He was imprisoned in Nibelungen for a thousand years, only to find out upon his release that he was

Divide your thinking! Multitask!

Lu Ming waved his hand and turned back to continue preparing for the interrogation of the Odin spy.

Huhu——

Suddenly, dark clouds rolled in and a gale howled above the center of the great temple!

First, a blinding white light shone through, and a masked figure riding a tall horse and holding a curved spear appeared instantly!

This is Lu Ming's puppet. It transforms into a lightning bolt, instantly tearing through hundreds of miles of sky, and striking Tiamat, who is tirelessly destroying the city walls!

This Lu Ming puppet, now equipped with the 'Odin personality,' is clad in armor derived from the 'Odin' armor, and its replica spear incorporates fragments of the Eternal Spear.

After being modified by the advanced devices of the Great Temple Valhalla.

From his personality and demeanor to the appearance of his equipment... he really does have a bit of the charm of the great god Odin! You could even say that his upper limit of strength has been greatly improved, and he has not wasted that unique and charming temperament.

'Although my senses are slightly impaired, that aura... I can't be wrong!'

Cú Chulainn, trapped in the protective cage, stared wide-eyed at the sky. 'That thing flying past... could it be the fake Odin active in this singularity?!'

'That fake Odin was so stiff, like a puppet following orders!'

Cú Chulainn appeared dazed.

He glanced again at the wisp of the feathered serpent god's spirit attached to the leopard-man not far from Lu Ming's side, and at the infant Tiamat existing in the form of a "shadow spirit".

The existence of juvenile Tiamat is not unusual; similar to Little Red Riding Hood next to Ayaka Sajou, they can be vaguely observed if one's perception is strong enough.

'Sure enough, these three had already secretly made peace!'

'Throughout the singularity, Ishtar's initial lectures were part of the setup.'

'The Triune Covenant is a setup, the fake Odin is a setup, even the Odin conspiracy theories circulating throughout the city are a setup!?'

His face was tense, he gripped his wand tightly, and cold sweat streamed down his face.

'What's the purpose of all this? To lure me down? What are they trying to do to me?!'

Volume 1: Chapter 142 Matched! The Clock Tower is Odin's organization!

"Mashu, isn't Cu Chulainn's expression a little off?"

Ritsuka quietly nudged Mash beside her.

“Eh, it seems so,” Mash said. “It’s probably because the authorities in Snowfield City suspect him of being a spy for Odin.”

"But this must be a misunderstanding."

Then Mashu pointed to the busy crowd and the multiple barriers that were gradually rising.

"It must have been an accident that just happened that aroused their suspicion of strangers, since there were the most strangers gathered in our venue."

"But everyone really just came here as a casual participant. Mr. Cú Chulainn didn't do anything the whole time, although it was a bit strange that he suddenly ran off just now..."

Mashu and Ritsuka spoke casually. Their eyesight and perception were not as good as Cú Chulainn's, and they did not see Lu Ming's doll flash by in the sky above the city, so they did not feel that there was anything to be wary of.

"At worst, we can explain it to them later, and they should be able to let us go."

We, Chaldea, are a legitimate organization dedicated to protecting human rights. We never do anything wrong and have nothing to hide.

......

"Listen carefully, interrogate each of these guys thoroughly, and separate them for questioning! Don't let anyone get away easily!"

"You should know that the evil organizations under Odin's command are all shady operations!"

"They operate in a clandestine and secretive manner. They are mostly cunning and treacherous! Therefore, they will never easily reveal their true identities..."

"It is foreseeable that they will cleverly use some lies to fabricate other organizational identities to divert attention, and this is something to be especially careful about."

Lu Ming's face was serious, his cold, sharp eyes sweeping across the room. It was as if he wanted to "coldly read" the psychological activities of each person at this moment from their subconscious movements and micro-expressions.

Of course, cold reading is a very sophisticated detective technique, which Lu Ming doesn't know; he's just glaring and trying to project an air of authority.

