CA - Chapter 165

Chapter 165

The Black Witches' sweeping search made Tang Qiu abandon the idea of investigating the situation in various countries while traveling. After Rona's group left the Shas Principality with Tang Qiu and Erin, they found an excuse to part ways.

Although Rona had symbolically asked Erin for some payment before they separated, she had actually noticed that Erin had grown suspicious of them.

But the truth couldn't be revealed to Erin yet, so Rona could only pretend not to have noticed, casually brushing off Erin's overt and covert inquiries.

After parting with Rona and the others, Erin thought to herself for a while before saying to Tang Qiu, who was beside her, "I still think something's not right with them."

She still clearly remembered what Glanna had told her. The reason she hadn't been found all these years wasn't because of her skill at hiding her tracks, but because someone was secretly protecting her.

And that party was Mark's Grocery Store.

But after escaping Witch City, she had stayed in Masuri Town the whole time and only came into contact with Mark's Grocery Store later...

Erin frowned as a thought surfaced in her mind. Before she could voice it, Tang Qiu had already confirmed her suspicion. "The villagers of Masuri are very likely people from Mark's Grocery Store."

"The proprietress should be Rona."

Seeing Erin's silence, Tang Qiu couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her hair, saying gently, "Don't overthink it. If you want to know why, you can ask them the next time you see them."

"They're different from Glanna."

Erin raised a hand to touch the spot that had been ruffled and nodded. "Okay."

She had always considered Rona and the others her family. They might be hiding something from her, but Erin believed they would never harm her.

The number of people she held dear in her heart was dwindling, and Erin really didn't want to experience betrayal again.

Because of the Black Witches' pursuit, Tang Qiu and Erin deliberately took a detour through several other countries, choosing a different route back to the Gosse Empire.

The journey took longer, but it allowed them to get a rough understanding of the situation on the Statu Continent. The power of the Dark Formations was far greater than imagined, and just as Rona had said, the demonic beasts were impossible to completely clear out.

Only by destroying the Dark Formations could this disaster be stopped.

The Gosse Empire was the first among all nations to counterattack the demonic beasts, so the situation here was much better than elsewhere. Although the appearance of the monsters caused panic among the common people, the Church and the royal family reacted quickly, swiftly dispatching troops to various cities and establishing safe zones.

After entering the Gosse Empire, Tang Qiu and Erin briefly assessed the situation before hurrying back to the capital city.

Karen had received news long ago and had been waiting at the entrance of the teleportation array. When she saw Tang Qiu's figure appear within the array, the weight in her heart was finally lifted.

"Bishop Grace." Karen went to greet her, concisely reporting the current situation in the Gosse Empire.

After listening, Tang Qiu nodded. She pulled up her hood and asked Karen, "Where's Maggie?"

"In the royal palace." Karen followed behind Tang Qiu. Remembering something, she said in a low voice, "By the way, Archbishop Reese's attendant priest came to the Gosse Empire a few days ago."

Tang Qiu's steps faltered. She turned her head to look at Karen. "Which attendant priest?"

"Priest Mario."

Mario was Reese's confidant. If it was him... Tang Qiu changed her mind and turned to walk toward the church.

Erin, who had been quietly following Tang Qiu, suddenly grabbed Karen's arm and said with a grave expression, "Can you take me to see the Dark Formation here?"

Karen subconsciously looked at Tang Qiu. Tang Qiu glanced back at Erin and nodded at Karen. "Take her."

Mario had been at the Gosse Church for several days. If not for the fact that no one in the entire church knew the whereabouts of the blonde bishop, he would have left long ago to search for her himself.

Staying for seven days was his limit. Fortunately, Tang Qiu returned before then.

To coordinate with the empire's troops in resisting the demonic beast invasion, the Gosse Church had dispatched almost all of its clergy, leaving only one priest and a few Holy Knights to stand guard.

Tang Qiu's appearance at the church startled the guarding knights. She signaled for them not to raise an alarm, then followed a small path back to her manor.

