On the ninth floor of the Church of Light.
Lin Lei had been completely forgotten, left here all alone. Only the cold, purple-robed deacon from the Inquisition brought him his meals each day. With both arm bones broken, Lin Lei could only shift his body and lower his head to eat.
In the dark, frigid secret chamber, Lin Lei spent his days in solitude.
Whether he would live or die, Lin Lei didn't know — but he would not give up hope so easily.
These days, Lin Lei had been constantly reflecting on why his revenge had failed. Everything in the plan had proceeded exactly as he'd foreseen — he had even accounted for the fact that Clyde possessed magic beasts. What he had never expected was that there would be a Saint Realm-level defensive magic scroll!
Creating a magic scroll was far more difficult than casting a spell.
To create a Saint Realm-level magic scroll, both the magic power and mental power consumed far exceeded what was needed to cast a Saint Realm-level spell directly. Lin Lei had not believed that Clyde would carry a Saint Realm-level defensive magic scroll on him.
Even Derinkoort had said: "Forget about Clyde — even a Cardinal probably wouldn't carry a Saint Realm-level defensive magic scroll."
With Lin Lei's ninth-level warrior strength after dragon transformation, combined with Bei Bei's power, Clyde should have been a dead man for certain. Lin Lei's revenge plan, though somewhat hasty, had an almost ten-out-of-ten chance of success. But the appearance of the 'Fate Guardian' had thrown all his plans into ruin.
"Who would have thought that a kingdom's king would possess a Saint Realm magic scroll?" Lin Lei was unwilling to accept this.
Truly unwilling.
On a frigid winter night, the temperature plummeted. The streets of Fenlei City were virtually deserted. A small black shadow mouse stood in a dark corner of an alley, gazing at the towering Church of Light in the distance. The little shadow mouse simply stared, motionless.
The little shadow mouse, Bei Bei, remained there from deep into the night until dawn.
He dared not enter the Church of Light. Bei Bei knew full well that even Saint Realm powerhouses didn't dare barge in recklessly — a magic beast mouse going in would certainly never escape. If he were caught, Lin Lei would be even more devastated.
Dawn came.
"Boss, I will definitely avenge you." Bei Bei took one last look at the Church of Light, then his body flickered and vanished from the street.
For nearly twenty days, the shadow mouse Bei Bei had been thinking about avenging Lin Lei. But he had discovered that Clyde had become thoroughly paranoid — not only had he deployed mages to set up magic formations around him, but he had also stationed Caesar nearby.
Bei Bei didn't even have a chance to launch a surprise attack.
But Bei Bei was very patient.
He would wait — wait as long as it took — and the moment Clyde let his guard down, he would suddenly appear and tear Clyde into shreds of flesh, exacting revenge for Lin Lei.
Yulan Calendar, Year 9999, December 28th, deep into the night.
*Clang!*
The door to Lin Lei's secret chamber swung open, and two white-robed deacons entered. Unlike the grim inquisitorial deacons, these two even brought a stretcher. They carefully placed Lin Lei on it and carried him together.
"What are you doing?" Lin Lei shot the two white-robed deacons a cold look.
Thinking of the slaughter Lin Lei had wrought that day, the two white-robed deacons felt a twinge of fear.
"Lord Lin Lei, His Holiness the Pope is going to treat your injuries," one of the female white-robed deacons said softly.
"Treat my injuries?"
Lin Lei's heart stirred. "Could the Pope really be giving me a chance to survive?" He said nothing more, remaining silent as the two white-robed deacons carried him upward through the Church of Light, floor after floor...
Finally, the two white-robed deacons carried Lin Lei to the very top floor of the Church of Light.
The top floor of the Church of Light was vast and expansive. At its very center sat a complex octagonal magic array, with eight 'ascetics' — barefoot, with disheveled hair and dressed in hemp robes — seated peacefully at the eight corners of the formation. Standing at the center of the array was the Pope of the Church of Light, Haytings, wearing a magnificent luminous white robe.
Along the edges of the top-floor hall stood three Cardinals, the two highly respected Vice Chief Judges of the Religious Inquisition, and six 'Special Deacons.' Every single one of them was a ninth-level powerhouse. With so many ninth-level experts gathered in one place, one could well imagine the might of the Church of Light.
"Put him down. You may leave," Gilmore spoke.
"Yes." The two white-robed deacons didn't dare breathe too loudly. In this hall were either the astonishingly powerful ascetics or the Inquisition's most mysterious 'Special Deacons,' along with three Cardinals and two Vice Chief Judges.
These were all truly important figures.
After setting Lin Lei down, the two white-robed deacons hurried away respectfully, and the great doors closed once more.
Lying on the stretcher, Lin Lei's gaze swept over the circle of people. With his discerning eye, it was easy for Lin Lei to judge that every person in this top-floor hall was an astonishingly powerful expert — not one of them seemed weaker than that ninth-level warrior, Caesar.
"Your Holiness, what are you doing?" Lin Lei's voice was low and hoarse.
Haytings glanced at Lin Lei and said with a faint smile: "Lin Lei, though the mistake you made this time was significant, after deliberation within our Church, we have decided to give you another chance. And now, we are going to work together to cast a spell and restore you to your best condition."
If Lin Lei had any knowledge of Light magic, he would have readily noticed the flaw in Haytings' words.
"Derinkoort, the Church of Light seems to be making a major move this time," Lin Lei communicated with Derinkoort through their soul link.
"What's happening outside?" Derinkoort, being cautious, did not dare release even a trace of his soul power.
Since Haytings was a peak Saint Realm powerhouse, the moment Derinkoort left the Coiling Dragon Ring, the Pope of the Church of Light would certainly detect him.
"There are twenty people outside. I estimate the weakest among them is at least a ninth-level powerhouse. Eight of them are ascetics, and together with the Pope of the Church of Light, they are positioned within a magic array," Lin Lei said.