Chapter 116: Will Dekan Continue to Tolerate the Villain’s Bravado?
Lord Rampard, the Viscount, sat in his carriage listening to the conversation of the Beautiful Mind Trio.
He felt somehow that something was off.
Aren’t you here to defend Tristin City?
Why does it feel like you’re here for a vacation instead?
And you’re visitors here to enjoy the festivities during the celebration.
Lord Rampard wanted to say something, but he restrained himself.
Dekan’s group’s reputation was well-known to him.
But no matter how rampant Dekan and Cornelia had been in Demon Academy and the Snow Mountains, all that was in the Shadow World.
This, however, is the Real World.
Are you still that lackadaisical?
The difference between combat in the Real World and the Shadow World can be described as polar opposites.
If a major crisis arises, the Real World is far more dangerous than the Shadow World.
One obvious difference is—
The Shadow World has reasonable mechanisms to protect the players, whereas none such exist in the Real World.
The Shadow World provides some intelligence and indications, and the enemies’ strength is within a certain range.
Ensuring that challengers can’t find themselves in a death trap from the start.
Even the ultimate adversary in the Shadow World can be estimated roughly via its rank in the Shadow World.
At worst, if the challenge fails,
the challenger can wait for the time limit to end, be teleported back to the Real World, thereby resolving the crisis.
Someone like Dekan might be able to discard all moral burdens in certain Shadow Worlds and act without restraint.
In the Real World, Dekan cannot let himself go completely.
Many of his actions in the Shadow World would likely get him imprisoned.
Consider the ‘great deeds’ Dekan accomplished at Demon Academy.
“Dekan, can you handle this?”
After hesitating for a while, Lord Rampard asked Dekan with concern.
The more critical the moment became, the more he felt out of sync with the other three.
He grew increasingly tense and had frequent palpitations.
Though it seemed that the situation was looking favorable right now.
But.
It might be soon.
The Rebirth Church was about to show its real ace.
If an unstoppable catastrophe were to descend, everything might go downhill in an instant.
It might not only be Ice Snow Princess who gets captured.
The entire Tristin City could be destroyed completely.
If there’s the chance for a massacre, the Rebirth Church will likely not miss it.
Dekan and Rampard’s actions must have thoroughly enraged the Rebirth Church.
Seeing the worried expression on the viscount’s face, Dekan chuckled dryly.
“Relax, as long as the Pope of the Rebirth Church isn’t coming, I should have some tricks up my sleeve.”
He patted the viscount on the shoulder.
Dekan held a high regard for the viscount.
This diligent viscount had helped him quite a bit.
Most importantly, the viscount’s attitude towards Dekan made Dekan very comfortable.
He liked people who made things easy and peaceful for him.
So Dekan decided to at least have a candid discussion with the viscount.
Dekan wasn’t an arrogant person.
He was well aware of the differences between the Real World and the Shadow World.
Once big trouble is stirred in the Real World,
one could at any moment encounter enemies several ranks higher than oneself, who could obliterate one instantly.
After all, stories where the protagonist is at level 3 and then a group of level 4 enemies conveniently show up to provide experience do not make sense.
Such ridiculous plots only exist in brain-dead novels.
Dekan had long wanted to criticize many novels he had read in his previous life.
Not only is it unclear whether the antagonist team has a clear understanding of the threat posed by the protagonist.
Even if the protagonist encounters enemies randomly,
it shouldn’t always be the case that they just happen to meet enemies just one level higher than themselves.
This is statistically improbable.
Therefore, Dekan was always prepared to face enemies several ranks higher than himself.
Even if one day he returned to his dormitory and found a Cardinal Bishop from the Rebirth Church sitting on his sofa, he wouldn’t be too surprised.
No matter if he can fight back or not,
Dekan had seriously considered how to deal with the situation.
Opportunities always favor the prepared old cynics.
But currently,
Dekan believed that the situation in Tristin City should not be too bad.
The Pope must be restricted in some way and unable to personally step into the arena.
Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a need for much planning, nor would the elite Rebirth Church followers need to create chaos.
He would just come and capture Ice Snow Princess.
From the intelligence reviewed,
the main force Rebirth Church has dispatched this time is merely a trusted aide of a Cardinal Bishop.
Which means the highest enemy combat strength this time is most likely at level 7.
Even the Cardinal Bishop himself cannot come to deal with Ice Snow Princess personally.
“Trust us, we’re professionals.”
Dekan said.
“I trust your combat capabilities, and following you makes me feel incredibly secure. But I’m worried about the citizens who can’t resist catastrophic attacks.”
Rampard dropped his head helplessly.
As a viscount, there were so many things he needed to consider.
