Chapter 41: The Recruited Helper
Mist drifted in the sky. Killer Bee lay sprawled on the building debris, staring up at the sky. There were speckles of blood on her face, and her arm had been bitten off. This was a one-sided battle, ending quickly.
"Ah, so even at the seventh rank... you can't just do whatever you want, huh."
Killer Bee murmured. She felt no resentment or anything like that. Being able to hold out this long was already exceeding her limits.
The sound of footsteps crunching on debris came closer. Killer Bee's body could no longer move. The last thing she saw was the tip of a long blade.
*Pfft.*
The long blade pierced Killer Bee's heart. Her fingers twitched slightly, then lost all strength.
Having eliminated the hidden danger of Killer Bee, Su Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. There was no Scarlet Card drop, which was normal since he had help. He stepped forward and walked towards the Redemption Church.
The intelligence Su Xiao had now was all pieced together through speculation and deduction. Whether it was accurate remained to be verified. If he hadn't stayed so long in Angor City and had gone straight to Doom Town, he would have had no way of knowing about the Archbishop's existence until the very end when the Archbishop revealed himself. Not a single chance.
That old bastard had far too much time. Almost everything related to him—names, deeds—had been gradually erased by him over the long years. It was completely impossible to know of his existence before arriving at Doom Town.
The Archbishop was fundamentally different from Gru. Gru was the type of decision-maker who would engage in long-range confrontations with his opponents, allowing enemies to know of his existence.
The Archbishop was different. This old bastard had patience that was infuriating. He planned his schemes with decades as a single small link. After all, he had all the time in the world. This made it extremely difficult to know of his existence before actually meeting him.
Walking among the dense buildings, Su Xiao had already begun preparing contingency plans in case he couldn't meet the Archbishop. His only advantage now was that the Archbishop didn't know everything. For example, the Dwarf Zis had disguised himself as a giant skeleton, successfully deceiving the Archbishop.
The vague information given by the Holy Maiden alone was far from enough to expose the Archbishop. The Holy Maiden couldn't directly reveal secrets. She used very subtle methods to let Su Xiao know that there was a person like the Archbishop within the Redemption Church.
When Su Xiao used the Redemption Stone Tablet to awaken the Holy Maiden, the first thing she did wasn't to talk to Su Xiao or look confused. After waking up, she first knelt before the stone pillar in the church and began murmuring prayers. The content was completely unremarkable.
'May the Holy God be with us, may the Archbishop be with us, may the Immortal be with us...'
It was a long prayer. At the time, Su Xiao only memorized it out of habit, without any suspicion. There was nothing to suspect.
Later, when checking the Holy Maiden's information, Su Xiao repeatedly saw the word 'Baptism.' All three of the Holy Maiden's abilities were related to Baptism—either sealed by it or bestowed by it.
The information about 'Baptism' was something people in this world couldn't possibly know. They didn't have detection-type equipment.
Who was qualified to perform Baptism on others? A nun certainly wasn't. A priestess was unclear. The Archbishop definitely had the authority to perform Baptism. This was Su Xiao's first key clue. At that time, he only vaguely felt something was wrong, but it was just a feeling.
Through the Holy Maiden, Su Xiao learned that the Ash Furnace was with the Dwarf Zis. His first thought was to go seize the Ash Furnace and Zis's metal bracelet. At that time, he already had one foot in the Archbishop's trap.
During the fight with Zis, Zis's words 'Church's lackey' made Su Xiao think a lot. Not to confirm that the Archbishop was the creator of everything, but to find a way to 'shift the blame.'
The Dwarf Zis must have known something. If they continued fighting, it was unknown who would win. Even if Su Xiao won, Zis was definitely a tough nut who wouldn't reveal any information before dying.
'The Archbishop's Terrifying Plan' was born from this. Based on all the clues he knew, Su Xiao connected them and dumped all the 'black pots' onto the Archbishop. This wasn't random fabrication, but a summary based on known circumstances.
As for whether these things were actually orchestrated by the Archbishop, Su Xiao was only speculating. Besides, did it really matter whether these things were created by the Archbishop? Not at all. As long as the Dwarf Zis believed part of it, Su Xiao's plan would succeed.
Su Xiao took the Dwarf Zis to find the Wrathful Orphan, ostensibly to find a helper to deal with the Archbishop together. In reality, he had no idea how strong the Archbishop was. He couldn't see the future. At that time, he was trying his best to make the Archbishop sound terrifying. Su Xiao's real goal was to bring Zis along to fight the boss. He felt he couldn't handle the Wrathful Orphan alone and needed a helper.
If the Wrathful Orphan refused to cooperate, that would be great. They would just go all out. This would be the best case scenario, indicating that Su Xiao's speculation had a huge deviation and the Archbishop was innocently taking the blame. At that point, it wouldn't be a question of whether Zis wanted to fight. Su Xiao had many ways to make Zis join him against the Wrathful Orphan.
But if the Wrathful Orphan was willing to cooperate, then the problem was huge. It meant the Archbishop really was the final big boss. The Wrathful Orphan itself also had issues. It wanted to use this opportunity to eliminate the Archbishop.
The Holy Relic of the Wrathful Orphan's biological mother? Su Xiao had picked that up along the way. He didn't believe his luck was that good. Using the excuse of letting water flow, he walked away and casually picked up a skeleton that happened to be the Wrathful Orphan's mother's remains. That was impossible.