The people Mario had brought with him had also been borrowed by the Gosse Church, leaving him alone in the manor.

"Long time no see, Priest Mario." As Tang Qiu passed the garden, she spotted Mario practicing with his sword out of boredom. She took off her cloak's hood, walked over, and greeted him with a smile.

Mario sheathed his sword and turned, looking the blonde bishop up and down before nodding his head. "Long time no see."

Tang Qiu walked to the table and sat down, gesturing for Mario to sit opposite her. "Did Archbishop Reese send you here to tell me something?"

Mario walked to the table but didn't sit. He skillfully handled the tea set on the table and said in a low voice, "The Pope has halted the Light Baptism Assembly, which was already halfway through preparations."

"Oh?" Tang Qiu blinked. "What about the Holy Son?"

"He has not yet come out of seclusion."

"...He still hasn't come out?" Tang Qiu raised an eyebrow, her expression subtle. "Has the Holy Son's Power of Light not yet reached a level satisfactory to the Pope?"

Mario didn't speak, but silence was also an answer.

The Holy Son was still young, after all, and the Power of Light needed to be accumulated. It was strange, though; his talent was excellent, but his strength was always a notch below the Holy Daughter's.

Although it was impressive for him to have reached such a level at his age, it wasn't surprising at all if one knew the environment in which he cultivated the Power of Light and how much Holy Water of Light and Light Crystals he had consumed.

A saying had once circulated throughout the Central Church: if Reese had been cultivated using the same methods as the Holy Son, Archbishop Reese's strength would absolutely be far superior to his.

Although the person who started this rumor was later dealt with by Reese herself, there was no doubt that quite a few people in the Central Church agreed with the sentiment.

"The Pope wants to personally suppress the forces of darkness and hand a peaceful Statu Continent over to the Holy Son." Mario plucked rose petals and dropped them into the boiling water, saying flatly, "Archbishop Reese believes that now is the time for you to return."

The fragrance of roses wafted to her nose. Tang Qiu leaned back in her chair, lowered her eyes in thought for a moment, and then slowly nodded. "I also think this is an opportunity."

Mario poured a cup of rose tea and placed it in front of Tang Qiu, saying in a low voice, "I will escort you back."

Tang Qiu smiled and nodded. "Alright."

It was time to return to the Holy See. Her "poor" ally probably couldn't contain her desire to overthrow the Holy See any longer.

After discussing the departure time with Mario, Tang Qiu left the church to meet with Maggie at the royal palace. The two talked late into the night before Tang Qiu left the palace. This time, however, she didn't return to the church but went to Lucille's manor instead.

Kama was in the manor alone. Hearing footsteps, she thought Karen had returned. She peeked out of her room and saw Tang Qiu. Her eyes lit up, and she ran over to hug Tang Qiu's leg.

Tang Qiu stroked Kama's hair and said with a smile, "Why are you still awake?"

Kama shook her head. Remembering something, she grabbed Tang Qiu's arm and pulled her into her room.

A kerosene lamp was lit in her room, its dim yellow light illuminating the darkness. Kama let go of Tang Qiu's arm, ran to the side of the bed, and crouched down, pulling out a square box from underneath.

Kama opened the box. Inside lay the dried corpses of several bats. She beckoned to Tang Qiu, then looked at her with an expectant expression.

Tang Qiu was stunned for a moment. She walked over, picked up the box, and said, feeling both amused and exasperated, "Thank you."

The bats Lucille used to send messages had probably flown to the manor but couldn't find her, so they were about to return the way they came. Kama, likely unaware of the bats' nature, saw them leaving without dropping off a letter and simply knocked them down.

But, thanks to Kama, she was able to receive a few more of Lucille's letters.

Tang Qiu counted the number of bats and praised Kama, "You're amazing."

Being praised made Kama a little shy. She covered her face and shook her head slightly.

After coaxing Kama to sleep, Tang Qiu came out with the box. By the moonlight, she opened the letters from the bats, and after reading each one carefully, a gentle look flashed across her face.

