1843 Declining

Nothing is absolute.

During dawn, Mortor thought he had total control of the situation, but after the sun rose above his head, his total control of the situation was gone.

Information regarding the human trafficking dealings that War God Temple made was all over Edatine Castle and was spreading to the north and the south at an exhilirating speed.

More importantly… worrisome evidence had started to pop up.

Before he even gave the order to destroy the secret base not far away from Edatine Castle, Silent Night Secret Society had raided the place.

Mortor was not concerned about a mere base being destroyed, but the 'orphans' inside terrified him.

The only thing that relieved him was that he could still handle a bunch of children with ease.

'You are a child, what do you know?'

Words like that cemented him in victory.

The people looking after the children didn't know anything either, so that was one less worry for him.

However, while he was searching his brain to figure out a way to deal with the situation, a more solid piece of evidence appeared, in ways that he never thought possible.

The Dark Hall priests and deacons confessed to their crimes.

"Damn it Cabio!"

Standing at the top of the cathedral, Mortor looked down at the people in the commercial district.

From where he was standing, he was able to see that several of the men on the stage who confessed their crimes were the ones closest to Cabio before his death.

At the same time, he was also able to see the rage and confusion in the people's faces.

Finished! Everyone was done for!

Helplessness surged through Mortor's body.

He turned around and leaned back against the wall, preventing himself from falling down on the floor.

He tried his best to breathe deeply and calm his emotions. He had to figure out a way to help his God overcome the obstacles on hand but was it plausible?

Kieran never liked to drag things out, especially when the matter could affect the overall situation. Since he made a move, it would be a thunderous move that his opponent could never recover from.

Disguised as Cabio's subordinates, Bloody Mary stood on the stage, full of regret.

"I am sorry that it took me so long to confess, I was too afraid. I was scared of Cabio and Mortor. Their intimidating presence stopped me from fighting back, their claws of terror made me like a little obedient sheep, but what I saw yesterday was a true warrior! A real brave soul!"

Bloody Mary then started to tell Knight Gino's story.

From the very beginning at the city gate to the incident that happened in Mist camp, all the details were revealed brazenly.

The crowd gasped in shock, one after another.

The respect for Knight Gino increased and likewise, the disgust for Mortor.

Even more so when Bloody Mary influenced the other subordinates of Cabio to make them expose Cabio and Mortor's shady deals, the crowd was further aroused.

"Have you ever wondered why there are so many missing people in Edatine? Have you ever wondered why you were suddenly fired? Have you ever wondered why the price of the daily needs spike all of a sudden? It's all because of Mortor! He is using the name of the God of War to control everything in Edatine! You follow him, you will get a job; you follow the God of War, you can buy things at a lower price."

Bloody Mary started to fan the fire, something it did best.

At the same time, a thought was sent out from his mind to the people in the crowd, who it had hinted beforehand, who quickly responded in loud voices, "We want an explanation! We want to hear what he has to say!"

...

Several men spoke loudly as they led the crowd to the cathedral.

With someone taking the lead, the aroused crowd swarmed towards God of Temple like a hive of bees.

The royal guards looked coldly as bystanders, not stopping the crowd from marching towards the cathedral.

The mercenaries of the nobles?

They also received orders from their employer to keep their hands out of this.

As long as there wasn't someone who tried to fish in troubled waters, it would be all good.

Standing inside a three-storey building beside the main avenue, Valentine was looking down at the marching crowd.

"So scary," sighed the duke of the orthodox party.

"There is no end to human's strength, especially when they rally up against something, even a God has to compromise," said Reedral straightforwardly.

"You are saying?" Valentine widened his eyes in shock.

Reedral nodded.

"There is only one way for War God Temple to calm the angry crowd."

Reedral looked towards the direction of War God Temple's cathedral, a sense of mockery appearing in his eyes.

If the God of War really chose that option, it would mean the end for War God Temple's future.

If he didn't go with that option, War God Temple would end right then and there.

