Chapter 837: Chapter 837

The rolling waves beat against the rocks of the harbor, emitting a crisp sound under the cover of night.

The red-haired woman let out a low shout, glancing back at the Dragon Cavalry Fighter chasing them at low altitude.

She raised her hand, and a pitch-black dagger flew out instantly, piercing through the Dragon Cavalry Fighter.

As the roaring flames of the explosion erupted, she grabbed Vili beside her and turned into the deeper alleyways.

Snowflakes drifted through the gaps between the rusted shacks, landing on their hair and shoulders.

"Are you familiar with this place?"

Vili glanced at the dilapidated shacks around them and then looked up at the Dragon Cavalry Fighter that was quickly approaching.

Lena shrugged, wiping the mud specks off her cheek, and also looked back at the Dragon Cavalry Fighters in the sky, "These mercenaries are like hyenas, with noses too keen; they even managed to track us here."

She lowered her head to look at Vili beside her, "We’ve been bitten and held too long. That B-level from the Mercenary Corps has likely already caught up. We need to leave immediately."

Her gaze swept over the surrounding shacks, and in the gaps of those rusty hovels, pairs of dry eyes hid in the darkness, watching them.

The loose military coat was draped over the charred body of a man.

The man raised his hand and took a loose knit cap, covering his partially bald and singed hair,

"Damn it, don’t let me find out who fired that shot."

"Captain, your cigar."

A mercenary beside him wiped the sweat from his forehead and passed a lit cigar to the man.

The man’s charred lips parted, revealing pearly white teeth; he took the cigar, glanced at the mercenary,

"Where are those two girls?"

"Captain, they’ve been sealed in the encirclement by the seaside, but that redhead is a bit strong."

The nearby mercenary hurriedly spoke, lifting his wrist to display a holographic map.

On the map, two red dots were moving rapidly towards the sea, while a dense cluster of lights was swiftly closing in.

The man removed the cigar, exhaled a puff of smoke, and walked forward slowly, "Storm Sea is a dead end; they can’t escape."

Two sparks flew from the tip of the cigar, blending into the densely falling snow.

The splendid golden city blocked the lightning and the sea, its hazy light shining atop the mountains of flesh of huge monsters.

The scattering raindrops hit the young man’s red scarf as he raised his head, looking at the hazy golden radiance in front of him.

The vast and magnificent city stood before him, but as his gaze fell upon it, it seemed to only pass through a patch of hazy golden light.

"How should we get in?"

Captain Nisen stood beside the youth, staring at the golden city.

He reached out his hand, trying to touch the city, but it only passed through a patch of hazy light and shadow.

That city appeared to be in reality, yet also seemed to exist in illusion.

The youth lowered his head and opened his left hand, gazing at the golden pin wrapped in hazy glow.

Then he lifted his hand and took out the finger bone fossil that he always carried in his pocket.

The flowing golden radiance etched fine lines upon this finger bone fossil.

After he shouted "Atmolaya," the finger bone fossil seemed to undergo some change after coming into contact with the contamination of the Eternal Radiance.

An inexplicable attraction emanated from the golden brooch, drawing the finger bone fossil toward it.

The youth released his grip, allowing the golden brooch and the finger bone fossil to come closer.

Both these items had been obtained from Bright, the leader of the Ancient Teachings.

The golden brooch itself contained a power related to the Eternal Radiance, while the finger bone fossil, which seemed to have been modified by Bright, was engraved with array lines and served as the ’Knocking Stone’ that could open any door.

The finger bone fossil, hovering in the air, slowly approached the golden brooch and then, amidst a hazy glow, ’latched’ onto it.

One after another, fine lines lit up on the back of the golden brooch, connecting with the lines on the finger bone fossil to form one complete whole.

The finger bone fossil was set into the inside of the golden brooch, becoming the brooch’s own ’clasp’.

He Ao reached out to grasp this new ’brooch’ and clipped it onto his scarf.

A faint, hazy glow emanated from the brooch, engulfing his body in a layer of fine film.

Then he took a step forward, marching into the pitch-black void undulating beneath the waves.

Thunder roared overhead, and the shining glow spread from behind him all the way above the golden giant city.

His footsteps slowly fell, touching solid ground.

Buildings radiating golden light appeared within his field of view.

He turned to look back.

The misty golden radiance concealed what was behind him, and beyond this golden glow, the flickering thunderous Storm Sea could be indistinctly seen.

Just as he had guessed, Bright had carried with him the ’key’ to entering the true Eternal Divine Nation.

The blood-red Paper Butterfly perched on He Ao’s shoulder flapped its wings, its dark silhouette gathering beside him.

"These buildings, they look like Wint City from over twenty years ago,"

Nisen looked up at the surrounding golden buildings and spoke with some emotion, "Back then, there was no United Industries,"

He turned to He Ao, "What should we do next?"

He Ao looked up ahead and began walking slowly, "Head for the square from over twenty years ago."

In the silent golden city, only the sound of their unhurried footsteps echoed, reverberating between the somewhat decrepit streets.

