Chapter 46: Convergence
The Storm Flame Dragon flew over the Ghost City, seemingly heading toward their temporary base camp, but in reality, it was more like circling. Su Xiao's true goal was a surprise attack on the Dark God Cult's main stronghold, the Gloomy Grand Cathedral.
Directly attacking the Gloomy Grand Cathedral was an extremely unwise choice. Not only had the Dark God Cult entrenched itself in Ghost City for many years, with deep-rooted influence, but if the Alliance army truly launched an assault on Ghost City, no one knew what desperate measures the cornered Dark God Cult would take.
Don't forget, during the thousand-year bloody war between the Alliance and the Empire, members of the Dark God Cult were the main force on both sides. These dark-faith fanatics would assist whichever side offered them sufficient benefits.
Mid-level Dark Cultists could summon bizarre alien creatures, while the strong could summon Abyss Spawn on the battlefield. Even ordinary Abyss Spawn were extremely dangerous.
The Dark God Cult had summoned two "Indestructible Abyss Spawn" into this world. Su Xiao had killed one, and the whereabouts of the other remained unknown.
No one knew whether the Dark God Cult had extreme measures to annihilate enemies alongside themselves, which was why, over the years, neither the Alliance nor the Northern Empire dared to provoke this malignant tumor in Ghost City.
The reason the Alliance's grand councilors so strongly supported Su Xiao's campaign against Ghost City this time was twofold: Su Xiao had entered Ghost City as a small team, and the grand councilors vaguely sensed that the Dark God Cult was plotting something dangerous.
Since the army approach was unfeasible, Su Xiao decided to adopt another strategy. His target wasn't the entire Dark God Cult, but only the Abyss Leader, Sirvis.
First, kill the Abyss Leader, Sirvis. By probing his soul memories, he could learn the traitor's location and the position of the Abyss Gate, thereby weakening the traitor as much as possible.
Su Xiao wouldn't be foolish enough to come to Ghost City and play a game of chess with the Dark God Cult. This was their lair, developed over centuries. How could he, a newcomer, outmaneuver such a local power? The only reason they hadn't openly clashed with him was their concern about the approaching Alliance army.
Su Xiao had always been self-aware. So, to deal with the Abyss Leader, Sirvis, he devised a simple yet direct plan. Especially after the competition was certified by the Void Tree, this straightforward plan became even more effective.
That plan was: first, create the impression of a long-term confrontation with the Abyss Leader, Sirvis, in Ghost City. In layman's terms, prepare to play a game of chess with Sirvis. At this point, Su Xiao and Sirvis were seated on opposite sides of the board.
This game seemed to favor Su Xiao heavily, but upon careful assessment, he was bound to lose. That didn't matter, though. Su Xiao's plan cared nothing about winning or losing this game. What he intended was that when everyone, including the Abyss Leader, Sirvis, was focused on the chessboard, he would lift the board and smash it into Sirvis's face. Then, amidst the shocked gazes of the crowd, he would leap over the chess table and beat the Abyss Leader, Sirvis, to a pulp.
For example, the plan to play chess with the Abyss Leader, Sirvis, was a tactic Su Xiao used at the Seventh and Eighth Ranks. Now that he had advanced to the Ninth Rank, his plans naturally returned to simplicity. Though simple, they were effective.
Currently, all factions in Ghost City had their eyes fixed on the "Danger Zone: Family Mansion." The Dark God Cult had even sent two bishops to the High Wall as representatives of the Dark faction, showing how much they valued this competition.
If Su Xiao wasn't mistaken, the Abyss Leader, Sirvis, had a strong desire for the "Primordial Fragment." Yet today, the man hadn't shown up, especially during the phase when the Alliance and Dark factions were competing. He chose to stay hidden.
Did this mean that the Abyss Leader, Sirvis, was also using this competition to divert everyone's attention while he accomplished something else?
