In truth, going through the process exactly as she had in the simulation would work, even if the path was a bit winding. It was definitely winnable. However, Freya thought about it and felt there was still plenty of room for optimization.
For instance, in the simulation, she could only use the identity of Life Freya. In reality, however, she could operate both Life Freya and War Freya at the same time, making her combat power even stronger than in the simulation.
Right now, both the Life Freya and War Freya clones were still at Freya's house. With a single thought, they vanished into thin air, recalled into her system, only to materialize right next to her a moment later.
This rapid recall and summoning essentially produced an effect akin to teleportation.
Once Life Freya appeared, she headed straight toward the Church of the Earth, while War Freya made her way directly to Jerome's residence to set up an early “ambush.”
As for Freya herself, she went to the cafe they had agreed upon earlier. Upon arriving, she found Euphemia already waiting for her.
A steaming cup of coffee sat on the round table. Euphemia was leaning back in her chair with her legs crossed, flipping through a book and taking occasional sips from her cup.
Freya walked straight over and sat opposite her. Just as Euphemia put down her book and opened her mouth to speak, Freya beat her to it: “Captain Jessica and the Mobile Squad have already arrived in Auxerre. They've gathered the rest of the Special Service and are planning to raid Jerome's residence at eight tonight.”
Euphemia froze, her mouth still slightly open as she prepared to speak. After a few seconds of silence, she said, “Your future prediction ability went off again, didn't it?”
“Alright, alright. I'm getting somewhat used to this now. I won't let myself be surprised anymore.”
No, you really haven't gotten used to it, Freya silently grumbled in her mind. In the simulation she had just finished in an instant, hadn't she used her Life Freya save slot?
When she had gone to meet Euphemia in that identity, Euphemia had stared at her in utter shock, uttering a line that felt all too familiar: “Wait, how did you go from normal to a Rank Five extraordinary in just one day!?”
She had to admit, Freya found teasing Euphy like this quite entertaining. The girl was always so easily startled, like a kitten with its fur standing on end.
...
Meanwhile, switching over to Life Freya, she quickly arrived near the Church of the Earth. Even though she was still a fair distance from the cathedral, her attire was far too eye-catching. Both passing civilians and church members cast curious glances her way.
The civilians were mostly admiring her:
“What a beautiful young girl.”
“She's barefoot. Is she also with the Church of the Earth?”
“She looks just like an angel.”
Meanwhile, the members of the Church of the Earth whispered among themselves:
“Do we have someone like her in our church? I don't recall seeing her before.”
“Her outfit isn't our church's attire either, is it?”
“But she's wearing a holy emblem on her chest. Could she be from the Church of the Earth in another city?”
Passing by the crowd, Life Freya finally stopped in front of the cathedral doors. The guard was the same gatekeeper as before. Life Freya remembered that during their first meeting, when she had used her War Freya save slot, this man had driven her away. On their second meeting, when she came in her original body, he had fallen to his knees, excitedly invited her inside, and immediately gone to find the Archbishop.
As for this “third” meeting—well, it was actually the fourth, considering she had just completed a simulation.
This time, upon seeing Life Freya, the gatekeeper froze for a full ten seconds. When Life Freya was walking earlier, the bystanders could see she wore a holy emblem on her chest, but they couldn't make out its details. Furthermore, although those on Rank One of the Earth Pathway possessed Heart Perception, their sensory range was extremely limited.
But this gatekeeper was different. Life Freya was standing right within his sensory range. He immediately realized that Life Freya was also an extraordinary of the Earth Pathway, and of an exceptionally high rank—at least Rank Five! He hadn't felt such a powerful aura even from Archbishop Pantheon.
Beyond that, the holy emblem blessed by the god and carrying a trace of divinity thoroughly shocked him. To a devout believer, how was this any different from seeing the deity in person?
Seeing that he was unresponsive, Life Freya spoke in a gentle, airy voice, “Um... I would like to see Bishop Pantheon...”
But before she could even finish, the gatekeeper's eyes rolled back, and he fell flat on his back with a thud. The man had actually fainted on the spot from sheer excitement!
Even though she had already experienced this once in the simulation, Life Freya still found it hard to keep a straight face. Wasn't this a bit too dramatic?
But on second thought, in her past life, rabid fans meeting their favorite celebrities would sometimes faint from sheer happiness just from a casual blown kiss.
To these believers, the status of their god was undoubtedly infinitely higher than any celebrity in the eyes of a fan.
Looking at the unconscious gatekeeper, Life Freya didn't panic. She quietly waited at the entrance. Sure enough, in less than half a minute, heavy footsteps echoed from inside the cathedral, and Archbishop Pantheon threw the doors open.
Although the Archbishop did not walk the Path of Life, it was still easy for his Heart Perception to cover the entire cathedral, and Life Freya's aura was far too prominent to ignore.
The Archbishop's gaze quickly swept over Life Freya, finally lingering on the holy emblem. He then dropped to one knee and bowed slightly. “Your Highness, the Saintess!”
This holy emblem represented the god's approval. The wearer could be understood as the god's incarnation in the mortal realm, and their words carried the same weight as the god's own. Naturally, a female wearer was the Saintess, while a male was the Saint.
Of course, the Church of the Earth had other titles—a female was referred to as “Mother” and a male as “Father”—but that was beside the point.
Life Freya got straight to the point. “Bishop Pantheon, I need your help. At this very moment, the Kingdom's General Jerome is plotting a massive conspiracy to burn down the entire city. I need you to help me nip this disaster in the bud.”
“Of course!” Pantheon replied immediately. “What must we do?”