Since it would be the end of War God Temple regardless of the choices, the first one was more acceptable.

Of course, the best way would still be resolved with force.

If Lady Calamity and the Mist weren't in the equation, Reedral was sure God of War would surely do it.

But now? Since his main self was restrained, the projection and clone of God of War was no longer strong enough to fight the MIst.

'What a delicate setup!' Reedral exclaimed in his heart.

He was recalling all the events that had happened recently, and although he had no solid evidence, he could sense that there was an invisible hand behind everything, controlling everything to its favour.

'Is it the Mist?' Reedral thought of the new God's name, but soon enough, he emptied out his mind.

It was inevitable for the God of War to walk down his altar, so there was no stopping the rise of the Mist.

A mortal like him wouldn't want to be involved in the process.

Regardless of who stood in the altar, what difference would it make to him?

Regardless of who it was, they'd still require his help.

Reedral knew his position in the situation, so he wasn't worried at all, he knew all he had to do was hold on tight to everything he had right now, then it would be a smooth ride for him in the future.

Compared to this, he was much more concerned about another thing.

"Valentine, did you get anything on the matter that I asked you to investigate?" Reedral asked his cousin.

"Reedral, you know, it's been a very long time. I'll try to pour more manpower into the investigation," Valentine smiled bitterly.

As one of the leaders of the orthodox party, Valentine had quite the influence and power throughout Edatine Castle or even the whole kingdom, but searching for a nameless person who had disappeared for decades seemed like an impossible task for him to complete. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

"Is that so? Then put a hold on it. Focus the manpower in the south first, that place is where we should pay attention to," Reedral sighed and said in a logical sense after he sealed the smile that he kept dreaming about deep into his heart.

"I understand," Valentine heaved a sigh of relief and nodded strongly.

...

"Mortor is finished!"

Further away from the building where Reedral and Valentine were, the old Marquis Horton was also looking at the amassed crowd and gave a comment similar to Reedral's.

From a certain perspective, he sounded even firmer. Since he was on the royal court's side, the old marquis had dealt with War God Temple more than once in the past.

He was very clear about how War God Temple did things.

"Is Mortor not prepared for this at all?" Kuer Horton frowned in a puzzled state.

"Even if he is prepared, it's useless now. He is just an ambassador who receives powers from his God. The true power still lies in the God of War's hand," the old marquis' words had hidden meaning between the lines.

Kuer Horton looked at her father, hoping to understand more.

She was quite curious about War God Temple too but the old marquis did not spill another word about it, instead changing the topic.

"How's your progress with his Highness Colin?" asked the old marquis.

"What progress?" Kuer Horton asked out of confusion.

"Kuer, you know what I'm talking about. You also know what I want you to do," the old marquis was being very direct.

"There's no progress between us, nothing! We are just friends," Kuer Horton was also being direct, she didn't plan to retreat due to her father's words.

She cherished her friend deeply as it was hard for her to find one, she didn't want to put her friend in a difficult situation because of her.

"Friends can become lovers as well. At least it's better than becoming lovers with a stranger. Besides… you have to consider the family's status, think about Horton family!"

The old marquis used his own way to persuade his daughter but his words seemed to have attracted the opposite effect from Kuer Horton. She glared at her father and said, "Then why don't you go become a lover yourself?"

"If I can, I won't mind, but I can't. So, the family and I need you. Don't forget that Edatine VI has started to stray away from us—His Majesty is spending a lot more time with the vassal Monte and gotten closer to him. It is his Majesty's way of telling me what to do," the old marquis inhaled deeply.

He knew the king very well.

Every single action that seemed casual or unconscious had a special meaning to it, let alone when it was his heir that they were talking about.

Distancing himself from the marquis was almost necessary because Kuer Horton would become the wife of the heir.

So the king had to keep his distance from the old marquis. Of course it was just a big circle, the king would eventually come back to the old marquis.

However, if Kuer didn't end up as the heir's wife, the distancing would mean Horton family was completely out of the center of power in Edatine Castle.

