In the previous simulation, almost a day had passed between Nolan's death and the arrival of the Mobile Squad. This was more than enough time for General Jerome to escape the city, but he hadn't done so. Instead, he had roamed around the city, doing who knew what, until he was cornered and killed by the Mobile Squad.
It was a very simple logic: since General Jerome hadn't run away last time, he certainly wouldn't run away this time either.
Hearing Freya's words, the female captain with glasses frowned and asked, “Why are you so certain? Do you have a reason?”
Freya was taken aback for a moment, then clasped her hands together and said in a very cute voice, “The gods told me~ This disaster won't end so easily.”
She was currently the Saintess of the Church of the Earth, so using this excuse was completely flawless.
Hearing this, the female captain's lips twitched slightly, and a speechless expression washed over her face. Euphemia, however, chimed in, “Exactly! Fufu is the Saintess of the Church of the Earth. Since the deity spoke to her directly, it must be true!”
In truth, through their daily interactions, Euphemia knew very well that Freya, this 'Saintess,' didn't actually have much reverence for the gods. As for whether a god would specifically descend to have a private chat with Freya about this? The probability of that was practically zero.
But just as Freya used to unconditionally back up Euphemia's claims in the past, the situation was now simply reversed. Although Euphemia didn't know the reason either, she chose to believe Freya and just play along.
The female captain with glasses fell silent for a long moment before she finally said, “In any case, we can only wait for now. Wait for the other Special Service squads to gather, and wait for the Mobile Squad to arrive.”
Freya didn't plan on sitting idle while they waited. She said, “How about I go and notify the people from the Church of the Earth right now to have them come and help? More hands are always a good thing.”
But the female captain with glasses suddenly spoke up, “I'm sorry, Miss Saintess. While we are very grateful for your help in this matter, we will handle the rest from here. This is the Special Service's responsibility.”
Hearing this, Freya wore a puzzled expression. “Why? Knowing how powerful the enemy is this time, the more allies we have, the better. Besides, extraordinaries of the Earth Pathway have very strong support abilities. Bringing the church's people along would greatly reduce the Special Service's casualties, wouldn't it?”
Before this, Freya had actually asked Pantheon about it. The Church of the Earth didn't mind cooperating with the Special Service. The main reason they had kept their distance so far lay entirely with the Special Service.
Freya asked, “Why don't you cooperate with the church?”
Looking at the cute, white-haired girl in front of her and hearing Freya's adorable voice, there shouldn't have been any sense of threat at all. Yet, the female captain with glasses felt an intense, heavy pressure.
After a moment, the captain with glasses said, “These are orders from above. We must distance ourselves from the church. All official personnel are forbidden from having excessive contact with the church, and the church is prohibited from participating in any city affairs—which naturally includes handling extraordinary incidents.”
“Huh?” This order left Freya completely baffled. It was practically like having a handy weapon right next to you but being forbidden to use it, forced instead to rush into crime scenes and fight criminals bare-handed. Wasn't that just ridiculous?
The captain with glasses sighed. “Miss Saintess, over the past few days, there have been frequent reports of Devil Pathway extraordinaries bound by plants in the city. You were the one behind that, weren't you?”
Freya nodded. Seeing this, the captain with glasses wasn't surprised at all. She said, “Actually, when this first happened, the Special Service should have immediately gone to the Church of the Earth to protest and demand that the church stop interfering. But we didn't do that because... you've actually been a huge help.”
“The entire city's Special Service has been overwhelmed by these endless Devil Pathway extraordinaries. Thanks to your help, many of us have finally been able to catch our breath.”
This was no exaggeration. By the time the Special Service received a report and rushed to the scene, the culprit would often have fled. Then they would have to track them down and make an arrest, which was incredibly tedious and not even guaranteed to succeed. Meanwhile, Freya used her Heart Perception ability like an X-ray to catch criminals. Her efficiency alone wasn't much slower than the entire Special Service.
The captain with glasses said, “So, turning a eye and letting the church help was already pushing the absolute limit. But if you were to actively call the church to help and act alongside the Special Service now, that would be completely forbidden.”
Freya frowned and asked, “So, who exactly is this 'above' behind these orders?”
The captain with glasses was silent for a moment before saying, “The very top... It is His Majesty the King's order.”
Freya was taken aback. That really was the very top. In fact, wasn't that a bit too high up? How did the King get involved in this?
Euphemia wore a thoughtful expression and nodded. “So that's how it is? I think I can understand the King's perspective. This is a very simple and crude form of 【marginalization】—excluding the Church of the Earth from the power circle of the 【Kingdom of Tarapaca】.”
It was no exaggeration to say that because of the various good deeds the Church of the Earth regularly performed, they enjoyed extremely high prestige among the common people. If the church members were to actively participate in national affairs and build good relationships with high-ranking officials across the country, the church would undoubtedly become a voice that could not be ignored, and its influence would expand rapidly.
It was precisely because he didn't want such a thing to happen that the King had implemented this policy.
Freya quickly figured this out as well, but understanding it didn't mean she agreed. From any perspective, establishing cooperation with the church would only benefit the kingdom.
The Heart Perception of Earth Pathway extraordinaries could help the Special Service investigate cases, their ability to manipulate plants could help boost agricultural yields, and their healing abilities could help patients in hospitals.
But Freya quickly realized that all the benefits she was thinking of were things that the common people would directly receive. And that was likely exactly what the King feared. Cooperating with the church offered no direct benefit to the King himself; the more the church did and the more its influence grew, the more it would dilute the King's authority.
Freya was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, “Wait, in that case, the King also has no right to order the church around, does he?”