Life Freya said, “At eight tonight, head to the residential area in the city center. The official Mobile Squad and the Special Service will launch a joint raid on General Jerome. We just need to go and support them.”
Pantheon nodded. “Understood. I will gather all the extraordinaries in the church at once.”
It had to be said that the difference between Pantheon and Euphemia was very apparent here. When Euphemia heard this kind of intelligence, she would show a deeply shocked, bewildered expression, which was highly entertaining. Pantheon, on the other hand, remained completely unfazed. He didn't question how she had obtained the information at all, focused entirely on execution.
...
Time ticked by as both the authorities and the Church of the Earth prepared for the upcoming raid. Meanwhile, the scene shifted to Jerome. He had just bought two minced meat scallion pancakes for his dinner and was walking back to his residence.
Taking a bite of the pancake, he muttered softly, “Ah, a familiar taste... It hasn't changed a bit.”
The last time he had eaten these pancakes was probably ten years ago. Since then, he had been stationed on the front lines, never returning. It wasn't until recently, when he noticed the Pentagram Alliance making major moves, that he had gone to His Majesty the King to request reinforcements. Only then did he discover that the King had no intention of sending help and even wanted to surrender without a fight. This led to a fierce argument, resulting in Jerome's temporary suspension from his duties.
Jerome murmured, “No matter what, I cannot accept such an outcome...”
Just last night, with the help of “others,” a massive amount of materials had been smuggled into the city. The potion factory of the Devil Pathway could now operate at full capacity, allowing him to officially initiate his plan and begin drawing that massive occult array.
Jerome said, “It won't take long. Two months... no, one month, and I will succeed in drawing it...”
As Jerome walked home, eating his pancake and contemplating his plans, he suddenly sensed that something was slightly off. The house he rented was located in the wealthy district of the city, where the well-to-do middle class lived. Since wealthy people were a minority, foot traffic in the area was usually quite sparse.
But today felt a little different. Wasn't it a bit too quiet?
Nevertheless, despite his doubts, Jerome continued walking slowly toward his home. After all, only those who had already committed misdeeds would feel guilty and fear exposure. Conversely, if someone hadn't done anything wrong yet, they would naturally have nothing to fear.
A week from now, once his plans were officially underway, he would probably become extremely cautious. But since his plan hadn't even begun, how could he possibly be exposed?
As for the distribution of the Devil Pathway potions, it was entirely handled by his disguised “soldiers.” So far, the Special Service had made zero progress on the case, making it an absolute fantasy to trace the line back to him.
Then, just as Jerome finished his first pancake, pulled out the second, and was about to reach his front door, a woman walked straight toward him. It was Jessica, the captain of the Mobile Squad.
Because the War Pathway possessed the ability known as 【Intuition】, any sneak attack was doomed to fail. Jessica, knowing this full well, had no intention of launching a surprise attack from the start. This so-called raid was essentially drawing a massive perimeter and slowly closing it once Jerome walked in.
This wasn't a trap, but an open strategy designed to force Jerome into a direct confrontation.
Looking at the man before her, Jessica said, “General Jerome, you deliberately distributed Devil Pathway potions and intended to burn down the entire city to prepare for your promotion ritual to Rank Six. Do you plead guilty to these charges?”
Jessica silently stared at the man. When he failed to respond for a long time, she frowned and said, “So, you refuse to answer?”
Only then did Jerome stammer in utter confusion, “Wait... you... I... what?”
Despite possessing an exceptionally resilient will—being a general who wouldn't bat an eye even when gravely wounded and dying on the battlefield—he was completely dumbfounded, his mind in absolute chaos.
Wait, sister, I am indeed planning to burn down the entire city, but I haven't even started yet! How did the Mobile Squad show up at my doorstep? Does this make any sense?
One had to understand that the Mobile Squad was known among civilian extraordinaries by nicknames like “The Latecomers” and “Hindsight Captains.” Even though the squad had arrived in the afternoon after Euphemia provided the evidence in the morning, appearing highly efficient, under normal circumstances, sufficient evidence was a hard prerequisite to call in the Mobile Squad.
Often, before a catastrophic extraordinary incident erupted, the Special Service couldn't gather enough evidence to summon the Mobile Squad. By the time the incident actually occurred and the Mobile Squad arrived, the damage had already been done.
Yet this scene thoroughly shocked Jerome. The Mobile Squad, famous for always being late, had arrived before his plan had even begun. How were they so early?
And it wasn't just a day or two early. They were at least a month ahead of schedule! Was this even reasonable?
Jerome asked blankly, “What are you talking about? I don't understand.”
If an ordinary villain said this, they would likely be playing dumb. But when Jerome said it, every word came from the bottom of his heart, as genuine as could be.
Jessica frowned. “Playing dumb?”
As she spoke, she pulled out the most critical piece of evidence Euphemia had provided—the transcribed copy of the occult array. Holding the notebook, she displayed it in front of Jerome. “Do you have anything else to say for yourself?”
Standing less than five meters apart, Jerome could clearly see the contents of the notebook. He fell silent for a long moment, then suddenly burst into loud laughter. “Haha, hahahaha!”
“I meticulously laid out my plans for so long, yet I never expected to fail before even taking action—and to fail because of some bizarre notes from who-knows-where!”
Although Jerome had absolutely no idea how he had been exposed, now that it was an undeniable reality, there was nothing left to say.
The shadow beneath his feet instantly began to churn as all of his spirituality erupted at once. He was using his 【One-Man Army】 ability to summon soldiers on the spot!
Jessica immediately sprang into action. With a flick of her right hand, a spear crackling with electricity materialized before her. She shot forward like lightning, charging straight at Jerome.
...
Rate on N.U.
