235 Chapter 235: Far from Over (2/2)
”What the…?!”
The remaining Assassins turned around to face the new threat. Again, as expected of a relatively untested youth, Glen paused to stare at Lionel in shock instead of calmly continuing the battle and seizing the opportunity to take his opponents out while they were still reeling from the surprise attack from behind. Even his White Tiger stopped, its mind controlled by its summoner.
Fortunately, Glen was a quick learner, especially when he met the hard gaze of Lionel, and he mentally commanded his White Tiger to dispatch the Assassins while they were staring and trying to deal with their latest assailant. Lightning seared forward and struck them, electrocuting them. While they went into convulsions, Lionel mercilessly finished them off with his sword, leaving a trail of flower petals and blossoms behind as he cut them down.
”Thank you.” Glen hurriedly joined Lionel, breathless from his earlier exertion. His White Tiger remained on the prowl, searching for any more enemies as a precaution.
”You don't have to thank me.”
”But I do,” Glen protested. ”I don't know how much longer I could hold on for.”
”Get Zi Yang to look at your wounds and heal you,” Lionel instructed, not in the mood to argue or make small talk. He looked at her again distractedly, feeling something stir in his loins, and then forced himself to look away when Yue Guang came into the picture. Taking a deep breath, he smiled at Glen. ”You did a good job there, kid. I don't know of anybody your age who can survive a prolonged battle against not just one but several Assassins. Well done.”
He didn't mention that these were most likely rookie or trainee Assassins. He knew how unwise it would be to damage Glen's morale and confidence at this crucial juncture. In any case, Lionel was being sincere. Even if they were mere trainees, they were still Assassins trained in the sects of top killers. A kid like Glen surviving against them was no mean feat. It was something to celebrate and praise.
There was a tremendous explosion above. Without even turning to look, Lionel knew that the Vermillion Phoenix had finally defeated the Ghost-type Soul Beast. On the ground, Michael finally hacked off the arm of his opponent, causing the Umbra Assassin to fall silently to his knees and clutch his cauterized stump. Despite himself, Lionel was impressed. It took incredible mental fortitude and discipline for that Assassin to prevent himself from crying out upon receiving such an agonizing injury.
Then again, he was long aware of how terrifying the Assassins of the Guild were.
”!!!”
He suddenly turned around when he sensed the implosion of mana. The incredible amount of mana pulsing below the Phoenix Temple had vanished, as if something had swallowed it…or it had never existed to begin with.
Yue Guang noticed it too. He nodded wearily and smiled.
”It seems that the kid succeeded.”
”Yes. Very impressive.” Lionel agreed, thoroughly impressed. Earlier, he was pretty sure that the kid had encountered a huge obstacle. The mana signatures were faint and difficult to sense, especially from this distance, but there unmistakably was a very powerful enemy below, which had been exterminated shortly before he destroyed the gigantic Shaggrowth. Come to think of it, he had also picked up a second presence who appeared to have assisted the kid.
But ultimately he was not a god, and thus he didn't possess the omnipresence that a god would have.
”Nonetheless, we should go check them out,” Michael said tiredly as he lowered his sword. The Umbra Assassin, sensing a momentary opening, lunged at him, but Michael casually swung his blade and decapitated the killer before his shadowy blade could reach him. He grimaced when he realized he had acted on instinct and beheaded the Assassin he had planned on apprehending and interrogating later. ”Damn it.”
”He's an Assassin. He wouldn't have told you anything anyway.”
”…right.” Michael must be wondering if Lionel had read his mind, but the latter was merely stating the obvious. After all, he would have probably done the same if he wanted to collect information on his enemy. Even if he knew it was unlikely for the Assassin to spill his secrets and rat out on his Guild, it was still worth a try.
At that moment, Shun Yin and Angelica emerged from the hatch that the former had gone through earlier.
”Angie! You…!”
Glen started forward, but Michael held him back with a raised hand. He regarded her grimly for a moment, and then nodded with a sigh of relief.
”You stopped them from triggering the artificial Emergence event.”
”That's right,” Shun Yin confirmed.
”Great!” Glen brightened up. He still cast a wary glance at Angelica, but he looked immensely relieved. ”We've stopped them!”
Lionel snorted. ”Those bastards never stood a chance to begin with. The moment they made the ten great families their enemies, they were already signing their own death warrants.”
”So everything is over?” Yue Guang asked as he held Zi Yang's hand tightly.
”No.” Angelica shook her head. ”It's far from over. This is just the beginning.”
”What do you mean by that?” Lionel demanded with a scowl. ”Didn't you stop them?”
”We stopped the Dark Church from activating one of their prototypes for the transdimensional device,” Angelica affirmed. ”But as long as they still have the blueprint in their server, they will be able to construct new ones. We've to hunt them down and delete that blueprint to prevent them from manufacturing new devices.”
”In other words, we've to find their mainframe and cloud server, and then delete it from their computer terminals?” Zi Yang hazarded a guess.
”Seems like it.” Michael nodded and glanced at Angelica.
Her shoulders sagged and she shook her head sadly.
”It'll be difficult to infiltrate them again. I've blown my cover. They now know I'm a double agent.”
”Double agent?” Glen blurted out. ”Do you expect me to believe that?! You killed the clan elders and your own father! Do you think we'll just accept that and welcome you back? That all that carnage was necessary for you to infiltrate this…insane organization?!”
”Oh, no. You are right, of course.” Angelica smiled evilly. ”The Dark Church never cared about the Porter clan. That was my own desire…my own goal. It had nothing to do with the Dark Church. I was using the Dark Church to achieve the annihilation of the Porter clan.”
”You…!”
”Enough,” Michael cut in sharply. ”We can talk about this later. Angie will have to face justice for her actions, I promise you that. But right now, we've to deal with this Dark Church and the Assassins Guild first, before they summon some calamity that will destroy the world. And Angie is the one with the most knowledge on them.”
”Yes.” Angelica's smile widened, but the expression only served to intensify the malice in her eyes. ”Even though I won't be able to infiltrate them, at least I know where their main headquarters and their main computer terminals are. It will take even an organization as big and resourceful as them time to dismantle and move everything…so I suggest we stop wasting any more time and strike them as soon as possible.”