It was something the old marquis could not accept and tolerate, he would not allow it to happen.

Therefore, at the next second, the old marquis looked at Kuer Horton with a strict gaze.

This time around, Kuer Horton felt afraid, but still did not agree. She turned around and left the room instead.

Bang!

The slammed door represented the counterattack from Kuer Horton, but it was useless to the old marquis.

Old Marquis Horton was already looking at the cathedral of the God of War, or more accurately… the palace of Edatine, further behind the cathedral.

...

The crowd swarmed to the cathedral.

"Stop! There's a plague happening here, everyone please stop!" shouted an Apologetics Chivalry knight in hopes of stopping the crowd.

"If the plague is still happening, do you think you can stand here and stop us? Even Cabio was infected, do you think that a little knight like you is immune to the plague? Can the whole of Edatine be free of the plague?! Don't listen to him everyone! The plague was already dispelled by Bishop Simon. They are just stalling to destroy the evidence now!" shouted Bloody Mary.

After the shout, the crowd swarmed into the cathedral once more.

The knights tried to draw their weapon to stop the raging crowd but all they did was hold their hands tightly to the hilt. They weren't idiots, they knew if they really pulled their swords at the raging crowd, things would go far beyond redemption.

'Let's hope Bishop Mortor can handle the situation.'

That was the only thought in the knights' mind as they were knocked over by the raging crowd.

In fact, Mortor was able to hold on, but just for a bit.

"Please stop, everyone!" Mortor was already in front of the cathedral with his loud words in hopes of trying to stop the raging crowd.

He was going to give his best effort to control the situation but an unexpected scene happened before his eyes.

A part of the crowd really did stop after his words, but the other part dashed towards the secret entrance of the Dark Hall and Inquisition.

The bishop in council raised a brow.

There were things in the Dark Hall and Inquisition that could never see the day of light.

He had already ordered his men to move the things away but they still needed more time, so he had to stall the crowd.

"Everyone, please calm down!" bellowed Mortor, a divine glow emanating from his body.

Divine power was useful regardless of time and place, especially against a group of civilians. It was enough to deter them.

Mortor was hoping to buy time with the divine glow, trying to scare the crowd back but to his surprise, right after the light of God of War shone on him, Cabio's subordinate, who led the crowd to the cathedral, flew backwards right away, as if he was hit by a truck.

Aside from crashing into the crowd, the priest was spewing blood from his mouth.

"You are trying to kill the witness, you are vicious!" said the priest as he glared at Mortor.

Then, before Mortor could say anything, BANG!

The injured priest exploded into pieces.

His body was in pieces, he couldn't be more dead than that.

The crowd was utterly stunned.

Then—

"Murder!"

"War God Temple murders people!"

"RUN!"

Amid the continuous shouts, the people who had just gathered to confront War God Temple ran backwards faster than they arrived.

They swarmed like bees but scattered away like frightened birds.

Those who dashed towards the secret entrances of the Dark Hall and Inquisition lost their thoughts, covering their heads and running for their lives.

In fact, neither Kieran nor Bloody Mary had any thoughts of exposing Dark Hall and Inquisition. It was unnecessary.

As long as Bloody Mary was able to step into War God Temple, everything would be fixed.

Glowing in the divine light, Mortor was stunned before his looks turned sour.

The bishop in council obviously thought of something but he couldn't care anymore.

He turned around and looked at the huge God of War statue.

The dazzling statue of God of War dimmed down at an exponential speed.

At the same time, a faint singing sounded in the sky in the south.

It was melodious and it was the voice of a woman.

Kieran, in the camp of the Mist, looked to the south.

While he squinted his eyes, a grin appeared.

Everything was unfolding according to his plan.

Kieran raised his hand and Monte the vassal came over.

"Your Highness," Monte bowed.

"Go get Borl for me, I wish to see him."

After that, Kieran went back to the tent where he kept the hundreds of magical items and equipment.

It was about time to start the next phase.