Chapter 137: Chapter 137: If the enemy doesn’t move, I won’t move; if the enemy moves, I still won’t move_1
"Of course, since there might be puppets wielding knives ready to chop me up wandering around outside, naturally, it’s safest for me to stay inside the prison," Aiden said casually, taking a sip of his soup, "Even if you manage to round up the puppets she made these past few days, as long as she’s at large, my life is always in danger."
He had always been wary about his life being targeted, but he didn’t want to miss out on the agreed-upon dinners just because of that. Now that he was certain that the witch gathering was ready to make a move on him, of course, he would choose to hang back a bit.
"Won’t it be very inconvenient?" Veronica said with some concern.
"Not at all. The prison is actually quite well-equipped. I can sleep in my own office, which is even more spacious than my apartment. There’s no shortage of changing rooms, bathrooms, a canteen, even a medical office. I’m quite comfortable holed up here, and it even saves commuting time," Aiden replied nonchalantly, "And this place is basically absolutely safe."
Staying at the workplace and not going home, that sort of James Bond lifestyle might be hell for ordinary employees, but it wasn’t a big deal for Aiden at all. And why not? Because he was the top authority in the workplace; as long as he finished his work, he could do whatever he liked here. He could completely treat this prison like a slightly larger villa.
The most important thing was that it was safe enough here—with guards at all entrances and exits, SWAT teams patrolling regularly, dozens of on-duty prison guards ready for action 24/7, and the Alchemic Barrier in the core area that could seal Magic Power, the security was as tight as a fortress.
There was no safer place than this, it was nearly impossible for Vila to lay a hand on him while he was here.
"You’ve become quite timid after a few years of comfortable life here. You used to be super brave. When you captured Ophelia, you didn’t wait for backup to arrive at the scene; you charged straight into that person’s tomb for fear she would escape," Rebecca teased him.
"This is called being cautious. Tactical deployment needs to be cautious. Can cautiousness be equated with being timid?" Aiden defended himself.
"Tactical?"
"If the enemy doesn’t move, I won’t move. If the enemy moves, I... will still not move," Aiden replied calmly, "The witch’s goal is to kill me. As long as I don’t leave this prison, she can never win."
"So if this witch isn’t caught, you’ll just never come out?" Rebecca raised an eyebrow.
"Isn’t capturing her exactly your responsibility? A vile witch is targeting the life of me, a law-abiding citizen. Isn’t it the job of the heretical judge division to deal with heretics and protect the lives of the good people?"
"What is the former strongest Judge talking about?" Rebecca couldn’t help but laugh, "Alright, I get your point. If you stay here, the witch Vila can’t touch you. The heretical judge division can also start their operation from this prison. If she keeps sending golems wandering around here, we can use the golems’ movements to trace back their origin. If Vila takes some big action against the prison to lure you out, we’ll have a better chance to catch her slipping up."
"Yes, that’s exactly what I mean!" Aiden smiled, climbing up the pole that was offered.
"You’re really like a boss," Veronica expressed her admiration sincerely.
"But what I’m afraid of is..." Rebecca paused to think, "If she also has enough patience and decides to play it safe, that would be troublesome."
However, at this moment, the worst-case scenario that came to Aiden’s mind wasn’t that Vila would take some unexpected measures, but that the other Great Witches would start to get involved.
Unlike Presia, who had her token taken away and had been constantly surveilled, forced to play her role, Vila should be able to communicate with the other Great Witches.
And now, the fact that Aiden had infiltrated the witches’ gathering and survived according to Abigail’s prophecy had likely been made known to the other Great Witches.
The greatest threat to him at the moment was not actually Vila, but the three divine witches including Abigail.
Although these witches did not have the active desire to rescue their companion and seek revenge on enforcers like Presia or Vila, when he had infiltrated the Witch Gathering to gather information, Abigail had indeed intended to kill him by using the Divine Language on him, and no one could guarantee that upon learning he was still alive, Abigail wouldn’t seriously consider making an actual attempt on his life.
In that case, his enemies might well be the entire Witch Gathering, as "the Great Witch" Abigail was to some extent the leader of the entire assembly.
Divine Language is motivated by divinity rather than driven purely by magic power like black magic, which means the Alchemic Barrier set up in the core area of the prison, although it can seal magic, is ineffective against Divine Language.
So far, the only information Aiden had was that Abigail was one of the "near-divine", and that she possessed the Divine Language of "Return," which symbolized the authority of order, but he knew absolutely nothing about the other cards in her hand.
Although these were all just assumptions, they were not impossible scenarios.
Just staying in the prison was still not safe enough, he must gather all the means he could for self-preservation.
The "Return" Divine Language was his only trump card for now, but he still did not feel he understood it thoroughly enough.
While holding out in the prison, he could try to experiment with the effects of the Divine Language as much as possible, and also get some information from Melifilia...
Perhaps, as Melifilia had suggested, he should try to obtain an authority... At least, learn as many Divine Languages as possible, to become a saint like Abigail or his "arch-enemy," ensuring his survival—after all, he had really offended quite a few troublesome opponents by now.
It’s really strange, isn’t it? He had given up the career he inherited just to live on properly, so why had things inexplicably turned out this way?
Thinking of this, Aiden couldn’t help but sigh in his heart.
Veronica stared at the silent Aiden for a long time, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke, "Commander, why don’t... I stay in the prison to help out from now on?"
"Hmm?" Aiden replied politely, "That’s..."
"There’s no need, Vila can’t possibly have a way to infiltrate the prison." Rebecca suddenly interjected.
"That’s true." Veronica could not refute and had to agree with this view.
In his heart, Aiden did have the desire to find someone to act as a bodyguard for him, as Vila was unlikely to infiltrate the prison, but that did not mean that the witches who wield Divine Language couldn’t break in.
But no matter what, to have his subordinates also stay full-time in an operational unit with him all the time as a superior, it seemed too petty.
In fact, even without Veronica, there would always be prison guards on duty in the prison, and also prisoners that could be used...
But no matter what, power held in one’s own hands was indeed the most reliable.