The captain with glasses didn't speak, but Freya could tell that was indeed the case. Thus, she continued, “Then, if the church's people, guided by the gods, just happen to be nearby when the Special Service gathers for an operation, and just happen to spot a major villain, and just happen to see good people in need of help, and decide to step in and assist... that wouldn't violate the King's orders, right?”
What cooperation? We don't know anything about that. The church was just passing by. Is there a problem?
The captain with glasses hesitated for a moment, then said, “Do you need me to secretly inform you of our gathering point and operation time when the Special Service moves out? Of course, this is my personal action and has nothing to do with the Special Service.”
If the captain with glasses did this, it would at most be considered a leak of information. Even if she were found out, she would be the only one punished. But if the trade-off meant having a crowd of healers backing them up in the upcoming battle against a Rank Five General, it was undoubtedly an incredibly profitable deal.
However, Freya shook her head. “No need. After all... we have the guidance of the gods.”
In reality, Freya only needed to use her Heart Perception to keep a constant eye on the Special Service. Once she saw them depart, she would have the Church of the Earth set out as well, and then they would "coincidentally meet."
After saying that, Freya stood up to leave. Euphemia stood up to follow, but the captain with glasses stopped her. “When the other Special Service members and the Mobile Squad arrive later, they will need a witness. You must stay behind to explain the situation.”
“Tsk.” Euphemia clicked her tongue, wearing a helpless expression as she sat back down. “Fine, fine.”
Freya waved her hand and said, “See you later, then.”
With that, she left the Special Service. Pattering away on her short legs, she disappeared into the night. Some time later, Freya successfully arrived at the Church of the Earth.
Perhaps because it was too late, the place was very quiet. Aside from the church members on duty at the entrance and the Archbishop praying inside the cathedral, almost everyone had gone to sleep.
Just as she entered, before Freya could speak, the Archbishop stood up and said, “Your Highness Saintess, I could feel your anxious aura from far away. Has something happened?”
Freya briefly described the situation. She had found the mastermind who intended to destroy the city, but they had also been discovered by him. As a result, the boss battle was being forced ahead of schedule, and they had to fight without being fully prepared.
The most critical issue was that Freya's Rank Five advancement ritual wasn't ready yet. It was only four or five days away, but the current situation clearly wouldn't allow for that wait. In the upcoming boss battle, the difference between a Rank Four and a Rank Five was massive.
Hearing this, the Archbishop's brow furrowed slightly. “But there is no other choice. We can only force our way through now. Rest assured, Your Highness Saintess, everyone in the Church of the Earth will stand firmly by your side!”
Time flew by, and soon it was the next morning. Just as dawn broke, a dense crowd of church members gathered in the cathedral hall. Freya stood at the very front and tiptoed slightly, only to find she could still only see the first few rows of people. The average height of these members of the Church of the Earth was simply too tall.
Rumble~
Just then, with a soft rumble, the stone slab beneath Freya's feet suddenly bulged upward and slowly rose, forming a small stone platform. She couldn't help but turn to look at the two people beside her: Archbishop Pantheon and Atticus, the church member who had previously called her “Mom.”
Atticus was one of the only three Rank Four extraordinaries in the Church of the Earth besides Freya and the Archbishop. He followed the Path of the Earth, and the stone platform beneath Freya's feet was undoubtedly his doing.
Freya glanced at him and then withdrew her gaze, her rounded heels resting back on the ground. She looked at the group of church members before her, numbering about forty or fifty.
For a large city and a grand cathedral, having only this many people felt a bit small, didn't it?
But that wasn't actually the case. These forty or fifty people were all core members who had consumed the Earth Pathway potion, making them all extraordinaries. Among them, half were Rank One, half were Rank Two, and a few were Rank Three.
Besides these individuals, the Church of the Earth also had many ordinary members and countless believers. However, there was no need for these ordinary people to participate in this operation.
It was worth mentioning that Auxerre had a total of eight Special Service squads, with only a hundred or so official extraordinaries. The church had been warned by the authorities to strictly control their numbers so they wouldn't become too numerous.
In any case, looking at the people before her, Freya took a deep breath, summoned all her strength, and said loudly, “A villain is plotting a massive disaster capable of overturning this entire city. He intends to turn Auxerre into a sea of fire and massacre tens of thousands of ordinary citizens!”
“And now, I have uncovered his identity. He is a Rank Five General of the War Pathway, Jerome! I also know the exact locations of his three strongholds. Now, I beg for your help to stop this villain and save this city!”
There was no excessive sentimentality, no grand motivational speech, and she didn't even invoke the gods' name. Freya simply stated the facts and explained the situation. Yet, the moment her words fell, the church members below raised their hands and began to shout:
“Kill the villain!”
“Protect this city!”
“Follow in the footsteps of Her Highness Saintess!”
“For the Heavenly Father! For the Earth God! For the Mother Goddess!”
Even though Freya had made it clear that the enemy was a Rank Five General, not a single member present showed any fear. In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that even if they were ordered to charge directly at General Jerome, they wouldn't hesitate in the slightest.
Everyone set off immediately. Freya first led them to a spot three blocks away from the Special Service. Through her Heart Perception, she could see a massive crowd gathered inside the Special Service, including all the official extraordinaries in the city and the newly arrived Mobile Squad.
It was worth noting that although Freya, the Archbishop, and Atticus were all Rank Four, neither the Path of the Giant nor the Path of the Earth enhanced the Heart Perception ability. Only Freya could use Heart Perception to see this far, so the task of keeping an eye on the Special Service fell solely to her.
Soon, after the Special Service finished assembling, they also departed immediately with Euphemia leading the way. Their first destination was none other than Jerome's residence.
......
Rate on N.U.
