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When Lin Ruo and the others arrived at the mountaintop, where flashes of light occasionally erupted, the Punishers and the troublesome cultists were locked in a fierce battle.
It was clear that although the Storm Bishop, who should have been the main force of the Church, had fallen, and the cultists might have received support from some descendants of Medici who wished to remain anonymous, making them somewhat difficult to deal with, the irritable old brothers were still far from being at a disadvantage; in fact, they were steadily advancing, gradually suppressing the cultists' arrogance.
This was not surprising, as although they had created some corrupted things by leveraging Bansy's unique properties and under the push of certain individuals, the cultists clearly had no High-Sequence genuine items.
They did change the weather, but they clearly didn't possess any Sequence 2 level Seals—otherwise, in the original plot, Miller, the fallen bishop, wouldn't have been forced to abandon others and flee—leading one to speculate that these cultists might have achieved this through some one-time Charm or special ritual magic.
Their opponents, however, were irritable old brothers, each more Apprentice at direct combat than the last, each with a Sealed Artifact. Although there were no Saint-level Sealed Artifacts, they were generally at the Sequence 5 and Sequence 6 levels, which, when combined, was enough for the cultists to handle.
"So what exactly did Medici's descendants want to do by cultivating these people? Did they originally intend to slowly infiltrate the Church of the Lord of Storms here and then cause a major incident, but it was exposed prematurely?"
Lin Ruo pondered, pinching his chin. Considering that even the Storm Bishop here had fallen, he felt this possibility was very high.
After all, if even one of the top leaders in a place has fallen, then it's probably only a matter of time before that place is completely overrun.
Moreover, in the original work, if Medici hadn't personally backstabbed Klein, giving him outside information, this incident wouldn't have implicated Medici's descendants at all. They could have continued to hide in the shadows, quietly spreading the faith of the God of Weather, waiting for the right moment to cause more trouble.
As for the major incident they wanted to cause… "Medici's descendants have lived here for many years and clearly couldn't have failed to notice Bansy's strangeness. Perhaps they, no, it should be said that the possibly existing Weather Warlock, already knew of the City of Calamity's existence…"
"The cultists can change the weather, and the result of changing the weather is that Bansy entered an inner world state. This is certainly not a coincidence. So…" Lin Ruo looked at the group of cultists not far away, a guess forming in his mind:
"Whether it's a sacrifice or a ritual, it's all for the City of Calamity…"
"Using Bansy, this special city, as a medium, it might really be possible for people to come into contact with the City of Calamity, or even establish a connection with it."
Indeed, all the Sephirot apart from Chaos Sea and Sefirah Castle were sealed by the Celestial Worthy in the Western Continent. However, just as branches of the River of Eternal Darkness appeared outside the Western Continent, and Bansy was deeply affected by the City of Calamity, the Celestial Worthy's Sealed Artifact is clearly no longer 100% airtight today.
In this situation, trying to establish a connection with the City of Calamity in reverse, using a city already affected by it, it's hard to say if it will succeed, but it is certainly a worthwhile idea to try.
Once successful, it would basically be equivalent to directly becoming a strong contender for a Great Old One from an ordinary Sequence 2, which would tempt anyone.
"But the City of Calamity isn't that easy to obtain. Medici now wishes he were as far away from this place as possible… Speaking of which, I'm suddenly so sleepy. Is it humanity's self-defense mechanism?" Lin Ruo thought this, and as sleepiness gradually crept in, his gaze towards the others became increasingly indifferent.
And although Lin Ruo thought a lot, in the real world, only one or two seconds had actually passed.
The Punishers and cultists, who had been fighting fiercely, now noticed the three unfamiliar people who had suddenly appeared. Both sides immediately took a moment to look at them, stopping their battle with great vigilance, clearly afraid that Lin Ruo and his two companions were from the enemy or a third party and would launch a sneak attack while they were fighting.
"Who are you?" asked the man who appeared to be the leader of the Punishers squad.
"Arthur Smith, tentatively considered a member of the Church of the Evernight Goddess." Lin Ruo gave a false name, his emotionless eyes sweeping over everyone present, finally landing on one of the cultists.
That person wore a deep blue bishop's robe embroidered with the Storm symbol. His face looked very pale, as if he had already sustained some injuries, and he appeared to be in his thirties or forties, watching him warily.
"Miller?"
When Lin Ruo asked this, he didn't expect an answer, but instead looked at the man who was likely the Punishers squad captain.
There was nothing in those beautiful blue eyes, like the sky, as if nothing in the world had ever entered his gaze, yet they inexplicably made people want to bow their heads in submission.
"Yes, he is Miller, a fallen one who betrayed God," the Punishers squad captain answered subconsciously, facing such a pair of eyes.
"Thank you," Lin Ruo thanked him politely. He silently murmured something, looked at Bishop Miller's location, and before the other party could react, he gently smiled.
At the same moment, silent silver-white lightning enveloped the area where Bishop Miller was, and also enveloped all the cultists except him.
This was Sequence 3 level lightning. For low and mid-sequence individuals, it was basically unavoidable; touching it meant instant death.
"Those who betray the storm are devoured by the storm. That's a decent ending."
Lin Ruo still smiled, faintly, with little emotion. He then looked at the clearly astonished Punishers squad captain and said, "You all handle the cleanup. As for my identity, you can confirm it with the Church of the Evernight Goddess."
The identity of Arthur Smith was on file with the Church of the Evernight Goddess.
"O-okay…" The Punishers squad captain nodded again, subconsciously.
Even with his irritable personality, in front of such lightning and such a person, he truly couldn't be irritable.
"Ugh, so sleepy…" Lin Ruo yawned lazily, no longer bothering with the others. He looked at Klein and Danitz and said, "I originally wanted to let you two have some involvement, but I'm too sleepy, so let's forget it this time."
"Now, are you coming back with me, or staying to help clean up the mess?"
Danitz, who had been utterly confused throughout, immediately brightened his eyes upon hearing this. He wanted to say something but clearly refrained, considering Klein next to him.
"Let's go back." Klein looked at Lin Ruo, whose condition seemed to be getting worse, with a slight worry, and said.
If the cultists hadn't been dealt with, Klein would definitely have stayed to help, but now that those troublesome guys had been basically instantly killed by Lin Ruo, there was no need for him to stay. It was more important to go back with Lin Ruo and keep an eye on him.
"Then I'll go back too," Danitz immediately said impatiently.
"Alright," Lin Ruo nodded.
And so, just as they had arrived, the three of them disappeared from the mountaintop, leaving the Punishers to look at each other and begin cleaning up the aftermath.
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