He firmly believed that, faced with the gaze of a young man like himself, who possessed a burning heart of justice, and a seasoned warrior who had repeatedly resisted Odin's attacks, the truly evil would surely feel apprehensive and tremble with fear.

...For example, that guy who was wrapped in a long robe to cover himself up just now!

As he spoke to Francesca, he looked at the ruins of the large hotel, "Crystal Hill."

"And Francesca, where exactly did this accident originate?"

"We were keeping a close eye on any potential Odin spies in the meeting room, but we still failed to detect them immediately."

Francesca tilted her head and looked upstairs, saying, "From the current scope of our work, we have conducted a thorough inspection of the area within a radius of tens of kilometers, centered on the 'Crystal Hill' architectural ruins."

"But we can still see that the tide of malice broke out unexpectedly."

She looked into the distance.

Over there, outside the venue, near the hotel lobby, on the edge of the road, black mud composed of "all the evils of this world" churned and surged from the uneven ground, attempting to unleash a giant wave that would swallow the crowd.

However, it was completely blocked by multiple layers of heavily guarded barriers.

The surging magic, like luminous particles swirling, formed a multifaceted light membrane in the shape of a geometric shape, strictly confining the malicious tide that was trying to expand itself and devour living beings to a rather narrow area.

After all, none of them were blind.

Thanks to Ishtar's location and Lu Ming's prior arrangements, the entire surrounding area was under surveillance.

Even if caught off guard, it is entirely possible to identify and take timely action to limit the spread of such a crisis.

"Hmph, but the problem lies in where it erupts."

Francesca looked up at the sky.

"Even though we conducted detailed and multiple rounds of testing on almost all the ley lines and even the various branches, this accident still broke out without any warning."

"Master Lu Ming, do you think these characteristics match the hidden ley line node?"

"Earth vein nodes?"

Lu Ming counted in his mind that, including their city center main hall, their side had captured three nodes. The remaining nodes were one each in the east and west of the city, corresponding to each corner of the Three Gods Alliance.

Clearly... the remaining node belongs to Odin.

He had already left this signpost in the city, waiting for them to relax after their victory or when their rear was vulnerable during a tense battle, so that He could seize the key moment and deliver a fatal blow!

You're truly despicable, Odin! So you've finally stopped hiding your scheming nature!

However, this makes the matter clear.

Taking advantage of Lu Ming's "decisive battle" lull, Odin attempted to use the hidden ley lines here as a starting point to create a massive, malevolent black tide, comparable in scale to that outside the city, to engulf the millions of people living behind Lu Ming and repeat the terrifying calamity comparable to the previous beast tide.

It was precisely because this ley line node was hidden that it erupted so abruptly.

If Lu Ming and the others hadn't made prior arrangements, this place would likely have been submerged and become a severely polluted area soon.

The most urgent task at hand is to find that hidden node as soon as possible.

Otherwise, Odin's next move could come at any time. This time they just happened to be watching and defending, but next time they certainly won't be so lucky.

There are only those who steal for a thousand days, how can you guard against thieves for a thousand days?

"If I had to name a category that hasn't been investigated yet..."

Following Francesca's upward gaze, Lu Ming also looked up.

The dark, gloomy night sky was devoid of any starlight. High-altitude air currents stirred up countless dust particles, which whistled and shrieked as they swept across the surfaces of tall buildings.

"You mean... a tall building?"

What does this mean? The earth's veins are not in mid-air.

"Yes, although the ley line nodes have been moved up there, which goes against common sense, Odin is certainly capable of confusing or replacing the environmental conditions in between."

Francesca found it quite strange that Odin had actually found a loophole.

She could also briefly simulate a ley line environment by using "illusions that deceive the world's texture".

Given Odin's power—the Norse god of magic—it's not impossible for him to achieve an even longer duration.

Moreover, He was extremely familiar with the environment of Nibelungen. If Lu Ming and his group hadn't seized the temple, this place would have been like His backyard.