That skeleton wasn't the Holy Relic of the Wrathful Orphan's mother at all. There was no such coincidence in the world. The Wrathful Orphan was just finding a way to save face, thereby reaching cooperation with Su Xiao and Zis.
This meant the Archbishop really was the final big boss. As for how he used O'Kaz, Gru, and others, as well as Azaz's Path of Redemption, all of this was narrated by Su Xiao and the Dwarf Zis. From the Wrathful Orphan's reaction, the general direction of the speculation was correct. As for the details' deviation, as mentioned before, as long as the Dwarf Zis believed part of it, Su Xiao's plan was successful.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao quickened his pace. After entering the Redemption Church, the result would appear. It would be either four against one (Su Xiao's team vs. Zis, reason: Su Xiao's speculation was wrong), or five against one (Su Xiao's team + Zis vs. Wrathful Orphan, reason: Su Xiao's speculation was half correct), or six against one (Su Xiao's team + Zis + Wrathful Orphan vs. Archbishop, reason: Su Xiao's speculation was over 90% correct).
Traveling swiftly, Su Xiao arrived before the Redemption Church's main gate. The Wrathful Orphan beside him let out a low roar. It couldn't enter the Redemption Church.
"Smash the stone pillar. It no longer needs to exist."
The Dwarf Zis strode into the church. Seeing him approach, the Holy Maiden standing under the stone pillar slightly bowed, her expression not changing much.
The Dwarf Zis came to the stone pillar. Seeing the name of the Immortal on it, he clenched his fist and swung it sideways at the pillar.
*Smack!*
Su Xiao grabbed the Dwarf Zis's arm. A small wave of air spread. The Dwarf Zis turned his head to look at Su Xiao, his eyes filled with confusion, disbelief, and even a bit of bewilderment. In that instant, he understood everything.
"You... you damn bastard."
The Dwarf Zis was even stuttering a bit. He was both angry and somewhat joyful.
Angry because Su Xiao had been tricking him earlier. Whether the Archbishop was the planner of everything was still uncertain. Joyful because if the Archbishop wasn't the planner, the Blacksmith would most likely be fine. The name of the Blacksmith was on the God-Forsaken Pillar. As long as the Blacksmith was inside the Redemption Church, the erosion by the Ancient God's power would be very slow.
"Open the Crystal Wall first."
A smile appeared on Su Xiao's face. Zis didn't immediately turn hostile, which was the most ideal result.
"Hmph."
The Dwarf Zis shook off his arm and strode towards the Crystal Wall. He came before the Crystal Wall, rolled up his right sleeve, revealing a metal ring embedded in his right wrist.
Zis pressed his hand against the Crystal Wall. Large cracks appeared on the pure black wall, and it shattered with a *crack*.
A corridor over ten meters wide appeared ahead. On the left side of the corridor were a smelting furnace, a forging anvil, and other items.
*Clang, clang, clang~*
The sound of forging came. The molten iron in the smelting furnace was red-hot. A sturdy figure stood before the forging anvil, hammering a red-hot iron bar. Sparks flew everywhere. It was the Blacksmith.
The Blacksmith had a thick beard. Due to long hours near the smelting furnace, his skin was dark with a reddish tint, and his arms were exceptionally thick.
"Blacksmith, stop fiddling with your scrap metal."
Zis's pace wasn't too fast, but it was somewhat hurried. Seeing an old friend after so long, it was inevitable that he was emotionally stirred.
Hearing Zis's voice, the Blacksmith looked up, his eyes meeting Zis's. Seeing the Blacksmith's eyes, Zis was struck as if by lightning, abruptly stopping in his tracks.
"You damn bastard... you really... 'guessed right,' you bastard!"
Zis stepped back step by step, because the Blacksmith's eyes were very cloudy, and the skin on his face was cracked, with faint sparks flickering inside.
"You opened the Crystal Wall. Since you've passed the trial, go see the Archbishop. He's waiting for someone like you. My time is running out. The time I can stay conscious is also short."
After saying this, the Blacksmith continued forging. This was an inducement. The second Crystal Wall couldn't be opened with Zis's bracelet. It needed to be opened with the heart of the Wrathful Orphan after killing it.
Of course, this might just be a pretext. Killing the Wrathful Orphan was the key. Bringing the heart wasn't necessary. At that point, the Archbishop would open the Crystal Wall from the inside.
The Blacksmith was here for only two reasons: to provide the information that killing the Wrathful Orphan would open the second Crystal Wall, and to use the Ash Furnace to forge weapons for the visitor.
Seeing the Blacksmith's wooden expression, Zis's lips trembled under his mask. He took a deep breath, and his gaze returned to normal.
"Archbishop, I'll dig up your pig-mother!!"
Zis cursed loudly, black smoke rising from his body.
*Boom!*
A loud noise came from behind Zis. Fragments of the stone pillar flew everywhere. Su Xiao stood beside the remaining stump of the pillar, the crystal layer slowly peeling off his forearm.
With a *whoosh*, the Wrathful Orphan rushed into the church, lunging to bite the Holy Maiden's head.
*Clang.*
A flash of blade light. The Wrathful Orphan sidestepped back, its maddened eyes fixed on Su Xiao.
"Deal with the Archbishop first."
The Holy Maiden was one of the people the Wrathful Orphan wanted to kill. Su Xiao naturally wouldn't let it have its way. The Wrathful Orphan was temporarily an ally. After the Archbishop died, the Wrathful Orphan would become the enemy.