Chapter 159
Chapter 159
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 159 – Lan Qi’s Lucky Star, Huperion2024-05-22 Author: Poor Little Xixi
Inside Lichtenstein Castle, second floor, Room 203.
Lan Qi seemed to feel that Room 202, which had basically turned into a torture chamber, was no longer a suitable environment. So, with Huperion’s help, he had the priestess carried—chair and all—into the brand-new Room 203 next door.
The lights in the room burned bright and steady, spilling a golden glow into every corner. A dark rug covered the wooden floor, turning this cliff-top castle chamber in the late autumn night into a safe little harbor.
Huperion had removed the gag from the priestess’s mouth, and loosened part of her chains so she could sit on the chair without pain. She had even handed her a blanket.
In just a few minutes, the priestess had gone from hell to heaven. Her expression was still dazed, but whenever her eyes turned toward Lan Qi, that look of dependence only grew stronger.
Across from her sat Lan Qi and Huperion.
“Let’s keep this brief. I’ve already shut down the [Shadow World Recording Program]. The Resurrection Church won’t know that I got any information from you. As for what happens after the Shadow World ends—you’ll be imprisoned by the Kreyth Empire, but I’ll ask Princess Alexia to protect you as much as possible. At least in prison, you won’t be tortured or interrogated too harshly.”
Lan Qi said this as he kept writing in his notebook.
When the Shadow World ends, all challengers return to the Void Gate they entered from.
This time, they had entered through one of the large Void Gates controlled by the South Continent’s Shadow World Management Association, not some unstable wild rift.
Which meant that once the priestess’s identity as a Resurrection Church member was exposed, the moment she stepped out she’d be seized by Kreyth Empire soldiers.
The priestess nodded heavily.
Now that she no longer had to treat Lan Qi as an enemy, she felt her heart filled to the brim with a sense of safety.
And because she hadn’t openly betrayed the Resurrection Church, her time in prison would no longer be so terrifying—otherwise, the church would hunt her down as a traitor and execute her brutally.
Now, even knowing she’d go to prison, she had hope.
Once Lan Qi infiltrated the Resurrection Church…
By the time he made his way into the Kreyth Empire again, he might already be sitting in a position of unimaginable power within the church.
She believed without a doubt—Lan Qi had the power to rescue her, and to shield her from the Church’s vengeance!
“My name is Stisela. I’m from the northern Kreyth Empire. I grew up in an orphanage near the city of Kreyth, on the northern border. After the Destruction Bishop Ivanos slaughtered the whole town, I was spared because I had potential. I was taken away, trained for five years under the Destruction Bishop’s faction of the Resurrection Church. Out of a pile of corpses, I clawed my way up, and eventually became the partner to the Destruction Saintess in infiltrating Kreyth’s upper circles.”
The priestess spoke quickly.
Lan Qi listened silently, without interrupting her.
It was rumored that among all the cardinals, the Destruction Bishop was one of the most savage and indiscriminate killers. To him, butchering masses of civilians was no different from stomping an anthill.
Ivanos often did things that made no “sense” at all—like incinerating villagers he had just been chatting with, with no reason whatsoever. His cruelty was said to even surpass Askzan, the Bishop of Annihilation in the North.
“Is it hard to infiltrate under the Destruction Bishop’s banner?”
Lan Qi pointed at himself and Huperion, asking Stisela.
The Resurrection Church had ten factions, each under a different cardinal. The wanted criminal Lilaite they’d encountered in the Purgatory Corridor Academy belonged to the Rotting Bishop’s faction. Now, the Destruction Saintess Adelis and priestess Stisela were from the Destruction Bishop’s faction.
Though they all belonged to the same Church, serving different bishops meant very different methods—and sometimes even outright infighting.
Once this Shadow World ended, Lan Qi’s winter break goal was to travel north to meet Askzan, the Bishop of Annihilation and bearer of the [Primeval Tablet – Sealing], in order to complete his assignment “Visiting the Tablet Bearers.”
If he could first infiltrate the Destruction Bishop’s faction, then jump over to the Annihilation Bishop’s faction, it would save him a lot of trouble.
“Very difficult. For young people like you two, already somewhat famous, the Resurrection Church will be especially cautious. My advice—capture a church member, and take their place.”
Stisela answered.
Huperion was already on the Church’s kill list.
And after what happened tonight, Lan Qi’s feat of outsmarting the Destruction Saintess was enough to mark him red as well.
“But you know as well as I do—catching a Church member in Hedon Kingdom won’t be easy… unless you can give me some key intelligence.”
Lan Qi’s gaze stayed calm as he looked at her.
After all, the Hedon Kingdom was one of the Goddess of Fate’s strongholds, and had run countless purges against cultists. They were the harshest of the southern nations in cracking down on heresy.
Any cultists who survived in Hedon would be like Adelis or Stisela—elite infiltrators with flawless identities. Catching them would be nearly impossible.
“There’s a chance. In the coming days, a very dangerous man will arrive in Ikerite, in the Yaloran Kingdom. If this Shadow World doesn’t eliminate Lady Huperion, he will stop at nothing to cause an ‘accident’ on campus and kill her.”
Stisela glanced at Huperion, her expression grim.
“……”
Huperion’s face didn’t change, but her heartbeat sped up uncontrollably.
She hadn’t expected the Resurrection Church to be this determined to kill her. Someone, somewhere, clearly needed her dead.
The fear and sorrow Lan Qi had dispelled earlier now came creeping back into her chest.
She realized more and more—until she became strong herself, there would never be peace.
Every time so far, if Lan Qi hadn’t been there, her fate would have been sealed.
Even if Lan Qi had always resolved things as if they were nothing… if this escalation continued, sooner or later even he might be dragged down because of her.
Her eyes dimmed as she lowered her head.
Every disaster came because of her. Every time, Lan Qi was dragged into danger to shield her.
The more he protected her without complaint, treating her as a true friend, the heavier her guilt grew.
She was nothing but a burden.