Therefore, the other party doesn't even need the texture to deceive the world, but instead chooses a more direct approach—

"Therefore, Odin probably extracted and rearranged a series of 'concepts' and arranged them on a certain floor of a building high in the sky, forcibly making the various environments of the ley lines possible."

This is not entirely unfounded.

Most of the magicians of Type-Moon set up their workshops underground because the underground is closer to the earth's veins, with a superior environment and abundant magic.

A few magic workshops are located on the top floors of high-rise buildings, as this brings them closer to the sky. The Animusfia family moved their entire family to the mountains based on this principle.

Odin only needs to slightly reverse the 'concepts,' replacing 'sky' and 'earth,' and the leyline nodes will appear on them. Normally, this has no practical significance, but from a hidden perspective, it undoubtedly reveals another level of mystery.

Upon hearing this, Lu Ming nodded to himself, "I see. I was indeed ignorant."

Among the "Seven Kingdoms" of alchemy, "Conceptual Armament" is the realm of manipulating concepts. Odin's spear was thus endowed with the concept of being able to hit its target even across timelines.

Odin, despite his questionable character, possesses undeniable technical skill. He truly deserves the title of the strongest alchemist second only to the Black King. He is practically second only to one dragon and above all others.

What, Norton? He wasn't quite sure about that.

"However, given the density of high-rise buildings here..."

Lu Ming frowned. "It's going to be a bit troublesome to investigate."

It's described as a high-rise building, but how many floors are there? How many rooms are on each floor?

This type of architecture is quite common in America's urban area!

"Hehe, that's not necessarily true!"

Francesca pointed to the upper floors of Crystal Hill, "Starting from this venue, facing the hotel's high-rise buildings directly in front of you, I just sensed something that might be a ley line fluctuation."

"It's very close to the venue. I'm afraid that suspicious crow also flew out from the node, which is why it was hard to spot."

In short, the hidden location of the leyline node is within the architectural ruins of Crystal Hill!

"It's right here?" Lu Ming was overjoyed and immediately ordered his men to search for the earth vein nodes in this building.

Ishtar, you really did a great job! Without you, the initial search points would have been different, and we wouldn't have discovered Odin's hidden final point so quickly.

Lu Ming sighed inwardly. Ishtar was actually becoming more and more reasonable. Could it be that he had really misjudged her before?

No, it was Ishtar's own hard work and complete self-reform that led to such remarkable achievements.

A scholar should be viewed with new eyes after three days' absence.

Thinking of this, Lu Ming also silently became vigilant.

He can no longer view the development of things from a completely static perspective.

The only constant in this world is change itself.

Not only Ishtar, but every character he encounters and witnesses undergoes their own transformation.

Odin's style of doing things and the scale of his organization will also change as he resists more forcefully. As a result, the various settings in the original Dragon Raja will no longer seem so universally applicable.

Lu Ming clenched his fist silently.

Even he himself will change. He will become stronger, more knowledgeable, and accumulate more experience.

The only thing that will never change is a righteous heart that resists evil.

......

Cú Chulainn clenched his fist silently.

He was placed in solitary confinement, and their vision and perception were separated by a stronger barrier.

He had previously seen Ritsuka and Mashu trying to explain things to him, but it was to no avail. The city's ruling class was extremely secretive and professional, leaving no loopholes.

"What is your purpose in coming here? Who is behind you? Who sent you?"

"You should think this through! Odin is a wicked man, a schemer, the source of chaos that has brought this city endless calamity, the culprit who summoned foreign enemies, formed the Tri-God Alliance, and is trying to reignite conflict and war!"

"But we are different. We have long since seen through the truth, and under the wise and mighty leadership of Lord Lu Ming, we have crushed all the evildoers, ambitious individuals, sources of calamity, and instigators of war..."

"..."

Cú Chulainn's face darkened considerably. After listening, he only offered one word of thanks:

The barrier you set up is too small; there's simply no way it can accommodate so many people!

“You may have doubts, but this is the undeniable fact.”