Chapter 11: The Darkest Place
The sky was a mass of darkness. Ever since the Wadi Estate had undergone its aberration, the entire North District had remained this gloomy and oppressive, the atmosphere exuding an indescribable strangeness.
On the half-damaged clock tower, Su Xiao had already selected his targets. All the Apollos were being thrown toward the backyard of the Wadi Estate. As for the reason, the goat-headed demon's provocation only played a very small part.
Regardless, Su Xiao would not directly bomb the ancient castle of the Wadi Estate. Leveling it to the ground was for convenience. No matter what, the Sanctuary Key was inside the ancient castle. If the Sanctuary Key were destroyed, Su Xiao's promotion mission would immediately fail.
Even so, Su Xiao still had no intention of entering that ancient castle. He always had a feeling that this damned place was not to be entered. The current head of the Wadi family, Wadi Lifak, had never shown himself. According to intelligence from Madam Smoke, this guy wasn't dead but was inside the ancient castle.
For this reason, Su Xiao felt that the ancient castle was a trap set by Wadi Lifak. Of course, he wasn't the only one who guessed this; Duke's side had clearly figured it out as well.
From the beginning of the incident to now, Duke's side had been all thunder and no rain. It gave the impression that the "Rage Hammer Organization" had entered the Wadi Estate multiple times.
This was Duke's brilliance. Whenever something happened within the High Wall City, the "Rage Hammer Organization" would definitely charge to the front and do a lot of things, but they would always be the ones who took the least beating and appeared to outsiders as the most hardworking.
Conversely, Madam Smoke's Silver Armored Brigade did the most work, took the worst beatings, and gained the least fame. No wonder Madam Smoke was so hostile toward Duke.
At this point, whether Wadi Lifak was hiding in the ancient castle was no longer important. Su Xiao looked down at an old man dressed in a white robe below.
This man wore a white robe, with long, pale white hair and a long, black beard. His eye sockets were dark and slightly sunken, making him seem difficult to get along with. The first glance at him evoked a sense of fear, confirming that this was a very stern old man.
This man was the Grand Sage of the Healing Church's Academic Faction, Tuerz. He had profound expertise in soul studies, theology, and stigma studies, essentially an encyclopedia of soul power and stigma power.
The entire Academic Faction, which was the Stigma Academy, had a simple hierarchy: apprentices, students, mentors, five sages, and at the top, the Grand Sage.
As for Xiusi and Lisi, they were former students of the Academic Faction. After advancing from apprentices to students, they had graduated.
Now, seeing the Grand Sage Tuerz, both Xiusi and Lisi felt an instinctive guilt. It felt like just after graduating, they had run into the school principal, and this principal had a bad relationship with their current boss.
The Grand Sage Tuerz had come this time to ensure the barrier was foolproof. His strained relationship with Su Xiao was another matter; for now, they had to work together to deal with the Wadi Estate.
"Grand Sage, the barrier you guys set up better be sturdy."
Baha spoke, trying to lighten the mood. Since they were about to cooperate, there was no need to make things too tense.
The Grand Sage Tuerz ignored Baha and led his people toward the barrier, causing Baha to exclaim, "What the hell."
"We're all on the same side. Don't sweat the small stuff."
A middle-aged man in a deep red robe approached. His face was gentle, and his voice was as soothing as a spring breeze. This was Bishop Ansi, a high-ranking member of the Healing Church.
Although the Workshop, Academic Faction, and Healing Institute were all subordinate departments of the Healing Church, Su Xiao, Bishop Ansi, and Grand Sage Tuerz were on equal footing, none having authority over the others.
Bishop Ansi arrived at the half-damaged clock tower where Su Xiao was and said, "White Night, I have some bad news for you."
"Oh?"
"A sage from the Academic Faction prophesied that you are the Chosen One. Just now, Grand Sage Tuerz personally went to the cathedral, wanting to see the Archbishop and the High Priest, but the Archbishop didn't meet with him."
Bishop Ansi said this with a smile. He lightly elbowed Su Xiao and said, "I support you. I trust your side. I'll go check on the barrier."
Leaving these words, Bishop Ansi departed with a smile.
Among the high-ranking members of the Healing Church, Bishop Ansi was known as a good-natured old man. But don't trust him too much. Su Xiao could be sure that his relationship with the Academic Faction was also good.
The high-ranking members of the Healing Church were divided into three categories: