I am the heroine's godfather!

"Alright, I've already sent a message to the Vatican, and churches across the country will be on high alert for any unusual situations, but this clearly won't truly solve the problem."

"Yes, ultimately, we still need to determine the location of that altar."

Lucifer nodded, and Loran fell into deep thought. That building, that Gothic church, none of the buildings in the world could match it—not even in the mysterious Arcana, there was no such building in Loran's memory.

There are two possibilities: either the building has been hidden all along, or...

These are the new buildings constructed in recent years.

Leaving aside the former situation, as far as Loran knows, at least within the jurisdiction of the Vatican, the unauthorized construction of churches is absolutely prohibited in the latter case.

Therefore, the most likely way to take action without the Vatican's knowledge is...

Loran looked at the map, at the country that had closed its borders.

The Kingdom of Arcana

Loran laid out his entire speculation, and Lucifer, stroking his chin, nodded: "A reasonable speculation."

"Therefore, the next direction of the investigation will probably be the Kingdom of Arcana and the Demon Clan."

"Why can't we just have the Papacy unite with various countries to attack Arcana?"

Lestinger raised her hand, and then received some helpless looks from the others.

“喂！这是什么意思每^日.发！书，群【6`5,0/5^0”2*3>3.8】啊！”

"On the one hand, it is impossible for countries to send troops based on intelligence that has not yet been determined."

Lucifer sighed and explained, "On the other hand, without the intervention of the Holy Maiden, the Holy See alone cannot quell the Arcana."

"Wouldn't it be better if the Holy Maiden took action?"

Lestinger was still puzzled, and Lucifer sighed, "But we can't be sure about the situation of the Church of the Evil God—nobody knows how much they've been hiding all these years. Today they can pull out the Holy Knight of the Nation from a thousand years ago, but who knows if something that could even pose the slightest threat to the Holy Maiden will appear tomorrow?"

"Besides, those evil gods really exist, they're not just figments of imagination."

Loran continued, "Therefore, even if there is the slightest possibility, we cannot let Messiah put herself in danger—she is too important now."

As he spoke, he shook his head again: "But the most urgent task is to defeat the invading Church of the Evil God. We can deal with the Arcana and the demons later. Let's deal with the immediate ones first."

"If nothing unexpected happens, the Church of the Evil God will definitely not launch an attack first... Their trip is not only for the Ancient Tree of Elves, but also to absorb the power of the earth's veins."

Lucifer analyzed, and Loran nodded, adding, "It seems that our original plan to wait until the ancient elven tree recovers is no longer feasible."

"Yes, even if we don't get the Seed of Withering and Flourishing, it would still be a great loss for us if they could absorb the power of the earth's veins."

Estia frowned, while Loran stroked his chin: "In that case, let's take the initiative."

"But in a direct confrontation, it would be very difficult for us to defeat the Church of the Evil God."

"Then we won't attack head-on."

Loran laughed: "This power that absorbs the ley lines comes from the Deathly Pope. As long as we defeat him, we can stop the absorption of the ley line power, severely damage the attack of the Evil God Church, and buy time for the Ancient Elf Tree."

"But what should we do?"

"Infiltrate in."

Loran said, "Infiltrate them, then block their retreat and make sure they can't escape."

"But if we all go, the ancient elven tree's defenses will inevitably be somewhat weakened..."

"Do not."

Lorraine shook her head: "I'll go by myself."

"what?"

Lestinger exclaimed in surprise, "Are you crazy?"

"No, this is a reasonable plan."

Loran shook his head: "From the previous battles, I've already ascertained the Fallen Pope's strength, and the Apoptotic Pope is roughly in the same range. That means..."

"Even if they all come at me together, you're confident you can seriously injure one of them and then retreat, right?"

Lucifer picked up where Loran left off, and Loran nodded, then gave a helpless smile: "But if we want to defeat both of them, we'll inevitably need to borrow some of their strength."

Although Loran didn't say who he was borrowing, the three of them immediately guessed who it was.

"I see, so you had this backup plan all along."

Lucifer sighed: "That saintess really cares about you."

Chapter 189 Infiltrating the Investigator (not really)

The decaying mist flowed through the forest, turning the moonlight into a sickly purple.

Loran stood close to a dead ancient oak tree, his black robe blending seamlessly with the shadows. A hundred meters ahead, the cultists of death were sweeping the altar steps with brooms woven from tree roots—an altar that stood abruptly in the woods, not unlike the one Loran had seen in the Fallen Pope's mind—only much smaller.

Loran narrowed his eyes, certain that this thing was inextricably linked to the altar he had seen.

He lightly touched the ground with his fingertips, and threads of holy light condensed and seeped into the earth's veins. The energy flow he received confirmed his suspicions: the Church of the Evil God was somehow transmitting the earth's vein energy from the Elf Forest to distant places.

This altar is the transit point.

Destroy it when you leave.

Loran thought to himself.

The owl's cry suddenly changed tone.

Loran's pupils contracted, and he quickly extinguished the holy light. Twelve cloaked, withered priests emerged from behind the tree, their eye sockets beneath their withered wooden masks pulsating with crimson seeds. They carried the corpse of an elven man toward the altar, decaying roots sprouting from the corpse's eye sockets, as if performing some kind of blasphemous ritual.

A ritual never before witnessed.

Loran held his breath, for he had never seen such a ritual before, whether in ancient books or elsewhere, and he was also unsure of its effects.

However, it can be confirmed that this ceremony was not that important, otherwise they would not have sent only a few weak priests.

Loran's eyes flickered with light and shadow. After thinking for a moment, he finally dispelled the magic in his hands.

There's no need to alert them.

The corpse was burned to ashes, making the altar shine brighter.

Oh, I see. Is it fuel?

Loran sneered. Using corpses as fuel was indeed in line with the style of the Church of the Evil God.

After the twelve priests left, Loran's magic surged, and then he disappeared into the darkness.

A shadowy figure slowly emerged, its presence almost imperceptible under the cover of darkness.

Reconnaissance Magic: Midnight Shadow!

A highly restrictive spell that can only be used at night, requires extremely high magical power, and necessitates the user to cast it using both light and dark magic simultaneously.

The demanding conditions result in its exceptional stealth capabilities; in the darkness, this magic is even more effective than an eighth-tier stealth spell.

The shadowy figure passed through the gate guarded by the stone demon and entered the military camp, quickly figuring out the location of the sentry posts.

There are three people in the northeast direction, all at the fourth level of strength; five people in the west direction, all at the third level of strength; and two people in the middle tent, all at the fifth level of strength.

The shadow sent a message that it had discovered an aura of decay and corruption within the middle tent.

It seems they're here.

Loran manipulated the shadowy figure to approach the tent. Through the window, he saw the dying pope, who had shed half of his body from decaying branches and looked like a normal middle-aged man, and the fallen pope, who was no different from before.

besides......

The moment Loran saw the figure clearly, his pupils contracted sharply!

That pure black armor, and that golden hair... this is...

The dazzling golden sword, Adams!!!

Loran was about to withdraw the shadow immediately, knowing that if Adams himself were there, the shadow would not be able to hide from him. However, the next second, he realized that it was just a phantom, not even a phantom like Lucifer's that was attached to a token, but a phantom generated through remote magic.

Otherwise, I would probably have been discovered long ago.

"how is the progress?"

Adams's phantom spoke, the Deathly Pope's voice still hoarse, but no longer so eerie: "Fifty percent of the ley lines are being absorbed."

"Ah."

Adams nodded slightly and then asked, "What about the seed of withering and flourishing?"

“It’s a little difficult.”

The dying Pope lowered his head slightly: "This place is more troublesome than I imagined. The other side now has three saints, one of whom is much stronger than me and the Fallen."

"That was just my carelessness!"

The debate surrounding the Fallen Pope was heard, but Adams paid no attention to it, instead looking at Apoptosis: "What does he look like?"

"Black hair and black eyes, skilled in various forms of magic, and also proficient in holy arts."

"...I think I know who he is."

Adams chuckled softly, and Loran, who was watching from afar through the shadows, narrowed his eyes.

This guy seems to really hold a grudge.

"still have a question."

The dying Pope paused for a moment before speaking: "The 'fuel' supplying the altars here is running low—the elves are collecting the corpses, and the corpses of our dead alone cannot sustain the altars for long."

"Firewood?"

Adams replied calmly, "Aren't they everywhere here?"

"...You mean?"

"It is an honor for a group of ants to be able to dedicate themselves as firewood for the great cause of our Lord."

"......Yes."

The dying pope was silent for a moment, then sighed.

Are believers used as firewood?

Loran clicked his tongue, thinking to himself: [What an efficient and cruel plan.]

【but......】

Loran looked at the Apoptotic Pope. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but the aura of this Apoptotic Pope was not quite the same as the one he had seen on the battlefield.

【camouflage?】

Loran felt a bit curious, but clearly, the dying Pope was not the focus at the moment.

"The Seed of Withering and Flourishing is best obtained if possible, but if not, there's no need to fight to the death for it."

Adams continued, "Remember, we still have a great mission to accomplish."

"The seven Allahs chose to awaken us at this time not so that we might die in such a thing."

【wake?】

Loran understood immediately; indeed, these guys had only been awakened in recent days.

"Yes."

The Fallen Pope and the Deathly Pope bowed.

Loran also withdrew his illusory form.

Alright, let's organize the information now.

Chapter 190 Yes, this is an assassination.

Let's organize the information first.

Loran narrowed his eyes.

First, the six guardian paladins of Kadia from a thousand years ago, including Adams, were recently awakened and became popes of the seven evil gods.

Secondly, looking at it now, apart from Adams, who has already reached his peak, the remaining paladins have likely all been strengthened after being awakened. Although Loran has only encountered the Fallen and the Ascended so far, it's still necessary to prepare for the worst.

Furthermore, spies still exist within the demon race, and the tentacles of the Abyss Church have not been completely severed. They have replicated the demon race's altars to draw upon the power of the earth's veins, attempting to create a powerhouse comparable to Messiah.

Finally, the Church of the Evil God may currently be hiding in the Kingdom of Arcana, and the group that instigated the coup may even be manipulated by the Church of the Evil God.

Really...