A man among dragons, building a mysterious ancient church.

Chapter 278 Since things have come to this, let's eat first.
"Where's Nono?!" Caesar, who had just taken a break to count the men, discovered that the red-haired girl he had been longing for was missing from the group.

Caesar was anxious and was just about to search for Nono when the surrounding blood vessels, regardless of his urgency, greedily wrapped around him, trying to extract his nutrients. Caesar, in his anger, slashed them to pieces.

As if that wasn't enough, Caesar, still furious, repeatedly swung his sword, quickly tearing apart the surrounding blood vessels to vent his anxiety and rage.

As the student council members listened to Caesar's question, they looked around repeatedly, guessing that Chen Motong had accidentally gotten separated from them while retreating into the woods.

This is terrible!

The student council members following Caesar sensed something was wrong; they all knew that their leader, Caesar, liked Chen Motong and was pursuing her.

Caesar has never been discreet or hidden his feelings, so everyone knows what Caesar is thinking. Chen Motong got separated from everyone in such a dangerous place, so what will Caesar do?
Would she abandon them all for the sake of a beauty? Would she go to find Chen Motong alone? What would happen to them then?
With the Black King in front of them, it was impossible not to be afraid. They were also inspired by Caesar and believed that this monarch-like leader could lead them to victory, so they suppressed their fear and followed.

If Caesar leaves because of Chen Motong, the morale of the student council will likely collapse in an instant.

"What?" Lu Mingfei belatedly realized, casually wiping the fine sweat from his forehead, and shook his head from side to side: "Senior Sister Nuonuo is gone?"

Upon seeing this, Lu Mingfei's heart sank. Not only was Senior Sister Nuonuo gone, but Senior Brother Chu Zihang, Senior Sister Su Qian, and even the most familiar Senior Brother Finger, who had been following nearby, were also nowhere to be seen.

Only the Kassel student union team remained nearby.

Even Chu Zihang's Lionheart Society squad was nowhere to be seen.

"Zero! Have you seen Senior Sister Nono?" Lu Mingfei was a little flustered and could only ask Renata, who was always with him.

Renata maintained her expressionless demeanor in front of others, remaining silent. She simply raised her left hand and pointed to the northwest, the direction Chen Motong had taken when he left.

"That's great!" Lu Mingfei shouted excitedly and quickly went to find Caesar to report the good news.

The Time Worm's clone wouldn't tell Lu Mingfei, Chen Motong, and the others; it's likely they have another plan.

When the people of Kassel were fighting the Fishbone, the members of the Old Church were always within the range of Fingel's Secret Technique - Telepathy, and could secretly contact each other in front of everyone.

After learning that Chu Zihang had significantly absorbed the Schemer's Potion thanks to the church's plan, Chen Motong casually remarked, "Why not try advancing your cultivation level here?"

Chu Zihang originally planned to be promoted during this mission, but his original plan was to take it slow and rely on playing the role for a long time to digest the schemer on Bello Island.

Surprisingly, thanks to the Necromancer's Gloves and the fact that the Church of the Old Ones had gone a bit too far this time, the Schemer's Potion was almost completely digested within half an hour of landing on the island.

There was no need to wait any longer. Chu Zihang quickly made up his mind. In order to break through, to advance, and to obtain enough power to defeat Odin and rescue his father, he could only ask Caesar to make do for now.

The reason for choosing Caesar is quite simple.

The ritual for advancing a schemer to Sequence 5, the Reaper, is quite complex. It requires planning a conspiracy, capturing a being of higher rank, explaining the conspiracy to that being, and finally taking a potion.

They knew that there were only a few people whose status was higher than Chu Zihang's, so they couldn't possibly be plotting against Chen Motong and Finger, could they?
That means it can only be Caesar or Lu Mingfei. Renata just sent them a signal, indicating that the mysterious entity is keeping a close eye on Lu Mingfei.

If they were to attack Lu Mingfei, it could attract the attention of a mysterious entity, causing the advancement ceremony to fail. Fingel didn't even dare to use his secret technique, telepathy, to connect with Rena Tower, for fear that the mysterious entity would discover it.

After careful consideration, only Caesar remained as a viable option.

With a high enough position and limited ability, he can be considered the most suitable target.

Susie had suggested to Chu Zihang several times that he choose Caesar as his target.

After all, the Reaper promotion ceremony made Susie very worried that Chu Zihang would have a mishap during his promotion. This promotion ceremony seemed to have the drawback of villains easily dying from talking too much.

Susie felt that if they chose Caesar, no matter how much Chu Zihang talked, he wouldn't make a mistake. This was also for Chu Zihang's sake.

Of course, Susie also found it hard to imagine that Chu Zihang, who was usually taciturn, would talk incessantly about the conspiracy.

Chu Zihang apologized to Caesar in his heart, deciding to make it up to him later: "I need everyone's help for this promotion."

Susie didn't need to say anything more, and Fingel had no objections either. He and Chu Zihang both wanted to seek revenge on Odin, and Chu Zihang's promotion was exactly what Fingel wanted to see: "No problem."

"But afterwards, could I borrow the [Necromancer's Gloves] to study it? Don't worry, Eva has already been resurrected. I'm not interested in the ability to manipulate corpses; I'm more curious about its enslavement spell."

“In the mysticism, there are ways to control the souls of the dead and natural spirits. I should have thought of this sooner. The so-called natural spirits may very well refer to the spirit of words formed by elements.”