He knew Dekan’s combat prowess couldn’t be easily gauged by ranks.
After all, Dekan’s unique system allowed for a seamless combination of techniques that could create strong control effects regardless of rank differences.
What the viscount feared most were the Rebirth Church’s limitless tactics.
“Relax, the civilians should not be at much risk.”
Dekan shrugged, explaining casually.
“If I’m not mistaken, the Rebirth Church plans to use elite forces at ranks 5 and 6 to attack crucial facilities of Tristin City on some night.”
“Actions like attacking the Viscount’s residence and the Magic Power Station, kidnapping Tristine Magic Academy students as hostages, directly blowing up the prisons, and such.”
“Furthermore, they might threaten Ice Snow Princess, putting her in a restricted combat condition.”
“And create a period where Tristin City’s Knights’ Regiment and police force can’t support Ice Snow Princess.”
“Finally, their main forces will attempt to defeat Ice Snow Princess under these optimal conditions and then take her away.”
“But now, we have successfully and smoothly captured the elite Rebirth Church members, so no matter whether Ice Snow Princess is safe or not, you don’t need to worry too much about the civilians.”
“Their following tactics are likely geared towards dealing with Ice Snow Princess and shouldn’t affect the civilians anymore.”
Dekan explained slowly—being an expert, he judged the Rebirth Church’s action strategy.
The viscount listened intently.
Your explanation sounds very authoritative, but it feels like you’ve seen their actual plan.
…
Tristine Cathedral.
In the vast and spacious cathedral, only one elegant nun sat alone.
Sunlight streaming through the stained glass of the cathedral diffused gently, illuminating her surroundings like a bright day.
She sat quietly in a corner, palms pressed together, as if praying devoutly.
But it seemed she sensed something and her body quivered slightly twice.
Gradually unable to maintain her calm, she clenched her teeth.
Her expression gradually turned grim.
She had just used a scouting spell to check the outside situation.
The entire Tristin City had turned into a hell for Rebirth Church members!!
The sight of citizens hunting church members made her doubt momentarily whether her detection spell had malfunctioned.
“Hmph… humpf…”
She placed her hand on her chest, this devious scheme of Dekan’s was driving her into a state of acute frustration.
A great and intolerable disgrace!
Especially for her as the commander of this operation!
Although she had already considered avoiding Dekan,
she didn’t expect that this kid would brazenly throw himself into danger.
And successfully disrupted their plans.
“Dekan, you’ll regret this!”
Quickly, she calmed herself down.
Dark shadows enveloped her, and when they dissipated, she had transformed into another appearance.
Covered in black leather armor plated with scale-like steel, gleaming sinisterly under the sun’s rays.
Her eyes revealed a glint of icy indifference, seemingly capable of freezing one’s very soul.
She was Isabel, the Cardinal Bishop’s trusted aide.
In her original plan, she had absolute confidence in defeating Ice Snow Princess without interference with a set of countermeasures.
But now things have changed, and she wouldn’t get the chance to face Ice Snow Princess in a duel.
Fortunately, this unexpected situation was still within their tolerance range.
Even though the elites were being pursued, restricted in every way within the city,
It still wouldn’t change the outcome of Ice Snow Princess’ capture!
The Church has a perfect plan, preparations exceeding what Dekan could imagine.
Even the countermeasures prepared for Dekan, Isabel had several in readiness.
If Dekan insists on interfering again, she will not hesitate to take down this reckless individual.
However, the most important and urgent task now is to report this situation to the Cardinal Bishop.
So Isabel activated a Magic Spell Card.
[Ultra Long-Range Telecommunications Magic]
[Category: Spell Card]
[Rarity: Purple Rare]
[Rank: 6]
[Effect: Can communicate over long distances without the need for a terminal. Communication will consume large amounts of magic power, with longer distances demanding more magic.]
[Note: To be the best version of yourself, I can.]
Isabel: “My Lord Bishop, Dekan has managed to eliminate our elite operatives hidden in Tristin City and is making it increasingly difficult for our operations in the city. I need your support to quickly capture Ice Snow Princess.”
There was some noise on the other end of the communication, but soon a voice came across:
“Alright, the support will come soon, get ready to move.”
And with that, the other side cut off the communication.
…
At the same time.
In a small town near Tristin City’s neighboring province.
This small town is located on the province’s border, merely hours away by carriage from Tristin City.
It was lunchtime, and laughter and conversation filled a little tavern.
“Oh dear, interesting, it looks like Isabel is having some trouble.”
A red-haired young man with a gentle demeanor sat at the bar, smiling as he observed the situation.
He was dressed in the attire of a clergyman, his eyes calm, seemingly more mature than his appearance betrayed.
“Father, what were you muttering about?”
The surrounding diners asked him.
The priest had been chatting idly with the nearby strangers, laughing and discussing various matters.
After a brief interaction, all the surrounding diners found this priest to be an open and amiable person.
“Ah, nothing, the church is encountering some trouble, looks like only I can bear the burden to move forward.”
He sighed helplessly but in reality, looked quite at ease.
There seems to be a sense of confidence in a strong person.
“Father, is there anything we can do to help you?”
“You? Hmm, let me think. Probably not, but thank you very much for your willingness to help.”
The priest smiled and waved his hand,
as if declining the others’ kind offer.
Or as if bidding them farewell.
“Then, farewell.”
With this last sentence, the priest triggered his spell.
A wave of fire accompanied by a rush of air swept through.
Fiery flames rose into the sky, and the tavern along with the nearby houses were all blown away.
The priest’s spell came too quickly, too suddenly.
The civilians didn’t even feel pain as they were instantly vaporized.
Amidst the sea of fire and ruins, only the figure of the red-haired priest remained standing, leisurely calm.
His face bore a faint smile, as though admiring his own back garden.
Simultaneously, a towering crimson flame shadow ascended into the sky, speeding toward Tristin City like a comet.
The priest lifted his hand to his forehead as if shielding his eyes from the glaring sun,
watching the flame shadow disappear into the distance.
“Give me a show of your struggles, young ace cardmaker Dekan.”
He grinned and muttered to himself.
As he was about to walk away from the ruins,
he seemed to perceive something.
“Ah, how unexpected, are you here so quickly?”
He talked to himself. In his hand appeared a sinister magic book in red and black, and without turning around, he cast a spell.
Suddenly, around him a semitransparent dark red flame vortex swirled.
As the flames appeared, the surrounding air boiled instantly, and an unimaginable wave of scorching energy spread outward at unimaginable speeds.
In that instant, as if even ashes would ignite anew.
The expanding flames collided with a streak of sword light coming from behind him.
A muffled explosion sounded.
The great impact and shockwave swept in every direction, and the whole area seemed to have been caught in a storm, with debris and dust flying everywhere.
The priest remained standing in his place.
But the figure who had attacked him from behind retreated several meters before stabilizing.
“Wow, aren’t you hungry? You didn’t eat lunch?”
The priest narrowed his eyes somewhat mockingly as he turned around to speak.
A female knight with long golden hair and silver armor stood behind him.
With a cold expression, a trace of killing intent was clearly visible.
“Hmph. You heartless fiend, why did you slaughter these innocent civilians?!”
The female knight pointed her long sword at the priest, her expression cold and severe.
“Ho ho, wouldn’t you feel restricted in battle if there were civilians around? I not only gave them a painless release, but I also let you fight freely, so you should all thank me. This is my greatest kindness.”
The priest remained standing, book in one hand, and smiled serenely.
“Beast…”
The female knight glared at the priest.
“Archbishop of Destruction, Evan, I shall bring you to justice today!”
“Oh my, how terrifying.”
The priest said this, but there was not a trace of nervousness on his face. Meanwhile, more summoned beings appeared around him.
It seemed as if an army of the Demon World had gathered around him.
As the two eighth-rank powerhouses drew closer, a fierce battle erupted across the small town.
Even if Evan dispatched his ace card far away, he remained calm,
steadily suppressing the female knight.
This was Evan’s task as the Archbishop of Destruction—
to halt other possible eighth-rank powerhouses from coming to Tristin City’s aid.
The Kingdom Union had a stellar astrologer in the realm who could roughly predict the activity areas of the Rebirth Church’s Cardinals every certain period of time.
If multiple Cardinals gathered suddenly within a short time, it would trigger the Kingdom Union’s highest alert.
For instance, if all the Cardinals were discovered moving towards the Norton Kingdom,
it would directly expose their intent, leading to a powerful all-out attack from surrounding kingdoms’ eighth-rank powerhouses.
As such, the Cardinals did not dare to gather all at once to capture just some ace card makers.
They could only maintain ordinary movements to confuse the Kingdom Union.
Among the Cardinals who usually operated near the Norton Kingdom, only the Archbishop of Destruction Evan could offer some assistance to the Tristin City plan without alarming the Kingdom Union.
When outside the Norton Kingdom, it was unlikely the kingdom would cause trouble for the Cardinals.
Because these Bishops were too difficult to combat, with incredibly devious methods.
Once the Cardinal crosses into the Norton Kingdom’s borders, the kingdom will send out eighth-rank powerhouses to hunt and annihilate the Cardinal by any means necessary.
Thus, since Evan entered the Norton Kingdom’s borders, he attracted the hunters like a magnet.
