Chapter 812: Chapter 418: The Enemy Within, Martial Skill Network Activated! (Part 2)
Recalling that familiar information domain manipulation, Louis was already nearly sure it was the dark side of the God of Love he had encountered before.
"These damn followers of the dark side of the God of Love,"
Olivia said, her expression troubled, "Are they really not afraid of provoking our wrath and getting thoroughly crushed afterward?"
"This only means they’ve been pushed to their limits, with no way out, even to the point of desperation."
"But..."
"You want to say, how can they hide so well, right?"
Olivia nodded.
For such a remnant force, it’s incredible that they could evade capture from all sides.
Louis sighed, "Haven’t you already guessed?"
"..."
"Someone is secretly helping them, otherwise, there’s no way to explain how they escaped our encirclement."
Olivia sighed, "That’s the answer I least wanted to hear."
"But it’s also the most probable answer."
"Do you have any suspects?"
"First, anyone who can act directly within the Lokeshi Empire Imperial Capital must be getting help from someone high up in Lokeshi’s hierarchy."
"Mm, I figured."
"Then regarding breaking through our encirclement, the God of Love Church primarily handles the campaign against the dark side of the God of Love."
"Yes, you said leaving it to them would be enough."
"Do you think they’ve done a good job of the encirclement?"
"I think not."
"So, as the force supposed to encircle the dark side followers properly, the God of Love Church has shown such a flaw, suggesting two possibilities within the Church."
"The first is a mole, a very high-ranking one, right?"
"Yes, but I hope it’s not the second."
"What’s the second?"
"The entire leadership of the God of Love Church is helping the dark side, helping it draw power from the God of Love."
This conclusion was a direction he didn’t want to consider at first.
After all, it’s a much graver issue if everyone is compromised than if only some people are.
The God of Love Church’s self-correction ability fails spectacularly, even causing Louis to lose trust in them.
"I plan to forcibly deploy a Martial Network over this city,"
After contemplating for a while, he said to Olivia.
He couldn’t let the enemy prepare themselves.
Before that, he wanted to project the Soldier Realm’s fundamental force, the Martial Network, which has information offensive and defensive capabilities, over the city’s skies.
The simplest way to handle information-level conflict is to directly use the Martial Network’s information to clash head-on with the other party.
The ability to continuously transmit information, ultimately forming martial positions within martial artists’ bodies, is the most advanced usage of information itself.
Every Contractor could be an information bomb he sets.
But spreading such "mines" throughout the Imperial Capital is not an easy task.
He needed to evenly deploy Nine Sword professionals or other close-combat professionals who could directly connect with the Martial Network in every corner of this city.
They act as relay stations for the Martial Network, serving to expand the information coverage range.
However, this is not an easy task either.
When the Soldier Realm was still a soldier’s tomb, the limited potential Contract slots of the semi-plane prevented expansion of the Martial Network’s coverage.
To fully utilize the Martial position slot value, Ense even offered it as a kind of diplomatic gift in collaborations with ally countries.
In other words, besides the Curse Binding Legion capable of direct Soldier Realm connection, most other Contractors are still within Ense’s territory.
The only ones who could help him expand the Martial Network were the Curse Binding Legion.
Just as he was fretting over this, an old friend found him.
"Long time no see, Louis."
Louis looked blankly at Aaron, who still appeared disheveled, and said speechlessly:
"You’re not actually short of money, is it necessary to maintain such an unappealing appearance?"
"You could say it’s a personal hobby."
"So, why did you suddenly come to me, is there something you need?"
Aaron nodded, "Have you noticed the unusual situation here in the Imperial Capital?"
"What are you referring to?"
"That dirty presence in the sky."
"If you mean the God of Love’s dark side, I did sense its power fluctuations, but I couldn’t pinpoint its location."
"I can give you a few reference places."
"Go ahead."
"First, inside the God of Love Church’s Bridgehead Church in Lokeshi Empire."
"..."
"Second, the office residence of Lokeshi Empire’s Honorary Emperor."
"..."
"Third, inside the Griffin Family’s stronghold."
"Enough, stop, I’d like to pretend I didn’t hear that."
He looked pained.
Beside him, Olivia’s face darkened.
She had been wondering who had such grand skill to cooperate with the other party?
They had guessed that the mastermind likely held a high position of power.
But no one had told them the three most suspected places were directly related to the highest levels of both forces.
"Are your sources reliable?"
"Quite reliable."
"Then don’t blame me for using a bit of underhanded means." Louis looked at Aaron and said, "Aaron, how many defensive forces does your Sunset Church currently have?"
Aaron gave an unequivocal answer, "The number of exemplar-level strong forces participating in the defense isn’t much, even the highest number of Extraordinary professionals, combined, is only 210."
"That’s okay, just gather them first."
"Why?"
"To give them the power to defend their homeland and resist the dark side of the God of Love, relying solely on me is only a temporary solution; you must possess your own strength, and I can grant you that potential."
Internally, Lokeshi is seriously fractured by factions; he no longer knows whom to trust.
At times like this, introducing a third-party force completely unrelated to them would be more reliable.
At least... they’re easier to trust.
Aaron looked deeply at Louis.
He remembered meeting Louis years ago when he was still an Honorary Prince who liked to enjoy peace in a tavern.
Now, he had become someone willing to take responsibility and make decisions.
Time flies so fast!
"Don’t worry, Louis, when the dark side of the God of Love truly descends, I’ll do anything to stop it from getting close to you."
Louis laughed, "Then I shall graciously accept your protection, Aaron."
Aaron smiled, "You have a lot to ask me, don’t you?"
"Yes, like why back then you specifically came to tell me the stars needed someone to stand with their great sin?"
"Call it hysteria or prophecy."
"Hm?"
"I had a dream in which the god I longed for told me so."
Louis fell silent.
Had anyone else said this to his face, he would’ve slapped them.
The riddle player was so powerful before, and now you’re telling me your cryptic words come from a dream?
Even... from the dream of a god who fell thousands of years ago?
He suspected Aaron had encountered MB fraud.
But then again, it was the Knight of the Scorching Sun who said those words.
For a strong person at the level of the Knight of the Scorching Sun, dreaming, especially a dream related to a deity, is almost impossible.
It’s not that deities are unwilling to intervene, but the intense life fluctuation in demigod-level beings keeps their minds sharp even in apparent sleep.
So-called sleep is more like a light dozing.
In such conditions, with a mind continuously active, how could there be dreams?
But Aaron looked serious.
That means... he really had such a dream.
Louis paused for a moment, with numerous speculations flashing through his mind.
Could the external belief that the Eternal Fierce Sun fell be wrong?
Was Aaron’s statement, that the Eternal Fierce Sun never fell, true?
Damn it.
Creatures of the Divine Realm are like manipulators, maintaining an aloof attitude, overlooking the human world.
They easily pass judgment on others.
Yet, others could only dance in response to the manipulator’s moves.
An imagined god about to cut off parts of faith for the God of Love?
A former god thought to be lost in history, now possibly resurfacing?
Tal Griffin, the empire’s platinum giant who holds the Five Families’ Guardian Stone Divine Artifacts, and can elevate his power beyond a regular demigod state?
And perhaps even forces like the Abyssal Church or Demon King Army’s dark agents, crawling and writhing in the shadows of Lokeshi Empire.
For a moment, he almost felt like he was confronting Ense Empire a few years ago, surrounded by many forces scheming against each other.