In this city from over twenty years ago, some things seemed to have changed from present-day Wint City, yet some things seemed unchanged.

Decrepit shanties were still scattered at the city’s edge, and the old buildings, obscured by the years, just looked somewhat younger.

There weren’t as many streets, but they were still in disrepair.

Soon, the two arrived in front of a vast square. It was the heart of Wint City from over twenty years ago, now demolished. Where this square once stood, a towering United Industries building now rises in today’s Wint City.

But at this moment, on the square in this golden city, there was a grid drawn upon the ground, with dense chairs set up, as if some celebration was being prepared.

The youth’s silhouette followed a path outlined by lines on the square, advancing slowly.

He first passed grids that seemed to be standing areas, then cheap plastic stools, followed by slightly sturdier plastic chairs, then metal chairs, and then solid wooden chairs, up to the high-backed armchairs decorated with real leather and stuffed with cotton batting.

The standing areas were the most numerous and widespread, but they were also on the outermost layer of the square. The more expensive the chairs, the closer to the center of the square they were.

Each area was clearly delineated, with narrow lines dividing these areas and chairs.

Though only a short step was needed to cross these lines, they were like deep gorges, clearly separating the different regions.

And at the very center of the square, where all areas converged, there was a temporarily constructed but beautifully made lectern.

Above the lectern hung an exquisite oil painting.

In the center of the painting, an elderly figure knelt on the floor, enveloped in bright, even radiance.

The old man in the painting seemed on the brink of death, but his skin was as moist as a baby’s, emitting a strangely sacred aura of life and death.

At this moment, an elder with graying hair stood motionless before the painting on the lectern, as though admiring the artwork, yet also as if entrapped in some ’deep slumber’.

Not until He Ao’s footsteps ceased did he slowly turn his head around and look at the boy’s tender face,

"I’ve imagined many scenarios of visitors arriving and guessed at many possible ’uninvited guests’ who might reach this place, but indeed, I didn’t expect you,"

The elderly’s voice carried a hint of a sigh, "But now that I think about it, it’s true that only you could find this location,"

With an undeniable surprise and curiosity, he examined the boy’s lean and pale face, "So, how did you discover all this?"

"It wasn’t difficult,"

He Ao shrugged lightly, "I simply returned to my own starting point,"

"The mercenary squad you secretly directed to ’retrieve’ my ’coffin’—wasn’t it because of this?

"You tampered with their ship’s system, ostensibly to send them on a mission, but in reality, to ensure they couldn’t return, doomed to perish in the Storm Sea, forever burying the ’truth’ they had ’approached.’"

The mercenary squad that came to ’salvage’ He Ao, including that White Robe Priest, were once members of the same mining team; they once ventured deep into the Storm Sea in search of new mineral deposits.

And the direction in which ’Yiluo’s’ nutrient pod had drifted was precisely where they had last mined deep in the Storm Sea.

Because it was a route they had ’once’ searched, they naturally received the task to pursue Yiluo.

And when they went to ’salvage the prey’ with great joy, they did not realize that they were the ’prey’ sent out.

The damaged navigation and the B-level sea monster ’coincidentally’ appearing beneath their ship had already sealed their fate.

In the original ’plan,’ presumably, they should have sunk into the raging Storm Sea along with ’Yiluo.’

Of course, in fact, they did sink, except for the ’informant’ lying in the small coffin, who was least likely to come back alive, came back alive.

A mercenary squad disappearing forever in the Storm Sea is actually a reasonable event, but to specifically dispatch a squad for a vegetative child, even ’coincidentally’ encountering a B-level sea monster nearby and just so happening to have a navigation failure,

All these coincidences stacked upon one another seem not so ’coincidental’ anymore.

Before He Ao opened his eyes, no one would have realized the potential of the vegetative child lying in the coffin, even if he might have carried a C-level ’Secret Watcher.’

In the dangerous Storm Sea, there were far too many dangers.

And to deal with a C-level entity, sending a mercenary squad with combat power barely approaching C-level was obviously unreasonable.

Unless the mercenary squad itself was not the hunter, but the ’prey.’

Of course, all this was He Ao’s retrospective analysis, before he had contact with Alice, he didn’t even believe that the Eternal Divine Nation might have a ’carrier’ in reality.

But the existence of Alice made him realize a problem, that if the Eternal Divine Nation wanted to reduce its own consumption and satisfy the design needs of Eternal Secret Teachings, having its core part in the real world was the best choice.

And the first time He Ao entered the field of view of Truth, he actually saw the light of the Eternal Divine Nation in a very short time.

For a long time, he had thought that the light was within Wint City.

At first, he actually thought that the ’entity’ of the Eternal Divine Nation was in Novite District.

But when he was scouting, he unexpectedly discovered that in the field of view of Truth he could only see a faint ’light’ in Novite District.

Completely different from the light he ’saw’ outside the city initially, even if that light disappeared completely after he saw it that one time.

At that moment, he realized the light he had seen might not be within the ’city,’ but behind the city.

At that time, he just felt there was something hidden behind the dense patterns of Wint City, longing to look deeper.

