horamick seemed to be in thought. Randall wore a look of calm and didn't believe that it posed any problems.

In the underground ruins, on a strange metal pedestal, a ghostly-blue beam soared up and formed a door.

Four black-armored guards immediately observed the situation outside through the ghostly blue beam and planned on using a predetermined method to confirm if the person who had summoned the Door of Teleportation was disguised, so as to decide whether the "door" was to be opened.

However, they didn't see anything. The area outside was empty.

Just as they felt intense unease and confusion, a figure quickly outlined itself behind them. It was none other than the leader of the Church of Evemight ascetics, Arianna, who wore a patched robe.

In the blink of an eye, the four guards fell into a deep sleep. Anthony, Randall, and Horamick entered the underground ruins one after another.

They didn't directly follow the path down. Instead, they passed through the hall, floating in midair as they overlooked everything.

This was a world ruled by darkness. Small amounts of light came from the strange moss growing in different spots, as well as the flaming torches that came from the human-sized buildings.

With their illuminating light, even Beyonders without night vision could grasp the overall appearance of the huge ruin.

On one side was a gray rock wall. It extended upwards without an end, and it seemed to be connected to the ground. On the other side, there was a bottomless dark valley as if it were the abyss where devils lived. A road paved with stone slabs lay in the middle connecting the halls and buildings together. From time to time, humans would come and go in silence.

The archbishops of the three Churches were just about to capture a few people who could enter the ruins to interrogate them about the situation inside when a figure flew out of the dark valley, heading straight for the demigods.

The figure had a long face and wore a white hairnet. Two curly mustaches grew above his lips, and he had thick brows. His eyes were slightly bigger and looked rather similar to a certain poker card figure.

He wore a gown and had a huge cloak over him. The tips of his shoes were extremely long, and his attire was unlike the current times. It was as though he lived a hundred years ago.

Archbishops, like Anthony and Horamick, were no stranger to him. He knew that he was Prince of Sonia, Grove Augustus, one of the demigods of the royal family.

"How did you enter?" Grove asked first, his expression a little surprised and uncertain.

They looked at each other, and Anthony took the initiative to say, "We've always been investigating the large number of mysterious disappearances, and we had locked onto MI9's Qonas Kilgor. Through him, we found this place."

Grove's expression changed slightly as he looked at the woman who left one's heart feeling tranquil. He deliberated and asked, "Ma'am Arianna?"

Yes, I was in charge of the disappearance case," Arianna answered succinctly.

Prince Grove smiled bitterly.

"We were too greedy. After discovering this ruin, we only thought of digging and retrieving the items inside. To keep it a secret, we even had certain connections with the Demoness Sect. Through the people they gathered, we built a passageway and held certain rituals.

"No, it's not what you think. They were just normal rituals, and they're still alive deep within the ruins.

"If you don't believe me, I can lead you down to take a look. Apart from the unopened seals and buildings, there's nothing."

Upon hearing his reply, Anthony, Horamick, and Randall exchanged looks, registering the puzzlement in each other's eyes.

This was completely different from their expectations!

This made them suspect that something was wrong. Things weren't as serious as they had imagined.

At this moment, Arianna said, "You even created the Great Smog."

"No," Prince Grove shook his head again. "That was a lesson we learned from cooperating with the Demonesses. They actually tried to control Edessak and used him to gain control over the kingdom. After it was seen through by us, they created the Great Smog. From that moment forth, we broke all contact with them."

Having said that, he pointed below and frankly said, "How could we do such a thing just to secretly dig up the Blood Emperor's ruins?

"As long as you head deep down and closely examine it, you will understand what I mean.

"Heh heh, don't worry. With Ma'am Arianna around, no traps will work. Besides, ignoring the fact that we lack such power, even if we were able to secretly bury you in the ruins, the Churches will discover a problem. I don't believe that you didn't report this matter to your respective Holy Sees before coming. If you don't return in a while, they will definitely take the corresponding actions."

Demigods like Randall and Anthony fell into thought as they cast their gazes at the simply-dressed Arianna.

Arianna calmly nodded. "Okay."

The angel and three saints then entered the depths of the ruins under the guidance of Prince Grove. They discovered that there was a ruin hidden in the darkness, with no man having set foot there, as well as men and women who had been taught to form different rituals. Everything was orderly and serene.

Arianna, Horamick, and the other demigods acted according to their own thoughts and separately investigated the different regions. They even left and went further to investigate, but they failed to discover anything.

After receiving Arianna's notice, Klein changed Qonas Kilgor into a servant inside the manor, making the MI9 deputy director vanish.

Then, he unhurriedly held a sacrificial ritual. He sent the items he received above the gray fog for further research, patiently awaiting daybreak.