Chu Zihang readily agreed and also took a sip of the vitality potion prepared by Asou Makoto to counteract the negative effects of the gloves.

Just now, while manipulating the corpse, he felt that some of his internal organs were gradually turning into a corpse. Fortunately, he had Makoto Aso's medicine, which could restore this part of his life force.

When it came to Chen Motong, she felt a little guilty towards Caesar, but Chu Zihang was a church partner and someone Susie liked, and Chen Motong claimed to be the bishop of the Kassel diocese, so she had to help him both publicly and privately. "Okay, okay, I'll help. I'll treat Caesar to a few more meals afterwards."

Thus, the group quickly devised a plan. Chen Motong deliberately pretended to be forced to leave Caesar's student council team during the retreat, claiming that he was being pressured by the fish bones and bloodstains.

And he took the opportunity to give Renata a hand gesture.

Even if the mysterious being is watching Lu Mingfei through the Renata, and also sees Chen Motong's gesture, there is no need to worry.

They speculated that the mysterious entity was only paying attention to Lu Mingfei and not Caesar. Even if it saw Chen Motong's gesture, it would at most assume that Chen Motong was asking Renata for help.

"Everyone!"

Having obtained a clue about Nono from Lu Mingfei, Caesar clapped his hands, attracting the attention of all the student council members. The Time Worm parasitizing Renata also looked at Caesar.

"I know what you are worried about, but please rest assured, I will never abandon anyone!"

“We are a whole, and everyone is a partner to whom I can entrust my back. Not just Chen Motong, but if any partner goes missing, I will do my best to find and rescue them.”

"So, I would like to ask everyone to hold on here for half an hour! Just half an hour, and I will find Chen Motong and bring her back safely."

"Please believe me, everyone. Even if I can't find Chen Motong, I will definitely return within half an hour and lead everyone to seize the final victory on this Bello Island!"

Caesar's words were resounding, assuring everyone that he would only be gone for half an hour. This not only dispelled the student council members' previous concerns but also strengthened their sense of unity by saying that he would search for anyone who got lost.

Everyone stood there for a while, and all the bloodstains around had been cleaned up. This place was safe for the time being, and half an hour was a perfectly acceptable wait.

The student council members, whose morale was initially wavering, were calmed down by Caesar's few words, leaving Lu Mingfei, who was to Caesar's right, with mixed feelings. "The boss is indeed the boss," he thought. "He's really amazing."

Percy, standing to Caesar's left, nodded in agreement: "Young Master Caesar has always been the best ruler, just like the great Julius Caesar in history."

"Percy, enough talk, keep up." Caesar took a few steps, then turned back solemnly to look at Lu Mingfei: "You're also a member of the student council, so take good care of everyone."

Caesar felt reassured entrusting everyone to this S-class individual and took Percy to find Chen Motong.

Caesar also knew that Lu Mingfei had displayed great prowess in the battle of the capital. Although he didn't understand why Lu Mingfei was being low-key and showing weakness, he didn't care. As long as he had the strength to protect the student council members, that was enough.

"???" Lu Mingfei opened his mouth, no, boss! He's no good! He's not even an S-rank!

At this moment, Lu Mingfei felt that he was just like Liu Shan, the last ruler of Shu Han in history, and that his father, Zhuge Liang, was like his prime minister.

Now, Prime Minister Caesar wants to go on a northern expedition—no, I mean, he's going to rescue the damsel in distress, leaving behind a good-for-nothing like Liu Shan to take care of the entire Shu Kingdom? He can't do it!
However, Caesar was worried about Chen Motong and left quickly, giving Lu Mingfei no chance to refuse or ask him to stay. He had already disappeared into the Blood-Silk Forest.

Lu Mingfei had no time to complain, as several student council members had already surrounded him, offering their opinions all at once.

"Lu Mingfei, what should we do now?"

"Since Boss Caesar entrusted the student council to you before he left, and you are an S-rank with a record of facing the King of Earth and the King of Mountains without dying, everyone trusts you. What do you suggest we do?"

"Mingfei, my personal suggestion is that we can't just wait here for Boss Caesar. We need to do something, like going a little further in and clearing away the bloodstains ahead?"

"..." Lu Mingfei was completely bewildered. Why was everyone asking him this?

You're all student council officers, elites among mixed-race individuals! Why did you all suddenly start demanding commands and orders the moment Caesar left?
Who knows what to do next? Lu Mingfei certainly doesn't.

Because the student council officers had surrounded him, Lu Mingfei, who was getting increasingly nervous, habitually started making sarcastic remarks to ease the awkwardness: "Since things have come to this, why don't we eat first?"

The air suddenly went silent for two seconds. Sensing the eeriness of the atmosphere, Lu Mingfei just wanted to go back to the previous second and slap himself!

What is he even talking about?!
"Great idea! As expected of an S-rank, they need to be well-fed to have the energy to continue fighting."

"That's right, that's right. Paying attention to logistical support and the physical fitness of the members, and replenishing them in a timely manner, is a perfect arrangement."

"Let's go check. Before the operation, the school made sure each of us carried special rations. Let's see if anyone lost them. Food shortages are a big problem."

"???" Lu Mingfei looked around and saw that the student council members were clapping vigorously, happy for his opinion, as if he had issued a huge and correct order.

The deafening applause drowned out his rubbish.

No way! You guys really think eating is good?!
(End of this chapter)