And then directly came into contact with the unmasked presence of the ’Eternal Divine Nation.’

This could also explain why, after he had seen it that one time, he could never find that light again in Wint City.

Part of the reason lies in the Eternal Divine Nation deliberately concealing its existence after being stimulated, and another part is that the Eternal Divine Nation’s entity was actually never in Wint City.

After figuring this out, He Ao compared the position he was in at the time, the rough direction of his gaze, and the direction from which Yiluo had initially drifted at sea obtained from the church, and he was startled to discover that although these two directions deviated slightly, they essentially pointed to the same sea area.

And without that initial drifting course, He Ao would have had trouble finding the Eternal Divine Nation just from that ’fleeting glance.’

Because the direction under the field of view of Truth does not correspond perfectly with the actual direction, and the brilliance of the Eternal Divine Nation itself carried a certain misleading nature, making it almost impossible to pinpoint the location; otherwise, He Ao wouldn’t have mistakenly believed that the glow was hidden within Wint City to begin with.

Of course, even if he pieced together these clues, He Ao could not be absolutely certain that the Eternal Divine Nation really existed above the Storm Sea.

But he could access the field of view of Truth, and with it, could ascertain that Wint City had no actual entity of the Eternal Divine Nation.

After eliminating all other options, this seemingly impossible option became the most likely one.

Standing at the deepest parts of the golden city, He Ao could faintly hear the sound of waves on the Storm Sea.

Here, in fact, was not far from where he had first awakened.

After taking a detour, he found himself back at the starting point.

"Child, you are truly intelligent,"

Upon hearing He Ao’s words, the Elderly’s previously calm expression showed a flicker of emotion as he slowly spoke,

"It’s been only eight days since your parents’ death, and in that time, you have gained the support of the Twilight Society, the Security Union, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, destroyed my Bishop’s Cathedral and Sky Behemoth, killed my Archbishop, and forced me to partially destroy the Eternal Divine Nation in the Novite District to Seal you,"

He sighed deeply, "But even so, you still stand here right now."

He smiled slightly, whispering, "Honestly, I am a bit defeated and even a bit envious of your talent,"

The slight sea breeze blew into the city, lifting his white robe. He gazed at the young man before him, sweeping his eyes over the square,

"If I had met you over twenty years ago, I might have engaged in long discussions with you through the night—about the future, hope, ideals, eternity. We might have become the closest of friends."

"And then been mercilessly killed by you?"

He Ao glanced at the oil painting hanging in the sky, "Just like you killed Skone and Vincent?"

"You knew my true identity from the beginning?"

This time, surprise far greater than before registered on the Elderly’s face.

"It’s no more difficult than deducing the location of the Eternal Divine Nation,"

The young man glanced at the oil painting overhead,

"The most likely reason for Skone’s death is that someone took this ’Baptism’ painting and he discovered it. The people who could enter his study are limited,"

He lowered his head to look at the Elderly, his tone pausing briefly,

"At the time of his assassination, the City Defense Army’s B-level was intact, but they did not protect him. Yet the City Defense Army’s B-level is under your command."

His eyes swept over the seats in front of the podium,

"Skone trusted you greatly. By then, he had already lost control over United Industries. If it were anyone else who took the painting, it’s highly likely he would have turned to you first, then used the City Defense Army’s Strength to quickly regain control of the situation,"

He came back to reality, looking at the Elderly’s slightly stiff cheeks and white hair, "Unless, in this matter, he couldn’t rely on you."

"Did he leave any special clues for Vili?"

The Elderly asked in a low voice.

To unravel this underlying logic, one must know that the painting ’Baptism’ was missing, and under normal circumstances, no one would open that dangerously obvious glass cover high up on a shelf.

Unless they received some kind of ’reminder’.

"No, he didn’t leave anything,"

He Ao’s tone was cold, "Up until his death, he still trusted you, Mayor Endir."

The cold wind blew the young man’s red scarf, and also the Elderly’s white robe.

Blowing under the golden brilliance, it rustled.

The Elderly murmured softly, head bowed.

Then he looked up, his white hair scattering in the wind as he gazed toward the edge of the golden city,

"If you knew my identity from the start, then you should also know that ’rescuing me’ and getting the support of the City Defense Army was impossible from the outset. So your attempt to call for reinforcements over the high wall was futile too."

He turned back to the young man, "So, are you prepared to completely abandon the lives of everyone in Wint City, letting the ritual proceed, and came here with youthful bravado, ready to fight to the death?"

His tone paused and looked up to the sky, where a phantom image of a city was reflected in the clouds, the very Wint City of this moment,

"I can tell you clearly, the final orders have been given. If no one can stop it, the ritual will still proceed successfully in the end. You’ve found the Eternal Divine Nation, unveiled all the mysteries, and reached this place, but you can’t change anything.

"Even if you had found reinforcements, by now the City Defense Army has already sealed off the high walls. Without their support, your reinforcements can’t get past the high walls, so they’re of no help."

He lowered his head to look at the young man before him, "Unfortunately, you can’t change anything."

"There are no high walls above the Storm Sea."

The young man gazed at the Elderly before him.