Want to play cards? I'll use my King's Deck!

"Because this is the official statement, the specifics are unclear. 'Caslia Pisco' was severely injured and is now in a deep slumber, so I cannot inquire with the gods about what exactly happened."

The high priest shook his head slightly, offering no further explanation.

However, the fact that the Earthbound God was seriously injured is enough to explain a lot.

There may be quite a few monsters capable of defeating Earthbound Gods in a duel, even a 4-star "Rogue Mercenary Squad" can do it, after all, the rules of a duel are absolute. But very few can actually hurt an Earthbound God.

Only an enemy of equal strength could inflict such severe damage on a god-level being.

Izayoi Yuki doesn't have such a monster in her possession.

"Not necessarily."

A genuine laugh came from behind the black and white mask. He waved his hand and said, "If that girl grows enough and unleashes the dragon's power, it's not impossible for her to do this. Wasn't it precisely to determine how far she has grown that we sent Grafa there?"

"If she awakens during a duel, it's not impossible for her to do these things with that power."

"Hmph, do you even believe that yourself?"

No sooner had he spoken than the other person sitting opposite him began to laugh.

"That's Grafa, who's one of our officers. Even if he's a new member among us, he's not someone a kid who hasn't even grown up yet can handle. Even if Grafa were to be careless and get killed, it's impossible that no news would get out of the way."

The Doomsday Bell has its own internal system for communication and information exchange.

The highest-ranking and most secretive method among them is to rely on the earthbound gods they each possess.

The earthbound gods are all connected, much like chatting online. But even so, not a single word has come out about "Earthbound God Caslia Pisco," which is quite alarming.

And judging from its appearance, it seemed like it had almost been killed.

No matter how much that "sacrifice child" grows, he could never do such a thing.

“There must have been something else present at that time.”

The member on the other side of the truth stated confidently, "It's definitely more than what the Public Security Bureau said; they're covering up the truth."

"Perhaps so."

With an ambiguous tone, he asked the high priest, who sat motionless in the main seat, "Since you suspect something is amiss, shall we investigate this matter?"

“I will arrange for someone to investigate from within the Public Security Bureau. If you are interested, you can take over the task yourselves.”

The high priest casually brushed aside the topic and brought up another matter.

"Compared to these, we have more important things to solve now."

"After the demons and cursed spirits are defeated, I will find suitable replacements for them. However, that stronghold contains a lot of our important data. Although much of it was destroyed by the demons beforehand, for now... it's best to assume that they already know some of our objectives."

"High Priest, do you mean...they know about the [Sacrificial Child]?"

"That's what the person on the other side asked."

"You're right, viper."

The high priest nodded slightly and said, "That was a very important base we used for research experiments. We thought we were well hidden, but it was discovered at this critical juncture... With the strength of the Public Security Bureau, it's only a matter of time before they discover the [Sacrifice Child] matter. We can't afford to take any chances."

"so?"

The man sitting beside the venomous snake spoke.

"What should we do next, High Priest?"

"Gotta speed it up."

The high priest tapped his fingers on the table and said slowly, "We don't know when they will find out who the [Priest Child] is, or they may have already found out. Originally, we were thinking of waiting a while longer, until the time and the fruit were ripe before taking action, but now it seems that we should move it forward."

"Oh? Are we going to use Plan B?"

"Hmph, I told you long ago that it would be easier to do it this way, but you just wouldn't listen."

The voices of Truth and Viper rang out one after the other. The High Priest heard the latter's complaint and replied, "That's because a priest who grows freely is most likely to meet our needs, and artificial interference may have the opposite effect. But things are different now."

"There's no point in letting the child grow up freely any longer. Let's find a way to accelerate her development. This Star Cup is a great opportunity."

The high priest was the first to stand up from his chair, ready to end the meeting.

"Let's all get ready. Everything... is for the new world after the apocalypse."

"Yes, it's all for the new world after the apocalypse."

As the high priest finished speaking, the other three stood up solemnly, placed their hands on their chests, and recited in unison.

Eerie blue flames burned all around, illuminating their distorted figures.

Behind the high priest is a terrifying mural depicting the coming of the apocalypse.

A crimson demon is destroying the earth.

Chapter 123 Xiaoxi and Wu

"What? We'll encounter those lunatics again during the Star Cup?!"

The sky outside the window was already dyed red by the sunset. Inside the ward, Izayoi Yuki and that somewhat nonchalant ace detective were no longer visible.

Instead, a girl with a striking blonde bob haircut was born.

It was Xingye Wu who came to visit the sick girl after school.

She had just ladled the cooked rice porridge into a bowl, blowing on it to cool it down, and was about to let You Xi drink it while it was still hot when she suddenly heard such earth-shattering inside news, and couldn't help but cry out in surprise.

"Really, Xiaoxi? You're not kidding me, are you?"

“How could that be? I would never joke about something like this, Miss Hoshino. Although it’s not completely certain yet, we suspect that this is very likely to happen.”

You Xi answered Xing Yewu's question with a serious expression, indicating that this was by no means a momentary prank.

In the afternoon, when the topic of the festival child came up again, Yuki thought of Izayoi Yuki and felt that the latter was most likely the festival child identified by [Doomsday Bell].

As for why Yu Xi came to this conclusion, it was mainly because of the "Crimson Lotus Demon Dragon".

"Crimson Dragon" is Jack Atlas's ace in the anime "Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D'S", and its story is well-known and talked about among card players.

In the story, "Crimson Dragon" evolves into "True Crimson Nova Dragon" under the power of Jack's Burning Soul, thus catching up with the power difference between Fudo Yusei and the dragon.

His successful evolution was also related to the fact that he absorbed the power of the [Binding God of the Crimson Lotus Land] at that time.

The Crimson Landbound God is the final and strongest landbound god who never actually appeared in the original work. Legend has it that it fought a great battle with the Crimson Dragon ten thousand years ago and even defeated it. If it hadn't encountered a human with a burning soul, the Crimson Dragon would probably have been killed on the spot.

It was probably after that that the Red Dragon noticed the existence of humans and chose suitable humans to serve as its Dragon Signers, which is also the origin of the Star People.

Because the worlds are different, the backgrounds and settings cannot be randomly applied, and Yu Xi is unsure whether this guess is correct.

However, if we're talking about who the "Doomsday Bell," which uses the power of the Earthbound God, is looking for, then he can't think of anyone who fits the criteria better than Izayoi Yuki.

Logan had a similar idea, but his process of reaching a conclusion was different from Youxi's.

Five years ago, Izayoi Yuki encountered the truth with his best friend Izayoi Hoshi. After Izayoi Hoshi was defeated, Izayoi Yuki was greatly stimulated and awakened his guardian spirit "Crimson Dragon".

What he couldn't understand was why Zhenshi didn't target Izayoi Yuki at that time and seize the "Crimson Dragon," instead giving up such a tempting piece of meat that was practically delivered to his mouth.

It should be noted that, according to the Security Bureau's investigation and character profile, the real person is a late-stage dragon lover.

His criminal records show that he has a particular fondness for dragon-type monster cards, including monsters that resemble dragons, such as "Cyber ​​End Dragon".

While not all Dragon-type monsters become the target of the real thing, Izayoi Yuki awakened the "Crimson Dragon" in front of the real thing, so logically there was no reason not to take the card away.

But if Izayoi Yuki had another identity, then it would be much easier to understand.

It wasn't that he genuinely didn't want to take action, but rather that at that time he had a reason to let Izayoi Yuki go.

Logan guessed that Grafa's suspicious behavior in Dawn City this time was to monitor the festival girl, which meant he was after Izayoi Yuki.

Of course, this flawed and baseless chain of reasoning did not satisfy Izayoi Yuki.

However, since the vote was two to one, and as she recalled certain things, she no longer insisted on her opinion.

So, assuming that Izayoi Yuki was the one who made the sacrifice, the three of them began to think about whether they could use this identity to do something and take some countermeasures against the "Doomsday Bell".

"Initially, Xue proposed using herself as bait to lure [Doomsday Bell] to abduct her, and then having the Security Bureau act as an ambush to wipe them out. However, we rejected this proposal."

Yu Xi opened her mouth, somewhat embarrassed, and obediently let Xing Yewu feed her the soft, sweet rice porridge before explaining to the blonde girl what had happened earlier.

"On the one hand, the higher-ups may not believe our deductions. Moreover, after Uncle Logan's surprise attack, [Doomsday Bell] will inevitably be more vigilant and will not easily fall into our trap. The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light, and we cannot be on guard against them forever."

Furthermore, given that there is bound to be a traitor within the Public Security Bureau, the chances of this plan to lure the enemy deep into their territory failing are extremely high.

"This is indeed a big problem. Xiaoxue's position in this plan is also very dangerous, which is worrying."

Xing Yewu nodded in agreement, then asked curiously, "So, how did you figure out they would make a move at the Star Cup?"

"Because the Doomsday Bell has also been alerted."

Yu Xi replied, "Uncle Logan said that criminals who plot to be exposed either abandon their plans and look for another opportunity, or they go all in and force their way in. Given [Doomsday Bell]'s past behavior and audacity, we believe it's the latter. Besides, time isn't on their side."

The Public Security Bureau already knows about the sacrificial child; their knowledge of ancient records and intelligence networks far surpasses that of the "Doomsday Bell."

Sooner or later, Izayoi Yuki's affair will be discovered. When that happens, if the Public Security Bureau is determined to protect Izayoi Yuki at all costs, then whatever plans the Doomsday Bell has will be ruined.

It can be said that this is also a battle against time.

"That's why you all think they're aiming for the Star Cup."

Xing Yewu seemed to be deep in thought, somewhat following the train of thought of You Xi and the others.

"Yes, the Star Cup is a large-scale event celebration that encompasses the entire Eastern Conference. No matter what, once the scale becomes large, loopholes will appear. Not to mention, the Star Cup main event will use a very special stage."

As a major event, the Star Cup has a lot of information available, and past competition procedures are all out in the open.

As far as Youxi knew, after the qualifiers ended, all the teams that made it to the main tournament would be teleported to a no-man's land to compete for the members who would advance to the finals.

There, the security bureau can no longer intervene at will.

"Regardless of whether the unknown plan of [Doomsday Bell] is carried out on the spot or postponed, that place is the best stage to capture the sacrificial child. That's why we believe that [Doomsday Bell] will make its move there."

Although they don't yet know what [Doomsday Bell] will do, this speculation is based on the premise that Izayoi Yuki is indeed a sacrificial child and can successfully advance to the main tournament.

"Hmm, I see, I see."

Xingye Wu also scooped up a spoonful of rice porridge and put it in her mouth, feeling the happiness of the steaming food falling into her stomach. She said, "Xiaoxi and Xiaoxue are really amazing. They were able to deduce so much from such a small clue. Maybe the two of you have the potential to be a golden duo, just like the main characters in 'Duel Detective W'."

"No, it's mainly thanks to Uncle Logan and Xue. I only did a little bit of work."

You Xi watched as Xing Yewu took out a spoon, scooped another spoonful of rice porridge into the bowl, and handed it to her. Her expression was slightly unnatural: "Uh... Miss Xing Ye, don't you think there's something wrong with how you eat?"

"Hmm? Really? There's too much porridge for one person to finish. Of course, two people have to share it."