Now, only the female knight has caught up to him, whom he handles easily.
But soon, more eighth-rank powerhouses will arrive.
Then it would be a matter of fighting while retreating.
Nevertheless, this was exactly Evan’s purpose.
Even if those eighth-rank powerhouses don’t seek him out, he would still find ways to halt the reinforcements to Tristin City.
Otherwise, even if Isabel manages to capture Ice Snow Princess, it would be hard to leave the Norton Kingdom territory successfully.
…
On the plains of the Norton Kingdom.
In the sky, a deep red flame shadow streaked across.
Wherever it passed, it was as though the sky was obscured and the temperature became unnaturally warm, even in the cold of winter.
Though it was a warmth that made any living being uneasy.
As if everything would turn into a scorched wasteland as soon as the shadow descended.
Tristin City.
Ice Snow Princess put down her cup, suddenly stood up, and looked out the window.
She felt something terrifying was getting closer and closer to Tristin City.
She gazed far off, furrowing her brows, as if trying to appraise something.
[The Destroyer Demon King – Zestril]
[Category: Summoning Card]
[Rarity: Orange Epic]
[Rank: 8]
[Effect: Immune to all control effects. Revives immediately after death, with a cooldown of 1 hour. Each resurrection causes a large-scale destructive explosion.]
[Note: Destruction! Rebirth!]
Soon, Ice Snow Princess had finished her appraisal and her expression turned exceedingly serious.
Without hesitation, she used wind magic to fly towards the incoming [Destroyer Demon King], leaving a frosty afterimage in her wake.
At the gates of Tristine Magic Academy.
Dekan stuck his head out of the carriage, raising the telescope to observe the sesame-sized black dot in the distant sky.
Without even needing to confirm, he had a pretty good idea.
This was one of the ten Cardinal Bishops’ ace cards from the Rebirth Church.
“Seriously, Evan, are you not up to the challenge? What is Ice Snow Princess supposed to do against this thing?”
Dekan put down the telescope, furrowing his brow as he sat back in the carriage.
Immune to all controls, ruining Ice Snow Princess’s main advantage.
With instant resurrection, Ice Snow Princess’s low damage output cannot possibly defeat it.
And if it keeps exploding, Ice Snow Princess can’t fight it in the city. She must go outside to intercept it.
To be honest, Dekan was somewhat tempted to just return to Capital City to attend class.
Perhaps he could still catch the last class of the afternoon.
Ice Snow Princess, she might as well perish.
Besides this [Destroyer Demon King], there’s still a main bishop’s confidant hiding in the shadows with a powerful epical spell card that could potentially enslave Ice Snow Princess.
She will undoubtedly be captured in an instant with the card.
Frankly speaking, things could have been much simpler if Ice Snow Princess wasn’t so aloof and independent.
Even if she cooperated slightly with Dekan’s plan, it wouldn’t have been so complicated.
This woman’s mind is as icy as her powers.
But still, Dekan decided to try to save her.
She’s not evil after all.
Ice Snow Princess immediately chose to leave the city to intercept the [Destroyer Demon King].
If she really cared about nothing, she wouldn’t be so determined to fight against this eight-stage epic summoned creature with which she has no chance of succeeding.
“Dekan, what are we going to do?”
Seeing Dekan’s troubled expression, the viscount was also thrown into a panic.
This was the first time the viscount had seen Dekan look so troubled.
“Right now, I can’t say for sure if I can save Ice Snow Princess, because it depends on whether my companions are willing to take the risk with me.” Dekan replied.
Then Dekan turned to Chloix and asked:
“Chloix, do you want to try something big, or should we just flee with the viscount?”
Chloix: “Is the big thing dangerous?”
Dekan: “If we go big, there’s a possibility both of us might die. If we succeed though, the king will at least personally receive us.”
Chloix: “So you’re not thinking about just defeating the [Destroyer Demon King]?”
Dekan: “Go bigger.”
Chloix: “And you also want to capture the Cardinal Bishop’s confidant alive?”
Dekan: “Think even bigger.”
“…”
At this point, Chloix fell silent for several seconds.
A terrifying idea began to form in his mind.
He tentatively asked:
“Could it be… you’re actually aiming for Archbishop Evan?”
Dekan nodded.
“I feel like that guy has been acting superior from afar, I can’t bear it. I have to punish him.”
“…”
At this point, the viscount, who was listening to their conversation from nearby, was stunned speechless.
He was terrified.
If any other person were sitting there, they would undoubtedly think Dekan was insane!
Evan is an enemy you should be concerned with right now?
And the furrowed brow on your face wasn’t due to the situation being challenging.
It was because you couldn’t stand someone showing off?!