The Storm Flame Dragon circled in the sky. Su Xiao, who had been meditating, received a message from Bubu Wang. Two hours ago, Bubu Wang, under the cover of Kaiser, had infiltrated the Gloomy Grand Cathedral by blending into the environment. Now, Bubu Wang confirmed one thing: the Abyss Leader, Sirvis, was in the underground palace beneath the cathedral. Moreover, the corridor leading to the underground palace was filled with cathedral knights.
These four-meter-tall, heavily armored knights nearly packed the dozens-of-meters-long corridor. Bubu Wang could blend into the environment, but against such dense guards, it had no good solution.
Su Xiao contacted Kaiser through the team channel. Kaiser, who had arrived a few days earlier, had already become a logistics manager at the Gloomy Grand Cathedral. One of Kaiser's three divine artifacts, the [Deceiver's Headwrap], was truly formidable. Originally, this item wasn't so invincible, but with the enhancement of the Abyssal Jar and the secondary influence of Kaiser's abilities, the [Deceiver's Headwrap] had gained the powerful effect of replacing existence.
The effect was indeed powerful, but the restrictions were absurdly numerous. For example, it couldn't replace someone too strong, nor someone with too high status or power. In each world, there was a usage limit. If it could be used three times in this world, it absolutely couldn't be used a fourth time, no matter the method or means.
The [Deceiver's Headwrap] had only one effect: replacing another's existence. Yet it had 162 restrictions. Kaiser's strength lay in his ability to maximize its effect despite so many limitations. The true power of Kaiser's three divine artifacts wasn't the artifacts themselves, but Kaiser.
Due to the staggering number of restrictions on the [Deceiver's Headwrap], the characters Kaiser replaced were always quartermasters or logistics officers. These roles generally had low strength and rank but could access large amounts of resources.
Confirming that Kaiser was ready, Su Xiao contacted Baha and instructed him, who was at the temporary base camp, to lead the others toward the Gloomy Grand Cathedral.
Su Xiao controlled the Storm Flame Dragon, Dis. Dis spread its dragon wings, carved an arc through the high sky, and then broke the sound barrier with a thunderous roar, flying at full speed toward the Gloomy Grand Cathedral.
Almost as Dis changed direction, the Dark God Cult members monitoring Su Xiao's movements immediately relayed the news back to the Gloomy Grand Cathedral.
Boom!
Dis tore through layers of air currents and stopped three kilometers above the Gloomy Grand Cathedral. Su Xiao looked down at the cathedral. Figures stood on the surrounding ruins. After being dealt with once by him in dragon knight form, the Dark God Cult was now extremely vigilant.
"Dean White Night, what urgent matter brings you here in such a hurry?"
The man at the front of the Dark God Cult members spoke. He seemed like a soul body but had a somewhat tangible feel. This was the Ghost Bishop of the Dark God Cult.
The Ghost Bishop's gaze was hostile. He was ready to act at any moment. Not only did they outnumber Su Xiao, but this was the front of their lair, the Gloomy Grand Cathedral. Here, the Ghost Bishop was confident he could make this Law Destroyer regret coming.
Su Xiao stood up from the dragon's back, looking down at the Ghost Bishop below. Rarely speaking before battle, he said:
"Undead creature, can you run fast?"
Hearing this, the Ghost Bishop's eye flames condensed. He sneered, "What nonsense are you talking..."
Before the Ghost Bishop could finish, he suddenly felt a hair-raising fluctuation from the Gloomy Grand Cathedral behind him. It felt as if a sun was about to explode inside the cathedral.
Why was this happening? Because at that moment, Kaiser was in the logistics office on the second floor of the Gloomy Grand Cathedral, activating a Blazing Sun Fury: Apollo.
This Blazing Sun Fury: Apollo was extremely special. It was an Apollo that had been doubly enhanced by Kaiser's abilities and the Abyssal Jar.
Apollo had the following levels: