**Chapter 642: The Heist**
Beneath the overcast sky, in the Church District of Tivyán’s North City, countless congregants were bustling both inside and outside, with the defenders of faith arming themselves and lining up, while the lingering citizens were being urged to leave the church. The entire district was filled with noise.
In a corner near the entrance of the grand chapel, three cultists infiltrating St. Hymn Cathedral were huddled together. A werewolf man named Braun had his eyes tightly closed, using his mind to connect with the dozens of Beastmen sleeping inside several carriages just outside the church district, trying to awaken them.
These Beastmen, prepared by the Wolf bl**d Association for this operation, were originally intended to act as vanguards and cannon fodder to breach the St. Hymn Church. Once the main defense force inside the church was drawn away by the distant disturbance caused by an Extraordinary Being of the Red Tier, they would awaken and unleash the Beastmen to create chaos, drawing the attention of all defenders remaining behind, allowing them to take advantage of the situation.
In this operation, the Wolf bl**d Association aimed to avoid having their own Extraordinary guide participate directly.
“How is it? Are they awake yet?”
Noticing that his companion had not had any success in waking the Beastmen for a while, Sander frowned and asked. At that moment, Braun opened his eyes, his expression grave.
“I can’t awaken my Beast servants… I don’t know why. They aren’t responding to me.”
“What?” Hearing Braun’s words, Vorn beside him was surprised, then continued, “Can’t awaken the Beast servants… Could it be that there’s a problem with our arrangements outside? Should we go and check?”
“No, can’t you see these believers are already starting to evacuate people and go on high alert? If we go out now, they’ll be fully prepared for battle. That would make it much harder to achieve our goal, even with the Beast servants assisting…” Braun said with a serious expression. After hearing this, Sander paused slightly, then responded solemnly.
“What should we do then?”
“There’s no other way. We must act directly and seize what we can before they complete their preparations!” Braun decisively said. After hearing this, Vorn and Sander exchanged a glance and then nodded solemnly to Braun.
“Then let’s start.”
Seeing his companions’ agreement, Braun immediately took the lead, and the three of them moved quickly toward a certain direction. At that moment, a heavily armored defender noticed their suspicious movements and hurried over to stop them.
“You three over there, the church is no longer open. Please follow the guidance and leave immediately, or else… ugh!”
Before the soldier could take a few more steps, a cold gaze fell upon him. Caught off guard, Braun was the first to act, stepping forward and delivering a powerful punch to the soldier’s chest. The soldier’s armor shattered, and he was sent flying, crashing into a stone pillar and left unconscious, bleeding.
“Create some chaos here!” After taking down the defender, Braun told Sander, who nodded in response.
“Alright.”
Sander’s attire began to swell, and from his collar and cuffs, countless small flies and insects erupted outwards, buzzing as they spread in all directions, heading towards the citizens and congregants drawn in by the recent commotion.
Faced with this swarm of insects, ordinary citizens and defenders began screaming and fleeing. Those who were slower to escape were bitten by the flies, quickly breaking out in rashes, collapsing to their knees in nausea and vomiting.
“ROAR!!!”
Seeing this scene unfold, Braun and Sander decided to escalate the chaos, quickly transforming into towering black-furred werewolves. Their first act upon transforming was to unleash terrifying howls, instilling fear in everyone nearby and doubling the panic in the area.
In an instant, the entire area outside the grand chapel erupted into chaos. Almost everyone present was fleeing aimlessly, and the released swarm of insects indiscriminately bit at all visible creatures, causing them to collapse and lose strength.
With chaos now created, Braun immediately led the way for himself and Vorn to quickly retreat, grabbing Sander in the process. The two werewolves swiftly transformed into streaks of black shadows, dashing towards another direction of St. Hymn Cathedral, leaving behind a throng of panicking people and a swarm of insects.
—
“Lady Vania! There’s been a large-scale disturbance outside the grand chapel! It seems someone is continuously launching extraordinary attacks there! We need support!”
In the office of the Archbishop in the Church District, Gaspare, the cleric who had just delivered orders, burst into the room, urgently reporting to the white-clad nun standing silently on the carpet, staring at a wall in calm silence.
“I know. I’ve already dispatched a squad of defenders along with a team of crusaders to handle the situation there. There’s no need for excessive concern,” Vania replied nonchalantly. Hearing her words, Gaspare paused slightly, then asked in surprise,
“A squad of defenders and a team of crusaders… is that enough? The level of chaos there is significant; it doesn’t seem like it could be caused by just one or two low-tier cultists!”
“Indeed, the turmoil there is not caused by an ordinary Extraordinary Being. However, even so, what remains here is just a swarm of flies that spread disease. While the commotion is loud and widespread, it’s just a bait to lure us. That number of personnel is absolutely sufficient.
“Now, the main forces of the invaders are moving in another direction, along the northern corridor of the Sanctified Tower toward the west. Their target is likely the forbidden library. I’ve ordered nearby forces to intercept them, and I’m having more defenders and crusaders gather at the entrance of the forbidden library. You should go there as well, Cleric Gaspare.”
Vania continued in her calm tone. Upon hearing her words, Gaspare first showed surprise, then seemed to realize something and promptly replied.
“Yes, I’ll head there immediately.”
Having said that, Gaspare retreated, leaving Vania alone in the office, continuing to gaze at the empty wall ahead. In her widened eyes, a faint golden halo began to emerge around the edges of her pupils.
At this moment, Vania was not merely staring at the wall; her eyes were penetrating through countless material barriers, observing Braun and the others rapidly moving within the Church District, locking onto their actions.
As the acting Archbishop of St. Hymn Cathedral, Vania had the authority to connect with this temple-level ritual site to exert its power and enhance her own abilities.
Under the enhancement brought by the temple-level ritual site, Vania’s “Lamp” vision was greatly amplified. She could not only perceive the existence of extraordinary powers, but she also possessed an incredibly strong long-range vision. Within a radius of several kilometers centered around herself, nothing could escape her sight, and no barrier could obscure her vision. All of Braun’s tricks could not hide from her eyes.
With such powerful true vision supporting her, Vania could coordinate the forces in the Church District without being disturbed by false information, arranging for “hosts” to welcome Braun and his crew.
—
On the eastern side of the Church District, in a corridor between the interlocking buildings, the black shadows of two werewolves were racing swiftly toward their target location gathered from prior intelligence.
As they moved toward their destination, defenders armed with weapons attempted to stop them, firing gunshots at them. Among these defenders were several teams of crusaders, including more extraordinary members.
In the face of these multiple obstacles, the werewolves, Braun and Vorn, endured the gunfire damage while taking down everything that dared to impede them, cutting through the path as they advanced.
Meanwhile, Sander, riding on Braun’s back, played a significant role by continuously summoning swarm after swarm of insects during their march. These small flying insects attacked the church soldiers stationed far away, delivering almost unstoppable bites that caused severe rashes on their bodies, leading to nausea and collapse. Almost everyone who came into contact with the swarms fell quickly, even acolytes and low-tier extraordinary beings couldn’t last over five seconds under the intense disease spread. Thus far, Sander’s contribution to the chaos had far exceeded that of the two werewolves.
“d*mn it… why are there so many cherubic fools blocking my way!”
After slapping down yet another defender who had come to stop him head-on, Braun muttered. He had lost count of how many of these “brave” souls he had swatted down. This unyielding opposition, along with eager snipers, noticeably slowed their progress. The snipers were understandable, but he was bewildered by the sheer number of fanatic loyalists.
In fact, most of the obstructing “zealots” were Doro’s zombie puppets. Utilizing the advantages brought by Vania, Doro had previously infiltrated her zombie puppets into the Tivyán Church, preparing to act at critical moments.
Finally, after breaking through, Braun and the others arrived at their destination, the building of the St. Hymn Church’s archive. The forbidden library they were looking for lay beneath the entire building. Once they passed this last barrier, they would finally reach their goal.
However, this last barrier did not yield easily. As Braun and the others finally crossed the bloody hallway and turned the final corner, they came to a wide-open space before the archive building. Upon seeing the entrance, their hearts suddenly tightened.
A position… a complete line of defense had already been established at the entrance of the building; thick sandbags had been piled into a low wall. Behind that wall were a group of defenders dressed in coordinated uniforms. Crouching behind the sandbag wall, they aimed their rifles forward, pointing them at the enemies. In addition to these dozens of ordinary rifles, there were also seven or eight mounted heavy water-cooled machine guns, while three or four g*n emplacements were set up on the roof of the building. The chains of these heavy machine guns were already in position, and their dark g*n muzzles were now directed toward the astonished werewolves.
Taking advantage of the time created by the snipers and the zombie puppets, Vania had skillfully coordinated the armed forces in the Church District, quickly establishing a stronghold. These heavily armed defenders had been stationed in the area early that morning under the pretense of maintenance and equipment checks, ready to assemble swiftly.
“Fire!”
As soon as a command rang out, countless g*n barrels roared in unison, and the scene erupted with gunfire more densely packed than fireworks. A torrent of metal erupted from the flames of the g*n barrels, hurling toward the still-stunned werewolves. In an instant, their massive forms were riddled with b*llet holes.
In an instant, both werewolves let out anguished howls. Under the devastating suppression of more than a dozen water-cooled machine guns, they had no choice but to find nearby cover. One took refuge behind a stone statue while the other ducked behind the nearest wall.
“ROAR!!!”
Taking cover momentarily, both werewolves began issuing terrifying howls, hoping to drive away the ordinary beings and low-tier extraordinary beings manning the defenses. However, their cries did not have much effect. No one on the lines let fear drive them from their posts; the defenders stationed there were already prepared to counter this, utilizing their training to help stabilize the soldiers’ minds, rendering them unaffected by fear.
With their fearsome howls ineffective, the defenders began their counter-assault. Clearly anticipating this development, as the werewolves took cover, several prepared mortar teams in the rear began launching pre-loaded shells, bombarding the area behind the cover where the werewolves were. With a resounding explosion, the cover protecting the werewolves was blown apart, and they were forced to flee from the blast, their bodies aflame and bearing charred wounds.
Having lost their cover, the werewolves were again overwhelmed by a barrage of gunfire, with countless bullets striking them, causing bl**d to spray from their fur. They could only rapidly dodge in search of new cover. At that moment, Sander, similarly under fire, summoned another storm of insects, sending them to swarm toward the defenders’ positions. These nearly invulnerable insects began closing in on the sited where no fire could withstand them.
Just then, two great flames erupted from the positions, sweeping across the ground and consuming the approaching insects in an instant, leaving nothing behind. With the two white-clad clerics stationed in the defenses, including Gaspare, they swiftly neutralized Sander’s insect offensive.
The disease-spreading insects were incinerated, but the ferocious flames on the battlefield momentarily obscured the line of sight for shooting. Seizing the opportunity, the two werewolves launched a counterattack. Braun slammed his powerful fists into the ground, launching a barrage of high-speed stone fragments towards the defenders. In an instant, many ordinary soldiers and low-tier extraordinary beings were struck, some even impaled. They fell to the ground, wailing and rolling in agony, clutching at their wounds.
This suffering, however, was only temporary. In the positions, the ready Sister Anre began to utilize her healing abilities, soothing the injuries of the fallen soldiers. Those ten or so wounded soldiers soon felt their pain lessen; they could feel their wounds healing rapidly, even expelling the stone fragments embedded within.
At this moment, the only extraordinary being present on the battlefield was Sister Anre. Although she couldn’t efficiently tend all ten wounded soldiers simultaneously, she was not alone. Vania, as the acting Archbishop, used the temple’s rituals to expand her healing capabilities throughout the entire Church District and its vicinity, eliminating the simultaneous treatment limit. Not only the soldiers in combat, but also those civilians and defenders previously harmed by Sander’s swarms now fell under Vania’s care. At that instant, there would be no casualties.
The soldiers on the line quickly recovered and reformed their ranks, while the two werewolves consumed their own spirituality to heal their wounds rapidly. Breathing heavily, they glared forward, the rich scent of their spilled bl**d saturating the air around them.
This scent of bl**d, unrestrained, spread outward, soon detected by a powerful extraordinary perception that nearly defied logic.
—
On the outskirts north of Tivyán, Duval, donned in a black rain cloak, stood silently on a path, gazing up at the sky, inhaling the familiar scent of bl**d, muttering to himself.
“It seems… I’ll have to make my move after all…”