It seemed she missed her knight a little. Tang Qiu raised a hand to touch her lips. Thinking of something, she shook her head with a light laugh, then folded the letters and put them away in her Space Gem.

---

Blood Domain.

In the desolate and bleak wilderness, two dark figures clashed swiftly and separated just as quickly. A string of bright red blood splattered on the ground.

The elder vampire stared at her hand in astonishment. The blood staining it made her doubt her own eyes. She looked at the red-haired vampire opposite her and asked in confusion, "Why is your blood like this?"

She had seen it many times, but it surprised her every time.

Lucille was skillfully bandaging her wound. In response to the vampire's question, she replied coolly, "That has nothing to do with you."

Teresa looked at her with dissatisfaction, protesting, "Can't you do something about your temper?"

"If I weren't doing this for the sake of you being Violet's descendant, I wouldn't bother with you at all."

The sudden appearance of this red-haired vampire had caused a stir within the Gangrel clan. Violet had been missing for many years, and now a new descendant of his had suddenly appeared.

After their initial surprise came joy, as everyone thought Violet was fine. But this joy lasted less than a minute before it was extinguished by the red-haired vampire.

Violet was already dead.

Even now, the Gangrel clan had not yet digested this news.

Teresa flicked the blood from her hand and sighed faintly. In truth, she hadn't digested the news either.

After bandaging the wound, Lucille looked up at Teresa and said in a low voice, "Again."

As she spoke, her figure vanished from the spot. Teresa took a step back to evade Lucille's attack, raising a palm to pat her on the shoulder. She said leisurely, "Where are your claws?"

"Still can't bring them out?"

Lucille pressed her lips together tightly, her eyes darkening slightly. She could feel a power within her body seeking a breakthrough, but for some reason, she could never grasp that feeling.

She took a deep breath to calm herself, observing Teresa's movements while launching counterattacks.

Teresa was a Gangrel elder, a third-generation vampire. However, her bloodline was that of a wild goose, so she wasn't skilled in combat.

The strongest third-generation vampire of the Gangrel was Violet. The combat power of the Gangrel clan was directly related to their bloodline, and without a doubt, the arctic wolf was at the very top.

Violet hadn't left behind many descendants. Now that Lucille had finally appeared, Teresa certainly wouldn't refuse to cultivate a future lord.

She could already see where Lucille's problem lay.

"Wag your tail, little arctic wolf." Teresa dodged another of Lucille's attacks, deliberately teasing her to provoke a reaction. "Is your aggression this weak?"

"Weren't you already wagging your tail two days ago?"

Lucille stopped abruptly, looking up at her coldly.

Teresa spread her hands. "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

"Oh, I know." Teresa looked at Lucille with a chuckle. "Is it because you haven't eaten..."

Before she could finish her sentence, an afterimage shot toward her face. Teresa unhurriedly dodged it, but then a sudden pain in her leg made her gasp.

Lucille put away the longsword in her hand and said expressionlessly, "Shut your mouth during a fight."

The wound on her leg healed instantly, but Lucille's sword was one that contained the aura of light. Although the wound closed, the corrosive pain made Teresa frown.

"...Where did you get a Holy Knight's sword?" Teresa complained indignantly. "This is an assault on an elder."

Where did she get the sword? From Tang Qiu, of course. When Lucille thought of Tang Qiu, a subtle change flickered deep in her eyes before vanishing.

Just as she was about to signal for Teresa to continue, Lola, who had gone out to hunt, hurried back. She leaned in and whispered something in Lucille's ear, her expression looking grim.

After she finished speaking, Lucille's expression also slowly darkened.

Teresa looked at them in confusion and asked, "What's wrong?"

Lucille glanced at her and said flatly, "Darkness has enveloped the Statu Continent."

Her face was calm, as if she wasn't surprised by this news at all.

After learning about the darkness within the Holy See, Lucille had long predicted that such a situation would occur.

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